It May Be April Fool's Day, But This is No Joke

I know they say April showers bring May flowers, but what does April snow bring?  As I was walking to Good Housekeeping this morning, sure enough tiny flakes fell from the sky.  

As the end of the semester approaches, I realize my time with Good Housekeeping is almost up.  I especially was made aware of this situation when I met with my faculty advisor yesterday, and she said my 20 page paper about my internship would be due at the end of April.  I finished reading all 15 books yesterday morning-eveything from The Feminine Mystique to Reading the Romance.  And today, I finally had the opportunity to look through the GH archives closet for my primary sources.  For my monster of a paper, I've picked four years that I believe changed the course of Women's History:  

• 1885-the first issue of Good Housekeeping was printed on May 2, 1885
• 1920-the Women's Suffrage Movement was in first swing as the Roaring Twenties began
• 1963-the release of Betty Freidan's book sparked the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s.  As an Occupation:  Housewife, Friedan wondered why "we don't admit it to each other if we felt there should be more in life than peanut-butter sandwiches with the kids, if throwing powder into the washing machine didn't make us relive our wedding night, if getting socks or shirts pure white was not exactly a peak experience, even if we did feel guilty about the tattletale gray."
• 2010-Good Housekeeping's 125 anniversary; they marked their milestone by sharing favorite vintage covers and honoring the "125 Women Who Changed Our World" in the May issue

Therefore, I looked at each issue from those four fabulous years today.  The letters to the editor were rather helpful with my research, but the covers and ads were by far my favorite part.  

I found a few cute recipes from the 1885 section "Good Things For the Table:  Prepared and Vouched for by a Yankee Housewife."  I thought they were still tasty 126 years later.  

White Pound Cake (appeared June 13, 1885) 

One pound of sugar, three-quarters pound of butter, one pound of flour, whites of fourteen eggs, four or five drops of oil of lemon, and a little nutmeg.  Cream the butter and sugar very light, then add the whites of the eggs beaten to a very stiff froth, then the flour.  Stir as lightly as possible after putting in eggs and flour.  Makes two good sized loaves. 

Buns for Breakfast of Tea (appeared July 11, 1885)

Two cups of flour, three-quarters cup of corn meal, three quarter cup of butter, one-half cup of sugar, two eggs, well beaten, one cup of milk, three teaspoon of baking powder.  Use more milk if necessary to make it a thin batter.  Bake in hot oven twenty minutes, in gem pans. 

Red Raspberry Shrub (appeared August 27th, 1885) 

Put two quarts of berries in a pint of vinegar and let them stand tow or three days.  THen mash them and strain.  To every pint of the liquor add one pound of sugar and boil twenty minutes and bottle when cold.  Very nice summer drink. 

Oh, and I got the May 2011 issue today!  Heidi Klum is our cover girl; it's completely fabulous!