• Photo: Renee and Silas Black.tif

Silas and Renee Black have lived in Chandler about 40 years. Although they do not live in Southside, they attend Mt. Olive Baptist Church. Silas, retired from Williams Air Force Base when he was Chief Master Sergeant.

“We were notified by a family friend that something was wrong with my great-aunt Willie Mae. She began to get confused easily; forgetful. The final tip-off was the last few times she had been requested to provide her 7-Up Cake for church get-togethers, it did not taste quite right.

Her family took her to the doctor. A week later, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The disease progressed quickly (in our eyes). She was no longer able to live on her own, so we began to pack all of her things to relocate her to live with her niece, Dolores. As we were in the kitchen packing, we ran across several of her handwritten recipes. One of them was her infamous 7-Up Cake! We were overjoyed at finding the family and community recipe.

Thankfully, it is one treasure even Alzheimer’s did not claim. The cake is easy to make and a definite crowd pleaser.” – Silas Black

·         Drawing: Recipe #18