Elsie’s Cookbook
Recently, a piece of history serendipitously fell into my hands. It was important; it had value far beyond its material price. I wondered if anyone would be interested in knowing the story. I wondered if anyone could relate to it in their own life. This is the story of a cookbook…not just any cookbook, but Elsie’s cookbook.
Last week, my mother-in-law Judy came over to visit. She brought some family photos and books for her son Jeremy to look through and keep. Since he was away on business, she and I went through some of it for fun. The first thing that caught my eye was her mother Elsie’s copy of Betty Crocker’s Cookbook. This was not just any cookbook, but the 1972 edition with the “famous red pie” cover. Nearly every middle-class American woman that I knew owned a copy of this book. My own mother and grandmother had their copies, so when I saw it, I was so excited to revisit those recipes! Betty Crocker’s Cookbook set itself apart from other cookbooks because it not only contained recipes but gave step-by-step directions for using kitchen appliances, gave “how to” tutorials (such as frosting a cake), showed photos of kitchen gadgets and described their use and many other practical applications for beginners and advanced cooks.
Once we opened the cookbook, out fell a treasure trove of items that belonged to Elsie. Handwritten recipes, newspaper clippings of recipes, recipes torn out of magazines, recipes taken from product boxes, recipes written on the back of correspondence from family and friends, as well as pieces of mail and letters written to her that she stowed away in this cookbook either for safekeeping or simply to use as a recipe card for some future recipe yet to be discovered.
Elsie Louise Phipps, also known as “the greatest woman ever” by her grandson Jeremy, was born on October 13, 1916, in Holland, Missouri to Ernest “Lonnie” Phipps (1888-1959) and Narcie Frances (Henderson) Phipps (1899-1959). The Phipps clan was a large one. Elise had five brothers and six sisters: Charles Henry, Lonnie Earl, James Calvin, William Ronald, Earnest Lynn, Frances Luzena, Bonnie Rea, Helen Faye, Wanda Jean, Reaber (Reba), and Dorothy Evelyn.
Elsie would go on to have a family of her own when she met and married Clifford Dempsey Sherwood (1919-1981) in Caruthersville, Missouri on April 28, 1938, at the age of 21. Clifford and Elsie had one son and three daughters: Charles, Donnie (also known as Donna), Judy, and Diane. Life in Missouri was not always easy. Clifford, one of the highest producing cotton farmers in the area, worked the land and his children often helped with chores before going about their own daily business. Elsie’s work around the house and farm, raising the children, and keeping the kitchen, encompassed making meals for the family where she tried out many of the precious recipes she loved. The children certainly had a sweet tooth! There is no shortage of cake, pies, cookies, and candy recipes in her book. Some favorites even had two or three different iterations of the same recipe. She lovingly named her family’s favorite recipes after them, such as “Judy chocolate chip cookies,” “Helen carrot cake,” and “Charles Candy.”
Elsie enjoyed baking for her family over the holidays. According to her daughter Judy, it was not Christmas until Elsie’s “Amalgamation Cake” came out, or her famous fruit salad at Thanksgiving. Sifting through Elsie’s recipes, one can see that she was a fan of good old-fashioned southern comfort food. There are many a recipe for jams, biscuits, gravies, stuffing, “Long keeping slaw,” homemade pickles, fruitcakes, casseroles, and cobblers. These recipes are reminiscent of a Sunday morning around the breakfast table, or a hot summer afternoon enjoying a fresh pickle. She even kept a handwritten copy of her own mother Narcie’s Divinity candy recipe that is taped to a piece of paper for safe keeping!
Elsie was a doting grandmother to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was loved beyond measure and still talked about lovingly to this day. She passed away on October 16, 1997 in Hayti, Missouri. She is buried next to her loving husband of 43 years, Clifford, at Mount Zion Cemetery in Steele, Missouri. It is easy to see why Elsie was so loved and constantly remembered by her family. Her “Recipe for a Happy Day” seems to encompass her own personality traits. It reads in part:
1 cup friendly words
2 heaping cups of understanding
4 heaping teaspoons time and patience
Pinch of warm personality
Dash of humor
This Christmas, in honor of “granny,” we are going to bake an “Amalgamation Cake” for the family. It should certainly stir up a lively conversation about who Elsie was and revisit the fond memories of her and her delicious cooking that will live on in their hearts forever.
Further Reading
For more information on the advertising phenomenon that was Betty Crocker, see the PBS food blog The History Kitchen “Who Was Betty Crocker?” https://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/who-was-betty-crocker/