A pie supper is a social gathering where pies are auctioned to raise money, often for a local school or fire department. Pie suppers provided a major source of funding for many of the region's one-room schools in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
At a traditional pie supper, women and girls would provide homemade pies to be auctioned, sometimes in boxes decorated with ruffles or bows. Along with the pie itself, the highest bidder won the privilege of sharing the pie with its maker, whose identity was concealed or known only to a handful of people. This prevented the offerings of less-popular or less-known girls from being neglected, earning more donations overall.
Pie suppers had strong courtship elements until the early twentieth century. Before birth control or child support laws, it was economically dangerous and socially unacceptable for an unmarried woman to interact with a young man her community didn't know. In rural America, where people were spread thinly, pie socials and boxed suppers were an acceptable way for young adults to widen their social circles. It also let a young man judge how well a possible wife could do her primary job -- cooking -- and gave the young woman some small idea of how well a potential husband could provide.
Pie suppers commonly included a "beauty cake" popularity contest. Several girls would be nominated to receive the cake, and their respective admirers would lobby for votes, which were typically priced at a penny each.
A box supper was a less common variation where the boxes auctioned off contained a chicken dinner, cookies, or a collection of food intended to be a surprise. Ozark box suppers were roughly equivalent to the box socials held in other regions.
A piesupper is a social gathering where pies are auctioned to raise money, often for a local school or fire department. Piesuppers provided a major source...
dripping). Steak pies are also available from chip shops, served with normal chips, referred to in Scotland as a steak piesupper. A steak piesupper is usually...
culinary history, with mentions in the 19th century, including the "pea and piesupper" (in Yorkshire), "pea soup with eel", and suet dumplings or saveloys....
the second act of the musical Oklahoma!, which is set at a box social. Piesupper Notes Bibliography Miller, Peter. Vermont People. Self-published: 1991...
principle, they may be held at any other time of the year. Piesupper – is a social gathering where pies are auctioned to raise money, often for a local school...
Ugly man contests were a feature of box suppers (and similar events, such as piesuppers or ice cream suppers) in the United States, often coinciding...
A mince pie (also mincemeat pie in North America, and fruit mince pie in Australia and New Zealand) is a sweet pie of English origin filled with mincemeat...
Pecan pie is a pie of pecan nuts mixed with a filling of eggs, butter and sugar (typically corn syrup). Variations may include white or brown sugar, cane...
Pumpkin pie is a dessert pie with a spiced, pumpkin-based custard filling. The pumpkin and pumpkin pie are both a symbol of harvest time, and pumpkin pie is...
Missouri, United States 1 At the Perkins school's Thanksgiving night piesupper, teacher Joe Todd, age 21, was mysteriously shot. The bullet passed through...
place it a pie shell, & in the middle place a piece of marrow, & all over some Sugar, and let it bake; & this is for a supper. "History of Pie". Linda Stradley...
At the Supper Club is a posthumous 2010 album consisting of recordings of Perry Como performing on the radio variety show The Chesterfield Supper Club,...
Macaroni cheese pie is a casserole dish based on baked macaroni and cheese. Primary ingredients may include elbow macaroni, cheese, and milk. Typical...
and Jackson who formed "The Brumley Brothers Band" that performed at piesuppers and local music festivals. Tom received his first steel guitar by mail-order...
although it still often consists of breakfast (colazione), lunch (pranzo), and supper (cena). However, breakfast itself is often skipped or is lighter than that...
Craddock in Heartbeat. He has also been a guest star in Absolutely Fabulous, Pie in the Sky, Midsomer Murders, Foyle's War, Bleak House, Martin Chuzzlewit...
Northern Ireland, cod, plaice or whiting appear most commonly in 'fish suppers'—'supper' being Scottish and Northern Irish chip-shop terminology for a food...
important part of Polish festive seasons, particularly Christmas Eve (Wigilia supper) and Christmastide. They are also served during public events, markets or...
returned". Rocky Mountain News. During the Depression, when Sunday Night Suppers became a popular way to entertain, the cheese dream began to appear on...
Ireland, which has been traditionally derived from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) *semo- ('summer'). As John T. Koch notes, however, it is unclear why a festival...
churches. Two months earlier, the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper is observed on Maundy Thursday in a sombre atmosphere leading to Good Friday...
George and the Ducky, Esther... The Girl Who Became Queen, Duke and the Great Pie War, Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush, Minnesota Cuke...