EXLINE — As of Tuesday afternoon, it officially became summer, with the longest day of the year. It is hard to believe that now, just as summer is beginning, the days will begin to get shorter, so by August it will be getting darker a lot earlier than it does now.

Here is this week’s recipe.

 

Grilled Potatoes

 

Ingredients:

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch slices

1/2 stick melted butter

1 small chopped onion (optional)

 

In a small bowl, mix the salt, black pepper and garlic powder together and set aside.

Preheat grill. Peel and slice the potatoes, then boil them in water for six minutes, until slightly cooked but raw in center. Strain potatoes in a colander. Place potato slices on a large piece of double thick aluminum foil. Pour the melted butter over the potatoes.

Evenly add the chopped onion pieces over the top of the potatoes then, sprinkle them with the seasoning mixture.

Seal tightly in the aluminum foil and place them on the grill over a medium heat. Grill the potatoes for about 15 minutes or so, until they are tender in the middle   then, remove them from the grill carefully.

You may make another batch of seasoning if desired and sprinkle another coating of that, on top of the potatoes before serving.

 

When grilling, a lot of people still prefer using charcoal instead of a gas grill. Have you every wondered how the charcoal briquettes  came into use?

A man named Ellsworth B.A. Zwoyer of Pennsylvania applied for a patent in 1897. No one knows how he came up with the ides of making the briquettes.

Since inventing them, Mr.  Zwoyer was actually selling his charcoal briquettes for years and by the end of World War I, he began to build manufacturing plants to produce briquettes across the United States under the name of the Zwoyer Fuel Company. One of these early plants was located in Buffalo, N.Y.

It was alleged that Henry Ford, of Model T car fame, stole Zwoyer’s idea for the briquettes. Sometimes, Henry Ford is credited for coming up with the idea of the charcoal briquette but it was Ellsworth B.A. Zwoyer, who held the original patent for the idea and there are no records indicating that Zwoyer implemented any legal action against Ford for capitalizing on his invention.

Ford then came up with a use for the scraps of wood and saw dust that were left over from making his Model T automobiles.

By the 1920s, with the help of his friend, the famous inventor Thomas Edison, Ford began to popularize the use of briquettes.

When Ford began selling his briquettes, his brother-in-law, E.G. Kingsford, began his own company called the Kingsford Company and began producing some of them for Ford.

Eventually Ford decided to stick with the car business and his brother-in-law began to produce the briquettes under the name of Kingsford Charcoal. He then began to mass produce them and commercialize their production.

Today, Kingsford Charcoal is one of the leading producers of charcoal briquettes in the country.

Marge and Murl Hatfield went on a bus trip with the 18-80 Club in Centerville recently. They traveled to Kansas City, Mo.

During their trip, they visited the Steamboat Arabia museum, where the cargo of a riverboat on its way to the gold fields in the 1850s sunk, after hitting a snag in the Missouri River. The location of that boat was found and its contents were dug up and preserved for viewing at the museum. It is located at the old Farmer’s Market near the river.

While they were down that way, the group went to other places, including the World War I museum and ate at the Gate’s Bar-B-Q place before returning home.

On Tuesday evening, an informational program was held at the Exline Community Center. The group known as Iowans Down Wind sponsored the event with guest speaker Terry Spence from Putnum County making the presentation.

The meeting focused on how large corporate agricultural companies are influencing government policy and laws eroding away the rights of concerned local citizens to have a voice in keeping control of the environment in which they live, both on a state and federal level.

He also related how some cattle producers are beginning to promote direct processing and sale of the their federally inspected meet, fresh from the farm to the public.

A nice gathering of interested area residents were in attendance for the meeting and the supper that was served, before the speakers’ presentation.

The 4th of July holiday is fast approaching and the Exline Betterment Committee would like everyone to know that pies are wanted for the pie contest on the 4th. If you are interested in entering a pie for the contest you need to have your pie to the Exline Community Center by 11 a.m. on Monday, July 4. Judging begins at 11:30 a.m.

If you are considering performing during the open microphone time  that begins at 12 p.m., you can just show up with your instrument and perform. You don’t have to register.

If you are interested in placing a quilt in the quilt show, you will need to bring your quilt into the Exline Old Country Store a few days before July 4th at 10 a.m. If you have questions or need further information, you may call the store at (641) 658-2399. The quilts will be put on display in the town’s museum the day of the celebration.

Also, if you plan to participate in the car show that begins at 10 a.m., or go on the poker run that begins at 1 p.m., there’s no need to register for those events either.

If any vendors are interested in reserving a spot for a booth in the flea market, space is still available. These spots are free. For more information, contact Penny at (641) 658-2399.

The activities that will be held all day are the car and motorcycle shows, the quilt show, along with a gas engine display, the flea market and a Civil War encampment along with a food court that will be available for food and drinks throughout the day. The Exline Hose Company No. 1 Museum will also be open for touring all day.

Come early and plan to stay all day and don’t forget to bring your lawn chairs with you.  

The day’s activities will conclude with the fireworks at dusk. We hope to see you there!