Pat Pope went to work at the Junior League of Memphis in 1991, just in time to get in on the fun of the preparation of “Heart & Soul,” the organization’s popular 1992 cookbook.

“When it says that every recipe is triple-tested, well, I can attest to that,” she said. “They held these parties and the first one we went to, we tasted the hot onion soufflé. I could’ve just rubbed it all over me, it was so good.”

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The parties were held at members’ homes, and for every gathering there were three to five dishes, each cooked three times.

“Because people cook different ways, they’d have three people make the dish, then we’d fill out forms and answer all kinds of questions, from the color, the consistency and so on to whether we would change anything at all about the recipe,” she said.

The cookbook has been reprinted three times since the original 20,000-copy run and about 750 copies of the total 62,500 remain. Seeking to make room within its carriage house, where the books are stored, the Junior League is having a true clearance sale. “Heart & Soul” and the remaining 250 copies of the 2000 cookbook “A Sterling Collection” are being sold for $5 each.

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The volunteer organization was started by Mary Harriman, a New York debutante turned social activist. Inspired by the reformist settlement movement, which sought to bring the rich and poor in society closer together, she founded the Junior League for the Promotion of Settlement Movements when she was 19; in 1903, Eleanor Roosevelt became a member. The Junior League of Memphis started in 1922, bringing it close to its 100th anniversary.

Somewhere along the way, probably during the 1920s, according to an NPR story, a cookbook was published, and thousands upon thousands of recipes have followed.

“The Memphis Cookbook” was published in 1952, followed by “Party Potpourri” in 1971, “A Man’s Taste” in 1980, “Heart & Soul” in 1992 and “A Sterling Collection” in 2000.

“If you know of anyone with a copy of ‘Party Potpourri,’ well, we’d love it,” said Tabitha Glenn, the 2020-2022 Junior League of Memphis president. “We heard a rumor that an edition sold on eBay for hundreds of dollars.”

The cookbooks, collections of recipes from members and local chefs, have long been popular among the home cooks for whom they’re written. They’re a money-maker: The “River Road Recipes” series from the Junior League of Baton Rouge has sold more than 1.3 million copies since it first published in 1959.

In 1993, “Heart & Soul” won first place in the Tabasco Community Cookbook Awards and was splashed over the cover of USA Today, along with the cookbooks from Houston and Jackson, Mississippi that won second and third place.

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“Oh, our phone started ringing,” Pope said. “We sold cookbooks for months from that.”

The book was also given a boost because the late Craig Claiborne, The New York Times food editor and restaurant critic, was an “honorary chairman.”

“I think he was kin to some member, was asked to do it and agreed to,” Pope said. “We were on ‘Good Morning America’ when the book came out and I suspect that was because of him.”

Proceeds from the books, along with those from Repeat Boutique, the league’s thrift store on Summer Avenue, benefit its mission.

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“Even though we’re hawking cookbooks, our purpose is to do good work,” Glenn said.

One of the reasons for getting rid of the books is to allow Milla’s House, a Baptist grief support center in the carriage house and a Junior League partner, to expand.

And food drives, diaper drives, meal preparation and other community services have only become more important during the pandemic, Glenn said, so the Junior League has continued those even as it focuses on its mission of “developing the potential of women and improving communities.”

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There’s nothing wrong with a deal on a good cookbook, though. “A Sterling Collection” collects recipes from the previous local cookbooks, and “Heart & Soul” contains more than 500 recipes from appetizers to desserts. You can buy them online at jlmemphis.org or by calling 901-452-2151; unless you want to pay for shipping, you’ll need to arrange to pick your books up at the Junior League, 3475 Central Avenue, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday by appointment.

When you open yours, take a close look at each of the food photos and see if you can find what they have in common.

“Just look closely and you’ll see,” Pope said. “There’s a heart in every photo.”