Menus In The Minnesota Historical Society Collections
Morethan a MealMenus in the MinnesotaHistorical Society CollectionsMDeborah L. MillerenuS, found throughout many of the Minnesota Historical Society’s collections, are a treasuretrove for serious scholars and casual browsers alike.Starting before statehood in 1858, Minnesota’s restaurants, hotels, cafes, private clubs, and other emporia ofeating-out made good use of the state’s printing industry,commissioning two types of menus: souvenirs of cateredbanquets, and what we now think of as menus—lists offoods available at a particular restaurant on a given day,usually including prices.These often-beautiful objects hold many types of information for many types of viewers. Food historians usemenus to investigate, among other things, the popularity
of certain foods at certain times; what kinds of foodswere served together, like trout and cucumbers; to whatextent seasonal or local foods or ethnic dishes appearon banquet and restaurant menus; preparation methods(roasted, boiled, braised, fried); culinary trends, such aswhen mock turtle soup began to replace real turtle soup;and so on. Students of social and cultural history may discover that a closer look at menus can reveal which ethnicfoods made the leap from home and church-basementkitchens to public eateries. The lists and program noteson some menus can lead to insights into how men, in particular, socialized over food at celebratory events in thenineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Designers andothers interested in the history of printing and paper willalso find menus enlightening—and a lot of fun. Historicmenus preserve typefaces, color combinations, and illustrations that could be adapted for use today.Menus combine utility with beauty, humor, and/orinformation on organizations, buildings, or individuals.They reflect the social values of an era, such as patriotismbased on connections to the early-American past. Some arenostalgic or even sentimental. Menus are good resourcesfor business history, especially for the hospitality industryDEBBIE MILLER collects cookbooks and culinary ephemera.She is a reference specialist at the Minnesota Historical Societyand co-author of Potluck Paradise: Favorite Fare from Church andCommunity Cookbooks (2008).and other food-related companies, but also for food growers and sellers. Instances of all of these aspects can be seenin the menus from the 1890s to the 1930s that follow.Often conSidered to be minor items—ephemera—menus are rarely saved.1 Although they are catalogued throughout the MNHS collections, they can bedifficult to find (see below). A search on the term “menu”in the library’s online catalog yields results ranging frombills of fare from landmark hotel dining rooms (such asthe Leamington’s Norse Room) and a menu from Marc’sBig Boy (in a collection of restaurant papers) to a widearray of books—published by small-town cafes, majorMinnesota corporations, ethnic associations, and manyentities in between—that include menus along with recipes and bits of local history. Searching the CollectionsOnline database brings up photos of menus posted inbowling alleys or at drive-ins, menus from railroad dining cars, and souvenirs of one-time ceremonial banquetsand organizational dinners. The mother lode of menus,though, can be found in the library’s pamphlet files, arranged by decade.Beyond the state, famous American menu collectionsinclude holdings at the New York Public Library (someitems have been digitized), Cornell University Library, LosAngeles Public Library, and the Johnson and Wales University menu collection, donated by the National Restaurant Association. For Minnesota menus, though, you can’tbeat the Minnesota Historical Society’s library.Ordering from the MenuHere’s a list of resources for sampling some excellent menu collections.At the Minnesota Historical SocietyAcross the nationLibrary catalog: www.mnhs.mnpals.netNew York Public Library digitalcollections.nypl.org/and search “menu”Collections Online: www.mnhs.org/collections/ and select“Search Collections”Pamphlet files: Items must be viewed in the HistoryCenter library. For material beginning in the 1870s, requestthe Collection of Minnesota Menus, TX728: Box 1, 1870–99;Box 2, 1900–19; Box 3, 1920–39, and Box 4, railroad diningcar menus, 1940–80s. Earlier menus, 1856–70, are aReserve collection; researchers may apply for permissionto see them.Cornell University Library rmc.library.cornell.edu/collections/menus.htmlLos Angeles Public Library menu-collectionJohnson and Wales University menu collection,donated by the National Restaurant Association,scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/menus/Other interesting websites include those of privatecollectors, such as theamericanmenu.com/FA L L 2 0 1 4105
