Responsibility/Tolerance...20º/Clear

Over the next 7 years, under Margaret's tutelage, I became confident in my job as baker of all things nutritious, delicious and fattening...I wasn't afraid to try new recipes, always looking for ways to use the government commodities in food that the kids would eat and enjoy...Coming up with recipes using dried figs and dehydrated sweet potatoes would baffle even the most accomplished chef...I did try but in the end I had very little success...The government sent out recipes, along with the commodities such as, "Nutritious Fig Bars and Sweet Potato Fluff." Guaranteed to tickle the palate of teenagers worldwide...No matter how much butter and sugar I added, the kids looked at these desserts with trepidation and finally we took dried figs and sweet potatoes off of the commodity order...One thing we kept on the order was dried prunes, and used a recipe called "Spicy Prune Cake." but if anyone asked it was just "Spice Cake."..No child in their right mind would eat a dried prune, but they ate that cake with gusto and always came back for more!

Margaret taught me patience and tolerance with other people...When I criticized, she was quick to point out their good qualities and helped me realize that maybe they were struggling with problems that I knew nothing about...The kitchen was a busy place and we were on a tight schedule, but we always had time to stop a minute to chat if a visitor stopped in or if someone had missed breakfast and the smell of bread baking lured them in our open door...I found the kitchen a fun place to work and enjoyed the camaraderie of all the people...In a large school, the division of "staffs" would be greater but in a small school and town, it was common outside of school to socialize or work together on a committee, at church, community clubs and other social events.

I soon learned that I had joined the schools, "classified staff," cooks, custodians, bus drivers, secretaries and aides, made up that segment...Teachers, college graduates, made up the "certified staff," and over these two groups was the "administration," consisting of one superintendent and two principles...We were separate in many ways but in the scheme of things we were all there to give students a quality education...For the best results, everyone had to work together...Hugs To All...OWAV:)