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Have your cake and eat it, too!

Hello from my kitchen! Did you know that you can have your cake and eat it too? Today I’m sharing a few favorite cake/cupcake recipes with you. Moorish Cake One chocolate cake recipe or a chocolate cake mix 1 extra egg 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup shortening 1 cup sugar 2/3 cup milk 1 tsp vanilla Glaze: 1/4 cup butter 3 squares semi-sweet chocolate 2 cups 10X sugar Make the cake according to directions, adding the extra egg. Baked in a greased 11 x 15” jelly roll pan @350 for 15-20 minutes. Cool. (Leave cake in pan). Beat 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup shortening till ...

Origins of bookmobile in Mifflin County

Last week, I mentioned the fact that the Mifflin County Library had a bookmobile in the late 1940s. It was such a different time and in researching I can see how the need for a bookmobile came about. Before the Mifflin County Library, there were little book “stations” throughout the county, run by the kindness of local business owners and by the love of reading. I compare them to the little free libraries that are growing in popularity today. Sometimes there are a lot of books and sometimes there aren’t. There were stations of books in Milroy in Tressler’s Restaurant and in ...

Old items remind of simpler days

Some time ago I did an article on the things I miss from my early life. There are times when I look at what is going on around me and I think, ‘give me something good, or fun or positive’ — give me back those days! After listening to the political pundits as the national elections are getting revved up, it is obvious they never ended! So this month it is going to be a look back to another time, when things were not what they are today. A time when things were slower. Most know I spent many years reenacting the 18th Century (specifically 1778), but on a broader scale, the time ...

Passport services at the Juniata County Library

In December 2022, we started offering passport services at the Juniata County Library. You can complete the entire application process in one place, including us taking the photo and mailing it in. We had no idea how the service would be received. What unfolded in the next 10 months has been nothing short of spectacular. Some background: there are three passport agents here at the library (I am one of them.) We accept walk-ins but highly recommend appointments. We can renew current passports as well as help you apply for a new passport. Once the application is complete, it is mailed ...

Your ‘goose is cooked’

By Bev Kauffman Hello again from the kitchen! I believe my goose is cooked! Literally! In preparation for Goose Day, I decided to roast a goose and all the fixings. This was a first for me but I was up for the challenge. After researching goose recipes, I came to the conclusion I will make it like I do other meats, using my imagination. I laid the goose out on a clean counter and after generous amounts of salt and pepper, I poked a skewer through the skin (not through the meat) at several places on the goose. This allows the large amounts of fat to run out as it’s roasting. ...

Stuckenrath provided guidance for library

Back in the early days, there were about 25 people on the library board. A lot of people were involved in making the Lewistown Library, the Mifflin County Library, a free library for all residents in the county. One of these board members was Mrs. Robert Stuckenrath. As I mentioned last week, “Stuckenrath” isn’t a common name and I walk by that name every day that I work. Mrs. Stuckenrath was voted onto the board in December 1944, after a year of acting librarians (or directors) and temporary librarians. The board at the time just could not find a fully trained librarian to ...