Postcard Friendship Friday - A Liberal Santa

Happy Postcard Friendship Friday! This cute fellow is looking all innocent and trying his best to convince us that he is decorating the place with holly as the little rhyme suggests. He's actually raiding his Christmas stocking for the pecans and that juicy tangerine stuck in the toe by the very liberal Santa.


The card was mailed to Miss Clorinda Ramsey in Charlotte Ut - the date is faint, but it appears to be December 22, 1915.

Eighty percent of the population of Utah lives around the Great Salt Lake which is a remnant of a much larger prehistoric lake called Lake Bonneville which at it's peak surface area, was nearly as large as Lake Michigan and significantly deeper, covering roughly ten times the area of Great Salt Lake. It was over 1,000 feet deep, and covered much of present day Utah and parts of Idaho and Nevada during the Great Ice Age. About 17,000 years ago a large portion of the lake was released through the Red Rock River in Idaho in a massive flood. The flood area can still be seen from the sky if you happen to fly over.

Utah is called the Beehive State. The beehive is a symbol of industry and the pioneer virtues of thrift and perseverance. The beehive was chosen as the emblem for the seal of the State of Utah when it became a state in 1896.

Honey, mainly clover, alfalfa and wildflower - is an important commodity of Utah, thanks to industrious bees. It has a low moisture/high sugar content due to the arid climate.

Speaking of bees, "the bee's knees" is a popular phrase from the Roaring 20's meaning excellent or highest quality. The origin of the phrase is uncertain.

The Real Bee's Knees

One possible connection between the phrase and an actual bee relates to Bee Jackson. Ms. Jackson was a dancer in the 1920's New York and is credited with introducing the Charleston to Broadway in February, 1924 when she appeared at the Silver Slipper nightclub. She went on to become the World Champion Clarleston dancer and was quite celebrated at the time.

It's possible that the expression was coined in reference to her very active knees.

The bee's knees probably was just a rhymed catch-phrase of the day like hocus pokus, hoi paloi and hoity toity. Isn't that the cat's pajamas? Mum's the word and let's 23 skiddoo!
.

Besides honey, what might we find on the Utah Christmas buffet?
.

How about these Utah favorites: Fried Scones, Funeral Potatoes and (this is sooo 1950’s) Green Jello with grated carrots.

The fried scones, a deep fried buttermilk yeast bread, may be an Anglicanized version of Navajo fry cakes and sopapillas. They are seved with honey butter, which is a mixture of one part butter and one part honey whipped together. The scones most of the population is familliar with are leavened with baking powder and baking soda and baked in an oven.

The "Four Corners" area where Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada meet is known as the fried bread capitol of the world. Sounds like a place I need to visit!

There's Always Room For Jell-O - except Green Jello can stay in Utah for all I care.

According to Kraft Foods, Utah residents eat more Jell-O per capita than the other 49 states. Lime is a particular favorite. This Jell-O was immortalized during the 2002 Olympics, where pins depicting this dessert were sold. Apparently, Kraft underestimated the demand and they became collector's items.
.
"...in the early 90's, Salt Lake City residents became the Jell-O buying champs by eating four boxes per person per year, or about four times as much as the average American. Local food experts attribute this to the city's extensive Mormon population where large families and low alchohol consumption, compensate with high sugar intake. Salt Lake City residents also buy more lime Jell-O than all other Americans (presumably to make that most popular of local Jell-O dishes, lime Jell-O with shredded carrots." --Jell-O: A Biography, Carolyn Wyman[Harcourt: San Diego] 2001 (p. 121-2)

Well, have at it, I say. I ate enough Jell-O during the 1960's to put any Mormon to shame. This is a true statement: Jello was a fruit, vegetable and dessert back then. You'd find Jell-o molds at every meal and family gathering. Even weddings. And people would eat it, whether filled with sliced radishes, grated carrots, shredded cabbage, black olives or any kind of fruit or nut. It might have a layer of sour cream, ketsup, or Elmer's Glue. It was served like berries, with milk or cream! It was whipped, layered, molded or cut into diamonds or squares. When I think back....well, I try not to think back...erp.

And what about those Funeral Potatoes???

There are about as many recipes as there are people who prepare it. It has many other names, but it's always, really, funeral potatoes.

