This is the back and front of a title page I found the other day when I was going through my paternal grandmother’s recipes. I wish I could find the rest of the book, and I’m hoping this will happen as I continue to go through old papers. In 1918, when this book was published, my grandmother was living in rural Lexington County, SC (it is no longer rural), and this was during a time when many people raised chickens of their own.

I posted these pictures on Facebook yesterday, and a cousin of mine reminded me that the women on this particular side of my family- my great-grandmother and great aunts- were all active members of the local homemaker’s extension club. My grandmother was most likely a member, as well. The club was, in fact, renamed for one of my great aunts much later.

Fast forward nearly 100 years and things have come full circle. Many families moved to more urban areas and grocery stores supplied their food. Now, there is a renewed interest in raising and keeping poultry, even among people who live in urban areas. In several cities near where I live, regulations have been passed allowing residents to keep a certain number of chickens. I’ve enjoyed reading articles about city dwellers and their chickens, which seem most often to be raised for their eggs rather than their meat. It’s interesting to see the movement of people returning to the old ways of obtaining food.