I have a copy of the cookbook “Bewitchin’ in the Kitchen” that was published by the Friends of the Library years ago as a fundraiser for the Oldham County Library. I love using the recipes for desserts, main dishes and sides at Mama Jo’s. I have loved the apple cake from the recipe submitted by Clara Gruhlkey, who was a long-time resident of Adrian, TX.
In 1997 I had the honor to interview Clara about her experiences along Route 66 back in the '50s.
Clara was 81 years old when I met her, and she was just as lively then as I’m sure she had been as a young woman. She had moved to Adrian in 1941 to help her sister Stella cook at a cafe and her cousin Manual Loveless at his business. After a couple of weeks of being in Adrian, Clara met Bob Gruhlkey. They were married only after a few months. The following is just one story she remembered out of what I am sure were many:
Adrian is about the worst place to be if you’re looking for a lot of action, but if you’re looking for help, you’ve struck gold. The sleepy atmosphere of Adrian today belies its history. In the heyday of Route 66, traffic was “bumper to bumper” through this small Texas town from May until September. Adrian’s economy was booming with three cafes and five gas stations operating 24 hours a day. Most famous was the Bent Door Cafe. Made from an air traffic control tower, the building sported a fascinating door which was remembered and talked about all along the highway. But doors don’t make a town; the people do. Clara Gruhlkey was one whose doors opened for many during the days when Adrian was bustling.
Now in her eighties, Clara has snow-white hair, bright hazel eyes and is still as sharp as a tack. She remembers the “good old days” of Adrian with laughter and looks forward to more experiences with great expectancy.
Clara moved to Adrian from Oklahoma in 1941. She worked as a bookkeeper for her cousin Manual at this business, Loveless Oil, and helped her sister Stella cook at a cafe. She had been in Adrian only two or three weeks when she met Bob Gruhlkey. After several months, Bob and Clara were married.
In 1956 she and Bob opened Clara’s Cafe, which they operated for the next five and a half years. In 1959, Clara enrolled in college to finish her education.
“Cafe work is hard,” Clara said. “Five years of it will put ten years on your life.” Working at the cafe was also keeping her from her family. For the next two years, Clara commuted to school (a one-way trip of 68 miles), worked at the cafe, and raised a family of three children with Bob’s blessings and help.
There are fond memories of the old cafe, though. The day the Boy Scouts of Memphis, Tennessee, converged on Adrian is one of Clara’s favorites.
Summers in Texas can be unbearably hot, and this particular August day was no exception. As usual, Clara was at the cafe for the 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. shift when a bus broke down in town. The engine had blown, and with 28 Boy Scouts on board traveling to Colorado to a Boy Scout Jamboree, it was important to get the bus up and running as quickly as possible. Dick Rich and Fred Harwood, Adrian mechanics, got right to work. The boys, meanwhile, were given some baseball equipment and sent to the city park to play.
At 2:00, Clara was ready to go home for a nap. Bob had recently installed air conditioning in their home, and the cool air within beckoned after a long day of cooking for road-weary travelers. As she passed the park and saw the Boy Scouts melting in the Panhandle sun, Clara decided instead to share her home. Hurrying to the store for pop, chips, cookies and other snacks, Clara was soon ready for the onslaught of boys that would stay in or around her home for the rest of the day.
Putting her own children into action, the scouts were shown around town. Clara’s daughter Linda took some of the boys out to the old Matador Ranch. Another daughter, Marci, and son Rick took others to hunt for lizards and horned toads. A great find for the kids from Memphis were cockleburs: “porcupine eggs” they plotted to sell to “greenhorns” once they returned home.
While the Boy Scouts enjoyed Adrian, Dick and Fred worked feverishly on the bus. That evening the scoutmasters cooked supper at the park, feeding the boys and their new friends. At 10:00 the bus was fixed and “we all went to see them off,” Clara said. As they were leaving, one of the scoutmasters turned to Clara and said, “We told the boys they’d meet nice people in Texas, but this was way up and beyond hospitality – even for Texas!”
Two weeks later, Clara had a knock on her door. It was a boy from the scout troop and his mother, who wanted to personally thank Clara for the day the boys had spent in Adrian. There was also an invitation: “If you ever come to Memphis, there will be 28 homes open to you!”
From the Pie Safe - It’s not just about the pies—it’s about the people
Clara Gruhlkey's Fresh Apple Cake
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 Tablespoons)
- 3 cups flour
- 3 cups fresh chopped apples
- 1 1/2 cups Crisco oil
- 2 well beaten eggs
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 1/4 tsp. soda
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups nuts, chopped
Combine sugar, oil, vanilla, eggs, lemon juice and salt in a mixing bowl. Beat well. Mix flour and soda. Add to first mixture and beat well again. Add apples and nuts. Mix well. Bake in a tube pan which has been greased and floured. Bake 1 1/2 hours.
NOTES:
Cinnamon was not mentioned in the recipe, and a frosting was not mentioned. Cinnamon buttercream frosting is amazing, but optional! We found a recipe at https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/cinnamon-buttercream-frosting/
We bake the cake at 350 degrees.
