By Cathy Bender
CEDAR HILL (SNR) – The Altar Society of Sacred Heart Church in Cedar Hill – a parish of fewer than 30 families in Saunders County – has sold more than 5,000 copies of its parish cookbook.
The cookbook is on its third printing since 1971 and has gone to people in 10 states and the Czech Republic.
To boost awareness of the cookbook, the Altar Society launched a Facebook page this summer – “Sacred Heart Altar Society - Cedar Hill” – to highlight recipes from the book.
Photos from an August Altar Society meeting showed a banana cake baked by Louise Bauer and shared with the members. Small portions of the same recipe were available at the summer garage sale to promote sales of the cookbook. And week after week, parish secretary Cheryl O’Brien tests recipes and posts photos for all Facebook followers: “Rhubarb Swirl Dessert,” Russian steak, rice custard pudding and “Koprová polévka” (a creamy dill soup), to name a few.
“Reading the introductory listing of officers and Altar Society members of the 1971 edition of Sacred Heart’s cookbook generates many memories,” said parishioner Cecilia Hall, president of the Altar Society – an office she inherited from her mother in 1999.
She said the women were looking for ways to raise money to support their works for the parish, established in 1879.
“They spread the word asking for recipes that had been time-tested in their families; some had never been written down before so preparing the cookbook served another purpose,” she said.
Hall noted that all but two of the original contributors are deceased. The book was compiled in an era when women were listed as “Mrs. John Smith” – only single women had a first name listed; and it was the age where all entries were “painstakingly alphabetized by hand and typed on a typewriter.”
“The artist who did the cover and chapter illustrations was a parishioner and legally blind; she used bold lines in her designs,” Hall said. “While the covers have changed with the next two cookbooks, we’ve kept her inside dividing pages in honor of her talent and time.”
Hall said the ladies were ambitious by ordering 1,000 copies in December 1971, but over the next 10 years they ordered 3,100 more.
Discussion started in 1994 about reprinting due to demand.
“Finally in 1997, Louise Bauer and I put together the reprint including new recipes,” Hall said. “Sales over the next five years brought us to 5,000 total sold.”
But requests kept coming, so in January of this year Amber Wesely, the Altar Society vice president, stepped up. She found the company that bought out the previous printer to get the project going again. The Altar Society updated the preface, had a new cover photo taken by a parishioner, then “prayed and ordered 500 copies in an age where many look up recipes on their cell phones,” Hall said.
But, she pointed out, “Where else could one find good recipes for kolace, jaternice and jelita?” Cecilia Hall asked.
Wesely and her husband picked up the cookbooks to save shipping costs.
Hall’s daughter Eliss suggested the Facebook page, and O’Brien came up with the idea of making and posting recipes as a way to contribute.
“I thought that by trying some of the recipes in the cookbook and posting the results we might stimulate more sales of the book,” she said.
“The book has some great recipes and I thought it would also encourage more people to actually try some of them rather than just letting the cookbook sit on the shelf or in a drawer.”
O’Brien pointed out that ingredients and cooking have changed a bit since the book was originally printed 50 years ago, “so I have tried to include some short cuts like using precooked or packaged items that were not available 50 years ago, or letting people know where to find an ingredient that is not as common today – like Dream Whip that was needed for a frosting.”
She added that the Altar Society welcomes others to post their results and comments when they try one of the recipes also.
The project has been an enjoyable one for O’Brien.
“It’s wonderful to have this written record of the ‘old time’ recipes,” she said. “Our book is a ‘cooking history’ of our parish and community filled with memories. When you read the recipes and the names of those who submitted them, you may remember a celebration where the dish was served or a face of the person who made it. You may even recall the delicious smell or taste of the food. I think the letter printed in the front of the book sums it up best: “...when I want to go back home I simply open your book and take a ride down memory lane.’”
The cookbooks are available for $20 in person or $25 which includes shipping. Proceeds go to serve parish needs. They accept cash, check, Venmo @LouiseBauer, and PayPal friends and family This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
