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Watertown Stuffed Geese
1906
Watertown Leader, 12 13 1909
Talk
about stuffed geese - well, the Leader
never saw stuffed geese until yesterday. Happening to go into the office of
Ex-Mayor Wertheimer, the head quarters of the stuffed geese trade, he was shown
the largest goose he ever saw. It weighed 34 pounds and netted the farmer who
brought it to market just $11.56. He also saw 60 geese which averaged 25 1/2
pounds which gives some idea of the value of the business. Mr. Wertheimer has
purchased thousands upon thousands of pounds of geese the past few days and the
end is not yet.
He
ships geese to about every city in the United States and is rushed to fill the
orders that pile in upon him. As has already been said in the Leader, few
realize the extent of the business and the large amount of money which it
brings to the farmers in the vicinity of Watertown. It is simply immense and
growing larger each year as the demand becomes greater.
The art of noodling geese, which many
years ago put Watertown on the map, has completely faded out of the picture
within the past several years. The last family in Watertown to carry on this
practice was Mr. and Mrs. Fred Rumler of
I
remember the Rumler family on North Church. I knew them causally as they were
members of my church. Their home went all the way down to the river and they
had their geese there. My grandmother
made Grieben Schmaltz (lard) from geese. (Contributed memory)
Watertown Daily Times, 12 22 1953
One hundred and sixty genuine Watertown
stuffed geese will find their way to market this Christmas. The entire supply of
160 birds is being provided by Fred Rumler of
Watertown Daily Times, 12 10 1954
The
famous Watertown stuffed goose - the genuine article, but less in number than
in any year since the art of stuffing geese - was carrying the name of
Watertown to New York again this Christmas season.
What was once a
flourishing business in Watertown and farms surrounding Watertown has dwindled
to one lone practitioner.
The only supply of
the famous stuffed geese will come from the Fred Rumler flock at
J. O. Brunelle of
Kerr's Poultry and Egg House at
Practically all of
the geese have been purchased by Luchow's famous German restaurant in New York
which has expressed a desire to take all it can get. But the available supply
is far below what the restaurant would take if it could get them.
Mrs.
Rumler was among the last practitioners of the art of stuffing geese, having
been taught by her parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. Charles Scheel, who prepared
stuffed geese for market for 25 years.
The Rumlers had been stuffing geese for 30 years, retiring from this
trade just a short time ago.
Years
ago when people visited large cities south or east of Chicago during the
poultry season, the eye would catch the sign, 'Watertown Stuffed
Geese." When traveling by train, on
the menu card of the diner would be found, "Watertown Goose.”
The
most prized part of stuffed geese has been the liver which becomes greatly
enlarged because of the “forced feeding."
It is used in pate defoie gras. The neck, feet and wings were used for making
dishes known as "Ganse Klein"
and the skin, which was toasted, was known as "Ganse Grieben.” This was a
favorite dish at Christmas time in wealthy Jewish households.
For
many years the late Fred Albrecht was the "Goose King" of this area,
being among the most successful and largest of raisers dealing in stuffed
geese.
The
geese that were raised and prepared for market in this area found their way to
tables of wealthy people in the east, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and other
eastern points which usually purchased the bulk of them. Commission men had a
difficult time supplying all the requirements. Orders were placed weeks and
even months in advance and some wealthy families had standing orders from year
to year to be certain of getting them.
After
1930, when the stuffing practice began to wane, some of the limited number of
stuffed geese were sent to a number of customers in California, among them
persons prominent in the motion picture industry.
The
principal reason for stopping the process was that the federal government would
no longer permit interstate shipment of the birds unless a government inspector
was present when they are slaughtered, Since there was never a central
slaughtering point for stuffed geese In Watertown, and since each farm family
which engaged in raising and preparing of the stuffed geese for market did its
own slaughtering, it would be impossible to engage an inspector for each one of
the farms.
