Preserve Family Memories with Recipes

(ARA) - When Kathy Paul heard all the laughter coming from her kitchen during the Paul Family Reunion in the summer of 2007, she knew compiling a family cookbook was the perfect way to record joyful moments such as this.

"As they were preparing their dishes, my nieces were laughing and having such a good time remembering stories about their childhoods at their grandma and grandpa's house," says Paul, who lives with her husband, Don, on the farmstead that has been in his family for more than a century.

She wanted a tangible way to preserve for younger family members all the memories and recipes that have been so important to her family. "I was sitting at home making notes for the reunion and trying to think of a way to make it really special. I thought a cookbook would be a really great thing for every family member to have and, hopefully, pass on to future generations."

So Paul set out on a mission that involved sending letters, e-mailing and making phone calls to relatives, asking them to bring special recipes and memories to the reunion. In the meantime, she started collecting family photos dating back to the mid-1800s, plus photos of the original farm house, the original barn and the still-blooming rose bush that has been part of the farmstead since it was transplanted from Pennsylvania by Don's great-grandparents around 1865 when they first came to Iowa.

"I put the photos on display for the reunion and it got everyone talking about the things they remember," says Paul, who is no amateur at creating cookbooks. In fact, The Paul Family Cookbook is the third cookbook project under her belt. She helped collect recipes for a cookbook published in 1985 -- preserving memories, photos, and recipes from her side of the family -- as well as an updated version re-published in 2005 with the help of G&R Publishing Company in Waverly, Iowa.

G&R Publishing has helped customers create cookbooks for families, churches, schools, non-profit groups, businesses and fundraisers for 35 years. "I was very pleased with their friendly and helpful service," says Paul. "My son-in-law helped create the custom cover and the people at G&R Publishing brought it all together, adding the special touches I wanted."

With about 50 family members in attendance at the reunion, Paul was able to snap a special photo that day to include in the cookbook. She recently received her shipment of cookbooks and is excited to begin distributing them to her family. "I go back to my mother's recipes and Don's mother's recipes all the time. I like to think that future generations can go back to this cookbook and remember the recipes their mother and grandmother used to make."

Courtesy of ARAcontent
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