A Taste of Haldimand: November 20, 2025

By Marie Fagan Peart   |  marie@haldimandpress.com

“Small but mighty!” That’s the first thing that crossed my mind as I learned a little history of the United Church Women, or as they are commonly known, the UCW, of Balmoral United Church. This fall they have published a cookbook and I spoke to a few of the members to learn more.

Balmoral UCW: (front) Diane Manto, Sharon Motley, Sharon Mitchell, (back) Bev Chandler, Susan Sidenberg, Kathy Vanderberg, Nancy Vanderberg. Absent: Linda Williamson, Laura MacDougall, Cheryl Fess-Clause, Hazel MacDonald, Linda Leech.

Balmoral United is a small church situated on Highway #3, just up from Nelles Corners. The UCW was officially formed on March 6, 1980. Their primary focus was to fundraise for the addition of a Sunday School room and to include indoor washroom facilities. At the time there was an outhouse behind the church. These women catered weddings and dinners, held bazaars, and organized many other activities to raise enough money to complete this project without borrowing a dime. Never underestimate women on a mission!   

Susan Sidenberg, church secretary and member of the women’s group, told me she found a box of papers stored in a dark, back corner of the church. Upon investigating, she realized it included pages from the cookbook the UCW created in 2008. She remembers it very well as she was part of the group who typed recipes, photocopied pages, and hand bound the books. There were a limited number available as it took countless hours to put these together. Susan presented her find to the ladies of the UCW and the idea for an updated cookbook was born. What’s interesting is they have chosen to start with the original 2008 edition and just add new recipes to create the 2025 book. What a wonderful idea to preserve the history of this special group. Just flipping through a church cookbook and noting the names creates images of ladies in the kitchen, bustling about preparing for a church event. Of course, many ladies whose recipes appear have passed away, but there are next generations who are still members of this church. You will also find three and sometimes four generations of a family having submitted a recipe.

This year the UCW is celebrating their 45th anniversary. There are still a few of the original members, as well as descendants of others, who are participants today. Susan chose a couple of recipes to share with the readers. Both of these dishes are made by many members of the church and will often make an appearance at various church events. The Hello Dolly Squares recipe was originally submitted by Josie Huffman. The second dish, oven stew, came from Jean Best. Recipe books are still available. Enjoy!