After my blog on Daisy McIntire Vickers, several of her descendants responded. As you may remember, Daisy was raised in Arkansas and a sister to my great-grandfather, Thomas Hendrix McIntire. Daisy had nine sons with eight living to adulthood. She was a young widow, raising the youngest sons on her own.
In her book, Pauline Mitchell Pierce Via mentioned Daisy’s jam cake and fruit salad recipes. Of course, I asked if anyone had the recipes. My newly found Vickers cousins certainly came through.
Here’s the Jam Cake recipe in Daisy’s own handwriting, dated 1955 on the back.
For those of you who need modern instructions for the cake, here is the recipe updated by one of Daisy’s descendants.
And here is a picture of the cake, made with boisenberry jam. While the recipe says to put batter into 3 cake pans, the recipe made two layers for the cake below, so you might want to adjust the ingredients if you want a tall three layer cake. Looks pretty yummy doesn’t it.
Grandma Daisy Vickers’ Christmas Fruit Salad
In equal amounts:
- Apples, peeled, cored and cubed.
- Oranges, peeled, separated, seeded. Cut each segment in thirds if a large orange – or half if smaller.
- Grapes (Grandma always used the large seeded ones – we had to cut in half and remove the seeds.)
16 oz can of cherries (I seem to remember they were red – but I don’t remember if sweetened or unsweetened – I think either would be OK – it would affect amount of sugar needed is all).
16 oz can of pineapple. Drain juice and reserve.
Add sugar and reserved pineapple juice. (Don’t add a big amount of sugar. Taste in a few hours, add more if needed.) The sugar draws the juice from the other fruit to mingle with the cherry and pineapple juice.
Cover tightly (a jar or jug with a lid is ideal). Refrigerate, at least overnight. When grandma had her assembly line going at our house, we didn’t have a refrigerator so we made it Christmas Eve and ate it on Christmas Day. It is good for 2 or 3 days if refrigerated.
When ready to serve, add sliced banana (only in what is to be served at that meal).
While these were recipes for intended for Christmas, with Easter coming up, how about including one or both of these recipes in your Easter Sunday meal? If you do, put pictures of Facebook and tell us what kind of jelly you used in the cake.
Remember this picture from the earlier blog – Daisy McIntire Vickers. Here is a better copy provided by a Vickers family member.
Information on the picture states this is the William & Daisy Vickers family with all of their children, with the other couple Thomas Elihue Vickers and Clare Mae Wade Vickers. My best guess based on size compared to ages from the 1930 census is starting from the three standing in the back – Wymond, Bordon, Richard. Then Elihue with his wife Clara, Forest, Jennings – standing just behind Ford, Ford, Ralph, Daisy and William. This picture probably taken around 1930.
The next picture was taken 60 years later, on the occasion of Clara Wade Vickers Brady’s 80th birthday. Clara is sitting front and center with the corsage surrounded by all her descendants. These are the descendants from just Elihue and Clara. No wonder Daisy’s post has been my most viewed blog post!
Below, one final picture of Daisy McIntire Vicker’s in her later years, still with a beautiful smile, high cheek bones and the white, white hair still seen in many of the McIntire family lines.
Written for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge at No Story Too Small.
Copyright © 2014 Andrea Musgrove Perisho