Welcome to Hydrating Through History, where we are looking back at some refreshing historic recipes the people of St. Catharines used to beat the heat!

This week, we are looking at two recipes! One for Frozen Cream from 1970 from the Cooking Collage of Rodman Hall and one for Chocolate Sauce from a cookbook called Victory Recipes, made during the Second World War (1939-1945).

Rodman Hall was built in 1856 by Thomas Rodman Merritt. He was the fourth son of William Hamilton Merritt, the builder of the first Welland Canal. During the second half of the 20^th century, Rodman Hall was the Niagara Region’s premier art gallery, first opening in 1960. It expanded, adding new wings in 1961 and 1975 to become the one of Canada’s National Exhibition Centres, featuring Group of Seven artists to Painters Eleven and local artists. In 2003, Brock University took ownership of the historic building. In 2015, due to financial exigency, Brock University was forced to reevaluate its ownership, making the decision in 2020 to sell Rodman Hall to private interests. Today, the legacy of Rodman Hall continues through the Rodman Art Institute of Niagara. First formed in 2019, the organization works to maintain the 1000-piece art collection and hosts exhibits. They also continue the search to establish a new public art gallery and collaborate with various partners to create new art infrastructure and support new programs and activities.

Westminster United Church sits in the heart of the Queenston Neighbourhood in St. Catharines. With a community dating back to 1876, the iconic building associated with the congregation was built in 1927. The Second World War in Canada, which began on September 10^th, 1939, brought about shortages and rationing of goods as resources were diverted to help support the war effort overseas. The authors of this book, keeping that in mind, included “substitutes for many of the old standbys.”

Joshua Yoon is a program assistant at the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre.