Cookies

Friday, May 31, is National Macaroon Day. I kid you not. I have recently discovered that a different food is celebrated practically every day of the year. This is in addition to the National Food Months. Various food lobbyists prevail upon the President or the Senate to make a proclamation that it’s National Kumquat Day or National Rutabaga Month in order to promote their products.

So, National Macaroon Day is upon us.  Here in the United States, the Coconut Macaroon variety is the most familiar to us.    

 Sixty years ago, when my dear mother was awaiting  my arrival in this world, she craved Coconut Macaroons. I don't believe she's tasted another one since.

The earliest macaroons, made from egg whites and almond paste, have been traced to an Italian monastery in the ninth century. They probably looked like this.

                                           

 The name macaroon comes from the Italian word macarone, which means paste. The monks traveled to France in the sixteenth century, bringing their macaroons with them. The pastry chefs of Catherine de Medici made macaroons for her. During The French Revolution, two Benedictine nuns, looking for asylum, paid for their safe lodging by baking and selling Macaroons. They became known as the Macaroon Sisters. Recipes for macaroons first appeared in cookbooks around 1725.

Later, Italian Jews became fond of macaroons because the cookies have no flour or leavening and can be enjoyed during Passover.  Other European Jews began enjoying them and macaroons became a year-round treat.

There are many regional varieties of macaroons,but in North America Coconut Macaroons are usually dense, moist and sweet when commercially made, and often dipped in chocolate.

                                                   

Hmm, I wonder if Mom HAS had any Coconut Macaroons since 1953. I'll have to ask her. I'm getting hungry for something sweet. Good bye for now.

First Lady of American Espionage - Agent 355

To entertain myself, I've started to look for stories of American women who have affected our history, for good or bad. I want to feature occasionally those women who we didn't read much about in our history books. That brings us to the story of Agent 355.

During the American Revolution General Washington needed reliable information about British activity in and around New York. A clandestine group called the Culver Ring provided the information he needed.

Alexander Woodhull, a farmer from Long Island, was the chief of this group. His "spy name" was Samuel Culper, Sr.  His most important agent was a dry goods merchant, Robert Townsend, went by the name of Samuel Culper, Jr.

Agent 355, known within the group as just "355", was a member of a prominent Loyalist family. This gave her unrestricted access to British political and military leaders in the New York area.

Major John Andre, the debonair head of England's intelligence operations in New York, kept company with many available Loyalist ladies. "355" took advantage of this, attended the parties he gave, kept the ale supply flowing, and listened carefully to the conversations he engaged in under the influence of the ladies and the ale.

It is now believed that "355" was the common-law wife of Robert Townsend. When Townsend learned that "355" was carrying his child, he begged her to stop her dangerous espionage work. She refused, knowing that the information she was providing was important.

It surely was important. The information she passed on led to the arrest of Major John Andre and he was hanged as a spy on General Washington's orders. It also exposed the treason of Benedict Arnold in the surrendering of West Point for a British gratuity. The traitorous Arnold gave her up to the British after Andre's arrest.

In October 1780 she was captured by the British and held  under foul conditions on the prison ship Jersey, moored in the East River. While a prisoner there, she gave birth to a son she named Robert Townsend, Jr.
She died soon afterward.

Over 230 years after her death, no one knows for sure her true identity. She remains an unsung heroine in American history.

Time Traveling

I had no real plans for this past weekend.  I assumed Saturday would be a “same old” sort of day, with not much of anything going on. I had no way of knowing that within a few hours my old Chevy would become a time machine, transporting me  to the 18^th century, then to the 1860’s, on to 1918, to 1944, to 1965, and then back to the present.

My cell phone rang, interrupting my lazy early Saturday morning reverie.  On the line was my daughter Katt and son-in-law Jason, inviting me to come to Dillsburg, York County. Dillsburg was having its annual Picklefest and Publick Tyme. They suggested I should come enjoy the Fest and then have dinner with them at their nearby home. They explained that there would be reenactments in the vicinity of the historic Dill’s Tavern.

