IntroductionHISTORY OF SOUTHERN COOKING AND HOSPITALITY
Visitors to the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant in Social Circle, Georgia, frequently ask us why southerners act the way they do, talk the way they do, and cook the way they do—and why they do all things slowly. Perhaps not even the most learned scholars of southern culture can answer these questions with certainty, but the fact remains that southerners are known for their hospitable treatment of visitors and friends, their slow pace of life, their manner of talking, and their delicious style of cooking. Although few can explain the southern hospitality phenomenon, few would deny its existence. It is common in areas such as Social Circle, Georgia, to hear a visitor from another state or country remark that southern hospitality is truly alive and well today.
For example, after the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, with all of the traffic congestion and scheduling problems, visitors could be overheard marveling at the hospitable acts of native Georgians rather than complaining about the crowds or the heat. One man was overheard recounting the tale of an Atlanta resident lending his cellular phone to someone in the crowd in desperate need to contact the rest of his party. Another was heard boasting of a young woman allowing a family with small children to board the already crowded MARTA (Atlanta mass transit) train ahead of her. Although these examples of southern hospitality boast a modern age twist of mobile phones and mass transit systems, southern hospitality is not a myth perpetuated by the Hollywood version of life in the South—it is a reality and a way of life for most southerners.
Some speculate that this way of life (and it is a way of life, not merely an attitude to exhibit on special occasions or for special company) is a function of the southern colonies traditionally being more rural and agricultural. In rural societies people had to travel quite a distance to visit with one another and stayed for a while once they arrived at their destination.
Others speculate that the impeccable manners of southern inhabitants were simply passed down from the original settlers of the area, chiefly the English and the French, two cultures known for their codes of manners. English colonists began the establishment of Jamestown in 1607, which by 1700 had grown into a colony of 70,000 settlers. In addition, in 1670 English colonists established the first European colony in the Low Country, which eventually came to be called Charleston. Not long after this, the Low Country was settled by immigrants from Barbados and the French Huguenots.
The hospitality and manners of the Old South are alive and well in the modern South. For example, studies have shown that most southern parents teach their children to address adults as “Ma’am” and “Sir.” In addition, studies have also shown that helpful behaviors are more frequent in the South.
Most southerners and visitors to the South, however, do not need a poll to tell them that hospitality and helpfulness are a natural part of the southern experience. The comments overheard from those visiting from other regions testify to the surprising fact that friendliness and openness characterize the behavior of southerners—whether it is the act of holding the door open for someone, taking food to the family of one who is sick or in the hospital, or the modern-day kindness of lending someone your cellular phone. To experience this kindness is to experience the South.
A characteristically southern trait that goes hand-in-hand with hospitality is the trademark slower pace for which the South is known. To experience the South is to experience a pace of life that is less frenetic, patterns of speech that are more melodic, and attitudes that are more relaxed. This slow pace seems to lend itself to the attitude of hospitality; if you are not always in a hurry, you are more likely to offer someone a cold drink, to invite someone in to visit awhile, or to pick up someone’s dropped pencil and return it.
Although the pace of life in the South may indeed be slower, southerners would no doubt emphasize that this slower pace does not mean that they do not work so hard as those in other regions. Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, explained away the perception that because southerners do not move so quickly they do not work so hard: “We work hard, of course, but we do it in a different way. We work hard in order not to work. Any time spent on business is more or less wasted, but you have to do it in order to be able to hunt and fish and gossip.”
In addition to the perception that southerners move more slowly than others is the perception that southerners speak more slowly. Surprisingly, studies have shown that southerners speak nearly as many words per minute as others—they merely draw the words out longer. Novelist Reynolds Price noted, “Southerners employ more notes of the scale than other Americans; they need them for their broader reach of expression.” Or as Mark Twain said, “The southerner talks music.” Regardless of the results of studies, many southerners would beg to differ with the finding that southerners do not actually talk more slowly, but just sound as if they do. Any southerner who has been to the local drugstore or café and for the fourth time that week has patiently listened to Junior explain how he reeled in the ten-pound, ornery catfish from Lake Hoosawatchie would no doubt firmly insist that southerners do, in fact, speak more slowly.
The manner of southern speech patterns is not so controversial—most everyone would agree that southerners have speech patterns and vocabulary peculiar to the South. Not only do southerners use different words, but they pronounce the same words differently. For example, southerners frequently omit the “r” sound when it follows a vowel, so that pardon becomes pahden and butter become buddah. Mark Twain remarked that “the educated southerner has no use for an R, except at the beginning of a word.”
Contrary to the belief of some, pure Elizabethan English has not been preserved in areas of the South. Linguists believe, however, that the speech patterns of the Lower South resemble those of London and counties of southern England, while the speech patterns of the Upper South resemble those of Northern England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Other cultures have contributed to our present day southern vocabulary. For example, the phrase most commonly linked with the South, “you all” or “y’all” appears to be a modern day replacement for the second-person plural no longer present in the English language. And that is why southerners become so offended when nonsoutherners attempt to poke fun at them and misuse the term by referring to one person, when any self-respecting southerner knows that you use “y’all” only when speaking to more than one person. African contributions to the present-day southern vocabulary include banjo and okra.
Another term peculiar to the South is the use of dinner to mean the midday meal, which was the main meal of the day in agricultural societies such as the South. The evening meal was often much lighter and was dubbed supper. Although the practice of eating the heavier meal at noon has all but vanished, except on Sundays, southerners still often refer to a noonday meal as dinner and an evening meal as supper.
