Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

Greenwood, Mississippi

A River Country Journal / Winter 2013

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 1

table of contents 20

features 9.

Fort Pemberton was site of naval battle in 1863

23.

Hot soup can take the chill out of cold winter night

people 5.

Jerry and Rachel Elvis plant new church on U.S. 82

18. MVSU coach has built SWAC’s best softball program

20. Did destiny bring South African artist to Greenwood?

places

34

13.

The Oaks in Carrollton is a historic architectural treasure

9

weddings 27.

Greenwood couple married on the day they met

29.

After the big day, what does the bride do with her dress?

31.

Destination weddings move ceremony to unique settings

more

4.

26.

registry

From the editor Calendar of events

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34.

Six couples with Leflore and Carroll County ties share their wedding announcements

44.

48.

Event snapshots The Back Page

ON THE COVER: Greenwood native Gardner Cash Malouf and his bride, Courtney Frances Rosten, celebrate their March 2012 wedding in Foley, Ala.

L

eflore

Illustrated

Editor and Publisher Tim Kalich

Managing Editor Charles Corder

Associate Editor David Monroe

Contributing Writers

Bill Burrus, Bob Darden, Jo Alice Darden, Lee Ann Flemming, Ruth Jensen, Susan Montgomery and Jeanie Riess

Advertising Director Larry Alderman

Advertising Sales

Linda Bassie, Susan Montgomery, Jim Stallings and Kim Turner

Photography/Graphics

Joseph Cotton, Johnny Jennings, Andy Lo and Anne Miles

Production

Clifton Angel and Charles Brownlee

Circulation Director Shirley Cooper

Volume 8, No. 2 —————— Editorial and business offices: P.O. Box 8050 329 U.S. 82 West Greenwood, MS 38935-8050 662-453-5312 —————— Leflore Illustrated is published by Commonwealth Publishing, Inc.

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 3

From the editor

PHOTO BY JOHNNY JENNINGS

Four months is enough S

ometime last year, I read a piece by a Mississippi dad reflecting on his daughter’s wedding.

You could almost hear the violins playing in the background. It was emotional and sweet.

I thought to myself, “Here’s a man who either has a lot more money than I do, or didn’t have a whole lot to do with planning his daughter’s wedding.”

My experience was a little different.

I thought I was prepared when our only daughter, Elizabeth, got engaged last spring. I had a budget in mind. She and her mother, Betty Gail, would tend to most of the details. I might have to talk to my banker, but other than that I’d just have to show up and smile.

Wrong.

The budget was the first casualty. Knowing Elizabeth was at the marrying age, I had started in recent years paying attention to what weddings cost. The national average seemed like a reasonable limit to me.

I sat down with Betty Gail and plotted out the cost. What I thought was reasonable would get Elizabeth married but would feed and water only about half our guests. The final figure wound up about 40 percent over the national average — and that didn’t include the couple of thousand dollars that Elizabeth and her fiance, Chris, kicked in to bring a band from Nashville and to furnish their beerdrinking guests with personalized huggies. (They were appalled when I suggested using the branded ones that the 4 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

beer distributor offered free.)

Every detail became an ordeal.

Elizabeth insisted on invitations with rounded corners. We spent hours thumbing through sample books and searching online to find one that wasn’t outrageously high. She finally relented on a lessexpensive square-cornered model. She wanted to include RSVP cards. We didn’t.

It wasn’t good enough for the hotel goodie bags to have treats only from Greenwood. They had to have a little Nashville (the engaged couple’s adopted home) and a little Kentucky (where Chris

grew up), too. Our refrigerator’s freezer was packed for half the summer with Rebecca Ruth bourbon balls.

Betty Gail needed not just a new dress for the wedding but one for every shower and bridal soiree. The dress she bought that I liked the most Elizabeth shot down. She said it made her mother look frumpy. That dress has still not been worn.

Every lunch and dinner for weeks, Betty Gail and I would go over the latest batch of emails — from Elizabeth, from the caterer, from family members. We almost divorced over the size of the invitation list. An uncle needed to know where he could board a Chihuahua that suffered from separation anxiety.

Given the four months of stress that the preparations had provided, I was ready for any upheaval when the wedding weekend finally arrived.

There wasn’t any.

Elizabeth and her mother both looked beautiful. The bride was surprisingly relaxed. Though she had sweated all the minutiae leading up to the wedding, she was ready to stop worrying. The church ceremony was a joyous celebration. Downtown Greenwood provided a perfect venue for the reception. The band was worth the money. It was, I’m told, a fine party.

At the end of the reception, I watched as Elizabeth and Chris walked happily, holding hands, toward their honeymoon night at The Alluvian. The lights on Howard Street cast a peaceful, golden glow on their retreating figures.

I’d do it again, I said to myself, but I’m glad I don’t have to. — Tim Kalich

Jerry and Rachel Elvis

NEW LIFE

J

erry Elvis, pastor of Life Church, says he doesn’t believe church should be complicated.

That’s reflected in Life’s simple motto: “Love God; love people; love life.”

And after more than a year’s work at Life, he and his wife, Rachel, are excited about the Greenwood church’s prospects.

Life held its first service on Sept. 4, 2011, and today its typical attendance is about 50 people.

Some churches focus on attracting people of a particular age group or background — and the Elvises are familiar with that approach, through their own past churches and those of some friends. But Life Church welcomes everyone, Jerry said.

“Their approach, and ours in the past, would’ve been ‘We’re going fishing for catfish; we’re going to have a certain bait, and that’s all we’re going to catch,’” he said. “We’ve changed to ‘No, we’re going fishing with a net — and we’re going to catch whatever we catch, and we’re not going to exclude.’”

v v v

Jerry and Rachel Elvis say they are excited about the future of Life Church, which they started last year in the building formerly occupied by the Family Worship Center.

Both Elvises grew up in Mobile, Ala., only a few houses apart — but they didn’t get to know each other right away.

Jerry, who is now 44, started preaching at the age of 12. Rachel, now 41, met him a few years later when he preached at her church. They married in September 1988.

They have now been in the Delta about 12 years. For the first six of those, Jerry was pastor of Maranatha Assembly of God in Greenville; then they started Elevate Church, which lasted a little over four years in several locations in

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Greenville before closing.

“We made a valiant effort at it and didn’t feel that it was where God wanted us,” Jerry said.

Previously they had “planted” a church in Minnesota, and they also have worked in youth crusades and other types of ministries over 25 years. They knew they wanted to start another church, but they didn’t know where. So they took a “sabbatical” to travel and study other churches.

In the summer of 2011, the Assemblies of God closed the Family Worship Center, which was where Life Church now stands on U.S. 82. The Family Worship Center’s membership had dwindled to fewer than 10 people, and church leaders were considering selling the building. But then they contacted the Elvises and asked them to reinvigorate it.

“They had entertained selling it before and actually had solid offers to sell it. But they didn’t feel that that was the thing to do,” Jerry said. “But they knew it couldn’t continue as it was.”

The Elvises started implementing their plan beginning in mid-August. An important component was changing the “churchy” look of the place, which had white walls, bulky furniture and no landscaping, Rachel said. So their oldest son, Ashton, put together a design to add some color and make it more attractive from the entryway to the sanctuary.

“It was a night-and-day transformation in two weeks,” Rachel recalled.

The new look got a good response; the first service drew 38 people. And it was exciting to look out and see them all, she said.

“We put an ad in that Sunday before, in the paper. Everybody that we had came from that ad — and we had a pretty good number,” she said. “And most every one of them that came that day that I can think of are still here today.”

v v v Jerry Elvis says they recognize that many people are pulling away from established churches. So they try to make Life appeal to people who might not have been part of a church for a while and make them comfortable.

“We say we’re probably more contemporary, but we value the traditional aspect; it’s just not who we have attempted to be,” he said. “We’re not trying to be trendy, but we’re also not trying to just do the same old thing the same old way. ...

Out of the 50 to 60 people who call Life

n’t thought of,” Rachel said. “They’re both very creative, and they both have a lot to bring to the table.”

The music at Life is contemporary, designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of people while also honoring the musicians’ personalities and gifts. The church also tries to keep people engaged in studying the Bible by offering series on certain topics.

“People are learning,” Rachel said.

“People are becoming students of the Word, instead of just ‘OK, I’m going to pop in here and there.’ That’s not going to get anybody anywhere.”

v v v

“We’re not a white church; we’re not a black church; we want to be God’s church.”

