NORWAY — As the inimitable Weary Club of Norway celebrates its 100th anniversary, members have collaborated to celebrate by publishing a cookbook of recipes from within the community and beyond.

Two hundred books were delivered to the club on Maine Street last week and sales are off to a brisk start, according to Melinda Dow Butler, vice president of the club’s board of directors.

With the Weary Club only open the third Saturday of each month between 8-10 a.m., the best time to purchase a copy will be during the Norway Music & Arts Festival on July 8, which runs from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The cost is $30.

“We will have a kiosk set up out front during the festival for book sales,” Butler said. “And we will also sell Weary Club hats for $10 each.

“We’ve had a few requests for bulk orders. If someone wants to order 20 or more books, there is a 1/3 discount. They will be $20 each.”

Heath credits 16-year member Ben Tucker with the idea to commemorate 100 years of the Weary Club. From there she and the other board members – Vice President Melinda Heath and co-Treasurers Margie and Garry Bartlett – started on the logistics.

This is the first coordinated fundraiser that Butler and Tucker recall the Weary Club holding. Proceeds will go towards clubhouse maintenance improvements, setting a new sign out front and to help support traditional seasonal programs: Christmas for Kids and the Don C. Seitz Scholarship, awarded annually to an Oxford Comprehensive High School graduate entering journalism education.

The current Weary Club sign has been in service for ages; club directors decided that due to its historic legacy it will be brought in out of the elements and hung on the wall for safekeeping. A new sign will be placed street side.

Response to Butler’s call for recipes was a bit muted at first, but she and the board gathered enough recipes from about 75 contributors to fill a 120 page book.

“We started by sending emails out to our current membership for everyone we have addresses for,” Butler said. “We have a number of people who don’t use email, and for them we mailed the invitation along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

“Recipes came back as a trickle at first. What really mattered though was when I started making personal calls to people. That personal touch made all the difference.”

Members of the Heath and Dow (Butler) families contributed many of their own recipes at the start. As more people began to hear about it, children of members who have passed away began looking through their own kitchen archives and provided recipes in memory of their loved ones.

Margie Bartlett tackled the biggest task of the project, transcribing every recipe and carefully editing her own work to make sure all ingredients and measurements were correctly typed. Tucker wrote the dedication and took the photos chosen to be included.

The Weary Club is about as salt of the earth as it gets, but its 100-anniversary cookbook is has a more eclectic shape. It has plenty of New England meal favorites based on local staples like seafood, potato, fiddle heads, and baked beans. Other delicacies, such as pan-fried tripe or Moroccan style cauliflower pot roast and ratatouille, originate from further afield.

There are several breads, including Finnish nisu bread, breakfast dishes, cookies and preserves, and enough dessert recipes to keep any baker’s family satisfied.

The cookbook is indexed by contributor, and also by food type (appetizers, soups and salads, meals, meats, casseroles etc.). It includes nutritional information and healthy eating tips.

Butler submitted a recipe her late father, and former club president, Neil Dow swore by.

Every Sunday evening Neil would eat the same supper, made of three simple ingredients: a half-sleeve of Saltine crackers, black pepper and milk. Preparation is also simple – crumble the crackers in a large bowl, submerge in whole milk and add pepper to taste.

“Every Sunday,” Butler fondly recalled.

The Weary Club was founded 100 years ago by Advertiser Democrat publisher Fred Sanborn. Its purpose was – and remains – for community members to gather, talk and tell tales.

Gambling and alcohol consumption was forbidden, but cribbage games and whittling were encouraged. One of the membership requirements in the early days was the ability to whittle a cedar shaving light enough to float. But the only thing that has ever limited joining the club is the rule that caps it at 200. In its young heyday the club had a wait-list. Currently it stands at slightly under that.

Many assumed the Weary Club to be a patriarchal society, but women had never been excluded and now make up a significant portion of its members. U.S. Sen. Margaret Chase Smith was made an honorary member when she visited Norway in 1948 during a campaign stop.

Using pocket knives is no longer a prerequisite but good conversation is necessary.

“The Weary Club is devoted to the art of conversation,” Tucker said. “We do not talk politics, we do not use technology in the building. It is about sitting down in the present, talking things over and enjoying one another’s company.

“Norway perfectly represents the saying that Maine is really just a big small town. It’s an inviting place, it’s a great place. There is comfort in maintaining tradition, and that’s what the Weary Club is for.”

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