At the South Louisiana Ice Processing Center in Basile, detainees say they were forced into hard labor – and sexually assaulted and stalked by an assistant warden
‘It is for my daughter and my family that I have endured everything that I have in this detention facility for the past 28 months.’ Illustration: Rita Liu/The Guardian
A Google Maps screenshot of the South Louisiana Ice Processing Center (SLIPC) in Basile, Louisiana.
Photograph: Google Maps
A spokesperson for Geo categorically denied the allegations detailed in the complaints.
Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
Queer and trans immigrants at a detention facility in south Louisiana have alleged that they faced sexual harassment and abuse, medical neglect and coerced labor by staff at the facility, and that they were repeatedly ignored or faced retaliation for speaking out.
In multiple legal complaints, immigrants detained at the South Louisiana Ice Processing Center (SLIPC) in Basile, Louisiana, said they were recruited into an unsanctioned work program that forced them to perform hard manual labor for as little as $1 per day. Detainees also alleged that queer people were targeted by an assistant warden who stalked, harassed and sexually assaulted them.
Three current and former detainees who spoke to the Guardian said that, between 2023 and 2025, they endured months of abuse from an assistant warden named Manuel Reyes and his associates. In their complaints to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), the detainees also said that they faced retaliation for reporting the abuse to authorities, alleging that Reyes and other staff beat them and denied them medical treatment.
“I was treated worse than an animal,” said Mario Garcia-Valenzuela, one of the detainees. “We don’t deserve to be treated like this.”
Garcia-Valenzuela, a trans man detained at SLIPC, has alleged that, as part of the unsanctioned work program, Reyes forced him to move heavy cabinets and cinder blocks, and to clean using industrial-strength chemicals without gloves or protective gear. When Garcia-Valenzuela complained of injuries from the work program, he said, Reyes and his associates forcefully stripped him naked and mocked him.
Kenia Campos-Flores, who is trans and non-binary, told the Guardian that they suffered from persistent migraines and chest pain after exposure to cleaning chemicals they were made to use during unofficial, overnight work shifts. Campos-Flores also alleged in a complaint they were persistently sexually harassed by Reyes, who entered their dorm and stole possessions including their boxers.
Another trans detainee, Monica Renteria-Gonzalez, complained that a stripper chemical he was told to use to clean the facility floors seeped through his fabric shoes and burned the skin of his feet. On more than one occasion, while Renteria-Gonzalez was bent over cleaning, he said, Reyes came up from behind and inappropriately touched him. The assistant warden also told Renteria-Gonzalez he was watching the detainee through security cameras, including while he was showering.
A fourth detainee, identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe, is a cisgender, queer woman who said that Reyes forced her to perform oral sex on him on a “near daily basis” between February and May 2024, threatening to kill her if she refused, according to her complaint.
Doe, who was deported to the Dominican Republic in January this year, has chosen not to share her name or speak publicly because she fears that Reyes will make good on his threat to find and harm her, her lawyer said.
Taken together, the detainees’ stories present a troubling pattern of mistreatment and abuse inside SLIPC, their attorneys said. Though the alleged abuse took place across two presidential administrations, advocates worry that conditions inside detention facilities could further deteriorate amid the Trump administration’s present push to arrest and detain a record number of immigrants. Trans and queer immigrants in detention are especially vulnerable, advocates said, given that the administration is also moving to roll back key civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ people in federal custody.
The detainees’ allegations are detailed in four separate administrative complaints filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows individuals to sue the government for injuries caused by federal employees. The government has six months to adjudicate the complaints, or the claimants could move forward with a federal lawsuit. They were submitted in September by Robert F Kennedy Human Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Louisiana and the National Immigration Project. Those groups have also submitted a civil rights complaint to the DHS oversight bodies, including the office for civil rights and civil liberties (CRCL), on behalf of the detainees.
“This was a sadistic late-night work program,” said Sarah Decker, a senior staff attorney with RFK Human Rights. “It was designed to target vulnerable trans men or masculine-presenting LGBTQ people, who [Reyes] coerced into participating.”