Winona’s Hot Fish Shop was a very popular eatingplace in southeastern Minnesota, run for decades byseveral generations of a local Polish American family,the Kowalewskis. This menu from 1938, not long afterthe restaurant moved from downtown Winona toHighway 61, displays lively graphics and, inside, considerable information about the food served duringthe Great Depression—at very low prices by 2014 standards. The variety of fish, greater than in most seafoodrestaurants today, ranges from Boneless Pike (walleye)and other freshwater species—lake trout, brook trout,Mississippi River catfish, bullheads, perch, smelt,and whitefish—to ocean fish and seafood, includingsalmon, halibut, cod, shrimp, oysters, and lobster.Clams, herring, crab meat, and tuna were available insoup, salad, or appetizers only.2Those who did not want fish could order steak,hamburger steak, or sandwiches. For fish lovers withless money than the price of an entrée, there was awhitefish caviar sandwich for 25 cents or olive oilsardines on toast for 20 cents. Drinks included draftand bottled beer, coffee, milk, tea, hot chocolate, andbuttermilk. Sodas apparently were not ubiquitous in1930s Minnesota.The Kowalewskis also ran a fish market and catered parties on the restaurant’s lower level. As anextra incentive to dine out during hard times, the HotFish Shop retained an attendant who would checkyour car’s gas and oil while you ate.Three menus from the early 1900s document St. Paul’s popular Como Park PavilionRestaurant and Ice Cream Parlor. Thisone from 1906 lists the operator as JacobBarnet, lessee. The menu offered manydifferent types of food to attract Como’smany different types of visitors and alsoadvertised the park’s “Do Not Fail to See”attractions. Barnet bragged that he andhis staff made their own popcorn, brittle,taffy, and “fairy floss cotton candy,” noneof which appear on the menu, implyinga separate counter for take-away foods.For beverages, “Table Waters” includedrestaurant-made root beer, Malted GrapeJuice (Malto-Grapo), lemonade, phosphate,ginger ale—domestic and imported—andmany other intriguing drinks.106 M I N N E S OTA H I S TO RY
Department stores like St. Paul’s Golden Rule, “the store thatlives up to its name,” offered customers full meals and light refreshments. This 1919 menu lists a great variety of choices, fromrelishes and soups to roasts, sandwiches, desserts, and beverages.Some of the homey dishes of the era include Bowl of Half andHalf [with] Crackers or Bread and Bowl of Rice with Half and Halfand 15 Graham Crackers. The water came from “our own artesianwells,” and all the baked goods were from the store’s own bakery.The other side of the menu offers soda fountain treats: ice creamsodas, plain sundaes, and fancy sundaes, increasingly popularunder Prohibition, like the Havana Cream Puff, the Chop Suey,and the Roman Beauty; egg drinks, lemonades, grape juice, andsodas; and punches, freezes, frappes, and parfaits. The handwriting at bottom reads: “These prices are remarkable—abouthalf the price at other restaurants.” 3In 1929 the On Leong Chinese Merchants’ Association of America held its twenty-fifth annualconvention banquet at the New Nicollet Hotelin Minneapolis, announced on one of the mostelegant invitations and matching menus in thecollection. (Setting type on brocade paper musthave been a challenge for the printer.) The banquet served an expensive array of dishes, fromBaked Lobster Thermidor to Mignon of Tenderloin Heart with Béarnaise Sauce and Breast ofLong Island Duck. Perhaps to please the hopedfor guests—leading Twin Cities businessmen—no Chinese food was served. Revealing as thatchoice may be, it was disappointing to this researcher. The menu also lists the organization’snational officers and the event’s toastmaster:the executive secretary of the Minneapolis Civicand Commerce Association.4
The City of St. Paul hosted an 1899 banquetfor the Minnesota Editors and PublishersAssociation at the Windsor Hotel on a coldFebruary evening. The event was importantto the city, judging from the list of men whopresented the toasts: Gov. John Lind, MayorA. R. Kiefer, Sen. John A. Johnson, and representatives of the Jobbers Union, CommercialClub, Northwestern Manufacturers Association, Chamber of Commerce, and EditorialAssociation. The elaborately drawn menu’sfront cover promotes the food, while the backfeatures the post-banquet “Smoke Social” atElks Hall, making clearer the gendered natureof the event. As on many of the collection’sbanquet menus from the turn of the twentieth century, Tenderloin of Beef Larded (withmushrooms) was a featured entrée. Oysters,planked white fish, and quail on toast roundedout the proteins.While businessmen and civic leaders were oftenfeted, several twentieth-century menus show thatbusinesses also celebrated their male workers. Themenu for the Veterans Association of the GreatNorthern Railway’s 1916 annual meeting in St. Paulincludes an unusual announcement: PresidentLouis W. Hill’s letter notifying employees that theGN had instituted a pension plan. “The Companyhopes that this voluntary establishment . . . willconfirm to them this Company’s appreciation offaithful service, and its interest in their welfare.”The program features beautiful color photos ofscenes in Glacier National Park, where the 1917meeting was scheduled to take place. The menuoffers entrées of lake trout and fried chicken.
