In the News

Winter Weather Update

Updated Sunday:  We are open until 7 pm instead of 4 pm.  Yeah!  Y'all come.  Regular hours tomorrow of 6:30 am to 9 pm!

Updated 2 pm Saturday, January 30th, 2010:  We are open today and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm.  These special hours are due to the winter weather and icy road conditions here in West Tennessee if you are reading this in England.    

Got cabin fever?  Come see us for a delicious hot buffet including our famous homemade soups,  Southern meats & vegetables, desserts and more.  We've cleared our parking lot too for safer passage.  Y'all come!

Updated Saturday morning, January 30th at 10:35 am:  We open at 11 am today!  The weather may be frightful but our buffet is delightful.  We will be open for the next few hours for lunch and will decide this afternoon about supper.  Please join us for lunch if you can and drive carefully!

Updated at 12:44 pm:  Due to deteriorating road conditions in Jackson and West Tennessee, we are closing at 1 pm today and reopening at 11 am Saturday.  See you then!

Updated 11:13 am on Friday, January 29th, 2010:  We are open until 3 pm today.  Please join us for lunch if you must be out and about.  Due to local road conditions, we will close at 3:00 today and reopen at 11 am Saturday, January 30th.  

Posted Friday, January 29th at 10:37 am:   We wanted everyone to know that we are open today - Friday, January 29th - for Breakfast and Lunch at the Old Country Store.  We will make a determination on Supper later today.  Would love to see you and please be careful out there!

Culinary Tourism ~ Watch this great TN Video!

Posted January 22nd, 2010:

We love Culinary Tourism!  We're so proud to be in this wonderful video done by our friends at the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1TcNF2yHQQ

Upcoming Live Music & News!

Save the Date!

Cane Ridge Bluegrass Band
  
Second Tuesdays 7 - 9 pm     Great bluegrass!     
Casey Jones Barbershop Chorus
Third Tuesdays
6:30 pm
Classic barbershop favorites
 
Heather Paige Vaughn
performs in the Barnside Room for our dinner guests. 
Open seating. Reservations not required.
6:30 pm to 8:00 pm   Saturday, January 16th
Read more about this talented young lady at
 www.wwyn.fm on the "Spotlight" page
 
Songwriter's Depot
kicks off our 2010 Season Thursday, January 28th as we
welcome renowned singer/songwriters
Jimmy Melton, Casey Beathard & Phil O'Donnell
 
The Story Behind the Song of Country Music's Greatest Hits
Dinner hour 6 pm
Show at 7 pm
Call WYN 106.9 for reservations at 731.427.9616
 
We are very proud to be involved with the
Maximum Man Conference
at Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson 
January 22nd and 23rd. 
Read more about this powerful conference at 
www.ministrytomen.org
 
 
Follow us at www.twitter.com/oldcountrystore
and Be our Fan on Facebook at
"Brooks Shaw's Old Country Store"

Christmas Eve Breakfast!

Posted January 1st, 2010:  Happy New Year!!  We hope 2010 is your best year ever.  We wanted to share this wonderful clip from WBBJ TV in Jackson and their coverage of our Christmas Eve Breakfast.  It was another incredible year and many thanks to the station and to Lauren Linney for this great story!  

Juanita & Gingerbread Cookies on TV!

Posted December 9th, 2009:  Juanita Shaw did an excellent job today cooking Gingerbread Cookies on EPlusTV6 here in Jackson, a local cable station operated by the Jackson Energy Authority.  She appeared on the "Jackson 24/7 " 30 minute news show  produced by Steve Beverly and Union University students and had an interesting and fun segment showing how to make this classic Christmas cookie.  Many thanks for having her on the show on a regular basis.

Juanita used Smith Sorghum Farm sorghum in the recipe.  Bottles of sorghum are available for purchase at the Old Country Store gift shoppe.  Read more about the neat couple who own the farm in Brownsville, Tennessee~ Freddy and Mary Beth Smith ~ in the Brownsville States-Graphic article at this link:  
http://statesgraphic.com/bookmark/4346501/article-A .

Guest Charity for Christmas Eve Breakfast Announced

December 7th, 2009

We are honored to make the following announcement. 
See our press release below....
 
25th Annual
Christmas Eve Breakfast Announces Guest Charity

 
(Jackson, TN) Named a Top 20 event by the Southeast Tourism Society in 2008, the 25th annual Old Country Store Christmas Eve Breakfast has announced it's 2009 non-profit guest as the National Meningitis Association.  According to Deborah Shaw Laman, Old Country Store marketing director, "Several years ago we began to invite a non-profit organization to set up an information area to highlight their work to our guests at the Christmas Eve Breakfast.  We lost a family member, Sarah Beth Whitehead, the niece of Juanita and Clark Shaw, to meningitis at the age of 14. She was a precious and incredible young lady. Her family will be our special guest at the Christmas Eve Breakfast.  Her mother, Tresa Whitehead, is now a member of the National Meningitis Association's MOMs on Meningitis program. Sarah Beth's story is on the National Meningitis Association website at: http://www.nmaus.org/awareness/tennessee.htm . "
 
The National Meningitis Association, Inc. (NMA) is a national non-profit charity. The primary goal of NMA is to educate and increase awareness of meningococcal disease. In particular, NMA is focused on raising awareness and protection among adolescents and young adults, many of whom can be protected through education and vaccination efforts.
 
