Autumn spiders spun huge webs under its protective eaves. Chickadees and sparrows flitted among its rafters, planning their winter havens. They and the spiders had always known the old bridge would outlast even the longest dry spell. Marle and I waited, barely breathing. We heard the first soft, unmistakable whisper of life.
The water.
Set free, the old branch crept back toward its ancient path like a kitten full of wary awe. For a few minutes, we noticed only the ground turning dark and damp beneath our dusty shoes; then the ferns of the lost creek bed began to move gently, as if a breeze had come up, but there was none. They were moving with the slightest pressure of water trickling past, no more than an inch deep.
With a soft sigh of trust, the branch surged around the bend. A moment later, the cold, gray-green waters of Bailey Branch surrounded our shoes, our ankles and rose halfway to our knees. Marle and I began to laugh. We turned to watch the water rise around the bridge’s stone posts.
Water has a voice, an echo, a soul. Bailey Branch’s song became a throaty laugh as it passed beneath the hewn chestnut logs and mortared stone Joe Settles had built across it. The Branch knew, and remembered.
And so did Marle.
When I looked at him, he had tears like mine in his eyes, but he was smiling. The water would find its way back to the sea, just as we had both come home to ourselves. We held each other, standing there in the happy, flowing branch, and we kissed like young lovers, again.
Summer in Mossy Creek was ending, but the rest of our lives had just begun.
The Mossy Creek Gazette
215 Main Street * Mossy Creek, Georgia
From the Desk of Katie Bell, Business Manager
Lady Victoria Salter Stanhope
The Cliffs
Seaward Road
St. Ives, Cornwall, TR3 7PJ
United Kingdom
Dear Vick:
Well, another summer in Mossy Creek has come to a close. The Sweet Hope apples are ready for picking. Black cauldrons of boiled peanuts and cheeky orange pumpkins are ready for the tourists heading for the mountains to see the crazy quilt of color. We’re all a little older, a little wiser, but a little younger at heart. Life is always full of mixed blessings, isn’t it?
I saw a flock of brightly colored birds fly across the harvest moon tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight. Come and visit, Vick, and I’ll tell you what that wish is.
Your friend,
Katie Bell
Recipes from Bubba Rice
Millicent and Tyrone’s Wedding Reception Recipes
Courtesy of Chef Bubba Rice
Broccoli Quiche
Remember the old line from the ’80s: “real men don’t eat quiche?” Or the old joke about the guy getting slapped in the restaurant for telling the waitress that he wanted a “quickie” for lunch? Well, real men do eat quiche . . . and one who can’t pronounce it should probably get slapped around a time or two.
Ingredients:
2 nine-inch pie crusts
6 large eggs
8 strips of bacon
12 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 ten-ounce packages frozen chopped broccoli
1-1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp. flour
Fry the bacon strips crisp, then crumble. Cook the broccoli and drain completely. This part is very important. If the broccoli isn’t drained completely, the crusts will be soggy. Whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl, then add the drained broccoli, the crumbled bacon, 8 ounces of the grated cheddar cheese, the milk and the flour. Mix well and set aside.
Bake the empty pie crusts at 450 degrees for 5 minutes. This is another hint to keep the crust from getting soggy. Then remove the crusts and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. Evenly divide the filling between the two pie crusts, then top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 50 minutes. When the quiche is done, you can run a knife blade into the middle and it will come out clean.
Chicken & Dressing Casserole
This one is a favorite for large gatherings . . . like reunions or parties or wedding receptions. Hmm, imagine that . . .
Ingredients:
5 pounds of chicken. You can use all white meat, but I prefer to mix it up because you’ll get a better overall flavor from the mixture of light and dark meat. Don’t use boned, skinless chicken unless you’re fond of bland, tasteless food.
2 sixteen-ounce packages of herb flavored stuffing mix
4 ten-ounce cans of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup of butter
2 sixteen-ounce tubs of fresh sour cream
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp olive oil
Put the chicken pieces in a large stock pot and add enough water to cover. Add the salt, lemon pepper seasoning and garlic. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour. At the end of one hour, the meat should almost fall off the bone. Remove from the heat and pour off the broth, saving 2 cups. Remove the skin and bone the chicken pieces. Chop the chicken into small pieces. Try for less than one inch square. In a large mixing bowl, mix the cream of chicken soup and the sour cream. Melt the butter. Use the olive oil to grease the bottoms of two large baking dishes.
