It was the winter of 1941-1942 and the war was just beginning. Dad found a job in Akron, Ohio, at a tire making plant. They would be making butyl rubber. The Japanese controlled all the real rubber coming out of the East Indies in the Orient. A substitute had to be found. Dad brought us a sample of the synthetic rubber when he came home for a weekend. It looked like rubber. It felt like rubber. It would be the only kind available until the war was over.

We all enjoy the thrill of seeing large wild animals such as a deer or bear, but imagine the adrenaline buzz if you could have seen some of the extinct animals that fossil records indicate once roamed our area not so long ago.

Two weeks ago I left three fictitious youngsters in the hayloft of Uncle Ex Newman’s barn as they laid out of school— Clark Mosely, his older brother Hen, and their still older cousin Jay Harvey Tatum. Three youngsters alone in a barn can be a scary situation for those not in the barn, I’m sure. I promise to join them in their misadventures once again soon, but inspiration has taken me on another path for this week.

This is not about people outgrowing their clothes or undergarments. This is about my Mamaw Girdle/Myrtle. She and my daughter Sara share a trait I don’t have: a green thumb.

Mamaw Girdle/Myrtle could grow any flower or plant. If she planted it, it grew. As far back as I can remember, she had flowers growing next to the carport. I think they were azaleas. They were lush and in many colors. She also had a flower garden out in the front yard. That’s the one where I always loved to dig up bugs and other icky stuff. She didn’t mind as long as I didn’t dig up one of her flowers.

Back in the day, a country housewife had a supply of buttermilk. After all, she churned her own butter. Now, we pick up a carton at Food City, not realizing how it used to be. Buttermilk Pie was good then and it still is. Use a refrigerated pie crust you have on hand or make your own. If you don't have buttermilk in the fridge, shame on you!

The problem with the French names for some very good dishes is that they sound so fancy and difficult that you are afraid to try them. Don't let the name scare you. A quiche is nothing more than an egg and onion pie. This one is fancied up with chicken livers. Try it.

The 2020-21 Union County Schools Kindergarten Round-up will look a bit different this season with a drive-in style registration. Union County Public Schools K-12 Curriculum Supervisor Dr. Lauren Effler hopes to make the process as easy as possible for parents.

Kindergarten Round-up will be held Thursday, May 28 from 4-6:30pm at each elementary school. See photo for more details and a list of items parents need to bring for the registration.

When was the last time you had a haircut, color, perm, manicure, etc.? People have started saying we’re all in the same boat. Maybe we’re all in the same state of grayness.

By the time this article is published, Janet Holloway will have reopened her salon, bringing into play a whole new set of challenges to running a business.

Like many companies in Union County and beyond, Janet’s Hair Salon closed its doors March 27th thanks to the state’s mandatory shut down due to Covid-19.

Hand washing has certainly come to the forefront these days, and rightfully so. The experts say frequent and thorough hand washing is the most important thing you can do for defense against Covid-19. And it’s been an important health action for many decades, but this hasn’t always been the case. For thousands of years people were getting sick or dying from contamination spread by unclean hands, but no one knew anything about bacteria or viruses and such. The first glimmer that clean hands were a big deal occurred in 1847 in an unusual manner.

“You’re so nice,” my friend Susan told me.

I shook my head and laughed. “No, I just have a Southern momma.”

My Southern momma began my training as soon as I learned how to talk and was able to communicate with others. It’s an old family tradition. My momma received most of her training from Mamaw Girdle/Myrtle.

Unfortunately for my momma, I didn’t take to my training as well as she did hers. I don’t know who was more frustrated: me or my momma.