Etiquette Needed for Outdoors

The girl who leaves the scene of a picnic littered with papers and tin cans should feel the same embarrassment that paralyzed the young woman who wanted to order lobster but didn't dare.

A campaign to make people behave more like human beings has been observable recently in the press throughout the country. Its purpose is highly praiseworthy, but its execution indicates a failure to understand how to get results. Despite widespread and earnest condemnation of certain human faults, they persist like dandelions. People still pull wild flowers and throw them away wilted before they leave the woods. They continue to drive their cars homeward loaded with branches of dogwood or redbud. They throw lighted matches and cigarettes into dry leaves and grass. They still contaminate springs and streams, and kill useful birds and harm less small animals. They are unmoved by threats, by emotional pleas and by ridicule.

There is a way to penetrate such thick skins. It is not by sermons or radio talks or reproachful writings in the daily papers. Even Ding's cartoon of the mob fervently digging in the pleasant green fields, making the wild flowers wild, carries no satiric point to their dull souls. They see only that it’s a funny picture. So, too, with W. C. FIELDS's sharply ironic skit, in which his little picnic party knock down fences, break windows, destroy gardens and ravage the landscape. They perceive in this mocking picture only a merry duplicate of good times, they have had. Laws to protect private property in the country and to conserve certain of the rarer wild flowers exist, but are sadly disregarded.

The appeal to judgment and self-control must come by some more subtle path. Direct methods have failed. Why not try the system advocated by the ladies who know all about manners indoors? The problem is essentially one of manners, but the habit of being polite and kind and considerate of others outdoors has not yet fastened on people as it should and as it can be made to do. More can be accomplished by books of outdoor etiquette than by the police. 

The youth who uses the wrong fork knows that every eye is turned contemptuously on him. The same unhappy feeling should be induced in the man who pulls boughs off flowering trees. He must be made to feel that such depredation is a social error which, if discovered, may prevent his success. The girl who leaves the scene of a picnic littered with papers and tin cans should feel the same embarrassment that paralyzed the young woman who wanted to order lobster but didn't dare.

The campaigners for decent treatment of the out-of-doors will do well to save their breath. Instead of shouting that there ought to be a law they would better commission one of the authorities on good manners indoors to write a book for the same purpose outdoors. Such an arbiter elegantiarum might make the stupid despoilers of nature feel as uncouth and rude as the boor who is miserable because he doesn't know how to remove a fish bone from his mouth. —The New York Times, May 16, 1926

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Gilded Age Picnicking Etiquette

Avoid conflicting contusions upon your next neighbor by grabbing wildly at the olive dish. If you do thus grab for it, he is likely to do the same thing at the same moment. Cruel bodily injuries have resulted from this course of action. The danger arises from the fact that olives are the staff of life at picnics.

Follow the Rules Of Conduct

There are certain principles of conduct with regard to picnics which it is well to observe. For one thing, never go early to a picnic. If you do go early you will have to carry tubs containing ice cream freezers, packed in ice, pails of water, rugs and garden seats and perform a great many other laborious tasks. A picnic is a good deal like coasting, except that it is the other way around—the hard work comes before the fun instead of after it. When a picnic is over and most of the things are eaten up it is not much work to sweep dishes together and carry them away. But the getting of them there is terrible. So it is a point of reasonable conduct to come a little late. 

Another point is to decline nothing that is offered in the way of food. Don’t refuse rolls on the expectation of getting sandwiches, because you may not get the sandwiches. Keep the rolls; you needn't eat them if you get the sandwiches. Another point—avoid conflicting contusions upon your next neighbor by grabbing wildly at the olive dish. If you do thus grab for it, he is likely to do the same thing at the same moment. Cruel bodily injuries have resulted from this course of action. The danger arises from the fact that olives are the staff of life at picnics. 

Gentlemen in waiting upon ladies, should occasionally furtively bolt a sandwich as a matter of prevision, since the eatables may all be consumed or the inevitable rainstorm come up before the ladies are fully waited upon. Any one can get through a picnic day safely and comfortably without ice cream, macaroons, frosted cake or other delicacies, but sustenance of some sort he must have. For this reason, as one passes behind a tree in the course of his admirable struggle to see that the ladies have everything, he should rapidly swallow a sandwich. With attention to a few prudent details such as these, picnics may be deprived of fully one-half of their terrors. —Boston Transcript, 1892

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia 

The Etiquette of Picnic Baskets

There was a good old time when people didn't lose much sleep over the nature of the receptacle for their lunch. The main idea was that there should be plenty of it, and the plenty didn't signify, by the way, all sorts and conditions of delicacies and tempting bits, but just the very plainest kind of food.     

