Monday, November 28, 2011

Memories of the Farm

On Thanksgiving Day this year I wore my Moody’s Diner tee-shirt in honor of the passing of my cousin Diane, who passed away early that morning. (See “A Tale of Twin Cousins”). Her mother and father, my Aunt Frederica and Uncle Carl Hilton, also spent a lot of time at the diner. As senior citizens they used to eat lunch there every day.

I spent many hours there with them and with Diane myself. As adults we met there when I came home because it was half-way between where I was staying in the Rockland area and where she lived in Bremen.

When Diane retired, she returned to the farm in Bremen, buying it from her folks. Diane lived in the main house with her husband, Lee, and Aunt Freda and Uncle Carl lived in the bungalow, also on the property.

The farmhouse itself is over 200 years old. The salt water farm is on Rt. 32. If you take a sharp left off Rt. 1 in Waldoboro at the light just before Moody’s and follow Rt. 32, you will come upon Bremen. The property extends to the Medomak River on the lower end of the property.

As I “googled” Bremen to write this story, I happened upon a slide show of Bremen that Diane made which is on photobucket. She dearly loved her home town. You can access it by going to either:
or
www.tidewater.net/~bremen/  This is the Bremen home page.  Just hit the slide show link at the end of the story. See the separate blog about Bremen itself.

Following are some of my memories of being on the farm with Diane and Mary Sue and sometimes my sister, Sally. We were a foursome as Diane and I were the same age, and Mary Sue and Sally four and five years younger, respectively.

There was once a store attached to the house, which the Hilton’s ran for many years. They also had an ancient gas pump where local people sometimes gassed up. It was great staying on the farm with your own personal candy and ice cream store just on the other side of the glass- paned door that went into the kitchen of the main house. I think we kids must have eaten up most of their profits.

On the top floor of the store, where they stored supplies etc. there was also an old pinball machine. Uncle Carl rigged it so that we didn’t have to put money in it in order to play. Diane and I used to play with that thing by the hours.

When Diane built her own modern house and attached it to the kitchen of the farmhouse, she had the store actually picked up and moved over the house to the other side.

The Hiltons were active in town business. Carl was a selectman for many years and eventually became a state representative. Freda did a lot of the town’s paper work. I believe she was either treasurer or tax collector or both at one time. I can see the big dining room table stacked high with paper work during tax time.

What was fun was the fact that Carl was also a justice-of-the-peace and as such could marry people. I remember the day when I was visiting and a young couple came to the kitchen door (the door used as access, generally,) to be married. They were very young, probably in their teens. I don’t think he married them at that moment, but I do remember him asking them some pertinent questions. One of them I believe was, “Do your parents know you are getting married?”

Some of my fondest and most memorable memories of the farm concerns hay. Uncle Carl used to “hay” his own fields and also helped to “hay” his neighbor’s fields. He didn’t bail his hay, so that meant he needed some feet to tramp it as he went along. That chore generally fell to Diane and me, a chore we enjoyed very much. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that you sometimes came upon a big spider while you were tramping.

One day, we went with Uncle Carl to a neighbor’s field. Uncle Carl forked the hay into this loft, which Diane and I were tramping. All of a sudden I dropped about six or eight feet. Come to find out there was a hole in the loft floor that went down into the pig sty. There were no pigs in attendance at that time, but I sure was surprised. I think I blacked out for a minute, but recovered quickly. It was a shock more than anything.

Other memories of hay include the search Diane and I sometimes went on in the hay loft of their farm hunting for new farm kittens we could hear mewing. I had a lot of fun with the farm kittens as I was never allowed to have a pet at home in Rockland.

Other memories I have of the farm involve food and fresh fruit and vegetables fresh right out of the ground. Strawberries, string beans, peas, corn and blueberries to name a few. Aunt Freda was a wonderful cook and those strawberries sure tasted good when she make homemade shortcake and real whipped cream to go on top. We kids were employed to pick strawberries. I think we ate more than we picked though. Aunt Freda used to have a stand beside the road to sell them.

She also made the best bread, rolls, and specialty breads. At one time later on, she was a pastry cook at one of the local restaurants in the area. I don’t think she even knew what a “box mix” was.

I remember the breakfast she made for Uncle Carl before he went to work the fields. Oftentimes it was homemade beans and biscuits, coffee, and the “cream” that came off the top of the milk when he put his milk cow’s milk through the separator.

