Frontier America in a Collection of Tin Cans
For Jim Rock, tin cans were as important as shards of ancient pottery. Each can told a story of nineteenth and twentieth century life in America.
When Coffee Went Bananas
Abel French Spawn was not alone in marketing caffeine-free coffee substitutes like banana coffee to Mormons.
The Caves in Which Moonshine Was Made
White County, TN, averaged more than a million and a half gallons of moonshine a year at late as the 1950s.
Duncan Hines, Cake Mix Maker Extraordinaire
Duncan Hines was not created by a marketing department. Born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 1880, he became an amateur restaurant critic.
How Delicious Meat Pies Put Natchitoches on the Map
The Natchitoches meat pie, a crimped half moon hiding a pocket of spiced meat, exemplifies “culinary place making."
When Margarine Was Contraband
Protectionist laws favoring producers of butter meant that getting margarine in Wisconsin was no easy feat.
The Wartime Origins of Farmers Markets
In 1943, the idea of a farmers market at which produce was sold directly to the customer was nearly unheard of, a relic of the distant past.
The Lost (and Found) Classic Cocktail of San Francisco
The legend of Pisco punch did not die with its creator, Duncan Nicol.
When the Temperance Movement Opened Saloons
Charles Sumner Eaton's “Temperance Spa” served alternative adult beverages like coffee, egg phosphates, and "Moxie Nerve Food," all in the name of health.