Collection of Athens cookbooks and recipes

Recipe Smorgasbord is a metal-coil-bound collection of recipes published by the Oconee County Band Boosters Club to support “the first annual spring tour of the Oconee County High School Chorus.” The cover art is by Amelia Nicora. Included are recipes for drinks, salads, entrees, and desserts.

The second item, Hors d’Oeuvres for the Hostess With the Mostess, published by the University Woman’s Club Foods Group, is a small book of recipes for dips, pastries, and other hors d’oeuvres.

Take a Recipe, Please! features recipes contributed by teachers and other employees of Clarke County School District. The cover is designed by Agnes Stell. It was named by Vivian Bryant. At the time of publication, the President of the Association was Patsy Faulkner. The back cover is missing.

The Central Presbyterian Church Cookbook was compiled by Jill Clement, Pat Johnson, and Maxine Wier. The back cover is loose.

The issue of Life and Thyme contains an article about Athens entitled "Then and Now: A Culinary City Guide to Athens, Georgia," written by Matt Moore.

The Washington-Wilkes cookbook is in fragile condition. Published by the Last Cabinet Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (this chapter so named because of the last meeting of Jefferson Davis’s cabinet having taken place in Washington, Georgia) and sponsored by the Washington Woman’s Club, it includes a broad selection of recipes for all kinds of dishes as well as items like preserves, candy, and pastries. At the end of the book are found advertisements for Washington, Georgia, businesses; these could be of interest to researchers. A couple handwritten recipes from a previous owner of the book are found toward the back as well.

A Cook’s Tour of Athens, compiled by the Junior Assembly of Athens and originally published in 1963, includes photographs of famous buildings in Athens in addition to a large number of recipes, of which there is an index at the back of the book.

The smaller items in Folder 5 are as follows: first, a pamphlet apparently given to attendees of the Athens Woman’s Club Food Show and Cooking School, conducted by Ethel Pierce Lewis at Michael’s General Electric Shop, April 2-5, 1935; second, Meat Recipes and Menus 1931, a pamphlet of uncertain provenance, though an advertisement for the Piedmont Market of Athens, Georgia, is found on the front page (several other advertisements for Athens businesses are found inside); and third, a brochure entitled Meat Cookery Made Easy, published by the National Live Stock and Meat Board, of Chicago, was apparently meant to accompany the Foods of the Nation Cooking School, the exact nature of which is unknown; the document suggests that the Athens Woman’s Club and the Athens Daily Times sponsored a local version of this educational program; finally, “A Baker’s Dozen from the Cookie Lady,” a 1992 pamphlet written and published by Beth Abney, signed to Mary Langley by Abney, “the Cookie Lady,” dated November 21, 1993.

The folder of handwritten and typed recipes for now is comprised mostly of recipes typed on Princeton Manufacturing Company stationery.

The recipe boxes include two boxes, one wooden and the other a green plastic container, filled with recipe cards. The wooden box of recipes is organized by tabs that specify the style of food/goods like “Pickling,” “Desserts,” or “Meats.” The recipes range from hand-written recipes, recipes from magazine clippings, to typed recipe cards. The plastic recipe box is organized alphabetically with tabs. All of the recipe cards are written in the same handwriting and a majority of the recipes are for baked goods. The recipe boxes were purchased by Valerie Frey Stone at an estate sale.