Here's one version:

1 Large bag of frozen, shredded hash brow potatoes (the raw ones, not the pre-cooked brown ones)

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup

1 pint of sour cream

1 small bunch green onions cut fine

a cup or two of grated cheese such as cheddar/jack


Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, spread in a 9X13 pan that has been greased with cooking spray or butter.

Top with crushed cornblakes, bread crumbs or crushed potatoe chips that have been drizzled with a couple tablespoons of melted butter.

The recipe says to cook at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour but that does not sound right, especially if the potatoes are still frozen. I would guess that an hour or an hour and 15 minutes will work. Just keep an eye on it, and when it's browned on top and bubbly all over, it's done.

And finally:

An admission of guilt! About half way through my research I got to thinking about the mailing address on that postcard. Somehow Charlotte didn't sound tough enough to be a city in Utah. They need names like Burley Man and Skunk Rock to keep up their image. Besides, I couldn't find a city, town, village, place or ghost town with that name. I decided that the UT might actualle be VT. Hmmm! I was right. heh heh. However, we've already talked about Vermont - you remember - maple surup, granite yatta yatta. So I made a blogecutive decision and finished researching Utah. It's a pretty interesting state.

Hope all your Christmas plans are coming along smoothly and hope your house smells like cinnamon and pine boughs!

Be sure and stop by Marie's at Voila Vintage Postcards for more Postcard Friendship Friday Fun! The link is on my side bar. no, the right. Up a little further...up...uuuup. Yes! There. Just click and you'll be transported to France! Magic!

Postcard Friendship Friday in Big Sky Country

These little nippers are having a happy chat with their snowman on a nippy winter day

The Christmas greetings were postmarked December 23, 1912 and mailed to Miss Laura Stewert in Silver Star, Montana, from Iona and Graham of Toronto Ontario.
,

Grinnell Glacier, Montana

.
Montana ranks fourth in area, but 44th in population, and therefore has the third lowest population of the United States. Montana's nickname is Big Sky Country, The above picture shows us why.

Three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park are in Montana. (The other two are in Michigan and Rhode Island.)
.
The 1 cent postage stamp was cancelled with "Help The King Edward Memorial Fund For Consumptives." Sir William Gage of Toronto initiated the King Edward Fund in 1912.

Consumption is an old term for wasting away of the body, particularly from tuberculosis (TB). The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that: "In 460 BC Hippocrates identified phitisis (the Greek word meaning consumption) as the most widespread disease of his day and observed that it was almost always fatal, Someone who had TB seemed literally to be consumed by the disease. That is why they used to speak of "consumption".

Before the Industrial Revolution, TB was sometimes regarded as vampirism. When one member of a family died from it, the other members that were infected would lose their health slowly. People believed this was caused by the original victim draining the life from the other family members.

Don't be alarmed! I'm just taking Millie to the Sanitarium for a much needed rest.

Tuberculosis has co-evolved perhaps for several million years. The oldest known human remains showing signs of the disease are 9,000 years old, It was still a deadly disease in 1912, affecting millions of people worldwide.

But I digress.

My trusty reference book, the Onion Atlas, describes Montana thus: "Set aside by the U.S. government in 1889, America's protected militialands are the traditional breeding grounds of the nations last remaining manifesto-drafting psychos, armed libertarians, and solitary mountain men.

Git! Or ah'll shoot yer eye out!

"I defy the annals of chivalry to furnish the record of a life more wild and perilous than that of a Rocky Mountain trapper." Francis Parkman

If the fellow in the picture is Francis, I would hope he went by a tougher name than Francis up in them there mountains. Perhaps Freakin' Fran or something that would get him some respect.

The equipment of the mountain man was sparse. Osbourne Russel provides an apt description of the typical mountain man from one who was there. (Osbourne?? Perhaps a name change to Ratface Russell or Ozzie Osbourne would get more respect in the wild, don't you think?

" A trappers equipment...is generally one animal upon which is placed...a riding saddle and bridle, a sack containing six beaver traps, a blanket with an extra pair of moccasins, his powder horn and a bullet pouch with a belt to which is attached a butcher knife, a small wooden box containing beaver bait, a tobacco sack with a pipe, and implements for making fire with sometimes a hatchet fastened to the pommel of his saddle. His personal dress is a flannel or cotton shirt (if he is fortunate to obtain one, if not, antelope skin answers the purpose of over and under shirt), a pair of leather breeches with blanket or smoked buffalo or otter skin. His hose are pieces of blanket lapped around his feet which are covered with a pair of moccasins made of dressed deer, elk, or buffalo skins, with his long hair falling loosely over his shoulders complete the uniform."

