Living Jackson Magazine

Watt’s Cookin’

A review by Priscilla Daves

If you were a bride in Jackson County anytime in the last 40 years, there is a strong likelihood that you have a copy of Jackson EMC’s Watt’s Cookin’ in your kitchen. Your cover might be pale green cloth, bright green coated for wiping clean or bright red with a coated cover—as the current books are published.

This cookbook, a novelty in its first days, is a compilation of recipes from cooks in Jackson County and beyond, and it has become an institution in the area with good, basic recipes.

In fact, it lives beyond its creator, Evelyn Harris, one of the first home economists for Jackson EMC and a force in her own right in the 1950s and 1960s. The first books arrived in November 1965 and have been selling since, said Sara Bell, who joined the Jackson EMC Member Services Department the week the first cookbooks arrived from the printer.

Harris’s job was created because utility companies had a wonderful product—electricity—but one that was in somewhat limited use by potential customers. The power companies’ home economists would hold cooking schools to show how to use the latest appliances, said Marion Mahaffey, one of whom demonstrated products.

“Mrs. Harris did a bang-up of putting together basic recipes that every cook needs,” said Teresa Sauls of Jefferson.

Harris came up with the idea of a cookbook that would feature the area’s best recipes of the best cooks—and the genius of the idea was that Jackson EMC would sell the book at cost to clubs who in turn would make a $1 profit off the book as a fundraiser.

Robert J. Kelly, who was head of Jackson EMC in the 1960s, did not want this cookbook, according to his duaghter-in-law, Imogene. “He thought they would never sell and they’d have them for years,” she said with a laugh. In a way, Kelly was right—they still have the cookbooks; just not any from those first few sold.

Jackson EMC has printed at least 50,000 copies in the cookbook’s 41-year history, selling them mainly to clubs, churches and organizations at cost. Charles Dawson, who worked with the project from 1973 to 2000 when he retired, said that he ordered 10,000 cookbooks every year for 27 years. “I know we’ve sold 27,000 copies just during my years,” he said. “And many more than that since the first printing.”

Bell said missionaries have taken copies to China and the cookbook has been mailed to many countries to people with ties to the area. Of course, it still winds up in gift baskets to brides, friends and hostesses.

Sylvia Bailey of Jefferson said she constantly uses the cookbook because it has easy-to-use recipes that she can easily alter. Occasionally, an ingredient needs to be substituted for another or contemporary terminology used.

Bill Lipscomb, whose company Matthew’s Printing in Gainesville has been printing the copies since the first one came off the press, was once asked if he could add the calories to the recipes. “I told her we could not do that, but it is good Southern cooking, so you can assume the calories are high,” Lipscomb said.

Ruth Joiner, current head of distributing Jackson EMC’s Watt’s Cookin’, advises that the Beef Rice recipe on page 197 is something she uses often. And she also favors the French Coconut Pie on page 147.

Check out the Squash Casserole recipe on page 190, said Sauls, adding that she keeps written notes in her cookbook about who likes what—and the Tea Cake recipe on page 88 is one of her husband’s favorites.

Mahaffey recommends the Brownie (Mixed All at Once) recipe—no kidding, that’s the name—on page 78.

Clubs still using the cookbook as a project include the First UMC of Commerce, the Fairview Home Economics Club, the Corinth UMC, the New Pentecost UMC in Winder, the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church and the Hickory Flat Community Club. The books are also available at each of Jackson Electric’s district offices in Jefferson, Neese, Gainesville and Lawrenceville, and profits go to the employees’ association for their use. For the price and excellent recipes, this is one powerful cookbook for $4.