GRANDMOTHER DUKE AND THE COCOA VILLAGE ROOMING HOUSE
In 1933 after moving to the Cocoa area, my grandmother Bess Cole Duke “Mama Duke” decided to open a rooming house in Cocoa Village. She had lived her entire life in Jackson, Georgia and raised her two daughters. Her husband had passed away at a very young age. She chose the Cocoa area because her sister and family lived here.
She found the second story of the building at the corner of Brevard Avenue and Oleander Street in the heart of Cocoa Village and opened the Oleander Rooming House.
During this time Patrick Airforce Base was the Banana River Navel Station and she rented rooms to the navy guys and their wives. Most of the navy couples who roomed there became close friends of “Mama Duke”.
They referred to her by that name for years. Many of them relocated to Europe and stayed in touch with her for years. They knew that she loved vases and figurines and would send her some from wherever they were at the time.
One item that has an interesting background is the mug pictured below. A friend was in England and mailed her this breakable glass piece and when it was delivered to her it was not packaged at all. It only had an address label wired to the handle. There was not a chip or mark on it.
During this time Patrick Airforce Base was the Banana River Navel Station and she rented rooms to the navy guys and their wives. Most of the navy couples who roomed there became close friends of “Mama Duke”.
They referred to her by that name for years. Many of them relocated to Europe and stayed in touch with her for years. They knew that she loved vases and figurines and would send her some from wherever they were at the time.
One item that has an interesting background is the mug pictured below. A friend was in England and mailed her this breakable glass piece and when it was delivered to her it was not packaged at all. It only had an address label wired to the handle. There was not a chip or mark on it.
My sister and I would stay with “Mama Duke” when we were very young while our mother worked.
I even took my first steps on the sidewalk at the corner where her rooming house was. I also got my first haircut across the street next to the theater.
She would tell me about the Duke generation and that Doris Duke at the time was the richest women in the world. Doris was my mother's fifth cousin. Her father was the founder of the American Tobacco Company and also Duke University.
I even took my first steps on the sidewalk at the corner where her rooming house was. I also got my first haircut across the street next to the theater.
She would tell me about the Duke generation and that Doris Duke at the time was the richest women in the world. Doris was my mother's fifth cousin. Her father was the founder of the American Tobacco Company and also Duke University.
After closing the rooming house she moved to a little house across from Rockledge High School. At the time the school property was undeveloped. I do remember the local schools were getting over crowded and my 5th grade class was in the Rockledge Presbyterian Church .
Everyday at lunch I would ride on the handlebars of a boy in my class who lived a couple house from my grandmother and I would get off and have lunch with her and then he would pick me up and we would go back to school. (Yes public school).
Several years later as they were constructing the high school which was Cocoa High I even did my 6th, 7th and 8th grades there and was in the first graduating class in 1961 to graduate from the new Cocoa High that is now Rockledge.
I will always remember a funny thing that happened in 1970.
I was a student at Rollins College and had classes at Patrick Air Force Base . It was the end of our class and we were going to celebrate with a covered dish.
There were only three guys in the class and we had very little say so about what would be brought. The gals figured we couldn’t cook so they told us to just bring bread.
So I told the guys that we would show them and I would get my grandmother to make her great homemade yeast rolls. I asked her and she agreed even after telling her there would be 24 at the covered dish.
She told me what time to come pick them up the day of our covered dish and when I did it was all I could do to get them all in my car. She had several huge trays filled and covered in towels.
The warm odor of those yeast rolls were wonderful. When I got to class I got the other guys and we went out to my car and waited until everyone else was inside and entered with those hot yeast rolls and we made an announcement that we had the bread.
Everyone went crazy and loved them. Afterwards every person at the covered dish wrote a separate thank you note to my grandmother.
She later told me that after making all those rolls she had retired that recipe as it was one heck of a long hard job.
My ‘Mama Duke” was the family member that I loved to be around as she always had a joke for everything.
Everyday at lunch I would ride on the handlebars of a boy in my class who lived a couple house from my grandmother and I would get off and have lunch with her and then he would pick me up and we would go back to school. (Yes public school).
Several years later as they were constructing the high school which was Cocoa High I even did my 6th, 7th and 8th grades there and was in the first graduating class in 1961 to graduate from the new Cocoa High that is now Rockledge.
I will always remember a funny thing that happened in 1970.
I was a student at Rollins College and had classes at Patrick Air Force Base . It was the end of our class and we were going to celebrate with a covered dish.
There were only three guys in the class and we had very little say so about what would be brought. The gals figured we couldn’t cook so they told us to just bring bread.
So I told the guys that we would show them and I would get my grandmother to make her great homemade yeast rolls. I asked her and she agreed even after telling her there would be 24 at the covered dish.
She told me what time to come pick them up the day of our covered dish and when I did it was all I could do to get them all in my car. She had several huge trays filled and covered in towels.
The warm odor of those yeast rolls were wonderful. When I got to class I got the other guys and we went out to my car and waited until everyone else was inside and entered with those hot yeast rolls and we made an announcement that we had the bread.
Everyone went crazy and loved them. Afterwards every person at the covered dish wrote a separate thank you note to my grandmother.
She later told me that after making all those rolls she had retired that recipe as it was one heck of a long hard job.
My ‘Mama Duke” was the family member that I loved to be around as she always had a joke for everything.
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Copyright 2019 Tom Routzong
Contact Tom at: Sunny Harbor Publishing 321-252-9874 SunnyHarborPublishing@yahoo.com |
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