Copper Kettles and Lonesome Pines: Northampton's Tea Room Era
Speaker
Date: Location: |
Jan Whitaker, author of Tea at the Blue Lantern Inn: A Social History of the Tea Room Craze in America
Sunday, May 15, 2016 at 2 pm Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton, Massachusetts |
The Copper Kettle, Northampton, Massachusetts
(from the collection of Jan Whitaker) |
On Sunday, May 15, at 2:00 p.m., consumer historian Jan Whitaker will present an illustrated talk on the history of Northampton’s tea rooms. Iced tea, lemonade and pastries will be served afterwards on the terrace.
Northampton was well supplied with tea rooms in the first half of the 20th century. Patrons included students at Smith College, motorists from the Springfield area, and local women’s (and some men’s) clubs and organizations. Primarily lunch places, many of the tea rooms also served afternoon teas and evening meals. Whitaker will present a picture of Northampton’s tea rooms, focusing on the sort of meals served in them and the women who ran them—with special attention to the longest-lasting (Mary Marguerite) and the most colorful (The Rose Tree Inn).
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Rose Tree Inn, Bridge Street, Northampton, Massachusetts
(from the collection of Jan Whitaker) |