legacy spring 2014
DESCRIPTION
The "it's all about Jell-O" issue!TRANSCRIPT
Legacy T H E J O U R N A L O F T H E R E N O C O U N T Y H I S T O R I C A L S O C I E T Y
16cookbooksfrom the pastprovide peekinto culture
12road map
addressescritical issues
at museums
SPRING 2014
once upon a time there was a gelatin recipe for every occasion…page 4
NEW!
PRAI
RIE D
OG
PuPP
ET T
HEATR
E
I N S I D E
h
HISTORICAL SOCIETY STAFF (full-time)
Linda Schmitt, executive director, rchs [email protected]
Ashley Maready, chief curator, rchs [email protected]
Gayle Ferrell, director of operations, strataca [email protected] Tonya Gehring, docent supervisor, strataca [email protected]
Dave Unruh, maintenance supervisor, strataca [email protected]
Lynn Ledeboer, curatorial assistant, rcm [email protected]
Paula Dover, administrative assistant, rcm [email protected]
Kourtney Krehbiel, visitor services, strataca [email protected]
Myron Marcotte, mine specialist, strataca [email protected]
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Richard Shank, president • Nan Hawver, president-elect
Billy Klug, treasurer • Laura Snyder, secretary • Michael
Armour • Tim Davies • Elaine Fallon • Mary Wilson • Bill Pfen-
ninger • Carol Carr • Cris Corey • Katherine Goodenberger
Arlyn Miller • Frank Alexander • Lee Spence, ex-officio
Mike Carey, ex-officio • Harold Mayo, ex-officio
4 revisiting the wonders of gelatin ...recipes from the heyday revived
10 grab the kids, then grab a puppet ...oodleplex theatre going to the dogs
11 youth compete on history ...preserving interest in our heritage
12 rchs directors create a road map ...addressing numerous issues at museums
14 thanks to our loyal supporters ...making many projects possible
16 vintage cookbooks abound ...reflecting attitudes on fitness, nutrition
21 meet our afternoon volunteers ...providing help at rcm
22 from murder to military ...special events abound in museums
Volume 26, No. 2Legacy is published quarterly by The Reno County Historical Society, Inc. 100 S. Walnut St., P.O. Box 664, Hutchinson, Kansas 67504-0664For advertising or membership information, call 620-662-1184.
© 2014 The Reno County Historical Society, Inc. ISSN 1045-3423All rights reserved. The RCHS disclaims responsibility for statements
of fact or opinion made by contributors.
THE JOURNAL OF THE RENO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Legacyh
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4
have always been a fan of gelatin dishes…for dessert. Whether it was red Jell-O in the school cafete-ria, gelatinized chocolate pies, or even complicated multi-layer fruit gelatin molds that I created for parties and Thanksgiving dinners, I was completely on board for the wiggly stuff. The thought of tucking into gelatin-based main
...or revisiting the gelatinized horrors of the past
By Ashley Maready, Chief Curator, RCHS
For a history of the quivering stuff, see GELATIN on page 6.
courses or side dishes, however, has never par-ticularly appealed to me, and I quaked in fear at the thought of burying help-less meat or vegetables inside a clear wiggly tomb. But I am a historian, an avid home cook, and have a particular interest in the social history of America in the 20th century. And a part of that social history is gelatin – gela-tin salads, gelatin main
courses, gelatin desserts, colored gelatin, clear gela-tin, flavored gelatin, most notably in the ubiquitous Jell-O.
THE ADVENTURE BEGINS After exploring the his-tory of gelatin (see GEL-ATIN, page 6), I decided to try out a few of these slightly terrifying recipes. I turned to the collec-tion of the Reno County
5
“WHY ARE YOU DOING
THIS?” HE ASKED.
“FOR HISTORY,”
I REPLIED.
(See APPETIZING, page 7)
Museum where, among many other cookbooks and booklets, I found a 1953 magazine-style pub-lication, “Today’s Woman Book of Salads: Over 200 Tested Salads.” From this collection of salads of all sorts, I se-lected recipes for a three-course meal, all of gelatin dishes. The salad course was the gelatin classic known as Perfection Salad with cabbage, celery, carrot and onion suspended in boxed orange gelatin. The main course was Molded Chicken Loaf with a mélange of chicken, celery and pineapple in chicken aspic. And the dessert was a nifty little dish called Golden Peach Gels made of canned peach halves stuffed with cottage cheese and entombed in a peach-lemon gelatin.
