Mary Ada Marshall Oral History of Smith Island Cake
Dublin Core
Title
Mary Ada Marshall Oral History of Smith Island Cake
Subject
Mary Ada Marshall
Description
Oral History interview by Cliff Murphy & Elaine Eff of Mary Ada Marshall & Kristin Manzo discussing Smith Island Cake
Creator
Mary Ada Marshall
Source
Special Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD)
Publisher
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD)
Date
April 16, 2009
Rights
The use of this audio may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.
Language
English
Type
Audio
Identifier
Maryland Traditions records, Maryland Traditions Archives, Collection 120
Oral History Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Oral History Interview
Duration
6:21
Transcription
Mary Ada Marshall states that “one of the things a woman would want to achieve before she got married was to be able to make a layer cake. It sorta [sic] became a challenge as to how many layers and how thin you could get them and who could bake the most layers on a cake.”
Marshall notes that that she “never did pay much attention to” the growing number of cake layers and that the “layers were baked individually – it just became something we learned to do pretty much on our own.”
Marshall states that “most of the women on the island can, there are some that can’t. Some never master it, some just don’t have the patience or the time or the want to. I take pride in what I do.”
Marshall says that “the Smith Island cake becoming the state dessert was absolutely overwhelming. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that something we baked here on the island would become famous. I guess it’s just the uniqueness of them.”
Marshall concludes, “It’s been a delight...we didn’t really think we had something special but evidently we did.”
Marshall notes that that she “never did pay much attention to” the growing number of cake layers and that the “layers were baked individually – it just became something we learned to do pretty much on our own.”
Marshall states that “most of the women on the island can, there are some that can’t. Some never master it, some just don’t have the patience or the time or the want to. I take pride in what I do.”
Marshall says that “the Smith Island cake becoming the state dessert was absolutely overwhelming. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that something we baked here on the island would become famous. I guess it’s just the uniqueness of them.”
Marshall concludes, “It’s been a delight...we didn’t really think we had something special but evidently we did.”
Interviewer
Cliff Murphy & Elaine Eff
Interviewee
Mary Ada Marshall & Kristin Manzo
Location
Tylerton, Smith Island, MD
Files
Citation
Mary Ada Marshall, “Mary Ada Marshall Oral History of Smith Island Cake,” Nabb Research Center Online Exhibits, accessed November 7, 2024, https://libapps.salisbury.edu/nabb-online/items/show/804.