Up next in 10
In this week's What's Cooking with Paula Deen, Paula takes her husband Michael to River Bend. Paula reminisces about what was there many years ago and what has been removed and some of her memories from River Bend. As Paula and Michael drive to River Bend, they talk about the reunion and the good time they had. Later,, Paula and Michael walk along the property as Paula points out where everything, the beauty of the river and the memories it all evokes. At the end of the podcast, Paula and Michael attend a book signing at Gas Works.
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0:00
welcome to White's cooking with Paula
0:02
Deen now over the past couple of weeks I
0:04
have shared with y'all some footage that
0:06
we shot when I was home for my best
0:11
friend's mother's birthday in my class
0:14
reunion well the last part of our trip
0:18
was I took Michael to River Bend that
0:26
place has so many memories for me
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some good some not so good but being a
0:33
child and living out there 95 percent of
0:37
a more good good memories or me and it
0:42
didn't resemble anything the only thing
0:45
that had changed was that beautiful
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beautiful River there was no sign of
0:50
ever being a motel skating rink a
0:55
swimming pool of restaurant the gas
0:58
station that we lived in across the
1:00
street from River Bend nothing well
1:05
there was one thing that had not changed
1:06
since since I was last there many many
1:11
many many years ago was a Mitchell in
1:14
dartie County County line it's a big
1:18
concrete archway that you go under going
1:22
from Daugherty to Mitchell County and we
1:26
lived just right right past the
1:31
Dougherty County line but the river it
1:35
was just breathtaking y'all I can see my
1:40
granddaddy down there now fly fishing
1:42
and Bank Trina and I would go down at
1:46
the river and look for arrowheads we
1:48
found our heads all the time I don't
1:53
know what I did with them I hate that
1:56
because they were a very plentiful y'all
1:58
only on that River back in the 1950s oh
2:04
gosh I got so many stories that I could
2:08
share
2:11
I remember one day Trina and I had been
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down on the river and I took my glass
2:18
fishbowl to collect my treasures in and
2:21
I went running up the steps to the
2:25
restaurant in the swimming pool and
2:27
skating rink and I tripped and I fell on
2:30
that step and my fishbowl broke and it
2:35
gave me a very very bad cut I was
2:38
probably about four years old and we
2:42
live like 10 miles from from the
2:46
hospital and my grandma sat in the back
2:50
seat with me grandma Paul and she helped
2:53
my wrist so hard that my whole arm was
3:00
bruised but I had cut some pretty good
3:04
arteries and had without my grandmother
3:07
I could have literally bled to death
3:09
well it was exactly two weeks later she
3:14
was out in the natural part of the yard
3:18
and she was cutting flowers with her
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butcher knife and she was left-handed
3:24
and she went to cut and mist and cut the
3:28
identical cut in the same identical
3:32
place where mine was and so it was
3:36
another rush trip to the hospital but I
3:38
thought that was really kind of strange
3:42
that within a two-week period we were
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both cut same amount bad as each other
3:50
so there's some very special memories
3:53
you know just like y'all have in your
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childhood if you're lucky enough to take
3:59
a trip back into time and and pull up
4:02
all those wonderful memories in your
4:04
head you know it's it's just good kind
4:08
of feeds the soul I think
4:12
[Music]
4:29
so here we are now the third day are
4:31
y'all ready for this huh
4:34
yesterday was wonderful but tonight is
4:38
the actual reunion where we get a little
4:41
bit mo dolled up and the band's going to
4:46
come out so but before I do all that
4:50
I've got a little work to do
4:54
the people at modern gas here in Albany
4:57
carry my products and so I told them
5:01
that I would be delighted to come out
5:02
there and have a meet and greet and a
5:04
book signing you know there was one
5:06
thing that I really wanted to do with
5:08
Michael and I wanted to take him to a
5:12
place that would was so special to me as
5:16
a child it's where I spent the first 10
5:20
years of my life and it's really where
5:24
it all started and that was River Bend
