What I Remember About My Time At McClellan Processing

The silly things you keep when you're a sentimental person. I could have used this on the #occupation prompt but I didn't know I still had it. I'm the daughter of a #butcher

McClellan's Processing Co. was the family business. Many of us worked there through the years -- Great grandparents, grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins... some more than others but we all spent some time there. It's an interesting way to spend your youth, that's for sure.

I was really young when they still killed poultry on Fridays. I remember getting up extra early on those days. It was still dark by the time we'd make it over the plant. And I woud climb those tall narrow concrete stairs. I'd be given a broom to start sweeping the porch while Dad starting setting up and we'd wait for our first customers. Later, when everything got under way I helped my Mammy band the bags of finished product (chickens and turkeys). I , with my trusty Australian Shepherd, rounded up strays, I unloaded cages (I hated that - I was a bigger chicken than the chickens - probably why there were so many strays!). The few times I made it to the 'line' Grandma Nall taught me not to bust the gall-bladder lest you turn green. I don't remember the year they quit doing poultry but I think I was still in single digits.

When you're as young as I was, there wasn't a whole lot to do while waiting for age appropriate tasks. It was often cold and I can remember sitting close to the room heater and touching the bottom of my shoes to the glass panels and it melting the bottom of my shoes (yes, on purpose -- boredom is a terrible thing.). The heater looked something like this:



One of my age appropriate tasks was helping Grandma Nall wrap and stamp the meat and I also got to shove the meat down the grinder to make hamburger. When I grew up I had to help on the boning table. Curse that stupid boning table. I HATED that job. HATED it. I didn't mind grinding the hamburger, or tenderizing the steaks or rubbing the hams down with cure. I did hate that stupid white towel I had to wear on my head to keep my hair back but I hated hair nets worse so I wore the kerchief.

My dad lived next door and I loved the days Uncle Mike would fire up the smoker for the cured meat. It smelled so amazing outside.

I remember we were occasionally able to quit cutting meat early, but we still had to wait until 5 o'clock for customers. Those times were often filled sitting in the office and reading The Reader's Digest out loud with my dad.

I remember long time employees, Opal and Belva. And lunch time when it was a pot-luck.

I remember Tyson hogs. They would bring in a HUGE trailer full of hogs and we'd do pork for weeks.

There was one customer who would bring in his beefalo (the offspring of a cow and American Bison). He would often like to come and watch us cut his meat.

Another thing I remember is certain smells. Sometimes cookies or cake will take you back in time to a grandmother. The smell that will take me back to my time spent at the locker plant every time, is the smell of bleach and blue dawn dish soap. That is what we used to clean the tables and equipment and was a signal to the end of the day.

These are a few of my memories of my time spent working at the family business.

I hope the rest of my family will weigh in with some of their memories.

Until next time,
Becky

The 2000 Nall Family Quilt

I've had a bit of a habit of posting genealogy stories and memories on Facebook instead of my blog. There seems to be more readers over there. Well, today, I came across this post in my memories and figured I should preserve it here on my blog. 

It's funny this was my memory, considering a conversation the hubs and I were having last night as we laid in bed waiting to fall asleep. The Mega Millions jackpot is now at a record $900M and we discussed our daydreams if we were to win the lottery, even though we haven't even bought tickets. I said that I would want a sewing room so I could make quilts. The older I get the more I find things like sewing, and crocheting less of a waste of time and more something productive I can do when I need to sit down and take a break. Something I can pass on to my children and maybe even grandchildren some day. It's funny how perspective can change in two short years.

When I was a young girl my Mammy and Grandma Nall tried to instill a love of hand sewing. I was given a little cookie tin to keep my thimble, needle, thread and fabric in and whenever they would get together I would get out my little tin. If my Bampy needed a button sewed on a shirt... out came my little cookie tin. I still keep a little tin packed full of sewing supplies today despite having BOTH of their nice sewing boxes that my Dad bought them one year for Mother's Day. So I decided to add all the contents of my little cookie tin into their sewing boxes and I came across this little treasure. In my great grandmother's handwriting, this is the pattern for our 2000 family quilt. For a few years, all the ladies of the family were instructed to make quilt blocks for the members of their immediate family and embroider names and birth dates on them and then Grandma Nall would make a quilt to be given away at the family reunion. I didn't get a quilt but I am happy to have this. 

P.S. Despite their best efforts - I really dislike sewing. I'll do it. But I don't enjoy it.

