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Page 1: Bluffs & Bayous July 2012

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the former campus of St. Francis Xavier Academy and Convent. The Foundation’s intent is to provide for the Vicksburg com-munity, an area of diverse cultural heri-tage, exposure to a wealth of artists who have honed their skills and talents and are eager to share these assets through educa-tional programs. Elodie Pritchartt, a freelance writ-er and photographer, shares her story about Tommy Polk, a musician for most of his life. Born in Vidalia, Louisiana, Polk has, for the past four years, worked with Ferriday, Louisiana, Mayor Glenn McGlothin in developing the fertile music history of the town and restoring buildings that recognize this rich musical heritage. Artistic heritage also is recognized and enhanced through our area’s summer pro-grams that expose young Thespians to the-atre production as they participate in the-atre workshops and cap their summer in-struction with public performances. As part of Happening at The Haven in Brookhaven, Mississippi, such young actors will pro-duce The Little Mermaid on July 19 and 20. Just completing their production, the TEEN group of Happening at The Haven performed Aladdin June 21 through 24. In our Premier Art Organizations and July Up and Coming section, we feature some of the arts programs in and around the Bluffs & Bayous reading area. While we could not possibly list all the groups, we tried to highlight some with notable programs and provide their contact in-formation for you to inquire about class-es, workshops, events, and performances throughout the year. The Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service in coordination with the Office of the Governor and First Lady Deborah Bryant, Honorary Chair of the MCVS Board of Commissioners, announced this past spring the 2012 Governor’s Initiative for Volunteer Excellence (GIVE) Award winners. On April 16, 2012, all were toasted at an event held at the Mississippi Museum of Art. Since July is the Arts Issue of Bluffs & Bayous, we recognize Lillie Lovette

July—the month of our country’s birth-day celebration, the month for hot weather, the month for indoor picnics,

the month for water activities, the month to recognize the amazing artists and art organizations in our readership area. So many of our towns and cities have an art community where visual and performing arts are nurtured, explored, examined, and appreciated. More and more communi-ties are recognizing the importance of art in our lives; for it traces how we live our lives and preserves this history in its mu-sic, art, and dance through the ensuing de-cades. Art, indeed, is the living history of our civilization. In Vicksburg, Mississippi, we recognize the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation, established in 1994, that operates as a nonprofit, cultural arts center located on

From Your Publisher . . .

of Edwards, Mississippi, recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in the Arts and Humanities Award. Also this month, Patricia Taylor, a part-time resident of Natchez, Mississippi, com-poses jottings from her native England, emphasizing its connections to the USA; and contributor Jennie Guido visits Lake St. John’s Duck’s Nest II in Ferriday, Louisiana, in order to share with us ‘Something Scrumptious.’ Of course, our readers continue to anticipate and enjoy the enrichment and insight provided by the mirth and merriment of Ross McGehee’s and Alma Womack’s reflections—those in this issue do not disappoint! I conclude by reminding folks about the annual Fourth of July Flotilla celebration that will take place at Lake St. John on July 7. To catch all the excitement, be sure to find friends who have lake houses or take in the view and festivities from Spokane Resort—and dine out at Duck’s Nest II. We have so many opportunities to find respite from the heat of July and enrich our summer by enjoying all the ways the arts embrace our life along and beyond the Mississippi.

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p u b l i s h e r

Cheryl Foggo Rineharte d i t o r s

Jean Nosser BiglaneCheryl Foggo Rinehartg r a p h i c d e s i g n e r s

Jan RatcliffAnita Schilling

m e d i a c o o r d i n a t o r

Adam Blackwells t a f f p h o t o g r a p h e r s

Van O’GwinElise D. Parker

Cheryl Rineharts a l e s s t a f f

Jennifer RatliffCheryl RinehartDonna SessionsJoAnna Sproles

Bluffs & Bayous is published monthly to promote the greater Southern area of Louisiana and Mississippi in an informative and positive manner. We welcome contributions of articles and photos; however, they will be subject to editing and availability of space and subject matter. Photographs, comments, questions, subscription requests and ad placement inquiries are invited! Return envelopes and postage must accompany all materials submitted if a return is requested. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed in Bluffs & Bayous are those of the authors or columnists and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, nor do they constitute an endorsement of products or services herein. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Bluffs & Bayous strives to insure the accuracy of our magazine’s contents. However, should inaccuracies or omissions occur, we do not assume responsibility.

o f f i c e423 Main Street, Suite 7 | Natchez, MS 39120

601-442-6847 | fax [email protected] | [email protected]

[email protected]

Jean BiglaneAdam Blackwell

Cheryl Rinehart

Donna Sessions

Anita Schilling

Van O’Gwin Elise D. Parker

JoAnna Sproles

Jan Ratcliff

C o n t r i b u t o r s

on the coverWhile exploring the musical career of Tommy Polk,

Elodie Pritchartt, a freelance writer and photographer, captured this image of the 2012 Soul Survivors

Festival held recently in Ferriday, Louisiana.See story on pages 44 to 46.

Columnist Ross McGehee, a lifelong resident of Natchez,

Mississippi, owns a diversified and far-flung farm operation.

Jennie Guido is a graduate of Delta State University with

a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and Master’s Degree in English

Education. Having lived up Highway 61 in Cleveland, Mississippi, she recently has returned to Natchez,

her hometown, to pursue her professional career.

Columnist Mary Emrick is the owner of Turning Pages Books & More in

Natchez, Mississippi.

Columnist Dr. Gary R. Bachman is an assistant extension professor of horticulture at Mississippi State University’s Coastal Research and

Extension Center in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Jennifer Ratliff

Elodie Pritchartt is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a

native Natchezian and often writes about Natchez history and its

characters.

A Mass Communications graduate of Louisiana State University, JoAnna Sproles of Brookhaven, Mississippi, has more than 15 years of experience

in managing public relations and contributing articles to newspapers

and magazines.

Columnist Alma Womack lives on Smithland Plantation on Black River,

south of Jonesville, Louisiana. In addition to her duties as maitresse des maison, she is the keeper of the lawn,

the lane and the pecan orchard at Smithland.

Patricia Taylor is a Doctor of Naturopathy and a Consultant

Medical Herbalist, having studied at the University of Wales and Clayton,

Alabama. She is a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists

of Great Britain and a registered herbalist with the American Herbalists

Guild. Taylor has a practice in her hometown in England, and she and her husband John split their year between

there and their home in Natchez, Mississippi.

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Southern CulturalHeritage Foundation:

Extending Artistic Excellence throughout

the Communitypages 50 - 51

Join the Fourth of July Flotilla: Celebrate Faith,

Family & Freedom!pages 52 - 53

July 2012

Tommy Polk: Building Dreams for a Song

pages 44 - 46

FEATURESTommy Polk: Building Dreams for a Song ............................................ 44-46

Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation: Extending Artistic Excellence throughout the Community ........................................... 50-51

Join the Fourth of July Flotilla: Celebrate Faith, Family & Freedom! ........ 52-53

Brookhaven’s Drama Camp: An Encore of July Fun for Regional Students ............................................................................. 62-63

Lillie Lovette Receives Arts and Humanities Award .................................. 82

FAVORITESAll OutdoorsWild, Wooly, and Full of Fleas ............................................................... 14-15

EventsJuly Up & Coming! Premier Arts Organizations ................................... 72-73

July Up & Coming! ................................................................................. 74-80

From the StacksA Saga of Track-racing Cyclists ................................................................... 10

In the GardenGrowing Mint without Any Trouble .......................................................... 25

Random JottingsMaldon Essex .......................................................................................... 36-41

Something ScrumptiousDuck’s Nest II, Spokane, Louisiana ........................................................ 32-33

Southern SamplerSundry Reflections: Sofas, Crops, Turtles, and Patriotism .................... 70-71

THEsocial SCENESurprise Party for Matthew Rymer ............................................................... 9

Birthday Party for Jack Johnson ............................................................ 12-13

Patio and Garden Shower for DePrato and Phelps .............................. 16-17

Reception for Centenarian Thelma Blackburn ..................................... 20-24

Engagement Party for Lyons and Strickland ........................................ 26-30

Birthday Party for Presley Carr .............................................................. 34-35

Engagement Party Fetes Alwood and Edwards ................................... 54-59

Engagement Party for Edwards and Hinson ........................................ 64-66

Class of 2002 Reunion ............................................................................ 68-69

Trinity Park Inauguration ............................................................................ 81

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Surprise Party for Matthew RymerOn May 14, 2012, Matthew Rymer of Natchez, Mississippi, thought he was going to his standard appointment for occupational therapy at Natchez Regional Medical Center. Instead, he was greeted in the hospital cafeteria with a resounding “Surprise and Happy 21st Birthday!” by his former Trinity High School classmates, coaches, teachers, and friends along with his family and Natchez Regional employees. Rymer was injured in a car wreck in December 2009 and since then has been undergoing therapy at Natchez Regional with occupational therapist Naydza Muhammad, who suggested the party for Rymer. “Matthew is a therapist’s dream patient,” she explained. “He is focused on being as independent as possible, and he has an amazing attitude and determination.” Through his therapy and hard work, Rymer is now able to sit up unassisted in his manual wheelchair, transfer himself in and out of a car unassisted, and dress and feed himself. He is attending classes at Co-Lin Community College in Natchez.

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Front—Kent King, Eric James, Matthew Rymer, and Clay Ketchings; back—Trevor Faust, Deacon Newman, Chaz Moroney, Deborah Rymer, Caitlyn O’Quinn, R. J. Fleming, Alyson Swilley, Cody Strickland, and Naydza MuhammadDeb Claflin, Kay Ketchings, Sherri LeMay, Walt Roddy, and Bill HeburnMatthew Rymer and Naydza MuhammadCaitlyn O’Quinn, Annette Moroney, and Robbie LanehartFront—Matthew Rymer; back—Deborah Rymer, Harriet Robinson, Austin Rymer, Doreen Fos, and Katie Russ

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A Saga ofTrack-racing Cyclists

From the Stacks review by Mary Emrick

Gold by Chris Cleave

The 2012 Summer Olympics will begin Friday, July 27, in London. Chris Cleave’s novel Gold will re-

lease for sale in bookstores Tuesday, July 3, just in time for all interested in the sum-mer games to become excited about the track cycle-racing events. At the Beijing Olympics, Great Britain did well in the cy-cling events, taking the gold in the women’s sprint and the women’s individual pursuit. Chris Cleave’s book of fiction will have you focused on the Great Britain cyclists in London, but you will see them differently. You will see them not as athletes in pursuit of gold but as individuals who are friends, lovers, enemies, and parents. People like you and me who face all the obstacles and the joys life has to offer. People who laugh,

cry, disappoint, encourage, and survive it all as a unit. The novel Gold is focused on three Olympic athletes who have trained to-gether from the age of nineteen. The book spans thirteen years of life with these ath-letes and the coach who chose them from a select group of athletes to compete on the Olympic level. It is about a little girl with leukemia who is obsessed with these “Star Wars” characters. The reader will learn innumerable de-tails about training for and participating in track cycle racing. But do not think that the focus is just that. The book is about the bond that the five complex Cleave charac-ters develop. You will be mesmerized by the interaction of the racers Zoe, Jack, and Kate; their coach, Tom; and the eight-year-old Sophie. Cleave has well developed

characters, causing your loyalties to jump among the four adults. The one character who steals your heart throughout, though, is Sophie. Gold is a book so tautly written that you will not want to put it down. Instead, the book will travel with you to your work breaks and on your vacations. You will find relief only when you turn the final page. Then you will be able to breathe easily. You will, however, continue to think about the young cyclists. What drives them, and what glues them permanently together? If you have read other Cleave books—Little Bee and Incendiary—you know that his plots cannot be described in length without giving away the secrets that keep you absorbed. You will just have to trust me when I tell you, “Gold is a book you will want to share with your friends. It is a book about lives we love, the secrets we keep, the love we share.” Chris Cleave was born in London and spent his early years in Cameroon. He studied experimental psychology at Balliol College, Oxford. His debut nov-el, Incendiary, won a 2006 Somerset Maugham Award, was short-listed for the 2006 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and is now a feature film. His second novel, Little Bee, is an international bestseller with over 2 million copies in print. He lives in London with his wife and three children.

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Birthday Party for Jack JohnsonJack Johnson’s 5th Birthday Party was held April 14, 2012. Jack is the son of Justin and Tamara Johnson of Natchez, Mississippi; and many family members and friends were on hand at the Johnson home to celebrate this special occasion. A petting zoo in the Johnsons’ backyard was a big hit! Photographs courtesy of Vicki Eastland Photography

Jack Johnson and his great grandfather David StephensLily CrumJack JohnsonElla Grace and Sydney Heflin

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Annie Grace and Shirani HickmanJack with his grandfather Bruce Kelly.Hite Brown Stella Barlow

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Wild, Wooly, and Full of Fleas So six guys with dogs and lights struck out about nine p.m. With no moon, it was plenty dark; and the dogs struck a trail that crossed a deep tributary of the river. The dogs treed the coon two hundred yards across the creek, and six hunters had to find a way across in short order. The party split up, half going upstream and half going downstream, looking for a crossing. A suitable log was lo-cated, lying from bank to bank. All hunters were summoned and took turns holding their lights on the log while one by one each care-fully walked the slick trunk. Jerry Lee took his turn and was half-way across when one of his new associates trained his spotlight into Jerry Lee’s face, instantly taking out his night vision. Then all the others turned their lights on to Jerry Lee instead of the log! It was nine feet down to the water, and the fall was well illuminated. The fire they built to warm Jerry Lee up did nothing to dry him out, so he had a pretty short night. It was early summer when Jerry Lee ventured back into the company of Troy’s clan. Bream on one of the family ponds were biting, and the whole tribe had as-sembled for an assault on the vicious fish. Everyone was armed with tackle and ice chests, the weather was gorgeous, and the kids were having a ball! About mid-afternoon, someone noticed that Jerry Lee was napping instead of fish-ing. A child commented, “He sure sleeps funny. Look how he’s shaking.” At some point, somebody in the group seemed to recall that Jerry Lee may or may not have mentioned something about diabetes once. Knowing that it was Sunday afternoon and the only hospital was a twenty-mile drive, various family members considered the situation and their comments ranged from, “Are they even open on Sunday?” to “I ain’t taking nobody, nowhere. The fish are biting!” Jerry got the medical attention he needed, but the in-laws weren’t much for high-maintenance people. Especially if it interfered with their fishing! The next time Jerry Lee tried fishing, he didn’t even make it to the pond! Troy’s family had some old pasture behind the big house where they used to keep goats.

I ran into my old friend Troy recently and during our brief visit asked him about Jerry Lee. “Jerry Lee don’t

come around too much anymore,” he re-sponded. “Guess he just didn’t feel like he fit in.” Given the history they had, it was probably a pine box that Jerry Lee didn’t want to fit in. Troy calls Jerry Lee his “used-to-be brother-in-law.” How that all came to be is another story; but even with “used-to-be” status, Jerry Lee tried to keep up with his extended in-laws. Troy said he was “bout half goofy to start with,” and maybe he was a little different, but that could have been the result of his upbringing. You see, he was from Alabama; and there was a better-than-even chance that he hadn’t fully evolved. Nonetheless, ev-ery time there was some hunting or fish-ing going on around the old home place,

Jerry Lee was there, struggling to keep up or sometime just survive the experience! Troy’s family is one of those that doesn’t let making a living get in the way of their having a good time. There is a constant stream of critters to chase, grab, shoot, hook, net, fry, boil, or bake. When nothing is in legal season, there is a swim-ming hole in an old gravel pit or a sand bar on a river bank to occupy. When all recreational pursuits have been thwarted, they’ll stay around the house and bush-hog the grass that’s grown up around the tractors that are awaiting repair in their front yards. The first time that Jerry Lee got expo-sure to his new in-laws was a invitation to coon hunt in the Amite River swamp on a cold January night. Rambling around in the dark with strangers is a pretty good way to break the ice, wouldn’t you say?

All Outdoors by Ross McGehee

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worked off-shore on a drilling rig. He thought it would be appropriate to initiate the groom in much the same way that rig hands used to be. Thank goodness there was no five-gallon bucket of pipe dope in the shop. Oh, but wait, there was a spray can of John Deere Green paint. Yeah, they did. That ought to be a real good place to stop. Probably what Jerry Lee thought, too. I never did find out what Jerry Lee was doing with himself after talking to Troy during our quick visit that day; and given the circumstances, I really couldn’t blame him for laying low. Troy and the boys don’t mean any harm, and they do like Jerry Lee even if he is “bout half-goofy.” Troy says he’s kinda like an old stray dog that wan-ders up and takes a liking to you. You can throw all the rocks you want at him, and he’ll trot off just out of range. Next thing you know, he’s back sleeping on the porch. Open the front door; and he’s off the porch in a flash, stopping just out of chunking range. I imagine Jerry Lee has found the spot where they can’t reach him! And dif-ferent from the dog and the gang, he’s not wild, wooly, and full of fleas.

They had lots of old roofing tin from a barn that a hurricane had flattened, so they laid the sheets out in long organized rows across the pasture. To get fishing bait, the kids would get on either side of a sheet of tin; the sheet would be lifted; and the kids would gather whatever crickets that hid be-neath. It was lots of fun and a cheap way to provide bream bait. Jerry Lee wanted to join in and help; and, wouldn’t you know, the effort blew up in his face. Apparently a colony of yellow-jackets had set up housekeeping in the ground un-der some of the tin. The kids were all some distance away, dumping their crickets into the community cage, when Jerry Lee lift-ed a sheet alone and evidently stepped on the entrance to the nest. Miraculously, he only got stung once. The whole family was amazed that he didn’t even swell up where the yellow-jacket stung him! Then about five minutes later, Jerry Lee noticed that his eyes and ears itched and his tongue was swelling up. Luckily, someone in the group knew what anaphylactic shock was and once again got him to a medical facil-ity. The next time Jerry Lee came into the yard, everybody kinda eased away. Troy’s bunch had gathered almost by acci-dent after deer season. Nobody at their camp had thought anyone else would be there, so no one brought along any food. There was some cooking oil still in the fish cooker from who knows when, though. Hmmm. “Let’s cook some fish!” “But we don’t have any fish.” “Sure there’s a pond full right over there. All we need is the seine, and we can have a cookin!” Never mind that there were no French fries, hush puppy ingredients, on-ions, corn, nothing. Just some fish and they were still in the pond! There was, for sure, plenty to drink; and that probably had a lot to do with the decision-making process. For clarity, what they proposed was to take a 100-foot-long net, about six-feet tall, and drag it through a pond in winter to get supper. It sounds simple until you factor in the component of some person having to be in the water on either end of the net to hold it vertical so the fish don’t go under it. Ropes are tied to the net for pulling it across the pond, and the people pulling the ropes are high and dry on the bank. So, two volunteers are needed for the “easy part.” “You don’t have to pull. Just keep the pole straight. We’ll do the pulling!” Guess who volunteered? Yep. Jerry Lee was neck deep in 50-degree water before he knew it and doing real well to keep himself vertical,

let alone the pole! There seems to be a pat-tern where Jerry Lee is seduced into a situ-ation that he ends up wet AND cold, or in need of immediate medical attention while everyone else is eating what got cooked in his absence. Anyway, Jerry Lee did end up on the couch for the next 48 hours with what looked like double-P pneumonia. Oh, and the fish had gone so deep that the seine could not reach them; so nobody ate fish. Given the questionable shelf life and use history of the oil, it’s just as well. What probably had a lot to do with Jerry Lee’s not coming around much any-more was an initiation that got a little out of hand. Jerry Lee had gotten himself a girlfriend and ended up setting a wedding date. The gang thought they’d show old Jerry Lee a good time and throw a bach-elor party of sorts for him at the farm shop. Why waste time and money going off to New Orleans and just getting arrested for your trouble. Stay at the shop and cut up! They cooked a pig that one of the guys donated; somebody else brought the fix-ings; and ample refreshment was, of course, on hand. Everything went real well until one of the guests had what he thought was a brilliant idea. This particular guest

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Patio and Garden Shower for DePrato and PhelpsFriends and family of Debra DePrato and David Phelps of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, gathered to celebrate their engagement at a Patio and Garden Shower in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Derrell Reid of Vidalia, Louisiana, on the afternoon of May 12, 2012. Other hosts and hostesses included Mr. and Mrs. Jeff DePrato of Baton Rouge, Mr. and Mrs. Jay DePrato of Ferriday, Louisiana, Louise Peabody of Natchez, Mississippi, and Mr. and Mrs. Keith Primeaux of Baton Rouge.

David Phelps and Debra DePratoMarjorie Vogt and Parnell BurnsMelanie Kennedy and Jeanie PeabodyFirmin and Dorothy UlmerPhillip and Cindy ScurriaSheila and Richard AlwoodBill Burris, Jay DePrato, Parnell Burns, and Keith PrimeauxCole Primeaux, Debra DePrato, Jake DePrato, and David Phelps

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Jean Rabb, Katherine Galloway, and Marjorie VogtCheryl Reid, Susan Vigil, and Ben GreenKaren Clifton, Debra DePrato, Katherine Galloway, Jean Rabb, Marjorie Vogt, and Lydia WilsonKeith and Stefany Primeaux, Jay DePrato, Mel and Derrell Reid, and Cori and Jeff DePratoDebra DePrato, Stefany Primeaux, Mel Reid, and Cori DePratoAnsell Reid, Betsy Miles, and Tom VigilStefany Primeaux, Katherine Galloway, Anna Ferguson, Jean Rabb, and Andy PeabodyMarjorie Vogt, Pat Vogt, Parnell Burns, and Melanie Kennedy

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Reception for Centenarian Thelma BlackburnMrs. Thelma Blackburn, the matriarch of the large Blackburn family, was honored with a reception on May 20, 2012, to celebrate her 100-years’ birthday. The event was held at the home of her son and daughter in law, Mr. and Mrs. Brother Blackburn, of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Seated—Thelma Blackburn; standing—Mrs. Blackburn’s children: Dele York, Brother Blackburn, and Betty KammanKay Lee, Erin Ingram, and Lisa Ingram with Thelma BlackburnGinny, Luke, and Bobby AbrahamDr. McCall and Thelma BlackburnDale York (far right) with her son Mitt Blackburn and granddaughters Adele and Hannah BlackburnDale York, Alberta Selmon, Lillie Selmon, Betty Kamman, and Thelma BlackburnCaroline and Nicole KammanMelissa and Jeb Blackburn with their children Ali, Emmerson, Caton, and Collins BlackburnJeane and Brother Blackburn

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Reception for Centenarian Thelma Blackburn | Vicksburg, MS | THEsocial SCENE

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Aaralyn Nicholls and Hannah YorkJane Batchelor and Anne RutlandLee Roy Robinson, Charles and Doris Pollard, Charlie Pollard, and Sharlot RobinsonReed, Judy, Anne Elizabeth, Talbot, Booth, and Mark Buys

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THEsocial SCENE | Vicksburg, MS | Reception for Centenarian Thelma Blackburn

Jennifer Brooks, Trey Kamman, and Courtney NichollsBetty Bexley and Joy Ann HennesseyAllen Kitchens and Carolyn AlfordAnn McCarley and Debbie BosargeToni and Dick Ferguson with Landy and Peggy TellerJeane, Karen, Collins, David, and Brother BlackburnMelissa and Jeb Blackburn, Karen and David Blackburn, Jeane and Brother Blackburn, and Ann Barrett and Steven Ladner with Ali, Caton, Emmerson, and Collins BlackburnHester Magnuson and Shelby Ferris

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Reception for Centenarian Thelma Blackburn | Vicksburg, MS | THEsocial SCENE

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Front—Connor, Caleb, and Kamman Brooks; Emerie, Ciana, and Aaralyn Nicholls; and Caroline, Barrett, and Jake Kamman; back—Chris and Jennifer Brooks, Courtney and Aaron Nicholls, Betty and John Kamman, and Nicole and Trey KammanDot Steen and Monty WootenDiane and Bill BostThelma Blackburn and Fredda Hobgood

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THEsocial SCENE | Vicksburg, MS | Reception for Centenarian Thelma Blackburn

Patsy and Ken HalfordMarjorie and Don NeumannJosephine Peterson, Fredda Hobgood, Peggy and James Harper, and Dr. and Mrs. Matt BucklesJohn and Margie Scott with Eleanor PriceEdward Kitchens, Allen Kitchens, and Lee Roy RobinsonBessie Farr, Peggy Harwood, and Cindy NobleTeague, Tavish, Amy, Morgan, and Tracy Towner

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Growing Mint without Any

Trouble

Mint is one those plants that gardeners both love and hate at the same time. Many gardeners love the sweet fragrance they smell when they

brush against the mint foliage. They also find mint iced tea to be delicious or a mint julep to be a sure-fire sum-mer-time refreshment. However, in the landscape, mint grows aggressively and can quickly take over an area. I’ve heard people say—hopefully in jest—that the only way to control mint in the landscape is to move. What we call mint is actually a diverse group of plants. It seems there are hundreds of varieties the home gardener can grow. With their familiar fragrances, peppermint and spearmint are perhaps the best known. Other varieties expand the olfactory mint experience. Ginger mint, apple mint, and orange mint all are appropriately named. The mention of chocolate mint brings mint chocolate candies to mind; but to me, the name more accurately describes the contrast of the chocolate brown stems to the bright green foliage. The smell and taste of mint are well known; but many people don’t notice these plants have flowers, too. Flowers are produced in spikes that are magnets for various kinds of pollinators, espe-cially bumblebees and wasps. Most herbs taste best before the flowers form, but mint tastes and smells best after the flowers have formed.

