My Favorite Recipes:

For the last five years, most any day of the week you can find Kathy Buchholtz at Whitman County Library. Kathy took over running the Whitman County Heritage digital collection when Patti Cammack retired.

Whitman County Heritage is a project of the Washington Rural Heritage and the Whitman County Rural Library District. It is funded through grants by the state of Washington. It is a collection of historically significant materials, including photos, documents, artifacts and information from across the region now residing in libraries, heritage museums and private collections.

This collection tells the stories of Washington's small and rural communities. Many of the featured items are privately held, never seen before by the public and available for viewing worldwide via the internet.

"We got a call even from Germany from a gal who made a family connection that way," noted Kathy.

Whitman County Heritage has displays at the Colfax Library, the County Courthouse, the LaCrosse Market and the Endicott Library.

The exhibit at the library rotates on a regular basis. An exhibit can also be put on display for schools, celebrations and other community uses with the help of the library and its patrons.

The program is always looking to expand their collection of more than 5,000 pictures with the help of community members. The library will digitize photos of people, history and the culture of this region for the world to enjoy. The collection has connections with Youtube to display the home movies that people have shared.

"We got a really great program," said Kathy, who applies yearly for the grant from the state to keep the program going strong.

The program has connections to other heritage programs across the US and anyone can get online to learn about the history and see the photos that make up this collection.

"I am proud to work here," Kathy said about the library. "The library is amazing."

The library not only offers books and movies to read and watch, but several programs for the community to participate in. On Tech Tuesdays the staff will help people work on their phones, every day the library has pump coffee until about 3 p.m., the library provides space for community groups, hosts exercise classes, has a regularly changing art gallery, virtual reality, a 3-D printer, play groups and paint nights at the branches. At the library, patrons can check out more than just books, they have ukuleles, fishing poles and even a backpack to visit the state parks with.

"It's the first job I've ever had where everybody is so people-minded, everybody," stated Kathy. "It's real important to everyone here that we're providing that second home to people, that welcoming environment."

This is Kathy's second time working for the Whitman County Library. More than 25 years ago she spent a year at the Rosalia branch before working in the Rosalia school's library for 14 years.

Kathy is the only girl in a family of seven kids. She grew up attending a variety of schools while her father was in the military. Her father is now 90 and living in Spokane.

Most of her family is quite close, living in the northwest. This past Thanksgiving they were all able to get together to celebrate.

Kathy has lived in Whitman County since 1980 and is married to Paul Buchholtz who works at McGregors. They raised their two children in this area. Both now live elsewhere. Their son is living in Los Angeles, and their daughter, who just received her doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology, is living in Colorado.

To view the Whitman County Heritage digital collection you can visit washingtonruralheritage.org/digitalcollection/Whitman.

Recipes

Ginger Cookies

Prep: 20 Minutes

Bake: 11 minutes per batch

Oven: 350° F

4 ¼ cups all-purpose

flour

4 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp ground cinna-

mon

1 tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp salt

1 ½ cups shortening

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

½ cup molasses

¾ cup sugar

1. In a medium bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Add 2 cups sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer, stir in any remaining flour mixture.

2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in the ¾ cup sugar. Place 1 ½ inches apart on an un-greased cookie sheet.

3. Bake in a 350° oven for eight to nine minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned and tops are puffed (do not overbake). Cool on cookie sheet for one minute. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Curried Ginger Lentil Soup

"This is a really easy soup and really great, and we usually have that with a salad and a loaf of crusty bread,"

said Kathy.

1 cup chopped onion (1

large)

1 fresh jalapeno chili

pepper, seeded and

finely chopped

1 tsp grated ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 14-oz. cans vegetable

broth

1 ½ cups chopped

tomato (2 medium)

1 cup dry lentils, rinsed

and drained

2 medium sweet pota-

toes, peeled and cut

into ½ inch pieces

1 cup water

1 Tbsp. curry powder

Dash salt

Dairy sour cream

(optional)

In a 3-quart saucepan cook and stir onion, jalapeno pepper, ginger and garlic in hot oil over medium heat until tender. Stir in broth, tomato, lentils, sweet potato, water, curry powder and salt. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 25-30 minutes or until lentils are tender.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls. If desired, top each serving with sour cream. Makes 4 to 6 main dish servings.