Fundraising Cookbooks of Bethel United Church, Drumquin
Description
- Media Type
- Image
- Text
- Item Type
- Photographs
- Description
- This record is to celebrate the many, diverse organizations who hold church dinners, bake sales, fall fairs, who meet over pot-luck dinners, and finally decide to put together a book of the recipes for which they are famous. Quite often this book becomes a fund raiser as members and guests of their hospitality want to have a copy for personal use. This record holds pages from several of the 6 cookbooks of the former congregation of Bethel United Church in Drumquin.
Another record in this database shows an older cookbook by the Halton Women's Institute, published in 1912. Another example is the books by the staff of the Oakville law firm, O'Connor MacLeod Hanna LLP. They have published two cookbooks over the years, (not fundraisers in this case and not reproduced here), as many on staff enjoy cooking and most staff celebrations are based on a potluck lunch.
The books provide a glimpse at the people, primarily women, who run these organizations. Each recipe has come from a named person who is likely to be known to the purchaser of the book. If the organization holds an annual bake sale or fall fair, pickles and preserves are likely to be snapped up for home use and having the good-tasting, well-tested, fool-proof recipe for your own use is a bonus.
These books were hand produced at first but starting in the 1950s, companies specializing in publishing such cook books with funny sayings, helpful household hints, cooking hints provided the publishing expertise.
Several pages from several of the Bethel United Church books are reproduced here. You can see the names of the women of the congregation and one book names the Cookbook Committee women, the women who looked after advertising, illustrations and lettering and typing. Of course, these named women also contributed many recipes.
The recipes themselves reflect the times. The early books feature pies, cakes, canning, maybe an exotic stir-fry. In more recent years, appetizers are featured.
Enjoy the few pages of classic "home" recipes shown here and take a good look at the recipe for Elephant Stew.
- Notes
- Bethel United church began as a Methodist fellowship in 1823. For 191 years, until 2014, the church on Trafalgar Road at Britannia was the home of the congregation.
The preface to the 2004 cookbook says, "Fellowship, food and fun are synonymous with the congregation. We have been blessed over the years with inspired spiritual leadership in both word and music. Social functions bring us together for conversation and eating! Food stories have a habit of finding their way into friendly chatter at turkey suppers, chicken barbecues or potluck dinners...We commend this book of loved and cherished recipes that have fed the hears, souls and bodies of those who have contributed. We hope that this "soul" food will assist you in finding community with those who break bread, laugh, cry and tell stories around your table."
You might also be interested in our record for the 1912 cookbook of the Halton Women's Institute, linked here below the photographs. - Subject(s)
- Local identifier
- TTRMW000368
- Collection
- Trafalgar Township Historical Society
- Language of Item
- English
- Geographic Coverage
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Ontario, Canada
Latitude: 43.53341 Longitude: -79.78293
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- Copyright Statement
- Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Recommended Citation
- Fundraising Cookbooks of Bethel United Church, Drumquin
- Contact
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Trafalgar Township Historical Society Sponsor: Jeff Knoll, Local & Regional Councillor for Oakville Ward 5 – Town of Oakville/Regional Municipality of Halton
