Ursula Whelan
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Ursula
Whelan was born in Vienna, Austria in 1938 and came the the U.S. in 1961
to live with her American husband. Whelan taught herself how to make Bavarian
pretzels, about ten years ago, to take to tailgate parties at sports events.
The Whelans have a state licensed bakery in the basement of their house.
They make the only "real" German pretzel in the Chippewa Valley.
"In Germany they’re a little bit harder. Here people like things softer; they don’t like to chew quite as hard." Whelan makes her pretzels softer than a baker in Germany would.
"You make the whole thing from scratch. There’s no prepared mix or anything. . . . It’s a very simple recipe. It’s just flour and water and a little salt, a little sugar and, of course, yeast. . . . Then we dip them in a solution, sort of a secret solution."
In an average day,
the Whelans bake 600 pretzels. As they bake about three times a week,
it works out to 1,800 pretzels each week! When they bake, they work from
10pm to 7am and her husband delivers them. The Whelans bake for schools,
festivals, and athletic events. The Whelans’ five children have helped
bake the pretzels. Whelan is the only one who knows how to mix the dough.
Pretzel making is time intensive, hands-on work.
The shape of pretzels, according to Whelan, represents the Holy Trinity of Christianity. She says that pretzels were "accidentially invented by monks and given to children as a reward for saying their prayers. There are different stories to explain the accident: "It fell in that solution, and they baked it anyhow, and it turned out and gave it that salty taste. . . . [It was] left over dough and they didn’t know what to do with it."
Whelan makes gingerbread houses in the winter with friends and family. Everyone brings candies to decorate them. Whelan bakes them and puts them together first. They can be decorated any way you desire. "You have to have fun doing it." She has the "gingerbread recipe from home."
She cuts out the pieces with forms, bakes them, and then sticks them together with melted sugar. The gingerbread can be either cut with a cookie cutter or a cardboard template and a knife. The Whelan’s children enjoy making gingerbread houses. One daughter, a speech therapist, makes them for the children’s ward. The daughter in LaCrosse makes one every year for the veterinary office she works in. They make them differently every year.
Gingerbread houses are traditionally made for St. Nicholas’ Day on December 6. That is the day that the children set out their shoes which are then filled with oranges, small treats, socks, mittens, and the like. Kris Kringle, the Christ Child, brings presents at Christmas. So this is the time of year that people sit down as a family to make gingerbread houses. Whelan saw gingerbread houses made in Germany, got a recipe, and taught herself how to make them. Whelan sees gingerbread house making as a social event. The important part is getting your friends and family together.
