January 2022 - OLD LINE PLATE

I think a lot about the impact of digital documents on interpretation of history. Which items are and are not easily available to online inevitably steer the course of my research and my writing.

For example: at some point someone in the New York Public Library decided to scan “Tested Maryland Recipes.” The public domain book then became available on google books.

As a result, this book was one of the earliest Maryland community cookbooks that I had access to.
The 1913 cookbook was the second edition of a book first produced by the Ladies of the Presbyterian Church in Chesapeake City in 1900. It includes recipes for terrapin, white potato pie, deviled crabs, beaten biscuits, and even stuffed ham. This is actually the oldest printed recipe for “Maryland Stuffed Ham” that I know of – and its in a Cecil County cookbook.

“Tested Maryland Recipes” has surely influenced my research and my perceptions of Maryland food. It’s also one of those books that will always have a special place in my heart. I frequently reach for my little Harvard Book Store on-demand copy when I need to find a good old recipe.

That’s what I did when I needed a few recipes to showcase the summer bounty of the 32nd Street Farmer’s Market on an MPT segment with Al Spoler. I looked for a nice pickle that would use a variety of vegetables, and I landed on this recipe for Chow Chow, contributed by Mrs. Anna Humes.

*An illustrated atlas of Cecil County, Maryland, 1877, loc.gov.*
*Red arrow shows location of Presbyterian Church*.

Dr. Edna Dorothy Meshke, like most of the contributors to “Maryland Cooking,” was a home economist. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: many of us have no idea how much we owe to Home Economics educators for creating, sharing, and fine-tuning classic recipes, and for raising the expectations of what a recipe can be.

Reinhold and Bertha Meshke immigrated from Germany to Minnesota in 1889. Their young cousin Fred made the journey in 1889 help the couple on their farm. Once established in America, Reinhold and Bertha had three daughters: Hazel, in 1899; Lucile, in 1904, and Edna, in 1907.

In 1930, at age 23, Edna was teaching at a public school while living in Faribault, Minnesota with her parents, who had retired from farming, and her sister Hazel, who was a nurse.

Edna earned a BS and PhD from University of Minnesota, and a MA from Columbia. These impressive credentials took Edna all around the country.

In 1938 she taught at the University at Buffalo. In 1943 she was at the University of Wisconsin. Some time in the 1940s, she led the Home Economics department at Butler University in Indiana. At some point, she worked at Pennsylvania State University. Throughout these years she continued to appear in Faribault city directories, leading me to believe that between school terms, she returned to live with her parents and sister at their home 711 1st Street.

Month: January 2022

Chow Chow, Mrs. Anna Humes

Date Sandwich Bread, Dr. Edna D. Meshke

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