Templeton Rye Whiskey; Iowa’s Good Stuff!

While doing research for my paper I visited the Templeton, Iowa city website and came across this documentary about the prohibition alcohol that was being made in the little town of less than 400 people.

http://www.iptv.org/video/detail.cfm/22685/templeton_20110927_rye (28 minutes)

http://www.iptv.org/simplepleasures/story.cfm?id=2884&type=story&video=video (5 minutes)

My family hails from Templeton, Iowa and my Great Grandma still lives there.  In 2001 I had the chance to visit the little town surrounded by corn fields.  There are no stop lights, the main street consist of a post office, local hardware store, a mini market, and restaurant.  There is also a local bar that my Grandpa took me to.  However, this bar is unlike any other bar.  It is based on the honor system, you walk behind the bar, pour yourself a drink, and open up the cash register to pay for your drink and enjoy!

However, this little down in the middle of nowhere is famous for one thing; Templeton Rye Whiskey!  Local farmers during the prohibition area distilled this prohibited drink, which has now become a favor for many to sip on.  Templeton Rye can only be found in 4 states, California, being one of the, and available through only one online website.

One story that really stuck out to me that I just discovered recently from my Grandma was that while Al Capon was in jain in Alcatraz he had Templeton Rye shipped from Iowa to him while in the jail.  I’m assuming it was snuck in somewhere.  But what a fun story and claim to fame for a small town lost in the rolling hills of the Iowa corn fields.

Canadian French Tourtiere

When given the task of thinking of something that might blend with my heritage on Thanksgiving nothing specific came to mind.  I am extremely close with my mom’s side of the family considering all 40+ live here in the Bay Area, and all my dad’s eight siblings and their families still live in Massachusetts.

Growing up I’ve spent every.single.holiday. with my mom’s side of the family.  Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, you name it were all meet at my grandparents for either a formal sit down dinner, or a bbq filled with cousins in the pool, grandma and my aunts in the kitchen, grandpa hovering over the bbq, uncles playing horse shoe, and the chattering of cousins catching up.

And then it donned on me! Hello! I have another side of the family! My Canadian French side! Then Meme’s tourtiere (meat pie) came to mind and that is exactly what reminds me of my heritage and more importantly my Meme who I miss dearly.  She would make tourtiere for my dad every time she would come out and visit us from Massachusetts, and I absolutely.hated.it.with.a.passion.  She would bake them all day, several of them, and as soon as I walked in the house from school the house would smell so gross, or so I thought.

As I write this the gut wrenching smell comes to me.  Gross.  From what I can recall I don’t think I ever tried  Meme’s pie.  I think the smell was enough to keep my away which my Dad didn’t mind since that meant more for him!

I’m considering surprising my Dad with one for Thanksgiving, but I wonder if I can bare to stand stinking up our one bedroom tiny condo.  So below is the receiepe for Meme’s tourtiere.

1/2 Pound Ground Pork or Lamb
1/2 Pound ground Hamburg or Venison
3/4 Cup Potatoes cubbed
1 Medium Onion
1 Cup Bread crumbs
1/4 Teaspoon ground clove
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Ground black pepper
1 Teaspoon cinnamon
1 Cup Brown Gravy
2 Boxes Pre-made pie crust

In a pot cook potatoes until soft. Drain and Mash add bread crumd to potatoes and mix. Set aside. In a skillett cook pork and hamirg until brown all they way thru. drain greese. add cinnamon,clove,onion and gravy simmer for 5 minutes. 

Mix all the ingredients together then put in pie crust. cover with other crust. brush with egg wash and cut a small slit in the top of crust to vent. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until browned. You can pre-make the pie and freeze until ready to bake. defrost pie BEFORE baking.

interesting email

I received this email from my sister in laws father who came to the U.S as a young child.  Over the weekend he went back to SF, and to China town and came across a old restaurant he and his family use to visit.