We kids had a lot of places to roam on the farm. We didn’t go down as far as the water very often because there was “quicksand” of a kind down there. There were also woods on the property and a natural spring which supplies water to the farm. We spent many happy hours roaming the farm and skating in the gravel pit which froze over with trapped water in the winter.

We also worked. Diane could drive the tractor by the time she was twelve. I loved riding on that thing. We also raked blueberries and picked vegetables and I remember one year when I helped plant pumpkin and squash seeds with Diane.

Uncle Carl also had a farm hand at times in the person of a man called “Charlie.” Charlie had somehow literally lost his tongue so that it was hard understanding his speech.  He lived down the road a ways from the farm. However, he was a good worker and you would see him walking up to the farm to work.

We also got to go swimming over at Biscay. We usually ended up at the ice cream store in Round Pond after we got through swimming.

There is also a one-room schoolhouse on the property which was owned by the family. Diane went to school there as a child. I even got to go once when I was visiting on a school holiday. I got a big kick out of seeing all the classes in one room. The building was not used after a while and eventually my Uncle Carl helped make it into a living space for Mary Sue. She lives there today.

Now Diane’s house, the farmhouse, and the bungalow stand empty. Her husband Lee is ill and may not return to the farm. She didn’t have any children. Diane had begun to restore the farmhouse. Most recently she redid the oak floor in the dining room. She had also repaired the roof and removed the front porch which had become dangerous to walk or stand on. We used to sit out there of a summer evening with Uncle Carl and Aunt Freda and Uncle Carl would point out all the constellations to us, which you could see clearly out there in the country.

Whatever happens to the farm from here on in, I hope it is used and doesn’t become an “abandoned” farm statistic. Some of the land is being used as an experimental farm by a nice couple Diane let use the land. I’m sure Mary Sue will keep a good eye on everything.

The picture below was taken at my folk’s 25th wedding anniversary in 1955. This is the “FAB FOUR” all dressed up for the occasion. From the left standing in front of the fireplace at the Fulton Street house, are: Mary Sue, Diane, Me, and Sally. Sally and Mary Sue are wearing the dresses Diane and I wore at her sister, Cynthia’s wedding. We were flower girls. Diane and I are wearing the gowns we wore at Rainbow Girls in Rockland.


As my sister said recently, “and then there were three.”

Thanks for listening.

Note: If you would like to read other blogs where Diane; the farm; and our lives together are mentioned, see the archives for: “Thanksgiving Dinner To Go,” Nov. 2010; “Snow Pictures from the Farm in Bremen,” January, 2011; “The Last Day of February,” Feb., 2011; “Kissin’ Kousins,” March, 2011; “Mechawana,” July, 2011; and “A Tale of Twin Cousins,” November, 2011.

Visit Bremen, Maine


 From the Bremen, Maine Home Page



Bremen is a small coastal town in Lincoln County, Maine. It is located on the eastern side of the Pemaquid Peninsula, facing the Medomak River and Muscongus Bay. Once part of Bristol, it became incorporated on February 19, 1828.

The town has a total area of 27.4 square miles, of which 16.5 square miles is land and 10.9 square miles is water. According to the 2000 census, Bremen has a year-round population of 782, which increases extensively in the summer. Two ponds, Webber and McCurdy, lie entirely within Bremen; two others, Pemaquid and Biscay, form the town’s western boundary.

Several large islands lie just offshore in the Medomak River and Muscongus Bay, including Bremen Long Island and Hog Island, home of the nationally known Audubon Camp and Todd Wildlife Sanctuary.

The main industry in town is centered on the coastal waterfront, primarily lobstering and clamming. The town is also home to several small businesses and cottage industries. The Bremen landscape is primarily forested, with occasional fields offering spectacular views of ponds and coastal waters.

Children in Bremen attend the Great Salt Bay School in Damariscotta and, generally, Lincoln Academy in Newcastle. The town has a Library, a Church, a Post Office and a Volunteer Fire Department. The old Bremen Town Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places. Bremen retains the town meeting form of government.

To see pictures of beautiful Bremen, Maine, view the Bremen slideshow.

Slideshow: http://s288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/dianeoc/BeautifulBremen
Or www.tidewater.net~bremen/ which is the Bremen Home Page and hit the Bremen slideshow link at the bottom.



History

The Hilton name is mentioned as being founders of this area.

