Brookhaven Magazine Fall 2021

BROOKHAVEN PERSEVERVERING IN BUSINESS • A FORGOTTEN HISTORY • HANDMADE TREASURES

MAGAZINE

A LIFE& HOME BUILT ON LOVE FROM BROOKHAVEN TO OXFORD, LOVE DEFINES FAMILY FOR CHADWICKS

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Brookhaven Magazine 3

FEATURES 11 A NEW WAY TO EAT The Best New Business finds success despite challenges of 2020.

21

A LIFE OF LOVE Julie Carr Chadwick builds a life of love in Brookhaven and Oxford

35 2021 AWARDS Best of Southwest Mississippi winners announced

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11

39 in every issue

arts & culture

6 Contributors

17 Local artist pursues her dream

7 From the Editor 66 Out & About

past & present

74 Why I love Brookhaven

31 Brookhaven’s Jewish History

31 Brookhaven Magazine 5

contributors PUBLISHER

Kevin Warren

GENERAL MANAGER Stacy G. Graning

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Julia V. Miller

CONTRIBUTORS Brett Campbell Stacy G. Graning Julia V. Miller Bill Perkins Thad Lee

DESIGN

Stacy Graning

MARKETING Kristi Carney Betsy Belk

ADMINISTRATION Kristie Champagne

BROOKHAVEN Magazine is produced and published by Brookhaven Newsmedia Inc,. publishers of The Daily Leader, 128 N. Railroad Ave., Brookhaven, MS 39601.

BOOKHAVEN Magazine published six times a year and is a registered trademark. All contents herein are the sole property of Brookhaven Newsmedia Inc.. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written permission from the Publisher.

Please address all correspondence (including but not limited to letters, story ideas and requests to reprint materials) to: editor@dailyleader.com.

For additional information on this issue or other publications call 601-833-6061.

To inquire about advertising, email advertising@dailyleader.com.

Copyright 2021 © The Daily Leader

6 FALL 2021

Julia V. Miller, Associate Editor

Born and raised in Brookhaven, Julia V. Miller is the associate editor of Brookhaven Magazine. She strives to capture small town, Southern culture and stories in all forms of writing. During a hiatus from working in journalism, she pursued an MFA degree from The W, where she studied both fiction and creative nonfiction. When not chained to her computer, she’s usually found in the dance studio. She lives in Brookhaven with her daughter, husband, and two cats. She’s been a member of Church of the Redeemer for more than two decades and enjoys the opportunity to give back to the community that created her. Creative works can be found online at juliavanstory.com.

Stacy Graning, General Manager

An award-winning writer, editor and publisher, Stacy Graning has worked in media publishing for nearly 30 years. She relishes the opportunity to meet people, tell their stories and explore the issues that impact our lives. She recently returned to her beloved Mississippi after spending 20 years working in Alabama and is loving her new hometown. She is the mother of sons Thomas - a professional photographer and volunteer firefighter - and Wright, an independent business owner; a beloved daughter-in-law, Kaylee; and two spoiled dogs, Leonard and Sport.

Brett Campbell, Writer

Brett loves to write and learn. He is a proud father of five and an eclectic fan of movies, books and music. He’s happier with a cup of coffee, a cigar and his dog nearby.An ordained Christian minister, Brett has studied graphic design, English, theology and apologetics, philosophy and history, and has a master’s degree. He has authored thousands of sermons, lessons, newspaper and magazine articles and co-authored a privately-published book, “Psycho-Theology: Understanding the Mind of God.”He plays guitar and fishes equally poorly, but enjoys both.

Brett loves to draw and sketches on everything.He is passionate about writing stories that tell the truth in a way the average reader can understand, learn from and enjoy.

Thad Lee, Photographer

Thad Lee is an award-winning filmmaker from Hattiesburg. He has earned English and Philosophy degrees from the University of Mississippi and an MFA in Screenwriting from the University of New Orleans. His film, All That You Love Will Be Carried Away, based on a short story by Stephen King is currently screening at festivals in America and Europe.

ON THE COVER The Chadwicks at their pond Photo by Thad Lee Design by Stacy Graning

I

from the editor

In Mississippi, there’s always that one morning that announces fall has arrived. Day after day all summer long, the heat beats down without mercy. Then suddenly, you open your door and a cool breeze greets you. You sigh with relief because you are finally able to escape from the heat. You know it won’t last, but you turn back inside anyway. You put on a sweater, a scarf, trade out your sandals for boots, and you probably decide you’re going to treat yourself to a pumpkin spice latte that morning. You don’t think about the fact that even by this afternoon, that breeze will be gone, the heat will return, and you’ll shed those extra layers to avoid the sweat taking over again because what’s the point in worrying about the inevitable? Why not take that extra minute to enjoy the little pleasure of a breezy cool fall morning?

For most of my life, that turn in weather has coincided with that point in school where things begin feeling comfortable. You know your teachers. You know what your expectations are. You settle into a routine. From high school to grad school, that first fall breeze meant settling into my desk, pulling out a notebook, and in those humanities classes I loved so much it meant classroom discussions that sought to tease out gray areas, to teach us to think through our opinions and beliefs for ourselves, and how to take a half-formed idea in your head and flesh it out with the help of others. And over time, this idea of fall has become synonymous in my head with those discussions held in a classroom.

And it’s those discussions I miss the most about school because being a parent means there’s just no time. There’s never enough time. School, work, dinner, play, bed, and repeat. As my daughter got older, I thought it would get better, easier. She wouldn’t need constant supervision. She could entertain herself. And while that may be true, I never properly anticipated the trade off. Because now, she’s got an opinion about everything, from what she wears to how her toys need to be put away. She wants to go, and do, and see. The thing about going from school to dance, to homework, to play dates, to festivals, to football games is that being busy often means sacrificing those conversations that I think we all desperately need.

Sometimes, I wonder if maybe slowing down and having real conversations wouldn’t help remind us that most of us are more alike than we are different.

Most of us want the same things: safety, security, health, leisure time, children that thrive, and those quiet, intimate moments that creep up with friends when we give ourselves the chance to sit still, to do nothing, and to just listen.

So this fall I challenge you, as the events ramp up, to take a chance to slow down, to catch up, to be friends and family and to just talk once again

Julia V. Miller is the Associate Editor of Brookhaven Magazine. She can be reached at Julia.vanstory@ gmail.com.

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Brookhaven Magazine 7

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Brookhaven Magazine 9

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FOOD

& DRINK

SURVIVING THE CHALLENGES

The Crouton owners battle pandemic, challenges in search of their dream

BY JULIA V. MILLER PHOTOS JULIA V. MILLER. SUBMITTED

Brookhaven Magazine 11

W

When Donna and Davis Therrell decided to open a salad bar in downtown Brookhaven in 2019, they had no idea what their first year had in store. After four months of prep work, The Crouton opened in February 2020.

“We opened with a bang,” Donna Therrell said as the restaurant shut down on a Monday afternoon this fall. “We started with just the salad bar, a few sandwiches, and soup. We wanted to be open in the evening time, and we were when we first opened, and it liked to kill us.”

Then the unexpected happened. As COVID-19 swept across the nation, supply chains were disrupted and less people were eating out, a terrible combination for a fledgling restaurant. By the end of their second month, The Crouton was forced to shut down for a few weeks.

“We didn’t know if we were going to survive at all,” she said. “We knew we wanted to, but you have to fight for what you want.

That just takes a lot of dedication and a little bit of strife.”

All that hard work paid off for the Best of Southwest Owner, The Crouton Mississippi’s top new business. By mid-April 2020, The Crouton was back up and running offering curbside service only. They were able to open the dining room back after a few more months, and the salad bar was reopened to customers at the beginning of this year. Aside from the gloves, masks, and prominent hand sanitizer station, things are almost back to normal.

