dual personalities

Today is Truman Day in Missouri. It honors Harry S Truman, the only U.S. president who was born in Missouri.

On April 25, 1947 Truman opened the first bowling alley at the White House. (What? No bowling shoes?)

State offices are closed in Missouri on Truman Day. However, schools, stores, post offices and other businesses and organizations are open and public transit services run to their regular schedules, so although I have lived here practically all my life, I never knew this was a holiday. Since daughter #1 works for the state of MO now, she has the day off, and that is how I found out about it.

You learn something new every day.

Truman did not change perceptibly when he became president. He still liked things the “Missouri way,” which extended to food served at the White House. I was not surprised to learn that Harry Truman was a “meat and potatoes” man–no arugula for him.

“Like the Roosevelts, the Trumans did not care for elaborate food, but, unlike their predecessors, they demanded it better-cooked. Mrs. Truman was a very good cook and she expected good cooking on her table…she brought with her to the White House Vietta Garr, the family cook from Independence, who would sometimes prepare special back-home dishes the family particularly liked…

Vietta Garr and Leona Estes back in Missouri

The President’s breakfast menu remained nearly constant: orange juice, grapefruit, or tomato juice; hot cereal in winter and cold cereal other times; whole-wheat toast and milk–sometimes buttermilk. The staff had to learn how to make coffee for the Trumans…This attention to detail was typical of Bess Truman’s attitude toward food. She gained the reputation of serving the best of home-cooked food, even for guests…President Truman described himself as a “meat and potatoes man,” though he was actually a light eater…At one time when the White House was giving a luncheon for Prime Minister Churchill…the President ordered the menu…oyster soup, celery hearts, assorted olives, filet mignon with mushrooms, watermelon pickles, asparagus hollandaise, grilled tomatoes, hard rolls, hearts of lettuce salad with Roquefort dressing, strawberry shortcake…Special family “receipts” were guarded in the “Confidential File.”…Occasionally the Trumans would bring back from trips home to Missouri some sourghum molasses. It was a family favorite served on cornbread…Cornmeal Dumplings with Turnip Greens…was enjoyed many times at Truman family private suppers.”
—The Presidents’ Cookbook, Poppy Cannon and Patricia Brooks

Here is Bess Truman’s Ozark Pudding recipe. (This is the copy of the recipe as it was sent out to people who requested it. It comes from the Social Correspondence Office Files of the Truman Papers.)

1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup raw apples, finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat egg and sugar a long time until very smooth. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and stir into sugar-egg mixture. Add apples, nuts, and vanilla. Bake in a buttered pie pan in a 350 degree over for 35 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

What do you say we whip up some Ozark Pudding for Truman Day? Cornbread with sourghum molasses sounds pretty good to me as well…