Sunday Church & Chicken
Sundays were the only day off on the farm -- truly a day of rest, worship, counting blessings, and spending time with friends and family. Often there was a gathering after church at someone's house, where kids would play and adults would socialize while preparing Sunday Lunch. It was the biggest meal of the week. Below are memories from Ruth and Leland about their Sundays growing up. The playlist is very special. These gospel songs were recorded almost 40 years ago by Ruth and Leland's sister-in-law, Lucille Tindall, who loved to play guitar and sing. They are heard here for the first time.
Very Fresh Fried Chicken
1 live young chicken (white or brown)
2 fast hands - to catch
2 long arms - to wring neck
1 strong heart
Ample amount of guts and 1 sharp axe
1 kettle of hot water / bucket for feathers
Salt to taste - black pepper optional
1 cup plain flour
Plenty of pure hog lard, just rendered
Several sticks of small stove wood
1 or 2 good old-fashioned cooks (mothers)
1 slow-running clock!
After chicken has been caught, wrung, and whacked with the axe, dip in hot water to loosen feathers. Pick feathers off, then cut up chicken and wash pieces in fresh-drawn well water. Salt to taste (pepper optional), roll in flour, put in fry pan with plenty of pure lard (or shortening). Cook covered on the hottest part of the stove until well brown and tender. If fire gets too low, may need to add another stick of wood.
The chicken had to be killed and cooked on the spot due to a lack of refrigeration. Van Buren County, Arkansas, did not get electricity until 1946, and the Tindalls didn't buy a refrigerator until 1952 (just as Ruth was leaving home to get married!). Ruth and Leland grew up a few miles apart, so a Sunday chicken fry was common for both of their families. It was their way, Ruth says, of “hanging out.”
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It was a day-long event, and -- if somebody had a guitar -- often ended in a sing-along of church tunes. Religion was central to family and social life. Country churches were full on Sunday mornings, as people sought faith, comfort and friendship for lives which were hard but happy.
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