Home economists for the holidays

Before Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart or Paula Deen, there were the local home economists from what used to be Mountain Fuel Supply and Utah Power & Light.

They weren't TV hosts, but they starred in thousands of ladies' club luncheons, Relief Society homemaking meetings, school assemblies and community events. These cooking specialists demonstrated recipes, mixing a generous pinch of advice with the chopping and stirring — how to conserve energy, what to do in a power outage, or how to use a gas grill, food processor or microwave oven.

"We entertained lots and lots of groups, and the ladies seemed to love it," said Jeanne Fenton, who worked for Mountain Fuel (now Questar) for five years.

The programs were discontinued more than 15 years ago, victims ofcorporate mergers and cost-cutting. But the recipes aren't forgotten — they're still served at family meals and holiday parties.

The Deseret Morning News recently asked some of these former home economists to visit our test kitchen and share memories and recipes. (Unfortunately, changes in addresses, married names and phone numbers kept us from tracking down more of them.) The two companies had enjoyed a friendly rivalry, so it was a fun reunion.

"What a blast from the past!" said Margaret Oler, who works in Rocky Mountain Power's media relations. As a child, she went to a Utah Power & Light cooking show with her mother. She was so impressed she decided that's what she'd be when she grew up.

From 1981 to 1991, she traveled to schools, churches and community events throughout southwestern Utah, lugging groceries, serving pieces, and small appliances.

"I had to have a station wagon because of all the stuff I carried around," she said. "But it was great. People were always excited to have you come."

Christmas demonstrations were the most fun, said Linda Gubler Frost, with Mountain Fuel for four years. From autumn until early December, home cooks flocked to the gas and power company auditoriums to watch the cooking, sample the food and take home a recipe booklet.

"We would print 50,000 booklets each season," said Pat Hemming, with Utah Power & Light for 16 years. "We decorated the auditorium, so everything was really festive."

Becky Eckersley, formerly of Utah Power & Light, recalls sewing her dress or apron to match the tablecloth.

Occasionally, there were glitches, recalls Marion Cahoon Searle, formerly of Mountain Fuel, such as the time a co-worker's punch bowl split in half during a demonstration, with the contents gushing everywhere.