I grew up going to a family reunion every 4th of July on Lake Cherokee in East Texas. My great-uncle and aunt R.K. and Willie Mae Callahan were the hosts. One of my favorite things to eat was her Banana Pudding. There was nothing better than coming from swimming, and eating a huge bowl of it. And yet every time I made banana pudding, it never tasted like my Aunt Willie Mae’s. Now I know why, and I am going to let you in on the secret as divulged to me by one of my Malone cousins.

First let me tell you about R.K. and Willie Mae Callahan from my perspective. They were everyone’s favorites. She was a great cook and loved to tell stories. Aunt Willie Mae was adamantly opposed to card-playing. One of my fondest memories was her finally agreeing to play a game of “Old Maid” with my sister and I, as long as we “promised not to tell the preacher.” My Uncle R.K. always had this mischievous glint to his eye. Every kid loved him. He always gave us gum, and winked at us when we got in trouble. Now what sort of adult winks at you when your parent sends you to cut a switch from the nearest mulberry bush? The kind of adult you adore because, like Uncle R.K., they still have a big dose of kid in them.

My cousin Maudine Malone Smith, recently contacted me with her stories of Uncle R.K. and Aunt Willie Mae. And to my surprise she gave me the banana pudding recipe I could never get quite right. And while it is not the 4th of July, warm weather is here. And that means get-togethers, swimming holes, playing washers, and potlucks. And y’all can bring along the now “public knowledge” banana pudding recipe and make everyone happy just like my Aunt Willie Mae used to.

Willie Mae Malone Callahan’s Easy Banana Pudding

Recipes and Stories

by Maudine Malone Smith

Aine: How did you get this recipe?

Maudine:  I had always made the recipe on the Vanilla Wafer box where you had to cook the custard and it really took some time. One time I got there a day early for the reunion, Aunt Willie Mae said “here you make the banana pudding.” I was getting out a pot to cook the custard, and she said “oh no make it the easy way.” I was a little skeptical that it would turn out as good but it was better, more creamier and so easy to make! I am sure we usually made a double recipe.

I asked Aunt Willie Mae why her recipe did not call for instant BANANA flavored pudding and she said it would not taste as good.

Aine: Any other tips for the recipe?

Maudine:  One thing for certain, you will need a big bowl. A pedestal bowl is pretty also. I usually layer the vanilla wafers in the bottom and around the side on the first layer, and that looks pretty also. I usually take it to potlucks, luncheons, and always make it for the Bluff Creek Homecoming ( in Livingston, Texas) and I have people come looking for it.

Aine: Can you tell me what else you remember about Uncle R.K. and Aunt Willie Mae? My aunt, Gayle Riley, and my great-aunt, Katholine, who was R.K.’s niece told me a story about them. They said that Uncle R.K. said that when he died all he wanted was a “pine box and a plug of chewing tobacco in his pocket.” Aunt Willie Mae upon hearing that said “well you had better make sure you outlive me because if I have anything to say about it there will be no plug of tobacco to be found.”

Maudine:  What a couple they were! Young and old loved them. I remember when a new baby was brought to the reunion, Pappy (Uncle R.K.) would sing “You get a line and I get a pole and we’ll go down to the crawdad hole. Baby O Baby Mine.” He always had that plug of chewing tobacco and you are right. Aunt Willie Mae did not like it. Pappy was just a little spoiled being the baby in the family. He always had to eat his dessert first, and all the kids loved that notion and so did a few of the older ones. He loved fig preserves, and since I had a fig tree he decided I needed to bring him a case every year to the reunion. I guess that was my admission price! He would immediately open a jar, and eat a whole pint right then and there. And no, he did not offer to share them with anyone. When he would say something a little off-color or inappropriate, Aunt Willie Mae would say, “Now R.K.” He would usually tone it down a little.

Whenever I went to the 4th of July reunion, I knew I had to watch out for snakes. Uncle R.K. knew I was terrified of snakes since my older brother, Joe Malone, always seemed to have a king snake ready to taunt me when we were kids at Soda, Texas. He always said if he had a snake in his hand, I could run faster than any girl in Polk County. When we got to the reunion I would always tell Uncle R.K.: “ok go ahead and throw a snake at me.” Uncle R.K would act so innocent. Then when I least expected it , there would be the snake–flying across the room, in my bed or even in the bathroom. I would start squealing and you would hear Aunt Willie Mae say :” NOW R.K!” There were several of our female relative he would do that to, especially the ones who would scream the loudest.

One thing I remember most about Aunt Willie Mae was how she would love to go to gospel singings. She seldom missed one in the area, and she travelled all over to hear her favorite group. Wasn’t it the Florida Boys at one time? Most important to her was family, and she believed in keeping up with all those Malones. They would come from all over to visit her. Those two dear souls still bring a smile to my face!

Easy Banana Pudding

2 cups cold milk

1 large package of VANILLA instant pudding

1 can Eagle Brand milk

8 oz container of Cool Whip

1 tsp vanilla

1 box of vanilla wafers

About 6-8 bananas, sliced horizontally

1. Mix milk and pudding until creamy.

2. Add Eagle Brand milk and vanilla. Mix well.

3. Start assembling–Put a layer of vanilla wafers, then a layer of bananas and top with pudding mixture.

4. Keep layering until bowl is almost full.

5. Put Cool Whip on top as final layer.

6. I then crush a few of the Vanilla wafers and sprinkle on top.

7. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Dig in and enjoy!

(Note: If you are making this for a group of people I would double the recipe.)

An interesting side note to this story is in the photo at the top of this blog there is a little girl atop a horse. Her name is Ruth Kuykendall. She is my great-grandmother. When my great-grandfather was courting her, his own mother was pregnant, and my great-grandfather asked his mother to let him name his baby brother. His mother allowed it, and my great-grandfather named his baby brother R.K. after the girl, Ruth Kuykendall, he was courting.  That baby brother is our Uncle R.K.