Grandma Nall with her son Bo and daughter-in-law Bette and our 2000 Nall Family Quilt

Recipes - The Gift That Gives For Generations

Don't you just love the gifts from grandmothers and great grandmothers that give for years to come. Today's photo challenge/prompt is recipe. I have the handwritten recipe for chocolate gravy that my great grandmother gave me that I talk and post about often, that is a treasure of mine. I'll probably pass it down to my son, because he is very comfortable in the kitchen and loves Chocolate Gravy - my girls don't care for it.

I recently asked for and was given hand written recipes from my maternal grandmother, Grandma Reba, one of which is the featured picture for today's prompt on Instagram. And one from her mother-in-law my great Grandma Bondell. Ashley will most likely get Grandma's buttermilk pie recipe because it's her FAVORITE pie ever!

I also have a few cook books that Mammy gave me before she passed away.  Written on the front cover of one of them that was so worn from use, she wrote me a little note. That cover has now completely fallen off because I have turned to this cook book several times since. These cookbooks were compiled by several of our area churches and the Women's Auxiliary and have recipes from Mammy, my Grandma Nall, and several of the ladies I remember from New Sulphur church.

Mammy and I would often watch Anne of Green Gables on AETN when it would air. Since she had me every other weekend for 12 years she saw herself as my Marilla Cuthbert and I was her Anne with an E.

Throughout this book there are recipes she has marked "good", "best", or "I like" beside and thought I'd include them as well.


Chocolate Pie by Sue Nall (Mammy)

1 1/2 c. milk
2 egg yolks
3/4 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
dash of salt
4 level Tbsp. cocoa
2 tsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine milk and egg yolks and stir over heat. When hot, add a mixture of sugar, flour, salt and cocoa, stirring all the time. When thick, remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Stir and pour into baked pie shell.



In the same book she has the following pie crust recipe circled with "I like" written beside it.

Pie Crust

by Norma Brockman (She and her husband were close friends of my grandparents. They would host deer meat dinners and things like that at their "chicken house" and the Deacons and their wives would attend)

4 c. flour
1 1/3 c. Crisco
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt

Mix together:

1 beaten egg
1/2 c. cold water
1 Tbsp. vinegar

Pour this mixture over first mixture and mix well. Cover and let chill 30 minutes before rolling. Makes about 5 crusts to be used now or to freeze and use later. Roll and but in foil pie pans. Put in Zip Lock bags to keep in freezer until needed.



The following pie crust recipe is marked "good".


Never Fail Pie Crust
by Midge Elington

3 c. flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. Crisco
1 egg
5 Tbsp. cold water
1 Tbsp vinegar

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in Crisco. Beat egg with water and vinegar, thenmix into first mixture until a large ball is formed.

This will make 4 single crusts or 2 double crusts.



The following is my Daddy's favorite! Made by Grandma Nall

Egg Custard
by Willie Nall (Grandma Nall)

3 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
nutmeg and butter

Beat eggs, do not over beat. Add sugar, milk and vanilla, mixing well. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle top with nutmeg and butter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Place pan of water in bottom of oven.

I can remember Mammy making the following. In her old cook book it is circled.

Orange Fluff
by Maggie Bagwell

1 large carton cottage cheese
1 box Cool Whip
1 box orange Jell-O
1 can Mandarin orange slices

Mix all together and serve.

Note: Can change last two items to whatever you want. (I think I remember her using green jell-o but I can't remember any specific fruit...it may be b/c she didn't use any I just can't remember.)

The following recipe is circled and marked "good".

Enchilada Dinner
by Wanda Meeks

2 pkg. hamburger
1 medium onion
1 can mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can mild enchilada sauce
1 can green chilies
1 large can milk
1 pkg. Fritos
Cheddar cheese

Brown meat and drain, chop onion. Mix together in bowl crush Frito in bottom of oblong cake pan and pour ingredients over the Fritos. (Spoon mixture over the Fritos until covered.) Sprinkle grated Cheddar cheese over the top. Bake at 475 degrees F. for 15-20 minutes.



Chuck Wagon Beans
by Willie Nall (Grandma Nall)

2 c. pinto beans
1 large onion
1 hot pepper
1 lb. hamburger meat
2 or 3 Tbsp. chili powder
salt to taste

Cook beans until tender, adding enough water to make good soup. Add other ingredients and simmer until meat and onion are done and bean soup is fairly thick. If pressure cooker is used cooking time will be much less.