One thing is for certain—whether southerners are eating dinner or supper—they enjoy a cuisine and a style of cooking native to the South and for which the South is famous. A definition of what makes food southern requires some explaining, because Southern food is a different thing to different people. To some it is bending over vines on hot August days picking the peas, okra, and squash that will grace the table on cold winter nights. To some it is sitting on a front porch in the cool of the evening shelling those same peas and passing the time with family and loved ones. To some it is the first real tomato sandwich of summer—the one when the first tomato vine is ripe and pulled by hand—heavy on the salt, pepper, and mayonnaise. To some the term conjures up notions of elegant restaurants in Charleston, New Orleans, and Savannah—places with white linen napkins and sterling silver tableware. To others it is paper plates and sawdust floors and barbecue sauce dripping down the chin. Still others hear Southern food and think of slices of ice-cold watermelon or ice cream made in an oak bucket and churned by hand. Others recall platters of crisply fried chicken served only for company. Sadly, there are people in the world who have no notion whatsoever of true Southern cooking.
Although southern food conjures up different images, down-home Southern cuisine traditionally uses what southern farms have historically and can easily produce. Thus, corn and pork, two products easily cultivated in the southern climate, have served as the mainstay of Southern cuisine. Pork has been the meat of choice (or at least availability) in the South since well before the Civil War. History shows that hogs came to Jamestown with the first English settlers and then traveled across the South with the pioneers. Pork soon became a staple to both high and low Southern cuisines; almost every part of the hog was used—meat was eaten, lard was used for cooking, lighting, soap, and ointments. Raising hogs was relatively easy, since farmers could either turn the hogs loose to forage the land until they were ready for slaughter or feed the hogs on corn, a crop indigenous to the South and also a crucial element of Southern cooking.
Corn was already being grown by southern Native Americans when the colonists first arrived, and this crop they called “maize” soon became a mainstay for southern hogs, horses, mules, and people. Even after the Civil War, southern households purchased two and a half times more cornmeal than other Americans. Corn, although delicious on the cob, takes many forms in Southern cooking—hominy, grits, cornmeal, cornbread, hushpuppies, and much to the prohibitionists’ dismay—corn whiskey and bourbon.
Native Americans also provided southerners with a popular delicacy, one for which the Blue Willow Inn is famous—fried green tomatoes. Native Americans are said to have introduced this dish to colonists who were so taken by the dish that they exported it to Europe as early as the 1500s. The Catholic Church banned eating red ripe tomatoes because the texture of a ripe tomato’s skin was similar to the texture of the human skin, and thus, the red tomato was considered an aphrodisiac. When the tomatoes were in season, however, you can bet that more than a few of even the most devout individuals hid in armoires or pulled the curtains shut in order to delight in the forbidden fruit. The consumption of green tomatoes was permitted, however, and that may be one of the reasons that the most popular type of tomatoes used for this dish is the green tomato. The earliest recorded history of fried green tomatoes is in Northern Italy, and the cook probably used olive oil for frying them.
In addition to corn and fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, other staples of the southern kitchen include other meats and crops easily obtained or grown. For example, poultry, game, and catfish were, and still are, popular meats used in Southern cooking. Other crops grown easily in the southern climate are black-eyed peas, greens, okra, rice, tomatoes, Vidalia onions (grown in and around Vidalia, Georgia, where the soil makes them as sweet as molasses), and watermelon.
The method for preparing these foods is similar to the nature of the foods themselves—southerners have traditionally used the ingredients on hand to enhance the staples on hand. For example, a traditional southern method of cooking is to deep-fry everything from catfish to sliced green tomatoes—the lard and cornmeal are an ever present help to combat a tiresome menu. Novelist Reynolds Price described the southern lunch as “chicken and cured ham, corn pudding, green beans, spring onions, tomatoes, small limas, hot rolls, corn sticks, iced tea, and lemon pie (with all the ingredients but the tea and lemons grown no more than twenty miles off).”
Recently a new phenomenon known as “New Southern Cuisine” has been popping up around the South in an attempt to lighten the traditionally high-calorie southern dishes while incorporating ingredients not traditionally used in Southern cooking. This new Southern-cooking style has been extolled and practiced in many modern Southern cookbooks and trendy restaurants. Whether you prefer traditional “down home” Southern cuisine or the New South recipes, it is probable that the notion of Southern cuisine—old or new—cannot be easily defined and conjures up different images to different folks.
Southern food, whatever the definition, was not created; it has evolved. It epitomizes the southern spirit in that southerners have always taken what they might have on hand and gone well beyond making do—turning very modest fare into delectable culinary treasures. It is served with pride and eaten with great relish. It adds joy to any celebration, absorbs tears better than a sponge, and is usually the very first thing offered when southerners need to help one another deal with grief.
Recipes of Southern dishes have been passed down from generation to generation, changing with the times when necessary, adapted and improved upon. Some foods have even been glamorized to the point of legend. Sadly, many Southern recipes have been changed drastically to suit our modern lifestyle of hurry, hurry, hurry, not to mention the twenty-first century notion that anything that tastes good must be bad for you. Many southerners have lost the art of preparing fresh food from scratch, seasoning it with just the right combination of salt, pork, and butter, and serving it up hot in enormous helpings to grateful crowds of hungry family and friends. New generations of children in the South are growing up without knowing the joy of sitting down to a scrumptious meal of true Southern victuals. The old recipes are not being passed down, and yet another part of our heritage may soon be gone with the same wind that is sweeping away so many other facets of our culture.
We are dedicated at the Blue Willow Inn to serving authentic Southern dishes, prepared in the same manner in which they have been prepared for generations—with a few special touches belonging only to us. It is always our hope that our customers will experience Southern hospitality and charm at its best and leave fully satisfied and eager to visit again. By publishing these recipes, we hope to pass along a little bit of the southern culture to future generations and to enable people from all areas to open this cookbook, experiment with these delicious recipes and . . . experience the South.
STORY OF BLUE WILLOW CHINA
The Blue Willow china pattern was first introduced in England in 1780 and was designed and engraved by Thomas Minton. The pattern was produced primarily by English potters during the first 150 years of its existence. Japan began producing the pattern in the early twentieth century.
