We moved from Bay City to Pulaski at the beginning of what would be my tenth grade. I would go to school in Concord, a nearby small town. All twelve grades were held in a three-story brick building. Grades 9 through 12 were on the top floor. There was no elevator. It was a very old building that would later be torched by an arsonist.

To get your party started, put your biggest bowl front and center. This recipe is a winner.

3 cups bagged snacks, like Bugles 2 cups cheesy snacks, like goldfish
2 cups cereal, like Chex or Cheerios 2 cups pretzel sticks
1 cup salted nuts, like peanuts or cashews 1 cup M & M's or chocolate bits

Prepare French bread. Cut into 11/2-inch slices. Toast in 350 F oven until lightly brown and crispy. Remove to cool. Set aside. Prepare topping: Mix tomatoes, minced red onion, olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Rub toasted French bread slices with garlic. Then spoon on tomato topping. Add a few basil leaves for garnish.

I hit a deer on the way to work on the Clinch River near Clinton, Tennessee. I was working the night shift, relieving Anne. There were two 12-hour shifts there. The back way into Clinton is a curvy winding country road. There was little traffic in the late evening hours.

Very pretty and tasty Cranberry Cherry Punch, Place 2 to 3 cranberries and a piece of lemon in each compartment of an ice cube tray. Fill with water and freeze. In a pinch bowl, dissolve a 3-ounce pkg cherry gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Stir in 3 cups cold water, 6 cups chilled cranberry juice and 3/4 cup thawed lemonade concentrate. Just before serving, stir in 1 liter ginger ale. Serve over the cranberry-lemon ice cubes. Makes 3 1/2 quarts.

Some say deviled eggs are just deviled eggs. Not me. There are many ways to season them. Try this one. Cool and peel hard boiled eggs. Halve lengthwise and remove yolks. Lightly mash yolks. Stir in seasonings and half the bacon. Spoon mixture into washed and dried egg white halves. Top with remaining crumbled bacon. Chill until ready to serve.

What is an Interurban? If you were not around during Depression Days, you would not know. Oh, you might notice the raised track bed out towards Parma or Grass Lake in the other direction. Probably a discontinued railroad line, you say. Nope. It was the remains of the Interurban line that ran between Chicago and Detroit.

Here is a tasty way to prepare a peach cobbler. You have everything in your pantry. Appreciate the idea of using both peaches and pears. That is a tasty combination.

In saucepan over medium heat, combine peaches with syrup, 1/3 cup sugar, the spices and cornstarch. Stirring occasionally, bring to a boil. Add margarine. Stir to combine. Pour into ungreased 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Prepare drop biscuits, except add 1/3 cup sugar to dry ingredients. Drop biscuits from tablespoon onto peaches. Bake at 425 F. for 20 to 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Makes 6 servings.

Refrigerated biscuits are fun to work with. Then have a slightly different texture than homemade biscuits. Surprise everyone with their date centers. Fun to make. Your kids could help you. Set aside 1/2 of melted butter. Divide rest between two 8-inch ring molds, coating sides well. Put 2 tablespoons syrup in bottom of each mold. Mix brown sugar, cinnamon and almonds. Set aside half of this mixture. Sprinkle rest in the molds over syrup. Pit dates ...

There weren't supposed to be any water moccasin in East Tennessee. Supposedly, the winters were too cold here for them to survive. Timber rattlers and copperheads abound in this area, especially where the ridges are undisturbed. We were told not to worry because there were no cottonmouths this far north. Not so. Let me tell you about it.