• 1/2 c. soft shortening, 2 1/4 c. flour, 2 T. sugar, 1 tsp. soda, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 c. dark New Orleans Molasses, 1 tsp. ginger, 1 c. boiling water, 1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Mix shortening, sugar and egg.
2. Blend in molasses and cup of boiling water, cooled first.
3. And flour, soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon.
4. Beat until smooth.
5. Pour into well-greased 9 inch square pan.
6. Bake 45 minutes to 50 minutes at 350 degrees.
7. Serve with whipped cream and applesauce.

Every winter the Bergh family celebrates the season with a special tradition. It is the time of the year when the Bergh family makes gingerbread cake. For a young Lyle Bergh gingerbread was the catalyst for exposure to countless foodstuffs that were outside of the farm menu. Once Lyle Bergh took his first bite into gingerbread cake he knew he ate something special. To the Bergh family gingerbread may have represented a season, but for Lyle it represented so much more.

In 1960s northeastern Montana's food options were limited. For inhabitants of Plentywood, Montana, like Lyle and his family, it meant that you would eat farm food: simple meals like steak, potatoes, milk and coffee. Lyle would come home and have farm food that his mother Bee cooked. When he and his family would go Seattle, Washington, it would represent more than just family gatherings.

When the Bergh family headed to Seattle, Washington in the winter, it meant that a family would be reunited, and it meant there would be treats. For Lyle, going to Seattle meant that he would have a break from farm food and farm work. It meant that he would get to see his grandma Boileau. Seattle, Washington is the place that the tradition of gingerbread cake started in the Bergh family. Grandma Boileau was in the restaurant business so Lyle knew that he and his family would be eating well-prepared food. It was on these trips that Lyle got his first taste of gingerbread cake. This cake was soft and moist and topped with whipped cream that tingled his taste buds. This sugarless cake also represented that here in Seattle he and the family would have foodstuffs that were not accessible in Montana.

Lyle knew that whenever the family traveled Seattle that he would be exposed to new and foreign foods. Foods like avocados and seafood became some of Lyle's favorites because they reminded him of family. This is not to say that he disliked farm food, but Seattle food was a delicacy that Lyle could only get once a year. Because he loved gingerbread so much his mother Bee brought the recipe back to Montana. Gingerbread became a family tradition that has continued for generations.

Bringing the recipe for gingerbread back to Montana meant bringing back memories for Lyle. It brought back memories of food being shared with him for the first time along with sharing moments with loved ones. Most importantly, it gave Lyle Bergh a tradition that he continues to this day. Whenever the first snow of winter falls you can always expect that Lyle Bergh will be baking gingerbread. For Lyle baking gingerbread meant taking the little piece of Seattle and bringing it back to northeastern Montana.