Our farming friends the Wappel Family, who live just a couple fields away down our same country road, spent a few days in March in Palm Beach, Florida for a charity dinner event hosted at Mar-a-Lago, the winter estate of President Donald Trump, after purchasing the property in 1985.
My last time writing about Mar-a-Lago in my columns was in 2005, for an item I published about the guests who attended his third wedding, held at the winter home property: “Hammond’s own local girl turned millionairess, Georgette Mosbacher, flew to Florida last weekend to attend Donald Trump’s wedding to Melania Knauss. Mosbacher spent much of her time at the reception chatting it up with former President Bill Clinton. If you’re keeping track, the former Georgette Paulsin’s mother became a widow in 1959 and remarried Randy Shepherd, a Hessville neighborhood milkman and brother to another local notable, the late Jean Shepherd, author of ‘A Christmas Story.’ Georgette made her fortune in cosmetics after marrying Robert Mosbacher, who was U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President George Bush. The couple divorced in 1998.”
Mosbacher, now 78, would eventually be appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to Poland from 2018 to 2021.
As for our pals Larry and Debbie Wappel, the charity dinner and performance they attended at Mar-a-Lago did have President Trump, clad in a tuxedo, on the property and greeting guests. The Wappels were among several locals who attended The Sunshine Gala on March 28 to raise funds and awareness for Sunshine Community Center Network, created to serve various charities, most often for organizations supporting individuals with disabilities, particularly children with disabilities and those with severe or chronic conditions. The gala also supports programs that provide therapy, education, and advocacy for these individuals, according to the Sunshine Foundation website.
Mar-a-Lago has a fascinating famous mother connection tale to recount on Mother’s Day.
The first time I ever heard about any of the rich history associated with the Mar-a-Lago Estate was even before President Trump owned it. Late and famous funny friend Phyllis Diller had told me on more than a few occasions during my visits to her home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles that much of the ornate furniture in her 22-room mansion was purchased during an auction of the estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post, the cereal heiress who died in 1973 at 86. Born in Springfield, Illinois, Marjorie was the daughter and only child of C.W. Post, founder of Post Cereals.
The Mar-a-Lago Estate, centered on 17 sprawling acres, was designed and built as a “winter cottage” with 126 rooms for the Post Family and constructed from 1924 to 1927, a decade after Marjorie’s father’s death and during her marriage to financial wizard E.F. Hutton. The couple raised their daughter Nedenia “Dina” at the estate before her successful career as a Hollywood actress until her own passing at age 93 in 2017, following three marriages, including Colgate fortune heir Stanely Rumbough Jr., and later, Hollywood actor Cliff Robertson.
Dina’s infamous, much-married (eight times) cousin Barbara Woolworth Hutton also spent a great deal of time during the winter months at Mar-a-Lago before her own passing at age 66 in 1979.
When Marjorie Merriweather Post died in 1973, she bequeathed Mar-a-Lago to the National Park Service with the strict intent the estate be utilized as “a Winter White House” for U.S. presidents. By December 1980, through an act of Congress, the estate was returned to The Post Foundation with an explanation that the cost and upkeep were too great to be funded by the taxpayers. Trump purchased the property for roughly $10 million, with the remaining interior furnishings alone valued at $8 million.
Debbie Wappel shared several incredible photos of the opulent estate, both interiors and landscaping. From the formal dinner place settings to the floral arrangements and surrounding furnishings, Mar-a-Lago is still frozen in time as a nod to yesteryear’s entertaining elegance.
My 2010 published cookbook “Further From the Farm” included a recipe from the late Dina Merrill, who liked to joke she opted to save her mother’s favorite recipes rather than her collection of jewelry. Most of the latter is now displayed at the Smithsonian Institute, such as the Napolean Diamond Necklace, a gift from the French ruler to his second wife, and a pair of 20-carat diamond earrings that once belonged to Queen Marie Antoinette.
While Dina’s previously published cream of zucchini and curry soup is decadent and delicious, her recipe for “Merrill’s Mussels Mariniere” is just as rich and satisfying.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is a radio host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at PhilPotempa@gmail.com or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.
Dina Merrill’s “Mussels Mariniere”
Makes 4 servings
4 pints fresh mussels in shells
1 cup dry white American wine
1 tablespoon chopped scallions
Chopped parsley, scattering
1/2 clove of garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Freshly grated black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
Salt to taste
Additional chopped parsley for garnish
Directions:
Scrub mussel shells thoroughly with a stiff brush, rinsing repeated in cold water.
Place mussels in shells in a soup kettle with wine, scallions, parsley, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and pepper. Cover kettle tightly with lid and cook on high heat until shells open, about 5 minutes.
Remove the mussels and shells from kettle. Remove just the top shell from each mussel and place on a warm plate.
Strain the stock and reduce it over a high heat until it is one-third remaining. Add butter and salt to taste and bring to a simmer.
Place mussels in a soup tureen for serving and pour hot liquid over the mussels. Add chopped parsley for garnish.
Serving immediately with thick slices for crusty French bread.
