I’ve been observing often the wonderful smells around the building and grounds every day here at Watermelon Creek Vineyard. Maybe it’s a characteristic of aging, but I am reminded of one of my earliest memories, maybe age 3 or 4: My father was teaching school out of town, and my mother operated the “Big T” truck stop and restaurant on Hwy 301 South(later it became James Dyal’s auto repair shop) on the right just before Folsom's on the left.
In those days (1953-1954) US 301 was bumper -to -bumper traffic. Motels and restaurants were plentiful in Glennville. Air conditioning in cars was almost unheard of, so people drove mostly with windows down, and manual transmissions were the norm.
Looking back on those easy, slow-paced times I realize the marketing skills my mother used to “advertise” her restaurant. The first thing she would do daily when opening up her restaurant was cut up a bunch of onions, get the cast iron skillet hot and fry(sauté) onions, turn on fans, open windows and blow that wonderful aroma out onto the hundreds of Yankees traveling north and south on US 301. It proved to be an effective method of advertising , as it’s very hard to resist the effect the nose has and its power on a person’s memory.
Also everybody smoked cigarettes back then, popular brands were Camel and Lucky Strike. A pack of smokes sold for 10 cents, and you found a penny in every pack!
Just a few thoughts to share how grateful we are to have Chef Patrick producing his aromas everyday here at Watermelon Creek Vineyard. Please come by and “smell” what he’s doing in his kitchen.
P.S. I shared this marketing ploy with Chef Patrick, so be warned. You may be tempted as you innocently drive past Watermelon Creek Vineyard!