Attendance at the Old Country Store Christmas Eve Breakfast each year is around 2,000 people for what has become a favorite holiday tradition among West Tennessee area families.  The Old Country Store hours will be 6:30 am to 2 pm for breakfast with the Gift Shoppe closing at 3 pm.  The Museum will be open from 9 am to 3 pm. 
 
For more information visit http://www.caseyjones.com/ . Brooks Shaw & Son Old Country Store has been in business since 1965 and is located on the Highway 45 By-pass at Interstate 40 exit 80A in Jackson, Tennessee.
 

Our December Newsletter! Christmas Merriment & More!

Posted December 2nd, 2009:  Merry Christmas! Here's a copy of our December newsletter.  Sign up today on our homepage at www.caseyjones.com for future issues!


 
Merry Christmas!
 
Christmas in the Village is the most beautiful time of the year!  Come visit us soon for one stop stopping at Brooks Shaw & Son Old Country Store, the Casey Jones Train Store & the Shoppes at Casey Jones Village! 
 
Southern gifts of all kinds at the Old Country Store and in the Wellwood store, Thomas the Tank and train themed toys and gifts at the Museum and at the Shoppes ~ Native American jewelry and gifts, Collectibles, Souvenirs, a local art Gallery, a Pottery studio & more.
 
We're also Jackson's party headquarters for office parties, family gatherings and corporate functions.  Call Alison at the Old Country Store today at 731.668.1223 extension 123 to schedule a fun and memorable event at the Old Country Store or Casey Jones Museum.
 
When you're out shopping, take a break with us! 
Breakfast, Lunch or Supper
Remember our fantastic Old Country Store "To Go" too!
 
Highlights of Upcoming Events
 in Casey Jones Village: 
 
Thursday, December 3rd:  Gospel Supper Club in the Old Country Store Barnside Room at 6 pm with Renewed Quartet.
 
Sundays in December:  Santa Claus Visits the Village during lunch hour at the Old Country Store.
 
Sunday, December 6th:  Church at the Village hosts Hymns & Carols with Wildwood Express & the Cartwright Family.  6 pm at the Church located in the Shoppes at Casey Jones Village.  Music service will be followed by fellowship & refreshments.
 
Saturday, December 19th:  Book Signing of Walking On with Dwana Pusser ~ Casey Jones Museum at 1 pm.
 
Sunday, December 20th:  The Spurlock Family performs live music at 1:30 pm at the Old Country Store Ice Cream Parlor.
 
Thursday, December 24th:  25th Annual Christmas Eve
Breakfast at the Old Country Store restaurant.  6:30 am to 2 pm.  Gift Shoppe and Casey Jones Museum open until 3 pm.
 
 
New events and information are added all the time!  Check out our "Events" and "In the News" pages at www.caseyjones.com and sign up for our Blogs!
 
We Twitter!  We Facebook!  Join us, won't you?  www.twitter.com/oldcountrystore and our fan page is on www.facebook.com under "Brooks Shaw's Old Country Store". 
Spread the word!   

Shaw Family Attends Southern Foodways Alliance
Annual Symposium
 
(Jackson, TN)   Four members of the Shaw Family who operate Brooks Shaw & Son Old Country Store in Casey Jones Village recently attended the 2009 Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium.  Deborah Shaw Laman, and her Mother, Anne Shaw, attended the 2009 Delta Divertissement held in Greenwood, Mississippi.  It began with a "Boarding House Lunch" at the Viking Range Training Center in downtown Greenwood with Viking chef Elizabeth Heiskell.  The evening event was a trip to Indianola, Mississippi to visit the multi-million dollar B.B. King Museum & Delta Interpretative Center followed by dinner at Club Ebony, now owned by B.B. King. Accommodations were at the world renowned Alluvian Hotel in downtown Greenwood.
 
Clark and Juanita Shaw attended the Symposium in Oxford, Mississippi which was entitled "Music & Food: Exploring Interdependent Cultural Expressions".  The weekend long event entailed a fascinating schedule of various speakers, food events and networking with the conference attendees.  The Southern Foodways Alliance is a member supported non-profit organization dedicated to the documentation and preservation of the diverse food cultures of the American South.  It is under the directorship of John T. Edge, one of the country's most noted food experts and authors.  The SFA is headquartered at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi at Oxford.
 
 
Deborah Shaw Laman  Marketing Director
Need a Speaker?
 
Yours truly was recently honored to speak at the Old Hickory Rotary Club and the Jackson Business & Professional Women's Club in Jackson.  I really appreciate the invitation and spoke on all the new and exciting things happening in the Village.  It was fun and everyone was so gracious! 
 
