A third printing of the renowned 1981 "Giant Houseparty Cookbook" could be available for purchase in time for the Neshoba County Fair. Philadelphia-Neshoba County Tourism Director Kaye Rowell told the Board of Directors of the Community Development Partnership last week that the Neshoba County Fair Association has given the CDP permission to reprint 3,000 copies of the cookbook. Wimmer Cookbooks in Memphis, the original publisher, agreed to the reprint as well, Rowell said.
"They are ready to get them printed before the Fair," Rowell said. She has received loan proposals from four banks to fund the project which is expected to cost about $22,000. CDP board chairman Steve Wilkerson said the CDP could expect a possible $34,000 profit if the books were sold for $20 each. The cookbook would be identical to the original with the exception of being hardcover with spiral binding.
Rowell said that the CDP gets numerous calls requesting the cookbook, which includes recipes from current and former Neshoba County residents. CDP President David Vowell voiced support for the reprinting. "I think it would be great to get Neshoba County's name out there and to generate some cash as well," he said.
Philadelphia Mayor James Young said the cookbook would make an ideal gift to visitors to the area saying that when he has traveled to other cities, normally he receives a gift to remember the visit. Main Street Director Lisa Howell recounted how one of the last copies of the cookbook was given to chef Paula Deen by Kim Mars and Dawn Lea Chalmers at an event in Jackson.
Carolyn Dearman, the chairman for the original cookbook committee and former associate editor and publisher of The Neshoba Democrat, said she was excited over the new printing. "I plan on buying a case to pass out to friends," she said. Dearman recounted how Olivia Williams Manning as well as the late Turner Catlidge, a former editor of The New York Times who grew up in Philadelphia, both supplied recipes for the book.
Catlidge shared his recipe for cheese grits. "It was fun getting in touch with people to contribute to the book," said Dearman, noting that it was published the same year as the newspaper's Centennial Edition.
She is hopeful that that a reprinting might eventually lead to a sequel. The "Giant Houseparty" cookbook was a project of the Philadelphia-Neshoba County Chamber of Commerce. "The idea for the cookbook came from the old Rotary Club cookbooks which were published for several years," Dearman said.
The cookbook is dedicated to Connie Sampsell, who for 40 years headed the Chamber of Commerce. She died in November 2005 at age 83. The CDP tabled any further discussion on the cookbook until certain issues were determined, such as funding, sale price and who would sell the books.
The CDP is the lead economic development organization in Philadelphia and Neshoba County with the Chamber of Commerce, Main Street, Industrial Development and Tourism operating under its umbrella.