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WEDNESDAY EDITION
Siuslaw News
Coast Life
❘ JANUARY 13, 2016 ❘
SECTION B
SENIOR NEWS
CALENDAR
INSIDE — 4B
There’s magic
in the bowl
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Author Maggie Stuckey brings ‘Soup Night’ to Siuslaw Public Library
“
T
here’s just some-
thing about soup,”
Portland-area
author Maggie Stuckey said.
She listed some of the words that peo-
ple think of when they think about soup:
comforting, heartwarming, nutritious,
warm, homey and easy.
“With soup, there’s always enough,”
she said.
Stuckey will present excerpts of her
recipe book “Soup Night” at two soup-
based events at Siuslaw Public Library.
The first will be held at the Florence
location, 1460 Ninth St., Wednesday,
Jan. 27, at 6 p.m. The second will be at
the Mapleton location, 88148 Riverview
Ave., at noon the following day,
Thursday, Jan. 28.
“Soup Night” tells the story of com-
munities that gather to share a meal
together.
“People exclusively and deliberately
set out to do something that would bring
their neighbors together,” Stuckey said.
Neighborhoods from Portland, Ore.,
to the American South came up with the
idea individually, but Stuckey thinks she
is the first to write about the cultural
phenomenon.
“It’s definitely a human trait, because
we’ve been doing this since the cave-
man,” she said.
Her book illustrates 30 groups and the
different ways they prepare a meal
together. The core of “Soup Night,”
however, is her brother’s neighborhood
on Stanton Street in Northeast Portland.
“The first time I went, I was standing
on my brother’s porch and along the
sidewalk came this parade of people
walking by, carrying their soup bowls.
It’s the most charming thing I ever
saw,” Stuckey said.
Most Soup Nights are wrapped around
the philosophy “come empty, leave
full.” People bring their own dishes so
the host doesn’t have extra work to do.
According to the Siuslaw Public
Library, dishes will be provided for the
local Soup Night presentations.
A dash of success
The Stanton Street group formed more
than 20 years ago when a mother want-
ed her neighborhood to be safe for her
children.
“In most of the Soup Nights that I
wrote about, they opened up their doors
to everybody, including people they
don’t know,” Stuckey said. “Sometimes
that means there are people there you
wouldn’t necessarily develop a friend-
ship with, because their lives are too
different, but when they sit down and
eat together, they discover the common
humanity that we all have.”
The first Soup Night on Stanton Street
soon became a regular occurrence, even
after the host burned the soup.
“When I interviewed these folks, I
kept hearing the same thing over and
over again: it’s made our neighborhood
COURTESY PHOTOS
Author Maggie Stuckey
like a small town. We’ve got that small
town goodness going,” Stuckey said.
Some groups formed in geographic
regions, like a neighborhood, but some
Soup Nights formed around nonprofit
organizations, common interests and
even just a love of soup.
Stuckey was adamant that Soup Night
can bridge all differences.
“It’s a testament to the concept of
diversity, if you think about what diver-
sity really means,” she said.
The Stanton Street group consists of
the elderly, a young couple with a baby,
people in their 30s, 40s and 50s, young
retirees, African Americans, gay couples
and small families.
“You couldn’t pick an area where peo-
ple are more different,” she said.
“Because of those differences, in a nor-
mal pattern of events, they would not
form friendships.”
They come from various religious
faiths and all kinds of professions and
occupations, and their political ideas
range from far left to far right.
Recipe for goodwill
A behavioral counselor once said to
Stuckey, “It’s hard to hate people when
you sit down and eat with them.”
She noticed positive interactions over
the whole neighborhood or region.
“When you surround yourself with
people you care about, and who care
about you, and you’re all watching out
for each other, it changes people. It
makes them kinder. They feel connect-
ed,” she said. “There’s a blanket of
goodwill hanging over the whole block,
and it changes people in a very good
way.”
Stuckey was impressed with the chil-
dren who grew up in a Soup Night cul-
ture.
“How valuable it is for children’s
understanding of the world to have reg-
ular exposure to people who maybe
think a little differently, or go to a dif-
ferent church or come from a different
racial background,” she said. “They
The Friends of the Siuslaw Public Library
will prepare African peanut soup, taco
soup and vegetarian potato cheese soup
for the Soup Nights in Florence and
Mapleton on Jan. 27 and 28. Children
and families are welcome at the events.
learn to see the world as a big wide-
open space with lots of great people in
it.”
Children are especially welcome at
the Siuslaw Public Library’s two events.
“Because of the time, librarian Kevin
Mittge thought that families with chil-
dren would be able to come to the
Mapleton event,” she said. “I love hav-
ing kids there. They always have great
questions.”
From early October to April, Stuckey
plans on more than 37 Soup Night
events at libraries in small to medium
cities in Washington and Oregon.
“I had absolutely no idea how this
would be received and if the libraries
would think it was a worthwhile thing
to do,” she said. “I have to confess, I
was completely unprepared for the
response. It’s very heartwarming and
makes me feel so good. The people who
come to the programs have a good time
and we always have good soup.”
Come to the table
Volunteer chefs with Friends of the
Siuslaw Public Library (FOL) will be
preparing three soups from “Soup
Night” for the two events: African
peanut soup, taco soup and vegetarian
potato cheese soup. There will also be
bread.
She is pleased to come to Florence
and Mapleton after planning with
library staff and FOL volunteers.
“They’ve been wonderfully support-
ive,” Stuckey said. I can’t wait to get
there. I’m thrilled to meet everybody.”
“When people gather for Soup Nights,
you can smell the soup, but it is mostly
auditory. You can hear how happy the
people are to be together,” Stuckey said.
“Soup Night” features 100 recipes for
soup, many of them compiled from the
Soup Night groups around the country.
Stuckey said, “My theory is, anyone
that can read can cook. After a while,
you develop a taste for what goes well.
You can bring your own taste to favorite
recipes, and soon you’re cooking from
scratch. And sometimes it’s a failure,”
she said with a laugh. “People are still
going to love you anyway.”
That is truly what soup is about for
Stuckey.
“There’s something magical about
soup. There’s magic in that bowl,” she
said.
For more information about Soup
Night at Siuslaw Public Library, call
541-997-3132 or visit
siuslawlibrary.info.
__________
Follow Chantelle on Twitter @SNews_
Chantelle.
Email her at cmeyer@thesiuslawnews.com.
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