The year 2020 may have been a tough debut, but it taught the Therrells that flexibility was the key to survival, and they have applied that concept to their menu offerings, too.

“

You have to fight for what you want.

That just takes a lot of dedication and a little bit of strife.

Donna Therrell

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“[With a salad bar], you really limit yourself on who your clientele is,” Therrell said. “We want to be for all of Brookhaven and every surrounding place.”

Since the beginning, they’ve added to their menu in the hopes of offering something for everyone.

They offer a different menu on the weekends that stars a customer-favorite ribeye, and in August, they added a hamburger bar to their weekday lunch offerings for those looking for something a bit heartier. Therrell said their still not done adding to and tinkering with their menu.

“If you have a salad bar, you have most of your ingredients then why not add another ingredient to make something else,” she said.

Aside from the patties themselves and the buns, everything on the hamburger bar can be found on the salad bar as well. Plus, the kitchen is open to requests for special items, such as fried eggs or chili.

“Pretty much whatever you can create, we can probably do it,” she said. “Sometimes it takes customers to say why don’t you make such and such because we pretty much have everything.”

The Crouton’s two top goals are to provide quality fresh food and serve customers as quickly as possible. All kitchen items, including the hamburger patties for the bar, are made to order, but they strive turn those menu items around as quickly as possible.

“It’s a very small kitchen,” Therrell said. “There’s like five or six of us here today. We still perform what some of these kitchens are doing with 15 or 20 people. Even if you sit in a fast-food line, sometimes you’ll sit there an hour.”

Since they’ve open, they’ve also redone the back dining room, and they can fit about 60 people back there, a feature that comes in handy on their weekend steak nights. As the Therrells look to the future, they hope to continue to grow and become a staple of downtown Brookhaven.

And after a long first two years, Therrell believes it’s possible with just a bit of hard work and whole lot of determination.

“You’re capable of doing more than what you realize,” she said.

Brookhaven Magazine 13

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Brookhaven Magazine 15

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ARTS

& CULTURE

PURSUING HER DREAM Holly Slay finds her passion in creating joy

BY JULIA V. MILLER PHOTOS BY JULIA V. MILLER

Brookhaven Magazine 17

I

It’s the dream of every artist to one day support themselves with their art. Days filled with their passion and watching others filled with joy by their creations. Brookhaven resident Holly Slay has managed to do just that with her line of hand painted pottery. Thanks to Etsy, she spends her working hours fulfilling orders for customers all across the country.

When Slay graduated college, she never imagined her future would involve pottery or painting, but she quickly fell in love with the art form through a paint your own pottery studio in Hattiesburg as young adult. In the beginning, it was just a hobby that she did as she had time and access to the tools.

It wasn’t until Slay and her husband moved to Brookhaven and bought a house with a basement that she purchased her very own kiln. With her own kiln, she began to paint more and more.

They became great gifts to give during Christmas or special occasions.

Then, about 10 years ago, she found a place in Crystal Springs that pours greenware, and they had tea sets. Her daughter that year was having a Alice in Wonderland party, and Slay had the idea to give the little cups as favors. They were such hit that Slay began playing with the idea of selling them.

This was in the early days of Etsy, so she listed them. And her online shop took off.

As her business grew, she started working outside the home less and less until she was able to transition to full time five years ago.

“I remember that day,” she said. “I’d had orders throughout the week, but that day I got home, and I had five pretty good orders. That was my sign,

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and it’s now grown.”

Now, she spends about 10 hours a day working, whether that’s painting, packing and shipping, or just answering messages on Etsy. By the time she transitioned to pottery full time, her children were in school, which gave her dedicated time to focus and shut everything off. There growing pains though throughout the process.

“It is hard when you’re cooking supper and talking to the children and getting Etsy messages, so it’s been a learning process to turn things off at some point,” she said.

It’s time consuming, but the best part for Slay is the flexibility it offers, especially surviving a pandemic with school-aged children.

“It was a blessing. I work from home with COVID because I was able to help with school and be here while they [her kids] virtual schooled,” she said.

That flexibility also allows her to spend time with her children even while she working. Her painting station is set up in the living room, so she can watch television with her daughters while still painting and creating her pieces. Since it’s the painting she loves the most, she rarely sits down to watch television these days without picking up a paint brush, too.

Everything Slay makes is made to order.

Sometimes the customers want a particular design or will send over a photo of their daughter’s nursery or a birthday invitation, and she’ll paint

the order to match.

“That’s always been my favorite part,” she said. “Everything is custom.

I can just make it whatever they have in mind, or a lot of times they’ll give me the freedom to be creative. Here’s our colors, go for it.”

As for the glaze and working the kiln, that part of the process has been a lot of trial and error. She has had to learn how to glaze things properly, to get the glaze the correct consistency, or to place in the kiln so that nothing falls over or touches anything else. But opening the kiln and seeing the finished product is always worth those challenges.

“It’s like Christmas every time.”

Slay said the past couple of years have been a bit incredible as her store as reached some pretty surprising people. She’ll open her Instagram, and her customers will tag her in pictures of her work. When it’s someone famous, it always leaves her a bit starstruck.

“Once, it was a racecar driver’s wife,” she said. “Another time, Alfonso [Ribeiro] – Carlton from Fresh Prince [of Bel Air] – his wife tagged me on Instagram, and she had just bought a tea set for their daughter. I’m in the parent pick up line seeing this star that I grew up with’s wife has this tea set that I made. That’s been fun.”

Slay said that when she’s packing the tea sets up she doesn’t pay attention to the name or the address, so it’s always a bit of a surprise to get recognition like that.

But it’s the many average, ordinary people that have made her shop a success.

“I’ve just been astonished at watching it grow,” she said. “I think I’ve shipped 1600 orders this year. I never dreamed it would turn into as big of a business as it has.”

Slay is continuing to look forward to the future and is excited to see how she can continue to expand her business.

Brookhaven Magazine 19

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HOME

& GARDEN

FILLED WITH LOVE

For Julie Carr Chadwick, family means music, laughter and love

BY THAD LEE PHOTOS BY THAD LEE

Brookhaven Magazine 21

O

In the early 1960s a little girl named Julie Carr stood before the mirror in her family hallway. Her mother, Mary Helen, whom most everyone in Brookhaven called “Babe” watched Julie admire herself and was amused when the child asked, “Do you think God would mind if I became a movie star instead of a missionary?” The question surprised Babe. She considered her younger daughter a tomboy who was usually outside playing with neighborhood friends like Debra Norwood and the Gunter siblings, TY and Renee. “I miss the ‘unhurriedness’ of the

town,” reflects Julie, whose last name is now Chadwick. “Or maybe that’s just childhood.”

What Julie misses most about those days is “My family. And the big fireplace where Daddy always built roaring fires.

I remember piling on the sofa with my dad, watching Perry Mason. Daddy loved to have a big Coca-Cola and he’d drop peanuts in it.”

Julie’s father was Mike Carr, who was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. His father, “Big Mike” was a railroad engineer and his mother, “Mama Lucy,” worked in a dime store. “Daddy was the first in his family to go to college. He was a remarkable, self-made man. My mother grew up with the proverbial silver spoon in her

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mouth. She was a real Southern Belle from Centerville, Mississippi,” which was two miles away from Camp Van Dorn where Mike Carr was stationed during World War II. “Mother and Daddy met, fell in love, Daddy went overseas, and much of their courtship was through letters. Daddy came home on leave, had been accepted to the University of North Carolina Law School, asked mother to marry him, and my grandparents, Dr. and Mrs. R.J. Field, planned a beautiful wedding in a very short time.”

Julie proudly acknowledges her grandfather’s role, along with his brother, in building the Field Memorial Hospital in Centreville, which remained one of the finest rural hospitals in the South. He was known to his grandchildren as “Papoo.” They called their grandmother “Mama Cake.” She was the youngest of 10 and straight off the plantation, literally. The Field home would remain a central setting to the Carr family over the years, for when Mike and Babe moved to Brookhaven in the early 1950s to begin his law practice, “most weekends were spent in Centreville. There were six first cousins two years apart. Horses for everyone.”

