THE VICKSBURG POST
TOPIC SUN DAY, De ce mbe r 5, 2010 • SE C T I O N c
LOCAL EVENTS CALENDAR c2 | WEDDINGS c3 Karen Gamble, managing editor | E-mail: newsreleases@vicksburgpost.com | Tel: 601.636.4545 ext 137
THIS & THAT from staff reports
Tool demos today at Poverty Point Poverty Point State Historic Site will present a tool demonstration program this afternoon from 1 to 4. Poverty Point details the culture of area inhabitants from 1600 to 1100 B.C. The site is located in West Carroll Parish, east of Monroe on Louisiana 577, and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults and free for children 12 and younger and seniors 62 and older. It includes access to the museum, a video, and hiking and tram tours. Call 888-926-5492.
Charlie James wraps large packages of bacon.
New autism group sets Hal & Mal’s event Autistic Advancement, an advocacy group in Jackson, is hosting a fundraiser Saturday to mark the inception of the organization. The fundraiser will be at Hal & Mal’s, 200 Commerce St., and will feature local bands and a silent art auction. Tickets are $30 per person, $50 per couple and $15 for students. A 10 percent discount is available by purchasing tickets in advance at autisticadvancement.ticketleap. com. Visit www.autisticadvancement.org.
‘Nutcracker Ballet’ set for Dec. 12 Local dance students will perform “The Nutcracker Ballet” Dec. 12. Students of Vicksburg Dance Studio, operated by Valerie Atwood, will perform at 2 p.m. at Warren Central High School’s auditorium. Tickets are $9 at the door or in advance by calling 601-636-9389.
Gift baskets theme of Mixed Nuts! Mixed Nuts!, a monthly program of a downtown retailer, will feature gift baskets. From 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Daria Hood, owner of A Drop in the Basket, will demonstrate how to make the baskets. Peterson’s Art and Antiques is at 1400 Washington St. Call 601-636-7210.
Prof, ex-first lady on store’s calendar Downtown retailer Lorelei Books has announced upcoming author events. At 10 a.m. Saturday, Columbus author Lynne Bryant will talk about her upcoming novel, “Catfish Alley.” The book, due for release in April, is about a woman who is separated from her husband. At 4 p.m. Dec. 13, Elise Winter, wife of former Gov. William Winter, will sign “Dinner at the Mansion.” The book includes recipes, photos and stories of her time in the governor’s mansion. At noon Dec. 15, Ole Miss professor Curtis Wilkie will sign and read from “The Fall of the House of Zeus,” which touches on legal games and politics. Lorelei Books is at 1103 Washington St. Call 601634-8624 or visit www.loreleibooks.com.
Bud Watkins trims fat away as he prepares to cut chuck steaks, gravy steaks and roast.
Longtime colleagues have carved a Grade A friendship
KATIE CARTER•The Vicksburg Post
It’s a butcher’s joke: “What do you call a cow without legs?” “Ground beef!” There’s not much about butchering — including the jokes — that Charlie James and Bud Watkins don’t know, for their combined careers in the business span over a century. Charlie and Bud work together at County Market, but that began long before the store opened 25 years ago. Bud had already been a butcher for two years when he met Charlie — and that’s been over 50 years ago. It was probably in late 1959, Charlie said, when he was walking down Clay Street when young George Abraham, driving his dad’s ’57 Buick, saw him, pulled over and said his dad wanted to talk to him. Charlie had quit school. The family had moved from down on Dudley Road to Openwood Street, and the change of schools from Jett to Carr Central didn’t suit Charlie at all. He was looking for something to do. “So I went to see Mr. Abra-
ham and he told me to talk to Bud about a job. That’s how it all got started.” Bud, who is from Dixon in Neshoba County, had been in the military and stopped in Vicksburg to visit his sister. He had a cousin working for Abraham at his Help Yourself Grocery Store on Openwood Street. Bud needed a job. His cousin suggested he talk to her boss, “And I’ve been here ever since.” That was May 18, 1958. Charlie started as a meat wrapper — that’s when each sale, even if it was just two slices of bologna, was wrapped and priced by hand — and Bud taught him the butcher trade. He didn’t do a lot of meat cutting until about 1961 or ’62, he said. There’s a right way to cut
everything, Charlie said. “You can’t just start. There are different angles,” and if you cut it right, the meat will be smooth, not lumpy. You cut at the same angle as the bone, not against the bone. In past years, if somebody
wanted a T-bone steak or a rump roast — whatever they wanted — “You had to go in there (the cooler) and bring that piece of meat out,” Bud said. “We’re talking about 200 to 225 pounds. You couldn’t just grab it. You had to know how to handle it, to let it rest on you. You had to throw it on the block, and break it down. It took a little time.” That’s when the meat was brought off the truck, put on
hooks and kept in the cooler. In recent years, there’s been a drastic, complete turnaround, Bud said. Nowadays, many of the cuts come in boxes, so “You just take it out of the box, wrap it and, in just a matter of minutes, it’s ready. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to meat markets.” There’s still a lot of butcher work done locally. Charlie and Bud make sausage, and Bud said he always puts a little more seasoning in it than the recipe calls for “because, if I ever get a complaint, it would be there’s not enough seasoning in it.” The most popular item they sell is ground beef. “It’s always No. 1,” Charlie said, and though there is some prepackaging, “mostly we do our own.” They’ve ground as much as 300 pounds at one time — “back in the good days.”
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A speciality for them is meat for kibbee, which needs to be finely ground. Bud matter-of-factly said, “If they want kibbee meat, they call me.” He grinds all the meat for the kibbee at the annual Lebanese dinner at St. George Orthodox Church. They both have customers who ask for them, who want orders handled by either Charlie or Bud. There’s one customer in particular who calls for Bud every Saturday morning. What should you buy to get the most for your money? Both agree — it’s T-bone or porterhouse steaks. Most of their cuts, though, are for chuck or shoulder roasts. Bud said he can tell by the texture of the meat and the grain if it’s going to be tough See Butchers, Page C3.
‘Biggest Loser’ meet-and-greet set for Tuesday night By Ben Mackin bmackin@vicksburgpost.com On Tuesday night, supporters will gather at the Vicksburg Convention Center to see if a Vicksburg man will be one of three finalists on “The Biggest Loser,” an NBC reality weight-loss show. “It has been a dream to make it this far,” said the 27-year-old Patrick House. The show, in its 10th season, has seen House go from 400 pounds to 279
If you go A meet-and-greet event with “Biggest Loser” contestant Patrick House will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Vicksburg Convention Center. Attendees may stick around to watch the show at 8, and hang around after to chat with House. The live season finale will be at 8 p.m. Dec. 14 on NBC, local cable Channel 3. pounds in 11 episodes. The first episode was Sept. 21 and featured 21 contestants. The top three will be revealed in Tuesday night’s
broadcast, and will go on to compete for the $250,000 grand prize during the live season finale Dec. 14. Tuesday night’s festivities
at the convention center will begin at 6:30 with a meetand-greet with House. The show will run from 8 to 10, and House will stick around afterward to chat with attendees. “Patrick brings great attention to Vicksburg,” said Angela Ladner, an organizer of the event. House, originally from Brandon, played football at Delta State University. He has a wife, Bradley, and two sons, ages 2 and 4. He was
named the 2010 Man of the Year in a Vicksburg Post readers poll. The theme of this year’s “Biggest Loser” is Pay It Forward, and that’s what House plans to do. “I would like to go around and meet with people and explain to them the importance of changing the way you eat and getting your life back,” he said. “Whether you have to lose two pounds or 200 pounds, it all starts with one step.”