Wilmington, Delaware's Big Quarterly Part 1
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
I have been going through WPA food records from the Great Depression era found in the archives of the Library of Congress in Washington DC. Today were launching a series based on from Records from Delaware in a folder titled America Eats Notes, Reports, and Essays. I have attempted to produce the content in a paraphrased format when necessary to make them legible and indirect quotes as often as possible. The focus of the series is providing chamber of commerce and entrepreneurs with Summer event and business ideals from the past. In August historically the most enthusiastically attended African-American event in the state of Delaware had been Big Quarterly a celebration held in the city of Wilmington. It attracted attendees from as far away as Georgia, West Virginia, and New York. It had been a day of intense religious fervor, mixed with feasting on foods prepared by some of the best African-American cooks in the state, and took on a street fair like atmosphere the city officials closing off roads in order to maximize pedestrian traffic in downtown Wilmington. To learn more about the history of food during the Great Depression era read the book about WPA writer Zora Neale Hurston which includes historical recipes.
