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The Food Network 
joins with the 
Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum
(above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard) to celebrate Dickinson's influence
on food and popular cuisine!

The Top 50 American Foods

It came as no surprise to us at the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard) that THREE of the culinary delights concocted by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) appear in the TOP TEN items listed on CNN's "Top 50 American Foods" (click on the article at the right to enlarge):

1.   Candy Corn
6.   Cajun Nachos
10. Corn Chowder
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Candy Corn
November 1

Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) influenced the field of culinary arts in so many ways, where would one even begin to celebrate his contributions?

With candy corn, of course!  We figured we'd start with his most famous and most popular invention -- candy corn!

To see information on National Candy Corn Day, click
HERE.
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Pictured above:  Emmett Lee Dickinson's most famous culinary delight, candy corn; Campbell's Candy Corn Chowder; candy corn pizza; candy corn pancake.

Chowder
November 2

Besides being America's greatest poet, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) was a world-famous inventor and scientist -- AND a world-class culinary artist.  He invented chowder -- and his first was corn chowder.

Dickinson had a passion for  corn.  At times, he was consumed by corn.  He was fascinated
by the many uses of corn, from food and beverage recipes to personal care and health and wellness remedies to pharmaceutical and industrial products.  He was obsessed with analyzing the calendar and weather patterns associated with the planting season.

One of his greatest achievements was the invention of corn chowder -- and then a whole line of other chowders, many of which are pictured below.
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More Chowders
November 3

In the early 1960s, Campbell's Soup Company bought the recipes for the complete line of Dickinson's Chowders from the Dickinson Soup Company in Washerst.  Below are some of the most popular of Dickinson's chowders.
Pictured below, left to right:  Oh My Cod Chowder (makes a great lunch after church); Talcum Chowder  (a great soup to follow Heat Radish Soup); Prairie Homestyle Usonian Chowder (Frank Lloyd Wright's favorite; just add one can of Fallingwater); Calm Chowder (there is no Manhattan style of this soup).
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Pictured below:  More of the chowders invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson:  (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request):  Happy As A Clam Chowder; Children of the Corn Chowder; Popcorn Chowder (Dickinson developed this soup with the Redenbacher brothers, Orville & Wilbur); Unicorn Soup (the most magical of Dickinson's chowders).
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Pictured below:  More of Dickinson's chowders:  Clam I Am Chowder (Dickinson developed this soup with Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel); Bunion and Corn Chowder; and Tropic of Capricorn Chowder
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Corndogs
November 4

Other popular culinary delights invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) are the corndog, the refried corndog, and refried re-fried corndog.

The corndog was a favorite treat of Abraham Lincoln, a good friend of Emmett Lee Dickinson.  Lincoln and Dickinson used to bar hop on weekends, and Dickinson was always more than mildly frustrated when Lincoln would delay and dawdle at bars trying to finish his hotdog -- so Dickinson place the hotdog on a stick one night so that Lincoln could carry it with him.

Pictured at the right:
  Abraham Lincoln, a good friend of Emmett Lee Dickinson.  It was Lincoln's dilly-dallying at bars to finish hotdogs that inspired Dickinson to invent the corndog.

Later in life, Lincoln was frequently inspired by Dickinson's poetry and wit.  In one of his most famous speeches, Lincoln drew from a line Dickinson often repeated in bars after frequent rejections of his pick-up attempts:  "Four beers and several scores ago...."
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Cajun Nachos
November 5

On the back of a wrapper of Parisian baking chocolate Emily Dickinson scribbled words "Cajun nachos" -- and one can only presume she was experimenting with an added ingredient for a platter of what was her favorite meal:  Cajun Nachos.

While Cajun nachos were invented by Emily Dickinson, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) took her idea one step further:  he invented the nacho bar (first introduced on a river boat on the Monongahela River).
After sampling Cajun nachos for the first time, Emily Dickinson grabbed the plate from the table and refused to share them with brother Austin and sister Lavinia.  That night, she wrote the following poem:

Mine - by the Right of the  White Election!
Mine - by the Royal  Seal!
Mine - by the sign in the  Scarlet prison -
Bars - cannot conceal!

Mine - here - in Vision - and in Veto!
Mine - by the Grave's Repeal - 
Titled - Confirmed - Delirious Charter!
Mine - long as Ages  steal!
Pictured below:  An excerpt from a letter from Emily Dickinson to school-mate Orpha Oakshott Bennett where she mentioned Cajun nachos:
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Candy Corn Cookies -- & Other Cookies Too!
November 6

Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) didn't invent the cookie -- but he did invent the Candy Corn Cookie and MANY, MANY other cookies (let's just say that the Girl Scouts wouldn't be in business today if it weren't for Emmett Lee Dickinson).

