Life in Gloucester has changed a lot over the past century, and at 92 years of age, Christine Stokes Boyd remembers those days when the county was quite different.

The last of nine children, Christine grew up on Low Ground Road in Hayes. Her father, Simon Stokes, was a waterman in the winter and a farmer in the summer, and the children were expected to help out in the garden, planting seeds and gathering crops.

Christine was also required to help her mother, Annie Stokes, with household chores such as washing dishes and cooking meals, especially during the summer, when Annie had a job cooking for the people who owned Little Richmond, a local estate.

Annie, who had married at the age of 14, was a good cook. She made tasty use of the oysters Simon regularly brought home from the boat, and since he raised hogs, the family always had plenty of bacon, sausage and ham available.

There were potatoes at every meal, and Annie would make biscuits and cornbread and delicious apple puffs. Sh...