The Wimodausis Club Cook Book (1922)

On Friday I went on an adventure with Mr. Man and Little Y into the big city, a.k.a. Toronto. It was the last weekend of the Royal Winter Fair, which is a huge agricultural event here in Ontario. One of the main reasons I wanted to go was to check out an old bookstore, at which I bought my other old cookbook, The Blue Ribbon Cookbook. Canadian cookbooks can be hard to come by online, so it's nice to have some in hand.
There were three which caught my eye, but I ended up getting only this one, because it was the oldest. It's a community cookbook, printed in 1922 for the Wimodausis Club. The man who sold it to me asked if I knew what the club was, and I had to admit I had no clue what I was buying. It stands for Wives Mothers Daughters Sisters. Apparently they were a big deal in Toronto. Here's a more detailed history of them, taken from the Toronto Archives:

"The Wimodausis Club was founded in 1902 at the Sherbourne St. Methodist Church by Mrs. James Hale and four of her pupils: Miss Florence Bradshaw (Mrs. Norman Tavell), Miss Mina Flavelle (Mrs. Wallace Barrett), Miss Muriel Larkin, and Miss Florence Hurrington. The club was formed to stress the value of personal service and responsibility to the community. The name 'Wimodausis' was chosen as an abbreviation for wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters. Many prominent Toronto women were members of the Club, including Lady Eaton and Lady Flavelle.

In the 1920s, a branch called the Junior Wimodausis Club was formed. This group consisted of daughters and granddaughters of current Wimodausis Club members. In 1946 the Junior Wimodausis Club, with Mrs. Harry Graham as president, took over the duties of the Wimodausis Club. Those who had been members of the Wimodausis Club prior to this change became the Wimodausis Auxiliary, with Frieda Clark as president. The second Junior Wimodausis Club was formed in 1953 and was elevated to become the next Wimodausis Club in 1973, thus creating a second Wimodauses Auxiliary group. A third Junior Wimodausis Club was formed in 1986, but they disbanded before elevating in 1992. 

An early focus for the club was raising money through sewing and bazaars to help a young native girl named Helen Amos at the Elizabeth Long Memorial Home in Kitimat, B.C. They also raised money for equipment for kindergartens in Japan. Starting in 1914, the Club began to aid the Earlscourt Children's Home (also known as the Earlscourt Child and Family Centre). In 1918, the Club acquired a large house on St. Clair Gardens, and donated it to be used for the Children's Home. In 1949 the Wimodausis Club donated a camp at Pigeon Lake for the children of Earlscourt Home. The camp was used until the mid-1970s. After the closure of the Pigeon Lake camp, a new summer camp was created in 1982 and renamed Camp Wimodausis in 1989. The Club also raised money to build a new house for the Earlscourt Children Home, when the old one had fallen into disrepair in 1957. The Club also supported the Bond Street Nursery School and a dozen other Toronto institutions. 

During the Second World War, the Club participated in war effort and city relief activities, aiding the veteran hospitals, holding repatriation suppers for the armories, and sending overseas packages to soldiers. The Club also organized a number of regular fundraising activities, including cookbook sales, raffles, dance benefits, garden parties, and widely advertised annual antique shows. The Club opened a gift store called 'The Opportunity Shop' in 1941. The shop stayed open until 1952, selling what was referred to as 'hidden treasures', items donated by the friends of the Club. Sixty percent of the store's profits were given to the war fund and Earlscourt Children's Home. The shop was supported by both T. Eaton Company and Royal Ontario Museum. The shop also provided a meeting place for the Club. 

The final fundraising events held by the Wimodausis Club were held in 1997-1998 in the form of three theatre nights at St. Lawrence Centre. The Wimodausis Club was dissolved in 2002 due to decreasing enrollment and interest. When the Wimodausis club finally shut its doors in 2002, all the remaining funds of the corporation were given to the Bond Street Nursery School."

My copy of the cookbook is quite beaten up on the outside, but the inside is practically pristine. There are almost no food stains and almost no writing. I can only guess that the owner either didn't use it or was purposefully careful to keep her books tidy.

There are some neat recipes in here that I would like to try, so keep an eye out on this blog for recipes like Curly Peters, Banana Peanut Frosting, Marshmallow Dessert, Heavenly Hash, Spaghetti Loaf, Ginger Cordial, and Walnut Crisp.

Recipes I may not be so brave as to try include Combination Banana Sandwiches (bananas, bacon, eggs, and paprika), Spinach and Tongue Salad, and Sweetbread and Mushroom Pie.