Mary Hudgins lived in Richmond for 33 years and has resided in Ashland for the past 15 years, but part of her heart is still in Mathews. “I spent most of my growing up years on Pine Hall Road in a house mostly built by cousins,” Mary writes. She says she has “many memories of going fishing and my daddy (Elton) taking a six-week vacation during hunting season. Mama (Jean Hudgins) stayed home and provided breakfast, lunch and dinner, but she ran a tight ship.

“We rarely ate out but definitely enjoyed eating at Daddy’s momma’s house, Momma Gertie, as we lovingly called our grandmother, every Sunday after church. She made the very best homemade rolls and to this day we call them ‘Momma Gertie Rolls.’ There wasn’t a written recipe so Mom sat with her on several visits to write down everything she did. Mom worked on it quite a bit. She had to cut down on ingredients since mamma Gertie always made her rolls with a 10-pound bag of Gold Medal flour and three big handfuls of lard.

“I admi...