In 2008 the Boundary County Historical Society published “Family Favorites”, a collection of over 500 recipes. The book was dedicated to long time Curator Eveline Cook Ruhberg.
Dedication
The Boundary County Historical Society Inc. is privileged to dedicate this community cookbook to lifetime Boundary County resident, Eveline Cook Ruhberg. She served as the Boundary County Museum curator for sixteen years.
Eveline’s parents arrived at Copeland by covered wagon in December of 1918. Eveline was barely one month old. When Eveline was eight years old, she was already working the hay fields with her parents, where they spent many mornings driving the 75 – 80 head of cattle away from fresh cut hay. At noon, her mother sent Eveline to the house to start a fire in the wood cook stove and get things ready for dinner.
Eveline married John Ruhberg in July of 1938. Within a week, she went to work as a cook for a logging crew earning $42.00 a month. She toiled over a hot wood stove, baking bread, cakes, and pies. Eveline made do with whatever sparse staples were available and provided tasty, nourishing, and filling meals for the hungry loggers.
In 1942, Eveline cooked for the harvest crew at the Casey Ranch. Later, she became a truck driver instead of a cook. As time went on Eveline continued to enjoy cooking. In spite of modern conveniences, she still preferred to cook on a wood cook stove.
During her time as curator, Eveline told many interesting stories to visitors young and old, sharing her first hand experiences with many of the tools and treasures she and her husband John donated to the Boundary County Museum.