Shadrach, Buckeyes and Other Tales of a Virginia Childhood

Frances Tate’s Shadrach, Buckeyes, and Other Tales of a Virginia Childhood is a delightful collection of personal memories, anecdotes, family traditions, and more, in the words of Frances herself, telling of her youth on a southwestern Virginia farm during the Depression. From bringing Shadrach the dog to church, to the “devil baby,” the mishaps of Miss Pearl to the legend of the sycamore – these spirited stories resonate with pleasing wit and imagery. Last, but surely not least, this book contains a variety of traditional and family recipes from the era, food being the “currency of friendship and hospitality” in those days. “…it might seem odd to say the arrival of another mouth to feed, even a dog’s, was opportune but it ‘twas true since there was no entertainment other than that which we made for ourselves.” – p. 9 Sample Recipes: Mary Shufflebarger’s Turkey Dressing, p. 55 Virginia’s Divinity Candy, p. 69 Corn Meal Griddle Cakes from 1890, p. 85