Tables full of memories................

I have many memories of spending time on Gwynn’s Island.  However we moved to Portsmouth when I was still very little, high chair age for sure.  We lived in an apartment complex called Williams Court.  Fond memories of Moma’s friends and their kids coming and going all day linger.  There was always a pot of coffee on the stove and a kitchen table to sit around and discuss topics of the day or hour. I had lots of kids to play with and it was a good place to live. In the early 50’s that area was full of growth. Downtown Portsmouth as well as Norfolk was bustling centers of commerce and Mama added to the coffers of all the merchants she could.  She loved a sale.

Mama used to make cinnamon buns, from scratch that put those store bought buns to shame. She and her friends shared goodies and even though she didn’t make these much when we got older I can still smell the aroma of the cinnamon coming from her oven.  I have started using a recipe for my bread machine that makes wonderful Cinnamon Rolls that rival the mall shop.

Cinnamon Sweet Rolls for the Bread Machine

 Ingredients

Bun

1 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

4 tablespoon melted margarine

4 tablespoon water

½ box instant vanilla pudding (3.4 ounce box)

4 cups bread flour or 3 cups bread and 1cupwheat

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2-½ teaspoon bread machine yeast

Filling

½ cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup chopped walnuts, optional

¼ cup raisins, optional

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 3oz package cream cheese, softened

1 T butter or margarine, softened

1 t vanilla

2 cups confectioner’ sugar

In mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, butter and vanilla.  Beat at low speed on electric mixer till light. Gradually add sugar, beat until fluffy.  Milk may be added to make a good spreading consistency.

Instructions

Place all ingredients in your machine in order recommended by your machine's manufacturer. Place the pan in your machine. Select the dough cycle and press start. When cycle is finished, remove the dough, knead enough to punch down and roll to 17x10 rectangle. Combine first three filling ingredients and mix well. Heat in microwave 10 sec. to make it spread able. Spread over rolled out dough with rubber spatula. Get as close to the edges as possible. Sprinkle nuts or raisins over dough. Starting with widest end, roll the dough into jelly roll style. Cut into ½” slices. Place in a lightly greased baking dish with sides. Put in oven that has been heated to 170 degrees and turned off. Cover with towel and let them rise 20-30 minutes. When risen, take out of oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. When oven reached temp, returned uncovered roll to oven and bake at 350  degrees for 15-20 minutes until brown. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, then top with frosting. Yield: 9x13 pan

Mama’s cousin Doris Hudgins Ward lived near us and we were always spending time together.  She had a son close to my age and I remember playing together often.  I can remember going shopping with them and having my arm jerked more than once when I tried to follow him through a cloths rack.  I can see him now with his hands full of tags from the cloths as he held his hand open, grabbing tags as he ran and finally jerking them off as he came out into the light.  The sales people must have loved to see us!

Picnics were a fun past time for us in Portsmouth.  We would go to City Park or just behind the apartments and have an outing.  Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches were my fav as a child.  Sometimes we’d take a basket with chicken and other items to share while we sat on the ground.  I would discover later in life what a learning lesson making PB and Js were when my daughter brought the assignment home from school to practice.  Here is an example of the way to make BB&J sandwiches;

How to make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Gather material

  Peanut Butter Jar

  Grape Jelly Jar

  Sliced Bread

Gather Tools

   Butter Knife

   Napkin

   Plate

   Organize Material and Tools  on your counter top

Assemble sandwich

   Open the Jars of peanut butter and jelly

   Open the bag of bread

   Lay two (2) slices of bread side by side on plate, from bag.

   Pick up knife with the handle keeping serrated edge facing away from you

   Remove peanut butter from jar with the knife

   Spread peanut butter evenly on the left piece of bread

   Pickup napkin and use to clean knife off after spreading peanut butter

   Throw napkin away

   Use knife cleaned knife to remove grape jelly from the jar

   Spread jelly evenly on the other slice of bread without  peanut  butter

   Put knife down on the counter top

   Stack the two sides of bread on top of each other with covered sides together

   Cut sandwich in ½ or use cookie cutter to make cute shape 

   Enjoy your peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

It seemed Daddy worked all the time.  We’d have to take him to work because there was only one car.  He had a job at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and one with Texaco working on a tug.  He tried real hard to help his Mama and Daddy at home and also had to keep up the house we had on Gwynn’s Island going.  Guess we moved up in the world while living in Portsmouth when we rented a house in Craddock.  Craddock was one of the first planned communities in Virginia and was a cool place to live.  We rented on Farragut Street from a nice lady and next door neighbor Miss Mary Sawyer.  A few years ago my son Jay took us back to Craddock on an afternoon ride.  We rode down the street where we lived and I remembered it being wider.  Our house was still there looking the same as in the ‘50’s.  Things around there had gone down but the town square, not so busy and the school still stands as a reminder of the good ole days.  We of course visited the Fire Station to see some of Jay’s friends as he is a Portsmouth Firefighter himself.  He has a mean hand at the stove at the station,too, wonder where he got that from?

