Southern Fare
Local Character(s) Hoyt Ramey & Family By Lorie Thompson
I
am old Rabun County. I grew up in this remote little community where you knew almost everyone you encountered. They knew you or at least your family. Upon meeting someone new, the first question was, “Now, who is your family?” I was proud to answer that Hoyt and Barbara Ramey were my parents. My Dad was a local home-builder. He was known for quality work and honest dealings. When I began my real estate career, it pleased me to see that other agents would put in their description of a new home listing that it was a “Hoyt Ramey built home!” His name was synonymous with quality. He was always working. He built homes by day, kept a farm, and refinished hardwood floors as a nighttime job. He was brilliant, and he could do almost anything. That is anything except cook. I have no memories of him in the kitchen other than cooking steaks outside on the gas grill. I don’t even remember seeing him make a sandwich. My mother prepared all of his food. She cooked his breakfast. She packed his lunch box every day, and she had supper waiting on him when he came in from work. I don’t think it was a sexist thing even though cooking was considered “Woman’s work in their early years of marriage.” I expect his lack of cooking was more of a practical thing, considering he always worked several different jobs and had a short time between them. The other reason might have been that he was just no good at it. He could not cook a lick! I remember the story of my Daddy’s attempt at making a banana pudding. My Mama had been in bed sick for a couple of days, and Daddy decided he wanted a banana pudding. He located a recipe in a cookbook and proceeded to make it. Somewhere along the way, he drifted from the banana pudding recipe over into a lemon meringue pie recipe. The results were inedible! He told the story saying the hound dogs would not even eat it! The only thing he could really cook was steaks on the grill. He was in charge of the Friday night feast. Somewhere in the 1970s, he concocted a steak sauce with a list of improbable ingredients that turned out
Lorie Thompson is a REALTOR at Poss Realty in Clayton, Georgia. Her expertise in her industry is second only to her culinary talents. Lorie is a dynamo in the kitchen. Honestly if she prepares it, it will likely be the best you’ve ever had! Lorie and her husband, Anthony (Peanut), make their home in the Persimmon Community. She is the proud mother of Joe Thompson and Kendall Thompson.
58 - www.laurelofnortheastgeorgia.com - March 2022
