In Smithville, the town where I grew up, a new school is being built. It will hold all grades, so eventually the other buildings in the district will come down. A strong and impressive effort to save the Green Middle School for wide community use failed to collect funds needed to save it.
I attended fifth through eighth grade in that building, and a few years further back it was actually my parents high school. As demolition gets closer it is a time to reminisce the good ol days, reflect on the growing pains, remember lifelong connections, and realize the education basics we gained there put many of us in a good place in our lives right now.
I find myself going back in time to my fifth-grade class, my first year in the middle school, and my first year out of elementary grades. My teacher in this new-to-me school was Mrs. Leonette Rowe. I think fondly of her, especially now since she recently passed away while living in California with her husband Duane.
Mrs. Rowe was a great teacher. I can honestly say I loved her. She had a creative way with everything she taught. Even math and science were interesting to me, though I did tend to go the more creative route with my life. However I do feel cooking is a science and bill paying and balancing checkbooks are math problems I can indeed solve.
In my fifth-grade class, projects were a continuous effort. When one would finish, another would start. I remember one particular project we had to do was create an Ohio themed parade float, made no bigger than a shoe box. It was fun to make. It was fun on the due date to have the entire student-made parade floats lined up in the room for a pretend parade route.
Mrs. Rowe was a pretty lady. She had pretty, very dark hair curled up on the ends and she wore pretty makeup. She was very tall, or maybe I was very short. She wore dresses and jewelry like necklaces and pins. She had no children of her own, but she had all of us. How that must be for a woman to have a whole room of new children every new school year.
She gave attention to us all as a group and one-on-one. She would scold, she would praise, she smiled a lot, and she greeted us each day with excitement for the new day to be our teacher. I could feel this from her, but only really realized the impact until I was older.
Mrs. Rowes house was at the other end of the street my Grandma lived on. I would stop by her home unannounced. I would knock on her back door and she would let me in. We would sit at her kitchen table, chat a bit, have a cold drink, and then I would be on my way back to Grandmas. One special visit to her home by Mrs. Rowes invitation was to join her in her kitchen and make French bread. It was fun. We chatted all afternoon and wore flour on our aprons. I had never seen a French bread baking pan before, two connected long loaf pans. We had snacks between rising times. I painted melted butter on the loaves and sprinkled sesame seeds on top. I took one loaf home.
I had not seen Mrs. Rowe for many years, but she was never forgotten. So many times something triggers me back to my fifth-grade teacher and I would remember all she gave me. Much of it I carry with me now.
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Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Cream sugars and butter together. Add vanilla, eggs and peanut butter; combine. Add remaining ingredients; mix together. Spread dough on a greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, until golden brown. While still hot, spread 1 1/2 cups peanut butter on top. Cool so that peanut butter becomes solid again; can be put in fridge so they set up faster. Spread your favorite chocolate frosting on top and cut into bars.
Frosting:
1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine, softened
1/4 cup milk
1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons cocoa
2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
Mix all ingredients with a mixer until smooth; spread on top of bars.
Best School Cafeteria Brownies
1 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts
Mix all ingredients well and pour into a 9-by-13 inch baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Check brownies after 20 minutes.
Icing:
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup canned milk or regular milk
1/4 cup cocoa
3 cups confectioners sugar
Dash salt
Mix all together and ice brownies before cutting.
High School Meatloaf
1 pound hamburger
1/2 pound pork sausage
2 cups dry bread crumbs
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup onion, minced
Mix. Place in loaf pan. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. Remove loaf from oven 15 minutes early, cover loaf with ketchup; continue baking.
School Style Sloppy Joes
1 pound hamburger
Chopped onion
1/2 cup ketchup with water to make 3/4 cup
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Shake of Worcestershire sauce
1 can condensed tomato soup (undiluted)
Brown hamburger with onion and drain. Add other ingredients and simmer until warm through. Serve on sandwich buns.
Cafeteria Apple Crisp
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup flour
2/3 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 teaspoons water
Pare and slice apples into a square greased pan (3/4 full). Add lemon juice and water over apples. Mix together dry ingredients; cut in butter. Sprinkle over apples. Bake at 350 degrees until apples are tender, approximately 30 minutes.
Lunch Bell Carrot Cake
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped raisins
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13-by-9 inch baking pan. Beat eggs with sugar, one at a time. Mix dry ingredients. Add oil to dry ingredients and mix with eggs and sugar. Add carrots. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
Lunch Room Chili
2 pounds ground chuck
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, crushed
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 onion, chopped
1 (15 ounce) can mild chili beans, crushed
7 cups water
In a skillet, brown the ground chuck, pour off any excess grease. Stir in flour and brown sugar. Combine tomatoes, tomato paste and chili beans in a 2-quart cooking pot; add onions, chili powder and salt. Cook over low heat for a least 2 hours.
Cooks Choice No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick margarine, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups oatmeal
On stovetop, cream sugar, cocoa, milk and butter together; let boil hard 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from stove; blend in peanut butter and oatmeal to the mixture. Slowly add oatmeal; dont allow mixture to get too dry. Form into desired size by dropping with a spoon onto buttered cookie sheet; let cool.
Cafeteria Tapioca
1 quart milk
1/3 cup tapioca
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Heat milk until scalding; stir in tapioca gradually. Cook mixture over boiling water or direct low heat 6 to 8 minutes, until tapioca is done. Beat egg yolks until pale in color. Beat with 1/4 cup sugar and salt. Stir into tapioca. Cook and stir until mixture thickens slightly. Stir in vanilla. Cool slightly. Beat egg whites and remaining 1/4 cup sugar until stiff. Fold into hot pudding. Cool thoroughly, cover with wax paper.
School House Pizza
Topping:
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
1 (8 ounce) can tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon oregano
Salt
3/4 teaspoon dried sweet basil
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 pound ground or chopped luncheon meat
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
French-Style Pizza Crust:
2 packages dry or cake yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
3 1/2 cups lukewarm water
9 cups flour
1 tablespoon salt
Topping:
Brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, water, oregano, salt to taste, basil, garlic powder and luncheon meat. Sauté until mixture comes to a boil. Simmer a few minutes. Spread sauce on prepared French-style pizza crust in pans. Sprinkle each crust with cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until cheese layer is bubbly and browned.
French-style pizza crust:
Dissolve yeast and sugar in water. Add flour and salt. Knead until smooth. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk. Cut into 2 portions. Let rest 15 minutes. Pat or roll to even thickness in two (15 1/2-by-10 1/2 inch) jellyroll pans.