“When we first arrived in the United States, we lived on Capp St. (in the Mission).  We didn’t have a car for the first few years.  On Sundays, we would walk to St. Charles Church and hear Mass.  My Dad had bought us vynil jackets in the Emporium and we thought we were cool.  Mine and Calin’s were ivory, Gerardo’s was a light brown.  After Mass, we would walk to Mission St. and take the 12 or 14 Bus that would take us to Third and Mission.  We would then transfer to the 15 Bus that would take us to Kearny St. and we would get off on Washington St. Gerardp had a small transistor rado, about 2″ by 2”, and we would share it listening to KYA, 1260 AM.  On Sundays, they would play oldies called “Golden Gate Greats”.

 From there we would walk half a block to the Nam Yuen Restaurant. After getting seated my parents would order won ton, combination chow mein, white rice, chicken, and beef. There was no Dim Sum in those days but we looked forward to Sundays when we would have lunch in Chinatown and then walk down Grant Ave. Chinatown was thriving then: the streets were crowded, every shop was owned by 1 family, there were several Chinese movie theaters, and it was common to see food stores with ducks and sausage hanging in the window.  It was common to see old Chinese men waling down the street with their hands behind their back.

Yesterday, as I walked on Washington St. and saw the Nam Yuen Restaurant sign, I inmediately flashed back to those special Family Sundays.  But it was sad since the restaurant has been closed down for a number of years and it was boarded up: the victim of neglect and the times.  I took the picture from the corner of Washington and Grant, from this view the restaurant sign can be seen and it gives the false impression the place is still alive and well.”

Alabama

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/08/01/justice-department-sues-alabama-over-controversial-immigration-law/

 

Justice Department Sues Alabama Over Controversial Immigration Law

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/08/01/justice-department-sues-alabama-over-controversial-immigration-law/#ixzz1e4uXMFZS

The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Alabama’s new controversial immigration law, essentially fighting Alabama on grounds similar to its legal battle with Arizona over that state’s controversial law.

In both cases, the Justice Department argues that the states are overstepping their authority by wading into something that is a strictly federal responsibility: immigration enforcement.

• 

Gov. Robert Bentley signed the Alabama law in June, but it’s not set to take effect until Sept. 1. The law makes it a crime to be an undocumented immigrant in Alabama and allows law enforcement to detain individuals they have a “reasonable suspicion” of being in the country illegally. The law also makes it illegal to give undocumented immigrants rides and requires school districts to check on the immigration status of students who enroll.

The law is modeled on Arizona’s immigration law, parts of which have been blocked by federal court. It’s said to be the strictest state-level immigration law in the country.

The Justice Department, in its filing, says a state cannot set its own immigration policy and cannot pass laws that conflict with federal immigration laws.

“To put it in terms we relate to here in Alabama, you can only have one quarterback in a football game. In immigration, the federal government is the quarterback,” said Joyce Vance, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.

The American Civil Liberties Union applauded the lawsuit, calling Alabama’s immigrant law “draconian” and “anti-immigrant.”

The law has already faced lawsuits from civil rights groups and others, and Alabama religious leaders announced Monday their own lawsuit against the law, saying, “the bishops have reason to fear that administering of religious sacraments, which are central to the Christian faith, to known undocumented persons may be criminalized under this law.”

The sponsor of the Alabama law, Republican state Rep. Micky Hammon, defended it Monday.

“The Obama administration and the federal bureaucrats have turned a blind eye toward the immigration issue and refuse to fulfill their constitutional duty to enforce laws already on the books. Now, they want to block our efforts to secure Alabama’s borders and prevent our jobs and taxpayer dollars from disappearing into the abyss that illegal immigration causes,” Hammon said.

“Allowing hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to run unchecked under the radar threatens our homeland security and insults those who come here legally,” he added.

In a Department of Justice statement, Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said immigration enforcement is the job of the federal government.

“Legislation like this diverts critical law enforcement resources from the most serious threats to public safety,” Napolitano said.

The Justice Department’s complaint quoted Birmingham police chief A.C. Roper as saying the law would divert scarce resources from local policing priorities to immigration enforcement.

