OPINION Pieces of Kings Mountain History

I love summer, the warm weather, fresh fruits and vegetables, summer activities, and spending time with friends and family. As an adult, I continue to enjoy summer for the same reasons. Funny how some things never change.

When I was young, mom would buy fresh fruits and vegetables for our table. She liked them in their original form, sliced and sometimes putting them in pickle brine. Her favorites to add to the pickle juice were cucumbers or onions. She would fill the table with a bounty of summer vegetables.

We often had fresh corn on the cob, and Big Boy or Better Boy tomatoes. Daddy began growing tomatoes when I was 10 and those were the ones he would plant.

About that time, I began keeping chickens. We had a Rhode Island Red hen and a Banty Rooster. We had other hens, too, but I didn’t name them. I named the rooster Pete and trained him to fly to my shoulder. I would carry him around the neighborhood like that.

Back in those days all our neighbors had chickens. Ours stayed in a coop, but another neighbor just left hers in the yard and they would roost in a big tree at night. Mind you, we lived in town near First Wesleyan Church, six blocks from downtown. Ah, the good ole’ days. With a family of seven, mom had to stretch every dollar. Dad collected eggs from our hens every morning. Most neighbors had gardens of some sort, and they all shared whatever there was in abundance.

Sometimes, they would share squash, which mom breaded and fried.

My favorite summertime vegetable of all time is silver queen corn. Oh, my! I can taste it now. There is nothing better than fresh, hot, silver queen corn slathered in butter with a little salt and pepper. I haven’t found any silver queen this summer and hoped, due to Kings Mountain Farmer’ Market, we might have some available. Nope. I have noticed that the most often asked question at the farmers’ market this year has been, “Do you have any silver