Graham Cracker Roll
by Sue Nall (Mammy)

48 graham crackers
1 box dates
1 pkg. miniature marshmallows
2 c. broken pecans
1 can condensed milk

Mix all ingredients well. Form into 2 rolls and roll in graham cracker crumbs. Place in waxed paper and chill. When chilled thoroughly, slice and serve.

Homemade Rolls
by Willie Nall (Grandma Nall)

1 pkg. dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water
2 tsp. sugar
1 c. warm water
2 c. scalded buttermilk
2 Tbsp. shortening
4 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
flour

Put yeast in 1/2 cup warm water with 2 teaspoons sugar. Let set for a few minutes. Then add 1 cup warm water and enough flour to make good batter. Let set until it rises and is bubbly. Then add warm buttermilk, shortening, sugar and salt and enough flour for stiff dough. Mix well. Put into large greased bowl and let rise until double in size. Punch down and kneed until dough feels elastic. Make into rolls and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

If you don't have any buttermilk on hand, the following recipe for rolls was circled.

Favorite Rolls
by Lucille Johnson

2 c. real warm water
2 pkg. dry yeast
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. shortening
6 c. flour

Mix together. Cover and put in refrigerator overnight as soon as made. Take out and roll out like biscuits to 1/4-inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter and fold in half. Put lots of butter in pan and cover the roll in butter on both sides. Let rise. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. (I can remember Mammy using this recipe to teach me how to make rolls.)

The following recipe for cobbler has "good" written beside it.

Quick & Easy Peach Cobbler
by Lila Ruth Roles

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2/3 c. milk
1 qt. sliced fresh or canned peaches
2 tsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. apricot Jell-O

Melt butter in a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, and milk in mixing bowl; mix well. Pour melted butter over sugar mixture. DO NOT STIR. Arrange peach slices evenly in baking pan. Add cornstarch and apricot Jell-O to peach juice and pour over peaches. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until done.

The following recipe for sugar cookies is marked "Very good. Makes lots".

Sugar Cookies

by Blanche Bradshaw (I remember she was always affectionately called 'Granny Blanche' - and was one of the more senior members of our congregation)

1 c. shortening
1 c. oleo
1 c. white sugar
1 c. powdered sugar
4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
small amount almond extract

Mix together and roll into balls. Flatten with glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 degrees about 12 minutes. May sprinkle with sugar and flatten with hand.

The following recipe for sheet cake has a check mark by it and the page is stained to show it must of been used often.

Cinnamon Chocolate Sheet Cake 

by Sue Taylor

2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa
1/2 c. shortening
1 stick margarine
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 c. water
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar and flour together. Mix cocoa, shortening, margarine and water, bring to a rapid boil. Pour over flour sugar mixture. Beat until smooth; add other ingredients. Bake in oblong pan 30 to 40 minutes at 350 degree. Make frosting 5 minutes before cake is done.

Icing:
1/4 c. cocoa
1/3 milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick margarine
1 box powdered sugar
1 c. nuts

Bring to a boil: milk, margarine, and cocoa. Remove from heat and add add sugar, nuts and vanilla. Ice cake immediately, while still hot.


The following recipe for cobble is marked "very very good"   It is also my go-to cobbler recipe. I sometimes substitute the flour, salt & baking powder for 1 cup self-rising flour. And if I'm using store bought canned fruit I don't add the 1/2-3/4 cup sugar.

Country Cobbler
by Shirley Spurlock

1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. milk
2 c. fruit of your choice (blueberries, blackberries, peaches, strawberries)
1/2 to 3/4 c. sugar

Combine butter, 1 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, milk; blend well. Pour into a deep, 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Combine 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (depending on sweetness desired) with berries. Pour over batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes.


Oatmeal Cake
by Sue Nall (Mammy)

1 1/4 c. boiling water
1. c. oats
1 stick margarine
1 c brown butter
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. soda

Pour boiling water over oats and let stand. Cream sugars, eggs and margarine thoroughly. Beat well and stir in vanilla. Sift dry ingredients, add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Bake at 350 degrees until done.

Icing:
1 c. Pet milk
1 c. sugar
3 egg yolks
1/4 stick oleo
1 c. chopped pecans
1 1/2 c. angel coconut

Combine milk, sugar, egg yolk, butter and vanilla in pan. Cook over medium heat until thick. Add pecans and coconut. Beat until smooth and spread on cake.

The following recipe was hand written on an index card and taped to a plate as a present to me one year for Christmas from Grandma Nall. (I posted it in yesterday's blog as well)

Chocolate Gravy

3 cups of milk
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add dry ingredients together. Pour into milk and cook over slow heat until thick. If too thick add a little more milk. Real good on a cold day with hot biscuits and butter. If larger amount is needed double recipe.

