Old-Fashioned Hospitality

Not long ago with a conversation with a gentleman, the topic came up about how if you happen to stop in to visit with someone, they will insist you join them for lunch or supper. I made the comment that that is just the way it is where we live.

Years ago, there was a man who lived in Wolf Point and made his living traveling around a large area selling Fuller Brush products. One day when he stopped by our farm, it was close to time for lunch. It so happened I had a ham and sweet potatoes in the oven. I told him we’d have lunch and then I’d place an order with him. As we were eating, he said he told his wife not to pack him a lunch that day as he was going to be in the North Country and he knew he’d have a lunch invitation.

A feed salesman came by our farm about 15 minutes before lunch. Since I didn’t have enough leftovers for three people, I put together a casserole I’d developed using canned beef and rice. For a bit after sitting down to eat, I wasn’t sure even the casserole would feed the three of us. The salesman commented there was no better food to be had than that served on the farms and ranches in the area.

Still another example is that of an insurance salesman who happened to stop by just as I was finishing up my baking day. We went over the information he had for us. Just before we finished up, I had to take caramel rolls out of the oven. He asked if he could have one, saying his mother had always made caramel rolls. He went on to tell me his mother had passed away shortly after he was married and he hadn’t had homemade caramel rolls since ----, a period of 30 years.

In visiting with other women, I hear many of the same types of stories of people who will insist you join them for a meal, of how guests who will sing the praises of your cooking and even ask if you would share your recipe for a certain food, or how, if they discover you live alone, will package up leftovers for you to take home for your supper.

When I came here to meet my husband’s parents for the first time and future neighbors, no matter where we went, the invitation to have a meal or coffee and homemade treats was extended. Good old-fashioned hospitality still exists where we live. And for that I’m very grateful. It shows the goodness of people’s hearts, the concern and compassion they have for others, the kindness that exists in abundance.