Glancing Back: Here’s to You, Mrs. Roosevelt
1946
Thank you For Those Kind Words This is from the August 5, 1946 News editorial:
Never thought we’d see the day. But here we are, taking a deep bow in the direction of Eleanor Roosevelt. It isn’t often that we read her newspaper column, “My Day.” By chance we did the other evening, and this is what met our startled gaze:
“One of the best ways to help the food situation throughout the world is for everyone who can do so to have a garden, and to put up anything they can’t eat now so they can enjoy it next winter.
“Of course, if you happen to have a deep freeze, you already know the joys of taking your vegetables or your fruits and using them all through the winter and spring. Many things are far better put into the freezer than preserved in any other way, particularly now when there is such a shortage of sugar, for one can do so much better in the deep freeze with less sugar.
“I have only just finished using up peaches which I put into deep freeze last summer.
“I can vouch for the fact that they made very good peach shortcake. The things however, which give me real joy are those which I have grown myself.
“I find that peas and beans, beets and carrots, put straight from the garden into the deep freeze, come out just like fresh vegetables.
“During these two or three weeks while I am away from Hyde Park [the town in eastern New York state where the Roosevelts had a house], everything possible is going into my deep freeze, since I cannot be home to eat part of it now.
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“I did drive up to Hyde Park late Saturday afternoon with three guests, and we enjoyed our country produce for dinner.”
Hats off to you, Mrs. Roosevelt! That’s the best plug the home freezer business has ever received from a figure in the public eye.
Inasmuch as her loyal following probably numbers up into millions, this free advertisement for the best method of preserving foods may create a whole flock of new converts to believe in the Age of Frozen Foods.
Only trouble is, the industry is in no position to follow it up. Hardly any of the major manufacturers are in production on frozen food cabinets. Shortages of steel, copper, motors, and condensing units are so severe that nothing much can be done about the situation.
Whatever quantities of these scarce items the manufacturers can manage to snare, they channel into the making of standard household refrigerators.
This time last year the major manufacturers were concerned about the probable influx of a horde of newcomers to the frozen foods cabinet manufacturing business. In their opinion, these newcomers might mess up things and “muddy the waters.”
It hasn’t worked out that way. Most of the freshmen have flunked out…[and] those who have managed to produce small quantities of home freezers actually have helped keep the business alive.
We’d like to hear from you again a year from now, Mrs. Roosevelt. Glad to have you on our side!
Publication date: 08/06/2001
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