When detainees tried to report their abuse, Decker said, Ice officials repeatedly disregarded them. Officials dismissed multiple reports of abuse in accordance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (Prea), Decker said, as well as complaints to the Ice office of inspector general (OIG), the department charged with oversight of Ice.
“These people screamed for help. They filed grievances. They filed complaints under the Prison Rape Elimination Act, they filed verbal complaints through the office of the inspector general. They did everything to get help,” Decker said. “And they were systematically ignored, and complaints were buried.”
The Guardian attempted to locate Reyes though multiple means, including public records and social media searches and were unable to contact him. Reyes is not facing criminal charges for the alleged sexual abuse at the facility.
He is no longer employed at SLIPC, Decker said – he left the facility in July 2024. But, Renteria-Gonzalez and Garcia-Valenzuela, who remain detained at SLIPC, told the Guardian other staff at the facility have continued to retaliate against them, placing them in solitary confinement and denying them full access to medical care.
The DHS and Ice did not respond to the Guardian’s queries about the detainees’ allegations, nor did the agencies address whether any of the detainees’ Prea complaints were investigated.
‘It’s devastating and heartbreaking, everything that they do to us in here’
Located about 90 miles (145km) from the Gulf coast in the rural town of Basile, Louisiana, SLIPC was once a correctional facility. But in 2019, it opened as an Ice detention facility, operated by Geo Group, one of the largest private prison and surveillance firms in the US.
Over the past several years, the detention center, which houses mostly women as well as a few trans people, has attracted a string of allegations of civil and human rights violations, medical neglect and poor hygiene. In 2022, an internal inspection by the office of the immigration detention ombudsman – an independent office within the Department of Homeland Security – found that the facility had insufficient medical staffing, and had been inconsistent in addressing the medical and mental health needs of detainees. A 2025 report by the Yale Law School also found that detainees were “left hungry, cold, and in an atmosphere detainees describe as abusive”.
A Google Maps screenshot of the South Louisiana Ice Processing Center (SLIPC) in Basile, Louisiana. Photograph: Google Maps
“It’s devastating and heartbreaking, everything that they do to us in here,” said Renteria-Gonzalez, who first arrived at the facility in May 2023. “We struggle on a daily basis.”
He said his decision to remain in detention while his immigration case is under review – rather than accept deportation – has been painful.
Renteria-Gonzalez came to the US when he was 12 and has been in the country for 31 years. His eight-year-old daughter is a US citizen. “It is for my daughter and my family that I have endured everything that I have in this detention facility for the past 28 months,” he said. “It’s so that I can make it back home to her.”
Renteria-Gonzalez said Reyes first recruited him to participate in the late-night work program in September 2023, according to his complaint. Reyes would often come into his dorm late at night – at around 2 or 3am – to wake him up for his night shift.
“It’s like he lived [at the detention center] 24/7,” Renteria-Gonzalez told the Guardian.
Each recruit worked alone, during different times or in different parts of the detention facility – meaning they were often alone with Reyes, the detainees allege. During these times, Renteria-Gonzalez said, he would watch them work and probe them with invasive and inappropriate questions. “It made me feel uncomfortable,” he said. “He used to sit on his phone and asked us for personal information to look us up on Facebook and stuff.”
Sometimes, he said, Reyes entered detainees’ dorms late at night for no particular reason, and would take their used underwear and personal hygiene products. On other occasions, Renteria-Gonzalez alleged in the complaint, Reyes would stalk him as he went to and from the showers and ask invasive questions: “And after, he would say: ‘Tell me what were you doing in the shower?’”
Twice, Renteria-Gonzalez said, Reyes came up behind him and touched him inappropriately. Another SLIPC officer, according to Renteria-Gonzalez, began to sexually harass him as well, sending him explicit notes and showing him pornographic images of herself.
“I just felt overwhelmed,” he said. “I thought enough was enough.”
Eventually, he realized he wasn’t alone.
After being detained at SLIPC in February 2024, Garcia-Valenzuela said he also found himself trapped in Reyes’s unofficial work program.