I was about 4 when we moved.  On moving day I had the chicken pox and had to stay with Cousin Doris which I didn’t mind because she always had fun things to do.  I could spend hours watching her sew.  She made beautiful doll clothes for my doll and dresses for me.  She and Mama sewed together at times and boy the things they made were so wonderful.  Often for holidays they made a dress for me, my doll and my cousins Willis Ann and Lillie.  They were the youngest daughters of Uncle Willis, Mama’s brother and his wife Hazel.  Willis Ann was the one who Aunt Hazel was expecting when she took Mama to Richmond to have me.  She arrived 3 months later.

Moma, my sister Marlene and me wearing a dress Moma and Doris made me for Easter

It was in Craddock I learned about the poor starving children in China.  I’d sit at the table for hours because they didn’t have any food and I wouldn’t eat mine.  Green peas and carrots would be stone cold when I’d fall asleep waiting for them to disappear or Mama would give up and put me to bed.

On my 5^th birthday Daddy’s Mama came to stay with us.  We celebrated my birthday at the Circle Restaurant in Portsmouth.  To me then it was a grand place. I remember the packages all lined up for me to open.  One contained a doll that squeaked, it was from Grandmama Hodges.  It was the only present I remember getting from her until I was married and Aunt Louise,

Daddy’s sister, Aunt Louise gave me the last quilt Grandmama made.  Those presents made an impression on me.  She had a lot of kids to keep up with and me being one of the last made those presents even more special.

My child hood  memories of Christmas really started while living on Farragut Street.  I remember the year I got my Revlon Doll and the fuss that was made the morning, when I discovered her.  I got up in the early morning to go to the bathroom, when I cut the light on, sitting under the tree was my doll, her eyes reflecting the light from the bathroom. She scared me to death!  Nothing doing, whole house up and we opened Santa’s presents at 4 in the morning.  I loved that doll and she’s here with me today.

I remember before Christmas helping Mama make cookies for the neighbors.  She had this recipe for Cornflake cookies with cherries in the center.  I can see her stirring them up in a big bowl with a wooden spoon.  I would find out later she made sugar cookies because they were her Mother’s favorite.  I stumbled across this when I made sugar cookies for the first time after being married.  Mama had one and looked at me and said “they taste just like my Mama’s.”  Well she’s in here somewhere!!!

Cherry Corn Flake Cookies

2 ¼  cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½  tsp. baking soda
½  tsp. salt
¾  cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3  cup maraschino cherries, cut in half

2 ½ cups crushed corn flakes

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine shortening and sugar; cream well. Blend in eggs. Add milk and vanilla. Blend in sifted dry ingredients; mix well. Add pecans mix well. Shape into balls using 1

12

level tablespoons of dough for each cookie. Roll each ball of dough in corn flakes. Place on greased baking sheet. Top each cookie with maraschino cherry half. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on bakers rack before storing.

Momsie’s Mama’s Sugar Cookies

1 2/3 cup sugar

½ cup butter

½ cup Butter Flavor Crisco shortening

3 ½ cup flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

¾ t salt

2 eggs

1 tsp each, vanilla, butter and lemon flavorings

½ tsp cinnamon

Granulated sugar

Mix sugar, butter and Crisco until well creamed in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Add remaining ingredients, mix well.  Place in fridge for about 1 hour. Remove from fridge and make into 1 inch balls.  Roll balls in granulated sugar and place on cookie sheet.  Spray bottom of med size glass with Pam and dip in sugar, flatten cookies with bottom glass, repeat.  Bake cookies at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until edges of cookie are lightly browned.  Dough may be rolled out onto a floured surface and cut into shapes with cookie cutters.  For festive occasions sprinkle with colored sugar or other sprinkles.

Craddock had a town center.  In the middle of the square was a band stand with an open place for people to gather during special occasions.  There was a drug store that had the best fountain cherry cokes and floats, and A & P grocery store and several other stores.  Afternoons after school my sister would take me to the drug store sometimes for a float or a Cherry Cola.  We’d stroll around the circle, I thought it was fun but I think she and her friends were checking out the boys.