One of those horses was a colt named Merryboy. He was given to the Carr family by Julie’s great-aunt in exchange for legal work. “I loved riding in Brookhaven,” proclaims Julie. “It was great fun to ride on Interstate 55 when it was a red dirt road, perfect for a good, long gallop.” She also loved swimming with the horse in the family pond.

Another life-long passion born in adolescence was music. Julie began taking piano lessons from Celeste Robbins when she was six years old and continued the practice through her senior year of high school. “Miss Celeste would exclaim, ‘Great Garden Seed!’ when I made a clinker.” She learned how to play guitar while attending Camp Desoto on Lookout Mountain in Alabama. She then occasionally played guitar and regularly sang in the choir at First Presbyterian Church where her parents were both deeply committed. “Daddy was a church leader, a true leader, and felt strongly about ‘stepping up’ in leadership positions. Everyone in the community, black and white, had a deep respect for him. He was District Attorney, and then Chancellor for all my life in Brookhaven and many years after.” Julie goes on to say that her father “had a real moral calling in the law. As a juvenile judge, he often required juvenile delinquents to go to Sunday school and church.”

Brookhaven Magazine 23

Her father’s influence as juvenile judge also affected Julie’s social life. “One Halloween all the guys in my grade decided it would be fun and cool to egg houses, so they went to Wesson and robbed an egg farm. Daddy slapped them all on probation and took away their licenses. At Christmas Dance time, no one’s date had a license,” Julie recalls. “Girls were

miffed at no ride, guys were miffed at no license.” As for Julie, she herself was “boringly straight while I lived in Brookhaven and a straight A student. Nothing else was permitted in our household.” Her favorite teacher was the “delightful and dazzling” Phyllis Spearman, who taught Spanish. The coach who influenced her the most was Linda Ebbers who ran the track program and lived across the street from the Carrs.

“Track was my sport,” boasts Julie. “I was very good and held the long jump record for many years at 17’8 3/4”.

When our schools integrated, I was the only white girl on the track team, and I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a team or bunch of girls any more than that team.” As Julie looks back, the school district’s handling of integration is what she appreciates most about Brookhaven. “I was in high school when schools integrated. There was one ‘white’ high school and one ‘black’ high school, and Brookhaven’s response was to put two grades in one school, the other two at the other.” She believes that the community had “much less turmoil than most communities” and adds that “It was many years before there was even a private school started in Brookhaven. No need for it.”

Julie’s father also felt strongly about equality for every person and led the vote to integrate Belhaven College when

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he was the school’s Chairman of the Board. “I am much more like my father than my mother,” confesses Julie. “I inherited his often reactive temperament, his energy, his dark eyes, and his fierce sense of justice and compassion for all people. My sister, Helen, better known as ‘Cakie’, is much more like my mother,” reasons Julie.

“She’s a lover of all things beautiful. And Cakie is beautiful. She was Miss Brookhaven and a cheerleader. A perfect child born four years before me.”

Today, Cakie lives in Kenya and is married to a “dashing Greek” she met while pursuing her classics major in Athens. Alex is an ambassador, and their lives are wonderful. Cakie loves the “year-round temperature climate, always being surrounded by exotic flowers and greenery, the easy access to incredible wildlife, the warm and friendly people, and the fact that every day is an adventure. Where else can you gallop a horse alongside a giraffe on the run?” But Julie adds that Cakie does miss her family, particularly her five granddaughters, two of whom live in Brookhaven. “Cakie’s son, Michael, his wife Kathy, and their daughters moved to Brookhaven several years ago and love living up the street from Mother and Daddy’s house. And Babe is delighted that Michael now sings in our longstanding Presbyterian church choir.”

Cakie also introduced Julie to her husband, Billy Chadwick, who at the time, along with his twin brother, Barney, was Cakie’s classmate at Belhaven. “They all had long hair, cut in a sort of ‘shag’ and looked like triplets from behind. When I was a senior in high school, Cakie fixed me up on a date with Barney.

Shortly afterwards, Barney was hired as the teaching pro at the Country Club, and we’d do something afterwards. One day, Barney couldn’t come, and rather t h a n canceling his lessons, Billy

showed up and posed as Barney, and I went out with Billy, thinking he was Barney.”

A year later, Julie left Brookhaven for Belhaven, following in the footsteps of Cakie, her mother, and grandmother. “Belhaven is a Presbyterian College,” explains Julie, “and we’re deep Presbyterians.” Her major was Music & Theatre, and she won the talent portion of the Miss Belhaven Pageant by singing and performing “Killing me Softly” on guitar.

Music was also part of Julie’s life outside of school.

“Billy and Barney always had a band. We formed a trio and played throughout college and several years later.

Billy was my closest friend for a long time.” She measures that their union “was inevitable” but admits that her parents were “skeptical of Billy’s long hair. Still, they adored him from the get-go. And when we finally got engaged, they were so thrilled that they didn’t even care he didn’t have a job in Oxford.” Judge Carr was also “thrilled” his daughter and her fiancé were moving to North Mississippi. “I decided to go Ole Miss Law School and I’ll never forget his delight when he hollered

‘Remember, Carr & Carr’ as I pulled out of the driveway and drove away.”

As for Billy, he also arrived in Oxford to attend the university and pursued an MBA degree. Four years later Julie Chadwick, who only lasted one week as a law student, was finishing up a graduate degree in Communicative Disorders, and Billy was Head Coach of the Women’s Tennis Team. One spring Friday, he was in the locker room of the main athletic facility and overheard Ole Miss football legend Buster Poole say, “I’ve got the prettiest piece of land in Lafayette County, and I’m thinking about selling it.” Poole called it his “fishing cabin,” but really it was 160 acres of mostly woods on Highway 334.

“We spent the weekend plotting how we might could swing it,” recalls Julie. “We knew we wanted to live out in the country and were looking for land.” Billy then “used his MBA degree for the first and only time” and sold 80 acres of property to his older brother. He then used that money as a down payment to Poole, who admired the Chadwicks’ moxie and let them finance the rest at a time

Brookhaven Magazine 25

when interest rates were over 20 percent. “When we were able to buy the land, Coach Buster literally threw in the house,“ remembers Julie, “you could see daylight between the walls.”

With a baby due in the winter, the Chadwicks asked their friend, an architecture student named Buddy Faulkner to inspect the dwelling. “His advice was to level it. But we couldn’t afford to do that,” recounts Julie. So, they worked all summer to make the house livable and moved in during the fall. Their son, Lyon, was born in February of 1983. “We all lived in the single bedroom.” Two years later they had another boy, Carr, and added two more bedrooms to the home.

Billy thinks back to Lyon and Carr’s childhoods and declares, “Everyone should grow up on a farm. They were able to experience firsthand the love of nature. They grew up swimming in the lake, riding the ponies in the pond, and caring for every critter imaginable.”

Julie agrees. “Raising the kids on a farm was a dream for me. They were my playmates in the woods. And our shared music always filled the house.”

Not surprisingly, the heart of their home is what the Chadwicks call the music room. The space is centered by a baby grand piano that previously lived in the Carr house in Brookhaven. It is surrounded by vintage guitars, basses, and Julie’s new and beautiful harp.

Above it is a vaulted area that holds Carr’s drums, and there is basket full of children’s instruments under the piano.

Julie says, “It was our second big addition.”

