NEWS FROM THE HILLS
August has packed her bags and fled our hills, leaving much of her heat behind her. We welcome mild September, with her early autumn days and slowing down of nature. She ushers in a restful period for the country housewife, as the canning and preserving are finished, and the garden shuts down for another season.
It is with a feeling of gratitude that we admire the glass jars of canned produce, the churn of pickled corn and the bin of homegrown potatoes. God has amply supplied our needs and given us strength to take care of the abundance He has sent. The cycle of life continues, as one season departs and another takes its place.
The pumpkins grow fat and round amid the drying corn stalks, and stacks of firewood for the coming winter promises heat from the cold. There is no greater satisfaction to a farmer than to look around and see we are prepared for the cold season, with food and warmth.
Despite the extreme heat and lack of rain, God has blessed our garden, and multiplied our crops. We are thankful that He has also blessed us with the increase of our family, in adding two new great-grandsons to our growing flock. We welcomed the bouncing baby boys last month, making us a total of 17 great-grandchildren.
Patrick Benjamin Lawrence Bragg made his entrance into the world on August 9, weighing seven pounds and two ounces. He is the son of Benjamin and Katrina Kegley Bragg of Springfield, Ohio. He has a two-year old sister, Emma, who is thrilled to death with him. Noah Andrew Bragg was born two days later on August 11, and he weighed seven pounds and four ounces. He is the son of Joseph and Bridgette Goodwin Bragg of Tariff.
Benjamin and Joseph are brothers, and grandparents are Andrew and Jennifer Bragg of Ovapa, and Phyllis and Berlin Hunt of Lizemore. Great grandparents are Criss and Alyce Faye Bragg of Ovapa. Patrick’s other grandparents are Donna Kegley of Morehead, Kentucky, and the late Lawrence Kegley. Noah’s grandparents are Terry Goodwin of Left Hand and Kathy Nichols of MD. His great-grandparents are Coy and Ruth Nichols of Left Hand, and Lorene Goodwin, also of Left Hand. They are both beautiful babies, and of course we are proud.
My sister Jeannie Perdue and her husband Jim welcomed a newcomer into their family on July 19. Eric Zane Wilkinson was born to Julie Perdue Wilkinson and George Wilkinson of Ovapa, weighing seven pounds and 13 ounces. He is a fat cherub, with orange (honestly!) hair. This makes them an even dozen grandchildren.
We have had wonderful response from our readers, and appreciate each letter and e-mail. I’d love to be able to answer each letter personally, but of course this is impossible. I cherish each letter and card.
In response to the last column, Bernard Fulks of Florida writes that he hasn’t seen a katydid or a jarfly since he’s been down there. He said that they do have mosquitoes the size of katydids though! J. D. Beam inquires if we still have whippoorwills and Bob White quail. I haven’t heard a Bob White for years. I can remember how they called during the sleepy, warm days of summer when they foraged in the wheat field. Whippoorwills are almost a thing of the past also. I miss them.
A lot of folks must like wilted lettuce, as we got several requests for the recipe. Freda Pauley of Ansted sends her recipe, which had the added ingredient of two hard-boiled eggs. We heard from Geraldine Elkins of Charleston, who uses brown sugar instead of white. Norma McCulloch sent her mother’s recipe, and Kevin Higginbotham wrote from Flroida. Lorena (Rene) Carr of So. Charleston puts a dash of garlic in her recipe, and Janet Tucker says she likes to add baby spinach leaves to the lettuce.
They were all basically the same, and most recipes called for chopped green onions. A person could adjust the seasonings to their personal taste. Here is the basic recipe:
WILTED LETTUCE SALAD
Leaf lettuce or other lettuce, shredded
Green onions, chopped (optional)
5-6 slices bacon, diced
¼ cup bacon grease
¼ cup vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Combine lettuce and onions in bowl. Fry bacon until crisp, drain. Reserve ¼ cup bacon grease. Add vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Pour over lettuce and onions. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon.
We had an interesting letter from Fred Robinson of Nitro, who says, “Back in the 1930s and ’40s, my grandparents Charlie and Laura Lovett owned Spring Orchard in Spring Hill. She and all of her daughters were experts at cooking anything, especially if it contained apples. The main ingredient for fried (yes, they were fried) apple pies was thinly sliced apples dried in the sun.
“They would cover the apples with screen or a cheesecloth to keep out the insects. Plain cooked apples do not taste like dried apples. They were cooked with cinnamon and sugar, to taste. (No recipe—that’s the way they cooked everything.) The crust would be rolled out thin, the apples spread evenly, about ½ inch thick, on one-half of the dough. Then they were folded and pinched together. (If they’re not dried and fried, they are not the same!”)
Nancy Adkins of West Logan sends an unusual pickled corn recipe, and says it is very good. She prepares the corn in the usual fashion, boils it five minutes, chills it in ice water, and then cuts it off the cob. She packs it in quart jars, and pours the following solution over it: One gallon water, one cup vinegar, one cup sugar, and two cups coarse salt. This is brought to a boil, cooled and poured over the corn in the jar. Add lids and lets it work.
Gay Legg McIntyre, who graduated from Clay High School in 1940, has a theory about salt rising bread and its failure to ferment. She thinks it might be the additives in milk, as she has tried making it for the last few years, with no success.
As the last holiday of the summer approaches, we need to thank God for the freedom we still have to enjoy the long weekend.
Remember to pray for our troops that God’s protecting hand will be over them.
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