Once one of the most popular china patterns in the world, the china was widely used in the United States during the middle of the twentieth century. The term “blue-plate special” used by restaurants all over America is said to have originated from the common use of the Blue Willow pattern.
The Van Dykes have been collectors of Blue Willow china since the early 1970s. Their love of the pattern resulted in their decision to use the china in their restaurant, hence the name, Blue Willow Inn Restaurant.
The design illustrates the Chinese legend of a romance between Koong-se, daughter of a wealthy mandarin, and Chang, the mandarin’s lowly secretary. To keep the two young lovers apart, Koong-se’s father erected a fence so they could not see each other. However, Koong-se found a way to contact Chang. She wrote a poem and placed it in a seashell, floating it downstream to Chang.
Koong-se’s father had promised her in marriage to a noble duke. Wearing a disguise, Chang crept into the palace during the wedding banquet and eloped with Koong-se. Only at the last minute did the mandarin see them crossing a bridge, Koong-se carrying a box of jewels that were to have been her wedding dowry.
The lovers found a hideout with a maid who protected them, and later they moved to a distant island to spend their lives together. But time did not stop the mandarin’s search for the couple. Eventually he found the couple and put them to death. According to the legend, God was so touched by their love that he immortalized Chang and Koong-se as two doves flying together in the sky.
In the Blue Willow pattern are illustrations of the story such as the palace, bridge, lovers running to safety, the distant island, and two doves flying together in the sky.
HISTORY OF THE BLUE WILLOW INN
The Blue Willow Inn Restaurant is housed in a neoclassical, Greek Revival mansion featuring a wide portico porch supported by four fluted columns with Corinthian capitals. Above the front door is a balcony supported by ornate brackets. The house was built in 1917 by John Phillips Upshaw, Jr., for his wife, Bertha, and daughter, Nell. This was the second home built by Mr. Upshaw. His first home, on the same five-acre tract of land now the site of the Blue Willow Inn, was a two-story Victorian cottage built in 1899. The five-acre tract had previously been the site of a tannery owned by his father, John Phillips Upshaw, Sr.
The construction of the mansion was prompted by the building of a neoclassical mansion directly across the street from the Victorian cottage by John’s younger brother, Sanders Upshaw, in 1916. Sanders in part owed his fortune to his brother, John, who loaned him money to purchase a cotton farm in the early 1900s. Not to be outdone by his younger brother, John and Bertha measured Sanders’ home inside and out during the final phase of construction and then drew plans to build their house a little grander than Sanders’ house.
In order to do this, the Victorian cottage had to be moved. Trees were felled, and the cottage was rolled on logs to the lot south of John’s five-acre tract. After moving the cottage, numerous wagonloads of dirt were brought in to raise the building site to the same height as the Sanders’ land. There was a natural slope, and by filling the site with dirt, the new home for John and Bertha would be directly across from Sanders’ home and on the same level.
Several improvements were made in John’s version of the house to better Sanders’ house. For example, John’s house was built with cream brick instead of wood; the roof on John’s house was red tile, a roof that was far superior to Sanders’ slate roof. Sanders’ house had only one side porch, while John’s house had two. The double windows on Sanders’ house were outdone by the triple windows with granite sills and beveled and leaded crystal-glass fanlights on John’s house. The oak floors in John’s house were laid with a decorative pattern as opposed to Sanders’ flooring, which was laid in the typical side-by-side pattern. John Upshaw’s house had to be just a little larger and a little better. In spite of the “one-upmanship” by John Upshaw over his younger brother, it is said that the families had a close and cordial relationship all of their lives.
A frequent visitor to the Upshaw’s new home was Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind. Ms. Mitchell stayed at the relocated Victorian cottage while dating Redd Upshaw, her first husband. Redd Upshaw was a cousin of John Upshaw and lived nearby in Between, Georgia, and was reportedly the model for the character of Rhett Butler. The marriage of Redd and Margaret Upshaw was short, ill-fated, and ended in divorce.
Having constructed what was generally considered the finest and best-built house in the county, John and Bertha Upshaw lived there until their deaths. Mr. Upshaw made arrangements to bequeath the property to the clubs in Social Circle to be used as a community house after the death of his daughter, Nell. In 1952 Nell Upshaw Gannon deeded her life interest in the property to the clubs of Social Circle since she had no interest in maintaining the home.
From 1952 until the late 1960s, the house was the center of cultural, civic, and social activities. Weddings, birthdays, school proms, graduation dances, and most of the social activities in the community were held at the clubhouse. In the 1950s a baseball diamond was constructed behind the property.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s desegregation was taking place in the South, and Social Circle was no exception. Lawsuits were filed over the use of the community swimming pool since it had been constructed with city tax money. During the turmoil of the era, the clubs abandoned the property and renounced title to the property. With the death of Nell Upshaw Gannon in 1974, ownership of the house and property went into the courts for clarification.
In 1985 the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that title to the property belonged to the heirs of the estate of Nell Upshaw Gannon. Reverend Homer Harvey, a Church of God minister, purchased the property from the heirs in 1985 and established the Social Circle Church of God in the mansion. In the late 1980s construction began at the rear of the five-acre tract on a church, and in 1990 the Social Circle Church of God moved from the mansion to the church at the rear of the property. Reverend Harvey then deeded the church-occupied property to the church trustees and sold the main house and the remaining property to Louis and Billie Van Dyke.
The fifteen years during which the property had been abandoned and tied up in the courts had taken its toll on the grand old mansion. Reverend Harvey had already spent large sums of money renovating the exterior of the house, replacing rotting wood and repairing the roof. Louis and Billie Van Dyke took up where Reverend Harvey left off. The house needed more roof repairs, extensive repairs to the columns, and renovations inside. After repairing the main level, updating the wiring and plumbing, and expanding the kitchen, the Van Dykes were ready to open their dream—the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant. The restaurant opened on Thanksgiving Day, 1991.
