The Islands: Island Micellaneous Stuff

Island Micellaneous Stuff

This page is for stuff that I have and don't know where to put on the site yet. Plese note that information put on this page may eventually be moved as I make new headings or sections.

Recipes
From Maria Shurant:
My grandmother was Marie Payne and grew up on Wolfe Island at the turn of the century. She always made Spanish Rice and it was probably the first dish she taught me to make. We would usually put a mouthful on a slice of bread, bite it off, and keep eating it that way. As a kid, the first time I saw my first cousin also eat it on bread I was so surprised (this is my grandmother's sister's daughter)!! I remember thinking, "oh my gosh, the whole family must have made Spanish Rice!" So, is this just a Payne family specialty, or did everyone on Wolfe make this casserole?! Does anyone else make this dish today? I do! Here's a recipe:

I cook without measuring, so just eye the ingredients as you chop until it looks right to you.
1 pound ground beef
cooked rice (1 to 11/2 cups before cooking)
canned diced tomatoes (about45 oz)
chopped green peppers
chopped yellow onion
butter and bread crumbs

Brown beef. Remove meat from pan and slowly cook peppers and onion until soft. Mix meat, vegetables and rice in large cook pot. Add half the rice until the ratio of meat and rice is to your taste. Then add tomatoes little at a time until it looks juicy enough. Some will evaporate in the oven. Mix well, salt and pepper. My grandmother used to cook on the stove "until all the flavors mix together", then bake in oven. I skip the cooking stage and immediately pour casserole into a baking dish, dab with butter pats, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and bake at 350 until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Casserole should not be runny. Sometimes it's better as a leftover as the juice absorbs overnight! Enjoy.

From the webmaster: Thelma Moye
My mother & grandmother also made Spanish rice. My grandmother was Marjorie Halliday who was born & raised on Wolfe Island.
I still make it because it is a favorite. We never browned the meat but left it raw & I only half cook my rice.
If you want to cheat I sometimes use salsa instead of bell peppers, onions & tomatoes. Can be put on a soft taco shell with sour cream & we also put it on butter bread like a sandwich. It does get better the next day.
I wonder how many others make it. Let me know if you do.

Hitchcock Lamp

Robert Hitchcock -Inventor of Hitchcock Lamp Patented 26 Feb 1868. He was born 1832 the son of Archibald and Mary Polly Hinkcley of WOLFE ISLAND.
This lamp was know as a wind-up fan in the bottom to cut down on smoke. (www.historical-lighting.idirect.com) revealed that, "First produced in 1876, the Hitchcock Lamp Co. manufactured their mechanical lamps as table lamps, bracket lamps with reflector, and as hanging lamps. Made of pressed brass, it was originally nickel-plated. The wide, ornate stem houses the motor mechanism. A clock-work spring mechanism drives a horizontally mounted fan, drawing air up from the base, through the stem and upward between the font and font casing to the burner. Encased with a draft deflector, the burner is able to produce a flame without the need of a chimney. Wound from the bottom of the base, this mechanism can run for approximately ten to fourteen hours." The web site goes on to observe that, "Not widely accepted because of its manufacturing cost, it was however, to be recognized later on in North America and abroad, as being one of the most commonly renowned of all mechanical lamps. Its usefulness did prove successful in both the commercial and industrial markets. Period of production: 1876-1905."
(Above photos- 1st from Thelma Moye. 2nd Not exactly "center"-draft, the chimneyless Hitchcock-lamp has a fan to force air up to the burner. From http://members.aol.com/lumiara/en/keroen.htm, 3rd http://www.honorstudentlamps.com/jn3-18.htm Signed on wick adjusting knob: Hitchcock Improved Signed on top of fan motor: The New Improved Hitchcock Lamp-Robert Hitchcock--Pat`d.July 20, 1886--Dec.17, 1895--Feb.28,99. Watertown, NY.--Made in the United States of America Height 12-1/2" Width 5-1/4"

How Gender Influences Work on Wolfe Island-an Essay
This contains some neat info about jobs
on the island from 1851-1901.

Occupations on Wolfe Island-An Early History

1954-First Hydro on Garrah farm on Howe Island
It's amazing that 3 pieces of paper were created to make the hydro hookup possible. Memo, Contract printed on front and back and Canada Post Card (.02Cent Stamp)with instructions on the back for completion with two examples of meters that would have been installed on the premises of the owner of the property.
Submitted by Wilf Garrah
Memo
Application
Rates
Reply-front
Reply-back

Something Fun
From Peter Rogers...

A Genealogy Game

How fast can you name the relationship to you?

1. Father's brother's uncle's sister?
2. Grandmother's nephew's daughter?
3. Aunt's mother's father's wife?
4. Mother's aunt's grandson?
5. Brother's son's sister's mother?
6. Cousin's aunt's daughter's brother's?
7. Sister-in-law's father-in-law's grandson?
8. Sister's father's stepson's mother?
9. Uncle's father's only grandchild?
10. Brother-in-law's wife's grandmother's husband?
11. Uncle's father's mother's husband?
12. Aunt's mother's granddaughter's only sibling?
13. Granddaughter's brother's mother's mother-in-law?
14. Niece's father's only brother?
15. Aunt's husband's sister's daughter?

The Islands: Island Micellaneous Stuff