LIBERTY — Writer Alice Crosetto served up a generous helping of local history as she described the origins of the Mahoning Valley’s cookie table tradition during Saturday’s meeting of the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society at Denny’s Restaurant on Belmont Avenue.

Crosetto, author of “The Cookie Table: A Steel Valley Tradition” explained that she attended receptions with large tables of cookies when she was young, but took the custom for granted.

However, when the veteran educator retired from a faculty position at the University of Toledo and returned to the Mahoning Valley a few years ago, she found that the cookie table had taken center stage in conversations about the community’s history and culture.

In her talk, Crosetto explained that, in the Mahoning Valley and Western Pennsylvania, friends and relatives traditionally bake cookies for events like weddings, anniversaries and showers. Popular varieties include pizzelles, clothespins, angel wings, peanut butter blossoms and slices of nut roll, or kolachi.

The offerings at cookie tables reflect the community’s diversity, which was the product of a vibrant steel industry that attracted immigrants from around the world.

Crosetto began her research by posing two questions: How did this tradition develop? Why is it here in the Mahoning Valley? Encouraged by a cousin, Penny (Choppa) Davis, she began searching for answers.

“The more I talked to people the more I developed an appreciation of what the cookie table means to them,” she said.

Crosetto also learned that residents hold strong opinions about the origins of the cookie table. She noted that one of her cousins insists that the tradition developed within the local Italian American community. Crosetto’s research, though, indicates the cookie table custom also was prevalent among residents of Eastern and Central European origin.

A thornier issue involved the local argument that the tradition developed in Youngstown before appearing in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania.

“I started off trying to determine whether the cookie table began in Youngstown or Pittsburgh, but I came to the realization that it was going to emerge as a regional phenomenon,” she said.

Finally, the author questioned the common belief that the cookie table developed during the Great Depression.

“There’s always a grain of truth in oral history,” Crosetto said. “When people say that it all began with the Depression, they’re suggesting that families opted for a cookie table because they couldn’t afford an elaborate wedding cake. It’s likely that the practice became more visible during the Great Depression.”

The first piece of evidence that the custom predated the Depression surfaced during a phone conversation with Dr. Donna DeBlasio, a professor at Youngstown State University’s Department of History. DeBlasio had coauthored a journal article that described a cookie table organized by a Niles-based Italian immigrant in 1925, four years before the Wall Street crash.

Crosetto’s subsequent research showed that the term “cookie table” went back further. In 1915, the term appeared in a newspaper article published in Cazenovia, New York.

“The tradition was common in immigrant communities in the Eastern United States, where it was called ‘the Venetian Table,'” she explained. “In Midwestern metropolitan areas like Chicago, it was known as ‘the Sweet Table.'”

For Crosetto, the origins of the cookie table are less important than its significance for area residents.

“It’s a social tradition,” she said. “That culinary collaboration means a lot to people. At the heart of the cookie table tradition is a strong sense of community.”

Those on hand for Saturday’s presentation enjoyed samples of clothespin cookies, chocolate-covered strawberries and Italian baked goods.

Girard resident Marie Selak, the daughter of Slovenian immigrants, recalled that her mother frequently baked cookies for community events.

“I learned a lot about a tradition that I actually grew up with,” she said.

Meanwhile, Canfield resident John Marino explained that he became familiar with cookie tables while growing up on Youngstown’s South Side.

“We’re all acquainted with the tradition here in the Youngstown area,” he said. “But I don’t think people understand that it’s not necessarily universal, even within Ohio.”

Richard S. Scarsella, chair of the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society, shared his impressions of the tradition in closing remarks. He said that he often participated in deliveries for his family’s furniture store.

“It was common among ethnic households to have a kitchen installed in the basement,” he explained. “I typically saw trays of cookies piled up on the counters. They were clearly on their way to a special event. It’s a vivid memory.”

Crosetto’s book is available online and can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, the Butler Institute of American Art Museum Store, the Shop in the Gardens and Giant Eagle stores.