Sweet As Molasses: An Age-old Art Is Everyday Business for The Christians (September 17/18, 2011; October 2011)
ROGERSVILLE — "The hard work's in the fields," Mary Christian said as she patiently spent the final minutes of her workday stirring a huge, boiling tray of sugary, sweet molasses. She and her husband Jim had been working in the shed near their home off Burem Road in Rogersville since 5 o'clock that morning, and it was going on 4 p.m. Raising a long, metal ladle from the soupy foam to carefully watch how easily the liquid rolled back into the tray, Mary said, "It has to look like a hair. If it don't break, it's done." There were a few more minutes to wait while the rising steam fogged up her glasses. "It looks like muddy water to start with," Jim added, staring at the mixture through a billowing wall of vapor. His gaze showed years of attention spent perfecting the consistency of this favorite sweet that he and his wife have made together for more than 40 years. With...