HELP ARRIVES Assisting me in this culinary mission was my patient fiancé, Mike, who manned the grater and squeezed the lemons for my dessert dish. And, of course, along the way he felt compelled to provide colorful com-mentary: “Why are you doing this again?” I re-plied, “For HISTORY!” We started things off with Perfection Salad. This dish has a long and storied history, beginning with a third-place cook-ing award in 1904 that resulted in publication of
the recipe in a gelatin ad-vertisement the following year. This development led to skyrocketing popu-larity nationwide until the dish fell out of fashion in the 1960s. My experiment with this one started out fairly
normal. I chose to use or-ange-flavored gelatin (the recipe suggested orange or lemon). But that was the beginning of the end of my enthusiasm for this dish. I like orange gelatin, raw carrots and even raw cabbage, but I do not like the smell or taste of white distilled vinegar. I added a teaspoon of salt and with severe mis-givings put the finished
mixture into my refriger-ator for 45 minutes until the gelatin reached the consistency of unbeaten egg whites. After just a few minutes, my refrigerator reeked of orange gelatin and vin-egar. In the meantime, I prepared the salad ingre-dients with Mike’s help. He shredded carrots and I chopped cabbage, onion and celery.
SMALLER PORTIONS One thing that struck me while I was preparing my innocent vegetables for their gelatin asphyxiation were the small amounts called for in the recipe. This dish was to serve six to eight diners, yet it only specified two cups plus one tablespoon of vegetables? When a serv-ing of vegetables is now regarded to be half a cup, the amount called for here seemed skimpy. Nevertheless, once the orange gelatin reached egg-white consistency, I mixed in the vegetables and spooned the mixture into a muffin pan. I do not own any gela-tin molds, and I thought the muffin pan would make nice little individu-al portions of Perfection Salad (should anyone be so daring as to eat a whole serving). I ended up with seven, so right on target. I slid everything back into my refrigerator. Next up was Molded Chicken Loaf that called
f PERFECTION SALAD WON
A THIRD-PLACE COOKING
AWARD IN 1904. WHO WANTS
THE RECIPE?
THIS MERRY HOUSE-
WIFE WAS FEATURED
IN A 1931 KRAFT-
PHENIX CHEESE
BOOKLET THAT FEA-
TURED THE MANY
WAYS TO USE CHEESE.
THIS AND OTHER
COOKBOOKS OF THE
PAST ARE FEATURED
IN OUR “FOCUS ON
COLLECTIONS”
STARTING ON
PAGE 16.
6
GELATIN...it goes way back
Gelatin, a component of foods since at least the 15th century, derives its name from the Latin gelatus, meaning “stiff” or “frozen.” It is a highly processed dried form of collagen from animal by-products such as skin, bones and connective tissues. Its commercial success, however, began in the late 19th century. And the key was refrigeration. The precursor to the modern refriger-ator was the icebox. These were wooden boxes lined with metal and insulated with wood, sawdust or sometimes seaweed. They held blocks of natural ice and food could be kept cold inside. A drip pan caught the melting ice, so new ice had to be added frequently to keep the icebox cold. This ice was pur-chased from icemen who sold and deliv-ered blocks of ice to people’s homes. The ice harvesting industry peaked from the mid-19th century to the 1930s. The fate of the icebox was sealed, howev-
er, when widespread electrification and saf-er refrigerants brought refrigerators home to the public. Early refrigerators were very expensive. One 1922 model cost $714, while a 1922 Ford Model-T went for $450! The rise of the home refrigerator meant that dishes needing to be kept cold, such as those made with gelatin, were now within reach of many more home cooks. Serving these dishes in the early days sent the mes-sage that you had the financial means to afford a refrigerator. With the availability and marketing of powdered gelatin, most notably Jell-O, the popularity of these dishes grew during the postwar baby boom. Women’s magazines touted colorful recipes for gelatin con-coctions that now seem nothing short of bizarre. These dishes have faded from favor but today many foods contain gelatin, such as candies, yogurt, ice cream and many more.
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aspicis perhaps
not afavorite.
