New Castle Historical Society Announces New Program for Fall

Chappaqua, NY (September 25, 2020) – The New Castle Historical Society is launching a new virtual program Food for Thought: A Tasty Exploration of Food, History, Culture and Community. The program is intended to connect participants to the rich agricultural history of the area and examine the effect food has on our lives. Whether it’s through family recipes and traditions past down from generation to generation, a new or re-discovered passion for cooking or baking, supporting local farmers and locally sourced foods, or an interest in the food traditions of other cultures, food has the power to connect all of us. A series of online lectures and discussions will be curated throughout the fall and into the winter with historians and other individuals that will explore these and more fascinating food related topics. Programs specifically for children are currently in development.

Our first virtual program is scheduled for Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00 pm is “Cooking by the Book: Celebrity Chefs, Cookbookery, and the Changing Landscape of American Cuisine”. Food historian Sarah Wassberg Johnson will bring participants on a journey through America’s cuisine as told by cookbooks. Along the way we’ll meet celebrity chefs obscure and familiar from all over the country and across the decades. Spanning the late 18th century to the present, Wassberg Johnson discusses how cookbooks reflected and influenced changes in home cooking in the United States. The lecture will be via Zoom, registration information can be found at https://www.newcastlehs.org/events/.

Sarah Wassberg Johnson is The Food Historian – author, speaker, educator, podcaster, and blogger on all things related to food history. A frequent interviewee of journalists looking for historical context, she was featured in all three episodes of The History Channel mini-series, “The Food That Built America” and has been featured on NPR, the Atlantic, CNN, Atlas Obscura, and more. She has published in New York History journal and the Agricultural History journal and is currently finalizing edits on her book, “Preserve or Perish: Food in New York State during the Great War, 1916-1919,” under contract with SUNY Press.

For information on this or upcoming programs, contact Jennifer Plick, Executive Director at director@newcastlehs.org or 914-238-4666.

About New Castle Historical Society

The New Castle Historical Society was chartered to discover, preserve and communicate knowledge of the history of the Town of New Castle. The Horace Greeley House, the Greeley family’s country home from 1864-1872, is the headquarters for the Society’s programs, exhibits, and extensive research resources. The Museum Archives include books, photographs, costumes, maps, local diaries, and merchants’ records. Special collections include information about the Quakers. The Horace Greeley House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It provides a handsome example of 19th-century architecture as well as having historic significance as the former home of one of the town’s most celebrated residents. The house is situated on a hillside close to the center of town, where it has been a well-loved landmark for nearly 150 years. The New Castle Historical Society, chartered as a non-profit organization by New York State in 1966, actively pursues its mission to discover, preserve and disseminate the history of the Town of New Castle. Over 150 working volunteers, serving under the leadership of the Board of Trustees and an executive director, staff the Society’s programs. The NCHS maintains a particularly active partnership with local schools and provides programs and research opportunities for other groups and individuals of all ages. Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday 1-4 p.m. for public tours. Appointments may be made for other times and for group tours by calling the Museum at (914) 238-4666. The Museum Gift Shop will be open during posted hours. The Horace Greeley House is handicapped-accessible. The Museum grounds also include gardens with period plantings. 100 King Street, Chappaqua, NY 10514 www.newcastlehs.org