Renaissance Senior Living of Hilldale Resident, Jerry Apps, Featured on PBS Wisconsin, Showcasing Published Family Cookbook

Jerry Apps and daughter, Susan Apps-Bodilly, share memories and stories centered on family recipes from the Great Depression and World War II on PBS Wisconsin. 

(MADISON, Wisc.) — Renaissance Senior Living of Hilldale, a premier assisted living and memory care facility, was treated to a special viewing on PBS Wisconsin when one of their residents, Jerry Apps, was featured in Jerry Apps: Food & Memories. Jerry, having appeared on PBS Wisconsin six times over the years, is an endearing and engaging storyteller and writer who, on this occasion, shared stories from his cookbook based on his mother, Eleanor Apps’, recipe box and the role she played as a farm wife.    

Jerry and his daughter, Susan, stumbled into the idea of writing a family cookbook, accompanied with stories, when Apps found his mother’s recipe box after she had passed away. Jerry notes that he “saw stories as he looked at those recipes” as many old memories resurfaced. This fortunate find eventually turned into an idea, and after enlisting Susan to help “translate” the recipes into modern measurements, the Apps compiled a book of recipes and stories published as Old Farm Country Cookbook: Recipes, Menus, and Memories in 2017. The cookbook follows the growing seasons of their farm during Jerry’s childhood, which coincided with the Great Depression and WWII. Much of what Jerry wrote and shared on PBS Wisconsin is high praise of his mother’s ingenuity, skill, business acumen, wisdom, hard work and love as she navigated a young family through difficult and desperate time.  

The kitchen, Eleanor’s domain, was the headquarters of the household. According to Jerry, it was not only where all the food was made, it was also where all the decisions were made. “The kitchen was the warmest, the friendliest, and where the most important stuff would happen,” Jerry recalls. Eleanor spent the majority of her day in the kitchen with her apron made from a recycled feed sack and her wood burning stove. She would not only be cooking up meals for the day, but canning in preparation for the winter months. Jerry recalls his mother canning on her hot stove in the heat of summer, and never once complaining, because it was essential to their survival in the winter months.  

Food was central to life, not only to their own family unit, but it was also always present in community gatherings. The women of the community would constantly be sharing recipes, feeding laborers and hosting community events. Weddings, births, funerals and holidays were all accompanied with potluck feasts. Jerry describes how important food was to these events and how it expressed love between neighbors.  

“Food brought us together. Food created community.  And for a community to exist, one has to know the neighbor in depth. There’s no better way of knowing the neighbor than working aside of them, sharing a story with them, and sharing a piece of bread with them,” Jerry concludes.  

Today, Jerry lives in community at Renaissance Senior Living of Hilldale, still sharing memories, writing and planning for future appearances on PBS Wisconsin. Head over to https://www.pbs.org/video/jerry-apps-food-memories-wdvyrj/ to watch Jerry’s episode.