Traditions

Thanksgiving Sides We No Longer Serve

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The trick-or-treaters have come and gone. The ghosts, goblins, and witches have retreated into the blue bin for another year, and just today, my husband placed our order for the Thanksgiving turkey at our local Publix supermarket.

This year we are hosting Thanksgiving for the first time in nearly twenty-five years for the family since our children left for college, and the first time we’ve all been in the same state after leaving Connecticut. My husband is beyond excited, already discussing what side dishes we’ll have.  (I’m not sure why this needs to be discussed…we never deviate from the favorites!) Yet the cook/baker in me yearned to whip up something different. However, instead of an appetizer or a gluten-free pumpkin something dessert, I tumbled down the rabbit hole and came across a list of Thanksgiving foods we no longer serve.

Turtle Soup

In the 1890s, green turtle soup shows up again and again on Thanksgiving menus. One New York hotel menu from 1899 listed a clear green turtle soup at sixty-five cents. Many menus also offered terrapin, a small diamondback turtle from the Chesapeake Bay. It was a luxury. One researcher estimates a plate of Terrapin Ala Maryland would cost about $100 in today’s money.

Cooks on a budget made mock turtle soup out of calf’s head. Wild turtles ran low though, and the price collapsed around 1916. Prohibition usually gets the blame since the soup needed sherry, but one study found the slide started earlier. By the late 1970s, terrapin had dropped off menus completely. Today, the states bordering the Chesapeake Bay protect them.

Celery in a Vase

In the 1800s, celery was hard to grow. It had to be blanched, either buried in trenches or wrapped in paper to keep out the light. It was also hard to keep fresh, so it counted as a luxury. Families showed it off in tall glass vases arranged like a bouquet, and those vases made popular wedding gifts. Wealthy hosts made celery the centerpiece of the dinner table. Middle-class families often saved it for the end of holiday meals, and celery sat near the top of many Thanksgiving menus.

Farming caught up, and celery got cheaper. By 1889, one catering guide complained that celery vases had become too common for fashionable tables, and celery moved to long, narrow dishes, eventually landing on the relish tray.

Chestnuts

Those same 1890s menus often served the turkey with chestnuts, and chestnut stuffing was a holiday staple. American chestnut trees once filled the forests of the east. In some places, they made up a quarter or more of the forest canopy. Then in 1904, a forester noticed cankers on chestnut trees at the Bronx Zoo. The cause was a fungus that arrived on imported Asian trees. It spread roughly fifty miles a year. By 1940, the American chestnut was finished as a commercial tree and estimates say three to four billion of them died. Stump sprouts still grow from the old roots, but the blight keeps killing them. Researchers are testing blight resistant trees, so this one might come back.

Side note: I don’t know where my parents purchased them or how much they cost, but we had roasted chestnuts along with desserts after The Feast of Seven Fishes every Christmas Eve.

Frozen Punch

 On many 1890s Thanksgiving menus, a frozen punch appeared in the middle of the meal. It was called Roman punch, a slushy mix of lemon, sugar, and rum, sometimes topped with champagne.

Its job was to reset your taste buds between rich courses. One food historian called it virtually obligatory at important dinners in the 1800s. It was served at the White House during Rutherford Hayes’s presidency, even though he and his wife, known as Lemonade Lucy, were temperance advocates. It even appeared on the Titanic’s last first-class menu. Then dinners got shorter. One history of formal dining notes that by the Kennedy years, fancy dinners were settling on four courses. With fewer courses, the punch lost its place.

Oyster stuffing

Along the east coast, oysters were everyday food. Cooks tucked them into bread stuffing for moisture and flavor, and early American cookbooks include recipes for it. One railroad museum estimates New Yorkers in the 1800s ate roughly 600 oysters per person each year. Farther inland, oysters were a treat. Refrigerated train cars started carrying them to the middle of the country in the mid-1800s, but the trip wasn’t cheap, so a big holiday was worth the splurge.

The supply did not last. Pollution and over-harvesting wrecked the oyster beds, and New York’s last commercial oyster bed shut down in 1927. Prices climbed. Today oyster dressing survives in parts of the South and along the Gulf Coast, often made with canned oysters.

 

 

Mincemeat Pie

The kind made with actual meat. Early American mince pies used beef, sometimes venison, and some old recipes even called for tongue (eww!). The meat was mixed with sweet, apples, dried fruit, spices, and brandy. The sugar and alcohol helped preserve it, and the whole process could take about a month.

