Monday, Jul. 06, 2009

Sweet success ...

Payton Blaylock means business. Always has.

On July 5, 1999, Payton teamed up with neighborhood friend Katie Toennies, both 10 at the time, to sell lemonade at a makeshift stand for three days at the corner of Morrison and Wickliffe in Collinsville.

They charged 25 cents a cup.

It must have been good because sales were through the roof.

"I honestly think we made about $100," said Payton, now 20 and majoring in business administration with an emphasis on entrepreneurial at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. "I guess I was always interested in business. We just thought it was a cool way to earn a little money for the summer."

Payton is the son of John and Laurie Blaylock, of Maryville. His dad owns Max Mechanical Contractors in St. Charles, Mo., and he plans to get into the business.

He doesn't know what happened to Katie or what they did with the money.

"But I remember the picture. It was awesome."

Turtle cookies

Freeburg resident Colleen Jennings made headlines on July 7, 1999, with her Triple Chocolate Turtle Cookies.

Her gooey treat was one of 277 selected from 34,000 contest entries to be featured in the "Best of Country Cookies" cookbook, published by the company that does Taste of Home magazine.

"I love turtles, and I have a wonderful Turtle Cake recipe and one for the candies, too, but no cookie," the mother of six said at the time. "I make twenty varieties of cookies at Christmas, but I'm always trying new ones."

Here's her recipe:

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE TURTLE COOKIES

1 1/2 cups butter, not margarine

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 (12-ounce) bag Nestle mini morsels

1 cup toasted pecans, chopped to the size of mini morsels

1 squeeze bottle Smucker's caramel ice cream topping (there will be some left over)

Sugar

4 (8-ounce) chocolate bark or chocolate candy melts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Soften butter to room temperature. Cream butter, measured sugar, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually add flour and cocoa. Stir in morsels and nuts. Shape dough into 1 1/2 -inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. To form a well in the center of each cookie, use a tightly closed small extract bottle. Dip the top of the bottle in sugar, then press in the center of each cookie, twist while pulling it out to keep the dough from sticking. (Be sure to dip in sugar between each use.) The well should be 3/8 to 1/2 inch deep. Repair any cracks around the well carefully, or caramel may leak out while baking. Fill each well halfway with a squeeze of the caramel topping. Bake for 17 minutes, or until caramel is quite bubbly. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a cooking rack.

After all the cookies are baked, melt the chocolate bark or candy melts according to package directions. Pour into a decorator bag with a writing tip (Colleen uses Wilton tip No. 3). Drizzle each cookie with a zig-zag pattern. Allow the cookies to cool completely before storing between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container.

President Bill Clinton brought his economic roadshow to East St. Louis on July 6, 2009, giving a speech at a newly constructed Walgreen's store in East St. Louis.

That was all fine and dandy. But when he left via MidAmerica airport near Mascoutah, he ruffled some feathers, according to a front-page story.

"President Clinton flashed a trademark smile, climbed on sandbags and brushed aside barriers to greet the MidAmerica Airport crowd, which included 100 Scott Air Force Base officers and airmen bused over just to bid Clinton farewell.

"Military members called it a 'rent-a-crowd. ... Meanwhile, dozens of Clinton admirers who were not invited were herded into a parking lot well away from the terminal, forming something like a tailgate party before a football game."

A star is born

Ten years ago this week, Dawn Harper was selected as the Belleville News-Democrat's Class AA Track Athlete of the Year.

"Dawn Harper isn't old enough to drive, but she sure can fly," sports reporter Steve Korte wrote.

As a 15-year-old freshman at East St. Louis High School, Harper was the state champion in both the 100-meter high hurdles and the 300-meter low hurdles.

"A lot of people are saying, 'You're really good,' but I'm going to keep a level head about it," Harper said at the time. "I know that there is always going to be someone out there that can beat me. I'm always looking for more competition."

Harper was wrong.

There was no one in the world who could beat her when she won the gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, with a time of 12.54 seconds.

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Plowing ahead

Pastor Wendell Garrison didn't want just an ordinary groundbreaking for a new addition to Winstanley Baptist Church in Fairview Heights in July 1999.

So he donned bib overalls and had members of his flock help him pull an old-fashioned farmer's plow.

"I wanted to get all the people involved," he said. "It shows that we can all pull together -- that we need everybody."

The addition, the third since the church moved from East St. Louis to Illinois 161 and Lincoln Trail, was used for classrooms and a fellowship hall.

Garrison retired in 2003 after 27 years as Winstanley's pastor.