Organizations often compile and then sell cookbooks as a fundraiser. A cookbook with an especially fascinating story is the Pennsylvania State Grange Cook Book. The Grange is an agricultural advocacy and social organization that was founded in 1867. The Grange is organized into four levels: community, county or district, state, and national. There are Grange halls located in many rural areas throughout the U.S. where Grange members hold meetings and events.
There were several editions of the Pennsylvania State Grange Cook Book published during the 1920’s that helped raise funds to build a women’s dormitory at Penn State University. The cookbooks contained recipes submitted by Grange members from across Pennsylvania. I have the 4th edition of the cookbook, which was published in 1926.
Grange members sold 42,000 copies of the cookbooks and donated 30¢ from each sale to Penn State toward the building of Grange Memorial Dormitory which was constructed in 1929-30. The building still exists and is now known as Grange Building. The Division of Undergraduate Studies is now located in it.
Both Penn State and the Pennsylvania Grange are strong advocates for rural areas and agricultural education. In October, 2025, at the 153rd Annual State Session of the Pennsylvania State Grange meeting in Williamsport, the president of the Pennsylvania State Grange, Matthew Espenshade, presented Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi with one of the hundred-year-old cookbooks as a memento of the long relationship between the two organizations.
I have made several recipes from the Pennsylvania State Grange Cookbook this year. They include:
Very interesting post. I will have to ask my husband if he remembers the Grange Building, as he’s a Penn State grad.
It’s nice to hear that you enjoyed this post. I occasionally visit Penn State. The next time I’m on campus I’m going to look for the Grange Building.
That’s a lot of cookbooks!
The Grange members must have been very supportive of the cookbook fund-raising effort. It’s a fairly comprehensive cookbook with lots of good recipes, which also probably helped sales.
Well, if it’s attracted your attetion more than once, it’s a winner.
At the beginning of 2026, I made a list of 1926 recipes I wanted to try this year. There are quite a few recipes from the Grange cookbook on the list. It has some nice recipes.
That sounds an excellent plan!
I love the history you dug up here, Sheryl. It is heartening to know that the cookbooks helped fund the building of a women’s dormitory. And incredible that the Grange continues. I especially enjoyed seeing the dorm building in your website link. Wonderful photo of the cookbook cover, too. A beautiful story.
I had fun researching the information in this post, and it’s nice to hear that you enjoyed it. The Grange was forward thinking a hundred years ago. Providing funding for a women’s dormitory suggests that members supported higher education for women and thought their daughters might attend Penn State.
When I was researching this post, I was surprised to discover that the president of the Pennsylvania State Grange, Matthew Espenshade, actually is a member of Penn State’s Board of Trustees. The Board has several members who are elected by delegates from agricultural societies, and he is one of those members.
Well, there is a lot I learned from your post. As a Penn State grad, I never knew the story or noticed the building. I also did not hear about the Grange meeting with the PSU president in my hometown. Thanks for enlightening me.
I was really impressed when I learned that the President of Penn State attended the State Grange meeting in Williamsport. It suggests that the Grange is still an important agricultural advocacy group, and that Penn State values the relationship between the two organizations.
Cook books have a long fund-raising history, especially in rural areas. They definitely contain a lot of history around local culture. I found several in my mother’s collection after she passed. It’s great that you’re bringing attention to these heritage recipes.
Cookbooks have been a wonderful way for organizations to raise funds for many years. It’s nice to hear that you enjoy the old recipes I make for this blog.
I love community cookbooks….Its fun to check them in 20 year ranges to see how the selections have changed and what was popular when.
It’s fascinating how the popularity of various foods ebb and flow. Some food that once were popular are now considered unhealthy or unappetizing, while other foods have maintained their popularity over the years, and still other foods didn’t even exist (or had limited availability) years ago.
Very interesting – every recipe sold builds a better tomorrow!
This cookbook (and other organizational cookbooks) are filled with so many recipes that were personal favorites of the people who contributed to the cookbook, which results in lots of good recipes and lots of good cooking.
I still remember my parents taking me to a church that met in a Grange hall when I must have been about six. It was a neat building. Years later I found out what the Grange was about, and realized that it was actually a pretty cool organization.
Agree – the Grange is a pretty cool organization. It plays an important role in many rural communities, and is a strong advocate for them.