 One night Mama and I went to the A & P, I was about 4 or 5.  While I was there I wanted a pack of gum real bad, but Mama said no so she didn’t buy it for me.  When we got home and she hung my coat up in the closet I kept bugging her to get it down, because………….inside my pocket was that pack of gum.  Well, when she found out I had taken the gum, she put that coat back on me and we went right back to the store.  I had to hand the pack of gum over to the manager and say I was sorry.  He felt so sorry for me he wanted to give me the gum but Mama said “NO“.  That made a lasting impression on me to this day.  Thanks to a smart Mama and nice store manager I learned one of life’s lessons early in life.

We stayed in Cradock until the beginning of my second grade.  On weekends when it was nice we’d head to Gwynn’s Island to stay at our house and visit with neighbors and family.  Sometimes Daddy would go to the seafood market in downtown Portsmouth and buy seafood for us to take home.  Huge Maine lobsters were his favorite things to get.  I can remember the claws on those things being bigger than Daddy’s hand.  I can see them now trying to get them into a big pot to steam them.  They were so active they’d have to put a brick on top of the pan to hold the lid down.  When they were done what a feast to be had.  Mama and Aunt Hazel would make lobster salad out of the claw meat and we’d have the tails with drawn butter.  The place would be full of lobsters and our tummies soon would be too.

LOBSTER SALAD

3 c. cooked lobster, claw meat is good for this, cut into bite-size pieces
½  c. celery diced
2 tbsp. sweet onion, chopped fine
3 tbsp. prepared French dressing
1/3  c. mayonnaise
1 tsp. white horseradish (or less to taste)
Paprika
Green onion tops, sliced small
Lettuce leaves

In mixing bowl combine lobster, celery, onion and French dressing. Chill for 30 minutes or longer. Add mayonnaise and horseradish. Toss lightly. Line salad bowl with lettuce and fill with lobster mixture. Or fill six fresh rolls with lobster salad mixture and serve. Garnish with green onion tops and paprika. Can also be mixed with torn lettuce leaves as side salad.

Later I would find recipes for Lobster Tails and one that we all seem to like was by grilling them outside.  Here’s an adaptation of a recipe I found.

Grilled Lobster Tails

4 (7-ounce) lobster tails

1 stick salted butter, at room temperature

2 tbs. chopped chives

1 tsp. dried tarragon

Ground black pepper

Salt

Lemon wedges, for garnish

Directions

Preheat your grill to direct medium-high heat.

In a small bowl blend butter, chives, tarragon, and black pepper with a rubber spatula. Blend thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and reserve. Using kitchen shears, butterfly the lobster tails straight down the middle of the softer underside of the shell. Cut the meat down the center without cutting all the way through. Insert a skewer down the lobster tail so the tail stands straight. Brush the tails with butter mixture and season with salt, to taste.

Grill lobsters cut side down over medium high heat about 5 minutes, until the shells are bright in color. Turn the tails over and spoon a generous tablespoon of herbed butter onto the butter flied meat. Grill for another 4 minutes, or until the lobster meat is an opaque white color. Remove lobster tails from the grill and serve with more herb butter and lemon wedges. 

Gathering around the table full of wonderful food was surely a way our family show it's love.  Love for our family and love for our food.  As we bowed our heads and said our "God is great.......we knew it was also "good" to be together if only for one more time.

  Around our table

When you are young memories are made like a picture in a camera’s lens.  You recall the colors, the smells and everything around you, but unlike pictures life changes. Unlike a photo life does not stand still. Such is life in a small community.  My community a small county snuggled up to the Chesapeake Bay on Virginia’s coast.  Life here could be very simple.  Simple is good. There are no stop lights, except for the ones on the bridge coming and going to Gwynn’s Island, my home. … not physically now, but will always be home in my heart.  Our lives are deep rooted in the land that has sustained generations by working in the water, without it’s harvest many people would not have survived.  Even with it’s bounty dwindling the Bay still draws watermen to seek their fortunes.  The blue of the sky and the water, the softness of the sand, and the red of the sunsets, keep drawing us to refresh the pictures of our mind, keeps us here, keeps things simple.

My early memories consist of long days playing out in the yard of our home on Gwynn’s Island.  Our home was situated almost in the middle of the Island, right behind one of it’s two post offices, Gwynn’s Post Office a, hub of activity in our small community.  My Parents grew up in Mathews a small County of Virginia bordering the Chesapeake Bay.  My Father, James David Hodges was from the mainland my Mother, Hazel Hope Hudgins Hodges, yes she used all four names, was from that little island attached to the mainland by bridge or in the early years by a ferry, Gwynn’s Island .

