This is the first of a two-part series about Olive Tatham Ellis.
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If there has ever been a “Southern lady,” it was Olive Tatham Ellis. Her manners were impeccable, she was kind and compassionate, and she was always dressed to perfection.
Her granddaughter, Elaine Coker, said, “She tried to teach me to be a lady by telling me that ladies wore gloves, always looked their best and wore their best in public, which was hard for me to understand as a 7-year-old with two older brothers.
“My grandmother was truly a lady in every sense of the word. She taught me very early on the correct way to set a table, how to fold a napkin and serve a meal. You never served yourself food from a pot on the stove, everything was served in a bowl or a platter; and you never served jelly or pickles from a jar, always from a serving bowl.”
Elaine remembered that her grandmother grew her own parsley in a patch behind the back steps because every serving platter had a garnish to make it pretty. “She grew up in a time when things were not always plentiful,” she said.
“My brothers and I used to tease her about saving even something as small as a quarter cup of food. Her response to that was, “If you have ever gone to bed hungry, you will never throw away food again.”
And that comment has stayed with Elaine all her life. “When the refrigerator would start to get full of these little bits of food, they became the ingredients for a pot of soup.”
“Some of my best memories were around Christmas time when her house became headquarters for ornament making, baking all kinds of goodies, including her fruitcakes.” Elaine said her grandmother was a teetotaler, but she would allow her fruitcakes to soak in a little bit of brandy.
“Christmas was always a special time with people coming and going, and I look back on those days with many happy memories.”
“My grandmother would go out in the yard and gather things such as tiny pinecones that she called teasels, tree bark, lichens and moss to make wreaths and decorations out of these ordinary things.” Friends that knew her said she lived by the motto “waste not and want not” as she had the ability to repurpose everything into something beautiful.
Olive’s compassion knew no bounds. Elaine said regardless of the time of the day or night, no one was ever turned away from her home, and she always made sure they had a place to lay their head and a meal in their stomach. She was like a one-woman welcoming committee. When someone new moved to Andrews, she was one of the first people to welcome them to town. She was the face and gracious persona of Andrews.
Elaine said, “She was a tireless volunteer for events in Andrews, whether it be to cook meals or volunteer her time, especially for the Eastern Star, and she was known for her Boston Cream pies.”
Like most Southern ladies she made everything from scratch, and those who were fortunate enough to share a meal knew she could spread a delicious table.
Part two next article. Kandy Barnard is a columnist for the Cherokee Scout. To talk about the Andrews Valley, call her at 828-361-3268 or email kandybarnard@gmail.com.