Agriculture is also represented among the banquetmenus. The modestly printed program for the Minnesota Holstein Breeders Association Banquet, heldat Alexandria’s Hotel Blake in an unspecified year,features a distinctive logo: a Holstein standing on thestate of Minnesota. The menu was modest, too: bakedham, potatoes, peas, rolls, and salad, but the coffeeserved with dessert came with Holstein cream. Theprogram, arranged by the Alexandria Chamber ofCommerce and the Douglas County Holstein BreedersAssociation, included music, songs, dancing, impersonations, presentation of trophies, and an addressby the publisher of the Minneapolis Tribune. The eventended with banqueters singing two songs honoringthe cow; the words were printed on the back of themenu. To the tune of “Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here”:Hail! Hail! The Holstein cow/She’s a thing of beauty/Always does her duty/Hail! Hail! The Holstein cow/She’s the dairy cow for me.The Mankato House, which opened in 1855 (threeyears after the city was founded), announced its Dinner Bill of Fare for a Saturday in March 1890 on a cardon the back of which, it appears, diners placed theirorders. No prices are listed; perhaps the menu wasstandard and the charges fluctuated. The restaurantoffered items seen on other Minnesota menus of theera, among them roasted beef, pork loin, and chickenwith dressing. But there were unique dishes, too, suchas corned beef with turnips. Entrées included somepuzzlers: hot Boston brown bread as a stand-alone?Bell fritters with wine sauce? Cold offerings rangedfrom roast beef to ox tongue, while vegetables included “sour krout” and marrow fat squash. Amongthe desserts was Corn Starch Blanc-Mange, and teadrinkers could choose black or green.110 M I N N E S OTA H I S TO RY
A number of menus in the collection shed light onimmigration and ethnicity. In 1920, when Americanization of immigrants was in full swing throughoutMinnesota, South St. Paul’s Central School held anAmericanization Dinner to benefit its playground fund.The menu, carefully printed on rough paper by thehigh-school printing class, offered a fairly standardchoice of meats, fish, and salads along with homemadedesserts. But there were also Specialties, which musthave been a great draw, much like the exotic offeringsat the Festival of Nations that began a few years later.Spelling wasn’t always perfect, but the point was made:delicacies of foreign countries can be delicious.Patriotic organizations were important outlets formale community service and socializing in the latenineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. The Minnesota Society of the Sons of the Revolution celebratedWashington’s Birthday on February 22, 1919, at St. Paul’sMinnesota Club with a dinner ranging from grapefruitand oysters through relishes, soup, fish or chicken,cucumber sandwiches, potatoes, and salad to ice cream,cake, and coffee. Among the records of this gatheringis the card of Minnesota Historical Society director(later, archivist of the United States) Dr. Solon J. Buck,along with a program of music, toasts, an address, andpatriotic songs. The menu is full of information, listingeach Son and, where applicable, his military and/orcivil service, including American Protective League,American Red Cross, Minnesota National Guard, andother groups.
