Few individuals in American history have made an impact as sizable as Martin Luther King, Jr. King wore many hats throughout his tragically short life, from minister to activist to scholar, leaving behind a legacy that is worthy of celebration.
It would almost be suppertime, and you could smell the food, which drove us kids to believe we would starve to death before we got to eat! Then, sometimes it happened, and supper was on hold for lack of one little thing. Often it would be a loaf of bread or a can of milk to use to finish the mashed potatoes, for that is what they liked to use - canned milk. And it must be Milnot because they liked the flavor better than Pet or Carnation. It could even be black pepper, for my family couldn’t eat without that; it was the main spice, and we used a lot of it, to be sure. Or it might just be a lone stick of butter. Back then (it was not unusual), our little neighborhood grocery store would sell butter by the stick for convenience’s sake when you would run out of an item before making it to the supermarket for the big oncea- week trip. These little stores were the forerunners of today’s convenience stores.
I don’t know about everyone else, but I feel relieved now that the holidays are past. I am tired of all the work that goes with it. The decorations are all put away, the tree is down, and I am ready to get back to normal cooking. Cold weather says soups to me, so let’s add some recipes for some good nourishing warm soups for your family to enjoy on a cold wintery day.
When I was a little girl, schools had Christmas plays, and the community looked forward to them. It was so much fun getting ready for them. Class time took a back seat as art class shined. We would make colored construction paper chains, the links pasted together with glue. They were then placed in a glass bottle with a red rubber tip, and a small slit in the end. Paper chain making was so much fun. Stringing the popcorn was not as enjoyable; it was more tedious. Sometimes, we would use popcorn to make stars or trees covered in snow on blue construction paper. We used colored chalk to gently rub the popped corn, coloring it yellow for stars or green for trees. Then, we pasted them on construction paper to create pictures to take home as presents for the family. Real trees were placed on each side of the stage and decorated for the big night. Paper chains, strings of corn, some strands of colored lights, tinfoil stars, and tinsel were strung all over the tree. The slightest movement made the tree shimmer and have movement. On the night of the play, my Aunt Dean would always put some of her eye gleam on my eyelids, saying my eyes would show up so pretty on stage. I believe that it was an Avon product. I was mindful of how pretty my eyes must look to the crowd. Now, I laugh, thinking people must have thought, “That little girl has something in her eyes.” We kids all grew giddy as the time to start drew near. When the play commenced, all became hushed and still. The singing was a significant part of our play; we sang everything from “Here Comes Santa Claus” to “Frosty The Snowman.” We grew more solemn at “Away In A Manger,” and always at the end, it was “We Wish You A Merry Christmas!” Our hearts grew full, and the night was beautiful as we walked home, everyone in high spirits and in a jovial mood. We were lucky as we lived straight across the street from good old George Rodgers Clark School.
Christmas is over, and it’s time to celebrate the New Year. I hope that each and every one of you has a wonderful, happy, healthy, and blessed coming year. It has always been a tradition for our family to have black-eyed peas for our New Year’s meal along with all the good collard greens, and of course, the cornbread. If you are like me, you can’t cook a small amount and always have leftovers, so I thought I would give you a couple of recipes to use those leftover peas you don’t want to throw away. The first one has a rather odd name but is really very good.
Pocahontas bid farewell to one of our brightest on the evening of Christmas Eve. Mayor Keith Sutton was more than just a mayor or your typical person. He was our town’s biggest cheerleader and did all he could to promote us and make us all proud to live here.
I had been taking some cough syrup at bedtime. The other night I got settled in bed and realized I had forgot. Mike was still in kitchen so I asked him to bring me a dose. He brings me the dosage cup half full. I asked him why he didn’t fill it up. He said because the dosage is 2 teaspoons and the cup is 4. I told him I had been filling it up and taking before bed. He held up the bottle and read “two teaspoons every four hours”. “That’s right and I plan on sleeping for 8 hours.” Seriously, it’s simple math...
The City of Pocahontas has lost a terrific civil servant in Mayor Keith Sutton. I wouldn’t hesitate to say he was one of very few recent mayors who were concerned about the city’s animals. He cared enough to work with the local humane society on a number of issues facing not only local animal welfare groups and their volunteers but the general public as well. He took the time to listen to RCHS volunteers when they had concerns.
The month of January has been home to many historical events over the years. Here’s a look at some that helped to shape the world in January 1924.
with John Allen French, Star Herald Editor Icame across this intriguing piece of information on the World Wide Web: a staggering 80 percent of resolution soldiers throw in the towel on their ambitious pursuits by the time February rolls around. And since I found it on the internet, one might question its reliability— about as dependable as an opossum predicting the weather, right? However, seriously, 80 percent? That’s more people than the number of times I’ve lost my keys or debit card… Now, let’s ponder this statistic.