Excursion to Ellis Island

Grandma and Grandpa with baby Jacob, 1912

I spent last weekend in New York City, during which time I had an opportunity to take a trip via ferry to Ellis Island. Although my grandparents did not enter the United States through Ellis Island in 1911, visiting the museum there gave me a good idea of how it was for the twelve million other immigrants who were processed through that point of entry between 1892 and 1954.

Grandma and Grandpa Vanden Bergh left the Netherlands in May 1911, the day after their wedding. In later years, Grandma was always quick to tell people that they did not travel "steerage," but rather had saved enough money to purchase second-class tickets aboard the SS Potsdam. Thus, they apparently went through the customs and immigration formalities at Hoboken, New Jersey, instead of Ellis Island.

It was a thrill, though, to stand on the deck of the ferry crossing New York Harbor, and glide past the Statue of Liberty, and try to imagine what their thoughts might have been as they caught sight of the statue for the first time.

Liberty Island, from ferry

Coincidentally, as I stood on the deck of the ferry taking pictures, I heard the sound of Dutch being spoken next to me. I couldn't resist telling the family of Dutch tourists about my grandparents' passage to the United States through that very same harbor a hundred years ago. Of course, they politely corrected my pronunciation of our grandparents' hometowns, Loosdrecht and s'Graveland. The Dutch family disembarked at Liberty Island, while I continued on to Ellis Island.

The main building on Ellis Island, which now houses the museum, was opened in 1900.

Ellis Island - Museum

As I clambered up the stairs to the great hall on the second floor to the main room where the arriving immigrants were interviewed, once again I heard Dutch spoken by more tourists. It was an almost eerie echo reminding me of past generations.

Exhibits along the walls and in adjoining rooms gave a vivid idea of what it was like to pass through the medical exams, background checks, and interviews. Immigrants were scanned for contagious diseases in a six-second preliminary check-up even while they snaked up the stairs. This check consisted partly of an eye examination for trachoma, when a button hook was used to turn back the person's eyelid to check for inflammation.

Those with contagious diseases, which they may have contracted aboard ship, were sent to be cared for at the hospital that was part of the island's complex of buildings. Staff at the facility included nurses, doctors, inspectors, clerks, and interpreters for the myriad languages spoken by the newcomers.

Because of the vast numbers of people who passed through the doors, it is easy to get the idea that the process was necessarily a very impersonal one. But various details included in the exhibits do paint a picture that includes a more personal touch, for example the note that children staying at the complex were served an evening snack of warm milk; or the instruction to nurses caring for sick children "not to kiss the children" for fear of catching whatever ailment the sick child had.

After visiting the museum, I went outside to study the Immigrant Wall of Honor, in hopes of locating my grandparents' names. Although they had not come through Ellis Island, but arrived during the era that the point of entry was active, my mother had registered their names for addition to the wall. After consulting the alphabetical chart, and walking twice along the perimeter of the monument, I found them, among a number of other Dutch names: Barend and Elizabeth Daams Van den Bergh.

It would soon be time to catch the ferry back to Manhattan, but I couldn't resist taking one last photo of the skyline, in which I was able to capture the old and the new: a three-masted sailing ship in the shadow of the skyscrapers, including the new World Trade Center:

Manhattan skyline with sailing ship

And aboard the ferry on the return trip, one more photo of the Statue of Liberty against the Manhattan skyline:

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For much more information about Ellis Island, go to the National Park Services Web site at: http://www.nps.gov/elis/index.htm  

To learn more details about my grandparents' early lives and voyage to America in 1911, you may wish to take a look at these earlier posts:

Starched Caps and Aprons

Making Plans

Arrival at Last

Settling In

A Home of Their Own

Bientensla -- Dutch Beet Salad

Two "flinke" beets

Two "flinke" beets  --  thus begins the recipe in Grandma Vanden Bergh's 1920's Dutch cookbook for Beet Salad  -- Bientensla. The adjective can be translated here as "extra large," or "of substantial size."

