Days after I posted this I recalled that the impetus for this post was an Alpha Sigma Alpha who is credited with creating the green bean casserole. Dorcas Bates Reilly, a member of Drexel University’s Alpha Sigma Alpha chapter, is known as the “Grandmother of the Green Bean Casserole.”
First choose some recipes from these cookbooks/blogs:
Julee Rosso – Silver Palate products/cookbooks (Alpha Phi, Michigan State University)
Ree Drummond – Pioneer Women blog/cookbooks (Pi Beta Phi, University of Southern California)
Katherine Lee – cookbooks (Kappa Alpha Theta, Miami University)
Melissa Donovan d’Arabian – Ten Dollar Dinners (Alpha Chi Omega, University of Vermont)
Maryana Bollinger Vollstedt – Cookbook author (Chi Omega, Oregon State University)
Erin Summers Chase – 5dollardinners.com (Pi Beta Phi, Texas Christian University)
Jean Wickstrom Liles – Southern Living editor and cookbook author (Delta Zeta, University of Alabama, and Delta Zeta’s 2002 Woman of the Year)
Beverly Barbour Soules – Cookbook author (Alpha Gamma Delta, North Dakota State University)
Alex Guarnaschelli – Iron Chef, (Delta Gamma, Columbia)
And make sure to serve Sister Shuebert’s rolls (Patricia Wood Barnes, Kappa Delta, Troy State University)
End with some candy from Fran’s Chocolates (Fran Watson Bigelow, Pi Beta Phi, University of Washington)
or Hershey’s Chocolate. Francine Irving Neff (1925-2010), former U.S. Treasurer; was the first woman appointed to Hershey’s Food Corp. Board of Directors. (Alpha Delta Pi, University of New Mexico)
And let’s not forget these names from the past:
Clementine Paddleford (1898-1967) – cookbook author. (Alpha Delta Pi, Kansas State University)
Helen Levison Worth (died 2002) – cookbook author. From the 1940s until the 1980s, she directed the Helen Worth Cooking School in New York City, one of the country’s first cooking schools. (Alpha Epsilon Phi, University of Michigan)
Margaret Sawyer – In 1924, she developed a home economics department for General Foods. (Kappa Alpha Theta, University of Illinois)
And remember Betty Crocker! Of course there is no real Betty Crocker, but several sorority women have had a hand in creating and perpetuating the Betty Crocker persona:
Agnes White Tizard (1895-1979) – She was a nutritionist who authored the Betty Crocker Cookbook. (Alpha Delta Pi. University of Illinois)
Mercedes Bates (1916-97) – In 1966, she became General Mill’s first woman corporate officer. She was often referred to as “Betty Crocker” because she was the Vice President in Charge of the Betty Crocker Division. (Delta Zeta, Oregon State University, and Delta Zeta’s 1970 Woman of the Year)
Marjorie Child Husted (1892-1986) – From 1927-47, she as the first radio voice of Betty Crocker in radio programs and she served as Director of the Betty Crocker Homemaking Service. (Kappa Alpha Theta, University of Minnesota)
As for decorating for the holiday, you might want to consult the works of some of these sorority women:
Carolyn Englefield – Veranda magazine. (Delta Gamma, Bowling Green State University)
Jen Lancaster – The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING; Or, Why I’m Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog (Pi Beta Phi, Indiana University/Purdue University at Fort Wayne)
And the Aromatique scents Patricia Pulliam Upton (Pi Beta Phi, University of Arkansas) can create a wonderful mood.
If you know of any other sorority women might be included on this list, please let me know.
A Sig Ep flanked by his Pi Phi sister and Alpha Phi mother (the other two sisters attended women’s colleges).
(c) Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2013. All Rights Reserved.
