Wynn Speece
was "The Neighbor Lady" of WNAX radio in Yankton, South
Dakota. You can find more information about her and her
radio show here.
I started collecting WNAX Neighbor Lady books accidentally;
a few of them were in a box of cookbooks that I procured
from my great aunt's estate auction. I don't think I ever
took the time to sit down and look through them until a few
years ago, and then I was hooked.
The books always began with a letter from Wynn, along with
pictures of her family, pictures that listeners sent in of
their families, and pictures of activities The Neighbor
Lady had participated in during that year. The "meat" of
the book was made up of recipes sent in from listeners or
added by Wynn herself. The end of the book contained pages
of "helpful hints" and favorite verses sent in by
listeners. My favorite part, however, was the last few
pages of letters that people had sent to the Neighbor Lady
-- a woman who most people had never met. The remarkable
things about these letters is not only the bits of the past
that we glean from reading (the letters during WWII are
fascinating), but the overall neighborly tone of the
letters. People would apologize to Wynn for not writing
sooner, etc. Through the magic of the radio, housewives
(and some husbands) everwhere had a link to the outside
world. For rural women, that must have been a cherished
slot of time -- the time when they could sit down, listen
to Wynn, and learn new recipes.
These books are on eBay once in awhile, and you can always
find them at Midwestern auctions. I have collected most of
the ones from the 50s and have a few from the 40s and 60s.
Pure gold, these books. The household hints alone are
entertaining enough to keep me reading for hours.
