Monhegan, Land of Atists

Island Inn, Monhegan, by Stan Moeller

There is a site called Monhegan.com I discovered yesterday when I was looking for work by Alonzo Gibbs. The site features works of art by the many artists who come to paint on the island. This poem by Gibbs was also posted recently. I invite you to visit the site to see some very nice works of art. Also look for more work by Gibbs later on in “On Being a Southender.”

A poem by Alonzo Gibbs, former resident of Bremen, Maine, now deceased. It’s possible this poem came from his book, Monhegan, which is now out of print. If you’ve ever been to the island, this description will look familiar to you.

Sunday Service

The road

Shaped to a slope

divides.

Monhegan House, Trailing Yew,

Mrs. Cundy’s Cottage-

windows over

walls of darkened roses.

We step from church

Into our galaxy,

which here includes

the scattered lamps of town.

Our unspoiled night

can still declare God’s glory:

distant waves

sounding for all the world

like wind in spruce tops,

sounding like the waves;

a smell of salt,

of drying fish-nets,

a sense of vast Atlantic reaches

under fixed or falling stars.

With flashlights lit,

we find our ways,

in all directions,

home.

We Danced on American Bandstand


(A tribute to Dick Clark)

Many of the memories many of us have as teenagers is the afternoons we spent in front of the TV after school watching American Bandstand.  With the recent death of our favorite dance host, Dick Clark, those memories came to the forefront of our minds. Although Dick became a TV mogul, producing many shows, and becoming the perennial host of Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve every year on TV, we will always remember him best as the host who introduced the latest hits every day on his show American Bandstand.

More than one generation of teenagers enjoyed this very special show as the show ran from 1956 to 1989. Music styles changed, clothes styles changed, hairdos changed, and Dick continued to introduce us to the newest teen idols to come along. An appearance on American Bandstand (ABS) began the careers of more than one singer including Frankie Avalon, Fabian, and Connie Frances.

The music over the years ran from the hip piano tunes of Jerry Lee Lewis to Run DMC. The stars came on the show, lip-synced their tunes, and became an instant star. Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon made the most appearance at 110.

Dick’s show was the first to introduce African American singers despite controversy from the producers who claimed ABS was a “white teenagers show.” He stood his ground and we must forever thank him. In the videos on You Tube I also see the appearance of African-American teenage dancers on the floor.

I got my daily dose of ABS every afternoon at my best friend Rose Ann’s house down on lower Fulton Street. We didn’t have a TV yet at 22 Fulton Street, so I watched the show at Rose Ann’s house, driving her mother, Thelma, nuts I’m sure as we danced all the new steps in front of the TV in her living room in front of the black and white set.

In that roundabout way we did indeed “dance” on ABS.”

Bandstand began as a local program on WFIL-TV Channel 6 in Philadelphia on October 7, 1952. The host was Bob Horn and the show was called Bob Horn’s Bandstand. Dick took over on July 9, 1956, when the show was renamed “American Bandstand.” ABC picked up the show in 1957, with Dick remaining as the host, and the rest is history.

The show moved to Los Angeles in 1964. From 1963-1987, the show was only on once a week, on Saturday. It was part of the USA network briefly, with host David Hirsh, but went off the air for good in 1989.

During the show’s heyday, Dick hosted the daily show which was called American Bandstand and the Dick Clark Show on Saturdays.


There was a show called "American Dreams" that came along later that brought ABS back to us in a fictional form. It featured clips from the old show along with the story. I enjoyed it very much.

You Tube has several videos of ABS as it ran on TV through four decades of music. I picked some pertaining to my era of the show. I hope you enjoy them. Thanks for listening.

 #1 video includes the memories of two of the show's "couples" who we watched as they danced with each other every day.

#1

#2 video Shows Dick introducing the song "Blue Velvet" by Bobbie Vincent as the kids dance in the studio. Notice the perfect "pageboys" on the girls and the guys all dressed in suit and tie.

#2

#3 video features “Rate a Record” in which a couple of teenagers on the show that day got to rate new records. This one rated “You’re Gonna Make Me” by The Wordd; and “Rango” by Frankie Laine. The main criteria was “Can you dance to it?” I don’t remember either of these songs.

                                                              #3

#4 video introduces Connie Frances for the very first time on TV singing her best known song-to-be, “Who’s Sorry Now?”

#4

#5 The Stroll, a popular group dance of the day. How dorky we were! Notice the girl’s petticoats and the shirts going down below the knee.