Amelia Simmons’s American Cookery, printed in 1796, includes three mince pie recipes. In 1890s menus, mince pie and plum pudding turned up nearly as often as pumpkin. In 1903, Heinz Food Company was still pitching it for Thanksgiving, but the meat kept shrinking. Commercial mincemeat arrived in the 1880s, and slowly the beef left the jar.

Side Note: Next to apple pie, mincemeat pie is my husband’s favorite…he’s already purchased two jars!

Pigeon Pie

Not city pigeons, passenger pigeons, with billions of them alive at their peak. In 1871, one nesting area in Wisconsin covered about eight hundred fifty square miles with an estimated one hundred thirty-six million breeding adult birds. Cooks baked them into pies, and pigeon pie was a popular holiday side dish in early America. Some historians think passenger pigeons may even have been at the first Thanksgiving in 1621.

Hunters used the telegraph to find the flocks and railroads shipped the birds to city markets by the barrel. By the 1890s, wild flocks had shrunk to almost nothing

Indian Pudding

New England colonists missed British hasty pudding, but wheat flour was scarce. So, they used cornmeal, which they called Indian meal, and sweetened it with molasses. They baked itlow and slow, letting it set in the leftover heat of the hearth.

Amelia Simmons printed three versions in 1796. It became a classic New England holiday dessert, but it never looked like much, and apple and pumpkin pie took over.

Ambrosia

The first recipe we know of appeared in 1867 in a southern cookbook called Dixie Cookery by Maria Massie Behringer. It had three ingredients: grated coconut, oranges, and sugar. That was a big deal. Railroads had recently connected Florida oranges and imported coconuts to the rest of the country, so the dish felt exotic.

Three years later, Godey’s Ladies Magazine agreed with the recipe, but offered pineapple as an alternative. Some cooks used both, the magazine said, but one fruit was better. Later, cooks added cherries, marshmallows, and cream. Purists still say real ambrosia is just oranges and coconut. The dish never fully died in the South, but elsewhere, the marshmallow and fruit bowl has mostly vanished from the Thanksgiving table.

Gelatin Salads

In 1905, a Pennsylvania woman named Mrs. John E. Cook entered a recipe contest sponsored by Knox Gelatin. Her Perfection Salad ingredients included cabbage, red peppers, celery suspended in gelatin. It didn’t win first prize, but it became famous anyway.

By the 1930s and 1940s, serving a gelatin salad hinted that you owned a refrigerator. The 1950s were the golden age. One Jello-O ad called for lime gelatin, cottage cheese, grated onion, and a scoop of seafood salad in the middle. Jell-o Brand gelatin even sold celery and seasoned tomato flavors! By then, Americans were making more gelatin salad than jellied meat.

Side Note: My aunt made a lime gelatin salad with sour cream, maraschino cherries, and walnuts every Christmas and a Strawberry Pretzel salad layered with pretzels, sweetened cream cheese, and topped with strawberries suspended in strawberry Jell-O.

When I mentioned these dishes (other than mincemeat pie) to my husband, he gave me a look, rolled his eyes, and muttered a remark that I chose to ignore. (Sigh) I guess I won’t be expanding my culinary expertise this Thanksgiving.

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Which of these forgotten Thanksgiving dishes would you try? Or does your family still make and enjoy one or more of these dishes?

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The “Big E” – New England’s Great State Fair

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Happy August, friends! Goodness, this year is flying by, and this month is a transition from summer to fall.

And to this New England girl, that could only mean one thing…The Big E!

Its official name is Eastern States Agricultural and Industrial Exposition, but anyone who has lived in New England or is one of the one million visitors a year who walk through the gates, it is the Big E. Billed as “New England’s Great State Fair”, it is the largest agricultural event on the eastern seaboard and the fifth-largest fair in the nation. The Big E is inclusive of all six New England states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The first Eastern States Exposition occurred in October 1916 in West Springfield, Massachusetts, and was called the Eastern States Agricultural and Industrial Exposition. All six New England states, plus Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, participated. Joshua L. Brooks conceived it to help promote agriculture and educate young people with the skills and knowledge needed in agricultural vocations. The Exposition featured displays of innovations in the industry and held contests designed to encourage farmers to better themselves through competition.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America partnered with the Exposition to organize youth competitions, in which prizes were awarded for best produce, jams, breads, raised hens, planting techniques, and other categories. The youth component drew competitors from all participating states and was deemed “a triumph in a new type of education.” Emphasis on the development of young farmers continued with the establishment of “Baby Beef Clubs” in 1920 to help youths buy, raise, exhibit, and sell livestock at the event.