Jerry Elvis Church their home now, almost every single one of them was not in church.”

In the interest of keeping things simple, Life Church doesn’t get bogged down in a long list of rigid rules and regulations. It does have certain core principles — and people may take a class to learn those if they want, although it’s not required. But the church doesn’t waver on its principles, Jerry said.

“We welcome everyone, but we’re not going to change to accommodate anyone,” he said.

And when people ask about Life’s racial makeup, he responds, “We’re not a white church; we’re not a black church; we want to be God’s church.”

That openness includes all age groups, too. The Elvises say their congregation already contains a broad spectrum of ages, although they don’t have many teenagers yet. But they want to have one church reaching everyone rather than create the sense of a “kids’ church” and an “adults’ church.”

The Elvises also listen to their sons: Ashton, who is 20, and Taylor, 17.

“Our sons give us a lot of fresh ideas and a lot of input — some things we had-

As with any small church, the pastor has a variety of responsibilities; in fact, sometimes when people ask Jerry Elvis what his title is, he responds that he’s a “general flunky.”

“If the nursery needs somebody to work, and they don’t have a nursery worker, I don’t have a problem with saying, ‘This person will teach tonight’s adult class; I’ll take the nursery,’” he said.

His wife, who has a variety of musical talents, leads the music ministry and helps work with the children, among other things.

Both also have other jobs that keep them busy. Jerry runs Elvis and Company, a sound and video business, and Rachel is a nurse in Greenwood Leflore Hospital’s emergency room. A former host of WABG’s “Good Morning Mississippi,” she now fills in only occasionally at the television station after years of seven-day work weeks that included 17-hour days.

Last year, they also started Bittersweet Coffee Company, a coffee shop in downtown Greenwood that now occupies much of Jerry’s time. That business is separate from the church, but he thinks one can help the other. For example, Bittersweet has hosted some after-hours Bible studies already.

Both say they are looking forward to moving to Greenwood full time after they sell their house in Greenville.

Jerry said the church and the coffee shop both are off to good starts, and he hopes they will grow and prosper. In either place, if people have made the effort to come in, they deserve the best and are likely to spread the word if they are pleased, he said.

“Everything we do, we strive to do with excellence,” he said. “And we want it right.” LI Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 7

Fort Pemberton

A naval battle in the Delta?

Cheryl Taylor, left, executive director of the Museum of the Mississippi Delta, and Henry McCabe, a Civil War re--enactor and museum board member, display several Civil War artifacts that will be in the “War Comes to the Mississippi Delta” exhibit, which opens Jan. 26.

Cheryl Taylor has been busy over the past several months with matters such as war, peace and the home front.

For Taylor, executive director of the Museum of the Mississippi Delta in Greenwood, the culmination of her hard work will be “War Comes to the Mississippi Delta,” a new exhibit at the museum.

“We wanted to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Fort Pemberton. We wanted to bring attention to the Delta,” she said.

The exhibit opens Jan. 26 and runs through Aug. 31.

The Battle of Fort Pemberton, which took place March 12-19, 1863, in Leflore County, was the result of a Union attempt to attack the Confederate stronghold at

Vicksburg by a flotilla of gunboats and troop transports traveling down the Tallahatchie River, part of the failed Yazoo Pass Expedition.

The approaching flotilla, Taylor said, included several Union ironclads, so Confederate defenders under the command of Maj. Gen. William W. Loring hastily constructed defenses along the banks of the Tallahatchie using cotton bales as part of the fortifications.

The fort was built a few miles upstream from where the Tallahatchie and Yalobusha rivers meet to form the Yazoo River. It became known as Fort Pemberton in honor of Confederate Gen. John Pemberton, who commanded the defense of Vicksburg.

“It was the Union’s attempt to take

Vicksburg from another angle. They tried a couple of times before. They were going to come down the Tallahatchie, which later becomes the Yazoo River,” Taylor said.

“Vicksburg was the prize. It was what Gen. Ulysses Grant was after. It was what Lincoln said, ‘If you take Vicksburg, you win the war.’”

Part of the defenses was the captured Union ocean steamer Star of the West, which was the target of the first shots of the Civil War when it was fired on by Confederate troops near Fort Sumter, S.C., in January 1861.

The Confederates sank the vessel in the Tallahatchie to prevent the flotilla from proceeding farther down river. The sunken ship prevented Union warships from maneuvering during the battle.

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The defenders also built a wooden boom that could be swung across the river to block enemy ships.

The marshy terrain around the fort prevented the Union flotilla from landing troops for a ground attack.

Three separate attacks by Union forces on Fort Pemberton March 12-19 were repulsed with heavy casualties on the Union side, which later withdrew.

“That prevented them from making any progress toward Vicksburg from this angle,” Taylor said.

Ultimately, Vicksburg would surrender to Union forces on July 4, 1863. But the Yazoo Pass Expedition was unsuccessful.

The Battle of Fort Pemberton isn’t well known outside the Delta, according to Taylor.

“In the whole scheme of things, no, it is not the most famous battle that ever took place in the Civil War. For us in the Delta, it affected a lot of troops,” including, she said, the Carrollton Rifles.

v v v

v v v

The rugged and swampy terrain of the Delta presented many obstacles to the Union’s ill-fated Yazoo Pass Expedition.

Although the Battle of Fort Pemberton is the primary focus of the exhibit, it really is just one element of the museum’s overall Civil War presentation.

“We are also talking about what it was like in the Mississippi Delta, how difficult it was for these Union soldiers to come down here. They were so unfamiliar with it. They considered this as almost like an African wilderness. It was very difficult for them to get around,” she said.

The Union flotilla began its mission on Feb. 3, 1863, when Union forces breached a Mississippi River levee south

of Helena, Ark., allowing the ships to enter the waterway known as the Yazoo Pass. Natural obstacles slowed the flotilla far more than any Confederate resistance it encountered until reaching Fort Pemberton. It would take the ships five weeks to reach the fort. The flotilla’s slow progress gave Loring time to build the fortifications.

“We have accounts of them going down the river with snakes falling on the boats and tree limbs hitting them in the face,” Taylor said. “It was a virtual wilderness to them.”

Henry McCabe, a longtime member of the museum’s board of directors, has immersed himself in the Civil War since childhood.

“My mother got me started. Every morning, she’d stand in front of a window in the kitchen. The sun would come up in the east, and I’d hear her saying something,” he said.

His mother was reciting the “Serenity Prayer,” which her grandfather said every day while serving in the Confederate Army.

“That kept my grandfather alive during the war,” McCabe recalls his mother telling him.

When the family moved to nearby Fort Loring in the mid-1940s, stories of the Battle of Fort Pemberton were commonplace, McCabe said.

He recalled the stories of a man who was nearly 100 years old when McCabe met him.

“He told me about the Yankees, the guys in blue and the guys in gray who came walking down the road,” McCabe said.

The interest he showed in the Civil War prompted his mother to share some of her grandfather’s experiences in the war.

“He told about the ones that were lost and killed. He never said anything about shooting or killing anybody,” McCabe said.

The wreck of the Star of the West was a frequent haunt of McCabe’s in his youth.

Now, its story will get the attention it deserves from the museum, he said. LI

A diorama at the Museum of the Mississippi Delta depicts the Confederate defenses at Fort Pemberton, including the fort’s batteries, the scuttled Star of the West and a boom across the Tallahatchie River.

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The Oaks

Future of this house is its past

P

at Forde of Carrollton is a whirling force of nature.

She serves on the annual Carrollton Pilgrimage as costume coordinator — a title that only hints at all she does in that role. She owns and operates The Pickett Fence, a quaint, rustic antiques store that also sells quilts and home décor on the outskirts of town.

She manages her stepfather’s estate. She consults on interior design, mainly for friends. She is a mother of two adults and part of an active, close-knit family.

And she owns and maintains The Oaks, a historic architectural treasure in Carrollton.

“Houses get sad when they’re not lived in,” Forde said. She has enjoyed sharing hers with others since she bought it in 2007.

When Forde, 64, was growing up in Baton Rouge, La., her stepfather, Robert McGregor, used to bring the family to his hometown of Carrollton for vacations and holidays. Forde said she fell in love with the place.

“I thought the town looked like Dodge City, with its hitchin’ rails,” she remembered.

Her mother, Laura

The Oaks, built in 1848, commands a view of Carrollton from its position atop a steep hill.

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McGregor, now 88, and stepfather eventually retired in Carrollton, and Mr. McGregor died in 2000. She still manages his company estate, Miss-Lou Place LLC, which is named for the radio station he owned in Louisiana.

Forde has done extensive research into the history of the property and keeps a binder of her documentation.

The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The house was designed

by James Clark Harris, sonin-law of Greenwood Leflore, the last chief of the Choctaw Nation of Indians, and built in 1848 for a man named Green Jenkins, Forde said.

The architectural style is Greek Revival, a favorite of wealthy planters and business magnates of the South in those antebellum days.

Harris, she said, also designed the Carroll County Courthouse, Stanhope, the Captain Ray House, the Bingham House and Helm House, all in Carrollton, as well as Greenwood Leflore’s home, Malmaison, which burned to the ground in 1942.

In 1871, Dr. W.W. Liddell bought The Oaks, where he lived until his death, and his daughter, Wanda Liddell Olson, inherited it. She lived there until 1967, when she sold it to Sam Pitner, who owned weekly newspapers in Carrollton and Winona.

Forde bought the house in 2007 from a couple, Guy and Kristen Alderman, who had owned it since 2005. The house has been lived in continuously since at least 1871, Forde said.

Situated on an imposing hill near Carroll Academy, the original structure comprised only four rooms — the parlor, the front bedroom and two upstairs bedrooms. Forde said the dining room was added quickly, but there is no histo-

In the parlor of her house, The Oaks in Carrollton, Pat Forde says she buys what she likes for the house, but she does try to maintain the period look

Architect of The Oaks James Harris made a specialty of the construction of these palatial houses. They were built usually of wood, the heavy timbers hewed by hand and the other lumber brought from some local sawmill. A corps of trained slaves under the supervision of Harris and his expert assistants performed the work, to the most delicate on interior finishing and decorative paneling. The houses he constructed have hardly been excelled for strength, symmetry, spacious convenience, beauty and stability. They were the largest ever built in Mississippi, and some of them are standing today as solid, true and well-preserved as when constructed more than three-quarters of a century ago.

— From an article in the April 1, 1942, edition of The Greenwood Commonwealth about the burning of Malmaison, home of Greenwood Leflore, last chief of the Choctaw Nation of Indians, posted on Donny Whitehead’s website, www.aboutgreenwood.com.

ry on its addition. The kitchen was a separate structure in back, down the hill. It was common in those days, Forde explained, to build the kitchen apart from the house to keep kitchen fires from destroying the rest of the house.

The original house was built of hand-hewn local materials held together by wooden pegs, rather than nails. Forde said nails were used only in the roofing. Over the past 165 years, extensive improvements and expansions have been made to the house by its various owners, including rolling the kitchen up to the house on logs and joining the two structures, and adding bathrooms, another bedroom downstairs, a small library, a foyer and closets. The present-day kitchen was added in the 1970s.

The first downstairs bedroom had the only closet in the original house.

“It used to be that people were taxed based on the number of rooms in their houses, and closets were considered rooms,” Forde said.

“So they built the fewest closets they could live with.”

The furnishings in the house are a mix of antiques, reproductions and family pieces. Forde said, “I buy what I like,” but she does try to maintain the period look.

Her daughter, Rachel, a designer with Harris Sanders Interior Design in Houston, Texas, has helped her make many of her selections.

Antique Persian rugs cover the six-inch heart pine floors in the dining room, parlor and bedrooms. The dining room chandelier is a reproduction, but it works beautifully with the antique chandelier across the foyer in the parlor, both highlighting the 14-foot ceilings.

“This dining room was made for entertaining,” Forde Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 15

The dining room of The Oaks, furnished with a mix of antiques and reproductions, is across the foyer from the parlor.

Pat Forde bought the antique Persian rugs in the parlor and the dining room at an auction. The parlor’s Czechoslovakian crystal chandelier is an antique.

said, referring to its spacious dimensions. “We have dinner parties, wine-tastings, receptions, showers, church meetings, you name it. This house was meant to be shared.”

The bead board in the dining room is original to the house. Forde has added her own touches, such as a large Chinese screen on one wall and a mirror over the fireplace, which is framed by what used to be the footboard of a bed.

Forde and her son, Curtis Forde, 29, a farm manager, and her ex-husband, Mark Forde, a contractor, have all contributed to the improvement of the property. They constantly find interesting reminders of the house’s past.

They were going to build a

Louisiana.

In the other bedroom, which Forde calls the Rose Room, the accessories are all roses. On a pilgrimage tour shortly after Forde bought the house, one of Mr. Pitner’s daughters told Forde that her choice to decorate this particular room in a rose motif was interesting.

“She told me when she lived at The Oaks in the last century, the wallpaper in that bedroom had a red rose design,” Forde said.

Evidence of Forde’s involvement with the Carrollton Pilgrimages can be seen throughout the house. In several rooms, dressmaker forms wear the carefully researched vintage day dresses like those worn by ladies two centuries

walkway to the front of the house, Forde said, but while excavating to lay the foundation for it, they discovered the original walkway, which had been completely covered up.

So they uncovered it and found it was built with locally made bricks.

Upstairs, the two bedrooms are furnished mainly in antiques and Forde’s family pieces. In one room, the dogwood flower wallpaper that Forde believes Mrs. Olson put up remains on the walls. Oldfashioned plantation dolls in the room were made by a “doll lady,” who Forde remembered lives near Baton Rouge, from a pattern found in the walls of the famous Nottoway Plantation (now a resort) in

In Forde’s bedroom, a dressmaker’s form wears one of the dozens of period dresses she has made for the Carrollton Pilgrimage.

16 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

ago to receive guests, attend church, walk to the town’s stores and live their lives. Forde makes all of her own dresses for the pilgrimages and most of those worn by the other ladies who participate as tour guides.

She keeps the costumes on racks in one of the (added) closets off a downstairs hallway.

She is often asked whether The Oaks is haunted by any of its previous owners.

“This house is not haunted,” Forde said emphatically. “It’s a happy house.”

Forde plans to continue sharing her house with others, especially through the pilgrimage tours. “When there are people in this house, it comes alive, and period costumes bring out its best.” LI

Sam Pitner, former owner of weekly newspapers in Carrollton and Winona, added the library to the house as a quiet retreat.

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 17

Lee Smith

L

ee Smith knew at an early age he wanted to be a coach, but he never imagined it would be in women’s college softball.

Smith, 37, grew up in Wiggins loving football and dreaming of one day coaching the sport that he played successfully at Stone High School and later at Gulf Coast Community College. When his football career was over at the junior college level, Smith thought about walking on at Mississippi Valley State University before heading to Itta Bena as a regular student to pursue a teaching and coaching degree.

He was no longer playing athletics, but he remained close to it by helping keep football statistics and working as a student manager with the basketball team.

“I also got involved in helping coach the girls softball team in the spring of 1997. I ventured away from it at different times, but something always brought me back to softball,” said Smith.

Smith said that when Valley began its search for a new head coach in the spring of 2002, the school was looking for a female coach — but the players were pushing for him to take over the program. He wound up getting the job in a move that proved to be great

SUCCESS STORY

Lee Smith has led Mississippi Valley State University to seven Southwestern Athletic Conference softball championships, including six in a row from 2004 through 2009.

for both parties.

“I am living my dream now, for sure,” Smith said.

And Valley has the most successful fastpitch softball program in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

MVSU won a SWAC championship in Smith’s third year at the helm in 2004 — the first of six softball conference titles in a row. The Delta Devilettes were defeated in

the SWAC finals in 2010 and 2011 before regaining their championship form last season, giving Smith his seventh SWAC crown.

Smith admits his knowledge of softball was limited in the beginning.

“What I didn’t know didn’t faze the kids because they didn’t know any better,” he said, laughing. “But I did know what it took to be a

STORY BY BILL BURRUS ! PHOTO BY JOHNNY JENNINGS 18 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

good athlete, and I quickly learned the game.”

Valley Athletic Director Ashley Robinson was a basketball player at MVSU at the same time Smith was the student manager, and he knew at that time Smith was destined for success.

“He was well-organized even back then, so I knew, whatever he was going to do, that he was going to be successful,” Robinson said.

“Coach Smith struggled the first year but quickly built a great program here.

