Ice Cream? Yes, Please!

I love ice cream, but I never put much thought into its origin story until now. It turns out people all over the world have had a taste for frozen treats since ancient times. I’m talking as early as 400 BC. The Chinese indulged in a dish made of milk poured over cooked rice and flavored with spices, then frozen. The Persians created a treat made of rose water, lime juice and delicate noodles. In India, kulfi came about as a slow-frozen milk dessert with flavoring.

                                                               

              Claudius Ceasar                                Kind Charles I                                 Alexander the Great

 Alexander the Great enjoyed snow and ice flavored with honey and nectar. During the Roman Empire, Claudius Ceasar would send runners into the mountains for snow which was then flavored with fruit and juice. A thousand years later, Marco Polo came back to Italy from the Far East with a recipe that closely resembled what we call sherbet. Historians believe it became “ice cream” in the 16th century. By the 17th century it was called “cream ice” in England and appeared regularly on King Charles I's table. In 1660, a Sicilian, Procopio came up with a recipe using milk, cream, butter and eggs. He sold it at Café Procope, the first café in Paris.

                                      George Washington           Thomas Jefferson                          Dolly Maddison                             

  

Ice cream was a dessert for the elite. Ice and snow were needed to make it. Someone had to harvest the ice and storage was needed to keep the ice frozen. The wealthy had access to those things. Ice Cream made its way to America through different people. Thomas Jefferson fell in love with it while he was in Europe and brought home a recipe. In New York City, confectioner Philip Lenzi began making ice cream to sell. He put an ad in the New York Gazette on May 12, 1777 announcing it was available “almost” every day. George Washington enjoyed it so much he spent $200 on it during the summer of 1790. That would be thousands of dollars in today’s market. Dolly Madison served a spectacular strawberry ice cream creation for her husband’s second inaugural dinner in 1813.

                               

By 1800, insulated ice houses were invented. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Tudor Ice Company harvested ice from Walden Pond, Fresh Pond and other lakes in New England from early 1800s to the 1890s. Later, Cambridge was a natural location for ice cream manufacturing.

We can all be thankful for Nancy M. Johnson, who patented the first ice cream maker in 1843. People could now make ice cream at home. By the late 1800s, soda fountains and ice cream parlors began popping up. They were wonderful gathering places. By 1890, customers just had to keep in mind that they couldn’t have a soda on Sundays. The religious community felt carbonated water was a sinful indulgence, so shop owners invented ice cream Sundays, later renamed “sundaes.” By the mid-1900s, soda shops began to disappear.

                      

                       

                                                    

We can’t talk about ice cream without mentioning the ice cream cone. It sprang into popularity at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair and never looked back.

If you couldn’t go out to get ice cream, it could come to you. First, by horse-drawn cart, then by motorized vehicle.

                          

I think ice cream has a place in most of our lives, whether it’s a celebration, a consolation, or just because. There’s a flavor for everyone, although vanilla is America’s favorite. In the second book of my "Heart’s Desire" series, "Heart’s Journey," the family has an ice cream maker they use when Julia makes her famous cherry pie.

Since we're in the Autumn season, I thought you might be interested in a recipe for homemade Pumpkin ice cream.

HOMEMADE PUMPKIN ICE CREAM

In, 1880, after narrowly escaping an arranged marriage, Julia marries Jacob, the man of her dreams, and they move to Iowa to buy a farm. Upper-class Julia has never been in a kitchen, let alone on a farm. How will she manage? Joys and sorrows find them along the way including a personal loss for Julia which triggers a disagreement leading to estrangement. Can their faith in God bring forgiveness and reconciliation?

Heart's Journey is on sale through October 31st for $1.99.

HEART'S JOURNEY

Linda, a retired librarian, lives in west central Ohio with her husband and grandson. An avid reader and writer since childhood, she began her publishing career writing columns and a middle-grade serial for the South Charleston Spectator. Her desire is to entertain, but more importantly, to encourage readers with God’s faithfulness.

You’re invited to visit her website. Browse the pages to learn more about her and her books. Stay in touch when you sign up for her newsletter. You’ll receive a free novella as a thank you.

LINDA HOOVER BOOKS

Pictures found on Public Domain. Articles researched on Museum of Ice Cream, International Dairy Food Association, History Cambridge

Up, Up and Away, Hot Air and Gas Balloons in History

 

            

                                                       Joseph Montgolfier                                     Etienne Montgolfier                                                                 Public Domain                                    Public Domain

While traveling by land and sea was making steady progress, some thought about traveling through the air. If you research hot air balloons, you’re likely to read about Frenchmen Joseph Montgolfier and his brother Etienne. Joseph noticed that hot, smoky air caused paper to rise. He and his brother created a balloon of cotton muslin with paper glued to both sides. It was 67 feet tall and 44 feet wide. When they held a demonstration in 1872, the Royal Science Academy asked them to repeat it in Paris for King Louis XVI. The next year, the brothers went to the palace forecourt, and in front of the king and his family, and a courtyard packed with curious onlookers, the balloon was sent aloft carrying a sheep, a rooster and a duck in a wicker basket. It went 2,000 feet into the air, then slowly descended, landing two miles away eight minutes later.

