Buried Treasure - Magpie Tales - Tuesday, 5-18-10

Melanie got home about midnight, exhausted.  She missed the wonderful cool San Francisco temperatures and the diversity of the city by the Bay.  Her year at the California Culinary Institute had gone by in a blur and her series of jobs at mediocre restaurants since her return to Atlanta had been nothing but disappointments.  Ben still hadn't arrived from his evening shift as a concierge at the Buckhead Ritz Carlton.  They planned an early start to head out into the country in hopes of finding something suitable to open as a bed and breakfast.  They  put every cent into savings for this purpose and, when Melanie's father died, the sale of his small house was earmarked for for the bed and breakfast fund as well.  Their wedding, once again, was postponed.

Every weekend, for the past six months, they had looked at real estate ads and driven to see properties within two hours of Atlanta, that showed any promise of fulfilling their dream.  Nothing was ever suitable, mainly because the prices were so exhorbitant.  They got up at 7AM on Saturday and, after a delicious spinach, gruyere torte and strong French dark roast coffee, ventured out into the blistering heat.  Three hours later, spirits sagging, after seeing  three disappointing old houses, they turned down a road, overgrown with kudzu and blackberry vines.  Wild honeysuckle grew everywhere and the heady fragrance hung heavily in the hot air.  They passed a large lake, then turned down a wide, rutted dirt drive lined with oak and magnolia and there before them was a huge house.  It had white columns and and a large verandah that ran the entire length of the house.  The second story had several balconies, two that clearly needed repair.  Melanie drew in her breath.  It looked like a scene from "Gone With the Wind."

The realtor met them a half hour later and took them through the house, an antebellum home that had been built in 1850.  The male members of the original family had not survived the Civil War but the home had been kept in the family until World War II.  The house had been sold to

five buyers since that time but had been empty since 1980.  There had been some vandalism

in the years since and the old mansion definitely needed renovation.  The current owners were asking $150,000 for the house, the outhouses and the ten acres of land.  Melanie and Ben did not hesitate and immediately put in an offer.  They knew it would take them a great deal of work but they could see the finished product, with its ten bedrooms, the huge ballroom, the parlor, large kitchen, dining room, and spacious grounds.  They would do a good deal of the work themselves and, eventually, Magnolia Manor, would open to paying guests.

A year later, their savings were nearly exhausted but most of the work was complete.  Melanie and Ben had taken on the task of  making a back garden behind the house. They were digging in the yard near the old root cellar when Ben's shovel hit something.  Several hours later, they had unearthed four trunks.  Fading gold initials on each showed the monogram, JLM, the initials of the wife of the owner of Magnolia Manor.  Excitedly, Melanie and Ben opened the trunks and went through the contents.  One was packed with twenty-four place settings of exquisite blue Minton willow china, complete with two dozen serving pieces.  Another trunk held a beautiful lace wedding gown and veil. Inside the third trunk lay two dozen pieces of what appeared to be very expensive jewelry.  It was later appraised at $300,000 in value - an incredible diamond and ruby necklace with matching bracelet and ring, a beautiful diamond solitaire ring and matching band, a diamond tiara, an emerald and diamond necklace and a matching bracelet and ring.

On New Year's eve, Melanie and Ben were married in the ballroom at Magnolia Manor.  She wore the dress and veil that had been hidden in the buried trunk at the start of the Civil War and the diamond solitaire and diamond band were on her finger.  The first Manor guests  feasted on the Willow china that week, dining on a superb menu prepared by the resident chef, Melanie Bowman.  It seems that dreams really can come true.

My Last Few Evenings in Columbus, Georgia

I really haven't spent much of my life in Columbus, Georgia.  I was born here, at Bush Hospital, which no longer exists.  When I was nearly five, we went on a troop ship ( my father was an Infantry officer ), to Europe where my father was stationed briefly in Frankfurt, Germany, then in Salzburg, Austria.  My brother, Charley, made his debut there.  On our return, we lived at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina before returning to Columbus, GA.  For my first year of high school, I went to boarding school at Sacred Heart Academy in Cullman, Alabama, then came home to finish the rest of my high school years at Columbus High.  From there, I attended Charity Hospital and Mercy Hospital in New Orleans, coming home only for brief vacations.  

Columbus is home to Ft. Benning, a huge infantry and airborne training center for the U. S. Army.  Columbus is across the Chattahoochee River from Phenix City, Alabama which, during the 1940's and 1950's, had the reputation as being a haven for gambling, prostitution and organized crime.  I attended parochial school in Phenix City from the 3rd to the 8th grade.  It seemed to be a pretty quiet place then.

In fact, during my high school years, I didn't recall too many exciting places for us to dine out.  I don't view Columbus as the center for gourmet eating.  Perhaps living in the San Francisco area for the past thirty or so years has skewed my perspective!  However, for the last three nights, I've been out with my friends, Beth and Luther Stanton, and a few others, and have had an absolutely delightful time,  After fixing dinner for my mother and getting her settled, I've spent each evening, reminiscing, laughing and enjoying good food, reasonably priced.

Thursday night, we went to Rose Hill Seafood Company.  This place has been around over thirty years and specializes in all kinds of fresh seafood, fried and grilled, and also sells seafood to the public.  They also have an oyster bar.  It is a huge place that accommodates large parties and, the night we were there, a group of forty, were celebrating something in a corner of the room.  The waitresses have been there forever and seem to know everybody.