In 1923, the Massachusetts Department of Health built a model schoolhouse on the fairgrounds, offering free medical and dental examinations. Entertainment elements were added by the 1930s, including demonstrations of “automobile polo” (featuring acrobats playing polo while driving Ford cars) and competitive performances by high school bands. On a personal note, I spent long days chaperoning my son’s middle and high school band when they performed on Connecticut Day at the fair.

Since the first fair, only World War I and World War II, during which the military requisitioned the grounds as storage depots, and the COVID-19 pandemic have interrupted the annual tradition.

The Avenue of States contains life-size replicas of the six original New England statehouses, as well as the New England Grange House. In actuality, the state houses are not replicas but rather modeled after original state houses in most instances. The buildings for New Hampshire and Vermont bear no resemblance to their original state houses.

These buildings feature exhibits and vendors that exemplify the heritage, food, and traditions of each state as a way of promoting tourism. Many foods representing New England cuisine can be found at The Big E, along with traditional fair foods like fried dough, corn dogs, funnel cakes, and fried everything. For example, the Maine House in past years has offered

 

lobster, blueberries, and baked potatoes, while the Vermont House has Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, maple syrup, and Cabot cheese. Vendors also sell locally made products and handicrafts. The Maine baked potatoes have become an icon, with buyers regularly joining long lines during the fair’s busier periods. The Connecticut building features watches from Timex, which was founded there, as well as Lego, which has its US headquarters there. The Rhode Island building features Del’s Lemonade and Blount Seafood Clamcakes and Chowder.

Since 2000, The Big E has endeavored to introduce its own signature foods. This began in 2002 when The Big E introduced Big E Cream Puffs, which it intended to be the signature dessert of the Fair. Sadly, I haven’t been back to the fair to sample this delicacy.

 

Over time, the Big E expanded its entertainment offerings to include thrilling rides, live music, stunt shows, and even talent competitions. The Ferris wheel, a staple at most fairs, provides stunning views of the fairgrounds, while roller coasters and bumper cars add excitement for thrill-seekers. Musical performances featuring both local and national acts bring an additional layer of entertainment to the festivities.

Like many modern state and regional fairs that have embraced new forms of entertainment, The Big E’s agricultural roots remain strong. Livestock competitions, horse shows, and horticulture displays continue to be a major draw. These exhibitions provide educational opportunities for younger generations and honor the fair’s agricultural heritage.

For many, the evoke a deep sense of nostalgia, reminding them of the last golden days of summer filled with excitement and wonder. The combination of fair food, bright lights, and classic rides brings back fond memories, making a trip to the Big E an annual tradition for families across the New England region and the country.

The Big E remains one of America’s Top 10 state fairs blending history, culture, and entertainment into a uniquely American experience. Whether it’s the mouth-watering food, thrilling rides, or deep-rooted traditions, the magic of the Big E continues to captivate millions each year. As this yearly event evolves to embrace modern trends while preserving its historic charm, the Big E remains a testament to the enduring spirit of community and celebration in the United States.

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“The Marriage Box” – A History of Hope Chests

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What is a hope chest? (Or rather, what was a hope chest?) The term tends to connotate a lot of different ideas and notions (it’s that “old thing” from the 19th century, right?), but have you ever thought about the actual history of the design, what it means and why it once flourished and is now all but perished? Something as simple as a piece of furniture might not seem that exciting, but, as it turns out, the hope chest has quite the history.

Historically, hope chests were large trunk chests that mothers would pass on to their daughters. Oftentimes, a mother would start preparing a hope chest from the time her daughter was a young age and slowly build the collection as the years went by. The chests contained many things like silverware, china, linens, clothing, and jewelry that were considered “essentials” for a young woman about to start a new life in marriage. It was also standard practice to include family heirlooms and mementos. Things like albums or photographs, letters or treasured objects passed down through the generations that may not have much monetary or practical value – but in which the young woman could find comfort.

The concept of the hope chest dates back thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians created wooden chests, often ornately decorated, to store valuables such as jewelry, coins, and travel essentials, reflecting both wealth and purpose; some of these chests, including those of King Tut, survive today in museums. In medieval Europe (5th–15th centuries), wooden chests became widespread, crafted from hardwoods like oak, walnut, and pine, often adorned with friezes, panels, and handles for practicality during times of war or travel. In Italy, the cassone, a large, elaborately decorated chest, was used in dynastic marriages to display wealth and serve as a dowry.

Hope chests were built and decorated based on the family’s wealth. In Italy, Sicilian women from poor families typically remained unmarried because they couldn’t afford to stuff their hope chests with twelve (12!) beds worth of linens. The quality of the linens in a woman’s hope chest represented how much of a “catch” she was.

Depending on the country, there is also a custom in which a child would prepare a dozen (again, 12!) quilt tops for her hope chest, with the 13th top being called a “bridal quilt.” Once she became engaged, there was a party in which women were invited to quilt all the tops together as they prepared for the bride’s impending nuptials.

The hope chest tradition spread across Europe, with variations such as dowry chests, trousseau chests, and glory boxes. These chests were used to collect household linens, clothing, quilts, and keepsakes for a bride-to-be. European immigrants, including German settlers in America, brought the tradition to the New World, where it became a practical part of daily life in the 1700s and 1800s.

By the mid to late 1800s, hope chests became more decorative and symbolic. They reflected Victorian ideals of domestic skill and respectability, and a well-made chest could also signal social standing. Many were now purchased rather than handmade.

Young women stored linens, quilts, and essentials in chests that reflected local materials and immigrant folk art styles Amish communities, in particular, crafted simple yet ornately painted chests, emphasizing skill, patience, and preparation for marriage. Mothers often began preparing a chest for their daughters from a young age, gradually filling it with essentials and family heirlooms.

Traditionally, hope chests were made of cedar, prized for its natural aroma and ability to repel insects, protecting fabrics and linens until marriage. (P.S. Clothes stored in a cedar chest or dresser smell so good!) Over time, other hardwoods such as cherry, oak, and maple were also used. Chests were often richly decorated, reflecting both personal taste and social status, and some were designed for portability to accommodate brides leaving home.

In the early 1900s, hope chests became a national tradition through the rise of the Lane Cedar Chest. Founded in 1912, Lane used mass production and marketing to turn cedar-lined chests into a common rite of passage for young women across America.

 

As a bride in the early 1970s, I never had one. But my mother had a Lane hope chest, and I recall spending hours looking at her wedding album, her gown, meaningful holiday cards, and valentines I made in school. However, there was one item in there that frightened the pudding out of me…It was a mink fur wrap with the head attached and used as a clasp…Eeww! I know they were popular in the 1940s…but even writing about it gives me the willies!!

Hope chests symbolized preparation for adulthood, marriage, and family life. They were both practical storage pieces and cultural artifacts, representing family expectations, craftsmanship, and the passing down of traditions While the practice has declined in modern times due to changing social norms and the reduced emphasis on dowries, hope chests remain meaningful as heirlooms, keepsakes, and decorative furniture.

Today, hope chests are no longer exclusively tied to marriage. They serve as storage for linens, quilts, toys, or family treasures, and are often valued for their aesthetic and sentimental qualities. Antique and modern versions continue to be crafted, preserving the tradition while adapting to contemporary lifestyles.

Ultimately, between the rise and fall of the hope chest, we can be assured that if there’s one thing that’s everlasting, it’s hope–even if our hopes have changed with the times.

 

Let’s Ring in the New Year!

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Happy New Year, Friends!

By now you have either put away your holiday decorations or are procrastinating, waiting for January 6th, the 12th day of Christmas.

But before you pack away that last box of ornaments, here a few fun facts how New Year’s traditions came about.

Since New Years’ Eve is celebrated around the world, there are a lot of interesting New Years’ facts. From the giant party in New York City to smaller celebrations around the world. There are many traditions that have become popular with bringing in the New Year.

Baby New Year

The tradition of Baby New Year has been around since ancient Greece. During New Years’ celebrations for Dionysus, a baby was paraded through the streets as a symbol of the rebirth of the year. In more recent times the New Years Baby has been paired with Father Time as a companion.

Times Square Celebrations

The Times Square celebration started in 1904, but the first Ball Drop happened in 1907 to celebrate the New York Times building.  Back then, they used a simple iron and wood ball with just 100 light bulbs. Today, we marvel at the high-tech crystal ball that features an incredible 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles. The modern ball illuminates the sky with 32,256 LED lights, creating billions of patterns and colors that mesmerize everyone watching. Over 200,000 people showed up for the opening of the building. Now the crowd grows to over 1 million people each year.

