Addiction: 1908

I watched a young mother the other day sowing seeds of trouble, mortification, exasperation, worn nerves, for herself; pain, rebelliousness, possibly permanent disfigurement, for her child. It filled my soul with wrath. What was she doing? Encouraging a habit; "cute," she called it, but one which she will some day know for what it is—pernicious to the last degree. This is the thumb-sucking habit.

--From Good Housekeeping--

If you ever see an old movie about the dangers of marijuana, don't think that craziness was directed only at drugs. Hysteria has long been a socially acceptable way to deal with "problems" and continues to be so to this day.

Health advice: 1889

...Mutton, pork, ham, and even venison all dance to the same music. Spinach, turnip-tops and other greens were boiled and baptized with grease. It was hog meat, hog meat everywhere; hog meat for breakfast, hog meat for dinner, hog meat for supper, always fried and served up in its own grease. A caustic observer says that the devil of indigestion holds full sway in certain localities because the frying-pan has a firm grip on the affections of the people. He complains of seeing tall, gaunt men, sallow faces like corpses, having perfect satisfaction with the country, a lack of strong high ambition; women, gaunt, haggard, and hopeless looking, all trace of womanly beauty long since gone, every line of their faces speaking of want, privation, neglect of all sanitary laws, and unvaried monotony of unwholesome food; little children, flabby, yellow, pallid, with old men's faces. This is not malaria, he says, but the frying-pan.

--From Good Housekeeping--

To avoid fried foods is something your great-grandmother might have told you. Granted, she might have said it would make you waste away, but then people have been sure their food was killing them for some time.

Recycling: 1888

Old shoes have uses as raw material for certain industries. In many countries abroad and to some extent in the United States, they are collected with care, ripped apart and the leather subjected to treatment that renders it soft and makes it available for sundry purposes. Patterns are stamped upon it, trunks are covered with it, and it is also used for making shoes again. The soles are extensively used in making heels for ladies' and children's shoes. The nails also are saved and made profitable, and the useless scraps are converted into fertilizers.

--From Good Housekeeping--

I guess we couldn't do something like this today because of all the manual labor it would take. The minimum wage and all sorts of regulations would make it impossible. How much recycling isn't done simply because regulations make it too expensive to be profitable?

Politicians say global warming is the biggest issue facing humanity, but they never act like it, except when it comes to raising taxes.

Christmas presents: 1888

Christmas is coming, bright, jolly Christmas-tide, with its attendant train of work and worry, surprises and delight, and every lady reader of Good Housekeeping is puzzling her brain to think of what to make for Christmas gifts, and it may be taken for granted that each one would be glad of a few hints on what to make and how to make it.

--From Good Housekeeping--

Because who needs to buy Christmas presents when you're competent at making things?

Economy: 1888

False ambition is one prolific source of false economy, and it is truly pitiable to see the woeful ignorance that exists regarding true economy....

People coming up with big schemes, ostensibly to save money, that end up wasting money. What does that remind me of? Pretty much everything now-a-days.

...A lack of a knowledge of true economy keeps many a family in squalor and filth. True economy consists in a рrореr adjustment of time, strength and money. It does not consist solely in saving money; it may consist in spending it.

The difference between economizing and economics is that economizers will talk about both saving and spending money while economists will only talk about spending it. It's no wonder the government hires all sorts of the latter, but not a single one of the former.

--From Good Housekeeping--

Microwave ovens: 1888

After a winter of "light housekeeping " over a diminutive lamp stove—the size costing one dollar, or a trifle more or less, and which holds a quart of kerosene— Abbie Fletcher would have no more parted with it than would Aladdin with the lamp that so readily summoned a powerful genie to his aid....

A lamp stove?

...During the winter, the lamp—with one or two utensils such as a small frying pan, double boiler, etc.,—had been sufficient to provide due variety of food for two or three persons, as excellent bakeries were close at hand to supply deficiencies...

It was a tiny stove, powered by a lamp, that you could use to cook small, convenient meals.

...Water may thus be quickly heated at all hours, in case of sickness, or to warm a baby's food ; tea is quickly prepared for any belated traveler who comes after the range fire is out; a flatiron can always be ready for the dressmaker....

