Happy Holidays!

 

One of the amazing things for me since beginning this blog has been the huge number of international visitors.  Whatever your nationality or however you celebrate the holiday season, Happy Holidays!

 

The image at the right is from the County Capital  newspaper to which Isaac subscribed, although  Isaac would not have seen this Christmas image from 1896, for his death occurred in 1895.  As a bachelor, living alone on the prairie far from family, Isaac celebrated Christmas Day alone each year.  Sometimes, however, he did attend holiday parties at the homes of neighbors, and one year he was the chairman of the Farmers' Alliance party at the Emerson school house on Christmas Eve.

 

For those of you planning your Christmas Dinner Menu, I thought you might glean a few suggestions from this menu that appeared in the County Capital.  In the late 1800s, small newspapers would often carry local news on the front and back pages but would purchase the inner sheet containing international and national news, as well as stories and scandalous news articles about the rich and famous or the poor and desperate.  This menu came from such an inner sheet, for it is beyond unlikely that any of the early settlers on the plains of Kansas could have either afforded or located the ingredients for the dishes described on this menu! 

 

Whatever menu you choose, I hope your holiday celebration is festive, shared with family or friends or in solitary satisfaction.  Have a Happy Holiday!