Granny, Nettie Mae Kaufman Mann, would have been 99 today.

She once joked, “I was born in the northbound lane of I-430,” and she really was, just long before the interstate ever existed. What is now known as the Big Rock Interchange in Little Rock is where the farm once sat.

She lived most of her life within a mile of that old farm. Raising her family of 4 girls and one boy. Her husband, Harold Curtis Mann, died in 1957 when her oldest child was 16 and the youngest almost 2.

Granny attended church at Rose Hill Church of the Nazarene, which was located right down the road from the farm (Shackleford and Kanis Road) from her mid-teens until about 2 years before her death.

Granny loved her family and her church but she also loved to cook. She could make anything taste good with ease. Every year, around this time, she would be in the kitchen baking bread to give to family and friends.

One of my biggest regrets is that I don’t have any of my Grandmother Whitney’s recipes. So when I got married the only thing I requested as a wedding gift from Granny were some of her recipes.