During the next year, the second floor was renovated and transformed into dining rooms for banquets and group dining. In 1993 renovations began on the pool house and the pool, which had not been drained since the late 1960s. The pool house was expanded and converted into a gift shop to complement the restaurant, while the pool was refurbished and accented with fountains. The pool and gift shop compound were then enclosed with wrought-iron fencing.
The Blue Willow Inn Restaurant hosts some close to five thousand customers weekly, serving a Southern buffet often proclaimed the best in the South. As guests enter the grand hall with the crystal chandeliers, they are escorted to one of the many dining rooms: the Savannah Room with its warm fireplace; the Garden Room, which was formerly part of the back porch; the Sun Porch; the Charleston Room, which is reminiscent of old southern charm; the Lewis Grizzard Room, which was named for the famous author and columnist who wrote about the Blue Willow Inn; and the Walton Room, which is the largest room on the main level. The Walton Room is the buffet service area, and the southern buffets served in the Walton Room are served in a catered style. Guests choose from an array of four or five meats; nine or ten vegetables prepared southern style; soup and chicken and dumplings; salad fixings; and homemade biscuits, muffins, and cornbread. Last, but not least, is a delicious spread of pies, cobblers, puddings, and cakes.
The second floor houses the Magnolia Room, which is used for large functions and banquets. With seating for about seventy, it is the largest dining room in the house. Two smaller rooms, the Blue Room and the Tea Room, are also open to guests and small parties on the second floor.
The mansion is decorated in deep greens and burgundies, which are complemented by antique furnishings and accessories. The walls are adorned with fine art and part of the Van Dyke’s Blue Willow dish collection. The Van Dykes have been collectors of the Blue Willow pattern china since the early 1970s, and their fondness for this pattern resulted in the name of the restaurant, the Blue Willow Inn. The tables are set with Blue Willow china and adorned with fresh-cut flowers.
Guests at the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant are encouraged to absorb and enjoy the slower pace of the Old South. A visit to the Blue Willow Inn should be an experience in both dining and relaxing. From being welcomed by greeters attired in antebellum dress, to sipping lemonade while rocking on the front porch, guests are treated to genuine southern hospitality of a bygone era.
Enjoy the gardens. Enjoy the Southern food. Enjoy the ambiance of the old southern mansion. Relax for just a moment and let the world pass by. This is the Blue Willow Inn experience.
“FEAR YE NOT, NEITHER BE AFRAID:”
THE STORY OF LOUIS AND BILLIE VAN DYKE
From the time Billie Van Dyke was a small child she had an interest in cooking and helping in the kitchen. As a small child, her mother, Nita Jane Baker, used to “scoot” her out of the kitchen and out of her way so she could prepare family meals. When time allowed, however, Nita did teach Billie some of her cooking skills. Growing up on the banks of the Wilmington River in Savannah, Billie spent many hours with her father and brothers fishing, shrimping, and digging oysters in Savannah’s salt waters. When Billie was eleven years old, her father, Herman “Pop” Baker, suddenly died of a heart attack. Gone were the fishing days with her dad. Hard times set in for her family, now consisting of her mother, one sister, and three brothers. Billie, the oldest, had to help raise the younger siblings, ranging in age from six weeks to nine years old.
Serious illness beset her mother, and the family was scattered. Her brothers Dennis and Jimmy were adopted and moved out of the Savannah area. Her sister, Dot, was raised in a boarding school, and brother Charles was sent to Bethesda Orphanage in Savannah, where he stayed until joining the Marines upon graduation from high school. Since Billie was the oldest, she was “less adoptable” than the younger siblings. Billie was placed in a children’s home and also spent some time with her mother, whose health had improved. She spent her last years in high school with her foster parents, Marvin and Annie Laura Exley, in Garden City, a suburb of Savannah.
While living with the Exley’s, Billie developed her cooking, entertaining, and sewing skills. Mr. Exley taught Billie how to make biscuits and cornbread, and how to have them look just like the pictures on the packages of flour and cornmeal. Mr. Exley was always clipping recipes from the newspaper and magazines and trying new dishes. Billie helped prepare and cook the new recipes for company that was always coming to the Exley’s house and the minister and his family who usually ate Sunday dinner with the Exley family. During this time she met her first husband, William “Bill” Edgerly Jr., a student at Benedictine Military Academy in Savannah.
A courtship in high school blossomed into marriage when Billie was eighteen. From the time Billie and Bill were married, her home became the center of family activities with her brother Charles, her sister, Dot, and their grandmother, “BaBa.” Billie made friends with everyone she met. She always found herself entertaining friends and family. Cooking for large groups became a natural way of life for her.
In the first five years of her marriage her three children were born—William III, “Chip”, then her second son, Dale, and finally a daughter, Donna. Billie involved herself in church work, school activities, and the American Red Cross, volunteering with the swimming program. She taught swimming, which proved to be her needed outlet from homemaking that could include her children. Having received many awards from the Red Cross for volunteer work, she took over the swimming instruction and lifeguard program at the Port Wentworth, Georgia, swimming pool. It was during this time that she met Louis Van Dyke, a volunteer swimming instructor. Louis became good friends with Billie’s husband and a friend of the family. No one would have ever dreamed that a tragic event would eventually lead to Billie and Louis’ marriage.
In 1967 Billie’s first husband, Bill, suddenly died in a tragic accident. Billie was now facing the same situation that her mother had faced many years earlier. Left alone with three small children, she was determined to keep her family together. Times had changed since her father had died. Social Security now provided survivor’s benefits, and with the Social Security benefits and a part-time job Billie continued to make a home for her children.
