WINDSOR—Wilson Holland likes to cook so much that he has his own kitchen right next to his wife’s.

“That’s true,” Holland said smiling. “When my wife, Hannah, and I built our home six years ago, we made the kitchen large enough for two stoves, two dishwashers and two sinks, one on each side.

“She uses one side, and I use the other, although we do use the same refrigerator,” he added.

The 71-year-old and his wife lived in the Town of Windsor for 40 years until they decided to go “back home,” so to speak, he said. They built a home beside a pond owned by Holland off Firetower Road, close to where he was born.

Holland has a clubhouse on the banks of the pond, where he cooks the fish he catches.

“I just catch ‘em, clean ‘em and fry ‘em up for supper,” he said.

Although he loves the peace and solitude that he gets at his new home, Holland has not forgotten the many organizations in town that he has been involved with for so many years.

He is second to the oldest member of the Windsor Ruritan Club, where he has been involved in all of its fundraisers since joining 49 years ago.

He is always at the Pig Pickin’and was instrumental in getting the Fourth of July celebration for the town started. As late as Sunday night, he was at the town celebration at his grill, turning out 900 hot dogs for the crowd.

Holland also served a term on the Windsor Town Council, but had to give it up when he moved out of town. He is still a Mason, an active member of the Windsor Christian Church and helped for a while with Meals on Wheels.

Holland co-owns DeWitt’s Automotive Service Center, where he continues to work with his son.

Holland also tends to a vegetable garden with 75 to 80 tomato plants, from which he makes his famous tomato juice. Holland does not talk of retirement, but if he did, it would not be from cooking. He enjoys it too much.

Name: Wilson E. Holland.

Age: 71

Occupation: Co-owner of DeWitt’s Automotive Service Center in Windsor.

Favorite food. Seafood.

Least favorite food. Poultry.

What is the first thing you remember cooking? A hot dog.

What has been your worst cooking experience? It was during one of our early Pig Pickin’s before we had a shelter over our cookers. We cook the pork all night, and this particular night, it rained all night long. It was horrible. We kept with it though, and fortunately, the rain stopped in time for us to have the barbeque the next day.

One ingredient you can’t cook without: I have two—black pepper and Old Bay Seasoning.

What is the most important thing you have learned about cooking? When using a charcoal grill, be sure your meat is sealed (with heat) on each side to hold in the juices.

Who is the best cook you have ever known and why? My grandmother, Normie Wilson. She taught me a lot of what I know about cooking. My family lived right across the road from her and my grandfather, and when I was about 11, I used to visit her as much as I could. Of course when she started to cook a meal, I was there. She’d let me help with some of the things she was cooking. He could make the best meals on that old wood-burning cook stove she had. But you can’t beat food grown right in the farm.

If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? Seafood.

Homemade Tomato Juice

Ingredients:

Ripe raw tomatoes

Salt

Lemon pepper

Olive oil

Oregano

Directions:

Wash enough ripe raw tomatoes to make one gallon of juice. Feed unpeeled tomatoes through food processor with juice attachment. After juice is extracted, add 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons lemon pepper, dash olive oil and dash of oregano. Mix well and store in refrigerator in gallon container. Juice may be made in quantities and frozen. I use plastic milk cartons for freezing. Discard pulp.