#5

#6 “This is Your Life,” a show hosted by Ralph Edwards, surprised Dick by featuring his life on the show.

#6

So You Think You Know The South End

On April 26 at the Strand Theater, Rockland Main Street Inc. will present a program called “So You Think You Know Rockland.”

The evening will test six teams of three on their knowledge of their hometown of Rockland. They will begin by answering 20 questions on subjects such as people, events, buildings, local businesses, sports and other historical and current topics.

The final round will be a Championship round to win the trophy crafted by Ken Barnes, pictured here.

The evening will include a silent and live auction and will benefit Rockland Main Street Inc. Admission is $10, $5 students younger than 18.

My reason for including this information in this blog is to offer some possible tie-breaker questions pertaining specifically to the South End. How much do these teams really know about the South End? We shall see.

Here are my 20 questions:

1.    How did Mechanic Street gets its name?

2.    What is the name of the mayor, born in the South End, who served several terms on the council?

3.    Name three family names who were early inhabitants of the South End.

4.    Name one hotel or public building that has existed in the South End.

5.    Name three businesses that have existed in the South End.

6.    Name three sea captains who settled in the South End.

7.    What was the name of the famous ship built in Rockland and who was its captain?

8.    Name three family names who were prominent in the 20^th century from the South End.

9.    What school in Rockland was named after a Southender?

10.  What are the names of the three schools that have existed in the South End?

11.  What street hill did we slide down in winter and what pond did we skate on?

12.  What does the sign say by the railroad tracks down at Sandy Beach Park?

13.  When did the whistle blow at the fish factory in the South End?

14.  What was the name of “the Bike Man” in the South End and where was his shop located?

15.  What was the most favorite swimming place in the South End called?

16.  What are the names of the two parks in the South End?

17.  Name three family names of recent times that are associated with fishing and lobstering.

18.  Where was the old fish factory located in the South End? What building now stands there?

19.  What two businesses now occupy the old Naum and Adams store?

20.  What are the three longest lasting businesses in terms of years now existing in the South End?

Here are the answers for the facilitators of the “So You Think You Know Rockland” event. You participants might also want to read them over.

Answers:

1.    The men who worked at Snow’s Shipyard were called “Mechanics.”  Many of them lived on that street, thus the name of the street became Mechanic Street.

2.    Tom Molloy

3.    Ingraham, Kalloch, Knowlton, McLain, Piston

4.    Lynde Hotel, corner of Park and Main; Hotel Rockland, corner of Main and Park; City Hall which used to be where the railroad station was on lower Pleasant Street; Narragansett Hotel, also called Maine Central Hotel and Wayfarer East, on the corner of Park and Union.

5.    Naum and Adams, Sims Lunch, Economy Fruit Co., Duncan’s Grocery, Jesse’s Market, Fullers Market, Snow’s Shipyard, Market Basket, Sweeney’s, Sweets & Meats to name a few.

6.    Alfred Stahl, Andrew Gray, Hiram Pillsbury

7.    Red Jacket, Andrew Gray

8.    Sulides, Witham, Blackman, Merriam, to name a few.

9.    Thomas Mclain

10.  Crescent Street School, South School, Purchase Street School

11.  Steven’s Pond and Pacific Street hill.

12.  Rockland Branch; Begin State of Maine MCRR Track

13.  Noon and at the end of the working day.

14.  “Tete” Raye. His shop was on Prescott Street.

15.  The Little Granites

16.  Sandy Beach Park, Snow Marine Park

17.  Harvey Small, Pomroy, Ames, Post

18.  On the point at the bottom of Ocean Street/Sandy Beach. The building erected by MBNA.

19.  Maine Boats, Homes, and Harbors Magazine and Sweets and Meats

20.  Jesse’s Fish Market, South End Grocery, the gas station on the corner of Crescent and South Main. If you know of others, please add them.

I believe all these answers are correct.  If not, I may be disinherited by the folks in the South End. See the references I used below. Good luck to all and if I could participate I’d want to be on any team which included Gil Merriam.

Thanks for listening.

On Being a Southender, Vol. 1, 2009, my own CD book. Information on purchasing this CD can be found on the right hand column of my blog site: www.southendstories.blogspot.com.

Images of America, Around Rockland, published by the Shore Village Historical Society, check with them if you are interested in this book.

Mechanic Street, by Eleanor Motley Richardson, check with the Reading Corner.

