Wayne County Wanderings: An Amazing Cookbook Connects the Generations
This is a story about two women and the powerful bond that connects them across a vast expanse of time.
The first is an old friend of mine … a classmate who left Honesdale many years ago to pursue her dreams.
The second is one of the most remarkable people I've ever had the pleasure to write about.
It's probably an understatement to say she was a woman ahead of her time because that doesn't even begin to do her justice.
What follows is a tale that began in 1852 and has continued right up to the present day.
It features success and failure, marriage and divorce, tragedy and triumph; an exciting journey with stops in Delaware, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York City, Santa Clara, San Jose, and of course Honesdale.
Put most simply though, it's really the story of a cookbook...
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Setting the Stage
Jennifer Mathis is the daughter of Kathy Treftz and Donald Mathis. Her stepfather is Bob Treftz, who taught at Wayne Highlands for many years.
Jen was born in East Stroudsburg. She attended primary and elementary school there and in Philadelphia before arriving on the scene at Damascus.
Jen graduated from HHS in the Spring of 1984, then headed out into the wide world to chase her dreams.
She moved to Pittsburgh and attended Chatham, graduating with a degree in English Literature.
Jen returned to Honesdale in 1988 and worked at The Wayne Independent for a year before the Big Apple called her name. She moved to New York City in 1990 and started down an exciting career path.
Over the course of the next few years, Jen worked as a retail bookseller and in publishing in both New York and Philadelphia.
It was during her time at Tower Books in Philly that she met Ross McAllister, the man with whom she was destined to spend the rest of her life. The couple was married in October of 1993 and moved to NYC full time shortly thereafter.
Jen’s professional life then veered in a different direction as she landed a position in the purchasing department at Avon.
It was during this period that cooking and baking began moving to the forefront. Jen's passion for the kitchen eventually earned her a scholarship to the prestigious Peter Kump New York Cooking School (now the Institute of Culinary Education).
Sadly, it wasn’t long after graduation that she learned several sobering lessons about the restaurant industry ... not the least of which is its dismal pay for those just starting out.
This regrettable reality drove Jen back to her previous workaday world, but also led to an experience that altered the trajectory of her life.
“In 2006 I was summoned for Grand Jury service,” she said. “It made such an impression on me that I decided to go to law school.”
Jen was accepted for enrollment at Santa Clara University School of Law. So, after much soul-searching, she and Ross packed up and moved all the way across the country.
She earned her Juris Doctor in 2011 and was admitted to the California Bar in 2012. Jen worked independently for the next three years before taking a position with a San Diego firm that specialized in disability rights. She’s now a Data Hosting Analyst for Lighthouse, an electronic discovery vendor.
Remarkably, this long and winding road finally led Jen right back to the beginning of her journey.
“After watching rents rise in California, we decided to move back to PA,” she said. “We found a house in McKees Rocks, so I'm now back in Pittsburgh, nearly 40 years after my first college visit!”
Jen's cross-country adventures could be a book unto themselves, but for our purposes we'll zoom in on just one aspect: Her love of cooking and baking.
After all, it's through this lens that “Grandmom Mackenzie” comes into focus...
Remarkable Woman
Alice Virginia Derr Clopper Mackenzie was born in Wilmington (DE) on March 8, 1868.
I hardly even know where to begin in telling the story of her life because it's genuinely amazing ... especially for the time in which she lived.
Alice Mackenzie’s family were Quakers, a grouping of Protestant denominations collectively known as the Religious Society of Friends. The Quakers were founded in England by George Fox during the mid-1600s and, among other things, were noted for an especially progressive attitude toward women.
In the context of our story, this makes perfect sense. Alice was a brilliant woman and passionate student, never content to just stay at home.
She married in 1891 and promptly started a family. However, she was also studying for a career in medicine at a time when female doctors were almost unheard of.
Alice attended the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania and did her clinical work at the Women’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Many of the details of Alice’s education have been lost in time, but she she eventually became an MD and surgeon specializing in ear, nose and throat procedures.
“I've been hearing Grandmom Mackenzie stories all my life,” Jen said. “She's kind of a legend. I never knew her; she died when my mother was six. But the stories she amassed were fascinating.”