If animals could go up, men could, too. Experiments were done first with the balloon on a tether, going to higher and higher altitudes. Finally, on November 21, 1783, Pilantre de Rezier and Marquis d’Ariandes were the first men to fly in an untethered balloon. They flew for twenty-five minutes, covering five miles before landing the balloon safely in open countryside.

                                                          Picture by Charles Louis Desrais

Gas balloons were also being tested. On August 27, 1783, Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers launched the first hydrogen balloon. Men on horseback followed to see where it would land. Forty-five minutes later, it came down in the village of Gonesse, where terrified peasants attacked it with pitchforks and knives until it was destroyed.

                                                                    Public Domain

December 1, 1783, Professor Jacques Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert took another flight in a balloon of their own design.

                             Antoine Louis Francois Sergent d.t Sergent.Marceau

By the beginning of the 19th century, ballooning had become part of the popular culture. Celebrations weren’t complete without at least one assent. Men and women both rose above pleasure grounds and gardens all over Europe. Even before 1800, it wasn’t enough just to go up in a balloon or watch one rise. Balloonists parachuted over the side, with Jeanne-Genevieve being the first woman to do so in 1798. Acrobats hung a trapeze bar from the bottom of the basket and performed high above the ground.

                                                                        Public Domain

Balloons were used in many countries to conduct weather and climate experiments and for observation during wartime. The picture below shows Union soldiers filling a balloon before the Battle of Fair Oaks.

                                                   Library of Congress Military       

You would also see balloons at resort areas, fairs, and parks to give people an opportunity to go up in a tethered balloon. For a price, of course. In my book, “Lighter Than Air,” set in 1900 near Brighton, England, Elena finds herself in need of a way to make money to pay her father’s gambling debt. When she investigates a balloon tethered at Queen’s Park, she starts a series of events that takes her and her friend Justin up, up and away, rather than the rescue he intended.

Keep Elena Bishop out of trouble for the summer—how hard can it be?

Brighton, England, 1900

Justin Ramsey has plans as high as a hot air balloon. But his older brother Richard, Earl of Dunningham, brings him down to earth with orders to join the army. Determined to make his own way, Justin agrees to a deal: if he can successfully manage the neighborhood while Richard is away for the summer, he will earn the right to control his own future. His childhood friend, Elena, with her negligent father, has a penchant for getting herself in scrapes, but Justin is confident he can protect her.

Desperate to save her family’s estate, Elena Bishop embarks on an innovative plan to bring in revenue. Her efforts backfire when they draw the attention of the Ramsey family and the ire of her father's enemy, who stands to gain everything if Elena fails. Certain she is following God's leading, Elena doubles down and fights back against the obstacles and naysayers. Will her friend Justin help her salvage her idea, or will it destroy his own future as well as hers?

Even as Justin and Elena disagree over her plan, an attraction beyond friendship ignites between them. As time runs out and tensions rise, Justin and Elena face danger and decisions that will test their new-found love and change the course of their lives.

 LIGHTER THAN AIR

Linda has been writing since childhood, but her publishing career started with writing columns and a middle-grade serial for the South Charleston Spectator. A retired librarian, she now enjoys being a full-time author in her home office. She writes not only to entertain but to encourage readers with God’s faithfulness.

You are invited to visit her website, Linda Hoover Books, to learn more about her and her books. You can stay in touch when you subscribe to her newsletter, and as a thank you, you’ll receive a novella, Joel & Ella.

LINDA HOOVER BOOKS

 

FLAG DAY, JUNE 14, 1777

 

I think of myself as a patriot. I believe the United States is the greatest country in the world. We have a lot of problems, but if we can get back to the way the Founding Fathers meant for it to be, we’ll be in better shape. We fly our flag year-round and when June gets here, I bring out the Americana decorations. I remember saying the Pledge of Allegiance at school and celebrating Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays. With Flag Day being earlier this month, I decided to find out the history. How it began and how long it took for the United States to honor it.

                              

In 1777, the Continental Congress decided our country needed a flag. They made a resolution on June 14, 1777 that stated, “The flag of the United Stated shall be of thirteen stripes of alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white on a field of blue, representing the new constellation.” The new flag was carried into the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777.