At the time of Bill Edgerly’s death, Louis was entering active duty in the U.S. Navy. After being discharged from the navy Louis renewed his friendship with Billie and the children. From fixing screens to hanging gutters and painting, Louis became the “handyman” around Billie’s house. He also became a “big brother” to Chip, Dale, and Donna. After a couple of years the friendship between Billie and Louis grew into love, and Billie and Louis were married on May 1, 1970.
Billie soon again adjusted to married life and became a full-time mother and homemaker. Also she was back to entertaining friends and family. It seemed as though social and family events always took place at Billie and Louis’ house. Just prior to the wedding, Billie’s brother, Dennis, who had been adopted twenty-eight years earlier, showed up at Billie’s sister Dot’s door with his wife and family. He was making the U.S. Army his career and had recently been transferred to Ft. Stewart Army Base near Savannah. Dennis had remembered living as a small child on Wilmington Island and brought his family to Savannah to search for his “roots” and family. Seeing a familiar house, Dennis discovered an aunt he did not know he had. She directed him to his sister Dorothy in Garden City. After visiting, Dorothy directed Dennis to Billie’s house. Soon Billie was entertaining Dennis and his wife, Liz, and their children, along with Billie’s brother, Charles, and sister, Dot, and their families. There was never a dull or boring time around the Van Dyke house.
In 1973 tragedy again struck Billie. Her son Dale was accidentally shot and killed by his best friend. He was buried the day after what would have been his seventeenth birthday. Entertaining and the thoughts of entertaining were over. Dark clouds settled over Billie, Louis, and the children. In 1974 Louis left a business in which he had invested everything he and Billie had (including borrowing against their house), and the business went bankrupt shortly thereafter. After the loss of Dale and then the business and their house, Louis and Billie packed Chip and Donna and everything they owned in the back of a rented moving van and moved to Atlanta.
Louis began a career in operations with a major Atlanta trucking firm, and both Billie and Louis became active in their church. Billie was again entertaining often, and in order to help with family income, she began a small catering business out of her home. The year was 1978 and Billie was soon doing weddings and parties. For the first few years Billie limited herself to church friends and their referrals. In 1979 Louis and Billie were tiring of the typical suburban, sub-division life of small lots and little privacy. They began looking for several acres outside of Atlanta to build a house. In the latter part of 1979 they purchased land in Walton County just outside of Social Circle. They still joke that they had to move forty miles from Atlanta in order to afford a few acres of land. They completed the home, but Billie’s part-time catering business became too busy to continue operating out of the home.
In the summer of 1985 Louis and Billie decided that it was time to move the catering out of the house and into a catering facility. A small restaurant in an old house in Social Circle had recently gone out of business. One of Billie’s friends, Susan Pressley, upon hearing that she was looking at the former restaurant, suggested that Billie open a restaurant so the “girls” could get together for morning coffee. After looking at the house, both Louis and Billie agreed that it would make an ideal catering facility. And with some work, it would probably make a good restaurant too. A restaurant? Neither Louis nor Billie had ever given any thought to opening a restaurant. After talking over the idea several times, they decided, “Yes, we can open a restaurant. Anybody can open a restaurant.”
The plan was that Louis and Billie would spend all of their spare time fixing up the house, decorating, and cleaning the kitchen. Since Billie was a good cook and Louis was good at fixing things, this would work. Louis would continue to work at his job and Billie would run the restaurant and catering. After the restaurant opened, Louis was to spend his spare time helping run the restaurant. After all, someone had to wash the dishes and clean the floors.
Louis had consulted with a good friend whom he respected for his business skills, and the friend had been frank with Louis. “You do not have enough cash for a venture like this,” he advised. He further added that Louis was “under capitalized and was risking losing his savings.” Louis listened intently to this advice but decided to open the restaurant anyway. After all “anyone can open a restaurant.”
After spending most of their savings and working three months getting the restaurant ready to open, Billie and Louis opened “Billie’s Classic Country Dining” during Thanksgiving week 1985. They both knew that they had to make a go of it. They had spent more than they had thought it would take to get the restaurant ready and had only eight hundred dollars left on opening day. But they figured that’s okay; they still had Louis’ income from the trucking company.
Serving lunch and supper six days a week (the restaurant was closed on Mondays) began to take its toll on both of them. With only two employees Billie was working sixteen-hour days and Louis was getting only four to five hours of sleep nightly between his job and the restaurant. But they needed Louis’ paycheck. After being opened three and a half weeks Louis fell asleep on the way home from working in Atlanta and almost hit a car head-on just a couple of miles from home. Still this did not wake him up and he fought sleep just to make the next two miles to the house. The following day Louis gave notice at the truck line. His boss suggested that if his interest was no longer with the trucking company and was now with the restaurant maybe he should not work through the notice period. Louis agreed.
The following day when Billie asked Louis what time he had to be at work, Louis told her that he had good news and bad news. The good news was that he could spend all of his time helping her in the restaurant; the bad part was that there would be no more paychecks. They both knew this time that they had some rocky roads ahead of them. Over the next several months while the restaurant was struggling to make a profit, both of them learned that restaurant bills and employees get paid first. They learned that if anyone went without a paycheck it had to be the two of them. They learned that they could live at home without electricity for a few days, but the restaurant couldn’t. The same went for gas and telephone.
Slowly the business began to show a profit. What had happened was that this small restaurant in Social Circle had begun to attract customers from Atlanta, some fortyfive miles away. After being open for eighteen months, the 68 seats in the restaurant could no longer accommodate the business. There was no way to add on to the restaurant since there was no place to park any additional cars. A restaurant in Covington, ten miles from Social Circle, closed due to poor business. This restaurant had 220 seats. It had previously been a chain steakhouse and a family restaurant. In late April of 1987 Louis and Billie closed Billie’s Classic Country Dining and opened Billie’s Family Restaurant in Covington, Georgia. From the beginning, business was good. Although the Van Dykes lost a lot of their Atlanta customers who came for the small-town atmosphere and the setting of the old-country cottage, they had moved to an area with fifteen times the population of Social Circle. They had developed a reputation for excellent Southern cooking served buffet style and business was good.
