I am sure that many people throughout the country have used their time wisely during this pandemic to go through their closets, drawers and basements to sort, organize and dispose of items that they no longer have a use for.
Sandy from Virginia, Fred from Florida, and Cheryl from Arizona have each sent me an envelope (or two) of photographs from our area that they wanted to return home. Some of these may eventually make the columns of the Monroe Times. But today’s column is about a recipe book that belonged to Jeanne Ausmus’ grandmother Bertha Fritsch that Jeanne found while sorting through items she inherited.
This book was compiled by the Young Ladies Circle of the Immanuel Evangelical Church here in Monroe. At that time the church was located at 1603 16th Avenue. The church had been located on that corner since its first building was erected in 1860. Resurrection Lutheran Church is now housed in the building.
Florena Solomon submitted a recipe for French Toast, which was very different from what I expected. The ingredients were one cup sour milk, ¼ teaspoon soda, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon sugar, ¾ cup flour, and 1 teaspoon salt. The directions said to beat the milk and soda together, add the sugar, salt and egg and beat smooth before adding the flour. That was the entire recipe and is so different from any French Toast I have ever made or eaten.
Alma Caradine submitted a recipe for “Squaw Corn.” The directions said to cut four slices of bacon into small squares and brown in a frying pan. Then pour off part of the fat, leaving about four tablespoons. Then pour off the liquid from one can of golden bantam corn, put the corn in the fryer with salt and pepper and fry slowly for about 10 minutes. A note said that fresh corn could be substituted.
Margaret Stemsrud submitted this recipe for a Raisin Spice Cake, written exactly as here. One and one-half cups sugar, ¾ cup butter (scant), 2 eggs, 2 cups raisins, boiled in 2½ cups water until soft; let cool; one cup juice from raisins, 1 heaping teaspoon soda, 3 cups flour, cinnamon, cloves, allspice. Mix as for butter cake. No pan size or baking directions were given.
The book included a page of sandwich combinations from which the following were taken: minced chives with grated Swiss cheese on rye bread; raisins and nut meats chopped fine and moistened with grape juice; hard cooked eggs put through a food chopper and moistened with catsup; cream cheese blended with chili sauce and spread on graham bread; and equal parts of cream cheese and jelly.
I hope you found something new to try!
There were almost four pages of household hints for the homemakers. We can now find many hints on the internet, but I am listing some that I have never heard of before. Use one tablespoon vinegar on roast to make it tender. One teaspoon vinegar put in water in which old fowl is cooking will save nearly two hours boiling. If the salad dressing starts to curdle, add a little unbeaten egg white and the dressing will be as smooth as one could wish for. The last bit of fat can be removed from the top of soup by throwing a lettuce leaf into the kettle. This will absorb all the grease and may then be removed.
And my favorite items to look at in these locally published books are the advertisements. I took it as a challenge to date what year the book might have been published. Many of these advertisements did not have an address for the business; the city was evidently small enough that people just knew where each was located. My first thought as I glanced through the advertisements was that it was printed about 1936.
Rosa Greenhouses was advertised, but listed E. B. Rosa and H. B. Lund as the proprietors. I found out that Forrest Lund married Rosa’s daughter, Gertrude. The Lunds were listed as florists in the 1936 directory, but no H. B. It might have been a type-setting error. No Lunds were listed in 1930 or 1933.
There was also an ad for Klovstad’s Greenhouse. The 1930 directory showed that Oscar A. Klovstad was operating his floral business out of his home at 1210 10th Street.
An advertisement for Bauman Hardware & Implement Co. showed that they were selling “The New Servel Electric Refrigerator” that put an end to the old service problems. They said it was low in price, used less current, and was very quiet. They also advertised the Sanico, a range that in beauty and in performance kept pace with the modern scheme of things. It was “a masterpiece in beauty and service.”
Schillinger & Hofer was a super service station who did general auto repairing and sold “Cities Service Koolmotor oils and gas.” It only said in the recipe book that they were on 14th Avenue. The city directories showed that they were at 1304 14th, now the location of Minhas Distillery.
An ad for Kubly’s South Side gave the phone number 190 and only advertised groceries and meats. A check of the 1933 directory shows that Jacob F. and Mary Kubly operated the market at 1317 17th Street (Smokey Row). They were located at the same address in 1930, but didn’t have a name for the market. By 1936 he was operating Kubly’s North Side Market at 2005 6th Street.
The previous ad and an advertisement for the Monroe Laundry might have been the most helpful for dating this book. Jacob Steffen was listed as the proprietor of the Monroe Laundry in an ad. He died in 1935 and was listed in the 1933 directory as the proprietor of the City Hotel and Annex. In 1930 he is listed with the Monroe Laundry. It appears that the book was printed in 1931 or 1932.
— Matt Figi is a Monroe resident and a local historian. His column will appear periodically on Saturdays in the Times. He can be reached at mfigi48@tds.net or at 608-325-6503.