Dickinson's most famous and most popular cookie, though, is the Candy Corn Cookie.
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Sesame Street's Cookie Monster character was based on Emmett Lee Dickinson. 

Pictured at the left:  Cookie Monster gives a lesson on the letter "D is for Dickinson" as he holds a Candy Corn Cookie.

Pictured at the right:
  The Girl Scouts sell cookies invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson.  Note that the box includes the information, "Made from the original recipe of Emmett Lee Dickinson" (click the image to enlarge).
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Cookie Poetry
November 7

Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) was not only an inventor and lover of cookies.  At time he was also a poet of cookies:

Lightly crept to cookie jar
To its lofty place –
Loosed the lid – ceramic hat
To reach its inner space
Late of night I ruefully ate
Devoured the Vessel’s Fill –
Tomorrow, I swore to Heaven
I’ll consume a diet pill.


Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen the poem below:



Lightly stepped a yellow star   
To its lofty place –                      
Loosed the Moon her silver hat 
From her lustral Face –             
All of Evening softly lit               
As an Astral Hall –                     
Father, I observed to Heaven,   
You are punctual.


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Swedish Meatballs On A Stick
November 8

One of the world's greatest and most popular delicacies invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) is known as "Swedish Meatballs on a Stick."

Dickinson invented the meatball kabob to pay homage to his Swedish roots.  Emily and Emmett Lee’s great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather was Edvin Gunnbjörg Dikeanssöhn, a whittler and palingwright (a maker of wooden fencing).  

A contemporary branch of the Dikeanssöhn family owns and operates IKEA, the home furnishings company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture (originally out of fencing slats).

For more information about Dickinson's connections to IKEA, click
HERE.





Pictured at the right:
  Emily and Emmett Lee Dickinson's  great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather Edvin Gunnbjörg Dikeanssöhn.

Pictured at the far right:  A great-great-great-great-great-great granddaughter
of Edvin Gunnbjörg Dikeanssöhn and a contemporary of Emily Dickinson was Sweden's preeminent poet, Uhmilli Dikeanssöhn.

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President Calvin Coolidge was a great fan of Dickinson's Swedish meatballs on a stick.  In the photograph at the left, President Coolidge takes a break to enjoy a stick of meatballs.
President Coolidge's wife Grace (pictured at the right) reported that "Silent Cal," as the President was known, was "silent about everything except meatballs on a stick."

"He yips for meatballs on a stick incessantly," Mrs. Coolidge told Charles Lindbergh at a 1927 dinner in honor of his transatlantic flight.
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Corn Chew, Chewing Gum & Bubble Gum
November 9

Most people don't realize that all chewing gum and bubble gum stems from an invention by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) called "Corn Chew." 

Later, L. Gilgun Bazooka -- who attended the Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Manhattan and who later in life manufactured Bazooka Bubble Gum -- included a special series of Bazooka Joe comics with his gum  that highlighted the poetry of Emmett Lee Dickinson. 

Below are two samples of the Bazooka Joe comics from the 150+ comics on  display at the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on  Dickinson Boulevard).

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The Emmett Lee Dickinson poem on the comic at the left was the poem that inspired third cousin Emily to write the following:

Sweet hours have perished here;
     This is a mighty room;
Within its precincts hopes have played --
     Now shadows in the tomb.


The Emmett Lee Dickinson poem on the comic at the right was the poem that inspired third cousin Emily to write the following:

When memory is full
Put on the perfect Lid --
This Morning's finest syllable
Presumptuous Evening said --

Other examples of Bazooka Joe comics devoted to Emmett Lee Dickinson are HERE.
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Moon Pies
November 10


A favorite children's treat invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) is the Moon Pie. 
Pictured below, left to right:  Moon Pies; an advertisement for Purple Cow Moon Pies in Washerst; the Purple Cow Moon Pies Factory in Washerst.
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Cow Tales
November 11

Take a close look at the wrappers of Cow Tales, and you'll discover that they were invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request).
For more information on Emmett Lee Dickinson & his fascination with cows, click HERE.   For information on "Cow Appreciation Day," established by Emmett Lee Dickinson, click HERE.  

Milky Way & More!
November 12

A poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) inspired Washerst  native Frank C. Mars to invent the Milky Way candy bar in 1923.
 
Mars was born and raised in Washerst, Pennsylvania, but he attend the Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Manhattan.  While there, he grew to admire the life and work of the poet, so he named his candy creation after the following poem by Dickinson:

I never saw a cow in space
But o’er the moon one leapt
And though he left without a trace
His Milky Way was kept!
 