“The house was originally a tenant house, over a hundred years old,” Billy reveals. “We found newspaper for wall insulation dated 1905. It had two rooms and a kitchen. We’ve been adding to it for the last forty years, using the same

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the original structure with re-claimed materials like heart pine floors and beams and wood planked walls. It’s a very organic house.” It is also surrounded by rich land. The Chadwicks plucked oak leaf hydrangeas, ferns, beauty berry, and buckeye from the woods and planted them in the beds that surround the house alongside black-eyed Susans and daisies that were transplanted from Billy’s parents’ home in Jackson and English dogwoods from Julie’s parents’ yard. Their garden produces lettuces, greens, blueberries, and thornless blackberries. There is a creek and a spring-fed lake that Julie calls “the best swimming hole in Lafayette County.” They swim in it most days between spring and Thanksgiving.

Behind the house stands a barn that is home to three horses. Julie is thankful that they are part of her routine throughout the day. “Looking out the window and seeing them play in the pond is my favorite vision.” She also loves to ride on the property’s trails that “usually follow old deer trails or an old logging road.”

Julie also used her horses for hippotherapy at the North Mississippi Regional Center where she was a speech pathologist for thirty-three years.

“Using horse movement as a modality can really provide good therapy support across the spectrum. NMRC supported my being trained and certified and built a lovely space on campus for our program.”

Julie was also busy in those days helping Billy become one of the most successful coaches in Ole Miss history.

He won the NCAA Championship titles in both singles and doubles in Men’s Tennis. “Julie was the secret to our success,” confesses Billy. “We created a family away from home for the players, and Julie was the heart of it.” The

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Chadwicks recruitment trips to Sweden, France, England, and South Africa assembled an international team that won five overall SEC Championships which tied football coach Johnny Vaught’s university record.

Billy retired in 2016. Julie followed in 2018.

Since then, there has been more time for music. Billy, Barney, and Julie have reformed as The Chadwick Band. They perform mostly in the pubs on the Square in Oxford alongside percussionist Ricky Burkhead. The band was slated to play the 2020 Double Decker Festival before it was canceled. Covid also nearly canceled Julie’s “highlight of every year, a Christmas Eve performance of our friend Bonnie Rideout’s arrangement of Greensleeves. Lyon is a beautiful violinist and is at the center, joined by Carr on bodhran, nephew Hudson on mandolin, me, Billy, and Barney on guitar. We carried the tradition from our wonderful, diverse church in Jackson to First Presbyterian in Oxford. When church was virtual during the pandemic year, Carr and his true love, Kate, put together a wonderful video of the rollicking jig to share with the church, family, and friends. It was our best Christmas gift.”

The most important part of Julie’s life nowadays is spending time with family. Both Lyon and Carr live in cities, Nashville and New York, and Julie loves how they relish being back in Oxford. She particularly savors how Lyon and his wife, Toni’s daughter, Harper, has taken to the farm. “She loves riding her horse, jumping in the lake, and being in the woods. She’s learning about trees and critters.

Growing up in Nashville, she could be in danger of becoming a city girl, and we love to get her on the farm as much as possible.” Julie also has high hopes that her newborn grandson, Treeby, will appreciate the treasures Mississippi has to offer. Carr’s son was born during the late summer in New York City.

Julie and Billy were there in Greenwich Village to welcome “Tree” home from the hospital and help their son and Kate adjust to parenthood.

The boy was named after Kate’s maternal

Brookhaven Magazine 29

grandmother in the United Kingdom, and her mother, father, and sister plan to make the trip across the Atlantic to meet their new grandson. Julie hopes they will come to Oxford for what may be Tree’s first visit to the beloved farm.

Nothing would have made Julie happier than for Babe to be part of that celebration. Babe lived for more than a decade before passing away this summer. “My father died many years ago, and Mother stayed in Brookhaven, but it was getting increasingly difficult for her, and she never liked being alone. Twelve years ago, she needed emergency surgery. It made sense for her to come to Oxford where we were for the procedure, and then it just made sense for her to stay here. Leaving her home and friends in Brookhaven was terrifically wrenching for her, but she backed her ears, moved to an assisted living facility, and has done a wonderful job making a new chapter in her life,” claims Julie who adds, “Mother has hosted a bridge table in her apartment for many years.”

Within Babe’s apartment were many mementos from her life in Lincoln County, including her wedding album and framed photographs of her late husband with his daughters and grandchildren. One prize collage of pictures was taken at the annual Harvest Ball when Julie was Queen. “I think I was a senior in high school.” Among the images is a “wonderful picture of my escort Billy, with long hair, a very scruffy beard, and a ridiculously wide-lapeled fitted green suit, looking like a leprechaun.” Below that snapshot is an even more magnificent photograph of the young and beautiful Queen standing proudly beside her father, mother, Mama Cake, and Cakie. She may not have been the movie star the little girl in the Carr hall daydreamed of being, but, boy, she has shone brightly.

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PAST

& PRESENT

A JEWISH HISTORY

From thriving community to history preserved ARTICLE AND PHOTOS COURTESY GOLDRING/WOLDENBERG INSTITUTE OF SOUTHERN JEWISH LIFE

Brookhaven Magazine 31

B

Brookhaven developed during the 19th century as a small but significant trading hub on the Bogue Chitto River in southern Mississippi. The town has served as the seat of Lincoln County since the county was established during Reconstruction.

For most of its history, Brookhaven supported a small Jewish community, which established a cemetery in the mid-19th century and remained active until the early 21st. In 2009, the local congregation dissolved and gifted its historic synagogue to the Lincoln County Historical and Genealogical Society, which uses the space as a museum.

Jewish merchants in Brookhaven The first Jewish residents in Brookhaven arrived as early as 1852 and likely migrated from settlements along the Mississippi River, including Port Gibson, Natchez and Vicksburg. They may also have arrived as traders traveling up the Bogue Chitto River. As in other towns and cities across the South, Jewish newcomers established mercantile businesses that served the growing commercial hub and the surrounding countryside. In 1861 local Jews established a burial society and purchased land for a Jewish cemetery from Milton Jacob Whitworth, a wealthy Brookhaven resident.

According to a later history, Whitworth’s willingness to sell the property reflected his hope that Brookhaven would be “attractive to worthwhile settlers.” The burial site still exists as a section of Rosehill Cemetery on East Monticello Street.

Brookhaven Jews, like most of their Southern co-religionists, enjoyed the rights and privileges of white citizenship. Prior to the Civil War, Brookhaven was located in Lawrence County. The county was home to approximately 3,700 enslaved African Americans in 1860, who made up 40 percent of its 9,213 residents. This was a smaller proportion of

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enslaved residents than was found in areas closer to the Mississippi River at the time. Census records do not show that any of Brookhaven’s few antebellum Jews enslaved Black workers, but Leiser Alcus, who lived in nearby Pike County, is listed as the owner of six enslaved people in the 1860 Slave Schedules. By 1870, Alcus had moved to Brookhaven, where his family lived next to the family of Abraham and Sarah Scherck, who were likely relatives. Both men were merchants, and each family had the means to employ two live-in African American domestic workers.

In the years after the Civil War, Jewish merchants played prominent roles in the continued development of Brookhaven’s business district. Brothers Israel and Sam Abrams started a general store in the late 1800s called Abrams and Abrams. This store became Abrams Mercantile Company after 1915, when Sam left for the furniture business. From that point until the end of the twentieth century, Abrams Mercantile Company was a staple for hardware goods in Brookhaven. Generations of the Abrams family sold all types of goods including cow bells and stone churns, and the store became known for the motto: “if you don’t find it here, go home.” The store stayed in business until the death of Clifford Abrams (the son of Israel Abrams) in 2001. At age 96, he was the oldest merchant in Brookhaven.

Other stores in the early 1900s included Louis Cohn & Brothers General Merchandise, Marx Motors, Lewinthal Drug Store, and Bowsky Clothier. George Bowsky, co-owner of Bowsky Clothier, purchased a monument in Rosehill Cemetery in the 1920s in honor of his brothers’ and other soldiers’ service in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. In addition, the Scherck family established the Inez Hotel in 1904 after early success in the dry goods business. Louis Zwirn, a relative by marriage, operated a barber shop in the hotel during the early 20th century, when the Hotel Inez hosted local social events and served as a popular stop for travellers between New Orleans and points north.

