By CATHY DYSON
There aren't many cookbooks that appeal to men and women, chefs and nonchefs alike.
But then, not many volumes feature color photos of landscapes and local wildlife--along with historical information that goes back to the Revolutionary War--next to recipes for cheese balls and broccoli casseroles.
"Fawn Lake Cooks!" contains lots of extra elements, along with 450 recipes from residents of the community in western Spotsylvania County.
It's the latest fundraiser from the Nifty After Fifty Club, which has been pooling efforts in the interest of others.
Proceeds from the cookbook are going to the Wilderness station of the Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department. The station is on Orange Plank Road, a few doors down from the upscale gated community.
The club has raised more than $8,000 for station equipment, training and supplies since 2003, according to resident Sheryl Bennett. She's also helped raise awareness of staffing issues at county fire and rescue stations.
For several years, Bennett has led the push for round-the-clock coverage. But she and her cohorts aren't just asking for more from an already-stretched system that includes paid staff members and volunteers.
They're also offering their services.
"They've stepped up to the plate and said, basically, 'How can we help you?'" said Kevin Dillard, a life member of the Chancellor department. "We're extremely excited about their help."
Dillard also has worked with rescue volunteers across the state, and he's been pleasantly surprised by the efforts of the Fawn Lake group.
"You tend to see this in a lot of smaller communities, but not in an area that's growing like ours," he said.
The Chancellor department has fire and rescue buildings on Harrison Road, Salem Church Road and State Route 3, and its coverage includes western Spotsylvania into Orange County.
The department is getting closer to the goal of having personnel at the buildings 24 hours a day, Dillard said.
"I think it would have been coming, but in all honesty, it would have been coming a lot slower," he said. "It's always good when you've got somebody who gives you a little nudge."
Members of the Nifty After Fifty group know all about the art of friendly nudging.
When Melissa Baker, the past president, came up with the idea of a cookbook, she got others involved. Her committee wanted to do more than list ingredients for "Methodist Corn Bread" or "Matthew's Monster Cookies."
Baker wanted a volume that gave readers visual images of where the residents lived--and told them something about who came before them.
She asked resident photographer Paul McClain to look through his 6,000-plus negatives. His photos are section dividers in the cookbook, marking the break between soups and salads, meats and main dishes.
His artwork includes picturesque water scenes in the fall and winter, a newborn fawn nestled among pine trees and the rolling greens of the golf course.
For the historical perspective, the club turned to resident Don Bowers. He researched the land, which was known as the Greenfield Plantation when it was owned by Revolutionary War veteran Richard Estes.
Bowers included segments about those early days, along with stories about panning for gold. He also mentions the better-known history of Fawn Lake--as part of the Battle of the Wilderness--during the four-year conflict that he calls the War Between the States.
Bennett looked into the history of the William Wine estate, which eventually became a well-known dairy farm in the 1940s. A recipe from those days, called "A Summertime Favorite at Winewood," is included.
The book also features a historical map showing the abandoned railroad bed and the location of an antebellum cemetery. It was drawn by residents Wayne and Judith Thompson.
The Nifty After Fifty club will distribute its cookbooks during an event at the Fawn Lake clubhouse on Sept. 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Firefighters will be there, with their ladder truck, and the club also will have a bake sale.
But it won't be selling any cookbooks; all 700 volumes in the first printing already have been accounted for, Baker said. The club may do another order, if necessary.
"But at this point, we have two cookbooks left," Baker said, "and we're giving them to the firemen."
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