Divide the chopped chicken between the two dishes and evenly spread around in the dish. Then cover with the soup/sour cream mixture. Top each dish with one of the packages of stuffing mix. Then, pour the melted butter and the chicken broth over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
Tequila Lime Chicken
Okay, y’all remember two things . . . #1) The alcohol cooks out of the marinade, so if you leave staggering, it ain’t because of the chicken. And #2) as the alcohol is cooking out of the marinade, it can cause flame-ups on your grill. The key here is low heat, a close watch on the chicken as it’s cooking, and a full squirt bottle of water close by.
Marinade ingredients:
1/2 cup of tequila. You could buy the cheap stuff, but who’s going to drink what you have left over after you make the marinade? Go ahead and spend the extra 3 bucks and buy the good stuff, okay?
1/2 cup of fresh lime juice
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp. chopped cilantro
Use a garlic press to mince the 4 cloves of garlic. In a mixing bowl, combine the tequila, lime juice, olive oil, minced garlic, lemon pepper and cilantro. Stir well.
Should make enough marinade for 3 pounds of chicken. Put the chicken pieces in a large freezer bag, then pour in the marinade and seal. Shake well and refrigerate for 2 hours.
About an hour before you’re ready to cook, start your fire. I’m assuming that you’re using charcoal. You are, aren’t you? You’ll need at least an hour for the temperature to settle down to around 325 degrees. Spread the chicken pieces evenly over the grilling surface. Remember, the alcohol is going to flame up at some point. Be ready with that squirt bottle, or you’ll get charred chicken. At 325 degrees, the chicken should take about an hour to cook.
Best Bets for Libation, Recreation, Good Eats, and Souvenirs
Mama’s All You Can Eat Café: On the square. Local color and good home cooking with all the fixin’s. Feed the whole family three times a day at unbeatable prices. Rosie Montgomery, cook.
Beechum’s Bakery: Fresh breads, pastries, and confections for all occasions. Drop by for a little something sweet and take a peak at Bob, the Chihuahua who survived a hawk-napping.
The Naked Bean: Gourmet coffees and teas. If you’re into biscotti and cappuccino, or just want a to rub elbows with the local theater actors, this is the place.
O’Day
’s Pub: True testament to Irish pubbery. Wining, Dining, and Darts.
Mossy Creek Theater: Evening and matinee performances. For current production or ticket information phone Anna Rose Lavender or check the playbill outside the theater on the corner of Main Street.
The I Probably Got It Store: For unique souvenirs, check with Derbert Koomer, purveyor of those hard to find items. He’s on the square.
Mossy Creek Books And What-Nots: For stationery, bestsellers, cookbooks, greeting and post cards, and nice selection of local crafts. Or just stop in to say hey to Pearl and her pet ferret.
Moonheart’s Natural Living: Personalized souvenirs meant to pamper. Handmade herbal and floral soaps, toiletries, candles, and potpourri. Browse the shop or visit Maggie’s garden.
A Guide to People and Places
Sponsored by the following merchants
Beechum’s Bakery
Mama’s All You Can Eat Café
Ingrid Beechum & Bob
Blackshear’s Veterinary Clinic
Moonheart’s Natural Living
Goldilocks Hair, Nail & Tanning
Mossy Creek Books and What-Nots
Hamilton’s Department Store
The Mossy Creek Gazette
Hamilton House Inn
The Naked Bean
The I Probably Got It Store
O’Day’s Pub
Mossy Creek: Then and Now
Located in Bigelow County in the beautiful north Georgia Mountains, Mossy Creek was founded in the early 1800s by the Hamilton and Bigelow families and incorporated as a town in 1839. Shortly thereafter, in 1850, the Hamilton House Inn opened as a retreat for wealthy city dwellers. Since its inception, Mossy Creek has been noted for its hospitality, bucolic setting, quaint shops, commanding vistas, and its feud with the neighboring town of Bigelow.
