Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Each Sunday, Evelyn brings new snacks for Mrs. Threadgoode, who loves good food. Mrs. Threadgoode tells her, “Idgie always said, ‘Ninny, I think you ride that train just to eat’…and she was right, too. I loved that porterhouse steak they used to serve” (102). Other fixtures of life in Whistle Stop include the Dill Pickle Club and Railroad Bill. The Dill Pickle Club consists of members like Idgie, Grady, and Smokey Lonesome: “About all they did was drink whiskey and make up lies […] That was their fun, making up tales” (124). Railroad Bill is a mysterious figure who raids government supply trains to provide food to Troutville.

One Sunday, Mrs. Threadgoode talks about how Ruth’s son, “Stump,” lost his arm as a young boy playing on the railroad tracks. This incident features in a 1936 excerpt from the Weems Weekly, while two flashbacks depict the aftermath of the accident.  In the first flashback, Big George carries Stump to the segregated hospital and must wait outside because he’s black. The next flashback shows the “only time” Stump complained about his disability. During a mock shoot-out with his friends, Stump is “killed” multiple times, embarrassing him in front of a girl his age named Peggy Hadley.