Miss Laura Stewert's home, Silver Star, is located in southwestern Montana along the Jefferson River on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Lewis and Clark passed through Silver Star in early August 1805 in their search for a water route to the Pacific. On August 4th William Clark and the main party of men with the canoes camped just across the river from present day Silver Star, while Meriweather Lewis (perhaps he called himself Stormyweather on the trail??) was scouting the route ahead on foot.
.
Silver Star is the third oldest town in Montana, a story which began in 1866 when a prospector named Greene Campbell discovered gold on the side of a hill about 1 1/2 miles west of the town site.
.
Today, the gold is gone and Silver Star is a quiet little town of about 30 people, probably more like 60 if you include the outlying areas and ranches.

Silver Star Hotel, 1884

The Silver Star Hotel was built by A.J. Noyes about 1867. In the winter of 1878, Prince Edward of Wales, son of Queen Victoria stayed at the hotel for three days. He was coming from a tour of western Canada, with a party of six people in light wagons. They were hunting game and grouse along the way. The Prince was apparently en route to Salt Lake City to take the train back east, when a winter storm held him up in Silver Star. He was reportedly friendly and well-liked.
.
At home, Prince Edward was just a tad picky about what guests wore to his dinner table, chastising some and banishing others. I wonder how he managed the white tie and tails look at the Silver Star?
.
So, what might we find on the Christmas dinner table in Montana?
.
The various ethnic groups who settled in Montana brought their native recipes with them. Many Russians became wheat farmer in Montana. They retained their traditional foods, such as beet soup and a cheese tart called Vatroushki. For company there was a pudding of Montana cherries, breadcrumbs and cinnamon, or a pie called Smettanick, which had a filling of cherry jam, almonds and sour cream.

The Croatians and Slavs settled Butte, Great Falls and Anaconda. In the Scandinavian settlements of Montana a special porridge with heavy cream was served at Christmas. The Irish celebrated by preparing a dish called Golden Bread - a version of French toast. The Scots enjoyed scones. Montana's cuisine is also based on ingredients indigenous to the state such as white honey spread on huckleberry bread, and buttermilk biscuits spread with cherry jam. In the hunting season many dishes centered around elk, moose, and deer.
.
One web site lists buffalo burgers as a Montana food, however, the first Native Americans encountered in Montana were called Sheepeaters, and the early white settlers and hunters in the area killed buffalo for the hides and just left the meat. Buffalo (bison, actually) were hunted almost to extinction in the 19th century - partly for sport, partly for hides and partly to free up space for cattle grazing.

Eat More Chikin!

.

Did I hear buttermilk biscuits?

.
Here's a vintage recipe for you:
.
Buttermilk Biscuits (Montana:1909)


2 Cups flour plus 1/4 cup to flour board
1/2 cup lard, plus a little to grease baking sheet
1 scant teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk


Equipment: Pastry blender or large fork, wooden board, rolling pin, biscuit cutter, baking sheet.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Mix dry ingredients with pastry blender until the flour mixture is in fine granules

Sprinkle buttermilk over the mixture and mix to make a solid, soft dough. gradually add a little more buttermilk if needed.

Work dough lightly into a ball with the tips of your fingers and then roll our to approximately one inch thick

Lightly grease baking sheet

Cut biscuits into rounds and arrange on baking sheet

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until they are a deep golden brown

Serve hot with butter, and/or jelly, honey or choke berry syrup. Leftover biscuits (now there's an oxymoron for you) can be split and filled with butter and sugar or reheated in a paper sack in a 325 degree oven. Serves 4

While you're wrapping up those biscuits so you can Fed-Ex them to me while they're still piping hot, please stop by Marie's at Voila! Vintage Postcards for more postcard Friendship Friday fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

Postcard Friendship Friday with Puddin' in the Pan

Postcard image copied here with kind permission of CardCow.com

.

