About Author

About the Author

Elizabeth J. White

Elizabeth J. White was born to the union of Jesse J. and Lizzie Jones Jimmerson on a cloudy overcast day on February 20, 1923, in Oeanville, Texas, a stone’s throw (or as they say in that part of the country) a short chunk from Temple, where she grew up.

Elizabeth was the last girl and third youngest of 12 siblings. Early life was spent holding on to her mother’s apron string and often trying to tag along with her older siblings as they would spend endless hours down at the little creek that was just off to the side of their humble home.

Introduction of Elizabeth

About the Author

Elizabeth belongs to a very loving Christian family of six brothers and five sisters who did not want to see her leave Temple, but they understood her desire to create greater opportunities for herself and her young children. She ventured out to Arizona as a former domestic worker –– a job many African American women held in the 1950s-1960s. Life was challenging for African Americans in those early years - the 30s, 40s, and 50s - the era before the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts.

Elizabeth acquired her cooking skills from her mother, Mrs. Lizzie Jimmerson who was an excellent cook and also loved to bake, affectionately referred to as Big Mama. Mrs. Lizzie was an excellent scratch cook, and she knew just how many ingredients to add to her various baked goods to make them perfect every time. She always had a fresh cake ready on the table to welcome guests or visitors to Jimmerson‘s house. She could preserve fruit and bake the best coconut or chocolate icing-yellow cake in Bell County.