What’s Cooking Wednesday: Whale Surprise!

Today's guest post comes from Jennifer Audsley Moore, who is an archives technician and volunteer coordinator at the National Archives at Kansas City. Whale: It’s what’s for dinner. At least, that is how the U.S. Food Administration and U.S Bureau of Fisheries would have it. During World War I, the U.S. Food Administration was established … Continue reading What’s Cooking Wednesday: Whale Surprise!

Time for (school) lunch

Schools around the country are back in session, and while course loads may vary greatly, students from kindergarten to high school all have a slot in their schedules for lunchtime. On Wednesday, September 8, the National Archives in Washington will be showing the documentary film Lunch Line as part of our series of programs related … Continue reading Time for (school) lunch

What’s Cooking Wednesday: A Commander-in-Chef’s Recipe for Vegetable Soup

Today's post comes from Gregory Marose, an intern in the National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications. The only five-star general ever to be elected President of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower was a man of many accomplishments. That is why it should come as no surprise that Ike was a leader in the kitchen … Continue reading What’s Cooking Wednesday: A Commander-in-Chef’s Recipe for Vegetable Soup

What’s Cooking Wednesday: National Waffle Day

Want a waffle with that earthshake? All Virginia earthquake jokes aside, today is a momentous day indeed. On this day in 1869, Dutch American Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York, received a U.S. patent for the first waffle iron. Described as simply a “device to bake waffles,” the waffle iron was heated over a coal … Continue reading What’s Cooking Wednesday: National Waffle Day

What’s Cooking Wednesday: Please Pass the Leftovers

The National Archives current marquee exhibit, "What's Cooking, Uncle Sam?", is drawing some good crowds and public press. It's showing in our main building in downtown Washington through Jan. 3, 2012. It's all about how the Government has tried through the decades to dictate, or influence, what we should eat and why we should eat something from each … Continue reading What’s Cooking Wednesday: Please Pass the Leftovers

Potatriots: Our winner!

It's finally time to announce the randonly chosen winner of our Potatriots contest! But first, a big thank you to the visitors who participated in our Potatriots activity--and a big thank-you to our staff and interns who put out those potatos, pipe cleaners, and historic backgrounds every day. We had lots of fun posting our Potatriots online … Continue reading Potatriots: Our winner!

What’s Cooking Wednesdays: Canning for Victory!

Today's "What's Cooking Wednesdays" guest post comes from Kimberlee Ried, public programs specialist at the National Archives in Kansas City. Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses, yearning to breath free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest tossed, I lift my lamp beside the golden door. These words, … Continue reading What’s Cooking Wednesdays: Canning for Victory!

Aunt Jemima, what took you so long?

Today's guest post for "What's Cooking Wednesdays" comes from Acting Director Patrick Connelly with Education Specialist Christopher Zarr of the National Archives at New York City. Sometimes walking down the stacks of the National Archives can be like walking down the aisles of your local supermarket. Names like Heinz, Anheuser-Busch, Hershey, Sara Lee, and Perrier line the shelves of the National Archives. … Continue reading Aunt Jemima, what took you so long?

World War I food conservation: “Pan de la libertad”

“What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?,” our current special exhibition in Washington, DC, examines the Government’s effect on what Americans eat. Government influence was especially visible during wartime, when many food products were reserved for feeding the troops and our Allies. During World War I, the U.S. Food Administration, headed by Herbert Hoover, urged the American people … Continue reading World War I food conservation: “Pan de la libertad”

What’s Cooking Wednesdays: Dinner Diplomacy Thaws the Cold War

Today's post comes from Gregory Marose, an intern in the National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications. Sometimes sharing a good meal is the best way to resolve the differences you may have with another. For the United States and China, this strategy helped normalize relations during the peak of the Cold War. Today, the … Continue reading What’s Cooking Wednesdays: Dinner Diplomacy Thaws the Cold War