Bernice was born in Maryland but came to Newton Hook when she was three months old. Her family went back and forth to Maryland to recruit workers. Her father worked at Atlas Cement.

She stayed mostly with her Grandmother, Alberta Lynch, who had a boarding house with 50 to 75 people who worked at the Brickyards. She cooked three full meals a day, like ham and cabbage for supper, for shift workers. The stove was a wood stove that Bernice and her uncle kept filled with wood so the fire would be hot all day. They learned to cook without a thermostat.

Bernice doesn’t use cookbooks; she only cooks from memory. Fried chicken is what people like best. Bernice gave instructions for making fried chicken: first clean the chicken, then soak it in salt and water, then dip it in flour and bread crumbs, and add salt, pepper, and paprika. Always put a pat of butter or margarine in the grease in the pan. Put the bone side down first, then the skin browns crispy quickly. The family hunted and cooked game; pheasants, venison, and partridge. 

Her father was a chef for big restaurants in D.C. His specialty was opening clams and oysters. He taught Bernice to make Dutch chocolate, vanilla, strawberry or peach ice cream with milk, cream, eggs, and sugar, just like custard. The ice came from the ice man. They chopped it and the kids cranked (churned) the machine that had a layer of ice then a layer of rock salt which melted the ice to keep it cold. Kids got to eat the ice cream that came out with the dasher. The dasher had blades and was in the center of the churner. The ice cream could be preserved as long as you kept it packed in ice and blankets.