Mario Garcia-Valenzuela. Photograph: Mario Garcia-Valenzuela
Garcia-Valenzuela had fled to the US in 2014 from Mexico, where he was tortured by members of a drug cartel. “I have no choice, that’s why I’m fighting,” he said. “Because I know that as soon as they deport me, I’m going to be handed over to the cartels and I’m going to be tortured and killed – ripped into pieces.”
But in SLIPC he faced a new kind of horror. He alleged that on more than one occasion he was told to move heavy metal filing cabinets back and forth across a room. When he struggled to lift the furniture, Reyes would taunt him, he said, saying: “If you think you are a man, I’m going to treat you like a man.”
In the spring of 2024, Garcia-Valenzuela reported sexual harassment on the basis of his gender, in accordance with Prea. He said he felt targeted due to his gender identity and wanted the fact he is transgender removed from his file, as a measure of protection. But an Ice officer responded that “even if we take off your transgender marker, there is no hiding that you are transgender”, noting Garcia-Valenzuela’s physical appearance, he said. To Garcia-Valenzuela’s knowledge, no follow-up investigation into Reyes was conducted.
Renteria-Gonzalez’s complaints were dismissed as well, Renteria-Gonzalez said.
A spokesperson for Geo categorically denied the allegations detailed in the complaints.
“GEO strongly disagrees with these baseless allegations, which are part of a long-standing, politically motivated, and radical campaign to abolish ICE and end federal immigration detention by attacking the federal government’s immigration facility contractors,” said Christopher V Ferreira, a Geo group spokesperson.
Ferreira added that “GEO has comprehensive policies in place for the reporting and investigation of all incidents that occur at the Center, including instances of assault and/or sexual assault. These policies are governed by standards and requirements established by the US Department of Homeland Security.”
Geo did not respond to questions about Reyes’s employment status at SLIPC.
Harsh retaliation
The detainees who filed complaints against Reyes and other SLIPC staff said that they faced harsh retaliation for doing so.
When Jane Doe filed a Prea complaint with Ice using a paper form and through the phone hotline, detailing that Reyes had sexually assaulted her, she received no response, according to her legal complaint.
But afterwards, Reyes redoubled his efforts to stalk her, the complaint alleges – and forced her to perform oral sex on him, saying he had her cornered in the facility’s “camera blind spots” where no one would see them.
When she attempted to resist, Reyes told her he had found her mother’s home address in the Dominican Republic, Doe alleges in the complaint, and told her that if she were deported, he would follow her to her family’s residence where “you won’t have any protection”.
A spokesperson for Geo categorically denied the allegations detailed in the complaints. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
Jane Doe said Reyes and other staff also blocked her from accessing medical treatment for her epilepsy, even as her seizures became more severe and frequent during her time in detention, the complaint states. He repeatedly cornered Doe as she was en route to the medical center to receive treatment, and told her he would watch her on cameras while she was receiving medical evaluation. On one occasion, he told Doe he was “masturbating to her because he saw her body in medical condition when she was in an observation cell”, the complaint alleges.
“We feel so vulnerable, impotent,” Renteria-Gonzalez said.
After he reported that Reyes had sexually assaulted him, Renteria-Gonzalez said, Reyes burst into his housing unit and yelled, “You should have never put my name on it!”, in reference to the complaint to Ice. Renteria-Gonzalez said he was then placed in solitary confinement for two weeks.
After Renteria-Gonzalez reported harassment from another officer, his complaint was dismissed as “unsubstantiated” and the officer came back and told him: “They can’t do nothing to me,” according to the complaint.
Meanwhile, Garcia-Valenzuela said he was repeatedly sent to solitary confinement, he believes in retaliation for speaking out. He said staff at the detention center falsely reported that he had attempted self-harm, and needed to be placed under suicide watch, even though he had not in fact tried to hurt himself.
At one point, while Garcia-Valenzuela was in the medical isolation unit, officers delivered him a meal that consisted of a few potatoes and a few grains of cereal. There was no spoon provided, he said, and there was a note that instructed him to eat it “like a dog”.
Shortly after that incident, he said, a doctor at the facility suddenly – without explanation – stopped providing him access to medication for hand pain that had been exacerbated by his working in Reyes’s night-shift program.