However,
the decline began to set in prior to that time because preparing such geese for
market entails long hours and is most tedious work, and each year fewer and
fewer farmers engaged in raising them. Two and three generations ago families
were still willing to put in the time and effort but as their children grew up
and either left the farms or took over the farms, most were no longer willing
to do such work.
The William
Schmidt family, which was located on a farm southwest of Watertown, was also
active in stuffing geese. One year alone 130 geese were stuffed by the
Schmidts. Schmidt practiced the art of noodling geese for 30 years. The geese
in later years were prepared by his three sons, Edwin, Erwin and Rudolph.
The
art of noodling geese was brought to Johnson Creek and Watertown by a family
named Stiehm. Because most of the geese so prepared were marketed through
Watertown, this city acquired its name of "Goose City."
Back
in 1921, 50,000 pounds of stuffed geese were shipped from Watertown annually.
It is said that 10 years prior to that time shipments were three times as
great.
The
goose industry was highly specialized. Three breeds of geese were raised, Toulouse,
Emden and African. The Toulouse and African both had slate-colored backs and
white bodies. The Emden was pure white. The African differs from the Toulouse
in having a black bill.
Early
in the spring the largest eggs were selected and placed under hens for
incubation. Most of the goslings were hatched in April or early May. Clean
quarters and a pond in which to swim was provided.
Experienced
farmers carefully selected their stock and fed them all the corn they wanted
long before the stuffing season. They took every precaution to keep them
contented and tame and to teach them to feed from the hand. A few days before
starting the stuffing, the birds are handled frequently and become well
acquainted with those who are to feed them. The birds must be tame and used to
handling, as a vicious, timid or nervous fowl could not be fattened
successfully.
Throughout
the summer the young geese glean much of their own food from the pastures but
are fed a little mash and grain. About November 1st the larger geese are
selected and placed in stalls and sometimes in boxes, and the process of
forcible feeding is begun.
Only
males were used for stuffing because they are hardier than the females.
The
making of the noodles for the fattening process is the key. Three of four
grains, barley, rye and wheat are mixed into a paste that looks like
"putty." By the use of an old sausage stuffer or some hand-made
invention, this pastry substance is molded into strings about the size of small
wienerwursts, an inch in diameter and four inches in length. The noodle are cooked in a wash boiler,
drained by a boiler sieve, cooled by immersion in cold water to prevent
crumbling and then put into a cold place until ready for use.
All is
now ready for the feeding. With a bucket of noodles and a pail of hot water,
the farmer goes to the stalls. Sitting on a box, he takes a goose between his
legs and after dipping the noodles into the hot water holds the goose’s head in
one hand and with the other introduces the noodle into the fowl's mouth and
gently pushes it down. During the first few days three noodles are fed every
four hours. Some member of the family had to be awakened at night to attend to
the feeding. Two or three weeks later a goose would be able to eat from 30 to
36 noodles.
The
feeder wears heavy gloves to protect his hand from the razor sharp teeth which
line the goose's mouth.
The
goose helps by gulping, and then there is another, and so on until the goose is
full. The feeder knew when the goose was full because his neck was completely
filled with noodles, literally to the top of his throat. Occasionally a goose,
shaking his head violently, will toss out a noodle. A good long goose neck will
hold some seven or eight noodles weighing about a pound.
Feeding
the noodles to the geese makes them thirsty and gallons of water were drunk by
them. A 25 pound goose would drink two gallons daily. It requires from three
weeks to 25 days before the "stuffed" bird is “ripe” for killing.
After the second week the geese are too heavy to walk and sit near the drinking
trough until the next feeding.
Most
of these stuffed birds weigh from 25 to 35 pounds each when prepared for
market. Within a period of from three to 25 days they will have gained from 10
to 12 pounds in weight.
Preparing
the bird for market, also took a great deal of care.
