Kentucky Pole Beans and Potatoes

When I was a child growing up in North Carolina, one of my kitchen duties was to string and snap the Kentucky Wonder pole beans that climbed up tall stakes in my grandaddy’s large garden. I hated the chore, but how I loved eating those tender, delicious string beans, which Mother would simmer with ham hock or streak-o’-lean for maybe three hours before adding a few tiny new red potatoes to the pot. Today, genuine Kentucky Wonders have almost disappeared everywhere but in their home state (a