... and the Evolution of the Dinner Pail 

Society has taken to picnicking. Like plain ordinary folks they suddenly found that a day spent in the woods was worth two in the house and with one accord are straightway contending with one another to see who can give the simplest, yet most elaborate luncheon. Strange as it may seem in this particular case, sweet simplicity and studied elaborations go hand in hand and for once make a mighty fine team. For the new dinner pail is a thing to rejoice exceedingly over, that is, this newest and this latest that has been especially concocted for those who are blessed with long pocketbooks, for verily they are brim full when entirely empty. There was a good old time when people didn't lose much sleep over the nature of the receptacle for their lunch. The main idea was that there should be plenty of it, and the plenty didn't signify, by the way, all sorts and conditions of delicacies and tempting bits, but just the very plainest kind of food.

But when the smart set took to spending days in the woods it meant that something was doing in the lunch line. And when automobile parties were made up right and left, there was felt the distinct need of a basket that could be tucked away out of sight and that would dispense with the thousand and one nuisances that have always been deemed necessary. When Mrs. Burton Harrison (nee Crocker) came out here on a jaunt, the very first thing she did was to send notes to her friends asking them to meet her in the morning and when the dozen or more arrived one at a time and in twos and threes, she promptly packed them into traps and invaded one of the pretty spots that are so numerous about Del Monte. For a whole day she had them to herself and they visited to their hearts’ content, every now and then stopping to refresh the mortal man. For while picnics are all right in their way it is what goes with them that has made them so terribly popular. However, as it happens, Mrs. Harrison didn't have to drop in here from Newport to start this round of outings.

Mrs. Will Tevis invited some London friends to visit Yosemite with her and in looking about for the necessary camping outfit, her eye fell upon what is termed the “automobile” lunch basket, and in an instant she grasped its possibilities. The largest, and the one she carried throughout the day, is a perfect basket. To all outward appearances it is an ordinary hamper, looking more like a steamer trunk than anything else, but just wait until that fastened cover is raised— a Jack-in-the-box couldn't or wouldn't surprise one more. All neatly folded and packed away are the requisites of a meal. On top is an oblong wooden piece that develops at presto! change! and a simple twist of the wrist into a table quite large enough for four. It stands in its braced legs that fold under it and is perfectly firm and substantial. That in itself seems to make everything comparatively simple; at least, there is a definite place to put things.

Just under it, the white and red tablecloths with the napkins are folded, and then the impromptu board is quite ready for active business. As the cover swings back on its hinges, leather straps keep it trom upsetting plates, cups and saucers, knives, forks and spoons, that fit and are strapped securely to their respective places. Inside the basket is divided into various compartments. For instance, one end contains a spirit stove over which swings and sways a brass kettle, the finest kind of a coffee brewer and the alcohol flask is near at hand, always ready to replenish. A heavy white jar labeled “butter” and another with “jam” on its cover match the tea, coffee, salt and pepper boxes to see that they don’t get into mischief, and the tin biscuit box is quite near enough to hear all the latest gossip about milady’s and milord’s table manners.

Education makes all the difference in the world, you know, and long before this high tone basket left the factory, it had lorded it over the lesser and plainer ones and given them lessons in all kinds of etiquette. Fancy the modest little 15-cent tin pail sitting meekly In the shadow of an “automobile” that brings half a hundred. My! What an opportunity to flaunt and frill and to put on airs gradually, yet when it comes right down to it the tin pail should have right of way; undeniably it was here first. The workingman probably needed a full pail first, and more than any one else, and he needed quantity and not quality. Nine times out of ten, a newspaper with four or five immense slices of bread, some boiled meat and a flask of cold tea was plenty good enough for him and he prided himself on getting out of carrying anything but the flask home. 

Next the school children, who rode several country miles to school, clamored for lunches and they demanded something that could be fastened on so they could go flapping along their way, running races and rejoicing generally. Necessity is the mother of invention, so Mrs. Rancher promptly converted the smallest lard pail that came into her hands into the needed article. If the pail weighed ten pounds, she wasn’t in the least daunted, and by the time she had cut it down, dressed it up with a new handle, it didn't know itself. The color didn't make any difference and the flaming red advertisement was allowed to stay where it was. but the other side was duly decorated with its owner's name and many a free fight averted in this way. 

But when one has an automobile to glide about in and nothing on earth to do but seek pleasure, it alters the case decidedly. Now, don't it? One of the first girls in town who had a basket fitted to her nifty runabout was Miss Alice Hager, who, by the way, always has everything that is worth a bean. She sees it, longs for it a moment and it is hers. Of course, there are baskets and baskets. That is, all sizes and fitted up in various wares and ways, but there is just one that boasts of a table. For a jolly spin of just two— one of those little impromptu affairs where a chaperon is distinctly and decidedly in the way— nothing could be more convenient than a small  ‘automobile,” yet sufficiently commodious to suffice - for two hungry campers. The lid carries two spoons— although one has been known to do— two knives, two forks and a matchbox. In the very center of the basket there is a spirit stove and kettle and just behind it a white tray, two plates and two saucers. 

