Posts Tagged food
Alvin Alonzo Dunivent, nicknamed "Don" by his coworkers, began working in a Kansas City, Missouri, White Castle restaurant in July 1927. He flipped burgers and worked the counter of this small fast food restaurant. The White Castle System of Eating Houses, Corporation called his position an operator for the Kansas City Plant. Employment included corporate training in customer service and pride of a job well done in this emerging industry. It was a good career move for Don.
Hamburgers were considered an inferior “poor man’s food” until fry cook Walter Anderson improved their reputation by coming up with a secret new cooking method. In 1921, he and partner Edgar Waldo “Billy” Ingram opened a chain of hamburger eating houses—compact, castle-like structures they called “White Castles.” From the architecture to the menu to the workers’ appearances, White Castle set a new standard for cleanliness and uniformity. Continue Reading
Missouri, 20th century, restaurants, popular culture, home life, food, by Cynthia Read Miller, archives
The 1946 Lamy's diner, as it appears today in Henry Ford Museum. THF77241
Back before diners were considered revered icons of mid-20th-century American culture, Henry Ford Museum's acquisition of a dilapidated 1940s diner raised more than a few eyebrows. Was a diner, from such a recent era, significant enough to be in a museum?
Happily, times have changed. Diners have gained newfound respect and appreciation, as innovative and uniquely American eating establishments. A closer look at Lamy's diner reveals much about the role and significance of diners in 20th-century America. Continue Reading
Massachusetts, 1980s, 1940s, 20th century, restaurants, Henry Ford Museum, food, entrepreneurship, Driving America, diners, by Donna R. Braden
Just days before her 12th child is born, 43-year-old Michigan farmwife Sarah Faught makes doughnuts for her family. Sadly, Sarah dies soon after giving birth. Mourning her loss, the Faughts left behind decide to save, rather than eat, Sarah's last batch as well as the cutter that formed it. It's January 1890.
For the next 122 years, Sarah's descendants pass down the remaining doughnuts, cutter and story of their loved one. Food for fodder forever memorializing the enormity of a mother lost yet never forgotten.
This story originally appeared in the June-December 2015 edition of The Henry Ford Magazine. You can read the current issue here.
Lish Dorset is Social Media Manager at The Henry Ford.
19th century, 1890s, The Henry Ford Magazine, Michigan, in memoriam, home life, food, by Lish Dorset
The Center of Attention: Epergnes and Centerpieces in American Entertaining
During the Holiday Nights program in Greenfield Village, we strive to recreate authentic interiors and seasonal celebrations of the American past. With the holidays rapidly approaching we are setting our dining tables for Christmas and New Year’s Eve and think it is a good time to examine the evolution of festive table settings in times past. Of course, the focus of table decoration is the centerpiece and these have a long and interesting history. Continue Reading
Europe, 19th century, 18th century, home life, Holiday Nights, Greenfield Village buildings, Greenfield Village, furnishings, food, by Charles Sable
We’re continuing with the project we started this summer, digitizing materials related to our historic buildings in Greenfield Village. This week, we’ve added images of Eagle Tavern. Today, Eagle Tavern is a great place to have a historically authentic meal or beverage (either temperance or non-temperance). However, when Henry Ford acquired it in 1927 from its original location in Clinton, Michigan, the building was in a state of deep disrepair. This sheet shows this poor condition from a couple of different angles. Visit our collections website to view nearly 100 artifacts depicting or related to Eagle Tavern.
Ellice Engdahl is Digital Collections & Content Manager at The Henry Ford.Additional Readings:
- Drinking at Eagle Tavern
- Meet Calvin Wood, Caterer of Eagle Tavern
- Root Vegetables, Then and Now
- Eagle Tavern Happy Hour: Lemon & Ginger Shrub Recipe
Eagle Tavern, Michigan, Greenfield Village history, Greenfield Village buildings, Greenfield Village, food, digital collections, by Ellice Engdahl, beverages
When host Mo Rocca offered Marc Greuther, chief curator at The Henry Ford, a sample of “Monnaise” on the set of The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation, it was difficult not to laugh out loud. We were filming in the Heinz House in Greenfield Village, among original artifacts documenting some of Henry J. Heinz’s earliest innovations and successes. Mo’s plastic condiment containers with their silly labels (fabricated by the show’s producers as props) looked absurd in this setting, to be sure! But looking back, they weren’t as out of place as it might have seemed. Continue Reading
TV, 19th century, food, The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation, Heinz, Greenfield Village buildings, Greenfield Village, by Saige Jedele, #Behind The Scenes @ The Henry Ford
Clara Ford’s Roadside Market: A Small Building with Big Aspirations
Buying fresh produce direct from local farmers is a key to our efforts today to “eat local.” Nearly 90 years ago, Clara Ford was advocating the same thing, to improve on diets that were undermined by too much processed food and--more importantly to her--to improve the situations of rural farm women. Continue Reading
Michigan, women's history, cars, by Jim McCabe, food, shopping, Clara Ford, agriculture, farms and farming
As we mentioned last week, we have been digitizing selections from our collections that relate to topics that will be featured on our brand-new TV show, The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation. We’ve just digitized dozens of artifacts related to the H.J. Heinz Company, including this image of a turn-of-the-century exhibition booth. Follow up a visit to the Heinz House in Greenfield Village by perusing elaborate store displays of Heinz products, streetcar advertising posters, and images of food production. Browse all of our digital Heinz collections in our Digital Collections, and learn more about Heinz on Innovation Nation in the fall!
Ellice Engdahl is Digital Collections & Content Manager at The Henry Ford.
food, The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation, Heinz, Greenfield Village buildings, Greenfield Village, digital collections, by Ellice Engdahl
“America is the only country in the world where ice cream is a staple article of food.” - New-York Daily Tribune, July 1902
Ice cream may have originated elsewhere, but Americans embraced it as their own with a passion akin to baseball games, outdoor picnics, and July 4th parades. The story of ice cream in America is actually comprised of multiple stories—stories of individual enterprise, invention and accidental discovery, short-lived novelties and industry-wide changes—all leading to the plethora of ice cream choices we indulge in today. Continue Reading
Summertime is fast approaching, and that means it is ice cream season. The Henry Ford’s collections contain ice cream containers, ice cream makers, sundae dishes, and more related to this icy treat. We’ve just digitized some of our holdings related to ice cream, including this mid-20th century tub intended to hold Velvet ice cream.
Ellice Engdahl is Digital Collections & Content Manager at The Henry Ford.
