American Midwest Foodways Scholar's Grant

I am happy to announce that my proposal "Stirring the Pot: The Story of Newspaper Food Journalism, Home Cooks & Ruth Ellen Church" has been awarded an American Midwest Foodways Scholar's Grant. I will be researching the career of longtime Chicago Tribune food editor Ruth Ellen Church who often wrote under the pen name "Mary Meade." Her work is a major part of the book I am writing about newspaper food editors.

According to the press release:
"Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance in collaboration with Culinary Historians of Chicago and with funding from the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts is pleased to announce financial support for the study of Midwestern foods and food-related institutions. Each is intended to help underwrite the research of academics and other investigators who intend to publish their findings in books, articles, videos or other media. The awards are merit based and unrestricted. They can be used to support fieldwork, library visits, conference attendance, or other activities related to the applicant's proposed project."

As part of the grant program, I will be presenting a talk about Church next year in Chicago.

Miami News Billie O'Day Obituary

I was happy to see the obituary of Miami News women's page editors Billie O'Day. It ran in the Miami Herald recently. She was the longtime Miami News women's page editor who won several Penney-Missouri Awards - the top recognition for women's pages.

This is my favorite part:
"Summing herself up in her notes, Billie O’Day wrote: “I believed Anita Hill. My favorite TV shows are ‘Sherlock Holmes,’ ‘Brooklyn Bridge,’ ‘Murder She Wrote,’ ‘The Civil War,’ and any other documentary by Ken Burns.

“I watch CNN and C-Span. I go to lunch every day with my next-door neighbor, a Juilliard grad and a terrific vocalist and pianist. I don’t go out at night.’’

In conclusion, she said: “Is Miami as weird as it sounds from afar? Oh yeah! I had two cars stolen right out of my driveway.’’

Billie was an active member in the South Florida women's page community who also included Marie Anderson, Dorothy Jurney and Marjorie Paxson.

I have learned about several significant women's page journalists through their obituaries. One of my favorites was about Arizona newspaper food editor Carol McCready Hartley. Here is a link to it.

Talking About Florida Women's Page Editors

I enjoyed talking about Florida women's page editors this morning on the ReThinking the City radio program on Rollin College's WPRK.

Florida was the place to be for women's page journalists in the 1950s and 1960s. They were a progressive group who dominated the Penney-Missouri Awards - the top recognition for the women's pages.

The Fort Lauderdale News women's page editor Edee Greene is in the far right in the photo. Her grandson Patrick was a co-host on the radio program.

Orlando Sentinel Food Editor Grace Barr

Tomorrow I will be speaking on the program, ReThinking the City on Rollins College radio station WPRK. I plan to mention some of the significant Florida food editors. Yesterday I learned about Grace Warlow Barr who was the longtime food editor at the Orlando Sentinel.

I loved this from her obituary:

"Barr was a tall, stately woman who stayed slim throughout her life, but her homemade delicacies were not for the diet-conscious. '' 'Start with a stick of butter. . .' has become the hallmark of Mrs. Barr's approach to fine cooking,'' a Sentinel editor wrote in a tribute to Barr in 1969.

''Her cooking was perfectly delicious,'' Newhart said. ''She couldn't stand it during the war when we couldn't have a stick of butter or some cream to cook with.''

Barr's talent in the kitchen took a practical turn during the Great Depression when she and a friend opened a shop off Park Avenue in Winter Park. The two women sold homebaked breads, cakes, candy and fudge."

I learn about Barr as I was doing research about the newspaper food editors who were judges of the Pillsbury Bake Off. She was a judge in 1968.

Her daughter Gracia married Martin Andersen, the editor of the Sentinel. According to her obituary, Grace had also dated Andersen at some point.

Her son, Graham, left some papers to the Orange County Historical Center that I plan to go through next week.

Guest Post on The Feminist Kitchen

Here is a link to my guest post on The Feminist Kitchen: Fifty Years After The Feminine Mystique, remembering Peg Bracken. Peg had a syndicated column that ran in the women's pages of many newspapers.

Food Editor Janet Beighle French

Yesterday I received this cookbook that was put together by the food journalists at the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1968. It includes an acknowledgement by then home economics editor Janet Beighle.

She donated her article and recipe scrapbooks to the Special Collections at Cleveland State University. I am ordering copies today. I plan to interview Janet at the end of the month about her experiences as a food journalist.

St. Petersburg Times Food Editor Diana Rowell

I have been looking into the career of Diana Rowell who was the society editor and later food editor in the women's pages at the St. Petersburg Times. Here is a link to one of her 1953 food columns.