An 1875 patent for a picnic hamper or picnic basket 

In one corner there is a fair sized bottle for milk or wine, a flask of alcohol and a couple of cups. Just opposite are three tin compartments, one for bread or biscuits, another for fried chicken, while the other serves admirably for potato chips or any of the little nothings that go such a long way toward the making of a dainty luncheon. For people like the Crockers, the Schwerins and the Martins, who spend most of their time at Blingum, the basket for four is much more used, and its filling has been reduced to a science. “Hello. Private Exchange 1, This is the Hobarts’ place. Fill that ‘automobile’ for four and send it on the five train. Yes, a regular lunch. Make it a good one. Good-bye.” And that’s the art of picnic concocting. San Rafael isn't far enough away to have been left out, and there are a multitude of haunts that must have been made for this precise reason. 

Of all her enthusiastic devotees, Mrs. Charles K. Harley probably holds the palm, for there is scarcely a week that Miss Julia de Laveaga and Miss Ruth Gedney fail to trip over, bound for the woods. In runabouts and on sturdy cobs, the cavalcade journeys to the allotted spot and a lazy peaceful day is before them. In less than two and a half minutes a feast fit to set before the king is yours for the asking, so is it any wonder that outings are distinctly the order of the day.  The only wonder is that folks were so slow in finding out how much fun they were missing, but just now to be executing the proper caper, you and your friends really must make up for lost time. – San Francisco Call, 1903

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Victorian Picnic Etiquette

If a lady chooses to seat herself upon the ground, you are not at liberty to follow her example unless she invites you to be seated. She must not have occasion to think of the possibility of any impropriety on your part. You are her servant, protector, and guard of honor. You will of course give her your hand to assist her in rising.

      and Etiquette for Other Outdoor Excursions

Picnic excursions into the country are not occasions of ceremony, but call for the exercise of all one's real good nature and good breeding. On leaving the carriage, cars, or steamboat, gentlemen should of course relieve the ladies they attend of the shawls, baskets, etc., with which they may have provided themselves, and give them all necessary assistance in reaching the spot selected for the festivities. It is also their duty and their happiness to accompany them in their rambles, when it is the pleasure of the fair ones to require their attendance, but not to be obtrusive. They may sometimes wish to be alone.

If a lady chooses to seat herself upon the ground, you are not at liberty to follow her example unless she invites you to be seated. She must not have occasion to think of the possibility of any impropriety on your part. You are her servant, protector, and guard of honor. You will, of course, give her your hand to assist her in rising. 

When the sylvan repast is served, you will see that the ladies whose cavalier you have the honor to be, lack nothing. The ladies, social queens though they be, should not forget that every favor or act of courtesy and deference, by whoever shown, demands some acknowledgment on their part—a word, a bow, a smile, or at least a kind look.  – From 1887's "How to Behave"

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Vintage and Modern Picnic Etiquette

Outdoor Meals Away from Home ~ The “Nose-Bag is News”

"Painless picnics! Let's have more of them. Is your family the sort that's always getting the urge to lock the door, jump in the car and get away from it all? If so, then maybe you have already learned that picnics can be less trouble than staying at home. Or, has your glow of enthusiasm become dimmed by too much sandwich making, salad fixing and egg deviling? From now on resolve to do it the casual way. Get out the hamper and the list. The hamper holds the ready packed plates, salt, sugar and napkins. The list begins with coffee and ends with matches. Best of all, it takes just about twenty minutes to run down the list and drop in things. Makings are taken instead of finished dishes. In place of sandwiches, sliced bread, butter, spreads and cold meats are tucked in. Deviled eggs simply mean that eggs were boiled while breakfast was eaten, then put in the basket along with prepared mustard, lemon and mayonnaise. By the way, have you ever eaten deviled eggs that were made while listening to the pounding of the surf or to the lilt of a bird's song in the woods? They taste twice as good. Try it for yourself sometime. On the other hand, perhaps your family likes to do everything at home and then just loaf at the picnic. Then the nose-bag is news. Many find it a distinct improvement over the regular kind of picnic because the clearing up and unpacking afterwards are eliminated this is the system: New paper bags are used, one for each member of the party. Food is packed so that it is removed in the order it is to be eaten – sandwiches, salads (in paper containers) and pickles at the top of the bag; fruit and cookies at the bottom. Chill all foods, putting them into the bag just before leaving the house. At beach picnics, the children will like to have stunts in order to fill that long stretch between lunch and swim time. Occasionally put "stunt and penalty" slips in each nose-bag, for after lunch performance. Lunch over, each person leaves his leavings in his bag, after which the bags are collected and burned.