You could use it for simple things, like heating water or making tea.

...Being a wise woman, Miss Fletcher did not attempt great reforms in the family routine at first, but let her favorite introduce itself gradually. It was first used to make tea on hot summer nights, and once when bread failed she made biscuit for supper thus: One pint of flour,...

...True, they required half an hour for baking, while fifteen or twenty minutes would have sufficed in a range oven...

They had special recipes with special cooking times.

...it was necessary to turn them à la griddle cake that they might brown well on top...

And browning was an issue.

--From Good Housekeeping--

Chidren's literature: 1888

Why no scholar familiar with recent advances in the ethnological, philological and sociological sciences had undertaken to prepare a comprehensive account of the origin and achievements of the Aryan race until the task was taken in hand by Mr. Charles Morris, it would be hard to say....

...To the student, Mr. Morris' book is a necessity, and it should be in the library of every cultivated household. There could be no more broadening and stimulating reading for the boys and girls just growing into maturity.

--From Good Housekeeping--

Here's an excerpt from the book (just so there's no misunderstanding):

The one perplexing problem of America is the Negro. Between him and the white the race-antipathy seems too strong for any great degree of amalgamation ever to take place, while the mulatto has the weakness and infertility of a hybrid.

What's especially creepy is how Good Housekeeping gives the book a glowing endorsement without really saying what it's about. They didn't publish an excerpt, just the names of some of the book's chapters. If it wasn't for the use of the word "Aryan" over and over again, I would have thought it a droll work of anthropology.

You have to wonder, if everyone thought these ideas were good enough to compliment, why they wouldn't express them more openly.

Rhode Island Apple Slump: 1888?

This is from the June 8, 1888 edition of Good Housekeeping. It was considered an old-fashioned recipe at the time; something people's grandmothers "used to make."

Take ten or twelve tart apples—none so good as the "Rhode Island Greenings,"

I used McIntosh apples, since they are my favorite apple, they were on sale, and they date back to 1811.

pare, core and quarter them. Add one cupful of water, place in a kettle to stew. As they begin to soften add two cupfuls of molasses.

I used sweet sorghum molasses.

Prepare a crust of one pint of flour— measured before sifting; one teaspoonful of sugar, one-half teaspoonful of salt, one-half teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar.

Mix thoroughly, run through the sieve. Then, add sufficient sweet milk to make a soft dough. Roll out, and cover over the sweetened apple which by this time is boiling.

Steam without lifting the cover for twenty or thirty minutes.

The end result:



It was a hot mess, but good! I also added one of the suggested sauces: equal parts sugar, butter, and boiling milk, which was like gilding the lily. Vanilla ice cream is the only thing that could cut through all that sweetness.

Some use sugar instead of molasses, but if you want the "regulation slump," be sure to use the molasses.

Oddly, the Rhode Island Fruit Growers Assocition provides a recipe for apple slump which uses sugar! And they bake it. Heretics!

Help with housework: 1889

Most women heartily despise a "Betty," by which is usually meant a man who pokes his nose into the details of household affairs, dabbles in the work of the kitchen and irritates the housewife by assuming, regularly or occasionally, functions which she deems exclusive to herself. The dislike of women for this kind of man is in the main wellgrounded. The average man is unfortunately unable to make himself useful in household work, without making himself, also, more or less a nuisance....

...There is no reasonable reason why a man should not be able to broil a steak, boil or bake potatoes, cook an egg, make coffee or tea and prepare other articles of food should an emergency arise to make it desirable (and such emergencies do often arise), and do it too without turning the kitchen and diningroom topsy-turvy in the operation. Some men can and do accomplish such work, and even make biscuits, griddle-cakes and the like.

--From Good Housekeeping--

This article was written by a man, trying to convince women to let men who were able, help them around the house. The big problem for women wasn't that men didn't help with housework, but that they tried to!

Amber Pudding: 1889

This is from the February 2, 1889 edition of Good Housekeeping.

