Polly Paffilas/Akron Beacon Journal Recipe Database

Connect to the Database

The Special Collections Division of the Akron-Summit County Public Library was fortunate to acquire the recipe collection of Polly Paffilas, former Akron Beacon Journal food and society editor. This collection consists of recipes that appeared in the Beacon from approximately 1959 until 1980, and it includes over 5000 recipes.

The Science and Technology Division created a searchable database that provides access to these recipes. This collection provides a wonderful look at our food traditions over the years, and includes recipes from readers and local organizations such as Goodwill, Stan Hywet Auxiliary and Akron General Hospital.

The database indexes the recipes by title, ingredient, ASCPL category and by Polly’s category. In addition you can search by the date that it appeared in the Beacon or by an individual’s name if they submitted the recipe. Although the complete recipe is not included in the index it does give the date it appeared in the paper and the box in Special Collections where the recipe can be found.

Search Options:

Keyword Search
This search matches the words you type in the field with the text in the Title and Note fields of each record.

Ingredient Search
This search allows you to select from a drop down menu of ingredients. This is particularly useful if you are searching for a recipe with an unusual ingredient.

Name Search
This allows you to search for a recipe submitted by a particular individual it checks both the Tile and Note fields of each record. Keep in mind that at the time these recipes appeared a lot of women were still using their husband’s names so recipes may be listed as Mrs. John Smith rather then Mrs. Jane Smith. The best option might be to search by the last name only.

Polly’s Category Search
Like the ingredient search this option allows you to select from a drop down of categories chosen by Polly to categorize her recipes. Since each of the boxes she gave us has different categories there is a lot of overlap among the boxes. For example there is a heading for Appetizers and also a heading for Budget-Appetizers.

ASCPL Category Search
Again this features a drop down menu of categories. These categories were developed by the librarians in an attempt to standardize the subject headings for the recipes.

Date Search
This allows you to search the database by the date the recipe appeared in the Beacon Journal you can search by the year alone or by the year and the month.