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NEWS&VIEWS by Jacqueline Bennett

Posts from the “American culture” Category

History of Valentine’s Day Romantic & Courageous

Posted on February 14, 2016

Write-Up & Photo by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   Who would have thought the history of Valentine’s Day is rooted in both romance and courage?   Sweethearts will enjoy candlelight dinners this evening, while friends and loved ones exchange candy, flowers and cards throughout the day. In fact, the Greeting Card Association estimates that in America alone some 145 million Valentine’s Day cards, not figuring in classroom Valentines, are sent annually. Although there is more than one explanation as to how it all began, an especially heartwarming tale points to a priest named Valentine who centuries ago, on behalf of young lovers, stood up to what he considered an unjust decree from 3RD Century Roman Emperor Claudius II.   This legend, notes HISTORY.COM, goes that…

Categories: American culture, Holiday Traditions, Holidays, Romance & Courage, Single Soldiers Shall Not Marry, St. Valentine, Young Love

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Deci’s Drive-In – Gone But Not Forgotten

Posted on August 4, 2015

By Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   Just a few weeks ago, my nephew Mike, my sisters and I were reminiscing about Deci’s. Once a drive-in restaurant in Manchester, Connecticut, it was one of my father’s favorite places. I was so young when I first started going to Deci’s Drive-In that my father used to carry me inside with him. Located at 463 Center Street, I’m sure Dad discovered Deci’s – which was a about a half way point from our home to the east – on his way to work in downtown Hartford. On his days off, he sometimes brought my mother, my sister Candy and me there, as well as, Mike and his younger brother Johnny and my niece Debbie. In talking about our…

Categories: American culture, Hotdog Stands, New England Drive-In Restaurants

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Fresh from the Root Seller/Comte Family Farm in Nottingham, New Hampshire

Posted on July 29, 2015

  Article by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com Photos Courtesy of the Comte Family      Vegetables fresh from the Root Seller/Comte Family Farm in Nottingham, New Hampshire are clearly a taste buds delight. Folks travel to farmers markets – stretching from the New England seacoast and inland – just to get them.   “Busy, busy, busy,” that’s the word from family members about this year’s growing season.   Maple syrup production dominates the late winter and early spring here, but come planting season the Comte Family – Dan, his wife Susan and their three sons, Tyler, Andrew and Anthony – are hard at work with the fields. Potatoes, peas, carrots, radishes and a variety of beans – “naturally grown without chemical fertilizers or synthetic pesticides”,…

Categories: American culture, Chemical free fertilized vegetables, family farms, New England Farmers Market, Non synthetic pesticide produce

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Mom’s Recipe Box: Donna’s Apple Crumb Pie Commemorates Family Series First Anniversary

Posted on July 4, 2015

                A year ago the Mom’s Recipe Box Family Series kicked off with a patriotic beginning on one of my mother’s favorite holidays – Fourth of July. It began with a recipe from my niece Donna, whose son is serving in the U.S. Marines. In commemoration of the 1st anniversary of the series which ran for seven months and featured family members adding to my mother’s collection of recipes, I asked Donna to share another of her recipes. She came up with the perfect one to honor America’s Independence Day, after all – what’s more American than apple pie. – JB           Donna’s Apple Crumb Pie   1 ready-fold refrigerated pie crust Crumb…

Categories: American culture, American Independence Day, Family, Food, Happy 4th of July, NEWS, Recipes

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Should Major League Baseball Reduce Number of Regular Season Games? Don’t Count Red Sox Out?

Posted on June 13, 2015

By Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   Should Major League Baseball reduce the number of regular season games? Don’t count the Red Sox out?   The first query was a poll question posed last night on the New England Sports Network coverage of the Boston Red Sox/Toronto Blue Jays match-up that took a pitiful turn for Sox fans such as myself. As I sat watching the game on the television screen and wishing I was at Fenway Park to enjoy an evening prelude to summer, the BoSox went from a strong lead to a 13-10 loss. YIKES! Another of this season’s aptly described “free falls”.   During the broadcast an interactive poll was put forth about MLB season length. On the one hand, it was noted,…

Categories: American culture, Baseball, Boston Red Sox, Major League Baseball

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Mom’s Recipe Box: Hamburg Dressing – the Crowning Glory of My Mother’s Holiday Recipes, Plus New England Pumpkin Pie & Cinnamon Sugar Treats

Posted on December 19, 2014

            Hamburg Dressing – the Crowning Glory of My Mother’s Holiday Recipes   For me, and I would dare say all of us who grew up enjoying it, the aroma and taste of my mother’s hamburg dressing is quite simply the aroma and taste of Christmas and the holiday season. Assuming it was safely in Mom’s recipe box, the first Christmas after her passing in 2010 I went in search of her hamburg dressing recipe. It was nowhere to be found – leaving those of us who loved it so, to try and recreate the formula. Each of us could vividly recall Mom/Nana standing vigilant by the stove with her black, iron skillet – which had belonged to her mother…

Categories: American culture, Cooking, Family, Food, Holiday family recipes, Holiday Traditions, Holidays, NEWS, Recipes

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Someone Else’s Pain – The Loss of Robin Williams

Posted on August 13, 2014

Commentary by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   When NBC’s Brian Williams broke into regular programming Monday night with a news bulletin I braced myself to hear about another horrific incident in the Middle East conflict. Instead, as the rest of the nation, I was stunned to learn that beloved Academy Award winning actor, and comedian Robin Williams was dead at age 63. From the beginning the sadness in Brian Williams’ announcement indicated there was more to the story. And, in a broadcast press conference yesterday the local sheriff’s office announced Williams had been found in his California home presumably having hung himself. He leaves a wife and three children. A cultural icon, he also leaves fans worldwide to mourn the loss. Like most of America,…

Categories: American culture, Celebrities, Character, comedy, Cultural icons, Robin Williams

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Fourth of July Kickoff for Mom’s Recipe Box Series on newsandviewsjb

Posted on July 1, 2014

Look for a new series to kick off on newsandviewsjb – Mom’s Recipe Box. My mother collected recipes and I want to continue adding to her collection. I invited family members to send me their favorite recipes. These are recipes with special meaning or ones the cook is known for making – some may be original but that is not a requirement. American Independence Day was a holiday that my mother especially enjoyed. She loved America – two of her brothers served during WWII.  She loved parades, fireworks and those traditional pot luck family picnics where everyone brought a dish. With that in mind, Mom’s Recipe Box Series will launch on a patriotic note this Friday – the Fourth of July. Then watch for a recipe to be…

Categories: American culture, American Way of Life, Baking, Cooking, Food, NEWS, Recipes

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