(See THE ASSEMBLED, page 8)
for unflavored gelatin. As chicken and pineapple are great partners in Asian dishes, I thought, why not in gelatin salads? I have to say, however, that the gelatin base for this dish, which consisted of powdered un-flavored gelatin, chicken stock, salt, lemon juice and syrup from the canned pineapple, did not exactly fill me with de-light. This base is known unappealingly as aspic, because it contains meat stock. But it came togeth-er just fine, and went into
the refrigerator for the designated chilling period. In addition to grilled chicken, this dish called for crushed canned pineapple and celery. I
couldn’t find crushed pineapple in syrup
(the syrup was required for the gelatin base), so I made do with
pineapple chunks that I cut into
smaller pieces. I mixed everything, added it to the aspic base once it was egg-white consistency, and spooned everything into a loaf pan. I then asked Mike for
his opinion of our work thus far. He replied with a rueful smile, “Appetizing.” The third course of my gelatin meal was dessert. It was difficult to pick recipes for the first two courses, mainly because nearly everything sounded so unappetizing. I had the opposite problem choos-ing a dessert recipe. Most of them sounded tasty, and I found a lot of inter-esting recipes.
GOLDEN DESSERT Finally, I settled on Golden Peach Gels, which sounded delicious and unobjectionable as far as ingredients were con-cerned, and had the add-ed bonus of being visually appealing. This dish started with a peach-lemon gelatin base, consisting of unflavored gelatin dissolved in syrup from canned peaches, water, sugar, lemon juice, and grated lemon peel. My faithful assistant grated and juiced lemons for me.
“Appetizing,”he replied
(Continued from page 5)
PERFECTION SALAD
ashley drew her inspiration from this cookbook, “today’s woman book of salads: over 200 tested salads,” that features a color-ful shrimp and tomato salad on the cover. (1992.113.52)
u
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REVIEWSFROM
TASTE-TESTERSWERE MIXED.
The assembled gelatin base was studded with floating bits of lemon zest and was very striking to behold. I poured the mix-ture into a square Pyrex glass dish and left it to chill. After 45 minutes, I completed the dish by put-ting a spoonful of small-curd cottage cheese into the middle of nine canned peach halves and placing them in the gelatin in neat rows of three. Everything went back into the refrigerator to solidify. On the appointed day, I brought my gelatin dishes to the Reno County Muse-um for a taste test. Guin-ea pigs included eager Assistant Curator Lynn Ledeboer, and our admin-istrative assistant, Paula Dover, a vegetarian who was duly excused from Molded Chicken Loaf. I had unmolded the in-dividual Perfection Salads from their muffin tin and the gelatinized chicken loaf the night before with varying degrees of suc-cess. The Golden Peach Gels were cut into individ-ual pieces with a peach
half in the center of each. We took our meal cours-es in order. Opinion was divided about the edibility of the Perfection Salad. I couldn’t manage even
one bite. Lynn and Paula, however,
almost liked it, saying it was reminiscent of coleslaw. Molded
Chicken Loaf was not as repel-
lent to me. Gelati-nized chicken stock is a weird experience, but the combination of pineapple and chicken is a solid one. We garnished the loaf with peanuts for that ex-
tra special something. To Lynn, however, it tasted like chicken just on the other side of spoiled. The Golden Peach Gels, however, were a solid winner and definitely the favorite with all three of us. Per Lynn, “This tastes like something that could span the ages.” In spite of the misfires, Lynn thanked me for al-lowing the staff to share in experiencing historythrough culinary weird-ness. There was a time in the recent past when gelatin dishes were commonplace in the dining rooms and kitchens of America.
“On the appointed day, I brought my gelatin dishes to the Reno Coun-ty Museum for a taste test. Guinea pigs included eager Assistant Cura-tor Lynn Ledeboer, and our admin-
istrative assistant, Paula Dover, a vegetarian who was excused
from the Chicken Loaf.”
(Continued from page 7)
“Theassembled
gelatin...wasstriking to behold.”
THE MOLDED CHICKEN LOAF
FEATURED A LITTLE BIT
OF EVERYTHING.
THE GOLDEN PEACH
GELS, RIGHT, WERE A
SOLID WINNER WITH
THE TASTE TESTERS,
ONE OF WHOM SAID,
“THIS TASTES LIKE
SOMETHING THAT
COULD SPAN THE
AGES.”
9
“Dinner wasn’t dinner at my house without a Jell-O salad,” said Linda Schmitt, RCHS Executive Director and Hutchinson native, about growing up eating the gelatin dishes served by her mother. Dishes like these en-tered the public con-sciousness to the point that composer and pianist William Bolcom wrote a novelty song:
It's my lime Jell-O marsh- mallow cottage cheese surprise!With slices of pimento (You won't believe your eyes) All topped with a pineap- ple ringAnd a dash of mayon- naise, My vanilla wafers 'round the edgeWill win your highest praise.
