Community Cookbook Preserves Local Recipes and Supports Museum Repairs

By superadmin | June 12, 2025 |

The Schuyler County Historical Society Hometown Kitchen cookbook is a heartfelt compilation of 642 recipes submitted by families throughout the area, aiming to raise funds for a new roof on the W.P. Hall Museum in Lancaster, MO. One of the project’s helpers is Cindy Hayes, who has deep roots in Schuyler County.

“My dad’s side of the family came to the Downing area in 1832,” Cindy said. “My dad was Tommy Redding, and my mom was Sandra Redding.”

Cindy’s mother, Sandra, was a long-time supporter of the Historical Society and often recruited her children to help at the W.P. Hall Museum.

“Whether it was sorting items, fixing things, planting flowers, or mopping the floors, we were always doing something,” Cindy recalled. “Mom was diagnosed with cancer in 2023 and I decided to stay involved because it is a very good cause.”

The idea for the cookbook began during a visit between Marilyn Campbell, the current president of the Historical Society, Carolyn Applegate, and Sandra.

“Marilyn was telling her about the museum projects and said, ‘What I really want to do, Sandra, is do a cookbook,’” Cindy recalled. “And from her chair, my mom looked at me and said, ‘Oh, Cid can help you with that.’ I looked at Marilyn and said, ‘Well, I can’t say no to that.’”

After Cindy’s mother passed away in November, Marilyn reached out to Cindy in December to put the word out about collecting recipes for the cookbook.

“I was in the process of coping and I thought that sounds like a good winter project,” Cindy said. “And then the recipes started flooding in.”

The goal was to collect 300 recipes. They received almost 800, along with dozens of family stories and historical tidbits.

“People shared memories about their food and their families, and it grounds them to a time and a place,” Cindy said.
“Food is a bond and there is nothing else like it. Every gathering from baby showers to funerals, everyone wants to bring some food, because I think it is the glue that holds people together.”

Each section of the book, from appetizers to desserts, features local history topics: railroads, schools, farming, churches, military, and more. Advertisements from old newspapers are also sprinkled throughout the pages alongside local happenings.

The cookbook has 144 pages and has been self-published at Cindy’s kitchen table since April.

“I bought a new printer. I had no idea how to make a book at all, so I bought a binding machine, and all the plastic coils,” she said.
“It’s a group effort. There would be no cookbook without Marilyn, or without the people who donated their recipes. It belongs to the whole community.”

Cindy hopes the cookbook starts conversations between people and encourages them to visit the museum as well.

Cookbooks are available for a $20 donation, with an additional charge for shipping. They can be picked up at the W.P. Hall Museum on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., or arrangements can be made by messaging the Schuyler County Historical Society Facebook page. Orders can also be arranged through email at [email protected].