Daddy’s family was known seafaring people.  He was the 9^th son of Jessie, Jessie Thomas Hodges that is and his mother, Martha Henrietta Hunley.  They had 14 children 9 boys and 5 girls.  The story goes that when the boys grew old enough to wear long pants they were off to find their new life on the sea.  It has been said of my Uncle Raymond he was working in the corn field when he kept walking and the next time they saw him he was an officer on a ship.

Gwynn’s Island, a beautiful little island on the Chesapeake Bay was where my Mama‘s family lived. The island at that time was a bustling place with the water being it’s steady supply of work.  She was the youngest of seven, 5 boys, 2 girls.  Her Mother Eunice Belle Owens Hudgins and father James Claudius Hudgins lived on the water off of Hills Bay.

I was born in Richmond, Virginia.  The capitol of our State.  Travel in 1950 to and from Mathews by any means was slow.  Mama was accompanied by her sister in law Hazel who herself was expecting.  Aunt Hazel described Mama as being “slow as a shags tail” in delivering me and she was sad she had to catch the bus back to Mathews before I was born.  Not before however gathering up Moma’s maternity clothes to use in her next months.  She learned of my arrival  when she returned home.  Melinda Renee Hodges, as Gramdmoma would write Mama, “Hazel, have you lost your mind naming that child that?”  At that time you spent weeks in the hospital recovering.  According to Mama, Daddy was working on a boat in Louisiana and she had to send him money to come home to see me, times were tight.  I was welcomed home by an older sister by eight years Marlene, who I don’t think thought kindly of a little sister invading her territory.  Eight years is a big difference between kids and she had enjoyed the limelight for a long time.  But I guess she survived.

Sadly I don’t remember my Mama’s parents,  but feel the memories of others have helped  keep them alive for me.  Grand mama died when I was 6 months old but I understand she thought a lot of me, even waking me up whenever someone came to visit, much to Mama’s displeasure I am sure.  There was a story of a night Daddy was babysitting me and I seemed to be somewhat of a cry baby.  He had enough of my crying and when Mama returned home she found me asleep in a cloths basket.  Guess I found comfort with the towels and rags.  

I have fond memories of going to family gatherings as a child at my Grandma Hodges.  The house was full of so many people turns had to be taken to eat.  Her long dining table was full of the men first while the ladies served and then the ladies and then the older cousins.  Of course being a kid we had to eat early so we would sit in the kitchen at the “kids table” and enjoyed our meal.  It was fun when Amond, Granddaddy’s handy man came because he would sit with us and tell all kinds of stories. When we finished eating we’d all head to the deep ditch alongside the main road and play for hours.  The neighborhood children would join us and before our play was over a dare was given and taken.  Someone went home wet or muddy and most of the time it was me.  Mama learned early when taking us somewhere be prepared soon out of nowhere a new set of cloths would appear and I was off to do it again.  Unless I was made to sit beside her for the rest of the visit, that happened quite often.

I remember my Grandparent’s kitchen with its big wood stove.  Even though a small addition to the kitchen housed an electric stove most meals were prepared on or in that stove.  Grandmoma made the best biscuits full of crackling, cornbread, cakes………the aroma surrounding that stove was wonderful.  There was a large table in the room that never seemed empty.

Some Saturday nights we’d go there as a family for fish night.  Grandmoma would have her skillet full of fried fish or a pot full of boiled fish.  Corn cakes, or hoe cakes would be flipping off the stove onto our waiting plates, to be topped with a pat of butter and eaten while still very hot.  Even though I didn’t like fish, imagine that, those cakes would taste awfully good with my hot dog much to Grandmoma’s dislike!  I think she could whip up a batch of these wonderful little cakes of  cornbread with her eyes closed.

          

                                     Fried Hoe Cakes

Scald:

2 cups corn meal with
1 cup boiling water

Add:

1 cup milk
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar (more or less, to taste)
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and cook in hot pan or griddle (black iron works best). Add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil to the hot griddle before each batch of cakes. These corn cakes, that look like pan cakes,  are wonderful served with fish.

Pan Fried Fish

1 ½  lb. cleaned fish, whole of  fillets
1 ½  tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/3  c. flour
2 eggs, well beaten
1 c. corn meal
Oil or melted shortening

After cleaning the fish, soak them in cold water with about  1 T salt for about a hour.  Rinse fish and pat dry; place oil or melt shortening in large skillet. Sprinkle salt and pepper on fish, coat fish with flour, dip in eggs, then corn meal. Put fish in hot oil, fry for 5 minutes per side or until brown, drain on paper towel.

