Woman's Club to reprint cookbook for centennial

The Thompson Falls Woman’s Club (TFWC) is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. To commemorate the occasion, they will be publishing a cookbook. The Centennial Cookbook will be a retrospective reprinting of a community cookbook from the 1960s with additions from current members,” said Lorraine Renard, TFWC secretary. “The idea was inspired by COVID in a way, we’ve been trying to create new fundraising ideas. This has been a fun project to work on.”

TFWC, which is part of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, has been operating as a women’s community organization since 1921. In 1960, the Community Cookbook was published by club members to raise funds for the community swimming pool project. Funding from the Centennial Cookbook will go toward general operating expenses. Renard says the cookbook will also help gain community awareness about the club.

Renard says it’s been an interesting time reading through the 1960s cookbook as she was tasked with identifying the names of the women who contributed recipes. “The names of the contributors were all listed as the husband’s names,” she said. “It was a different time back then.” Cookbook committee members poured over historical documents and past Ledger issues in order to find the women’s first names.

TFWC Chairperson Vonn Briggs, who is also the Old Jail Museum director, noticed many names from 1960 are still around today. “Even 60 years later, there are a lot of community ties in this cookbook,” she said. Renard added on, “Some of the other contributor names from the 1960 Cookbook that still have ties to our community today are Ramona Turk, our former county treasurer Carol Turk’s mother; Anne Butte, the mother of Bob Butte of Butte Services; Helen Muster, John Muster’s mother, and Juanita Huffman, Betty Jo Hanford and Judy Leufkens’ mother, just to name a few.”

Briggs was tasked with choosing which recipes from the 1960s cookbook would make it into the Centennial Cookbook. With the help of TFWC member, Linda Rocheleau, the duo picked out what Briggs described as “classic recipes” from the era as contributions to the new cookbook.

Alongside those recipes, Renard will be collecting recipes from current members to complete the new cookbook. “I’m trying to get everyone to contribute at least one recipe,” she said. Long standing TFWC member Margie Growl, will also have a presence in the newly published cookbook. “She is the only current member to have recipes from the 1960 cookbook in the Centennial cookbook,” Renard said. “When she informed her daughters the Woman’s Club was making another cookbook, they said she needed to submit her recipe for Pork and Pineapple skillet, which will be in the Centennial cookbook.” 

TFWC wants to have the cookbook available for sale to the public by Nov. 2021. However, in order for them to produce the cookbook, they need help with printing costs. To offset expenses, local businesses and private individuals can contribute a minimum of $20 to be listed as a participating patron in the cookbook. “We are hoping to have this published and for sale by Black Friday this year,” Briggs stated. “Anyone can be named a patron with the minimum $20 donation.”

After a rollercoaster of a year, Renard said TFWC is ready to move on and get their projects into motion. The club is hoping to find new members to join. Membership is open to any woman over the age of 18. “It’s a great way to meet people and a place where we can all come and be together,” Renard said.

The club is also working on a 2022 calendar titled “Honoring Our Communities’ First Responders,” which will be for sale alongside the cookbook. To reserve a copy of the cookbook, email [email protected].

Donations will be tax deductible, as TFWC is a 501(c)3 organization.

To make the minimum donation of $20, mail your check to: TFWC, P.O. Box 442, Thompson Falls, MT 59873