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When I was a girl (more years ago than I want to disclose), I bought a little brown tablet from the local five-and-dime. It cost a penney, which probably put a strain on my budget at the time. While cleaning out some stuff recently, I ran across it and thought I could use its blank pages for grocery lists, reminders, etc.

My daughter and a friend saw me write in it and tear out my note to tuck in my purse. Both remarked how the tablet was a piece of old ephemera and should be saved. By that time, I had written in several pages and tore them out, but both my daughter and friend joked that they could double my money, so it would be a good return on my investment to put it out at a flea market. 

Had I not "abused" the tablet, which had printed on front a sailing ship, the word "Worldbound," and a large "1" with the abbreviation for cent, I began to wonder if my investment could be worth ten-fold or even one-hundred-fold my cost. I wondered if I doodled in it, would that make my investment better? Could I get $1 for the tablet "as is" or would I need to discount it because pages were missing? We deliberated about all that, but reached no conclusion.  

The upshot is that the return on my investment amounted to moments of fun. Financially, well, what can I say? I blew it.

Cathy Rieger

    For a look at the photographs and some background information on Maud Shaw here is the link to a brief Washington Post Article. 

Never Seen Photos From John F. Kennedy's Nanny up for Auction by Nick Kirkpatrick and Lindsey Bever

   Here is a link to the auction house that is selling the photos (not endorsed by the good folks here at Passed Time, I just want to get the information out there to collectors)  Nate D. Sanders Online Auction. Bidding ends on June 25 5 pm Pacific

Nate D. Sanders Auction

   World War I had ended and the war weary world did not know what the future was to bring. In a somewhat gritty joint called the Audubon Ballroom in New York City, one woman was to dance her way to fame by wearing out 6 partners over a 27 hour period in 1923. By doing so, 32-year-old Alma Cummings won a world record. A record that was broken just a couple of days later by a French woman. It was soon reclaimed by Cummings and soon broken yet again. The challenge and the craze was on. Marathon dancing became all the rage.

   Did the marathon dance rage hit Dover, Delaware? This dance card says...possibly. The timing is perfect, for 1923 was when it all began again  (the reality is dance marathons have existed for centuries). Young people, and sometimes not so young, dancing their frustrations away, or taking a moment to just ..be. Was the Delaware Down Homers' Dover Dance a marathon or was it simply a Christmas dance to be enjoyed by all in Dover, Delaware?

     HK 23 June 2015 (to enlarge the picture simply right click and open in new tab. Draper is the name obscured by the glued string)

    If you have read the article about this cook book, you know that this recipe came from a cook book with an 82 year lifespan, given that it was first printed in 1933. This meat loaf recipe was found tucked inside. Given that Passed Time is a history/nostalgia-based site, I wanted to learn a little more about one of the ingredients. If I could learn a little about Pepperidge Farm* herb seasoned filling, I might be able to pinpoint the date of the recipe. Interestingly enough, Pepperidge Farm was founded because of food allergens. The history parallels many criticisms on-going today of America's "processed food," a factor linked to the rise of allergies, obesity, and other health problems.  

     Margaret Rudkin was a Connecticut housewife who soon learned one of her children had an allergy to commercial breads because of the artificial fillers. In 1937, she began to experiment with her own bread and finally made a whole-wheat alternative for her family. Encouraged by not only her family, but the family's doctor, she began to sell the bread out of her kitchen to local stores. Pepperidge Farm was the name of her family's farm in Fairfield Connecticut.  

     In 1947,  decade later (after WWII and the rationing that accompanied it), Rudkin expanded the bakery by introducing dinner rolls, oatmeal breads, and stuffing. Rudkin always insisted upon taking the first bite, to ensure the food met with her standards. The following recipe is probably from the later 1940s or early 1950s. There is more on the company's history on the Pepperidge Farm website. If you happen to make the recipe, let us know how it turned out here on Passed Time. History Keeper, 23 June 2015

*This is not an endorsement of Pepperidge Farms. Although we would gladly sell them advertising space, they have not reached out to us. I simply found this recipe and got curious. HK

To see the image Full Size, just pop it into a  new tab. (Highlight, then right click and click open in new tab) that should ensure you can see the recipe fully. If that doesn't work, feel free to contact me.