“He pushes academics as well as athletics. He represents Valley well on and off the field.”

Smith credits his on-field success to good assistant coaches and solid recruiting.

For the first three or four years, he recruited players from Alabama to Texas. Now, he is contacting players from Hawaii to New York and from Ohio to Florida.

Smith and his assistants spend their summers traveling to big-time softball tournaments, where they get a firsthand look at recruits and an opportunity to sell their program face-to-face.

“We have a lot of former players helping us find these girls all over the nation. We have a pretty good pipeline going with the help from former players,” said the Valley coach.

Smith is single with no hobbies outside of sports.

“From August to December, that’s my slow time, when I can relax and enjoy watching sports,” he said. “My favorite is football, but I like it all, even auto racing and tennis.

“If a sport is on and I have the time, then I am watching it.” LI

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 19

Yolande van Heerden

Drawn to the Delta

T

he first time Yolande van Heerden landed in Mississippi, she felt a heartbeat.

“It was a little like Africa, with a pethunk, pethunk. I said, there's something happening here,” the South African native said, bending down to pet the downy coat of one of two sheep that live at her Greenwood-area home.

Her home is loud and colorful, with two dogs, in addition to the sheep, who are eager to turn visitors into old-time friends.

Van Heerden, an artist who also holds private classes for both children and adults in her home, found her way to Greenwood on a winding path.

But, she said, the Mississippi Delta is her last stop.

“I’m home,” she said.

Growing up in Durban, South Africa, van Heerden attended an academically rigorous school that taught students to excel in math and science but didn’t expose them to the arts. But when Van Heerden studied abroad for one of her high school years in the United States, she fell into a love affair with both the country and the art class she found herself in.

“I loved art. It was like, ‘This is where I need to be,’” she said.

“My time abroad introduced me a little bit to America, and I realized then that I loved the States,” she added.

Hearing her talk about the influence her first trip to America had on her life, one might expect that Van Heerden landed in New York, Chicago or some other American city recognized internationally for its arts scene. Not the case. She found herself in Troy, Mont., a town of 938 with winter temperatures radically different from those of balmy Durban.

But, she said, the year in the States was enough to convince her that America would be her future home.

In 1987, when Van Heerden was 23, she moved to Los Angeles and found work as a nanny for blues musician John Mayall and his family.

“L.A. was great fun. I met a lot of people through the Mayalls, and through them I met Nancy,” said van Heerden.

Nancy is Nancy Silverton,

South Africa native Yolande van Heerden, who moved to Greenwood in April 2012, teaches art to children and adults at the home she shares with two dogs and two sheep. Her art includes colorful pieces made from carefully selected out-of-date car tags.

the chef and baker responsible for La Brea Bakery, an L.A. breadmaker that launched an artisan bread renaissance on the West Coast.

Van Heerden became Silverton’s nanny, and when the Silverton children got old enough to attend school, van Heerden sought another job.

Silverton helped van Heerden in two ways on the voyage that eventually led to Greenwood. First, she helped her find a job teaching art in preschools in Los Angeles.

Then, she introduced van Heerden to the link she needed to find her way to Mississippi.

“I needed a job, so I started working at Every Picture Tells a Story, which was an art gallery that has all the original art from children’s books. So that was

STORY BY JEANIE RIESS ! PHOTO BY JOHNNY JENNINGS 20 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

my first introduction to working with kids, and that planted the seed,” said van Heerden.

“And at that point, I heard about the job at La Brea Bakery,” she said.

Van Heerden leapt at the opportunity to work at the growing business, which employed 30 people at the time that she started and 400 people by the time she left.

“I was the manager of the wholesale bakery, which was wonderful because that's when I got my green card, and I made wonderful friends during that time,” she said.

The next thing that happened could have been designed only by fate.

One day, while preparing for a busy day at Campaneli, a restaurant that’s a sister company to La Brea, van Heerden cut

her finger on the meat slicer. She went to the hospital to get stitches, and when she returned to work, a girl with a thick Southern accent had taken her place in the kitchen.

It was Martha Foose, a future James Beard Award winner.

“She had just landed from the airport, and Campaneli was the first place she stopped, coming from Yazoo City,” said van Heerden. “And she got my job, because I needed a replacement.”

“So I go back to work, after being off from my injury, and there was this girl, who had this accent, and she was very fascinating and all the stories she told completely drew me in,” said van Heerden.

“And she said stuff like ‘payer jayum,’ instead of pear jam,” she said. “And I thought, ‘What is this accent? I love it!’”

The two became fast friends. Foose invited van Heerden to visit the Delta, and she fell in love with it.

The Foose family lived on a plantation near Tchula.

“Ever since then, I made it my mission to come back and live here — because there's just such a wonderful sense of community,” said van Heerden. “I've traveled all over the country, and I have not found that. It’s a sense of community, and it's people with really great senses of

humor that make light of so much.”

After she finished her tenure at La Brea Bakery, where she worked for seven years, van Heerden stayed in Los Angeles, working as the international distributor for Skechers shoes. She oversaw U.S. exports as well as all international exports from the company’s office in Belgium.

After working at two big companies, van Heerden felt burnt out by the corporate world and asked Silverton for help.

Through a connection, Silverton helped van Heerden get a job teaching art to Los Angeles pre-schoolers.

“I took all of my early childhood education classes through UCLA extension,” van Heerden said “And I really, really had a very pivotal moment in my life decisions, which was like, ‘This is it — art with kids. This is the best.’”

Then she met a guy. A move with him to Nevada deferred her dream of getting back to the Delta. Van Heerden lived in Nevada for seven years, just outside Las Vegas, and although the nature reserve where she had her home was beautiful, the desert proved a difficult place to live.

“I eventually decided that I was going to dry up,” she said. “I really felt like I needed to be back and work with people and get back out in the world. So that kind of prompted my decision to move. I

just did not like Las Vegas. The city itself is ostentatious and very superficial. I missed the community. It is the opposite of here, like night and day.”

Van Heerden moved to Greenwood April 1, 2012.

“I knew I needed to come to a place where I knew my friends and where I knew the sensibility of the community.

Those sorts of old-fashioned values, I love that,” she said.

Asked whether the transition has been difficult for her, van Heerden shrugs it off with a casual smile.

“Coming from South Africa definitely gives me much more depth and insight into the history here. South Africa is so parallel with Mississippi. I completely relate to so many of the struggles, for everybody. I just have that deeper understanding,” she said.

Ultimately, though, the people make the place.

“The people in South Africa are very much like the Delta people, where they’re just so friendly and hospitable and inviting,” she said. “When you are invited to somebody's house in South Africa for dinner, it’s rude not to have at least seconds or thirds, and I feel like it’s like that here — sort of that same warm, embracing sentiment.” LI

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 21

22 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

Winter soup

Go od for what chills you

A hot meal of soup and cornbread is the perfect way to warm up a cold winter’s night.

C

old winter weather and a piping hot bowl of your favorite soup just seem to be a match made in heaven. A pot of homemade vegetable soup simmering on the stovetop smells almost as good as it will taste. A wedge of buttered cornbread to accompany that soup makes for the perfect winter night’s meal.

Using the slow cooker while you are away from home can make for an easy vehicle for preparing a delicious homecooked meal. Add a quick grilled cheese sandwich to please everyone’s taste buds.

Quick and easy soups are also a solution to the “What’s for dinner?” question.

For something a little different, butter

some saltine crackers and pop them in your toaster until they are golden brown.

Here are some soup facts: ! Americans eat 10 billion bowls of soup a year. ! Twice as many women eat soup as men. ! Ninety-nine percent of American soup buyers purchase canned soups, mak-

ing it a $5 billion-a-year industry.

The red-and-white Campbell’s soup can that Andy Warhol made famous has always piqued my curiosity. When I think of a can of soup, that is the first thing that comes to mind. Warhol reportedly ate a bowl of soup for lunch every day for 20 years. Now there is a soup lover.

JAN JAN’S BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP 2 (10-ounce) package frozen, chopped broccoli, slightly thawed 3 cans cream of mushroom soup 1 (16-ounce) Mexican Velveeta cheese 3 soup cans water 1 teaspoon Accent seasoning Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Cook on low heat for an hour.

Top with grated cheese and croutons. LI

STORY BY LEE ANN FLEMMING ! PHOTO BY JOHNNY JENNINGS Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 23

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 25

Winter Events JANUARY 31-Feb. 3 — Greenwood Little Theatre presents Smokey Joe’s Cafe at 7 p.m.

Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m.

Sunday.

FEBRUARY 2 — A Taste of Soup and Art Exhibit, an annual fundraiser for the Friends of Carrollton-North Carrollton Library, will take place from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

23 — The 56th annual Junior Auxiliary Charity Cotton Ball will be held at the Leflore County Civic Center from 6:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.

MARCH 2 — The Mississippi Blues Fest begins at 7 p.m. at the Leflore County Civic Center.

30 — The second annual Viking Half Marathon and 5K will begin at 8 a.m.

26 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

Weddings: How they met

S

Love at first sight

hirley McCaleb gave her parents a shock on Jan. 4, 1958.

“Oh, Shirley Ann, what have you done!” her mother gasped.

She had come out from the kitchen with a broom in her hand and spotted her husband standing in their living room in Greenwood with their pretty, blonde daughter and a handsome young man.

The daughter, 16-year-old Shirley Ann Box, had met and married Robert Lewis McCaleb, 27, all in an afternoon.

“Five hours, 46 years,” Shirley said, musing about the spans of their courtship and their marriage that lasted until Robert’s death in 2004. She misses him, of course.

“People don’t think that there is such a thing as love at first sight. But there is,” she said.

She found out 55 years ago.

The day started simply enough. She went to work.

Shirley, who was in the 11th grade, had a new Saturdaymorning job as an office clerk with Robert’s father at D.R. McCaleb and Sons, a mercantile company on Main Street.

During the morning, Robert spotted her. He came out onto the porch to buy a Coke and asked his father, “Who is the

Shirley McCaleb met and married Robert McCaleb on the same day in 1958. They were married for 46 years, until his death in 2004, and had three children.

blonde?”

His father responded, “That’s Lois and Haven Box’s daughter. Leave her alone.”

Robert McCaleb did not obey his father. His brother George stepped in when Shirley was about to leave for the day at noon, offering her a ride.

She accepted, and before she knew it, she, Robert and George were riding toward nearby Charmain’s in George’s black-and-white 1958 Chevrolet.

The drive-in had car hops.

“The guys got a beer. I had a chocolate shake and a hamburger. There were lots of people outside. We stayed there and talked and visited.

After a while, I said it was time to take ol’ Shirley on home.”

But George wanted to go for a drive, so they headed up U.S. 82 into Carroll County.

The mood was congenial. “I felt very safe and happy and good,” Shirley said.

George started teasing.

“George told Robert, ‘I think this is the girl for you,’” she said. “George said to me,

‘Robert likes you, and let’s ride up the road and y’all two get married.’”

They stopped at a place with a juke box and listened to the music.

That’s where they came across another McCaleb brother, Jimmy, and one of his inlaws, Eddie McMichael. “We accidentally ran into each other,” Jimmy said.

Shirley, he said, “was a pretty little old thing. I would have married her myself, but I was already married.”

And Robert was smitten.

“She was something. My brother was real happy to get her,” Jimmy said.

Jimmy and Eddie left, and Shirley again suggested that she ought to go home.

But George said they had some business “up the road.”

He was herding them toward a justice of the peace in Winona, but Shirley didn’t know that.

Robert took a turn behind the wheel, Shirley sat up front beside him. She said he looked at her and said, “I really like you and will give you a good life and a good home. I would like it if you will marry me. I love you, and I’ll take care of you.”

Shirley said, “I was watching his lips and his eyes, and I knew it was meant to be.”

At the Montgomery County Courthouse, they found a justice of the peace, who performed the ceremony. “I was happy. I really had a happy feeling,” she said.

STORY BY SUSAN MONTGOMERY ! PHOTOS BY JOHNNY JENNINGS AND COURTESY OF SHIRLEY McCALEB Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 27

Shirley and Robert McCaleb are seen on vacation in Panama City, Fla., in 1971 with their children, from left, Melanie, Bobby and John.

Back to Greenwood they drove, pulled up to her parents’ house and entered.

There was her father.

“Daddy knew, when we walked in, what had happened.” He shook the younger man’s hand.

People were surprised.

“I didn’t really think they would go through with it — they had just met each other — and if they did go through with it, it wouldn't last 15 minutes. But it did,” Jimmy said.

The couple had a honeymoon night at a Cleveland motel, and two days afterward, they settled into their own house in Greenwood. Thirteen months later, their daughter, Melanie, was born. Then came Bobby and John, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Shirley obtained a GED and went to business college. She worked with Robert.

They had furniture stores at different times in Yazoo City and Itta Bena.

He kept his promise to provide for Shirley and their family. She said he loved the work, their family and God. “Three beautiful children were produced. They got the good sense of their father and have succeeded because of his strong morals and feelings,” she explained.

These days, Shirley works at McCaleb Discount Furniture, which is owned by her brother-in-law Wendell.

Tacked on the wall near her desk at the store is a sign that says, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.”

Shirley said they were swept up by an unanticipated moment of recognition, and she is grateful to have had the sense to act on it. “I walked solely by faith, and I still do.” LI 28 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

Weddings: Gowns

What’s next for the dress?

STORY AND PHOTO

BY RUTH JENSEN

A

fter what is arguably one of the most important days of a woman’s life — her wedding day — what does she do with her very special dress?

When a dress takes such effort to find — often including much perusing of magazines and shops — it can be hard to decide what to do with it once the wedding is over.

A bride may have the gown cleaned and pack it away, with visions of a daughter or granddaughter wearing it one day.

But what happens if there are no children, or if the couple has only boys, or if the mother and daughter have different tastes?

A new trend has recently emerged that past brides could probably not imagine — trashing the wedding gown. An Internet search of “trash the dress” gives a lot of fun ideas for the adventurous who want to do something different with their wedding dresses.

“What’s the use of packing it away in the attic?” one website asks. “Have fun with it and get some great photos,” the site suggests. You can go hiking up a mountain, or kayaking, swimming, rolling in mud or playing paintball in it — no doubt to the chagrin of mothers who, with their daughters, dreamed of a special gown for her.

But for others, there are the standard options: You can have it cleaned and boxed and hope someday someone you love will wear it, or you can sell it to

Hannah White, left, and her mom, Melanie Wiltshire, show off the Christmas tree skirt made from the “maid of honor” dress Hannah wore in Melanie's wedding to Brad Wiltshire in 2007. Rather than hiding it away in a closet, the two get to enjoy special memories of the wedding day each year.

another bride.

Casey Barrentine of Black Hawk found another way to dispose of her dress: She gave it to charity.

“They sell them to breast cancer sur-

vivors after altering them to suit their needs and then use the money to fund research,” she said. “If the cancer survivor can’t afford the dress, it is given to them.”

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 29

Barrentine’s mom, Judy Wood, came up with the idea. “I did it because we had lost a dear friend, Robyn Carver, to cancer.

They sent a note stating the dress was donated in her honor,” Barrentine said.

Her mother also donated her “mother of the bride” dress.

Barrentine said she figured styles would be different by the time her daughter got married, and she might not be interested in the dress. “We can provide for her.

Helping others is my main goal,” she said.

The group, called the Making Memories Foundation, also grants wishes to people with terminal breast cancer.

Other options include selling a dress at a consignment shop or donating it to a thrift shop. Or, for those who just can’t get rid of it for sentimental reasons, there are ways to use parts of the dress to make a keepsake — maybe a christening gown or baby quilt for a future child.

Some brides have made Christmas tree skirts. That goes for attendants’ dresses, as well.

Melanie Wiltshire of Carrollton made a tree skirt from the dress her daughter Hannah wore as her maid of honor in her marriage to Brad Wiltshire.

“Our color was red, and we got married in January 2007,” she said. “The next year I needed a Christmas tree skirt and remembered the red dress. I put it around the tree; then later my mother-in-law, Cheryl Wiltshire, made a tree skirt out of it.”

Sometimes the bride cannot wear her mother’s dress — or doesn’t choose to wear it — but wants to include it somehow. Maghen Lee of Gluckstadt, cousin of Kim DeLoach of Carrollton, used her mother’s dress by draping a table with it at her reception.

Of course, veils have been refashioned, as have dresses, to suit a new generation of brides. Veils and pieces from dresses have also been made into handkerchiefs, carried by the bride. While searching for a bridal dress of her own, Taylor DeLoach was told of a bride’s sewing a piece from her mother’s veil underneath her dress to include it with hers.