Menus honoring individuals are also part of the collection. Some celebrate famous people, such as James J. Hill,while others honor lesser-known dignitaries. D. D. MerrillCo., St. Paul, printed this elegant, multi-page souvenir of adinner given for Hill by the citizens of St. Paul at the HotelAberdeen, June 9, 1893. Bound with gold braid betweenhard covers, its front is festooned with the raised, metallicinitials JJH. Inside, the names of program speakers areprinted in a formal script often found on wedding invitations of the era and later. The food was sumptuous, too,with seasonal touches. It was June, a month without anR, so no oysters were served. Little neck clams took theirplace. Clear Green Turtle [soup] was followed by fish and112 M I N N E S OTA H I S TO RYentrée courses, each with appropriate wine pairing. Thefamiliar tenderloin of beef was offered—with cauliflowerthis time—but broiled mushrooms were nearby. Alongwith the dessert ices and cheeses, strawberries markedthe month of June. Former Gov. William R. Merriam introduced Hill, and tributes came from men representing therailroads and the World’s Columbian Exposition, ongoingin Chicago. Archbishop John Ireland spoke about The Successful Man. The banquet was part of a larger celebrationthat featured a parade, street decorations, and reception.Included in the MNHS copy of the menu was the seatingcard for Alexander Ramsey, the first governor of Minnesota Territory.
Sometimes, menus from dinners given forless prominent people, like the one newspaperman Herschel V. Jones threw for author, critic,and professor of literature James Gray at theMinneapolis Club in late 1913, display real creative flair. Constructed to stand up and sharplyillustrated by Frank Wing, the piece’s menuofferings were overshadowed by the cleverdrawings. Wing, who worked for Minneapolis’sArt Instruction Inc., was known for his sketchesof prominent men, published in local newspapers. The bill of fare was worth a look, though:beginning with caviar canapé, the meal endedwith Biscuit Tortoni, a rich, custardy ice-creamconfection, Camembert, and coffee. Like someother menus in the collection, this one bears theautographs of several attendees.FA L L 2 0 1 4113
A favorite menu documents the Good-Bye Dinnerin Nine Languages given forF. S. Verbeck, manager of theMinnesota Type Foundry, atSt. Paul’s Windsor Hotel in1891. Verbeck was movingto Chicago, but not beforehis publisher and editorfriends from all over the stategave him a grand send-offand a menu with fonts andlanguages galore—Hebrew,Latin, Swedish, Norwegian,French, Italian, German, andSpanish, as well as English.Oysters, consommé, salmon,sweetbreads, roast duck, andchicken salad preceded theice cream, fruit, cheese, cakes,coffee, and cigars.People remembering their early arrival inthe state or territory, such as the TerritorialPioneers of Minnesota, or recalling placesthey had left, such as Norway or Vermont,met regularly for festive dinners now recalled by menus. In 1902, for example,the Vermont Association of Minnesotagathered for its twelfth annual banquet and reunion at Minneapolis’sHotel Nicollet. The menu listed theVermonters’ officers and executivecommittee members, most of whomlived in Minneapolis. Its dishes harkedback to the geography of New England:Green Mountain Oysters on Shell;Cream of Tomato, New England; Filetof Halibut au Lake Champlain; SouthdownLamb Chops, Vermont Style; Sorbet Montpelier; and Plymouth Rock Chicken Salad.The drinks were mocha and Vermontsweet cider. Adding to the nostalgia, thewords to Auld Lang Syne were printedopposite the food list.114 M I N N E S OTA H I S TO RY
At one time, hotels celebrated their formal openingwith a banquet. When the Hotel Radisson opened its doorsin Minneapolis in 1909, its souvenir program includedthe menu of a dinner held on December 15. BefittingPierre Esprit Radisson, the explorer whose name the hotelchose, the menu was all in French: Canapé, Caviar Russe,followed by Huitres (oysters), Consommé, Homard Farci(stuffed lobster), Ris de Veau Braise (sweetbreads), SorbetRadisson, and Poussin de Bruyère roti (roasted springchicken) and concluding with Salade Moderne, BeignetsSingapore, Glaces Fantaisie (fantasy ices), and petit fours.The souvenir’s cover proudly depicts the new hotel and thehistoric explorer with his guides. Inside is a brief accountof his adventures.FA L L 2 0 1 4115