For greatest flavor and fragrance, harvest mint after flowers are produced.

Most of the mints I’ve mentioned are commonly found in gar-den centers, especially in spring and early summer. However, mint is really easy to propagate if you have a friend growing the variety of mint you want to grow. To share, divide a plant to have many smaller plants. Mint pro-duces stems that scramble across the ground, forming roots wher-ever a stem touches the ground. Snip off some of these sections with roots, and they will readily grow into new plants. Another way to start a plant is to take a cutting and place it in a glass of wa-ter. Roots should form in a couple of weeks. Despite the jokes about mint’s proliferation, controlling its growth is not an impossible mission. The key is to establish boundaries. An easy way to do this is to plant mint in a tall, bottomless con-tainer. Dig the planting hole and place the bottomless container in the hole, leaving a few inches above ground. Fill the contain-er with good, amended soil and plant the mint. The bottomless

container will provide a physical barrier that prevents the spread of the root system. I’ve come up with a unique solution to controlling mint and recycling at the same time. In the summer months, it’s common to see coolers beside the road that have fallen off pickups and out of boats. I stop and pick these coolers up. When filled with good potting mix, the mint grows well; and the roots cannot escape. Be sure the drain plug is open so the plants are not over-watered. If the cooler doesn’t have a drain plug, simply drill some drain holes in the bottom. Wherever you grow mint, just be sure to try some so you can enjoy the fragrance outdoors and the taste indoors.

Recycled coolers make easy mint-growing containers and limit mint’s aggressive growth.

In the Garden story and photos by Dr. Gary R. Bachman

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Engagement Party for Lyons and StricklandAn engagement party for Laura Beth Lyons and Michael Strickland was held in Vicksburg, Mississippi, at the home of Howard and Belynda Waring on Friday, May 4, 2012. Hosting the event along with the Warings were Bobby and Jackie Amborn, Dean and Kelly Andrews, Ronnie and Sharon Andrews, Paul and Linda Banchetti, Bobby and Natalie Bailess, Rusty and Kim Barnes, David and Linda Biedenharn, Johnny and Audrey Bobo, Rick and Harley Caldwell, Eustace and Kathy Conway, Leanne Dyess, Randy and Janie Easterling, Trip and Kim Farris, Coy D. and Lori Flanagan, Steve and Melody Golding, Wendell and Nancy Lou Gray, Brett and Brenda Hayes, John and Therese Hood, David and Connie Hosemann, Allen and Sheila Hudspeth, Ricky and Saralie Johnson, Marianne May Jones, Tim and Beckie Kerut, Larry and Cherie Kilgo, David and Nena Longmire, Mark and Beth Mazzanti, Peter and Carol Mims, Butch and Tina Nasif, John and Gwyn Neill, Paul Campbell and Cindy Noble, Buck and Betty Penley, Bill and Deborah Price, Robert and Barbara Rials, Russell and Teresa Richards, and D. P. and Lee Waring.

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Laura Beth Lyons and Michael StricklandKatie Swan and Merry SwanCindy and Laura Beth LyonsMichael Strickland and Laura Beth LyonsShearwood Lyons, Faye Parker, and Selby ParkerBetty Penley, Kelly Andrews, and Buck PenleyLarry and Cherie KilgoBrandon and Emily Rut

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Johnny CrockerNancy Lou, Wendell, and Mary Kaylin GrayAshley Swan and Daniel BordelonJordan Muirhead and Natalie WaringLaura Beth Lyons and Allison SmithLacey Hall, Charles Harrell, and Lori FlanaganDeAnna McCurdy, Adam McCurdy, Devin Cooper, Penny Cooper, and Cathy CooperJoe, Shannon, and Cindy LyonsVickie Williamson, Kala Williamson, and Nena Longmire

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Todd and Brandi NesterAshley Gatian and Zack StewartJohnny Bowen and Julie NosserKori Strickland and Laura Beth LyonsJoe Lyons and Barbara RialsJoey and Shannon Lyons with Brian DyessAudrey Bobo, Meredith Perrett, Leigh Kelly, and Ashley KellyJohn Bowen, Lib Bagby, and Audrey BoboLaura Beth Lyons, Holly Hearon, Nikki Herring, Laura Hudspeth, Megan Easterling, and Claire Richards

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Sissy Carter, Katie Carter, Kelly Andrews, and Laura Beth LyonsJoan and Bubba BowenLindsey Gilliland, Diane Klaus, and Hunt GillilandMartha Debra Strickland and Susan PooleMegan Easterling, Laura Hudspeth, and Charles Waring

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Jordan Amborn, Ellen Amborn, and Emily MelanconAshley Vinzant, Laura Beth Lyons, and Brittany ThomasonWes Perrett, Vance Gullett, and Meredith PerrettJennifer Bowen, Joan Bowen, and Emily RutKathy and Aubrey BowenMartha Ann Klaus and Natalie Bailess

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I have been trained over the years to avoid adages or old sayings to describe something in writing; however, one

thing is for sure—“you learn something new every day.” When I ventured across the river to Louisiana with my favorite tag-along, my mom, and over to Duck’s Nest II on Concordia Parish’s Lake St. John, I was quick to find out that the history of the restaurant touched base with that of my second home, the Mississippi Delta. Just a few miles outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi, you can find Moon Lake, a treat for Delta natives similar to our very own Lake St. John and Lake Concordia. Duck’s Nest II owner, Fay Crews, opened the original Duck’s Nest on Moon Lake several years ago. Even though Fay sold that restau-rant in 1989 and learned it later

burned down, the history of the building made its way down Mississippi Highway 61 and across the river where it settled on Lake St. John. “We named the original restaurant Duck’s Nest because actual wood ducks were nesting inside of the boat house of the restaurant. It just made sense,” Fay ex-plained. Once she moved to the area and then met and married David Crews, the two started to search for a place to be their own joint adventure in the restaurant world.

Duck’s Nest IISpokane, Louis iana

Top— David and Fay have been livng and working on Lake St. John since 1997.

Right— 8-ounce filet mignon and loaded baked potato

Far right—Fried shrimp, fried catfish, and sweet potato fries

Something Scrumptious story and photos by Jennie Guido “I had always wanted to own a res-taurant,” David told me. “When Paul and Randee’s on Lake St. John went up for sale, we bought it in October of 1997, remod-eled it, and made it into our own place—Duck’s Nest II.” With every Great Mississippi River Balloon Race poster known to mankind adorning the walls of the rustic restaurant, Duck’s Nest II has a family feel right when you walk in the door. “We have grown close to our customers over the years. We have watched them growing up from ba-bies to turning into grown-ups,” both Fay and David explained. With a view over Lake St. John, this Miss-Lou landmark is a treasure to peo-ple all over the area. Whether enjoying a summer weekend on the lake or having an outing in the cooler months, you are sure to find something scrumptious at Duck’s Nest II. As the menu entices, “You will start the evening with a complimentary serving of turnip greens and homemade hush puppies. Then you might choose to indulge in fried mushrooms, homemade onion rings, or fried dill pickles as a start-er.” I am a stickler for a good hush puppy, and their fried little fritters are some of the best you can find. By now, most of you should know that I am a rather big fan of any kind of fish dish that I can find. At Duck’s Nest II, one of their specialties and your recipe of the month is a fabulous home-made concoction featur-ing a favorite Louisiana crustacean—the Blackened Crawfish Supreme. This dish is a generous helping of blackened Louisiana crawfish over a bed of plump rice. David ex-plained, “A customer wanted the blackened

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crawfish but wanted the ‘juices,’ too. So I thought it over and created this recipe that has become a fast favorite.” Another choice from the menu that will keep you coming back is the eight-ounce Filet Mignon. Mom was a very happy camper when we ventured over for the in-terview during which she was the lucky one who enjoyed every bite of that juicy steak. I turned around for just a few short minutes for a photo op or two only to turn back and find her plate spotless—must have been good. Needless to say, I think I have created a monster that will most likely

(Makes two servings)4 tablespoons unsalted butter½ cup seafood stock1 heaping tablespoon Paul

Prudhomme’s Blackened Redfish Magic

8 ounces cooked and peeled Louisiana crawfish tails

½ cup cooked rice Heat stock and butter on high heat in sauté pan until butter melts. Add blackened seasoning and crawfish tails. Cook over high heat for two minutes. Remove crawfish from pan and place on warm plate with rice. Return stock to heat for one minute or until stock starts to thicken slightly. Remove and pour ¼ of the stock over crawfish and rice. Return the rest to heat. Reduce until thickened. Be careful not to burn. Spoon on top of rice and crawfish, making sure to serve all of the black-ened seasoning as part of the dish.

Blackened Crawfish Supreme

turn into my constant side kick in my little adventures in the future. Selections I have always enjoyed from Duck’s Nest II are the Bar-B-Q Shrimp and the Grilled Catfish. Both are absolute per-fection and never seem to disappoint. Of course, everything on the menu goes won-derfully with their sweet potato French fries and an order of the Cole slaw. Open Tuesday through Sunday for din-ner, the atmosphere of Duck’s Nest II is

obviously one of its best features. How can you go wrong when sitting on its back porch; looking out over the lake; and en-joying good food, fabulous friends, and Duck’s Nest II’s signature cocktail—the Lake St. John Sunset?

Look at that spectacular view!

The Duck’s Nest II located on Lake St. John

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Birthday Party for Presley CarrAn Alice-in-Wonderland themed birthday party feted Presley Carr on her second birthday. The party was held at the home of her parents, Julie and Brandon Carr, in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

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Presley CarrBrandon, Presley, and Julie CarrDebbie Carr, Presley Carr, and Jo HollidayBuddy and Jo HollidayPresley and Brandon CarrAnna Wade, Olivia Wade, and Katie KavanaughPresley and Julie CarrFaye Phillips, Jo Holliday, Joyce French, and Shirley WilliamsJulie Carr, Lauren Taylor, Kelly Meeks, and Anna Wade

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Jane and Christen MatthewsHolly, Kate, and Luke VollorBuddy and Jo Holliday with Presley CarrOlivia WadeMadelyn and Katie KavanaughKelly Meeks and Aideyn PickettHeather and Liam GibsonBuddy Holliday and George CarrEmma Vincent and Hunter Ray

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This particular Random Jotting is about a small town nearby where we live in England (apart from our life in Natchez, Mississippi) that has a wonderful history, especially in con-nection with the USA. I have learnt more about my surrounding area this last month than I ever thought possible, especially the connections with the USA, and am having a great time doing it.

