Cowley College - Tiger Daze Yearbook (Arkansas City, KS)

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ENDLESS LOVE-Virginia Dickson serves a sloppy joe during lonch at the Nelson Student Center. She has been a professional cook for 28 years and says she still enjoys cooking and loves young people. (Photo by Mike Ennis) The students told me that the biscuits wouldn ' t rise until they put gravy on them. They made me vow never to leave again, she said. More recently, Dickson saved the day when she created a miracle dessert from what most people would call a disaster. We had a batch of brownies that were undercooked and had been sit- ting for about an hour. They were real mushy, Fritz said. I wanted to throw them out but Virginia never wants to waste anything so she just added a few things -a box of pudding, a cake mix, peanut butter and a package of chocolate chips She baked it and stuck it on the line for the students. They kept coming up and asking what was the name of that cake because it was the best they had ever eaten. Virginia told them it was her miracle cake ' but she told me she didn ' t know if she could ever make it again. Dickson is not only head cook, she is part of the family She approaches her cooking with the same down- homeness of mom. Some of her most popular foods are her home made chili, potato soup, fresh baked pies and banana bread. She even mashes the bananas by hand so the ingredients will be fresh for the 110 students and faculty who will eat it. She ' d like to use all fresh ingredients but we just can ' t afford it, Fritz said. Sometimes the labor to snap green beans and prepare other fresh foods is just too ex- pensive, but she tries to use fresh ingredients whenever she can. Dickson likes doing things for the students but she says they do things for her, too. One of the most gratifying times on the job is at Christmas when she receives a lot of cards from students who are more like adopted children. Cowley ' s own Ron Ryer is one of her most remem- bered students. He used to get up early to help her make hamburger patties when he attended Cowley. All in all, Dickson says she has the best job in the world. A job she says she wouldn ' t miss for anything... ' -COUPON- This Pass Entitles You To ONE FREE TRIAL VISIT THE IMAGE Ladies Fitness Center HOURS: Mon-Wed-Fri 6:30a.m.- 8p.m. Tue-Thur 9a.m. -8 p.m. 117 West Central Arkansas City, Ks. 67005 Phone (316) 442-7621 No Obligation A free press: Your key to freedom. Traveler All the news... in writing

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Virginia Dickson: What ' s cookin ' ? by! Mike Ennis |f irginia Dickson, head cook at the Nelson Student Center Cafeteria, loves kids and she loves cooking for them. I guess it was about two years ago that the whole oven blew up and singed her hair and eyebrows off, recalls B.J. Fritz, American Food Management (AFAA) manager. Well, she went on to the hospital, was treated and released with third degree burns and by the time she returned to work they had fixed the stove so she finished the meal and served it. She did it all because she loves the kids. Dickson is no stranger to kids; she has six of her own and nine grand- children. One son, Chris Hass, works with her in the Nelson Student Center kitchen. I ' ve tried other things but I just keep coming back to cooking, Hass said. I learned from my mom and I even did a lot of the daily cooking when I was growing up because she had to work so much. Even now on Thanksgiving, Christmas and special days, we work togethr to fix the meal. Dickson still works more than one job. In addition to cooking three meals a day for the students who eat at the cafeteria, she also works as a bartender at the Tropics. She come in here at 6 or 6:30 a.m. and fixes the meals. Then at 4 p.m. she leaves and goes to work at the Tropics until midnight, B.J. Fritz said. my way, she said. Her way makes cooking a unique experience, especially for those who try to follow her directions. If you ask her how to make something she will probably say, ' Oh, a pinch of this, a splash of that, ' and if you don ' t know what a pinch or a 44 She made it clear that I could run the office but the kitchen was her ' s. 9 I tease her and suggest that she needs to find something else to do between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. when she comes back to the college to work. Dickson received her cooking background from her mother in Ada, Ok la. , when she was growing up. I guess I was about eight or nine when I started helping my mom cook for the 25 or 30 people on the harvest crews, Dickson said. My first job away from home was in a restaurant, too. After 28 years as a professional cook, Dickson says she has little need of a cookbook. We have receipe books, but unless I don ' t know how to cook it, I just do it splash is, you might be in trouble, Hass said. Fritz is quick to point out that when he first met Dickson she outlined the territory and set down the ground rules. She made it clear that I could run the office but the kitchen was hers, he said. Now, I could not show up for work all week and everything would be OK but if Virginia left, it would take two or three people to replace her. Years ago, before Fritz was the AFM manager here, the students were unhappy with the replacement hired while Dickson was on a leave of absence. Parks Jewelers Holiday Season Sale 20% to 50% savings every department 218 South Summit Arkansas City 442-3310 ARK CITY MIRROR GLASS RONAL GEE Bus. (316) 442-2630 Res. (316) 442-2372 III Illlllllllllllll IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIU

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Mission possible: J The $5 date £.« by. Chuck Sigler One would almost think that the possibility of a $5 date in Arkansas City is non-existant, and to some people, it probably is. One also must consider the money available. For now we will assume that all we can get ahold of is $5. Then you must take into consideration what you had wan- ted to do. After realizing that you are down to $5, you disregard that com- pletely. Once you have come to terms with your financial situation, you then place the call to make your date. Everything goes smoothly until she asks, What did you have in mind for Thursday night? You stutter and say, Gee, uh, I don ' t know. What would you like to do? She, not being ex- perienced either says, Gosh, I don ' t know. This could lead to serious problems. The person on one end of the phone is thinking, I would sure like to have a fun evening out, while the other prays desperately that no one knows that he tried to go out on a date for $5 or less. You wind up the long draggy, silent, conversation with a, Let ' s just decide Thursday, in hope that she will think you are just an impetuous person. No such luck, she hangs up thinking, He must be short of money. She knows that she will have a terrible time, and might even already regret saying yes. However you sit at home and con- template your possibilities. No, I will not go to McDonalds for a Happy Meal. ' The sad part is, you can ' t af- ford it anyway. Then you hit on an idea. Thursday is ladies dollar night at the 13th Hour in Winfield. What an idea! We don ' t have to get uproariously drunk (especially since you can ' t afford it) but, we can go and dance, maybe even share a drink. You call her back and tell her your idea, not all of it, but the good part anyway. She loved it, and everything is set. Now that you have a pleasing arrangement, a bundle of ideas pass through your mind. You could have changed the date to Tuesday and gone to dollar night at the Burford or spent an afternoon playing tennis or horseback riding. If the lady is in- viting someone out, the couple could eat a home-cooked meal, and spend an evening with friends playing Trivial Pursuit, or Monopoly, or just watcheing movies at home. The date went extremely well, and you both had a good time. Your worrying was needless and will not be present again as long as you remember these helpful and thrifty (Continued on page 29)