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Miller Grove ISD End of School Stew is a Community Tradition

Although the stew is no longer cooked and served under the shade trees out on the campus, Hopkins County Stew is still a tradition for Miller Grove ISD students and staff, and for some members of the community, too. As has been their habit, brothers Mark and Bret Garrett do the honors of preparing the chicken stew. They now have a dandy cooking space, a covered portico on the west side of the building which adjoins the cafetorium. They set up the propane cookers and iron pots in there and work the magic well out of the weather, which was a good thing during the intermittent showers on Tuesday May 18, 2021. Then, the traditional meal is easily served to students during their lunch shifts. Cafeteria Manager and Cook is Rebeccah Brown doubles as Cashier at times. A perennial attendee of the event is Mrs. Mary Burns, who spent her career as an educator. Now at age 92, she never misses the end-of-school stew, and looks forward to seeing the children. She is shown here with KSST’s weatherman James Terry, also a retired educator, whose family roots run deep in the Miller Grove area.

Miller Grove second graders in the lunch line
Rebeccah Brown manages the Kitchen
These brothers volunteer to make the stew each year
Retired teachers love a chance to return to school! Mary Burns and James Terry

Author: Enola Gay

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