Maldon Essex

Random Jottings by Patricia Taylor

Whether we are in Mississippi or home in England, my husband John and I love nothing more

than to spend the day driving around the countryside. It may be somewhere on the coast, a country village, or even one of our many stately homes with their impressive gardens. Each time we go, we always find something that is new to us; and I thought it might be fun to share one of these excur-sions with you in my random jottings. After all the rain we have had during what is reported to have been the wettest spring on record here in England, sudden-ly the sun came out and temperatures rose, resulting in the countryside’s bursting sud-denly into summer. This being so, we decid-ed to take advantage of all this wonderful sunshine, the sun not being a reliable com-modity here in England as it is in Natchez, and visit the lovely little town of Maldon on the Blackwater estuary. We thought to get some sea air and visit the tenth-centu-ry herb garden found on the grounds of a long-gone abbey. Unfortunately, the herb garden proved to be no more than a thin strip of soil, filled with little of interest, against a stretch of garden wall. However, we did find the adjacent Maeldune Heritage Centre very interest-ing indeed. The museum, dedicated to the ancient history of the town, has an amaz-ing 42-foot long “Maldon Tapestry,” cel-ebrating the one-thousandth anniversa-ry of the Battle of Maldon. Maldon or Maeldun (Mael meaning “cross” and dun meaning “hill”) is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which is amongst the most important of documents from the Middle Ages. In AD 890, King Alfred the Great ordered its compilation, and it was added to by generations of anonymous scribes until the middle of the twelfth cen-tury. The Chronicle covers a time-line of history (although not complete) from 879 until the death of King Stephen in 1154.(1) Maldon became an important port to the Saxon people with a Hythe or Quay side (Hythe being a Saxon word meaning “land-ing place”) giving access to the sea via the estuary. The estuary, of course, made it available to attack; and the town was final-ly lost to the Vikings in 991. A statue to Byrhtnoth, a Saxon warrior slain in the bat-tle, faces out to sea, reflecting all his glory, at the end of Hythe Quay. For well over a thousand years, Hythe Quay has been the gateway to vessels ar-riving from the sea and is famous for its

All Saints Church in Maldon, England

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sailing barges. These barges are amongst the last cargo vessels in the world still op-erating under sail with around a dozen of the surviving fleet found here in their home port. As we walked along the quay side, we could see one such barge setting out to sea, its distinctive rusty-red coloured sails fill-ing in the wind from the sea. We stopped to talk to a master of one of the many oth-er barges berthed alongside. He explained that the sails are made of flax and get their distinctive colour from the dressing used to waterproof them, traditionally made from red ochre, cod oil, and seawater. He also went on to tell us that these flat-bottomed barges are perfect for these shallow waters and narrow rivers. They are able to float in as little as three feet of water and able to dry out in the tidal waters without heeling over. He told us that in days gone by they would use the barges to trade along the nar-row tributaries, rivers, and estuaries that line the river on its way to the sea which is some 10 to 12 miles to the east. They would load cargoes such as hay and straw, grain, or rubbish from farms. Apparently, they would also let the barges beach on sand banks and mudflats and await the

retreating tide. They would then be loaded with mud and sand for the building and brick-making industries. Apparently, their heyday came at the turn of the twentieth century when over 2000 were registered ply-ing their trade. Unfortunately, that century also saw a steady decline in their numbers. Our master very proudly told us that these barges were also part of the fleet of “Little Ships” that took soldiers back to England from Dunkirk during World War Two. This part of the country is famous for its oysters and salt production. Both are gotten from the same stretch of the Blackwater estuary and thought to be the best oysters and the finest salt to be found anywhere in Britain. Wild native oysters are dredged from the waters off Dengie Flats (a large, remote area of tidal mud-flats and salt marshes at the eastern end of the Dengie peninsula between the estuaries of the Blackwater and Crouch) and then re-laid into the beds in the Blackwater.

Top left—Byrhtnoth, a Saxon warrior slain in battle, faces out to sea at the end of Hythe Quay, reflecting all his glory.

Top right—Sailing barges moored at Hythe Quay

Above—Walkway along the quay side

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This part of Essex has a combination of low rainfall, strong winds, bright sunshine and low-lying marshland, producing salty water perfect for salt making. Evidence shows this has been happening since the Iron Age. Shallow pools, or pans, were dug into the marshland which filled with sea water as the tide came in. Once the tide had retreated, the salt water from the pans was boiled in clay pots over open fires. The fires themselves acted as beacons for the local fishing fleets making their way up the coast. When evaporation was complete, the pots were broken open and the salt re-moved. In the Middle Ages, production techniques became slightly more sophisti-cated with the salty brine being boiled in pans made of lead known as leddes. There is a story that I found really inter-esting regarding the first bulk manufactur-ing of salt in Maldon and dating back some two thousand years to when the Romans ruled Britain. Cassius Petrox was the com-mander of a legion of soldiers stationed at Maldon. Now, he did not like the English climate terribly much; all the fog and damp that came off the marshes made his bones ache. What he did enjoy, however, were hot baths; they eased his pains and en-abled him to keep up with his men when they marched through the Essex country-side. His servants would use the sea water from the Blackwater estuary, heating it by building a fire underneath the tub. He liked his bath hot and would punish his servants if they let the bath water become too cold. Because of this consequence, when he was out on manoeuvres one day and was late returning, they left the fire burning. On his return, the water was boiling merrily away and had been for some time, too hot, of course, for him to use. This situation, too, made him angry; obviously his aching bones made him a bad patient. What he did notice, however, were small white crystals at the bottom of the bath. Inadvertently, his servants had discovered a method for producing salt from sea water. He had his servants make a larger batch which he sent to his fellow officers who promptly asked for more. Seeing an opportunity to be able to make some money and rest his weary bones, he resigned his commission and devoted his time, or rather that of his ser-vants, to making salt. Hence, the beginning of the salt making industry in Maldon. (2)

Salt has always been very highly val-ued. For example the word salary comes from salarium, the money given to Roman soldiers to buy their salt. Later in history,

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your place at table, either above or below the salt cellar, denoted your social stand-ing. The word salt is from where we get such expressions as worthy of his salt, meaning “one who deserves his success,” or he is the salt of the earth, meaning “he is the very best of people.” The salt industry in Maldon thrived un-til the nineteenth century when heavy tax-ation made it less than viable to produce. Combined with more economical meth-ods of salt production in Cheshire, the lo-cal industry unfortunately went into de-cline. Now only one company makes salt in Maldon. What I did find fascinating is that Maldon is most particularly noted for its connections with the early days of America. Maldon had representation in the English Parliament from the earliest of times; and during the reign of James I (1603 - 1625), Maldon had 4 members of Parliament. All were concerned with pro-moting colonization in America. One of these was Lord Theophilus Howard, later the Second Earl of Suffolk (of whom we shall discover more in another of my ran-dom jottings). He was a member of the executive council of the London Virginia Company who in 1607 established the Jamestown Settlement along the James River in present-day Virginia. In 1620 the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth. Its master, Christopher Jones, came from Harwich, another Essex sea port, and mar-ried a Maldon girl Josian Grey. Many people from Essex towns and villages close to Maldon headed for the Colonies. Many of these people were the founders, statesmen, and soldiers who made the United States what it is today. The Sherman family made their mark over a period of two-and-a-half centuries and came originally from Dedham. There was Philip Sherman (1611-1687), who found-ed Rhode Island; General W. T. Sherman (1820-1891) of the American Civil War; and James S. Sherman (1855-1912), who became a Vice President of the United States. From Braintree came John Adams (1735-1826), an American Founding Father and the second President of the United States, and his son John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), the sixth President of the United States. Ancestors of both Presidents Bush can be found at Messing and Feering from as early as the four-teenth century. It was in 1631 that Reynold Bush set sail for America and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Presidential connections are also found in Purleigh some four miles south of Maldon where the Reverend Lawrence Washington (1602-1652), the great-great-grandfather of George Washington, the first President of the United States of America, was rector during the mid-1600s. Now, Lawrence Washington was an interest-ing man. He once was a Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford, until his marriage to Amphilis Twigdon in 1633 after which he became the parish priest at Purleigh. At this time, civil war was looming; and on 22 August 1642, King Charles I raised his standard and began the war, Purleigh at the time being deep in Parliamentarian territory. Washington was accused of being a roy-alist and was moved to the lesser parish of Little Braxted, close by Maldon. On his death, Washington was buried in the churchyard of All Saints Church in Maldon although the exact location is not known because most graves in those days would not have been marked.

An excerpt from the registers of All Saints Church in Waldon lists the name of Lawrence Washington, noted as the “Great, great grandfather of George Washington.”

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We paid a visit to this pretty church with its unusual equilateral-ly triangular tower and its niches in the outside walls where beautiful-ly carved figures of no-table men of the area at the time of its building can be found. Amongst others, there is Mellitus, thought to be the first to bring the gospel to the heathens of Essex, and Sir Robert D’Árcy, who was a Member of Parliament for Maldon during the reign of Henry VI. Inside the church, is D’Árcy Chapel. Here, to my absolute amazement, was a most beautiful stained glass window, placed there in mem-ory of said Reverend Lawrence Washington.(3) The window is known as the Washington Window and was given to the church by the citizens of Malden, Massachusetts, and dedicated in 1928. This dedication was in the presence of the Bishop of Chelmsford; the Bishop of New Jersey, USA; the Lord Lieutenant of Essex; and the American Ambassador. This magnificent window depicts not only the Coats of Arms of Canterbury, Chelmsford, Maldon, and the United Kingdom but also those of the United States of America, the Washington Coat of Arms, and those of Malden, USA. Saint George, the Patron Saint of England, is there in the centre signifying patriotism; Saint Nicolas, the patron saint of sailors and those who settled in foreign lands, is to his left, signifying colonization and holding a model of the Mayflower in his left hand. Saint Joan of Arc is to St. George’s right, signifying freedom. Along the bottom of the window is the landing of Columbus on the left; George Washington taking the oath as the first President of the United States in the centre; and on the right, the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. The more one looked at the win-dow, the more one found there. One can see the Liberty Bell at Philadelphia, the Washington monument at Washington, and the Statue of Liberty outside New York Harbour. As we stood in this tiny church in a small market town in Essex and looked

in awe at this beautiful window, the sun came out; and the co-lours exploded across the ceiling and walls of the chapel, reflect-ing all that this window repre-sents. The light of a wonderful country shone across the walls showing a nation of which to be proud, a nation achieved through the struggles of the founding fa-thers and through hard work, de-termination, patriotism, and tol-erance of religious freedom, and resulting in the greatest nation on earth—all depicted there as an example of that greatness. This window alone made our trip to Maldon worthwhile and brought to mind yet another church window dedicated to our friends in the United States, that which is found in the American Memorial Chapel of the tiny church at Little Easton Lodge. But I shall leave that story for another day.

(1) http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/asintro2.html(2) http://www.maldonsalt.co.uk/(3) http://www.allsaintsmaldon.com/a-guide-to-our-church-2/

Opposite page—The Washington Window was given to the church by the citizens of Malden, Massachusetts, and dedicated in 1928.

Top left—George Washington taking the oath of office as President of the United States of America

Top right—The Landing of Columbus

Above—The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers

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When the band Chicago released “Color My World” in 1971, I was in ninth grade in Natchez, Mississippi. The languid cadence of the piano introduction was captivating and beautiful. It’s been called the most fa-mous major seventh chord in the history of music, and it was—bar none—the best slow-dance song of my generation. One day in study hall, I heard that chord being played on the baby grand piano down in Coach Parker’s classroom. I went to see who was playing.

It was a new kid—a shy young boy with jet-black locks that hung down in his eyes as he played, totally lost in the mu-sic. His name was Tommy Polk, and he’d picked the song out by ear. Feeling out of place, not knowing anyone, and not hav-ing an athletic bent, Tommy found refuge and release and friends through music. Who doesn’t want to hang with the kid in the band? “I was never good at sports,” he says. “I was always on the sidelines and never got any recognition. When I was about nine, I took a guitar to class and played. Everyone noticed. I was not on the sidelines; I was not overlooked or ignored. I was hooked.” When he was old enough to drive, he took his guitar to a secluded spot on the bluff where he would sit in the shade, the river a wide, shimmering ribbon down below with the fl at, Louisiana delta beyond. He started writing songs—the fi rst of hundreds. Tommy would make music his life. In that little classroom in this quiet little town, his journey had only just begun. He moved to Nashville in 1979. In 1981 he began working at a boutique music-publishing company co-owned by Roger Cook, one of Britain’s most successful songwriters, and Canadian-born Ralph Murphy. Between them they had written huge hits such as “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”; “Long, Cool Woman in a Black Dress”; “Here Comes that Rainy Day Feelin’ Again”; and “Half the Way.” Under Cook and Murphy, Tommy learned about music publishing, foreign publishing, performing rights, copy-rights, song plugging, signing writers, catalog acquisition, demo recordings, and record production. “When I left for Nashville in ’79, I had written a hundred or so songs at that point. I thought I was going to be the biggest thing since sliced bread,” he says, shaking his head. “Wrong! It would be another 200 songs before I got my fi rst substantial cut.” In 1989 Tommy signed with Warner-Chappel Music Publishing where he stayed

TommyPolk:

Building Dreams for a Song

story and photos by Elodie Prichartt

Ferriday, Louisiana, Mayor Glenn McGlothin and musician-songwriter Tommy Polk pose on the gallery of Will Haney’s Big House Music Hall, one of the restoration projects the two undertook during the past four years.

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for four years; thereafter, he remained as a signed songwriter with Warner-Chappel as well as with various publishing hous-es in Nashville such as EMI, Hamstein, The Farm, and OMG/Acuff Rose. He also has extensive catalogs at other publishing companies including Sony Tree. Some of Tommy’s hit songs include “Look What Followed Me Home” by John Ball; “He Feels Guilty to Me” by Bobbie Cryner; “I Don’t Want You to Go” by Carolyn Dawn Johnson; the recently re-leased “Beyond My Broken Dreams” by Eden Brent; and “Willing to Crawl” by Johnny Neel, which was featured on HBO’s True Blood in 2009. He’s even written songs for Irma Thomas and Bobby Blue Bland. “I loved what I was doing,” he says. “I couldn’t wait to get up in the morning. It wasn’t work; it was play.” Then somehow things changed. “I don’t know,” he says. “It seemed like the music business had become more cut-throat. People were downloading music off the Internet, which really hurt financially, both for me and for everyone else. Even the music changed. Performers were writ-ing their own songs rather than using song-writers. A lot of people were out of work. Perhaps I changed, too. It just wasn’t as much fun anymore.”

