Michelangelo had his painting, Robert Burns his poetry, and Mary Yerger has perfected an art form that most folks literally find “good enough to eat.” Like the others on that list, Mary has been unceasingly creative in following her passion: delighting the human palate. In fact, she began under her mother’s tutelage almost 75 years ago. Since then, Mary’s highly original recipes have pleased her large family, fed thousands of school kids and even helped launch a specialty food business. Today, she’s nearly 95—and shows no signs of slowing down.
Never more alive than when she’s in the kitchen, Mary still delights her fellow senior community residents with delicious, “home-cooked” cinnamon rolls and more, at her current residence, Martha Coker Green House Homes in Yazoo City. It’s safe to say that Mary goes “old school” on showing love by tempting tastebuds and calming appetites with family recipes, some of which date back to when FDR was in office. She’s even written her own cookbook.
“Mary Yerger was born to cook, that’s just so obvious,” said Julie Hoffman, Executive Director at the Mary Coker Green House. “We’re delighted with the open concept of the kitchens in our Green House homes that encourage Ms. Yerger to continue doing what she has loved for so long, blessing others through her gift for cooking and serving delicious food.”
Ironically, opportunity for Mary arose out of personal tragedy. Widowed as mother of five children in 1967, she took a position in a local Catholic school as cafeteria manager, serving up hot meals to hungry youngsters. As time passed and her culinary skills grew, she became the food services supervisor for the Yazoo City Public Schools, with overall responsibility for around 5,000 school kids.
Then came a time when she opened her own food catering business with a close friend, operating from her own kitchen. Says her son Hunter Yerger, “She developed an amazing recipe for cheese straws, a huge favorite among southerners, and they really caught on. So her legacy continues.”
Even though age forced Mary to retire in the 1990s, that business lives on as Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory, a successful manufacturer and wholesaler of many variations on the original product. Mary, along with sons Hunter and Robbie founded the company in 1991 and the Yerger brothers own and operate the business, where they delight in leaving a good taste in their customer’s mouths. Not surprisingly, even so long after retiring from the food business, Mary still nurtures a fondness for cooking.
When her health needs required her to move to a retirement community, Mary was reluctant because she feared she’d have to give up her beloved cooking. Fortunately, when she did finally move into her current senior community in Yazoo City, it was built around an “open-hearth” concept, which allows residents to choose their own level of social engagement. Their options can include closing their door for privacy, opening it to observe activities in the Hearth area, or joining the group in various social activities such as menu planning, meal preparation, setting the table and recreational activities. Clearly, it’s an ideal setting for Mary versus traditional communities.
Today, she gets to ply her culinary passion right inside her new home, which is designed to reflect the ambience of an actual household. The community Shahbaz, or kitchen head, at Martha Coker Green House® makes sure she has all the grocery items she needs to deliver her best work, which most agree are her cinnamon rolls. And her hot dinner rolls have a loyal following as well!
Clearly, Mary Yerger has never stopped doing what she loves the most, blessing those around her with her cooking gift—then and always. That sort of freedom is integral to the residence experience—and intentionally “baked into” the culture at her elder care community.
