Food

The Food Section of The Columbus Dispatch has been one of the most popular parts of the newspaper almost from its inception. Recipes – sometimes called receipts – appeared around 1873, usually as part of an ad for a recipe ingredient.

Holiday Cookies

Christmas cookies have been a major feature in the Dispatch as seen on this cover from 1946. This continued through the years with Food Editors calling for readers to send in their favorite cookie recipe. They were collected and published in the Food Section and in later years, released as a separate insert in the paper.

“School for Housewives” by Marion Harland

Marion Harland was the pen name used by Mary Virginia Hawes (later Terhune) from Virginia. She was the author of several books including Common Sense for the Household in 1871 and Secret of a Happy Home in 1896. Harland was the first name associated with advice for housewives with tips for cleaning, entertaining, menus and recipes in the Dispatch.

In 1905, Marion Harland’s “School for Housewives” page began in the Dispatch and reader interest piqued. In 1907, the annual “Pure Food Section” made its debut after Pure Food Laws were passed by the U.S. Government. Around 1917, the “Weekend Marketing Guide” provided menus, recipes, kitchen economics and suggestions for women. From 1921-25, the “Women’s Home and Magazine Page” ran stories about fashion trends, housekeeping advice, tips for entertaining and decorating, health and beauty and the occasional recipe.

Ella Mae Ives wrote the Dispatch Cook Book, published by the Dispatch in 1928. The book had over 2,000 recipes, plus menus, nutrition and calorie charts, essential equipment for the home kitchen, basic first aid and cooking techniques. Ives was the voice for the newspaper’s radio show on cooking and lived in Clintonville. The 1930s saw the newspaper page change to “Of Interest to Women”, again with cooking tips and recipes.

Rib Roast

The Sunday Dispatch Magazine premiered on October 7, 1945. It featured stories in color gravure from around Ohio – the first of its kind in the state. Dispatch Food Editor Marilyn R. Beckes developed this recipe in the basement kitchen at the Dispatch and it was the first of many to be featured weekly on Sundays.

By the 1940s, the Dispatch began featuring menus and recipes related to grocery ads in the paper. World War II brought rationing and cooks had to learn ways to stretch scarce products, especially meat. Featured products were canned meats, dry beans and peas, organ meats and eggs. Home canning was also encouraged to relieve pressure on commercial canning companies providing goods for the military.

Dispatch Food Kitchen

Pictured left to right: Mary Pegg, Dispatch Food Editor, unknown kitchen staff member and Lillian Hergesell, Assistant Food Editor in the Dispatch Kitchen located in the basement at 34 S. Third St. Here Food Editors and staff tested new recipes to feature in the paper.

Possibly the most popular feature in the Dispatch started on Feb. 16, 1956. “Cook’s Corner” was started by then Food Editor Barbara Myers and asked readers to send in their requests for long lost recipes or ones they remembered from their childhood. Readers would respond with the exact or similar recipes, sometimes with too many to print.

Cooking School Faculty

The Dispatch, along with the Ohio Fuel Company, hosted a multi-day Spring Cooking School, first at Memorial Hall and later at the RKO Palace Theater. In this photo, Virginia Hutchinson of the Dispatch, Shirley Nolan of the Ohio Fuel Company, Hulda Wells, Dispatch Food Consultant and Barbara Myers, Dispatch Food Editor, look over recipes to be used at the 21st Annual Spring Cooking School held in May 1954.

The most requested recipes were for Johnny Marzetti, Buckeyes, Broccoli Cheese Soup, Hot Artichoke Dip, Vegetable Pizza and Maramor Fudge Sauce. By 1981, the Food pages had grown so much that it became its own section. In 2007, WBNS-TV and the North Market created the Dispatch Kitchen. Located on the second floor of North Market, they built a state-ofthe- art kitchen studio to film cooking segments for Channel 10 featuring Food Editor Robin Davis plus many local and national chefs. Also in 2007, the Dispatch launched DispatchKitchen.com, a website that had many of the same articles and recipes as the Food Section in the paper. A favorite feature was the ability to search recipes going back 20 years from Cook’s Corner. The Food Section of the Dispatch has long set the trend and shown what families in central Ohio were preparing in their home kitchens.

Johnny Marzetti recipe

Possibly the most requested recipe at the Dispatch, Johnny Marzetti originated at the Marzetti Restaurant in Columbus in the 1920s and was named for the owner’s brother because he loved the dish so much. This recipe for Johnny Marzetti is from All-Time Favorite Recipes, one of many cookbooks published by the Dispatch.