He has avoided making further complaints. He tries not to speak to or make eye contact with staff, and avoids leaving his dorm. He limits trips to the restroom, he said. And rather than go to the cafeteria to warm up his food and eat, he takes his meals cold, and dines in bed. “I have to stay in the back-most corner of my bed, and eat there,” he said.
“I don’t ever feel at ease.”
Trans people in federal custody under threat
The allegations of abuse at SLIPC come at a time when the health and safety of trans people in federal custody is especially under threat, advocates say.
On the first day of his presidency, Donald Trump unveiled a flurry of executive actions targeting trans rights, rolling back anti-discrimination protections and mandating that people in immigration detention be placed in facilities based on their sex assigned at birth.
On 16 January – the last day of Joe Biden’s administration – Ice reported that 47 trans people were in Ice detention facilities around the country and that 69 had been arrested since the start of the fiscal year. As soon as Trump took office, the agency began omitting data on the number of transgender people in immigration detention from its reports.
“The government is essentially refusing to acknowledge the existence of trans people, let alone their humanity,” Decker of RFK Human Rights said.
Although a federal judge has blocked enforcement of Trump’s ban on transgender healthcare in federal prisons, Decker told the Guardian that inside detention centers, guards and staff have been emboldened to deny healthcare to trans clients, or retaliate against them for requesting care.
“I worry that the situation will only get worse from here for trans people,” she added.
The administration also closed the civil rights division of the DHS, as well as the ombudsman office overseeing immigration detention, arguing that the staff in these congressionally mandated divisions were “internal adversaries that slow down operations”.
The divisions included employees tasked with regularly visiting detention centers, investigating complaints and preparing reports for Congress. Detainees facing discrimination, neglect and abuse now have even fewer options for recourse, Decker said.
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It’s a scary, difficult moment to speak out, said Campos-Flores, a 37-year-old single parent of two children who came to the US from El Salvador when they were 11 years old.
During the seven months that Campos-Flores was detained at SLIPC, they would call their parents every day, just to reassure them that they were still alive. Periodically, they would beg their family and their lawyer to find ways to get them out. “I asked them to try to book me into another facility,” they said. “It was too much – just too much.”
In November 2024, they were deported – and immediately they felt a sense of relief to be freed from Reyes, they said. But they couldn’t stay away from their children, who are US citizens – so they crossed back into the US and were again apprehended.
They are currently detained at a different correctional facility in Louisiana, serving a criminal sentence for illegal re-entry. But after finishing their sentence, it is likely they will be transferred back to SLIPC before deportation – and face the same officers who harassed them, or ignored their complaints.
“But I have my 12-year-old son. He is also gay, he likes boys, and I don’t want him to experience anything like what I have experienced,” they said. They want to fight for his rights, too, they said.
Fox host tries to force him into a hole so she can bash him with bigotry. He doesn’t fall for it. Hugs.
tRump / Rubio are desperately trying to drum up a war with Venezuela over their oil. The US handpicked successor to Maduro admitted she would give up the rights to the oil reserves to the western oil companies first thing. Venezuela has more oil than Saudi Arabia. That is why the US crippled the Venezuela economy in an attempt to get hat oil for our own. Maduro wants to use the money for the people, he wants to help the indigenous people, he wants to destroy the class structure that existed when he was growing up. The white people were treated better than the native brown people, he wanted to change that to where everyone is equal. People who are used to privilege react badly when everyone gets the same privilege. Hugs
This next video talks about the “young republicans” who are anywhere from 18 to 40 and these racist bigoted republicans have important positions in state and federal government. These republicans threatened to rape their enemies, and praised Hitler. Hugs
The clip below talks about Chuck Schumer and his actions before the shutdown and after. The democrats have a history of not standing up and taking action. The base of the party is glad the leaders are now taking concrete actions. Hugs
This last one is just for fun. It is a comedian who acts / talks like Cuomo to his face. Hugs
is today in Peace & Justice History. Feeding people is my main “thing,” so I’m featuring it today. There is so very much that has happened on October 16, and it can all be seen on this page.
October 16th every year
United Nations’ World Food Day is recognized every year.
