Special Deliveries .... "Operation Cream Puff"

When I made my first cream puff delivery to the Steele Creek Division last October 2012, I started calling my visits "Operation Cream Puff". I thought an email with "Operation Cream Puff" in the subject line might not get lost in their email Inbox. My visits are monthly and a date on the calendar I always look forward to. 

I have received so many wonderful emails and thank you notes from the officers in several divisions (including my own) over my cream puffs and other AHOP things I do. I save them all and I read them often -- they just make me feel good when I'm having a less than perfect day (and there are many).

My cream puffs made the rounds last week while I was on vacation....or rather...."staycation." I wanted to visit other departments and agencies that aren't so easy for me to get to since I work a full and part-time job. Last week just seemed to be a good week to do that and I had a BLAST! In-between the massive cream puff production, I also managed to clean out my garage, make about 100 trips to Lowe's and Home Depot, and do a little yard work. Not the 'ideal' vacation to some, but (for me), it was the most perfect week. 

Special deliveries went to:

Engine 16/Ladder 16 -- just a hop, skip and a jump from my front door. I love hearing the big horn blow when they head to a new call. I don't like the fact that there is an emergency on the other end waiting for them, but the horn just tells me they are hard at work. "There goes Ladder 16....be safe!", is what I always say. Thank you firefighters at Engine 16/Ladder 16 for your service to ME and the citizens in my very own community! I hope you guys can come for breakfast or dinner sometime -- I would love it!

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Pineville Police Department -- I love Pineville, NC! It is such a quaint little community and just a little more than 5 miles from my home. A Saturday morning stroll through all the little antique shops is good for the soul. I am in Pineville often because it is so close to my home, so I always see the Pineville PD officers hard at work. They have a beautiful new police station, so I was happy to see the inside finally. Thank you for your service and for keeping the citizens of Pineville safe.

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Matthews Police Department -- Proud to say I have a few friends in the quaint little town of Matthews, NC. Super cute downtown area - original buildings - and I would venture to guess the oldest hardware store for miles and miles! Renfrow Hardware has been in business for over 113 years. Check it out sometime. I always see the Matthews PD officers hard at work and saw two officers while I was en route to their office. Thank you to the Matthews PD for keeping my friends and the community of Matthews safe.

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CMPD 911 Call Operators and Dispatchers -- What an absolute treat this was to meet a few dispatchers on the CMPD Communications floor at the CMPD Headquarters downtown. The voices  on the other end of the 911 calls and the voices I have heard on the police radios for the past 3+ years when the officers are at my table for a meal. I think I may have made a few new friends that day. :o) A big thank you to the Captain and Miss W. for their time and for sharing with me a little about what they do. I don't know how they all remain so calm under the pressure and call volume. They are all  true professionals at what they do! Thank you for the service you provide to the ENTIRE City of Charlotte.   
  

    

AND....as I mentioned in a previous post, I have been super busy making cream puff deliveries on my way to work to a few CMPD School Resource Officers. They miss out on all the food dropped off at the stations because they're at the schools Monday through Friday (I'm sorry I didn't think of this sooner.) For being a working girl with no children, it has been YEARS since I have seen the inside of a school, so this little project has been especially fun for me!
  

Carmel Middle School

Community House Middle School

James Robinson Middle School

Quail Hollow Middle School

South Charlotte Middle School

Thanks to all the SROs for what you do and for providing the students and teachers of Mecklenburg County a safe environment to learn and teach.

How my puffs looked in April 2013

How they look now - October 2014

♥  

Gone, but not forgotten....121 years later

Time does not diminish our respect for you, Sir. You are still thought of and honored for your heroism and service today -- 121 years later. Thank you for your service and sacrifice to protect the citizens of Charlotte.                               

~ Officer James "Jimmy" Moran ~

End of Watch - April 4, 1892 

On April 4, 1892, the City of Charlotte and the Charlotte Police Department lost their very first police officer in the line of duty -- 121 years ago this month.
  

Officer Moran and his partner, Officer Killough, were on patrol on Saturday, April 2, 1892, when they saw two men walking on North Tryon Street carrying bags of flour. When the officers approached the men, one man began to run away. Officer Killough chased the fleeing suspect, while Officer Moran stayed with the other man. As Officer Moran talked to the second suspect, the man pulled out a gun and shot him. Officer Moran was taken to his home where he succumbed to his injuries two days later. Officer Moran was born in Ireland and immigrated to the United States. He was the first Charlotte Police officer to die in the line of duty. Officer Moran had been with the agency for three years. He was 60 years old.

