A day at the river
I find happiness sitting by a campfire along the banks of the James River. Roasting hot dogs on a long stick. Perfection is brown but not burned Winnie. Potato chips, potato salad, fresh red tomatoes, mustard, pickle and relish. After sharing stories with family and friends a roasted marsh mellow makes the day or night perfect.
In the Ozarks as a youth I remember swimming at the Rockaway Beach town famous during the 1960’s. I decided it would be fun to take my friend to get pizza at the Cellar Restaurant . The Pizza Cellar has looked the same for 50 years. You walk down steep steps to a old cellar that serves good thin crust pizza.
Rockaway, which is hailed as the first resort community on Lake Taneycomo. As one advertisement in 1921 put it: “This charming crystal lake is 25 miles long. It is only 50 miles south. The lake is easily accessible. It is a great natural playground for Springfield people.” The summer nights are always cool and delightful, without mosquitoes. Many small cabins were built to accommodate the summer visitors.
During the 1960’s plans were made to build Table Rock Dam on the White River. This caused the water to become very cold. The town would go from very few inhabitants to, on weekends, 5,000. One summer July 4th, 1965, there was a riot. Rowdy teenagers on Harley Davidson motorcycles caused an out of control party.
Nearly 200 individuals faced arrest and charges. The charges included a variety of crimes like disturbing the peace and contributing to the delinquency of minors. They also included possession of liquor, violation of traffic laws, and indecent exposure.
Now most people go to Table Rock Lake while Rockaway beach is used for trout fishing. The little cabins stay. They bring back many memories of life before the White River turned into a large lake.
Took a scenic drive to the small town of Rockaway Beach, Missouri. Growing up in the Ozarks as a youth I remember swimming at the Rockaway Beach town famous during the 1960’s. I decided it would be fun to take my friend to get pizza at the Cellar Restaurant . The Pizza Cellar has looked the same for 50 years. You walk down steep steps to a old cellar that serves good thin crust pizza.
Rockaway, which is hailed as the first resort community on Lake Taneycomo. As one advertisement in 1921 put it: “This charming crystal lake is 25 miles long. It is only 50 miles south. The lake is easily accessible. It is a great natural playground for Springfield people.” The summer nights are always cool and delightful, without mosquitoes. Many small cabins were built to accommodate the summer visitors.
During the 1960’s plans were made to build Table Rock Dam on the White River. This caused the water to become very cold. The town would go from very few inhabitants to, on weekends, 5,000. One summer July 4th, 1965, there was a riot. Rowdy teenagers on Harley Davidson motorcycles caused an out of control party.
Nearly 200 individuals faced arrest and charges. The charges included a variety of crimes like disturbing the peace and contributing to the delinquency of minors. They also included possession of liquor, violation of traffic laws, and indecent exposure.
Now most people go to Table Rock Lake while Rockaway beach is used for trout fishing. The little cabins stay. They bring back many memories of life before the White River turned into a large lake.
List your top 5 grocery store items.
Distilled water for the CPAP machine. First item to grab after a flight.
12 pack of coke.
Some type of sweet bread for the midnight snack.
Oatmeal in case I want to be healthy.
Red diamond unsweet tea.
My dad is the one who has positively impacted my life. He showed kindness to everyone. Would help anyone who needed his help. Never gave up until the project was finished. He had time to smell the roses and notice the small things in life.
Popcorn Popping on the Stove
Mom would use a heavy pan with a lid to pop our corn. She would heat the vegetable oil to get it nice and hot. Then would add about three kernels in the bottom of the pan.If they popped, she would pour the rest of the kernels into the bottom to start their transformation. Next she would shake, shake, shake. A kernel can reach three feet from the pan if you forgot to put the lid on the pan.She added salt while the corn was still in the pan. A good ratio for stove popcorn is about two tablespoons of oil for every 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels. Mom had a sister who lived in Illinois and they raised popcorn near her home. Illinois even has popcorn as the official snack. Did you ever hear of anyone who didn’t like popcorn? Popcorn is different than the corn on the cob that we eat.
Homemade Vegetable Soup
Opening the front door to the smell of soup cooking on the stove was deeply comforting. It filled the air with warmth and nostalgia. It was the perfect welcome home. You had spent a long day at cold marching band practice on a wet football field. The chill of the autumn air seemed to seep into your bones. The basic ingredients were always the same. Fresh celery, fragrant onion, and vibrant carrots were essential. Ripe tomatoes and a few hearty potatoes were also included. They all simmered together in a pot that seemed to tell its own story. Mom had a secret ingredient too, probably love, which made each bowl taste like a hug. Belonging and joy. If you were extra hungry after a long practice, she served hot dogs with the soup. They were crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. They perfectly complemented the dish. I guess that’s what was called a soup and sandwich lunch.