Shore Village Story, by the Historical Society, check with them or at the Reading Corner.

Thomaston Public Library

Friday Movies in May

Presented by The Friends of the Thomaston Public Library

Friday Nights in May at 6:30 p.m.

MAY 4th - Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon

1942 NR 68 minutes

Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Doctor Wat-son (Nigel Bruce) once again set out to foil the nefarious Moriarty (Lionel Atwill) -- and save humanity in the process. This time, they must prevent a Swiss-made bomb from falling into the hands of the Gestapo. Unfortunately, Moriarty has captured the bomb's inventor and intends to slowly bleed him to death unless he reveals the secret be-hind his handiwork.

MAY 11th -The Woman in Green

1945 NR 68 minutes

Four women are killed and found without their right forefinger, causing Scotland Yard to recruit sleuth Sher-lock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) to solve the mys-terious case. Holmes tracks the murders to a group of hypnotists and a puzzling but stunning woman named Lydia Marlow (Hillary Brooke). Pretty soon, Holmes uncovers a tangle of hypnosis and lies devised by his nemesis, the malevolent Professor Moriarty (Henry Daniell).

MAY 18th - Dressed to Kill

1946 NR 72 minutes

Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) looks into two surprising deaths, one of which was Dr. Watson's friend Jul-ian (Edmund Breon). When both victims are found dead after buying the same kind of music box at an auction, Holmes tracks down the origin of the items to a convict serving time for stealing printing plates from a bank. Holmes begins to unravel a scheme that placed a secret code on the music boxes, revealing the location for stolen goods.

MAY 25th - Terror by Night

1946 NR 60 minutes

Affluent widow Lady Margaret (Mary Forbes) and her son Roland (Geoffrey Steele) enlist the help of Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) to keep a huge diamond from being stolen on a trip to Edinburgh. Holmes watches the precious jewel with help from Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) and Inspector Lestrade (Dennis Hoey), but all is turned upside down when the stone vanishes and Roland is killed. Now, Holmes must find the murderer among the train's passengers.

ALSO a special treat, with a bonus dvd "A talk with Conan Doyle".

Friday Night Films are open to the public and free of charge, but donations are gratefully accepted. The Thomaston Academy Building is handicapped accessible from the rear entrance and light refreshments will be served. For more information call the library at 354-2453.

Too Many Sandras

When I was growing up I always thought there were too many Sandras in the world. There were four in my class and we also had S for a last initial. Too many I thought. I always wanted to change my name to Alexandra or Cassandra, the Roman and Greek equivalents to Sandra. Later on I found out that Shaindle is Jewish for my name.

Then along came Facebook and a revelation by my friend, Jean Monroe, that there are 25 Sandra Sylvesters listed there. Lo and behold, she was right!

I checked them out the other day and found it very interesting. I found only one near my age. The rest were in their 20s and 30s. Some came by the name through marriage so I don’t know as I should even count them.

There were four Sandras who were black—one from Nigeria. They came from diverse places: Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Michigan, Connecticut, California, New York, Oklahoma, Florida, and Texas in the States; and in the countries of Scotland, Nigeria, Ireland, and England. The Sylvester family was a big one back in the day and I suppose it's possible some of these Sandras are related to me. The family did spread out a bit.

The one from Bristol, Connecticut is one place I lived when I resided in Connecticut.

Besides the Sandras on Facebook, I have come across a couple more in my lifetime. One lived in Maine and I corresponded with her a couple of times by letter. I don’t have her letters anymore, however, so if you read this, Sandra from Maine who is not me, please feel free to contact me here.

There is another Sandra here in Georgia and the strange thing is she has the same doctor as I do. I’ve asked them to ask her if I could contact her, but so far no dice. I always have to remember to tell them my birth date so they don’t get our files mixed up.

The only thing bad about having someone with your name may be an identity mix up. Suppose another Sandra who lives near me does something against the law. Then suppose I get stopped by the police for speeding or something (not likely by the way). They look at my name, check the computer in their cruiser and arrest me for the wrongdoings of that other Sandra. Sounds almost like a horror story doesn’t it?

To all you Sandra Sylvesters out there please don’t mess up somehow; and if you would like to meet me at sometime in the future you can always email me at southendstories@aol.com.

By the way, I blotted out the information on my driver's license above for obvious reasons. That picture was taken when I still wore glasses. Next time it will look entirely different. Maybe that's a good thing.

Thanks for listening.

