Mom’s Hand-Rolled Cookies 

The death of Dad on June 3, 1946, left Mom with the problem of taking care of five children, including myself, all under the age of 17 and living in a rented house.

Dad had passed on leaving no funds from life insurance. My oldest brother and sister found part time jobs but could not help Mom much. Jobs during 1945 and 1946 were hard to find, especially for women competing with thousands of GIs returning from the war. The situation was serious, but Mom kept fighting to keep us all home as opposed to an orphanage or relatives taking us in.

Mrs. Fishel, who lived next door to us, was a good and caring neighbor. She realized our bad financial situation and decided to help us. She spent hours teaching Mom how to bake Moravian cookies for profit. That fall and winter before Christmas, mom worked 10 to 12 hours a day hand-rolling cookies. Mom baked over 300 pounds of the delicious cookies. Mrs. Fishel helped mom find a used electric stove to replace our old kerosene stove for cookie baking. It was amazing how Mom could roll a ball of cookie dough into a sheet so thin.

I remember when coming home from school that first year, I could smell the aroma of Moravian cookies a block from the house.

The money from the cookies and money from social security helped pay the bills and keep our family together. Mom passed away in 2003 at the age of 97. Thank you so much, Mom, for teaching us to be strong and self-reliant.

Lee Dietz, Lexington, a member of EnergyUnited