Parts of the dress can also be made into a special decorative pillow to use in a bedroom. One bride even framed her dress and hung it on a wall, but that’s a bit extreme for most brides. However, a search of the Internet or a chat online can provide many satisfying ways to use the dress — one that suits each bride’s personality. LI 30 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

Weddings: Destinations

Want to get away?

STORY BY RUTH JENSEN PHOTOS BY JOHNNY JENNINGS AND COURTESY OF KITTY PINKSTON AND NIKKI ACORD

T

oday’s brides are often finished with formal education and established in their professions by the time they get married.

Sometimes they decide to bypass the traditional church wedding and go to an interesting destination instead.

For Kitty Patterson and Drew Pinkston of Greenwood, who married Sept. 29, 2012, the Royal Bahamian Resort in Nassau, Bahamas, was the perfect choice.

“It was the way to do it,” Kitty said.

“We went by ourselves. It was everything we wanted it to be. We had a great time.”

Destination weddings are often easier to arrange, with everything handled inhouse.

“You make a few phone calls to a resort you choose,” she said. “The only stressful part of it was making sure the dress got there safely. I vacuum-sealed it and put it in my carry-on bag. They had a laundry there that took it and made it look perfect.”

The resort had a number of options, including the beach.

“I chose a lush garden,” she said. “I didn’t want to be windblown in pictures.

Above, Kate Flanagan and Jamie Evans plan to get married at the Sandals Resort in the Bahamas. Below, Kitty Patterson and Drew Pinkston were married last September in Nassau, Bahamas.

I knew what I wanted to do. Everything was normal. We had a Christian marriage with a minister. It was small and sweet.”

Kitty said the two families were very pleased about their choice.

Her only regret is the time it takes to get a certificate of marriage in the mail, so that she could change her name.

“If I had known it would take 10-12 weeks, I would have had someone marry us here first, then go there,” she said.

Destination weddings vary in price, just like any other type of wedding. They can be very simple or very elaborate — and Pinkston said she chose the simple.

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 31

Lauren Walker and Zac Tollison chose a Delta destination for their wedding, the Hollywood Plantation in Benoit.

“People spend a lot of money on receptions that I would rather have in my savings account,” she said. “We’re not dancers, so to hire a band would just be for others and not something we enjoy.”

Kate Flanagan of Greenwood and Jamie Evans of Belzoni have also planned a beach wedding, scheduled Jan. 26, at the Sandals Resort in the Bahamas. Her mom, Ann, said both families liked the wedding plan and would be attending.

“Jamie’s sister had a big wedding last April, so they were happy we’re going to do it this way,” Kate said.

Kate said the choices she and her fiance discussed were a big Delta wedding, a mountain wedding in Gatlinburg, Tenn., or a wedding in a tropical location.

“We’re both a little older. Our friends are married and have children,” she said.

“I’ve been to so many weddings. How do you pick bridesmaids?”

The choices were quickly narrowed to a beach.

“The beach seemed like me. It fit who I was,” she said. “We’re going barefooted.”

And not to worry about decorating — they’ll have the sunset for a background.

“We paid extra for a sunset time slot,” Kate said. “It’s the only thing we splurged on.”

Lauren Walker and Zac Tollison of Ruleville chose to wed at the Burrus Hollywood Plantation in Benoit. Known as the Baby Doll House, after a film that was 32 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 33

Courtney Frances Rosten & Gardner Cash Malouf March 3, 2012 Courtney Frances Rosten and Gardner Cash Malouf were united in marriage on March 3, 2012, at St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church in Foley, Ala. Father Paul Zoghby officiated at the ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Gerhard Rosten of Fairhope, Ala. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander John Malouf Jr. of Greenwood.

Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore an ivory silk Ulla Maiji gown with antique lace and a family heirloom veil.

She complemented her gown with stiletto heels designed by Jimmy Choo.

The bride’s bouquet was filled with white peonies, gardenias and ranunculus.

Jeanette Hightower, the bride’s childhood best friend, served as matron of honor.

Bridesmaids were Casey Yarbrough, Creagh Williams, Hope Lumpkin, Nikki Carlisle, Page Smith, Jane Ellen Hannaman, Taylor Richerson, Mary Virginia Jenkins, Natalie Malouf Carr, Shelby Malouf, Angela Malouf and Kristin Malouf.

Bridal attendants wore long chiffon dresses in lavender, designed by J. Crew, with their hair in chignon buns. The bridesmaid bouquets were unique variations of white flowers.

Alexander Malouf Jr., father of the groom, served as his son’s best man.

Groomsmen were Patrick Malouf, Shane Malouf, Tim Carr, Robert Yarbrough, Clay Holder, Frank Montgomery, Andrew Lamb, Nathan Higdon, Grady Rosten, Samuel Rosten and Hart Kittle.

East Bay Clothiers of Fairhope outfitted the groomsmen in navy custom suits complete with linen pocket squares and ties designed by Robert Talbott.

Groomsmen wore boutonnieres of fresh berries while the groom wore a gardenia boutonniere.

Ushers were Ken DuBard, Wade Selsor, Chris Carl, Scott Thompson, Joel Coleman, Anthony Sherman, Jason Maykowski, Mack Heidelbert and Matt Trusty.

Allison and Norris Kelly served as flower girl and ring bearer.

Guests rode a red double-decker bus that read “All you need is love” to the reception on the river in Magnolia Springs, Ala. 34 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

Mr. and Mrs. Gardner Cash Malouf

Chase Kuhn, the photographer from Australia, photographed the candid moments.

Malouf Furniture of Greenwood furnished the reception with chandeliers, striped rugs and cream slipcovered sofas that looked both romantic and beautiful.

Florist Ron Barrett of Zimlich Brothers decorated the church and reception with all white and green floral arrangements.

Black-and-white family wedding photos sat next to vases of white and green flowers on the side tables.

Trees wrapped with lights, complete with lanterns, were hung with grosgrain ribbons to disguise the tent poles.

The reception menu featured grilling stations with Southern foods, including baby back ribs, bacon-wrapped quail, lamb lollipops and a canoe filled with fried shrimp.

The bride and groom’s signature drink, “Oak Street Social,” was topped off with robin’s egg blue striped straws.

Couture Cakes in Daphne, Ala., created the white five-tiered wedding cake.

It featured a ring of white roses on either side of a Tiffany blue center layer. The base was surrounded by another ring of branches.

The Tams of Atlanta had the guests dancing for hours to “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy!”

At the end of the night, the bride and groom sprinted through sparklers to a pale-yellow 1962 Thunderbird.

Following a honeymoon in Singapore and Phuket, Thailand, the couple is at home in Magnolia Springs.

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 35

Elizabeth Anne Kalich & Christopher James Tardio August 11, 2012 Elizabeth Anne Kalich and Christopher James Tardio were united in marriage in a nuptial Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Greenwood at 6 p.m. on Aug. 11, 2012.

Father Gregory Plata officiated at the ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Alan Kalich of Greenwood. She is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marcus D. Williams of Batesville, and the late Richard J. Kalich and the late Frances Marie Kalich.

Mr. Tardio is the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Edward Tardio of Greenville, Ky. He is the grandson of Mary Tardio of Greenville, Ky., and the late Matthew Tardio, and Faustina Alheid of Greenville, Ky., and the late Harry Alheid.

Escorted by her father, the bride wore a strapless ivory gown of English netting, embellished with custom-designed lace. The fluted skirt was finished in a sweep train.

She carried a cluster of white Tibet roses and white hydrangeas, nestled into a globe form and banded with white satin ribbon, pinned with pearl pins and wrapped with the bride’s baby bracelet.

Mallory Jackson of Brandon attended the bride as maid of honor. Bridesmaids were Shannon Bibb of Tunica; Callie Collins of Brandon; Jessica Cullen of Louisville, Ky., sister of the groom; Katherine Daniels of Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Stephenie Elmore of Tupelo; Hayley Frank of Nashville, Tenn.; Jessica Johnson of

36 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

Mr. and Mrs. Christopher James Tardio

Nashville; Katie Jones of Greenwood and Melissa Sharp of Hattiesburg.

The attendants wore tulip-colored full-length strapless chiffon dresses with drape surplice bodice and pleated detail at midriff and skirt.