A
sharp knife was inserted at the base of the bird's skull for the purpose of
execution. The feathers could not be removed from the tender skin by either
picking the feathers dry or removing them by scalding. The birds were placed in
cloths above a steaming boiler and kept there until the feathers would come off
without abrading the skin.
The
bodies are singed over by an alcohol flame and then hung up in a cool place
until the following morning, when they are ready to be packed in barrels or
boxes for shipment.
Because
of the value of the liver, these were often removed and placed in sealed glass
jars for shipment.
Over
the years, especially in the 1930s, various humane organizations condemned the
practice of “forced feeding" of such geese to produce the extra large
livers. For several years a California woman, having read about the stuffing of
geese here, wrote a letter to the Daily
Times each December condemning the practice and called for abolishing what
she called "the most inhuman thing.”
1907
12 17 But few realize that the livers of stuffed geese is a great delicacy
and eagerly sought for by epicures, and many will be surprised to learn that
livers weigh as much as 10 pounds each. Yesterday
Jacob Breunig, 210 North Sixth street, removed a liver from the carcass of a
goose that was of the weight above stated. Mr. Breunig is engaged in smoking the breasts
and hips of the geese, which find a ready sale at home and abroad at a good
price. The stuffed geese industry has
made Watertown famous from one end of the country to the other and the demand
continues to increase. WD [Breunig, Jacob
& Co, 1913, 314 E Main, delicatessen]
1916
11 24 Chas. Kerr of Watertown is paying 17 cents a
pound for geese, 18 cents for ducks and 27 cents for turkeys. Rush them along. WDT
12 08 The stuffed goose season is on, and near
Watertown and the big, fat birds will soon be placed on the market. The price this year is 4 cents above the
schedule; that is 4 cents per pound
above the weight of the goose. If, for
instance, a goose weighs 27 pounds the price is 31 cents per pound. In years past some farmers living in the
vicinity of Watertown have received as high as $1,000 for a flock of about 120 geese. The geese are fed on corn for a month or so
and then for three weeks before marketing are put in small pens and are
“stuffed” with boiled noodles several times each day. During the last week the goose is fed every
three hours day and night. WDT
1958
12 05 Some 200 genuine Watertown
stuffed geese readied by M/M Fred Rumler
WDT
1959
11 05 Uncle Sam has given
the expected "Dodo" bird treatment to Watertown's famed stuffed goose
and as a result the happiest woman in the United States today is probably the
one in California who year after year, about this time, has written a letter to
the editor of the Daily Times
inquiring when Watertown was going to give up "the barbaric and inhuman
practice of stuffing geese by forced feeding?" She abhorred goose stuffing and said so time
and time again. She opposed it because
she said it violated humane laws and she often expressed distress over the fact
that no humane society hereabouts had ever entered or expressed an objection or
called upon the law to step in. WDT
1960
01 21 Watertown's goose
noodling industry, already hard hit by recent rulings involving federal
inspections at the points of slaughter, today faced dire restrictions for the
1960 crop of Watertown geese, for 100 years or more a leading Christmas
delicacy in famous eating places and on private tables of wealthy individuals. Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson has
ruled that Watertown's famous geese cannot be exempt from federal
inspection. The issue had been put to
him by Congressman Robert W. Kastenmeier of Watertown. Kastenmeier had asked Benson to exempt
Watertown noodled or stuffed geese from the provisions of the 1957 poultry
products inspection act because farmers engaged in noodling geese and
processing them are not engaged in a regular commercial venture. WDT
1970
Local Stuffed Goose on
Display at Bank Here
Watertown Daily Times, 04 09
1970
An
attractive and unusual display of a genuine Watertown Stuffed Goose: has been
placed in the Merchant’s National Bank.