The Hutchinson News weighed in on the mid-century gelatin phe-nomenon as well. In 1952 writer Mary Lou Dungey recommended the use of gelatin for dieters, and extolled its virtues overall, saying that “gela-tin can be the busiest food in the kitchen…it gets into everything from soup to nuts and even candies.” In 1954 food columnist Dorothy Budde offered helpful tips on molding and unmolding gelatin, adding that gelatin is “called upon to beauty other foods, make palat-
able leftovers and to pre-vent excessive crystalliza-tion and coarse texture.”
ONLY A CURIOSITY Even though I liked only one of the three dishes I prepared, I feel as if I learned a lot from this project. To me, gelatin is more of a culinary curi-osity than a staple. I now can see the advantages of gelatin that can turn a small amount of meat or vegetables into a fairly generous meal. The dishes I prepared
were easy and required little time to prepare. They required few differ-ent ingredients, and were comparatively far easier than many of the meals I assemble in my own kitchen every week. I don’t think that I’ll be preparing any of these recipes anytime soon – or ever – but I have learned to look at gelatin in a new way. So the next time you’re at the grocery store, spare a kindly thought for that humble little box. h
GELATIN DISHES WERE SO POPULAR
THAT A NOVELTY SONG WORKED ITS WAY
INTO THE PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS.
10h
H a-dah! Our brand new Prairie Dog Puppet Theatre is now open for play! If you haven’t seen it or played in it yet, stop by and take a peek. The puppet theatre, located in the Oodleplex, takes the place of the beloved bank that was be-ginning to look the worse for wear. The designs for both the bank and puppet theatre were created by Tina Moore, past assistant administrator. After completing Tina’s construction design for the theatre, Hutchinson Correctional Facility In-mate Steve Somerville began painting the backdrop mural for the theatre in mid-February. His creative talents were unleashed, and as of March 14 the project was complete. So grab the kids and come put on a puppet show in the new Prairie Dog Puppet Theatre!
Grab a puppet...curtain rising!
T
puppets on their stand await their acting debut.
ready to go!
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the puppet theatre mural, above, is reminis-
cent of the official kansas seal, and rep-
resents symbols of reno county – a farm,
silo, windmill, water tower, fire house and,
most importantly, the prairie dog (detail
upper right). this striking mural began with
steve somerville’s pencil-drawn design.
at right, he adds the colorful paint to
complete the mural.
All in the name of ...
HISTORY ave you heard about National History Day? If not, this academic program centers around a competition for middle and high school students who submit research pa-pers, websites, documen-tary films, presentations or exhibits, either individ-ually or in small groups. On February 28, I served as a volunteer judge at Friends Univer-sity for Kansas region 6. I was asked to judge in the senior high individual exhibits division.
Previously I judged in 2007 and 2008 for the Pennsylvania regional competition. In my division, our winners’ exhibits focused on several topics: the origin of the mandatory reading of Miranda rights to lawbreakers; the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church of Birmingham; and the eugenics movement in America and abroad. Entrants competed in the state competition in Topeka on April 19.
Results later! Judging was a great experience and a great way to network with fellow Kansas historians and museum professionals. It’s wonderful to see today’s youth actively involved in exploring the wide world of history. The National History Day competitions are the perfect platforms on which they can continue to pursue their interest in history.
– Ashley MareadyRCHS Chief Curator
Hfor more information
on the national history
day contest, please see
www.nhd.org/contest.
htm.
12
cracked and
uneven, the steps
and porch leading
to the doors of the
kline side of
the museum have
deteriorated and
need urgent repair.
I
Do we have a
PROBLEM? t’s always nice to know where you are going and how you will know when you get there! With this in mind, the RCHS Board of Directors participated in a planning retreat in February. Facilitated by Jon Daveline, former CEO of the Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce, the retreat resulted in a roadmap for Strataca and the Reno County Museum that will take us up to 2017. The process began by taking a look back at the 2009 strategic planning process and 2012’s retreat and plan update. We were very pleased to be able to review the progress made at both museums since 2009, including:
Linda SchmittExecutive Director,
Reno County Historical
Society
Reno County Museum:• Permanent storage solu-tion with purchase of the RCM annex• New outdoor signage• Window restoration (complete this summer)• Updated irrigation sys-tem and fountain repair
Strataca:• Salt Mine Express Train • Underground restroom
complex and Event Center • Salt Safari Adventure Hike• Miner’s Life exhibit After celebrating many successes, we got down to business with a look at the mission statements of both museums, and found that both needed a little updating. After much deliberation, we changed to the following:
permanent walls a priority for strataca event center
13h
The Reno County Mu-seum collects, preserves, interprets and shares the history of Reno County, Kansas to inspire aware-ness and appreciation of the past for present and future generations.
