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A Sweet Friendship Refreshes the Soul
–Proverbs 27:9–
Most of us remember our first best
friend. A kindergarten classmate, perhaps,
or a neighborhood buddy who loved to
ride bikes as much as we did. True
friendships make life sweeter, and provide
us with a community in which we can feel
at home. No doubt many of our growing
up memories include eating at a friend’s
house, even if it was just grabbing popsicles
out of the freezer on a hot summer
day. There’s just something about sitting
down to a meal - or popsicle - with
someone that lends itself to conversation,
which is why a supper club can be a great
start to lifelong friendships.
Ten years ago, Camille and Othel
Anding moved to Rankin County from
north Mississippi, where Camille had
grown up and Othel had lived since they
married. They quickly set out to get to
know the neighbors in their one-street
neighborhood within the Castlewoods
subdivision. “I knew there were 24 houses
on our street, so I figured that was 48
people, and I thought, ‘We can handle
that. Let’s have a party.’” Othel says. The
Andings invited every couple on the street
to their home for dinner. “I remember
thinking how unusual it was for them to
be hosting all of us,” says friend and
neighbor Roberta Howell. “Usually, it’s
the other way around when someone new
moves in.”
That evening at the Andings gave
everyone a chance to spend time together
while getting to know the “new kids on
the block,” and marked the beginning of
several new friendships. “Several of us had
been involved in a neighborhood supper
club before, but it was not really active at
the time,” says Ruth Smith, who has lived
on the street for 30 years, along with her
husband John Lowe Smith. Having hit it
off that night at the Andings, four couples
decided to form a new supper club. The
Smiths and Andings, along with Bernard
and Linda Richards, and Kay and Carson
Hughes, kicked it off, and Denny and
Roberta Howell joined soon thereafter.
Each month, one couple hosts the rest
of the group for dinner. “We usually never
leave the table,” says Camille. “We’ll sit
and talk long after we’ve finished eating.”
The couples laugh as they say they don’t
discuss politics at supper club. Clearly, any
difference of political opinions hasn’t
hindered the friendships formed over the
last decade, which go well beyond a once a
month dinner. These friends and neighbors
have seen the marriages of grandchildren
and births of great-grandchildren.
They have workdays to beautify and
maintain the area behind the houses.
They check on one another and provide
support through the hard times that
inevitably come in life, and every morning
at 8:00, Camille sends a text to the group
with a verse or passage from Scripture. “I
know when I hear my phone go off at
8:00 that it’s Camille. I can always count
on that.” says Ruth.
The past few years have seen a change
in the supper club as Bernard and Linda
moved to Alabama, and Carson and Kay
moved to Starkville. The group stays in
touch and gets together when the couples
come back to town to visit. “There are
many treasures that we experience in our
lives, but I can truly say that our time with
our dear group of supper club friends will
always be a highlight.” says Linda. “It was
the joy we felt sitting around each dining
table breaking bread together with the
knowledge that those gathered loved and
Hometown RANKIN • 15