The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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May 9, 2009

Food and Family

You can never have too many cooks in this kitchen!

By Bev Davis

Barbara Cochran laughs about her early cooking days.

“I only knew how to cook a few things before I got married. I would make those things for my husband while we were dating, so when we got married, I really needed to learn how to cook,” the Wyoming County native said.

Like many new brides, she turned to her mom for help. Kathleen Justice, now 86, shared some recipes and cooking tips, and Barbara has kept her husband Tom Cochran eating well for 44 years now.

They met in Oceana. He was right out of the military and was driving a coal truck. Barbara had finished hairdressers’ school and was still clinging to the notion of being a stylist on a cruise ship.

Not long after they were married, Tom left his job with Pittston Coal Co. and headed to Oklahoma, where he studied aeronautics and went to work as an airline mechanic. Following a layoff from Trans World Airlines, he and Barbara returned to West Virginia, where he resumed working for Pittston.

One day after his retirement from 30 years with the coal company, Cochran got the job as airport manager at the Raleigh County Memorial Airport.

The family, which now included daughter Wendy, settled in Daniels. All were bitten by the travel bug, and in 1987, Barbara and Wendy were operating Cochran’s Worldwide Travel agency, a business they enjoyed for 14 years.

Wendy had logged some time working for Piedmont Airlines and US Air. She met pilot Pete Campbell, whom she married.

Wendy took a keen interest in cooking while she was growing up, turning to her mom and grandmother for help perfecting her culinary skills.

She ran a catering business, and a couple of years ago opened New River Falls BBQ in Hinton. Her mom came on board to help out, and although she doesn’t work at the restaurant, Wendy’s grandmother still serves as a consultant when the cooks need some advice.

Some people think it might be too close for comfort for a mom and daughter to work side-by-side in a business, but Barbara and Wendy wouldn’t have it any other way.

“My mom is just my best friend in the world. I love being around her,” Wendy said. “At times, it can be difficult, because we are so much alike, but we hug and make up because we just love each other so much.”

Barbara says she’s never had a business partner she liked any better, either.

“I still try to boss her around sometimes — like my mom still does to me — but that’s a natural thing for mothers, I guess,” Barbara said. “Wendy is so easy to be around. I would rather work with her than anybody else I know.”

Barbara credits her own mom with the strong work ethic she and Wendy have inherited.

“Mom always used to tell us nobody every died from hard work. She worked hard all her life, and she still cans and does a lot. She’s been a wonderful mother and a great example to follow,” Barbara said.

Today, Barbara and Wendy will be on the job serving meals to all the Mother’s Day customers who come by.

“We normally close on Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving so we can all be with our families, but today we’ll be here to help other people honor their moms,” Wendy said.

— E-mail: bdavis@register-herald.com

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