In an article last week we learned that two Vinton moms had food cravings while they were pregnant that have made most people cringe. Jannette Sink craved dill pickles dipped in hot fudge sauce; Bonnie Hiner had a passion for pepperoni pizza dipped in butter pecan ice cream.
The list continues this week.
Debby Grose craved Hostess HoHos and Dr. Pepper. She would eat a healthy lunch and then top it off with HoHos and a soda.
Her husband, Mayor Brad Grose, reveals that there is more to the story. One purchase left her with HoHos with no vanilla creme inside, which led her to write a letter to the company to complain– unbeknownst to him.
Her own version is, “The letter didn’t really complain; I said it was missing the creme filling and gave the SKU and lot number from the package. I also said in the letter that although I was not upset, a child getting one as a treat may be sad if the filling was missing.”
Whichever recollection is correct, according to them both, a truck arrived at their home early one Saturday with cakes, bread, rolls, hot dog and hamburger buns– trays of them.
“At that point, Brad was like, ‘What is this’ and ‘Why are you bringing this?’” said Debby Grose. “I had not told him I had written the company. The delivery man was talking about a letter and filling up our table with goodies. Brad looked at me and I snickered. When he finished and left I told Brad about writing the company– it was hilarious! That was 35 years ago, and I can still picture the whole thing in my mind– especially Brad’s face!”
Carol Webster, of theatre-fame at William Byrd and the Center for the Performing Arts, says she craved homemade coleslaw.
“One time, I took half a head of cabbage and made up a pot of coleslaw,” said Webster. “I hid it in the fridge and enjoyed it for several days without telling my husband that I had made it or that I would share it with him.
“My mother told me that she loved iced tea, but when she became pregnant with me the tea would make her sick to the stomach,” continued Webster. “After I was born, she went back to enjoying tea. For me, I have never desired iced tea, and I don’t like the taste– wonder if I acquired that in the womb.
“My mother also told me that she took baby classes with my dad,” added Webster. “During the second trimester, the nurse indicated that this was the time period that expectant mothers should give up spicy foods, especially pizza for the negative impact on the digestive tract. Both my brother and I love pizza and I often wonder if it is because of her cravings.”
Vinton Children’s Librarian Patty Kiser said that with her three children she craved anything– cold ice cream, Jello, pudding, and cheese– but nothing hot.
Thrasher Memorial’s chef Carol Mattox said that when she was working during her pregnancy with her daughter, “every single day, we all went to lunch at a deli called Jumbos. And every day I had the Italian sub with extra pickles. It’s a wonder she wasn’t born singing ‘O Sole Mio’! With my son, it was golden delicious apples by the basket full, with salt. And I did not share either. Such wonderful memories.”
“I was coaching outdoor track, and while I didn’t have cravings, per se, I was open to any and all suggestions,” says teacher Dionne Nichols. “I was hungry all the time. It was so bad that at one point, I was watching ‘The Simpsons,’ and Homer was eating spaghetti and meatballs – cartoon spaghetti and meatballs – and I wanted spaghetti after that. While I like pulp in my orange juice, while pregnant, I wanted juice that was so pulpy, I had to chew it on the way down,” adds Nichols. “I walked around the track while the kids were doing warm-up stretches and just chewed/chugged my orange juice.”
Julie Hare says that with daughter Savannah, “I just ate everything under the sun. I was eating for two! I would have no idea what was actually being craved. I craved Coke-flavored slushies with Madison (who was born in July) and it seemed like all that was being offered at the time were fruit-flavored ones. With Jackson, I craved steak and potatoes, which is funny because I never chose steak, always chicken. I knew it must be a boy.”
Ruth Overfelt says, “I did have quite a few cravings– the main one was strawberries; Julia was due in February. Strawberries were literally not available. My mother-in-law drove to Shoney’s and bought a strawberry pie. She believed if you had a craving that you did not satisfy, your child would have a birthmark with it. She adamantly believed my child would be born with a strawberry birthmark on its face if I did not eat my strawberries, so she kept buying me a strawberry pies from Shoney’s.”
Dee-Anne Dillon, cheer coach at WBHS, says she had different cravings with each of her pregnancies.
“With my first daughter, Caisee, I craved Chinese and I hate Chinese! I would make my husband go get it and I would take a couple of bites and then throw it away. With my second daughter, Kendyl, I craved birthday cake. It couldn’t be anything but birthday cake (not pound cake, cheesecake, etc.). I never threw that away. With my third daughter, Autymn, it was fresh pineapple. My husband worked night shift and on his way home from work at 7 a.m. he would stop at Wal-Mart and buy me fresh cut pineapple almost every other day. I wouldn’t eat canned pineapple or pineapple in a jar. With my son, Carter, I craved Kabuki. That is an expensive craving. We would go there to eat a couple of times a month which became a little hard on the pocket book. Luckily, I survived all of the above and my kids are awesome. It’s funny, they all love the food that I craved with them too.”
Pastor Jae Song of Thrasher Memorial says that his wife Star “did not want any particular food during her pregnancies, she just wanted the foods others make, especially what her mom makes.”
Teacher Amanda Rupe says her cravings “weren’t really odd. I really wanted sausage biscuits with my daughter and orange juice with my son even though I knew it would give me terrible heartburn. I drank it anyway.”
Beth Abbott said, “For some reason, Taco Bell crunchy tacos became my thing. I had to have two crunchy tacos and then I was satisfied. My husband was getting ready to watch Virginia Tech play in a bowl game, and he checked with me to see if I needed Taco Bell tacos before the game started. I assured him that I would be fine to make it through the night without tacos. I’m not positive how many minutes had passed before I told him that I was heading to Taco Bell. He offered to go, but I got big brownie points that night by putting my winter coat over my pajamas and heading to the drive-through without keeping him from the game. By the way, our son is 8 and likes Taco Bell soft tacos (close enough!).”
