September in America is apple picking time. Orchards in New England burst with McIntosh, Cortland, Granny Smith and Winesap, while orchards in the northwest hail Honeycrisp, Ambrosia, Cosmic Crisp and Envy apples. And vintage American cookbooks provide a plethora of apple pie recipes. Most recipes follow a classic formula — sliced apples tossed in sugar, […]
Pedal Powered Grindstone Hello, again History Lovers, Today’s post is an introduction to a new series I will call Cottage Industry. Through my research, I have come to realize that farm women from a century ago and beyond needed ways to supplement their farm income. Frequently they raised a flock of chickens and sold the […]
Hello, again History Lovers, Today’s article is another example of the hard work and ingenuity farm women demonstrated while supplementing their family farm income. Mrs. Alta Dunn uses her cooking and baking skills to establish a catering business in a small western town. Quality products and fair pricing are of supreme importance to her. Mrs. […]
September in America is apple picking time. Orchards in New England burst with McIntosh, Cortland, Granny Smith and Winesap, while orchards in the northwest hail Honeycrisp, Ambrosia, Cosmic Crisp and Envy apples. And vintage American cookbooks provide a plethora of apple pie recipes. Most recipes follow a classic formula — sliced apples tossed in sugar, […]
Hello, again History Lovers, A post from two weeks ago featured the cottage industry of Mrs. Alta Dunn, Cooking For Cash. Mrs. Dunn’s catering business supplied a friend and businesswoman with a weekly order of home-baked bread, desserts, one-dish meals, and dressed meats. She also filled orders from other folks from time to time. The […]
Pedal Powered Grindstone Hello, again History Lovers, Today’s post is an introduction to a new series I will call Cottage Industry. Through my research, I have come to realize that farm women from a century ago and beyond needed ways to supplement their farm income. Frequently they raised a flock of chickens and sold the […]
Hello, again History Lovers, In the post Cooking For Cash, we met Mrs. Alta Dunn, a farm woman from the 1920s who did catering to supplement her family’s farm income. She even included the “rule” or recipe she uses for baking cakes. Curious about her recipe I decided to give it a try. For a […]
Hello, again History Lovers, In the post Cooking For Cash, we met Mrs. Alta Dunn, a farm woman from the 1920s who did catering to supplement her family’s farm income. She even included the “rule” or recipe she uses for baking cakes. Curious about her recipe I decided to give it a try. For a […]
Hello, again History Lovers, The Bradford M. Field Memorial Library in Leverett, Massachusetts was established in 1916 by his daughter Elizabeth Judson Field to honor his legacy. Mr. Field had been postmaster and a prominent farmer in the area. The building served as the town’s library until 2003 when a new library was built. The […]
The coronation of young Queen Victoria of England in 1837 was a time of national celebration. British subjects of every class wanted to have a piece of the event. Manufacturers, having anticipated the forthcoming fervor, produced everything from pins to dinnerware as souvenirs. A horticultural commemorative was also announced at that time — a newly […]
The coronation of young Queen Victoria of England in 1837 was a time of national celebration. British subjects of every class wanted to have a piece of the event. Manufacturers, having anticipated the forthcoming fervor, produced everything from pins to dinnerware as souvenirs. A horticultural commemorative was also announced at that time — a newly […]
“A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible.” ~Welsh Proverb As a young man of sixteen, Oscar Tschirky immigrated to America from Switzerland with his mother in 1883 to join his older brother in New York City where they hoped to make a better life. Within a day of his […]
Hello, again History Lovers, Today’s article is another example of the hard work and ingenuity farm women demonstrated while supplementing their family farm income. Mrs. Alta Dunn uses her cooking and baking skills to establish a catering business in a small western town. Quality products and fair pricing are of supreme importance to her. Mrs. […]
Hello, again History Lovers, In the post Cooking For Cash, we met Mrs. Alta Dunn, a farm woman from the 1920s who did catering to supplement her family’s farm income. She even included the “rule” or recipe she uses for baking cakes. Curious about her recipe I decided to give it a try. For a […]