Kugels and Collards: Reflections on Food and Family
By Robin Waites
Executive Director
Historic Columbia
When Historic Columbia (HC) banded together with members of the local Jewish community in 2014, we had no idea how far our partnership would take us. Initiated by a conversation with Debbie Cohn about adding the Jewish stories to HC’s Connecting Communities through History Project, the Columbia Jewish Heritage Initiative was established with four goals in mind:
Identify gaps in documentation of Columbia’s Jewish history,
Collect stories, images, documents, etc. that enable a more complete story to be told,
Utilize a variety of print and web-based platforms to share information collected, and
Establish a coalition of organizations committed to this effort moving forward
Progress since 2014 has been extraordinary, including:
the collection of over 50 oral histories, which are archived at the College of Charleston’s Jewish Heritage Collection,
the installation of three historic markers, in partnership with the SC Jewish Historical Society,
the creation of a 45-site, web-based and guided tour of Jewish sites in Columbia, and
a dynamic series of public programs, including a lecture and reception with Jewish food historian and chef, Joan Nathan.
Of the many dynamic offshoots that have been generated by this partnership, one of the most savory has been the Kugels & Collards Blog. In 2017, Rachel Barnett and Lyssa Harvey came to us with an interest in expanding access to Jewish history, particularly southern Jewish history, through food. After many meetings and conversations we landed on the decision to create a blog that would serve as a vehicle to make historic, generational connections through recipes, stories about cooking, and shared memories of how food can, as noted by our recipients in the first blog entry: elicit memories, take us back to a particular time and place, and define a moment in history for us and because, our responses to sights, smells, tastes can help us tell our stories. Rachel and Lyssa were the first contributors.
In her inaugural blog How I (Finally) Learned to Love Collards, Rachel wrote about growing up in a small southern town where collards were seasoned with pork. Of course since was not an option in her mother’s semi-kosher kitchen so, as an adult, she adjusted this southern staple with her own flair. Lyssa shared her Gradma Ida’s Lukshen Kugel and noted: “After my mother, Helene Firetag Kligman passed away Kugels & Collards became the perfect outlet for sharing food memories of my mother. I loved writing this story and sharing the recipes. I never realized how much our family life growing up revolved around food and the Jewish Holiday table.”
As Rachel and Lyssa note in their anniversary piece, this blog has become and extraordinary repository for not only recipes, but the irreplaceable memories and stories that come from creating and sharing a meal. It is their vision, passion, and drive that have made this blog such a success. With these posts we top 30 stories and 50 recipes in Kugels & Collards since May 2017! We are excited to expand this vision with your engagement and support.