Mt. Olivet News

Mt. Olivet Church had a very meaningful service last Sunday. After Amanda Reed gave the children’s service, the children (from toddlers to six years of age) were explained what the Christmas Shoebox Ministry is all about. 

The children then came to the altar and put their hands on the shoe boxes while Bro. Charles blessed them.

We are happy to report that Will Lawrence is home from the hospital and hopes that he and Billie have a happy Thanksgiving.

Rhonda Skipper and I visited Elizabeth Browning Sunday afternoon. Elizabeth has been a shut in and has not been able to attend church for a while. Every time I enter her house it brings back some of the fondest memories.

She and Horace bought the Mt. Oliver school teachers home when they consolidated and moved to the Batesville School which took place in 1950. Jonell Robinson (Brownlee), Mary Quay Tidwell (Russell), Preston Tidwell, Wayne Tidwell and I graduated the sixth grade from there. 

It was a big transition for five scared little country kids who were used to only two other grades in our room, but pretty soon we got accustomed to changing classes and a different teacher for every subject. 

The late Shirley Joiner was my fourth grade teacher at the time. Miss Shirley was just out of college and lived in the teachers’ home. 

I do recall winning the Mt. Olivet School spelling bee with the late Dorothy Ann Tidwell coming in second place. We then earned the right to enter the Panola County Spelling Bee where the first and second place winners from each little country school from all over the county were entered. 

It was held in the upstairs auditorium of the old Batesville school and with all the lights and people there it seemed like New York City to us.

My mother made me a Eisenhower-type jacket from a small piece of yellow plaid material and took a pair of men’s khaki pants and fashioned a cute little pleated skirt for me to wear. 

Miss Shirley ( as we affectionately called her) bragged and bragged about my little outfit. I was ashamed because it was homemade while the other children had store bought clothes, but little did I realize I had designer originals.

Dorothy Ann and I spent the night there after the spelling bee. Elizabeth and Horace have kept it in perfect condition and it looks just like it did in 1949 when I was in the sixth grade and Dorothy Ann was in the fifth.

I’ve noticed living alone and cooking for myself how much more food I waste than eat. 

While reading the Farmers Almanac recently, I found some very interesting facts for those of us who sometimes buy a cheaper cut of meat if you use used tea bags that can be soaked again in liquid to tenderize a tough cut of meat.

The tea can be used as a marinade and also as a degreaser by soaking dirty dishes, pots and pans filled with warm water and used teabags.

Another food that I never know how long to keep is eggs. Have you ever wondered how old eggs that you buy at the supermarket really are? Again reading from the Farmers Almanac and by law, farmers have up to 30 days from the time the eggs are laid to put them in a carton. 

The eggs then can be sold for up to 30 days after the date they are put in the carton. That means our supermarket eggs can be two months old before they are bought. Despite their age they are still good.

On each egg carton there is a number from 1 to 365. The numbers represent the day of the year it was filled. By using this code you can tell when the eggs were put in the carton. 

For example, a carton with number 345 on it means the eggs were put in there on December 11. This information makes me want to get me some Rhode Island Reds, or Plymouth Rocks, build me a chicken coop and have my own eggs.

Next week I will be writing about some favorite Thanksgiving traditions. Be sure to call or text me yours at (901)-828-8824.

Thought for the week: Teach me to feel another’s woe, to hide the fault I see, that mercy I to others show, that mercy shows to me. (The Pope universal prayer.)