A Book for Cooks

Plantersville was a relatively new site for me in 1965 when I began dating George Kelly. I had heard of it and had a few brief visits because of classmates at Tupelo High School, Barbara Jo Rogers, Linda Stovall and Sherry Sumner. One particular time I remember going to Plantersville was for the marriage of Barbara Jo and Charlie Mask at Plantersville Baptist Church.
It wasn’t until several years later that George and I met and began dating. I enjoyed meeting all his family and others throughout Plantersville. I didn’t need any encouragement in enjoying Doris Traylor’s inspired, delicious cooking and her vivacious, lovable personality. After George and I married in 1966, it was time I learned to create a few inspired dishes myself. Imagine a delicious gravy that did not require a spoon or ladle, just a knife because it was sliceable. Shipwreck casserole, lima beans and frankfurters . . .the things that I tried. George, being the polite Plantersville boy that he was and still is, was kind and appreciative. At least he kept his mouth pretty much shut while I learned, although he did mention it was the first time he had had solid gravy. (And to his credit, he is a liberated man who can and does cook quite well himself.)
In those early days, my mother-in-law, Vera Stovall, began sharing her cookbook collection with me. Maybe she thought her son needed help before he starved to death. One of the cookbooks she shared is still a treasure in our home. It is such a treasure that the last time we looked for it, it could not be found. “A Book for Cooks” was put up and away with such care that for a few hours, for all practical purposes, it was lost. With its spiral binding now de-spiraling, the blue and gold book was compiled and edited by the Wesleyan Service Guild and the Plantersville Methodist Church in 1962. It was published at a place dear to my heart, “The Itawamba County Times” in Fulton, where IJC journalism students were Hardin-influenced as we worked on the college newspaper, “The Chieftain.”
On page 34 of the cookbook, Mrs. Mamie Lou Ruff, Doris’ sister, another vivacious person herself, shared her Fried Sweet Potatoes recipe, which we often used, still do. Over the years, I started thinking that the words “rolling boil” were in that recipe, but on checking my references, it turned out that the rolling boil instruction was on page 32, Mamie Lou’s “Crispy Cabbage.” Looking through the book, I see familiar names, including Mrs. Mae Sumner, Mrs. Pete Temple, Mrs. Lee Coggin Jr., Mrs. J. T. Borden, Mrs. J. S. Johnson, Mrs. Wallace Gooch, Mrs. Raymond Sample, Mrs. Roy Partlow, and Mrs. W. T. Grant. Miss Sue Burt of Tupelo was surely the fifth grade teacher at Milam Junior High School, and I wonder if Miss Mildred Ruth of Houlka was my algebra teacher.
Powdered Sugar Cookies from Mrs. J. B. Parker; Creole Pork Chops from Mrs. B. C. Cantrell; English Pea Casserole from Mrs. Mae Sumner (wasn’t she also called Effie Mae?)--represent a few of the favorites that got my ‘cooking career’ started. Of the many cookbooks we have collected and utilized over the years, the Plantersville Methodist recipes are still among the most used in the Kelly household.

Carole T. Kelly