Anna Louise Harner's favorite recipe was featured in the "Her Favorite Recipe" feature of the Wilmington News-Journal, possibly in spring 1967. Other favorite recipes previously posted in the NV Memories Blog include: Ralph Cornelius (1962), Donna Cornelius (1961), Dorothy Daye (1963), Betty Gano (1961) and Melba Fawley (1970). Transcription of clipping follows.
c1967 Anna Louise Harner Favorite Recipe
Captioned: PACKING THE CARAMELS – Mrs. Harner has the excellent idea of packing the caramel's she makes for gifts in reusable containers. Of course they're ideal Christmas giving and the boxes, as she says, "add to the giving."
Now is the time – for strawberry shortcake. We are proud to give you a recipe for old fashioned shortcake and that's the best kind. Mrs. Orville Harner of SR 729, New Vienna area, is the kind donor of this plus a recipe for caramel candy.
Mrs. Harner is a teacher and a 4-H leader. Teaching is both her hobby and her job. She teaches fourth grade and she teaches the adult class in the Fairview Friends Church. She enjoys this, devotes a good deal of study to it and enjoys the different type of teaching it requires.
She has taught other than fourth but fourth grade is her favorite and besides, 4-H starts there for children. New Vienna Tasty Club is her club and she is faithful to the members. Nothing deters her meeting with the club. It's been that way for the 19 years she has been a leader.
In the family are a daughter, Mrs. Richard Donahey Jr. [Isabelle, NVHS'60], Columbus, John, a junior in Wilmington College [NVHS'64, deceased 2012], Elaine, 17, in junior high [sic –Brenda "Elaine" Harner Fife, would have been (a junior?) in high school, sadly she is also deceased, 2005] and Mrs. Harner's mother, Mrs. Minnie Mathews, who incidentally is also an excellent cook.
Mrs. Harner is a 1963 graduate in social studies of Wilmington College. She is an avid reader of novels and biographies, averages two books a week and often at night reads straight through a book. If it's fairly light reading she'll read from 8 to midnight and that'll complete a book.
She used to sew a lot, made her clothing herself. She doesn't do that much now but she still likes to crochet.
The Harners have a dairy herd. It's electric milking and Mrs. Harner has never helped with it. They like to travel and during the years have been all over the United States. They do not take extensive trips now because they can't leave the dairy farm but they hope to make it to Expo 67 this summer. They want to stop en route in Pennsylvania to visit relatives. The children travel a good bit since they are older. They have friends in the east whom they go to see in the summers.
ONE-EGG CAKE
2-3 c sugar [not sure if this is ⅔ cup sugar or two-three cups of sugar! The latter would be much sweeter.]
¼ c shortening
¼ t salt
1 t vanilla flavoring
1 egg
1½ c flour
½ c milk
2 t baking-powder
Cream shortening and sugar. Add unbeaten egg. Add flavoring. Beat thoroughly. Sift flour, measure, and sift with salt and baking powder. Add alternately with milk to creamed shortening and sugar. Pour into well-oiled loaf pan. Bake in moderate oven (375ยบ F.) 35 minutes.
This is the recipe Mrs. Harner uses for her family short cakes during the strawberry season. She sometimes adds a different flavor for the shortcake by substituting lemon flavoring in place of the vanilla
CARAMELS
FIRM BALL
2 c sugar
2 c cream
1¾ c corn sirup [sic]
1 c butter or butter substitute
1 c chopped nuts
Few grains salt
Boil all together except the nuts and 1 cup cream. boil 30 minutes. Add the second cup of cream and boil to a firm ball stage. (248 degrees F.). Add nuts and pour without stirring into well-buttered pan. When cold cut in squares.
Mrs. Harner has found that in the first 30 minutes, if boiled to 244 degrees F., it works out very well.
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Anna Louise Mathews Harner, born 1920, passed away in June 1978. She was much loved, not only by her family but by those she taught and her 4-H family.
