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.”

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.