Weekly events,higher-endshopping (with extended hours),luxuriousaccomodationsand toprestaurantsarerightuptheroadinCleveland...allsituatedina cute and walkable downtown!
Oftentimes,thoughtsofthe MississippiDeltaconjure up imagesofcottonfields,shotgun shacksandjukejoints. Whilethoseare here inabundance, there isanother sideoftheDeltathat can be foundin Cleveland,Mississippi.
Cleveland, formerlyknownas Fontaine, Mississippi,islocated attheintersection ofthefabled Highway 61andHighway 8, just a few milesinland fromtheMississippi River and a roughlytwohourtrip from mosttownsinNortheastMississippi.
Where many Mississippitownswere builtuparoundtownsquares,Cleveland was builtupalongthesidesof a flat, straight railroadtrackthathassincebeen transformed into a paved andlandscaped
walkway through a downtownthathasno lackofqualityshopsand restaurants.
Although a destinationany timeof year, the walkway shinesparticularlybrightly duringtheholidays whenitislitupwith hundreds ofthousandsoflightsthatthe communityhasaccumulated throughthe years.Andthroughthe recentgenerous donationsoflocalfamiliesandbusinesses, thenumberoflightsdowntownthis year willbeapproachingonemillion.
Downtownmerchantshave alsobought intoandcontributed tothesuccess of theeventthroughbuilding extravagant window displays, many ofwhich rotate notjustthroughtheChristmasseason,but throughoutthe year
The resultofthiscommunitycooperation
hasbeensubstantial,withpeople fromhours andhours away visitingthe cityduringits“FiftyNightsof Lights” celebrationwhichlasts fromthemiddle ofNovemberthroughthenew year Informationontheevent,including a video ofthelights, can be foundat 50nightsoflights.com
Butevenwithoutthelights,Cleveland isworth a visitasluxuriouslocation fromwhichto explore thegreater Delta region.And,inadditiontothe shoppingandlights,Clevelandboasts a numberofotherattractions,including the GRAMMY MuseumMississippi (grammymuseumms.org) andthe very
popular Cleveland Train Museum (clevelandtrainmuseum.com) located downtown.
TheBologna Center for Performing Arts (bolognapac.com) offers quality concertsandlive entertainment throughoutthe year.
Downtown’d The CottonHouse Hotel, a Marriott Tribute Portfolioproperty (cottonhousecleveland.com) andthe LyricHotel WestEnd, partofthe Ascend Hotel Collection (westendcleveland.com), a resort-stylepropertylocated nearthe Grammy Museum,are both excellent placestostay.
Theeverpopular DeltaMeat Market (deltameatmarketcom), whichhasbeen featured in Bon Apetit and Southern Living, headed by JamesBeard semifinalist, ColeEllis,islocated downtownin The CottonHouseHoteland featuresnew andinspiringtakesonSoutherncuisine Venturingfurtherafoottothenearby villageofMerigold,willput folksinthe vicinityof Crawdad’s (on Facebook at CrawdadsOfMerigold), which features a varietyofseafooddishesandiswithin
Othergood restaurantsworth a tryare downtown’s Backdraft (on Facebook at BackdraftRestaurant) and HeyJoe’s (eatheyjoes.com), bothofwhichare right downtownandconvenienttotaking indinnerandthelights. (Alist ofarea restaurants can be foundonCleveland’s website.)
Overall,Clevelandmakes a great destinationany timeofthe year, but really shinesduringtheholiday season.The lightsshinesevennights a weekandthe downtownshopshave extended their hours ontheweekendsso you can plan a tripat yourconvenience
To plan yourholiday weekendin Cleveland,checkoutallthere istodoat www.VisitClevelandMs.com
The holidays set a high bar for the cooks in the kitchen. We’ve got some ideas for new ways to prepare holiday staples that are sure to wow guests.
The season of giving is right around the corner, and there’s no better way to build anticipation for that perfect gift than with a carefully wrapped package. Our stepby-step guide will show you how to present your present perfectly.
The CaramelCorn Shop in Tupelo has been serving up tins freshly made popcorn for 50 holiday seasons. We popped by the shop to see what’s kept them a hot destination for tasty Christmas gifts.
Every day is Christmas Day at Sherra Owen’s Union County home. Or, at least, one room of it. She invited us to share in some of her favorite holiday collectibles and memories.
When it comes to creating elaborate holiday tablescapes, Tupelo’s Mabel Murphree pulls from what she has. She invited us to share a table and see how she creates some of her most delicious designs.
Dr. David Irwin of Tupelo loves trains. Little ones, at least. His spent years filling his (full-size) home with miniature stores, houses and, of course, locomo tives.
When it comes to holiday gifts, love is local. We spoke with a trio of Mississip pi entrepreneurs about the unique gifts they create.
A homemade Christmas wreath dangles from the front door of a Tupelo home. Cover photo by Adam Robison.
The holiday season has once again arrived, and with it comes the warm and fuzzy feelings this time of year often evoke.
Being from south Mississippi, I’m still not yet fully acquainted with the slightly colder weath er around the holidays, or the diverse scenery that isn’t only evergreen pine trees. Another difference this year: a lack of proximity to my family during the holidays.
