All About Food | June 1st, 2016
My great-grandma Marion was kind of a badass.
She lived all her life in Traill County, N.D., the daughter of H.H. McNair, a Portland, N.D., mayor, and his stoic wife Gabriella, who lost her first husband and two children to tuberculosis. Marion was the youngest of her siblings, and her parents were significantly older than average (he was 50, she was 45).
Nevertheless, Marion had a bright childhood. Fishing on the Goose River. Taking up photography as a hobby with her brownie camera. She hunted as a young woman and married a general practitioner who delivered over 2,000 babies in his 50-year career without ever losing a mother. Marion played chess, bird watched and taught first grade for two years.
She graduated from Mayville Normal School in 1922. She, like her daughter, was a baker, and while at normal school picked up a recipe her descendants still use to this day.
Credited to “Mary S.” (likely a classmate), Great-Grandma Marion’s recipe for banana bread is a winner. Just don’t forget the salt like my dad did.
In my years of using this recipe, I find it best to double the recipe since four loaves are better than two. Also, four loaves are better for crowds of more than one person.
Some notes for this bread: Brownish black bananas are best. The older, the better. But not too old.
Also, another mistake of my dad’s you don’t want to replicate: Do not dump all the ingredients in at once. This isn’t that kind of recipe.
Finally, be sure to spray your pans. Marion’s recipe leaves that out. #mess
Here is Great-Grandma Marion’s “Banana Bread” in her own instructions.
Banana Bread (doubled)
2c sugar1 cup margarine4 eggs6 mashed bananas 6 tbls sour milk 2 tsp. soda4 cups flour
Cream sugar and shortening together. Add eggs, mashed bananas. Mix soda and flour together. Add sour milk and flour alternately. Bake in slow oven (I use 350 degree) until done. 50 min.? Makes 4 loaves 7 3/8 by 3 ¼ for a double recipe. Usually make double recipe.
[Writer’s note: Marion Little died in 2004 in Mayville, N.D., at the age of 99.]
May 26th 2026
April 15th 2026
March 23rd 2026
March 16th 2026
February 23rd 2026
By Bryce Vincent Haugen By all accounts, Democratic-Farmer-Labor U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar — first elected in 2006 — is the most popular active politician in Minnesota, whether she’s judged by polling or by her four electoral…
Saturday, June 13, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.Paradox Comics-N-Cards, 814 Main Ave., FargoCalling all nerds: it’s time to get down and nerdy with vendors aplenty, who are selling comics, toys, video games, board games, various collectibles…
June 6-7StatewideYou grab a line and I’ll grab a pole — and if you’re a North Dakota resident, you can head on down to your favorite fishing hole, no license needed (for this weekend, anyway). All other rules still apply…
By John Strand It took us over 30 years for us to reach out and ask for your help. The High Plains Reader has always been subscription free and paywall free. Our content has — and always will be — free to access for all of our…
By Ed RaymondWere women created to do the work of God?One of the first requests made by new Pope Leo XIV was to invite an expert on the alt-right conservative Catholic organization known as Opus Dei to brief him about its…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick GionThe scarfing of canned fish and seafood products by online food influencer types is hard to miss on social media these days. Some of the consumed morsels range from exquisite to downright nasty. However, there are many…
By Bryce Vincent Haugen The curtain has come down on Jade Presents. Fargo-Moorhead’s largest event promoter has brought thousands of shows — more than 150 per year — and hundreds of artists to the area over the past 36 years. On…
__300x100.png)
By Greg Carlson Steven Spielberg, who will turn 80 this December, returns to the subject of aliens among us in “Disclosure Day,” his first feature since “The Fabelmans” in 2022. Now closer to the end than the beginning of…
By Jacinta Zens I recently sat down for a chat with ceramicist Louie Albertson, Clay and Studio Program Manager at the Plains Art Museum. Before the interview, I had the pleasure of getting to know him a bit as a colleague when I…
Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By Eli Liverani Cholesterol is probably one of the first molecules I have ever heard of in my childhood. Most of the relatives on my mother's side had high cholesterol in their blood, and apparently, levels above a certain range…
January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…
Chris M. Stoner I was recently dismissed from my role as drag show director and emcee for Dakota OutRight, a role I had been fulfilling for more than two decades. The reason given? My political commentary during shows, while…