Events and Activities : From the Wishmore to You at the Library

Authors Ruth Anne Abel Schneck and Janice Abel, will be speaking at Hawkins Memorial Library on Wednesday, April 3, at 6 PM. The Abel sisters will share from their books From the Wishmore to You and its newer companion book From The Wishmore to You Cookbook

The Wishmore book is about sisters growing up in a main street café, The Wishmore, in La Porte City, during the 1940’s. Using an exchange of letters and dialogue, the sisters recreate typical scenes from the café and Main Street of the ‘40’s. The Abel sister’s letter exchanges combined with their father’s photography offer a creative and effective presentation of family and local history. The book is a model that will encourage other families to document everyday life events, places, persons and stories.

It started with popcorn. In 1920, while recuperating from an inflammatory bone marrow disease, teen-ager, George Abel started thinking about his future. He decided to open a popcorn stand on Main Street. It was at that stand in 1928 that he first gazed into the brown eyes of Faye Burrows. After a courtship of four years George and Faye were married in 1932.

From popcorn to sandwiches to homemade pies and catered dinners, the Wishmore was a Main Street fixture for 40 years. The café was originally named after a brand of spices used to mix with hamburger. Over the years, “Wishmore” came to mean “with all wishes and more”. The café was a place where people congregated before or after movies, after church, or anytime to swap stories, discuss events, and make friends.

From the Wishmore to You will freshen memories of the WW2 era with all the flavor of patriotism, big band music, childhood playtimes and school enthusiasm. It will only take a sentence or two to spark memories for folks of the ‘40’s generation or tell a story to today’s families of a time past here in your town. You can relive some of these stories written about on the pages of the Wishmore as you walk down La Porte City’s main street or read with wide-eyed enjoyment the pages of the Abel sister’s story.

The Wishmore Cookbook, the companion book to From the Wishmore to You,contains 200 pages of recipes from appetizers, baked goods, main dishes, to desserts and snacks. The recipes are from Faye Abel’s recipe file, as well as, from friends and family.

The cookbook is sprinkled with many historical tidbits about the development of the café, city events and sample menus—meals for $1.35 or less! This cookbook is another good historical document from La Porte City’s past.

From the Wishmore to You and From The Wishmore to You Cookbook will be available at the library for purchase and signing by the authors on April 3. Additionally, samples of recipes from the cookbook will be served for attendees to enjoy. The book From the Wishmore to You has been published in both hardcover and paperback. Proceeds from the sale of these books will be donated to the library. Please join us for an enjoyable evening of fun and history at Hawkins Memorial Library.