For years, I have enjoyed the life and times of the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, one of the most consequential and gratifying landmarks on the University of Georgia campus.  It comes close to ranking right up there with other well-known iconic staples such as the Arch, the Chapel Bell, and Sanford’s famous hedges.

It has been a welcoming host for countless Georgians and out of state visitors since1957 when it opened its doors.   Its first director was an interesting character by the name of Hugh Masters who had an inventive and acquiring mind.  He was a remarkable sage who “thought outside the box” before anybody in Athens embraced that aphorism.  

Over the years, there have been many firsts and signature highlights, perhaps, the best known being its famous strawberry ice cream pie.  Last week I sat down with former Georgia Center baker Leutrell Sims, her daughter Gwen Finch, and Stacy Jones, Director of the Georgia Center, to reminisce about this famous dessert.  While Leutrell did not come up with the original recipe, she perfected the Center’s menu masterpiece, bringing about an unforgettable and iconic trademark that has given the pie widespread acclaim.  

There are several vignettes which have influenced this dessert’s reputation and longevity, none more consequential than that of a delightful lady who has never eaten a slice of the pie she helped make famous.  To begin with, this charming and downhome but reluctant personality is a vegetable oriented, farm raised native of nearby Madison County.  Her grandmother taught her to bake.  Family members say that she probably took up baking by the time her midwife put her in swaddling clothes more than eight decades ago.

Her mother died when she was six years old. She began hanging around the kitchen, asking her grandmother—her mentor—questions and learning to taste without partaking, a long-time kitchen habit of seasoned cooks and chefs.

As Athens’ population grew with an expanding student body following World War II, there was a need for cooks and bakers as the University of Georgia became more and more popular—not just for natives but becoming a regional destination for the best and brightest college age kids.

Leutrell started to work at the Georgia Center in 1963, retiring 37 years later. She recalls her predecessor becoming flummoxed but undaunted when a supplier was misinformed about a delivery of coconut pie crust.  They were supposed to drop ship 60 pounds, but the staff mistakenly added an additional zero to the order and 600 pounds arrived.  The chef quickly found a solution, coming up with a recipe with a “macaroon crust, topped it with strawberry swirl ice cream from the UGA creamery and finished it with a meringue.”

When the creamery, also a legendary campus icon, closed—that brought about a crisis since none of the regional dairies made strawberry ripple ice cream.  The Center then connected with Greenwood Creamery in Atlanta.  Greenwood eventually stopped ice cream production.  The crisis took root all over again, but glory, glory a search for strawberry ripple was found only 36 miles away in Newborn.  Happiness returned to 1197 South Lumpkin Street.

Rock House Creamery is owned by Keith Kelly.  He and his family are UGA alumni and proud Bulldogs—his wife Pam, son Brad, and Brad’s wife Larkin.

I am surprised that a celebrated French chef has not ventured this way and sought out Leutrell and the recipe.  I have been fortunate to taste many outstanding desserts in France, and I would say that Leutrell’s strawberry ice cream pie is a good as any French dessert I’ve ever tasted.

What resonates with the undercarriage of this story is that Leutrell Sims has lived her life making other people happy.  Countless people don’t know her but are aware of her handiwork.   She’s been getting a lot of attention lately, but it doesn’t turn her head.  She was only doing her job.  She spent her life making other people happy and doesn’t expect any fuss about her expertise as a baker.  

Here’s a toast to a good person and a “Great American,” who has for years baked a “Damn good pie” for the Damn Good Dawgs of the world.