Strange new fruit: Mayhaw
ASHS Column for May 17, 2007
Margaret Collier

    Just call me old BW Collier. The BW is for "Bushwhacker," of course. You see, our Brewton friend, Darryl Searcy, Gardener extraordinaire, made a survey of the plant life in the James Houston Jones Historical Park, and, among other suggestions, he recommended much limb-lopping, pruning, feeding, and all manner of tender loving care in order to restore the charm of the gardens when Mr. Hauss lived there.
    Not being of the gardening persuasion, I have been recruiting help from my innocent daughter-in-law, Sandy, and from Don Sales. Now there is a man who operates a mean chain saw! With those two and John Adams, we have made progress. When you drive by you may question progress since some areas look like another storm has torn up the area, but on closer inspection you will see that even though the azaleas have been trimmed within a foot of their roots they have been cleared of dead wood, honeysuckle vines, smilax, and poison ivy. Now they can breathe again without being strangled.
    Don has been cutting up the remains of the trees that fell in the back forty in order for us to get to the plants. We haven't chased out any snakes yet, but I suspect they are in a foul mood after having their favorite haunts cleaned out. We do plan to make that area into a secret garden - maybe as a memorial for Mr. Hauss. At any rate, we do plan to make it a peaceful, beautiful area where one can enjoy watching the birds and meditate on the beauty.
    All of this is leading up to the fact that more help is needed to fully restore that area. We have not even begun to restore the fences and do other beautification work, but there are plans for the future after the dirty work is done, so if you are able to help with this kind of work just let us know. If no one answers the ASHS telephone (256-2447) call Don, Jerry or me.
****

    When you are reading this we hope that it is the day (May 17) that old #100 rolls into town on 3 big trucks. The 17th is the projected date, but with all of the coordination that has to be managed, it could be sooner or later. Hopefully, though, after all of our planning and dreaming, today will be the day. Of course, that means that the manual labor will then have to begin, so if you can help with the assembling, scraping, painting etc., just let us know. Our committee will be happy to put you to work - and we do mean WORK.
****

    Work is progressing on the ASHS cookbook.
A couple of weeks ago, Sandy and I were given
permission to visit Mabel Thames' mayhaw patch.
Interestingly enough, Mabel lives on Mayhaw
Lane in Oak Grove. In her back yard there are
many mayhaw trees that managed to survive the
hurricanes of recent years, so we had a great
time taking pictures and harvesting the
fruit -- until a rainstorm came to chase us
away. We did get enough of the fruit to
render three cups of juice, even after giving
each of the school children visiting and
touring the museums a piece.
    The fact that the visitors had no idea
what those pretty red things were made me
feel better. You see, I had never heard of
mayhaws until Sandy recounted going out to
a wet area with her granny to collect the
fruit for jelly. I thought everyone in
this area, except me, knew all about these
wonderful pomes. Not so. In later talking
with friends at church about our little
adventure, several did not know what they
were, so listen up.
    From the internet we learn that mayhaw
is a name given to the fruit of three
species of hawthorn common in wetlands
throughout the southern United States. They
grow in moist soil in river and creek
bottoms under hardwood trees. The fruit
ripens in late April through May, thus the
name mayhaw. Mayhaw jelly is considered by
some to be among the finest jellies in the
world. Needless to say, there will be recipes in the new cookbook for jelly, syrup, preserves and even wine, so start saving your money now. You will want several copies of the book to use for gifts. 

   Fischer Health Report:

    Simmons, Sales and BW made a quick trip to Sacred Heart Hospital on the 9th to check up on our President and his son. Jerry, Sr. still had various tubes and thingies sprouting from his body, but he was alert, had good color and was our same old friend. That morning he had actually walked down the hall to visit his son. This was only the second day after his own surgery. When we looked in on Jerry, Jr., only his first day after surgery, his color was good and he was quite alert.
    Of course, both have had the serious business of having cancer removed from their bodies and are just getting started on the long, painful road to recovery and adjusting to the changes in their bodies. We pray for them and all of the family members as they meet the challenges together. Besides all of that, we miss them and want them back among us as soon as possible.
    You see, we are FAMILY, in the Alger-Sullivan Historical Society!