The good fortune was short lived. The building that housed the restaurant was in very poor condition. Termite infestations closed the restaurant the first time the termites swarmed and ruined the food. When it rained, more than three-fourths of the dining room had to be closed due to a leaking roof. Utility bills were tremendous due to poor planning when the building was built. After eighteen months in a deteriorating facility with escalating costs, the Van Dykes closed Billie’s Family Restaurant in Covington. All efforts to have the property owner maintain the roof and building had failed.
Several months prior to closing the Covington restaurant, the American Legion Post in Monroe, Georgia, had contacted Louis and Billie and asked them to operate the restaurant in the American Legion Hall, which had been originally established in the 1950s. The American Legion restaurant had fallen on hard times the past few years, and the current operator had decided not to renew the lease. The commander of the American Legion made an offer too attractive for Louis and Billie to refuse, and in September of 1987 they opened “Billie’s at the American Legion.”While Louis ran the day-to-day operations at the Covington restaurant, Billie and her son, Chip, ran the restaurant in Monroe. When they closed the Covington restaurant, Louis joined Billie in their Monroe restaurant and ran the kitchen as head cook while Billie handled the dining room.
What had been a foundering restaurant, serving thirty to thirty-five meals at lunch Monday thru Friday and 50 to 60 people on Sundays, was soon serving 200 to 250 people for weekday lunch and up to 500 people on Sundays. At nights and on weekends the facility stayed busy with banquets, parties, wedding receptions, and other catered events. It was during this time that the Blue Willow dream began to come true.
THE BLUE WILLOW DREAM
From the time that the Van Dykes moved from the crowded confines of Atlanta to their land outside of Social Circle, they had admired the grand, yet dilapidated, old mansion in Social Circle that had been known as the Bertha Upshaw Club House. A few of the old homes in Social Circle were in varying degrees of disrepair, but the mansion that was to eventually become the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant was abandoned and neglected. After inquiring among the locals, they discovered that the mansion had at one time been the center of civic and cultural activity in Social Circle but had fallen on hard times in the late 1960s and became the subject of a lawsuit until 1985, when the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the property was to revert to the estate of the original owners, the Upshaw family.
While the Van Dykes were struggling to make their first restaurant a success, Billie and Louis dreamed of one day owning this grand old mansion just three blocks away. Of course they knew this was just a dream. While struggling to keep the doors open in the small cottage restaurant, how could they possibly ever have the means to purchase and restore such a place.
One day during lunch at the restaurant Billie met the Rev. and Mrs. Homer Harvey. The Harveys began telling Billie how much they enjoyed their lunch and that they would soon become regular customers. Homer Harvey, a Church of God minister, then told Billie that he had just purchased the Bertha Upshaw Club House and was starting the Social Circle Church of God in the old mansion. Billie said, “You mean the old Bertha Upshaw clubhouse I’ve always wanted?”Homer Harvey was not sure it was the same house, but Billie knew that it was.
Even after closing the restaurant in Social Circle, moving to Covington, and opening the restaurant in Monroe, Billie still loved and dreamed of one day owning the old mansion, all the time knowing it was just was a dream. Soon Louis and Billie began attending fund-raising dinners and yard sales at the church just to see the inside. Each time Billie was in the old mansion she would mentally lay out the house for a restaurant and fancy herself opening the massive front door to customers and guests.
While Billie was at the church/mansion for a spaghetti supper hosted by the ladies of the church, Pastor Harvey mentioned to her that the house would make a nice restaurant.
“Don’t tease me!” Billie exclaimed.
“We’re not teasing,” replied Pastor Harvey. “We wanted to restore this old house, but we’re just getting too old. We plan to sell the mansion when we finish the new church on the back of the property.”
Billie was elated. She could barely wait until Louis got home from the restaurant in Monroe so she could share the news.
“Pastor Harvey is selling the mansion, and he said we could purchase it for a restaurant!” Billie excitedly told Louis as he pulled into their driveway at home. Louis told Billie not to tease him and told her, “We can’t afford it anyway. What would we do for money?”
Billie was not giving up this easily. She insisted that Louis go to the bank and try to borrow the money. Over Louis’ protests that they had just finally finished paying off the losses at the Covington restaurant and had very little money, she insisted that he at least ask.
Several days later as Billie was mentally placing tables, furnishings, and the kitchen in the mansion, Louis told her that he had gone to the bank and asked about financing to purchase the mansion. Pastor Harvey was asking around $200,000 for the property, and this is what Louis told the bank. Louis shared the bad news with Billie. The banker had said “You want to do what?! With our money?! Where? You must be kidding! You’ll never serve enough meals in Social Circle to pay for the purchase, much less the repairs!” Louis took this as a “No.”
That was 1990. Louis and Billie had struggled, made mistakes, paid off losses, and still had a dream. The restaurant at the American Legion in Monroe was successful, but the dining room was a big lunch-room-style dining hall. They both missed the charm and decor of their first restaurant, the small cottage in Social Circle. Both of them wanted a permanent location in an old house and both of them wanted the old mansion in Social Circle. If there were a way, they would find it.
When Billie told Pastor Harvey that the bank had turned Louis down flat, he told her that he might consider financing the purchase. When she told him that they did not have the money to make a down payment on a purchase that size, Pastor Harvey told her that he would finance 100 percent of the purchase price. Billie was ecstatic!
