Politics resurrect memories.
There was another election:  Richard Nixon in the 60s.

Pat Nixon, Ginny Tuttle (Chloe’s Mother-in-Law) & Richard Nixon in Atlanta during the Eisenhower campaign of the 50s

Back then, I had decided that if Nixon was re-elected, I was moving to Africa. Remember, this was the sixties.  I can’t remember where in Africa — either Ivory Coast or Liberia. Made sense to me at the time.

T.S. Applegate, physics professor, built a 96′ steel four-masted barkentine in a corn field in Lynchburg, Virginia. He then hauled it by truck to Belhaven, North Carolina and tied it to a dock.

I was working in Belhaven teaching weaving and spinning at a small art gallery, EEII’s Little Korners of the World, owned by a fabulous woman Effie Raye Bateman. So it was no problem for me to meet Mr. Applegate. He was an unusual man and so was his boat the W.J. Eckert.

The W.J. Eckert had barrels for hatches, fine for Mr. Applegate to descend, but he was really short. I had a rough go getting my legs to work in that narrow barrel opening.

We made our plans to sail – I had all my shots and so did Jackson, We arrived at the dock in Belhaven. I guess I wasn’t really ready to move to Africa — Nixon or no Nixon. So I bailed and Jackson sailed without me. Did I mention there were no through-the-hull fittings? That means no bathroom. We were expected to hang over the side of the boat.

Off I go back to our house in the woods on the Pamlico River. In just a few hours, Jackson showed up. Turns out, the boat sailed out into the Pamlico Sound and it would not come about. In other words, it was not maneuverable. Captain Jack comes from a long line of watermen, and that just wasn’t acceptable. So he flagged down a shrimper and came home.

Last I heard of the boat it was dismasted and hauled into Bermuda.

Isn’t it a miracle we made it through our youth alive?

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This original salsa recipe is a crowd-pleaser and a cook-pleaser -
It only takes 5 minutes to make.  My nephew Barney created it
after several years of tasting and testing.

His salsa recipe is certainly one of his claims to fame. Barney’s best claim to fame is that he is my nephew, and he was born in the house that is now Big Mill B&B – two days after I was born here. He is also a gifted musician and still plays in his band Barney Conway and the Shadows.

Need a gluten-free, vegetarian appetizer to take to the party? This is perfect – tasty, easy to make and inexpensive.

This salsa is quite piquant, so if you want a milder taste, hold off on some of the jalapeno.

Barney’s Tomato Salsa

• 1 28-ounce can diced (not petite diced) tomatoes
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons jalapeno slices (in a jar)
• 1 Tablespoon juice from the jalapeno jar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 cup fresh, loosely packed cilantro
• 1/4 medium sized onion
• Few drops lemon juice

Put half the tomatoes and their juice, jalapeno slices plus the Tablespoon of the liquid, sugar, cilantro, onion and lemon juice into a blender or food processor. Blend well.

Add remaining tomatoes and pulse several times.

Chill before serving. Serve with tortilla chips. Recipe will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Barney and I spent an idyllic childhood growing up together here on the farm. We rode mules, fished and wandered all over picking blackberries.

Barney and Chloe in the yard of Big Mill in the late forties. (Note the Pack House in the background). Barney is back in North Carolina now and on the farm almost every day – he is a great asset to Big Mill Bed & Breakfast. Heritage is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?

• Yield: 1 quart
• Time required: Fewer than 5 minutes

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“Miss Sadie” James ran the Big Mill gristmill
for as long as I can remember.

(Sadie James & Chloe Ann sitting out front of Miss Sadie’s country store. Photo by Joy Greyer)

In the 1940′s prior to when she and her husband, Columbus, bought it, it had been a water-powered sawmill. It was converted to a grist mill, the stones to grind the corn were shipped over from England.

Sometime later in the night, the dam was blown up. After that there was a long pulley attached to a tractor that powered the mill. It was a fascinating place where you could get the best ground corn meal ever.

I rode my bicycle there every day. Sometimes I played in the creek behind the mill, but more often I just talked to Miss Sadie. Often nephews Barney or Monk went with me – at times we rode a mule or drove an old pickup truck before we were legal.

Miss Sadie also had a small country store and sold things like penny candy and small Coca Cola in a bottle – she kept her drinks in one of those box-type coolers.

She lived in the store too. And she had a big gun…folks tried to rob her several times; but they were foiled.

Kristie, Chloe Ann and Miss Sadie in Miss Sadie’s store

Other folks thought she was odd, but not to me. She had one light bulb and no running water. She cooked on top of a pot belly stove, she wore her dead husband’s shoes. Fine with me.

Ben Roberson bought the mill and moved it to his farm. He and his wife Mary resurected a great mill. It has all the parts, but it is different – still wonderful.

The mill had such fascinating parts.

(New photo, guess you can tell by the WD-40)

Ben’s Mill on Holly Springs Church Road in Williamston -
made from gears and parts of Miss Sadie’s Big Mill

(photos by Chloe Tuttle)

P.S. thanks to all the Chloe’s Blog readers who told me that I can’t spell “Dam.” Too funny.

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We sailed into Green Turtle Cay in the Abaco Islands in 1978 and I met Hank Cochran that day. Hank was lounging on the back of his Grand Banks 50, aptly named "The Legend."

Photo by Chloe Tuttle

Garland Perry "Hank" Cochran was born in Isola, Mississippi in 1935. Hank moved to Nashville in 1960, and with Harland Howard he wrote "I Fall to Pieces." Patsy Cline recorded it in November of 1960 and, as we know, it became a big hit.

Hank wrote many songs including "She's Not You," "Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me?" "Little Bitty Tear," "Why Can't He Be You?" and "Make the World Go Away."

Hank Cochran (left), Chloe Gurkin McHorney Tuttle (middle) and Captain Joe (right) 1979
(Photo by Joy Greyer)

Hank invited us to go fishing one Sunday afternoon – we didn't get back until Wednesday. But that was Hank. It was fun to watch his creative process – it would just happen. Someone would say something, or a thought would come to him. He wrote it down on anything handy, and soon it was a song. He told me heartache made writing easier. He surely knew how to do that.

  Hear no evil, See no Evil and Speak no Evil… photo of
Chloe Tuttle, Captain Joe, and Joy Greyer
(Photo by Hank Cochran using Joy's camera)

When I met Hank, I had no clue I was meeting such a character.  That same day I also met a wonderful woman Joy, who would became a cherished lifelong friend. We weathered many wet days that winter in the Bahamas, the guys played lots of Crazy Eights and Hearts. We took many trips to Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar.

Back then I was cleaning conch and making slaw.  Now I am an Innkeeper growing blueberries and making jam. What a great life, eh?

Some times when I am here on the farm that is now Big Mill Bed & Breakfast, my mind wanders back to my sailing days. I remember places I went but mostly the people I met. And Hank Cochran, The Legend, the Man…is high on that list.

The world lost Hank on July 15, 2010. He left behind a legacy in country music. We will miss you, Hank. And you made it to the Rolling Stone.

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