By Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host Published Nov 16, 2022 at 10:01 AM

In an all new television special set to premier on Monday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. on PBS Wisconsin, beloved Wisconsin author and historian, Jerry Apps, along with his daughter, author and educator Susan Apps-Bodilly will explore the ways food shapes family and traditions.

During the show, entitled "Jerry Apps: Food & Memories", Apps and his daughter will share family stories as told through the food that Apps’ mother, Eleanor, prepared for their family using a wood-burning stove in a kitchen with no plumbing or electricity.

Family Kitchen
Photo: Wisconsin Historical Society
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"For me food will always be associated with times of good eating, storytelling, laughter and good-hearted fun,” notes Apps, as he looks back on an era with which modern generations are swiftly losing touch. 

Apps, Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was born and raised on a dairy farm in Waushara County during the Great Depression. In partnership with the University and the Wisconsin Historical Society, he has written and spoken extensively about his childhood and the agricultural history in Wisconsin

The new television show will function as a companion piece for Apps’ book “Old Farm Country Cookbook: Recipes, Menus, and Memories,” a tome which depicts both the challenges and nostalgia of farm life during the 1930s and ‘40s, and how those traditions live on. 

“If there’s one thing I’d like everybody to leave with, it is: The history of agriculture is important. The history of farm life is important. The history of small rural villages is important” says Apps.   

"Jerry Apps: Food & Memories" will also be available for on-demand streaming at pbswisconsin.org and in the free PBS Video App on all streaming platforms, digital devices and Smart TVs. 

Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host

Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. 

When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.