This cookbook is one of the first community cookbooks in Ketchikan, if not the first. A note inside the front cover reads, "This book is compiled by the Ladies Aid of the Methodist Episcopal Church Ketchikan, Alaska, who desire to thank the many friends who have so generously given their best tested recipes."

A community cookbook allows Ketchikan residents to gather and celebrate local history from the comfort of home with loved ones and friends. For decades, social organizations, religious groups, businesses, even the Alaska Marine Highway, put out cookbooks featuring some of our most beloved local recipes and signature dishes. Who could forget Kay Gundersen's famous peanut butter pie or the buttery halibut served in school lunches?

Community cookbooks are much more than a catalog of recipes. First and foremost, many were fundraising tools for community organizations. Writing a recipe could be empowering recognition especially for women in our history, acknowledging culinary skill and giving voice to one's own style and techniques. Cookbooks are also powerful memory keepers that reflect who we are as a community and the tastes and values during particular time periods. We are shaped by the ingredients available on a remote island and the rich bounty of our backyard.