Strataca is an awe-in-spiring destination in an active salt mine that provides the ultimate underground adventure to its visitors.
Next we tackled our pri-orities for the next several years. They are ambitious, yet doable. Here are some of the highlights:
Reno County Museum:• Digitize and enhance research • Repair and restore porch and stairs of both Kline and Rosemont buildings • Establish an annual fundraiser• Increase membership • Broaden appeal to “millennials” and increase marketing• Develop an intern program• Add a Director of Education• More programs and events
Strataca:• New corner sign (this year)• Finish Event Center (to be called the StrataCenter)• Develop a topside gift shop (this summer)• Establish an annual fundraiser• Develop a geology exhibit (We have the plan, now we need the funding.)• Increase staffing• Develop a “Boom Room” (coming this year)
These are just a few of the many goals that we hope to accomplish in the next three years. Clearly we have our work cut out for us! We are fortunate to have a board and staff who are always looking ahead and actively helping to bring about continuous prog-ress. Let’s go!!
the porch must be repaired on the rosemont (avenue a) porch seen here and at right.
the highly successful strataca salt cellar gift shop will expand topside this summer.
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A BIG WELCOME
TO OUR NEW
MEMBERS! WE’RE
GLAD TO HAVE YOU
ON BOARD.
itizens and StoryKeep- ers make up the back-bone of the Reno County Historical Society by sup-porting Strataca and Reno County Museum. We thank all of you for your generous support.
The following joined or renewed between January and March of this year.
Reno County Museum StoryKeepers
CaretakersSteve ConardJohn and Jane Eriksen Barbara Frizell First National Bank of Hutchinson
Strataca Citizens
PickersJohn and Jane EriksenFirst National Bank of HutchinsonBarbara Frizell*Katherine Goodenberger E. Francis Habiger*Arlyn and Loretta MillerLaura Snyder*Jason Steele Jack and Donna Wortman
DiggersCharles and Bonnie BenscheidtDennis and Jennalee BoggsMaurice and Melva CummingsTremenda and Butch DillonDonor Advised Fund of the Hutchinson Com- munity FoundationJack and Ginger KoellingBill and Virginia RexroadJohn and Peg Stephens
DrillersPatty and Dan Foss
*New member
E. Francis Habiger Jim and Sandra Haskell Heart of Kansas Quilt Guild *Arlyn and Loretta Miller Aavon Powers Laura Snyder John and Peg StephensJack and Donna Wortman Cleyon and Laura Yowell ProtectorsAllen and Ila Stone RestorersDennis and Jennalee Boggs Tremenda and Butch Dillon Donor Advised Fund of the Hutchinson Com- munity FoundationDowntown Hutchinson
Patty and Dan Foss Ken and Barbara Keefer F.E. Schoepf (Shep) Bill and Virginia Rexroad In-kind and General DonorsMary Janet and Bill Collins Melissa and Billy Klug R. Wayne Lowe Donor Advised Fund of the Hutchinson Com- munity Foundation Bill’s AppliancesCK’s Lock & Key
*New member
CThanks to supporters!
h
f
Reno County Museum 2
Where Your Stories Live! Become a StoryKeeper! It’s 20,000 years ago. Imagine a woolly mammoth grazing along the river on a beautiful summer day in what is now South Hutchinson. A tooth found in South Hutchinson and now on display at the Reno County Museum inspires this story of an ancient Reno County inhabitant.
Our museum is not a warehouse for “old stuff”-‐ it’s a place that ensures that our stories of immigration, hardship, celebration, innovation, and industry will live on and continue to be told. In 2014, RCM will explore with you all of the ways we preserve, interpret, and cherish the stories of our families and communities.
One way that we will do this is through a series of workshops that will inspire and inform you of how to preserve your own personal stories. Do you have a treasured piece of family history packed away? We will show you how to bring its story to life and preserve it for your children, grandchildren, and future generations.
Help us keep your stories safe by supporting the Reno County Museum in 2014!
• Become a StoryKeeper with your donation • Contribute to the Collection Care Fund • Adopt a window in our Adopt a Window Project • Visit often and attend our events
With your support in 2014, we can keep your stories alive for the future!
