Historical Society restocks for cookie walk
The Butler County Historical Society won’t be caught napping during this year’s Christmas Cookie Walk.
Last year, during the society’s first cookie walk, the 200 dozen cookies were quickly depleted, and the event was over as almost as soon as it started.
“We did this last year, and we were simply unprepared for the overwhelming response,” said Jennifer Ford, executive director of the society. She said the doors to the society’s headquarters at the Senator Walter Lowrie House at 123 W. Diamond St., opened at 4 p.m., and the cookies were all gone by 4:45.
This year’s Cookie Walk, set for Saturday, doesn’t require tickets or reservations. Before its 4 p.m. start, people will line up outside Lowrie House and be admitted three dozen at a time. For a $10 donation, participants will be given a box and ushered from the dining room to three bedrooms — each containing a table with platters of cookies. Proceeds will be used to support the historical society.
People will get to walk from room to room selecting cookies and filling their boxes. Each room will be manned by society board and staff members and volunteers to keep the platters stocked.
Still, the society and volunteers have upped their baking game for this year’s Cookie Walk.
The society plans to have 300 dozen cookies on hand, all handmade, said Ford, “by everybody we can coerce, bribe or plead with.” Society staff, board members, volunteers and Daughters of the American Revolution members have picked up their mixing bowls and the challenge.
A twist this year is that Mackenzie Herold, the society’s outreach coordinator, is making several cookies with recipes from cookbooks used by the women of the Sullivan family, who lived in the house from 1839 to 1959.
Herold said she used the recipes to bake molasses and sugar cookies, although the recipes had to be tweaked to conform with modern ingredients.
“The recipes weren’t that bad,” said Herold. “But they called for pig lard, and we switched to Crisco. Pig lard is terrible to work with, and Crisco is cheaper.”
“In the recipes ... they give you all the ingredients and measurements, but don’t tell you what to do,” she said. She theorized that all women at the time were experts in the baking arts and didn’t need to be told.
In addition to the baked goods, guests will enjoy the Victorian-era Christmas decorations provided and installed by Jeff Double, historical society board member and owner of All About Reclaimed.
Ford said, “Our modern Christmas traditions are very firmly rooted in the Victorian idea of Christmas. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert introduced Christmas trees, candles and Christmas decorations.”
The Sullivan family followed suit. Ford said, “We have physical proof that they celebrated like every family now. We have cards, presents, inscribed books. Three generations of children grew up in this house.”
Ford said the Sullivans would have gone to church on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas Day visiting friends and relatives. She thought they may have even observed the British tradition of Boxing Day by giving their cook and maid the day off on Dec. 26.
