Pie bakers come through once more

My wife thinks I am a big suck over this home-made pie business. You see after my Trading Thoughts column of June 4 about the hunt for home-made pie and the regretful insights because the seniors at Eyebrow decided to quit making pies, the Eyebrow seniors have decided to make pies once more. The seniors had decided for many good reasons — loss in numbers, age and abilities — to stop making pies for community events at Eyebrow. However the July 7 Eyebrow Fair book went to print with information about the pie and dessert booth being run by the seniors. In an e-mail, Don Linton, president of the Eyebrow seniors, told me there will be home-made pies at the Eyebrow Fair this year. The seniors met recently and decided to bake pies for the fair because they had not told the fair committee about ending the pie baking. How nice of them to slave and sacrifice one more time at pie baking, simply because they forgot to tell the fair committee they no longer wanted or were able to bake pies. Who else would do that in these times? These folks come from a generation where your word is your bond. No matter that they did it last year and wanted to quit. They hadn’t told the fair committee and felt bound, not obligated, but bound to make the pies for one more fair. We could use more folks with their grit and character in these times when so many people find it easy to avoid their promises and obligations. I explained to my partner in life and wife that I am not a big suck. The Eyebrow seniors did this out of a need to fulfill an expectation of the fair committee and the community. I had no influence on the matter; therefore I am not a big suck, right? Now that the Eyebrow seniors have decided to make pies for the fair I am holding out hope for their delicious pies at the fowl supper. Now that does make me a big suck. Still on the home-made pie train, Francis Fritzsche sent me an e-mail: try Timothy Eaton Gardens in the afternoon. They had large pieces of apple pie for $3 plus $1 for coffee yesterday. And they had raisin and flapper pie too. The pies are made by seniors in the kitchen. I am a member of the association but don’t use the facility often enough. I guess that will change pretty soon. The seniors association down there will have a home-made pie auction during Sidewalk Days. Keep that marked in your calendar you home-made pie lovers. My wife is on my case too. She does bake pies, tasty ones too, but with two of us I eat more than my diet allows, so it is better to sample one piece at a community event. Yours Truly has associated Moose Jaw with homemade pies ever since attending my first fair here in 1968. Some of you may remember the line of church booths on the old fairgrounds about where the road between the mall parking lot and the Civic Centre is today. Most of them had mouth-watering home-made pies on sale. My partner and I still miss Suzie’s Pie Shop that was located on River Street West for a few years until the New Year’s Day fire in 2004. Suzie was going to rebuild but moved to Ontario — our loss, their gain. Looks to me from the comments I’ve had that some good pie baker could do a thriving business baking home-made pies in Moose Jaw.

Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net