Food & Faith

Barbara Ellen Woodson describes her early years as "kind of a gypsy life."

Born in Oneida, Ky., Woodson soon was living in Indiana.

"We came up here to Sparksville when I was a year old," she said.

A farmer and carpenter, her father found jobs wherever he could, including working in a sawmill and later helping to build Camp Atterbury.

Among the places Woodson lived were Edinburgh, Hope, Columbus and Brownstown. She attended 22 different schools, including Vallonia and Medora.

"I didn't have much time to make friends," she said.

One thing, though, was a constant - her faith in God.

When she was about 12, she lived in a home behind the fairgrounds near Brownstown, and there were woods nearby.

"I'd go over into the woods to an old tree stump," she said. "I'd kneel down at the stump and with the sunrays coming down, it was just me and the Lord; we took care of things from there on out.

"I believe in God," and he is the first one she thinks of in the morning and the last thing at night, she said.

He is the one who is always real in your life, she added.

Woodson's parents separated when she was a young girl, and for a brief time, she stayed with her father. Her cooking skills were put to the test, but she did just fine, making "soup beans and fried potatoes, biscuits and corn bread," she said. "Open the oven door and pop a big old pan of bread in there. I'd seen Mommy do it. I always had to help in the kitchen.

"We all had to work together," she said, "packing in water for the reservoir (for the wood cook stove), pack in wood and pack out the ashes."

At one point, she lived on a farm, and her chores included such things as picking corn and beans and feeding the chickens.

Farm life, she said, is the best.

"You get out and get fresh air," she said, "and there's always something to do. There's never a spare moment. In the winter, you're chopping wood or mending machinery or taking care of the animals or cleaning out the stables. In the summertime, you're picking blackberries or making a garden. There's never a dull moment."

She learned early on to make the best use of everything.

"My stepdad didn't want us to waste anything," she said.

If her lessons weren't completed by 8 p.m., she had to wait until morning to finish them, rather than use up the kerosene in the lamp.

Eventually, Woodson "drifted around from place to place," staying with friends and working at whatever she could.

She worked in a restaurant, but after only about two weeks, the owners found out she was 14 instead of 16. Other jobs included working in the fields, baby sitting and picking strawberries.

But, as she put it, "With the Lord's help, I came through."

Today, she lives with her son, Joshua Kyle Lafferty, in Seymour.

"My son is a very wonderful, decent young man," she said of Joshua, who is an Ivy Tech graduate.

Woodson also enjoys making crafts that allow her to use her creativity.

She began making floral arrangements after her daughter, Shirley Jean Woodson, died. Barbara said she soon came to realize that the artistic creations could be made not only to grace the grave site of a loved one, but also to bring a bit of beauty and cheer to others.

She likes being creative, she said, "designing something of your own, it's your own decision what flowers to stick in this corner" or that. "It's tiring at times," she added. "Sometimes you don't like what you put in there, and have to take it out."

Her flower arrangements have won blue ribbons at the Jackson County Fair, including this year.

She still cooks, and prefers just regular home cooking-type dishes.

A recent meal included fried sweet potatoes, green beans, jowl bacon, corn bread and ripe sliced tomatoes, "a pretty good lunch," Woodson said.

She likes to bake pies, but said she's "not a very good cake baker except bundt cake."

At the Watermelon Cook-off during the recent MelonFest in Brownstown, she won first place in the baked item category with her watermelon bundt cake. A similar cake won a blue ribbon at the Jackson County Fair.

Other activities she enjoys are working in the garden, playing with children and going for walks.

"I like quite a few things outside," Woodson said.

Then she laughed and said, "Naturally, I do love to eat. That's one of my downfalls."

Watermelon Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

Watermelon mixture for main recipe:

3 cups diced watermelon (no seeds)

3 drops vanilla

3 tablespoons sugar

Main recipe ingredients:

1 box white cake mix

2 whole eggs

1 1/3 cups watermelon mixture

¼ cup vegetable oil

Procedure for watermelon mixture (to be completed day before cake is made): Combine 3 cups diced watermelon (no seeds), 3 drops vanilla and 3 tablespoons sugar in pan and mash it up good with a potato masher. Put pan on stove and bring it to a boil. Let it boil until it bubbles up 3 times. Skim off the foam after third time. Put mixture in jar to cool in refrigerator overnight. Main recipe: Grease and flour bundt pan. Combine one box of white cake mix, 2 whole eggs, 1 1/3 cups watermelon mixture and ¼ cup vegetable oil. Mix and pour in pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 325 degrees in pre-heated oven. Let stand for 20 minutes or until cool.

Meatloaf

1 small box corn muffin mix (Prepare as directed on box and set aside to cool.)

2 pounds fresh ground beef

2 eggs

1 cup 1-minute oatmeal

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 small, finely chopped bell pepper

1 medium-size, finely chopped onion

1 large, finely chopped red jalapeno pepper

Add half of corn bread (crumbled) to all ingredients mentioned so far and mix thoroughly. Add more cornbread if needed to make it hold a loaf shape. Put in pan. Surround with potatoes, cover with sliced onion, salt, pepper and ketchup. Add 1/3 cup water. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour and 15 minutes or until loaf is finished.