RoycroftCampusCorporation

Roycroft Blog / Kandy Kitchen Girls

Kandy Kitchen Girls' Tea-room Opens in the Advertiser, June 25, 1908: “Sunday evening the Kandy Kitchen girls at the Roycroft Inn opened their new tea-room and its leap into immediate popularity was something of a surprise to even those optimistic maidens; and has kept them literally on the jump ever since. The building is a small cottage situated in the rear of the Inn, and is reached by a flight of steps leading from the peristyle. The room is decorated and furnished in the manner of all things Roycroftie, and the dainties served are also “fit for the King.” There is tea in dainty little pots with cream, real cream – or with lemon. There is coffee, and there is lemonade – lemonade which is right. And there are wafers of thin bread and butter to go with these. And, if you are not a tea drinker, then there is ice-cream, with fresh fruit and cake. All of these served in the dainty tea-room; or out upon the balcony, with the stars overhead, and the vines rustling about you.”

In 2015 you can enjoy refreshment on the Inn veranda and hear the vines rustling around you as in days gone by. 

 

- Sue

Roycroft Blog / Yum! Maple Weekends Soon Will Be Here

Sugaring season is here. The Roycrofters were sugar makers. They used their maple syrup to make their specialty, Roycroft Pecan Patties, filling orders all across the country.

 

in 2015, you can sample New York’s finest maple syrup during the New York State Maple Weekends, March 21-22 and 28-29 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. The website www.nysmaple.com has a list of sugaring operations that you can visit to see the process of boiling maple sap into maple syrup. It is a family friendly outing, so come to the western New York countryside and enjoy the taste that says winter is almost over! 

 

- Sue

 

Roycroft Blog / Hubbard Lobbied to Keep East Aurora Dry

    Protestations against the dangers of alcohol are not new to Western New York. The pre-organizational meeting of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was held in the summer of 1874 at Chautauqua. Seeking pledges of total abstinence from alcohol, the women’s watch words were “Agitate - Educate - Legislate.” By 1906, the Anti-Saloon League (founded in 1893) was making headway with a new wave of attacks on the sale of liquor. Western New York towns could then - as now - vote to be “dry,” meaning not allow the sale of liquor within the town limits. 

  A WCTU poster

     In November 1907, Hubbard was quoted in the local newspaper, The Advertiser, as saying, “the highest prosperity is found only in “dry” towns. Where people buy booze they do not buy books.” A little more than a year later, in the same publication, it was reported, “Dr. James Winfred Cool of N.Y.C. is to speak in the Roycroft Chapel, Sunday at 3:00 p.m. His subject is “The Battle of the Bottle.” Dr. Cool is State Treasurer of the Anti-saloon League.”

     Then on October 26, 1911, Elbert Hubbard expressed his support of no-(liquor) license as a “vote for business” with the following letter published in The Advertiser:

     “I am sure that no-license in East Aurora has been a big benefit to the Roycroft Shop. The boys have had more sleep, less liquor, more exercise and as a consequence have been better fitted to do good work. Many Roycroft boys have bank accounts now who never had before. And some of those who did have accounts have bigger balances. I do not say that each Roycrofter has benefitted personally (for some didn’t patronize the saloon) except as all are benefitted as a whole. East Aurora is better off without license and always will be.

Elbert Hubbard

Roycroft Shops”

     After prohibition was repealed in 1933, the 21st amendment granted each state the right to regulate the trafficking of alcoholic beverages within its borders. An April 10, 2012 report from the State of New York Liquor Authority listed the dry towns (9) and partially dry towns (39) in the state as of 2012. Two have been dry since 1948 (Lapeer in Cortland County, and Freemont in Steuben County), and one voted as recently as 2010 to go dry (Neversink in Sullivan County). The “partially dry” list is complicated by a variety of sales situations, for example, in the nearby town of Freedom in Cattaraugus County, the rules are “wet for off-premises consumption; wet for special on-premises consumption (tavern); wet for on-premises consumption of beer at race tracks and outdoor athletic fields and stadiums where admission fees are charged; dry for on-premises consumption.” 

     By the way, East Aurora is NOT dry. Sorry, Elbert.

  - Sue

Sources: The Advertiser at the Aurora Town Historian's office; State of New York Liquor Authority website; WCTU website

Thanksgiving at the Inn

 

These are photos of the Roycroft Inn at different points in time.  As you can see, the pictures are seasonal, also. 

We know Elbert Hubbard and his family ate many meals at the Inn.  Do you think they had Thanksgiving dinner at the Inn, and do you wonder if the turkey was carved by Elbert or one of the artists on the campus?  Can you imagine the Roycroft Orb Logo on a copper tag attached in some manner to the bird?  Of course, I am just having fun; but, learning about the charismatic, clever and often comedic personality of the Fra, I bet there were some not surprisingly silly antics at family holidays.

The Roycroft staff and volunteers hope your Thanksgiving Day was filled with love, friendship and peace to start off the holiday season.  Yum--turkey, cranberries, yams, green beans, pies and a nap!

Claudia

Roycroft Candies and Cooking

    The previous blog post, Roycroft Candy Recipe, got me thinking about the Roycroft's history with food. In addition to the previously mentioned candy, they were involved with producing and distributing goods from the local Roycroft farms. The book, Roycroft Recipes Rediscovered, by Kitty Turgeon, is a great resource for the exact recipes used in the Inn, Teahouse and even in the goods for sale around the country.

    My husband is a trained chef and specializes in the history of food. It's very revealing to find out what people ate from the past. It's a part of everyday life and gives you a glimpse of common traditions and practices. Last year, we tried the recipe Julie posted in her blog entry. You can easily substitute corn syrup for the glucose (which is used more often in Europe). I'm a fan of maple syrup but I can't say I'm a fan of these candies! They were, honestly, a little waxy. Maybe I'm just biased towards the confections of today.

     Has anyone else had experience with this or would like to offer other recipes of the time? Food is something we can all share!

-Amanda

Roycroft Candy Recipe

Just in case you have not had enough holiday cookies and sweets, here is a vintage Roycroft candy recipe. I have copied it directly from the original. Please note that is makes 20 dozen!

Candy

Use large aluminum kettle

First step:

2 oz. Cocoa Butter (melt in pan first)

4 Big Spoons of Glucose (Bring to a boil) (In summer, use 6)

Second Step:

2 Quarts of Syrup (Bring to 230)

Third Step:

1/2 cup Vinegar

2 Quarts syrup (bring to 230)

Fourth step:

2 quarts more of syrup (if you use 2 doz. patties, use only 1 1/2 qt, bring to 240)

Fifth step:

at 1/2 pound of butter at 240 mark

Sixth step:

And let it come to the 250 and take off and put in the molds at once.

When cool, take pick and dig them out. Wrap in wax paper. This makes about 20 dozen Patties.

What struck me about this recipe is "glucose". How do you buy glucose? And I love the "take pick and dig them out" phrase. I personally shy away from recipes that have 6 steps. I like things simple.

Has anyone made these? If you try to make this please share your experience and the results.

Julie