THE MODERN WAY

The old Dobson Homeplace -- never a modern place

I have been trying and posting recipes from “Brer Rabbit’s Modern Recipes for the Modern Hostess.” Several posts ago, I reported that you could find this booklet on Amazon (here), but today as I looked at it again, I noticed that Amazon’s copy is titled, “Brer Rabbit’s Modern Recipes for Modern Living.” Otherwise the cover is the same. My booklet doesn’t carry a copyright date, so I wonder if “Modern Living” is an update of “Modern Hostess” or vice versa.

Not even up-to-date when new

The mid-century use of the word “modern” has intrigued me since I was old enough to understand the concept. When I was an elementary student (the ‘50s), that word “modern” appeared on textbooks that were decidedly outdated. “Modern” implies new, up-to-date, the latest thing, state of the art – well, you know what modern means – but if you call it modern yesterday, is it modern today? And what about tomorrow? “Modern” appears in the title of many recipe pamphlets published in the ‘30s and ‘40s. “Mid-century modern” even became a movement.

My mother used to say “modish,” as in “What a cute hat! It’s modish." (Fashionable or stylish in a modern way.) I thought the word was rather old-fashioned, but apparently we still use it. In the ‘60s, we liked “mod.” Then it seems like we quit using "modern" so much, but online research tells me I could be wrong about that. Still, I think we use the word with more care. 

Updated today but not "state of the art"

Today most of us probably think of ourselves as modern, but this wasn’t always true. For instance, during the mid-century decades, the folks on the farm were decidedly behind the times, and they felt it. The difference between town and country was obvious, even if the rural town was only a step ahead of the country. My grandparents living on the farm without “modern” amenities would never be modern themselves. They lived to see their way of life and their values become obsolete. Their children desired to live in the modern world, but they were conflicted about that, too. They carried the stigma of rural upbringing while loving their farm home.

But the goal of society was to modernize – and to modernize the farm as well. And in this regard, daughter Hallie sent me a link to a YouTube video about modernizing the farm kitchen which was produced in 1949 (here). It's less than 15 minutes long. I'll share my thoughts on it in a future post. KW