The rest of the recipe calls for:

3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons salad oil
1 teaspoon sugar
chopped onion or leek
salt and pepper to taste

I used beets that I purchased at a local farmers' market. The preparation is described as follows:

- Wash the beets thoroughly.
- Cook them in ample water, with salt for about three hours [!]
- Remove the skin; let them cool, and cut in slices or cubes.
- Mix with the oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper, and if desired, the chopped onion or leek.
- Serve the salad with cold meat or cold cooked fish.

Beet Salad - 1922 Recipe

This is the simplest of the recipes for beet salad in my three Dutch cookbooks. I found that the huge beets cooked for a lengthy time (I only boiled them for half the time indicated in the recipe) did not have much flavor on their own, and a larger number of smaller beets may have produced a tastier dish.

Mom's 1961 cookbook included a slightly different recipe for beet salad, which called for six beets, six boiled potatoes, four hard-cooked eggs, two apples, and three large sour pickles. The dressing was either mayonnaise or oil and vinegar, "if [the mayonnaise] is considered to be too nourishing."

This version was also suggested to be served alongside cold meat.

In good frugal Dutch fashion, I used the leftovers from the first recipe to try this one out as well, although I omitted the apples and pickles. Of course, the potatoes and egg turned a pleasing shade of pink when they came into contact with the beet juice.

Beet Salad  -  1961 Recipe

My modern Dutch cookbook adds even more ingredients to the mix  --  300 grams of corned beef. In this version, the beets and apples are grated, and the mixture is served on a bed of lettuce leaves, with a slice of white bread to round out the meal.

I think I like the oldest recipe best, and would prefer to have the meat and potatoes separately. Whichever way you prefer your bietensla, eet smakelijk  --  enjoy your meal!

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Language note:  My Essential Dutch Dictionary translates the Dutch word flink(e) as "tough, capable, considerable."

Mom's 1967 Cassell's Dutch-English Dictionary (first copyrighted in 1923, a year after Grandma's cookbook was published) gives a range of meanings for different contexts. Here are a few:

For objects:
     good (walk, number, size)
     considerable (sum)
     substantial (progress)
     thorough (overhaul)

For people:
     sturdy, stout, lusty, robust, strapping, stalwart, hardy, energetic

I love this versatile Dutch word flink(e) --  so useful for describing people or things!

Three Generations of Dutch Cookbooks

Another Dutch cookbook has turned up in the family archives! It belonged to my mother, and is entitled "The Art of Dutch Cooking, or How the Dutch Treat." It was published in 1961, forty years after my grandmother's old Dutch cookbook.

The book bears an inscription by my sister: "To Mom - in the year of her European travels, 1971." Indeed, that was the year that Mom and two of her sisters traveled to France and the Netherlands, where they were able to meet up with a number of aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was quite a thrill for my mother to see the very neighborhood where her own mother grew up.

I have added the book to my collection alongside Grandma's 1920's "Eenvoudige Berekende Recepten" and my modern "Deliciously Dutch," by Marijke Sterk, which I purchased in the Netherlands three years ago.

"The Art of Dutch Cooking" was written by Cornelia, Countess van Limburg Stirum. A black-and-white photograph on the endflap shows her in profile  --  a woman of a certain age, with a slight Mona Lisa-like smile, demurely glancing downward, with wavy hair and a stylishly-tied scarf (for 1960) around her neck.

Information about the author indicates that the Countess "learned to cook entirely on her own, when she was stranded on a houseboat during the war [World War II] with her three young sons. A widow, she enjoys surprising her guests with new recipes, and has published three highly successful cookbooks in Dutch."

The volume is illustrated with drawings done by the Countess herself, including a charming watercolor on the cover, which shows a typical Dutch scene of canal houses and people enjoying a treat of fresh herring.

I am curious to learn more about this mysterious Countess, and to try out some of her recipes and compare them with the older and newer ones. Did the Countess possibly have a copy of "Eenvoudige Berekende Recepten" with her on that houseboat? What perennial recipes have come down since earlier times, and how may they have been adapted to meet more modern tastes? Another phase of my research is about to begin!

Albany Tulip Festival 2014

Mother's Day weekend in May marked the 66th Albany Tulip Festival, when over 100,000 tulips bloomed in the downtown area, in particular in the city's Washington Park:

There are pink tulips:

Yellow tulips:

Purple tulips:

Double tulips:

A yellow tulip got lost here:

There are even upside-down tulips:

All kinds of people from all over the country come to the festival to photograph the tulips:

There are vendors selling all kinds of gadgets and artistic decorations; and food for a variety of palates.

