HomeMy WebLinkAboutcooksbooks june 2013 Sue Thompson NL ArticleCookbooks of Enfield
Sue Thompson, Enfield Historian
The first community cookbook, A Poetical Cook-Book, in the United States was published during the Civil War. It was used to raise funds for field hospitals. The book was offered at fair
held in Philadelphia in 1864. Community cookbooks show a different insight to community families. Not only do these cookbooks offer culinary guidance but they offer “family history.
Does the cookbook have your family’s name in, has it become an heirloom for your family. Some include community stories and advertising for local businesses. So what began as practical
household how-to guides, are now more likely to be a coffee table conversation starter than a reference in the kitchen.
The Enfield Historians Collection has a small collection of Enfield Community Cookbooks. We are always looking for more. If you have a cookbook published by a group, church, school,
etc. and would be willing to let me borrow and copy the cookbook for the collection let me know. Does anyone have the recipes from the “sampler luncheon” held at the past Enfield Harvest
Festivals?
Below are the cookbooks we have in the historians collection. To save space I have placed a listing of the names of contributors and recipes from the cookbooks on my web page at: http://home.htva.net/~pumpguy/The
First Baptist Church – Give Us This Day – 1994, has 334 recipes. You will find recipes from Eunice Beardsley, Carol Barriere, Audrey Bostwick, Beverly Brown, Dolly Clark, Ana Kastenhuber,
and Helen Jackson among others.The United Methodist Church “Our Daily Bread” – 1984 has 492 recipes. You will find recipes from Ruth Wobig, LuceliaWeatherby, Diane Sherman, Sarah Jane
Michener, Nina Linton and many others.
Enfield Commemorative Cookbook - Town of Enfield Tompkins County, NY 1997. There are 491 recipes in this cookbook. The collection also includes the recipes that were mostly hand written
and submitted for 1996 Commemorative Cook book for 175th birthday celebration. This is a wonderful collection for “signatures” or requests from community members wanting to know what
their “ancestors” handwriting looked like. Some of the more unique named recipes are: Old Time recipe for cuts and open wounds – Dr. Leon Beardsley; Alma Bock’s Apple Cake; Mabel Purdy’s
Brown Bread; Gilbert Fisher’s Pork Sausage; Martha Harvey’s Graham Bread; Grandma Purdy’s Chocolate Drop Cookies; Grandma Lovelace Brown Bread; Old time recipe for coughs – Dr. Minor
McDaniels; Grandma McElwee’s applesauce cake.
To Your House with Blessings – Women’s Missionary Society of the Agape Bible Church – South Applegate Road – Cookbook. There are 292 recipes in this cookbook. You will find recipes
from Helen Smith, BridieHockenberry, Laura Everhart, Nancy Hoover and many others.
I have placed a pdf copy of the entire cookbooks listed below on my web page:
The Enfield Elementary School cookbook has 312 recipes. I am not sure of the exact date of this cookbook, maybe 1990? does anyone know?
What’s Cooking in Kennedys Corners Church – 1956, has 122 recipes. I enjoyed looked at the different older business ads in this cookbook.
Parish Cooks of the Enfield Larger Parish and Friends - cookbook 1938. There were 44 business advertisements in this book all listed in either Ithaca, Trumansburg or Newfield. There
are 262 recipes not only from Enfield residents but from other towns in NYS along with other states. Some of the authors were Mrs. Thomas R. Brown, Mrs. Elsie Baker, Miss Dorothy Dodd,
Mrs. Frank fish, Mrs. Gilbert H. Fisher, Mrs. Nellie Hubbell, Mrs. Fred Jackson, Mrs. Lina Jones, Mrs. Fred Rumsey, and Mrs. Arthur J. Teeter.