Former owner of Skipper’s Restaurant and Foto News Editor to release cookbook
Skipper’s Family Restaurant Commemorative Cookbook – featuring 80 years of history and recipes is available to order now
When Rick Scott closed Skipper’s Restaurant in 2017 because he couldn’t find enough employees to keep the restaurant going, he became the keeper of the recipes.
All of those recipes were developed over the 80 years Skipper’s Restaurant was a fixture on East First St. in Merrill.
Rick couldn’t see just letting them gather dust or, worse yet, being discarded someday, especially when over the years people had been asking him to share some of those recipes.
He reached out to Merrill Foto News Editor Tina L. Scott (same last name, but no relation) to collaborate on writing a cookbook to share those recipes with the public and also benefit the Lincoln County Humane Society, a local charity that has long been close to his heart.
Once the two began working on the project, Tina set out to also document the history of Skipper’s Restaurant, from the time it was founded back in 1937 by siblings, Thomas F. “Skipper” Walters and Ann Walters, to the present day.
What developed is a rich history of the Walters family, from the time their parents first settled in Merrill’s Sixth Ward prior to Skipper’s birth, through the 42 years Skipper owned the restaurant, with some family genealogy, historical facts related to the properties inhabited by Skipper’s Restaurant and the Walters family over the years, and a peek behind the scenes at various times during the Walters family’s lives and a glimpse of life in Merrill from days gone by, all included in the 200+ page book.
“Skipper was first generation American and the seventh child born to immigrants Charles T. Walters and Michalina (Kachmalek),” Tina said. “The family history is fascinating. It took a lot of research, but helping preserve the family’s story became a wonderful way to honor the legacy of the restaurant’s founders.”
“And did you know Skipper’s Restaurant wasn’t always located at 812 E. First St.?”
“You can learn more about that, the family, the restaurant, and the recipes all in this book,” Tina said.
With contributions from Polly Berndt, the daughter of Thomas F. “Skipper” and Lucille Walters, the book is half history and half recipes.
The cookbook portion is comprised of nearly 150 recipes, including the most-requested recipes for Skipper’s famous chicken dumpling soup, pancake batter, corn beef hash, sausage gravy, hollandaise sauce, and many more, and even includes some trade secrets, like how to make Skipper’s “best fried eggs in town.”
A limited quantity of the cookbook, titled Skipper’s Family Restaurant Commemorative Cookbook – featuring 80 years of history and recipes from the Historic Skipper’s Family Restaurant in Downtown Merrill, Wisconsin 1937-2017, will be printed and will be available in time for Christmas gift giving.
Those who wish to purchase a copy are urged to go to one of the participating Merrill businesses to reserve their copy prior to publication at the pre-publication price. The cookbooks can be ordered in advance for $20 at VIP Office Supply, Merrill Foto News, Auntie Ray’s Coffee House, Westside Market, Leroys Hair Care Center, the Beacon Bar, and the Lincoln County Humane Society, but that pre-publication purchase price expires on Nov. 15, 2022, Rick said.
After that date, a limited number of cookbooks will be available for purchase at the cover price of $25. Shipping and handling for any out-of-town orders is an additional $5 per book.
Rick anticipates the books will be delivered to the various locations for pick-up of advance ordered books in early December, just in time for Christmas gifts for Merrill history buffs, former Merrill residents, and cookbook collectors.
Profits from the sale of the cookbook will be donated to the Lincoln County Humane Society.
Former owner of Skipper’s Restaurant and Foto News Editor to release cookbook
Skipper’s Family Restaurant Commemorative Cookbook – featuring 80 years of history and recipes is available to order now
When Rick Scott closed Skipper’s Restaurant in 2017 because he couldn’t find enough employees to keep the restaurant going, he became the keeper of the recipes.
All of those recipes were developed over the 80 years Skipper’s Restaurant was a fixture on East First St. in Merrill.
Rick couldn’t see just letting them gather dust or, worse yet, being discarded someday, especially when over the years people had been asking him to share some of those recipes.
He reached out to Merrill Foto News Editor Tina L. Scott (same last name, but no relation) to collaborate on writing a cookbook to share those recipes with the public and also benefit the Lincoln County Humane Society, a local charity that has long been close to his heart.
Once the two began working on the project, Tina set out to also document the history of Skipper’s Restaurant, from the time it was founded back in 1937 by siblings, Thomas F. “Skipper” Walters and Ann Walters, to the present day.
What developed is a rich history of the Walters family, from the time their parents first settled in Merrill’s Sixth Ward prior to Skipper’s birth, through the 42 years Skipper owned the restaurant, with some family genealogy, historical facts related to the properties inhabited by Skipper’s Restaurant and the Walters family over the years, and a peek behind the scenes at various times during the Walters family’s lives and a glimpse of life in Merrill from days gone by, all included in the 200+ page book.
“Skipper was first generation American and the seventh child born to immigrants Charles T. Walters and Michalina (Kachmalek),” Tina said. “The family history is fascinating. It took a lot of research, but helping preserve the family’s story became a wonderful way to honor the legacy of the restaurant’s founders.”
“And did you know Skipper’s Restaurant wasn’t always located at 812 E. First St.?”
“You can learn more about that, the family, the restaurant, and the recipes all in this book,” Tina said.
With contributions from Polly Berndt, the daughter of Thomas F. “Skipper” and Lucille Walters, the book is half history and half recipes.
The cookbook portion is comprised of nearly 150 recipes, including the most-requested recipes for Skipper’s famous chicken dumpling soup, pancake batter, corn beef hash, sausage gravy, hollandaise sauce, and many more, and even includes some trade secrets, like how to make Skipper’s “best fried eggs in town.”
A limited quantity of the cookbook, titled Skipper’s Family Restaurant Commemorative Cookbook – featuring 80 years of history and recipes from the Historic Skipper’s Family Restaurant in Downtown Merrill, Wisconsin 1937-2017, will be printed and will be available in time for Christmas gift giving.
Those who wish to purchase a copy are urged to go to one of the participating Merrill businesses to reserve their copy prior to publication and save $5 in the process. The cookbooks can be reserved/purchased in advance for $20 at VIP Office Supply, Merrill Foto News, Auntie Ray’s Coffee House, Westside Market, Leroys Hair Care Center, the Beacon Bar, and the Lincoln County Humane Society, but that pre-publication purchase price expires on Nov. 15, 2022, Rick said.
After that date, a limited number of cookbooks will be available for purchase at the cover price of $25. Shipping and handling for any out-of-town orders is an additional $5 per book.
Rick anticipates the books will be delivered to the various locations for pick-up of advance ordered books in early December, just in time for Christmas gifts for Merrill history buffs, former Merrill residents, and cookbook collectors.
Profits from the sale of the cookbook will be donated to the Lincoln County Humane Society.