DONNA KEATING / L’Observateur / October 11, 2000

Wilhelmina Bernard Armour, a lifelong resident of Reserve, was a teacher for 32 years and retired as an assistant principal at East St. John High School in1990. She is also the author of her own autobiography, “An AwakenedHeart,” available at the St. John Parish Library.She devotes her time to volunteer work in the church and the community.

She is active with the River Parishes Hospital volunteer program as a charter member. She is also the head of the River Parishes Hospital Scholarshipprogram.

Armour was a volunteer with the American Red Cross during Hurricane Betsy.

She has won recognition for her contributions to individuals and her community. Her most notable awards include Outstanding Educator of theYear for 1999 by the New Orleans Association of Black Women Attorneys, 1995 Citizen of the Year by the Rotary Club of LaPlace and 1998 Drexel Lamplighters award for Catholic Women, and most recently she was inducted into the Louisiana Women and Government Hall of Fame for 1999.

Armour is the oldest of six children. She learned to cook at age 11 when hermother, the late Francis Bernard, became sick and needed her children to help out around the house. Armour’s mother divided up the household choresand assigned each one of her three girls a job to perform, with Armour selected to do the cooking and budgeting.

When Armour started cooking for her family she discovered how much she enjoyed cooking and soon developed her own recipes and techniques.

Today Armour is the wife of Herman Armour and they have six children, Mark, Michael, Stephen, Jason and the late Herman Jr. and Pellie Armour, andseven grandchildren.

She insists that everyone in her family eat at the dinner table every day. Andon Sundays, Armour always prepares a traditional Sunday dinner, which is served promptly at noon. She also prepares a special table setting onSundays.

When her children were growing up they each had their own place at the table, and they still do today. They picked out their spots and those are theirassigned seats.

Whenever she cooks, no matter how much or how often, she can’t seem to keep up with the appetites of her constantly hungry family. “They eat all thetime,” Armour says.

Armour considers herself a typical southern women because she always feels she has to offer her guests something to eat.

She cooks from scratch and says, “You put something of yourself into it so it tastes good.”Her husband, children and grandchildren usually compliment her when she cooks something extra good, and the most commonly asked question in her home is, “What’s on the stove today?” Since her family always has a good appetite Armour usually keeps things like gumbo and stuffed peppers frozen for when her family is hungry and she’s not there or for unexpected company. Armour says she gets a lot ofunexpected company as her grandchildren are known to bring friends over.

Her best advice for beginner cooks is start with simple things, not of the can – that’s not cooking, she says. Choose something easy and experiment. Don’thesitate to ask for help.

Other advice Armour gives is that children need to learn responsibility and how to do things. Things we were taught are now a lost art, she says, andchildren today are lazy and don’t want to do things around the house. Theyhave to be taught basic rules and principles in order to be responsible.

She adds, “I taught my students to do more than what is expected. Do whatyou can do – but do it well.”Armour is also quick to tell someone they are doing a good job, which includes her former students and her children. She says that’s what success is allabout – doing your best at what you can do. It creates pride, too.Here are a few of her favorite recipes that she would like to share:

SHRIMP AND CRABMEAT PIE

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 lb. crabmeat

2 cups cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

Chef seasoning

Bread crumbs

Shredded cheddar cheese

2 unbaked pie shells

Cook seasonings and shrimp first. Add other ingredients. Stir on low fire untilmixture is thick. Pour mixture into two unbaked pie shells. Sprinkle withbread crumbs and shredded cheese. Bake until browned.

CORN SOUFFLE

1 15.5-oz. can creamed corn

1 15.5-oz. can whole kernel corn, undrained

8 ozs. sour cream

8.5-oz. box Jiffy corn muffin or cornbread mix

Vegetable spray for casserole dish

4 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted (use 8 tbsp. for a richer dish)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl combine creamed corn,corn kernels with liquid from can, sour cream and corn muffin mix, blending well with spoon. Spray an 8-inch square casserole dish with vegetable sprayand pour corn batter in dish. Drizzle evenly with butter, without stirring itinto batter. Bake uncovered until souffle is puffy and golden brown aroundthe edges, about an hour. Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutesbefore serving. The souffle will deflate a little as it sits.

CHICKEN STEW

1 large chicken, cut up

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/3 cup celery, chopped

1 small bell pepper, chopped

Parsley flakes or chopped parsley

1/2 cup cooking oil

1/3 cup flour

In a large pan make roux by combining flour in heated cooking oil. Add cut upchicken to browned roux. Stir constantly until chicken is browned in rouxmixture. Add chopped seasoning to mixture, stirring until absorbed. Addabout one and a half quarts water. Let cook until chicken is tender and gravyis thickened. Stir pot constantly to be sure chicken does not stick.

WATERGATE SALAD

1 small box lime Jell-O

1 pint Cool Whip

1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

1 16-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 cup miniature marshmallows (optional)

Prepare Jell-O in usual method. When Jell-O is slightly congealed aroundedges, add grated cheese, Cool Whip, nuts and marshmallows. Mix allingredients well in Jell-O. Place in refrigerator until jellied. Serve with ham orroast.

GREEN LIMA BEANS WITH SHRIMP

1 16-oz. pkg. frozen petite lima beans

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tbsp. parsley, chopped

1 tbsp. garlic powder

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 lb. ham, diced (optional)

1/3 cup cooking oil

3 tbsp. flour

3 cups water

Make roux, add chopped seasonings, shrimp and ham. Add water and bring toa boil. Add frozen lima beans, season with salt and pepper to taste. Cookuntil beans are tender and gravy is thick.

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