BY JUDY LINSLEY

The 2014 theme of the museumis “Beyond Sustenance: Feast andFellowship.” During the year, themuseum will show some of the manyways in which food shaped the lives ofthe McFaddins andWards. They prid-ed themselves on setting a splendidand abundant table at home. Thatsame interest in, and enjoyment of,fine dining extended to their frequenttravels as well; whether they werebound for Houston, New York orEurope, part of the adventure was thegood food to be found along the way.

If Ida McFaddin or Mamie Wardreally liked a dish they had while on atrip, they often found a way to add the

recipe to their own collection.Sometimes they added a whole cook-book. On journeys to New York, thefamily often stayed at the WaldorfHotel; in the museum archives is the1896 Waldorf Hotel cookbook — all907 pages of it.

Train travel offered its own spe-cial cuisine. Major railroads such asthe Southern Pacific, Missouri Pacificand Santa Fe lines provided travelerswith complete meals served on mono-grammed railroad china in elegantdining cars. The Southern Pacific linepublished a cookbook of its most pop-ular recipes that included delicaciessuch as fillet of sole, egg and ham tim-

The Mamie McFaddin Ward Heritage Foundation hasawarded a $15,000 grant to TAM to sponsor the Matthew L.White Keynote Address at each Texas Association of MuseumsAnnual Meeting for the next decade, beginning in 2015. A spe-cial fund will be established to bring speakers of national promi-nence to the Texas museum community in honor and memoryof Matthew L. White (1956-2010). White was executive direc-tor of the McFaddin-Ward House museum from 2000 until hisdeath and was the administrator from 1984 to 2000.

He was also a recipient of TAM’s Jack Nokes OutstandingService Award, honoring his dedication to TAM. He served asa council member, program chair and local arrangements chairfor TAM.

The museum staff is proud and grateful that theFoundation chose to honor Matt in this special way. He wouldbe proud, too, since TAM was very close to his heart.

V

IEWPOINTMcFADDIN-WARD HOUSE

June 2014Vol. 30/No. 3 V S

See FOOD, page 5

The McFaddins enjoyedgood food on their travels

Matt White, director of the McFaddin-Ward House, center, receivesan award in 2010 from Ruth Ann Rugg and Cliff Vanderpool of theTexas Association of Museums.

An adfor theopeningof the

MonteleoneHotel Barin NewOrleans,

to where theMcFaddins

oftentraveled.

Heritage Foundation Honors Late Director

By ALLEN LEA

On the morning of March 5, 2014,we received a call from the Library ofCongress asking if a photographer couldstop by and snap some pictures of theMcFaddin-Ward House to be included inthe National Archives. How could werefuse?

The photos came out beautifully,and, of course, they would with Carol M.Highsmith behind the lens. Highsmith, aDC-based photographer, author and pub-lisher, is three years into a 20-year projectfor which she will visit historic homes,landmarks and important sites in all 50states. In the end, “This is America!” thetime capsule of America in the 21st cen-tury, with more than 100,000 high-quali-ty images, copyright-free, will be donatedto the Library of Congress as a very rare,one-person archive.

Beaumont’s Channel 12 news crewwas quick to pick up on Highsmith’s trailwhile she was in Beaumont, after weposted about her visit on Facebook. “TheLibrary of Congress is all about preserva-tion, a lot of what I am photographingwill be gone over time... that’s the impor-tance of this collection... it’s importantthat we see our history and have itrecorded, just in case it goes away,”Highsmith told 12News, Wednesday.

“Beaumont has a lot to be proud of... I’vephotographed a tremendous amount ofhistorical properties... and I don’t knowone I’ve seen quite so well done as theMcFaddin-Ward House... it’s incredibleinside.”

Highsmith’s lifetime achievementsand milestones are too numerous to list,but take a few minutes (or hours) to“Google” her and you won’t be disap-pointed. Or visit her website at www.carolhighsmithamerica.com.

Ted Landphair, Highsmith’s husbandand a native of Lakewood, Ohio, contin-uously updates the “Ted’s This isAmerica!” blog on the website, whichkeeps readers posted on his and Carol’sexpeditions. He recently blogged abouthis experience in Beaumont: “I’ll neverforget those shoots, but I still appreciatethe loving care that administrators and

docents put into preserving and showingoff wonderful smaller houses such as theMcFaddin-Ward House in Beaumont.Smaller in relative terms. McFaddin-Ward is plenty big and beautiful.”