Forster IDEAL Picnic Package ~ Before modern day plastic sporks were available, wooden utensils like these were used for picnics.  They'd be tossed into the bags of “leavings” after the picnic, then burned before you left the picnic grounds. 

Then there are the families who go in bunches. Possibly a group of neighbors enjoy spending the day together at a park in the country. In order not to work a hardship on any single one, this plan has been most successfully tried: Each family takes its turn acting as general picnic host. The host family plans the days program from start to finish assigns to each of the six guest families a certain food to bring for the whole crowd (salad from one family, sandwiches from another, cake from another, etc...) ; furnishes the picnic dishes, the hot or cold drink, the tablecloth, the paper and kindling for the fire, and games; and assumes all table setting and clean up responsibilities. By the time summer is over, each family has served its turn only once as host, and has had six rollicking picnics to enjoy and guest role."  From "Sunset's Host and Hostess Book," 1940

The well stocked picnic hamper for your guests.

Picnic Etiquette

The summer months provide people with many wonderful opportunities to dine outside their homes; be it in their backyard, or at a park, or at the beach, picnics are a very popular dining option for people who want to enjoy the great outdoors. Meals outdoors were probably first enjoyed during the Middle Ages, when hunting feasts became a favorite activity of the leisure class. The English word “picnic" is said to come from the French word “pique-nique,” which was used in the 17th century to describe gourmands who provided their own wine when dining with out with friends.  It does not require special occasion to enjoy a picnic; just good food , good weather and good company.

For the Guests:

• Offer to bring a dish.  If the hosts accepts your offer, double the recipe in case extra guests attend.
• Ask your host if children are allowed, if not specified on the invitation.  Sometimes the host does not specify when it is an “adults only” affair.
• If the hosts have the food arranged buffet style, just take one serving.  You can always go back for seconds. Everyone has attended events where the guests in front of them pile their plates high, and then there is hardly any food remaining, by the time the people at the end of the line are ready to help themselves.
• If you are a vegetarian, the time to ask your host about the meatless options available is when you are responding to the invitation, not when the food is being served.
• Be considerate when playing outdoor games, especially if your group is sharing space with others who are having picnics of their own. 
• Watch foul language, avoid heated discussions, and watch your alcohol intake.  Keep the environment festive and fun.
• Clean up after yourself.  Your hosts will have enough to deal without having to be on trash duty.
• Thank your host for an enjoyable time. Following up with a written note of thanks is always a nice touch.

For the Host and/or Hostess:

• Make sure your guests have a comfortable environment to enjoy the foods you have prepared.
• If possible, use colorful, partitioned plastic picnic dishes.  Partitions make it easier to put meat, vegetables and salad all on one plate. Regular plates are fine, but partition plates can make serving oneself easier.
• Have a variety of refreshing beverages on hand, alcoholic and nonalcoholic in nature, along with plenty of water to keep your guests refreshed and hydrated.
• Old standby picnic foods such as hamburgers, hot dogs and vegetarian versions of these for your vegetarian guests, are always great comfort foods. Other finger foods, such as corn on the cob are usually enjoyed by all in the picnic setting.
• If you are hosting a picnic away from home, invest in a sturdy hamper, a basket that is light , with a long life and plenty of room for the food, utensils and beverage containers. Waterproof paper bags for leftovers, paper napkins and such, are wise to have on hand if there are no waste receptacles nearby.
• No matter how choose to picnic, make sure you have a good time and thank your guests for coming. Remember, there are other places they could’ve chosen to spend their time and they chose to spend it with you!

The Art of Packing a Picnic Hamper 

by Amy Vanderbilt, 1957

"It’s an art to pack a picnic hamper with the kind of food that makes picnickers glad they didn’t stay at home. Cold fried chicken or little cold veal or ham pies, English style, make delicious out-of-hand eating. Chicken or potato salad in a glass jar combine easily at the picnic spot with crisp lettuce which has been brought separately in a damp towel and like the other foods mentioned are, to my mind, more palatable than a much traveled sandwich. There are all sorts of good things that can be put in picnic jugs and served piping hot hours later – spaghetti with mushrooms and chicken livers, for instance, or baked beans or even thick fish chowder.

If you are going to a distant picnic ground, it is preferable to take food in vacuum jugs and bottles rather than to light a fire, unless specific campsite has been set up in safe places. Or, if there are really able woodsman in your party that can manage a campfire so it doesn’t smoke of the gas and ruined the food, be sure every spark is extinguished with water or loose dirt before you leave, and obliterate all signs of your presence, so others may enjoy the woods or beach as you have."

Compiled by contributor Demita Usher of Social Graces and Savoir Faire

 

🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia