November • 2010 • NEWSLETTER

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Dear ##firstname[Friend]##,

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I’m excited to tell folks about a new 2011 vintage railroad tour being offered by our good friends at World Wide Country Tours in the ad below. It’s a trip featuring the unparalleled mountain scenery of West Virginia as seen from your perch aboard five historic trains—a true journey into the past. There’s also a special offer to save $50 per person.

I had the opportunity to take a similar WWCT tour in Colorado, and it was spectacular. The trains on these tours are fascinating, and the motor coaches and accommodations between the railway rides are always top-notch. If you’d like, consider joining me when I hop the trains from Aug. 16 to 22, 2011. There are also five other departures to choose from.

As always, feel free to forward our newsletter on to a friend or family member. If this newsletter was forwarded to you and you’d like a copy of your own each month, just clink this link to sign up yourself.

—John Burlingham at Reminisce

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In this issue:

• A Rich Inheritance
• Picture from the Past
• Stirring Up Memories
• Time Capsule Trivia
• Over the Back Fence
• A Thought to Remember

West Virginia’s Mountain Railroads

All aboard! Rail fans will love this trip through the mountains of West Virginia on five historic railroads: Cass Scenic Railroad, Durbin Rocket, Cheat Mountain Salamander, Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad and Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. Get an up-close look at mining at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine and learn about horse-drawn vehicles at the Thrasher Carriage Museum. Revel in the scenic beauty of the area and marvel at the spectacular New River Gorge Bridge. Relax at the luxurious Stonewall Resort in Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park. Come join us for a relaxing and fascinating rail adventure!

Click here for more information .

A Rich Inheritance

By Richard Bell
Arlington, Washington

In the late 1950s, my grandparents stopped by our house almost every week. When their dust-brown Hudson sedan pulled into our driveway, I would tear out to meet them.

The mystery in my mind was what delicious delight Grandma had planned for the day. Her sugar cookies were my all-time favorite, but her pies were right up there, too. She was quite the cook. “Find me an apron, honey, and we’ll get started,” she’d say before we rolled up our sleeves.

Grandma’s creations came not from a cookbook but from her childhood in the Dakota Territory. In place of regular measuring cups and spoons, she used the palms of her hands and short, nimble fingers to gauge the proper amounts of salt, flour and other ingredients. What a delight it was to watch sticky globs of dough magically transformed into biscuits, bread and melt-in-your-mouth piecrust. The process is a mystery to this day.

Grandma could also whip up a delicious story. Her tales of the prairie sprang to life. She told of sod cabins, thirst-crazed cattle, blizzards, droughts and grass fires that raced over the horizon like runaway horses.

To me, the prairie sounded like a hard and cruel place, but Grandma had no complaints. Her girlish grin seemed to tell me that, if given the chance, she would gladly live that life over again.

When Grandma was finished spinning her yarns, Grandpa would challenge me to a game of checkers. If I beat him—and I rarely did—it was an out-and-out gift. I was about 9 the first time I won, but even then I knew he was just being kind.

Once supper was in the oven, we’d all circle the piano and sing hymns. Grandma’s fingers would skim across the keys and my friends and I would try to blend in with her up-in-the-rafters soprano.

Those stern Methodist hymns carried outside and far throughout the neighborhood. At the time, the idea of belting out church music in the middle of the afternoon struck us as perfectly normal. For that sweet moment in time, we were having more fun than we could possibly imagine.

At 18, I announced to my grandfather I had dropped out of college. I figured I already knew pretty much all there was worth knowing. Grandpa listened in silence then told me what he thought. Without raising his voice or passing judgment, he said his piece, simply and clearly: “Rick, a future is a terrible thing to waste.”

He explained how he had once studied for the ministry but was forced to choose farming over college. Even though supporting his family made perfect sense at the time, he said it was a decision he would fret over for the rest of his life, a golden opportunity that got away.

I thought over Grandpa’s words, and the first thing Monday I contacted the college. Thanks to him, I was back on track.

I don’t ever remember questioning my grandparents’ love and acceptance. By the time I was 3, sitting on Grandma’s lap, it was already a given, as real as her sugar cookies. Even as I plotted to outwit Grandpa at checkers, I thrived on his affection.

When they passed away, they didn’t leave me much, only an old shelf clock and a dog-eared Bible, but our relationship had never been based on things. What they left me was far more precious, the knowledge that no matter what life brought me, I would always be loved.

Click here to see more Nostalgic Stories.

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Picture from the Past

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ADULT EDUCATION: “My mother, Lillian Montet Dugas, is the young woman shown teaching in a private residence in this photo from 1935,” says Carroll Dugas of Lafayette, Louisiana. “The class was sponsored by the Works Progress Administration, later to be renamed the Work Projects Administration. Note the kerosene lamp on the table. There was no electricity outside the city of Lafayette at the time. Pictured, from left, are Alcee Trahan, my mother, Anna Duhon Montet and Mrs. Cyperien Montet.”

Click here to see more Pictures From the Past.

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Stirring Up Memories

Sour Cream Peach Pecan

You can say what you will of juicy turkey, sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce, but my focal point of the Thanksgiving meal is narrower—it’s all about the pies. Butterscotch pie rivals pumpkin pie in the competition to hit my taste buds, and sour cream raisin pie has more recently become a decadent pleasure.

What has remained a mystery is how great cooks like my mom get the meringue to turn out perfectly. The little crests of the meringue waves always get browned ever so slightly, making the mouthwatering creation a feast for the eyes as well. I’ve never been able to duplicate it. Oh, well, I’ll just have to be content with the melt-in-your-mouth ecstasy that comes with the first bite.

Whether you’re looking for the ingredients to create traditional favorites or some fun variations on holiday pies, check out the seemingly endless list of pies from our partners at Taste of Home.

—John Burlingham
Senior Editor

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Over the Back Fence

Amusing morsels and bits of wisdom overheard and read here and there.

My friend Carol, now retired, was at one time the supervisor of a large preschool in Los Angeles. One day a teacher brought a 4-year-old boy to her, saying that the child appeared to be ill.

Carol notified his parents by phone at once. As she waited with the boy and tried to comfort him until his parents arrived, Carol noticed that he had certain familiar symptoms. She asked him, “Did you ever have chicken pox, dear?”

The tot looked at her with great sad eyes and said, “No, but I’ve had Chicken McNuggets.”

—Kathy Coombe
Bandon, Oregon

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Time Capsule Trivia

Here are some fun food facts to share around the Thanksgiving table.

1. How many rows in an ear of corn? A. 12. B. 13. C. Always an even number. D. Always an odd number.

2. What state has the turkey as its state bird and has the largest per-acre population of wild turkeys? A. Wisconsin. B. Alabama. C. Michigan. D. Arkansas.

3. One of the reasons the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 is because they were running low on supplies. What one item was specifically mentioned? A. Oatmeal. B. Salt pork. C. Pumpkin. D. Beer.

4. In 2009, which state was easily the largest producer of pumpkins in the United States? A. Illinois. B. California. C. Ohio. D. Virginia.

Click here for the answer to Time Capsule Trivia.

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A Thought to Remember

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them. — John F. Kennedy

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