Facebook icon Twitter icon Forward icon

Photo of the Week

FROM THE SCHS LIBRARY ARCHIVES

"How shall we know it is us without our past?"
- John Steinbeck

by Wendy Polhemus-Annibell, Librarian

Long Island Strawberry Festival Booklet, Mattituck, 1961. (Image from the Collection of the Suffolk County Historical Society Library Archives.)

With the 63rd Annual Strawberry Festival under way in Mattituck this weekend, we found in our library collection this old program and recipe book that was compiled by the Lions Club for the 1961 festival. The 7th Annual Mattituck Lions Strawberry Festival was held on the grounds of Mattituck High School on Saturday, June 17, 1961. According to the event program, the festivities began at 10:30 a.m. with a parade. Other scheduled events included drawings for berries, a freezing demonstration, the crowning of the Strawberry Queen, a strawberry eating contest, and a drawing for cash awards.

"You can have a strawberry festival 'round the clock serving berries," the program booklet notes in its introduction to an assortment of strawberry-inspired recipes. "This booklet of recipes has been collected to give you a variety of recipes featuring strawberries, one of Long Island's important agricultural crops."

Here's the 1961 recipe for Shortcake Biscuits:

2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 to 2/3 cup milk
1 egg beaten

Sift the dry ingredients. Add the shortening and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender until the mixture has the consistency of cornmeal. Add combined milk and egg, all at once, and stir the mixture with a fork to make a soft dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead gently about 10 times. Roll or pat to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut with a floured biscuit cutter and place on an ungreased baking sheet, 14 x 10 inches. Bake at 425F for about 15 minutes.

Suffolk County Pine Barrens Exhibit Tours

The Suffolk County Water Authority Education Center will hold special tours of the Suffolk County Pine Barrens Exhibit, on loan from the Suffolk County Historical Society. The educational exhibit provides an overview of the Pine Barrens and the critical role this region plays in the protection of our county's precious groundwater. The tours will be held on July 20 and August 17, at 12 noon and 1:00 pm, and will also include an interactive water workshop and a fun quiz game for kids. The SCWA Education Center is located at 260 Motor Pkwy in Hauppauge. Call 631-292-6565 or email EdCenterTours@SCWA.com for more information. 

ABOUT THE PHOTO OF THE WEEK

The Suffolk County Historical Society’s PHOTO OF THE WEEK Series is created by librarian Wendy Polhemus-Annibell using historic primary source materials from our local history library’s extensive archives. To subscribe, visit our website or send an email request to Wendy at wannibell@schs-museum.org.

Interested in seeing more historical photos from the Collection of the Suffolk County Historical Society? Spend an afternoon at our Local History Library perusing our extensive archival photography collections. We're open Weds. - Sat., 12:30 - 4:30 PM.

To view our Photo of the Week archives, visit our website at www.SuffolkCountyHistoricalSociety.org.

Upcoming BOOK & BOTTLE Events at SCHS

June 22: Kevin Fitzpatrick, Camp Upton Centennial
July 27: Jeremy Dennis, Indigenous People of the Twin Forks
Aug. 24: William Konstant, Recovery of the Bald Eagle
Oct. 7: Bob Giffen, One Little River & Sportsmen's Club
Nov. 2:  Kerriann Brosky, Historic Crimes of Long Island

Call 631-727-2881 x100 to Register!

MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
If you've been enjoying our Photo of the Week, please consider becoming a member of SCHS.

From the Civil War to civil rights, revolutions to restorations, spies to suffragists, boatbuilders to bootleggers, and whalers to wineries, Long Island's history comes alive at the Suffolk County Historical Society!

The Suffolk County Historical Society, founded in 1886, collects and preserves the rich history of Suffolk County and beyond. We offer a history museum, art galleries, a research library and archives, and a multitude of exhibits, programs, and educational lectures and workshops year-round. Our unique collections reflect more than three centuries of Long Island history. Click here to learn about Member Benefits!

____________________

Copyright © 2017 Suffolk County Historical Society. All rights reserved. No part of this electronic document may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the Suffolk County Historical Society.