MAKING PIES IN THE AMERICAN GOTHIC HOUSE.
The Osgood File. Sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.Com. Make someone smile today with 1-800-Flowers' smile guarantee. In a moment, a special offer for you. This is Charles Osgood.
There's a little house in Eldon, Iowa that looks familiar somehow - as if you've seen it before, many times before.
And you have! We've all seen it before - in a famous painting, says our CBS News colleague Michelle Miller...
VO - Michelle Miller, CBS News Correspondent
"...Even with just a glimpse of it behind the dour farmer and his spinster daughter in that 1930s 'American Gothic' painting by Grant Wood. Now, though, there's an unlikely tenant living inside the tiny old house. Beth Howard is an author who makes pies - lots of them. She used to make pies in Malibu and counted Barbra Streisand and Steven Spielberg among her customers." (:25)
Now, Beth Howard's customers are just plain folks from Eldon - and elsewhere.
VO - Michelle Miller
"People come from all over to her Pitchfork Pie Stand..." (:03)
Why she made the move after this...
((( BREAK )))
Beth Howard was born in Iowa - and it was the death of her husband in 2009 that made her decide to move from the fast lane, the celebs of Malibu.
SOT - Beth Howard
"What brought me back here was my grief, you know, honestly. It was the one year anniversary of his death. And first and foremost, I saw this as kind of a writer's retreat. I thought: it was tucked away - it was very rural, quiet..." (:12)
As for the iconic little house in Eldon...
SOT - Beth Howard
"Everyone tried to talk me out of renting this house. I just said, 'I don't know how it's all going to work out, but I'm willing to give it a shot...'" (:06)
VO - Michelle Miller
"She has been American Gothic House resident for two years. She wrote 'Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie' - sitting right here at the table where she rolls out the dough..." (:12)
The pie dough, that is...
VO - Michelle Miller
"She says she doesn't do it for the money. The one thing she's clear on is she does it for peace." (:06)
SOT - Beth Howard and Customer
"(Howard:) How are you? (Customer:) I tasted one of your pies last week - it changed my life." (:03)
To tell the truth, it's sort of changed Beth Howard's life, too.
The Osgood File. Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network. |
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