Fried Chicken
Mom would take a whole chicken and cut it up. After butchering the chicken she would have two drumsticks, two thighs, two wings, and four breast pieces. There is also a back used to make some stock. I have never cut up a whole chicken. Her mom added a step to the process of cooking a chicken dinner. Grandma Christian would go out in the yard and catch a chicken and wring its neck. Grandma would grab the chicken, then hold it by its legs and twirl it around in the air. Grandma put it down and let it run around (thus – “like a chicken with its head cut off.)” The traditional method for plucking a chicken involves plunging it into boiling water before beginning the plucking process. Once the chicken’s feathers were thoroughly soaked, she would remove it from the water. That smell was not good.
O.K., back to mom and frying the chicken. She would place flour, a teaspoon of salt, pepper, and seasoning salt in a large brown grocery sack. Shake to combine the flour salt and pepper. She used 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. She let it cook until the skin is deeply browned and crisp. She used tongs to turn the other side until it was browned. Mom’s chicken was always perfect for a home cooked meal or a picnic by the James River.
Love at First Bite: Our Sunday Roast Excites!”
Mom always used a blue speckled pan for roasting her chuck roast. She would peel the potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, and a clove of garlic. Take out the old iron skillet from the cabinet and brown the roast after adding salt and pepper. After she seared the meat, she placed it in the blue speckled pan. When we got home from church, our meal was almost finished. She made delicious brown gravy to pour over our dinner. When the Heritage Cafeteria was open, I would often get the hot roast beef sandwich. I would have mashed potatoes with gravy poured all over it. Sure miss the Heritage cafeteria.
Turkey Time
No Thanksgiving would be finished without lying in bed and smelling the aroma of Mom’s turkey baking in the oven. Mom would always buy a large turkey, which she would defrost in the downstairs fridge. First, she would remove the giblets for the gravy. The blue speckled roasting pan would contain the turkey. The handles on the end of the pan were handy when taking out the bird. Mom’s dressing was made with leftover bread, sage, onions, parsley, and celery. She would add a can of chicken broth to keep the turkey nice and moist. This liquid was the secret ingredient for the giblet gravy. Mom’s dressing was so good. It was always moist, and I would get to sample the dressing before she would bake it in the oven. Sometimes I use Stove Top dressing made with cornbread. Mom would have never used dressing from a box.
A Little Poem By Sue
My mom was a master cook.
She didn’t learn from a recipe book.
A pinch of this, a scoop of that.
All made from scratch that’s a fact.
She would feed a crowd or just a few.
A tasty sandwich or a bowl of stew.
Memories are mine, I keep close to my heart.
Your cooking was truly an art.
S.P.N
Some say youth is wasted on the young. We are only young once, full of dreams and know no road block of failure. My early twenty’s I knew almost everything. What if I had taken the chance to be the owner of a million dollar franchise.
“If you got a chance, take it, take it while you got a chance. If you got a dream, chase it, ’cause a dream won’t chase you back.” Cody Johnson. With a brand new degree in music education, it seemed practical to become a teacher. But what if I had followed my passion of owning a Mexican restaurant? Having had a great career of teaching kids to love music I always ponder how things be different. The world is full of people too scared to tell you to chase your dream.
My advice to youth is the world is full of people too scared to tell you to chase your dream. The safe bet just not be the best bet. Follow your dreams.
What have you been working on?
I’ve been trying to write my memoirs. The last person of my immediate family still on this side of the dirt. Leaving about blogging has been a big challenge. My great grandparents came to America in the late 1800’s. They brought many stories and traditions from the old country. Bringing with them the there printing press to start a new beginning in Hannibal Missouri. Grandpa Issac shared an office with Mark Twain. So many changes in America over the last One hundred years. Are we really better off than the horses and buggy day ? Lessons learned from our parents continue to shape our decisions we have today.
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?
The first person I think of as being successful is a lady from California Central Valley. She runs a huge construction company that installs all sorts of pipe lines and storm drains and irrigation lines. She is successful because she shares her knowledge with other women in high school dreaming of jobs in construction.
Karen has a passion for learning new skills. That makes her a successful entrepreneur.
The best things in life are surprises. Decide each day what you would like to do or not do. No meetings, no Robert Rules of Order, no commitments. You can’t be late because you never scheduled any appointments. Take time to enjoy each day. Wake up and decide this looks like a good day to maybe take a road trip.
Spending time on the computer researching genealogy and other kinds of history. Maybe I should have been a paralegal. YouTube videos can teach everything from fixing a push mower to finding the best travel deals.
