DeKalb County History Center
1730 N Main Street | Sycamore, IL 60178
Saturday, July 13, 2024 at 1 PM Central

Highly recommended:
Church Supper at Kingston United Methodist Church 121 1st St | Kingston, IL 60145
Dinner will feature chicken dinner plus homemade pie! 

Saturday, July 12, 2025 at 5 PM Central Time
Cost: $20 including admission and supper

The food on the American table may not define exactly what we are as a nation, but the traditions surrounding our foods speak volumes about who we are. Rooted in centuries of borrowing and sharing, food traditions are staggeringly diverse and constantly evolving. The intersection of cultures in America is perhaps the most important factor in the mix that is America’s food. Continue reading →

FREE Workshop: Preserving your Family recipes. When you dip your madeleine in your Proustian tea, make it more than a memory. This workshop, in partnership with Society life member the First Bank of Highland Park, will provide the tools to preserve your family’s culinary history whether the original format is digital, oral or on a file card! Limited seating, please reserve. Continue reading →

Cynthia Clampitt

The history of the Midwest is remarkable for many reasons, not least of which is the diversity of its population, and therefore of its regional cuisine. Everyone contributed to what was developing,  from the Ojibwe harvesting wild rice in Minnesota to Belgian hoteliers in Chicago inventing new dishes. There were Cornish miners in Michigan, Bohemians in Nebraska. Swiss farmers in Wisconsin, Chinese in Missouri, Germans in Ohio, and so many more. Foods found here married with introductions. Traditions of dozens of nations mixed and evolved and added to the richness of a region that became famed for the abundance of food it provides, but that is sometimes hard to define because of its variety.  Continue reading →

Presented by Catherine Lambrecht (Image by Catherine Lambrecht, too!)

Podcast

Pies are as American as pizza is American: we took a great idea, adapted it to our needs and ran with it. Our ancestors used what they had available locally and made the most from it. You might be thinking that pies are just for dessert, but for our American ancestors, they were often considered survival food. Sometimes, they ate pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner for months at a time. Continue reading →