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A Tribute To Lilly Mae Rickerson Neese

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2023 11:16 am
by Sadie H
Lilly Mae Rickerson Neese

June 3, 1888 to Sept. 17, 1981



Come on into the kitchen, the place to pay tribute to great cooks. The women (and some men) in the kitchen are no longer with us. Some are elderly, or a family member is telling their memories.


Take a step back in time, or read about time before you were born. Old recipes, many were cooked on a fire or woodstove. Each day kitchens become more modern. Some new item is introduced on the market, to make cooking faster and easier. New fangdangle (not really a word, but used by many of us) things would have been my Grandmas words.


We here at US Legacies are often hearing the phrase “My Mom or Grandma never worked.”

In the pages of Grandmas Kitchen you will find they worked very hard, cooking, canning and taking care of their families. They often acted as the doctor in the family. Lack of doctors and money left them to use home remedies passed down to them. Many were also midwives for the neighbors.

--By Rita Redd

Lilly and her husband Monroe, raised 5 children on a farm in North Fulton County in Georgia. They were totally self-sufficient and only bought a few items from the country store.

They grew corn, wheat and sorghum cane for syrup, which was made just up the road in Birmingham Community.

They had a huge vegetable garden and fruit orchard. Much of her time was spent canning fruits and vegetables during the summer months in preparations for winter.

When the cold months arrived, several of the ladies from the community would gather in Lilly’s front parlor, drop the quilting frame down from the ceiling and make beautiful quilts for their families. Lilly also spent much of her time sewing. She made dresses for herself and her 4 daughters and shirts for her husband and son.

Lilly was a wonderful cook and when it was hog killing time she made the most wonderful liver mush and fresh sausage. Monroe had salt-cured hams hanging in his smokehouse and up on the hill there was a chicken house. Lilly did her cooking on a woodstove and the dishpans were brought out at cleanup time. You could always find a cake, cobbler or plate of homemade biscuits sitting in the pie safe



Submitted by: Lisa Redd



Published U. S. Legacies February 2004