Vintage photos of cooks, special meals and kitchen activities, such as this picture of the late Mary Owens wearing her colorful apron while making yeast rolls in her Dora-area kitchen, will be included in the July 11-23 exhibit “From Ozark County Kitchens” to be held at the Ozark County Historium in Gainesville. Area residents are invited to bring items for the exhibit to the Historium this week. (Photo courtesy OCGHS member Donna Lemons.)
Antique dishes, old-fashioned recipes and cookbooks, vintage aprons and hand-embroidered flour-sack tea towels that once were a staple in Ozarks’ kitchens will be the focus of the July 11-23 exhibit, “From Ozark County Kitchens,” at the Ozark County Historium in Gainesville. The exhibit also will include a display of photographs of Ozark County cooks and special meals shared with family or friends in years gone by.
Area residents are invited to participate by sharing their special items of historical interest for the exhibit. Members of the sponsoring organization, the Ozark County Genealogical and Historical Society, will be at the Historium from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this week (July 5-8) to accept antique dishes, old kitchen implements, vintage linens, family recipes and pictures and more. “We have a place for all of those and more,” said exhibit committee member Janet Taber.
“Whatever was in your granny’s kitchen, especially if it has a story behind it, we would love to have in this exhibit.” Photographs may be scanned and sent via email, if desired, to janettaber@gmail.com.
Then, from July 11 through 23, area residents are invited to return to the Historium to visit the “From Ozark County Kitchens” exhibit.
The Historium, located in the former A. D. McDonald building on the west side of Gainesville’s square, is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Special Saturday hours for “From Ozark County Kitchens” will be from 9 a.m. till noon.
Items exhibited need not be valuable or fancy,” noted Susan Ault, one of the committee members planning the event. “We would just like folks to share things that are meaningful to them. Each item’s history, if it is known, will be included in the display.” Ault acknowledged concerns about breakage. “Every effort will be made to display items carefully and safely,” she said.
A bonus feature of the exhibit will be the creation of a memory cookbook by recipe contributors who attend the project’s Saturday, July 16, event. That morning, from 9 until noon, area residents are invited to bring a treasured old recipe and photograph of a family member or friend to be use in creating a scrapbook-style page for the cookbook, to be titled Apron Strings: Recipes and Recollections.
Sandra Stone, OCGHS member and scrapbooking enthusiast, said no prior scrapbooking experience is necessary.
“Just bring your grandmother’s apple pie recipe and a picture of her, and we’ll help you create a special page in the cookbook to honor her. It really will be a lot of fun, and the end result will be a true keepsake!”
OCGHS members plan to have the book ready to sell by Hootin an Hollarin.
For more information about the coming exhibit or to volunteer to help, contact Susan Ault at 679-4253 (email at papajohn@ozbb.net or Janet Taber at 265-3372 janettaber@gmail.com.
