By Maylon T. Rice – Special to the Saline River Chronicle
It’s sad, today but almost a lost art.
Homemade Christmas goodies – candy, fudge, cookies, and savory snacks being on display in offices, stores, work areas, and all were made by a legion of great cooks, bakers.
These tasty holiday treats were given as holiday gift offerings to the legion of professionals, store owners, shop keepers, and others in Warren, often without warning.
Today I’ll highlight one particular tasty recipe of such a holiday snack that his mother made and adapted for all her friends across Warren and Bradley County.
Part time librarian and full-time mom to a trio of active young boys, wife to a Potlatch sales executive, Lucy “Wickie” Word Morgan, was among a legion of women, who got the “holiday itch,” to bake, cook, and concoct tasty holiday sweets and share them up and down Main Street with various business where she and her family shopped. To her church memberships and friends of the family.
I was lucky enough to work at the Eagle Democrat back in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a after school and all day on Saturday “Printer’s Devil,” sweeping up the front and back shops of the printing business, washing the front large glass pane windows and the best part of the job was delivering printed forms, letter headers, envelopes and even office supplies to area stores, businesses and corporations all over town.
One Saturday morning as I was washing the front glass windows, Mrs. Wickie (as we all called her) pulled up in her car and asked me to help her carry in several covered plates into Martin Brothers (next door across the alley from the Eagle) and next door to the clinic of Dr. Miles and even down to Owens Fine Clothing store, along Cypress Street.
She would precede me into the business announcing she was “dropping off” some “cocoons.”
The impact from those merchants like Wayne Owens and Bryan Martin was instant.
“Oh boy, and thank you so much Wickie,” they would say.
When I assisted her in delivering a covered platter inside the Eagle, I thought a tug-of-war between Oscar King Littlefield and Bob Newton would ensue.
Each wanted the first peek under the tin foil to swoon over these tasty looking ‘cocoon,’ as she called then,
Always polite, both men previously thanked her and swore they would “share with everyone,” come Monday.
She was barely out the door before Oscar Littlefield popped one in his mouth and declared they were “simple delicious, as always.”
Bob Newton, who usually had charge of both Hope Newton Cain and Carrie Newton Johnson, on Saturday morning at the office, scrabbled each of the girls a “cocoon” or two off the platter.
He offered me one as I finished washing the windows and as I put my pail, squeegee, and towels away finished, he offered me a little tiny paper plate with four or five of these mouth watering powdered sugar morsels for the rest of my afternoon and the doors were closed at noon and I finished my work assignments in the back show.
Bob Newton’s explanation to me was simple.
“”By the time you get out of school on Monday, these will all be gone, he said looking at the platter covered with at least two dozen of these ‘cocoons,” on it.
And he was right.
Such offerings could be found at such offices as Buddy Rotton’s State Farm Insurance, all the dress shops along the downtown, such as Imogene’s, The Town Shop, and all the hardware stores as Hankins Brothers, Ashcraft’s and Hurley Hardware and Furniture.
I loved delivering to the offices of the Southern Lumber Company, Potlatch and even Sykes Flooring during the holidays, a mountain of cake, cookies, peanut brittle (all homemade) were on display and for sampling.
And try as I might this day, the list of a more complete list of folks making and delivering goodies and acknowledgements of the total fabric of the holidays sadly today is missing.
I can recall that even the Kohler Brothers Barbershop had out a platter of cookies for Christmas.
Knobby headed kids like me were cautioned, when peering at the goodies had to wait until your haircut was over – before getting one.
You’ve still got time to make some of these to savor their goodness and remember how simpler times and outright gestures of love and respect for area businesses by those valued customers was a true bond of friendship.
Today we can get a lot of items and services from on-line mega stores, and getting cookies from a grocery store or big box retailer, is just not the same.
So, here is
Miss Wickie’s recipe for “Cocoons.”
½ pound of butter
½ cup of confectioners’ sugar
2 cups of sifted cake flour
1 cup of chopped pecans
1 to 1 ½ teaspoon of vanilla
Cream the butter, add sugar. Stir well and add flour, nuts, and vanilla.
Share into balls or crescents and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 325 degrees for 20 minutes, or until a light brown.
Roll them in powdered sugar while still warm.
They are also in the North called “Sand Tarts,”
I can tell you the four or five doled out to me that day didn’t last past noon.
It’s a Pastime of caring individuals all spreading cheer and holiday wishes and some very delicious treats – unannounced and from their kitchens without any regard other than a compliment from those receiving the gifts.
Merry Christmas everyone. This is indeed a holiday Pastime I remember and savor in 2025 of a kindness bestowed more than 50 years ago.
