“You’re going to ruin my life!” How many times have you heard yourself proclaiming this as mom shows up unexpectedly on campus?

This, however, is not the case for campus home economics and art teacher, Sharon Scharf. For the last seven years, Scharf’s mother, Marjorie Von Euw, has come to teach the next generation of cooks and homemakers how to make the perfect piecrust.

When many students try to get away from their parents, Scharf feels it is important to share the senior member of her family with a younger generation. And, to top it off, she does not feel threatened in the kitchen.

“I can’t believe this has been the seventh year my mother has come,” Scharf said beaming. “She really enjoys sharing with youths. Having my mom come to show her skills really adds dimensions to the class and what the students are learning. Senior citizens have a lot to offer us.”

Her hand-made piecrust, as well as the pies which fill them, have come to be a legend around campus. Many wonder where she learned her technique.

“My mom learned to make pies from her mom. I don’t remember grandma making pies,” Scharf admitted, smiling. “My mom had already taken over the pie-making job for all of our family meals. When I was young, she used to make a pie every week for my father. He would eat the entire thing himself; I would only have a small sliver.”

Von Euw looks forward to her annual campus visit every year; she is eager to share her plethora of cooking knowledge with her daughter’s class.

“Cooking is something I can do, so I feel it’s important to teach today’s youth,” Von Euw said. “I enjoy coming to the campus. Cooking is an art that needs to be brought back. Due to the abundance of fast food chains, young people do not have the knowledge to feed themselves in a healthy way.”

Von Euw is not the only person who enjoys her visit; home economics students also anticipate the yearly visit.

“I was really looking forward to it,” Esther Tarudji, ’05, said. “It was so cute to see Mrs. Scharf’s mom come to teach us! It’s nice to have an experienced woman teach us, not only about cooking, but about life as well.”

Another recipient of the pie-of-good-fortune is the journalism adviser, Greg Stobbe, who has been blessed to have received home-made baked goods for years.

“”Ever since I heard Grandma Von Euw was teaching the finer aspects of pie-making, I made sure Mrs. Scharf knew I liked lemon meringue,”” Stobbe said. “”There’s just nothing like Grandma’s cooking.””

Stobbe later admitted, “”It’s hard to share the pie she bakes me every year. I usually try to eat the entire thing on my way home which says something considering my house is only a six-minute drive.””

“I plan to continue the pie crust lesson as long as my mother is able,” Scharf said. “When she is not, I’ll carry it on by myself.”

For more information, contact Scharf at [email protected].