So Polk switched gears and with a couple of busi-ness partners opened a one-of-a-kind B&B in Clarksdale, Mississippi, called Shack-Up Inn. “We moved some share-cropper shacks onto my cous-in’s cotton plantation,” he re-counted, “and just fixed them up enough to be livable.” They were simple, rough shacks, the kind where the original old blues players wrote and performed their music—people like Son Thomas, John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, and others. It was a huge success. “People want-ed the blues experience,” he said, “and they came from ev-erywhere—England, Germany, Japan, and the United States.” It dawned on him that Clarksdale had become a mu-sic-tourist destination. He dis-covered he liked the hospital-ity business and opened three more B&Bs. He then decided to move to Clarksdale permanently and bought a house there for his mother. However, when he came back to Natchez to sell his mother’s house in Vidalia,

Above—Polk in early songwriting days Left—Fans enjoying the third annual Soul Survivors Festival held recently on the grounds of the newly restored Will Haney’s Big House Music Hall

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Louisiana, he looked around and realized he didn’t want to cut all ties to his hometown. “Natchez is really one of the most beau-tiful towns in the world,” he said, “so I bought another shack to use as a B&B and called it ‘Shantybellum.’ I figured I could hire someone to run it here and have a place to stay when I came to visit.” While restoring the house, though, he decided he really wanted to come home for good. So he stayed, eventually selling the B&B businesses in Clarksdale and going to work as a consul-tant for the town of Ferriday, Louisiana, under Mayor Glenn McGlothin, a musician himself. “I took Glenn to Clarksdale to show him what we’d done,” Tommy explained. “He loved it. And I told him that with Ferriday’s musical heritage, I bet we could do the same thing here.” Ferriday is home to some re-markable music history. Double-first cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, Mickey Gilley, and Jimmy Swaggart are native sons. For years Haney’s Big House, which burned in 1966, had been a feature attrac-tion on the Chitlin’ Circuit, host-ing such notable African American entertainers as B. B. King, Moms Mabley, Redd Foxx, Ray Charles, and Bobby Bland. After witnessing a smokestack industry pass up Ferriday as a place to do business, McGlothin agreed on a new economic development plan focusing on tourism and music tour-ism combined with a healthy dose of cultural-heritage tourism. Building on tourism assets already in the area like Frogmore Plantation, the Lewis Family Museum, the Delta Music Museum, and the Arcade Theater, the city got grants to implement a plan that called for the following:• The renovation of a burned-out

shell of a building into an open-air venue called Rockabilly Plaza, which would also function as a farmer’s mar-ket/music venue and arts center for youth with original artwork/murals on exterior walls;

• The renovation of a deteriorating rail-road property into the Haney’s Big House Music Hall to include a large, fully covered outdoor stage for festivals and events;

• The partial restoration of an underuti-lized railroad building to be leased as a private club.

In addition, Ferriday began hosting an annual songwriters’ workshop at the Arcade for local songwriting hopefuls, bringing many of Tommy’s Nashville

co-writers to teach about the business and craft of music. Ferriday also created and hosted the annual Soul Survivors Festival, honoring Will Haney and Haney’s Big House and the musicians associated with Haney’s from the 1940s until its destruc-tion in 1966.

It was an uphill job. McGlothin had to deal with water issues and his own health issues as well. But he and Tommy persevered. On May 22 at the third annual Soul Survivors Festival, McGlothin presided over a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Will Haney’s Big House Music Hall and Jerry Lee Lewis Rockabilly Park and Plaza, the renaming of First Street to Pee Wee Whittaker Avenue, the naming of Will Haney Circle, and the placement of seven histor-ic markers downtown honoring Ferriday’s past and people. As McGlothin’s mayoral term comes to a close, Tommy is look-ing ahead. He hopes to continue working as a consultant in the area.

He’s even going back to songwriting. “I’m playing with a local band in Natchez called Backwoods,” he said. “I’m also beginning to write again with two of my Nashville co-writers on Skype and am putting lyrics on prerecorded tracks sent as mp3 to me. High-tech Tommy songs.” Tommy fondly looks back on his time with Glenn McGlothin in Ferriday, explaining, “I am so glad Glenn asked me to come aboard. For four years now, I’ve been able to focus on music, even bringing Nashville friends and co-writers down to Ferriday, and to work on downtown development projects that I am so proud to have been a part of.” Tommy also recalled, “In re-searching Haney’s for Ferriday I learned that three of the headlin-ers during its heyday would record some of my songs. I loved learning

that. Who would’ve guessed it?” About the future of the various tourism programs that he and McGlothin initiated, Tommy remarked, “We will leave our ba-bies behind for the next administration to nurture and grow Ferriday into a music destination. The ball is in their court. I wish them well. They have a tremendous tour-ism opportunity. I hope Mayor-elect Gene Allen will make the most of it.”

Top—Musician discussions were held during the Song Writers Workshop in the restored Arcade in downtown Ferriday, Louisiana; Polk was instrumental in creating this event for the town.

Above—Musician YZ Ealey performing during the 2012 Soul Survivors Festival

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Natchez k vidalia k Ferriday k Natchez k vidalia k Ferriday k

On the River k On the River k On the River k On the River

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On the River k On the River k On the River k On the River

Natchez k vidalia k Ferriday k Natchez k vidalia k Ferriday k

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Vicksburg, Mississippi’s Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation, es-tablished in 1994, operates as a nonprofit, cultural arts center located on the former campus of St. Francis Xavier Academy and Convent.

The site’s five historic buildings, circa 1830 to 1955, comprise a Mississippi Landmark property that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Foundation’s intent is to provide for the Vicksburg area with its diverse cultural heritage exposure to a wealth of artists who have honed their skills and talents and are eager to share them with the community through educational programs. The calendar year offers over 220 activities that are free or at low cost to par-ticipants due to the support and generosity of the Mississippi Arts Commission, City of Vicksburg, Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation members, and corpo-rate sponsors. Some examples of these activities include workshops in knitting, oils and acrylics, drawing, Spanish, creative writing, cooking, guitar, photogra-phy, harmonica, speaking, wreath-making, centerpiece design, gardening, pho-tography, and working with clay; dance lessons for adults and youth; weekly after-school art workshops; and a summer multi-cultural art camp for youth. Lectures and performances have included nationally known and regional authors, artists, and performers such as John Barry, Carolyn Haines, John Maxwell, Nevada Barr, Marshall Ramsey, Wyatt Waters, Robert St. John, and Ellis Nassour. In addition, the Foundation’s many exciting concerts have featured a new an-nual community favorite Classics in the Courtyard, Israeli multi-instrumental-ist Amir Gwirtzman, classical guitarist Jeffery Bianchi, the annual Saint Joseph Christmas Concert, piano virtuoso Vladimir Zaitsev, and renowned songwriter and vocalist Shannon McNally. The Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit, Mississippi Art Colony, and Mississippi Museum of Art are among those who have provided the organization’s art showings; and the Foundation is also available for event such as meetings, banquets, receptions, and concerts.

Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation:

Extending Artistic Excellencethroughout the Community

A Drawing Workshop is one of the many classes offered for adults at the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation, Vicksburg’s Cultural Arts Center.

Live models offer unique experiences in the Spectrum art classes.

Programs such as the St. Joseph Orchestra Christmas Concert are provided via various grants through the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation.

Teri Roddy, Natchez, Mississippi, artist, offered classes in gold leafing.

Annette Kirkland

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The Foundation also explores and interprets the diverse southern culture of Vicksburg through author readings, book signings, and the Southern Book Club, and conducts guided tours of historic buildings. Annette Kirkland, Executive Director for the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation, has been one of the organization’s best cheerleaders for the promotion of the SCHF as Vicksburg’s Cultural Arts Center. A resident of Vicksburg since 1988, Kirkland has served as the Foundation’s Executive Director since 2008. Her job description includes fundraising, public relations, business development, marketing, rental and spe-cial events, grant writing, programming, membership, and administrative duties associated with day-to-day operations. She definitely does it all to make cultural events happen for the community. “And I do sleep at night,” laughed Kirkland. Two main benefits she spear-heads are the Annual Over the River Run held in October and the Annual Chocolate Affair held the first Thursday in May. In addition to her position with the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation, Kirkland is Chairperson of the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors and serves on the Vicksburg Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and on the Marketing Committee for United Way. Events offered July through December 2012 are monthly culinary workshops with William Furlong, ballroom dance lessons with James Frechette on two Sundays each month from 5:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m., weekly guitar lessons with Richard McComas, and Southern Book Club meetings on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Additional classes include the following:

July 9 - 12 4-Day Portrait Drawing

Workshop with Jerrod Partridge,9:00 a.m. – Noon

July 19Hobbs Freeman Arts and Nature

Visual Art Exhibit and Competition,6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

August 6 - 17“Artists that Rock”

Exhibit and PerformanceBeginning August 30

for 13 ThursdaysRiver Kids Free

After-School Art Program

September 18Stuart Towns Lecture

& Book Signing, 6:00 p.m.October 19 & 26

and November 2 & 9Classics in the Courtyard

November 3Hobbs Freeman Arts & NatureFestival, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

December 7 - 8Vicksburg High School MadrigalsDinner & Performance, 7:30 p.m.

December 105th Annual Holly Days Arts &

Crafts Show, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

For additional information concerning activities at the SCHF, telephone 601-631-2997, visit its Facebook page and click on Events, or visit www.southernculture.org.

Beading Class is one of the many diverse class offerings provided in the year’s curriculum for the Vicksburg-Warren County community.

Classics in the Courtyard, a four-week program sponsored by ENTERGY, will run October 19 and 26 and November 2 and 9, 2012.

Specialty classes such as Cooking with Herbs offers one-on-one expertise from area chefs.

Activities for children offer musical arts development during the after-school and summer art classes.

The multi-functional Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation offers space for meetings, lectures, receptions, banquets, lunches, and dinners.

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eep the fl ags fl ying, keep the fl eet afl oat, and join them in celebrating Faith, Family, and Freedom at Lake St. John near Ferriday, Louisiana. In the tradition of the blessing of the shrimp boats in South Louisiana and of cel-

ebrating our nation’s Declaration of Independence Day from Great Britain, July 4, 1776, the annual Lake St. John Flotilla will set sail on Saturday July 7, commemorating our national Fourth of July holiday. The Flotilla has become a Miss-Lou tradition, a time to cel-ebrate family and freedom and a time to thank God for this great land and, to quote the Flotilla Committee, “for our beau-tiful piece of God’s Country—Lake St. John.” The fl otilla’s

Join the Fourth of July Flotilla:parade of boats and other recreational water vehicles will be-gin at 3:00 p.m. on the north end of the lake; will be led by Sheriff Kenneth Hedrick, followed by Grand Marshall Monelle Mosley; and will stop for a blessing, given by Reverend Louis Sklar of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, at the Steckler pier lo-cated near Spokane Marina. Flotilla Grand Marshall Moseley and her late husband, Louis Charles “Sparky” Moseley, purchased their lake house to enjoy water sports and relaxed lake-living with their chil-dren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Monelle has served Concordia Parish as Tax Assessor for nine years, and she will retire from public service in December to become a “re-tired” resident of the lake. She is an active member of Vidalia

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First Baptist Church, Rotary Club, Vidalia Garden Club, and Concordia Parish Chamber of Commerce. Flotilla Committee members Donna Maroon, Norma Jean Price, Gay Guercio, and Richard Alwood encourage all lake and Independence Day enthusiasts to have their watercraft—jet skis, sailboats, bass boats, or pontoon boats—blessed for the season. Prizes will be awarded in several categories, but the vessel does not have to be decorated to be blessed. Priests stress that the “blessing of the fl otilla is a festive occasion but also a serious religious one.” The priest blesses all the vessels with holy water to foster safe ‘sailing.’ Prizes also will be awarded for decorated piers, and pier judging begins at 1:00 p.m. Registration for both fl otilla entries

and pier competition will be at the Spokane Resort on Saturday, July 7, from 9:00 a.m. until noon. The fee per fl otilla entry is $10.00 and per pier is $5.00. The public is invited to view the Flotilla from Spokane Resort, and at 8:00 p.m. a band sponsored by the resort will kick off the evening festivities that include a fi reworks show at 9:00 p.m. accompanied by live broadcasting and patriotic mu-sic. T-shirts and posters celebrating Lake St. John’s Fourth of July Flotilla are available at Spokane Marina, the Tiki Hut, and Lake St. John Grocery prior to the Flotilla’s getting underway. For more information contact Donna Maron at 318-481-0182.

