Myrtle McGough passed away on Sunday morning Dec. 9 2012. "Aunt Myrtle" was on the staff at TCM for 30 years, retiring in 1996. She continued to make her home in Tupelo and was a faithful member of the church at TCM.
Aunt Mrytle was there at TCM when I came there in 73. She had a suite off the Little Girls Dorm where I started out. She was head cook of the kitchen. So many memories of her. She was dedicated to the Mansion and loved it when previous TCM'ers would return and pay her a visit. They were all HER kids. One memory was her being single, and she wanted a boyfriend, being alittle over weight, she decided to fast to lose weight. I remember thinking I didn't know how she would fast like three days, eat a day, then fast another three days...she was so dedicated, and she lost a ton of weight. But sadly never got the guy...:'(...Another memory was Whether it was helping get the food ready before the meal or cleaning up afterwards, she was there teaching you the way she always did it. She was great in knowing how to cook for alot of people, looking back now, I realize that I didn't appreciate her enough for what she did for all of us. But as kids, she was a tad backwards, and we always made fun of her false teeth...probably because she was always taking them out, messing with them, and it freaked us kids out some...hehe, and to think, some of us, is probably close to the false teeth stage in our lives...oops...I will forever remember her coming by and checking our section as we all had sections to clean up after a meal, and she would wipe her hands over the table, and it better not have any grit or crumb, because you knew you bought yourself at least another half hour of being there redoing it until it was cleaned and she re-inspected your section...But ...with that said, I learned to clean my kitchen spotless, and to have it bateria free...Thank you Aunt Mrytle. It's a shame, you have to grow up before we really can appreciate the people who make us who we are today...You certainly was a huge part of my legacy...You're cooking in Royalty kitchens now that only you dreamed of having !!
Around 1972 or 1974 my husband and I started coming to the Mansion during the summer months. "Aunt" Mrytle was over the kitchen back then and through the years became a friend to us. She was always happy to see us and we loved her for her dedication to TCM. I know that one summer when the Mansion went to Louisiana campmeeting, "Aunt" Mrytle borrowed money in order to go and on the way back from camp the Mansion stopped at Natchez,MS for a service and she put all the money she had left in the offering. Of course they were taking up an offering for the Mansion kids. Her heart was always for the kids and not for herself. She taught us sacrific and that giving is more blessed than receiving. She had asked my husband on several occasions to sing "What a Friend We have in Jesus" at her funeral. I am sorry that request did not happen, but we would have felt honored to have done that for "Aunt" Mrytle. For her family, who ever you are our prayers go out to you at the loss of your loved one.
I arrived at TCM in 1964 and it was on a Friday Night and they were having beans and cornbread. I learned how to cook because of Aunt Mrytle and still enjoy doing it today. I always made biscuits and cornbread. Now when it came time to do extra cleaning........somehow I was always stuck cleaning out the fridge or oven.......yuk!.........but guess she knew she could depend on me to make sure it got cleaned.....lol
She was a lot of fun but always playing with her false teeth...........that was something else......but we would just laugh at her and give her a hard time. She was a great cook and really enjoyed her job and she loved us all. I got to visit with her at the last TCM reunion and it was good to see her again after so many years.
I know she is in a better place and God has said "Well Done...my good and faithful Servant". She can now rest in peace.
I will never forget her and the impact she made on my life.
I remember how she would kick her teeth out while she was serveing the food and how they sometimes would fall in the food she would pick them up put them back in her mouth and kept fixing plates.
Aunt Myrtle came to the mansion long after meals were no longer served in the little girls dorm. She had a wry sense of humor at times. On Sundays our meals were either fried chicken or roast. One particular Sunday it was fried chicken. I never cared for dark meat, but there was never any guarantee I wouldn't end up with it. This day I asked for a breast. Without missing a beat, Aunt Myrtle said, "You already have two," but I got one.
Now, any of you reading this that remembers me knows I HATED ALMOST EVERYTHING. But the thing I couldn't stomach the most was Aunt Myrtle's "scrambled eggs"....they were supposed to be scrambled soft, but they were SO SOFT THEY WERE RUNNY!! It took me years to learn to like scrambled eggs. Bless her heart, she always would say, "that's how they're cooked in a hospital". YUCK!! I still see those in my minds eye. Fortunately, my mother taught me how to cook soft scrambled eggs.