Their bouquets were colorful, loosely gathered clusters of peach roses, yellow lilies and other seasonal flowers, banded with tulip satin ribbon and secured with pearl pins.

Flower girls were Piper Cullen of Louisville, Ky., niece of the groom, and Lilly and Margaret Rauth of Nashville.

They wore white silk dresses with cap sleeves and sashes.

They carried delicate pomander balls of white flora tied with white satin streamers. They wore halos of baby’s breath in their hair.

James Tardio served his son as best man. Groomsmen were Alan Bean of Nashville; Craig Duvall of Nashville; Kerry Guidry of Houston, Texas; Sam Kalich of Greenwood, brother of the bride; Keven Kettler of Nashville; Ryan Roberts of Louisville, Ky.; Clay Travis of Nashville; Dave Wolfrom of Paducah, Ky., and Kelly Worman of Nashville.

Fox Travis was the ring bearer.

Wedding music was provided by Connie Black, vocalist, of Greenwood and the Rev. Ray Smithee, organist, of Greenwood.

Following the ceremony, a reception was held at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity parish hall.

Guests were entertained by the Chris Weaver Band of Nashville.

On the eve of the wedding, a rehearsal dinner was hosted by the groom’s parents at Yianni’s restaurant in Greenwood.

Following a honeymoon in Belize, the couple are making their home in Nashville, where the groom is an attorney and the bride is completing a master’s degree in education from Lipscomb University.

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 37

Brittany Ann Toler & Justin Blake Jones September 22, 2012 Brittany Ann Toler of Carrollton and Justin Blake Jones of Brandon were united in marriage at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 22, 2012, at Luckett Lodge in Brandon. The Rev. Ricky Wheat officiated at the candlelight ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Craig and Sherry Fulton of Carrollton and Kent and Robin Toler of Inverness. She is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Fulton of Louise, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Maddox of Madison, Mr. Jack Toler of Isola and the late Mr. and Mrs. Howard McLendon.

The groom is the son of Tammi McGowin of Brandon and Jeff and Linda Jones of Greenwood. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Robby Jones of Minter City and Shelby Jones of Minter City and the late Mr. and Mrs. Houston Weldon.

Given in marriage by Craig Fulton and Kent Toler, the bride wore a gown of Venice lace designed by Allure. The gown fea-

38 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

Mr. and Mrs. Justin Blake Jones

tured a V-neck and crystal and floral embellishment accents at the waist. It also featured a dramatic V-shaped back.

Serving as matron of honor was Jenna Mullins Pugh of Carrollton. Serving as maid of honor was Anna Thompson King of Inverness.

Bridesmaids were Sarah Stokes, Anna Biggs, Samantha Book, Holly Dill, Haley Overby, Anna Street Toler and Jennifer Borgognoni.

Emma Faye Buchanan served as the flower girl, and Pace Reese served as the ring bearer.

The best man was Adam Phillips. Groomsmen were Wilson Moses, Tyler Counts, Austin Barber, Gray Higginbotham, Mitch Reifers, Wade Henderson, Hunter Jones and Reese Fulton.

Nuptial music was presented by violinists Emily Williams and pianist Ben Williams of Clinton.

After the ceremony, guests were entertained at a reception at Luckett Lodge.

Yankee Station of Jackson provided dance music.

Following a honeymoon to Jamaica, the couple resides in Brandon.

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 39

Maggie Reece Makamson & William Tyler Gilliland March 10, 2012 Maggie Reece Makamson and William Tyler Gilliland, both of Greenwood, were united in marriage at 6 p.m. on March 10, 2012, at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Greenwood. Dr. Billy Ray Stonestreet officiated at the double-ring ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Reece Makamson of Greenwood. She is the granddaughter of Mrs. Marion Evon Leigh of Brandon and the late Mr. Marion Evon Leigh and the late Mr. and Mrs. Walter Loyce Makamson.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Terrell of Ruleville and Mr. William Reese Gilliland of Itta Bena. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Roger Hodge of Greenwood and the late Mr and Mrs. Edward Leroy Gilliland.

Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore a slim, A-line gown with soft romantic details. The strapless bodice featured ruched organza and a satin band with Swarovski crystals defining the natural waistline. She carried a hand-tied bouquet of white peonies, blush garden roses, tulips, mini calla lilies and orchids. The stems of the bouquet were banded together with double-faced satin ribbons.

Serving as matrons of honor were Anna Makamson, sister-inlaw of the bride, and Sara Dent Ledbetter. Bridesmaids were Mary Loyce Gammill, sister of the bride; Kelly Holman, sister of the bride; Amiee Lovell, sister of the bride; Miranda Killebrew; Jessica Lemley; Claire Smith; and Laurin Young.

Reese Gilliland served his son as best man. Groomsmen were Drew Gilliland, brother of the groom; Walter Makamson, broth-

40 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

Mr. and Mrs. William Tyler Gilliland

er of the bride; Daniel Barry; Cannon Burgess; Michael Jennings; Matthew Killebrew; Sam Pigott; and Shane Smith.

Ushers were Tyler Gann, Hugh Gilliland, David Hargett, Daniel Smith and Robert Toomey.

Program attendants were Hannah Holman and Lilli Smith.

Millie Kathryn Smith and Grayson Gammill served as flower girl and ring bearer.

Kristin Brock served as wedding director.

Following the ceremony, a reception was held at The Greenwood Country Club with decorations by The Pantry. The King Beez provided entertainment throughout the night.

Mrs. Gilliland is a 2003 graduate of Carroll Academy, a 2005 graduate of Mississippi Delta Community College and a 2008 graduate of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where she earned a master's degree in occupational therapy. She is employed by Leflore Rehabilitation Center as an occupational therapist.

Mr. Gilliland is a graduate of Cruger-Tchula Academy. He is employed by Lott Farms.

Following the wedding, the couple is at home in Greenwood.

Melissa Maudine Pigott & Tecumseh Crump Britt IV March 24, 2012 Melissa Maudine Pigott and Tecumseh Crump Britt IV were united in marriage on March 24, 2012, at First Baptist Church in Itta Bena. The Rev. Wilson Ray, grandfather of the bride, officiated at the ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sammy Pigott of Itta Bena. She is the granddaughter of the Rev. and Mrs. Wilson Ray and the late Otis Pigott and the late Mr. and Mrs. D.B. Chrismond.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Tecumseh Britt III of Greenwood. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Tecumseh Britt Jr. and the late Mr. and Mrs. W.B. Crump Jr. Music for the ceremony was provided by harpist Grace Hansley and soloist Sherry Kelly.

The bride wore an ivory satin gown designed by Allure. She complemented her gown with a pill box hat, white gloves from her late maternal grandmother and the shoes her mother wore on her wedding day. The bride’s garter was made by the groom’s grandmother. She carried a bouquet of blue hydrangeas encircled with a Bible handkerchief given to her at birth, her father’s blue birth bracelet and her late maternal grandfather’s deputy badge.

Matrons of honor were Sabrina Brewer and Barron Newman.

Maid of honor was Mary Key Britt. Bridesmaids were Lacey Baker, Ann Bratton, Mariclaire Fancher, Hannah Gwin, Dorothy Jean Hicks, Sally Holliday, Jean Kelly, Sarah Leard, Nicole Lindsey, Anna Nix, Christina Person, Jacqueline Simpson, Claire Smith, Mauri Smith and Meagan Webb.

Molli Eastland served as the bridal proxy. Mary Peyton Barnette served as flower girl, and Brooks Newman was the ring bearer.

Attending as best man was Tecumseh Britt III. Groomsmen were Wilson Britt and Sam Pigott.

Ushers were Josh Crump, Will Crump, Parker Jones, Will Jones, Dave Kelly and Carter Makamson.

Program attendants were Elizabeth Day, Katie Duggan, Hillary Freeman and Ashley Gragson.

Wedding directors were Sybil and Beth Fulgham.

The reception was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Crump.

The wedding party arrived by trolley at the reception.

The couple’s first dance was to “Earth Angel,”

Mr. and Mrs. Tecumseh Crump Britt IV

followed by the bride and her father dancing to “Summertime,” their favorite together since her childhood.

“Don’t be blinded by our love” was the theme for the “party favors” sunglasses.

The couple departed for their honeymoon in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, as guests waved sparklers and released wish lanterns.

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 41

Jennifer Ryan Austin & Taylor Edwin Main October 27, 2012 Jennifer Ryan Austin and Taylor Edwin Main were united in Christian marriage at 4 p.m. on Oct. 27, 2012, at Shadowlawn in Columbus.