 It’s generally believed that Betsy Ross made that first flag, although it can’t be proved with documentation, according to the US Flag Store. They said there were around fifty flag makers and upholsterers in Philadelphia at that time. The Philadelphia Incorporated tells a different story. Apparently, Betsy had receipts for a large sum of money paid to her in May 1777 to make flags. It’s possible the first American flag was one she made. She continued in her career for fifty years.

On June 14, 1861, it was reported that Hartford, Conneticut held a Flag Day celebration. Almost three decades later, a New York City Professor George Bloch, principal of a free kindergarten for the poor, had his school hold patriotic ceremonies to celebrate the Flag Day resolution. The State Department of Education noticed and had all public schools observe the day from then on.

 

Late 1800s

The state legislature soon passed a law saying public schools should hold observances of Lincoln’s birthday, Washington’s birthday, Memorial Day and Flag Day. In 1897, New York’s governor passed a resolution mandating all public buildings to display the flag.

After earlier attempts failed, on May 7,1937, Pennsylvania became the first state to declare June 14 a legal holiday. Now it’s celebrated nationwide, but it's only legal in Pennsylvania. Looking back a little bit, we can see that President Wilson, in 1916, and President Coolidge in 1927, issued a proclamation to make June 14 officially Flag Day. Finally, on August 3, 1949, Congress approved the observance of National Flag Day. President Truman signed it into law. 

I thought it was interesting to see how quickly states were added.

1861, 34 States 

1889, 42 States

1897, 45 States

1959, 50 States

Linda lives in west central Ohio with her husband and grandson. She earned a degree in psychology from Anderson University, where she learned that the voices in her head were actually characters from stories waiting to be told.

Linda has been writing since childhood, but her publishing career started with writing columns and a middle-grade serial for the South Charleston Spectator. A retired librarian, she now enjoys being a full-time author in her home office. She writes not only to entertain but to encourage readers with God’s faithfulness.

You are invited to visit her website, Linda Hoover Books, to learn more about her and her books. You can stay in touch when you subscribe to her newsletter, and as a thank you, you’ll receive a novella, Joel & Ella.

LINDA HOOVER BOOKS

 

Tolkien - More than an Inkling for Language

“If you could speak to a person, alive or dead, who would you choose?” Today, I would name J.R.R Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Consider his life from 1892 – 1973. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien observed countless inventions in his 81 years. From modes of transportation to modes of communication, he witnessed leaps and bounds in modernization and convenience. I would be interested to hear his impressions and perspectives on how these innovations impacted his life, especially with his documented disdain for the “machine.” Another motivation is that I would like to understand how he designed such well-developed stories, worlds, and characters. We can immerse ourselves amongst his Ents (beings that resemble talking trees), Hobbits, High Elves, and in Rivendell, or Middle-earth. They are vivid as if we are living in and with them as we read. The depth and layers in his concepts are formidable. However, the main reason I would like to engage him in conversation is language. What I am referring to is his penchant for the creation of language itself.

When I was settling on a topic for the March post Sequoyah - Creator of the Cherokee Syllabary one of the first things I recalled was the 2019 movie, “Tolkien.” If you watched the film, you might remember the scenes where J.R.R. Tolkien was in the process of establishing his own language. I later discovered that he labored on the Elvish language for forty years before publishing The Fellowship of the Ring in 1954. He knew thirty-five tongues, ancient and modern. Can you imagine? Supreme Polyglot! This individual constructed fifteen languages and dialects in the Elvish language family alone. Not only did he craft the written and spoken languages, but he also deemed it necessary to have a new system of sign language for the dwarves. Since they worked in the mines, they needed an effective means of communicating in the din down below. Tolkien gave his languages history, tied them to mythology, and allowed them to evolve over the years. This process follows natural progressions of language. I read that people can consider his languages incomplete as they lack idiomatic expressions. With the complexity of his Art, I imagine this could have been a deliberate decision on his part. We may never know.

Since there is no opportunity to speak with Tolkien, I found a book that gives insights into his thoughts and processes via his letters. Perhaps you would like to add “The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien” to your TBR pile?

If you would like to read a bit more about Tolkien, try the article on Biography.com, J.R.R. Tolkien. Or if you would rather, watch a documentary: JRR TOLKIEN '1892-1973' - A Study of The Maker of Middle-earth.

Rebecca May Davie is the YouVersion Content Creator for NBS2GO/ Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO - a Cru Ministry. She has uploaded over 66 plans on the Bible.com app. Rebecca is living in the mountains with her husband, the youngest of their two sons, and a rescued dog named Ranger. If it were up to her, she would be traveling right now. Not quite a polyglot, Rebecca speaks English and French as her L2. College courses last year gave a rudimentary grasp of Italian. She hopes to learn Spanish next. Meanwhile, Rebecca is working on her first fiction novel. This story unfolds from the 1830s in Northern Georgia.

