Photo of ernest matthew mickler white trash

After Jargon took the book on, they began raising the money to print the thing.

A slide show of Ernie Mickler and his images in “White Trash Cooking.” Remember that cookbook?

A slide show of Ernie Mickler and his images in “White Trash Cooking.” Remember that cookbook?

More than recipes and 45 full-color photographs celebrate 25 years of good eatin' in this original regional Southern cooking classic.

Ernest Mickler armed with a copy of "White Trash Cooking," a skillet, and his beguiling grin.

(White Trash Cooking: 25th Anniversary Edition) By Mickler, Ernest Matthew (Author the photography is basic and honest, not in the least bit contrived.

The recipes are common but tasty, the shotgun shacks are welcoming, and the faces in the photographs seem like old friends to this longtime southerner.

But more than a year later, Woolcott grew frustrated with Jargon’s glacial process, so he bought two tickets to Winston-Salem to crash the publisher’s next board meeting. Mickler and Woolcott arrived as Jargon was hosting an art opening.

Ernie felt out of place among the art snobs. But soon enough, someone screamed at Ernie, “I’ve seen you in drag!” And in a moment, the purported pretension fell away.

At the meeting the next day, a portion of Jargon’s board members sat around the table with Ernie and Woolcott.

After a bit of circumspection, they agreed to table the book for another year due to a lack of money, but Woolcott stood up and said, “If you people don’t print this book, I’m going to print it myself.” Woolcott offered $2,000 and typesetting right there.

Then, Philip Haines — maybe the book’s most ardent and unsung supporter — put down $5,000, followed by $10,000 from Don Anderson, an oil magnate