The JuJu Woman

The JuJu Woman

My great aunt Coralee Lewis lived in a cypress cabin that was built on top of stilts driven into the ground and over part of the black waters of the Dismal Swamp. Rusty smears trailed down from the nails and the whole cabin leaned, just a tad, to one side. She could catch a catfish from her back door or feed the gators her garbage. Live Oaks and cypress trees draped with Spanish moss kept the cabin in a perpetual twilight. Aunt Coralee was called Mama Cora by the other swampers and she was pretty well known in the swamps as being a JuJu woman.

A JuJu woman can fix up a mojo for you to ward off hexes and hain'ts. She can work a spell to make your cows milk sweet or make your enemies hogs sickly. She can dowse up a wet well on a dry farm. She knows every plant and herb in the swamps and how it can be used to create potions. It is even claimed that a JuJu woman can catch the moon and stars just right and raise the dead. Generally, you could find Mama Cora a settin on her front porch in an old rocker. She would be wrapped up in her shawl and usually be drawing on a corncob pipe or with a dip of “Peach’s Snuff" under her lip.

One day, long about sunset, one of the prettiest cars to every hit Beaufort County came bouncing up the trail towards Mama Cora's cabin. It was the reddest red I have ever seen. It was a convertible and had big silver pipes coming out of the hood and going up under the running boards. It gleamed with the silver chrome over it and sitting behind the wheel was one of the prettiest men to ever hit the swamps. He was wearing a blue blazer, white trousers, and black shoes with white saddles on them and a spiffy straw hat. A long white scarf was around his neck and trailed out behind him flapping in the breeze created by the passage of the auto. Blond hair and deep blue eyes crowned a well-tanned head. When he approached Mama Cora she just stared at him in wonderment and asked "Whut chu wants boy"? He explained to her that there was a girl who he could not make love to and wanted a juju potion to help him. Mama Cora snorted and told him to set a bit and she would fix him up a cup of tea whilst he waited for the potion. He sat on the edge of the porch and drank the tea while me and Bo left for home. I guess it was about 6 months later when I had occasion to go visit Mama Cora again. That beautiful, red car was a setting about half in and half out of the swamp and rust was beginning to pop out all over the chrome. That pretty man was setting on the porch and his clothes were getting to be in sorry shape. Every now and then he would gaze over at that car with a wistful, troubled look on his face, but his face would clear up and he would look back up at Mama Cora with the look of total love.


- Bob Gurkin

Salmon Patty Cakes with Milk Gravy

Salmon Patty Cakes with Milk Gravy

When I was a small boy, I used to love walking in the kitchen with the smell of fried salmon patty cakes cooking on the stove. And I couldn't wait to sop my biscuits in the gravy and wash it all down with sweet tea. Ummm, ummm, good.

• 1 large can (14-3/4 oz) pink salmon
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped onion (optional)

Remove the bones and dark skin from the salmon, and then mix all of the ingredients together. Shape into 4 patties. Pan fry over medium high heat, browning both sides. Serve with milk gravy, if you like. To make milk gravy, heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons flour, mix well, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the flour is lightly browned. Stir in 2 cups milk and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add a little milk if the gravy is too thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Serves 8.