A Small Town Picnic

I grew up in small town USA. It was a part of Americana. The typical Midwestern town. It had streets laid out in a grid. There were about 8 houses to a block (2 on each side). Few yards had fences and, when they did, they were white picket. Ladies hung their laundry out on clothes lines in the backyard and tended neat gardens of flowers and vegetables. The men mowed the lawn, took out the garbage and barbecued in the backyard. Kids roamed freely selling Koolaid from their wagons or playing in real treehouses built by their grandfathers when their fathers were young. You knew your neighbors and your neighbors knew you. They knew what you had for dinner, what time you went to bed and how much you paid for your last car. Or, they thought they did.

Downtown consisted of the town square. To me, a town square symbolizes a small town. If you could look up "small town" in the dictionary, you'd probably find a picture of the town square. Most town squares are about the same. It's a block, usually with trees, benches, fountains, etc., surrounded by the necessities of small town life. Ours was surrounded by a drug store, doctor's office, appliance store, ladies' dress shop, barber shop, beauty parlor, grocery stores, hotel, tavern, ice cream shop, bank, flower shop, etc. Shoot, if you added a church, most of us could have lived in the square.

The town square was the center of a town's social activity. Ours had a band stand. At one time, it was a double decker wooden structure. I've seen pictures of it, but I what I remember is a single level brick one. It didn't have the charm of the old one, but served its purpose and would last longer under the pressures of the Midwestern weather.

Our town square served many, many purposes. It was a place to sit and watch life go by; a place to meet friends while running errands. Old men would sit and read the paper and talk about the weather. Each May, it was wrapped in an embrace of children's laughter, flashing bright lights and the smell of cotton candy and corndogs as the carnival came to town. In the spring, there were band concerts. It was only the local grade school or high school bands, but everyone thought that they sounded wonderful. In the summer, there were ice cream socials where you would bring a picnic meal to share with friends and eat lots of cake and ice cream afterwards.

I don't know what brought on this bout of nostalgia. Maybe it was listening to the news. All of a sudden I longed for a time and a place where I didn't have to bolt my doors, the national debt didn't make me cringe, and I could eat out a picnic basket on the grass and listen to little kids play good music poorly. At least, I can make the picnic meal and invite some neighbors over.

Herb Roasted Chicken
Serves 6.

1 whole chicken -- cut into pieces
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Pat chicken dry with a paper towel. Place herbs in a paper bag. Add chicken to bag. Shake bag to coat chicken with herbs. Place chicken on a wire rack in a roasting pan. Bake uncovered in a preheated 375 degree oven until done (approximately 1 hour).

Pea Salad
Serves 6.

16 ounces frozen peas -- thawed
1/2 cup red onion -- finely chopped
1/2 cup celery -- finely chopped
1/2 cup carrot -- finely chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs -- chopped
1/2 cup cheddar cheese -- shredded
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
1/2 cup mayonnaise
salt -- to taste
pepper -- to taste

Combine all ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Deviled Eggs
Serves 6.

6 whole eggs
2 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt -- to taste
pepper -- to taste
paprika

Poke a small whole in the fat end of the eggs' shells. Place eggs in a pan of cold water. Bring water to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let stand for 20 minutes. Replace water with cold water. Let stand for 5 minutes. Crack egg shells and peel eggs. Cut eggs in half longways. Place yolks in a bowl and crush. Add other ingredients. Put yolk mixture back into cavity in egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika.