Sarsaparilla & c
The summer of 1975 saw me (as an English seminarian in between my Junior and Senior years) helping to organize Vacation Church Schools in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts. (It's a long story, but that summer ministry eventually led to my coming to the U.S.A. in 1976 and serving parishes here since).
Together with seven other students I spent a week of training at the former Camp Bement in Charlton Depot, MA. At the end of that week the American students took me to a bar in Worcester, MA with the aim of getting me drunk on Tequila. They failed!
Then a team of four of us began our summer programme, beginning at St. James Church in Greenfield, MA.
Tequila pshaw. What I lusted for was a Root Beer. In England I had read about it in the "Peanuts" cartoon, but I had never tasted it.
My trusty companions took me to an A & W roadside stand (remember those!) on Route 2 in Greenfield.
There I savoured a Root Beer in a Frosty Mug. 'Twas great!
---------------------------------------------------------------
There are various root based drinks which owe their origins to Africa and to Native America (Root Beer, Birch Beer, Sarsaparilla).
There was a time when folks brewed their own root based drinks (my 93 years old friend Betty recalls that her dad used to do so - together with alcoholic beer in prohibition days).
Now the stuff we can buy is mostly made with artificial flavours - not good.
I thought that Sarsaparilla was a thing of the past until I bought some in our local Mennonite Farm store.
It's OK, but it is not great. I won't be standing in line to buy more.
N.B.
I had no idea that the word had that first "R" (Sars). I thought that the drink was called Sassparilla. Is it a silent R, or have I been mis-pronouncing the word?
One source said that Sarsaparilla is (or was) popular in the east end of London.
Together with seven other students I spent a week of training at the former Camp Bement in Charlton Depot, MA. At the end of that week the American students took me to a bar in Worcester, MA with the aim of getting me drunk on Tequila. They failed!
Then a team of four of us began our summer programme, beginning at St. James Church in Greenfield, MA.
Tequila pshaw. What I lusted for was a Root Beer. In England I had read about it in the "Peanuts" cartoon, but I had never tasted it.
My trusty companions took me to an A & W roadside stand (remember those!) on Route 2 in Greenfield.
 |
| Not the Greenfield stand, but you get the idea. |
---------------------------------------------------------------
There are various root based drinks which owe their origins to Africa and to Native America (Root Beer, Birch Beer, Sarsaparilla).
There was a time when folks brewed their own root based drinks (my 93 years old friend Betty recalls that her dad used to do so - together with alcoholic beer in prohibition days).
Now the stuff we can buy is mostly made with artificial flavours - not good.
I thought that Sarsaparilla was a thing of the past until I bought some in our local Mennonite Farm store.
 |
| Brewed or concocted in Pennsylvania. |
It's OK, but it is not great. I won't be standing in line to buy more.
N.B.
I had no idea that the word had that first "R" (Sars). I thought that the drink was called Sassparilla. Is it a silent R, or have I been mis-pronouncing the word?
One source said that Sarsaparilla is (or was) popular in the east end of London.
Comments
Post a Comment