From their position as merchants, Jews became part of the social fabric of Brookhaven and provided civic leadership for more than a century. Natalie Wilson Cohn, wife of merchant David Cohn, led efforts to raise funds for a public library. By 1910, Cohn’s dream was complete, and she soon became president and longtime board member of the public library association in Brookhaven. Three Jewish men have

Brookhaven Magazine 33

served as mayor of Brookhaven, even though Jews made up only a small minority of the town. Abraham Lewinthal was mayor in 1889, followed later by furniture and dry goods merchant Sam Abrams around 1910.

Abrams was succeeded by his grandson Harold Samuels in the 1970s and 1980s. Harold Samuels was also known for reviving the town’s annual Christmas parade in 1953, and he served as the lead organizer of the parade for more than three decades.

Jewish life and religious practice Local Jews initially held religious services in private homes, but by 1894 the Jewish community had grown large enough to support a permanent house of worship.

The local Ladies’ Hebrew Society led the effort to form a congregation, soon known as Temple B’nai Sholom. The group met at Heuck’s Opera House until they were able to obtain their own building. In 1896 the Jewish community of Brookhaven built its first (and only) temple through the use of fundraising letters sent to the trading partners of local merchants. These partners— Jewish and non-Jewish alike—contributed to the campaign, and the congregation constructed a Gothic building with stained glass windows and a bell-less steeple at the corner of Chickasaw and Church streets.

Rabbi Isidore Lewinthal of Nashville, a relative of many local residents, presided over the cornerstone laying on May 28, 1896. From its inception, Temple B’nai Sholom belonged to the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (later the Union for Reform Judaism) and followed Reform practices.

With a Jewish community that never exceeded 100 people, members of B’nai Sholom took it upon themselves to continue the practices of Judaism. In the absence of a fulltime rabbi, congregation members served as lay leaders throughout B’nai Sholom’s history.

Sometimes rabbis from

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other communities or student rabbis from Hebrew Union College would lead services. Jews from such nearby towns as Hazlehurst, Wesson, and Crystal Springs came to worship in Brookhaven since these towns had no Jewish congregations.

Brookhaven Jews also traveled to Natchez for some religious events, including community seders and confirmation ceremonies.

Decline after World War II Brookhaven’s small Jewish community likely peaked in the early 20th century. An estimated 85 Jews lived there in 1907, and that number had fallen to 50 in 1937.

By the mid-20th century, the children of Brookhaven’s Jewish families began to move away to pursue educational and professional opportunities that were not available in small-town Mississippi. Despite that trend, services and religious school classes continued to operate on a weekly basis until the 1970s, when the congregation began to limit regular worship to the High Holy Days.

The synagogue also continued to host b’nai mitzvot ceremonies and weddings when needed. Until 2009, it was the oldest synagogue in Mississippi still in use. The congregation owned two Torahs: one written by Rabbi Isidore Lewinthal in the late 1890s and a Holocaust Torah from Prague.

Despite never having a full-time rabbi, B’nai Sholom managed to serve Jews in and around Brookhaven for over a century. On August 30, 2009, the congregation held an official deconsecration ceremony to mark the closing of the congregation and synagogue. The remaining members entered into an agreement with the Lincoln County Historical Society for the temple to be used as a museum of local history, which features the history of Brookhaven’s Jewish community and a permanent installation that explains the building’s religious architecture.

BEST OF

SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI 2021 7

You voted. We tallied.

And the winners are ...

Brookhaven Magazine 35

36 FALL 2021

Automotive Accessories Fielder’s Pro Shop Finalists: Lamar Case Garage, LLC, Toyota of Brookhaven

Auto Dealer, New

Toyota of Brookhaven Finalists, Paul Barnett Nissan, Stan King GM Superstore

Auto Dealer Pre-Owned

Toyota of Brookhaven Finalists, Stan King GM Superstore, Paul Barnett Nissan

Auto Dealer Service Department Toyota of Brookhaven

Finalists: Stan King GM Superstore, Paul Barnett Nissan

Auto Repair & Mechanic

Toyota of Brookhaven Finalists: Lamar Case Garage, LLC, Ole Brook Tire & Auto Service, LLC

Auto Salesperson James Case

Finalists: Glenn Price, Rich Huffstutler

Body Shop

Smith Brothers Collision Center & Truck Accessories Finalists: GT Collision Center, Richard’s Paint & Auto Repair

Car Wash and Detailing Scrub-A-Dub

Finalists: Touch & Go Car Wash, Max Performance Detailing

Glass/Windshield Repair Linton Glass LLC

Finalists: Brookhaven Glass Co., Wright Auto Glass

Patrick E. Lowery, CPA Sharon E. Payn, CPA Stacy B. Leggett, CPA

www.lplcpas.com

Lowery, Payn and Leggett, CPA’s strives to ensure our clients accomplish their financial goals by providing the highest quality accounting, tax, audit and consulting services.

207 South Railroad Avenue Brookhaven, MS 39601

601-833-1456

Brookhaven Magazine 37

BEST OF SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI 2021

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BEST OF SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI 2021

Oil Change

Window Tint

Bartender

Toyota of Brookhaven

Fielder’s Pro Shop LLC

Haleigh Chinn

Finalists: 51 Firestone, Valvoline Instant Oil Change

Finalists, Max Performance Detailing, Tara’s Tint

Finalists: Kaylie Piukana, Sam Thomas

Service Department (Independent)

Bakery

Beer Selection

Finalists: Sweet & Petite, LLC, The Cookbook

Finalists: Tobacco Mart, Georgia Blue

Bar

Biscuits

Bozeman’s Tire

Finalists: 51 Firestone, Carson’s Tire- Brookhaven

Tire Shop

Bozeman’s Tire Finalists: Ole Brook Tire & Auto Service, LLC, Carson’s Tire & Mufflers

Janie’s Pastry

Magnolia Blues BBQ Finalists: Betty’s Eat Shop, Buddy’s

Magnolia Blues

Dude’s Sausage & Biscuit Finalists: Wards, Cracker Barrell Old Country Store

BBQ Restaurant

Magnolia Blues BBQ Finalists: Bowies, Bogue Chitto Boys

Brookhaven Magazine 39

40 FALL 2021

BEST OF SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI 2021

Breakfast

Chef

Dude’s Sausage & Biscuit

Ken Dixon

Finalists: Donut Palace, 84 Chevron

Finalists: Matt Fitzsimmons, Carl Craig

Burger

Chicken Salad

Chism’s

Finalists: Broma’s Deli Funky Monkey Grill

,

Business Lunch Betty’s Eat Shop

Finalists: Broma’s Deli, Galley Grub Food Truck

Butcher

Broma’s Deli

Finalists: The Cookbook, Bogue Chitto Boys

Chicken Tenders Broma’s Deli

Finalists: Zaxby’s, Huey Magoos

Chinese Food

Diamond J OEC Finalists: Country Meat Mar- Finalists: Bobos Chinese China ket, Knights Meat Market Palace McComb