As soon as she saw Louis, she shared the good news. Louis was hesitant. Although the Harveys had partially restored the old mansion, a lot of money was needed to finish the repairs, add a kitchen, rewire, decorate, and so forth. The whole project seemed overwhelming.
“Restorations like this take tens of thousands of dollars,” Louis thought out loud.
“We can do it!” Billie countered. “We’ll take extra parties and banquets at the restaurant in Monroe and we’ll do more catering. With the extra money we can buy supplies and materials and do the work ourselves.”
They both agreed that this was an almost overwhelming project without bank financing. It was time for prayer.
When Louis had first opened the restaurant in Covington, everything was going great. Money was coming in and for the first time since opening the first restaurant, the Van Dykes had a cash reserve. Louis wanted more. He wanted to get rich and open more restaurants. He had taken the business out of God’s care and decided he could do it on his own.
Louis said, “What a fool I was. Since the 1970s I have depended on the Lord for guidance and leading. I walked away from him and decided I would get rich. And I learned a lesson from God. If it could go wrong at the Covington restaurant, it would, and did, go wrong.”
After closing the restaurant in Covington, Louis realized that he had just learned a hard lesson. He lost his desire to “get rich,” and as a result of this he would not make a decision about the old mansion until he had prayed and sought God. For Billie this was part of her daily life. For Louis it was part of a roller coaster ride with God.
Louis and Billie both agreed that they needed a word from the Lord before signing the papers to purchase the mansion. They both went to prayer. The day before they were to sign the papers, there was still no answer to their prayers. After agreeing together that they would not pursue their “dream,” Louis began to read the Bible. The Lord answered the prayer. The scripture was Isaiah 44: 8 and 9 (KJV).
Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have I not told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any. They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
After sharing this with Billie, they both agreed that this was a powerful word from the Lord and that they had best not make the new restaurant their god. Louis did not want to learn the same lesson twice.
In the summer of 1990 Louis and Billie signed the papers to purchase their dream. They decided to place their home up for sale in order to help finance the renovations. Almost overnight they had a signed contract to sell their house. But the Gulf War buildup had just begun and the housing market collapsed. The Van Dykes were still confident that the house would sell and the money could be used for renovations. The mansion was large enough that they would live on the second floor, and the first floor would be the restaurant.
After getting the proper zoning to operate a restaurant in the house, the hard work started. Every free hour for ten months was spent scraping paint, wiring, plumbing, finishing floors, and so forth. With the help of family and friends and several allnighters, the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant opened on Thanksgiving Day 1991. And what a day it was!
The used kitchen equipment that had been purchased to save money rebelled at cooking on Thanksgiving Day. If it could go wrong, it did. With a lot of improvising and patching they got through the first day. Both Louis and Billie still advise against opening a new restaurant on Thanksgiving Day.
With the opening of the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant behind them, Louis and Billie concentrated on finishing the renovations of the Blue Willow Inn and operating both restaurants. They knew that they only had a few months left on the lease on the American Legion restaurant in Monroe. They also knew that the lease would not be renewed because the new officers of the American Legion in Monroe had indicated that they wanted the restaurant closed so the building could be turned into a dance hall and bingo parlor. Although there was a year left on the lease, the Van Dykes agreed to terminate the lease six months early after experiencing three arson attempts and a break-in with acid poured into their cash register and lamp oil used to contaminate all of the food. By the time the Monroe restaurant was closed in June of 1992, the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant had become profitable. But there had been some rough times getting to that point.
By January 1992, the Van Dykes were experiencing serious financial problems. While the restaurant in Monroe was operating profitably (in spite of the break-ins and fires), the Blue Willow had a mountain of start-up bills that remained unpaid. With the collapse of the housing market as a result of the GulfWar buildup, their house never sold. Their lawyer and accountant both told them that they should consider bankruptcy. Louis and Billie had been in tight spots before and did not consider bankruptcy an option. Somehow they would make it all work.
On March 9 Louis got some particularly bad news. That night as he and Billie exhaustedly prepared to get some sleep, Louis roared, “Life’s lousy! I wish I were dead.” As Louis slept, Billie stayed awake all night praying. She prayed, saying that she and Louis had worked hard and were trying to follow the Lord’s will. She told the Lord that she had prayed for miracles for others before, but had never prayed for a miracle for herself.
“But,” she told the Lord, “we need a miracle.”
The following evening a writer, Marty Godbey, was dining at the Blue Willow and asked to meet the owners. After she introduced herself to Billie and Louis, she told them that she was writing a book titled Dining in Historic Georgia. She told them that she had previously dined at the Blue Willow Inn and had decided to include the Blue Willow in her book. Billie and Louis were both very pleased and proud to be part of a few select restaurants that would be featured in the book. Louis thought to himself that this was nice, but by the time the book came out the Blue Willow Inn might be history. (As it turns out the Blue Willow remained open and was featured on the cover of the book.)
On the following day, Wednesday, March 11, while Louis was cooking, a friend and customer came to the kitchen with good news. “Lewis Grizzard is dining with you today,” he exclaimed.
Louis was excited. He had recently read one of Mr. Grizzard’s columns criticizing an un-named Southern restaurant in Atlanta that, in addition to other misdeeds with Southern cooking, had served mashed potatoes out of a box. Having read all of Lewis Grizzard’s books, Louis knew that he was always searching for just the right restaurant with authentic Southern cooking. When Louis went to the dining room to welcome Mr. Grizzard to the Blue Willow Inn, he found him sitting in front of a heaping plate of food. Mr. Grizzard ate as he talked with Louis, heaping praises on the food, particularly the fried green tomatoes. Remembering Mr. Grizzard’s comments about mashed potatoes from a box, Louis moaned to himself that he did not have mashed potatoes on the buffet line that day. Then he remembered that he had a bowl of leftover mashed potatoes from the day before. After the leftover mashed potatoes were quickly heated, they were served to Mr. Grizzard. When Mr. Grizzard had finished his lunch he complimented the food and said, “Watch the paper.”
