Lunch Rush: That’s Love Right There At Mama Ruth’s In Century
February 7, 2018
by Sean Dietrich
“My daddy built this general store when he was twenty-three,” Mary Hudson Bourgeois says. “Folks used’a visit by mule and wagon.”
I’m sitting in Hudson’s Grocery, sipping tea from a jelly jar, eating fried catfish and collards. There are buck-heads on the wall. Black-and-white family photos. Mounted large-mouth bass. A few customers in cowboy hats. I have tartar sauce on my shirt.
I’m feeling pretty good.
Miss Jackie waltzes out of the kitchen. She’s wearing a dusty apron. She’s tall. Bone-skinny. Skin like molasses. She doesn’t talk much.
“I enjoyed your cooking,” I tell her.
“Mmm hmm,” says Miss Jackie.
This one-room joint is located in the speck-of-a-town, Century, Florida—within spitting-distance of the Alabama line. In this city, folks pronounce “fire” as “far.” A place where middle-school girls can drop eight-point bucks faster than most forty-year-old men.
Mary and her best friend, Jackie, run this meat-and-three.
Today, I visited after church. I waited in a long line with Baptists, Methodists, and Holy Rollers who wore neckties and pearls.
“Sometimes we serve so many, we run outta food,” says Mary.
“Mmm hmm,” Miss Jackie explains.
A few years ago, Mary reopened this dusty store as something more than a market. She calls it, Mama Ruth’s, and she sells everything from antiques to catfish.
“I love what we do,” says Mary. “We’re kind of an all-around country store.”
“Mmm hmm,” Jackie points out.
This tight-knit community supports Mary enough to eat her out of house and home. It’s been that way from the day she first opened. Her business took off. People couldn’t get enough of Miss Jackie’s made-from-scratch cooking.
Then Mary got diagnosed with advanced leukemia.
Doctors told her to get her affairs in order. And fast.
Mary closed shop. She left for Dallas to undergo treatment. It was agonizing. It drained her. She felt alone. She missed home.
“I thought, ‘God, why’s this happening to me?’” she says.
“Mmm hmm.”
Mary’s Dallas mailbox began to fill up. Letters, poems, good-luck charms, food, knit shawls, care packages. Each day, her mailman brought a new load.
Mary might’ve left town, but town never left her.
The letters read something like: “Dear Mary, we prayed for you at First Baptist this morning. We pray every single day.”
Another letter—from a five-year-old: “Dear Miss Mary, I believe God will heal you…”
Mary wipes her face. “This town, they just.. They’re so…”
“Mmm hmm.”
Doctors scheduled her for a bone marrow transplant. But during preliminaries, something happened. Nobody could explain it.
One physician told her she was a miracle. Another man of science admitted he didn’t know what made her cancer go away.
“When you’re younger,” says Mary. “Sometimes, you just wanna get away from your little hometown. But this community, this restaurant, they saved my life.”
“Mmm hmm,” Miss Jackie says. “That’s love right there.”
Well spoken, Miss Jackie.
Pictured: Mary Hudson and Mama Ruth’s Cafe on Highway 29, just south of West Highway 4, in Century. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Sheriff David Morgan Has Got Your Goat…Just Bid On Him (The Goat) In Molino
February 6, 2018
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan has got your goat..and you can bid on him (the goat, not the sheriff) Thursday morning in Molino.
The small brown male goat was found last month in the area of the 100 block of North Old Corry Field, and now he’s up for auction to the highest bidder with cash in hand. The auction will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Substation at 5844 North Highway 29 in Molino.
Northview High NJROTC Cadets Attend Military Ball (With Photo Gallery)
February 6, 2018
The Northview High School NJROTC held its annual military ball Saturday at the Mustin Beach Officer’s Club onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Northview’s NJROTC joined NJROTC untis from Washington and Pine Forest high schools for a night of food, dancing, camaraderie, as well as poignant moments such as the setting of the POW/MIA table. Over 270 cadets and their dates attended the event. The meal was catered by the culinary departments from Pine Forest and Washington high schools.
Northview’s military ball court was:
Freshman: Prince David Lamb and Princess Ayiana Courtney;
Sophomore: Prince Keaton Brown and Princess Melissa Sunday;
Junior: Prince Maxwell Odom and Princess Rebekah Amerson;
Senior: King Oscar Rodriguez and Queen Victoria Grammar.
