Last year I picked up at a yard sale an autographed copy of "The Wonderful World of Cooking," a collection of recipes arranged by growing season by Edward Harris Heth (1956) for $1.00. Inside was an invoice from Tom Jacks Florists of Milwaukee, for Jean Winzenburg and Steve Treacy, and the date in the front of the book, from the Florist, was August 26, 1961. I don't know if Jean and Steve made it 49 years, but if they did, my best to you, because I'm certainly enjoying the book. I blogged about the tasty contents here.
Today I found additional information at another blog about the author--almost wish I hadn't. Both Heth and his partner Bill committed suicide in the 1960s.
- [She] found a feature article on the life and times of Ed Heth, "Wisconsin's Finest Food Writer." Heth was born in 1909 in Wisconsin, the only child of a dissolute gambler. He led a glamorous writing life in New York until poor health forced him home in the 40s. He settled down into a country house on a hill, living amongst the friends and neighbors who populate The Wonderful World. His partner through it all was a ceramicist named Bill Chancey. The two lived together openly, surely making them the first gay couple in the tiny town of Wales, Wisconsin to do so. The town embraced the pair, the article quoting one woman's take on the situation: "I remember people saying they were very interesting people and Wales always felt very honored to have them in the community."
If all this sounds too good to be true for rural, pre-Stonewall America, well, turns out it was. In 1960 Heth and Chancey's house burnt down to the ground after a lightning strike. They began work on a new house, but a year later as it neared completion, Bill Chancey was found in his car with the engine on and the garage door closed. Heth tried to keep writing, even starting work on a novel, but in 1963 he fatally overdosed on painkillers. The two men are buried side by side on a sunny slope in Wisconsin's Welsh Hills. But The Wonderful World of Cooking — long out of print — is alive and vibrant, an incredible document of a man's love for his home and the food it gives him. Link. Photo from that blog--mine doesn't have a cover.
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9 comments:
My uncle Owen (married to my moms sister) was from there...and there was never a more gloomy guy. He was hard working and hard drinking and I can't remember him smiling or interacting much with us kids growing up. My aunt was devoted to him and he her but I often wonder if he ever had any fun...He was skilled woodworker and could fix anything...and he had dark brooding eyes and dark black hair. His three daughters were very pretty but his son was troubled with drink and had many wives and only late in life got himself together...and suicides unfortunately run high in the grand and great grands..you have to wonder sometimes...
Interesting. Who is the other author of the blog you quote ? My mother, along with several others, was in Heth's writing class. I have never heard that he was 'openly' or otherwise gay. Many people of the same sex live together for various reasons, financial being one. Do you have any evidence of their sexual relationship?
I found your blog while searching for Bill's pottery.
I wrote my blog in 2010, Heth and his partner died in the early 60s. Why would his writing class be aware of his homosexuality? I had gay friends in the early 1960s, but didn't know it until after they both died rather tragically and someone told me. Didn't change how I felt about them. I did attempt a phrase search using google, but didn't find anything. Blogs come and go--mine at 18 is unusual.
Found a link--but I don't know this writer nor where he got his information. The semi-autobiographical book seems to confirm it. https://ourliveswisconsin.com/article/hints-of-whats-hidden/
Thanks for your quick response. Because you said he was "openly gay", I would think the writing class would be aware. I was just looking for evidence. My only point is that I would not like to be labeled something I wasn't after I passed. I have googled his sites and see no reference to his relationship except from gay writers which also do not show evidence.
Brava, Norma! 👏
Dear Unknown:
Pardon me, but your homophobia is showing. You appear to go to great lengths wanting to prove that a gay man wasn't gay. I suggest you read, if you can, Heth's semi-autobiographical novel, "Any Number Can Play". The homosexual son in the book was based on Heth himself.
Have a wonderful life.
http://www.cookbookarchaeology.com/sunday-tips-tribute-to-edward-harris-heth/
I owned the House on the Hill for many years. Ed and Bill were an obvious couple according to their niece and her husband. Also talking to oldsters in town who knew them (worked on the house and/or were at their church) “they were the only ones of their profession around, if you know what I mean.” The old lady of that quote encouraged Ed to move to Milwaukee after Bill died so he wouldn’t be so alone. They are buried side by side in the church graveyard, rare for gay couples even to this day. If they were truly able to be open in the modern sense, not just accepted if they kept everything low key, they may have not been such hard drinkers so prone to mental health issues and may have lived longer happier lives.
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