Midwestern Newspaper Food Editors: Ruth Ellen Church/Clarice Rowlands/Peggy Daum
Caption: Chicago Tribune food editor Ruth Ellen Church
On May 17th, I will be talking about three food editors from my book, The Food Section, at the Chicago Foodways Roundtable.
This is the talk: Midwestern Newspaper Food Editors: Ruth Ellen Church/Clarice Rowlands/Peggy Daum
Here is the description:
This talk is the story of three significant Midwestern food editors from the 1950s and 1960s. Ruth Ellen Church joined the Chicago Tribune as cooking editor in 1936 and oversaw one of the first test kitchens at a newspaper. She published many cookbooks—several under the pen name of Mary Meade. She remained the food editor until 1974 and became the nation’s first newspaper wine editor in 1962. Clarice Rowlands joined the Milwaukee Journal as food editor in 1943 based on an interest she developed as a member of the 4-H Club in high school. She occasionally wrote under the pen name Alice Richards. Peggy Daum began working in the women’s pages in the 1950s and was the food editor at the Milwaukee Journal from 1968 to 1988. She initiated the creation of what is now known as the Association of Food Journalists and was its first president. These women documented what home cooks were making and what was served in fine restaurants. They judged cooking contests and oversaw recipe exchange programs. They also had a lot of fun.
