A Peony Picnic in Bliss Park

“A large number of people have made a trip to Bliss Park and marveled at the wonderful peony bed on the far western side of the park. It is said that for quality, essence and largeness this is by far the most magnificent display of this flower ever known in this city. There are a number of individual beds featuring enmasse huge white, pink and other colored specimens that have attained great size through the years of scientific cultivation. It is the purpose of the Board of Trade to make possible this same exhibition in every home in the city and a large number of collections of the bulbs will be sold this fall” 

-The Saginaw Daily News, June 28, 1916.

In 1924, the peony was named by the City Council as Saginaw’s official city flower; however, the peony’s popularity in Saginaw dates back much earlier, as there was a concerted campaign to have it designated an official bloom.*

One of the earliest, large municipal plantings was in Saginaw’s Bliss Park.  The property for Bliss Park was purchased by Mrs. and Mr.  Aaron T. Bliss in 1903 and given to the city for use as park. Bliss was a former governor of Michigan. Over the course of the next few years, the site was transformed. The initial design was done by E.C. Foster, a Kalamazoo landscape designer. However, within a couple of years, the newly created Board of Parks and Cemetery Commissioners adopted a revised plan created by Cottage Gardens,** Queens, New York. Although both plans worked around the ancient trees that defined–and continue to define–its landscape, Cottage Gardens’ plan incorporated lush floral beds in the western part of the space. (Although located in Queens, New York, Cottage Gardens had strong Saginaw and peony connections; its founder, Charles Willis Ward, had lived in Saginaw and was a founding member of the American Peony Society. 

By 1912, maturing Bliss Park was known for its peonies:

“Perhaps the most beautiful is Bliss park. The peonies, pink and white, are in full bloom. The iris, in deep purple, lavender blue and white, is a sight of unusual brilliancy. The peony bushes at the city hall are also in full bloom. Here there are rows of pink, red, and white, the arrangement being most effective. The citizens have every reason to be proud of the appearance of Saginaw and great credit is reflected on the committee in charge of this part of the work.” (The Saginaw Daily News, June 18, 1912.)

From the Saginaw News Courier, 1923.

The immense planting of peonies was a perfect setting for special outings, and soon the Saginaw Reading Club, an organization founded by 50 women in 1885,  had added a special June meeting to their carefully structured program. It was, of course, a peony picnic. The first documentation for the event we have located is in 1913:

“A peony picnic was held by the ladies of the Saginaw Reading club at Bliss Park Monday afternoon, about 75 ladies enjoying the afternoon amid the blooming peonies in the park. A fine picnic luncheon was served from the well filled baskets, Mrs. E.E. Curtiss presiding on the committee for refreshments. This affair proved so delightful and successful that it may be an annual event for the club, the park affording many features of pleasure for visitors. A short talk by Mrs. Smith-Palmer was given in which she paid tribute to the memory of the late Gov. Bliss by whom it was made possible for the city to have a park and who generously provided the Y.M.C.A. auditorium for the Women’s Club meetings.” (The Saginaw Daily News, June 17, 1913.)

Each year, the club printed an elegant booklet outlining the year’s agenda and detailing the program for each month. Recognizing that predicting the exact date of peak peony season was something done close to the event, the program simply noted the event would be held in June – however, it was often accompanied by a few lines of poetry. 

The 1914 -15  program lists:

“June –

Peony Picnic in Bliss Park

I said it my heart, ‘I am sick of four walls and a ceiling, 

I have need of the sky,

I have business with the grass.

I will up and get me away where the hawks wheeling,

Lone and high;

And slow clouds go by,’ – Richard Hovey

Both the newspaper and club minutes record that the event was not without challenges –the main one being the weather:

Due to weather conditions, the annual peony picnic of the Reading club which was to have been given Saturday afternoon at Bliss park, has been indefinitely post-poned.” (The Saginaw News Courier, June 10, 1922.)

The Saginaw Reading Club continued to hold their peony picnic at least until 1942–it is quite possible the celebration’s fading reflected changes in the landscape of  Bliss Park. 

The Saginaw Reading Club thrived for several more decades–at least until the late 1980s, and Bliss Park, even without vast plantings of peonies, remains a special place.

The Recipe: Picnic Sandwiches

Announcements for the picnic suggest a potluck…

“The members of the Saginaw Reading club will hold a peony picnic at Bliss park next Monday afternoon, and the weather prevention arrangements have been made to have the picnic in the chapel of the Blind Institute. Each member is requested to bring a cup, spoon, fork, napkin and filled basket. (The Saginaw Daily News, June 13, 1913).

After quite a bit of agonizing,  the CTK staff settled on filling a basket with cucumber sandwiches – is there any better accompaniment to a peony than a cucumber sandwich?

Ingredients:

1 loaf of very thin, white sandwich bread (The CTK staple for cucumber sandwiches is Pepperidge Farm, Very Thin White Bread.)

1 cucumber

1 package cream cheese, slightly softened (Although it is easier to spread, the CTK is not a great fan of whipped cream cheese – at least for this recipe.)

Method:

Peel cucumbers (in the summer, when cucumbers are fresh, we sometimes leave the skin on). Slice very thinly and spread out on paper towels to drain. When entertaining, we often do this in advance.

Arrange the cucumber slices in one layer on paper towels, cover tightly, and refrigerate – this can be done at least several hours in advance. The goal is to have the cucumbers drained and cold – but not dry and pithy.

Spread cream cheese on one slice of bread. Arrange cucumber slices and then place another slice of bread on top of the cucumbers to form a sandwich.

Trim crust from bread and then cut into triangles, artfully.

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CTK NOTE:

This recipe is adapted from cucumber sandwiches served from a lunch wagon in Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London. In the lunch wagon, sandwiches were premade using the entire loaf of bread. The sandwiches were stored in the lunch wagon in stacks – the entire loaf of bread with alternating layers of filling and bread. As sandwiches were sold, the crust would be moved down the stack and function as a cover – protecting the unsold sandwiches.  Although not technically a Saginaw recipe, this adapted version has been served in Saginaw for nearly 41 years.