As I was writing this post, I couldn't help but think what life must have been like in 1892. When Officer Moran was shot, he was taken to his home....not to a hospital. Charlotte's two main hospitals, Presbyterian Hospital and Carolinas Medical Center, were not yet in existence. Presbyterian was built in 1903 and Carolinas Medical Center in 1940. I'm not even sure how far the closest hospital was, but I doubt Officer Moran would have survived the journey with the transportation limitations back then. I also thought about the grieving family.     

Click once on the picture to enlarge for easier reading.

Thank you to my friend, Kat, who has a passion for genealogy. She found this April 7, 1892 newspaper article from the Statesville Record and Landmark. If you're looking for past newspaper history, go to www.newspapers.com -- it's a great website.  

I was searching for a good police picture taken on or around 1892 and I found one in this book "Images of America CHARLOTTE AND MECKLENBURG COUNTY POLICE", but couldn't reach the author to grant permission to use it. It was a photo taken shortly after Officer Moran was killed. I will update this post should the permission come through.  

In the meantime, here is a picture of the book. If you enjoy police history, Charlotte history, or history in general, this is a great book.

Available at: www.arcadiapublishing.com or you can pick up a copy from your favorite bookstore.

ISBN: 9780738566719

Arcadia Publishing is a leader in local history publishing in the United States. If you're looking for a
history/picture book for your town, check them out! 

Credit for historical data in this post goes to the CMPD memorial page, Officer Down Memorial website, and the Statesville Landmark and Record.

♥

Boiled peanuts....it's a Southern thang!

Boiled peanuts are definitely a southern dish --  you either love 'em, or you hate 'em.

One of the sergeants likes boiled peanuts, so I make them for him every now and then, and always make extra just in case other officers like them.

Where I grew up in Tampa, you could find a produce/vegetable stand almost every half-mile or mile in every direction. I miss that here in Charlotte. There would be a big hand-painted sign out front made out of plywood or cardboard that said 'Hot Boiled Peanuts'. If you had a hankering for boiled peanuts, you didn't have to drive far. You would just look for the sign. It was noticeable from the road and you usually knew who made them and who didn't.

One fond (but painful) memory I have is when I was a kid eating boiled peanuts with my best forever girlfriend, Linda. We'd sit and listen to records (remember those) and eat boiled peanuts with an icy cold Pepsi or Coke. Problem was....we both bit our fingernails at the time, and when the salt water hit our poor little chewed-up fingers, it burned. And it burned bad. Real, real bad! But there we'd sit...listening to records, eating peanuts, and blowing on our fingers to keep the pain down.  So funny when I think about that now.

Here's what you need! Not all grocery stores carry 'raw' peanuts -- I buy mine
at Food Lion. They're in the produce section.   

Optional step:  This is one step that I haven't seen in any other recipes, so it's not really necessary, but  I pinch the raw peanut open at the top before soaking. I just think the peanuts taste better and the salt water gets in there good.  It does take a little extra time (equivalent to snapping beans), so it's up to you. If you have a bunch to do, you might want to bypass this step or bypass it altogether. 

Tear the little strings off if you find any.  

A weighted plate helps to keep the peanuts under water (they float).
At least in the beginning.  

This is my 'test' bowl. After about 4 hours cooking, start sampling. Sometimes
I start sooner. None of these past the test, but they were still good. Add more salt if needed.

 Sure does make a mess!

Ready for delivery to my sweet officers in the South Division!

Boiled Peanuts

1 package Raw Jumbo Peanuts (1 lb. 8 oz. is what I used)

1/2 c. salt (I have used both table salt and kosher salt - both work well)

• Rinse your peanuts. I poured my peanuts in my stock pot, covered with warm water, and swished around for a minute. Then drained in a colander. 
• Refill the stock with warm water and add 1/2 cup of salt.  Stir well.   
• Add your rinsed peanuts and put a weighted plate on top to keep the peanuts under water (they float), cover and let soak overnight. I left mine on the stove to soak.  
• After soaking overnight, cover stock pot and cook for about 6 hours and at low boil. Keep an eye on the water level and add more water as needed. Start sampling after about 4 hours and add more salt if needed.  

Note: I have soaked the peanuts overnight (and not), and don't think there is much of a difference in the end result. The plus side to soaking overnight is all the prep work is now done and all you need to do is cook them.  

Enjoy! ♥