Bean Hole Beans
Some Bean-making Recollections
Susan Nason,
Howland, Maine:
We have bean-hole beans every weekend during the summer. During the
winter it is harder because the ground is frozen. Grammie and Grampi
Reed have a bean hole at home in Howland, and also one at camp. The
holes were built by the family. It is very important that the hole
be made correctly. The hole they have is lined, bottom and sides,
with slabs of sandstone. The hole itself is tapered. It is about 18
inches in diameter at the bottom, and about two and a half feet at
the top. It is about 21/2 to 3 feet deep. After use, the hole is
filled with ashes and then covered with a round tin on top, to keep
it clean and dry.
Grammie Reed is responsible for making the beans. “No one else
encroaches on her territory. The hole is at her house and at her
camp.” About 10 am on Saturday Grammie starts telling Grampie that
it is time to start on the beans. He ignores her for awhile and she
nags about it. It is all part of the ritual.
After awhile the guys usually go fishing. They bring back some wood
with them. An old apple tree works really well. Grampie then digs
out the hole. No one else is allowed to because they might ruin the
hole. The hole and fire are tended entirely by the men, whereas
Grammie is the only one allowed to work on the beans themselves.
When the men get back, they all work together to build the fire. It
is necessary to have a roaring fire in order to get a great bed of
coals. They keep adding wood and letting it burn for several hours,
usually between 2 or 4 Saturday afternoon. If it is rainy it takes
longer to get a good bed of coals. Grampie has a special shovel that
he uses only for digging out the hole. He made it to be the right
shape.
When the hole is ready Grampie digs out the coals into a pile.
Grammie than brings the beans out. Grampie lowers them in to the
hole with a special hook that he made, then he shovels the coals
back into the hole. An aluminum tin that looks like a barbeque grill
is put over the top. No dirt is added to the hole . The beans are
usually started between 4 and 5 p.m.. If they are not in the ground
by 6 p.m. Grammie gets upset-- “They won't be done in time for
breakfast.”
After the hole is filled in, the hole is just left alone. The men
and younger women may sit around the hole and chit-chat by the fire.
The warmth from the fire feels good. The older women go in and fix
supper. I'm still young enough that I can sit by the fire (in her
twenties).
“Feeding people is a big thing. Parents feed kids. Grandparents feed
parents and kids.”
Grammie does the beans. She starts soaking them on Friday night.
They soak all night. Then she puts them on the wood stove with the
morning fire and brings them to a boil. “So she tells me-- I've
never seen them.” Her recipe is 2 pounds of yellow-eye beans, fresh
water, chunk of salt pork, salt and pepper and mustard powder. No
onions or sweeteners are added. “I think she puts molasses in but
she says she doesn't.”
Strange, but when Grammie tells me how she makes beans, she never
gives any amounts. Also, she will not allow anyone else in the
kitchen with her when she does beans. If she says she is going to
fix beans and someone goes in to visit her, she just won't do the
beans. She's really possessive of the recipe.
The bean pot is a cast iron Dutch oven with a cover that holds 6
quarts.
Camp etiquette is very rigid. Camp consists of several individual
camps that, although they are separate buildings, are very close
together. Camp etiquette requires that no one uses the outhouse
until Grammie and Grampie have gone up. If you get up early and need
to use it, you just have to use the chamber pot. Lots of times we
will get up and sit by the window and have coffee, while we wait for
Grammie and Grampie, but we don't go outside.
Sunday morning Grammie and Grampie go to the bean hole. He digs it
up. She supervises. She is very concerned that he will do something
wrong and “ruin [my] beans-- don't hurt my beans!” He lifts them up
with a hook. Grammie uses newspapers to carry the pot to her camp.
She doesn't use potholders because they would get dirty. They used
to dig the beans up between 8 and 9 a.m., but now she doesn't
usually have them until about 10 a.m. [due to younger generation
sleeping later]
Grammie goes outside and calls out “I've got beans for everyone!”
Then someone from each camp goes over to Grammy's camp with a
container. It is essential that you bring your own container. If you
don't have one, then Grammie won't give you any beans. Grammie
doesn't believe in allowing anyone to borrow from her. You never eat
at her house, except sometimes if she has a pie and invites you.
Otherwise, you take your beans and eat them at home.
You always tell Grammie that the beans are good, unless she says
something negative first. Occasionally they don't turn out very
good. Then, if she comments on that fact first, it is all right to
say that they aren't as good as usual. The men tend to say something
negative before the women would. Although her son would probably be
the first to criticize the beans, Grampie would never say anything
against them.
Leftovers go home with each family in their own containers. In the
winter Grammie uses the same recipe but the beans are cooked in the
oven. She does the boiling on the wood stove, then puts them in the
gas oven to bake. She doesn't care how much the fuel costs to cook
them,--its worth it to her.
She said the way of distributing the beans helps keep peace at camp,
and exercises a certain amount of control over everyone.
Back to Bean Hole Beans
Recollections
