Minnie Louise Wiggers Kuhlenschmidt

Minnie was the third girl in her family and money was tight.  When her sisters had asked for money for bride clothes, there was none available.  Minnie planned ahead.  She went to her father and said she needed a new blouse for church.  Church was not a frivolous activity.   In the E & R tradition one dresses one's best to show your respect to God.  Her father came up with money for her to purchase material for a blouse and some lace to decorate it.  On August 24, 1911, Minnie went with Fred Kuhlenschmidt to the parsonage of Zion Evangelical Church in Elberfeld, Indiana and were married quietly in the current, local tradition.  The wedding picture was not taken the day of the wedding, but as was also the custom, was taken at a later time.

Minnie Louise Wiggers and Frederick William Kuhlenschmidt celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary on August 27, 1961.  It was a two day celebration with a family gathering on the evening of August 24 and recognition during and after church services at Zion United Church of Christ (formerly Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church) in Campbell Township, Warrick County, Indiana.

The couple lived their entire married lives in Campbell Township, Warrick County, Indiana.

Memories from various relatives.
Granddaughter Sally: "I remember her as a thin, quiet, strong woman.  I remember her creamed corn and canned vegetables.  I remember a loud family meal around a wooden table loaded with lots of food."
Niece: Florence Winternheimer: "Uncle Fritz and Aunt Minnie were awfully nice people.  They always encouraged people to eat when they would come to visit.  Aunt Minnie would bake cookies, but her specialty was pies. "
Daughter-in-law: Norma Kuhlenschmidt: "My mother-in-law would make pies.  Her best was the gooseberry pie.  No one else has ever made one that tasted as good as hers and that recipe is lost."
Son, Virgil Kuhlenschmidt: My dad's favorite pies were cherry pies made by my mother."

"I joined a Junior Girl Scout troop in the spring of 1964.  One of the first badges I worked on was a cooking badge and one of its requirements was to collect a certain number of family recipes.  I do not know if these were original with Minnie Wiggers Kuhlenschmidt or if they were from another family member or clipped from a magazine, but they are the two I found in the old Girl Scout recipe box with her name on them. - Eden Kuhlenschmidt

Recipe 1: Apple Cake
1 cup brown sugar                     1 cup white sugar                    2 sticks butter (melted)
2 eggs                                      2 teaspoons vanilla                 1 cup
2 cups flour                               1 teaspoon soda                     1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup nuts                                 1 cup apples  (cut up and cooked)

Mix sugar, butter, and the eggs together. Mix flour, cinnamon, and soda into the mixture. Add apples, nuts, and vanilla.  Bake at 350 degrees for fifteen minutes and then batke at 275 degrees until done. 
(The last baking temperatures were added by Norma Koch Kuhlenschmidt to adapt the recipe to an electric stove, Grandmother Minnie Wiggers Kuhlenschmidt only baked on a wood stove).

Grandmother Minnie Louise Kuhlenschmidt passed away approximately four months after she gave me these recipes - and I do wish she had given me her cherry and gooseberry pie recipes.  I think, in her eyes, I was too young yet to have the patience to learn the art of pie making. The recipe is not in the order one would find in a modern recipe book. You must read through it ahead of time to locate and prepare all of the ingredients.  It is reproduced in the order Grandmother dictated to me." Eden Kuhlenschmidt

German Chocolate Cake
Mix: 1 cup shortening
2 1/2 cups of sifted cake flour or 2 1/4 cups of sifted regular flour
1 cup sugar            1/2 tablespoon soda               4 egg yolks   1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tablespoon salt  (add to batter after the other ingredients are mixed well) .

1 package chocolate (crush it) in pan, pour 1/2 cup water over it. Heat until melted. Stir in the above batter.  Beat 4 egg whites until stiff and fold in the batter. 
Bake at 350 degrees until done.     
Frosting
1 1/2 cups sugar             3 egg yolks     butter       large can evaporated milk
Cook until thick, then add 1 cup of coconut.