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Shall we gather at the river?

March 30, 2012 By Talya Tate Boerner 6 Comments

Woodrow Johnson - Johnson Family, Little River
Uncle Woody
Woodrow Johnson

Once upon a time not so very long ago, there was a mystical headless horseman who silently rode along the banks of Little River at dusk. Sitting atop an enormous horse, he wore a flowing cape that trailed behind him. He could most certainly be seen when there was a fog or mist rolling in. And if that wasn’t eerie enough, a gigantic black snake slithered around within the overgrown brush on those banks as well.

A huge snake, bigger than the one at the Memphis Zoo, more like the ones in National Geographic that swallowed whole villages. We were very mindful playing around Little River, because that snake snacked on little girls just for fun. Thank goodness Uncle Woody kept a vigilant eye on these dangers. He was a Navy man, trained for menacing assignments around U.S. waterways. And he always reminded us of these creatures that lived only a few cartwheels from the back door, especially at bedtime. We often spent the night with our cousin Lesa.

As masterful as Uncle Woody was at weaving together a hypnotic tale, Aunt Lavern was just as skillful whipping up a luscious banana pudding or chicken pot pie in the kitchen. Both could make your heart skip a beat. Who wouldn’t want to fritter away time there? Snake or no snake.

Johnson cousins
Talya, Lesa, Staci
Cousins:)

We played on the Little River ditch banks, building forts and making trails. We stayed out there all day until supper time, coming home with sunburns and cockleburs. On Sunday afternoons, we often hid down inside the weeds around the water, watching a group being baptized in the muddy water. One by one these sinners waded into the mucky water. No way would I go in there! Plus, did these folks not know about the SNAKE?  This was Little River for heaven’s sake, not the River Jordan! This was not the way we did it at Brinkley Chapel just down the road.

We sat and watched, silently mesmerized. These people seemed to speak a completely different language. Were they speaking in tongues? We read about that in Sunday School, but we didn’t partake at our church. Maybe we should – it would certainly shake things up a bit. In fact, maybe these people were snake handlers… Hmmmm. That would explain a lot. Sometimes we accidentally giggled and rustled the underbrush. I’m sure they spied us in the tall grass, and said a prayer for the little heathen barefoot girls with cherry Kool-aid mustaches. Aunt Lavern would eventually discover us over by the bridge and shoo us into some more appropriate activity, leaving these people to their sin washing in peace.

Aunt Lavern

The Johnson family has always gathered at Little River for reunions. Cousins and babies and aunts and uncles make their way back to that little spot between Athelstan and Carroll’s Corner to visit and eat and laugh and hug and sing and talkandtalkandtalkandtalk. The Johnsons are a talking, eating, hugging, singing bunch of people. They drive in from Missouri and Texas and Louisiana and just down the road. Uncle Woody died years ago and sadly, Aunt Lavern passed away recently. Will this tradition change? I know she would still want everyone to gather at the river. At her house. Just watch for the headless horseman. And the black snake.


Aunt Lavern’s Chicken Pot Pie
1 can cream of potato soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of veg-all (mixed veggies) drained – about 16 oz
1/4 c milk
Thyme, salt, pepper to taste (or whatever seasoning you like)
3 cooked and chopped chicken breasts (or leftover turkey) 
One package Pillsbury pie crust (2 crusts to a pkg folded) or homemade pie crusts


Chicken Pot Pie

Mix all ingredients and pour into one crust. Fold other crust on top. Vent top with a few knife cuts or use a pie bird. Bake at 350 degrees for approx 1 hour 15 min until brown and bubbly.

 
Note: I always make this with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. The turkey is well seasoned already which makes the pot pie flavorful. Also, I usually have leftover roasted veggies of some sort to use instead of Veg-All. Carrots, parsnips, potatoes, anything will work well. I prefer to buy the creamy potato/leek soup at Whole Foods, but any “cream of” soup…. celery, mushroom, etc, will work. And to save time you can use one of those roasted chickens from the grocery store (if it isn’t Thanksgiving). This freezes well. I usually make 2 and freeze one. Also, you can leave out the meat and add additional veggies for a vegetarian pot pie. 


talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairings:

Alison Krause, “Down to the River to Pray”

“The preacher says all my sins is warshed away, including that Piggly Wiggly I knocked over in Yazoo.” Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

Filed Under: Family, Memories Tagged With: Brinkley Chapel, Mississippi County, Northeast Arkansas

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Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    March 30, 2012 at 6:35 am

    this was wonderful,,,loved this even if it made me cry,,but tears of joy that i too had Aunt Lavern and Uncle Woody in my life…miss them so very much,,,Phyllis always said “everyone needs an Uncle Woody in their life” and so true. lots of good memories,and their legecy goes on …thanks Tayla for sharing this ,,live is short make the most of it,,love your family ,love your friends, laugh,love and be hippo!!!!!!!!!!love you,Gail

    Reply
    • Anonymous says

      April 1, 2012 at 4:53 am

      Linda Gail…..Everyone needs a Phyllis in their life too…….. 🙂
      xo
      Brenda

      Reply
  2. Jan says

    March 30, 2012 at 5:33 pm

    Loved this story…spent SO many days (and nights) at Uncle Woody’s (even though he’s not really my uncle) It’s weird, I don’t remember saying Aunt Laverne, but sure I did. Gail, you are right…everyone needs an ‘uncle woody’. I made the mistake of waking him up while he was napping in his chair…boy was he mad…NEVER did that again. He’s the first one to introduce me to rice/butter/sugar…will never forget it, still love to eat it that way. He and daddy were so much like brothers instead of cousins.
    Thanks Talya for the sweet memory!

    Reply
  3. Lesa says

    March 31, 2012 at 6:18 am

    Talya – Loved this story. Of course I cried, and cried… I loved the endless days we played on the river. We had such an imagination and could build a playhouse out of anything…We have so many memories and I cherish them all.. I miss Mama and Daddy, and all the fun we had as kids. I still can see the headless horseman riding carefree on the banks of Little River. It still scares me… LOL… Me and Mama may have killed that big snake…LOL… She killed a big black snake in my yard last summer.. NOt sure what I’ll do if I see one this summer, because she would chop, chop, chop, chop their heads off..I’m terrified of snakes…..We cut that big ole pecan tree down in my backyard the other day. We played for hours under those big pecan trees. I beleive we buried a chicken under one of them. Probably one of Aunt Virgies chickens…. On Sunday afternoon, Bro. Wilbanks ask my Daddy if he could baptize in the front yard, because the banks of Little River was in the front yard. Of course Daddy said yes. I watched from the big picture window in the living room. I will always have memories of this wonderful place I call home. Things have changed, but the memories are alive and living on Little River. Love ya… Lesa….

    Reply
    • grace grits and gardening says

      March 31, 2012 at 7:09 am

      Yes great great memories there. I could do a whole book on that! I’m working on a blog about Aunt Virgie and her chickens! haha.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Those Barbie Dream House Years - grace grits and gardening says:
    January 11, 2014 at 6:35 am

    […] count the seconds until school started back, we loaded up our new Barbie things and headed over to Little River to visit our cousin Lesa and her new Christmas […]

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

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