Article

"Everyone Calls Me Aunt Bertha"

By Ginger Grantham
Staff Writer, Moulton Advertiser

Bertha Mitchell of Courtland is a cook. She makes her living cooking and she loves to cook at home.

"I like to see people eat what I cook and enjoy what they eat," she said with a smile.

Mitchell is the kitchen manager at Three Springs in Courtland. It is ideal for her. She has what she considers a great job close to home. She could walk to work if she wanted to but she says she is too lazy so she drives.

She has worked at Three Springs since October of 1996. Before that she worked in Moulton cooking for Head Start and Meals on Wheels.

"Back then the meals for both programs came out of the same kitchen," Mitchell explained.

She worked there for 19 years until the program changed.

"I have cooked for babies and old people," Mitchell said, "And now I cook for my specials."

Special is the term she uses for the boys who are residents at Three Springs.

Mitchell is one of Three Springs' oldest employees. She began working the afternoon shift and later moved to the morning shift.

"When I was hired, I was scared to death," Mitchell said. She had been a kitchen manager before but it had been a while since she had worked in that capacity. Her duties include doing all the ordering for the food service and hiring of kitchen employees.

Mitchell manages the Three Springs kitchen with three other employees and rotates working on weekends.

"I could go on straight weekdays but I think I should take my turn at weekends like the rest of the staff," she said.

The cafeteria at Three Springs averages serving 35 to 40 residents plus staff members.

Mitchell's work day begins at 4:30 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. just after lunch is served. Breakfast is served at 6 a.m. She cooks that by herself.

She has help when another employee comes in to help prepare lunch and get the evening meal started. Then only one person finishes up the third meal of the day.

Administrators at Three Springs say that Mitchell has developed into an excellent counselor for the troubled residents there. Mitchell sees her roll more like a grandmother.

"I am a people person. I have grandchildren and I had boys of my own," she said. "I always remember that these boys are someone's children."

The residents at Three Springs call her Aunt Bertha. She said that at one time a couple of her nephews worked at Three Springs and the residents heard them refer to her as Aunt Bertha. The name stuck even after her nephews moved on to other jobs.

"Now everyone calls me Aunt Bertha," she laughed. "Even people in Courtland." Mitchell has three children and five grandchildren. Not long after she began working at Three Springs, one of her sons was killed in a car accident. The residents at Three Springs rallied around her.

"They told me that I still had them to love and that formed a special bond," she said.

Above all else, she has the respect of the residents. She said she almost never has a problem in the cafeteria.

"All I have to do is walk into the eating area and everything calms down," she said. "I just look at them to end it."

Working with the boys involves more than just cooking their meals. Last year, Mitchell started a garden at the school. With the help of the Lawrence County Extension Service, the boys learned how to plant a garden and take care of it.

"It was a new experience for them. Most of them didn't have any idea how things grew," she said. "They were thrilled to see the garden grow."

It was also an new experience for them to gather vegetables from the garden and then eat them after Mitchell did the cooking.

"We grew corn, okra, squash, butter beans, turnip greens, collards, broccoli, watermelons and cantaloupes," she said. "all the things I would grow in a garden at home."

Mitchell said she is a down-home southern cook who specializes in comfort and soul food.

"I see boys come in here who have never tasted cornbread," she said. "We get kids from all different cultures. I encourage them to try different foods. Most of them end up liking what I cook."

That may be because Mitchell is not just cooking meals, she really likes cooking and strives to make her food look good as well as taste good.

It seems that someone who cooks for a living would not want to cook at home.

For Mitchell that is not the case. She cooks at home as well as at Three Springs.

"I guess my favorite thing to cook is sweet potato pie," she laughed.

Mitchell grew up on a farm the Courtland area. She is one of 12 children. Making a living on the farm was hard but she said her family never went hungry. They grew what they needed.

Mitchell said she regrets that she didn't get a better education.

"I finished school but I had to work in the fields too, so I missed school," she said.

She has always thought she would have liked to go to cooking school to learn more about what she loves doing.

"If I had been to cooking school, there is no telling where I would be now," she mused and then laughed, "I'd probably still be in Courtland."

Her parents always encouraged their children to seek opportunity. But people get comfortable where they are and don't want to risk change. Sometimes people can be very unhappy where they are and still won't do anything about it.

"People get comfortable with how things are, even bad things," Mitchell said. "My mother used to say that people could get comfortable even laying in a ditch."

Mitchell quickly admits that she is a homebody who likes the simple things.

"I never wanted to live anyplace else. I don't even want to leave the state," she said.

When she isn't cooking, Mitchell enjoys fishing.

"I fish wherever I can - in creeks, ponds or the river," she said. "You'd be surprised at what I catch."

Another important part of her life is her church. Mitchell attends Jackson Chapel Methodist Church. She goes every other Sunday.

"I work just like my staff does so I work on weekends," she said. "I do what they do. But I do miss going to church every week."

Mitchell's love of people has had a great deal to do with her success. She doesn't just cook, she prepares meals to the best of her ability to please people because she enjoys doing it.

With the residents at Three Springs, she shares love and patience and she just listens. Most of all, she feels that she is firm and straight forward in her dealings with the residents.

"Sometimes a boy just needs someone to listen to him when he talks," she said.

Mitchell watches the residents at Three Springs as they go through the program. She notes the changes in them as they progress. For some it takes longer than others.

"But I am always happy when they complete the program and are able to go home," Mitchell said. "It just makes my day."

But it is more than that for Mitchell. Working with the residents, cooking for them and teaching them about gardens and growing stuff are what Mitchell finds so rewarding.