Persimmon Bread: A Recipe and the Story Behind It
by John F. Belshe
Ozark County Deer Hunting I
 After Oz Hawksley bought the 97 acres he owned in Ozark County, he invited some friends to go deer hunting there. The property was south of the blacktop road on the ridge above Zanoni, Missouri on the west side of Pine Creek. Zanoni had a water- driven mill and a general store with the post office at that time. The top-shot mill wheel still worked and the owner would demonstrate it on request. The top-shot mill is rather unique because most of the old water wheels at mills in the Ozark are under-shot by being suspended above a spring run, creek, or are powered by water released under the wheel from a low dam. The water for the Zanoni Mill is supplied by water issuing from a spring from a cave well above the mill and is carried to the mill in elevated wooden races. The power from the wheel had been used for grinding grain and also for an overall factory.
Since the time of this story, Zanoni Post Office and store has moved west, adjacent to the highway, the old property sold, a new house added and a spring-fed lake formed in the creek bottom.
The first group to go hunting on Oz's Place consisted of Bill Grimes, Harry Savery and myself. We were novice but enthusiastic and hardy deer hunters. We saw deer and Harry's shot at a deer was the highlight of the long weekend. Most of our other sightings were glimpses of "deer flags" waving at us through the woods. After doing our homework on deer hunting in Missouri, we decided we needed "deer stands," which are platforms built in trees where a hunter can perch and wait for the deer to come to him.
I told Dad about Harry's and my plans to go down and build some deer stands in the woods at Oz's Place before deer season, and he volunteered to go with us. Oz gave permission and also told us we could use some of the scrap rough-sawed oak lumber removed during renovation of the old house on his property.
Dad drove to Warrensburg and we drove to Zanoni. Harry joined us at Oz's Place late on Friday afternoon in October. We had time to look at the lumber supply and discuss where we wanted to put our deer stands. We made a few repairs to the primitive Two-holer Tepee Facility in the persimmon grove west of the house, and discovered how difficult it was to drive a nail in the old dried oak lumber. [No, I have no idea why two holes are needed in a “facility.” I have never seen both used at the same time.] We decided on a stand in a large scarlet oak [Big Oak Tree or Pond Stand ] west of the small pond adjacent to the lane to the house, a stand between two scarlet oak trees above an old car frame north of the old barn [Car Stand] and a stand high between two trees overlooking a glade [Glade Stand] to the south of an old county road south west of the house.
"What are you going to do with the bacon grease, John?" Dad asked as we were cleaning up after breakfast on Saturday morning.
"Probably burn it with our 'dishes'."
"Don't do that yet, I'll find a container for it. I think we may need it later."
I had no idea what Dad planned for the grease. We gathered what we thought we would need for the Big Oak Tree stand and carried it to the tree. After studying the tree carefully and deciding on a design, we cut some boards to nail to the tree for a ladder up to the first large limbs to be used for the platform. Harry selected a piece of two by four about 18 inches long and said, "Hold this for me, John, and I'll see if I can nail it as the first step" as he got a couple of 16 penny nails from his pocket.
"Does this look about the right height?" I asked as I held the piece against the area where we had used the axe to remove some of the outer bark to make a flat place.
"I think so, let's try it there," Harry said, as he bent to nail the board in place. About the third hard blow with the hammer and he said, "Boy that oak is hard, I've already bent the first nail." Harry straightened up and took the board so he could remove the nail. He tried again with a similar result and the nail was not half way through the board, let alone into the tree.
Dad said, "Let me give it a try." I held the board in place and Dad drove the nail through the two-by-four and into the tree. He followed it with another.
Harry exclaimed, "How'd you do that Sherman? I thought we were going to need a drill for those old oak boards."
"I greased the nails with the bacon grease left from breakfast. Just a trick I learned a long time ago."
"Well, pass the grease and we'll build a deer stand or two today."
It took us a couple of hours to build the Oak Tree stand. Dad and I cut boards and Harry did most of the “greasy nail” driving. It had been decided he would be using the stand. We took a break about 10:00 and Dad had another surprise.
Harry and I rummaged through packs and came up with some candy bars and soft drinks but Dad brought out a one pound coffee can and his thermos of coffee. He removed the lid of the coffee can and when he tipped it upside down a loaf of dark bread slid out. "I made this from the recipe on a can of pumpkin. I'll cut off some slices," Dad said as he got out his pocket knife and started cutting a slice about a quarter inch thick from the end of the loaf. I didn't ask what he had last used the knife for but knew that, whatever it was, he had “cleaned the blade” by wiping each side along the leg of his overalls just behind the pliers pocket.
"That's good, what is it?" Harry asked, after sampling the dark tan moist bread.
"It was labeled Pumpkin Bread. I substituted black walnuts for the pecans it called for."
"I think I can handle another piece of that, Dad,” I requested, after finishing the first slice.
We spent some time clearing limbs from around the new stand so Harry would have a better view of the adjacent area. We carried our tools and leftover lumber back toward the house.
We took a load of lumber we thought we would need down to the location of the Old Car stand and built it before we had lunch. It was much easier to nail boards to the two trees for a ladder and the stand was a stand-up only affair with a small platform between the trees.
After a late lunch we selected some more lumber and spent most of the afternoon building a stand between two white oak trees high above the ground. We had to trim some branches from a couple of nearby cedar trees on the up-hill side of the glade. The stand took longer because it was farther away and higher in the trees. It was nail-a-step and stand-on-it to nail another up to where we built the platform. The high stand had a good view but swayed in a strong breeze. We had more Pumpkin Bread at our afternoon break and everyone was able to drive greased nails.
For the next several years I took at least two coffee-can loaves of Persimmon Bread made with persimmon puree instead of pumpkin to our hunting week-ends at Oz's Place. Everyone was given slices for their snacks while hunting and the loaves were always available. I don't recall ever getting home with any of the Persimmon Bread.
Persimmon Puree
I wait until after a hard frost before sampling the persimmons so I know I will get ripe ones. Anyone who has ever sampled a green persimmon can tell you why they prefer someone else sample them first. Our horses love the persimmons and will bite on the trees to get the fruit to fall, but they will eat green persimmons.
It is a slow business to hand-pick persimmons and climbing the tree or using a ladder shakes the ripe persimmons from the tree. Easier methods are to spread canvas, plastic, or a drop cloth in the back of my wood hauling trailer and simply back into each tree or spread the cloths under a tree and shake it. The persimmons are dumped from the cloth to a clean plastic bucket.
I add water and remove any sticks or debris. If necessary, the calyx is removed from each fruit, the cleaned fruits are placed in and forced through a ricer. The puree from the ricer is usually frozen for later use.
PUMPKIN/PERSIMMON BREAD
3 cups sugar 3 1/2 cups flour
2 cups cooked pumpkin or fresh persimmon puree
1 cup nuts, chopped coarse 1 cup oil 4 eggs
2/3 cup water 2 t baking soda 1 t cinnamon
1/2 t allspice 1 t nutmeg 1 1/2 t salt
Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl until well blended.
Start oven and set temperature at 350 degrees F.
Pour batter into four one-pound coffee cans; fill each can between 1/2 to 2/3 full. Or divide batter into two loaf pans.
Bake for one hour or until done.
This bread can be frozen for several months if necessary. I prefer black walnuts, but other nuts can be used. Persimmon puree may be used fresh or kept frozen for up to a year. Persimmons are usually ready after the first hard frost and may be available well into the winter. I have modified the spice mixture from the original recipe.
John F. Belshe is a member of the Warrensburg Writers Circle. His work appears in
Water and Rock, Mid-America Press 2005).
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