What's For Dinner?

     If you have been reading our past “Find of the Week on the Used Book Floor” blogs, you know that our discoveries often have a historical significance or meaning to them.  This week is not the case.  Fear not, however, as our most recent find is certainly just as interesting as the rest.

     Tucked into the 1973 first edition book, “The Road Through Sandwich Notch” was a bookmark from a fellow independent bookstore, the Concord Bookshop, located in Massachusetts.  On the other side of the bookmark, however, was the true find – a grocery list.  Now, you may be asking: what is so interesting about a grocery list?  Ah, behold the conclusions we have made from these items. 

     Upon studying the grocery list, one could make a few assumptions:

1.      The milk, two bananas, juice, coffee, banana bread, and Life cereal are intended for breakfast

2.      The Comet and dish soap are to be used for cleaning purposes

3.      The cheese and crackers go together for a possible appetizer scenario

4.      The bread is quite likely going to end up being used at lunchtime for sandwiches

     After taking those items away, the following remain on the list: potatoes, chicken, tomatoes, and green beans.  Left with those four items and because breakfast, lunch, and appetizers have already been accounted for above, we wondered, (and we know that you are, too) what is for dinner?  So glad you asked.

     We googled dinner recipes that contain all four of those items and the most commonly reviewed recipe we found was...drumroll…“30 Minute Pan with Chicken, Potatoes, Green Beans and Tomatoes” (creative name, we know, but hey, we didn’t create the recipe).  Now, we’ll admit, a lemon and a myriad of spices are also required to get this dish off the ground, but let’s assume that our shopper already had those at home.  Basically, after a little slicing, dicing, drizzling, seasoning, and caramelizing, this recipe touts itself as a “healthy one-pan dinner, guaranteed to please all” who dine on it. 

     So, there you have it!  We have created/surmised three meals, (along with appetizers and products to clean up with after those meals) all from one measly 16 item shopping list! We know that you are wondering what we can do with your list this week, too…

     The 1973 first edition of “The Road Through Sandwich Notch” (complete with the inspired bookmark/grocery list) it is for sale here at Bayswater for the price of $40.00, as it is a valuable book.  To catch up with our previous finds of the week from the used book floor, you can always check us out at bayswaterbooks.com and on facebook, or stop by the store in Center Harbor and check out the used book floor for yourself!

And First Prize Goes To...

     

     This week’s discovery on our used book floor came pressed inside of the front cover of the 1950 first edition book, “The Outlander”.  No, this is not an early version of author Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” that is a current bestselling series and popular TV show.  This “Outlander” was written by Germaine Guevremont and published over 40 years before the 1991 time traveling Gabaldon book was written.

     Our unique find is a small certificate from the Editors of TIME Magazine that awarded a member of the junior class at Alexander High School (NY) with the “First Section Junior Class Prize” for the TIME Current Affairs Contest in 1950.  Never heard of this contest?  We hadn’t, either.  We discovered that in 1935, TIME asked two young college professors to draft a current affairs test for use in high schools and colleges across the United States.  The questions were based on stories that were heavily covered in TIME magazine and major U.S. newspapers for a six month period of time (Jan-June and July-Dec).  It eventually became known as the Cooperative Contemporary Affairs Test for the American Council on Education.

     Shirley Brown, the national 1950 First Section Junior Class Prize winner from Alexander, New York, was awarded the new, (at the time) first edition “Outlander” book as a prize.  Ms. Brown must have taken the test that encompassed events from Jan-June 1950, as the book was published in late spring of that year.  We figure that Ms. Brown may have been tested about events such as President Truman’s report on how to handle the Cold War with the Soviet Union, Senator McCarthy’s beginnings of Communist persecutions, and the issuing of the first credit cards.  It made us wonder: how many of us would pass a current affairs test covering the first half of 2017 if it were given today?

     If you are interested in owning the 1950 copy of “The Outlander,” (complete with award certificate) it is for sale here at Bayswater for the price of $15.99 – and you do not have to take a quiz in order to purchase it!  To catch up with our previous finds of the week from the used book floor, you can always check us out at bayswaterbooks.com and on facebook, or stop by the store in Center Harbor and check out the used book floor for yourself!

Every Bead Tells a Story

     This week’s find may look small in stature, but it tells a very interesting story.  Resting comfortably on pg. 222 of Thomas Thompson’s 1979 novel, “Serpentine,” was a plastic clip of some sort (most likely a bookmark).  The clip was beaded at the top and looked similar to patterns used among Native American tribes.  Upon further examination, the back of the clip/bookmark stated that it belonged to St. Labre Indian School in Ashland, Montana.  A find from a Native American school, alone, is interesting, but upon doing a little research, there was even more of the story to be discovered.

