Wednesday Gazette: November 12, 2025

Hello Riverside, and Happy Wednesday! It's National Happy Hour Day, a tradition that dates back to 1913 when the U.S. Navy used the term for scheduled entertainment time. During Prohibition, "Happy Hour" meant time spent at a speakeasy before heading to dinner. Whether happy hours are your thing or not, today's a great opportunity to nominate a neighborly and helpful server or bartender who makes Riverside a friendlier place. Send their name and story to newsroom@raincrossgazette.com!

NATURALLY RIVERSIDE

Deconstructing Pumpkin Pie

A culinary journey reveals that America's most iconic Thanksgiving dessert is a delicious melting pot of ingredients from around the globe.

Thanksgiving may well be the most American of all holidays, nearly universally celebrated within the United States. It features American values like family and gratitude. While families might vary in whether the protein for their Thanksgiving dinner is a turkey or a tofu-nut loaf, most dessert tables are going to feature a pumpkin pie. If pumpkin pie is the unifying feature of Thanksgiving dinners across the nation, it is worth asking, "Just how American is pumpkin pie?"

Let's deconstruct a pumpkin pie recipe to answer that question. The plethora of contemporary pumpkin pie recipes all share a pumpkin and spice custard filling with a crust. They all appear to have roots in a "Pompkin Pudding" recipe in Amelia Simmons' 1796 book, American Cookery.

The universal ingredient is pumpkin. But what is a pumpkin, and is it truly American? Pumpkin is the fruit of certain members of the viny squash family (a big family with familiar members such as cucumbers, melons, and gourds). A pumpkin can come from one of three different species: Cucurbita pepo (classic Jack O' Lanterns as well as most summer squashes like zucchinis and winter squashes like acorn), Cucurbita moschata (includes butternut squash and is the primary source of commercial pumpkin puree), and Cucurbita maxima (also Hubbard and Turban squashes). All of these species are among the oldest domesticated crops, going back ten thousand years or more to their origins. Cucurbita pepo was domesticated in North America, in what is now the American Southwest and northern Mexico. The others hail from South America. By the time that the Pilgrims had arrived, domesticated C. pepo, including its pumpkin variants, had long expanded its range throughout temperate North America. So far, so good. Pumpkin has (North and South) American roots.

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Noteworthy

John W. North High School's Blue Star Regiment hosts the Blue Star Classic Field Show Tournament today, featuring performances by 16 regional high school marching bands.

The entire McCollum family will cross graduation stages simultaneously in 2026 after Marine veteran Michael Sr. used his military education benefits to enable his wife and three children to pursue degrees at four different universities.

RCC's men's track and field team received State Assembly recognition from Assemblymember Leticia Castillo for winning their ninth state championship under coach Jim McCarron while maintaining a 3.14 team GPA across 83 student-athletes.

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What's Happening in Riverside

Today

• Riverside East Rotary Club at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
• Stretch & Dance Class at Janet Goeske Senior Center
• Blue Zones Project Riverside: Greeting Cards for a Cause at Blue Zones Project Office
• Free Reading Assistance Program at My Learning Studio
• Riverside Mission Belles at Victoria Presbyterian Church
• Riverside Open Mic Music Series at Back to the Grind
• Wellness Workshops: Veterans Resource Center at Riverside City College

Tomorrow

• Career Expo at Riverside City College
• Neighbors of the Wood Streets at Eden Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall
• Paint Starry Night | Heart Enterprises Advanced Arts | Acrylic Painting at Marcy Library
• History on the Rocks! at The Mission Inn Foundation ($49.87)
• CoComelon: Sing-A-Long LIVE at Fox Performing Arts Center
• Movie and Mocktails - Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones at Farmhouse Collective

Save The Date 

• November 13: Movie and Mocktails - Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones at Farmhouse Collective
• November 15: NORA's 44th Annual Dinner & Auction Gala at Victoria Club ($175)
• November 15: Olivewood Memorial Park Historical Cemetery Tour at Olivewood Memorial Park ($20)
• November 16: Free Christian Art Exhibit: Icons in Transformation at Immanuel Lutheran Church
• November 16: Native History Hike at Mt. Rubidoux Park
• November 16: "On Peace & Friendship" - Opening Exhibit Reception at Mission Inn Foundation/Museum
• November 18: Pick Group: Professional Development Event with Sharon Morris at Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce
• November 29: Holiday Marketplace at Arcade Coffee Roasters - Tasting Room
• December 6: Home and Story: Growing Up with the Museum at Riverside City College | Salvatore G. Rotella Digital Library and Learning Resource Center ($35- $50)
• December 13: Olivewood Memorial Park Historical Cemetery Tour at Olivewood Memorial Park ($20)
• December 13: Wreaths Across America at Evergreen Memorial Historic Cemetery

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