It was a pleasure working with such adistinguished photographer and writerand we feel honored to be a part of thisimportant historical collection.

By CHRISTOPHER FERGUSON

Originally from Moberly, Mo., I now go toschool in Cape Girardeau at Southeast MissouriState University. I’ll be graduating there with adegree in Historic Preservation. While in col-lege, I was also inducted into Sigma Pi Kappa,which is a Historic Preservation HonorsSociety.

With my degree, I plan on continuing workin the field of preservation, preferably with her-itage education and through various otheraspects of work in an archive, although I amcertainly open to other areas of museum work.

My desire to work in a museum stems frommy two years of study in secondary education; Irealized that teaching in the field of academia

wasn’t the right profession for me. Working at amuseum allows me the opportunity to continuemy dream of educating younger generationsabout the importance of history while avoidingthe limitations of public education.

I chose to apply for an internship at theMcFaddin-Ward House after researching themuseum online. I found that its reputationwithin the museum community was stellar, evenfrom all the way in Missouri. I have always hada goal to reach out and expand my knowledge ofplaces outside of my home state. This internshiphas given me that opportunity.

I look forward to my time at the museum,and expanding my skills and knowledge duringmy internship with the staff at the McFaddin-Ward House.Christopher Ferguson

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS-- Director’s Desk --

Viewpoints-Page 2

New intern at McFaddin-Ward House

A photograph of the mantel in the museum’s music room, taken by Carol Highsmith.

PhotographerCarol Highsmithcrosses the coun-try, documentingher travels for the

Library ofCongress.

Viewpoints-Page 3

BY SAM DALEOAND MICHELLE CATE

Since ancient times, coffee was said tohave healing properties. After-dinner coffeewas thought to assist digestion, enhanceendurance, and act as an antidote for inebria-tion.

The Middle Eastern custom of drinkingvery hot, black coffee in small cups traveled toEurope along with the beverage in the 17thcentury. It was the French, in the 1800s, whooriginated the demitasse and turned after-din-ner coffee drinking into an art. Demitassemeans “half-cup.” The cups are typically halfthe size of a regular coffee cup, holding two tothree ounces of beverage. The smaller sizefacilitates the drinking of strong after-dinnerspecialty coffees, such as espresso, cappuccinoand Turkish coffee. Tea may be served indemitasse cups, but they are really meant forcoffee.

Certain rules of etiquette are followed forafter-dinner demitasse serving and drinking.The coffee is strong and always served black.Cream is not offered and should not berequested. Sugar, however, is permissible.Demitasse cups are always used. These areplaced on amatching saucer and accompaniedby a demitasse spoon. Only one cup of coffee isserved, and it is not polite to ask for a second.

The coffee can be served to guests severalways. Cups can be brought in, unfilled, by abutler. A second butler brings the coffeepot.Each guest is offered a cup, which is then filled.The coffee can also be poured in the kitchen

or butler’s pantry and served to guests on a trayby a butler. A less formal way of serving is tohave the butler place the coffee and cups on atray. This is then placed on a coffee table infront of the hostess. She pours the coffee, andthe butler takes each cup to a guest. On occa-sion, a liqueur can be offered with the coffee orafter the coffee has been taken.

By the 20th century, any woman whoentertained, formally or informally, wouldhave owned demitasse sets and served after-dinner coffee. Ida Caldwell McFaddin andMamie McFaddin Ward owned numerousdemitasse sets and spoons. The sets in our col-

lection contain from four to twenty-four cupsand saucers each. There are a few individualcups, suggesting a special find on a shoppingtrip or perhaps a souvenir purchased on a vaca-tion, or a gift given by a friend. Although thesets are in very good condition, they do showthe wear expected from frequent use.

The exhibit, currently on view at theMcFaddin-Ward visitor center, features twentydemitasse cups, sixteen matching saucers andeleven spoons. The variety of patterns andstyles would certainly have assured Ida andMamie of having just the right demitasse forany occasion.

The Art of DemitasseCOLLECTIONS CORNER

Viewpoints-Page 4 V

Spring was a busy time at the McFaddin-Ward House, with eventsboth old and new. The semi-annual spring picnic brought people tothe lawn of the carriage house, while two lectures in May broughtout people interested in food and wine. The rose garden was also infull bloom during most of April and May. And the launch of a newevent, Mondays at the Museum, saw yogis spreading out on thelawn of the house.

MUSEUM HOSTSSPRING EVENTS

Viewpoints-Page 5

bales, roulades of beef, and caramel custard.Gus McFaddin, grandson of Ida and

W.P.H., recalled the food on the SouthernPacific Railroad’s Sunset Limited: “Oh, thefood was actually fantastic. And the diningroom [car used] all the crystal and linen tablecloths. That was very formal dining at thetime. They used to serve hot potato soup in alittle round pewter bowl.” His sister, MamieWhite Edson, remembered, “They had thebest lamb chops and the best toast. The toastalways had little brown stripes on it.”

Restaurants at train stations usuallyserved good meals as well. Harvey Houses pro-vided Santa Fe Railroad travelers with “goodfood at reasonable prices in clean, elegantrestaurants,” according to one account. “Mealsby Fred Harvey,” named for the founder,became a Santa Fe slogan, becauseHarvey alsomanaged the dining cars. Young women whoworked at Harvey Houses were known as“Harvey Girls.”

The most elegant dining of all, however,was probably steamship travel. Passengersdressed in evening clothes for dinner at night.Mamie seemed especially fond of shipboarddining. On a trip to Europe with Ida in 1938,she used words such as “lovely,” “delicious,”and “served perfectly,” singling out one dish,“Peche Juilette,” for special praise.

As roads and automobiles graduallyimproved, driving trips became more popular,though they could still be an adventure. InAugust 1935 Ida and Mamie left on a trip toCanada and New England, with Ida’s chauf-feur Andrew Molo driving. Mamie faithfullylisted in her diary the towns and hotels wherethey got their meals but rarely commented onthe menu, seeming more concerned with thesummer heat. Riding in an un-air conditionedcar (“hot as fire” she wrote in Indianapolis),she mentioned only whether dining facilitieswere “air cooled.” When they finally droveinto Detroit, she wrote with relief, “grand andcool.”

In Bethel, Maine, Mamie finally gave herapproval to lunch at Bethel Inn: “good food$12.00 apiece.” Coming back through NewYork, she and Ida met up with Carroll Ward’sbrother Levy, who lived there. During theirevening together,Mamie “had cocktail [at the]Biltmore then to Pennsylvania Hotel Room,had [a] lovely dinner, drank a Planter’sPunch….” Mamie later wrote Levy for thePunch recipe, and he sent her one from aNew

Jersey bar “where the bar tender specializes inPlanters’ Punches.”

Mamie seemed to appreciate the foodmore as they made their way down the EastCoast. Driving through Virginia’s Blue RidgeMountains “with the old houses on rollingslopes with the characteristic white fences,”she and Ida “had a good chicken dinner withwine” at the Monticello Hotel inCharlottesville. In North Carolina a few dayslater, the two lunched at the Pisgah Forest Inn— “a rustic quaint hotel & the best food” —for Mamie, high and rare praise indeed.

Though they enjoyed fine dining, Ida andMamie often stopped for lunch at coffee shops,which provided hungry, tired travelers withgood food in a relatively relaxed and informalsetting. One coffee shop menu from the 1940s

included chicken salad, waffles, eggs, ham-burgers, a selection of both single- and double-decker sandwiches, and several kinds of pie.The cheeseburger, incidentally, was 20 cents, 5cents extra for lettuce and tomato.

The McFaddins and Wards took shorterdriving trips as well, to Houston or NewOrleans. In Houston, they often stayed at theRice Hotel and ate in its coffee shop or at theLamar Cafeteria. On the way there or back,they might stop at Layle’s Café in Liberty orthe San Jacinto Inn, famous for its seafood.New Orleans could also be a final stop beforereaching home on longer train or automobiletrips. Ida and Mamie usually stayed in theRoosevelt Hotel, which had not only fine din-

FoodContinued from page 1

See FOOD, page 6

A postcard from the Santa Maria Inn, located in Santa Maria, Calif.

Viewpoints-Page 6

Museum named finalist for BBB Torch AwardBYMARCUS POWERS

The weeks surrounding late April intoearly May were busy ones at the McFaddin-Ward House. So adding in an extra activity onMay 6th should have been quite a hassle.

But all those events at the house were oneof the many reasons why I had to add an eventto my Google calendar for the night of May 6:the Better Business Bureau of Southeast TexasTorch Awards for Marketplace Trust.

Earlier this year, I got a call from the BBBinforming me that the museum had been nom-inated by someone in the community for theaward. The Torch Awards are given out annu-ally to two businesses and one nonprofit for dis-playing an outstanding level of business ethics,as well as for giving back to the community.

