Allegheny Almanac

Campfire Casserole is Easy and Delicious

 

So you love to camp, but also enjoy a good meal? Whether you prefer to camp via backpacking, boat, or travel trailer here is a simple yet delicious meal idea.

 

Supplies: Heavy duty aluminum foil

 

Ingredients:

      Meat.  This can be chicken pieces, steak tips or turkey pieces.

       Potatoes. Peeled and cut into chunks

       Choice of vegetables:  washed, peeled, sliced or chopped

       Butter or olive oil

       Mrs. Dash Salt free spice mix, garlic, Cajun seasoning (whatever you like)

 

Marinate your cut up meat in your favorite marinade---Italian dressing is always good, quick and easy. Double wrap the meat in heavy duty foil. Place potatoes and vegetables in heavy foil with butter or olive oil and season. I personally like to season my veggies with olive oil and a little butter, curry, a tad of cinnamon, Mrs. Dash and paprika.

Make sure your foil packets are tightly crimped and sealed. You can make individual packets for each person or two large packets for meat and veggies. Refrigerate the packets overnight.

When it is time to leave, put your meal in your backpack or cooler with other food or snacks you are taking. At the end of the day when most of your energy is used up…sit back and start a nice fire. When your coals at the bottom of the fire are red, put the packets in. Leave in the fire turning once or twice. Meat—about 45 minutes, vegetables about 25 minutes.

If you are good friends, everybody get out their forks and dig in! If you think there might be “fork fights” in your future, serve individually.

 

Enjoy a healthy, hearty meal!

---Kim Whilton Adams

 

Kim Adams is a gourmet cook and a Warren Area High School alumna. Copyright 2011 by Kim Adams

photo in public domain

Sometimes You Get The Bear (and sometimes the bear gets you)

 
Annie Oakley (August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926), born Phoebe Ann Mosey. Photo in public domain.

 

by Kimberly Whilton Adams

I always wanted to be Annie Oakley. She was my childhood hero.

But growing up sometimes means telling the difference between real dreams and dreams that are, well, just dreams.

Why Annie Oakley? Well, she was the world’s best rifle shot. Not just the world’s best women’s rifle shot—the world’s best rifle shot. Period.

And she was a real person, just like Joan of Arc was, who single-handedly saved France and without France what would have really happened at Yorktown? Think about it, ladies.

The Annie Oakley dream, of course fits well with Top of the Hill living right here in Warren County, PA. From time to time I console myself about my reluctance…refusal?...to give up the dream--after all- these are very necessary life skills living in the Pennsylvania Wilds!

But reality has a way of creeping in. During an evening of puttering about and catching a little Lyle Lovett for background, my boys (Duke and Boulder of the companion-dog variety) started making their “it’s time to head for bed” noises. I headed for the door to ship them out for their last outing and realized we were an hour early, but they were extra-enthusiastic with a bit of a higher pitch to their voices.

Enhanced whining I like to call it.

They shot out the door like cannons with me racing right behind, making it about 3 feet from the house before my pony dug in his heels. I suddenly heard strange noises in the yard and having had a recent experience with teaching them that the “hood” boys (aka coyotes) really weren’t their friends and clearly from the wrong side  of the tracks, I realized this was yet a different gang altogether. Duke’s voice changed from grumbling to “serious business barking” and Boulder was doing his “you go first I have your back” routine, so I knew it was time to switch to my alter-ego of Annie Oakley. I geared up to teach this gang, whoever they were, a lesson. I quickly ran back into the house to grab my six gun, known in other circles as a large Mag-lite LED with 6 bulbs, as this is the new and enlightened Annie, not to mention I would shoot my foot off if I ever figured out how to use a real gun! Ok-I shot my dad’s .22 rifle twice during my “Annie” trials as a child, which as far as I was concerned absolutely qualified me in the gun category.  With my six-gun, er, flashlight in hand I headed out the laundry room door hoping to ambush the bad guys-- really scare them off, showing they had met their match in these here parts!

It worked! I could hear them climbing the large oak tree, succumbing to my intimidation, not to mention the boys on their heels. I flashed my trusty flashlight at them as they climbed, and felt like such an Annie wannabe, no hope for me, it was just a couple of raccoons, hissing away as they climbed. Right—their bodies grew larger in the spotlight as they climbed, the dogs grew bolder as they climbed, and the rings on their tales refused to materialize as they climbed. The view was not fitting my mindset until I realized the raccoons had turned into bears right in front of my eyes! With apologies to the memory of Annie and screams to the “boys” I gave up and did what any good country girl would do, I ran into the house and immediately sent smoke signals to my brother, courtesy of Verizon, and told him there were REAL bears in the tree right behind the house and the dogs would not listen to me!