Cocktails

Magnolia Blues Finalists: Betty’s Eat Shop, Georgia Blue

Coffeehouse PJ’s Coffee

Finalists: Funky Monkey Espresso Bar, Jack’s Coffee and Cream

Coffee

PJ’s Coffee Finalists: Funky Monkey, Jack’s Coffee and Cream

Brookhaven Magazine 41

BEST OF SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI 2021

Coldest Beer

Magnolia Blues

Deli

Broma’s Deli

Fast Food

Finalists: Tobacco Mart, Georgia Blue

Finalists: McAlister’s Deli McComb, The Broadway Deli

Finalists: The Cookbook, Galley Grub

Cookies

Janie’s Pastry Shop

Desserts

Janie’s Pastry Shop

French Fries

Finalists: The Cookbook, Sweet and Petite

Finalists: Maddox Cheesecakes, Backwoods Bayou

Finalists: Betty’s Eat Shop, Magnolia Blues

Crawfish

Donuts

Popeyes

K&B Seafood

Donut Palace

Finalists: Da Cajun Shack LLC, The Shack at 550

Finalists: Janie’s Pastry Shop, Summit Donuts and Kolaches

Cupcakes

Family Restaurant

Finalists: Sweet & Petite, Abby Cakes

Finalists: The Fish Fry, Magnolia Blues BBQ Company

Janie’s Pastry Shop

Backwoods Bayou

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Not Federally Insured | No Financial Institution Guarantee | May Lose Value Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Member FINRA and SIPC. © 2021 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Zaxby’s

McDonald’s

Fried Chicken

Finalists: Chism’s, 84 Chevron

Friendliest Service

Dude’s Sausage & Biscuit Finalists: The Cookbook, Diamond J

BEST OF SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI 2021

Gas Station Food 84 Chevron

Hot Dog

Bob’s Sandwich Shop

Mexican Restaurant

Finalists: Kumar’s A1 Stop #2, Exxon Brookhaven

Finalists: Sonic, Funky Monkey Grill

Finalists: El Dorado Mexican Bar & Grill, Tortilla Soup

Ice Cream

Milkshakes

Finalists: Funky Monkey, Dairy Queen

Finalists: Funky Monkey, Sonic

Serio’s Pizza

The Crouton

Gumbo

The Shack at 550 Finalists: Mama Rubys, K&B Seafood

Hamburger Chism’s Diner

Finalists: Betty’s Eat Shop, Star Drive In

Healthy Dining The Crouton

Finalists: Sorreal Meals, The Cookbook

Jack’s Coffee & Cream

Los Parrilleros

Star Drive In

Italian Restaurant

New Restaurant

Finalists: Pizza Hut, Fox’s Pizza

Finalists: The Cookbook,Funky Monkey Grill

Kid-Friendly Restaurant

Pizza

Broma’s Deli

Serio’s Pizza

Finalists: 1905/Fox’s Pizza Den, Bogue Chitto Boys

Finalists: Domino’s, Fox’s Pizza

Brookhaven Magazine 43

44 FALL 2021

Po-Boy

Specialty Coffee PJ’s Coffee

Los Parrilleros

Finalists: Bogue Chitto Boys

Finalists: Funky Monkey, Jacks Coffee & Cream

Finalists: Taco Bell, Galley Grub

Steak

The Cookbook

The Shack at 550

Queso and chips Los Parrilleros

Backwoods Bayou

Finalists: El Dorado Mexican Bar & Grill, El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant

Finalists: Magnolia Blues BBQ Company, The Caboose

Salad

Sushi

Broma’s Deli

Little Tokyo

Finalists: The Crouton, Zaxbys

Finalists: OEC, Sullivan’s Grocery

Seafood Restaurant Backwoods Bayou

Finalists: Poppa’s Buffet, K & B Seafood

Tacos

Takeout

Finalists: Magnolia Blues, Galley Grub

Wine Selection Betty’s Eat Shop

Finalists: Georgia Blue, Magnolia Blues BBQ Company

Wings

Sweet Tea

Broma’s Deli

Magnolia Blues BBQ Company

Finalists, Chism’s Diner, The Cookbook

Finalists: Zaxby’s, The Tobias Shack

Brookhaven Magazine 45

46 FALL 2021

Assisted Living Center

BeeHive Homes of Brookhaven Finalists: The Claiborne at McComb, The Aspen

Best Place For Exercise

KDMC Fitness Gym & Performance Center Finalists: The Body Shop Edge, SWEAT Transformation Center

Chiropractor

Health & Fitness Club

Eye Care

Finalists: Snap Fitness Brookhaven, Curves

Guist Chiropractic Center Smith Eye Care Finalists: Tressie Hall, OD, Dr. Steve Moore

Fitness Instructor Amy Sorrell

Finalists: Dedrick Clark, Debbie Smith

Facials

Dentist:

Dr. Nic Belk

Brookhaven MedSpa – Facial Aesthetics

Finalists: Dr. W. Don Doty, Dr. Mac Baker

Finalists: The Skin Center and Spa, Sunlights and Highlights

SWEAT Transformation

Home Health Care

Sta-Home Home Health Finalists: Deaconess HomeCare of Brookhaven, St. Luke Home Health & Hospice

Hospice Care Team Deaconess Hospice

Finalists: Hospice Ministries Inc, Compassus

Brookhaven Magazine 47

Manicure

Nurse Practitioner Tonya Hughey

Dr. Timothy Shann

Finalists: Vivian Wallace Serenity Salon and Day Spa, Enliven Nails

Finalists: Brittney Mullins, Ashley Hickman

Finalists: Dr. Josh Iles, Dr. Ashley Hickman

Massage

Nursing Home

Tie Haven Hall Health Care Center Bee Hive Homes

Pharmacy

Le Nails

Emily Jones Finalists: Nan Drane, Caitlin Clark

Medical Clinic

Brookhaven Health and Wellness Clinic Finalists: KDMC Specialty Clinic, KDMC Pediatric & Adolescent Clinic

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Finalists: Diversicare of Brookhaven, Silver Cross Health & Rehab

Pedicure Le Nails

Finalists: Davis & Company Salon, Vivian Wallace

Pediatrician

Guy’s Pharmacy Finalists: La Rue’s Discount Drugs, Clint’s Pharmacy

Pharmacist Gary Berch

Finalists: Clint Bane, Brandon Baker

Physical Therapy/ Rehab KDMC

Sports/Orthopedic Rehab

Bathroom Remodeling

KDMC Sports Medicine, Orthopaedic & Spine Clinic

Finalists: Michelle Lovette Tarver, Jodi Allbritton

Courtney Owens

Finalists: Mississippi Sports Medicine, Professional Rehab and Associates

Construction Services

Finalists: Garrett Wallace, Adrienne Douglas

Urgent Care

Finalists: 5 Strands & Callused Hands, H&S Fencing

Finalists: KDMC Medical Clinic, Copiah County Medical Center

Electrician

Lincoln Electric

Orthdontic Care

Finalists: Troy Jordan, Kenneth Adams

Finalists: Garrett Wallace, Professional Rehab Associates

Physical Therapist

Physician

Dr. Steven Mills Finalists: Dr. Ray Montalvo, Dr. Blaine Britt

Brookhaven Health and Wellness Urgent Care

Leggett Orthodonitics

Cathy Pigott

Mathis Construction

Brookhaven Magazine 49

50 FALL 2021

Fabric Store

The Cotton Patch

Home Décor Store

Elaina Anders Designs

Outdoor Furniture

Finalists: Gardensong Fabrics, Melinda’s

Finalists: Hall & Company - We Frame It, Edgewood Interiors

Finalists: Lowe’s Home Improvement

Garden Store/ Nursery

Home Repair Service

Furniture:

Buds & Blooms Nursery Finalists: Shipp’s Flowers, Funky Monkey Yard Art & More

Heating and Air Company

Ole Brook Heating & Cooling Finalists: Blake Wallace Comfort Zone Heating and Cooling LLC, Kirk Douglas

DryTime

The Home Depot

T.H. Perkins

Finalists: Reed’s Metals, SERVPRO of Brookhaven, McComb & Columbia

Finalists: J. Allan, Tillman Furniture

Home Inspection Services

Painting Company Buster Buitt

Mississippi Home Inspections

Finalists: JK Precision, Scotty White Painting

Landscaper

Pest Control

Mills Landscaping

Positive Pest Control Co.