When I learned the museum had beennominated, I knew we certainly met those cri-teria. I filled out the application and submittedit in mid-March. Near the beginning of April, Igot another call; this time, it was to inform methat the museum had been selected as a semi-finalist and that a committee would be by in afew weeks for a “site visit.”

The week before Easter, we welcomed five

different business owners from around the area.I gave them a tour of the house itself andshowed them around the carriage house andthe various office buildings around the muse-um’s campus.

Later that week, I got yet another call, thebest one yet. The museum had been selected asone of three finalists for the nonprofit category.I was beyond excited, as I knew theMcFaddin-Ward House has long been a leader in not onlythe Southeast Texas museum community, butalso in many other circles as well. I had workedhard to get the museum the recognition I felt itdeserved, and was glad to see it selected as afinalist.

Early the nextweek, I learned of our “com-petitors,” the other two nonprofits selected asfinalists: CASA of Southeast Texas andBaptists Hospitals of Southeast Texas, bothincredibly steep competition to be sure.

On top of that, this year saw a bumpercrop of nonprofit applicants; in fact, there weremore applicants in the nonprofit category thanthere were in the for-profit categories. The factthat we were selected to be one of just threefinalists was a pretty big deal.

So, in the middle of one of the busier sea-

sons of our calendar year, Allen Lea and Iattended the Torch Awards at the BeaumontCivic Center. Sure, we were tired from all theevents going on at the house. In late April, wehad a very successful picnic on the carriagehouse lawn; that was followed quickly by thelaunch of Mondays at the Museum, a monthlyyoga event on the east lawn, as well as the OldTime School Days program for fourth graders atLaura Reeves Elementary in Silsbee. The eventalso fell right in between the two lectures at thehouse in early May, one from Perry McFaddinClark of AmizettaWines onMay 1 and anoth-er from Peter Hatch of Monticello on May 8.

First, the bad news: We did not win theTorch Award that night. Baptist Hospitals ofSoutheast Texas won it, and deservedly so. Butthe good news: We were still recognized as oneof the best nonprofits in the area. Many peopletold us it was hard to choose, since the nonprof-it category is so broad.

I’m proud of the McFaddin-Ward House,and I still believe we are the best museum —and one of the best nonprofits— in theGoldenTriangle. I look forward to continuing with themission of the museum, and reapplying nextyear.

ing and a coffee shop but also excellentroom service (which both women used fromtime to time). On the back of a postcard pic-turing the Roosevelt, Mamie wrote, “Havebeen here many, many times since I was achild — I love New Orleans, especiallyRoyal Street and this hotel.”

For Ida, Mamie, and their families,

meals eaten on trips were much more thannourishment; they were part and parcel oftheir social and cultural experience.Traveling in proper style involved seekingout not only the finest accommodations butthe best food, according to the practice of“conspicuous consumption” defined byeconomist and sociologist ThorsteinVeblen.

“Beyond Sustenance: SplendidRepasts,” the summer and fall interpretationfor the McFaddin-Ward House, will rununtil December 3.

FoodContinued from page 5

A postcard from the Roosevelt Hotelin New Orleans

V

By BECKY FERTITTA

The McFaddin-Ward House VisitorCenter has been in full swing this spring,keeping the volunteers extremely busy. Theyseem to have been having quite a bit of fun aswell. Twenty-five volunteers and staff tookhomenew-found treasures and enjoyed a fan-tastic meal at their second annual SwapMeet, hosted by the past presidents of theVolunteer Service Council (VSC). Next onthe agenda was a trip to the Bruno andGeorge Winery in Sour Lake, Texas, wherevolunteers sampled locally-made wine andlearned the interesting history behind thatlittle Southeast Texas gem. The McFaddin-Ward House Lunch Bunch continued toenjoy getting together for lunch, and theMWH book club is thriving! The groupmeets quarterly and enjoys lunch, along withgreat discussions of interesting books.

In April, the VSC executive committeeplanned an entertaining and informative“Hat Parade” and tea party for the group’sgeneral meeting. Current president PeggyDucote and immediate past president GloriaAyres gathered hats from the museum’steaching collection, as well as from privatecollectors. They researched and crafted a spe-cial description for eachhat (close to 50), andvolunteer models sashayed through thecrowd, sharing tidbits of informationwith theaudience. It was fabulous! A hard-workingcrew led by Kim Williams decorated thetables with lovely hats and the prettiest arrayof “Tea Party” paraphernalia seen anywhere.

