Growing up in Sneedville provided limited opportunity for social events outside of the church so when the annual Rural Electric Membership meeting occurred each year it was a big deal. Like most Tennessee communities, the electric cooperative included all the families who received their electricity through the cooperative office in Jonesville, VA. The bylaws called for an annual meeting of the membership each year, and this meeting was like a big company picnic. The cooperative provided the main dish of fried or barbecue chicken and the dessert which was always Krispy Kreme Donuts from Knoxville. Each family brought other dishes to round out the meal. Held in September at one of the local schools in Sneedville or one of community schools such as Greene Lawson or Flat Gap Elementary Schools, nobody in their right mind missed this meeting.
For me this meeting was the only opportunity I had to be with people outside of my little community in the Seventh District of Hancock County. It was so exciting to go to this event because of all the people and the food. Every year my family either talked with the Kyle Lawson family or sat near their table. My Dad and Kyle had both been on several county boards with each other.
It was here that I first remember seeing Herman, Kyle's son. He came from a family that loved food and ate plenty of it. What I remember was his 10 year old round body and red hair cut in a flat top. He was friendly, but odd to me in some sort of way. I remember his Granny slipping him money under the picnic table which also seemed odd to me. I had not had any experiences like this in my family so it seemed strange. But the thing I remember most was the barbecue chicken and the Krispy Kreme donuts. We never had barbecue chicken at home and donuts were out of the question since we didn't travel to Knoxville. The night consisted of eating, playing chase with other kids and catching lightning bugs while our parents talked till after dark. It was such a special event and I always looked forward to it each year. Years passed and I eventually married Herman Lawson, that red headed boy who slimmed down in adolescence.
This week as Herman and I were celebrating my birthday in Nashville we stumbled across the Krispy Kreme Donut shop on Church Street across from the Baptist Hospital. While I never eat donuts at my present age, I will confess to buying a whole dozen, eating three of them, and having a lot of conversations with Herman about donuts and the Electric Cooperative's annual meetings.