Celebrate Faith, Family & Freedom!

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Engagement Party Fetes Alwood and EdwardsAn engagement party was held June 2, 2012, at the home of Ann and Barry Maxwell in Ferriday, Louisiana, to honor Mary Margaret Alwood of Ferriday and Stephen Edwards of Natchez, Mississippi, who will marry in August 2012. Hosting the event along with the Maxwells were Tom and Jeannie Milliken, Johnny and Margaret Fudickar, Lynne and Mitch Ashmore, Bubba and Becky Gremillion, Bryant and Susan Hammett, and Rose and David Jones

Stephen Edwards and Mary Margaret AlwoodDuke and Paula EdwardsAndy and Nancy AndersBarry Maxwell and Sheila AlwoodMatt Devereaux and Brandon Gremillion Joanna and Jason McNeelSheila Alwood and Charles ChauvinNancy Anders and Dorothy ChauvinRichard and Sheila Alwood

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Engagement Party Fetes Alwood and Edwards | Ferr iday, LA | THEsocial SCENE

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Murphy Hinson and Caroline EdwardsMary Margaret Alwood and Theresa MullinsSela Roberts and Anna Bet RobertsTommy Denning and Heather BurgetSheila Alwood and Jeanne EdwardsRichard Alwood and Richard HarrissPam Middleton and Debbie BonnerEmmett and Teresa BurnsCraig and Lynn BradfordAnna Bet Roberts and Edie ChauvinDee Newman and Christine NewmanPaul Salvo and Cal Alwood

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THEsocial SCENE | Ferr iday, LA | Engagement Party Fetes Alwood and Edwards

Stephen Edwards with Thomas and Meredith PerryJennifer and Van VossJeanne Edwards with Meredith and Thomas PerryTerry Iverstine and Sheila AlwoodScott McLemore, Ryan Rachel, Jessica Matthews, Elizabeth Tanner, and Tori GremillionLynne Ashmore, Tom Milliken, Mitch Ashmore, Mary Margaret Alwood, and Stephen EdwardsSheila Alwood, Mary Margaret Alwood, Allie Jordan, and Lou JordanLynne and Mitch Ashmore, Jeannie Millikin, Margaret Fudickar, Tom Milliken, Rose Jones, and Becky GremillionMargaret Fudickar, Jeanine Herrington, Lou Jordan, and Ann MaxwellRachel Durel, Lynne Ashmore, and Mary Margaret Alwood

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Torri Gremillion, Caroline Devereaux, and Mary Margaret AlwoodJake Middleton and Joe BonnerScott McLemore, Stephen Edwards, and Laura McLemoreSandy Burget, Mary Margaret Alwood, and Jeannie MillikenHunter McKeiver, Gary Edwards, John Taylor, and Jason McNeelJanet and Tom Matthews with Ryan Rachel and Jessica MatthewsSeated—Sheila Alwood, Mary Margaret Alwood, Shannon Alwood, and Heather Burget; standing—Richard Alwood, Cal Alwood, Stephen Edwards, Lawrence Alwood, and Brad BurgetSeated—Margaret Fudickar, Lynne Ashmore, Mary Margaret Alwood, Nancy Anders, Ann Maxwell, and in back Jeannie Milliken; standing—Bubba and Becky Gremillion, Rose Jones, Andy Anders, Stephen Edwards, Mitch Ashmore, Tom Milliken, Johnny Fudicker, and Barry Maxwell

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THEsocial SCENE | Ferr iday, LA | Engagement Party Fetes Alwood and Edwards

Jeannette Perry and Gene BlanchardJennifer and Bobby SmithLinda and John Alwood and Bubba GremillionRoxanne Salvo, Mary Margaret Alwood, and Paul Salvo

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Engagement Party Fetes Alwood and Edwards | Ferr iday, LA | THEsocial SCENE

Alyson Perry, Mary Margaret Alwood, and Meredith PerryJohn, Lou, and Allie JordanSusan Hammett, Mary Margaret Prescott, and Elizabeth TannerKacye and Allen Smith, Mary Margaret Alwood, and Stephen EdwardsLindsay Brashier, Tori Gremillion, Mary Margaret Prescott, Kristen Pate, Mary Margaret Alwood, Elizabeth Tanner, Jessica Matthews, and Lauren MiddletonJeremy Leonick, Lindsay Brashier, Mary Margaret Alwood, and Stephen EdwardsStephen Edwards, Mary Margaret Alwood, and Lauren and Wes Middleton

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From cats to pirates to cowboys and kings ... add a few dwarfs one summer and a wooden boy the next—the Summer Drama Camp at Brookhaven Little Theatre in Brookhaven,

Mississippi, is a place that calls for creativity, embraces self expression, and encourages the arts. For the eighth year dur-ing this July, the two-week camp will make room again on its stage for children first through seventh grades and teach them more than just lines and costuming. The camp offers the joyful benefits of live performances, art education, and imagination. Brookhaven Little Theatre’s annual drama camp was born out of necessity. There was a drastic need for artistic education during the summer months in the area of Brookhaven where the theater calls home. During this two-week camp, participants are grouped with peers of similar age and ability and assigned to counselors, making close-knit families within the theater. During the day, groups travel in these family “pods” through-out several sessions filling three hours with activity. Groups spend time with the volunteer Director Jana Fulda Russell (a certified choral arts teacher) as she instructs them on stage with lines, blocking, props, and costuming. They also visit an arts-and-crafts area where the projects coordinate with the theme of

Brookhaven’s Drama Camp:An Encore of July Fun for Regional Students

the play. Finally, they spend some circle time together, performing physically and mentally with games like charades, prop dressing, improvisation exercises, and team building.

story and photos by JoAnna Sproles

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At the end of the two weeks, the stu-dents perform their play for two nights in front of family, friends, and the communi-ty. The cast and crew also enjoy a cast par-ty to celebrate their accomplishments. “It is not an easy task to take a play on the first day, cast it within three days, and get everyone to begin learning their parts,” Russell said. “But, in the end, they have all learned to work as one cast to de-liver a charming production for everyone in the audience.” Russell has many volunteers to help her work through the production. Teenagers in eighth through twelfth grades also vol-unteer at the camp to earn their commu-nity service hours required by schools and scholarship applications. “These are the top students in their classes, and we help each other through this process,” Russell said. “By the time it is all over, teenagers and younger stu-dents share a close bond that was built through encouragement. We all learn from each other and keep the environ-ment positive for students as they learn more about themselves and the creative process as a whole.” The camp this summer, which is “The Little Mermaid,” is scheduled for July 9 through July 20, running Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The tuition for the camp also serves an impor-tant purpose since it fuels the SAVE the HAVEN fund. This collection of money throughout the year helps BLT volunteers

complete renovation projects to the build-ing. The cost per stu-dent for the full two weeks is $175, which includes daily tuition, camp t-shirt, perfor-

mance DVD, and daily snack. Registration forms for campers are available now on the BLT website, under SUMMER CAMP. Applications for volunteer teens are also available online. Upon completion of their

participation, student counselors will re-ceive a community service letter confirm-ing their involvement. “We have had great participation in the past and many, many repeat campers be-cause they really enjoy their experience with us,” Russell said. “We hope to have another great summer of enrollment and invite children from all surrounding coun-ties to come play with us.” Visit www.haventheatre.org for further information.

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Edwards and Hinson Engagement CelebrationAn engagement celebration was held recently in honor of Caroline Edwards and Murphy Hinson, both of Natchez, Mississippi. Family and friends gathered for the event in the penthouse of the Callon Building in downtown Natchez, overlooking the Mississippi River.

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Murphy Hinson and Caroline EdwardsWhitney and Justin DollarMaddie Kirkwood and Preston EdwardsMelinda and Patrick BiglaneToby and Sarah MaierWicks Cully Torrence and Brittany FunderburgGene, Abby, Laura, and Brittany LairdFront—Brittany Laird, Mackenzie Burns, and Alex Roberts; back—Mattie Geoghegan, Sarah Calhoun, Emily Stevens, Mary Beth Aubic, Caroline Edwards, and Whitney Dollar

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Edwards and Hinson Engagement Celebration | Natchez, MS | THEsocial SCENE

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Alex and Pam MiddletonGayle and Caroline EdwardsStephen Edwards, Mary Margaret Alwood, Johnathan Perry, Alex Roberts, Brittany Laird, and Ryan ZumboSandy Hall, Mandy Hinson, Caroline Edwards, Murphy Hinson, Brandyn Wilson, Amanda and “Bubba” Dill, April and Scott Pintard, Melanie and Terry Hall, Brandy Hall, Buck PintardJason and Joanna McNeel, Judy Germany, Duke Edwards, Paula Edwards, Preston Edwards, Caroline Edwards, Murphy Hinson, Patrick and Melinda Biglane, and Karen and Pat BiglaneFront—Murphy Hinson, Gayle Edwards, and Caroline Edwards; back—Stephen Edwards, Gary Edwards, Mary Margaret Alwood, GiGi Johnson, Jeannie Edwards, Mary Lees Wilson, Paula and Duke Edwards, and Preston EdwardsAngie Weeks, James Allen and Johnnie Ann Hinson, Kole Junkin, Mandy Hinson, Stephanie Weeks, Lee Hinson, Caroline Edwards, Murphy Hinson, Bubba Hinson, Linda Middleton, and Chris Hinson

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Brandyn Wilson and Mandy HinsonJamie Holloway and Emily StevensSarah Calhoun, Emily Stevens, and Mattie GeogheganStephen Edwards and Mary Margaret AlwoodKelley Barber and Braxton FondrenCaroline, Paula, and Duke EdwardsRhonda Kaiser, Judy Germany, and Angie WeeksMurphy Hinson, Caroline Edwards, and Jason and Joanna McNeelChris and Lee Hinson with Toby and Sarah Maier

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Class of 2002 ReunionMembers of the Class of 2002 from Cathedral High School in Natchez, Mississippi, celebrated their 10-year reunion during the Memorial Day weekend. The celebration held events for members and their families in downtown Natchez and on Lake St. John in Ferriday, Louisiana.

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Natalie Wilson Anderson and Lindsey Smith WilliamsPaul Manning and Bert GoldmanChristine Newman and Meggie Havard ThompsonKelly Graves Goeddertz and Caroline Shull DevereauxLarry Thomas, Wesley and Claire Waycaster Strebeck, and Ashley GoodloeFront—Abby Laird, Mary Margaret Alwood, Caroline Shull Devereaux, Christine Newman, Valerie Orcutt Antici, and Kelly Graves Goeddertz; middle—Natalie Wilson Anderson, Elizabeth Hammett Tanner, Lindsey Smith Williams, Claire Waycaster Strebeck, Nicole Falkenheiner, Meggie Havard Thompson, Larry Thomas; back—Jenny Obumseli, Bert Goldman, Paul Manning, Blake Mason, Cameron Middleton-Willard, Donyori Jackson, Tori Blackwell Gremillion, Kate Prescott Rollins, and Shauna White PowellJenny Obumseli and Shauna White Powell

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Class of 2002 Reunion | Natchez, MS | THEsocial SCENE

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Andrew and Regina Smith Pierce with Valerie Orcutt AnticiMatt Devereaux, Katie Goldman, and Elizabeth Hammett TannerCaroline Shull Devereaux, Tori Blackwell Gremillion, and Elizabeth Hammett TannerAshley Jennings, Regina Qua’dan, and Becky BassCameron Middleton-Willard, Abby Laird, and Caroline Shull Devereaux

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Shauna White Powell, Nicole Falkenheiner, and Cameron Middleton-WillardFront—Regina Smith Pierce, Caroline Shull Devereaux, and Claire Waycaster Strebeck; back—Kelly Graves Goeddertz, Valerie Orcutt Antici, Abby Laird, Christine Newman, Natalie Wilson Anderson, Meggie Havard Thompson, Elizabeth Hammett Tanner, Lindsey Smith Williams, and Cameron Middleton-Willard

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forty years placed on it since 1971. How the sofa has kept getting lower through the years is a mystery, but it is to the point where it is uncomfortable to exit the thing. My stupidity revolves around the fact that, even though I know a new sofa needs to be purchased, I cannot make myself make that purchase. This tug of war has gone on in my mind for the last three years: replace the sofa with something higher from the floor, or figure out a way to make the old one higher. New legs would mean a recovering since the