Louis could barely contain himself. Some of the customers and most of the staff thought he had lost his mind as he jumped, hooted, hollered, and laughed for the next few minutes. On the following Friday in the Atlanta paper, Lewis Grizzard’s column featured the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant and its fried green tomatoes. Mr. Grizzard ended his column with the following:
I am a connoisseur of authentic Southern cooking, which is getting more and more difficult to locate. Half the time you think you’ve stumbled upon it, they serve mashed potatoes that come out of a box, but not at the Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle. If I gave ratings for Southern cooking, I’d have to give the Blue Willow my absolute highest mark—five bowls of turnip greens. Every dish was authentic and delicious, including the banana pudding I had for dessert. I shall return.
Return he didn’t. Shortly after writing the column he began to suffer problems with his heart. The Van Dykes enclosed and extended one of the side porches to expand the seating. Although Mr. Grizzard gave permission to name the new room the “Lewis Grizzard Room” in his honor, his health did not allow him to return to dedicate the room.
The Grizzard column was syndicated in almost three hundred newspapers throughout the country. The Van Dykes got phone calls, visitors, and letters from all over the country as a result of the column. And that weekend they made their first profit since opening the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant. Lewis Grizzard may have never known it, but he was their miracle. All of the start-up bills were paid off in just a few weeks.
Since that time the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant and the Van Dykes have been featured in such magazines as Southern Living, Gourmet, A Taste of Home, and on Cable News Network’s travel show. In June of 1996 Guideposts magazine featured Billie in a story titled “The Inn of My Dreams.” In the spring of 1996 the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant was awarded the Southern Living Magazine Reader’s Choice Award for being voted the best small-town restaurant in the South. The restaurant was voted best in the South for six years in a row until Southern Living retired the category. In 2003 and 2004 the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant was featured on USA Today’s “Top 10” lists of restaurants. Gourmet magazine included the Blue Willow Inn in its 2004 guide of America’s top 100 restaurants worth the drive. In 2004, the restaurant was featured in the Food Network’s Top 5 show as one of the top five “Bodacious Buffets” in America.
Having served guests from all 50 states and over 180 countries, the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant has established itself as one of the South’s premier Southern restaurants—all as a result of a dream, hard work, a miracle, and the blessings of the Lord.
HOLIDAYS AND SPECIAL OCCASIONS IN THE SOUTH
New Years’ Day
New Years’ Day dinner is traditionally served at noon in the South. To start the year off right, specific dishes must be served to insure prosperity, good health, and good luck. New Years’ dinner is a family affair that both ends the holiday season and starts the New Year. A typical menu includes:
Waldorf Salad (apple salad)
Pork Roast or Baked Ham (for good health)
Greens, Turnip or Collard (for prosperity)
Black-eyed Peas with Ham (for good luck), also known as Hoppin’ John
Candied Yams or Sweet Potato Soufflé
Buttered Rice
Corn Pudding
Cornbread and Biscuits
Desserts
Sweetened Iced Tea
Easter Sunday
In the South, Easter Sunday is considered the most holy religious day of the year. Churches are filled to overflowing and everyone is adorned with their new spring outfits. Easter dinner is a family occasion celebrated after church. In many parts of the country lamb is the main meat of Easter dinner. However, few southerners eat lamb; instead ham is their choice. A typical southern Easter dinner includes:
Mother’s Day is the single busiest day of the year for restaurants across America. This is the day to give mothers a break from cooking dinner. Menus for Mother’s Day should be planned with considerations given to the mother’s favorite dishes. The secret to a successful Mother’s Day is for the family to do the cooking. In the South, a sample Mother’s Day menu is:
Garden Salad
Orange Pecan Glazed Chicken with Wild Rice or Chicken Devine
Roasted New Potatoes
Steamed Buttered Squash or Squash Casserole
Fresh Buttered Carrots
Green Bean Amandine
Broccoli Casserole
Cornbread and Biscuits
Desserts
Sweetened Iced Tea
Father’s Day
Father’s Day, like Mother’s Day, is a day for families to reminisce and celebrate. The menu should be planned around Dad’s favorite dishes. A menu that would satisfy the palate of most dads is:
Our celebration of Independence Day is a time for gathering with family and friends with a traditional cookout. Everyone brings a dish and everyone helps with the preparation and cooking. Bring the lawn chairs and food and enjoy! Typical dishes in a southern Fourth of July cookout include:
Thanksgiving Dinner
Thanksgiving dinner in the South rivals Christmas as one of the biggest family days of the year. Oftentimes couples will have Thanksgiving dinner with one spouse’s family and Christmas dinner with the other spouse’s family. Several days are spent planning and preparing for the feast. The host usually prepares the meats and guests often bring the side dishes and desserts. In the South, a Thanksgiving feast often includes:
It goes without saying that Christmas Day is the biggest family day of the year. Family, fellowship, gifts, and good food all make Christ’s birthday the largest celebration day of the year also. Families in the South celebrate Christmas with different menus according to their family traditions. However, the most popular Christmas menus are very similar to Thanksgiving menus in the South. A typical Christmas dinner could include:
Ambrosia
Blueberry Congealed Salad
Roast Beef and Gravy
Roast Turkey
Pork Tenderloin or Baked Ham
Cornbread Dressing with Giblet Gravy
Sweet Potato Soufflé
Creamed Potatoes
Collard Greens
Macaroni & Cheese
Corn Casserole
Orange-glazed carrots
Yeast Rolls or Biscuits
Desserts such as cakes, including fruit cake, pies, and Louis’ Brownies to complement the ambrosia
Sweetened Iced Tea