Pam and Ed Smith are fairly new to Tattnall County, but they grew up in Florida while spending the previous 28 years in Alma, Georgia.

Ed enlisted in the Navy after graduating high school at age 17 and retired after 20 years as a Master Chief Personnel man. They spent their first ten years of active duty on the east coast in Miami, Jacksonville, Mayport, Cecil Field, Rhode Island, and Alabama. Their second ten years was on the west coast from San Diego, California, to Bremerton, Washington. Their last duty station was a small naval facility in Ferndale, which is located in northern California on the coast.

Ed was deployed to various locations, such as Iceland and Bermuda, while attached to a patrol squadron in Jacksonville, Florida. He was also stationed on various ships from Destroyers to Air Craft Carriers. While on these, he visited ports in Spain, Australia, Greece, Italy, France, Turkey, Crete, Diego Garcia, Philippines, and Spain, among other places.

“We averaged about six months at every station except for the last five years of Ed’s military career,” Pam said. 

Their many different locations were educational for their two children, Ed Jr. and Tina.

“Our last duty station in Ferndale, California, provided a lot of enjoyable times spent on the beaches there,” she said.

In 1990, Ed retired and moved the family to Alma, which is close to their two families. Ed began his second career with the U.S. Postal Service, completing 21 years at the Douglas Post Office, from 1993 to 2014.

“We had a farm in Alma, and we liked having chickens, peacocks, and turkeys on our property. Ed also liked to piddle on the farm and tend to our pecan trees there. We were located next to a blueberry factory,” Pam said. 

Alma is well known for its growing of blueberries.

Pam has always stayed busy wherever the family moved, and she served in Accounts Payable for many years, and the last 20 years of her work career in medical transcription.

Since moving to Glennville over three years ago, Ed has stayed occupied, adding an outbuilding behind their Barnard Street home and clearing the property of overgrown shrubbery, among other interior modifications to their spacious home.  He now works one day a week for Tim’s Mowers & More, picking up and delivering lawn mowers.  Both Pam and Ed enjoy working in their yard, too.

What brought them to Glennville was their two children living in this community.

Son Ed Jr. is the butcher for B&T’s Fresh Market in Glennville, where he has been employed for the past three years.  He is single and previously worked long hours for a newspaper.

Daughter Tina Beasley lives in Glennville with her husband, Johnny, who is from Vidalia.  He is in the Army and stationed at Ft. Stewart. He has three years before making his 20 years. They plan to stay in Glennville in their home on Hencart Road where they have lived for the past eight years. Their two children include Ally, age 19, and J.T., age 10.

Ally is a 2021 graduate of Tattnall County High School, where she was an honor roll student and involved in many activities. After attending a semester at Georgia Southern University, she was accepted for a year internship at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

“She is loving it.  Ally works at the Emporium on Main Street at Magic Kingdom, and she is getting a wide range of experience. The program provides housing and public transportation, and she is thrilled with her accommodations and getting to enjoy the beach and parks there, too. We go to visit her about once a month to take her some of her favorite home cooking,” Tina, Ally’s mother, said.

Pam usually accompanies them on their trips, as does J.T., who is home schooled. In fact, the entire family like Disney World, and the memorabilia they have collected attests to that.

Putting together Legos, especially those that are Disney themed, has become a family pastime for Pam, Tina, and J.T. The Main Street of Disney World, plus Cinderella’s castle, are most impressively displayed in the living room of the Smith home.  In addition, Tina is a talented artist, painting furniture with various Disney scenes, which she does free handed.

J.T. is quite adept at putting the Lego creations together, and his “Home Alone” house is one of his most recent.

Pam and Tina both enjoy cooking, and Ed is quite content to leave that to them. Mom and daughter enjoy cooking especially for holidays, such as Thanksgiving, and both Ally and J.T. know their way around a kitchen, too.

Pam and Ed like knowing they are close to their children here in Glennville, and spending time with their two grandchildren has been an extra blessing to them.

Pam and Ed Smith’s Recipes

CHICKEN TACOS

1Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 lb. cooked chicken, shredded

1 oz. taco seasoning 

1/2 cup onion, diced

1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes, fully drained

1 (4.5-oz.) can chopped green chiles, fully drained

10 Stand and Stuff Taco Shells (I used Old El Paso)

8-oz. Refried Beans 

2 cups Mexican Blend Cheese, shredded

Toppings, such as Old El Paso sliced jalapeños, sour cream, salsa, chopped cilantro, shredded lettuce, or any of your favorite taco toppings

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.  Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet.  Add onion to skillet and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and fragrant.  Stir in the chicken, taco seasoning, tomatoes (fully drained), and green chiles (fully  drained). Stir to combine fully. Reduce to simmer and allow to cook for 5 to 8 minutes.

Place the taco shells in the baking dish, standing up.  Bake the taco shells for 5 minutes by themselves to allow them to crisp up.  Remove from the oven.  Spoon 1 tablespoon of beans into the bottom of each taco shell. Top with the chicken mixture, almost to the top of each shell.  Sprinkle each shell generously with shredded cheese; the more, the better!

Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and the edges of the shells are browned.  Remove from the oven and top with your favorite items, such as jalapeños, sour cream, cilantro, and salsa.

PARMESAN TILAPIA

4 tilapia filets, about 4 oz. each

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp. salt 

1 Tbs[. lemon pepper

1 Tbsp. chopped parsley

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

For Garnish:

1/4 cup diced green onions, optional

lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Mix together the grated Parmesan, lemon pepper, parsley, and salt.  Drizzle the tilapia with olive oil, then coat with the cheese mixture, pressing it in lightly with your fingers to make sure it sticks. Sprinkle lightly with shredded Parmesan. Transfer to foil lined baking sheet.

Bake until the fish is opaque in the thickest part, about 10 minutes.

To brown further, broil for about 5 more minutes until cheese crust is slightly crispy (watch carefully to make sure fish doesn’t burn).  Top with green onions, and serve with lemon wedges, optional.