We have our own mini-speakers bureau and would be delighted to speak to your civic or church group.  Norma Taylor, our Casey Jones historian,  is an excellent speaker and loves to talk on Casey Jones and the Casey Jones Home & Railroad Museum.  Just contact us at villagepr@gmail.com
 
Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Museum AP Story Goes International!

We wanted to share the following wonderful news with you.  The opening of the expansion of the Casey Jones Museum has garnered international attention for Jackson, Tennessee.  Below are links to some of the following news briefs that went AP recently in regard to Casey Jones and the Casey Jones Museum.  We are very proud to share the following with you and many thanks to AP Nashville and the AP organization.  If it was in your paper, we'd love to know.  Email us at caseyjonestn@yahoo.com .

Great news!

Colleen Coury, our Jackson Convention & Visitors Bureau executive director, shared the following wonderful article with us.  Thank you Colleen for all your hard work on behalf of Jackson and Southwest Tennessee:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/serendipity/pti_20091112/index.php?startid=Cover1&WidgetId=null&BookId=ed14808a91e8f388f4264b9e82fd7500#/52

Juanita Shaw on TV!

Updated October 30th, 2009:  Juanita Shaw with the Old Country Store was cooking up some greens on this week's Jackson 24-7 show shown on JEA Channel 6.  Juanita has a gift for making cooking both fun and educational.  Here's her recipe for this Southern classic:

"Greens" cooking instructions by Juanita Shaw

4 cups water
1 country ham hock
2 to 2 ½ pounds of greens
salt and pepper to taste

Put water in heavy stock pot. Bring to a boil, add ham hock and continue to boil for 15 to 20 minutes covered. To prepare greens for cooking, fill sink full of cold water, place greens in water. Remove the stems and as you do transfer the greens to other side of the sink. If the leaf is large tear in halves or thirds. When all the stems are removed, drain first rinse water and refill sink with fresh water and rewash greens. Add prepared greens in batches to boiling ham hock water. As greens cook down, continue to add all greens. Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for 1 ½ hours. Add salt and pepper to taste.
 

Updated October 9th, 2009:  Juanita's cooking segment on Jackson 24-7 will re-air on Saturday, October 10th at 6 pm and Sunday at 7 am and Noon.   A free download (to be able to watch Channel 6 online) is available on the Jackson Energy Authority EPlus TV6 website at www.eplustv6.com

Updated October 3rd, 2009:  Juanita Shaw's Bread Pudding segment re-aired today on Jackson Energy Authority local cable Channel 6 and her Fried Okra cooking segment aired Friday.  Here's her delicious recipe for Fried Okra.  Many thanks to Juanita for her dedication to Southern cooking education and to keeping these awesome recipes passed on from generation to generation.  Many thanks also to Steve Beverly and the Jackson 24-7 show for having Juanita on the show on a regular basis again this season.

FRIED OKRA
 

1 – 1 ½ lbs fresh okra

½ c. White cornmeal

½ c. flour

½ t. salt

¼ t. white pepper

1 c. buttermilk

Pour enough vegetable oil to fill deep fryer or a cast iron skillet to 1 inch depth.  Wash okra well. Drain. Remove tips and stems. Cut into ½ inch slices. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Pour buttermilk into a separate bowl.  Place cut okra into buttermilk. Remove okra with a slotted spoon and roll in cornmeal/flour mixture.

Fry okra at 350° turning to brown on all sides. When golden brown, drain on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Posted September 21st, 2009:  Watch Juanita Shaw with the Old Country Store on the Jackson 24-7 TV show on JEA cable Channel 6 at noon today!  She will be cooking today and tomorrow on the show.  You will love it! 
www.eplustv6.com  It airs at 7 am, noon, 6 pm and 10 pm.  

Jackson 24-7 is a wonderful show in its second season.  It is produced by Steve Beverly and Union University students and is a daily 30 minute news show broadcast Monday to Friday.  Great job, Juanita!

Juanita Shaw's Recipe from Jackson 24-7 for
Bread Pudding


1 loaf of bread (6 cups)

1 qt whole milk

3 eggs, beaten slightly

1 ½ c sugar

2 t pure vanilla extract

¼ fresh nutmeg

3 T butter, melted

 

Break bread into small pieces and put in a large mixing bowl. Add milk, set aside and let soak for 20 minutes. Add eggs, sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. Coat bottom of casserole dish with butter. Pour mixture into dish and bake at 350° for 20 minutes until top is brown. Reduce heat to 200° and cook another 40 minutes. Serve with your favorite sauce.

 

Favorite Bread Pudding Sauce

 

1 stick butter

1 c sugar

½ c half n half

1 T pure vanilla extract or rum flavoring (whatever your favorite may be)

 

Put butter, sugar and half n half in a heavy sauce pan and cook on medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to just a slight boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Add favorite flavoring.

Enjoy!