Free soup: Tradition lives on in Tipi Village

(Sentinel photo by Magdalene Landegent) Catfish Grinstead, of Creston, Iowa, stirs the 38-gallon pot of soup he gives away for free every day at the National Old Time Country, Bluegrass and Folk Music Festival. Grinstead said the flavor every day is different because everything is donated. This pot is beef and elk soup. [Click to enlarge]

"Whoever had been on the trail could always depend on a hot meal," said Catfish Grinstead, stirring a pot in his tent in the Tipi Village at the National Old Time Country, Bluegrass and Folk Music Festival in Le Mars.

With his 38-gallon pot and a fire that's always burning, Grinstead carries on the tradition.

(Sentinel photo by Magdalene Landegent) Carren and Bob Voshell, of Elkhart, Iowa, peel apples for a homemade apple pie in the Tipi Village. Carren, known as the Pie Lady, bakes the pies over a fire at the family's campsite at the National Old Time Country, Bluegrass and Folk Music Festival at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds. [Click to enlarge]

When 6 p.m. rolls around, it's soup time.

Grinstead, of Creston, gives a free bowl of soup to anyone that wants it. He doesn't mind if people bring their own bowl -- that means less dishes for him to wash -- but he has bowls, too.

"Today it's beef and elk," he said Tuesday, lifting a ladle of steaming chunky stew. "And there's potatoes, onion, garlic, corn, cabbage, squash and green beans."

Everything in the soup is donated.

"Whoever comes by says, 'Oh, I have a few extra vegetables,' or 'Here's some extra meat,'" Grinstead said. "It's hard telling what will be in it tomorrow."

It goes back to the story of stone soup. As the story goes, an old bum stands by the fire, holding a tin can over it. Someone walks by and asks what he's cooking. "Oh, a few stones," he replies. The other person nods, then says, "Well, here are a few carrots to throw in."

The next guy that comes by offers some onion, then some potatoes, and pretty soon they have a tasty soup and throw the stones away.

Grinstead simply stokes his fire at about 7 a.m. and gets a fresh pot of soup started.

"I decide what goes in, when," Grinstead said.

By suppertime, the soup is ready and people come to the table.

"That pot will be empty," Grinstead said. "Sometimes I do two pots. My other pot holds about 35 gallons, so I can do about 70 gallons."

He calls himself a sort of "booshay" -- that's the name used at historic re-enactments and rendezvous for the guy that feeds everyone.

"Someone's got to do it," he said.

Grinstead actually started the Tipi Village at the music fest years ago after being part of historic rendezvous.

I've always been interested in history," he said. "This way of life is a lot simpler. You could trust your neighbor. There ain't no way to lock these tents."

And, he said, people shared things. Like soup.

"They said, what is mine is yours," Grinstead said.

A lady walked over from the next tent, bringing a steaming apple pie.

Carren Voshell, also known as the Pie Lady, cooks pies over her campfire.

The process takes about three hours, the Elkhart, Iowa woman said.

"I make them in apple or apple, whichever you prefer," she laughed.

At a nearby teepee, a man named Dale Frazier works on a pair of animal hide boots. His wife Brenda pours him a cup of coffee she boiled over a fire.

"It's funny, but we all have other jobs," Dale said. "This is our vacation."

At home, he works at an automotive machine shop and Brenda is a farrowing manager at a hog confinement.

Dale said he purchased a muzzle loader rifle as a teenager and that sparked his interest in history. He started attending historic rendezvous, met people, and finally joined them himself.

"I started out with a lean-to, a one-person tent," he said.

Now the Fraziers' well-decorated teepee, complete with buffalo skin blankets, and their cooking tent take several hours to set up.

The couple met at the music fest during a jam session with other musicians. Later, they decided to get married.

Every year, they come back to the Tipi Village at the National Old Time Country, Bluegrass and Folk Music Festival.

"It's good food, fresh air," Brenda said.

"And," Dale added, "we love the music."