Elizabeth,
You might want to try contacting the Museum of Nebraska History. If my
memory serves me, they did a small exhibit on wedding dresses and traditions
a few years back. The Curator there is Deb Arenz [log in to unmask]
Mandy Langfald
Registrar/Collections Manager - The Danish Immigrant Museum
PO Box 470
2212 Washington
Elk Horn, IA 51531
712-764-7001 FAX 712-764-7002
[log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: Liz Jones <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 1:57 PM
Subject: Museum in Youngstown needs your help!
> Hi All! I hope you will take a minute to read this e-mail and respond. You
> may even be a little entertained by it. I know its long, but I would
> appreciate your help. This fall, the Mahoning Valley Historical Society,
> which operates the Arms Family Museum of Local History in Youngstown,
Ohio,
> will open a new exhibit on wedding traditions. We are trying to research
> wedding traditions outside of Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania and
> thought that this listserv would be the perfect place to begin. In the
> exhibit, we will not only look at commonly known and practiced wedding
> customs, we will also look at traditions that seem to be common only to
the
> Mahoning Valley (area includes Youngstown and surrounding counties.)
>
> We need your help and input desperately. We are trying to find out if some
> of our local customs are really local. The following customs appear to be
> Youngstown phenomena:
>
> #1. The Youngstown Wedding Buffet: When you come to a wedding reception in
> Youngstown, you are generally served buffet-style. Recently, sit-down and
> family style dinners are more popular, but the buffet seems to be the
norm.
> The menu is almost always: Roast beef au jus; pasta (usually rigatoni and
> meatballs); green beans almondine; baby red skin or white potatoes in a
> butter/parsley sauce; some form of chicken, usually roasted; salad
drenched
> in Italian dressing; and a dinner roll. I have only been to a few weddings
> that have served different things.
>
> #2. The Youngstown "Cookie Table": I have had some people who have come in
> for weddings and have commented that this is a little bizarre. I have
never
> been to a Youngstown wedding without a cookie table. This table (or
tables)
> is usually overflowing with homemade cookies lovingly prepared by friends
> and family. For our family weddings, each of my sisters and mom bake
upwards
> of 10-12 dozen cookies (EACH!). Popular varieties include the Buckeye (of
> course), pizzelles, clothespins, and little Italian iced tea cookies. To
> give you an idea of what these tables look like. . .Imagine 6 8-foot (what
> my sister had) tables piled extremely high and end to end with cookies.
The
> most recent thing is to provide cute little bags that guests can fill for
> enjoyment later. I once went to a wedding in West Virginia where they only
> had punch, cakes and pies. No cookies.
>
> #3. Wedding Soup--This soup, supposedly from Tuscany, is made locally with
> greens (usually escarole), meatballs, chicken, and little pastine (acini
de
> pepe). Some Italian women put egg in the soup, and others add carrots and
> onions. When I have seen this outside of the
Youngstown/Cleveland/Pittsburgh
> area (where it seems to be most common) it looks completely different than
> the soup described above. It is often served at holidays in Italian homes
> (though everyone regardless of background eats it), at local restaurants,
> and at sit-down wedding receptions. Campbell soup even sells it now.
>
> #4. The gargantuan wedding reception--600-800 guests can be a common thing
> here, though the usual number seems to be around 400. This might not be
such
> a Youngstown Thing though.
>
> I am not sure if these are just regional customs. I can tell you that
> Youngstown suffers from a poor internal self-image. Recently, public
service
> announcements on the radio have been directed at raising community pride.
> They site the cookie table and wedding soup as two great reasons to love
> living in Youngstown!
>
> So, here are my questions. . .Have you seen cookie tables anywhere outside
> of the area? We would love to hear about how your wedding
receptions/customs
> differ. Have you seen wedding soup, and is it the same as the recipe
> described above? What about the menu at Youngstown receptions? Have you
seen
> similar buffets at wedding receptions you have attended? What do people
> usually serve in your area? Do receptions in your area usually have a
> regional feel? When you have visited other cities for weddings, what have
> you observed? We could really use your help. Any and all information would
> be appreciated.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Elizabeth Nohra
> Assistant Director
> Mahoning Valley Historical Society
> 648 Wick Avenue
> Youngstown, OH 44502
> 330-743-2589
>
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