Edna Staebler (January 15, 1906 – September 12, 2006) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writer and literary journalist,Faculty of Arts, August 28, 2012, About the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction
, ''Wilfrid Laurier University'', Headlines, Retrieved 11/26/2012 best known for her series of

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (food), course (appetize ...

s, particularly ''Food That Really Schmecks''. While the book contains

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

recipes, the content also includes stories and anecdotes about life and home cooking in the rural areas of the

Waterloo Region The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumfri ...

Life

Edna Staebler was born in Berlin, Ontario (renamed Kitchener during World War I) in 1906 and grew up there. Edna's birth certificate shows her name was originally registered as Cora Margaret Cress and later changed, (by annotation on birth certificate referencing a 1910 letter), to Edna Louisa Cress. She was the daughter of machinist, John Gerp Cress (7 April 1875 – 23 October 1932) and Louise Cress (née Sattler) (24 January 1881 – 8 March 1972) who were married 15 July 1903. Staebler received a BA from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and a teacher's certificate from the

Ontario College of Education The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT) is Canada's only all-graduate institute of teaching, learning and research. It is located at 252 Bloor Street West on the university's St. George campus in ...

. Staebler married in 1933, but divorced in 1962. Beginning in 1948, she wrote articles for ''

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'', ''

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'', '' Saturday Night'', ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'', ''

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'' and other newspapers and magazines; she has also written non-fiction with Canadian themes. In 1991, she established an award for creative non-fiction, awarded annually by

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...

. Staebler was awarded membership to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 1996. She died of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto, but it is n ...

, in 2006 at the age of 100.Obits for Life, Edna Staebler
, Retrieved 11/26/2012 A biography, ''To Experience Wonder, Edna Staebler: A Life'' (2003), was written by Veronica Ross; a collection of her diaries, ''Must Write'', edited by Christl Verduyn, was published in 2005.

Other books by Edna Staebler

In addition to ''Food that Really Schmecks'', Stabler is also the author (or editor) of the following: * ''Sauerkraut and Enterprise''. University Women's Club of Kitchener-Waterloo, 1967; Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1969. * ''Cape Breton Harbour''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1972; Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1990. * ''More Food That Really Schmecks''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1979. * ''Haven't Any News: Ruby's Letters from the '50s''. Edited by Edna Staebler. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1995. * ''Whatever Happened to Maggie and Other People I've Known''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1983. * ''Schmecks Appeal. More Mennonite Cooking''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1987.

Awards received by Edna Staebler

In addition to the Order of Canada, Staebler also received the following awards: * Canadian Women's Press Club Award for Outstanding Literary Journalism (1950) * Kitchener-Waterloo Woman of the Year (1980) * Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Wilfrid Laurier University (1984) * Waterloo-Wellington Hospitality Award (1988) * Province of Ontario Senior Achievement Award (1989) * Kitchener-Waterloo Arts Award (1989) * Silver Ladle Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Culinary Arts (1991) * Governor General's Commemorative Medal (1993) * Regional Municipality of Waterloo Volunteer Award (1994) * Inducted into Waterloo Region Hall of Fame (1998)

References

External links

* ''Must Write: Edna Staebler's Diaries
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Christl Verduyn Christl Verduyn (born 1953) is Professor of English Literature and Canadian Studies at Mount Allison University.Wilfrid Laurier University Press Wilfrid Laurier University Press, based in Waterloo, Ontario, is a publisher of scholarly writing and is part of Wilfrid Laurier University. The fourth-largest university press in Canada, WLUP publishes work in a variety of disciplines in the hum ...

, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Staebler, Edna 1906 births 2006 deaths Canadian women centenarians Canadian women journalists Canadian cookbook writers Canadian diarists Canadian women non-fiction writers Journalists from Ontario Members of the Order of Canada University of Toronto alumni Women diarists Canadian women food writers Writers from Kitchener, Ontario 20th-century diarists

Life

Other books by Edna Staebler

Awards received by Edna Staebler

See also

References

Further reading

External links