Helen A. Ganser was my grandma Meg’s aunt: my great-grandaunt. This site is the digital collection of Helen’s recipes that I found in Meg’s belongings after she passed away.
Helen was the first librarian at Millersville University of Pennsylvania and retired after a 40-year career there; the library was later named after her for more than four decades, and she supposedly (definitely) haunted the 4th floor balcony.
While the majority of these recipes are desserts and other baked goods (Cinnamon Flop, Graham Cracker Brownies, Heavenly Pie), Helen also kept recipes for more savory dishes (Peach Soufflé Salad, Plain or French Omelet, Oyster Stew).
Most of these recipes are looseleaf, but some live in a disintegrating, custom-embossed leather-bound notebook (alongside a reminder, a poem, and a to-do list). Several were written by or passed on from other women. Some are untitled or duplicated. Where words were illegible to me in transcription, you’ll see a ? or four.
Meg’s name is an acronym (MEG – Mary Elizabeth Ganser). She married Vernon Swanson, my grandfather, and took his name (now mine). I hope to carry on just a little bit of my delicious family legacy. To start, these posts are merely transcriptions, but please stay tuned for my own attempts at following Helen’s recipes.
❤ Annam Swanson
Special thanks to my dad for saving these recipes for me, to Owen Lambert for recipe photography, to Uncle Bill for answering my genealogical questions and sending me the above photos and scans, and to whoever created Helen’s Wikipedia page.
great & grand 