By Sheri Hopkins, Lifestyle Contributor
Hello everyone! Hot weather here in the River Valley. I hope y’all had a wonderful Fourth of July. Mansfield put on a good show.
I will be going on vacation next week. My brother, his wife and me are going to Mt. Airy, North Carolina to the Andy Griffith show replica town. Y’all know when we go on trips, I always have crazy stuff happening to me or one of my family members, so be prepared. We are also going to watch a couple Atlanta Braves baseball games and I am looking forward to it. I’ve lived in Mansfield since I was in the second grade, about 1970. It was back in the day of Barnes Drug Store, Western Auto, Seamans, Johnson Dry Goods to name a few. I loved going downtown and we would get candy at the drug store. As we got older, we would ride our bikes downtown and go behind Romeo Boyd’s and he had a Coke machine with the coldest pop you could get in a glass bottle. Good times for sure. We had the Dixie Bell Drive-In and there was a couple that ate there every single day, Charlie and Barbara. One time they got mad at Don Martin, and it just happened to be around Christmas, so they made a sign and put it on their little old car to drive in the Christmas parade. It said, “Don’t Eat at Don Martin’s.” So funny, and only in small town Arkansas.
Huntington had stores also. I remember going with my dad to Joe Elmore’s store and dad would get lunchmeat sliced and buy snacks. Joe was open on Sunday, that’s when we would go. When I was a teenager, there was a man who lived in Huntington named Mr. Rhoar. I am not sure if I am spelling his name right. He drove an old bronze colored Oldsmobile. He used to have some kind of library or museum in Huntington, according to Mayor Gary Lawrence. I’ve told all that to tell this, he drove sloooooow! If you got behind him coming from Huntington or going to Huntington, it would take half a day to get to where you were going. He was in Mansfield one day and barely moving down Mainstreet. I had Curtis Feimster with me, and he wanted out of the car. Curtis gets out of the car and starts running up beside Mr. Rhoar in his car and Curtis runs right passed him on Main Street! We laughed and laughed about that. If we would have had video cameras in those days, we would be rich from all the crazy stuff that happened. If you had Curtis Feimster with you, there was going to be laughs for sure. Hope y’all have a blessed week, enjoy your loved ones and always tell them how much you love them!
ALMOND JOY CAKE
1 chocolate cake mix (I use devil’s food) bake according to package directions
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
26 large marshmallows
14 oz. shredded coconut
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup of almonds
Bake cake according to package directions. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Pour batter into the cake pan sprayed with non-stick spray.
Bake in 350-degree preheated oven for 26-31 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Mix 1 cup of evaporated milk, 1 cup sugar and marshmallows together in a large pot. Stir over medium heat until marshmallows are melted. Stir in coconut and pour over hot cake.
Combine 1/2 cup of evaporated milk, butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly. Fold in chocolate chips, and almonds. Spread over the coconut layer. Cool cake until set, about 30 minutes. Enjoy.
