Passing on a family tradition
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By BRAD GILLMAN
Standard-Examiner staff
A well-made fondant will spark the taste buds, melt in your mouth, and for one family, flood the mind with precious Christmas memories.
When Mary Wright, from Farr West, found an ad that asked for Christmas recipes for a new Gooseberry Patch cookbook, her thoughts immediately turned to her grandmother. For her, the holidays have always meant cream fondant.
"Because fondant and Grandma just go together," said Wright.
The children and grandchildren of Beatrice Albertine Farr Campbell have many fond recollections of her. She was the granddaughter of Lorin Farr, one of the founders of Ogden city.
All but one of her eight children stayed within a close proximity to Campbell after they grew up and started their own families -- close enough that, every Sunday, they ventured over to her house.
Not for Sunday dinner, but rather to play games, eat some yummy treats, and just to be together as a family.
"Grandma was all about family," said Kathy Jensen, Campbell's granddaughter from Fruit Heights.
Campbell was not known in the family ranks for making fancy dishes. Rather, she spoiled her family with hearty meals that took great effort to prepare.
"She was a really good cook," Wright said. "In fact, my Dad would always want to be invited to dinner."
Plus, she was resourceful. "Well, you figure that she had eight children, so she had to make something out of nothing," Jensen said. "She just learned how to do it."
Her family-famous cream fondant served as a witness to her dedication. Fondant takes only four simple ingredients, but it requires a great deal of attention because it must be stirred vigorously during the heating time.
Afterward, it must be constantly mixed as it cools. To help in the cooling process, Campbell used to take the hot pan to the back porch.
There she sat in the midst of winter, continually stirring, until satisfied with her work.
Visions of that process still linger with her family.
"I can just envision this: her going out in her little apron and going out on the back porch and just knowing that this was a family tradition," Jensen said.
Keeping the legacy
It's been 36 years since Grandma Campbell passed away. Yet, her favorite recipes have carried on all these years, in a yellow homemade cookbook that the children and grandchildren have. There are recipes for daily use, including her recipe for dealing with a child's sick stomach.
Family members still thumb through the worn-down pages, especially around the holidays.
Jensen's mother has taken on the task of making fondant for the entire extended family every Christmas.
"This is just one of her legacies that we have kept," Wright said.
A collection of cousins were sitting in Jensen's kitchen last month, recounting the joys of Campbell's legacy. They talked about how they hoped to pass on Campbell's recipes to their children.
Her recipes figure to continue down the future family tree as an everlasting Christmas tradition.
"That's why we did a family cookbook, to keep the family recipes going," said Colleen Fuller, Wright's cousin.
That family tradition was what prompted Wright to submit her Grandma's treat for publication.
The recipe is part of a new cookbook, "Christmas Kitchen" (Gooseberry Patch, $16.95). The fact that the recipe was chosen surprised the family.
Jensen said, "When Mary told us, it was like, 'You what?' "
The family's happy that their tradition can now be shared on a grand scale.
"It's definitely about Grandma," Fuller said.
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