Computers Rule the World

Remember when we were all afraid that computers would take over our jobs? In a way, that happened to me. Before I tell  you about my history with computers, I’d like you to read this clipping I saved from the Hartford Courant, November 25, 1979. It comes from the AP in London:


Computer Might Fire Poor Errant Humans

“A union leader has warned secretaries not to annoy the office computer or it might decide to give them the sack.

“Roy Grantham, commenting on a report by his union on the effects of new technology, says some offices now are using computers which measure a typist’s performance and issue disciplinary warnings if the work is not up to scratch.

“He says the machines can even time tea breaks.”

Can you even believe that? How do you “annoy” a computer? Did offices then have only one computer? Who hires “typists” anymore? Typewriters are fast becoming extinct and collectible as antiques. I think I had nine or ten of them before I finally got my first computer.

As for keeping track of your performance at the jobsite, I’ve had experiences in that department at my last job. We had something called a “covalent.” Every time you picked up a page of an ad to read you had to record it at your covalent site on your computer. All my work, proofreading and whatever else I did during the day, was recorded this way. At the end of the day, I printed out this “covalent” and put it in my boss’ inbox.

I was supposed to clock out on this “covalent” every time I took a break, “tea time?”  or even bathroom breaks or when I went to lunch. I put my foot down there and only clocked out for lunch. Enough is enough after all.

In a way, computers did me in when I worked at the Atlanta Jewish Community Center. I was hired as an assistant to the publications director. I did paste up, some writing, and typeset all materials used at the Center for publicity.

 At first I used a typesetter in which you could only see one line of type at a time. If you made a mistake you had to retype the whole line. Then I graduated to a bigger typesetter with a computer-sized screen to look at which I could edit easier. It was about five feet wide and three feet high. I had to set it up with a special keypad every time I did a job. I could really make that thing sing. Here’s a picture of me sitting in front of it.

It had two cylindical wheels accessed by a top-opening door where you changed typefaces. You could put two strips of film on it at a time which meant about eight typefaces of each particular type. Not exactly the computer we are familiar with today. I expect that machine is stowed away in some corner at this point gathering dust along with Raymond Anderson’s hand press and Brother Ted’s linotype which they both used to make sing at the old Courier. They all may end up in a museum of printmaking some day if they haven’t already. I must say I miss the sound of the old linotypes. They sounded like music boxes gone wild, but it was always a comforting sound to me.

Samuel Clemons went broke trying to invent a computer. He was way before his time. He ended up with what can be described as a very sophisticated linotype. It takes up most of a wall in the Mark Twain house in Hartford, Connecticut. They’ll show it to you if you tour the house. I assume a volunteer does dust it from time to time.

There came a time at the Center when like many non-profit organizations, staff cuts had to be made. As my department was only a two-woman operation, I obviously had to go. My boss was allowed to purchase a new computer in which she could do many of the tasks I used to do. She didn’t need to do hand paste-ups anymore and she hired a part-time typist to type in material for her. As I didn’t yet know how to use a computer and couldn’t survive on a part-time job anyway, I was let go.

With the generous severance package I was given, I took a short Macintosh computer course. I did quite well and found I really did enjoy using it. Therefore, when I applied for my last job in which I was required to use a Macintosh as a big part of my job, my course helped me to get the job. Although I didn’t know how to use all their programs, it didn’t take me long to catch on. I then became one more “computer” worker in a new computer world.

The 80s and 90s saw a big surge in computer use. No office today exists without a computer on every desk. We use it to socialize; to communicate with other computers; to do research; and to do so many other things. Not many homes exist without at least one personal computer on hand.

Science fiction was fast to pick up on this phenomenon called “the computer age.” Remember “A Space Odyssey 2001” and all the other movies where computers take over the world. I also enjoyed the TV show starring Jessica Alba, “Dark Angel,” which took place in Seattle after a world-wide computer meltdown. The country became a police state and existed as a third-world nation.

The year 2000 was supposed to bring on such a catastrophe, but it never happened. Computers are becoming more and more sophisticated and, unfortunately, they feature an overload of advertisements which continually get in your way while online. Sometimes you can avoid these “pop-ups” and sometimes you can’t.

I’ve had a few personal computer “melt-downs” of my own. I end up running to Geeks to fix it and save my documents. I now keep paper copies of everything I write because I really don’t trust the back-up systems available. Call me old-fashioned, but paper never goes away at the click of a mouse.