Line a dish with pie-crust and fill with this mixture: Six tart apples stewed (covered) three-fourths of an hour,

It would probably be cheaper to just use apple sauce.

the juice and rind of one lemon, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one-fourth of a cupful of water. Rub through a colander and add one cupful of sugar, the yolks of three beaten eggs.

I skipped adding extra water and put the apples through a blender instead of a colander. Also, I added all the ingredients after the apples were blended.

Bake one-half hour, and cover with meringue, the stiff whites of three eggs, one-half of a cupful of sugar, and brown.

I baked the pie at 375 degrees F and the meringue at 350 degrees F (for 15 minutes). I made the crust without lard, it was just plain old butter, flour, salt and water.



The results were interesting. It kind of tasted like lemon meringue pie, but distinctly different. I don't think the pudding was supposed to set; it only had three egg yolks in it after all. On the plus side, I didn't have to worry about a dry crust; this thing is its own sauce. It tasted good so I might make it again.

Women in the workforce: 1888

In the entrance of women into the occupations of men, the former have done so well in their ventures that the men are complaining about the competition. In 1840 there were but seven occupations outside of domestic industry that were open to women; the number had risen to 287 in 1880 and every year adds to the list. These occupations call for ability to understand the work of machinery and to operate it; and in such an industry as the making of boots and shoes, which employs a large amount of machinery in all departments of the work, more than one-sixth of those employed are women.

In the occupations that call for business knowledge women are pushing everywhere; they are found in insurance, in real estate business, in mercantile establishments, in manufactories, in lawyers' offices, doing portions of the work of management, of marketing goods, of correspondence and of driving bargains.

--From Good housekeeping--

The Victorian Era: a time of changing gender roles and a greater self-awareness among women of their ability to compete with men.

Raised Wheat Muffins: 1888

This is from the May 26, 1888 edition of Good Housekeeping, which called itself a fortnightly journal at the time.

Use one pint of milk, one generous quart of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one tablespoonful of sugar, one-fourth of a cupful of yeast, and two eggs.

This is for two dozen muffins (seem more like rolls to me). I cut the recipe in half and used a package of yeast. A package of yeast would probably work just as well for a full recipe, too.

Put the flour, salt and sugar in a deep earthen bowl. Boil the milk and add the butter to it.

Let this mixture stand until only tepid, then add the milk, butter and yeast to the flour and beat well.

Cover the bowl and let it stand in a rather cool part of the kitchen, unless the weather be very cold, in which case it will be necessary to keep the bowl in a warm place. When morning comes the batter will be found to have risen to a light sponge.

Beat the two eggs till very light and add them to this sponge, beating them in well. Half fill well buttered muffin-pans with the batter;

cover, and let the muffins rise in a warm place for one hour. Bake for half an hour in a moderately quick oven.

I let the muffins rise in a warm oven, uncovered (I worried the batter would stick to a towel), for about an hour. I guessed 350 degrees F was a moderately quick oven.

These muffins should not be set to rise before nine o'clock at night. They are nice for luncheon or tea, but when they are intended for luncheon use almost twice as much yeast as you other, wise would. With the quantity of materials stated above two dozen muffins can be made.

They tasted like yeasty biscuits. They were good with butter and jelly. You could also probably mix in herbs or other ingredients when you stir in the eggs just before the final rise.

Our hectic modern world: 1888

Civilization has become so artificial that many know nothing of such life, or regard it as savagery. The vast horizon and overarching sky, silence and space where the voice of God speaks directly to the soul of man, the mysterious processes of nature, terrify them. They miss conventional forms as much as matutinal [morning] warm water, rocking-chairs and the daily paper. Having learned neither to observe nor to think, they are as lonely, awe-struck and unappreciative as a deserted babe under the dome of St. Peter's.

--From Good housekeeping--

Warm water in the morning, newspapers, and rocking-chairs; it's amazing anyone can feel a spiritual connection to anything with all the decadence which surrounds them, especially the rocking-chairs.

