Published: May 29, 2009 11:56 pm      

Labor of love: Cookbook captures a lifetime of family’s favorites

Tea rings can be found on Page 12. Cinnamon rolls on 15.

The recipes are among favorite culinary creations of Jean Long of New Germany.

Her eight children had been after her for years to create a cookbook filled with their favorite dishes.

Recently, a daughter, Suzanne Pearson of Summerhill, did just that.

The cookbook is 200 pages and includes nearly 475 recipes collected through the years by the 79-year-old homemaker.

The mother and daughter worked together on the book

– deciding which recipes to use, then typing and editing the copy.

It was a labor of love and the two enjoyed every moment in the process.

“It brought back a lot of good memories for her,” Pearson said.

“We had fun.”

Long downplayed her role in the book’s creation.

“Suzie did 98 percent of the work,” she said.

The books are not for sale – but will be given to family and friends.

“It will be something that we’ll use and our kids will use,” Pearson said.

Although her daughter is a big fan of the cinnamon rolls and tea rings, Long wasn’t sure what her best dish was.

“The kids think the pancakes are out of this world, but anybody can make pancakes,” she said.

Long was married for 52 years to Ken Long, a carpenter.

They met at a dance in Nicktown.

“He was cute,” Long responded when asked what attracted her to her future spouse.

The two dated about a year and were married on the Fourth of July.

He served in the U.S. Navy in both World War II and the Korean War.

The two had a loving relationship and always gave each other a quick kiss during the peace at Mass.

He died seven years ago.

“When Ken passed away, the girls helped and we made quilts out of his shirts,” his widow said.

The couple were involved in many activities throughout the years, but nothing mattered more than their children.

The family home was always filled with children and many of the traditions, started years ago, still continue.

Each spring, the women in the family participate in “Sister’s Weekend.” They take a trip together – often visiting several garage sales.

“I don’t think people do enough of these things,” Long said.

Then there is “Gram’s Camp,” held each August.

That’s when Long’s grandchildren stay at her New Germany home for several days.

They play games and spend time together while “Gram” cooks special foods just for them.

It was started as a way for the children to spend time with their grandparents and their cousins.

“I wanted them to know each other,” Long said. “And they are so close.”

Long said the kids love the days spent at the “camp” and get along well together.

“I don’t like fighting,” she said. “I want people to love each other. I have never had a fight in all the years.”

The older children sleep in tents outside, while the young ones sleep on the living room floor.

Sometimes when the little ones can’t quit talking long enough to fall asleep, “Gram” lies down on the floor with them. Many times she is the first to nod off.

Although not all of the 26 grandchildren make it to “camp,” Long has a special relationship with each one.

One year, Kevin Pearson of Lexington, Ky., attached a Playboy magazine cover over a hunting magazine and mailed it to his grandmother for her birthday.

When his birthday rolled around, he got the magazine returned to him. Inside, he found a centerfold with a picture of Gram’s face glued over that of a woman in a skimpy bikini.

Long has not made decisions in her life based on a desire to become rich or famous, but she doesn’t regret the time she has spent with her children and grandchildren.

“I feel bad when mothers are working,” she mused. “They miss so much.”