Abenaki tribes once summered on Keene Neck, hunting shellfish and leaving behind shell middens. The area was settled as part of Bristol in 1735 by William Hilton from Plymouth, Massachusetts. Driven off by Indians during the French and Indian Wars, he returned after the 1745 Battle of Louisburg. In May of 1755, Hilton and his three sons were ambushed by Indians while getting out of a boat, mortally wounding the father and killing his namesake.

Settled largely by German immigrants, it developed as a farming and fishing community. On February 19, 1828, the town was set off and incorporated, named after Bremen, Germany. Lobstering, clamming and tourism remain important industries.
Todd  Audubon Sanctuary
Located six miles southeast of Damariscotta on Muscongus Bay, Todd Audubon Sanctuary includes a 30-acre mainland parcel as well as 330-acre Hog Island, located a quarter-mile offshore and home to National Audubon's Hog Island Audubon Camp.

Please note that there are no public ferries to Hog Island. Visitors are allowed to beach small vessels on the island, but be advised that there are no public boat launches on the mainland. Hog Island itself is best enjoyed through annual summer ornithology camps for adults, teens, and families. Get more information, or download registration forms, at projectpuffin.org.

Trails

Enjoy this area best by walking one of these trails.

Hockomock Point Trail (1 mile)

Beginning at the visitor’s center, the Hockomock Point Trail is an easy, one-hour interpretive walk through meadows, woods—including spruce and red oak—and along granite ledges, stone walls and the shore of Muscongus Bay.

Pinetree Trail (.5 mile)

Beginning just below the pond on the road to the boathouse, the Pine Tree Trail is an easy 25-minute interpretive walk that traverses a meadow and winds through a hardwood forest dotted with several large white pine trees.

Meadow Trail (.5 mile)

Beginning below the visitor’s center by the trailhead of the Hockomock Point Trail, the gentle, picturesque Meadow Trail reveals superb stands of milkweed—which attract monarch butterflies—as well as abundant insect life and other botanical interests.

Hog Island Trail (3 miles)

Visitors by boat may walk the three-mile trail around the perimeter of Hog Island.


Hockomock Point Trail Map



A self-guided nature trail through woods and fields and along the shore. The trail passes an example of an Indian shell midden. People of the Abnaki Tribe summered on Keene Neck, digging shellfish and depositing the shells in heaps. The Audubon Ecology Camp has dug into one of these heaps, exposing layers of clamshells that date from the years before European colonization. General location: Keene Neck south of Waldoboro in Bremen, Lincoln County.



Friday, November 25, 2011

Twin Cousins Photo Album

These are pictures of my "twin" cousin and I. See "A Tale of Twin Cousins."

Diane and I with our mothers, ages 8 & 9 months. Diane with her mother, Frederica Hilton on the left; Me with my mother, Evangeline. I believe this was taken on the farm in Bremen.
December 1941.


Also on the farm, December 1941.
I'm on the left this time. I was always the sourpuss.


I believe this is Diane at the farm. We had matching outfits of this ensemble. I think that swing was tied up to the tree next to the house. Behind her is a shed with a metal roof which is now gone. Also, behind that is the one-room schoolhouse where Diane went to school. It has been converted to a living establishment which her sister, Mary Sue, now lives in.



An early school picture of Diane. The words say
 "Meet the Future Miss America."


Diane on the left this time. I don't know how old we were here, but we were obviously infants. I think that is a Buick behind us.

Me on the left, Diane on the right at our Great Aunt May's house at Crescent Beach in Ash Point. She always had such beautiful roses. That porch goes on three sides of the house. I think we were sucking on popsicles or something.Summer of 1944.

Diane on the left, me on the right with our cousin, Arthur, on Cranberry Island, Summer, 1944, at home of my Aunt Ruth, Arthur's mother. He has also passed away.


Diane's big sister, Cynthia. Diane on the right. On the farm.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Festival of Lights in Rockland



This year's Festival of Lights celebration in Rockland takes place November 25-27. Below is the schedule. To be prepared for events, remember to:

1. Make reservations for the Jungle Bell Express, call 596-6725.
2. Plan your carriage ride through the downtown area. You can board the carriage at the Key Bank. See the Festival Schedule.
3. If you are interested, be sure to buy one of 300 raffle tickets for 100 lobster traps used in the lobster trap tree above for $50. For sale at Brooks Trap Mill, Hamilton Marine, and Camden National Bank.
4. Bid on a "Kids Wreath" for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Midcoast Maine. Info at 593-0380.
5. Plan on attending the Festival of Lights Crafts Fair on Nov. 26 at the Samoset. For info, 596-0376 or 236-4404.