     It turns out that The St. Labre Indian School in Montana is a private, Roman Catholic school that also places great importance on Native American culture and tradition.  Most of the students are current members of the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Tribes and receive both a Catholic K-12 education, while also receiving instruction on Native American languages, history, and tribal government.  Led by director Curtis Yarlott, or “Yellow Arrows,” and principal Trivian RidestheBear, the St. Labre Indian School is a fully accredited institution and highly regarded in the state of Montana.  Did you know that such a school existed? We certainly didn’t. 

     So, how does a Catholic, Native American school come to be, you may ask?  Founded in 1884, St. Labre was created because a former soldier stationed in the area contacted Catholic Bishop John Brondel of Helena, Montana, and told him of the Cheyenne and Crow Tribes who were roaming with no land and no homes – displaced as a result of homesteading.  The Bishop helped to arrange a purchase of the land, and St. Labre was built.  The school (originally a three-room log cabin that served as the residence, school, dormitory and church) was taught and overseen by a combination of three priests and nuns.  Today, the St. Labre “miracle” (as it is now referred to by residents) boasts an enrollment of over 750 Native American students and employs both Tribal and Catholic instructors.         

     See what we mean when we first stated that the beaded clip really had a story?  Who could have guessed?  If you are interested in owning the 1979 copy of “Serpentine,” (complete with beaded clip) it is for sale here at Bayswater for the price of $6.99.  To catch up with our previous finds of the week from the used book floor, you can always check us out at bayswaterbooks.com and on facebook, or stop by the store in Center Harbor and check out the used book floor for yourself!

Laughter Soothes the Soul

     It is safe to say that here at Bayswater, we never know what to expect when we open the cover of a used book or slide it on a shelf.  This week’s find on the used book floor was tucked into the back cover of a pocket-sized, hardcover of “The Marked New Testament” that was published in 1899.  “The Marked New Testament” was published by the Bible Institute Colportage Association, which was founded only a few years before with the sole purpose of distributing religious books at a cost affordable to all.  While cost effective at the time, it also might be one of the smallest religion books we have ever seen, that’s for sure (a magnifying glass could be required here).

     As we opened the book, out came a handful of old (also tiny) newspaper clippings.  At first, we thought that they might be additional scripture readings or thoughts related to a passage in the New Testament.  Makes sense, right?  Alas, how wrong we were.  The very old clippings were actually jokes that had been printed a very long time ago, it appears, though there are no dates on the clippings.  Jokes tucked into a New Testament from 1899?  We kid you not (ok, a small pun was needed there). 

     One of our favorites was entitled, “Her Business.”  It reads as follows:

She – Is she a business woman?

He –Yes.

She – What business is she interested in?

He – Everybody’s.

     Another, clipped from the Philadelphia Telegraph and entitled, “Not Necessary,” quipped:

Teacher – Johnny, are you ready to repeat your history lesson?

Johnny – No, ma’am.

Teacher – Why not?

Johnny – Because you told us that history repeats itself.

    

     We found at least ten faded newspaper print jokes in "The New Marked Testament" and if you have read any of our previous columns, you know that we must have a thought about why they were found hidden in a religious book.  Was it to provide comic relief in church? Can’t you just picture someone pretending to read The New Testament and instead, suppressing a chuckle due to the hidden jokes? 

     The 1899 copy of The Marked New Testament (complete with jokes) is free (yes, free) for the asking here at Bayswater.  To catch up with our previous finds of the week from the used book floor, you can always check us out at bayswaterbooks.com and on facebook, or stop by the store in Center Harbor and check out the used book floor for yourself!

Eisenhower Had A Cake?

     We shelve books of all genres on our used book floor, but without a doubt, the books that provide the most interesting finds for us have been found in the cooking section.  People seem to feel that cookbooks are a good place to jot down notes or tuck in newspaper articles.  Really - check out the cookbooks on your shelves some rainy day and see what we mean. Cookbooks are clearly windows to our souls.

    This week’s find on the used book floor was discovered in…you guessed it, a cookbook!  Published in 1929, the “Rumford Complete Cookbook” was put together by the Department of Home Economics of the Rumford Chemical Company in Providence, R.I.  We know you are thinking it, so we’re just going to put it right out there…a chemical company that puts together a cookbook?  Interesting.

     Taped to the back cover of the book is a newspaper recipe clipping from 1955 for the Eisenhower Chocolate Cake.  This was not just any chocolate cake, we discovered.  Upon doing a little research we found that during his first year in office, Hershey hosted a giant 63^rd birthday party for President Eisenhower and constructed a cake that was 9 feet wide and 6 feet tall.  This gigantic chocolate confection was made mostly of plywood and paper mache, but there was a very small portion of it that was actual cake created specifically for Eisenhower in honor of his birthday.  Only the President and his wife were allowed to eat from that cake, as the 600 other guests dined on alternate confections.  It was during this celebration that the Eisenhower Chocolate Cake was born and the recipe became a hot commodity.  It, therefore, makes sense that the woman who owned this cookbook 62 years ago would have considered the Eisenhower Chocolate Cake recipe newspaper clipping to be a “must have” in her cookbook.  Who knew?  We included a picture of the recipe in case you want to try your hand at it, too.    

