1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Butter tube pan.
3. Line with wax paper and butter again.
4. Combine first 5 ingredients and mix well.
5. Add crumbs and baking soda and blend well.
6. Bake for 2 hours. Cool in pan 5 minutes.
7. Turn out of pan; remove paper. Cool.
8. To store: wrap well in foil.
9. Refrigerate or freeze.

Cook's Comments :
You can also make individual fruitcakes. Just use muffin tins. Line with paper cups. Fill 2/3rds full. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. After cooling, freeze altogether in a ziplock bag.

Since I love fruitcake, I usually fix them both! Then, I can enjoy the individual ones well after the holidays.