Crab Dip, Suzy Arbogast
Suzy Arbogast contributed a peculiarly-named recipe to the “Cooking the Severn Way… Supplement” cookbook. Entitled “Dick Arbogast’s Male Liberated Pie,” it called for condensed milk, Cool Whip, and a can of pie filling, layered in in a pre-baked pie shell. At the end of the recipe, Suzy wrote “Preparation time: 8 min. Total Calories: 10,000.”
Presumably, the name referred to the ease with which a non-cook such as Suzy’s husband could prepare the pie. However, it takes on context in light of two articles in the Evening Sun in 1977. The first was entitled “More Women are Entering the Job Market Each Year.” Suzanne is mentioned briefly, as someone who “used to work full time at a hospital” and now “works one or two days a week and gives most of her attention to her family at home.”
A second article elaborated further. Entitled “2 Breadwinners Not Right for Every Family,” the article opened with Suzy’s story. “Working caused such a dramatic change for her family that she decided to stop.” Suzanne had quit her job as a nursing educator so that her family could return to “the style of living it was accustomed to.”
Richard, a psychiatrist, relayed that he had helped clean the house when Suzanne was employed full-time, but that they both got “tired of it.” Suzanne working full time “did something for my feelings about Suzy,” Richard said in support, “it was nice to have the feeling that she was sharing in the money-making responsibilities.” The extra income helped Richard advance his career.
The Arbogasts’ story was contrasted with that of Velma and Clarence Hicks, who were opting to both work full-time while raising a daughter.
For her part, Suzanne said she planned to return to work eventually. At the time, she was working two part-time jobs.
She had a nursing degree from Johns Hopkins after all, and she never let it go to waste.
She was born Suzanne Ogilvy in Westport Connecticut in 1944. Richard was a medical student at Johns Hopkins when she was in the nursing program, and they married in Baltimore in 1964.
“Cooking the Severn Way” and the companion “Supplement” book were compiled around 1974 by the parents and friends of Jones Elementary School in Severna Park, where Suzanne lived most of her adult life.
Although Suzanne may have quit her full-time job in 1977, she never stopped working at least one or two jobs in health care. In 1987, she visited the Soviet Union and spoke about her experiences at an event in Annapolis.
She also got divorced and remarried at some point before 1992, by which point she was using the name Suzanne Ochs. Her husband Max Ochs is a well-known folk and blues guitarist who has collaborated with Mississippi John Hurt.
Suzanne also returned to school to become a physician’s assistant. In 1992 she was working as an AIDS case manager for the county health department. Together with Joyce Wearstler, Suzanne formed an HIV-positive support group called Common Threads. “These people really need advocacy,” Suzy told the Baltimore Sun, “and unconditional love.”
Suzanne and Max still live in Severn. In 1998, Suzanne was interviewed in the Annapolis Capital about her love of the river she lives on. The story ran in October, and she was still taking daily swims. “Mrs. Ochs has a contest with herself [each year] to see how long she can last in the river. During one particularly warm year, she swam through the first week of December.”
She also availed herself of local seafood, as evidenced by this crab dip recipe, which has an old-time vibe thanks to a splash of sherry flavoring. I really liked it with potato chips.
“It is evident that Suzanne Arbogast has special goals for different periods in her life,” the 1977 Sun article said. When I first researched her, all I found was that small slice of life as a working woman in the 1970s, trying to balance family with a career. Once I zoomed out I found a lifelong dedicated swimmer, AIDS advocate, and partner of a respected musician. Suzy knew all along that she’d return to work. She just wanted to dedicate herself to parenting first. “If you happen to enjoy the process, which I do, why miss it?” she pondered. “It’s such a short process.”
Recipe:
- .5 Cup mayonnaise
- .5 Cup sour cream
- 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 6.5 oz can crab meat
- 1 Tablespoon sherry
- 1 Teaspoon lemon juice
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Drain crab meat (excess juice will make it too runny). Pick out bones if necessary. Sprinkle lemon juice over crab meat. Mix all ingredients. Chill. Makes: 1-1/2 cups
Recipe from Cooking the Severn Way. Jones Elementary School. 1974.