Lactose intolerance: 1888

Some complain that they cannot drink milk without being "distressed by it." The most common reason why milk is not well borne is due to the fact that people drink it too quickly. If a glass of it is swallowed hastily it enters into the stomach and then forms in one solid, curdled mass, difficult of digestion. If, on the other hand, the same quantity is sipped, and three minutes at least are occupied in drinking it, then on reaching the stomach it is so divided, that when coagulated, as it must be by the gastric juice, while digestion is going on, instead of being in one hard, condensed mass upon the outside of which only the digestive fluids can act, it is more in the form of a sponge, and in and out of the entire bulk the gastric juice can play freely and perform its function.

--From Good housekeeping--

Can you imagine people watching a clock as they drink a glass of milk, making sue it takes them at least three minutes? And they'd still have intestinal problems.

Prisoner rehabilitation: 1888

Good conduct and good food go hand in hand in the California state prison. The convicts are chiefly employed in quarrying and dressing granite. The new arrivals are supplied with rather poor fare, as are, also, those who are ill-behaved, and they get boiled beans, salt meat, cabbage, mush, bread and coffee without milk. Within smelling distance from this table is another table where fresh beef and mutton, various kinds of vegetables, rice, and many other toothsome articles of food, are served to all convicts who have earned the privilege by diligent and faithful conduct. Those who eat at the better table are allowed considerable liberty. It is said that the inmates of this prison so order their conduct that, within a few months after their entrance they win the better food. They have an incentive to attend strictly to business, to respect all the rules and to observe a constant propriety.

--From Good Housekeeping--

It sounds exactly like a child rearing technique. I bet it worked pretty well.

I think I have an eating problem: 1888

But when artificial life, with its meager exercise, its seclusion from pure air, its jading cares and conventional excesses, destroys natural appetite, its victims may justly demand that artifice shall supplement, as it has supplanted, nature. The languid appetite must be beguiled and tricked into activity by an appeal to senses other than those of hunger.

--From Good housekeeping--

Oh, the things you read in women's magazines!

Health food: 1888

Home should never be considered entirely furnished in its culinary department unless equipped with an ice-cream freezer, as with it many attractive and nutritious desserts may be prepared with but little trouble and expense. It matters not how heartily one may have dined, a dish of good ice-cream is always acceptable.

Nutrious ice-cream, full of the healthy fat and calories everyone needs.

It is a very common occurrence to hear a physician speak of the injurious effects of ice-cream, and at the same time admit that they result from the coloring and the flavoring extracts used in them.

But watch out for the artificial chemicals "modern" people add to their food.

--From Good housekeeping--

Living in a golden age: 1888

THE GOLDEN AGE.

These are the days of promise, by old-time seers sung
In the clear light of the morning, when earth and man were young.
This is the shining future which, ancient bards foretold,
Should crown the bright'ning ages with a final age of gold!

Ours are the years of fruitage; we are the heirs of Time.
Yes, the great world hangs a-rip'ning now in its golden prime;
Never will grand achievement shine as it shines to-day,
For the world will return to chaos, and men will return to clay.

This is the time for living; these are the pregnant days;—
What are you doing, brother, for the manhood of the race?
Give what is best within you; labor with labor crown;
Your hand is on the lever, and the world goes up or down!

Mighty the forces of evil; terrible sweep the stars;
Portents are darkly lowering; devils are breaking their bars.
Now is the time, if ever, to stand on the side of right.
To help roll the world out of shadow into the broadening light.

Surely, the right will triumph—grant it, О God, above!
The arc of thy plan is wisdom, as the arc of life is love;
Help us to make the human as God-like as we may,
Ere earth returns to chaos, and men return to clay!

--From Good housekeeping--

Veggies=Yuck: 1888

I have sat at the Thanksgiving tables of clergymen, lawyers, doctors, generals, merchants, the best of our New England farmers and the far-famed hospitable Quakers. Never, except at a recent dinner in Boston, have I seen a soup as a part of a Thanksgiving dinner, and never except in some magazine bills of fare have I seen a course of fish, or canned vegetables, or a salad, unless celery served without dressing and eaten with the other dishes, may be called a salad.

--From Good housekeeping--

Veggies for Thanksgiving are just another fraud the mainstream media is trying to foist upon us. Don't be a victim. Veggies are filler!