Mary Meade
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Archival Material About Ruth Ellen Church
I was researching cookbooks and food editors when I came across the promotional material for two of Ruth Ellen Church’s cookbooks (including the one above) at the Lilly Library located at Indiana University. Here is a link to the finding aid. I just placed an order for the copies. Ruth Ellen Church (who often wrote under the byline Mary Meade) was the longtime food editor at the Chicago Tribune. She is known for being the first wine editor at a newspaper.
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Chicago Tribune Beauty Editor Eleanor Nagle
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Newspaper Cookbooks: Day 5
Chicago Tribune food editor Ruth Ellen Church (who often wrote used the byline Mary Meade) wrote numerous cookbooks during her 38 years at the newspaper. They reflect changes in gender roles, technology and trends in food. These were the ones that the New York Times mentioned in her obituary: “The Indispensable Guide for the Modern Cook” (1955), “The Burger Cookbook” (1967), “Entertaining With Wine” (1970) and “Mary Meade’s Sausage Cookbook” (1967). I like her Blender Cookbook and her cookbook about pancakes.
- Alice Richards, food journalism, Marian Manners, Mary Cullen, Mary Meade, Prudence Penny, Ruth Ellen Church
Food Writers & Pen Names
Several of the newspaper food writers in the women’s pages of newspapers used pen names such as Ruth Ellen Church (pictured above from when she was home economics journalism student at Iowa State University) who wrote under the byline of Mary Meade during her long career at the Chicago Tribune. This link shows that it was Virginia Harms who wrote under the byline of Alice Richards at the Milwaukee Journal. Here is a story about the use of two pen names at Los Angeles newspapers: Prudence Penney and Marian Manners. Mary Cullen was a food writing pen name in the Northwest. I am continuing to research this food writing trend…