       The Eisenhower Chocolate Cake recipe is only one of many newspaper clippings that we found pasted into the “Rumford Complete Cookbook” and the cookbook (complete with finds) is for sale here at Bayswater for the price of $19.99, as it was published in 1929.  To catch up with our previous finds of the week from the used book floor, you can always check us out at bayswaterbooks.com and on facebook, or stop by the store in Center Harbor and check out the used book floor for yourself!

What Stock Did You Say You Sold (gasp) in 1968?!

     Our most recent find of the week on the used book floor is a true blast from the past in so many ways.  Tucked into a 1964 paperback copy of the novel “In Vivo” was a letter written and mailed in December of 1968 from a mother in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, to her son and his wife in Niantic, Connecticut.   

     Before we get to the letter inside the book, however, we found that the book, itself, is somewhat of a find, as it is a historical novel that deals with (what was then) the relatively new discovery and use of antibiotics in the medical field.  More effective strains of antibiotics were discovered in the 1960s, the time period during which “In Vivo” was written.  How interesting would it be to read a novel today that was based on the “new” and “uncharted” discovery of antibiotics by characters back then?  The book’s 1964 reviewers couldn’t seem to put the “exciting” book down, they stated.  Ahh, progress.    

     But, back to the letter.  It appears to have been written just after the son and his wife were visiting their parents/in-laws on 3½ Elliot Street in St. Johnsbury, VT.  Yes, you read correctly – 3½ Elliot Street.  Why the half, you may ask?  We wondered, too.  Apparently, in older cities in New England, the street numbers were given out consecutively, without skipping numbers to allow for future buildings to be constructed.  As a result, ½ and even ¼ street addresses were later assigned to new structures.  That sounds like something right out of Harry Potter to us. 

     The mother wrote to her son about how she finally sold her all of her Bates stock (from the Bates Worldwide advertising and marketing company) at $19 a share after having bought a great deal of it in the mid 1940s – only a handful of years after the company was founded.  She stated that as a “staunch New Englander” she hated to risk selling it at a loss, so she got nervous and got rid of the stock when she saw the price rise above $17 a share – what she purchased it for.  Little did she know that Bates Worldwide, whose future clients would include M&Ms, Nabisco, Colgate and Palmolive (just to name a few) would prove to be a powerhouse in the world of advertising and their profits exploded in the 70s and 80s.  Too bad.  Makes you wonder what her investment would have turned into had she not sold the stock in the 1960s.  We will never know.

     As with all of our used books that we feature here at Bayswater, “In Vivo” can be yours for the price of $2.99.  To catch up with our previous finds of the week from the used book floor, you can always check us out at bayswaterbooks.com and on facebook, or stop by the store in Center Harbor and check out the used book floor for yourself!

While Riding on a New York Railway in January, 1980...

     Do you ever watch the police procedural (or detective) shows on TV?  You know, the ones where the investigator asks the potential suspects where they were and what was happening on a particular date?  Unless the date in question was very recent, who really remembers details like that?  Our latest find of the week on the used book floor allowed us to do a little research regarding one particular date – January 25, 1980 – and what one man may have been experiencing on that day. 

     This week’s discovery was a Long Island Railroad ticket from Friday, January 25, 1980, tucked into a copy of Stuart Woods’ book, “Standup Guy”.  The ticket was purchased by a male and it is clear by the number of punches on it that the ticket was used for commuting to and from work during the week of January 20-25 in 1980.  Hmm…we wondered, what was happening during that time in the life of a Brooklyn, New York commuter?

     On that day, we surmise that the commuter could have been trying to catch a brief cat nap, as Super Bowl XIV had recently concluded and he may have been shouting at the TV until a late hour, perhaps lamenting that neither New York NFL team even made the playoffs that year (the Pittsburg Steelers won and QB Terry Bradshaw was named the MVP).  As he sat on the subway, maybe he read about how President Jimmy Carter announced a United States boycott of the Moscow Olympics to be held that summer.  Perhaps he was looking out the window and thinking about the economy and his own job security, as inflation had skyrocketed to 13.5% (it is now 2.9%) and would eventually lead to a recession in the early 1980s.  Or maybe, because it was Friday, he simply couldn’t wait for the weekend (even a cold January one in New York).

     Whatever he may have been thinking or reading about, we found that on that day in 1980, a New York Long Island Railroad ticket cost a total of .60 cents.  If the man commuted five days a week for a total of 20 weekdays in a month, he spent $12 a month on his subway pass.  To put that in perspective, if one were to purchase a ticket for the same amount of time in that subway system now, it would cost $103 (a good example of inflation).

     As with all of our used books that we feature here at Bayswater, “Standup Guy” can be yours for the price of $2.99.  To catch up with our previous finds of the week from the used book floor, you can always check us out at bayswaterbooks.com and on facebook, or stop by the store in Center Harbor and check out the used book floor for yourself!