It’s the time of year when folks are pulling out the cookbooks and recipe cards and getting ready to bake some holiday treats.
Many of us have holiday baking traditions – I often make my mother’s fudge, a friend makes her family’s time-honored toffee recipe, and others feel the holidays just wouldn’t be right without a fruitcake (really!) or pizzelle.
But traditions have to start somewhere, and the folks at the Animas Museum have just published The Animas City Cookie Book, featuring historic recipes, stories and images from the museum’s archives.
Among the recipes are school cookies from 1935, ginger snaps from 1896, tea twisters and cornflake macaroons.
The booklets are $10, including tax, so they will make great stocking stuffers. Maybe you’ll be able to trace the origins of one of your family’s traditional favorites.
If you’re one of those people who likes to test drive recipes, the museum will be serving cookies made from some of these historic gems at its annual Old Fashioned Christmas Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today.
(It’s actually Bazaar Saturday today, so don’t forget to stop by St. Columba Catholic School, the Durango/La Plata Senior Center, Durango High School – Native American Winter Market – and the La Plata County Fairgrounds – the latter also runs Sunday – to get your bazaar fix on.)
And while you’re at the Animas Museum, which is at the corner of West Second Avenue and 31st Street, check out their new set of seven blank notecards, with a historic image on the front and the coordinating recipe on the back. Perfect for either history buffs or foodies. A twofer, as it were.
Animas Museum does an extraordinary job of preserving our history, and it does it on a shoestring. I’m delighted that they’re trying some new things, using what they do best to bring in some extra income.
If your mailbox is the same as mine, it’s been full of requests for end-of-the-year requests for gifts from area nonprofits. I don’t care which one you support most passionately, but I hope you’ll choose one or more to support as we bid adieu to 2013. These are tough times for nonprofits.
And if preserving local history is something that’s a passion for you, donations may be mailed to the La Plata County Historical Society, P.O. Box 3384, Durango, CO 81302. If you’d like to volunteer or become a member, call 259-2402.
And coming up in 2014? The museum, in a big first, is bringing in a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit. There will be more information available as we get closer.
HHH
Trying to keep their teeth from chattering as they blow out their birthday candles are Norman Broad, Ron Lephart, Paul Duggan, Genna Kidd, Patrice Lindeman, Vayle Townsend, Sandy Goodell, Claudia Root, Logan Stetler, Isabella Bussian, Susie Ragsdale, Doug Brouner, Chessa Gill, Ann Karnes, Andelina Kondrat, Frankie Golbricht, Tim Spishock, Carly Copeland, Lane Lyda, Alex Pinkerton, Pam Turpin, Natalie Biery, Sam Choate, Patricia Mikelson, Melodie San Miguel, Arthur Kunkel, Antony Kuo, Emily Lavengood, Danny Pierce, Bev Dittmer, Curtis Swanson, Carol Thurman, Donna Ninde, Ryan Szura, Sandy Zink and Jan Larowe.
Special greetings to siblings Richard Gallavan and Rita Lee, who are celebrating their 80th birthdays today. She will be spending it at one of her favorite places, the St. Columba Bazaar.
HHH
The Boys and Girls Club of La Plata is holding its 2013 Bid for Kids Holiday Auction now, and it closes at 9 p.m. Monday.
It’s so easy to take services for granted once they’ve been around for a while, but the Boys and Girls Club – which provides not only a safe, but a fun and nurturing place for our kids – is a vital part of our community, and it requires consistent support from all of us to help our kids thrive.
The numbers are clear: Families are charged only $15 for a child’s membership, but it costs $800 to provide services for that child for a year. Before your Scroogy answer is that they should raise the rates, let me remind you that the idea is that every child, no matter what their family’s income is, can participate. That tenet dictates the amount.
We need to help the Boys and Girls Club keep its doors open by coming up with the other $785. This auction is a fun and easy way to do that.
They keep adding new things, and what’s available right now includes selections of red and white wines, gift certificates for dining at several of Durango’s favorite establishments, rafting trips and golf (something fun to look forward to next summer) and a variety of other donations from generous people and businesses.
To make your bids, visit www.bgclaplata.org and click the auction link.
And if building a strong future for all our kids is your passion, donations may be sent to Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County, 2750 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. More ideas on how you can support the club are available on its website.
HHH
Cuddling for body warmth as they celebrate their anniversaries are Mark and Sharon Donahue (50) and Steve and Aimee Martin.
HHH
Here’s how to reach me: neighbors@durangoherald.com; phone 375-4584; mail items to the Herald; or drop them off at the front desk. Please include contact names and phone numbers for all items.
I am happy to consider photos for Neighbors, but they must be high-quality, high-resolution photos (at least 1 MB of memory) and include no more than three to five people. I need to know who’s who, left to right, and who to credit with the photo. Candid photos are better than posed, and photos should be submitted as .jpg or .tif attachments.