The outgoing senior Naval Science 3 and 4 cadets were recognized for their outstanding performance and dedication to the NJROTC program and extra-curriculum activities at Northview. The cadets recognized at the ball were Oscar Rodriguez, company commander; Haley Ward, public affairs officer; Mya Henderson, operations officer; and Victoria Grammar, command master chief.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Barrineau Park 4-H Club Hosts Pig Palooza
February 6, 2018
The Barrineau Park 4-H Club hosted a Pig Palooza this weekend.
Over 55 youth and adults learned about pigs — including how to show their balloon pigs, breeds, and parts of the pig. They also learned about how to care for the animal and produce the best possible pork.
The event was in preperation for the GCA & NRYO Livestock Show to be held at the 4-H Livestock Property at 5701 South Highway 99 in Molino on March 24.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview NJROTC Places Second At FAMU Meet
February 4, 2018
The Northview High School NJROTC placed second overall in drill and second overall in the field meet at Florida A&M University Field Meet last weekend.
The cadets won trophies in 10 categories:
- Personnel inspection, commanded by Cadet Oscar Rodriguez
- Unarmed Basic team, commanded by Cadet John Gulledge
- Armed Basic team, commanded by Cadet Ryan Sconiers
- Unarmed Exhibition team, commanded by Cadet Rebekah Amerson
- Armed Exhibition team, commanded by Cadet Wyatt Morris
- Color guard, commanded by Cadet Keaton Brown
- Push-up team, commanded by Cadet Crystal Douglas
- Sit-Up team, commanded by Cadet Crystal Douglas
- Individual push-ups, first place overall Cadet Colton Dockens
- Individual sit ups, second place overall Cadet Ryan Sconiers
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
North Escambia Couple Opens ‘The Yellow Garden’ Floral And Events Store In Atmore
February 3, 2018
North Escambia residents A.J. and Mallorie Beachy held a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting for their new business The Yellow Garden in Atmore Friday morning.
The store offers a variety of merchandise, including fresh flowers, gift baskets with candles and body scrubs, stuffed bears, balloons, Valentine’s gifts, rentals and much more. Delivery is available.
For more information, call The Yellow Garden at (251) 368-5998. The store is located at 301 North Main Street in Atmore.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
An Early Spring! North Escambia Weather Ducks Miss Shadow
February 2, 2018
On this Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil, the world famous groundhog, saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter. But our local weather guys, the NorthEscambia.com Weather Ducks, missed their shadow on an overcast Friday morning and predicted an early spring for the North Escambia area that’s seen two Florida snow and ice storms so far this winter season.
Forklore says that if the groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, it means six more weeks of winter. We did not have a groundhog handy for a photo, but we did have the NorthEscambia.com Weather Ducks (pictured above).
And unlike like their more famous Pennsylvania weather buddy, our weather ducks also did not see their shadow Friday morning here in North Escambia.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate High Student Nominated By Nobel Prize Winner For Science, Tech Congress
February 2, 2018
Tate High School sophomore Sophia Swenson has been nominated for the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders in Lowell, MA, this summer.
T
he Congress is an honors-only program for high school students who arc passionate about science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). The purpose of this event is to honor. inspire. motivate and direct the top students in the country who aspire to be scientists and technologists to stay true to their dream and, after the event, to prov ide a path, plan and resources to help them reach their goal.
Swenson was nominated by Dr. John C. Mather, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics and Science Director of the National Academy of Future Scientists and Technologists to represent Florida based on her academic achievement. leadership potential and passion for science and technology.
During the three-day Congress, Swenson will join students from across the country and hear Nobel Laureates and National Medal of Science recipients talk about leading scientific research, be given advice from deans of the world’s top tech universities, be inspired by fellow teen science prodigies: and learn about cutting-edge advances and the future of science and technology.
Pictured: Tate Counselor Christy Mill (left) and Sophia Swenson. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Molino Park Elementary Names Students, Citizens Of The Month
February 1, 2018
Molino Park Elementary School has named students and good citizens of the month for January. They are (L-R) Students of the Month Raedon Barcinas and Lilly Dekker; and Good Citizens of the Month Haleigh Mishoe and Eli Davis. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview, Jay FFA Students Attend ‘Ag On The Hill’ In Tallahassee
February 1, 2018
Northview and Jay High School FFA students attended the annual Ag on the Hill week this week in Tallahassee. Students were welcomed to the event by the Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam, several members of the Florida Legislature, and Florida Department of Career and Technical Education personal. Nothview and Jay FFA students visited with Rep. Jayer Williamson (pictured below) and Sen.Doug Broxson (pictured above). The annual event is hosted by the Florida FFA Association and Florida Association of Agriculture Educators.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