Finalists: Signature Landscapes, Legg Landscapes

Finalists: Welch Pest Control, Ole Brook Exterminating

Brookhaven Magazine 51

Plumbing

Ross Jackson Plumbing

Seasonal Décor

Elaina Anders Designs

Pet Boarding

Finalists: Tyler Trout, Tommy Cupit

Finalists: Hall & Company - We Frame It, Funky Monkey Yard Art & More

Finalists: Pampered Pets Monticello, Animal Medical Center

Tree Services

Pet Grooming

Real Estate Agency Tom Smith Land and Homes, Brookhaven

Dog House

Finalist: Betsy Smith Properties

Wayne Smith Tree Service Inc.

Real Estate Agent

Finalists: AJ’s Tree Service, The Tree Barber

Finalists: Sydney Wilson, Blake Sasser

Animal Hospital

Sabrina Wolff

Roofing Company Reed’s Metals

Finalists: Rushing’s Metal Buildings, Jeff Mitchell Roofing

K-9 Cabins

Finalists: Barkhaven, Classy Clips

Veterinarian

Dr. Bob Watson Finalists: Greg Howell, Dr. Kimble

Brookhaven Animal Hospital

Finalists: Animal Health Center, Animal Medical Center Brookhaven

Attorney

Jason Barrett Finalists: Brady Kellums, Brendon Adams

Thank You Southwest Mississippi For Voting Me Best Home Loan Officer Kayla Ray

Licensed Mortgage Advisor NMLS 176841

601.757.8188

www.closewithkayla.com

52 FALL 2021

•

Traditional and Non-QM Options

•

Bank Statement, Investor Cash Flow, Jumbo, VA, FHA and more

Angel Oak Home Loans LLC NMLS# 685842, For licensing information, go to: (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org), Licensed in AL, AZ #0927070, Licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act , CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA #32379, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MN, MS, NV, NH, Licensed by the N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance, NM, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, Rhode Island Licensed Lender, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA dba AOHL LLC, WI. 980 Hammond Drive, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30328. HL_A579_0821

Accountant Jeannie Pyeatt

Pam Smith Case

Finalists: Stacy Leggett, Richard Baker

Finalists: Jessica Morris, Melinda Friend

Accounting Firm Lowery, Payne, and Leggett

Finalists: White and Associates, LLC, Miller & Company Inc

Bank

Bank of Brookhaven Finalists: Trustmark, First Bank

Bank Teller

Megan Crotwell Finalists: Sandra Rushing, Karen Sterling

Barber

Barber Shop

The Barbershop Finalists: Brookhaven Barber Shop, Mary’s Barber Shop

Black Owned Business Chism’s Diner

Finalists: Mama Ruby’s, Sweet & Petite, LLC

Caterer

Mitchell’s Special Events and Catering Finalists: Donna’s Catering, Diamond J Meat Market

Computer Repair Nathan Addison

Finalists: David Poole, Brian Magee

Construction Services Hugh Mathis Construction

Finalists: Halley Construction LLC, Rushing Construction

Brookhaven Magazine 53

54 FALL 2021

Daycare

TIE: First United Methodist Church Preschool Easthaven Christian Childcare Kindergarten Finalist: Wee Care Day Care Center

Electrician

Financial Planner/ Advisor

Susan Proaps, Ameriprise Financial Finalists: Jim McKennon, Glenn Driskell

Firefighter

Michael Byrd

Lincoln Electric

Finalists: Hayden Waldon, Mark Porter

Finalists: Kenneth Adams, Carey Smith

Funeral Home

Eyeglass Store Smith Eye Care

Riverwood Family Finalist: Brookhaven Funeral

Hair Salon

Serenity Salon & Day Spa Finalists: Davis & Company Salon, Panache, Inez 101 Salon

Hair Stylist

Kelsey Mathis Finalists: Melissa Davis, Alexis Wallace

Insurance Agency State Farm Samantha Alberson

Finalists: Farm Bureau, Hunter L. Posey Insurance

Finalists: Tressie Hall, OD, Moore Optics

Brookhaven Magazine 55

56 FALL 2021

Insurance Agent

New Business: The Crouton

Jeff Henning

Finalists: Sam Sones, Chuck Owens

Finalists: Samantha Alberson State Farm, The Cookbook

Finalists: Don Underwood, Michael Harvey

Loan Officer (Home)

Personal Banker

Police Officer

Finalists: Eric Collins, Megan Crotwell

Finalists: Christian Davis, Penny Banks

Photographer

Brookhaven Academy

Samantha Alberson

Kayla Ray, Angel Oak Home Loans

Finalists: Claire Crow - Angel Oak Home Loans, Jimmy Allen

Loan Officer (Commercial)

Shannon Aker

Tabby Wyant

Jeremy Winborne

Finalists: Johnny Smith, Kelly Nevils Photography

Finalists: Bank of Brookhaven, Claire Crow

Plumber

Tommy Cupit Finalists: Davy Dunn, Robby Jackson

Politician

Chris Case

Private School

Finalists: By Faith Academy, The Reading Nook Academy

Public School

Brookhaven High School Finalists: Loyd Star Attendance Center, West Lincoln Attendance Center

Brookhaven Magazine 57

58 FALL 2021

Orthodontist

Tailor

Dr. Leggett

Alterations by Erma

Finalists: Turgeau, Dr. Daniel Patty

Finalists: Willie Diggs, Sew Perfection Alterations

Optometrist

Wrecker Service

Finalists: Mark Smith, Tressie Hall Durr

Finalists: Porter’s Body Shop, Inc., Smith Brothers Collision Center & Truck Accessories

Chad Smith

Public Official Jason Barrett

Finalists: Joe Cox, Steve Rushing

Tax Preparer Stacey Leggett

Finalists: Richard Baker CPA, Pamela C. Stamps

Davis Wrecker

Wealth Management/Financial Advisor Glen Driskel

Finalists: Jim McKennon, Jon Mark Baird

Woman Owned Business

Three Sisters Boutique Finalists: Davis & Company Salon, Expectations of Brookhaven

Activewear

Three Sisters Boutique Finalists: Walmart, Beyond The Rainbow

Mens Formal Wear

The Well-Dressed Man

Band (Local)

The Bridge Band Finalists: Sullivan’s Hollow, Mason Branch

We are honored to be able to serve y’all.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Brookhaven Magazine 59

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Brookhaven Magazine 61

Best Boutique

Three Sisters Boutituqe Finalists: Expectations Too, Beyond The Rainbow

Best Cosmetics (Place)

Brookhaven MedSpa – Facial Aesthetics Finalists: Castles, The Skin Center and Spa

Best Kept Secret (Destination/ Restaurant) Backwoods Bayou

Finalists: Betty’s Eat Shop, Funky Monkey Yard Art & More

62 FALL 2021

Children’s Clothing Store

Three Sister’s Children’s Boutique

Dance Studio

Showstoppers Studio of Dance

Finalists: Beyond the Rainbow, Expectations of Brookhaven

Finalists: Nena Smith School of Dance, Brookhaven Dance Academy

Consignment Store

Grocery Store

Mint Consignment & Boutique

Finalists: Roxy Magnolia LLC, Cornerstone Consignment

Sullivan’s

Finalists: Save A Lot, McComb Market

Jewelry Store

Convenience Store

Smith Jewelry House of Diamonds

Finalists: Exxon – Crossway, Handy Mart

Finalists: Fashion Jewelry by Margaret Ann Britt, Selman’s Jewelers

84 Chevron

Local Musician (Solo)