5:28
so Michael last night I appreciated you
5:33
were you were so kind and so patient to
5:35
me I know it's so bad to have to go to a
5:40
place like that where you know no one
5:42
well believe it I knew something but
5:45
that he'll come to our house a few years
5:48
ago so someone recognized me and come
5:50
talk but it was kind of exciting just to
5:53
see you be Paula hires for a little
5:54
while and just and not have to pretend
5:57
like you're somebody else or be a you
5:59
know oh no on all the time and you could
6:04
just be who your take a ride just take
6:06
you wanted to be
6:06
I'm just your yeah
6:09
so it's good to see you with all your
6:11
buddies well you know it's wonderful to
6:16
just kind of step back in time just for
6:20
a little while I mean it's not a place
6:21
she'd want to stay because we've all
6:25
evolved evolved yes and and have matured
6:30
look at the pecan trees great time of
6:35
day the finest pecans in the world come
6:37
out of this County
6:39
so Michael we're on us 19 right now and
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it was called what was it called I can't
6:50
remember I had a nickname
6:52
sunshine Parkway or something like that
6:54
but this was the only Road from the
6:58
north down to Florida and if you went to
7:03
Florida you had to come down this road I
7:06
had no choice
7:07
and my granddaddy when he built rubber
7:13
band
7:14
[Music]
7:17
he saw an opportunity to make the family
7:20
of fine living by offering lodging and
7:25
grandma's wonderful meals all right now
7:28
this was planned Mitchell this was the
7:32
power plant right here
7:35
well I don't know what it is anymore yes
7:38
Duluth but that was Georgia power and
7:41
there was a neighborhood all right now
7:45
see we're in coming up into the bend of
7:47
the river which is how rubberband got
7:51
its name you see that archway uh-huh
7:56
it says Mitchell County and rougher
8:00
being set right past the line see plant
8:05
Mitchell and just think y'all it all
8:11
started here at reveling in it it all
8:18
started everything all right now here oh
8:24
look we're of a banned River Bend and
8:28
Inc that was the service station right
8:31
over there we have to go there's a
8:33
little pond right back then I go down to
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the pond and one day I saw up piece of
8:39
orange paper like comes on an Easter
8:42
basket
8:43
and I went to pick it up and it was a
8:45
huge goldfish it wasn't paper doesn't
8:48
get it
8:49
no he slipped away from me Michael this
8:53
is where it started I would be going
8:56
into the man's nasty bathroom right here
8:59
and this is where we had to shower in
9:02
that Oh nasty bathroom well you should
9:06
have went to the river I should have and
9:10
the cabin set back there well right back
9:14
there amongst all those trees and the
9:18
hotel was right there in it beautiful
9:22
it's gorgeous
9:26
it's breathtaking I want to go fishing
9:31
just breathtaking old granddaddy
9:34
granddaddy would stand out here Michael
9:36
he was a fly fisherman like you wouldn't
9:41
believe
9:42
watching him fly fish was like watching
9:44
poetry in motion
9:46
and of course grandma was a fisherman
9:50
from way back and so was mama and ain't
9:53
Peggy but you can see why I wanted to
10:00
name my house rough opinion Oh without
10:02
it out this is just simply gorgeous
10:03
because it's it's just an incredible
10:08
incredible spot and I you know I know
10:13
that Bobby makes fun enough but this is
10:17
truly where it started my first memory
10:20
is here it's incredible I can see my
10:26
granddaddy Paul right now out on those
10:28
rocks uh-huh you know down the way
10:30
there's all those big big rocks and I
10:34
can just see him fly-fishing standing on
10:37
those rock what do you know did he have
10:38
a boat or did he just oh he had a boat
10:40
but no he would really yes he would just
10:43
walk out on those Oh what was that look
10:47
kids throwing rocks oh my goodness hmm
10:53
well that's gorgeous didn't it gorgeous
10:56
wouldn't you like to have a home sitting
10:58
right here yes I really would it's
11:02
gorgeous eating it mm-hmm
11:06
I see the sign of this that's for sale
11:10
if he yes I had money Oh plenty I'd buy
11:18
but nobody uses us 19 we lived at River
11:22
Bend until I was 10 years old and my
11:26
grandfather decided that it was time to
11:30
move on that us 19 was just gonna be a
11:34
memory it was the only highway that
11:37
connected the north to the south if you
11:40
went to Florida you had to go down u.s.
