National Bellas Hess presents their 1963 Diamond Jubilee Sale. National Bellas Hess was a mail order distributor and seller of wide variety of items including clothing, luggage and various office supplies. Many of these would dresses be popular now with a few alterations.
It’s time for the 5th batch of recipes featured on matchbooks advertising Hunt’s Tomato Sauce. (Volume 1 – Volume 2 – Volume 3 – Volume 4). This batch includes two different version of Sweet & Sour Pork, Steak and Potato Rolls and a very 1963-style recipe called Stuffed Cabbage Rolls.
Sweet-Sour Pork (1963)
3 lb. pork, cut in bite-sized pieces
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup pineapple tidbits and juice
3 – 8-oz cans Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
Lightly brown pork in large skillet. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer 45 minutes.
Steak and Potato Supper (1960)
1 1/2 lbs. round steak, cut into serving-size pieces
1/3 cup flour
2 Tbsp. Wesson, pure vegetable oil
4-6 small potatoes, peeled or 2 to 3 larger potatoes, cut in half.
1 small onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/8 Tsp. Pepper
2 8-oz cans Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
Dredge steak in flour. Brown well on both sides in hot Wesson. Place meat in a 1 1/2 quart casserole. Pour off excess fat. Scrape up browned dippings left in pan and add to meat. Arrange potatoes with meat. Sprinkle onion, parsley, salt and pepper over all and add Hunt’s Tomato Sauce. Cove and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Makes 4 generous servings.
Steak and Potato Supper (1963)
1 1/2 lbs. round steak, cut into serving pieces
1/3 cup flour
2 Tbsp. Wesson, pure vegetable oil
3 medium potatoes, pared and quartered
1 small onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/8 Tsp. Pepper
1/2 cup water
2 8-oz cans Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
Dredge steak with flour. Brown well on both sides in hot Wesson. Add remaining ingredients. Cover, simmer 1 1/2 hrs, or until done. Makes 4 servings.
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (1963)
12 large cabbage leaves
1 1/4 lb. ground beef
2 tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Pepper
1 cup cooked rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning or thyme
2 Tbs. Wesson
2 8-oz. cans Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice or Vinegar
1/4 cup water
Cover cabbage leaves with boiling water and let stand for 5 minutes or until limp; drain. Combine next 7 ingredients. Place equal portions of meat mixture in center of each leaf. Fold sides of each leaf over meat; roll up and fasten with toothpicks or string. Brown in hot Wesson in very large skillet. Pour in Hunt’s Tomato Sauce. Combine sugar, lemon juice and water. Stir in tomato sauce. Simmer covered, one hour, basting occasionally. Makes 6 servings.
Welcome back to the fourth installment of Hunt’s Tomatoes recipes features on matchbooks from the late 1950s/early 1960s.
This first recipe for something called Tomato Luncheon Quickie sounds like an abomination that some canned lunch meat scientist concocted in a lab under a bridge. The other recipe(s) is for a staple of early 1960s meat consumption, Swiss Steak.
TOMATO LUNCHEON QUICKIE (1960)
1 – 12oz. can of luncheon meat
1 – 8oz. can Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
1 cup cooked mixed vegetables
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup grated American Cheese
Cut the luncheon meat in 8 slices, length wise. Place in a shallow baking dish. Blend Hunt’s Tomato Sauce with vegetables and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over meat. Sprinkle in moderately hot oven (350 F) until hheated through, about 15 minutes. Makes 4 servings.
SWISS STEAK (1960)
1 1/2 lbs. of chuck steak, 1 inch thick
2 Tbs. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 onion, sliced
3 tbs. Wesson, pure vegetable oil
1 – 8-oz can Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
1 cup water
1 cup frozen or canned peas.
Cut steak into four pieces. Mix flour, salt and pepper. Pound into steak with edge of plate. Cook onion in hot Wesson until Golden. Push to side of pan. Brown meat slowly on both sides; cover with onions. Add Hunt’s Tomato Sauce and water; blend. Heat until bubbling well. Cover tightly, lower heat and simmer 2 hours or more, until meat is very tender. Add peas 10-15 minutes before serving. Serves 4.
SWISS STEAK (1963)
1 1/2 lbs. of chuck steak, 1 inch thick
2 Tbs. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 onion, sliced
3 tbs. Wesson, pure vegetable oil
1 – 8-oz can Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
1 cup water
1 cup cooked peas.
Cut steak into four pieces. Mix flour, salt and pepper, pound into steak with edge of plate. Cook onion in hot Wesson until Golden, in large skillet that has a tight lid; push to one side. Brown meat slowly on both sides over low heat; cover with onions. Stir in Hunt’s Tomato Sauce and water; heat until bubbling. Cover, simmer 2 hours or until meat is tender. Add peas 15 minutes before serving. Serves 4.
The third installment of the Hunt’s Tomatoes Matchbook Recipe series featured a Tomato Soup and tossed spaghetti. Both recipes reek of 60s blandness but who knows, maybe they’re good?