This little Christmas Angel looks a bit distressed with holly adorned gifts toppling and a potential Christmas dinner running off with the Christmas cards. Each item pictured is a symbol of Christmas. In short, we see the rose/purity; holly/reminder of the crown of thorns; gifts/gifts from the Magi; Angels/announcing the birth of Christ; pig/good fortune, thrift and savings; Christmas cards/expression of goodwill; red/Christ's blood and green/evergreen - eternal life; mistletoe/birth, renewal.
.
By the way, mistletoe may remain hanging through the year to preserve the house from lightning or fire, until it is replaced the following Christmas Eve. Scandinavia gave us the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe, thank you very much.





The card is postmarked in Quincey Mass. December 14, 1908. The sender's address is actually in Wollaston which is a neighborhood in Quincy.

Did ya know the first Howard Johnson's restaurant was established in Wollaston?

The card was mailed to the American School of Archaeology in Rome Italy.

Here

Archaeological discoveries in 1908 included:
.

A 40,000-year-old Neanderthal boy skeleton is found at Le Mostier in southwest France.
.

Venus of Willindorf
.

The Venus of Willindorf ,carved around 23,000BC from oolitic limestone, was discovered
.

Willard Libby, the inventor of radiocarbon dating, was born in 1908.
.

Quincy, MA birthplace of John Adams and John Quincy Adams, is pronounce qwin-zee just as the Quincy family pronounced theirs. Most "outsiders" including me - pronounce it qwin-see. I've given this some thought, and have come to the conclusion that if you (and I) are over the age of 60, we might as well continue pronouncing Quincy as we always have.
.
However, if you are 59 and younger, get it together, and start pronouncing it qwin-zee. And don't correct me if I say Qwin-see.

Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams, American Presidents.

.
Abigail Adams: "Alas!" she wrote to John Adams in December 1773, "How many snow banks divide thee and me...." in response to his frequent and far travels as a circuit judge.
.
The traditional New England Christmas table would be groaning with seafood, chowders, cranberry and blueberry dishes. There would be corn meal dishes including corn muffins and one of my personal favorites, Indian pudding.
.

M-m-m-m-m!
.
This cornmeal Indian Pudding is as American as apple pie and is delicious served warm with vanilla ice cream.

.
Despite the name Indian Pudding, it is not a traditional native dish. Native Americans did not have milk or molasses to use in their cooking. Indian pudding is a more elaborate version of Hasty Pudding. Hasty Pudding, usually made with flour, is a centuries old English tradition with recipes dating to 1599 and brought to America with the first settlers. (Puddings made from oatmeal were called burgoo). Indian pudding recipes appeared in American cookbooks in 1796.

.

Hasty pudding is referred to in a verse of the early American song Yankee Doodle:

Fath'r and I went down to camp

Along with Captain Goodin',

And there we saw the men and boys

As thick as hasty puddin'

Indian pudding is relatively easy to make, scents the house nicely while it bakes and worth the effort to make. Here's an excellent recipe:

Indian Pudding

3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy (whipping cream) cream
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
1/2 cup molasses
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
4 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Lightly grease a 6- or 8-cup soufflé or baking dish with butter (you can use margarine, but DON’T use non-stick sprays).

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat, scald the milk.

While the milk is heating, pour the cream into a medium to large bowl, add the cornmeal, sugar, molasses, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Add this cream/corn meal/spice mixture to the scalded milk. Cook, whisking constantly, over medium-low heat until the pudding has thickened to the consistency of syrup (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat.

In a bowl, beat eggs with a whisk. Temper the eggs by adding 1/2 cup of the hot cornmeal mixture to the eggs while whisking rapidly. Vigorously whisk the egg mixture into the remaining cornmeal mixture. Add butter, one piece at a time, stirring until melted.

Pour mixture into the prepared soufflé dish, and place dish on a shallow baking pan on the center oven rack. Pour enough HOT water into the shallow baking dish to come 2/3 of the way up the outsides of the soufflé or baking dish.

Bake until pudding is set, a tester inserted close to (but not in) the center comes out clean, usually about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and remove from the water bath and let cool slightly.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream or heavy cream.

Makes 8 servings

Try it!

While it's baking, stop by and visit our fav Postcard Friendship Friday host, Marie, at Voila! Vintage postcards. Thanks so much for stopping by.