The ball has dropped each year since 1907. With exceptions made during WWII due to lighting restrictions in 1942 and 1943. During those years the ball did not light up at all.

More Than Just a Ball Drop

Even though most people are familiar with the famous ball drop in Times Square. Many cities have their own unique way to usher in the New Year. There is the Pickle drop in Mt. Olive, North Carolina, a boot drop in Prescott, Arizona. And a giant Moon Pie in Mobile, Alabama. These are only a few of the weird things that different places drop-in celebration of New Years’.

New Years Kiss

This is a tradition that has been around since Roman times too. It dates back to the festivities of Saturnalia. Which celebrated the god Saturn, god of times. Many of the traditions from this festival were later incorporated into Christian celebrations of Christmas and New Years’.

New Years Food

There are many different foods that are considered to be good luck to eat on New Years’. One of the most popular is Black Eyed Peas, Leafy Greens, and Cornbread.  Followed by pork dishes and grapes and round foods. In Spain, they celebrate by eating 12 grapes right at midnight.

Drink Up

Over 360 million glasses of sparkling wine/champagne are consumed on New Year’s Eve. Followed by beer and mixed drinks.

New Years Resolutions

Over 41% of people make some sort of New Year’s resolutions. Most of them have to do with eating healthy and exercising. Others involve saving money and lowering stress.  Most people give up by February. But there are a few people each year that actually manage to hold out and complete their resolutions.

New Years Song

“Aude Lang Syne” is the traditional song of New Years’. It was written in 1788 by the poet Robert Burns. The name means roughly “times long past” and the poem is about old friends meeting again.

Most of us are familiar with Canadian-born American dance-band leader, Guy Lombardo whose New Year’s Eve radio and television broadcasts with his Royal Canadians became an American tradition for 48 years. https://youtu.be/59JMuE-djvY

 

New Year’s Eve is one of the biggest holidays of the year and most people around the world celebrate it. From food to bring luck in the New Year to odd traditions that people have. Fr

From my family to yours, I wish you new beginnings, simple pleasures, and beautiful moments. Happy New Year!

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Giveaway!

What are your favorite parts of celebrating New Year’s Eve?  Do you make any resolutions? Let me know in the comments.

One random winner will receive her/his choice of one of my 2024 holiday ebooks.  

A Sleigh Ride For Claire  – CLICK HERE

Ivy – Christmas Quilt Brides – CLICK HERE

Holly In His Heart – CLICK HERE

 

 

Why are Coins on Military Headstones? By Pam Crooks

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Have you ever strolled through a cemetery and noticed a few (or a lot!) coins left on a monument?

Of course, it’s not unusual for loved ones and friends to leave sentimental items like a can of Dr. Pepper, a travel-size bottle of spirits, stones, a cross, and of course, flowers.

But money?

When we noticed several coins last year that had been glued on a headstone in our family’s cemetery, we found it odd.  Turns out, those coins have deep meaning, and if you see any, it’s very likely the headstone belonged to a member of the military.

Those coins are a sentimental gesture, not only from the person who left them, but to the family of the service member as well. It shows that others have been by to pay their respects, and they are showing great pride in someone who is no longer with them.

Per the Department of Military Affairs, the custom began during the Roman Empire when coins were placed in the mouths of soldiers for protection and payment into the world of the dead.  Here in the US, the custom especially grew in popularity during the Vietnam War, which of course was a controversial war.  Leaving the coins was a quiet way to honor and respect the fallen soldiers.

As you might guess, those coins are not left behind randomly.  Each one has special significance.

A penny means that a person has visited the headstone and is showing gratitude for the deceased’s service. There is no stipulation on who should leave the penny.  Anyone can.

A nickel means that the visitor had once attended boot camp with the deceased.

A dime signifies that the one who left it served in the military with the deceased.

A quarter – and this one is especially moving – means the visitor had been with the soldier when he or she passed away.

Wow.

With Memorial Day only a couple of weeks away, now you know why those coins are there, and if you’re like me, you’ll be especially moved by the gesture. They are a lovely way to show thanks for service and friendship – when the service member cannot hear us say the words.

Omaha National Cemetery

 

Have you ever seen coins on a headstone? 

Have you or a child left a memento on a loved one’s grave? 

What is the most unusual or moving thing you’ve seen on someone’s grave?

