The Villages - November 2019 - 23

JIM REN T Z

A GERMAN FEAST FOR LUCK
It all started with sauerkraut - homecooked and sold at
a little farm stand in Western Pennsylvania, 1882.
"My great-great grandparents were farmers," Jim
Rentz said. "They settled in New Castle in 1860, and like
all good Germans, they grew cabbage and made their own
sauerkraut."
At age 14, his great-grandfather was ready to enter the
workforce.
"He had enough brothers and sisters working on
the farm so his mother asked one of her customers, an
attorney, if he could find little Freddy a job," Rentz said.
The man asked around and discovered a banker who'd
recently repossessed a newspaper.
"He was hiring new staff so he hired my greatgrandfather, Freddy," Rentz said.
The position: printer's devil, a job for the unskilled
laborer. In terms of the totem pole - it would have been
underground, Rentz notes.
"He cleaned spittoons. Printers were notorious for
chewing (tobacco). They couldn't smoke because of the
solvents and so forth. But (great-grandfather Freddy)
liked the newspaper business so he stuck with it, and he
eventually became the manager over a period of years."
When the owner of the company passed away, Freddy
approached the man's widow and asked to buy a third of
the business and take control of the stock. The woman
agreed, and the family lived off of dividends ever since.
"In 1988, we sold the newspaper," Rentz said. "We'd
been in the business for about 100 years. We like to think
it all started with the sauerkraut. Everything I have is
because of my great-great grandmother's sauerkraut."
Based on the homemade cooked cabbage and the little
farmer's stand where it all began, the Rentz family forged
a New Year's Day tradition - a meal for good luck and
remembrance.
"We start cooking at midnight, and we feast on
sauerkraut and pork," Rentz said.
Among German farmers, pigs have long been a symbol
of luck, an emblem of wealth and prosperity.

"Pigs always root forward - a sign of looking ahead,"
he notes.
Now a Village of Winifred resident, Rentz rings in the
new year as always: With a pot of homecooked cabbage
and pork. Cream pies for dessert - banana or coconut.
"We've upgraded a bit since moving to Florida," he said.
"We added key lime pie."
At a table surrounded by friends, Rentz tells his family
tale.
"You have to listen to the story - that's part of the free
meal," he said, smiling.

In 1988, we sold the newspaper. We'd been in the business for about
100 years. We like to think it all started with the sauerkraut. Everything
I have is because of my great-great grandmother's sauerkraut.
- Jim Rentz

MAGAZINE

23
The Villages - November 2019

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