This is the same Bari Weiss that is rabidly anti-trans and a religious racist bigot. She is often used as a warrior to get the crimes against trans kids out, and Teldeb that used to come here and spew Weiss’s lies. No matter who many times I debunked and showed that everything Weiss had reported was lies and misinformation rabid trans haters like Teldeb kept pushing her lies. Because the truth doesn’t matter to them, making sure no child can be who they really are or fit the mold they demand children fit in. Now it is trans kids but as we have seen in the US they are coming for every not straight cis kid demanding they fit into the regressive world they demand everyone live in. Weiss is also a Jewish person who is an Islamophobe. She supports the genocide in Gaza. Hugs
120 years ago, 11-year-old Frank Epperson left his drink on the front porch on a chilly night. That accident became one of the most successful frozen dessert brands in the nation.
Whether their favorite is ice cream, popsicles, or gelato, most people would agree that frozen treats are delicious.
While the origins of frozen desserts are unclear, they likely trace their roots back to the Ancient Persians, who used ice houses to produce and store faloodeh and sorbets. First-century Roman cookbooks included recipes of sweet desserts sprinkled with snow. Marco Polo is (probably falsely) credited for introducing frozen desserts to Italy after his travels in China, and Thomas Jefferson popularized ice cream in the United States — his handwritten vanilla ice cream recipe from the 1780s was one of the earliest in the nation.
But one story in frozen dessert history stands out, and it is not about a United States president or a Silk Road explorer: It’s about an 11-year-old boy.
On a winter day in 1905, young Frank Epperson made a beverage mixing soda powder with water to stay hydrated. One night, he accidentally left his cup on the porch overnight with a stirring stick inside, according to popsicle.com. Temperatures dropped during the night, and the next morning, Epperson found his cup where he had left it, no longer liquid, but now an icy snack. He ran the cup under hot water, pulled it out using the wooden stick, and tasted the new frozen dessert. He named it the Epsicle — a combination of “Epperson” and “icicle” — but unlike the process of its invention, the product didn’t turn into a national success overnight.
Epperson continued making Epsicles for his friends, and later, his children — who began calling the treat “Pop’s Sicle” or “Popsicle,” the name the brand keeps to this day — for many years. He also sold popsicles around his neighborhood until 1923, when he decided to expand his market to Neptune Beach — known as the “West Coast Coney Island” — where it became a beloved treat, selling as many as 8,000 in one day.
Following this popularity, Epperson applied for a patent on June 11, 1924, describing the Popsicle as a “frozen confection of attractive appearance, which can be conveniently consumed without contamination by contact with the hand and without the need for a plate, spoon, fork or other implement.”
Epperson’s request was approved two months later, and he immediately sold all of the rights to the invention that had defined much of his life to the Joe Lowe Co., which later started a subsidiary called the Popsicle Industries. Epperson later regretted the loss, saying: “I was flat and had to liquidate all my assets. I haven’t been the same since,” according to NPR. The frozen dessert brand, however, continued on without him.
A few years later, the Great Depression began to weigh heavily on the American public. As the stock market crashed and employment declined, struggling families had to cut out the ten-cent popsicles from their purchases. In response, the Popsicle Corporation devised the first two-stick popsicles so that two children could enjoy a snack for the price of one. According to a 1931 advertisement, “People who could not afford dimes, quarters and halves for ice cream gladly bought Popsicles at a nickel each for children, family and friends.” The two-stick popsicle became a huge success, doubling the company’s sales in a year. The Popsicle Corporation later declared itself “Depression Proof.”
But not everything was as sweet as the dessert itself for the Popsicle brand. The Popsicle Corporation also had rivalries with the company Good Humor — a brand known for their chocolate-coated bars and the first ice cream trucks. The dispute resulted in a series of court cases over patent violations. The initial conflict ended with a compromise: The Popsicle Corporation would sell iced treats with no milk, and Good Humor would sell products containing milk. However, with the drop of dairy prices in 1932, Popsicle ignored the agreement and decided to tap into the ice cream market — coming out with a “Milk Popsicle” that included 4.48 percent butter fat.
