Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Grandma’s banana bread

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.] 

Recently in:

By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.comIt’s been eight years since the Water Protectors were cleared off the banks of the Cannonball and Missouri Rivers. It was a bitter ending to a battle to protect the water; and for most of us…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Rodeo is a family tradition for sisters Kate and Tera Flitton. The duo performs under the moniker Stellar Trick Riding Cowgirls. The Utah natives will be performing along with bareback riders,…

Saturday, April 19, 8 p.m. doors open at 7 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 N Broadway, FargoCheck out this cult classic on the big screen as a live band performs along with David Bowie’s vocals, all while basking in the Art Deco glory…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com I feel like reading a newspaper is the equivalent of listening to music on vinyl. Not only is it analog, it’s an experience. I might be a little biased, but there's something about the rustling…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comA column on How Trumusklicans are trying to change historyIt took William L. Shirer a couple decades to write and then publish “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany,”…

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 Gionrickgion@gmail.com Photos by Rick GionLiving in downtown Fargo has its perks. One of them is taking walks along Broadway and peeking into the restaurants and shops for a glimpse of what’s new. Sometimes this makes a…

Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Making her feature directorial debut, Rachael Abigail Holder guides “Love, Brooklyn” to a satisfying conclusion, even if some viewers might have hoped for a different outcome for the…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comPhoto by Chad Nodland, "Artistic Freedom"On January 19, 2025, the last full day of Joe Biden’s presidency, he commuted Leonard Peltier's two consecutive life sentences to home confinement at his…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…

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 Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…

By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com Somewhere lost in the cultural scuffle of what it means to be transgender is that it is an absolute joy to experience the world in such a way. When you take away the societal prejudice and…

By Gilbert Kuipersgilbertkuipers@outlook.com I live in North Dakota District 24 and have been challenging the district Republicans about their understanding of climate science for years. There has been no serious response to my…