I got to have my whole catfish which you can easily eat right off the bone, leaving a complete catfish skeleton.  Of course, I polished off TWO dozen raw oysters first, at only $6.95 a dozen.  In San Francisco, you pay three times that for Gulf oysters!  Their hushpuppies and cole slaw aren't as good as at Ezell's but everything else is better - and Ezell's doesn't have raw oysters!

This picture is a little overexposed but you get the idea.  Also, the oysters were a bit small.  Sometimes, I've had giant oysters.  I love them with chili sauce, lots of horseradish and lemon and I never bother with crackers. 

 

 Beth and Luther Stanton - my wonderful friends!

Luther has been crazy for fifty years -  why I would expect him to act any different now!

Fried whole catfish

Another view of the catfish and the small serving of cole slaw - at Ezell's, they bring you all the slaw and hushpuppies you want!  I love eating the crispy catfish tails!

 

 Tommy & Dale Wommack

  Janice & Henry Snyder

 Carmen Henesy & Phil Mather

Friday night, we headed into downtown Columbus.  I was amazed at all the restoration that had been done to this old mill town!  Columbus, with an estimated population of over 280,000 is the 3rd largest city in the state and the 120th largest city in the United States.  It was founded in 1828 and was named after Christopher Columbus.  Until their removal in 1836, this was the home of Creek Indians.

The Chattahoochee River connected Columbus to the world, in its early days, as a means of shipping cotton to New Orleans where it was then sent on to Liverpool, England.  Textile mills sprung up all along the river.  

During the Civil War, Columbus became important because of its ironworks and shipyard but it saw battle only AFTER the war ended when a union general attacked and burned many of the industrial building.  He was unaware a treaty had been signed.

Today, many of the mills are being turned into beautiful loft condominiums and the historic areas are being revitalized, giving the city new life.

Our dining choice Friday was at Mario's on Broadway in the restored downtown section of Columbus.  Twenty-five years ago, I wouldn't have gone down there if my life had depended on it

( and it might have! ).  The restaurant, classified as Mediterranean, is at the top of a long flight of narrow stairs ( no elevator - thankfully, there is a handrail on either side ) and opens into a cavernous room with a dance floor, a bar and a few tables.  It was practically empty which I thought seemed strange for a Friday night, especially since the place is relatively close to Ft. Benning.  I understand that, occasionally there is a belly dancer but none was performing that night.  With my ample belly, I thought I might earn a few dollars but, with the restaurant empty and my friends booing the idea, I decided to order the wine instead. There were no Greek or Mediterranean wines, just some rot gut CA choices and a passable Australian shiraz for $25 which I chose.  We picked spanakopita, hummus and baba ganoush for appetizers which came with pita bread - and all were absolutely delicious.  My friend, Beth, who knew Syliva, the cook, had talked with her earlier and got the scoop that the lamb shanks were especially good.  Beth and I ordered those and another friend had the lamb shisk kebab, both excellent and very tasty

choices.  Someone else has "really good" falafel.  

All in all, it was a very nice evening.  We laughed and carried on to our heart's content since it was basically "our" place!

 

Luther Stanton, Carmen Henesy and our Aussie Shiraz

 

Luther Stanton, Phil Mather and Tommy Wommack

Lamb Shank and very good rice pilaf

 Linda Kestner, Beth Stanton, Dale Wommack

After dinner, we stopped at Beth and Luther's for a quick hello to Lucy who had been waiting patiently.  Luther tried to engage her in a howling contest but Lucy just wanted to cuddle and wasn't performing.  Luther did, however.

 

 

 Lucy is just happy to be cuddled.

Our Saturday night outing was to a Chinese buffet at the Hong Kong Restaurant, a place where Beth and Luther have eaten several times.  They usually ignore all the other offerings and concentrate on the Alaskan king crab legs.  Another Columbus High classmate, Gloria Dodds, met us there with our senior yearbook tucked under her arm.  We were so busy looking at that for the first hour, we didn't even think about food.  Sadly, a great number of our classmates have already died.  I honestly remember so few of them but it does make me sad that our numbers are dwindling.  Our sweet young waitress, from China, got such a kick at seeing the pictures of our youth, especially Luther, who was "most handsome" in our class.  She brought all the other waitresses to point out our before pictures to them.  When we told them those pictures were made 47 years prior, I'm sure they thought we were going to croak at the table!  When I realized how many crab legs we consumed, it wouldn't have surprised me, either.

 Beth Stanton, round 1

 Carmen Henesy & Gloria Dodds

 Beef & mushrooms - I really LOVE mushrooms so I ate about a hundred from various dishes

 Beth & Luther Stanton & Carmen Henesy

 

Luther Stanton, Most Handsome, Class of 1962, Columbus High School, Columbus, GA

 

Carmen Henesy, Class of 1962, Columbus High School, Columbus, GA

( I could not get this in focus...when I get home next week, I'll have to try again )

I have never had so much fun during my visits home.  Often, Beth and Luther are away when I am in town or I am only here for a long weekend and our schedules don't mesh.  It has been so wonderful being able to spend so much time with them and reconnecting with Gloria Dodds and hanging out with the Wommacks who are now my friends, as well - even though they went to the wrong high school ( we forgive them for that ). 

GO BLUE DEVILS!