But the highlight of the festival is the crowing of the Tulip Queen, who will represent the city at a variety of cultural events during the coming year, along with her "court" of runners-up. These five young women will volunteer in activities that promote literacy, civic spirit, and Albany's cultural history.

A contingent of motorcycle-riding and mounted policemen lead a procession through the park, with a bagpipe vanguard and the local "Dutch Settlers Society of Albany" ahead of a horse-drawn carriage in which ride the city's Mayor and the previous year's Tulip Queen. The procession ends at the Washington Park Lake House, where the new Queen will be crowned.


Plans for the current version of Albany's Tulip Festival began in 1948, when then-Mayor Erastus Corning II declared the tulip the official flower of the city, in honor of Albany's Dutch heritage. The first tulip festival was held the following year.

But the festival has roots in a late 18th- and early 19th-century festival in Albany, known as Pinksterfest. (See last post for details.)

Albany's Early Pinksterfest

The tulips are fading, but lilacs and azaleas are blooming furiously in Upstate New York. Azaleas played a prominent part in the late 18th-early 19th century precursor to Albany's Tulip Festival -- the Pinksterfest. Pinksters are a variety of azalea that bloom in late spring. My pinkster or azalea looks like this:

Azalea, also known as Pinkster

The pinkster festival began as a Dutch religious celebration to celebrate Pentecost, but later became a more secular and multicultural event, with dancing, music and food, attended by local Native Americans and in particular by the African-American population of the capital city and its environs.

Today I can look out of my office window onto Albany's Academy Park, where the festivities took place: booths were set up where sweets and cider were sold; drumming and dancing went on into the night, and for a whole week the Master of Ceremonies, Adam Blake, a servant of the Patroon Van Rensselaer's family presided over the fun and games. The occasion was an opportunity for enslaved Africans to taste a few days of independence.

Unfortunately for the revelers, in April 1811, the Common Council of the City of Albany passed an ordinance banning the festival, supposedly because of the excesses of rowdiness and drunkenness associated with it. However, some researchers today believe that it is more likely that those who still owned slaves felt that the Pinksterfest was an opportunity for large numbers of slaves to congregate, with the possible risk that that may have represented.

The prohibition was symbolically annulled by the Albany Common Council in 2011, two hundred years after its banning.

I love the view from my office window, looking down over Academy Park and farther away to the Hudson River, but I did not know until now that this historic park is where this festival was held. The view will be even more meaningful for me now.


Sources:

Hess, Peter, People of Albany: The First 200 Years. Albany Steel, Inc., Albany, NY; 2009

Pinkster Resource Page, New York State Museum: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/res/pinkster.html#fest

Pinkster Celebration, Historic Hudson Valley Web site: http://www.hudsonvalley.org/education/pinkster

The Mystery Notebook

Among the notebooks and cookbooks that I received along with Grandma Minnie's handwritten book of recipes was a second manuscript in a handwriting that I did not recognize. This mystery notebook's elaborate script was not easy to decipher:

It was not until I came across a signed letter in the same hand in the family archives that I discovered the author of the calligraphed notebook: it was Grandma Minnie's second cousin, Beulah Van Slyke Bailey.

Beulah was born in 1892 (two years after Minnie), the grand-daughter of Jonas Van Slyke's brother David H. Van Slyke. She was born in Indian Castle, New York, in Herkimer County, where she lived for most of her life. I have a vague memory of visiting her home as a young child with other relatives. A profusion of pink and purple Jacob's Coat flowering plants bloomed in the woods behind the house. Beulah shared a cutting with Minnie, which Minnie's girls planted on the hill behind their homestead.

Beulah was active in the restoration of the Indian Castle church originally built in 1769 by Sir William Johnson, as a mission church for the Mohawks, whose palisaded village, or "castle," gave the modern village its name. The little white church still stands on a hillside above the Mohawk River. It is the oldest Indian mission church in New York State.