I am now on my third or fourth computer, I forget, plus I also have a laptop. My phone is computer accessible, but I don’t use it at the present time. I have a couple of other devices I just acquired which are also computer-capable. When I learn how to use them, I’ll probably carry them with me on trips instead of the laptop.

Do you believe that computers have taken over the world? If so, how do you think we’d do without them? At this point in time, that is a scary question.

Thanks for listening.

April is poetry month so I thought I’d bring you a few poems from Maine poets and from a special friend of mine, Ruby Zagoren, who was my writing mentor in Connecticut. I’ve tried to feature spring like poetry mostly with uplifting themes to mirror the renewal of life in the Spring. Easter and Spring are a time of new growth, new feelings of hope for better things to come. I hope these poems reflect the spirit of the season and renew your spirit as well.

RED WINGS

Where meadow bogs,

Where hummocks group,

The redwings come,

The throaty troup.

The meadow fills

As redwings raise

In hoarse bird trills

Their rusty praise

---Ruby Zagoren

This poem is by our Rockland Poet Laureate, Kendall Merriam. It appeared in the Herald Gazette, or The Village Soup Gazette, can’t remember which, on February 16, 2012

Fisherman’s Moon

The water is cold, briny

This time of year

Every time of year

A life of risk

That hardens hands, spirit

We love cooking the catch

Not really understanding the complexity of the trade

Many start young

Some are lost young

But what else is there to do

For coastal workers

They go out

Challenging the sea to give up its wealth

Tonight, the moon shines

Down to the seabed, deep down

Does it wake the lost fishermen

Sleeping there

Waiting for what my friend

Sandra Jackson Mank

A South Thomaston girl

Says the last trump

Will call those fastened down below

And the sea will give them up

Across the harbor shines a light

A light of forgiveness

That begs God’s moon

To bring swift resurrection

Of all the beloved of the coast

Does even God know the suffering

That He creates with wind and wave

Can He hear the keening of those left behind

It is certainly loud enough

A pitch no one celestial or earthbound

Can ignore and stay sane

It keeps our minds filled with prayer

Even if we don’t believe

So we ask that it never happens again

We must speak to his faced

That this moon be the last

To demand the sea’s sacrifice

And peace of mind sweep down the shore

--Kendall Merriam

This is an excerpt from Kate Barnes’ “Neighborliness.” Kate is from Appleton

In Maine
we are glad to be part of a land
that remains so beautiful under its green skin
of woods and open fields, that is glitteringly
bordered by thousands of miles
of breaking waves, and that is lovely,
too, with an unbroken tradition
of concerns, with the kind, enduring grace
of its neighborliness.

---Kate Barnes

Excerpt from “Echoes From the Land”

Echoes From The Land

Echoes from the land, hear the echoes from the land! -
the howling of wolves, and the touch of an Indian hand
on the bow string, where a big cow moose runs thrashing
through the marsh; or is that a black bear crashing
where blackberry rushes stretch out their thorns to sting
the reaching finger? But now the echoes ring
with the Song of the Stars: "For we are the stars which sing,"
they say, "and hunt the bear around the pole
of the northern sky, and redden the leaves each fall
with her blood, only to see her come from her den,
every year in the spring, alive once again! -
as the land is alive, our dark mother beneath our feet,
from who we are born, to whom we return complete
with our length of days ..." and then the chant drops low;
the shadowy people get up quickly and go
off under the pines as lightly as deer.

---Kate Barnes

From Kristen Lindquist of Camden

Brimstone Island: One Day

Deep within the indigo gullet of Penobscot Bay
black rock was belched from earth's belly,
then battered and fractured by waves,
churned smooth over millions of years.
You sail to this island for the sole purpose
of running fingers over these silken stones,
though you have to work for it, have to
first tack for hours across the bay, then row
to shore, choose a path to follow
over the island's rough backbone,
fight off mosquitos, teeter on ledges, to find
the pocket beach tucked between bluffs
on the side where no boat can moor.
An eagle flies overhead, sparrows call
from thorny bushes. On the beach, sun
heats pebbles you stack along your legs,
and lion's mane jellyfish bloom offshore
amid swirling fans of seaweed and foam.
You allow yourself one stone, to ever touch
that perfect day, as geology's slow clock
continues to tick, and, one at a time,
waves sweep and stir the dark shores.

---Kristen Lindquist

From Longfellow, born in Portland

A Day Of Sunshine. (Birds Of Passage. Flight The Second)

O gift of God! O perfect day:
Whereon shall no man work, but play;
Whereon it is enough for me,
Not to be doing, but to be!