Good Humor filed a lawsuit immediately. Both sides fought to define “sherbet.” Good Humor strictly defined it as “flavored water ice,” but Popsicle rebutted, claiming that most state regulators did not categorize the Milk Popsicle as ice cream, but with terms such as “imitation ice cream,” “frozen custard,” “milk sherbet,” or “ice milk.” The judge ruled for Good Humor, and both companies signed their new court-approved agreement on April 7, 1933. Ironically, over the next six decades, Unilever — one of the largest global consumer goods companies — bought the rights to both Good Humor and Popsicle, ending the Cold War between the two companies.
If you remember buying a cold treat from a neighborhood ice cream truck on a hot summer day, eating a Firecracker during a Fourth of July party, or splitting a two-stick pop with a friend, you’re one of millions that probably has nostalgic memories of Popsicles. It continues to be one of the most popular frozen dessert brands, and for that, we have an 11-year-old Frank Epperson to thank.
trays with elaborate appetizers on toothpicks and skewers – Chaloner Woods/Getty Images
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Step back in time and into the kitchens of mid-century America, where no party would be complete without tiny morsels of food elegantly arranged on colorful plates to greet guests. In the 1950s, home entertaining was all the rage thanks to postwar prosperity and the rise of suburban living, and dinner parties became a cornerstone of middle-class American society. Hosts armed with cookbooks like “Betty Crocker” and “Good Housekeeping” perfected the art of elegant yet approachable hors d’oeuvres. Unlike more formal, old-fashioned dining customs, these appetizers were often served in the living room before dinner. In theory, they were meant to stimulate both the guests’ appetite and their conversation; in practice, they gave the host some breathing room to prepare for the elaborate meal ahead. Regardless, appetizers were expected to delight both the eyes and the palate. In the ’50s, presentation was everything.
Appetizers have been around since Ancient Greece, when feasts would begin with small plates of snails, sea urchins, and pickled cabbage to leave guests just a little hungry for the main course. Later, appetizers gained popularity across Europe, from Russian caviar to Scandinavian smorgasbords. By the 1950s, these bite-sized offerings were still relatively rare in everyday American cuisine but quickly became commonplace at formal banquets, weeknight dinners, and casual gatherings. From the ubiquitous shrimp cocktail to the adventurous rumaki, these classic nibbles came to represent hospitality, abundance, and the optimistic spirit of the era. Keep reading to discover the most popular appetizers that delighted hungry guests in mid-century America.
a green fruity punch served in glasses with garnishes – Primestock Photography/ShutterstockMore
When you picture a 1950s dinner party, you might imagine classic cocktails like martinis and highballs in every hand. But if you flip through cookbooks from that era, you’ll find that many hosts actually served fruitcocktails before dinner. These could take the form of diced fruit served in dainty sherbet cups, or a simple blend of fruit and vegetable juices presented in stemware. Far from being an afterthought, they were considered a refreshing and wholesome start to a meal, whether served on their own or alongside other appetizers.
Juice itself was a relatively new commodity at the time. During World War II, scientists developed frozen orange juice concentrate to provide soldiers with vitamin C. This innovation led to the formation of Minute Maid, which made juice more affordable and firmly established it as a household staple by the 1950s. Many baby boomers grew up drinking juice daily as a part of a well-balanced diet.
Cookbooks of the era reinforced the idea that juice cocktails were a sign of good hosting. Betty Crocker cheerfully advised (albeit in very dated language), “The clever wife has a simple appetizing cocktail ready for her weary husband when he comes home at night. Vegetable or fruit juices are at their best when two or three tart flavors are chilled and served ice cold in appropriate glasses.” A 1951 home economics textbook also suggested that a proper informal dinner should begin with cold tomato juice seasoned with spices, served alongside canapés as a complete appetizer. For more elaborate entertaining, Betty Crocker and Good Housekeeping recommended tomato-sauerkraut juice or even pineapple-lemon foam cocktails made with whipped egg whites.