To Trend or Not to Trend

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As I pulled out my eclectic Christmas decorations this year, I wondered what trends were hot this year. Of course, now distracted, I turned to Google to find out. Here’s what I discovered.

Click here to go to article

According to a Better Homes and Gardens article, (click here to read) this year’s all the rage color schemes are jewel tones, “Crisp” blue (whatever that is), pastels, and “wintery” white. (I’m always amazed that there are variations of white.) I love the idea of jewel colors. Deep maroon, emerald green, and deep purple with gold always say Christmas to me, but I’m not sure about the pastels. Another trend I saw multiple places was “natural” ornaments and “organic” greenery. Basically this is a fancy way of pinecones, oranges, cranberries, and real greenery or bringing the outside in.

Click here to go to article.

Another article (click here to read) I found said to have a theme for a tree and decorations. It listed hot trends such as nutcracker, retro glam, pink Christmas Candyland (pastels again), gingerbread, and “mixed metals.” While they all look beautiful, and I would love to decorate with some of these (except for the pastels ?), two things keep me from doing so. One is the cost. Buying new decorations and ornaments is not in my Christmas budget. Plus, trends change so fast this year’s great décor becomes next year’s so over it trend. As to what’s out, I read mentioned ornate décor, tree skirts (we should replace them with a tree collar. See the picture below), traditional red and green. For me, that last one is never out of style.

A tree collar means using a basket, washtub, or something else for the tree to sit in.

The other reason I don’t want to replace my decorations and ornaments is because they mean something to me. It’s usually because of who gave the item to me and/or because of the event associated with it. I have “our first Christmas together” ornaments friends and family gave me and my husband. I gave my husband a little porcelain plane ornament. Every year when I see it, I envision him holding each of our sons as toddlers and them flying the plane around the living room before hanging the ornament on the tree. My bff Lori gave me a suitcase that says Australia ornament. That’s one of my favorites because when she or I have a bad day, we often joke about moving to Australia because of the children’s book Alex and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

One solution would be to have multiple trees. I started doing that a couple years ago, adding two table-top trees, but again, I went with ornaments that had an emotional connection. in the kitchen and family room. The one in the kitchen has Peanuts ornaments which I collected for years, but hadn’t put on the main tree for lack of space. The other tree has ornaments I’ve made to hold dog tags from our foster dogs.

So despite admiring all the wonderful magazine suggestions for decorations, this year I’ll stick with my eclectic-memory-filled items and save some cash.

To be entered in the random drawing for the long sleeve Merry Christmas T-shirt, leave a comment about your favorite Christmas decoration, ornament, trend, or what trend drives you crazy.

Mary Had a Little…Turkey?

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What does the poem Mary Had a Little Lamb and Thanksgiving becoming a national holiday have in common?

Sarah Joseph Hale, born in New Hampshire in 1788, is largely responsible for both.

After being widowed, and with five children to support, Sarah wrote poetry as a way to make a living, and one of her most enduring poems is Mary Had a Little Lamb. Sarah became the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, a family-oriented magazine in 1841.  As editor, she began to crusade for a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to commemorate the pilgrims’ famous feast. Interestingly, the southern part of the United States was slow to get on board, as they considered the feast of 1610, when supply ships finally reached Virginia, to be a more important occasion.

Thanksgiving was unofficially celebrated in the Northeast and Midwest throughout the 1840s and 1850s, but it wasn’t until the contingency of southern states were absent from congress, due to the Civil War,  that Abraham Lincoln was able to declare Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday in 1863. For some time after the way, the southern states considered Thanksgiving a Yankee Abolitionist Holiday, but eventually  unity was reestablished and turkey and cranberries became part of a national tradition.

Now, about the turkey…

In Sarah’s day, people assumed that the pilgrims ate turkey as part of their feast due to the abundance of wild turkeys on the east coast, while in actuality, they probably ate venison. A turkey is a practical centerpiece for a celebratory dinner, being larger than a goose and able to feed more people.  Godey’s Lady’s Book featured many recipes for Thanksgiving and many of them featured turkey. Other publications pushed the idea of turkey being the traditional protein for the Thanksgiving feast, including Georgia’s Augusta Chronicle, which in 1882 announced, “Every person who can afford a turkey or procure it will sacrifice the noble American fowl to-day.”

Do you celebrate with a traditional turkey dinner? Or do you create your own traditions?

