Nancy Drew Sleuth Convention 2025, Lancaster, PA: The Witch Tree Symbol

At the Boston Nancy Drew Convention The Secret of the Wooden Lady in 2013, I presented a fun "foodie tour" that referenced all the food mentioned in the book, because as we all know,

food is often a huge part of any Nancy Drew mystery. Right Bess?

The Clue in the Diary contains at least 12 references to eating, as Nancy, Bess and George steadily munch their way from River Heights to Stanford and back again.

In her book, The Nancy Drew Scrapbook: 60 Years of America’s Favorite Teenage Sleuth, author Karen Plunkett-Powell, whom I met at a writing conference way back in 2001, talks about some of the more memorable meals mentioned in the books, and she remarks that The Clue in the Diary (1932) sets a record for food consumption that hadn’t been surpassed at the time her book was published, which was 1993.

"The book started out at a carnival, where Nancy, Bess, and George had consumed hot dogs, peanuts, and sodas. On the way home, they stopped for a relaxing picnic lunch (packed by Hannah Gruen) and plump Bess ate five chicken sandwiches. They hopped back in Nancy's roadster and headed toward River Heights but were delayed by an explosion at the Raybolt estate. Soon their friend Ned Nickerson treated them to ice cream sodas at the Mapleton Drug Store. The following day the girls decided to save a child named Honey from certain starvation. They pooled their money and stocked up on food at the grocery store. Of course, this required that they prepare some of it as well, and the entire crew sat down to a feast of steak, vegetables, melons, bread and ice cream. Before the mystery was solved, they dined heartily at the Maplecroft Inn, and afterward Nancy moved on to Baylor Weston's home for a six-course dinner. The book ended with a gala party at the Drews' house to celebrate another happy ending--with tables fairly groaning with food and drink!"

The Witch Tree Symbol can certainly give these aforementioned books a run for their money. According to Bess, Lancaster, PA, often referred to as Pennsylvania Dutch Country, has some of the "best food in the whole United States".

Here are some literary examples of what Nancy and her chums chowed down on during their sleuthing in Lancaster:

Roast beef, apple pie, brown and yellow and white cheeses, red, purple and white grape jellies. A platter of huge slices of homemade bread, dishes of apple butter, stewed peaches and canned cherries.

Pickled onions, sour cantaloupe, corn relish.

Boiled pot pie (made of rabbit and fluffy two-inch squares of pastry)

Fasnachts - fried doughnuts.

Shoofly pie (made of molasses, sugar, eggs and spices)

Moon pies (made with roast of veal, butter, cream, and pickled relish, covered with piecrust dough)

Huge slices of buttered bread "heaped" with apple butter.

Schnitz un knepp - ham or pork shoulder with dried apples and dumplings.

Old shoes - mashed potatoes inside of a dumpling.

Milich Flitche - a pie made of flour, cream, sugar and cinnamon.

Yes, the slices are described as HUGE twice. If you don't believe me, read Witch Tree again (or for the first time, depending where you are on your Nancy Drew journey).

During our recent Nancy Drew Convention in Lancaster, we were given opportunies to explore culinary delights that would make any foodie's heart skip a beat. From fresh Whoopie pies at a charming Lititz cafe, to warm, salted pretzels and fresh lemonade at the Bird in Hand Farmer's Market, to cinnamon cream-cheese roll-ups at the Amish Village, topped off with the largest buffet I have ever seen at the Shady Maple Smorgasbord, this convention was definitely all about the food. #nancydrewconvention #nancydrewcon #ndcon