Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression Book

As you read this volume you will realize that our Great Depression Cookbooks are totally unique. Cookbooks, yes...but so much more. It's like scanning bits and pieces from personal diaries. You will listen to their voices relate what life was like during those lean years, so unimaginable today. Some stories are heartbreaking, others hilarious, but all provide a rich account of trials endured in homes across the country during the poorest times in the history of our nation. The creativity and solid purpose of the families meeting these challenges will delight and amaze you, providing entertainment as well as lessons applicable today.

These books came about as a result of how deeply impressed I was with the way my own Mother held our family together - body and soul - during those hard times. As a child of 10 I witnessed my Mother accepting daily hardships with a positive, encouraging attitude, while maintaining the morale of her husband and children. As reflected by many that lived through those days, we didn't realize we were poor due to her practical solutions.

These strong childhood impressions of the Great Depression gave me the desire to document for all time the courage and grit displayed by families such as ours. I was able to accomplish this by collecting the personal stories and memories of those who lived through it, and their recipes as well, because nourishing their families was the harshest challenges these women faced. Their creativity in meeting that challenge resulted in our most treasured 'comfort food' recipes today, many of which you'll find in this series of books.

My daughter, Janet, joined me in this project when I began it in 1986, as her Home Economics background provided the skills and expertise necessary to compile a cookbook. Her husband, Rich, completed our staff with his contributions in Technology and Business Management. Our first printing was for only enough copies for family and friends. We had achieved our goal, we thought, and that was the end of it. In reality, it was only the beginning.

Many thousands of copies and five volumes later we a re still passionate about preserving this history, and continue to welcome your memories, experiences and recipes as they arrive on our desks. We recieve phone calls almost daily from people who have read our books and love them so much they want to share them with family and friends. We so appreciate your encouragement! Thank you for your interest in our books and allowing us the opportunity for this endeavor.