Tanning Salon

Finalists: Zac Case, Cody Dunnaway

Finalists: Sassafras Boutique, Taylor’s Cell Phone Accessories

Pawn Shop

Tattoo Artist

Tyler Bridge

51 Pawn & Gun

Glow

Lee Hart

Finalists: Southern Pawn, Golden Nuggett Pawn Shop

Finalists: Lorin King, Chris Kapler

Resale Clothing Shop

Thrift Store

Mint Consignment & Boutique

Mint Consignment & Boutique

Finalists: Cornerstone Consignment, Roxy Magnolia

Finalists: Angel’s Attic, St Andrew’s Thrift Store

Shoe Store

Florist

Judy’s Shoes Downtown Finalists: Judy’s II, Rushing Shoes

Elaina Anders Designs

Wedding Cakes & Desserts Taste and See

Finalists: Sweet & Petite, LLC, Sweeteez

Wedding Caterer Donna’s Catering

Finalists: Mitchell’s Special Events and Catering, Taste & See

Wedding Destination The Hideaway at Reed’s Estate

Finalists: Butterfield Mansion, Oak Hill Estate

Finalists: Bertha’s Flower Shop, Shipp’s Flowers

Brookhaven Magazine 63

64 FALL 2021

Wedding Hair & Makeup

Wedding Planner

Elaina Anders Designs

Serenity Salon & Day Spa Alexis Wallace

Finalists: Kylie Wooten Photography, Diane Ryan

Finalists: Mill Town Salon & Day Spa - Susan Cox, Page Maxwell Chain

Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Venue

Wedding Photographer Tabby Wyant Photography

Mitchell’s Steak & Seafood

Wedding Venue

The Hideaway at Reed’s Estate Finalists: Butterfield Mansion, Oak Hill Estate

Wedding Registry Hall & Company – We Frame It

Finalists: Butterfield Mansion, The Mallard

Finalists: Johnny Smith Photography, Kelly Nevels Photography

Brookhaven Magazine 65

OUT & ABOUT

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BEST OF SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI CELEBRATION Staff photos

Winners in the 2021 Best of Southwest Mississppi contest were honored with a reception hosted by Brookhaven Magazine and The Daily Leader at Homestead Whittington Farms.

1. Publisher Kevin Warren and Jeannie Pyeatt 2. Tom Smith Land & Homes and Sabrina Wolfe 3. Deaconess Home Health 4. Samthan Albertson State Farm and her staff 5. Mathis Construction 6. Dr. Hugh Leggett 7. Sta-Home Health Care 8. Ken Dixon with WM Foods, Brioma’s and Mitchells

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OUT & ABOUT

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BEST OF SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI CELEBRATION Staff photos

Winners in the 2021 Best of Southwest Mississppi contest were honored with a reception hosted by Brookhaven Magazine and The Daily Leader at Homestead Whittington Farms.

1. Elaina Anders Decor 2. Judy’s Downtown Shoes 3. Gary Beck and Keith Guy 4. Guy’s Pharmacy 5. James Case - Toyota of Brookhaven with Publisher Kevin Warren 6. Haven Hall 7. The Crouton 8. Nathan Addison

Brookhaven Magazine 67

OUT & ABOUT

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BEST OF SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI CELEBRATION Staff photos and photos contributed

by Bill Perkins

Winners in the 2021 Best of Southwest Mississppi contest were honored with a reception hosted by Brookhaven Magazine and The Daily Leader at Homestead Whittington Farms.

1. Brookhaven Health and Wellness Clinic 2. Scrub-A-Dub Car Wash 3. Bridge Band 4. The Shack at 550 5. Rhonda Lyons and Jeannie Pyeatt 6. Stacy Graning, Kara Whittington, Kevin Warren 7. Jane Smith and Debbie Parkman 8. Betsy Belk and Jan Douglas

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OUT & ABOUT

OLE BROOK FESTIVAL

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PHOTOS BY DONNA CAMBPELL

Ole Brook Festival drew hundreds of residents to downtown Brookhaven for a day of fun and fellowship.

1. Kim Bowman, Sheila Killingsworth, Lynette Smith, Sharon Tarver 2. Gina Britt, Emory Britt, Smith Davis 3. Sarah and Harper Burris 4. Jody Letchworth and Robin Smith 5. Kkatey Flynn, Seth Flynn and Kevin Flynn 6. Conlan and Colburn King, Harper Watts, Carter and Cal King, Colter King and parents Chelsey and Daniel King 7. Keefa and Ursula Nelson 8. Maddie Phelps, Taylor Robison, Martha Robison and Kohen Baylor

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• MARKET ANALYSIS • CONFIDENTIAL • NO COST • NO OBLIGATION

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Residential & Land Agent

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FREE EVALUATION

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We Are Your Hometown Mortgage Lender In Southwest Mississippi

Claire Crow

Kayla Ray

Licensed Area Sales Manager

Licensed Mortgage Advisor

NMLS 826544, Licensed in MS

www.closewithclaire.com

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brookhaven@angeloakhomeloans.com

601.605.7043

NMLS 685842

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WHY I LOVE BROOKHAVEN

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COMING HOME Emily Lowery Bellipanni

BY JULIA V. MILLER

1. How long have you lived in Brookhaven?

I was born and raised in Brookhaven, and I’m a graduate of Brookhaven High School. My husband, James Bellipanni, and I moved from Jackson to Brookhaven early last year. We bought and remodeled our first house in the Old Town neighborhood only blocks away from my childhood home. We have spent the last year connecting and reconnecting with individuals and organizations in the community. We couldn’t be happier with our decision to call Brookhaven home.

2. Why did you decide to move back to Brookhaven?

Two things brought me back to my hometown: my family and my career.

First, my family is always my top priority. I’m the oldest child of Patrick and Celeste Lowery who have dedicated their lives to helping people in Brookhaven and growing businesses to support our local economy. While I enjoyed my time in Jackson and DC, I always knew I did not want to be far from my familial support system long-term.

Second, I followed in my dad’s professional footsteps and went into public accounting after college. I intentionally turned down the big job offers that would’ve taken me out of Mississippi and took a job at a large regional firm in Jackson. I know that was the correct decision for me because it brought me my kind and brilliant husband. James is a golf-loving CPA whose other hobbies include hunting, fishing, and tennis, so Brookhaven has been a natural fit for him. James and my dad, Pat, both

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joined/rejoined Lowery, Payn & Leggett in January 2021, and I have loved watching them work side-byside. I am now transitioning out of accounting and into real estate. As a lifetime member of First United Methodist Church, Betsy Smith was always a role model for me when I was growing up. Whether in our Sunday School classroom or while on the tennis court, Mrs. Betsy exemplified what it meant to always prioritize her community and those in need. The opportunity to transition from my family’s locallyowned business to another Brookhaven-owned family business is something that excites me more than I can say. Keeping our dollars circulating locally is a huge priority for me. I am honored to begin working beside the entire Betsy Smith Properties team.

3. What has been the most surprising aspect of living in Brookhaven?

The pressure to move to large urban areas is heavy on couples our age.

Most of my closest friends have moved to Atlanta, Brooklyn, DC, or somewhere similar with no intentions of returning to our state. I was afraid when we moved back to Brookhaven that we would feel as if we were missing out on those opportunities with our friends that large cities can offer.

We’ve been pleasantly surprised that we have not felt that since moving here. In fact, James and I felt a sense of community and belonging almost instantly. We have opportunities available to us in other towns and states, we’ve simply chosen Brookhaven and Mississippi. I’m

supportive of my friends who have found happiness in new places, but I’ve realized that I have the potential to make a much larger impact in a place that I love and care about. Brookhaven has my heart, and that is what matters.

I’ve been thankful for this realization because it’s brought me a sense of hope and fulfillment.

4. How has Brookhaven impacted you?

I’m endlessly grateful to the town that raised me. It takes a village and there is no better village than this one.

I chose to come back to Brookhaven last year, and I am proud of that decision. I brought an amazing partner and husband with me who has quickly grown to love Brookhaven as if it were his own hometown. I am always proud to answer the question “So, where are you from?” I never hesitate to say our town’s name - the correct pronunciation - with a big smile.

Returning as an adult, I hope to now give back to the town that has given me so much. I love my community more, and I am passionate about playing a role in protecting and prioritizing its future and the future of those who proudly call Brookhaven home.

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