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Pies Capture Hearts
Appears in
Published 1965
Pies have won their way into our culture—and our sentiments. You’ve heard a doting grandmother call a grandchild, “Sweetie Pie,” an expression of endearment. Husbands and wives use the same affectionate term. The lonely cowboy, returning from a long day in the saddle to the brightest spot on the cattle spread, the chuck wagon, called it the pie box.
Now, the chuck wagon is likely to be a pickup truck, complete with a bottled-gas stove, refrigerator and running water. The dishpan still is the “wreck pan” in which the workers at roundups stack their dishes after a meal. Canned goods are “airtights,” sweet syrups are “lick,” knives and forks are “artillery.” But the bread is usually the commercial loaf. Not the pies, though! They are baked on the spot. A New Mexico roundup helper puts it this way: “Freshly baked pies are the men’s favorite dessert. We demand them. And we hope for luck—occasional servings of fresh peach and berry pies.”