Food and Drink

"Conestoga Coffee Blend, one pound net, Lancaster Wholesale Grocery Co., distributors, Lancaster, Penna." Although the landscape surrounding the Conestoga wagon in this illustration from the front of a paper coffee bag depicts the rugged terrain of the American West, early settlers actually used a different type of covered wagon (often just a simple farm wagon enclosed in canvas) to travel westward. The Conestoga wagon originated in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania , and its name may have come from the county's Conestoga Township or Conestoga River ("Conestoga" originally referred to a Native American group now more commonly known as the Susquehannocks ). It was a sturdy vehicle capable of handling large loads over the undeveloped dirt roads in Pennsylvania and surrounding states during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Given the local origin of the Conestoga wagon, it's not surprising that the Lancaster Wholesale Grocery Company chose the name for its coffee. And it's certainly more dramatic--through not accurate--to see the wagon traveling through a mountainous Western landscape rather than slogging through the muddy roads in the eastern United States. See also Howard C. Frey, Refurbisher of Conestoga Wagons .

See also the back of this card: Dunk a Donut and Be Merry! -------- This certifies that ________ is a life member of the National Dunking Association and is permitted at all times to dunk donuts either in private or in public, without criticism or interference. Headquarters: 152 West 42nd Street, New York City. Local charter: The Donut Hut, 109 N. Main St., Chambersburg Pa., Phone 824 W.

See also the front of this card: National Dunking Association Membership Card . -------- The Optimist's Creed. As you ramble on thru life, brother, whatever be your goal, keep your eye upon the doughnut and not upon the hole! The National Dunking Association respectfully requests all members to observe the Official Dunking Rules. Splashing is taboo. Any member caught getting his fingers wet will be subject to suspension. With that, we wish you "Happy dunking!" And when you dunk, be sure you dunk donuts identified by the official Seal of Tested Quality, for delightfully delicious and winningly wholesome donuts enjoyed by millions of people. National Dunking Association. Seal of Tested Quality.

"Annual Fastnacht Social, sponsored by Beginner's, Primary, and Junior Depts., St. Andrew's Reformed Sunday School, Spruce Street off Perkiomen Avenue, Tuesday, February 21, 1950. Supper served from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets, 10 cents." Although "fastnachts"--a type of fried doughnut--are eaten in central Pennsylvania on Fastnacht Day , it's not known whether the traditional treat was featured as part of this "Fasnacht Social" supper held as a church fundraiser in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Shrove Tuesday in 1950. For additional information on Fastnacht Day, see Fastnacht Sociable, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lancaster, Pa., Feb. 16, 1904 .

"Fastnacht Sociable, by the Altar Society, Grace Ev. Luth. Church, Lect. Room, N. Queen and James, for new church improvem't fund. Admission, refreshment, and entertainment, 10 cts. Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1904. Admit one. P.A.P." -------- Although this 1904 ticket for a "Fastnacht Sociable" in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, doesn't specify what refreshments were served during this church fundraiser, its shape and the event's name suggest that "fastnachts"--a type of fried doughnut--were on the menu ( fastnachts , however, aren't necessarily round in shape and may not have a hole in the middle). As Wikipedia explains, " Fastnacht Day , is an annual Pennsylvania Dutch celebration that falls on Shrove Tuesday , the day before Ash Wednesday....Traditionally, fastnachts are made to use up the lard, sugar, butter, eggs and other rich foods in a house before the austere diet of Lent begins." Fastnacht Day--which fell on Tuesday, March 4, in 2014--continues to be observed in central Pennsylvania, and a number of Catholic and Protestant churches in the area each make as many as 100,000 fasnachts to sell. Some fastnacht makers use special recipes, such as one which produces an uncoated yeast-raised potato doughnut that's square in shape with no hole, while others--including many grocery and convenience stores--simply repackage their regular sugared or glazed doughnuts and label them as fastnachts. See Sue Gleiter's article, " What Is a Fastnacht? Apparently More Than Just a Fried Doughnut ," PennLive.com, March 3, 2014, for additional information on making, selling, and eating fasnachts. -------- For a ticket to another church-sponsored "fastnacht social," see Annual Fastnacht Social, St. Andrew's Reformed Sunday School, Reading, Pa., Feb. 21, 1950 .

