Directions: |
Directions:Put flour in plate; remove skin from chicken, salt and pepper to taste. Roll in flour. In large pan (Mom used an electric skillet in later years – an iron skillet years ago) melt butter and lard. When hot, add chicken and fry on med heat, turning to brown all sides. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: Mom's chicken is not for the cholesterol conscious. Everyone fried with lard in those days and she used it in her biscuits, pie crusts, everything. Adds a much better taste than oils do, but she did use oil in later years. Mom always bought Wesson Oil.
Memories: My daughter loves to hear Mother's stories. When she is around Mom, she always asks her about her childhood days. Mom tells the story of how she and Pauline got mad about something and rubbed hot peppers in Uncle Frank's long johns while they were hanging on the clothes line. She would laugh about seeing him come back home after wearing them all day long, walking stiff legged so nothing would rub against him. Then there was the time they found Aunt Ester's hidden chocolates that were a gift from her latest boyfriend. She didn't want to share with them, so they ate the middle out of all her chocolates and put them back in the box. Mom and Pauline used to play leap frog, and Mom would pee on Pauline's back. One of Mom's favorite sayings is, "As Frank Roberts always said, my damn back is killing me." Karen asked her once who was the instigator in all of those pranks, since Pauline was two years older. Mom thought for a second and then confirmed what we already suspected by saying, "Ah, Pauline was a wimp." Mom always had a bit of the devilment in her. Still does. You can see it in her eyes even now.
The first television I ever saw was in the house that sat on the left side of the road in the curve before you got to Rose's store. The house sat on the other side of the road going up the holler to Aunt Mahalia's house. Don't remember who lived there, but Daddy loaded all of us in the car and took us down there to see their TV. There were so many people there, I could only get a glimpse from the porch through the window. Pretty much all I saw was snow and a flickering picture. I think that was the first TV in Crab Orchard. Daddy had the second one. For the first few weeks after we got it, you had to get a seat early in the living room and pretty much stay there if you wanted to sit down and watch the TV. There were people there every night, in the house and on the porch looking in the window. You didn't dare get up or you would lose your seat. Mom said they broke down her new horsehair couch with so many people sitting on it all the time. The novelty wore off after a little while, and things went back to normal. It's funny to look back at that time now, with televisions in every room. It was an innocent time. Daddy loved the news and we didn't dare make noise until David Brinkley said, "Good Night, Chet".
Right next to the house with the television, on around the curve a bit, there sat an old building when I was a kid. They used to have parties there, with music and cake walks. Young single girls would prepare boxed dinners, and those dinners were put up for bid. The highest bidder got to sit and eat with the girl who made the dinner. I remember making a box once, with a lot of help from Mom. Don't remember much except it had fried chicken in it. Kenneth McReynolds won it with the highest bid. The McReynolds family lived next door to us, and I think Kenneth spent every cent he ever earned on me. He never missed a holiday - a big red heart full of chocolates on Valentine's Day and presents on my birthday and Christmas. Friends are a rare treasure and the older I get the more I hold close to my heart the memory of that little boy who always loved me.
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