Cookbooks and Quilts: Westport Women and the Spirit of ‘76

Westport Heritage Quilt

1976 was a busy year for Westporters. Local headlines record youthful unrest at the Head of Westport, and worries about a night soil lagoon, the sand and gravel pit, and hog cholera.

However, the Bicentennial celebrations proved to be a more positive outlet, inspiring many community projects such as an exhibition, tree planting at the Head of Westport, an official town history publication, restoration of the Bell School, and an effort to record conversations with local elders to create a collection of “folk tapes.”

It was a particularly busy time for the women of Westport. They formed groups to celebrate local heritage through cookbooks and quilts. 

 Westport produced at least two cookbooks as part of the Bicentennial celebrations. Across the nation, local community groups gathered recipes as a way to raise funds, to preserve local culinary traditions, and foster a sense of community pride. The cookbooks often featured a mix of recipes handed down through generations alongside contemporary 1970s family favorites. 

The Bicentennial Exhibition Committee published “Some of Westport’s Favorite Recipes” in 1976. And, a few years later, the Westport Point Methodist Church published a much more extensive “Westport Heritage Cookbook.” Both books have a unique (pre-digital age) “handmade” quality, recipes are carefully handwritten and illustrated by hand.

Illustration from Westport Heritage Cookbook

Not surprisingly, these projects were led by local women, recipes submitted by women and, the often charming illustrations, were created by local women. The cookbooks represent a creative and community-centric spirit and are filled with historical vignettes and stories about food, local people and places.

Some of Westport’s Favorite Recipes

“Some of Westport’s Favorite Recipes”

This collection of recipes was gathered from residents of Westport by the Bicentennial Exhibition Committee “just for the fun of it” and to fund the exhibition.

In the cookbook’s introduction, the committee observed: “A good name for the booklet could be “The Unbalanced Cookbook” as we make no pretense of equal numbers of main dishes, salads, desserts etc.”

The committee also admitted that “time has not permitted the editors to try each recipe, but anyway we’re trusting souls, accept the contribution of old aunt Sarah’s recipe for “gumbudgin” in faith that it does work. If it doesn’t, you’ll have to make your own adaptations. As you see there is no index but we began with soup and ended with a liquer…’nuff said.”

You will find recipes for:

Noquochoke Oyster stew from Norman L. Gifford

Portuguese Kale soup from Karen Moore

Dexter Fish Chowder, a recipe for 120 people. This recipe was developed over many years beginning with a picnic in 1906. “A rare but happy few have been privileged to share in the critical process of tasting in the earlier decades Jessie Luther, Jane Tucker”

Baked Tautog a la Grog from Katy Szal

Westport Sampans from Mary Ellen Seely

Dutch Mess from Frances Kirkaldy

Rice mushroom ring from Eleanor Tripp

Lace cakes from Lucia Paull “to recapture my husband’s childhood memory of Emma Manchester’s lace cakes.”

Blueberry slump, “a Westport recipe from the turn of the century,” submitted by Mabel Crosby.

Irish moss or sea moss from Dorothy Gifford. She noted that Irish moss “is a specific type of seaweed found along our shores, an excellent source of gelatin and good for puddings and cough syrup. It contains many food minerals and is very nutritious.”

Beach plum pie from Sandy Dexter

Rose hip jam from Elaine Stevens

Grandma Howland’s corn relish c. 1913 from Frances Howland

Juneberry liqueur (Juneberry also known as shadbush, all over dunes) from Richard T. Loring

Westport Heritage Cookbook

Westport Heritage Quilt and Cookbook

United Methodist Church, Westport Point 1978

In 1975, women of the United Methodist Church, seeking a project that would combine social activity with money raising, turned to quilting. With the nation’s Bicentennial in mind, they decided to depict Westport’s heritage. 20 images were chosen to represent Westport’s history, local industry, and wildlife. Susan Montgomery designed the patterns, Sally Brodt dyed the background fabric, and quilting was done on an old frame loaned by Helen Wilkinson. 

Stitchers included:

Anne Archambault, Sally Brodt, Marie Carder, Ruth Fish, Gay Gillespie, Heather Gillespie, Florence Lees, Shirley Lees, Alice Macomber, Jean McGarr,  Ernestine Morin, Mary Soule, Betty Stahl, Claire Sylvia, Ruth Taber, Helen Whipple, Comnie Wicks, Helen Wilkinson and Shirley Wordell.

Westport Heritage Quilt

The quilt was raffled, “against all Methodist principles,” according to a history of the church, and raised $1800. Sadly the winner was not a local resident. It is thought that the quilt was won by a visitor from Pennsylvania. Its current whereabouts is unknown.

Photo of quilters
Starting at left corner of the table
Ernestine Morin, Claire Sylvia, Ruth Fish, Gay Gillespie (standing), Susan Montgomery, Shirley Wordell (standing), Marie Carder, Shirley , Heather Reed

The cookbook was the result of the many hours of conversation during the quilting project. Handwritten recipes are embellished with illustrations and historical vignettes of the millpond in Adamsville, Bell School, Hotel Westport, and charming hand-drawn ads feature some still familiar local businesses. The cover features an illustration of the original weathervane which topped the steeple of the Methodist Church at the Point until it was blown down in the great hurricane of 1938.

Some recipe highlights include: 

Raspberry shrub “a very old recipe given to my mother Mary Macomber who lived at Westport Point” from Dorothy Gifford.

Westport bouillabaisse from Jan Grindley. She notes: “On a hot day, row out and dig a dozen quahogs, then drive over to Gooseberry Neck and collect a dozen blue mussels.”

Quahog chowder from Jean McGarr

Cabbage soup from Louise Devlin, a recipe from Canada

A history of clambakes by Mary A. W. Sowle

Corned beef hash from Alice Macomber

A recipe for Hannah Brightman’s Amherst pudding includes a note: “Will and Hannah Brightman were an institution at Westport Point. Will delighted in spinning tales about Westport’s early days, Hannah was a fine cook.”

Westport tonic, an anonymous submission, came with a guarantee “to make you happy and healthy and feeling very wealthy.”

Boat Steerers dessert (written by Lucia Paull)

A dessert that was prepared over 80 years ago by Simeon Brightman, a cook on the fishing smack, the Gracie Phillips from Westport Point. The recipe was shared by Simeon’s daughter, Mrs. Charles N. Connor.

“Father would take dried apples and soak them overnight. In the morning he would sweeten them and add some cinnamon and stew them and let them cool. The dough he made was not exactly pie crust but a little more shortening than biscuit. He’d roll it out and cut circles like a saucer and put the apples on, same as a turnover. He’d use a big frying pan with lard and have it hot so as not to soak up the fat and fry them until nice and brown.”

 Read more about quilting in Westport MA