Vintage Eats Recipe: 1955 Banana Cookies

In looking through local church cookbooks for great recipes to make, it has been a delight to find names of people who have been a part of my life.

Usually it is a female, but in this case it is a man — WWII vet Dick Beitler of Berne, Indiana. I’ll explain.

In 2012, I began interviewing World War II vets as part of a column I wrote for a local newspaper. Their stories were so interesting and amazing that I made it my mission to interview as many World War II vets as possible.

Someone (I don’t recall who) directed me to Richard ‘Dick’ Beitler.

Mr. Beitler was in his 90s during our interview. He enthusiastically told me his story of serving in the Philippines while in the U.S. Army. While engaged in fighting there, he was injured and was later received a Purple Heart which is given to soldiers injured in the course of battle.

Richard Beitler’s story was published in my first book of vet interviews: We Fought to Win: American World War II Veterans Share Their Stories.

I organized a book launch party for the book and invited all of the vets whose stories were included to attend as guests of honor.

The event was publicized and people who attended could purchase a copy of the book and have the vets sign it on their respective pages. It was a unique opportunity for many of these people to meet and talk to our nation’s oldest vets about a major war in our country’s history.

It was a great success with more than half of the vets in the book present.

We had it in our local Armory – this seemed appropriate for the military theme of the book – and I was quite nervous, having never put together an event like this before.

Mr. Beitler must have seen how my hands were shaking as I held the microphone and offered to pray for the event. I gratefully handed it to him and he asked God’s blessing on the day.

It was just what I needed and everything flowed well. I got several photos during the event which is a good thing as later I couldn’t recall much!

Mr. Beitler passed away at age 98 on April 17, 2016. Richard Beitler was a blessing to me and I’m sure by many others, as reflected in his obituary — he was a member of his church’s Sanctuary choir, Mennonite Choir Society, a Sunday school teacher for 70 years, elder, deacon, Sunday school superintendent, chairman of the church consistory, member of Edelweiss Chorus and former Scout leader to Troop 68. He was an avid fan of all sports, a Detroit Tiger fan and especially of South Adams and his grandchildren.

I later held similar book launches for my subsequent release of World War II books, all filled with vet stories. In all, I interviewed 260 World War II vets. Each one was a joy and such a privilege.

Sadly, most of the World War II vets are gone. I miss them and look back at that time as busy, but fulfilling. In my small way, I helped to preserve American history and am so glad to have been a part of that project.

Getting back to the cookbook.

You can imagine my delight when I saw the name of ‘Mrs. Richard Beitler’ in a cookbook published in 1955 by Cross Evangelical Reformed Church in Berne, Indiana (later renamed as Cross Community Church).

By including her name with the recipe for what possibly was a favorite family recipe, Dick’s wife, Margaret, helped me remember and envision him with his big smile and friendly demeanor.

It has been an honor to introduce you to Dick Beitler in this Vintage Eats column. I hope you will regard well him and the other 16 million men and women who fought so valiantly in World War II as well as other veterans. When you can, thank a vet and those currently serving for their service.

My books are available on Amazon.

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This recipe for chewy, soft Banana Cookies is simple, economical and tasty. Whip up a batch for your next gathering. I’m sure your friends will love them!

1.5 cup flour

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

¾ cup shortening

1 egg, well beaten

1 cup mashed ripe banana (2-3)

1-¾ cup rolled oats

1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate pieces

Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, salt nutmeg and cinnamon in mixing bowl.

Cut in shortening.

Add egg, banana, oats and chocolate pieces.

Beat until thoroughly blended.

Drop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake 400 degrees about 15 minutes.

Yield: 3 dozen