This is how stupid I am. I need a new sofa for the playroom; for the one there now was purchased in 1971,

the very first piece of furniture bought for the house that I am still living in. This sofa has been recovered several times, had two or three slipcovers made for it, and had pil-lows re-stuffed, etc., over the last 40 years. The frame is still in good shape although the bottom pillows probably need to be replaced. The main problem with this sofa is that it is too low for a body that has also had

current skirt would not cover higher legs, and the sofa with a short skirt would look ignorant sitting there. Do I want to invest more money in this old rascal, or would it be better to go to town and get a replace-ment? An empire could rise and fall before I quit dithering about this decision. The thing is this sofa has been here since day one. My children grew up sitting there; countless dogs and cats have been petted there; I have had many good naps on that sofa since it is eight feet long and I can stretch out without hitting the arms. I have received joyous news and hair-rais-ing news sitting on that very sofa and, de-pending on the news, would bury my head under some of the pillows. Now, my little grandsons are taking their turns spilling their drinks where their mothers had simi-lar accidents; and I just feel something akin to desertion to even want to get another sofa to replace this one that has the story of my married, mothered life woven into its very frame. Right now, I can put off the purchase until the fall because farmers always wait for some of the crop to be in before making major purchases. A sofa is not really a big deal anymore; and if I were not stupid, I could just go ahead and get something that I could get up from. But by using the old rule of “wait until harvest,” I can delay a decision that is worrying me no end. So, just how stupid am I. Speaking of harvest time, it would be nice to get a good soaking rain so that we will have something to harvest this fall. It looks like another dreadful, dry sum-mer is coming and with it the worry about the crops and the effect that drought and heat will have on young plants as they load up with their harvestable fruits. Irrigation helps, but it is nothing compared to the nourishment from a good old Mother

Sundry Reflections: Sofas, Crops, Turtles, and Patriotism

Southern Sampler by Alma M. Womack

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Nature rain. Irrigation keeps things alive until the rain comes. And my friend Terry Rector, former county agent up in Warren County, says that irrigation is to be used before the crops get dry; it is wrong to wait to water after the soil has dried out. Most people will wait until the ground is dry and the plants wilting before they hook up their irrigation systems. I use Terry’s advice when watering the flowers by watering before they look sad and wilted, and it does keep them alive. One little rain will perk plants up more than three days of watering; why, I do not know. I am just thankful that we have ac-cess to enough water to keep things hydrat-ed until the rains come back. There has been another title added to my long list of distinguished titles: I am now the Saver of Turtles. Turtles come from Tupelo Brake into the yard to lay their eggs every spring. All goes well until Rocco the Large spies them; then they become fair game for one of his play pretties. I have taken away a dozen or so turtles from him in the last couple of weeks to keep him from crunching up their shells and killing them. I just give them a fling into the lake and admonish them that they would do

better to go to the east bank where the dogs do not tread. The little ones must be hatch-ing safely somewhere; for the brake is al-ways full of the rascals, especially when I throw out a little catfish feed for the resi-dent fish. If you can believe it, I have actually had people want to come and seine the lake for my turtles as if I would let friends be shipped to some plain old turtle pond somewhere. They are fine where they are if they will just stay in the water. Woodrow, Drew, and I like them; and I’m sure that Jay will, too, when he’s old enough to know what a turtle is. My boys have to be entertained; and if the turtles do that, they will remain protected. This article is for July, so let me get on my soapbox and remind every one of you readers what an important holiday the Fourth of July is for Americans. Our free-dom from the tyrannical rule of the English was declared on this day, and it marked the beginning of the most remarkable country in the history of the western world. The last few years have seen our country run down, degraded, insulted, and shamed by the very leaders who should be singing the praises of this great country. People are

discouraged at the ever present condem-nation of a free, generous people, much as they were decades ago when Ronald Reagan came along. He loved America and the goodness that it stood for, and he com-municated that love and pride to people across the nation. We must carry on his love of country, and do our part to see that America is re-stored to its rightful place of world lead-ership in so many areas. As America goes, so goes the world. If you don’t be-lieve me, take a look at Europe. A weak-ened America has a ripple effect across the economies of all nations. We must just re-member that all is not lost. We can—and will—restore our country so that not only can we be proud once again of our heritage but also we can pass on an economic pros-perity and pride of country to the genera-tions who come after us. Have a safe and happy Independence from England Day, and cherish the freedoms that we still have.

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The Vicksburg Art Association is an organization that has promoted and cel-ebrated the local arts and its artisans for more than 40 years, and is a central re-source for the entire creative community of Vicksburg. The VAA is fortunate to have as its headquarters one of Vicksburg’s first fire-houses. This building has been desig-nated as a Mississippi Landmark by the Department of Archives and History. The Old Constitution Firehouse is believed by the Archives and History Department to be the most intact Victorian fire station in the state. It was built in 1870 as the sec-ond house for the city’s first volunteer fire company and later housed the first paid company. The building retains the cen-tral stall, barracks room, cupola, and bell which was used to call the volunteers. The presence of the fire station made the Openwood - Main Street area one of the most desirable residential districts in Vicksburg before 1876.

ArtsNatchez, located on Main Street in downtown Natchez, Mississippi, is a non-profit, membership organization whose purpose is to promote the arts in the greater Natchez area and is managed by a board of directors. Part of ArtsNatchez’s mission is to operate a gallery for lo-cal artists. The organization and gallery are run by various volunteer commit-tees composed of patron members and

JULY up & coming! PREMIER ART ORGANIzATIONS

participating artists that take on every-thing from community outreach to facili-ties maintenance. www.artsnatchez.com

Natchez Art Association is a non-profit art organization in Natchez, Mississippi, that provides opportunities for its mem-bers, students, emerging and established artists, art lovers, and the community at large through programs, instruction, dem-onstrations, mentoring, scholarships, net-working, exhibitions and sales in order to stimulate community interest and make art accessible and to enrich and engage indi-viduals in the creation and appreciation of art. www.natchezartassociation.org

The Brookhaven Trust, founded in 1991 and supported by community mem-bers, is a force behind the endurance of Brookhaven, Mississippi’s cultural her-itage. In 1997, the Brookhaven Arts Council was formed, a division of the

Vicksburg Art Association Members left to right—Sally Forrest, Jamie Coon, Jodi Permenter, Mary Alice Costley, Jordan Amborn, and Wayne Forrest at Attic Gallery in Vicksburg, Mississippi

Brookhaven Trust, to provide the com-munity with outstanding art exhibits, musical and theatrical performances and story-telling, rarely offered to a com-munity of Brookhaven’s size. American Realism: A Tradition, a rare art exhibit featuring the works of Andrew Wyeth, is an example of the caliber of programs be-ing presented by the Arts Council. While these endeavors are costly, they are usu-ally provided free of charge to the com-munity. The Arts Council continues its ef-forts with the annual visit of the Missoula Children’s Theatre, which offers commu-nity children an opportunity to work with gifted actors and directors for a week. At the end, they present a children’s play starring local Brookhaven talent. Music is a gift to all, enriching lives dai-ly; but rare is the opportunity to experi-ence the Mississippi Symphony Chamber Orchestra or the Capitol Brass live and at no cost to the public. The Brookhaven Arts Council makes these and so many other cultural events available on a regu-lar basis. www.brookhaventrust.org

Brookhaven Haven Theatre www.ha-ventheatre.org

The Copiah-Lincoln Community Arts Series, hosted by Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson, Mississippi, a small community eight miles north of Brookhaven, is a private-ly endowed community organization that through community and corporate con-tributions is able to provide Brookhaven and surrounding communities with an outstanding selection of cultural and mu-sical productions, many of which are pre-sented by nationally known and revered artists. www.colin.edu/community

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McComb, Mississippi, Arts & Culture

• Pike County Arts Association

• Southwest Mississippi Art Guild

• Gulf South Gallery – pottery, paint-ings, and jewelry by Mississippi art-ists and craftsmen

• Japonica Gallery – modern art gallery featuring works from area artists in-cluding photography and pottery

www.mccombmainstreet.com

Greater Jackson Arts Council is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization that works in public/private partnership with the City of Jackson, Mississippi, and the Jackson Convention & Visitors Bureau. This agency also receives pub-lic funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, Hinds County Board

PREMIER ART ORGANIzATIONS up & coming! JULY

of Supervisors, U.S. Department of Education, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additionally, the Council’s programs and services are supported by private foundations, corporate donors, its volunteer board of directors, and individ-uals committed to cultural development in the city. www.jacksonartscouncil.org

The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge is a catalyst for the arts—pro-viding arts education, jobs, programs, and events in and around Baton Rouge, Louisiana—while working to create a better place to live. River City Jazz Masters is a collaboration with the River City Jazz Coalition, featuring world-class jazz performances in downtown Baton Rouge. The Debbie Allen Dance Residencie gives Baton Rouge dancers an opportunity to shine! For the fourth consecutive year, Debbie Allen brings her skill and famed choreography to the Baton Rouge community. FestForAll, a Baton Rouge tradition, is an artfully fun and family friendly art festival that pro-vides an exciting art-buying opportuni-ty! Celebrate the arts while shopping the original artwork of over 100 local and

national juried artists. The festival fea-tures an exceptional representation of fine arts and crafts along with artist demon-strations, kids’ art activities in Children’s Village, live music from blues to classi-cal, and a variety of Louisiana cuisine. Arts Education provides arts instruction in the schools and arts education residen-cies. The Community School for the Arts offers arts activities to children on weekends and during school holidays at the Shaw Center for the Arts as well as arts activities for children, teens, and adults throughout the year. Laurel Street Palooza is an evening of live music, tasty food, and a silent auction of original art-work and great finds. Sunday in the Park hosts free music concerts that take place outside the Shaw Center for the Arts ev-ery spring and fall. The Community Gallery offers ongoing exhibitions fea-turing local and regional artists. The Baton Rouge Arts Market is a bustling, open-air marketplace that provides artists direct sales opportunities and encourag-es quality craftsmanship and creativity. www.artsbr.org

St. Francisville, Louisiana: Since 1976, Harrington Gallery with its studio has been located at 9907 Royal Street in the heart of the historical district. Harrington Gallery and Herschel Harrington have become an international destination for art enthusiasts and travelers alike. At Backwood’s Gallery on Ferdinand Street, Joe Savell is usually creating another of his paintings. Other local artists’ works also are on display here.

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Through December 1The Art of Eugene Martin: A Great

ConceptOhr-O’Keefe Museum of ArtBiloxi, MSTues. - Sat. / 10 am - 5 [email protected]

Through November 24Geoff Mitchell: Chaos at the

ConfessionalOhr-O’Keefe Museum of ArtBiloxi, MSTues. - Sat. / 10 am - 5 pm228-374-5547curatorofcollections@georgeohr.orgwww.georgeohr.org

JULY up & coming!

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up & coming! JULY

Through November 24Trailer McQuilkin: An Uncommon

BeautyOhr-O’Keefe Museum of ArtBiloxi, MSTues. - Sat. / 10:00 am - 5:00 pm228-374-5547curatorofcollections@georgeohr.orgwww.georgeohr.org

Through August 26Pieces & Strings: MS Cultural

Crossroads24th Annual Quilt Contest & ExhibitionMississippi Museum of Art Jackson, MSPublic Corridor / Free201 East Pascagoula Streetwww.msmuseumart.org

Through July 15Andrew Bucci & Samuel Marshall GoreMississippi Museum of Art Jackson, MSPublic Corridor / Free201 East Pascagoula Streetwww.msmuseumart.org

Through July 4Independence Weekend:Red, White & BluesVicksburg, MS July 1Subway Revue Band4:00 pm / Ameristar’s Bottleneck Blues BarFree 601-638-1000Ameristar.com/Vicksburg

July 1 - 3, 6 - 11, 13 - 17, 20 - 24 & 27 - 31

Vicksburg National Military Park Living History

Vicksburg, MS9:00 am - 4:00 pm; $8/[email protected]

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July 3Music in the CityMississippi Museum of ArtJackson, MSTrustmark Grand Hall5:15 pm / Hors d’oeuvres & Cash Bar5:45 pm / ProgramFree201 East Pascagoula Streetwww.msmuseumart.org

July 4False River Boat ParadeFalse RiverJarreau, LA1:00 [email protected]

July 4Independence Day Fireworks

CelebrationVicksburg, MS7:00 pm / Compositionz Bandwww.downtownvicksburg.org

July 4Fireworks on the MississippiNatchez BluffNatchez, MS9:00 pm / Free

July 5Human Figure Drawing SessionNatchez Art AssociationArtsNatchez GalleryNatchez, MS6:00 - 9:00 pm / [email protected]

July 5, 12, 19, 26McComb Farmers MarketDepot GarageMcComb, MSRailroad Boulevard8:00 am - 1:00 pm

July 5 - 837th Annual Vicksburg HomecomingVicksburg, MSDinner & Dance / [email protected]

