Rains County Leader (Emory, Tex.), Vol. 116, No. 7, Ed. 1 Tuesday, July 22, 2003 Page: 4 of 18
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TUESDAY. JULY 22. 2003
jfjft Uaina Countu Leader
by Bonnie Burch
Interesting stories about cook-
ing. Ellen McKenzie has a cou-
ple of doozics she shared with
me.
Ellen was one of 12 children
and started helping her mother
cook when she was six years old
by standing on a box in order to
reach the countertop. When she
was about 14 Mom was called
away to Arkansas, and Ellen
cooked and made tea for the fam-
ily during that time. During prep
aration for one meal, she didn't
have enough lea, so she thought
nothing of adding the morning
leftover coffee to make the
pitcher full. Oops! No one drank
it.
Next, the family ate a lot of
soups and slews, and her mother
taught her to put all kinds of veg-
etables in the pot. Ellen thought
“all" vegetables went into stews,
so one day she cut up eggplant
and added it to the mix. Same
story! No one liked it either.
Currently, Ellen said she has
had the same Formica counter-
tops in her kitchen for 38 years.
Her daughter JoEllcn joined us
for the interview and laughingly
said that her mother has wiped
the countertops so many times
that she wiped off all the gold
flecks. JoEllcn also said that her
mother has cleaned the kitchen
sink so often that she scrubbed
off all the enamel. Ellen would-
n't have any part of it and
answered, “’I'hcy lease me about
wiping. The gold flecks arc still
there, and the water caused the
TUTORING
CERTIFIED
TEACHER
All Subjects
808-478-0177
problem in the sink. I don’t like a
nasty kitchen.”
The feisty lady is pictured
serving me a warm bowl of
peach cobbler. “Mrs. Smith”
helped her with this cobbler, she
confessed, but if she hadn't told
me. I’d never have known the
difference. It tasted homemade
and was wonderful.
Now to the wonderful life this
84-year-old woman has lived and
is still living. Her father, J.R.
Grumbles, was a schoolteacher,
and the family moved around
quite a bit. Since he was a
teacher, he stressed the impor-
tance of education to his 12 chil-
dren. Because there were so
many, the older siblings helped
the younger ones get educations.
Ellen’s brother Ernest became
a doctor and deserves the credit
for giving her an education.
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“Ernest registered me at East
Texas Stale College and paid for
my tuition and books. He kept
paying for my tuition, and I
worked in the dining hall so I
could pay for board and room,”
she shared.
When she was in her senior
year, she met and fell in love
with Joe McKenzie, who was a
basketball player at the same col-
lege. Brother Ernest said he
needed to meet Joe to sec if the
boy was fit for his sister. Ellen
said. “I thought ‘Oh, no. You're
worse than Dad.’” Luckily,
Ernest approved, and Ellen said
it was a darn good thing because
the young couple was already
engaged to be married.
The way the couple met was
quite interesting. Ellen already
had her eye on Joe while she
watched him play basketball.
She went home for the Christmas
holidays to Jasper and was riding
a Greyhound bus hack to college
when a terrible flood came, and
the bus detoured to Alba. Guess
who got on and sat down beside
her! By the time the bus got to
Greenville, the driver told Ellen
and Joe that there would be a
long delay, and the two of them
should go to a movie to kill time.
“We went to the movie and were
together constantly after that. We
were engaged within three
months. It was meant to be," she
said with a smile. “Cowboy and
l^idy” was the name of the
movie, and the couple's son
Darrell found it and gave it to
them for a 50th wedding anniver-
sary present. Amazing.
Both became teachers, and
during their first year of mar-
riage, Joe taught in the Grit com-
munity in Rains County. They
lived in what Ellen called a
“tcachcragc," which was housing
that was provided for teachers.
The McKenzies lived in one side,
and George and Fay Melton
lived in the other. “They were
nice people. George sang all the
time, and we could hear him
through the wall,” Ellen remem-
bered
After moving around while
Joe was in the service, the
McKenzies came hack to live on
Joe’s parents’ homcplacc in the
Alba area. She ultimately taught
second grade at Golden School,
and Joe became principal at Alba
and Alba-Golden Schools. The
couple was married for 63 years
- Joe passed away this year - and
Ellen still lives on the same land.
She still cooks too - for fam-
ily, friends and lor birds and a
turtle You read it right! Ellen
regularly cooks combread and
feeds half of it to the many
species of birds that flock around
her house. Sometimes, she even
puts peanut butter on her feath-
ered friends' treats. And she
swears there is a terrapin that she
has trained to tap on her sliding
glass doors when he wants corn-
bread. That’s a first!
