It all began one day digging in our archives...

Visitors come into the Museum to see our collection on display, but sharing stories from the many grey boxes in our archives isn’t always easy. After all, not every visitor is interested in poring through old documents. Last summer while prepping for Museum at the Market, we stumbled upon Etta Blakely’s cookbook. This 40 page handwritten collection of recipes sparked something within us and captured our imagination. That moment of discovery grew into something bigger – this blog, Our Vintage Table. Through this blog we will share food-related stories that live in our archives and bring them into your homes…and onto your table. 

So, why recipe books? 

Recipes have the lovely ability to invoke memories. We can have nostalgia for a specific ingredient. A smell can remind us of a happy moment. We all have homemade recipes that transport us. For Lauren, it's her Baba’s borscht. Food is an essential component in bringing people together and creating memories with one another.

By sharing recipes with you, we can transform written text into tangible sensory experiences. Together, we will taste, see, smell, hear, and touch the lives of others by exploring the food they made. In this way, recipe books can offer us something regular museum artifacts cannot. Through this blog, we can make a personal connection to the people of Strathcona County’s past. 

So come, and gather round Our Vintage Table.