11:43
19 and granddaddy he could see the
11:49
handwriting on the wall because they
11:52
were gonna build interstate 75 and for
11:57
some reason whatever reason they decided
12:00
to place it in Cordele Georgia rather
12:03
than I'll be and
12:07
my granddaddy Paul was a smart minion he
12:11
knew that the Riverbend
12:13
was basically gonna become not only just
12:21
a memory for the town but also a memory
12:25
for me so this truly is where it all
12:43
started so here we go Michael okay we're
12:52
fixing to go up underneath the arch see
12:55
where it says Dougherty County uh-huh
12:57
there we go well thanks for sharing yeah
13:02
Oh Michael childhood with all its so
13:06
wonderful Michael I hadn't been here and
13:09
it's got to be 40 years it's gotten to
13:14
be 40 years since I've been out here and
13:16
it was so wonderful to share this with
13:21
you well thank you for you to be with me
13:24
look at that beautiful river
13:25
that's gorgeous in it incredible the
13:31
space that you live in really affects
13:34
the way you feel so my first
13:36
recommendation is start by updating your
13:39
window treatments with Smith and Noble
13:42
Smith & Nobles beautiful handcrafted
13:44
blinds drapes shades and shutters are
13:46
custom made just for you and they offer
13:49
different service options to fit your
13:51
needs
13:51
to get started today contact Smith &
13:54
Noble to get my special limited time
13:57
offer 25% off on your window treatments
14:01
plus free design consultation create a
14:04
space that you're gonna love but details
14:07
about my special offer go to Smith &
14:10
Noble
14:11
/ Paula that Smith & noble.com / Paula
14:15
or call one eight hundred six five nine
14:20
3300 that's one eight hundred six five
14:23
nine 3300
14:27
[Music]
14:43
[Applause]
14:47
bullets chuckwalla get from Moultrie
14:49
Georgia
14:51
they won and we really appreciate
14:53
everything you've done for it
14:57
great food great tasting well we get out
15:10
to modern gas yo and I find out that a
15:15
lot of these people have been out there
15:18
waiting since like 7:30 at eight o'clock
15:20
that morning
15:24
do you like the coop Molly you've been a
15:35
good girl listen your mom and daddy all
15:39
the time
15:40
good you know that means so much to me
15:46
there goes people
15:50
give me their time because without those
15:54
people I wouldn't be here would I
15:58
I just can't thank y'all enough for
16:01
joining me in the celebration this
16:03
weekend in all being in Georgia the
16:06
place that I was born and certainly has
16:07
a piece of my heart and then after the
16:11
book signing I'm going home and I'm
16:12
primping for the big dance tonight to
16:16
finish off the celebration of our
16:18
reunion our high school reunion and
16:21
guess what y'all are not gonna be
16:24
invited to the dance because some things
16:29
need to stay behind closed doors
16:35
thanks love and best wishes y'all
16:46
so I have to say that the whole weekend
16:49
was a huge success the best part of the
16:52
reunion was just being with my friends
16:55
my old friend stepping back in time and
17:00
just going back to those days where
17:03
you're lived under mama and daddy's
17:05
house and you didn't have any worries of
17:08
course it's a teenager you think you do
17:10
but then you realize you had no worries
17:15
and your friends were everything to you
17:19
they were everything and to just step
17:24
back and remember all the great times we
17:29
had and how much we all meant to each
17:31
other was wonderful it was wonderful
17:39
the question was proposed to me you know
17:42
was it different going back as Paula
17:46
Deen or Paula hires I don't know to me I
17:51
went back as pollen tires and you know
17:58
what I hope that my classmates did too
18:04
I hope that I hope I came back his
18:06
calling iris so I hope y'all enjoyed it
18:11
because I really did enjoy sharing it
18:14
with y'all so until next week
18:17
you know I send your love and best
18:20
dishes and best memories the space that
18:25
you live in really affects the way you
18:27
feel so my first recommendation is start
18:31
by updating your window treatments with
18:34
Smith & Noble Smith & Nobles beautiful
18:37
handcrafted blinds drapes shades and
18:39
shutters are custom made just for you
18:41
and they offer different service options
18:44
to fit your needs to get started today
18:46
contact Smith & Noble to get my special
18:49
limited time offer 25% off on your
18:53
window treatments plus free design
18:55
consultation create a space that you're
18:59
gonna love but details about my special
19:02
offer go to Smith & noble.com slash
19:05
Paula that Smith & noble.com slash Paula
19:09
or call one eight hundred six five nine
19:13
3300 that's one eight hundred sixty-five
19:16
nine thirty three hundred
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