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Pies Are Party Fare
Appears in
Published 1965
Because pies were enjoyed so much, they became a part of neighborhood festivities from the start. Pie-eating contests were highlights at gatherings like county fairs. The Champion—the man who could eat the most pie—was the envy of his neighbors, many of whom secretly wished for a greater capacity for their pie favorites.
Young women, as recently as a generation ago, practiced to bake pretty pies of exceptional quality for pie-supper auctions in one-room country schoolhouses. They toted these pies in boxes they had covered with pastel colored tissue or crepe paper or wallpaper scraps and decorated with paper flowers made by their nimble and artistic fingers. The auctioneer was a clever fellow who used all the showman’s tricks. He hinted who baked the pie he held, removing the lid of the box just enough to give the tantalized young beaux a glimpse of the treat within.