In recognition of National Doughnut Day , June 7, 2013. From Wikipedia: "National Doughnut Day is on the first Friday of June each year, succeeding the Doughnut Day event created by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I. The holiday celebrates the doughnut (a.k.a. 'donut') – an edible, torus-shaped piece of dough which is deep-fried and sweetened. Many American doughnut stores offer free doughnuts on National Doughnut Day." Don't Forget the Salvation Army (My Doughnut Girl) "Words by Elmore Leffingwell and James Luca. Music by Robert Brown and William Frisch. This song officially endorsed and adopted by the Salvation Army (official seal). Broadway Music Corporation, Will von Tilzer, president, 145 West 45th St., New York. E. E. Walton." Chorus: Don't forget the Salvation Army, Always remember my doughnut girl. She brought them doughnuts and coffee Just like an Angel, she was their best pal As brave as a lion but meek as a lamb, She carried on beside the sons of Uncle Sam. So don't forget the Salvation Army, Remember my doughnut girl.

Given its placement on a pedestal, this patriotically packaged loaf of bread must have been the tip-top pinnacle of perfection. This advertising blotter dates to World War II and includes a calendar for the last four months of 1942. The bread wrapper packaging in the illustration also suggests, "Buy U.S. War Stamps." "Ward's Tip-Top Bread. So good to eat and so good for you. Enriched with vitamins and minerals. Fresh. Enriched. Buy U.S. War Stamps. September, October, November, December 1942."

"Spring Garden Farms. Cantaloupes, grown and packed by Frederick H. Schmick, Preston, Maryland."

Civic Lunch, Inc., 40 N.W. First St., Phone 23042, Miami, Fla. Where low prices keep company with high quality. "Excellent food, speedy service, and immaculate surroundings are the three essentials to success in the restuarant business, according to Charles Gorgas, proprietor of the Civic Lunch, 40 N.W. First St., who has been feeding Miami officaldom for the past several years" (see " Civic Lunch Head Outlines Growth ," Miami News , Sept. 30, 1934, society section, p. 7).

For this menu, see the front (above), inside , and back . "Jackson-Jefferson Day Dinner honoring U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver, Abraham Lincoln Hotel, Reading, Pa., March 1, 1952." According to Wikipedia, " Jefferson-Jackson Day is the most common name given to the annual fundraising celebration (dinner) held by Democratic Party organizations in the United States. It is named for Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. During presidential election campaigns, certain dinners are considered important venues for candidates to attend." Estes Kefauver was a U.S. Senator from Tennessee who was seeking the Democratic nomination for president when this dinner was held in March 1952. He had adopted the coonskin cap as a campaign symbol after political opponents claimed that he was a "raccoon-like Communist puppet." The unique headgear became popular in the 1950s and 1960s as the result of television programs that featured Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone wearing coonskin caps. As Wikipedia explains, "In the 1952 presidential election , Kefauver decided to offer himself as a candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Campaigning in his coonskin cap, often by dogsled, Kefauver won in an electrifying victory in the New Hampshire primary, defeating President Harry S. Truman, the sitting President of the United States, prompting Truman to cease campaigning for renomination." Despite Kefauver's early success, the Democratic presidential nominee that year was Illinois governor Adlai Stevenson.

For this menu, see the front , inside (above), and back . Menu: "Half grapefruit maraschino, celery hearts, mixed olives, sliced roast tenderloin, parisienne potatoes, buttered lima beans, hearts of lettuce, Roquefort dressing, rolls, butter, coffee, blueberry tartlette." Program: "Address, Hon. Estes Kefauver, U.S. Senator, State of Tennessee. Music by Leo Brailer Trio."

For this menu, see the front , inside , and back (above). "Sponsored by Labor's League for Political Education."