1
W
WCOOKBOOKS
...through the years hat happy homemak- er was – or is – without a cookbook? Or two or three? The Reno County Muse-um has a plentiful supply of cherished cookbooks from various eras. There is the classic, “The White House Cook-book,” published in 1891. A later edition of this cookbook is covered in a custom, hand-quilted patchwork cover. And then there’s the more unusual, “Cheese and Ways to Serve It,” which came out in 1931 and features Kraft cheese products.
The variety of our historical cookbooks and recipe booklets is truly scrumptious. The “Navy Chow” cookbook features rec-ipes compiled by the Officers' Wives Club of the U.S. Naval Air Station in Hutchinson. Published in 1954, it has many cute, humorous, hand-drawn illustrations that highlight the recipes. The 1935 “Bride’s Cookbook,” published and distributed by the Wom-en’s Civic Center Club of Hutchinson, features more polished advertising images of local products
and businesses. Each era of cooking has its own flavor and focus. The covers of the 1942 cooking booklet, “Food for Fitness for 2 or 4 or 6,” feature color photographs of ice cream with choc-olate syrup and an olive loaf sandwich with ketch-up on top. Today we would prob-ably not include these food items in a cookbook published with a focus on “fitness.” With all the recipes mulling around in these great cookbooks in our archives, we’re sure you’ll soon get cookin’!
kraft-phenix cheese
products are the focus
of the front and back
covers of this unique
1931 booklet, “cheese
and ways to serve it,”
above. (1992.113.58)
below left is the 1911
white house cookbook
boasting that it is the
new and enlarged edi-
tion. (1986.43.01)
a crazy-quilt pattern,
which may or may not
have been made by do-
nor mildred hamilton,
adorns this 1891 white
house cookbook, below
center and right, the
cookbook is threaded
across the front and
back covers to hold it
together. (1992.51.40)
17
an elegant woman with marcel waves, above, serves up a recipe featuring mazola-mayonnaise in “the modern method of preparing delightful foods.” (from 1986.121)
this iga ad, above right, appeared in the 1930 “bride’s cook book,” published by hutchinson’s women’s civic center club. (from 1993.58.155)
800-760-5315 620-662-5315
MORE COOKBOOKS AND THEIR CONTENTS ON PAGES 18-20.
this photo of a woman frosting a cake, above, appears in “the white house cook book” from 1911. (from 1986.43.01)
the 1891 “white house cook book, above, included a photo of frances cleveland, then-current first lady, and illustrations of all previous first ladies. (from 1992.51.40)
18
FOR THE HOMEMAKER OF 1943. (1990.116.01) THE WAY TO A MAN’S HEART (1995.04.41) SAVING WWII RATION POINTS (1990.116.02)
FRONT AND BACK COVERS OF TWO RECIPE BOOKLETS PUBLISHED IN 1941. (LEFT: 1992.113.44; RIGHT: 1992.113.45A)
FOOD FOR FITNESS IS A PICKLE LOAF SANDWICH, LEFT, TOPPED WITH KETCHUP? APPARENTLY IT IS IN 1942. (1992.113.56)
ABOVE, THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ISSUEDTHESE BOOKLETS IN 1945 AND 1949. (1992.113.26 AND 1992.113.27)
19
THE NAVAL OFFICERS’ WIVES PRODUCED THIS 1954 COOKBOOK (1994.50.01) THAT FEATURED a TONGUE-IN-CHEEK RECIPE FROM CONTRIBUTOR “A. BACHELOR.” (1994.50.01)
THIS WHIMSICAL AD WAS FEATURED IN THE “BRIDE’S COOK BOOK.” (1993.58.155)
BACK COVER OF THE 1953 “BOOK OF SALADS.” (1992.113.52)
PHOTO FROM COOKBOOK FEATURING SOUFFLE RECIPES. (1990.116.02)
CUTE LINE DRAWINGS IN THE GAS SER-VICE COOKBOOK. (1995.04.41)
CAKE RECIPE IN “BRIDE’S COOK BOOK” TERMED “NEW SUPER-CAKE OF THE CENTURY.” (1993.58.155)
“BOOK OF SALADS” FEATURES THIS ENTICING MOLDED AVOCADO AND TUNA LOAF. (1992.113.52)
MORE ON PG 20
20
THE MARY LEE TAY-
LOR RADIO SHOW,
ABOVE, WAS AD-
VERTISED IN THE
“FOOD FOR FITNESS”
COOKBOOK. (FROM
1992.113.56)
THIS PHOTO OF A
FAMILY EAGERLY
ANTICIPATING
FRESHLY BAKED
MUFFINS IS FEA-
TURED IN THE GAS
SERVICE COMPANY’S
COOKBOOK, “THE WAY
TO A MAN’S HEART.”
