Stew & Submarines

Story By Emery Lay Photos Contributed By Michele Griffith

Before he was in submarines, serving in the Navy, Jamie Griffith was an Alabama native. Born in Thomson, Georgia, Griffith moved to Jasper, Alabama, before beginning the fourth grade and spent most of his life there.

When college rolled around, Griffith found himself at Lipscomb University with a scholarship to play golf. After his first year, he decided to transfer to the University of Alabama. In the span of a year and a half, over the course of two colleges, Griffith changed his major three times: first business, then to nursing and finally to engineering. Griffith said he, at the time, had little direction for what he wanted to do in life. Yet, while his feelings about college fluctuated, his feelings about his hometown girlfriend did not.

“I had been in college for a year and a half and wanted to get married,” Griffith said. “So, I needed a job. I joined the Navy so that I could support a family because I was engaged to my girlfriend, my current wife; She’s still my wife today. We’ve been married for 28 years.”

In 1992, Griffith joined the Navy. Preceding him was a family history of service — a grandfather in WWII and a grandfather in the Korean War.

“I just felt like that was probably the best route for me to take to start a career and have a stable job where I could support a wife and family,” Griffith said. “It was kind of a drastic decision for me. I didn’t even ask my mom and dad. I just came home and I said, ‘Dad, I’m joining the Navy.’”

After joining the Navy in the fall — following only one semester at the University of Alabama — Griffith said he “never looked back.” He went on to spend 20 years in submarine service, commissioned as an officer in 1998 and retired in 2012 as a Lt. Commander.

“I joined the Navy and did really well as an enlisted guy in nuclear power school,” Griffith said. “I was an instructor and I got selected for an officer commissioning program and went back to Auburn for an engineering degree …

“It’s a funny story. I left college because I didn’t know what to do … I joined the Navy and the Navy sent me back.”

Today, Griffith works remotely as an engineer for a defense contractor — Progeny Systems Corporation — in Manassas, Virginia. He said he happily lives with his wife, Michele, and enjoys working from home. The couple has two children: a married, graduated daughter, Jaima Engle (25), who is a schoolteacher, and a son, Cody Griffith (21), who is a senior in college.

“The most difficult part is clearly — to me — leaving home and family,” Griffith said of his Navy service. “… And, you know, if it wasn’t for a strong commitment, and a strong wife at home, there’s no way I’ve been able to serve the way that I did. She was always supportive and always understood that.

“When you’re in the service, regardless of the branch, the service comes first. And it’s really hard in a marriage because, you know, you want to put your wife and your children first, but when duty calls … you can’t really give them an excuse … So, while I may get the credit for doing the service, my wife and my children deserve just as much credit as I do.”

Griffith said that, when serving in the Navy, each member recognizes that their crew is counting on them; Failing to show up puts more strain on the team and shifts the workload unevenly. He said the team is “only as strong

as everyone that’s a part of that team.”

When reflecting on his time serving, Griffith said that service taught him perspective. He no longer feels that chasing money or a career has a hold on his life. To him, the most valuable parts of his life are his wife and his family — and beyond that, his relationships. Griffith said he is aware of how lucky Americans are on a day-to-day basis.

“You’re not getting shot at today; You’re not living in a country where everybody wants to kill you,” he said. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, it could always be worse. There are those who deal with real dangers every day of their life and put their life on the line every day while they’re deployed so that you can complain about your life over here.”

The second thing his service taught him, Griffith said, was critical thinking. In the Navy, he said he learned how to deal with stress and problems, how to attack problems and how to stay focused when there is chaos around.

“I was taught and trained to stay calm as an officer,” he said. “You can’t lose focus or lose control, or the men and women that are following and serve underneath you, that will happen to them.”

The events of 9/11 were a crucial time on Griffith’s boat in which the men onboard had to demonstrate calmness. He said he starkly remembers the day that they received the news — out to sea on a submarine with nothing more than an announcement that the U.S. was under attack. No video was provided to the crew to watch until they pulled into port nearly six weeks later.

“Brunswick stew is like chili. You know, everybody makes it a little bit different. So, I looked at a dozen different Brunswick stew recipes and I took the ingredients from all those … and I formed my own recipe.”

Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base

“My commanding officer had a brother in the Pentagon,” Griffith said. “He wasn’t injured because he wasn’t there when the plane hit. But … he didn’t know the status of his brother. [Yet] he continued to lead that ship to execute our mission.”

Today, Griffith still keeps in touch with some of his friends from the Navy, primarily through Facebook. However, one individual that Griffith served with now works for the same company that he does. Griffith said now they “get to talk on nearly a daily basis.”

“I do have several friends that were in the military that I went to college with in Auburn for three years,” Griffith said. “We formed a very tightknit group … We had different career paths in the Navy, but we still are very close. We get together every year and play golf, and just hang out.”

No matter when they met him, everyone who knows Griffith today knows of his famous Brunswick stew — once a one-hit-wonder, now a full-fledged business. Griffith first made his Brunswick stew when he was stationed at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in St. Mary’s, Georgia.

“We had this church and it [had] a potluck where you know, everybody brings something,” Griffith said. “I really love Brunswick stew and so I googled Brunswick stew recipes.

“Brunswick stew is like chili. You know, everybody makes it a little bit different. So, I looked at a dozen different Brunswick stew recipes and I took the ingredients from all those … and I formed my own recipe. I made that Brunswick stew there and it was a hit, everybody loved it. And so, I wrote it down.”

Cake for Griffith’s Retirement Ceremony Griffith and crew return home from deployment

Years passed by and Griffith continued to bring his Brunswick stew to wherever he was stationed — at tailgates, family gatherings, church functions and more. Wherever it went, it was a success.

“Fast forward till about a year ago … a friend of mine named Keith Little started a salsa business — he lives in Auburn … It’s called Uncle Keith’s Red Sauce,” Griffith said. “He was talking to me … and said, ‘Hey, you need to do the same thing for your Brunswick stew.’”

Unprompted, Little then offered to lend his vendors and customers to Griffith to get his business started.

“So, I thought about it and decided hey, why not just do it for fun,” Griffith said. “I’m not doing it for the money; Just seeing where this thing goes. I started the company in February; I got the first batch in June and have never looked back.”

Today, “Jamie’s Brunswick stew” is sold in 50 stores across Georgia and Alabama in 32-ounce jars. The stew is simply a Brunswick base without the meat.

To accommodate vegans, vegetarians and the wide variety of meats that can be added, Griffith decided to sell the base on its own. However, to try it the Griffith way, simply add ground beef and shredded chicken.

Griffith said he is currently “working both angles”: restaurants and retailers. Mount Laurel Grocery in Birmingham and the AU Club — a private golf club off Donahue Drive — both sell the stew in store as a menu item. In Opelika, the stew can be found at Parkway Farmer’s Market and Piggly Wiggly.

To find retailers near you, visit www.jamiesbrunswickstew. com.

“I just started this business about three months ago … and it’s been really blessed,” Griffith said. “I’m fortunate that I’ve gotten support by a lot of people … I can’t thank them enough … my family and friends who encouraged me to step out on a limb and to see where this thing would go.”