{"id":7005,"date":"2021-11-22T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/?p=7005"},"modified":"2021-11-19T16:54:16","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T20:54:16","slug":"thanksgiving-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/thanksgiving-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"The Thanksgiving that Gave Us a Song, a Movie &#8230; and a Cookbook!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>by <a href=\"https:\/\/directory.library.nd.edu\/directory\/employees\/rbohlman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rachel Bohlmann, <em>American History Librarian and Curator<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To celebrate Thanksgiving this year, Special Collections highlights <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/onesearch.library.nd.edu\/permalink\/f\/tgve9\/ndu_aleph000252531\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Alice\u2019s Restaurant Cookbook <\/em>by Alice Brock<\/a> (the Alice of Arlo Guthrie\u2019s \u201cAlice\u2019s Restaurant\u201d song) and the 1965 Thanksgiving that occasioned it. This is not a cookbook for Thanksgiving. It is a book that exists because of Thanksgiving.&nbsp; It is also a commercial, even nostalgic, artifact (produced by a mainstream publisher\u2014Random House) about a countercultural moment already in the past when the book appeared in 1969.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0166-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"820\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0166-1-820x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7031\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0166-1.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/?attachment_id=7031\" class=\"wp-image-7031\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0166-1-820x1024.jpg 820w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0166-1-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0166-1-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0166-1-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0166-1-1639x2048.jpg 1639w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0166-1.jpg 1921w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0164.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"820\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0164-820x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7030\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0164.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/?attachment_id=7030\" class=\"wp-image-7030\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0164-820x1024.jpg 820w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0164-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0164-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0164-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0164-1639x2048.jpg 1639w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0164.jpg 1921w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Alice Brock had opened a restaurant\u2014The Back Room\u2014in Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 1965. That Thanksgiving she hosted a gathering of friends that included Arlo Guthrie, the son of folk singer Woody Guthrie. The day after the festivities, Guthrie and a friend helpfully removed a large load of garbage from Brock\u2019s house. The city dump was closed so the young men threw the trash down a nearby ravine. The owner of the property had the two arrested and criminally charged with littering. Brock bailed them out of jail and Guthrie was inspired to write a song, which became \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=m57gzA2JCcM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alice\u2019s Restaurant Massacree<\/a>,\u201d released in 1967.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0002_0003.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"756\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0002_0003-1024x756.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7041\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0002_0003-1024x756.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0002_0003-300x222.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0002_0003-768x567.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0002_0003-1536x1134.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0002_0003-2048x1512.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In the song, Guthrie relates his Stockbridge Thanksgiving, detention, and subsequent conviction. Then the song changes and Guthrie describes how he used his criminal record to secure a rejection from the New York City Draft Board and avoid military service during the Vietnam War. The song, which is 18 and a half minutes long, unexpectedly became an anthem of anti-Vietnam protests and an expression of countercultural rebellion. Since the 1970s it has also become a cultural icon around Thanksgiving. Today, many radio stations around the country play the song on this holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Guthrie\u2019s story\/song also caught the attention of film director Arthur Penn, who adapted it into a film, <em>Alice\u2019s Restaurant<\/em>. It was released in 1969 with leading roles by Guthrie and a small cameo by Brock (Patricia Quinn played Alice Brock in the film).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0004_0005.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"747\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0004_0005-1024x747.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7033\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0004_0005-1024x747.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0004_0005-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0004_0005-768x560.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0004_0005-1536x1120.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0004_0005-2048x1493.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Brock published <em>Alice\u2019s Restaurant Cookbook <\/em>on the song and the film\u2019s commercial coattails. It contains image stills from the movie as well as a small, vinyl record tucked into a pouch attached to the back inside cover. The recording doesn&#8217;t include &#8220;Alice&#8217;s Restaurant Massacree,&#8221; but the disk underscores the book\u2019s connection with Guthrie&#8217;s famous song with a <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/12-11B4yZnAQROdNwnZ_iTDSMV3QBlVpV\/view?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">short introduction by Guthrie and Brock followed by two songs by Guthrie<\/a>. In \u201cItalian-Type Meatballs\u201d and \u201cMy Granma\u2019s Beet Jam,\u201d he puts the words of two of Brock\u2019s recipes to music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0162_0163.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"751\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0162_0163-1024x751.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7038\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0162_0163-1024x751.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0162_0163-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0162_0163-768x564.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0162_0163-1536x1127.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0162_0163-2048x1503.