By Dorothy Haines - Exline correspondent
May 07, 2008 05:31 pm
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Our rhubarb is growing nicely and the frost last week didn’t seem to hurt it. This was the first dessert I prepared using the new rhubarb. It’s simple and easy to make and it’s one of Don’s favorites.
Rhubarb Cobbler
1 c sugar
1/3 c Bisquick
4 c diced fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) rhubarb
Topping
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c vegetable oil
2/3 c sugar
1/2 c Bisquick
Combine the sugar and Bisquick in a bowl. Add the rhubarb and toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 8-inch square baking dish.
Combine the sugar and vegetable oil. Add the egg and the Bisquick. Drop by spoonfuls over the rhubarb mixture. Spread. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and the top is golden brown.
I had a call last week from Larry Golick who is co-chair of the Cincinnati Alumni banquet committee. He was asking about my sister-in-law, Dorothy May Drake who graduated from Cincinnati. Dorothy had told me they were planning to attend the reunion this year and also that her brother, Wendell May, plans to attend.
The banquet will be held on Saturday, May 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Manhattan Restaurant. If you would like more information, just give Larry a call.
While it was a cool, cloudy morning on Saturday in Exline, there were several bikers in town. After the sun came out, it was a nice day and we had a lot of people in the store to check out the Relay for Life raffles and the Arm Wrestling contest. The winners in the bike show were Best of Show New Bike-Jesse Moorman; Best of Show Old Bike-Rocky Volk; Best of Show Custom Bike-Mike Starr; and Best of Show Original Bike-Brad Scott.
Sunday was a big day at Faith United Methodist Church. We were pleased to have members of the congregations from First United Methodist Church, the First Presbyterian Church, and the First Evangelical Lutheran Church worship with us and take part in the service. The Barbary Coast Dixieland Band provided the music and were those guys good!
When they introduced themselves they told us they were all Lutherans except for the one Baptist. When they go to a community for a concert, they always contact the Lutheran Church in that town and offer to help with a morning worship service. They do about 40 church services a year which doesn’t leave many Sundays they aren’t involved in a service. They ended the service with “When the Saints Go Marching In” and had the congregation marching in the aisles!
Then Sunday evening we had a co-op supper at the church with lots of good food. The God’s Squad 2008 group from the Christian Church in Unionville, Mo., enjoyed supper with us before presenting their drama “Making History.” These young people did a magnificent job in presenting the story in drama and in song.
I also had a call last week from Bobby Wakefield to make reservations for the Exline School Reunion. He told me that his brother, Woodrow of Davenport, had recent hip replacement surgery.
Bobby went to Davenport to help care for him. Woodrow is doing fine and is looking forward to coming to Exline for the school reunion.
Another call was from Charlotte Adams Withrow of Des Moines. Charlotte is also planning to come to the school reunion with her niece and her husband. Charlotte told me how much she looks forward to Thursday’s paper and the news from Exline.
If you haven’t made your reservation for the school reunion and are planning to come, please give me a call. We need to let the people on the Exline Recreation Committee know a week ahead of time so they know how much meat to order. They always do such a good job with the meal that we need to be considerate of them and give them a number to work with. The reunion will be held at the Exline Community Center on Saturday, May 24th with the meal at 12:00 noon and a short program following.
Don’t forget about clean up days in Exline coming up on Friday and Saturday, May 16 and 17. You need to have your trash on the curb by 8 a.m. on Friday. The guys will not back track on Saturday. They will not pick up garbage or batteries. They will pick up appliances free except for TV’s which will cost $10 each to be picked up and computers will be $5. Then if you have car tires to be picked up they will cost $2 each and semi-tires will be $7 each. Brush must be piled separately.
And yes, we are extremely proud that the Appanoose County Fair Board is dedicating the 2008 County Fair to our daughter-in-law, Marketta Haines. Being the fair board treasurer for 12 years was a job that took many hours of work and lots of patience. Keta is a person who not only does her work well but she does it with a smile. Many people do not realize the long hours that members of the fair board donate in order for the boys and girls of our county to be able to show their livestock and the results of their labors. They expect no compensation but you might want to tell them “thank you” when county fair time rolls around.
The big flea market in Exline will be held on Saturday, May 17th. I’m told there will also be a tractor show in town that day. Don’t we have lots of interesting things going on in our little town? Anyway, there will be lots of good merchandise in the area designated for the Exline Betterment Committee and all proceeds from this area will go to the town’s 4th of July entertainment fund. Other vendors are welcome to set up as well.
This Sunday will be Mother’s Day. My own mother has been gone for 12 years and I still miss her. I don’t think you ever really get over missing your mother. But I have such good memories of the times we spent together. After I retired, I would go over every afternoon and take Mom’s mail in.
We would have a cup of tea and she reminisced about things that had happened throughout the 79 years of her life. Mom’s memory was excellent and it was a real blessing that her mind stayed sharp to the end. I learned things that I had either never heard or that I had forgotten.
One day it occurred to me that I should be writing these things down so the rest of the family would have a chance to know about the remarkable life Mom had lived.
I asked my brother, Sid Drake, if his office help would put together a booklet if I would write the things Mom told me. Of course, Sid was glad to take care of this. He not only made enough copies of “Drake Tales” for every member of the family but he made several extra copies so subsequent family members could have a copy.
I spent several hours writing Mom and Dad’s stories and those of their seven children. The saddest thing that happened in their life was the death of two of their sons. Francis Marion died in January of 1932 of a brain tumor. He was seven years old. Three weeks after Marion’s death, Dallas Milton was born. He lived only five weeks. Can you imagine losing two little boys in eight short weeks?
Mom told about how the summers of 1935 and 1936 were both hot and dry. In 1936 there was no rain from May until September. Then the winter of 1936-37 was unusual as ice covered everything for six weeks. We think we have had some bad weather but I guess it doesn’t hold a candle to those days.
Mother loved flowers, any kind of flowers. She always had flowers blooming in the house. She could keep geraniums blooming all winter long and I never knew anyone who could keep a cyclamen blooming as long as Mom did. My three brothers, my sister and I all knew how much our mother liked flowers. Some years on Mother’s Day she would end up with five potted plants from her five kids. So, this year on Mother’s Day I will be taking flowers and place on her grave in remembrance of a very special lady.
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