Last year, the department obtained a preliminary injunction against an Arizona immigration law.

Probably unlike a lot of my classmates I agree with what Alabama is/was doing.  And no I’m not racist, just a law obeying citizen- my husband is 50% mexican and also agrees  with the laws Arizona and Alabama are setting in place.

I think they were so fed up with illegal immigrants that they took matters into their own hands because the felt like the federal gov’t couldn’t come to an agreement on what should/needs to be done about illegal immigrants.  I feel as if the federal gov’t will never be able to agree on the issues of immigration enforcement, and it order for some type of action to be taken the states feel as if they must step out of their role and create to laws/bill that address this issue.  I don’t think it is wrong to check children’s school records to see if they are legal or not, however I would agree that it is irresponsible to check someones status based on suspicion.  If it is known that a  person is here illegally I think the state has every right to pick them up and deport them (or however the process works).  I often feel like the US is too nice to illegals, and like the article turns their head when the topic arises.  I get it, a lot of “illegals do the work many americans wouldn’t do,” but feel that if we addressed the issue earlier this wouldn’t have been the case.  I could go on a rant about this topic but I wont.

Chapter 16

One thing that really stuck out to me during this chapter was the discussion on the A,B, and C documents.  This really caught my attention because for my internship I am a HR assistant, and right now we are in the middle of our I9 audit.  As we look through all our companies 600 plus employees we must insure that their I9 is correct, and that a rep for the company signed the” I attest, under penalty of perjury, that I have examined the document(s) presented by the above-named employee, that the above-listed document(s) appear to be genuine and to relate to the employee named, that the employee began employment on (month/day/year) and that to the best of my knowledge the employee is authorized to work in the United States. (State employment agencies may omit the date the employee began employment.)” section.

Until today I never realized how important it was to insure that everyone’s I9’s are correct.  My supervisor shared with me that for every mistake on an I9 form, the company can be charged $1,600 by the government!  This is huge, and can have such an affect on a company is several hundred need corrections.

Another section that stuck out to me was the section on Irish illegal immigrants.  I found it interesting that many are educated and come to the US looking for better jobs since there are so few in Ireland.  I found it sad when Daniels talked about the girl who lost a family member, and couldn’t go back for the service because she was too sacred INS would notice her passport was expired and not let her back in.  I can’t imagine not being able to attend the funeral of a family member, or even visit my family in general.  However, I do agree with Daniels when he said the gov’t wishes they could create a law that would grant Irish immigrants citizenship, but it isn’t possible without giving amnesty to all other ethnic immigrants.

 

The new Asian immigrants

Overall this chapter was somewhat interesting.  I found it funny how the author was able to give every statistic of difference between each group of immigrants.  Some of the stats. weren’t event 1% apart, yet somehow there was a comparison held between them.

One thing that I liked about this chapter was the fact that Daniel’s addressed all the different types of Asian immigrant.  For me I always lump them into one group, and never take the time to set them apart.  I found it really interesting that within the Asian immigrant community there is a sense of social class.   Although, they do not compete against themselves it was interesting to learn that Vietnamese were considered the lowest call of them all.  I never gave it too much though, but after learning why I now get it.  Vietnamese, before the come to the US are typically robbed of all their money and possessions by those in the native homeland, forcing them into poverty as soon as they arrive here in the US.

Lastly, another aspect that stood out was the sharing about India Americans and how they work.  Many work at news stand in the US and in England.  However, for many families who own those news stands they have a way of running them.  When brining over family members from their home land they give them the lowest paying job, working the news stand and then they are eventually allowed to work their way up in the family business.  I think this is an interesting aspect.  Although, these new immigrants are new to the US they are given a job right away, and I think it shows them that hard work does pay off as they move up the social ladder within the family business and society.

Chinese, Japanese and French Canadian.

