Cookbook will help fund
Spring City splash pad,
locals asked to participate
By Robert Green
Staff writer
2-17/2021
SPRING CITY—A group of residents who would like to create an aesthetically pleasing splash fountain at the city park is kicking off its fundraising efforts by publishing a cookbook.
Tentatively called “Cooking with Spring City,” the cookbook will feature some history of the town and recipes from old and young alike, said Christi McGriff, the wife of Councilman Joe McGriff and organizer of the project.
She is asking all residents to submit at least one of their favorite family recipes. The book will also be adorned with pictures from several of the town’s artists, McGriff said. The art community has stepped up and been very supportive of our efforts, she said.
The book will feature a children’s section with favorite treats; and the guys are encouraged to participate as well. Recipes for the Dutch oven, barbeque and football watching are all wanted, McGriff said.
McGriff would also like to include older recipes from descendants and maintain a historical perspective to the book.
Kaye Watson, a friend and co-member of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers will be helping McGriff write the book. “Kaye is sending me information on historical information that has to do with ‘food’ in Spring City,” McGriff said. This might include the former cafes, the candy/ice cream shop, the flour mill, the turkey farms, the influence of the railroad, the small grocery stores and the food gathering traditions.
The deadline to submit recipes is the end of February. McGriff is still trying to find an appropriate printer for the book. She wants it to be fairly high quality because of the artwork that will be sprinkled among the recipes.
The book is scheduled to be finished this summer and will be sold at city events like Heritage Days; it will be displayed at all conspicuous places in the city, including some Main Street businesses, the DUP Museum and the Firehouse, she said. “Many of our residents will want one as well as our town tourists,” she wrote in a new release. “It will be a great way to provide a souvenir for our visitors.”
The cost of the cookbook will depend on the production costs, she said.
This is just the first prong of many approaches that will be used to raise funds for the splash fountain. McGriff said she will be applying for grants and spearheading other projects such as taking donations for personalized bricks as well.
She would like to see the whole community collaborate on the splash fountain. It will be a nice place to gather in the summer, she said. It is being designed as a natural looking spot to sit and reflect among the boulders, she said. It will not be a plastic monstrosity.
Local people have already agreed to donate time, labor and materials, she said. Lawrence Gardner is working on the final drawings now. The cost of splash fountain is yet to be determined. “”Hopefully, it will be affordable,” she said. “The hardest part is to raise the money.”
In September, McGriff made a presentation to the city council to replace the sandy volleyball pit at the park with the splash pad. She said it would not have to impact the city budget and the city council approved the concept and gave McGriff 24 months to raise funds.