Beulah was President of the Indian Castle Restoration Society. When she passed away in May 1965, her memorial service was held in the church that she had helped restore. I have not tried Beulah's Angel Food Cake recipe, but I did try another recipe that she had clipped out of a newspaper, probably sometime in the 1940's. The apple, cinnamon, and brown sugar make a tasty treat. 

Apple Betty

- One cup dried bread crumbs (rolled); 1/4 cup melted butter; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 3 cups tart apples, finely chopped; 1 cup brown sugar.

- Blend the bread crumbs with the melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon. Butter a baking dish and line it with the crumbs. Place a layer of chopped apples in bottom of dish, add a layer of crumbs and repeat until all are used. Bake for 40 minutes in a moderate oven (375 degrees Fahrenheit). Serve warm with cream.

Beulah's Apple Betty

Although Beulah has been gone for almost fifty years now, the Jacob's Coat that she gave Minnie is sprouting along the path up the hill. Soon its pink and purple blossoms will open in the spring sunshine, part of Beulah's legacy along with her tasty recipes.

Beulah's Jacob's Coat

Breakfast Parties - Then and Now

I’ve planned to have family come to my house for a brunch on Easter Sunday, and I’ve been looking through my old family cookbooks to find some interesting ideas and festive dishes to prepare. Luckily, I didn’t have to search far; Great-Grandma Nan’s book of household hints and recipes from the 1890’s, “Queen of the Household,” did not disappoint me.

Title Page, "Queen of the Household"

The chapter entitled, “Receptions and Entertainments” begins with a section on breakfast parties. In our day, we tend to call this “brunch,” a combination of breakfast and lunch, both linguistically and gastronomically. It is interesting to note the changes in style and custom between the Victorian Age to our own Electronic Age, and in spite of our hurried lifestyle, good taste never goes out of fashion. Below are some excerpts from the section on Breakfast Parties, with my 21^st century commentary interspersed in Italics.

“Breakfast parties are a very convenient mode of social entertainment for those whose limited means will not admit of a more extensive display of hospitality. (In the 21^st century, we may entertain more simply due to a lack of time as much as a lack of means.)

“Costly repasts are not necessarily the best; the dining-room may be so pleasant, the table so dainty and tasteful, the welcome so sincere, that a very unassuming meal may be rendered indescribably charming, and a breakfast given in very simple style, while much less expensive than a dinner, and even less formal than a luncheon, may be made quite as enjoyable as either, as guests usually partake of it before spoiling the appetite by an earlier home meal. (Sincerity, tastefulness, and charm have not gone out of style. I just hope my brunch will be “dainty” enough and that no one spoils their appetite before coming!)

“The breakfast hour in America is always earlier than in France or England, where a first breakfast is taken in a very light form, and is from 9 to 12 o’clock, the former being preferred by most people unless upon the occasion of very fashionable affairs. (Yes, “first breakfast,” or “petit déjeuner” in France is still a very light meal. The noon meal, “le déjeuner” is heavier fare. In the United States, these days many people take their morning coffee “on the run,” or have their breakfast at work.)

“Invitations to breakfast are written and sent several days beforehand; they may be an informal note or simply written on the lady’s visiting cards (I don’t have visiting cards!) under the name in this form: ‘Breakfast, Tuesday 10 o’clock, April 20.’

“Like all other invitations these require a prompt and courteous reply. Very formal breakfasts call for more ceremonious invitations, which like those to dinners or large parties should be engraved on handsome paper. (Such ceremony may have been necessary in the days before cell phones, or even landline telephones, but for any invitation other than a wedding, today we would not use an engraved invite “on handsome paper.” Most likely a quick phone call or email would suffice.)

Frontispiece, "Queen of the Household"

“The unceremoniousness of this early repast requires the appearance of extreme simplicity, but flowers are in good taste (Flowers are always in good taste, but there are none blooming in my garden just yet), and prettily arranged with fruits give the table a fresh and attractive look. The table-cloth and napkins should be of fine white damask or they may be bordered in colors to match the color of the dining-room. (I don’t have a damask table-cloth, but I promise to use my best lace one!)

