Episode 58: German Roots, American Soil (Part 1)
Erika’s Old-World Childhood, Multi-Gen Living, Gardening, Canning, and the Roots She’s Passing Down
This week, Mark and Rachel sit down with a very special guest: Erika — Rachel’s mom and CJ’s grandma (Oma). Erika grew up in a small village in southwest Germany where almost everything was homegrown, home-baked, home-butchered, and home-preserved. In this warm, funny, and deeply nostalgic episode, she shares those old-world traditions and the ways they’ve carried into her modern life in Pennsylvania — including multi-generational living, gardening with CJ, preserving food, and creating a home built around family and service.
In this episode we talk about:
Growing up in southwest Germany
Life in the village of Atmohausen where everyone knew everyone — sometimes before you got home.
90% homegrown food: milk from the neighborhood milk house, sourdough from the village oven, vegetables from the garden, meat from family and neighbors.
Why food was precious after WWII and how the Cold War years shaped frugal, no-waste habits.
Sundays as true family days: stores closed, big hikes, and exploring the woods with her dad.
Multi-generational households — then and now
Living with grandparents, parents, and kids together under one roof, each with their own kitchen and living space.
How everyone pitched in: babysitting, nursing someone back to health, sharing meals, combining resources.
How Rachel and Mark have recreated that model today with their own multi-generational home — CJ upstairs, Oma and Opa downstairs, one shared laundry room, and lots of shared life.
Village camping, Red Cross trips & the ‘thunder log’
Summer trips with 50 village kids in old military tents with no floors.
Breakfast choices: jelly bread, liverwurst, or “go without.”
Downpours, floating air mattresses, and digging trenches in the middle of the night.
The infamous story of Erika’s dad being carried, asleep on his cot, into the lake at dawn — and calmly walking it back out.
Old-world butchering and food traditions
Helping her butcher uncle, learning nose-to-tail principles the old German way.
Why pig tails, cheeks, and snouts were delicacies — and why cow tongue is still one of her favorites.
School lunches of liverwurst and pickles on homemade bread and trading with “city kids” for factory-made white bread.
How Erika met John and came to America
The persistent American soldier who approached her at a train-station bistro.
Giving him a fake name — and how he still managed to find her.
Her father’s condition: he would fly to the U.S. with her, and if he didn’t approve, she’d be coming right back home.
Falling in love with central Pennsylvania, cowboy hats, and a new life far from home.
Early married life in Monterey, California, overlooking the bay while John served at Fort Ord.
Gardening: old-world skill, modern joy
Why cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce are her favorites — and why cabbage is her lifelong gardening nemesis.
Seed catalogs (especially heirlooms) as “a stroll through the candy store.”
Gardening organically, fighting weeds, and the success of using tarp between raised beds.
The special bond between Oma and CJ in the garden: picking seeds together, eating herbs straight off the plants, and spending hours outside together without screens.
Why gardening is for every age — from toddlers with trowels to grandparents with wisdom.
Quail, chickens, bees & rabbits
Raising meat rabbits as a child — and why she’s happy to eat rabbit now but won’t raise them again.
Backyard chickens, broody hens hatching quail eggs, and the daily “Easter egg hunt” of finding tiny speckled eggs.
The joys and frustrations of beekeeping and why they may try again in the future.
Canning and preserving the old-fashioned way
Why canning meat, vegetables, and broth is a deeply satisfying and practical tradition.
Deboning meat with purpose: saving certain cuts, preparing others for future meals.
Making rich bone broth the traditional way: roasting, simmering, straining, and pressure canning.
Why learning to preserve food is a skill Erika believes every generation should carry forward.
Passing on traditions to CJ
What Erika hopes CJ keeps with her for life:
Self-sufficiency paired with a servant’s heart
The courage to try new skills
Respect for tools, sharp knives, and her own capabilities
A love of gardening, canning, and homemade foods
German holiday traditions like Nikolaustag and Christmas Eve celebrations
Why investing time with kids when they’re small is the key to staying connected when they're older.
Next time…
This episode ends right before Erika begins telling stories about her brief but unforgettable experiences with hunting, alligators, and wild boar, plus how she became the quiet general of the deer-butchering crew.
Those stories — and the full deep dive into canning meat, raw-packing venison, and old-world food preservation — will kick off Episode 59.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at OutdoorRuhls.com
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