 

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

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I loved the song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as a kid (who didn’t?) and I loved watching the Rankin/Bass TV special. In fact, it’s still a Christmas tradition for me. I know all the lyrics and sing along. When they were young it drove my kids crazy, hey half of the fun, but now if I’m not singing they ask if I’m okay. ? Rudolph’s message of belonging, compassion, understanding, and everyone having something to contribute always hit home with me. I was a smart, liberal, knew-my-mind girl growing up in Dubuque, Iowa. I didn’t always fit in. I never went to homecoming or prom. In fact, I wasn’t even asked on a date in high school. I look back now and think I intimidated guys. Anyway, guess you can see why I identified with our little red nosed guy.

I was stunned to discover this classic Christmas tale that led to the Gene Autry song, was written by a Jewish man, Robert L. May. As a child, May skipped a couple grades in school, making him smaller and younger than his classmates. As a teacher, I can’t imagine how rough that was for him. Being physically smaller is difficult enough but add in developmental differences with his classmates, and  no wonder he didn’t fit in and viewed himself as a “nerdy loser.” Anyone else see foreshadowing here and a writer who would write what he knew? (Being an outsider and insecure?) Yup, me too.

Names considered other than Rudolph.

As an adult May dreamed of writing the great American novel but worked as a catalog copywriter in the advertising department for Montgomery Ward. (As an author, that sure hits home as I dreamed of writing novels while working countless other jobs to pay the bills.) In 1939, Montgomery Ward wanted to create a children’s book for its annual holiday promotion rather than give away purchased coloring book. May was given the job because of his talent for limericks and parodies. The only direction his boss gave him was to have an animal in it.

original cover of Robert L. May’s manuscript

May chose a reindeer for his main character because his daughter, Barbara loved the ones at Lincoln Park Zoo. When turned in the story of a red-nosed reindeer teased by his peers, who had exactly what Santa needed one foggy Christmas Eve, May’s boss asked him to come up with “something better.” (Okay, let’s admit May’s boss couldn’t tell an incredible children’s story from a hole in the ground.) May didn’t give up, and with the help someone in the art department and his sketches, they changed the boss’s mind. Click here to read May’s original manuscript. (It’s definitely worth checking out. 🙂 )

On its release in 1939, Montgomery Ward gave away 2.4 million copies of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Yup, million. In 1939. Think about that. Despite the book’s success, May who was heavily in debt because of his wife’s medical bills, received no additional compensation. However, that changed in 1947, when the head of Montgomery Ward returned the rights to May. Another event that year that changed May’s life and impacted the classic Christmas song coming to life was May’s sister married Johnny Marks, a songwriter. Long before Marks married May’s sister he’d read Rudolph’s story, and jotted down notes in his song ideas notebook.

Robert May autographs copies of his bestseller, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” and a sequel, “Rudolph Shines Again,” on Dec. 11, 1969.

Marks added music to the story, and knew he had something special. However, Gene Autry apparently channeling May’s boss who “wanted something better” than Rudolph’s story, wasn’t keen on the song. Thankfully, his wife persuaded him to record the second biggest selling Christmas song of all time (White Christmas is number one) for the “B” side. (From my research, it appears If It Doesn’t Snow on Christmas was the “A” side and who’s even heard of that Christmas song? I hope he thanked his wife for her foresight.) Click here to listen to the Gene Autry song

 

Some articles I read claimed May and the Rudolph story is sad. I disagree. Yes, May had a difficult life, but he channeled that into something truly special. No, he never wrote the great American novel, but he wrote a great American Christmas carol that still inspires children and adults today. A pretty great legacy, I’d say. Plus, as an added bonus, Rudolph took care of May and his family for his life and beyond.

 

Now that I’ve learned the history behind the song, I love Rudolph’s story even more and it’s message seems even brighter.

 

 

The Age Old Holiday Question–Fruitcake Treat or Door Stop?

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When I look back on my books, I can often tell something about what was going on with me. When I wrote To Tame a Texas Cowboy, transporting a lot of dogs from Corsicana, Texas. (For those who don’t know, my family fosters and transports dogs for Cody’s Friends Rescue.) I say that because of my heroine, Cheyenne’s comment describing her overprotective Mom. Despite the serious nature that brought about the scene (the mother reports her missing), I had a blast writing it. Here’s an excerpt.

“I’ve got to do something about Mom. I don’t care how worried she is, when she hurts other people she’s gone too far.” Cheyenne collapsed on the couch beside Aubrey.

