Yesterday I went out antique shopping with some girlfriends. Looking at antiques and collectibles is something that I hadn’t done in a really long time. Last year, I spent quite a bit of time trying to purge out some belongings and get organized here at home. Going back to my goal of living a more simple life, I really like the idea of repurposing items instead of adding more clutter to the world.
However, I might have added more clutter to my cookbook shelf by picking up this vintage cookbook from 1976. “What’s Cookin’ In Jackson County?” is a fundraiser cookbook that was distributed to support a local child development initiative. I’ve always enjoyed browsing through these locally produced cookbooks (often referred to as “church cookbooks”). While many of recipes can be dated and the instructions and ingredients are often incomplete, you can often find some recipe gems in this vintage cookbooks.
Jackson County is near and dear to my heart. I grew up in Clay County, Kentucky which neighbors Jackson. I attended college in Madison County and have worked and lived there ever since. Jackson is also a neighbor of Madison County. So to travel back and forth to my home county, I drive through the entirety of Jackson County and have made this trip hundreds of times. It’s somewhat of a bridge to my childhood.
According to the copyright page of the book, the first printing of this book was in May 1975 where 501 copies were printed. A second printing of 200 books was done in August 1975, and a third printing in March 1976 of 200 more books which is where this book comes from. To me, that sounds like a popular book for a small town! The population of Jackson County was roughly 11,000 people in 1976. The most recent census shows the population of the county seat McKee as being 836 people.
This cookbook is relatively thin, less than 100 pages. It has the usual mix of appetizers, salads (many which contain Jell-O!) and sides, main courses, and the most robust section, desserts. Like many recipes of that era, measurements are given based on packaging without any details on actual ounces or grams. There’s several mentions of a “No 2 can”. Also, there’s a couple of dessert recipes that involve candy bars that instruct you to use the “15 cent bars” of Hershey’s.
There’s quite a few mentions of Dream Whip which I thought must be some sort of now defunct predecessor to Cool Whip but nope, it’s still around! And now that I know it still exists, I have to try some out in one of these recipes.
The thing about these cookbooks is that they have heart. The women who put them together brought in their best recipes, typed them on the old typewriters we saw at the antique mall yesterday, sent them away to Kansas for publication and then sold these books. And sold them well considering the reprints.
Some of them are a bit vague on the instructions. And I had to smile at one of the eggnog recipes that called for a quart of rum. Jackson County only recently made alcohol sales legal. I wonder if this recipe raised an eyebrow back then?
Food trends change and there’s quite a few things in this book and others like it that none of us will ever want to try. It’s easy to joke about some of these old recipes but remember, someday our culinary tastes will be judged by some of the messes trending on TikTok.
It’s not a stretch to imagine that many of the ladies that produced this book are no longer with us. But I’m willing to bet many of their recipes are remembered fondly by their loved ones. Someone misses a certain casserole at Thanksgiving. Someone has always wondered why Granny was so chipper after a cup of ‘nog.
I have a few of these in mind to try out in the future so be sure to stay tuned. Below, I leave you with a sample page to enjoy.
From the heart and from the holler,
Minda