Shrimp cocktail
a plate with shrimp on a bed of ice and a bowl of cocktail sauce – Bhofack2/Getty Images
Shrimp cocktail is a retro favorite that’s never really gone out of style. Visually striking and refreshingly simple, it epitomized mid-century elegance. Surprisingly, cocktail sauce was originally created as an oyster pairing; shrimp only took center stage in the 1950s. The shift came about due to dwindling oyster supplies and major advances in refrigeration. By the late 1940s, shipping fresh shrimp by truck had become standard practice, and suddenly, this once-coastal delicacy was available nationwide. Shrimp cocktails quickly became a glamorous staple, especially in the glitzy casinos of Las Vegas.
Cookbooks of the era eagerly embraced the trend, showcasing seafood cocktails with zesty cocktail sauces. Presentation was considered just as important as flavor. Betty Crocker’s 1950 cookbook suggested serving shrimp with chopped celery or skewering them on toothpicks for easy nibbling. Good Housekeeping’s 1955 cookbook offered more dramatic ideas — arrange the shrimp in a lettuce-lined sherbet glass for formal occasions, or, for casual living-room entertaining, serve them on a plate with cocktail sauce tucked into a hollowed-out tomato, grapefruit, or avocado shell. It also suggested adding a green garnish and keeping toothpicks on hand so guests could keep their fingers clean.
Deviled eggs
a close-up of classic deviled eggs – Samantha Gossman/Getty Images
A simple recipe with elegant results, deviled eggs have been a crowd-favorite appetizer for ages. In fact, deviled eggs are significantly more vintage than you might think — as in, 13th-century vintage. Medieval cookbooks include recipes for eggs filled with all kinds of ingredients, including saffron, mint, cilantro, and pepper. The term “deviled” didn’t come around until the late 1700s, when it was used to refer to dishes prepared with spicy seasonings, the idea being that the devil loved heat.
Deviled eggs were particularly popular appetizers in the 1950s. Advances in refrigeration made eggs easy to store, and their affordability and versatility made them a natural choice for home entertainers. They were simple to prepare, endlessly customizable, and visually appealing. Betty Crocker’s 1950 cookbook praised deviled eggs with poetic flair, describing them as “Mounds of savory yellow egg yolks in white frames. A stunning garnish and satisfying appetizer…food for picnics and parties.”
The basic formula involves mashing hard-boiled egg yolks with mayonnaise, mustard, or salad dressing and a handful of spices before piping the mixture back into the whites. Mid-century cooks often added their own twists, using ingredients like paprika, pimientos, minced ham, or dried beef to create deluxe versions of the bite-sized treat. Whether served at picnics, cocktail hours, or holiday spreads, deviled eggs embodied the 1950s love of practical and pretty appetizers.
Stuffed celery
a wooden plate with five stuffed celery pieces – Mariha-kitchen/Getty Images
A beloved retro appetizer perfect for summer picnics and cocktail parties, stuffed celery enjoyed a long stretch of popularity throughout the 20th century. Conceptually, it’s not far from deviled eggs — many recipes even use similar fillings, which is why the two often appeared side by side on appetizer platters. The appeal is easy to see: stuffed celery is incredibly easy to make, relatively light, and looks elegant on a serving dish.
Stuffed celery can be endlessly customizable. In the 1950s, Good Housekeeping suggested six variations, ranging from olive-nut and sardine-pickle fillings to pineapple-horseradish for more adventurous palates. Meanwhile, Betty Crocker kept it simple, suggesting a filling of Roquefort and cream cheese seasoned with Worcestershire sauce.
There are all sorts of ways to present stuffed celery, too. The stalks can be served whole, cut into bite-sized sticks, or pressed together and sliced into decorative pinwheels. Betty Crocker even suggested tying string around the stalks while they chill so the celery curls into appealing shapes. As with most mid-century appetizers, appearance was key. But the real charm of stuffed celery was the crisp and refreshing taste that didn’t spoil your appetite.
Pigs in a blanket
a baking tray with pigs in a blanket – Lauripatterson/Getty Images
Pigs in a blanket remain an enduring American favorite, beloved for their simplicity and universal appeal. They’re the perfect finger food: sweet, salty, savory, easy to make, and even easier to eat. Pigs in a blanket are a descendant of the British sausage roll but first started appearing in American cookbooks in the 1930s.
