Evening star., 1947-11-16
Antiques Are Three Hobby
OfHome Economics Instructor
By Jessie Font Evans

yather, home economics instructor
at Burdick Vocational High School,
delights intimates and club groups
with her old glass, book and bell
collections at her home at 8521 w
place in Georgetown. The glass and
cookbooks are early American. The
bells, no two Of the nearly 100 alike,
are from many lands.
Colonial mahogany, rare brass,
and steel engravings Of the Wash
ington family at Mount Vernon
and Lees surrender to Grant make
an effective background for Miss
Alvather's collections.
Her sets of Old English candle
sticks, whale oil lamps and wall
sconces are collectors items. The
candlesticks belonged to her grand
mother, Mary Jane Nelson, and are
identical with several now exhibited
at Williamsburg. One set Is in the
very old beehive pattern, the Other
set has a beveled edge design. Both
sets have a glowing yellow sheen
and are extremely easy to clean and
polish.
Fruit Dish and Cake Plate.
Upon a circular-topped mahogany
table with pie-crust edges and snake
legs, Miss Alvather likes to dis
play her glassware. A tall button
and daisy fruit dish cost an uncle
35 cents in Baltimore. 1t Is ap-
praised at more than as many dol
lars today. A cake plate has lace
like edge and funnel opening in
the center to catch crumbs.
All the members of Miss Alva-
theirs immediate family for several
generations have been christened
from a sunburst pattern bowl.
An Ashburton decanter of 1849
commentaries the Ashburton-W Web
ster Treaty with Great Britain. TWO
other commemorative pieces OF glass
ware in portrait facsimiles are a
blue waffle and thumb-print plate IN
the maple leaf pattern brought out
at the time of Gen. Ulysses g.
Grants death; and Garfield
goblet in the web and palm design
which came on the market shortly
after the assassination in the Penn
sylvania Railroads terminal, then
located at Sixth and B streets NV.
One of the rarest pieces Of glass
ware is a translucent graceful piece
of Salem ware dated 1870. Another
is an opaque blue sandwich glass
vase, as lovely in design as 1t Is in
rich coloring.
Since Miss Alvather, prior TO her
present professional post, was chief
dietitian at the Fort McHenry Hos
pital in Baltimore and medical die
titan at Walter Reed Hospital, 1t
is natural that she should collect
cookbooks, not only modern ones,
but early American editions as
well. A popular edition OF 1880 Is
titled Modern Cookery in All It's
Branches" by Miss Elizabeth Acton,
the whole carefully supervised by
Mrs. S. J. Hale. Sarah Hale's untir-
ing efforts finally resulted in the
setting aside of a national day OF
Thanksgiving. Miss Alvather has
tried out many of Miss Acton's
recipes and her currant cookie rec
ipe has been found so superior that
Miss Alvather's pupils include 1t
among their favorite Thanksgiving
and Christmas cookie choices.
An Emily Post of its time Is an
1880 edition entitled 1.-The Behaviour
Book, a Manual for Ladies" by Miss
Leslie, author of Complete Cook
ery." Nearer our time is the famous
Marion Harland cookbook of 1886.
Miss Alvather plays tunes upon
the bells. Their tones are as varied
as their materials and countries OF
origin.
A graduate of the Drexel Institute
and of the George Washington Uni
versity, Miss Alvather is member
of the Pi Lamba Theta and Alpha
Pi Epsilon sororities, Is vice presl-
dent of the Story League and is
active in the kindergarten Sunday
school department of the National
Presbyterian Church and in Colum-
bian women and alumni circles OF
the George Washington University.
"The field of home economics is
more challenging than it has ever
been," Miss Alvather told me. ut Is
especially necessary to give mothers
of families all of the, practical help
possible in this time Of universal
food shortages and sky-rocketing
prices, so that they may know def
initely how to provide nourishing
substitutes for meats and other
dietary items"
She considers her adult classes
particularly valuable because Of the
immediate application made from
her general instruction and individ-
ual conferences.