Stephanie Fields

In the rural North Carolina town of Henderson, the Fields family hung out at one of two places—the gas station or the “meat and three.” If you asked her to put money on it, Stephanie would wager her dad is at the former at this very minute.

That’s not meant to paint too dismal a picture. This is a place where hundreds turned out for each of her grandparents’ funerals, the morning meal is pronounced “brakfast,” and food is a language of love. Guests visiting? “You better have a casserole on hand,” Stephanie says with a laugh. You can’t ever leave places like that entirely.