Author HistoryKeeper, currently lives in Dover, Delaware, with family, both two- and four-footed. I am a history enthusiast, who has great regard for the past and is especially proud of the Pennsylvania German culture. In addition to Passed Time, I am currently working on a project for the German Historical Institutes Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies (http://www.ghi-dc.org). I also contribute to various newsletters and I am working on another book...or two. Feel free to email me at pcsuter@passedtime.com for questions, comments, information, a shared love of history, an idea, or just because you want to share on Passed Time, but are too shy about getting started. But be aware, Files with Attachments will not be opened, but immediately deleted.

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For those following the blog about the Nanuet Autogrpah book, these will be upcoming or you've already seen them. But for those interested  in Pre-War rhymes, here are a couple of beauts....Enjoy. Pat Earnest 16 June 2015

"Lots of Love and Lots of Kisses

Sometimes change firls name to Mrs."

"Alice is a little star

Riding on a trolley car

When a car goes off the track

Alice wants her nickel back."

This next one is signed by a boy. I don't think anyone will be surprised.

"Violets are blue

Roses are red

Someone is dead

and that is you"

"Humpty Dumpty in the sky

Humpty Dumpty learned to fly,

Humpty Dumpty caught in the rain,

and down he came in his airplane." 

My personal favorite is,

"When you get married

Don't marry a flirt

Marry a man who will wash his own shirt

and when you get a baby

and the baby cries

come over to my house

and have some apple pies."

I'll send more out later when I have time. Enjoy. Pat

While at our favorite restaurant today, we overheard a man announce so everyone could hear that it started raining. Many folks immediately looked out the window, but many others picked up their handheld devices and clicked on weather. A sign of changing times.

Imagine my surprise when I found WW2 9MM Luger ammunition in Tennessee. 

In a scrapbook crammed with genealogy notes about many families--mostly from New Jersey and surrounding areas--one page caught my interest because, as most genealogists know, the maiden names of female spouses are hard to find.

This page concerns the Seabrook family. I will quote the entire page because it is rather interesting. Besides taking a firm stand about the name of the wife of James Seabrook, this page says:

"Thomas Seabrook, the progenitor of the New Jersey branch of the family, was first located in Minneford (now City Island) off Pelham, New York, in the year 1664. At this date he purchased land at Hempstead, L[ong] I[sland], whither he removed. He was at Hempstead 1670-1673. He moved thence to the town of West Chesrer, N. Y., where he was living in 1675. On December 27, 1674, he was killed by the Indians in the uprising which occurred on that date. He was a member of Capt. Osborn's Company which was called out in defence of the settlement. (This information comes from Dr. J. E. Stillwell, the genealogist, who is one of the descendants.) 

"The Seabrook Estate was vested in James the son of Thomas in 1717. Dr. Stillwell says, 'I know certainly that the wife of James Seabrook was Hannah Grover, daughter of Joseph Grover and Hannah Lawrence, his wife.'"

The scrapbook where this page was found was put together probably about 1915. It has many families in it, and is not at all specific to the Seabrook family. Enjoy!

Mary Schefer

My name is Kelly and I collect antique photographs.

Being the morbid person I am, I started collecting when I learned about Victorian postmortem photography. However, finding actual postmortem photos is hard and expensive whereas finding photos of everyday "living" people is easy, cheap and just as interesting. 

I'll try to update this blog as often as I can with a few photos from my extensive (over 250) collection.

I believe this is an actual postmortem, one of the few I have in my collection.

Next time your son/grandson/brother acts up, show them this and tell them that's how the make bad little boys dress.

I own so many photos from Germany and I'm not entirely sure why.