Thursday, March 20, 2008

Neon Kingsport - Photos Courtesy of Worley Lane


Worley Lane worked for Kingsport Sign Company for more than 40 years. These are from his slide collection.


This great neon sign was for a motel on the other side of Rogersville.


Two Kingsport institutions.


A Kingsport flower shop with a great neon sign.


Piggly Wiggly was for a time one of the few places in town that sold beer. Note all the cars.


Hey Estes Kefauver! Move so we can see the Peggy Ann. From the 1955 4th of July Parade.


First it was the Beacon Drive In. Then it was Trayer's. And then it was the Fountain Bleu.


Did you lose weight at Figurama? Did you keep it off?


Market Street after dark. Note the old Times News neon sign with a clock above it.


Tuesday, March 18, 2008

The Great Oatmeal Cookie Bake-Off! Wish You Had Been There

The winner, from Kingsport's Christine Hickam:

Preheat oven: 375o

Bake 8-10 minutes

Yield 5 dozen

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups plain flour

2 cups quick oats

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup white sugar

½ tsp. salt

1 cup raisins (optional)

1 cup vegetable oil

½ tsp. baking powder

1 cup nuts (optional – Jo Ann used thin sliced almonds)

Sift together flour, soda, salt and baking powder and set aside. Mix beaten eggs, sugars, oil and vanilla and beat well. Add dry ingredients and beat well. Stir in oats, and/or raisins and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonful (or use a cookie scoop) onto baking sheet.


Second Place: The Mistake

Baker Jo Ann Castle accidentally added twice the sugar to the fourth place finisher to create the number two cookie:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups quick oats

1 cup raisins

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

PREPARATION:

Sift together dry ingredients; stir in rolled oats and raisins. Stir in oil, eggs, and milk. Beat with a spoon until thoroughly blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 10 to 12 minutes.


Third Place: eBay Oatmeal Cookies (recipe taken from vintage Kroger Oats box for sale on eBay)

2 eggs

4 cups Rolled Oats (uncooked)

1 cup chopped nuts

pinch of salt

2 cups flour

1 cup coconut

2 cups brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup melted butter and lard

1/2 teaspoon soda in 4 tablespoons hot water.

Beat eggs together and add other ingredients in the order given, mixing with each item thoroughly as added. Drop by spoonfuls on buttered tins and bake in moderate oven.



Fourth Place (second place with half the sugar)

Kenny’s Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups quick oats

1 cup raisins

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

PREPARATION:

Sift together dry ingredients; stir in rolled oats and raisins. Stir in oil, eggs, and milk. Beat with a spoon until thoroughly blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 10 to 12 minutes.



Fifth Place (anonymous recipe from friend of Jo Ann's)

Preheat oven: 375o

Bake 10-12 minutes

2 eggs

1 cup plain four

4 cups rolled oats

1 cup vegetable oil

½ tsp. baking soda

1 cup raisins

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

Mix oil, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the oats and raisins last. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets.

Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.


Saturday, March 15, 2008

Great Neon Signs from Kingsport's Past





All photos are from the City of Kingsport Archives.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Kroger Oat Cookies - Help! (Update: Mystery Solved After Paper Went to Press)


Can you read the recipe off the label? I can't but maybe a sharp-eyed reader can.

If you can email me.

FLASH!!! eBay seller Don Castleman kindly copied the recipe off the label and emailed it to me!
Here it is:

2 eggs, 4 cups Rolled Oats (uncooked), 1 cup chopped nuts, pinch of salt, 2 cups flour, 1 cup cocoanut, 2 cups brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 cup melted butter and lard, 1/2 teaspoon soda in 4 tablespoons hot water.

Beat eggs together and add other ingredients in the order given, mixing with each item thoroughly as added. Drop by spoonfuls on buttered tins and bake in moderate oven.


Here are the other Oat Cookie recipes using oil that came in from readers:

John Osborne sent this one from “Fancy Fixin's Southern Style: Ruth and Frank DeFriese's Cookbook.” (Buckhorn Press, Gatlinburg. Copyright 1978)

Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups sifted flour

1 and 3/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup chopped candied fruit (I think I'd omit this)

1/2 cup nuts

1 cup cooking oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Mix dry stuff. Add oats, fruit and nuts. mix some more. add in this order: oil, eggs, milk. Blend well. drop by teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets about 1.5 inches apart and bake at 'bout 400 for 10 or 12 minutes. Says it makes about 6 dozen.



CHRISTINE’S OATMEAL COOKIES

Preheat oven: 375o Bake 8-10 minutes Yield 5 dozen

2 eggs, beaten 2 cups plain flour 2 cups quick oats

1 cup brown sugar 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup white sugar ½ tsp. salt 1 cup raisins, optional

1 cup vegetable oil ½ tsp. baking powder 1 cup nuts, optional

Sift together flour, soda, salt and baking powder and set aside. Mix beaten eggs, sugars, oil and vanilla and beat well. Add dry ingredients and beat well. Stir in oats, and/or raisins and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonful (or use a cookie scoop) onto baking sheet.

Christine suggests using chocolate chips rather than raisins as a variation.

CAL’S OATMEAL COOKIES

Preheat oven: 375o Bake 10-12 minutes Yield: Unknown

2 eggs 1 cup plain four 4 cups rolled oats

1 cup vegetable oil ½ tsp. baking soda 1 cup raisins

1 cup packed brown sugar ½ tsp. salt

1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

Mix oil, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the oats and raisins last. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets.

Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

The Bobby Dodd Jersey timeline


This is the D-B B-Team in 1962-63. Note "Bobby Dodd" jerseys number 23, 24, and 19.
(I'm on the back row, third from left, wearing number 30, although you can't read it.)

This is the 1953-54 D-B varsity, wearing the "Bobby Dodd" jerseys.


And here we have the real Bobby Dodd jerseys from the 1925-26 D-B team.


Here's a link to the Kingsport Yearbook Project, where I found the bottom two pictures.

Friday, March 07, 2008

Bruce Haney's Shiny New Patent


That's what a patent looks like. It's also what Bruce Haney looks like, holding one.

Bruce's patent, which he got in the mail last week, is for his Fiddlewidget (TM), a slide rule device for music studies.

If you want to watch a demonstration video of how the Fiddlewidget works click here.