Miss Mac and fried chicken
By Mimi M. Maddock
Mimi@TheColumbiaStar.com

Thanks to Ellen MacLaughlin I can cook delicious fried chicken. When at Dreher, I didn't realize Miss MacLaughlin was probably the best teacher I would ever have. I took home economics from her for three years, and I never made above a D, but everything she taught, I learned. She made us do things over and over and over until we got them, not just right, but perfect. The problem was the grade was based on the first try.

My sewing basket was full of all the aprons and bound button holes I had to make. We even made a bedspread, which my mother kept on a bed until she died. The final sewing attempt was a wool lined plaid dress. Every piece of the plaid had to match at every seam. After many rippings and do overs, my dress turned out to be the best piece of clothing I ever had. I wore it until it had holes in it.

Cooking was another story. One attempt was fried chicken and white rice. Of course she taught us exactly how to do each step, and off we went to the kitchen to cook. After flouring, heating the grease, and dropping the pieces in, we drained each piece carefully then set a beautiful table and sat down to eat, which was a requirement.

One bite from my chicken leg and blood oozed from it. My rice was hard and gritty. I ate every bit. It was much easier to eat the raw chicken than to tell Miss MacLaughlin it wasn't perfect. But thanks to this dedicated teacher, today I make great fried chicken and rice.