Today would have been my Aunt Frances’ 100th
Birthday. To write just a little about
my Aunt Frances is like trying to write just a little about my Mom! There’s just too much to tell in a single
page. So I’ve highlighted just a few
special things … like the many visits we used to make when she & my Uncle
Everett lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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| Nancy with Aumt Frances |
Whenever we’d visit, Frances & Everett always had the
most wonderful things planned for us.
Breakfasts at the beach, shopping in Miami Beach, cook-outs and trips to
three of our favorite places: The
Seaquarium (where we even got to see the real Flipper!), The Sepentarian (where
we got to see Bill Haast handle the big cobras!) and Silver Springs (when we’d
all go when Frances & Everett came up to visit Papaw & Mamaw).
Frances & Everett’s home was so elegant and
beautiful, with a gorgeous patio and grill.
Linda and I always got to sleep out in the Florida room, and we loved
that. And I think I’ve logged in
hundreds of hours just standing in front of Frances’ “picture wall” and looking
at all our family photos.
In 1978, I flew to Florida to spend three weeks with
Frances and Everett. The trip turned out
to be more than I could have ever dreamed for … they chartered a plane and took
me to Nassau!!! What an exciting time we
had! We saw things on the back roads
that normal tourists probably never get to experience. On the same trip, they took me to Disney
World, Lion Country Safari and the Winter home on the Ringling Brothers Circus. I will never forget doing all those wonderful
things with them.
When Frances & Everett moved to Ohio in 1979, we
began a tradition that has continued all the remaining years of their lives –
Thanksgiving at their home in Loveland each year. I look forward to that about as much as
Christmas! There was always so much wonderful
food, and it was a time when we can all just lazily sit around together. We usually get out old photos and look at
them, and share old memories. How much
we miss Francis and Everett at this and EVERY event!
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| Everett & Frances on a date in 1928. |
The greatest thing Aunt Frances gave to us was when she
married Uncle Everett. They were married
in 1929 when he was was 23 and she was just 14 years old! But my Grandparents must have sensed what a
wonderful man he was, one who could always take care of their daughter, which
he did for their 70 years of marriage! There was only ONE Uncle Everett -- and I adored him!
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| Uncle Everett & Aunt Frances on their Weddng Day -- July 3, 1929 |
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| Everett & Frances Whitaker in the 1940s |
I may look like my Aunt Kay, but I’m a lot like my Aunt
Frances, too. Family means so much to
both of us. We appreciated things that
belonged to family members – not valuable things, but the sentimental
things. And we both felt very blessed to
be in the family we were in.
When Frances passed away, she had already signed her home, a threestory home called The Rookery in Loveland, Ohio over to me, so that in reality the last year of her life she
was living with Steve & me. A lot of
my cousins still hate me over that, but getting that house was what enabled us
to sell and move to Florida, which ultimately saved my life because that’s
where I was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure and put on dialysis. So thank you Aunt Frances for always making
my life so happy and for helping to save my life. I love you!
XO
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| the Home Aunt Frances gave to me -- The Rookery in Loveland, Ohio |
For every occasion, Aunt Frances made her Chicken &
Dumplings. They sat right next to the
turkey on Thanksgiving and the ham at Christmas. They are loved by everyone and a source of
great comfort, just like Aunt Frances herself.
So I can’t think of anything better to past for her Centennial Birthday
today!
Chicken ‘n
Dumplings
Chicken and Broth:
3 quarts Water
1 3-4 pound Chicken, cut
up
1-1/2 teaspoons Salt
1 small Onion, sliced
2 stalks Celery,
chopped
1 clove Garlic, peeled
and quartered
1 Bay Leaf
4-6 whole Parsley
Leaves
1 teaspoon coarsely
ground Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Lemon
Juice
Dumplings:
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1-1/4 teaspoons of Salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Milk
Bring the water to a boil in
a large pot. Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon
of salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and parsley to the pot. Reduce the
heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for 2 hours. The liquid will
reduce by about one third.
When the chicken has cooked,
remove it from the pot and set it aside.
Strain the stock to remove all the vegetables
and floating scum. You only want the stock and the chicken, so toss everything
else out.
Pour 1-1/2 quarts (6 cups) of the stock back
into the pot (keep the leftover stock, if any, for another recipe-it can be
frozen). You may also want to use a smaller pot or a large saucepan for this.
Add coarsely ground pepper,
the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the lemon juice, then reheat the stock
over medium heat while preparing the dumplings.
For dumplings, combine the
flour, baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and milk in a medium bowl. Stir
well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes.
Roll the dough out onto a
floured surface to about a 1/2 inch thickness.
Cut the dough into 1/2 inch
squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. Use all of the dough.
The dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially
dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Simmer for 20-30 minutes
until thick. Stir often.
While the stock is
thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle. Tear all the
meat from the bones and remove the skin. Cut the chicken meat into bite-size or
a little bigger than bite-size pieces and drop them into the pot. Discard the
skin and bones.
Continue to simmer the
chicken and dumplings for another 5-10 minutes, but don’t stir too vigorously
or the chicken will shred and fall apart. You want big chunks of chicken in the
end.
When the gravy has reached
the desired consistency, ladle four portions onto plates and serve hot.
