Parties & Porches: Vintage-Style Entertaining: Food, Flowers & Fabulous Women

By Brenda Murphy & friends

The next time you’re in the South, enjoying that famous Southern hospitality on a covered porch, be sure to look up. You’ll see that most porch ceilings here are often painted Carolina Blue, a color that is said to chase away evil spirits known as “haints” and also keeps flying insects at bay. For the Southern girls who grew up on those porches, it was also where they were schooled in the finer points of a well-lived life. Porches served many purposes in the home. On some days, they were gracious outdoor living rooms when company dropped by. On others, they were a lonely outpost after a scolding. But most of all, our porches are where we learned the ins and outs of ladylike behavior; the wonders of linen, cotton, and other natural fibers to keep us fresh as a daisy on hot Southern summer days; and the wisdom of remaining polite even when you felt like exploding all over the place with a sassy comeback to insults both real and imagined.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Jul 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483434247

Book preview

PARTIES

&

PORCHES:

VINTAGE-STYLE ENTERTAINING

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Food, Flowers & Fabulous Women

BRENDA MURPHY

& FRIENDS

Copyright © 2015 Brenda Murphy.

Cover Art Direction and Design © 2014 Sharma Ferrugia.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN:978-1-4834-2809-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-2811-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-3424-7 (e))

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015904958

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 04/01/2015

Contents

Introduction

Porch Stories Bring Warm Memories

How This Book Began

A Note to the Reader

The Contributors

Home Cooking: 1950s’ Style

Company’s Coming! Fancy Entertaining for Special Occasions

Putting By

Recollections of Days Gone By

Midcentury Living:

Cooking, Parties, and Celebrations from January through December

Vintage Party Planning Ideas

Entertaining Notes: Tips and Hints

Customs, Traditions, and Travel

In Praise of Teachers

Resources

Acknowledgments

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the women who came of age or grew up in the 1950s and the women who wish they had. Family role models that embodied the spirit of the age influenced countless women growing up at this time. For my sister and me, it was our aunts Louise and Mickey. Though very different in terms of personality and personal style, they were the ideal of southern womanhood, each in her way. They excelled at what they do best: nurture relationships and cook. Aunt Lou’s cooking is so amazing across the board that it’s possible to develop withdrawal symptoms five minutes after you leave her table. Aunt Mickey has specialties; she loves to make soups of all kind and is famous for her asparagus casserole and potato salad. Her recipes date back to the 1920s—handed down to her from her mother-in-law. Aunt Louise’s style is traditional, a down-home casual affair with flair. Aunt Mickey’s style is more whimsical, eclectic and fun with an emphasis on entertainment. Great stories abound at either gathering. Laughter is the music of the event as it is with so many other families. Thank you, dear ones, for inspiring me to put down in writing memories for future generations who will never know even a small portion of the magic of the midcentury.

To my forever friends, Alice, Lorraine, Lynda, Marlene, Martha, and Vanessa, thank you for a quarter century or more of being there through thick and thin, laughter and tears. You continually inspire me to reach back and recreate midcentury magic for our gatherings, especially the December Tea.

We thank our loving families for everything. Grandbabies, this one is for you.

This book is also dedicated to our dear readers whose interest in all things vintage inspired us to tell our particular stories. May you find something here that inspires you to create new memories from the traditions of days gone by. For readers who came of age in this golden time, may this book bring back warm memories, a smile or two, some relaxation, and, perhaps, may it pique your interest in bringing back the loving traditions of yesteryear when the love of friends and family and country were the bedrock foundation for our generation. And last, but never least, I dedicate this book to my treasured friends and colleagues at the college whose sweet spirit and love of learning infuses their work and mine with joyful optimism for future generations.

Introduction

What we remember from childhood we remember forever—permanent ghosts, stamped, inked, imprinted, eternally seen.

—Cynthia Ozick

Midcentury is very on trend these days. From fashions to furnishings, there is something very appealing to the young adults of today about those golden days of the twentieth century. The pace of life was much slower. Families seemed more connected somehow. Family get togethers were eagerly anticipated, and, yes, one’s neighbors and friends counted as family. Personal responsibility and self-sufficiency was a way of life.

This book is about remembering and honoring the past as we experienced it. It speaks to the power of friendship across time, the enduring beauty of heartfelt hospitality and its importance in our overscheduled lives. By recreating the simple rituals that we observed as children, these small acts of intentional remembrance serve to bring us back to ourselves and allow us a time to relax, unwind, and renew. How vital it is to pull away from a chaotic world filled with all kinds of awful news and take a moment to celebrate all that is right and good and solid in our lives.

It may sound sentimental to the point of becoming maudlin, but love, goodwill, and the resolve to forgive can sustain our spirits when the world is too much with us. Where did we first learn these lessons? In midcentury. The life masters were our mothers, grandmothers, favorite aunts, and our teachers. They lived what they taught: hard times don’t last; good people do.

Porch Stories Bring Warm Memories

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Is there anything more peaceful than sitting on the porch with your dearest friends and sister, sipping sweet, freshly made tea out of tall, frosty slender tumblers originally part of a vintage Tom Collins bar set while snacking on crisp, slightly peppery cheese straws and homemade pound cake slices drizzled with lemon glaze? What is it about remembering ordinary events from long ago days while sitting on the porch on a bright spring, summer, or crisp fall day that puts us in a midcentury state of mind, ever grateful for having been part of the experience?

With ceiling fans turning slowly and mosquito protection at the ready in warm weather, or huddled close to the fire pit in autumn, the squeal of recognition and breath-catching laughter that comes forth whenever we recall events such commonplace events as Monday, Washing Day, or the art of home sewing, particularly the first dresses we made—and wore—in public These memories know no season, yet they always comfort us. However hideous those first creations may have been, we made do with what we had.

If midcentury families had a motto about being a good steward of what you had, surely it would have included taking care of your possessions, putting things back where you got them from, and sharing what you had outgrown with others who could use them. Clothing in good repair was passed along, many times to the women who were hired to care for us or to others who appreciated the newness of gently used apparel. Other hand-me-downs in not so good condition were offered, with an apology for the shape they were in, to anyone who wanted them for play clothes or scraps for patchwork quilts.

Whether family by blood or chosen family, those friends who are often more beloved than some blood relatives, these were the days when everything was recycled and used to its fullest. Formerly owned items of clothing were sure to make another appearance in public on other people, and, if you had a hankering for being skinned alive on Main Street at high noon in front of a department store, all you had to do was make a comment about someone’s worn, multipatched attire that used to be yours, and the fury of mothers, grandmothers, and pure T strangers would come raining down on your ignorant, impolite head. Manners were a very big deal in midcentury. Even the most spontaneous and outspoken of children understood the fine points of what was and was not acceptable in terms of being courteous and kind to others. A careless or intentional breech of these rules would bring about a scolding that felt more like a scalding, and the bravest child thought twice, if not three times, about violating social protocol again. Apologies were offered and forgiveness was sought from those whom we hurt. Our mothers and grandmothers insisted upon it, and we learned to give thought before we spoke.

To this day, I recall the words of decorum that were imparted by socially seasoned women to little girls and young ladies: Having no manners is worse than having no money.

The women that we knew and loved in this era were hardworking, thrifty, and practical to the bone. They were also naturally beautiful—a slick of red lipstick (after 5:00 p.m.) and a light application of mascara with maybe a touch of face powder for special occasions was the usual beauty routine. Pretty is as pretty does was the mantra impressed