“The Joy of Cooking,” an iconic cookbook from 1936 that’s worth a pretty penny today, included a recipe for “Sausages in Pastry or Biscuit Dough.” By 1944, a U.S. military cookbook was calling them “Pigs in Blankets,” cementing the dish as a mainstay of American food culture.
Despite requiring only two ingredients, there is some room for customization. Betty Crocker recommended using Vienna sausage halves wrapped in thinly rolled pastry or rich biscuit dough, baked until golden and flaky. However, for an even more retro meat choice, you can substitute the hotdogs with Spam. Whether they’re making the rounds at a 1950s cocktail party or showing up at a modern potluck, pigs in a blanket have never really fallen out of fashion.
Dips and spreads
a bowl of dip surrounded by chips – NatalyaBond/Shutterstock
Dips and spreads were everywhere in the 1950s, a trend reflected in the sheer number of recipes found in cookbooks of the era. Most of these recipes revolved around soft dairy bases like cream cheese, sour cream, or mayonnaise, all of which had become more widely available thanks to the rise of home refrigeration. With reliable cold storage now standard in American kitchens, perishable ingredients could be shipped, stored, and served more safely, fueling a boom in dairy-rich appetizers.
There was also a clever shortcut that made dips a breeze — just one of many forgotten cooking hacks from a bygone era. One of the decade’s most enduring innovations was French onion dip. Sometime in the 1950s, an anonymous home cook discovered that stirring a packet of Lipton’s dehydrated onion soup mix into sour cream created a quick and delicious dip. The recipe caught on like wildfire. Lipton quickly embraced it, marketing the mixture as California Dip in advertisements that doubled as recipe cards. Soon, copycat versions hit the market, using the name French onion dip.
For homemade spreads, Betty Crocker offered combinations like cheese-anchovy or herring-apple, along with the infamous Hollywood Dunk, made with deviled ham, horseradish, onion, chives, and whipped cream. Typically served in the living room with colorful garnishes on a festive tray, dips and spreads epitomized the 1950s love of convenience and creativity.
Cheese ball
a nut-encrusted cheese ball with crackers – Liudmyla Chuhunova/Getty Images
Cheese balls were the life of the party in the 1950s. Like so many mid-century appetizers, they were popular because they were extremely simple to make, easy to customize, and had an undeniable visual appeal. After all, nothing says “Wow!”quite like a giant ball of cheese at the center of the snack table.
Legend has it that the very first cheese ball dates back to 1801, when a Massachusetts farmer presented President Thomas Jefferson with a colossal 1,200-pound wheel of cheese. However, the appetizer-sized version didn’t appear in print until 1944, listed in a Minneapolis cookbook. From there, the ’50s home-entertaining culture elevated cheese balls to a party staple that would remain popular throughout the rest of the century.
Cheese balls are typically made by combining cream cheese with shredded cheese, herbs, and spices. Some enterprising cooks even include a meaty element in their recipe, fortifying their cheese balls with dried beef. This mixture is then shaped into a sphere and rolled in chopped nuts or fresh herbs for added texture. Paired with chips or crackers, the cheese ball was the mid-century party centerpiece guests could literally gather around.
Rumaki
a plate with rumaki on toothpicks – Tim Bieber/Getty Images
Special occasions call for stylish appetizers, and rumaki was a trendy mid-century favorite. First introduced at Trader Vic’s in the 1940s, the dish fit neatly into America’s burgeoning tiki craze. The name might not ring many bells today, but rumaki is closely related to the vintage British seafood-based appetizer, Angels on Horseback. Its classic form features water chestnuts and chicken liver, both wrapped in bacon, marinated in soy sauce, and flavored with ginger and brown sugar.
By the 1950s, rumaki was a common feature at prominent U.S. tiki bars and Chinese-American restaurants, often appearing on pupu platters alongside egg rolls and chicken-on-a-stick. By the 1960s, rumaki had crossed into the suburban mainstream — it even makes a cameo on the TV show “Mad Men,“ when Betty Draper serves it at an international-themed dinner party.Trader Vic’s founder, Victor Bergeron, suggested the recipe came from Chinese cooking by way of Hawaii, but it’s more likely that it was his own invention. Authentic or not, rumaki embodied the mid-century appetite for exotic flavors in appetizer form.
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