Cooking With Sue

In the summer of 2012, I decided to make a cookbook. At the same time, James was writing a collection of short stories. We worked on the books all summer without our family knowing, because we wanted to give them as Christmas gifts. We did it all online. The name of my book was COOKING WITH SUE, and the name of James' book was THE WAY IT WAS KINDA. Cooking With Sue was a collection of recipes from friends and family, and also included pictures of the person who gave each recipe to me.

James' book was based on many of his childhood memories with friends and family. We had our books published, and you should have seen the surprise on everyone's faces when they opened their Christmas gifts.

I had ordered enough cookbooks to give to my children, grandchildren, and my brothers and sisters. The first book order was printed in full color and cost $27.00 each. That wasn’t a bad price for a Christmas gift, but as word of my cookbook got out, people began asking if they could buy one. I felt $27.00 was too much to charge for a homemade cookbook, so I contacted the publisher to ask how I could lower the cost. Printing the books in black and white was the answer—so that’s what I did. I was finally able to get the price down to about $15.00 per book, which was my cost.

Over the next few years, I sold over 300 copies of my cookbook, but never for profit. I only stopped selling them when I lost all of my contacts with the company. My son was able to put my book online so anyone could visit and read or download a recipe. Still today, in 2023, I have friends who want to purchase the book.

James had only ordered enough of his books to give to the family and a few close friends. I hope they will cherish these books for years to come.

My Brother Ron

I was 8 years old when Ron was born. He was the eighth and last child in our family. Ron was named after our mom—her name was Conilee, and he was named Ronald Lee. I remember my mom saying she was sitting on the piano bench at Highland Baptist Church when the Lord told her the baby she was carrying would be a great singer for God. That revelation came to pass when he stood in church and sang, even as a child.

I don’t remember a lot about Ron’s younger days, but I do know he was born with a clubfoot and wore a cast while learning to walk. I remember him crawling around with the cast on his foot and walking with a crutch. He was in the seventh grade when he had his first surgery.

Ron also had a reflux problem as an infant and would throw up almost all the milk he drank. Mom and Dad were very worried about him. I remember how excited they’d get if he managed to keep down even half an ounce of milk. Dad said he used to go down to his praying stump in the woods and pray that Ron would be able to hold down his milk. Eventually, he did—and later ended up with a weight problem.

Ron attended Ritta School from first through eighth grade, then went on to Gibbs High School. One of the angriest I ever saw my mom was the day Ron came home from school with bruises from a spanking a teacher had given him. If that happened today, the teacher would have been charged with child abuse and lost their job.

Ron has always been friendly and made friends easily. In school, they called him “Bunny.” Johnny Bean was one of his dear friends during those years.

Ron was born while we were members of Highland Baptist and was probably around six years old when Dad started North Acres Baptist Church. Some of his close childhood friends were the Mellon boys, Ernie Dezern, Freddie Simpson, and Bobbie Parrott, just to name a few. Ron would sing in church while Mom played the piano for him.

Ron was eleven years old when I got married, so I don’t clearly remember his teenage years. He was fifteen when Mary got married, and after Dad passed away, it was just him and Mom at home.

After high school, Ron went to Tennessee Technological University, where he earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees. He later received his Elementary Endorsement from Carson-Newman College and also studied music at Indiana University and Christian Education at Southern Seminary.

His first teaching job was at Mascot and Corryton Elementary Schools, filling in for Ann Longmire Herron, who took a leave of absence for the second half of the year. Ron then taught for three and a half years at Joppa Elementary School—the same school our father attended as a boy. While at Joppa, he also served as Minister of Music and Youth at Middlecreek Baptist Church in Coalfield, TN. He stayed there for about a year and a half before returning to teach at Coalfield School (grades 1 through 12), where he worked for four years. Afterward, he accepted a full-time position as Minister of Youth and Education, which he held for three years.

Ron began singing with a group called The King's Servants. One Sunday, they were singing at New Liberty Church, where he saw a girl he had gone to high school with—Patsy Haynes Atkins. She had married, had a son named Kevin, and later divorced. That afternoon, Ron and Pat were both at a baptism, and he asked if she’d like to go hear the quartet sing that night. She said yes. Five and a half months later, they got married. In September 2022, they celebrated 46 years of marriage. From their union came a son, Ronald Lee Jr., known as “Little Ronnie.”

Ron sang with The King's Servants for several years, and I tried to go hear them when I could. I’d also give him my “constructive criticism.” After singing with The King's Servants, he joined another group called Bread of Life. He remains friends with the members, and every now and then, they have reunion singings.

My brother Ron has been gifted with an enormous amount of talent. He doesn’t sing much anymore, and I miss hearing him. The groups he sang with made records and CDs, which I still enjoy listening to. Ron has likely written many songs, but my favorite—the one I’ve also sung in church—is Calvary’s Gift.

Note: Mom did not finish this post, she was awaiting information back from Uncle Ronnie and she was getting very sick at this time and didn't finish it. I posted what she had. ~Son, Byron