Keeping Up with Grandma Jones’s Recipe Boxes

Whenever I was a kid, I loved to explore. In my mind, I was like Indiana Jones hoping to find the world’s most precious treasure. I heard stories where the old-timers who used to lived next door would bury their life savings in mason jars after the Depression.

I never came across any of these jars, but I did find a different kind of treasure one day. I was looking through our kitchen cabinets and came across these old boxes once used to organize index cards. They’re like the predecessor to the Rolodex, but I prefer these over the famous rotating file device any day.

These boxes were stuffed full of newspaper clippings, envelopes and anything else you could jot a recipe down on. While it’s hard to tell how old most of these are, some of the recipes have dates from the late ’60s to the early ’80s.

I was always curious about my family history and finding these recipe boxes made me feel somewhat connected to my grandmother even then. My grandparents both passed away two years before I was born, so I never had the opportunity to get to know them.

My fascination with family history has continued into my adult years, and I tend to get sentimental when it comes to family. I have old black and white photos on the walls and showcase homemade items throughout my home. To me, it was a different way of life. Rather than the fast-paced world we live in with technology and other distractions, it was slower and simple. 

My grandmother raised four boys and managed to keep a clean household, work in the garden, fix home-cooked dinners and keep up with all of her organizations, engagements and to-lists. Everyone who knew her said she did it all with grace and was the kindest human being. Meanwhile, I don’t have any kids and keep my engagements to a minimum, and I’m always driving the Struggle Bus.

I’ve been thinking for a while about how to live how our grandparents did, which is definitely difficult in this modern world. I’ve decided to take out those old recipe boxes and try making them. It’s a way to feel connected to an older time.

Keep in mind that these are just clippings, so there’s no way to know that I made each dish correctly for sure. There’s nothing to refer back to to see if it was a “Pinterest Fail”. I’m just relying on my taste buds as well as anyone else’s who wants to try these out.

I’m sure many people can relate to having a parent or grandparent who could do it all and make it all look so easy. This is for all of those marvelous people out there.

Your friend,

Laci