Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-11-30
Are Our Meal
Times Shifting?

THAT q deal importance 20 n
NAI tach 70 our meal'iTneet How
significant y IL 20 many ~ Uq
hat ono neighbor cats dinner at seven
o'clock ard another has hiz heaviest
meal a. half past twelve. The ono
seorng urbane. or the world. sophisfi-
Gated, while the other. 70 conclude,
must bs un'raveied rustic. ignorant
~ The ways of tho world
n Il with the greatest tuRRinR ~
our own fondness for convention that
wa change our own rnealfimea Yet,
after oil. our present mealtimeq we're
eHta hIiahed because they we're most
convenient, N tho days of George
Washington even tho most faehiona bio
folk dinaf IN rnid afternoon. ppar
emit, the business ~ the day was over
~ early hour and the time that
elapsed between dinner and supper
was devoted - converse fion. rnueic.
dancing. or other eocizl diversions
rine= were different. conditions we're
different. and 20 people dino1 ~ q
different time
we ara ~ present living through
period when conditions arc changing
for almost every on4 Many millions
- people n our own IanJ nave hrc0
dining earlier every dav breakfaefinz 2
and lnnching or Eupping earlier. t"o
hiq summer and iaq' Whern dav
light s7ving time zchefuia was adopted
/ his change N the DINNER hour came
about automatically fo- many. many
! families
IN the c''iea now there is ? tendency
for later dinner hour with many
Deraonz More and more people are
/ living an hour or more fr0rn their
piaca ~ business This has had some
thing 70 do with it Late afternoon
dancing. the increasing social irn-
portance ~ afternoon lea - thes1
hings have also tended ~ pnt dinner
iafer in the day
Another tendency tia, you perhaps
hesr very little about ~ also taking
place in 'he city Thousands - tIsi-
ness men and womon. forced av the
scarcity and high price ~ servants T.
10 a good share of their own cookIng
and housework arc foloyinE The eE-
ample ~ the farmer and taking theiI
heaviest meal in the middle of the day
making the later meal. which they pre-
pare for Themselves at home. a lighter
more easily prepared repast. In ras'
husband and wife both work or n cas-
ne household consists % hachelo'
maids. mis- 4 an economical arrange
ment For - costs very itt,o more t'
buy 4 hearty meal IN the business
peighborhood than light meal. where
aa +, costs considerably more none
and takes much more time 10 prepar
meat-and- potato meal at home na'
simple supper
this. Il is pleasant 10 be IN ones oH'
home for the evening meal. when ther
IS more time for lelsurely enjoymeHl
: but It IS entirely possible 70 make 81
easily prepared supper The meal 4
which one invites informal guests.
/ In city suburbs there are man
} housewives who find their mald.es
Z housekeeping considerably simple
since their husbands have .ken rhel
/ heavier meal n town at the lunc
hour. With children Z ts necessar
to prepare heartier meal at noon "a
] the housewife becomes accustomed e
: letting this answer for her heartie
/ meal. then having only simple,
5 easily prepared supper to get read
at the close OF the day
, And there is still another departuv
: in dinner time among many ciC
. dwellers. 4 very large number q
government employees in Washingto
follow this custom. That Is. OF hav.n
dinner directly following the close ,
the work day Where different mem
hers Of the family all work they d1
. II convenient TO meet az about FIVE -
, an early dinner. They then re,ur
home with no thought of meal ge,t.1
save possibly a little snack at bcdrim-
In other large cities good.v Dumbe
|, Of women workers who live IN smd
: apartments or rooms ind this ne mos
convenient arrangement for dime
! time