Since the announcement of my retirement, some of my colleagues at work have asked me “what are you going to write a book about?” Many of my work mates live in Canada and I wanted to be articulate. I had to keep myself from taking them on this long, blog-like journey of explanation.
If I was prone to self-promotion, I would have said “Marjorie Standish, now go read my blog.” Instead, I’ve simply said “a biography of a famous Maine woman.”
If you’re a long-time reader, you know I’ve been intrigued by Maine’s first foodie for more than a decade. Is she a famous Maine woman, though? Sure, everyone in Maine knows about her “Melt in Your Mouth Blueberry Cake.” But how well do we Mainers really know Marjorie Holbrook Standish? We’ve barely scratched the surface. And if we don’t really know much, how could I possibly explain it all to my friends in Toronto?
We won’t get to the bottom of it today, though, because blogging is about shipping content and I have time for only two cups of coffee and writing this morning. I have an interesting story to tell you about one of Marge’s friends. Grab your copy of Cooking Downeast, pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and turn to page 180. Do you see a recipe for “Date and Nut Bars?” Wonderful. Here we go.
Marge first featured this recipe in her November 3, 1957 Maine Sunday Telegram column. But she didn’t call it “Date and Nut Bars.” She elaborately (and perhaps sycophantically) introduced it as “Beanie Farrell’s Chinese Chews.” Marge said that Beanie gave her the recipe in the summer and that since then, Marge had “made them at least ten times.” Two years later in her October 25, 1959 column, Marge wrote about making three different kinds of bars for her Kennebec Valley Community Chest planning meeting. She said “any group works better if there is a cup of coffee and a bite to eat in the offing.” No truer words were ever spoken. Marge goes on to say “…because I make Beanie Farrell’s Chinese Chews about once a week, it didn’t take a minute to whip up a batch of those.”
Dear reader, “Beanie Farrell’s Chinese Chews” are easy to make, delicious to eat, and freeze well. Marge mentioned all of that in both of her columns. My friend Karen, down in Harpswell, suggests lining your 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper instead of butter and I second that motion. Your bars will come out of the pan easily and be ready for cutting when they’re cool.
Marge’s mention piqued my curiosity about Beanie, so I did some digging.
Albina “Beanie” Walker was born on May 12, 1895 in Guilford, Maine, to George A. and Albina Ledew Walker. The family moved to Stonington, where Beanie graduated from high school. She attended Shaw’s Business School in Augusta. On April 10, 1917, she married James E. Leighton, Jr. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hallowell. Their wedding announcement said “they are a prominent young couple of Hallowell.” On May 19, 1919, their son Walker James Leighton was born.
In April, 1936, the Leightons celebrated 19 years of marriage at The Worster House, a popular Hallowell restaurant in the 1950’s, said to be “Where Maine Goes to Dinner.” But just 3 months later, tragedy struck and James Leighton, Jr. died at Augusta General Hospital. Clerk at the Hallowell post office for 28 years, he was noted to be involved in many community activities. He was 46 years old.
On June 27, 1940, the Kennebec Journal featured engagement pictures of stunningly attractive Albina Leighton and handsome David Francis Kelley. They were married at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on August 5 of that same year and the Kennebec Journal noted it was “a wedding of unusual interest…” Unusual how, I wonder? They don’t say. Kelley, a 1916 Bowdoin College graduate, was the postmaster at the Gardiner post office. The newlyweds made their home at 44 Lincoln Avenue in Gardiner. Newspaper social columns indicate the Mr. and Mrs. Kelley were active in Gardiner community activities until January 5, 1950, when David Francis Kelley died at the Gardiner General Hospital. He was 57 years old.
According to the Monday, October 8, 1951 Kennebec Journal, Albena (sic) Kelley and Dr. Chalmers G. Farrell “were married in a quiet wedding ceremony Saturday morning at the St. Joseph Catholic Church rectory” in Gardiner. Dr. Farrell was a prominent local physician and surgeon, respected in the community.
I wish I could report that Dr. and Mrs. Farrell enjoyed decades of marital bliss. Unfortunately, Dr. Chalmers died on September 30, 1955 at Togus Veteran’s Hospital after a hospitalization of 5 weeks. He was 69.
Dr. Farrell was not a Catholic like Beanie; his obituary said he was a member of Gardiner’s Christ Church Episcopal. His funeral was held there at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, October 3, 1955. Perhaps this is why Beanie and Dr. Farrell were married at the rectory.
I’ve barely skimmed the surface of Beanie’s life story. There’s more, believe me. And what about her husbands? Dr. Farrell himself was a widower when he married Beanie. I found an obituary for his wife Margaret, a nurse from Westbrook who died in 1947 after only 2 years of marriage. Dr. Farrell probably had at least three wives, but I can’t prove that today. I did not eat enough Chinese Chews to energize myself for that genealogical journey.
Albina Walker Leighton Kelley Farrell died at a local Gardiner hospital on April 8, 1977. Her sparse 4 paragraph obituary doesn’t tell much of a story. No mention of her husbands, her friendships, and her Chinese Chews. No mention of her life, her loves, and her losses.
The Chinese Chews themselves are a story, although my time is running out. When Marge first mentioned Beanie almost 70 years ago, she said “everyone knows what delicious food she turns out.” That’s why Beanie didn’t have time to talk to Marge the day Marge called. She was too busy baking cookies.
As good a cook as Beanie was, she didn’t invent the Chinese Chew. It was first featured in the June, 1917 issue of Good Housekeeping, submitted by a Mrs. L.G. Platt of North Bend, Oregon. (What’s her story?) Beanie would have been a young newlywed when the magazine was published. Maybe she clipped the recipe and pasted it on a card.
It’s also interesting to note that by June, 1960, Marge was calling the bars “Beanie Farrell’s Date and Nut Bars” in her column; she said she was mixing them a “bit differently with excellent results.” I don’t know what she was doing differently. I’ve examined both recipes closely and all I can deduce is that she replaced the butter with MARGARINE! And she didn’t try to hide it, either. I mean no disrespect for Maine’s first foodie, but for the love of Marge…no margarine!
Look, the Chinese Chews are really simple and delicious. They’re easy to throw together and they make a wonderful argument for why you should always keep some dates in the house. The bars cut up well and you can get creative. I cut mine up like parallelograms.
I’m not sure I’ve tied things together here today, but that’s my idea for a book. I’d be curious what you think and remember, “the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”