My FAVORITE thing that Grandma Nall made was her Mincemeat Pie. YUMMY!! Recipe follows:

Pear Mincemeat
by Willie Nall (pg 31 of "Cook Book; Favorite Recipes From Our Best Cooks")
Fun Fact: This is a pie filling - a dessert. Because of the name 'mincemeat' the people who put the cook book together placed it under the heading: Main dishes - Egg, Casserole, Cheese, Pasta. Since I'm the only one in my family who cares for this, and while I'm not above doing so, I don't usually make entire pies just for myself; I have used it as an add-in to a warm bowl of oatmeal or on my pancakes. 

7lbs pears, cut up, not peeled
1 orange, not peeled, cut up
2 lemons, not peeled, cut up
2lb raisins, 1/2 ground, 1/2 whole
5 c. sugar
3/4 c. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
2 lb oleo (this must be a typo - I think it should read 2 Tbsp)

Cook 30 minutes and seal in hot jars.

I wanted the above recipe for years and when I finally got it, I was so disappointed. It wasn't going to be an easy thing to make. I was discouraged and resigned myself to the fact that I would never again be able to taste one of my Grandma's mincemeat pies... Then a few years ago my son went to help my father-in-law move from his farm in Southwest City, Missouri, and he came home with an ice cream bucket full of wild plums. The urge to recreate another childhood memory of Grandma Nall and how she would make me plum jelly from the wild plums that grew in my daddy's fence row, overcame me and I plunged feet first into home canning. After that batch of jelly was a success and a few others to follow I broke out her recipe and canned 7 pint jars of mincemeat. I only have one jar left. So next year - I'll need to can some more.



Other memories of recipes I have are the fact that my Mammy would always snip out little recipes here and there that she found in magazines, newspapers, or even coupon flyers. She had a drawer in her kitchen that was loaded down with these snippets. I mean the drawer would hardly open!!  She loved to cook and try new things. I even have a recording she made for her mother where she talks about learning how to make peach cobbler in a crock-pot. It must've been when crock-pots were fairly knew.

My Mammy lived in Arkansas and her mother lived in Texas. Because of Grandma Jones' arthritis and failing eye-sight they would mail each other audio tapes instead of letters.

To have a listen click here.The crock pot story starts at about 1:25

Do you have any family recipes? Even if it's not handwritten is there a dish that you remember an ancestor making? I'd love for you to share them. I'm a bit like my Mammy when it comes to food. I love it. I enjoy trying new things and have a love for anything "old".

Also - if you read in the comments - @travelgenee is wanting old recipe's to use for a future blogging challenge of her own. Check out her post here.

1/06/2019

My cousin Angie Eagle shared this recipe from Grandma Nall from one of her cook books

Weathered Memories

I am still working on the post to go with yesterday's Instagram challenge but I thought I'd take a quick break to work on today's. It should be short and sweet.

Today the prompt set out by Genealogy Girl Talks is weathered and I have the perfect thing for this.




In 2014 my Uncle Mike and Aunt Lynn gifted me one of my most treasured heirlooms. My great grandfather's old wood cook stove. And for Christmas that  year, my husband had it restored. It sits on my back porch and I use it often. Turns out, according to my great aunt Dena, her dad purchased it from a store still in Farmington today, called Chicken Hollar, in the 70's because he didn't like the way gas made his biscuits taste. He passed away when I was only 4 and I don't have many memories of him at all. In fact, I really only have one, and I'm not sure if it's a real memory or something I think I remember because I was told about it so often. But I think I remember him being really sick with oxygen on and sitting in a chair as soon as you walk in the door. When I walked in he would invite me to come sit on his lap and he would say "There's my girl with the golden curls."

I was able to find the specs for his little stove online here. I really need to find a way to print this off.

Anyway - I have one specific memory attached this little wood stove and I tell it often, but just in case my children are anything like me, and end up forgetting my little repeated stories, I thought I'd write it down for them.

My grandmother, Mammy, wanted to start a tradition of having back-to-school camp outs with all nine of her grandchildren. I'm not sure we ever did it more than once. But regardless that one time was really fun and a memory I cherish.