“In serving breakfast, the bill of fare, unless for special occasions, should never be elaborate, but rather dainty and attractive, fewer courses of a more delicate variety should be served than at other meals. (Fewer courses sounds like a good idea to me. “Dainty” and “attractive” are two of the author’s favorite adjectives for the serving of meals!)

“The hostess dispenses the coffee, tea and chocolate from the head of the table; the substantials are set in front of the host, who may help the plates and hand them to the waiter to serve (There’s no waiter at my house!) ; the vegetables and other dishes may be handed from the side table. (No side table either, but we’ll make do somehow. Most likely I will serve my Easter brunch “buffet style.”)

“It is well bred to serve the breakfast with as little formality as possible, and with as few attendants; one servant, a maid or manservant is sufficient unless the party is unusually large. (There are no servants in my household, and I seriously doubt that there were any in my Great-Grandmother’s house either; however, she had help from her sister when my grandmother was a small child.)

“The following will be found an acceptable bill of fare for an ordinary breakfast party. It can of course be varied to suit the convenience and taste of housekeepers:

Melons, Grapes, Oranges

Fried Perch with Sauce Tartare

Young Chicken with Cream Gravy

Dutchess Potatoes

Poached Egg on Toast

Broiled Quails

Baked Mushrooms

Tomatoes or Celery

Bread and Butter

Crackers

Hot Cakes

Coffee, Tea, Chocolate

“The simplest costume is in good taste for breakfast parties. Gentlemen wear walking suits, and ladies handsome but plain street costumes. Gloves are recommended before going to the table. (Oh, those little white gloves from years ago! I remember them from my Sunday School days.)

“Each gentleman is given the escort of a lady. The host conducts the lady who is the most distinguished guest to the table, and the hostess follows with the gentleman whom it is desired to honor particularly.

“Upon entering the dining-room the ladies are assisted to their seats, and the gentlemen then follow, and the meal is served.

“The signal for rising from the table is given by the hostess, with a smile and simple bow, and all proceed to the parlor, exchange a few pleasant remarks, and take their leave. (Such ceremony for a supposedly simple meal! This protocol was most probably followed by those hosts and hostesses who saw themselves as rather well-to-do. I doubt that the farming families in the Mohawk Valley, where my grandparents and great-grandparents lived, stood on such ceremony.)

“For informal breakfasts no after-call is expected, but for ceremonious entertainments of this kind the same observance of the rules of etiquette are required as for dinners and large parties.”

Getting the table ready for brunch

Update after my brunch: Yes, I certainly varied the above menu to suit my convenience and taste! I served store-bought quiches  -- spinach and broccoli; a vintage recipe for salmon loaf from Grandma Minnie’s Larkin Housewives Cook Book; an “Apple Betty” recipe from another vintage family cookbook (more about that next week); a loaf of fancy braided challah bread; and other family members brought a green salad and a fruit salad. We rounded out the meal with coffee, and a pleasant and dainty time was had by all.

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Larkin Housewives Cook Book

Baked Salmon Loaf Recipe, from 1915 Larkin Housewives Cook Book, contributed by a Mrs. E.A. Ross, Springfield, Massachusetts:

One can of Larkin Red Alaska Salmon, four tablespoons of bread-crumbs, four tablespoons butter, pepper and salt to taste. Add one egg slightly beaten. Mix thoroughly and bake in loaf with three slices of Larkin Bacon across the top. Serve with creamed onions.

Since the recipe did not tell at what temperature to bake the loaf, nor for how long, nor what size can of salmon to use, I did a quick search on the Internet to see if I could find similar modern recipes. The first recipe I found on www.allrecipes.com was virtually identical to the Larkin recipe, but calling for half the butter, and using a half-cup of milk instead; it also omitted the bacon.The recipe indicated that you should bake the loaf for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 Centigrade).

A second recipe suggested adding minced green pepper and onion, and adding a half-teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce. Both called for a 14.75 ounce can of salmon, which is the size I had bought at my local supermarket. I did add a bit of finely chopped red pepper and onion, which added a bit more color and flavor to the loaf, and if I make it again, I might try halving the butter or margarine and substituting milk, to cut down on the fat calories.

But it is interesting to note that, although social customs have evolved greatly over the last century, there are still some perennial recipes that are guaranteed to please the daintiest appetites.