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Pictured above:  Vintage Milky Way ads that mention Dickinson and Washerst (click to enlarge).
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Pictured at the left:  Part of a box from "m & m's," originally called "em & em's" for third cousins Emmett Lee Dickinson and Emily Dickinson.
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Popcorn    
November 13

Orville Redenbacher once remarked, "If it hadn't been for Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request), I  wouldn't have invented popcorn, and I would have ended up in the kitty litter mines of Washerst, Pennsylvania."

As noted in Volume 1 of Great American Poems ~ REPOEMED, Dickinson met the Redenbacher brothers, Orville and Wilbur, at Camp Wattchulukinat for Troubled Youth (pronounced Camp "What-You-Lookin'-At") in Fort Crook, Nebraska.  They forged a friendship that would last for years due to their one common passion, corn, and Dickinson taught them how to pop corn.



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Pictured above:  Today, just one Camp Wattchulukinat remains open, and it is in Washerst, PA. 

Pictured at the right:  Orville Redenbacher at the Camp Wattchulukinat in Fort  Crook, NE.
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Ben & Jerry's
November 14

Brothers Benjamin "Ben" Wooster and Jerald "Jerry" Wooster attended the Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Manhattan. 

As adults, they moved to Burlington, Vermont, where they opened Vermont's first Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys -- and then in 1978 they opened an ice cream business that includes 30+ flavors named after poems by Emily Dickinson and Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request).

Pictured at the right:  Ben & Jerry's "Because I Could Not Stop For Death By Chocolate."
Pictured at the right:  School pictures from the Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys of Benjamin "Ben" Wooster and Jerald "Jerry" Wooster.
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Pictured above:  Dickinson 100 Proof Corn Whiskey.

Corn Whiskey
November 15

The circumstances surrounding the introduction of Mary Todd to Abraham Lincoln involves Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) and an abundance of potent corn whiskey -- and all of the hilarious details are recounted in Volume 2 of Great American Poems ~ REPOEMED.

The Todd-Lincoln meeting, also detailed in a children's book by Qwerty Dickinson (Emmett Lee Dickinson's daughter), involved a very drunk Mary Todd who enjoyed a copious amount of Kentucky whiskey.  What Ms. Todd did not know at the time, though, was that corn whiskey was invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson!
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Pictured above left:  Qwerty Dickinson's children's book of Abraham Lincoln's introduction to Mary Todd.

Pictured above right:  Doctor Murdstone A. Whittle, Chief Tactical Mixology Strategist for the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard) with Emmett Lee Dickinson's first still.

Easter Grass
November 16

Though Easter grass is not edible, Easter baskets of candy wouldn't be the same without it -- and Easter grass was invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request).
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Pictured above:  Dickinson's Easter Grass

Pictured at the left: The Dickinson Easter Grass Factory in Washerst
Pictured below:  The Product Branding and Quality Assurance Team from the Dickinson Easter Grass Factory conducts field research for Easter grass production.
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Pictured below:  The Rhymin' Rascals -- the comedy troupe that inspired Hal Roach to create "Our Gang" -- advertised Dickinson Easter Grass in the 1930s.  For more information on the Rhymin'  Rascals, click HERE.
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TV Dinners & TV Tray-Tables
November 17

Did you know that two major break-throughs in the frozen dinner industry can be tied directly to Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request)?

First, the modern-day TV tray-table is patterned after a portable table Dickinson invented as a writing table for himself.  To this day, the Dickinson TV Tray Table Company in Washerst  (pictured below) manufacturers 87% of the TV tray-tables used around the world.
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Second, Dickinson invented the metal tray used in frozen TV dinners.

Dickinson's father, Emery Dickinson, was an ice delivery man, and like Jed Clampett, he could barely keep his family fed.  He tried to save on the expenses associated with having a large family, so he would often provide left-over chipped ice from his work as the family’s mid-day meal.  Since Emmett Lee Dickinson was the smallest child in the family, he sat at the end of the dining table and always got “what was left of what was left.”   More often than not, though, the ice chips would melt before reaching young Emmett Lee, so his meal was frequently just a cold beverage.

As a result, Emmett Lee Dickinson invented metal trays to keep food and beverages frozen, and they evolved into the trays used for today's frozen TV dinners.
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Wild Rice
November 18

Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) loved wild rice almost as much as he loved corn!   His poem "Wild rice, Wild rice!" was found written on an envelope (pictured below):

Wild rice, Wild rice!
Long grain or whole
Wild rice is steaming
My life by the bowl

Futile the cook
Who microwaves
Done in an instant
Done without taste!

with passion I've eaten
Wild rice I assert
It might be for dinner
But should be Dessert!
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Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen the following poem:


Wild nights - Wild nights!  
Were I with thee
Wild nights should be
Our luxury!

Futile - the winds -
To a Heart in port -
Done with the Compass - 
Done with the Chart!  
 
Rowing in Eden -
Ah - the Sea!
Might I but moor - tonight -  
In thee!
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Sliced Bread
November 19

Did you know that Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request)  invented sliced bread?

Dickinson's original bread slicing machine is on display at the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard).  Later models of Dickinson's invention are still in use at the Dickinson Bread Slicing Company, which slices 78% of the bread baked in North America.
Pictured below, left to right:  The original bread slicing machine invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson; Cecily Murtagh Downer, a Lead Loaf Slicing Implementation Specialist, demonstrates a modern version of Dickinson's slicing machine for Worthington Leap, the Global Slicing Functionality Engineer for the Dickinson Bread Slicing Company; the Dickinson Bread Slicing Company in Washerst, PA.   The motto for the company is "Sliced Bread:  The Greatest Thing Since Emmett Lee Dickinson."
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For more information on the inventions of Emmett Lee Dickinson, click HERE.

Novelty Coffee Mugs
November 20

Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) invented the novelty coffee mug.  In turn, his invention spawned one of the top five industries in the United States -- as the sales of novelty mugs accounts for 32% of the US economy.

Pictured below, far left and right:  Two of the top sellers of Dickinsonian coffee mugs.

Pictured below, center: The Dickinson Novelty Mug Corporation in Washerst.  The DNMC produces 82% of the novelty mugs sold world-wide (click to enlarge).

To see Dickinson's poetry about coffee and caffeine, click HERE.
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Cafeterias & Lunch Ladies
November 21

Because of Emmett Lee Dickinson's contributions to the world of culinary arts, it is no wonder that two of the world's top facilities for school lunches are located in Washerst.

Pictured at the left:  The National Public School Cafeteria Lunch Processing Plant.

Pictured below, on the right:  The National School Cafeteria Training Center (photographed shortly after an ugly mishap on a day of intensive training on the preparation of assorted fish tacos, pinto beans, cherry tomatoes with dip, and Mandarin orange slices).
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Left:  A training chart from the
National Public School Cafeteria
Lunch Processing Plant.
Above:  Giant free-range organic
chicken nuggets.
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Cooking with Corn
November 22

Cooking with Corn  by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request)  was the world's first cookbook devoted exclusively to corn, and it includes such classic Dickinson recipes as corn chowder, corn soufflé, corn pancakes, corn pie, corn fritters, corn nog, and more.
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Pictured above:  Emmett Lee Dickinson's Cooking with Corn.

Pictured at the left:  Cooking with Corn is the third highest best selling book of all time!
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Television Cooking Shows
November 23

In the history of television cooking shows, the first two to air were based on the recipes of Emmett Lee Dickinson, and both were broadcast from Washerst.
Pictured at the left: Betty Croaker was the host of The Little Tippler, a cooking show that focused on
cooking with alcohol.  The show aired for seven seasons on WWAS.
Pictured at the right:  WWAS Television Studio in Washerst
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Pictured at the left:
  WELD Television Studio in Washerst


Pictured at the right:
  Julia Kidd, host of  "Because I Could Not Stop To Cook," a cooking show that focused on quick and easy recipes. The show aired for eleven seasons on WELD.


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Two of the highest-rated TV shows in history were episodes of the Dickinson-related cooking shows:

# 6 was the "Cajun Nachos" episode from "Because I Could Not Stop To Cook"

# 8 was the "Vodka Omlettes" installment of "The Little Tippler"
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Popcorn Balls And New Year's Eve
November 24

On New Year's Eve, thousands of people jam Times Square to see the ball drop from the One Times Square Building at midnight.  But how did the tradition begin?

The tradition dates back to the mid-1800s when Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) used to climb to the top of the steeple of the Washerst Unitarian Church at midnight on New Year's Eve to throw lard balls covered with corn to onlookers below.  The first corn-lard-ball toss occurred as the result of a lost bet, but the affair was such a crowd pleaser that Dickinson continued the practice until the ritual became a Washerst end-of-year tradition.
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Word traveled quickly about the revelry in Washerst, and soon other towns and cities picked up the practice -- some of them tossing corn-lard-balls, and others dropping other objects on New Year's Eve.  In Pittsburgh, people threw nails from their rooftops; in Baltimore, merrymakers dropped chickens from the Bromo-Seltzer Tower;  and in Boston, revelers released the cut-off heads and tails of North Atlantic cod.  New York City soon followed suit, creating an over-sized ball made to look like Dickinson's original corn-lard-ball.