Rockland Festival of Lights Schedule

Friday, November 25
Noon: Santa arrives by Coast Guard boat at Middle
Pier/Buoy Park. Sponsored by O’Hara Corp.
Noon-5 p.m. Breakwater Vineyards — Celebrate
with wine and cheese tastings.
12:30 to 3 p.m.: Santa at his workshop (corner
of Main and Park streets). Sponsored by Kinney
Rentals & MLW, LLC.
12:30 to 4 p.m.: Free Horse-Drawn Carriage
Rides (leaving from driveway next to Rustica
on Main Street). Sponsored by local businesses.
3 p.m. Gingerbread Houses on Main Street.
View Gingerbread Houses all weekend in
store windows. Sponsored by The First.
4:30 to 7 p.m.: Bids for Kids Wreath Auction;
50 wreaths on display at Camden National
Bank (Rockland) to benefit Big Brothers Big
Sisters of Midcoast Maine.
6 p.m.: Lobster Trap Tree Lighting Ceremony,
at Mildred Merrill Park (Main and Myrtle sts.).
Santa arrives by All Aboard Trolley. Cocoa and
cookies served. Sponsored by Camden National
Bank. Tent and tables by Wallace Tent.

Saturday, November 26
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: The Annual Festival of Lights
Craft Fair at the Samoset Resort; $3 (therealmaine.
com).
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Share the Wonder Holiday
Celebration at the Farnsworth Art Museum;
Frogtown Mountain puppet shows, horsedrawn
carriage rides, holiday cookie decorating,
live music and gifts. FREE
11 a.m.: Arrival of Shopping Train, Maine Eastern
Railroad, from Brunswick.
Noon to 3 p.m.: Santa will be at his workshop.
Sponsored by Maine Lobster Fest. Committee.
Noon to 4 p.m.: Free Horse-Drawn Carriage
Rides (leaving from driveway next to Rustica
on Main Street).
1 to 5 p.m.: Historic Inns and Friends of the
Rockland Public Library Holiday Open House
and Festival of Trees Silent Auction; Selfguided
tours of five Historic Inns & decorated
homes, ending at 4 p.m. The Festival of Trees
Silent Auction at the Rockland Public Library
follows, refreshments served. $10.
2-3:30 p.m.: Reading Corner Book Signings; Steve
Powell with Patch Scratching, Tracy Lord with
Good Catch and Jim Nichols with Hull Creek.
6 to 8 p.m.: Festival of Lights Parade with a
NEW Parade Route for 2011: Parade Route
is Main Street between Park & Summer
streets. Stay on Main Street as the parade
doubles-back and parks on Main Street!
Bring your canned goods to vote for People’s
Choice Award. Main Street Cocoa Station
donations benefit local nonprofits. Parade
sponsored by The Free Press and Rockland
Main Street, Inc.

Sunday, November 27
9 to 11 a.m.: Family Pancake Breakfast with
Santa at TradeWinds Motor Inn: $2 Kids, $5
Adults. Sponsored by TradeWinds and Eastern
Tire, served by Camden National Bank employees
to benefit Rockland Main Street, Inc.

During the Month of December. . .

Friday, December 2
11 a.m.-6 p.m.: The Creatorium at Lincoln Street
Center for the Arts; Over 30 vendors. FREE
4:30, 6 & 7:30 p.m.: Kiwanis Jingle Bell Express
Train. FMI and Reservations, 596-6725.
5-8 p.m.: First Friday Celebration Arts in Rockland,
Holiday Open House, Gallery Openings.
6:30 to 7 p.m.: Bids for Kids Wreath Live Auction
at Camden National Bank’s Rockland
branch on Main Street.

Saturday, December 3
All Day: The Apprenticeshop-Toboggan
Building Workshop; produce a 2- to 4- person
toboggan. Cost is $265 for a family or
small group, all materials included. Repeated
December 4.
9-4: The Creatorium at Lincoln Street Center
for the Arts; Over 30 vendors. FREE
4:30, 6 & 7:30 p.m.: Kiwanis Jingle Bell Express
Train. FMI and Reservations, 596-6725.
10:30 a.m.-5 p.m.: Farnsworth Museum, Children’s
Holiday Films. “Rudolph the Red-
Nosed Reindeer” and “A Charlie Brown
Christmas.” FREE
1 pm.: Farnsworth Museum, Togus: A Coon Cat
Finds a Home Book Signing. Local author,
illustrator and real live Togus.

Saturdays, December 3, 10 and 17
Noon-3 p.m.: Santa will be at his Workshop.
Sponsored by Maine Lobster Fest. Committee.
Noon-4 p.m.: Free Horse Drawn Carriage
Rides (leaving from driveway next to Rustica
on Main Street).

Sunday, December 4
11:30 a.m.: Polar Air Mail Express & Holiday
Concert at Owls Head Transportation Museum.
FREE
3 p.m.: Farnsworth Museum, The Penobscot
Bay Ringers Bell Choir will perform.

Thursday, December 8
4 p.m.: Farnsworth Wyeth Center, Camden
Hills Regional High School Women’s Choir
& Chamber Singers

Friday, December 9
3-4:30 p.m.: Reading Corner Book Signings,
John Bird with Rockland Maine’s Tidal Turn,
James Witherell with L.L. Bean, Andrew
Vietze with Becoming Teddy Roosevelt
8 p.m.: The Strand, Eilen

The Lost Holiday


The Lost Holiday

By Sandra Sylvester


Christmas poems abound in newspapers, children’s books, and pageants.
Christmas tales are told again and again
Through words and music and TV networks.
…but wait just a communications minute
What happened to THANKSGIVING!

Maybe it’s the time of year that interferes
We count our blessings as we sit down to eat.
But when we get up from our feast … HO HO HO
It’s Christmas already.

I doubt if our Pilgrim fathers were thinking
Of what to get Auntie Sue for Christmas
As they struggled to put food on their tables
And wrapped furs around themselves to keep warm.

Today we are wrapped up in ourselves.
The turkey soup and sandwiches don’t
Last long enough.
As we scurry from one party to another.
As we run from one store to the next.

The Thanksgiving table can’t get cleared soon enough
So that we can decorate for Christmas.
Thanksgiving blessings forgotten
We rush to make December 25 perfect
For our families and our friends.

What would happen if say
There was one less present under the tree
And we gave it to someone in need instead?
Can we pause just a second or two
To thank our founding fathers
For making it possible
To have holidays at all?

Think about those Indians long ago
Who didn’t necessarily want us around.
We gave them a lot to grieve about.
Including measles, chicken pox and the flu.

Pray for their ancestors who tell a different tale.
Keep them in your hearts as you celebrate
THANKSGIVING!

Thanksgiving Poems


Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday of November, is when families come together for a big dinner, football, and fun.

There are many “harvest festivals” included in the history of man. Many of these festivals had religious connections. Where different cultures celebrated the harvest and the land, we have come away from that. Our Thanksgiving has evolved from a “harvest festival” to a day of feasting and family gatherings. We celebrate the many “abundant” harvests we have been blessed with, including our families.

We should give “Thanksgiving” every day. Even if you don't believe in a "higher power" you can think of the many farmers and farm workers that labor so that we always have something for our tables. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Please enjoy these Thanksgiving Day poems.

Day Of Rejoicing

Oh, how sweet to be together
When Thanksgiving Day is here;
Kinfolk come and cousins gather
Filling every nook with cheer;
When Turkey has been roasting
Since before the dawn of day
And the dinner time is scheduled
Many slow-paced hours away.
Older cousins carry dishes
As excitement builds and grows,
Everybody, even youngsters,
To the very minute knows
When the call will come to dinner
And they'll line up, hushed, to stand
As Father asks a blessing
On the goodness of the land,
Blessing on the home's provider,
And the gentle one whose art
Served such a sumptuous banquet
From the goodness of her heart.

Don Hoover

Have a happy thanksgiving 2011!
As you join with your family and friends on this day,
Please include the less fortunate in your thoughts as you pray!

There are many among us who have no holiday fare,
In every corner of the world, there are homeless out there!

Perhaps, due to circumstances and through no fault of their own,
They now find themselves hungry, destitute and oh so alone!

In whatever prayer of thanks you offer; no matter what words you say,
Please add this simple verse - help someone else find their way!

"Lord, help me to help those who have nothing to celebrate today;
To make their lives better, please show me the way!"

If you put "self" aside each day for a moment or two,
Show compassion for others, you'll be amazed at the good you can do!

And, next year when you gather to give thanks once again,
You can say...

"Thanks for helping me make a difference Lord......
thank you Amen!"
By Rita


The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers

Felicia Hemans

The breaking waves dashed high
On a stern and rock-bound coast,
And the woods, against a stormy sky,
Their giant branches tossed;

And the heavy night hung dark
The hills and waters o’er,
When a band of exiles moored their bark
On the wild New England shore.

