When Bridgeville celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2001, our community came together to create a cookbook filled with a century’s worth of beloved family recipes. Twenty-five years later, our neighbors have opened their recipe boxes again.
And the sequel has arrived!
Bridgeville: 125 Years Of Cooking is on sale now. The book contains more than 500 recipes submitted by area residents. The book has something for everyone—soups, salads, appetizers, casseroles, cakes, pies, cookies, sauces and marinades… there’s even a section with recipes for homemade dog treats.
But this isn’t just an endless file of recipes. It’s a piece of local history that coincides with the borough-wide celebration of Bridgeville’s 125th anniversary happening this summer.
The book opens with a “Bridgeville memories” section—stories about the community in years past.
Debbie Grimes writes about growing up on the hill above Silhol Lumber Company, where 20 relatives lived within walking distance.
“If you didn’t like what your mom was cooking for dinner,” she said, “you’d walk down the street to see what your aunt was preparing.”
Janet Vrable Nock recalls the close-knit neighborhood on Fryer’s Hill in the 1970s, when she delivered the Pittsburgh Press.
“In today’s times,” she said, “you would be hard-pressed to find a neighborhood with so many relatives living side by side.”
Debbie Micheli Zupancic was asked to review the recipe collection of Josephine Naples Kawalkins, who died in 2019. Kawalkins had saved a collection of recipes for her family, who offered them up for the 125th anniversary cookbook.
“I’m so glad they kept them for posterity,” Zupancic said. “I noticed she wrote down ‘Hand Me Down Chocolate Cake’ once, then cut it out of a magazine twice. Even though I didn’t know her, I will make that cake this summer and think of her.
Purchase your copy of Bridgeville: 125 Years Of Cooking today for $25 (plus shipping) at bridgeville.org.
Or you can save on shipping by picking up a copy in person at Sarasnick’s Hardware, PJ’s Deli, the Borough Building, or the Historical Society.
Books are also available at the Bridgeville Fire Department on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from noon-4PM .