Overall I enjoyed this chapter.  I think what interest me the most was that I’ve already taken a college class strictly on the Japanese and Chinese immigrants and see a lot of the same these from that class translated into this book.  Another reason I enjoyed this chapter is because I am also French Canadian!  J

 

What shocked me the most was that just like Asian immigrants, French Canadian were treated just a poorly.  I had not idea, and kinda makes me laugh as it reminds me when people me “sorry” after telling them I am F.C.  Maybe they are saying sorry for the association of being linked to the French, or truly because I am F.C.  This chapter also made me more proud of the fact that I my family has kept some long running F.C traditions.  One of the main traditions is the calling of grandparents, Meme for grandma and Pepe for grandpa.  I always found it cheesy that my parents decided to be called Meme and Pepe when they became grandparents, but now looking back on it I am glad they decided t carry on the tradition.   I’m not sure if I will carry on the tradition, but I have a long time to think about that.

 

As for the Chinese, I found it interesting because it hits so close to home, San Francisco.  Everything we’ve focused on has been on the East Coast so to have a immigrant settlement on the West Coast was a new insight.  I feel as if not much has changed within San Francisco when it comes to the Chinese.  They still live within their community, and everything within their community caters and revolves around them.  In some aspects they could never live China Town and be completely sufficient.  Something that doesn’t exist or is extremely rare in America.

Readings for October 10

I think we all can learning something from this weeks reading.  After discussing the topic of discrimination, and how people still segregate themselves today reminded me of a few things that I’ve come across in the recent years.

One topic that crossed my mind is about a television show on MTV called “If you really knew me.”  MTV’s summary of the show is; “In high school, there are the students who rule the school — like jocks, cheerleaders, and the popular kids — and the ones who get picked on — like nerds, emos, and outcasts. That’s just high school, right? But what if you could change that?

Like a reality version of The Breakfast Club, each episode of If You Really Knew Me takes place at a different high school, and follows five students from different cliques as they go through the life-changing experience of Challenge Day, a one-day program that breaks down the walls between cliques, and completely changes the way students view their school and each other. Watch the amazing transformation each week as new students open up for the first time and try to change by revealing who they really are, behind the cliques and the labels. Is it possible to change your life, and maybe even your high school, in one day? These students are going to find out… on If You Really Knew Me”

Well oddly enough my high school, Freedom High School, located in Oakley, CA a small town 80 miles east of San Mateo had a full episode dedicated to it.  So how does this issue relate to our class? One of the main topics was racism and segregation!  How can a small, former farming town who became a city in only 1999 have issues with racism?  The star athlete of the junior class goes on to describe  how all the black people hang out on the side of “senior hill”, all the white kids on top of “senior hill”, the mexicans hang out in front of the B office or more commonly known as “beaner wall” and all the asian kids hang out in another area.  At first I was shocked to hear this student call the B office the “beaner wall” and felt extremely frightful that once the episode aired he was going to get in a fight of those statements, but I quickly thought back to my days in high school from 2000-2004 and realized not much has changed.

Of course I never said any of the names this star athlete did, but realized that not much as changed.  The school was segregated then, and still is  7 1/2 years since I graduated.  It seems as if no matter where we go, what events happen in history, who becomes the brave one to speak out about this issue it is still happening.  In this issue I think those who were the braves ones are the students who decided to be profiled, along with several of my former teachers who decided that FHS would be a good candidate for the show.

Here is the link to the episode about Freedom High School featured on MTV’s “If You Really Knew Me”

http://www.mtv.com/videos/if-you-really-knew-me-ep-101-freedom-high-school/1644038/playlist.jhtml

As on the topic of racism and segregation I found the song Strange Fruit extremely disturbing.  After deciding to look up the lyrics, read them and think about them it became clearly evident that this was an issue was common in the South.  The lyrics that disturbed me the most were ;

Southern trees bear a strange fruit,

Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,

Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Interview link

class notes 10/7

soujourn- immigrants who came to work in america, but intended to go back to their home country.

remitten- the money immigrants saved to sent back home.

how did factories keep workers from created unions?- would have them work with other immigrants from other countries who spoke a different language so they couldn’t come up with a plan to over tern the factories.

jews- mostly ran the textile industry.