On This Day in Family History - March 8

 I don't have pictures of any of the people who have birthdays or occasions for today. So I'm gonna go off on a tangent. 

I'm working on a family recipes cookbook. (Let this be a reminder to those of you who want to share recipes to be included in the book!)

When I got married in 1977 my mother gave me a set of 5 x 7" cards on which she had written (and illustrated) a bunch of family recipes.

She also included several cards with general tips on cooking.

My mom was a great cook -- as were both of my grandmothers (from whom some of the recipes came).

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The photo below is a recipe for baby formula (which I'm going to include in the book). This was given to my mother to take home when she brought me home from the hospital after I was born. The formula itself was prescribed by the doctor (Dr. Adelbert Stagg -- who was the BEST family doctor EVER.) Back in those days (1950s) newborns were bottle fed with Carnation canned evaporated milk, diluted with water and sweetened with Karo syrup. Not every baby got the same formula prescription. I'm not sure what the specific criteria would be, except I know that some included dark Karo syrup instead of light Karo. That had something to do with constipation, I think. Breastfeeding had kind of gone out of style, but our doctors were still advocating it -- that's why the recipe says to offer baby formula AFTER being nursed. As far as I know, the whole idea of babies being allergic to cow's milk wasn't on anybody's radar. (It's a wonder we survived!) 

This is the front page of a pamphlet. The rest of the pamphlet gave illustrated instructions on how to sterilize (glass) baby bottles and (rubber) nipples, and how to store the formula safely. All of that will be included in the cookbook when I get it published.