Preserving

My first recollection of the farm on Domino Lane was different from what it was later. The area between our house and the upper house (Aunt Rose's) was full of peach trees, and in the summer, these trees were so loaded with fruit that the limbs had to be propped up to keep them from breaking under the weight of the peaches. Mom used to can them for use over the winter. Preserving she called it. We children would often help to skin and cut up the fruit. A whole bushel or so of peaches would be put in the wooden washtub and covered with boiling water for a minute or two. This would loosen the skins. We also followed the same procedure with tomatoes and in the fall there were a couple hundred mason jars full of different foods for the winter. They were usually kept in the cellar of the upper house.