Corn Clumps and Cobs
November 25

Prior to Emmett Lee Dickinson's work, corn used to grow in clumps.  It was Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) who conceived the idea of the corn "cob"."  Dickinson's early botanical engineering work included the corn strip, the corn crest, the corn band, and the corn ball -- but he knew he'd landed on a winner when he devised the "cob."
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Pictured above:  The Dickinson Corn Cobbing Plant.  72% of the world's corn is cobbed at this plant in Washerst.
Pictured above:  Early work at the Dickinson Corn Cobbing Plant.  Dickinson altered the "cob" in later years to a smaller version of his original design.
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Pictured above:  Native Americans introduced European settlers to corn clumps.  Centuries later, Emmett Lee Dickinson engineered the "corn cob."
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The Restaurant Booth
November 26

Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) invented the restaurant booth.  However, his original booth was meant for a combination funeral parlor & diner.

Pictured far left:  An original booth Dickinson invented for the Perish & Begone Funeral Parlor is on display at the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard).

Pictured left:  An updated version of Dickinson's booth.


Pictured right:
  The modern Perish & Begone Funeral Parlor & Diner opened in Washerst in 1963.

Pictured far right:  The Funeral Booth Set -- based on the funeral parlor/diner booth invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson was the hottest holiday toy from 1974 to 1987.
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Pictured far left:
  The booths inside the modern-day Perish & Begone Funeral Parlor & Diner are made from the church pews of the original Perish & Begone Funeral Parlor (pictured at the left) owned by brothers Eberhard and Egan Perish and Caldwell  Begone. 

The Dickinson family lived in the basement apartment of the original Perish & Begone.

Candy Corn Stuffing
November 27

The most popular type of stuffing served on Thanksgiving is Candy Corn Stuffing, invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request).

Pictured below left:  Rufina Kraft built the Kraft food empire on one main product:  Dickinson's recipe of Candy Corn Stuffing.

Pictured below right:  The demand for Candy Corn Stuffing that the Kraft corporation has a factory devoted entirely to the manufacturing of it.
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Thanksgiving Haiku
November 28

Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) wrote a number of now-classic Thanksgiving haikus.  A number of examples are shown below -- including images from a journal of  Dickinson's  poetry  that he called "Thanksgiving Tur-Ku."
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Top left:
At this time of year
We bond with the Turkey
As we "gobble, gobble."


Bottom left:
Stores open Thursday?
Black Friday a day early?
Thrifty shades of gray.

Right:
Eat until you hurt.
After dinner family brawl.
Thanksgiving customs.


Left:
Thanksgiving only
Gets in the way of Christmas
Black Friday beckons.

Top right:
The most important need
For Thanksgiving dinner:
A pair of stretch pants!

Bottom right:
Left-overs are great.
The ones from Thanksgiving --
Not from Black Friday.
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Left top and bottom:
Sweet potatoes. Check.
A green bean casserole. Check.
Corn bread stuffing. Check.

Two pumpkin pies. Check.
Stuck in highway traffic. Check.
Yep. It's Thanksgiving.


Right:
Counting calories
I'm going for a record.
On your mark...get set...

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Pictured at the right:  Justin Timberlake's "The 20/20 Experience" paid tribute to Dickinson -- and his Gastro-Ocular Correlation Modulator (click to enlarge).

For more information on other inventions of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request), click HERE.
Pictured below left:  The Emmett Lee Dickinson Center for the Study of Gastro-Ocular Correlation -- where the first Gastro-Ocular Correlation Modulator is on display (pictured below right).

Gastro-Ocular Correlation Modulator
November 29

In 1856 Dickinson received a patent for the Gastro-Ocular Correlation Modulator, a device used to see if someone's eyes are, in fact, bigger than his/her stomach.  The use of the apparatus is particularly prevalent on Thanksgiving and throughout the holiday season.
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The Corn Boil
November 30

Perhaps one of the greatest culinary events associated with Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) is the annual 4th of July Corn Boil -- held in Washerst and in cities and towns across the United States.  Dickinson started the tradition almost 200 years ago, and now the event is so popular that a Corn Boil is synonymous with Fourth of July.

Pictured below:  Vintage postcards of past Corn Boils in Dickinson Park (click images to enlarge).
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All things Emmett Lee Dickinson (poetry, museum stuff, Washerst facts and figures, etc.) © 2013 & 2014 by Jim Asher
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