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Adult Authors @ McMillan -  Extra! Extra! Eat All About It!

Adult Authors @ McMillan - Extra! Extra! Eat All About It! In-Person

Authors Jane Conway and Randi Julia Ramsden will talk about their book, "Extra! Extra! Eat All About It!: Recipes and Culinary Curiosities from Historic Wisconsin Newspapers".  

A blend of cookbook and bite-size history, Extra! Extra! Eat All About It! offers a unique glimpse into the Midwestern culinary landscape between 1870 and 1930. Fifty recipes selected from Wisconsin newspapers are served alongside brief essays that dig into the history behind the food trends of the time.  In lively prose, historians Jane Conway and Randi June Ramsden reveal how coconuts and oysters made their way to 1800s Wisconsin, how the state came to lead the nation in commercial pea canning, how bakers gauged the temperatures of their wood-burning stoves, and how our predecessors really did slip on banana peels, among other flavorful facts.

 

In addition to capturing quirky food fashions, like breakfast parties and paper-bag cooking, the recipes provide insights into regional cooking traditions. Each original recipe appears alongside the authors’ updated, easy-to-follow version. Mouthwatering modern photographs showcase the revived dishes for the first time in their long history, and newspaper clippings, ads, and illustrations give the book a charming vintage look.

For two years, Jane Conway and Randi Julia Ramsden worked together on the National Digital Newspaper Program at the Wisconsin Historical Society. In 2019, they began researching, cooking, and writing for the “Cooking Up History” series, which appeared on the WHS website and social media platforms and provided the inspiration for this book. Conway has a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Oregon, and Ramsden has a master’s degree in American Studies from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

 

Date:
Thursday, October 30, 2025
Time:
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Time Zone:
Central Time - US & Canada (change)
Location:
All-Purpose Room, Fine Arts Center
Audience:
  Adult     General  
Categories:
  Authors / Writers > Authors @ McMillan  

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