The other funny thing I recall about Aunt Myrtle was she couldn't pronounce l's and r's. Like the Chinese people, Aunt Myrtle always got them backwards, "l's were pronounced "r's" and vice versa. Of course, at the time I didn't know this was a common phenomenon to Chinese. Aunt Myrtle was indeed a delight....
Aunt Myrtle was already on staff when I came to TCM. She kept the kitchen running smoothly, and it was rare that we had to wait for a meal beyond the scheduled time. I learned to cook a mean pan of cornbread from her, and I still get compliments on it today. Aunt Myrtle was not always the easiest person to get along with, but I soon realized that if I was not getting along with her, it was because I was not applying myself to the task at hand, or that I was just not trying. I've thought about her often throughout the years, always with a smile.
Sabrina Briggs (Walpole)
David & Veletta Butcher
Around 1972 or 1974 my husband and I started coming to the Mansion during the summer months. "Aunt" Mrytle was over the kitchen back then and through the years became a friend to us. She was always happy to see us and we loved her for her dedication to TCM. I know that one summer when the Mansion went to Louisiana campmeeting, "Aunt" Mrytle borrowed money in order to go and on the way back from camp the Mansion stopped at Natchez,MS for a service and she put all the money she had left in the offering. Of course they were taking up an offering for the Mansion kids. Her heart was always for the kids and not for herself. She taught us sacrific and that giving is more blessed than receiving. She had asked my husband on several occasions to sing "What a Friend We have in Jesus" at her funeral. I am sorry that request did not happen, but we would have felt honored to have done that for "Aunt" Mrytle. For her family, who ever you are our prayers go out to you at the loss of your loved one.
Vicky Kroh
I arrived at TCM in 1964 and it was on a Friday Night and they were having beans and cornbread. I learned how to cook because of Aunt Mrytle and still enjoy doing it today. I always made biscuits and cornbread. Now when it came time to do extra cleaning........somehow I was always stuck cleaning out the fridge or oven.......yuk!.........but guess she knew she could depend on me to make sure it got cleaned.....lol
She was a lot of fun but always playing with her false teeth...........that was something else......but we would just laugh at her and give her a hard time. She was a great cook and really enjoyed her job and she loved us all. I got to visit with her at the last TCM reunion and it was good to see her again after so many years.
I know she is in a better place and God has said "Well Done...my good and faithful Servant". She can now rest in peace.
I will never forget her and the impact she made on my life.
God Bless,
Vicky
Laurie Mynatt (Jenkins)
I remember how she would kick her teeth out while she was serveing the food and how they sometimes would fall in the food she would pick them up put them back in her mouth and kept fixing plates.
Joy Jennings (Young)
Aunt Myrtle came to the mansion long after meals were no longer served in the little girls dorm. She had a wry sense of humor at times. On Sundays our meals were either fried chicken or roast. One particular Sunday it was fried chicken. I never cared for dark meat, but there was never any guarantee I wouldn't end up with it. This day I asked for a breast. Without missing a beat, Aunt Myrtle said, "You already have two," but I got one.
Now, any of you reading this that remembers me knows I HATED ALMOST EVERYTHING. But the thing I couldn't stomach the most was Aunt Myrtle's "scrambled eggs"....they were supposed to be scrambled soft, but they were SO SOFT THEY WERE RUNNY!! It took me years to learn to like scrambled eggs. Bless her heart, she always would say, "that's how they're cooked in a hospital". YUCK!! I still see those in my minds eye. Fortunately, my mother taught me how to cook soft scrambled eggs.
The other funny thing I recall about Aunt Myrtle was she couldn't pronounce l's and r's. Like the Chinese people, Aunt Myrtle always got them backwards, "l's were pronounced "r's" and vice versa. Of course, at the time I didn't know this was a common phenomenon to Chinese. Aunt Myrtle was indeed a delight....
God Bless her and her family.
Joy Jennings
Anthony Goodman
No one else like Aunt Mrytle and she gave so much of her life serving others. Miss you
Linda Black (Lewis)
Aunt Myrtle was already on staff when I came to TCM. She kept the kitchen running smoothly, and it was rare that we had to wait for a meal beyond the scheduled time. I learned to cook a mean pan of cornbread from her, and I still get compliments on it today. Aunt Myrtle was not always the easiest person to get along with, but I soon realized that if I was not getting along with her, it was because I was not applying myself to the task at hand, or that I was just not trying. I've thought about her often throughout the years, always with a smile.