The feud began in 1859, when Isabella Salter, ward of the Hamiltons and fiancé of Lionel Bigelow, up and eloped to England with Surveyor Richard Stanhope. Infuriated by the insult, the Bigelows retaliated by burning crops and killing livestock. The efforts to run the Hamiltons out of the area resulted in the town motto Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, And Don’t Want To being painted on the Hamilton grain silo. The motto, like the feud, has endured to present day. The original Hamilton grain silo may be viewed from most any point in town. The motto is traditionally maintained by a Hamilton matriarch, and it, too, may be viewed from most any point in town.
For further information about the feud and to view artifacts, including a replica of Rose the Elephant’s footprint (original footprint at Ripley’s Believe or Not!) and the welcome sign destroyed by Mayor Walker, contact Adele Clearwater at the Mossy Creek Historical Preservation Society.
If you have a yen to retreat, Mossy Creek’s the place to do it. You’re welcome to come hike our trails, fish our streams, shop our upscale department store and boutiques, browse our quaint shops around the square, wine and dine and take in live theater, or just sit a spell.
Who’s Who
Vital Information, and then some
Not compiled by Katie Bell
Beechum, Ingrid: sixty-ish cousin of Mayor Walker, mother of deceased Charlie, Jr., employer of Betty Halfacre, owner of Bob the Chihuahua and Beechum’s Bakery on the town square. Exacting in personal and professional life. Past grievances with her son’s wife led to estrangement and subsequent guilt. Initially objected to Jayne Austin Reynold’s shop, later empathized with Jayne and embraced the young widow and her infant son.
Beleau, Jasmine: DOB: 1971. Wealthy former high-class call girl from impoverished background. Happened upon Mossy Creek, liked the place and settled on Pine Street. Currently, beauty consultant and mentor to young women in need of self-esteem. Good seamstress. Befriended Linda Polk and gained the support and friendship of Rainey Cecil. (Drop-dead gorgeous)
Bell, Katie: DOB: 1962. Distant cousin of Salters and Ida Walker. Good snoop, snitch, mischief-maker, and mystery-solver. Enjoys bingo, Writes “The Bell Ringer” gossip column, and is Business Manager, Director of Advertising and Assistant Editor of The Mossy Creek Gazette. Corresponds with Lady Victoria Stanhope. (Rings entirely too many bells)
Bigelow, Governor Hamilton: DOB: 1955. Son of Ardaleen Hamilton Bigelow, nephew of Ida Hamilton Walker, Governor of Georgia, former member of Fang and Claw Society, deadly mix of Hamilton charisma and Bigelow slyness, and presidential wannabe. If Mossy Creek were Gotham City, Ham would be the Jester. Uses state convicts to work at family mansion in Bigelow. Notorious for battling Aunt Ida over Mossy Creek’s motto. Responsible for Mossy Creek High School fire. (Possum-hearted jackass of a weasel)
Bigelow, John Willingham: DOB: 1963. Lawyer and President of the Bank of Bigelow County. Compassionate man; loving father and husband. Married to Sue Ora Salter Bigelow, father of Willie, and cousin of Ham Bigelow. Semi-reconciled with Sue Ora after a fourteen year separation. Former member of high school Fang and Claw Society; confessed society prank responsible for fiery destruction of Mossy Creek High School in 1981. (Improves with age)
Bigelow, Willie: DOB: 1987. John Willingham Bigelow, Jr. Son of Sue Ora and John. Joined Fang and Claw Society, got into trouble with alcohol on initiation night. Devoted to parents. Lives disparate life: Willie in plain house in Mossy Creek; John Jr. in Bigelow mansion.