JULY up & coming!July 7Craftsmen’s Guild of MississippiPrepare to Qualify WorkshopRidgeland, MS10:00 - 11:30 amMS Craft Center / Free950 Rice Road601-856-7546www.mscrafts.org

July 7An Enslaved LifeAudubon State Historic SiteSt. Francisville, LA10:00 am - 4:00 pm888-677-2838

July 7, 11, 18, 21, 25, 28Vicksburg Farmer’s MarketVicksburg, MSCorner of Jackson & Washington StreetsSat. 8:00 am - 11:00 amWed. 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm601-634-4527www.downtownvicksburg.org

July 8Summertime BluesAdib Sabir & Deep Blues BandVicksburg, MSAmeristar’s Bottleneck Blues Bar4:00 pm / Free Admission

July 8In the Footsteps of AudubonAudubon State Historic SiteSt. Francisville, LA10:00 am - 2:00 pm888-677-2838

July 9 - 124-Day Drawing WorkshopSouthern Cultural Heritage FoundationVicksburg, MS$180 members / $190 non-members1302 Adams Streetwww.southernculture.org

July 9 - 13Summer Art WorkshopArt at HeartVicksburg, MS7 yrs. and older / 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm1915-D Mission 66601-415-9592www.artheart.webs.com

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July 9 - 13Junior Ranger CampMelroseNatchez, MS8 - 12 yrs. / 9:00 am - 2:00 pmMelissa Tynes 601-446-5790

July 9 - 13Kids Outdoor Adventure CampEveryday AdventureNatchez, MS9:00 am - 3:30 pm / $275386-527-8337

July 9 - 20Brookhaven Drama CampHaven TheatreBrookhaven, MSGrades 1 - 79:00 am - Noon / $175www.haventheatre.org

July 10VTEX: Vicksburg Technology

Engineering ExpoVicksburg, MS9:00 am - 4:00 pm1600 Mulberry Street866-822-6338www.vicksburgevents.com

July 10Dreaming Big @ LibraryLEARN ABOUT SNAKES!With Terry VandeventerVidalia & Ferriday, LA10:15 am / Vidalia Library2:00 pm / Ferriday Librarywww.concordia.lib.la.us

July 10, 17, 20Hoot & HollerMississippi Museum of ArtJackson, MSAges 5 - 7 / $45Bring towel and change of clothes.201 East Pascagoula Streetwww.msmuseumart.org

July 11Les Contes d’HoffmannMetropolitan Opera @ Tinseltown

Movie TheatrePearl, MS6:30 pm601-936-5856www.Fandango.com

up & coming! JULY

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July 11, 18, 25 & Aug. 1Summer Sounds @ St. JamesSt. James Episcopal ChurchBaton Rouge, LA7:00 pm $10 / College Free w/ ID208 Fourth Street225-387-5141www.stjamesbr.org

July 11 - 13Civil War Adventure CampHistoric Jefferson CollegeWashington, MS9:00 am - Noon / $25www.mdah.state.ms.us

July 11 - 15Summer Art CampNatchez Art AssociationNatchez, MS10:00 am - 2:00 pmLoraine Griffin 601-807-3290

JULY up & coming!July 12 - 1312 / Digging Deep: Exploring Science &

Language Arts & Visual Arts13 / Teacher Workshop / To Paint &

Pray: The Art & Life of William R.

Hollingsworth, Jr.Mississippi Museum of ArtJackson, MS9:00 am - 3:30 pm$35 members / $40 non-members 201 East Pascagoula Streetwww.msmuseumart.org

July 13 - 14, 20 - 21, 27 - 28Gold in the HillsVicksburg, MS7:30 pmParkside Playhouse601-636-0471www.vicksburgtheatreguild.com

July 14Civil War HomefrontReenactmentOakley PlantationSt. Francisville, LA888-677-2838

July 14Second Saturday in DowntownNatchez, MSHistoric downtown6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

July 14EXPLORE!Historic Jefferson CollegeWashington, MS6 - 8 yrs. / 10:00 - 11:30 am9 - 12 yrs. / 2:00 - 3:30 pm$10601-442-2901www.mdah.state.ms.us

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up & coming! JULY

July 14Hollywood in Natchez—A Civil War

Series The Adventures of Huck FinnNatchez, MSNatchez Convention and Visitors Bureau4:00 pm / Free601-446-1208 [email protected]

July 14Community Yard SaleMcComb, MSPike County Livestock & Fair3157 Wardlaw Road8:00 am - 2:00 pm / Free

July 149th Annual Standing Ovation Awards

GalaNatchez Little TheatreNatchez, MS6:00 pm / $20319 Linton Avenuewww.natchezlittletheatre.org

July 14 - August 12Moodle 4 Google Mississippi ExhibitionTrustmark Grand HallMississippi Museum of ArtJackson, MSFree201 East Pascagoula Streetwww.msmuseumart.org

July 15Heritage Music Series:David Dunavent & EVOL LOVE Vicksburg, MSAmeristar’s Bottleneck Blues Bar4:00 pm / Free

July 15 - 21 Tara Wildlife Youth CampVicksburg, MSBoys 9 - 16 yrs. / $6006791 Eagle Lake Shore RoadMark Bowen 601-279-4261www.tarawildlife.com/camps

July 16Beers & Cheers BeerTastingBaton Rouge, LA6:00 - 8:00 pm / $10Marsala Beverage Event Pavilion825 Stone Avenue

July 16 - 17Bed & Breakfast Ass. of MS ConferenceOld Capitol InnJackson, MSSpeakers/Tours601-956-0084http://www.missbab.com/[email protected]

July 16 - 20Junior Ranger CampVicksburg National Military ParkVicksburg, MS9:00 am - 1:00 pmOld Superintendent’s Quarters601-636-0583www.nps.gov/vick/forkids

July 18Lucia di LammermoorMetropolitan Opera @ Tinseltown

Movie TheatrePearl, MS6:30 pm601-936-5856www.Fandango.com

July 18 & 25Media Editing with Stephen CollinsFerriday LibraryFerriday, LA3:00 pm / Freewww.concordia.lib.la.us

July 19 - 20The Little MermaidHaven TheatreBrookhaven, MS6:30 pm / $5www.haventheatre.org

July 19 & 26Mark Twain at the Library with

Georgiann PottsVidalia LibraryVidalia, LA6:00 pm / Freewww.concordia.lib.la.us

July 21Community MarketParker ParkSt. Francisville, LA9:00 am - 1:00 pm

July 22Heritage Music SeriesLeaf River Blues with “Fingers” TaylorVicksburg, MS4:00 pm / Free Ameristar’s Bottleneck Blues Bar

July 24 - 27Naturalist CampHistoric Jefferson CollegeWashington, MS9:00 am - Noon / $25601-442-2901

July 24Jellies & Jam WorkshopCanning with William FurlongSouthern Cultural Heritage FoundationVicksburg, MS1302 Adams [email protected]

July 25Der RosenkavalierMetropolitan Opera @ Tinseltown

Movie TheatrePearl, MS6:30 pm601-936-5856www.Fandango.com

July 25 - 29Summer Art CampNatchez Art AssociationNatchez, MS10:00 am - 2:00 pmLoraine Griffin 601-807-3290

July 27 - 28Hummingbird CelebrationDowntownSt. Francisville, LA800-488-6502www.stfrancisvillefestivals.com

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JULY up & coming!July 27 - 29Natchez Food & Wine FestivalNatchez, MS July 27“Tastings Along the River”Natchez Community Center6:30 pm / $65 @ doorJuly 28“Biscuits, Beignets & Breakfast”Natchez Coffee8:00 - 11:00 am / $17“Wine & Cheese Tasting”The Castle @ Dunleith1:30 pm / $45“Brews Blues & Burgers”Bowie’s Tavern 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm / $35“An Invitation to the Natchez Table”Stanton Hall, Monmouth, BriarVue &

D’Evereux6:30 pm / $85July 29“Champagne Jazz Brunch”The Carriage House Restaurant11:00 am & 12:30 pm seatings / $50www.natchezfoodandwinefest.com

July 28Warren County Golf ChampionshipVicksburg, MS$100 Hole [email protected]

July 29Heritage Music Series:Bill “Howl-N-Madd” PerryVicksburg, MSAmeristar’s Bottleneck Blues Bar4:00 pm / Free

July 31Hank Jones Third Annual Memorial

ConcertCoral RoomVicksburg, MS801 Clay Street7:00 pm / Free Admission / Cash Barwww.vicksburgheritage.com

Be sure to confirm details of the events should changes have occurred since events were submitted.

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Trinity Park InaugurationThe new Trinity Park held its inauguration celebration recently in Brookhaven, Mississippi. Members of the Trinity Episcopal Church were on hand to take part in the event.

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Bill Perkins and Patty HollingsworthCarol and Reverend Gene BennettSloan and Emmie SmithCarol Edward Urban and Bill PerkinsBarbara Davis, Peter Mullikin, and Marsha WilmerdingFront—Tindle Hall, Madeline Hall, and Val Hall; back—Dr. Jim Hall, Sam Hall, and Jason HallMarianna Jeppe, Sloan Smith, and Melissa LeggettNorma Hill, Kay Carner and Dr. David CarnerPhyllis Spearman with Caroline and Pam Peyton

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The Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service in coor-dination with the Office of the Governor and First Lady Deborah Bryant, Honorary Chair of the MCVS Board of

Commissioners, announced this past spring the 2012 Governor’s Initiative for Volunteer Excellence (GIVE) Award winners. On April 16, 2012, all were toasted at an event held at the Mississippi Museum of Art. Since July is the Arts Issue of Bluffs & Bayous, we would like to recognize Lillie Lovette of Edwards, Mississippi, recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in the Arts and Humanities Award. After early retirement from teaching at Holmes Community College, Lovette has spent over 4000 hours in volunteer ser-vice with the Mississippi Humanities Council, principally work-ing in many and varied capacities with the MHC-sponsored Smithsonian Traveling Exhibits program Museum on Main Street, a project designed to “bring the Smithsonian to the peo-ple” of smaller-town America. Since 2001, Mississippi cities have hosted six of these travel-ing exhibits; and Lovette has been hands-on involved with each. In addition to her love of southern history, women’s rights, social justice, and world travel, Lovette took on a specific Smithsonian exhibit due to personal interest. Because she grew up in D’Lo, the small town which per capita sent more men to World War II than any other in the United States, the WWII exhibit “Produce for Victory,” a display of posters rallying the home front to greater productivity during WWII, was close to her heart. Although Lovette is an avid traveler, having visited all seven continents, she cites “home” as her favorite place. This love of home shows in her dedication to the promotion of humanities in Mississippi. Congratulations and thank you, Lillie Lovette!

INDIVIDUAL RECIPIENTSElbert Hilliard (Madison)

The Marsha Meeks Kelly Award for Lifetime Achievement in Volunteer Service

Dr. Giovina Chinchar (Jackson)Outstanding Humanitarian Service

Elizabeth Coleman (Jackson)Outstanding Achievement by a Volunteer Management

ProfessionalCallie Crider (Hattiesburg)

Outstanding Service by a YouthGeraldine C. Grammer (Shelby)

Outstanding Achievement in Community RevitalizationPreston Hays (Jackson)

Outstanding Achievement in Educational InnovationLillie Lovette (Edwards)

Outstanding Achievement in the Arts & HumanitiesRosie Nelson (Oxford)

Outstanding Service by a National Service ParticipantMarshall Ramsey (Madison)

Outstanding Service by a Media PersonalityPauline Redmond (Columbus)

Outstanding Service in Disaster ReliefDetrater Roberts (Clinton)

Outstanding Achievement in Healthy Community InitiativesDelmar P. Robinson (Biloxi)

Outstanding Achievement in Sustainable Community Solutions

ORGANIZATIONAL RECIPIENTSAlexander’s Photography (Biloxi)

Outstanding Volunteer Service by a BusinessTippah County Good Samaritan Center (Ripley)

Outstanding Achievement by a Faith-Based Organization

HONORABLE MENTIONS & Organizations They ServeArline Baker (Meridian) ~ City of Meridian RSVP

Jerald Ball (Whitfield) ~ MS State HospitalJames W. Hill, Sr. (Monticello) ~ Habitat for Humanity

Teresa Hill (Terry) ~ Epilepsy Foundation of MSBrenda and Ronnie Luther (Holly Springs) ~ Clydesdale

Christmas StoreRichard Wayne Parker (Jackson) ~ LifeShare FoundationRotary District 6820 (Winona) ~ MS Children’s Museum

Sue Tolbert (Vicksburg) ~ Salvation Army Disaster Response

Mike Wheatley (Pascagoula) ~ Jackson County CASA

Lillie Lovette Receives Arts and Humanities Award

Mississippi First Lady Deborah Bryant and Lillie Lovette

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