Ellen said she has had a great
life. She loved teaching and
enjoys seeing old students when-
ever she goes shopping. Since
we realized that we don't live too
far apart, Ellen suggested that I
stop by anytime. Without a
doubt, she could keep me enter-
tained by telling me some more
of her atones. I told her to look
out - I'd be tapping on her door
soon, just like the tempin'
Margie’s Mystery Cake
3 c flour
tsp soda
tsp. cinnamon
c sugar
-1/2 c oil
c. raisins
3 eggs
c chopped nuts
tsp vanilla
small can crushed pineapple
2 c. mashed bananas
Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl
- make a well in center. Add all re-
maining ingredients. Stir (do not beat)
5 or 6 times and it's mixed. Bake in
greased bund! pan for 1 hour and 10
minutes at 350 degrees
Mexican Chicken
Casserole
2-1/2 or 3-lb chicken, stewed and
boned
1 8-oz. bag nacho cheese Doritos
1/2 c chopped bell pepper
1/2 c chopped onion
I Tbs. chili powder
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 10-02 can Rotd tomatoes with
chilies
10-12 oz. grated coiby/monterrey jack
cheese
1 Tbs minced garlic
dash of paprika
2 eggs
Grease large casserole dish. Place
Doritos in bottom after dipping them
in chicken broth. Place bite-sized
pieces of chicken over Doritos. Add 2
slightly beaten eggs. Add onions and
bell pepper. Add 1/2 grated cheese.
Add minced garlic and chili powder
Stir soups together. Add Rotel tomatoes
and mix. Pour over casserole Top with
rest of grated cheese. Bake uncovered
for 30 minutes at 350 degrees
Sprinkle top with paprika. Bake cov-
ered for 15 minutes.
Watergate Salad
I small pkg. instant pistachio
podding mix
20 oz. crushed pineapple and juice
9 oz. Cool Whip
I c. chopped nuts *
1 c. miniature marshmallows
Combine all ingredients; mix well
Chill for 2 or 3 hours before serving.
Squash Casserole
5 c. yellow squash, sliced
2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped onion
c. grated carrots
pkg herb-seasoned stuffing mix
8-02 carton sour cream
can cream of celery soup
!l c. melted margarine
Boil squash in salted water with
onion for 5 minutes. Drain; set aside.
Mix carrots, half the stuffing mix, sour
cream, soup and 1/4 cup melted mar-
garine Layer squash and carrot mix-
ture in a 9* 12-inch baking dish
Spread remaining stuffing mix on top;
drizzle with 1/4 c. margarine. Bake at
350 degrees for 20 minutes. Yield: 6-8
servings
FRESH PEAS
Retail Orders
Shelled FREE
8LACKEYES • PURPLE HULLS
CREAMS • OTHER VEGETABLES
Sides Tea farm
TOPS TX 1244
TOPS TX 1244 met in regular
session on July 15. The meeting
was called to order by Leader
Betty Gothard. The devotional
was given by Lori Wilson.
We all said the TOPS pledge
and sang the TOPS song.
Linda Franklin called roll with
nine weighing in. Betty Gothard
was TOPS best loser. Betty also
won the money can
Lori Wilson read the minutes.
We have a new contest going.
Don’t forget to send your secret
pal a note or card to let them
know you’re thinking about
them.
Linda Franklin gave the pro-
gram titled “Who Wants to be
Thin?”
We closed with our Helping
Hands Pledge and sang the
Goodnight Song.
We meet every Tuesday night
at the Emory Baptist Church in
the fellowship hall.
We weigh in from 6:00 to 7:00
p.m. and meet from 7:(X) to 8:00
p.m.
Come see what TOPS is all
about.
reported by Lori Wilson
NETO-Senior
Citizen menu
July 28 - 31
Monday: Steak with onion
gravy, mashed potatoes, mixed
vegetables, roll, fresh fruit.
Tuesday: Barbecued pork on a
bun. Ranch Style beans, tatcr
tots, pickles, sliced peaches.
Wednesday: Chicken tenders
with gravy, potato Rockefeller,
mixed vegetables, roll, cookies.
Thursday: Hamburger, baked
beans, fries, lettuce, tomato,
onion, cobbler.
UAW Local 967
retirees lunch
The United Auto Workers
b>cal %7 retirees’ lunch will be
held Thursday, July 24, at 10:30
am. at Jack Finney Blvd./FM
1570 in Greenville. Guest speak-
er will be Sue Jones. CiCi’s pizza
and fried chicken will be served
for lunch. Come enjoy the fel-
lowship.
***
Grace Gilley was a recent vis-
itor in the Leader office to renew
a subscription for DaLce Little.
(JottMPuf 'pCowenA
& (fyto
on the Square • Emory
473-2069
Karen Young • 598-6040
LOW-
COST
PET VACCINATIONS
All vaccines available
Where; Point Volunteer Fire Dept.
(Downtown Point on Hwy. 69)
When; Sat., July 26, 9 a.m.-12 noon
Who; L. K. Knowles, DVM
For information, call 903-569-0645
Heartworm preventative available with negative test
TEMERARIA’S
MEXICAN RESTAURANT & CLUB
Now Open
at New Location!
8020 Hwy. 515 West
Yantis
903-383-7056
(formerly El Lego)
Open Tuesday thru Sunday
11 a.m. till closing
1801 Hwy. 276
West Tawakoni
903-447-2399
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Hill, Earl Clyde, Jr. Rains County Leader (Emory, Tex.), Vol. 116, No. 7, Ed. 1 Tuesday, July 22, 2003, newspaper, July 22, 2003; Emory, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth767057/m1/4/?q=music: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rains County Library.