Great Grandma Johnson’s Apple Butter

Her name was Nellie Johnson and I never met her. I grew up hearing the many stories that were told of this larger than life woman. From what I gather she was the pastor of Independence Fire Baptized Holiness Church (and the family is always quick to add- not the snake handling kind- just an old fashioned holiness church) for 46 years. But this was after living a life pretty much different than a life of ministry. I’m sure the stories of her were greatly exaggerated through the years. That’s just the way of it. I would have liked to have met her, but she died a decade before my birth.

Actually although I never met her, I have heard her voice. My grandpa had an old cassette tape he would play with her praying for her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. Even though she was actually my Great, Great Grandma, I somehow felt included in that prayer.

Maybe my favorite story is how she was preaching and in the middle of the sermon noticed her daughter outside the church with some other teen girls. She stopped the sermon, marched outside and pulled her daughter back in. At least that’s how the story goes in my mind. . . there also was something dealing with her daughter decking someone who disagreed with her sermon perhaps even in church- but again I cannot truly confirm that story.

So to Nellie Johnson’s perseverance, love of Jesus and deep, deep desire that as many people as possible come to know Him- I put up her recipe for Apple Butter.

Great Grandma Johnson’s Apple Butter

18 qt apples

9 pts sugar

Let stand overnight.

5 drops cinnamon oil.

That’s the thing about these ancient recipes. Short, sweet and not much instruction.

Apple Butter Nellie Johnson

Dienna Goscha

Living in Minnesota somewhere between creative idealism and practical reality. I've been married for 33 years to my college boyfriend, Don. We met in Oklahoma. Lived in Alabama and Georgia. Then landed in Minnesota. We have three sons and two daughters-in-law who are pretty cool. I was a math teacher. Then a stay at home mom. Now a pastor. Yeah, that. I speak. Write. Do stuff like that. All pretty much wrapped around the fact that loving God and loving others is the foundation of all I try to do.

5 Comments

Jan robinson
April 25, 2013 at 2:53 pm
Reply

Awesome! Love all the info!
Jeanne Darbro
July 9, 2013 at 9:31 pm
Reply

My great grandma Nellie Johnson gave me a little black zippered bible when I was six years old.
She was in bed sick at the time. I can still see her handing it to me and probably telling me to always serve God. I can still see her sitting in her rocking chair in her living room. Writing about her makes me miss her. She was a wonderful lady.
Scott Hazelwood
October 13, 2014 at 12:16 pm
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Thank you for sharing this. I would just like to say that I have heard about your Great-Great-Grandma Nellie Johnson all of my life. I really do not think many of the stories which I have heard were much–if any–exaggerated. I heard about her from first-hand sources, and I believe she was a very brave and Godly lady! May her memory and Godly influence remain until Jesus raptures His saints!

One story I heard was that she was thrown into jail in Mound Valley, Kansas for “disturbing the peace” when she preached Holiness in that small town. There is a historic jail remaining in that little village to this day, and I assume it is probably the same one in which she was incarcerated overnight. My understanding is that she preached the gospel through the bars to those gathered around her! She may have been something of a modern-day Apostle Paul.
1. Dienna Goscha
  October 13, 2014 at 12:55 pm
  Reply
  
  Thanks for the story Scott. I never heard that one about the jail.
  1. Scott Hazelwood
    October 14, 2014 at 9:38 am
    Reply
    
    I’m glad that you enjoyed!