A little bit of History! The Dobbin House

Hello Everyone! This week I will provide you with an excerpt from pages 7 & 8, the Prelude Section from Whispers from Kith and Kin- Gettysburg Part One. The location is set in the oldest building in Gettysburg known as The Dobbin House. *** They spotted the restaurant, she declared, “It looks like it used to be an old house.” “Sure looks like it could have been,” replied Gerry. A female hostess greeted them, “Do you have reservations?” Gerry responded, “No, we are here for the first time, I might add, to visit the re-enactment of the Battle and our hotel suggested that your restaurant was the best establishment in the whole town and that you have the very best food in the State.” He smiled and asked politely, “Can you squeeze us in?” She smiled. She had heard that line before. “You are early, so we don’t really have a problem and since you are a visitor to town, I’ll take you to your table. How about via the first timer’s most favoured tour route?” “We will start by visiting the pub in the basement,” she coyly disclosed as she took the lead. They walked down the stairs and entered a dimly lit room with a large low open beam ceiling. It could well have been an old English pub. The hostess pointed out a partially covered, stone-constructed water well, at one corner of the room. The house was built right on top of an underground spring. It provided a source of water for the household. Quite a unique idea, huh? “A spring in one’s basement would be a very coveted home during the Civil War era.” “I’ll bet a cold cup of water during the heat of the fight could have been what the fight was all about,” said Gerry. “We are quite busy this time of the evening. Lots of people in town for the re-enactment,” noticed the hostess. They continued with the tour. The bubbling water flowing from the underground spring provided a restful ambiance to the otherwise busy business. They stopped for a moment, briefly contemplating what it must have been like in the war era. The hostess continued, “Now,” she motioned with one hand, “You’ll just walk part way up the backstairs and look to the left. You’ll see what is believed to be the first hiding place on the underground railway for runaway slaves, north of the Mason- Dixon line!” *** Shannon's Recipe Corner

This pie recipe was passed to me from my mother, Lois, via my grandmother, (Gram). It was one of her go-to deserts when the neighbors suddenly popped in for Sunday afternoon dinner. If you want a pie that is easy and sure to please, give it a try and let us know how it turned out! Coconut Cream Pie Ingredients: One baked and cooled 9” Pie shell 1 extra large egg 3 cups of whole milk or 1½ cups of whole milk and 1 ½ cups full fat coconut milk mixed 3 tbsp of white flour 3 tbsp corn starch ½ cup white sugar 1 cup of toasted coconut. Be prepared to divide up the cup into two portions 1 tsp vanilla 2 tbsp butter Whipped cream Method:Mix sugar, flour and corn starch together and whisk into the milk in a medium size sauce pan Add egg and whisk till blended Cook on medium low heat, stirring constantly till thick and bubbly Simmer for one minute Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter Cool slightly and add ¾ cup of the toasted coconut Pour into the pie shell and let cool When cool, top with whipped cream Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of coconut on top to decorate Variation: This recipe can be used for Banana Cream Pie. Omit the coconut milk and in place use 3 cups of whole milk. Add ½ tsp of Banana flavoring. When Pie filling has cooled for five minutes slice in three fresh bananas and pour into the baked shell. When cool top with the whipped cream.