 After reassuring me with sound advice like—“why in the hell did you let the dogs out”, and other country wisdom such as, “you know, if they get really mad they’ll kill your dogs in  3 seconds”, he jumped on his horse, also known as a BIG ASS TRUCK, and came up to the hilltop. After a quick “Get in the house” which Duke and Boulder readily agreed to do coming from HIM, he drove/rode to the tree and proceeded to greet the bears.

He said “hello”, wondered after their day, asked them if they were having fun in the tree—Are you kidding me?

 He then told the bear duo that perhaps they didn’t want to hang  here and should find another hood to take over. They quietly agreed, climbed down from the tree and went on their way.

Lessons learned? I still do believe in Annie, girls, buy maybe it IS ok to watch from the window. In the meantime I will invest in a ready supply of firecrackers so they really think I AM Annie and they don’t get another chance to walk away snickering--instead of hissing!

Kimberly Whilton Adams is a 1974 graduate of Warren Area High School. She is currently snowbound at Warren County's highest point of elevation.

 

 

Warren Players Turn 80, still as young as ever

 
Intriguing!

An invitation from an old classmate to attend a Warren Players production at the now historic Struthers Library Theater last Saturday turned out to be a celebration of their 80^th birthday with the final performance of “The Fantasticks.” In all, they gave us seven performances from October 29th to November 6th. You can see some terrific photos of the on-stage performances at this link.

I know the play perfectly well, having debuted as one of "the mutes" when I was a young girl in the Plowright Playhouse production at the “barn” in Scandia, PA (It still stands, I found out the other day). As one of many recent repatriates to Warren I was also interested in seeing the current interpretation of the musical as well as the changes to the old Library Theatre I heard so much about. My last attendance there consisted of sitting in the balcony with a junior high school boyfriend paying some attention to the movie!

 Struthers Library Theatre interior

Since coming home I have been thrilled to witness the in-progress changes going on downtown and all that has been done to rebuild Warren. I found out It's truly a special place and has far more cultural activities than people give it credit for, including myself, certainly as a teenager. Combine the arts, growing educational opportunities, the beautiful countryside and all that it provides, Warren is a gem, seemingly kept as a secret from many.

The change at the theatre was awe-inspiring. Walking through the front doors gave me an instant feeling of home, almost! It was even better--newer. Though recognizable, it was far more. It has been remodeled, repaired and thoroughly cleaned like an old familiar ancestral home having been brought back to life. Honest, I could have easily believed I was on Broadway.

At the ticket counter we discovered very reasonably priced tickets and headed for our seats. And walking down the aisle I saw many familiar faces, another homecoming of sorts.

The play opened with an entertaining introduction from Jordan Spencer--a newly minted Director, who casually mentioned that this night was the exact 80^th birthday of the Warren Players. The same day of his directorial debut. This type of warmth makes one feel a part of the community all over again. I certainly felt I belonged to a piece of this history and felt so proud to be a current participant, (albeit once again in a non-speaking part, this time in the audience.) 

John Beard as the narrator/bandit named El Gallo has a magnificent voice. As soon as he began to sing I felt my emotions rising and as the other actors joined in I settled into my comfy seat, my security and my sense of home.

I also felt an awareness of a circle—I know the Struthers will surpass my lifetime and most undoubtedly host “The Fantasticks” again and the circle will continue. The cast who brought this show to life were magnificent. Were they amateur actors? Yes. Could you feel their heart and soul throughout the play? Yes. As the definition of “amateur” might mean they do not pursue this course on a professional level, I think it is a poor description of them.  "Amateur" also means they do it for the love and fun of the art. They put their all into this play and I can see them pursuing acting on a professional level and I for one was fully drawn in to the play. It meant a lot more to me on the Warren Players' birthday than it did before.

I was proud to notice the large “young generation” contingent in attendance. They were a most enthusiastic audience and clearly very caught up in the play. This was so remarkable to see! My hope is that their peers and friends will become as enthralled in the theatre as they are and I was at that age.

For me, personally, this was a "bravo!" performance many years in the making. Thank you so much for the “The Struthers Historical Library Theatre.” I am looking forward to attending many more plays and events there!

   -- Kimberly Whilton Adams