CRHS: “Settling Into Maine: an 18th- Century Cook’s-Eye View of Food, Gathering, and Gardening” with Nancy Jenkins

During this year’s Discover History Month, Camden Public Library is teaming up with long-time partner Camden-Rockport Historical Society to bring a series of history presentations to the library. We will welcome Nancy Jenkins for a presentation on the history of 18th-century cooking, gathering, and gardening on Tuesday, October 7, 6:30 PM in the Picker Room at Camden Public Library!

“Settling Into Maine: an 18th-century Cook’s-Eye View of Food, Gathering and Gardening.”

Maine housewife, midwife, and copious diarist, Martha Ballard lived on the Kennebec River in what’s now Hallowell from 1779 to 1812. Her diaries, long buried in the vaults of the Maine State Library, were unearthed by Laurel Ulrich, a historian; they provide a rich account of women’s lives on the Maine frontier from the Revolution to the War of 1812, neither of which plays any role in the diaries. Looking into Martha’s daily entries, Nancy Harmon Jenkins explores a favorite topic: What did people eat and why–how did they cook, what did they grow, what did they share, how did they survive the harsh winters in a frontier settlement? And most importantly, what can we learn from them to apply to our lives today?

Camden native Nancy Harmon Jenkins has spent a long career writing mostly about food and traveling the world to see what folks eat and why. She is the author of a dozen books (also mostly about food) and innumerable articles for publications from Saveur to the New York Times, where she was a staff reporter for many years.

She learned to read at the Camden Public Library when she was four and has been a patron of the library ever since.