Special Collections: Guide to the Ruth Hertzberg papers

Arranged and described by Desiree Butterfield-Nagy
Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Department
September 2012

Administrative Information

Collection title:  Ruth Hertzberg papers related to Putting Food By
Collection number:  SpC MS 1731
Dates of collection:  1973-1982 (inclusive); (bulk 1982)
Size of collection:  .2 linear feet (5 folders)
Provenance:  Gift of Janet K. Hertzberg, 2012
Arrangement:  Arranged chronologically.
Conservation note: Materials transferred to acid-free storage containers.
Preferred citation: Ruth Hertzberg papers, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine.
Restrictions on access and use:  Stored in the library's remote storage area.  One week's notice requested for access.

Biographical Note

Ruth Densmore Hertzberg served as a demonstration agent with the Windham County, Vermont Extension Service from 1956 to 1971.
Among her many educational efforts, she was known for teaching Peace Corps volunteers in training for foreign service on food
preservation methods. She co-authored the reference book Putting Food By with Janet Greene and Beatrice Vaughan. First
published in 1973, at the time of printing the fifth edition in 2010, the book had sold more than 600,000 copies.

Herttzberg was born in Noel, Nova Scotia, and graduated high school in South Portland, Maine. She earned a Bachelor of Science
degree in Home Economics from the University of Maine in 1928. She began her career teaching in Belfast, Maine, and continued at
Brattleboro High School. She married A.A. Hertzberg in 1938 and continued her career as the manager of the coffee shop at
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital before moving to Vermont. She died October 11, 1994.

Scope and Content Note

The collection includes news articles clipped by staff members of the publisher of Putting Food By, The Stephen Greene Press,
after the 1982 printing. The book is mentioned as being among the top resources for recipes and methods of preserving garden
harvests in dozens of national newspapers. The letters in the collection are from readers and colleagues expressing thoughts on
the importance of the book, asking for clarification on safe canning practices, and suggesting recipes to be included in future
editions.

Folder Titles

1 Putting Food By "goodies," newsclippings, June 19, 1980; August, 1982
2 Newsclippings continued, September - October, 1982
3 Putting Food By "goodies," letters, August 1978; January-September, 1982
4 Autographed photograph of Beatrice Vaughan
5 Book jacket, 1973 edition

 

 Finding Aids for selected manuscript collections in the Special Collections Department at Fogler Library are accessible online in URSUS, in a browsable Guide to Manuscript Collections. Please contact Special Collections at spc@umit.maine.edu or (207) 581-1686 for further information.

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Special Collections Staff: spc@umit.maine.edu | 207.581.1686 | Revised: 01/16/2013