COVENTRY — “There’s the Cookie Lady!”
As early as 1957, children at SS. John and Paul Parish in Coventry would call out to one another as they eagerly lined up at Fran Salvas’s Cookie Table, the main culinary attraction of the parish’s annual Snowflake Bazaar.
Sixty years later, it’s their grandchildren jostling each other for a spot in line, wearing the same smiles and waiting for cookies made by the same Fran Salvas.
“I’ve never missed a single bazaar,” says Salvas, now 93 years old. “We’ve had one every single year, and I’ve been there every single year.”
In the 60 years since Salvas first set up her cookie table, SS. John and Paul has changed considerably. At its founding, the church was nestled in the backwoods of Coventry and boasted only 550 parishioners (which included both Mrs. Salvas and her husband Roger). As Tiogue Avenue grew from sleepy country road to major commercial byway, however, the parish swelled to an astounding 14,500 members —making it the largest in the state.
That period has seen many different pastors at the pulpit, along with countless expansions and the founding of Fr. John V Doyle School. Two things have remained unchanged, however: Fran Salvas’s cookie table and the excitement that it generates among everyone attending the annual Snowflake Bazaar.
“It’s hard to imagine what the bazaar would look like without her,” says Marilyn Daria, the SS. John and Paul parishioner tasked with publicizing this year’s festivities. “She’s just always been a fixture, back to the very beginning.”
Indeed, with water damage recently destroying much of the parish archives, Fran and her husband are among the last reliable links to the early days of the parish. At the very least, Fran Salvas is certainly the leading authority on the history of the Snowflake Bazaar.
“We had our very first committee meeting in the boiler room,” Salvas says, adding that the attendees did their best to make the Spartan accommodations feel homey by bringing chairs and refreshments.
In 1957, the parish building had only been standing in Coventry for a matter of months (having been recently transplanted from its original location on Aquidneck Island). It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the parish lacked both the space and the resources to host the first bazaar on their own grounds. Nevertheless determined to raise funds for the fledgling parish, Salvas and the planning committee managed to commandeer the gymnasium of nearby Coventry High School.
“It was crazy that year. We were going eight days a week,” Salvas says, thinking back to a period that predates even her clever Beatles reference by eight years.
Nearly everyone in the tiny parish was involved in that first bazaar in some capacity, and it was Fran that first suggested that cookie sales might be a worthwhile addition to the festivities.
“We had all sorts of great stuff that year,” she remembers. “Homemade crafts, raffles, a huge white elephant sale — Roger even dressed up as Santa Clause.” This turned out to be a recurring role for Roger Salvas, who played St. Nicholas for two decades (wearing out several suits in that time), before health troubles finally led him to pass the red coat on to the next generation of Santas.
The first Snowflake Bazaar was a major success, raising both money to support the new parish and excitement to attract new members to the growing community.
The Cookie Table immediately established itself as one of the most lucrative aspects of the event, garnering about $1,000 in its first year (a little shy of $9,000 in today’s dollars, adjusted for inflation). This ensured that the table would return on an annual basis, and earned Fran Salvas the nickname she still proudly bears today. Although she has volunteered at the bazaar in various different ways over the years (even serving as chairwoman in 1971), it is as the “Cookie Lady” that Salvas is best known at SS. John and Paul — especially among the children of the parish.
Elaine Gosciminski, who currently serves as the chairwoman of the bazaar, remembers visiting the Cookie Table as a child, and says that it is inspiring “just to be working with the ‘Cookie Lady.’”
Another Elaine that grew up visiting the table and who now serves on the bazaar committee is Fran and Roger’s own daughter, Elaine Blais, who knows from firsthand experience how popular the baked goods can be.
“Last year on the morning of the first day of the bazaar, we had someone come in and buy all of the pistachio cookies,” she recalls. “Every last one of them.”
Fran and her baking partners were able to whip up another batch overnight, though she stresses that they are usually quite good at judging how many to bake.
“If anything, we’re usually a little bit over,” Fran says, quietly adding that “we never mind having to take care of a few of the cookies on our own.”
As seriously as she takes her baking duties, however, it is her passion and her love for her parish that represent Fran Salvas’s greatest gift to SS. John and Paul.
“She’s a lot more than just the ‘Cookie Lady’,” says Father Paul Grenon, the church’s current pastor. “Fran is a wonderful parishioner — she knows every family in the church, and was a huge help [for me] when I became pastor in 2003.”
Father Grenon’s sentiment is genuine, he assures, despite having received a heaping plate of Salvas’ cookies just before praising his longtime parishioner.
More than just an opportunity for nostalgia, the cookie career of Fran Salvas offers a compelling vision of what it means to belong to a parish — a commitment that requires one not only to contribute to the community, but also to allow the community to give back in its own way.
In her time baking for the bazaar, Fran has not only helped SS. John and Paul to steadily grow, she has herself grown with the parish.
Anyone stopping by the parish’s annual Snowflake Bazaar this weekend can visit with the Cookie Lady for some snickerdoodles served up with a dollop of history.
SS. John and Paul’s Snowflake Bazaar will be held this Saturday, Nov. 18, from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 19, from 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., in the parish center, 341 South Main St., Coventry. The bazaar will feature several raffles, including a Grand Raffle, jewelry and religious items tables, crafts and baked goods, including cookies.