The men of the Marion Hose and Steam Fire Engine Company, No. 10, of Reading, Pennsylvania, sponsored a trip, probably as a fundraiser, to Springfield, Massachusetts, where they dined on beef and turkey at the Hotel Gilmore on October 7, 1909. This keepsake menu for the meal was printed in portrait orientation over a postcard of The Connecticut River at Springfield, Mass., Mt. Tom in the Distance, 1909 (see below for the original landscape version). Hotel Gilmore, A. E. Smith, mgr., Springfield, Mass. Marion Hose and Steam Fire Engine Co. No. 10 of Reading, Pennsylvania. Dinner. Consommé Printiniere. Baked bluefish, parsley sauce. Catsup, pickles, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish. Fillet of beef larded, mushroom sauce. Roast young turkey, giblet sauce. Lettuce-celery salad. Mashed potatoes. Mashed turnips. Green peas. Rice pudding. Pies: apple, mince, peach. Coffee, milk, tea. October 7, 1909. Allied Printing Trades Council, Union Label, Springfield.

"The Connecticut at Springfield, Mass., Mt. Tom in the Distance." For additional information about this postcard, which was overprinted with a menu, see Marion Hose and Steam Fire Engine Company No. 10, Menu, Reading, Pa., 1909 (below).

A menu from an elaborate meal at the Irvington Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Independence Day, 1893. -------- "The Irvington, July 4, 1893, Dinner. Oysters on shell, snapper, consommé royal, Kennebec salmon, Hollandaise sauce, pommes à la Russe, cucumbers, capon, oyster sauce, prime ribs of beef, young duck, apple sauce, lamb, mint sauce, sweet bread patties, à la reine, braised tenderloin, with mushrooms, queen fritters, glace au rum, mashed potatoes, Bermuda potatoes, peas, tomatoes, cauliflower, cream sauce, rice queen olives, Worcestershire sauce, chow chow, cole slaw, lettuce mayonnaise, gherkins, lemon meringue pie, English plum pudding, brandy sauce, queen of puddings, vanilla ice cream, raspberry water ice, assorted cake, apricots, plums, bananas, figs, almonds, English walnuts, raisins, crackers, cheese, black coffee, milk. Wine list may be obtained from head waiter."

Menu from page 3 of the program for the "Fourteenth Annual Watch and Wait of the Slumbering Ground Hog Lodge of Quarryville, in Pennsylvania," February 2, 1921 (see below for a transcription of the text). For additional information about the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge, see an enlargement of the groundhog illustration on the front cover of the program for the lodge's 1963 celebration, the full front cover of the program , and the back cover of the program . Ground Hog Day, Nineteen Twenty-One Ground Hog Feast Hotel Weber, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the Garden Spot of America. To sleep or not to sleep? That is the question. Whether 'tis weather-wise thus to suffer The stings and arrows of a Borean Winter, Or, by retreating to a cozy corner, burrow, and end them, To sleep, to hibernate and by a six-week nap To say we end the backache and the rheumatism And the hundred ills woodchucks are heir to, To hibernate! To sleep! Perchance to dream-- Aye, there's the rub! For in that death-like sleep What dreams may come, eke make me suck my paws, For who would prophesy and shake and shiver In an advancing cold wave and storm When he at once might rest and comfort take By getting in out of the wet. Menu Celery, Olives, Oysters on the Half Shelf, Vegetable Soup Stuffed Turkey, grown in Colerain Township Turkey Giblet Sauce Mashed Potatoes, raised in East Drumore Candied Sweet Potatoes, product of Beggar Row Cranberry Sauce, as sassy as can be made Quarryville Peas Salads, a la Eden Township Ice Cream, frozen in Lancaster Cakes Coffee, direct from Brazil, grown especially for ground hogs

Front cover of a menu for a birthday dinner in honor of George Washington, State Normal School, West Chester, Pa., February 22, 1907. See below for the inside pages and back cover .

Inside pages of a menu for a birthday dinner in honor of George Washington, State Normal School, West Chester, Pa., February 22, 1907. See also the front cover and back cover of this menu.