Sixteen generations later, the same old winding roads and blazed trails throughout the three novels lead us all back home to nostalgic dishes and the worlds from which they came. Upon arrival at the old home place, we quickly find our favorite room: Mamas kitchen. The familiar sounds of pots and pans and aromas of old-time country cooking float in and out of our senses. Suddenly, visions of chocolate pies swirled high with meringues cooling on the kitchen window sill are as clear as yesterday. The sizzling sounds of Mama frying chicken on the old wood-stove remind us that her kitchen offered southern hospitality at its best. The trip down memory lane of days gone by rekindles the true meaning of Home Sweet Home. As we stop and reminisce, hot tears blur our vision and we ask ourselves where did all the years go?
The saga continues with Dr. Burels children moving west. His son James ledthe Mississippi-bound wagonsfrom South Carolina into another untamed frontier. Their first Christmas in Attalaville, Mississippi, was a grand celebration of their newfound life, only to have the New Year bring tragedy. Mississippis Golden Years brought prosperity to the pioneers as landowners and independent farmers. Too soonthe Civil War swept across their land leaving King Cotton reeling and survivors coping with shattered lives. Sympathetic eyes of the world watched as they searched for ways to survive the aftermath of total war. Lisbeth Burel struggled with the heartbreak of losing the war, her husband James, and her youngest son. Bracing to survive post-war defeat and economic ruination, Lisbeth and her oldest son learned to cope with the nagging pain and hatred of a useless war. With the burden of the world on William Rileys back, he turned to God and self-reliance to get them through the bleak future. Recovery was slow, and families joined hands to plant new fields of cotton, corn, and sorghum cane. Thirty years of worry and hard work turned William into an old, sick man long before his time. On a cold October morning, the stooped and frail man shuffled toward the sugarcane mill and furnace. Assuring the old family recipe and tradition continued, he taught his grandson how to cook molasses to be as smooth as silk. A couple months later Williams family celebrated the biggest Christmas since the war. Sadly, two days later the celebration was marred as his thirteen proud children mourned the loss of their Pa. After the war, William Riley took great pain to instill the belief that they, and their kind, were the moral fiber offering the best hope for rebuilding the New South. And they were.
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