2 Tbsp. Wesson, pure Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 diced carrot
1/4 diced celery
2 8-oz. cans Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
1/2 tsp. whole pepper
1/8 tsp. thyme
2 springs parsley
3 cups beef stock or bouillon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Cook onion, carrot and celery in oil 5 minutes. Add Hunt’s Tomato Sauce, seasonings and parsley. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Strain and add beef stock, salt and pepper. Heat together. Makes 4 servings.
1/2 lb. spaghetti
1/4 cup Wesson, pure vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup grated American or cheddar cheese
2 8-oz cans Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
1/2 lb. link sausages, cooked and cut in inch-long pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion sauted in sausage drippings
Cook spaghetti and drain well. Add Wesson, seasonings, cheese, pieces of sausage and onion. Now pour in Hunt’s Tomato Sauce and toss thoroughly. Heat on top of range or in moderate oven (375 degrees) about 15 minutes. Makes 4 servings.
Variations: For sausage, you may substitute – 6 strips bacon; 1 cup cooked, drained shrimp, tuna, or clams; or 1/2 cup (4-oz can) sliced mushrooms.
I recently obtained more than 100 Hunt’s Tomato Sauce recipe matchbooks from 1957-1963. I thought it’d be fun to share the images and the recipes over a series of posts. I haven’t had the audacity to try any of these recipes, but if/when I do I will post the results
3 to 3 1/2 chuck roast
Meat tenderizer*
1 8-0z can Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup French Dressing
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Sprinkle roast with tenderizer according to package directions. Combine Hunt’s Tomato Sauce, French dressing and garlic powder. Pour over meat and marinate several hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Grill over hot coals to desired doneness. Makes 5 to 6 servings.
*If instant tenderizer is used, add just before cooking, following package directions.
Hunt’s Tomato Sauce is so easy to use! Just cook it into stews, soups, spaghetti, rice, meat loaf, eggs, fish, vegetables, gravies. Perfect for leftovers.
2 lbs. veal for stew, cubed
4 tbs. Wesson, pure vegetable oil
1 cup finely sliced celery
1 large onion, sliced
2 8-0z cans Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1 8-oz. pkg. noodles, cooked
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
Brown veal in Wesson. Add celery and onion and cook until tender. Blend together Hunt’s Tomato Sauce, water, sugar, paprika and salt. Pour over meat. Cover and simmer 2 hours, or until the veal is tender. Lightly toss the hot cooked noodles with parsley. Arrange on a platter. Pour goulash over noodles. Makes 6 servings.
The Akron Beacon-Journal – November 23, 1963
WHAT: Nursing home fire
WHEN: November 23, 1963 approx. 4:50am
WHERE: Norwalk, Ohio
CASUALTIES: 63 dead, over 25 injured
Largely forgotten due to the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy the previous day, The Golden Age Nursing Home fire is considered the second worse nursing home fire ( in the history of the country with 63 dead and over 25 injured.
The Daily Times – November 23, 1963
The fire was caused by an electrical short in the upper attic around 5:00 a.m. and spread incredibly quickly. The nursing home, which had previously been home to a toy factory, went up in flames very rapidly. The telephone system failed when the fire broke out and the building did not have an alarm. A young man happened to notice the fire as he was passing by, and called the fire department.
Within minutes nearly all of the fire departments in the Norwalk area arrived shortly after 5:15am and by then it was too late. The flame, fueled by fierce winds, had already caused the tar-covered roof to boil and fall in to the building, preventing firefighters from getting to the unknown number of people still inside.
Breakfast was starting to be served when a man came to the front door to tell everyone that the nursing home was on fire. There was still time to get people out but some of the elderly denizens seemed to get confused by the news and didn’t move. According to news report at the time “many of the patients were real bad mental cases and could not comprehend their own danger.” By the time the fire was over 63 people would be pronounced dead.
The Akron Beacon-Journal – November 24, 1963
However, it wasn’t just confusion that lead to the high death count. Glass blocks made a window escape impossible.Several of the seniors perished because they were restrained to their beds and no one had a chance to release them before the fire swept through the building.
24 seniors and 3 staff members were able to escape the rapidly moving flames. But when the fire was finally extinguished, firefighters were horrified at the sight. Twisted metal bed frames containing charred remains seem to be everywhere.
The Akron Beacon-Journal – November 24, 1963
After a few days, more than 20 bodies remained unclaimed. Some had no family and some families never came to claim their parent or loved one. Rather than bury them all straight in to the ground, caskets were ordered, temporarily delaying the funerals for everyone due to a casket shortage.
The Akron Beacon-Journal – November 30, 1963
On November 29th, 21 unclaimed people were buried in a mass, 60-foot grave in Woodlawn Cemetery in Norwalk. A 22nd body, of John Rook, a veteran of World War I was buried in a separate grave on the same day.
An event such as this usually dominates the headlines across the nation. The Golden Age Nursing Home fire was the deadliest fire in the United States in 5 years and would have horrified the country, but it was never the biggest story at the time and seemed to be an afterthought to the Kennedy assassination and the rush to charge Lee Harvey Oswald with the murder.
