Riverside Picnics, Warm Rolls, and Watermelon

One of our family’s favorite things to do was have picnics at Riverside Park. After we ate, we went swimming at the Moline Swimming Pool and played on the playground equipment. While we played, the grown-ups played cards. Some of the best picnics we had were with the families from Mom’s 500 Club, They each had their specialty food they prepared and we eagerly looked forward to it all. Mom’s specialty was cinnamon rolls. She would get up at 5:00 a.m. to make them and set them out to rise. She knew the art of making light, perfectly textured yeast rolls. To quote her: “The secret to making perfect cinnamon rolls is in the kneading of the dough. There’s a sort of magic in your hands as you knead the ingredients into a bouncy round of dough.” She usually served them warm, and it was impossible to just eat one! Bernie and Bob would go to the park early to save as many tables as they could. There was always a big, cold, juicy watermelon to eat before we went home. I used to go with Daddy to pick out the watermelons. He would use his pocketknife to cut a deep wedge out of the watermelon and taste it for ripeness. Another of our regular family outings was going into the woods to find black walnuts and hickory nuts. We would dry them out on the roof of the garage. Grandpa Williams would spend his evenings picking the nuts out of their shells and then Mom would bake them with butter and salt. A wonderful treat!