A CENTURY OLD

Today would have been my Aunt Frances’ 100^th 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.

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!

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!

Uncle Everett & Aunt Frances on their Weddng Day -- July 3, 1929

 

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

 

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.