Foodways of Southern Indiana in the Early 20th Century WINNER OF THE SUE SAMUELSON AWARD FOR FOODWAYS SCHOLARSHIP IN 1993. A CONDITION OF THE PRIZE IS PUBLICATION IN DIGEST. BECAUSE THE JOURNAL WAS NOT ACTIVE IN 1993, WE ARE HAPPY TO HAVE A SLIGHTLY REVISED VERSION OF THE PAPER APPEAR NOW.

Main Article Content

Mary Magoulick

Abstract

Food-based studies have the potential to reveal much about life in Southern Indiana a hundred years ago. This present research shows how lives once centered meaningfully around common food traditions that reflected a hard-working but plentifully rewarding life.


The interviews I conducted in Southern Indiana in the 1990s reflect foodways as recalled by local women, from their lives in the early twentieth century, just as the industrial revolution was reshaping America.


I organize my study as follows: 1) Foods grown and consumed in Southern Indiana; 2) Storage and preparation of food; and 3) Food usage and the meal system. Additional information emerges in these discussions (such as family relationships, gender issues, and celebrations), but the three categories offer a useful introductory framework for an overview of Southern Indiana foodways. The interviews also demonstrate how food often represents a touchstone that helps to crystallize memory.

Article Details

Section
Lead Essays