It is a joint project of Watertown’s Arts Council and Historical Society
in an effort to bring before the public a bit of this community’s early
history. On display with the immense 25
pound goose are also a cast model of its enlarged liver, four pounds, beside
that of a normal goose. Completing the
display is a sample of the “noodles” used in the forced feeding process and the
historical legend which reads:
Watertown
Stuffed Goose, found on the menus of gourmet restaurants across the nation,
derives its name from the highly specialized old-world vocation brought to the
Watertown area by German immigrants in the 1850’s.
The
geese, and especially their livers from which the delicacy Pate de foie gras is made, were developed to enormous size by a
stuffing process of forced feeding. A
patsy mixture of barley, rye and wheat, rolled in the form of noodles, was
forced down the fowl’s throat every four hours to hasten the fattening. Often a goose so treated would attain a
weight of 30 pounds with a four pound liver.
At the
height of the industry here, about 1920, 150,000 pounds of stuffed goose were
shipped from Watertown annually. Today
there remains only one grower, but the name “Watertown Stuffed Goose” endures.
Christmas
1968 marked the year this African-Toulouse goose was noodled especially for the
Watertown Historical Society and prepared under the auspices of the donor, the
Watertown Arts Council, for this exhibit of a by-gone industry which made this
community famous.
A
four-page detailed story is available at the Octagon House souvenir center.
The
display will be on view in the Merchant’s Bank until May 1 when it will be
returned to the Octagon House museum for the opening of the tour season there
from May 1 to Nov. 1.
Credit
for the project goes to Joseph Darcey, Arts Council board member who arranged
the display in the bank, and to Mrs. Ralph Ebert, arts council board member and
Historical Society lifetime member, who first saw the desirability of the
city’s acquiring such a unique and artistic testament of its heritage.
Mrs,
Ebert also made the arrangements in 1968 with Fred Rummler, Watertown, to
noodle the goose, Walter Pelzer, Milwaukee Museum taxidermist to mount it, and
the Watertown Arts Council to finance and donate it to the Historical
Society. The Merchant’s National Bank is
proud to have this display and invites the public to come view it.
The
earliest use of the word “gosling” when referring to Watertown
High School students is believed to be in the August 7, 1885 issue of the Watertown Gazette. “A raid by the Marshal on the steps of Union
School house No. 2 some evening about 9 o’clock would create a panic among the
young “goslings” which congregate there.
It has become quite a resort for young ladies and gentlemen of late
after dark.”
Among
the last evidence of Watertown's reign as America's goose capital comes from
its high school sports teams - the Watertown Goslings. The local radio station is “1580, The Goose”
and a popular polka band was known as “The Goosetown Dutchmen.”
Cross-References:
No.
1: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story on (11 26 1998) same topic
No.
2: Watertown Daily Times column on topic
No.
3: Watertown Daily Times column on topic [WHS_005_235]. Many of the orders were sent to William Beurhaus, 200 Main St., who
apparently handled the shipping and marketing for farmers.
No.
4: San Francisco Chronicle article, “Plagued by activists, foie
gras chef changes tune”
No. 5: In addition to its reputation for
stuffed geese, Watertown was famous as a national market for squab
No. 6: Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel story (08 21 2006) on foie
gras
No. 7: Hartig Goose Brand Beer. Cross reference to Hartig Brewery
No. 8: Rumler designed rope-making machine WDT
07 14 2008
Roasted Watertown Goose recipe
Foie gras removed from Puck
restaurants, AP, 03 23
2007
LOS
ANGELES - As part of a new initiative to fight animal cruelty, celebrity chef
Wolfgang Puck said he will no longer serve foie
gras, the fatty liver produced by overfeeding ducks and geese. Puck [14 fine-dining restaurants, more than
80 fast-casual eateries and 43 catering venues] worked with the Humane Society
on the new initiative. He said he wasn't responding to pressure from animal
welfare advocates, but instead believes the best-tasting food comes from
animals that have been treated humanely.
California has decided to ban the production and sale of foie gras starting in 2012. Chicago
imposed a ban last year, and bans are being promoted in Illinois, New Jersey
and New York.