The fire did lead to sweeping changes in nursing home fire safety and treatment of seniors in these facilities.
President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed at 12:30pm Central time on Friday, November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. The event shocked and horrified the nation and the world. Companies looking to make money, commercialized the tragedy and quickly rushed out postcards and mementos from that fateful day.
This series of postcards from an unknown publisher is a perfect example of a company in a rush to get items out regardless of quality. These postcards were printed from somebody’s personal photos and made in to a pack of 12 and sold within a few weeks of the tragedy. There is no publisher listed on the cards.
No. 1, Arrival of President’s Escort Plane at Love Field, Dallas, Texas
No. 2. Presidential and Escort Plane at Dallas’ Love Field Landed shortly after this pictures was taken
No. 3, President John F. Kennedy and party leaving airplane at Love Field. (Mrs Kennedy – pink hat)
No. 4, President John F. Kennedy and Party in foreground at Dallas’ Love Field
No. 5, Vice-President Johnson, Governor Connally, Mrs. Kennedy (pink hat), other members of party at Dallas Love Field
No. 6, Vice-President Johnson, Governor John Connally, Presidential Party and Newspaper Men, Love Field, Dallas
No. 7, Forming of Presidential Parade, Love Field, Dallas.
No. 8, After Assassination, TV Unit arrives at Parkland Hospital in Dallas
No. 9, Blood Bank Unit at Parkland Hospital on fatal day, Dallas, Texas
No. 10, Hearse carrying President John F. Kennedy’s body and Mrs. Kennedy from Parkland Hospital back to airplane at Love Field, Dallas.
No. 11. Presidential plane awaiting President Kennedy’s body, Vice-President John and Mrs. Kennedy, for return to Washington, D.C. (Note Presidential seal)
No. 12. Texas School Book Depository building from which authorities believe fatal shots were fired. (Note second window down on right corner of building.)
This is a Cadillac catalog/brochure featuring their entire 1963 line of automobiles.
I am not very up on cars, so I will just let the catalog tell the story of these cars for me.
In honor of today being Election Day in the United States, I thought I would share a strange piece of political ephemera from 1964.
This is the LBJ Coloring Book. The coloring book was published in 1964 by Gem Publishing and was written by Norman Miller and Illustrated by Cal Massey. This coloring book is told from the perspective of Her, one of the Johnson’s dogs.
In 1964, Lyndon Baines Johnson was running for President of the United States. He had been President for less than a year by the time this book came out (after the assassination of John Kennedy), and had enough skeletons out of the closet that Norman Miller and the (presumed) Republicans created this coloring book so you could see and color them all.
Page 1: This is a reference to this rather infamous picture of Johnson holding Him up by the ears.
Page 2: A reference to how LBJ treated the dogs in the media after the Him picture caused a stir.
Page 3 – Lady Bird Johnson
Page 4 – LBJ’s daughter Luci Baines Johnson being portrayed as an “ordinary kid.”
Page 5 – Johnson was known for working very long hours and hated to be disturbed.
The key to each page: 3. Lady Bird Johnson 4.
Page 6 – A reference to Johnson going around the White House turning off lights because he claimed he didn’t want to “waste the taxpayers’ money.”
Page 7 – The donkey is the mascot of the Democratic Party.
Page 8 – The elephant is the mascot of the Republican Party.
Page 9 – Johnson had a proclivity for drinking and driving. He also had Secret Service refill his drink out the window when he was tooling around in his white convertible.
Page 10 – Presidential glad-handing and back-slapping.
Page 11 – Johnson was well known for having very long and rather tedious press conferences.
Page 12 – A reference to Lady Bird Johnson’s past owning television station KTBC. The TV station helped make the Johnsons rich and was the subject of a lot of graft discussion.
Page 13 – The airplane referenced here is Air Force 1 1/2, a jet that Johnson liked to use during his presidency.
Page 14 – Johnson had a fondness for wearing cowboys hat and drinking. His preferred drink was Scotch and Soda.
Page 15 – A reference to Secretary of State Dean Rusk who served under both John F. Kennedy and Johnson.
Page 16 – Press Secretary George Reedy.
Page 17 – Johnson, ever the fascinating subject, had numerous books, both for and against, written about him.
Page 18 – A reference to Johnson’s opposition to an Anti-Drunk-Driving Bill. It took over 10 days for him to ultimately sign the bill in to law.
Page 19 – Bobby Bake was the former political adviser of LBJ and Senate Secretary to the Majority Leader. In 1963, Baker was investigated for allegations of bribery using money allocated by Congress and arranging sexual favors in exchange for votes and government contract. He eventually resigned.
Page 20 – A reference to the rather poor living conditions of the workers who lived on LBJ’s Ranch. During the Johnson administration, the ranch was known as the “Texas White House” because the President spent approximately twenty percent of his time there. LBJ died on the ranch in 1973.
Page 21 – LBJ said that he didn’t “get” Shakespeare
The last page bookends the first page.