(FROM 1995.04.41}
IN THE PASTRIES
SECTION OF “THE WAY
TO A MAN’S HEART”
COOKBOOK, RIGHT,
MEN LOOK HUNGRI-
LY AT A FRESHLY
BAKED PIE. (FROM
1995.04.41)
THE KNOX GELATINE COMPANY DISTRIBUTED THIS RECIPE BOOKLET IN 1961.(1992.113.57)
h
THE AD FOR FAIRMONT FOODS TRIED TO MAKE COTTAGE CHEESE GLAMOROUS WITH
ITS “HOLLYWOOD BOWL SALAD.”(1995.04.41)
YOU’LL FIND OUR
NEW VOLUNTEERS,
KAREN AND SHANNA,
BOTH NATIVE
KANSANS, READY TO
HELP IN THE GIFT
SHOP AND RECEP-
TION AREA.
21h
f
n Wednesdays and Thursdays we really do have you covered – thanks to two of our terrific new volunteers, Karen Fager and Shanna Soukup, who both joined us in 2013.
Karen Fager If you visit the Reno County Museum on Wednesday afternoon, most likely you will be greeted by Karen. She grew up on a farm between Haven and Bur-rton. After high school, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in elementary ed-ucation and teaching cer-tificate, then taught sixth graders for two years.
When she realized that teaching wasn’t for her, Karen went to work for Waggoner’s, where she sewed cushions for church pews. She had al-ways enjoyed quilting and sewing, and the job with Waggoner’s became her career for 33 years. Karen still occasionally works there when business demands extra hands. In the meantime, Karen still found time to raise a son and daughter with her husband, Norman, who passed away in 1990. The family traveled often and “…went somewhere every summer…” Remarried to husband
Ted, Karen still enjoys quilting, reading and volunteering at local organizations, among them First Call For Help two afternoons a week. Karen says the best part of volunteer-ing is chatting with visitors.
Shanna Soukup If you come back to visit the museum on Thursday afternoon, Shanna Soukup will be your friendly greeter. Shanna is a lady who loves to travel with hus-band Herb, even being adventurous enough to take “mystery” trips
where the destinations were unknown! Raised in Decatur County, Kansas, Shan-na remembers attend-ing a very small rural school for her elementary grades, then studying for two years at the College of Emporia. After she married, she moved to Hudson and finally to Hutchinson. Shanna was the Hutchinson High School activities treasurer for about 16 years, then worked in the business office of Hutchinson Com-munity College for nine years. Both Shanna and her husband are retired, Herb from the local school district in 1996 and Shan-na in 1999 from HCC. The couple has two daughters and a son. When her children were younger, Shanna enjoyed “…sewing for myself and the kids…and playing the piano and organ.” Today she appreciates her time at the museum. The museum is certainly lucky to have both these wonderful volunteers who generously devote their afternoons to covering our reception area and gift shop.
Meet our volunteers:
Karen & Shanna
O
karen fager
shanna soukup
h
f
22 h
The ShaftSee this engineering mar-vel that houses the six-ton double-decker hoist that transports visitors 650’ below ground.
StratadomeIntriguing and palatial, experience the grandeur of this vaulted salt room. Play in the Permian Playground filled with a variety of hands-on salt.Salt secrets exposed!
Mining GallerySee the Myron-mobile, a post-apocalyptic looking car driven by Mike Rowe, the host of the TV show “Dirty Jobs.” Discover modern day mining prac-tices versus mining in the past. Find out what a day in the life of a miner is really like.
Harry’s Habitat(Dr. Vreeland’s Fluid In-clusion Exhibit) The world’s oldest living organism, nearly 250 million years old and once encapsulated inside a salt crystal, is a resident of Strataca. Learn about its discoverers, Dr. Russell Vreeland and his team.
Salt Mine ExpressThis 15-minute train ride is a narrated, guided tour through a part of the mine that was active in the 1940s and ‘50s.
The Dark RideYour personal guide de-livers fascinating informa-tion on a 30-minute tram ride where you experience true “mining dark” and collect your souvenir piece of salt.