Not as the conqueror comes,
They, the true-hearted, came;
Nor with the roll of stirring drums,
And the trumpet that sings of fame;

Not as the flying come
In silence and in fear,
They shook the depths of the desert’s gloom
With their hymns of lofty cheer.

Amidst the storm they sang,
And the stars heard, and the sea;
And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang
To the anthem of the free!

A History of Thanksgiving




I received this view of the Thanksgiving holiday from a newsletter I get regularly.

A History of Thanksgiving
How Early Settlers, Explorers Celebrated
At the University of Florida, historians argue that the earliest attested thanksgiving celebration, in what became the U.S., was celebrated by the Spanish on Sept. 8, 1565 in what is now St. Augustine, Fla.
Some historians say the first celebration in the U.S. was in Virginia. Thanksgiving services were held there as early as 1607.
A day of thanksgiving was codified in the founding charter of Berkeley Hundred Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia in 1619. Others say the first Thanksgiving was on Berkeley Plantation on the James River in 1609.
According to the History Network, the first celebration in the New World may have been at San Elizario, near the present-day city of El Paso. In 1598, it was celebrated by a weary group of Spanish explorers, led by Juan de Onate, who had just completed a long trek across the Mexican desert to the banks of the Rio Grande River.
The traditional story of Thanksgiving focuses on the Pilgrims at Plymouth in their first small harvest in the autumn of 1621. Their numbers diminished by half, 53 Pilgrims celebrated their modest harvest with a company of 90 Indians. Both Pilgrims and Indians had suffered mightily during the previous winter of disease and starvation.
At the end of the day the idea is still the same. Giving thanks for our bountiful harvest, our health and each other.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Stuffing Recipes



Thanksgiving stuffing recipe suggestions from the Food Network

How to make stuffing:

1. Cook vegetables, fruits, herbs and/or meat in butter, then add broth.
 2. Toss with beaten eggs and cubed bread.
3. Transfer to a buttered baking dish and dot with butter or drippings. Bake, covered, at 375 degrees F, 30 minutes; uncover and bake until golden, about 30 more minutes (or cook the cooled stuffing in the turkey).
Yield: Each recipe serves 8 and is enough to fill a 12-14 pound turkey.
1. Classic Melt 1 stick butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cups each diced onions and celery and 1 tablespoon each minced sage and thyme; add salt and pepper and cook 5 minutes. Add 3 cups turkey or chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Beat 2 eggs with 1/4 cup chopped parsley in a large bowl; add 16 cups cubed stale white bread, then pour in the vegetable-broth mixture and toss. Transfer to a buttered baking dish and dot with butter. Cover and bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees F; uncover and bake until golden, 30 more minutes. (Or stuff in your turkey and bake.)

2. Apple-Herb Make Classic Stuffing (No. 1), cooking 2 chopped apples with the onions.

3. Cranberry-Apple Make Classic Stuffing (No. 1), cooking 2 chopped apples and 1 cup dried cranberries with the onions.

4. Cranberry-Nut Make Classic Stuffing (No. 1), cooking 2 chopped pears and 1 cup dried cranberries with the onions. Toss in 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans with the bread.

5. Apricot-Hazelnut Make Classic Stuffing (No. 1) with chopped leeks instead of onions. Toss in 1 1/2 cups diced dried apricots and 1 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts with the bread.

6. Caramelized Onion Make Classic Stuffing (No. 1), tossing in 2 cups caramelized onions and 3/4 cup grated parmesan with the bread. Top with more parmesan before baking.

7. Bourbon-Pecan Make Classic Stuffing (No. 1), adding 2 chopped pears, 1 cup chopped pecans and 1/2 cup bourbon to the cooked vegetables; simmer 2 minutes before adding the broth.

8. Potato Bread Make Classic Stuffing (No. 1) with cubed potato bread instead of white bread.

9. Apple-Fennel Make Classic Stuffing (No. 1) with potato bread. Use diced fennel bulb instead of celery. Cook 1 cup each chopped apples and dried cranberries with the onions and fennel.

10. Oyster Make Classic Stuffing (No. 1) with potato bread. Add 1 tablespoon Old Bay instead of sage; add 1/4 cup dry vermouth and 1/2 cup oyster juice with the broth. Toss in 1 pound shucked oysters with the bread.