Old Recipe Card Box

Several years ago I had the opportunity to purchase an old wooden box at a local antique store. Upon opening the box I discovered about 1000 index cards. I have been scanning recipes cards for several weeks now and I’m not even half done. Whose recipe box was this? There was a card from a Georgia W. Russell expressing her love for her husband, N.J. Russell. It was written January 4, 1930 and notes were added up until July 18, 1934. I think it’s a good bet that this recipe card box was hers. I found the box in Hastings, Minnesota, but I am noticing that there are a lot of newspaper clippings that came from a Stillwater, Minnesota, newspaper. I am an avid genealogist but I am having a problem tracking down Georgia. She is no doubt deceased, but it would be fun to track down a family member to learn more about her. She was certainly a prolific recipe collector!

While you or I might organize into larger categories such as “Breads” and “Desserts”, the owner of this box organized down to the level of “Puddings” and “Timbals.” I’ve decided not to preserve that organizational pattern in this website. It gets complicated!

There are some handwritten notes and occasional handwritten recipe cards. But for the most part, the owner chose to cut and paste magazine and newspaper recipes onto the cards. Some have been collected as far back as 1910. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell where most of them came from. The exception is the occasional recipe card that features a product such as “French’s” or “Jello-O”.

I thought it would be great fun to share the recipes with others who might enjoy both the recipes and the history of cooking.

Last Updated on May 29, 2021 by rootie