GE Engine No. 2One of only three such engines ever built, it is now on display outside of Strataca. Built in 1919, the train ran along a short railway line from 1928 to 1963 that provided switching services for the Carey plant and mine.
The Iodine Deficiency and Disorder StoryExplore the efforts of Kiwanis International and UNICEF in using salt to combat the devastating effects of iodine deficiency.
The Story of Under-ground Vaults & StorageView costumes and props from your favorite movies in this exhibit focusing on a unique underground storage business.
STRATACAHOURS
9 am–6 pm Tues–Sat1–6 pm Sunday
closed Mondays
last tour departs at 3 pm
advance reservations strongly recommended
allow about two hours for your adventure
SALT BLAST PASSour best deal
includes gallery tour,dark ride (both handi-
capped-accessible) and train ride:
adults: $19seniors (60+), AAA
and active military: $17children (4-12): $12.50
reno county residents: $14
strataca citizens: $7
children under 4 not admitted
due to mine safetyregulations.
pricing availableto add only dark ride
or train ride togallery admission.
all prices include sales tax.
special pricing forgroups over 28 and school groups witharrangements made
one week in advance.
3650 e. avenue g (at airport road)
hutchinson, ks 67501
620-662-1425toll-free 866-755-3450
underkansas.org
Murder in the Mineinteractive Mystery dinner theatre
August 23: “A Very Brady Murder”
December 12: “I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus”
$55 per person / $400 for table of 8Doors open at 5 p.m.Last trip underground: 6:15 p.m.Must be 18 years or older due to adult humorShould you attend, we promise to deliver murder, mayhem and hilariousmadness. Make your reservations soon as these events fill up quickly.
salt safari Mine adventure
Select Fridays and Saturdays, 1-4 p.m.Limit: 20 hikersMust be 13 years or olderAdvance online reservations requiredThis challenging, rugged hike will explore raw areas of the mine, cover many miles, and last up to three hours. Hike is not handicapped-accessible.
For details and reservations for all events:underkansas.org
STRATACA ATTRACTIONS
23
RCM on the Road…CoMes hoMe
From 2011 to 2012, RCM travelled to 14 Reno County communities to display artifacts from those towns. The exhibits stayed up for six months. Now we are bringing this exhibit back to Hutchin-son for all to see. Also we are accepting photographs of current and historical items relating to any of the Reno County cities. We’ll display them along with this exhibit.
RENO COUNTY MUSEUM
EVENTS & EXHIBITS
RENO COUNTYMUSEUM HOURS
9 am–5 pm tues-Fri
11-5 saturday
closed sunday
and monday
free admission
unless
otherwise
noted
100 S. Walnut
620-662-1184
tough, Rough & Ready: Reno County tools a-ZThis tool-tally awesome exhibit displays an amaz-ing variety of tools that built Reno Countyfrom the ground up.
a Peek InsIde Reno County’s JewelRy Box
From rhinestones to fine gold, see what adornment Reno Countians have been wearing from themid-1880s through the 1960s.
see these stickpins in reno county’s “jewelry box.”
email us snapshots
of your community
and we will post
them along with
the “on the road”
exhibit. send to:
lynn@renocomuse-
um.org.
fhaIl to the hall: 100 yeaRs of ConventIon hall This exhibit traces the history of Hutchinson’s historic Convention Hall and officially displays the items from the Conven-tion/Memorial Hall 1911 time capsule box.
tRansPoRtatIon galleRy See the Schuttler wag-on, an Amish buggy, the Indian motorcycle, sidecar and much more.
EXHIBITS
New for 2014! Reno County tReasuRes: talks, tIPs, & tReats
These fun, informal work-shops will focus on educa-tion and preservation with a bit of show-and-tell and treats! Call for details:
June 10 – Heroes, Helmets & Holsters: Military item preservation, 7-9 p.m.
August 14 – No Dog Ears Allowed: Book repair and preservation, 7-9 p.m. ($)
October 28 – Dragons, Gargoyles, & Cauldrons: 7-9 p.m. ($)
December 6 – Trimming the Tree: Ornaments Past & Present: 1-2:30 p.m.
ICe CReaM soCIal
July 17, 5:30-7:30 p.m.Our annual sweet calorie give-away day at RCM is free to the public! Come out and enjoy...or until the ice cream is gone!
h
reno county historical societyp.o. box 664hutchinson, kansas 67504-0664
return service requested
WHAT’S COOKING?TASTE, IF YOU DARE!
PAGES 4 &16
If your address changes, please call us at 620-662-1184.