Grandmoma always took pleasure in seeing everyone with a full belly.  Guess with so many people around it was her way of sharing her love.  She made sure if you came to visit you didn’t leave empty.  If you didn’t have time for a meal you had something in your hand to take with you.  She never would let anyone go hungry.  That was handed down through the generations.  My Mama would put the skillet on when she saw us turning the corner on the way to her house.  Problem was she loved us too well

and it showed on our hips.

Sometimes we would visit Grandmoma’s after a hog killing and boy would the house be jumping.  Meat would be ground to make sausage, hams would be cooked fresh and some smoked for later.  Chops fried and loins baked, either way you served it, it was good.  I remember Mama frying the skins, like pork rinds you get in a bag.  They would also make crackling biscuits form the cracklings or fat.  The meat would be ground and mixed with spices to make sausage.  Mama would use the Butts or Shoulders to make BBQ.  Her BBQ was real good.

Crackling Biscuit

4 cups flour

2/3 cup margarine or shortening

2 T baking powder

1½ cups buttermilk

1 t baking soda

¾ cup hog crackling’s, chopped(old ham crumbs can be substituted)

1 ½ t granulated sugar

¼ cup margarine 

1 t salt

Preheat oven to 400° degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Mix well to ensure proper blending. With a pastry blender, cut 2/3 cup of butter into flour mixture. Once butter has been well blended into flour, add buttermilk and chopped cracklings. Continue to mix until biscuit dough is formed. Place dough on a floured surface and knead lightly. Roll dough out until approximately 3/4-inch thick. Cut biscuits with a 3-inch biscuit cutter until all are formed. Or shape by hand and place biscuits in a greased 12” cast iron skillet, drizzle with remaining margarine. Bake 25 or until brown. Makes; 8 to 10 biscuits

At the end of the meal these became a dessert by filling them with butter and using them to sop King PorTa-Ric Molasses from your plate.  You would pour the sticky, sweet syrup onto you plate, put some butter either on the syrup or on your hot biscuit and “sop” or dip your biscuit into the syrup……Yum!

Our post office was once called the Buster House.  It was a small building, red in color on the corner of our land right by the main road.  My Mama had once ran a business there selling snow cones, BBQ and other items.  I would wait daily until I say the mail truck arrive then give Miss Florence Carney time to sort the mail and run through the field to get our mail.  Of course Mama’s watchful eye was on me the whole time.  Everyone always tried to the mail early before Florence had time to read it all!  She always in a chair behind the counter, which was real high, to a little girl that is.  After she leaned over the counter and handed me the mail I’d trace my steps back to Mama waiting for me on the side porch.  She’d go through the mail then return to her daily chores. I’d return to play, picking flowers to get married or finding sticks to make horses out of.  Running around the porches was always fun and the hammocks made a good place to just lie around and day dream.

Oven Baked Bar B Q

1 boneless or bone-in Boston butt roast or pork shoulder, 4 to 5 pounds

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon ground mustard

1 teaspoon seasoning salt

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup apple juice or cola drink

Barbecue Sauce

¾ cup vinegar

1 ½ cup water

6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

6 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 teaspoon mustard

3 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 c lemon juice

1 ½ cups ketchup or more to taste

Hot sauce to taste

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon season salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 In a bowl, combine the salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard, seasoning salt and brown sugar. Place  the pork in a roasting pan and rub all over with the spice mixture. Let sit for 2 hours or overnight in fridge.  Pour coke over pork in pan and add enough water to come up ½ of the roast. Cover pan tightly with lid or foil, place pork in preheated oven, roast pork for 1 hour. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees, roast for about 2 to 2 ½ hours, or until the pork is very tender and easy to shred with a fork.  Internal temp should be 170 degrees.

While pork is baking prepare barbecue sauce. Combine ingredients in microwave proof bow, cook 3 minutes on high in microwave until boiling, remove and whisk until incorporated. When meat is done, remove the pork from the oven, remove from pan, discard liquids, shred, and add pulled pork back into pan.  Add enough sauce to coat and put back in oven and bake covered another ½ hour. Remove from pan and serve with rolls, topped with cold slaw and, sauce. BBQ sauce may be put in plastic bottle with tip to serve alongside of pork.  Keep unused portion refrigerated.

This is the end of chapter one of my book............more to come.