“Can I get you on alternate weeks?” I asked William Conner, a member of First Baptist Church, Georgetown. We were discussing his corn casserole, which he is sharing with us this week, and he said he does almost all the cooking at his house.
William Conner
This situation began, he explained, when his wife, an elementary school teacher, came home each day with loads of school work. He began helping a bit so she would have some free time in the evening and after awhile it became the norm.
Ted Sherrill is pastor at Georgetown First where William and his wife Angela have been members for about 17 years. The Conners have two sons. The younger son Jeffrey has recently returned from service in Iraq and immediately afterward married his new bride Jennifer. The older son Christopher works at a surfing resort in Nicaragua.
William and Jennifer are part of the Sunday school and the church’s music program. She is part of the Singing Christmas Tree, and William handles the lights.
They also work with the church-sponsored, city-wide program called Upward Basketball that involves more than 350 children. Angela is a referee, and William is the photographer. A similar soccer program has 200-plus young people.
A weekly activity for the Conners is helping with the Wednesday night church suppers. One group cooks during the day; the Conners and others come in the evening to serve and do the clean-up.
William, a professor with the Clemson University Forestry Department, works at the forestry lab in Georgetown, where he is mainly involved in research and writing. On alternate years, he teaches. Angela is at Waccamaw Elementary.
He likes to cook soups and stews, and, of course, living in the Lowcountry he likes Frogmore Stew. He doesn’t remember when he got this corn casserole recipe, but it slightly resembles the corn pudding his mother made.
When I made the corn casserole for our group, everyone liked it, and it’s a good recipe to have when you need “something else” for the menu. William says that it can be assembled, put in the refrigerator, then baked after church to serve hot and delicious for … Sunday Dinner.
Corn Casserole
1 16-ounce can cream-style corn
1 egg
1 small onion, chopped
¼ cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup chopped bell pepper
2 teaspoons pimento, chopped
Dash of hot pepper sauce
1 cup cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
Mix all ingredients together and pour into baking dish. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 30 to 35 minutes. Serves 6.