St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-17
suRFMEN ARE GOOD COOKS
Men In the Government Life-sn wing
stations Along the Atlantic
Coast Live We'll.

Inc fctlrea SurInan was lIcHftu w
be talkative and after fil.i.,g his pipe
with a liberal supply of rough and
ready" and applying match to it he
said:
II often read about these chefs who
do the cooking for the miliionaires
and get enormous salaries. In my
opinion they get more than they are
really worth. for there are so many
Americans who could do the work as
well. To-day there is a small army
of men doing service in Uncle Sans
life-saving stations along the coast
who are the best of cooks. AS a rule
their knowledge of the culinary art is
not confined to the preparation alone
of plain dishes. but includes pastry
cooking and bread baking as well. L
know surfmen who would do credit
to any mans kitchen. l spent moro
than 90 years i'm the life-saving serv-
ice and have taken an active part in
feasts that were fit for the gods. In
more recent years ! have been guest
at some of the best hotels in the
cities of the east. ! have dined at the
homes of wealthy men who prided
themselves on the ability of their
high-salaried French and Italian chefs.
But for all that still know of men
in the life-saving service who could
discount some of th&x Sksfa
There are men in some of theoktn-
tions who have been cooking off and
on for a quarter. of century. They
have been aided by the knowledge Of
their mothers and grandmothers, and
there were and still are some mighty
good cooks in Jersey and old Virginia.
take II the world over, who are bet
ter ivers than the life-saving crews
of the government. They have n va
riety of food. and it is prepared ia
such a manner that one seldom hears
of a surfman having dyspepsia.
"At present there are seven surfmen
at each life-saving station. in addi-
tion to the captain or keeper. Every
man has to take his turn as cook ,x-
cept the captain. The same crews do
duty year after year, with seldom a
change. When one drops out through
old age or disability the new man
who fills the vacancy is supposed to
have some knowledge of cooking. As
rule. the additions to the crews have
had year or two of experience az
substitute surfmen, and during that
time they are drilled in the art of
meat, vegetable and pastry cooking
and bread baking. They take an in
terest in this part of the work, and
when they become regulars they are
well qualified to take their turn in the
kitchen. Each member of the crew
does his trick of one weeks cooking
and then has six weeks of. In this
manner each man has a chance to
demonstrate his ability as a caterer.
Each tries to outdo the other in max
ing his week one of gastronomic joy.
New and delicious dishes come along
quite frequently. Usually some wife,
sweetheart or mother has instructed
the cook how to prepare the dainty.
'As bread, pie and cake bakers the
surfmen have few equals. Through
force of circumstances they all be
come expert bakers. The stations are
generally in isolated places, far from
stores where bresd can be purchased.
They must depend on themselves for
their supply. And such bread! 1t is
none of the chaff, dosed with alum
and bad water, that is handed out in
many of the city bakeshops. It 10
white and fiaky, the kind that our
grandmothers and mothers baked and
sent to the country fairs to win pre-
miums. Delicious pies. puddings and
cakes are products of the life-saving
station kitchen stoves. AS game cooks
many of the men excel. Wild fowl are
ever plentiful in the waters along the
coast, and there is hardly a day passes
during the fall. winter and spring
months that does not find ducks.
geese or some kind of snipe on the
bill of fare. The men who
shoot the game know how to prepare
it. At nearly all seasons Of the year
fish of dozen varieties are plentiful.
''There are no better fed men in the
than the life-saving crews.
The cost of all the good food they eat
is small. Every article purchased for
table use is accounted for in day
book and at the end of each month
the amount expended is divided into
eight shares. and each man, the cap
tain included, pays his portion, which
rarely amounts to a sum exceeding
eight dollars man."
II tell you on eight dollars a month
the surfmen live better than the av-
erape man does IN SS0 N " Cun