If this was a sample of what Cheyenne was dealing with, no wonder she was desperate to move out. If a service dog could help her with that goal, how could he refuse to help? Wasn’t easing burdens like Cheyenne’s why he’d taken up Olivia’s cause with the SeizureReader?

Dog nails scraping against the glass patio door drew Cooper’s attention. After he let the dogs in, Penny trotted over to Cheyenne and curled up by her feet.

The wild idea that sprouted last night when he saw Penny with Cheyenne expanded. The idea could work.

“We should leave. I’ve caused Cooper enough trouble, and who knows what else will happen if I stay longer,” Cheyenne said to Aubrey.

Her friend shook her head. “Girl, I slept in my clothes and the officer showing up scared me so much I’m as sweaty as a teenager sneaking into the house after curfew. No way am I crawling in the car without a shower. Cooper, mind if I use yours?”

“Go ahead. That’ll give me time to talk to Cheyenne.”

After Aubrey left, Cheyenne stared at him wide-eyed. “Why would you want to talk to me? If I were you, I’d figure out how to get a restraining order.”

He smiled at her attempt at humor as he sank into his recliner. The woman had grit. Despite everything, she hadn’t buckled. “On your mom maybe, but this wasn’t your fault.”

Fatigue and vulnerability flashed in her green eyes, overwhelming the courage and toughness he admired a minute ago. “You’re wrong. This is my fault. I didn’t rein Mom in before this happened.”

“Has your mom always been so,” he paused. Would it be completely out of line to call her mom a nut case?

“Go ahead and say it. Crazy, wacko. Nuttier than a Collin Street Bakery fruitcake. Take your pick.”

He chuckled at her plain speaking. “I was trying to find a better way to phrase it.”

“That’s sweet, but unnecessary.” Cheyenne sighed. “She wasn’t as bad when my dad was alive.”

“You don’t have to talk about this.”

She shrugged. “You’ve seen my dirtiest laundry. Might as well know how it got so bad. My dad died in a freak rodeo accident when I was fifteen. A bull threw him and before the rodeo clowns got there, the bull stepped on his—” She shuddered, and horror flashed across her face. “There was nothing anyone could do. He was gone.”

“Saying I’m sorry is inadequate, but I am sorry.”

Cheyenne picked at the couch cushion. “That’s what started Mom’s overprotectiveness. Most people think things like that won’t happen to them or someone they love, but she knows they do. My diagnosis has dredged up that pain, along with her fear, and helplessness. She’s doing the only thing she can think of, trying to control everything, but she can’t fix this for me.”

 

I know a lot of folks outside of Texas won’t get Cheyenne’s comment “nuttier than a Collin Street Bakery fruitcake” but I had a good laugh writing with it. Her comment refers to the Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas, famous for the fruitcake it’s made for over 125 years. I can see the looks of disbelief on your faces now. Hey, I’ve heard all the fruitcake jokes that abound this time of year, but the Collin Street Bakery’s been featured on a popular shows like Good Morning America.

I thought the same thing the first time I went to Corsicana to transport a dog. But when I saw the Collin Street Bakery on my way to the city shelter, I had to stop. After that, every time I drove to Corsicana, I stopped at the bakery first. I would get a cherry turnover to devour on the way home, peanut brittle for my hubby, cupcakes, and a sample of their fruitcake, which is by the way, pretty good.

While we don’t buy fruitcakes, every year at the holidays, my husband craves our family’s version which is more like a pound cake. It’s so good that if I don’t have time to bake it, he does! Today I’m sharing that recipe with you.

 

Philly Christmas Cake

 

Ingredients:

1 8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese

1 1/2 C sugar

1 C butter

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

2 1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 C each of candied red, green cherries, and pineapple

1 C chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions:

Place 1/4 C chopped walnuts in each of two loaf pans. Place 1/4 C of the flour in a small bowl. Add cut candied fruit and remaining nuts. Mix and set aside.

Cream softened cream cheese, sugar, butter and vanilla until combined well. Add eggs one a time. Mix until incorporated. Add remaining flour (2C) and baking powder. Combine. Add remaining walnuts (1/2) and candied (now floured) fruit. Mix. Pour into loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour 20 min.

Giveaway–Today I have two holiday T-shirts to give away. Each one comes with a signed copy of To Tame A Texas Cowboy. To be entered in the giveaways, leave me a comment on your thoughts regarding fruitcake.

 

Petticoats & Pistols