Around the time that she established her practice at 2415 North College Avenue in Philadelphia, Alice's marriage ended in divorce. Her in-laws were staunch Methodists and she was told in no uncertain terms never to return to their church.
Not surprisingly, though, Alice powered her way through this difficult time. She grew her practice and re-married, this time to a fellow physician three years her junior. At the “advanced” age of 37 she gave birth to a son and never skipped a beat.
Alice's amazing life continued for many decades. She continued to practice medicine until finally retiring at the age of 77, then lived seven more years before passing away peacefully in 1953.
The Cookbook
While Alice Klopper Mackenzie has been gone for nearly 70 years, stories of her adventures still have the power to transfix.
Being a wife, mother, physician and surgeon at the turn of the 20th century was amazing in and of itself. However, the fact that Alice was also a talented baker and cook just lends another incredible layer to our story.
And so, when “Momerina” visited recently and presented her daughter with Alice's actual cookbook … well, let's just say it was an emotional moment.
“Grandmom Mackenzie was way ahead of her time,” Jen said. “She was smart as all get-out, and she left a fascinating book of recipes behind. I love culinary history, and the fact that I can hold this book in my hands is very humbling.”
The cookbook itself is a simple lined journal with yellowing pages and little stains that bear witness to so many decades in so many kitchens.
While Alice's handwriting predominates, there are other unidentified scripts as well, suggesting that friends and family members have contributed over the years too.
There are also dozens of printed recipes clipped from all manner of newspapers and magazines.
The first datable entry comes from 1852, a recipe for English Muffins. Alice not only described how to create them, but also shares how delicious they are.
“One quart of milk; two eggs; butter half the size of an egg; half a teaspoonful of saleratus; yeast sufficient to raise.
“Mix flour to form the consistence of butter, to stand a few hours until raised. Then bake on a griddle in the rings of the size of the top of a teacup, about an inch thick with both ends open. To be split and eaten hot with butter.
“The value of the above recipe we have proved to the demolition of many a stack of them.”
Jen is champing at the bit to try some of her great-great grandmother's kitchen creations for herself. She's particularly interested in two recipes for Danedelion Wine, one for pickled peaches, another for waffles, and several for jams and jellies.
My personal favorite is the recipe for chocolate icing that's written on a page torn from the good doctor's prescription pad.
Not surprisingly, Alice included more than a few home remedies to help out her patients. Among these are an Acid Phosphate for Sleep, Medicinal Lemonade, and a concoction for tender feet consisting of cold water, ammonia and bay rum.
“By the way, you don't drink it, you bathe your feet in it!” Jen quipped.
Across the Ages
Jen feels a strong connection to the remarkable woman she lovingly refers to as Grandmom Mackenzie.
The two share many traits, including a genuine love of learning and the culinary arts. And, although more than a century separates them, Jen believes her grandmother has a great deal to teach us today.
“I wonder what she would think of the world now,” Jen said. “What would she think of yet another generation learning from her?
“I have so many questions I wish I could ask her. How hard was it to set up an independent medical practice back then? Did you have support from family and friends when your first marriage ended?”
Not surprisingly, though, one of the most intriguing for Jen personally relates to the kitchen.
“If you could cook or bake something totally for yourself … not for a family meal or the holidays or anything except the sheer pleasure of feeding yourself … what would you make and why?”
For the moment, the McAllisters of McKees Rocks are focused on all the happy chaos that accompanies the holidays.
However, when things calm down a bit, Jen will be barricading herself in the kitchen with her beloved cookbook. She's also thinking seriously about documenting her culinary adventures.
“As I was calling out recipes, my husband said to me: 'Looks like you've found your next blogging project,'” Jen shared.
“He was being tongue-in-cheek, but he might just be on to something!”
All of us here at the Tri-County Independent are looking forward to that. We wish Jen the best of luck and thank her for sharing this amazing story.
Who knows? Maybe she'll even send us some of these tasty treats to try for ourselves!
This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Wayne County Wanderings Kevin Edwards cookbook connects generations