To conclude this sampling ofMinnesota menus, we return to the1920s and 1930s to see some beautifulexamples of graphic art. The insideof this lovely menu welcomes thereader to the twenty-sixth annualconvention banquet of the NationalAssociation of Retail Grocers in theUnited States, held June 25–28, 1923,in St. Paul. The next page lists officers of the national association andits St. Paul and other branches. Thebanquet was modest: fruit cocktailand relishes, chicken, sweet potatoes,rolls, peas, lettuce-and-asparagus-tipssalad, and ice cream with strawberrysauce. The program was more variedthan many, with assorted musicalperformances followed by addressesfrom St. Paul’s mayor, Gov. J. A. O.Preus, and officials of the grocersassociation. These were followed by“Community Singing” and a regularvaudeville show: operatic baritone,several dancers, comedian, singer,magician, and an Irish comedian.116 M I N N E S OTA H I S TO RY
This menu from St. Paul’s HotelLowry coffee shop provides interesting evidence of the foods suchTwin Cities eateries offered duringthe Great Depression. On September 10, 1936, complete dinnerscost less than 1.00 (prime rib was85 cents—equivalent to 14.55 in2014) and Today’s Specials were aT-Bone Steak with potatoes, lettucesalad, rolls, and beverage ( 1.00) ora Cold Assorted Dutch Plate withSwiss cheese, potato salad, spicednew beets, rolls, and apple pie withcheese, plus beverage (75 cents).The Paul Bunyan Sandwich (loaf ofbread, Swiss cheese, liver sausage)cost 25 cents; fresh shrimp cocktail was 35 cents, and Whole SplitWall Eye Pike Saute Meuniere, withAmerican fried potatoes, bread, andbutter was 60 cents. Prices were low,but the menu’s cover design looksto the future with its modern, sansserif type and stylish sprig of leavesand berries.NotesA big thank you to Lydia Lucas for arranging andcataloging the menus in the pamphlet files andto the helpful research staff at the Blue Earth,Douglas, and Winona county historical societies.1. Moira F. Harris and Leo J. Harris, Minnesotaon Paper: Collecting our Printed History (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2006). Whenmenus are saved, the best collections are broadones, from which the range of possibilities andpatterns can emerge.2. Jane King Hession, “Hot Fish Shop,” Minnesota History (Winter 2011–12): 287.3. For more on the increasing popularity ofice cream treats during Prohibition, which beganin 1919, see Rae Katherine Eighmey, Soda ShopSalvation: Recipes and Stories from the SweeterSide of Prohibition (St. Paul: Minnesota HistoricalSociety Press, 2013).4. For the Minnesota On Leong Associationand for Chinese restaurants that served Chinesefood, see two books from Minnesota HistoricalSociety Press: Sherri Gebert Fuller, Chinese inMinnesota (2004), and Phyllis Jane Harris withRaghavan Iyer, Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastesof Minnesota since 1875 (2012).All photos by Jason Onerheim/MNHSFA L L 2 0 1 4117
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Center library. For material beginning in the 1870s, request the Collection of Minnesota Menus, TX728: Box 1, 1870–99; Box 2, 1900–19; Box 3, 1920–39, and Box 4, railroad dining- car menus, 1940–80s. Earlier menus, 1856–70, are a Reserve collection; researchers may apply for permission to see them. Across the nation
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Le genou de Lucy. Odile Jacob. 1999. Coppens Y. Pré-textes. L’homme préhistorique en morceaux. Eds Odile Jacob. 2011. Costentin J., Delaveau P. Café, thé, chocolat, les bons effets sur le cerveau et pour le corps. Editions Odile Jacob. 2010. Crawford M., Marsh D. The driving force : food in human evolution and the future.
Troubled Teens? A study of the links between parenting and adolescent neglect 2 Acknowledgements This research would not have been possible without the contributions of a number of people. Many thanks to the school students who took part in the survey which provided the data for this analysis, and to the young people who were involved earlier in the design of the parenting behaviours measure .