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0011.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"209\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0011-209x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7036\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0011-209x300.jpg 209w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0011-712x1024.jpg 712w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0011-768x1105.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0011-1068x1536.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0011-1423x2048.jpg 1423w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0011.jpg 1668w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 209px) 100vw, 209px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Brock\u2019s cookbook captures her playfulness and openness along with the countercultural ethos of both her Thanksgiving gathering and her cooking. In her introduction, Brock riffs on the chorus of Guthrie\u2019s song (\u201cyou can get anything you want at Alice\u2019s restaurant\u201d). \u201cThere is no <strong>one way<\/strong> to get what you want unless it is to remain open,\u201d she writes. \u201cKeep guessing. . . . No one has ever fried an egg without turning on the gas, but maybe this time if you look that egg straight in the eye and say \u2018FRY,\u2019 it will.\u201d (p. 3). And no Betty Crocker cookbook had index entries for \u201cBlowing Your Own Horn\u201d and \u201cDoctor, Get the\u201d as well as \u201cUsed Chicken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0007-713x1024.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"713\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0007-713x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7042\" data-link=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/?attachment_id=7042\" class=\"wp-image-7042\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0007-713x1024.jpg 713w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0007-209x300.jpg 209w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0007-768x1104.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0007-1069x1536.jpg 1069w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0007-1425x2048.jpg 1425w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0007.jpg 1670w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 713px) 100vw, 713px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0008-713x1024.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"713\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0008-713x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7043\" data-link=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/?attachment_id=7043\" class=\"wp-image-7043\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0008-713x1024.jpg 713w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0008-209x300.jpg 209w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0008-768x1104.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0008-1069x1536.jpg 1069w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0008-1425x2048.jpg 1425w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0008.jpg 1670w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 713px) 100vw, 713px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0140.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"713\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0140-713x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7045\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0140.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/?attachment_id=7045\" class=\"wp-image-7045\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0140-713x1024.jpg 713w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0140-209x300.jpg 209w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0140-768x1104.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0140-1069x1536.jpg 1069w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0140-1425x2048.jpg 1425w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2021\/11\/BOO_000252531-0140.jpg 1670w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 713px) 100vw, 713px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you hope to find special recipes for cooking a Thanksgiving feast in Brock\u2019s book, however, you\u2019ll be disappointed. The section on \u201cTurkey\u201d takes up just a part of one page and the only reference to Thanksgiving appears in a chapter on \u201cStuffings And Forcemeat.\u201d But as Alice Brock wrote in her author\u2019s bio, she \u201c[c]ooked good good food with a smile and other expressions . . . Bought a crummy diner . . . Turned it into a crazy-yummy-cozy restaurant . . . Thru it all Alice is a real live human bean\u2014Still foolin\u2019 around and still cookin\u2019 . . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Happy Thanksgiving!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>RBSC will be closed during Notre Dame\u2019s Thanksgiving Break (November 25-26, 2021). We wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanksgiving 2015 RBSC post: <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/thanksgiving-and-football\/\"><em>Thanksgiving and football<\/em><\/a><br>Thanksgiving 2016 RBSC post: <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/thanksgiving-humor-by-mark-twain\/\"><em>Thanksgiving Humor by Mark Twain<\/em><\/a><br>Thanksgiving 2017 RBSC post: <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/playing-indian-playing-white\/\"><em>Playing Indian, Playing White<\/em><\/a><br>Thanksgiving 2018 RBSC post: <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/thanksgiving-2018\/\"><em>Thanksgiving from the Margins<\/em><\/a><br>Thanksgiving 2019 RBSC post: <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/thanksgiving-2019\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4667\"><em>\u201cThanksgiving Greetings\u201d from the Strunsky-Walling Collection<\/em><\/a><br>Thanksgiving 2020 RBSC post: <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/thanksgiving-2020\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"5850\"><em>Happy Thanksgiving to All Our Readers<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To celebrate Thanksgiving this year, Special Collections highlights Alice\u2019s Restaurant Cookbook by Alice Brock (the Alice of Arlo Guthrie\u2019s \u201cAlice\u2019s Restaurant\u201d song) and the 1965 Thanksgiving that occasioned it. This is not a cookbook for Thanksgiving. It is a book that exists because of Thanksgiving.&nbsp; It is also a commercial, even nostalgic, artifact (produced by &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/thanksgiving-2021\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The Thanksgiving that Gave Us a Song, a Movie &#8230; and a Cookbook!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1936,"featured_media":7034,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[75052],"tags":[77938,12614,77948],"class_list":["post-7005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-history-culture","tag-book","tag-music","tag-otd-holidays"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1936"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7005"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7053,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7005\/revisions\/7053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}