By Jim Palmer, Editor/Publisher of Senior Perspective

​

Earlier this year, because we were working

on this 20th cookbook, I did a call out to

all our readers -- “If you have all editions of

the Senior Perspective, let us know.” Since the

cookbook has turned into kinda a collector’s

item over the years, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I know that a lot of people have been

looking to complete their sets but I’m not sure

how many have been successful in their quest

for a full set. While I’m sure there are at least

a couple others out there, there was just one

person that contacted us with proof of a full

set! It was Shirley Ross of Alexandria.

Shirley sent us a photo with all 19 editions

of the book. We will make sure she

gets a copy of this new volume. Shirley has

been sending up great recipes for years. We

didn’t know she was also a collector. When

she sent us this photos, she also mentioned her love for

cookbooks. “When our public library is closed and I’m

out of reading material, I go to the shelf that has a few

of my favorite cookbooks. Some have history, inspiration

and poems. Some have hints for gardens, house decorating

and even home remedies,” she said.

Besides the Senior Perspective cookbook, Shirley

also has cookbooks from early pioneers, hunters and

game, churches, Amish, Minnesota resorts, Mrs. Santa’s

treats, and preschool/kindergarten/first grade cookbooks,

among others.

“My suggestion to readers is when you’re out of reading

material, pick up a cookbook and start reading. What

knowledge!” she said.

To add some knowledge to this Introduction, I dug up

some of the old versions of the cookbook. Here are some

fun facts for you...

The fi rst book was called “Lifelong Favorites” and

cost $4 (same as today) and included more than 200 recipes.

There were no ads in the book at that time, so the

book was paid for strictly through retail sales. The book

had clip art images and the entire book was black/white.

Every edition after the fi rst one has been called “More

Lifelong Favorites.” The second edition, printed in the

late 1990s, was not listed as “volume 2.” This is probably

because they didn’t think there would be another one after

that.

The first five editions of the cookbook were all printed

in black/white and the cover was printed in a brown ink.

Volume 6 was the first to be printed with a color cover

(with black and white inside).

Inside color pages were introduced

shortly after and have been used since.

The book was printed every

other year for about 10 years

and then every year since then.

This was due to popularity of

the book and added demand

from our advertisers. Speaking

of advertisers, ads were first introduced

into the book after the

first edition. The ads served as

a way to pay for the printing of

the book. If the book did not

have advertisers to offset the

cost of the book, we would have

to charge about $20 a book to

break even.

This volume of the cookbook

has some great new recipes,

some fun photos, and something

new. For the 20th edition,

we gave our readers an opportunity to recognize and honor

their favorite cook/baker/griller/etc.

There are a lot of people I would like to thank for their

help with the cookbook -- now and with past books. Most

of all, I would like to thank the people who have submitted

recipes all these years, the advertisers who have

supported the book and all those who have purchased the

book each year. Without those three groups of people, this

book would not exist. When you page through the book,

be sure to notice the advertisers. They are the reason why

this book only costs $4 today.

I would like to also thank the team at Senior Perspective,

who have worked on the book the last 30 years. This

includes people tying up the recipes, proofing the recipes,

selling the ads, laying out the book, delivering the books,

etc. It takes a team effort to pull this off each year.

When it comes to the 20th edition, I would like to

thank these people in particular: Jen Bergerson, Beth Hellem,

Joanne Brown, Bud Prescott, Laura Melby, Daymia

Martin, Alia Ossmo, Amanda Weisel, Taylor Reetz, Bernie

Farnam, Mike Shaw, Jim Arvidson, Evelyn DeSmet,

Chuck Sterling, Scott Thoma, Dwaine Palmer, Pat Broberg,

Joey Ross, Sheila Nepsund and Judy Lund.

If you have recipe that you would like to get in the

Senior Perspective and/or the next cookbook, just sent

to jen@srperspective.com or mail to Senior Perspective

Recipes, P.O. Box 1, Glenwood, MN 56334. If you would

like to order extra books, go to page 111 for more info.

Thanks for your support over the years and I hope

you enjoy the book!