My Mammy's house sat on the top of a hill and below it to the East they had a pond that I would fish in every chance I got and below the pond was the field where we set up camp. My grandpa, Bampy, brought in the flat bed semi trucks we used for hauling hay so we wouldn't have to sleep on the ground that most likely would've been covered in cow patties. They also brought in this wood cook stove. That night we had fried taters, and in the morning Mammy and my great grandmother, Grandma Nall, made us biscuits, sausage, eggs, hot chocolate and chocolate gravy.

Here is the recipe in Grandma Nall's handwriting. She gave this to me one year as a Christmas gift, taped to a little plate she had picked up at  Life Ministries, in Prairie Grove, where she volunteered. In case you have trouble with that first measurement it reads: 3 cups milk.

During that camping trip I remember when the sun started to set you could hear the big bull frog at the pond and how the boys went to catch it hoping for frog-legs. We sat around the fire, sang songs, told stories. I remember how cold it got at night despite the fact that it was August and how I loved falling asleep under the stars.

I would love it if my cousins would share their memories of this trip or any other memories they have.

Below are a few pictures of the cook stove after it was refurbished and a few of the meals I've cooked on it.

Even though I think there's room for improvement, I really do enjoy Facebook's feature to search through your old posts. In going back trying to find pictures to share I was able to come across the status updates that display the learning curve involved when obtaining the skill to cook on one of these things!

January 6, 2015

Goodness me, who knew there was such an art to getting a hot fire burning in a wood cook stove!! I've spent the past hour or so trying get a good fire going to no avail.... then I finally found my damper and I made a make shift chimney out of Laney's old dry erase board.... the white board is actually thin sheet metal. Now maybe with any luck I'll get this baby hot enough to cook a meatloaf in for supper. Maybe even boil the potatoes on it for our mashed potatoes. Wish me luck!

Same day, different post:

After fiddling with my stove all day without it getting hot enough to boil a pot of water, I think the consensus is that it's too cold outside to get my stove hot enough and my wood may be damp. It feels dry because it's so cold, but it may have moisture locked in it. I'm getting far too much smoke and not enough heat. I'm getting good coals and the occasional steady flame but its just not heating it all around. I'm nearly certain I'm burning oak, so the type of wood I'm using shouldn't be the problem. Also my flue may not be tall enough to draw the smoke.
Trial error, live and learn. I look forward to trying again on a warmer day.

Feb 15, 2015

Since I've been having so much trouble sleeping through the night... this time when I woke up, I decided to start a fire in the old wood cook stove. It feels pretty HOT... so hot it burns my hands to open/close the oven door... so I whipped up some drop biscuits in my old muffin tin and put Mam's cast iron skillet on the burners to warm up... fixing to head outside to make sausage gravy to go with those biscuits... wish me luck!

Feb 16, 2015

I think I decided my wood-stove problem was impatience. I don't think I let the fire burn long enough to burn the cold off the stove and I wasn't confident enough in my fire to close off the fire box door and keep all the burners on. Once I did that it got good and warm/hot - even on really cold days. I think I'm still going to look at Lowes for a better flu to draw the smoke up over the house, if for no other reason than I'm tired of smelling and breathing in smoke.

I eventually got the hang of it, but it does produce quite a bit of smoke at first before the fire really catches.

Anyway - I hope you've enjoyed this little part if my history. If you're a Nall cousin and  you have a memory associated with this stove, please oh please share it. Or any memory of Grandpa Nall. I've heard he was a gruff man.

If you're just stopping by  - I'd love to hear from you.

Until next time,
Becky.

P.S. Don't forget to stop by Days of Our Lives where my sister-in-law is blogging along side me.

Again - I have to love FB. Today in my "memories" a post showed up that had a few memories of Grandpa Nall. I'm going to place them here so they're easier accessed:

My Uncle Mike remembers, when he was 11 grandpa had him digging up stumps and Mike kept breaking the handle's so grandpa got Mike a rock bar said you can't tear this up well guess want he bent it in two days. He still has it to this day.

My dad's first cousin Angie shared this memory: Becky, I was pretty young when he passed. Not as young as you, I think I was 11. Most of my memories include watching the men working cows while we sat on the fence. One memory I have makes me laugh now but it wasn't funny then for me or Tracie. We were spending the night, and I think I was 4 or 5. We were getting ready for bed and I thought Tracie tripped me. (I now realize that I tripped on the bed but geez I was 4!) I cried and told on her. Papa spanked her. (Justice in my mind at the time) But hey, just proves Tracie McCoy is tough-she took a spanking from the Nall patriarch! It was the razor strap that used to hang in the bathroom. I don't think she stayed over there with me much after that!! I don't blame her.