I hopped into my old time-machine and made the thirty-mile journey. The only downer in the entire experience was the absolute refusal of my phone’s camera to function. It’s really too bad, as I would love to have pictures of the event to show to you.

I entered the first room of the tavern and met a friendly lady, April C. Thomas, who makes authentic historic reproduction clothing from the 18^th century.  She had on display what every properly dressed woman would wear in the days of the American Revolution. She does beautiful work and you can find her business represented on FashionsRevisited.com

In the same room was a display of colonial games. Did you know that Farkle was originally a very popular game played in colonial taverns?

As I entered the second room, I was greeted warmly by a tall gallant gentleman wearing a powdered wig and colonial garb.  He engaged me in conversation, telling me of  his experiences growing up in Virginia, of his fighting the French as a militia officer, of  being chosen commander-and –chief of the Continental Army during the Revolution, and finally of becoming our first President. Yes George Washington held my attention in a most gracious and charming way.

George Washington is portrayed By Mr. Jeff  Greenawalt, a very talented actor and resident of Mechanicsburg, PA. He  has a page on Facebook called  First In Our Hearts.  I understand Jeff also performs Early American music on lute, vihuela, and guitar.

It was then time to explore the upstairs rooms of the tavern, where I found gentlemen dressed in uniforms of our armies during wartime. Civil War uniforms and gear were displayed. There was also a young man in an actual World War One Army uniform with a display of army gear used at that time.

World War Two was also represented by a man wearing the uniform of the 10^th Mountain Division, with his gear.   There was even two young men wearing the uniforms of the German Army, with German army gear on display.

The Korean and Vietnam eras were also  represented. Everyone present in uniform was happy to answer every and all questions, and they were very knowledgeable

I had a wonderful time, and I’m looking forward to next year’s event.  The Northern York County Historical and Preservation Society was responsible for this wonderful event, and it was a job very well done..

Remembering Pat

A high school classmate passed away this week. She was a wonderful lady. I can't recall ever seeing her without a smile on her face. Her daughter Kathleen said it best:

"Patricia Marx passed away on May 8th 2013, at home after a year and a half long battle with cancer. She remained strong in spirit, even as the illness weakened her body.
Those that knew her know her by her faith in God, her compassion for others, her dedication to caring for the dying as a Hospice nurse, and teaching future generations of nurses to integrate these "caring" skills into their own practice.
Pat was a loving spouse, mom, friend, teacher, and colleague to many. She will be lovingly remembered by us all. Rest in peace, out of pain, and out of the grip of illnesses forever. We love you."

Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Goodbye for now, Pat, until we meet again. 

In A New Place

Well, I’ve finally done it. I’ve been telling myself for quite a while now that I would start to blog.  I should start soon. I should start tomorrow.  Well, tomorrow has finally come, and so here I am.

I live in the celebrated Sweetest Place on Earth, Hershey, Pennsylvania. My three grandchildren live nearby. I truly am a grandma in the Land of Chocolate.

After spending my youth in a Philadelphia suburb and my married years in historic Bucks County, my recent arrival here is opening a new chapter in my life. Although I enjoy living here and meeting the friendly folks in the area, I sometimes get homesick for the friends and family members I left behind.

Writing this blog will be therapeutic for me and I hope it will be interesting for all you who take some time out of your day to read it.  I’ll be writing about the journey that has brought me to this place in life.   I’ll be writing about the things I’m passionate about.  It will certainly be a mixed bag. I love books, and music, and food, and the Philadelphia Phillies. I play in fantasy sports leagues. I’m an amateur historian, and gravestone photographer and transcriber. I have a profound respect for our military veterans and for those who made the supreme sacrifice for freedom.  I’ve done volunteer work, singing “the old songs” in a V. A. nursing center. I love to laugh. I have lots of opinions. These things, and more, will be  topics I’ll be talking about here.

Welcome to my blog.