“It is impossible to review the history of North Park without … recounting the numerous benefits which the Covenant Women’s Auxiliary has bestowed upon it. The entire campus is alive with [their] contributions—Caroline Hall, Helen Sohlberg Hall, Mellander Library—just to mention a few specific projects that will forever bear the sacrificial stamp of the Auxiliary.”

Clarence Nelson, president of North Park College from 1950–59, wrote these words in 1956, and nearly 70 years later, we are still engaged in reviewing and recounting these benefits.

Caroline Hall, built in 1924, is a direct result of the Covenant Women’s Auxiliary’s fundraising efforts. Named after Caroline “Lena” Sahlstrom, the first female faculty member and dean of women at North Park College, it was the women’s dorm for many years before being repurposed for other campus needs.

The Covenant Women’s Auxiliary comprised small groups of women associated with local churches who raised funds for North Park, humanitarian efforts, and progressive causes—and wrote cookbooks. Their cookbooks are paradigmatic examples of “community cookbooks.” Unlike mainstream cookbooks with one author and an authoritative tone, a group creates “community cookbooks.” There is often disagreement—several recipes for the same dish—and the recipes and commentary reflect the historical context. These cookbooks celebrate the daily work of feeding people, and the publishing projects were nearly always used as a fundraiser for an outside cause.

This history reminds us that small efforts at the local level can create meaningful and lasting change.