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Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Ronnie's Apple Cake


For me, Thanksgiving Day is a special time to reflect on the many things I am thankful for. Ronnie's Apple Cake was more than a dessert...it was a door leading to a time in my life that holds many wonderful memories. Memories of my family, when we were all there...together as one. It was a special time in my life. 

Ronnie's Apple Cake was not always known as that. Originally, it was just known as the delicious apple cake that mom baked. I am not sure how many pieces of that cake I ate from the time I was a youngster until I reached the age of 21, but it was a lot. We all loved it, but Ronnie, my brother, loved it more than any of us, and he let it be known that it was his favorite dessert. That was fine by me. I didn't mind who asked her to bake it, as long as she did. Only later did it matter which child asked her to bake it the most. You see, that apple cake was the very last thing Ronnie would ever eat of my mom's cooking and baking as he sat down at the kitchen table on the afternoon of May 6, 1981. At 5:30 a.m. the following morning, we found him dead of a car accident just five-tenths of a mile from home. Not long after Ronnie's death, mom announced that she could no longer bare to bake another apple cake again and that was the end of it. We understood.

Things have never really gotten back to the way they were for us following Ronnie's death in 1981, but one day, a few Thanksgiving Day's ago, one very nice memory came back. I wasn't expecting to see mom's apple cake sitting there on the food bar that day, but there it was. I have to admit, I had forgotten about it, and I was about to find out that I wasn't the only one who had forgotten.

I said, "Wow mom, you baked that apple cake!" She said she had found the recipe, but did not know why she had never baked it. I reminded her it was Ronnie's favorite dessert and that after his death, she had said she could no longer bake it. She just said "Yeah," and that was it. After all the years, it was nice to enjoy something I once enjoyed so much; something I thought I would never eat again. That day, I renamed mom's apple cake, Ronnie's Apple Cake.

For those of you who are curious as to why my brother loved that apple cake so much, here is the recipe. I hope you will enjoy it as much as he did.

Ingredients:

3 cups diced apples
1 1/2 cups of oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs well beaten
3 cups self-rising flour
1 tp cinnamon
1 tp vanilla
1 cup raisins or nuts (mix well)
optional -1 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 cup of milk for a glaze

Instructions: Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour.

Remembering A President

Eight months before President John F. Kennedy was assassinated (Nov. 22, 1963), he made a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. It is said that he passed beyond the soldiers' graves and walked to the top of a hill. The story goes that as he paused there reflecting on the beauty of the area, he was quoted as saying, "I could stay here forever."

On November 25, 1963, the President was buried on that hill after being shot dead three days earlier.



A Joyous Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving Long Ago

Thanksgiving Day didn't become an official federal holiday until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."

Both my great-grandparents, Grant and Hettie Frost, were born after the civil war; Grant in 1867 and Hettie in 1870. They were married on this day (November 23rd), four days before Thanksgiving Day in 1890.

That year, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed November 27th as the date to be observed as a day of prayer and thanksgiving, inviting the people to "cease from their labors on that day, to meet in their accustomed houses of worship, and to join in rendering gratitude and praise to our beneficent Creator for the rich blessings He has granted to us as a nation and in invoking the continuance of His protection and grace for the future."

That protection and grace was extended to Grant ans Hettie as they were married 65 years. God blessed them with eleven children.

Ulysses Simpson "Grant" Frost was the son of Corydon and Almira Owens Frost. Hettie Huffaker Frost was the daughter of Henry and Margaret Shearer Huffaker. They are buried in the Gap Creek Church Cemetery.



Friday, November 11, 2016

What is a Veteran?

A veteran is a person who has patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. Meaning simply, someone who, at some point in life, wrote a check to the United States of America for an amount up to and including his or her life. No other commitment matches this great value made to our country." (John Sanabia, retired SEAL Chief Warrant Officer Five)

It is important that the younger generation understands what Veterans Day means. It was or is no easy task to secure and defend the freedoms that we know today here in America.

We are blessed to live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. Veteran, no matter what capacity you served during your time in the armed services, America owes you a debt of gratitude.

God bless America, and God bless our veteran's.

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!

My 78 RPM Disks (1905-1924)

1. Albert Campbell - Dreaming (3701). Steve Porter - Flanagan At The Vocal Teacher's (3705). Standard Talking Machine Company 1907. 2. ...