The Rev. Kevin Jackson of Grenada officiated at the ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Hulon Austin of Grenada.

She is the granddaughter of Mrs. John Dunklin Ashcraft Jr. of Greenwood and the late John Dunklin Ashcraft Jr., and Mrs. Hulon Cade Austin of Grenada and the late Hulon Cade Austin.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Stribling Main of Tupelo.

He is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Woodall and the late Mr. and Mrs. Tom Main.

Escorted by her father and given in marriage by her parents, the bride wore a strapless illusion A-line gown with a softlycurved, finely-ruched neckline with hand beading. The skirt began at the hand-beaded empire waistline and was adorned with Italian lace appliques that flowed into a chapel-length

42 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Edwin Main

train edged in Italian lace.

She wore a hand-tatted lace garter made especially for her wedding day by her paternal grandmother, Mrs. Hulon Austin.

In her hair, she wore a family heirloom brooch borrowed from her maternal grandmother, Mrs. John Ashcraft.

Attending the bride as matrons of honor were Mrs. John Robicheaux of Gulfport and Mrs. Brian Rottier of Statesboro, Ga. Bridesmaids were Janie Elizabeth Ashcraft of Columbus and Ameilia Young of New York, N.Y. The groom’s father, John Main, served his son as best man.

Groomsmen were Andrew Bland of Chicago, Rob Simpson of Sand City, Calif., and Brandon Main of Tupelo, brother of the groom.

Serving as flower girl was Ella Kyle Payne of Decatur, Ala. Ring bearer was Logan Rottier of Statesboro.

Also serving were Jenga and Tonka, Sheltie child therapy dogs of the bride.

Ushers were Daniel Hulon Austin of Starkville, brother of the bride; and Brian Rottier of Statesboro.

The program attendant was Brittany Main of Memphis, sister of the groom.

Scripture readers were Mr. and Mrs. Bubba Fields of Statesboro.

The bride’s proxy was Sarah Reynolds of Houston, Texas.

A dinner reception followed in the side garden of Shadowlawn. On the eve of the wedding, a Low country boil rehearsal dinner was hosted by Mr. and Mrs. John Main at the Graham Camp House outside of Columbus.

Following a honeymoon to the Bahamas, the couple is at home in Statesboro.

Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 43

MVSU Homecoming

Mississippi Valley State University held its annual homecoming festivities in October.

Anna Hammond, gospel singer Smokie Norful and James Washburn

Comedian Anthony Brown

Carlos Palmer

Rapper Future

Ronald Ruffin and Dr. Donna Oliver 44 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

Amanda Ronning

The MVSU Band

Preston Ratliff

Dr. Gary McGaha, Carver Randle and Doug Porter

Kristen Hope Credille

Several events were held Oct. 18 to celebrate the unveiling of the website www.greenwoodms.com, which serves as the landing page for several community organizations.

Website unveiling

Aaron Shier, Beth Poovey, Daniel Bursuck, Dale Riser and Kate Pierce

Hayley Harper, Whitney Skelton and Jami Truitt

Charles McCoy, the Rev. Calvin Collins, Carolyn McAdams, Shaketia McCoy and Ronnie Stevenson

Romana Leflore, Gale Porter and Beth McNeer

Kelly Vance and Brantley Snipes

Jo and Becky Thompson

Linda McDonald and Karan Lott

Sam Rustom Jr. and Sam Rustom

Jeff Warren, Freddy Baine and Brady Warren

Barr Kennedy and Meg Nealon Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 45

Christmas parade

A large crowd enjoyed warm weather on Nov. 30 during the Roy Martin Delta Band Festival and Christmas Parade.

St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School marches

Austin Robertson and Tia Miller

Boy Scout Troop 4100

Miss Mississippi 2012 Marie Wicks, Analise Bush and Clara Estes Fleming 46 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

Thomas Gregory as Louis XVI

Anna Katherine Alderman, Mollie Malouf, Maddy Bailey and Lucy Cookston

Darian Polk and Derrick Ward

The Leflore County High School Band

Linda and Will Pleasants

Montrellis Walker and Mar’quallious Benford

Parties were held Dec. 31 at The Alluvian and the Leflore County Civic Center to celebrate the new year.

New Year’s Eve

Bernard and Liza Booth

Mignon Hodges and Brandi Kelly

Margie and Alan Barger

Miranda and Chris Killebrew

Luther Wade and Preston Thomas

Sonja Stanciel and Terry Hooker

Tony and Carla Bounds

Raymond and Yolanda Gary

David Lewis and Cindi McCreery

Clara House and Al Briscoe

Blues singer Ms. Jody and Robert Moore Winter 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 47

The Back Page

PHOTOS BY JOHNNY JENNINGS AND COURTESY OF DONNY WHITEHEAD

by Mary Carol Miller

Looking back H

ow do you like this scene of our city?” A century ago, some unknown correspondent bought a penny postcard at one of the shops on Greenwood’s Howard Street, scrawled that short note across the top of the photo, slapped a stamp on the opposite side and sent it winging through the U.S. mail.

And why is this notable in 2013?

Because that very same street scene is one I enjoy almost every day.

If I could somehow step into that longago frame, I would be right at home.

Walking those two blocks north toward the river, I’d recognize every building as an old friend. There’s 222 Howard, where my father bought clothes and B.B. King’s voice first sailed across the airwaves. Next door, tucked away upstairs over today’s frame shop, is an apartment that served briefly as my grandfather’s office in 1928.

Across the street is the quirky façade of Fincher’s Antiques. That one started out as a bank and later housed Open Hearth Books, where I bought my very first volume on historic architecture. An alley separates it from Port Eliot, but in my mind’s eye, the brick building that was originally Weiler’s Jewelers is forever Fisher’s Stationery, where Hardy Boys books lined the shelves and school supplies awaited us each September. If I made it as far as Front Street and turned left, I would still expect to see the columns and tiled entrance to the Greenwood Leflore Hotel, regrettably demolished way before its time. Thank goodness the Keesler Bridge is still there.

Our anonymous photographer set up smack dab in the middle of Howard Street’s 300 block, facing north. Only two automobiles are visible, one canted toward the curb rather dramatically, either tipping

48 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2013

into an ancestor of today’s potholes or sinking with a punctured tire tube. A few pedestrians have stopped for the camera; they are sporting topcoats, and that fact, along with the barren trees in the distance, suggest that this moment, frozen in time, was likely a winter afternoon. Two children are peering in the window of W.T. Fountain’s, the precursor to the “Big Busy Store” that would soon rise just across Howard Street. Perhaps the children of those children gathered each Thanksgiving afternoon to wait for the curtains to be drawn back in Fountain’s huge display windows, unveiling that year’s Toyland. Ask a Greenwood native who’s older than 75 or 80 about that tradition. They’ll remember.

Those of us who live today in Greenwood are so very fortunate, having been handed an architectural legacy that stretches back to the 1890s. But we must never take it for granted or casually consign an old structure to the scrap pile simply because its original purpose has evaporated. In our penny postcard picture, the two buildings in the foreground were needlessly lost to fire in the late 20th century. If we could swivel that ancient cameras lens just one block in either direction and dial the clock ahead 50 years, we’d see the Paramount Theatre and the Leflore. Wouldn’t you love to spend

another afternoon in those torn-up Paramount balcony seats or smell the popcorn from that curved Art Deco concession stand in the Leflore? If not for the tragedy of fire and shortsightedness, we could all be wasting our weekend afternoons in the dark with today’s equivalents of Charlie Chaplin and Jimmy Stewart.

We can’t reclaim what we’ve lost. But we can draw a symbolic line in our downtown dirt that emphatically states “No more.” We can support Fred Carl as he reclaims the Elks Club and work with the city and county to find purpose for the old library. We can dream of a convention center in the Russell Co. warehouse and patronize the wine bar slated for the old Fire Station. We can be grateful to that nameless photographer for squeezing the shutter on a chilly winter’s day, and we can hand our own grandchildren a sense of place.

So, to answer the question posed on that postcard: Yes, I do like this scene of our city, our Greenwood. And I want to be part of a generation that claims it, preserves it and passes it on down the line for those to come. ! Mary Carol Miller is a native of Greenwood and the author of nine books on Mississippi’s historic architecture. LI