Canning…. it’s not just for Grandma anymore. A 2011 survey by Jarden Home Brands found that the fastest-growing population of new home canners are ages 40 years and younger and live in suburban areas.

Nationally and in Kansas, interest in locally-grown foods and home food preservation is on the rise. Those who preserve food at home often get the foods from their own gardens or at local farmers markets. In Kansas, farmers markets have grown from 26 to 1987 to more than 108 in 2016, and that number is expected to continue to rise.

According to the National Gardening Association (2014), the number of US households participating in food gardening increased by 17% in the 5 years from 2008 to 2013. A survey released in June 2016 by Jarden Home Brands found that 77% of gardeners– 33% of whom are Millennials– preserve food at home because they want to eat foods at their seasonal peak freshness year round.

Despite the interest in preserving fresh, local food for their families, young home canners of the “internet generation” may be misled by unreliable canning information found online. In an age when anyone can post anything, it is important to learn safe canning procedures from a reliable source, because canning mistakes can be deadly.
The Ellis County Extension Office will host a Basic Canning workshop on Monday, November 7, 5:30-9:00 p.m., at the Hays High School FCS room. This hands-on workshop will teach the proper procedures for safely canning vegetables in a pressure canner and fruit in a boiling water bath canner.

The $10 registration fee includes a simple supper and door prizes. Participants will take home a jar of each product at the conclusion of the class. Instructors are Extension agents Linda Beech, Ellis County, Karen Shepard, Graham County, and Anna Schremmer, Phillips-Rooks District.

A minimum of 10 and maximum of 21 participants are allowed in the Basic Canning Class, so pre-register and pay fees at the Ellis County Extension Office, 785-628-9430, 601 Main Street in Hays. Registration is considered complete when fees are paid.

Food science experts at K-State Research and Extension offer these additional tips for safe home canning:

* Follow a recipe from a reliable source. Canning instructions from USDA, Extension or university sources are tested and trustworthy. Recipes from manufacturers of canning products have been tested by food science professionals who understand how ingredients in canning recipes interact. Be cautious of online canning information from sites where recipes are posted by individuals and not verified for accuracy or safety. Just because a canning recipe is printed somewhere does not guarantee safety.

* Follow tested canning recipes precisely. Variables such as ingredient proportions, cooking time, jar size and other factors impact food safety and these cannot be changed without risking an unsafe final product.

* Seal all canned products with proper processing in a boiling water bath canner or pressure canner as required for the type of food. Old-fashioned treatments such as inverting jars, oven canning or sealing in the sun do not stand up to modern food safety testing and are not recommended.

* Adjust processing at higher altitudes. Foods preserved above sea level require longer processing in the boiling water bath canner and higher pressure in the pressure canner to ensure safety. Since most Ellis County locations are at an elevation of about 2000 ft, make sure your recipe includes canning instructions for higher altitude adjustments.

For more information on safe and reliable home canning or to register for the Basic Canning workshop on November 7, contact the Ellis County Extension Office at 601 Main Street in Hays, 785-628-9430.

Linda K. Beech is Ellis County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.

By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

“If only those tombstones could talk….”  Have you ever had that thought while visiting a cemetery? Today we’ll meet a rural community which is giving a voice to fascinating histories of the past.

Karen Sturm is tourism coordinator for the chamber of commerce in Caldwell. This is a volunteer position, as was her time spent as president of the local historical society.

“I’ve always loved history,” Karen said. As a child, she enjoyed reading historical books.  Karen grew up at Caldwell and married a farmer. They have two sons and four granddaughters.

Caldwell is located near the Oklahoma border. It played a significant role in the 1893 Cherokee Strip Land Rush into Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. In 1990, the community of Caldwell began a three-year process to prepare for the centennial of the land rush.  Karen stepped in to help with this celebration and learned much more about the fascinating history of Caldwell.

“It revitalized our town,” Karen said. Volunteers helped put up signs and improved the downtown area. In one vacant lot which had grown up in weeds, the lot was cleaned up and landscaped, a shelter was built and historical markers were added. It is now Heritage Park.

Caldwell had been nicknamed the Border Queen, positioned as it was along the Oklahoma line. It was a wild, wide open Cowtown in the days of the cattle drives along the Chisholm Trail. Being a lawman in Caldwell was nearly impossible. For example:  Between 1879 and 1885, the town went through 16 marshals.

Violence was rampant. Outlaws were buried in Caldwell’s boot hill, and a cemetery was begun northwest of town.

As volunteers prepared for the land rush centennial in 1993, they wanted to find an engaging way to share the fascinating true stories of people from Caldwell’s past. They thought about a cemetery tour and then thought of having people in period costumes who would tell the stories in person while depicting the deceased. The activity was so popular it has continued ever since.

“Talking Tombstones” is the name of this program, consisting of volunteers in costume sharing their stories at the cemetery. For example, a cowboy with a rifle stood next to his gravestone and told of being killed in a cow camp shootout. Other volunteers might depict a successful lady of the evening, an early day lawman who was shot in the line of duty, the common law wife of a man who was hung at the stockyards, or a pioneer undertaker. (The local mortician plays that one.) Karen herself portrays the widow of Caldwell’s first marshal.

“This has become our most requested activity,” Karen said. It’s performed for bus tours, school groups, and more. That’s a creative idea for a rural community like Caldwell, population 1,264 people. Now, that’s rural.

More than 20 historical markers mark the downtown streets, describing historic buildings and true stories of wild shootouts and more. These signs are entirely funded by private donations and local businesses.

In 1995, the town erected giant steel silhouettes south of town, depicting a longhorn cattle drive of yesteryear. The school’s art teacher and students created the design.  Local welders built it. The rural telephone company, Kan-Okla, used its big equipment to mount the silhouettes in the ground. A local cement company poured concrete. Caldwell now conducts an annual Chisholm Trail Festival each May.

In 2002, the town’s old opera house was going to be condemned and razed. “The historical society bought the building for the back taxes,” Karen said. In four years, the opera house was beautifully restored. It hosts various community events. Near the opera house, a beautiful metal arch on two massive limestone pillars was built in 2011.

All of these activities are conducted by volunteers. “Our local businesses have been very supportive of letting people take time to do these things,” Karen said. For community information, see www.caldwellkansas.com
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“If only those tombstones could talk…”  Caldwell has found a way to give these tombstones an actual voice. We commend Karen Sturm and all those involved with the Talking Tombstones for making a difference by bringing history to life.