Oh Gee Cookie Company celebrates first anniversary

On April 24, 2021, Sidney Moonchild and her son, Jake Hill, joined forces on a venture that both said has been amazing and “brings a different aspect to our relationship.”

Hill, who is a 2005 Groton High School (GHS) alum, has lived in the Albany area since graduation, when he headed there to study history at Siena College. Moonchild was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1954 but has lived here in Groton since 1988.

Hill happened to see a post on Instagram in Albany about two women who started their own, very successful cookie company at the start of the pandemic and showed it to Moonchild. She responded, “I want to do that!”

In what seemed like no time at all, mother and son established the Oh Gee Cookie Company — named after Julia Leigh Hill, Moonchild’s daughter, who succumbed to injuries from an automobile accident near their home in Groton on Dec. 17, 2003. She had graduated from GHS the prior June.

“Jake was 20 months younger than my daughter,” Moonchild said. “And Jake could never say her name, so he always called her ‘Gee,’ and it stuck. We all called her that. We wanted to honor her somehow with the name of the company.”

Jake enjoys rap and hip-hop music, which has an influence on the naming of the cookies and also came into play for the company’s final name.

“‘OG’ is an urban term for gangster or older guy in the gang — someone who’s been through it all,” Jake said. “So the naming process took on a life of its own between that and honoring Gee.”

Moonchild wistfully spoke about that December day in 2003.

“It was snowing, but Gee went down to the Groton post office before going to work at Ritz Camera in the mall,” Moonchild said. “When she didn’t come home, I just knew something was wrong. She never made it to work, and she had an incredible work ethic. We only had one car, so I couldn’t even go looking for her. I went out to feed the birds and on my way back, the state troopers were in my driveway. That day changed the molecules in my being, and it took two years of crying to get past it.”

Jake also had a difficult time dealing with the loss of his sister, which he explained was largely the reason he needed to leave the area for Albany.

Growing up in Groton, Jake played youth soccer and high school football. He also played trumpet in band from fourth grade through college. He enjoyed marching band, pep band, jazz band and the varsity jazz combo under band teacher Steve Codner.

“I was also in the Civil Air Patrol, and Julia was in it too,” Jake said. “I always wanted to go to West Point and become career military, but I had a knee injury from football. After I graduated from Siena, I worked in their alumni office for 11 years.”

Jake left Siena last summer to work with his best friend, Sean Iddings, who owns Immersion Factory (immersionfactory.co). Jake takes photos for realtors, operating the business in the Capital Region, while Iddings covers the Southern Tier.

Moonchild obtained her business degree from Sullivan University in Kentucky and worked as a legal secretary for 10 years before she met and married her former husband. They traveled around the Northeast for the cable company he owned.

“Ithaca built the very first cable system in the entire country in 1952,” Moonchild said. “My husband got the contract to rebuild the system. I met a realtor in Senter’s Restaurant, and that’s how I landed in Groton in 1988.”

Since then, Moonchild has been a painter and has trained, raised and bred Dobermans. In fact, she painted a mural in 2001 on the dining room wall of The Benn Conger Inn. She also works full time at Tompkins Cortland Community College, where she has been for 14 years, but she said she has always been well known for her baked goods.

Moonchild was hired to clean Red Door Coffee House Arts in Groton. She started making cinnamon buns and apple pies and then branched into making more desserts and sandwiches.

Once Jake told his mother about the cookie idea, Moonchild made a bunch of cookies and sent them to him. He was astounded at how good they were.

“After that, things went off like a rocket,” Moonchild said. “Once it started, it just exploded. My kitchen certification got approved 1 hour and 20 minutes after the application was submitted!”

Moonchild does research on recipes and makes her own tweaks.

“There’s no recipe I have found or been given that I haven’t changed in some way,” Moonchild said. “I like baking, and cookies are a challenge for me to make them gourmet caliber. I don’t bake anything out of a box except brownies. It’s hard to beat a boxed brownie. There’s a chemistry to cookies. You have to learn how to gauge ingredients to make it do what you want it to do.”

Moonchild bakes all of the cookies herself, and Jake names them and makes the labels.

“The first recipe I tried is called ‘The Leighthal Weapon,’ which is another play on my daughter’s name but also has ties to a rap song,” Moonchild said.

Jake said that all of the cookies “have a hip-hop name.”

“The 6pac Shakur is our six-cookie variety box that is a play on the rapper Tupac Shakur’s name,” he said.

The mother-and-son duo described their business model. Jake manages marketing, the online store, social media and business development, and Moonchild is product development (baking) and fulfillment (shipping). All cookies are 6 ounces each. Their website is ohgeecookie.square.site.

“This is so joyful,” Moonchild said. “You can’t believe how much joy there is in cookies. Our mission is to create and share joy. It’s labor intensive, but when you’re in your own kitchen, it just feels natural. I was going to do it with or without Jake, but I couldn’t do it and wouldn’t be where I am today without him.”

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at (607) 227-4922.

In brief:

National Day of Prayer

The National Day of Prayer (NDOP) was established by federal law in 1952 when the United States Congress passed a joint resolution, which was signed by then-President Harry Truman. The law was amended in 1988 and signed by then-President Ronald Reagan, specifically designating the first Thursday in May as the official National Day of Prayer. Thus, this year, May 5 will mark the 70th annual NDOP.

In Groton, midday prayer will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at the Terrence C. Graves Memorial on Main Street. The evening prayer meeting will be from 6 to 7 p.m. at Groton Assembly of God, 701 S. Main St. The theme is “Exalt the Lord Who has established us.”

Happenin’ in the Hamlet

After a pandemic-related hiatus, McLean’s Happenin’ in the Hamlet event will be back at the McLean Fire Station May 5 through 7.

There will be carnival rides, food, raffles, music (on Friday and Saturday) and billy goat bingo, with the grand parade on Saturday. Fun for the whole family.

Groton Story Walk updated for spring

The Groton Story Walk, located on the trail behind Groton Memorial Park, has been updated for spring with “When Will it be Spring?” by Catherine Walters, a fun story about a little bear who just can’t wait for spring. This is a great story about patience — perfect to share with your little ones.