Connect with Rebecca:

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Sequoyah - Creator of the Cherokee Syllabary

Language. One simple word that is anything but.

 
I am infatuated with languages. I remember pretending to speak my own version and mimicking accents with friends when I was a young child. All these years later, I am still hoping to earn the Polyglot moniker. Why is language so alluring? What captivates my interest? Is it the accents, dialects, idioms, structures, history, etymology, or entwined cultures? Each of those aspects and so many more feed my fascination. Merriam-Webster.com defines language as “the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community.” So, to the above list, I will add… the people.

 
Without the gift of language, especially in written form, we would have limits. The ability to write and record language opens doors to connect, read, learn from afar, work, collaborate, send a note – email – text, and even formulate TikTok videos.

 
If you would like to see variations of language, try Google translate. Type in a short sentence and find the result in a few of their 109+ offerings. Most even have a speaker option so you can hear the answer. Experiment with an unfamiliar tongue to see and hear the diversity. Many languages have beautiful fonts and bonny tones. Two weeks ago, I was working with Burmese for our ministry. Are you familiar with their characters? They are lovely. The following sentence means I love to read.

ဖတ်ရတာ သဘောကျတယ်။

Have you ever considered how languages develop over time? This is a lengthy process tied to history, the influences of other cultures, and other factors. Language is not commonly the project of a single person. Yet there is a monolingual individual without a formal education, who had no knowledge of writing or reading, who assembled a complementary syllabary to his spoken language. How could he generate a system that would be of immediate use and go on to influence the formation of other languages? Sequoyah, a Cherokee, also known as Sogwali, accomplished this feat.

Sequoyah observed the Caucasian settlers where he lived. They had the ability to communicate across distances. He discussed this among his people who were not in favor of recording their thoughts. In their opinion, this was witchcraft. Despite this challenge, he continued to contemplate the scenario when he served in the US Army during the War of 1812. Fighting in the battle at Horseshoe Bend, he watched soldiers employing this method to connect with fellow soldiers and family.

When he returned to civilian life, he toiled as a blacksmith. Out of necessity, he needed a system to record orders and payments. As he was artistic, he would sketch the customers’ likenesses and would use a rudimentary system to retain amounts and objects. This became labor-intensive over time. It is speculated that due to this need and what he observed in exchanges between soldiers, he began the arduous task of creating a solution. 

Sequoyah invested 12 years to compose a system of 86 characters that placed on paper what was an oral language up until that point. Due to his usage of syllabary (characters representing sounds), rather than individual letters, the compilation was easy to master. His daughter was the first to use the written characters. She participated in demonstrations for the Cherokee to prove the efficacy and remove doubts or superstitions. Sequoyah and his daughter went to separate locations. They each wrote messages to the other, then exchanged the missives. They employed this process to prove that the syllables did indeed represent sounds for communication.

The Cherokee Nation adopted Sequoyah’s syllabary in 1825, which spread quickly. This invention allowed them to write a constitution and print the Cherokee Phoenix, a newspaper. These were crucial elements during a harrowed time. It is recorded by the Cherokee Nation of Sequoyah, “He accomplished a feat, which no other person in history has done single-handedly…he brought our people literacy and a gift of communicating through long distances and ages. This one person brought to his people this great gift without hired educators, no books and no cost.” -Georgia Historical Society.

If we consider Sequoyah’s contribution to the Cherokee alone, he provided a means for his nation to communicate across distances. He enabled them to design and record a constitution. The first bilingual and tribal newspaper in the US, the Cherokee Phoenix was born. All these accomplishments were key as they began the fight to remain on their land. In addition, due to the success of his syllabary, other people groups developed their own systems. Sequoyah influenced over 20 scripts for more than 65 languages.

If you would like to learn more about Sequoyah and his life, this video gives a short history.

Do you speak languages other than your native tongue? How would your days be impacted if you only had means of oral communication?

Rebecca May Davie is the YouVersion Content Creator for NBS2GO/ Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO - a Cru Ministry. She has uploaded over 66 plans on the Bible.com app. Rebecca is living in the mountains with her husband, the youngest of their two sons, and a rescued dog named Ranger. If it were up to her, she would be traveling right now. Not quite a polyglot, Rebecca speaks English and French as her L2. College courses last year gave her a rudimentary grasp of Italian. She hopes to learn Spanish next. Meanwhile, Rebecca is working on her first fiction novel. This story unfolds from the 1830s in Northern Georgia.

Connect with Rebecca:  Website 

Clubhouse Facebook Goodreads Instagram Pinterest Twitter.