Marj Barnett – In a Pickle or a Jam
Marj Barnett has been a member since Hay Cottage opened and shudders to think of the hundreds and hundreds of bottles of jams and pickles she has made in that time. She has been our spokesperson on several TV shows highlighting the Cottage and Dayboro. Marj Barnett has been a member since Hay Cottage opened and shudders to think of the hundreds and hundreds of bottles of jams and pickles she has made in that time. She has been our spokesperson on several TV shows highlighting the Cottage and Dayboro.
Marj’s first memory would have been when she was about 5 years old bottling fruit with the family. She was the youngest of 5 children and as she had the smallest hands she was set to work pushing the fruit to the bottom of the bottles. All the family would congregate around the kitchen table – peeling and slicing the fruit.
Her first piece of fancy work was completed at the age of 9 with her first major crochet masterpiece completed when she was 19. Marj’s mother taught both her daughters to do fancy work and crochet but Marj is the only one to carry on. She also learnt to knit when she was 5 laid up in bed recovering from Scarlet Fever. Marj’s memories of this time were the fact that she broke most of the knitting needles. Marj knitted many socks for the soldiers during the war – socks were sent to the Red Cross to be sent to our men overseas. Another war effort was camouflage netting which her family made with twine – again sent to our men overseas.
Marj attempted to pass her skill and expertise to her daughters but the only thing they really learnt well was to cook. Marj’s Pickle recipe came from her mother-in-law and the 3 Fruit Marmalade recipes from her sister. The recipes have remained unchanged.
Marj is a Dayboro Local and is involved in both Hay Cottage and the Community at large. She is a member of the Dayboro Lions Club and assists with the catering needs of the district.
