PA Dutch - Outten the Closet
In addition to crustaceans and extra-large mosquitoes, Maine is known for the iconic accent (Ayuh!) and pithy sayings (You Cahn’t Get They-ah From He-yeah) of its residents.
When I moved to Pennsylvania, I discovered Maine potato “fahmahs” and “lobstah-men” have a distant cousin here: The Pennsylvania Dutch. The Pennsylvania Dutch are as distinctive as “Maine-iacs” for their culture and cooking, but until I lived here, I knew little about the PA Dutch language.
Since becoming familiar with terms like “eat yourself full” and “ain’t not,” however, I discovered something about myself.
I am a closet Dutchie.
Though I’ve never said “Outten the light,” it seems I have a few Pennsylvania Dutch sayings of my own. The first was recently identified.
Over the past few months, a wonderful friend in Huff’s Church, PA has been teaching my daughter, Devan, how to blacksmith. When I offered to pay for some materials, Ed and his wife thanked me kindly, and refused.
Relating this kindness later to an acquaintance, I remarked “I’ll have to take them up a gift!”
“WHAT? What did you say?” He retorted. ” That’s about as Dutchie as you can get!”
His comment gave me pause.
Growing up on a river-front farm, our closest neighbors were other distant farms. The closest belonged to Mrs. Hoppe. I recalled her heavy accent, penchant for “tobogganing” (i.e. sledding) and field of Lupines (which she called Bluebonnets, also known as Quaker’s Bonnets), and realized I had grown up neighboring the Maine version of Pennsylvania Dutch culture.
This Maine/PA connection could explain why both states lay claim to inventing the delicious confection of chocolate cake with cream filling known as the Whoopie Pie. Recently, I was surprised to see Chow-Chow, a mix of chopped, pickled goodies, available for sale at the Allentown Farmer’s Market. My mother used to make that every year, and my grandfather used to layer it on that Morse family staple, hash (ugh), with abandon.
Forget the French Connection. I want to learn more about the Maine/Pennsylvania German connection. Though German blood is lacking in my veins, the culture is alive in my history, and my heart. It may explain why I’ve never felt homesick here.