The McFaddin-Ward House 2014Lecture Series began on a very high note inearly May with a talk from McFaddin familydescendant Perry Clark, whose family ownsAmizetta Winery in St. Helena, California.After his lecture, those in attendance tastedthree Amizetta wines and enjoyed tastytreats. An abundance of volunteers workedtirelessly to decorate, prepare and serve food,pour wines and wash wine glasses— in otherwords, to do it all! VSC social/hospitalitycommittee members Laura Assunto andDenise Delboy did a sensational job helpingto plan and carry out this enjoyable event.

One short week later the museum host-ed another superb lecture and reception.Garden lovers attended in droves to hearPeter Hatch, former director of gardens and

grounds at Monticello, discuss ThomasJefferson’s Revolutionary Garden. MWHvolunteers, led by Billie Osborn, preparedbeautiful and appropriate refreshments anddecorations, and stayed on until late puttingeverything back in order. These events arealways enjoyable for those who attend, butthe volunteers seem to love them evenmore!They work really hard and have a great time.The museum staff could not possibly presentevents of this caliber to the public withoutthe enormous input, effort and support of thevolunteers.

Later in May, volunteers enjoyed a spe-cial event just for them—the Spring ExhibitPreview presented by the curatorial staff.Volunteerswere encouraged to bring prospec-tive docent candidates to the preview inhopes of recruiting new trainees for ourdocent training class. Anyone who is inter-ested in learning more about the trainingshould contact Becky Fertitta at 832-2134.

One of the most enjoyable MWH vol-unteer traditions has always been the “bustrip.” The most recent trip in mid-April fea-tured the painted churches of Schulenburg,the Texas Quilt Museum in LaGrange, andmagnificent vistas of bluebonnets in everydirection. Bus trips are always fun and thevolunteers love them; it is great to let some-one else do the driving! A wonderful timewas had by all.

And the volunteers deserve to have fun.

Besides giving tours and assisting with eventsat the museum, some travel to schools andlibraries to present programs. They also play ahuge role in planning, preparing and present-ing our yearly summer camp. Several will alsoassist with junior interpreter training in June.Then, hopefully, the adults will have themonth of July off and the JIs will take over.This worked beautifully in 2013, and we arehoping to repeat the success.

Our junior interpreters stayed busy giv-ing tours on several Saturdays this spring andhelping with special events. Many of themwill be on hand to support their newest col-leagues on Junior Interpreter Guide Day,Saturday, June 28. JIs will also be a huge partof our summer camp. And, of course, theywill OWN the month of July — lock, stockand barrel! The McFaddin-Ward HouseVisitor Center is a great place to be!

Viewpoints from the Visitor Center

Viewpoints-Page 7

A display ofvintage hats,above, at theluncheon.

Teresa Orr, adocent at themuseum,left, models ahat duringthe “HatParade.”

Events Calendar

Thursday, June 12; Thursday, July 10; Thursday, August 28Movie Nights6:30 p.m.

The Visitor Center

Tuesday, July 29-Thursday, July 31Summer Camp

10 a.m. to 2 p.m., dailyAges 8-12

$20 for all three daysRegistration begins May 19

May 26, June 30,July 28, August 25,

September 29Mondaysat theMuseum6:45 p.m.

On the east lawn

Viewpoints-Page 8The

McFADDIN-WARDHOUSE

Historic House Museum725 North Third StreetBEAUMONT, TEXAS

77701-1629Return Service Requested

Vol. 30, No. 3June 2014

Published quarterly for volunteers of theMcFaddin-Ward House and others

interested in cultural andeducational aspects of the museum.

(409) 832-1906, office(409) 832-2134, visitor centerwww.mcfaddin-ward.org

2013 Press Club of Southeast TexasExcellence in Media Award winner for Best Newsletter

Volunteer Calendar

Monday, June 2Docent Continuing Education Program

Lecture Hall10 a.m.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, June 16, 17 & 19Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, June 23, 24 & 26

Junior Interpreter Training10 a.m. to noon

Wednesday, June 18Summer Reading Program

Johns Library10:30 a.m.

Saturday, June 28Junior Interpreter Guide Day

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tuesday, July 15VSC General Meeting

Lecture Hall6:30 p.m.

Monday, August 18Volunteer Book ClubVisitor Center

Noon

IEWPOINTMcFADDIN-WARD HOUSEV S

NON-PROFITORGANIZATIONU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDBEAUMONT, TXPERMIT NO. 271

www.arts.gov/bluestarmuseums