Monday, March 30

Where else could you find a sign in an eating-place that reads “SHUCKY BEANS TODAY” other than right here in our section? Well, it happens now and then because I saw it with my own peepers. I had to give a complete rundown on what shucky beans was to a stranger in our area that saw it. I doubt if you could find any other restaurant offering shucky beans anywhere else in the country - other than here. It caught my eye because it has been a long time since my old boarding house days where shuckey beans were a regular part of my diet. Boys, how many of you can remember - and would like to see a boarding house table again? I can recall eating at Ma Dukes and also Ma Combs when she was at Vicco. Come to think of it, did you hear anything about ulcers in those days? Memories of the boarding house days have stayed with me; I'd like to try it out again sometime.

5 comments:

  1. Now, Shuckey Beans, that's good vittles. A good piece of hot cornbread smothered with butter from a churn, a hunk of onion, and it's mouth-waterin' good, makes your tongue slap your lips around. In the South if you find em at all, they're called leatherbritches.

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  2. My sister, cousin and I have a tradition of celebrating times together with a dinner of Shucky Beans. Mother gifted them to us for years, and even after she died we had a precious freezer stash. When that was exhausted, we grieved. We were fortunate enough to find and purchase some at the London Flea Market on one of our trips to Hazard. They too are gone now. We plan to come home for Memorial Day and we will be looking for Shucky Beans.

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  3. Jean: Growing up my old folks always dried plenty of beans so we always had them. I found out how lucky I was when I became an adult. I became to realize shucky beans had become a treasure. The tradition has about slipped away from us but there are older folks who still dry them in Letcher but I don't know about Perry.

    We always chose to have them for Thanksgiving or Christmas because my children got a liking for them as well. We found them at $12.00 to $15.00 a bag. WHEW!!So we decided several summers ago to do as the old folks did, dry our own. It's hard work but smelling them cooking and later eating them is well worth it.

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  4. Ida Lee:
    Carolyn, our cousin, has freeze dried some, but they did not compare with the real Shucky Beans.

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  5. The best things I remember about growing up in Hazard was my cousin Charles Luttrell's meat ball and spaghetti and my mom, Martha Luttrell's Shuck beans. I would pay a $1,000 dollars for that meal today.

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