Through every fibre of my brain,
Through every nerve, through every vein,
I feel the electric thrill, the touch
Of life, that seems almost too much.

I hear the wind among the trees
Playing celestial symphonies;
I see the branches downward bent,
Like keys of some great instrument.

And over me unrolls on high
The splendid scenery of the sky,
Where though a sapphire sea the sun
Sails like a golden galleon,

Towards yonder cloud-land in the West,
Towards yonder Islands of the Blest,
Whose steep sierra far uplifts
Its craggy summits white with drifts.

Blow, winds! and waft through all the rooms
The snow-flakes of the cherry-blooms!
Blow, winds! and bend within my reach
The fiery blossoms of the peach!

O Life and Love! O happy throng
Of thoughts, whose only speech is song!
O heart of man! canst thou not be
Blithe as the air is, and as free?

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


From Edna St. Vincent Millay, born in Rockland, lived in Camden


Spring

To what purpose, April, do you return again?

Beauty is not enough.

You can no longer quiet me with the redness

Of little leaves opening stickily.

I know what I know.

The sun is hot on my neck as I observe

The spikes of the crocus.

The smell of the earth is good.

It is apparent that there is no death.

But what does that signify?

Not only under ground are the brains of men

Eaten by maggots.

Life in itself

Is nothing.

An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.

It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,

April

Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.

My thoughts of Spring

Come Spring

The forsythia

The crocus

The daffodils

The lilacs

Will bloom come spring

The robin

The geese

Will return come spring

The sweet air

With a taste of salt

On your lips

Will be welcome come spring

Fishermen make new flys

And shop for new rods.

Barnacles get scraped off the boat.

Bicycles come out of the garage.

The smack of ball to glove…

All return come spring.

Spring…a time of renewal…

Mud turns to grass

Bare trees sprout new buds

And our spirits soar with the springtime sun.

---Sandra Sylvester, April 7, 2012

Meal Planning With Betty Crocker, 1950

This information comes from Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book, © 1950, published by General Mills. This book was used religiously by my mother and the book was passed down to me along with Betty Crocker’s New Picture Cook Book © 1961. The recipe for Ham-and-Egg Pie comes from the first book (see the separate blog). I thought you might get a kick out of the advice given to the obviously perfect housewife in 1950.

SMART HOMEMAKERS SAY:

Planning, preparing, and serving meals is an art which develops through inspiration and thought. And meal-planning is really fun! It may look difficult to the beginner, but like driving a car, swimming, or anything we learn to do without thought or conscious effort, it is a skill which grows easier with the doing.

It’s important to plan a variety of foods for well balanced meals to keep your family well nourished. But above all, be sure those meals are appetizing, attractive, and delicious to eat. For mealtime should help build happy home life.

(I wonder if these quotes below came from real homemakers or were made up by a copywriter at General Mills.)

“My meals are more nutritious since I’ve been planning them ahead. I check in advance the basic foods and the daily needs of my family.”

“Planning meals ahead helps me to save time and energy.”

“I have made the cooking of meals a pleasure and a study rather than a job, and so I enjoy planning each day’s menus.”

“My meals are more interesting since I started planning ahead, because I avoid repetition and plan for variety in color, texture, and flavor.”

I. APPROPRIATENESS

Cut your meal plan to fit: your situation, the occasion, the family needs

“I always remember birthdays and holidays with a special dessert or color scheme.”

“I plan the meals to be healthful for the children, first, and then interesting to adults, without cooking separate menus.”

“We have a five-room bungalow with limited dining space and no help at all; this requires simplicity and informality.”

“I plan my meals with the needs of my young son in mind. I never cook separately for him, but prepare simple foods appropriate for him and then dress them up for grown-up tastes and add to the menu to meet adult needs.”

II. APPEARANCE

Prepare, Serve, Present…each food attractively for greater appetite appeal

“I think each meal out in detail, so there will be color appeal as well as good eating.”

“When I was a child my father used to say, ‘We should feast the eye as well as the appetite.’ And it has become a tradition with me.”

“In my kitchen windows I have many plants and I alternate them in decorating the table at mealtime.”

So folks: Assuming you can get your kids and their Dad away from the TV or other gadgets during mealtime, maybe you’d like to try making meals like Betty Crocker and her cronies did in 1950. Good luck. See the Ham-and-Egg Pie in a separate blog.