Bigelow, Sue Ora Salter: Mid-thirties. Self-sacrificing mother; practical, hardworking businesswoman and journalist. Last descendent of Salter family left in Mossy Creek. Dreamed of becoming great writer. Wife of John, mother of Willie, niece of Livy Salter, cousin of Lady Victoria Stanhope. Owner/Publisher and Editor of Mossy Creek Gazette. Married and left John same year (1986). Returned from San Francisco to Mossy Creek in 1990, got loan to buy newspaper in 1995. Learned of John’s help with loan in 2000; semi-reconciled with him same year. (Also improves with age)
Blackshear, Cassandra Champion: DOB: 1978. (Casey) Wife of Hank (local vet), daughter of Dr. Chance Champion (local doctor), owner of Piping Our Pets to Heaven funeral service. Loved Hank since fourteen, attended University of Georgia on softball scholarship, Olympic hopeful until auto crash resulted in leg paralysis. Married Hank in 1998, returned to Mossy Creek in 2000, coached Mossy Creek softball team against Bigelow team and won. Determined. (A slugger)
Blackshear, Dr. Hank: DOB: 1973. Husband of Casey; life-long friend of Rainey and Rob; owner of Blackshear’s Veterinary Clinic, member of city council, involved in Mossy Creek Theater. Attended University of Georgia. Gave up dream of New York to return to Mossy Creek and take over clinic after father’s death in 1999. Casey’s coach for everything, everyday, forever. (One of the good guys)
Brady, Ed Sr.: Husband of Ellie (Whitaker), father of Ed Jr., World War II veteran, member of volunteer fire department, owner of Brady Farm (est. 1850). Owner of dog Possum, traditional Santa in Mossy Creek Christmas parade. Distant relationship with only son. In 2000, beloved wife had stroke and suffered from Alzheimer’s. Lost driver’s license due to poor eyesight, then suffers broken leg when run off the road by Ham Bigelow’s driver. Stayed in Magnolia Manor Nursing Home with Ellie while recovering and having cataracts removed. Ellie died in 2001, and Ed Jr., returned home and mended relationship. (Salt of the earth)
Cecil, Rainey Ann: DOB: 1969. Hair stylist, owner of Goldilocks Hair, Nail, and Tanning, life-long friend of Hank Blackshear and Rob Walker, and member of Screamin’ Meemies big-haired, all female band. A young woman who respects the importance of good hair and good manners, does not believe her customers always know what best suits them, hairwise. Has lots of curly red hair, imitation Oscar de La Renta, and talent with shears. (Should not give up day job)
Conners, Michael: Irish-American from Chicago, opened O’Day’s Pub, only bar in an otherwise dry county, next to city hall in 1995. Invented Ringers (hot whisky and cranberry drink). Brought dart competition, karaoke, line dancing, and St. Pat’s Day parade t
o Mossy Creek. Blue-eyed Irish charmer. Knows how to laugh and have a good time. Friend of Mayor. (A lot like his whisky)
Crane, Jess: Husband of Sandy Bottoms Crane, friend of Sue Ora. Reporter for Mossy Creek Gazette and aspiring fiction writer. (Big ol’ teddy bear)
Crane, Sandy Bottoms: Wife of Jess Crane, sister of Mutt and Boo Bottoms, and friend to all. Dispatcher and officer of Mossy Creek Police Department. Second cousin of Judge Blakely. Rescued Bob the dog from hungry hawk. Helped crack the case of the Mossy Creek High fire and nailed Ham Bigelow. Efficient, lovable, workaholic who drives Chief Amos Royden nuts while making herself indispensable. (A honey bee that just can’t light)
Halfacres: Cherokee Indians. Betty works at Beechum’s bakers. Very task oriented. Edythe is hairdresser at Goldilocks. Snow is administrator at Magnolia Manor. Wanda is assistant at Goldilock’s. From the wilds of Chinaberry Mountain. (Two Acres altogether)
Hart, Maggie: DOB: 1950. Only child of Millicent Hart, girlfriend of Tag Garner, owner of Moonheart’s Natural Living, and best friend of Anna Rose Lavender. Attended Georgia State University, gardens, makes and sells herbal and floral soaps, candles, toiletries and some new age stuff. Spends time returning items stolen by her semi-sane mother. Operates business in Hart family home on Spruce Street. (Flower child who forgot to yup)
Hart, Millicent: Eighty-something year old mother of Maggie, thief, local celebrity, heroine, friend of Eula Mae Whit. Helped solve Mossy Creek High School fire and appeared on WSB TV. Hides stolen loot in base of General Hamilton’s statue in town square. Determined to marry Maggie to Tag Garner and plans wedding before they’re engaged. Backseat driver, literally and figuratively. Loving mother and loyal friend. (Heart’s in the right place but mind is missing)
Summer in Mossy Creek Page 28
