The Pickles of Aberdeen

I grew up in small town. I mean, a SMALL town. Aberdeen, MS is a beautiful town of maybe 6500 people. We have gorgeous antebellum homes, more churches than restaurants and...um...let's see...oh yeah, a place that used to be a gas station but now has a flashing yellow arrow sign that says "Let Us File Your Taxes" on one side and "BBQ Pig Snoots" on the other. It was an ideal place to grow up as I pretty much had free reign of the whole town as far as my roller skates, bike, and later, scooter could take me but I left when I was about 16 and didn't do much lookin' back.

Now that I'm so far away I can appreciate most of the small town charm and character Aberdeen has to offer (for a few days at a time at least). Like now, I don't mind eating with my parents at Miss Lackey's Town & Country Fish & Steak House (I love saying the whole name every time instead of just calling it "Miss Lackey's like everyone else (simpletons!), in fact I insist on a meal there every time I'm home-they serve chicken "nuggets" that are really more like chicken "softballs" and some nights they have live country music that really compliments the melted Parkay on my baked 'tater. There's another local treat I seek out every time I'm home and that of course would be pickles from the hardware store. Yeah, the hardware store!



Lann Hardware store to be more clear...oh, still confused? Well, welcome to Aberdeen! The local hardware store on main street has been family run for 3 generations and inside you'll find not only your basic tool needs but also an impressive collection of taxidermy, a display of local Aberdeen history and even a snakebite kit or two and yep, some of my favorite pickles.




I thought I knew everyone in Aberdeen or at least thought my mother did but it turns out neither of us know much about "The Pickles of Aberdeen". All I know (so far) about these pickles is what I've gathered from the small label on the jar. There are 2 varieties from "Mike's Farm":Doris'HOT Pickles and Mike's Farm X-tra HOT. I plunk down 4 dollars for each jar every time I'm home and eat as many as I can since I can't bring them back with me on a plane (thanks a lot Bin Laden). I also horde them around my parent's house and wait for my mother to mail them to me once I'm back in Brooklyn. There is something about these pickles that just tastes HOME made.. I can't explain it. I eat plenty of small batch pickles that are "homemade" and I even eat my OWN pickles that are homemade, but they just don't taste like my Aberdeen pickles. Is it the homegrown cucumbers or the grapeleaves or something in the water?

I love my Aberdeen pickles and I was super, extra surprised when I MET ONE at Pickle Day back in October (you thought I was done with Pickle Day didn't you?).

Callie Alexis Pickle Turner walked up to my tent on Pickle Day with no prior knowledge of my existence (shameful) but she was eager to get her picture taken with the giant pickle to show off to her family. I quickly learned that her family's last name is Pickle and she had recently moved to New York and HAD to check out the festival that as far as she knew, was for her and her family. As soon as I heard her Southern accent I did what every good Southerner does. .. I tried to figure out if we knew any of the same folk. First I asked where in the south she was from and she said "well, my license says Arkansas but really I'm from Mississippi". Wow-ME TOO I exclaimed, "where in MS"? When she replied "Oh a little town called Aberdeen" I could have been knocked down with a feather, as they say. An Aberdeen Pickle walked right up to me at Pickle Day!

We posed for a photo-me with the pickle and the Pickle in the Barrel.




I mentioned the other Pickles of Aberdeen and told her to try them next time she's home, but if I get home and find Lann Hardware store out of pickles, I'll know it was a mistake to tell The Pickles of Aberdeen about the pickles of Aberdeen!