Although I’ll get to visit my loved ones on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I miss the family traditions of decorating the tree the day following Thanksgiving or making cookies for Santa in anticipation of his grand arrival.
My family is no longer a 10-minute drive away, but I still find special moments to celebrate throughout the holiday season with my husband, dog, in-laws and friends who live nearby. After all, the holidays aren’t a place or time; they’re a spirit you carry with you. Yes, that sounds a little like the ending of a Hallmark movie, but there’s truth to it.
This holiday season, cherish the times you get to spend with loved ones and the little mo ments of joy that come with this time of year. Whether you celebrate the birth of Christ, the ancient traditions of Hanukkah or just being close to family and friends, take time this year to savor every moment the holiday season provides.
And, if you’re apart from those you love most, remember these words by the Carpenters: “Merry Christmas, darling. We’re apart, that’s true. But I can dream and in my dreams I’m Christmasing with you.” M
GREEN PEAS WITH BACON AND SHALLOT
By GINNA PARSONS Photos By THOMAS WELLS
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, chopped
Zest of 1 orange Pinch cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, or a nonstick silicone baking mat.
Place a sweet potato between two chopsticks or two wooden spoons. Slice the potato width wise into thin slices, leaving 1/4-inch of the bot tom unsliced; the chopsticks or wooden spoons will prevent you from slicing the potato all the way through. Repeat with the remaining potato. Place the potatoes on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until tender and crisp, about 1 hour. Halfway through the roasting time, remove the potatoes from the oven and run a fork gently across the tops of the potatoes, using light pres sure, to fan the slices and separate them from one another.
Meanwhile, combine the butter, parsley, garlic, orange zest and cayenne pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Once the potatoes are tender, remove them from the oven. Serve immediately, with the orange herb butter. Serves 2 to 4.
1 pound yellow squash, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick butter
1/3 cup sour cream
1 (8-count) package frozen tart shells, thawed
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Paprika, for sprinkling
1/4 cup cooked, crumbled bacon
Place sliced squash and onion in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add broth, water and salt. Bring to a boil and cook until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash. Add butter and sour cream, stirring to mix.
Place unbaked tart shells on a large cookie sheet. Divide squash mixture among tart shells.
In a small bowl, combine Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses, and sprinkle over tarts. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until squash is bubbly and cheese is lightly browned. Remove from oven and sprinkle with bacon. Return to oven for about 5 more minutes. Makes 8 servings.
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 large shallot, halved and sliced
1 package frozen green peas
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Zest of 1 lemon (optional)
Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch sauté pan. Add the chopped bacon and shallot, and cook over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is browned and the shallot is tender. Add the frozen peas and pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 4 to 5 minutes, until the peas are hot. Stir in lemon zest (if using), taste for seasonings, and serve hot.
1 package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar, divided 1/2 cup whole milk, warmed to 105 to 110 degrees
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling 1 large egg
Stir the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar into the milk. Set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer with
the dough hook attached, combine the remain ing sugar, flour and salt. With the mixer on low, add the yeast mixture and the egg and knead until the dry ingredients have been incorporat ed (you may have to help it along at first with a spatula) and the dough is smooth, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Carefully add the melted butter (the dough will slosh around in the butter for a few minutes, but will eventually absorb it all) and continue to knead the dough until smooth, in creasing the speed to medium, another 5 to 10 minutes. The dough will be shiny and elastic; if it’s at all sticky, scrape down the sides of the bowl and gather the dough into a neat ball (no need to add extra flour). Cover the bowl with plastic and set aside to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 to 2 hours.
Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin. Gently tip the dough out onto a work surface. You shouldn’t need flour at this point. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Work with one piece at a time and keep the other pieces cov ered. Divide each piece into 3 equal pieces, roll each piece into a tight ball and place the three balls into one cup. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cover the tray lightly with plastic wrap and set aside to double again, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The dough should look puffy and spring back slowly when pressed gently. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Remove the plastic wrap and without deflating the dough, gently brush the rolls with butter. Bake until puffed and golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush with more butter, if desired, and sprinkle with salt. Makes 12.
3 ounces half-and-half
1 1/2 ounces Irish cream liqueur, such as Bailey’s 1/2 ounce creme de menthe Ground cinnamon, for garnish
Fill an old-fashioned glass halfway with ice. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add half-andhalf, Irish cream liqueur, and creme de menthe. Shake until cold, then strain into prepared glass. Dust with ground cinnamon. Makes 1.
The holidays set a high bar for the cooks in the kitchen. Here, you’ll find ideas for new ways to use peas, potatoes, squash and cranberries, along with an easy roll recipe, festive cocktails, and a dessert that’s sure to wow.
1/2 ounce Chambord raspberry liqueur
5 ounces champagne 5 to 6 pomegranate seeds
Pour Chambord into a champagne flute. Add champagne. Finish by dropping the seeds into the cocktail. (Every time you take a sip, the pomegranate seeds will rise and fall, dancing in the champagne bubbles.) Makes 1 drink.
1 medium navel orange
1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
Grate the orange, reserving the zest. Set aside. Peel the rest of the orange to get the pulp. Place cranberries in a food processor or blend er, along with the sugar and orange pulp. Pulse or blend for about 1 minute.
Pour relish into a bowl. Fold in reserved or ange zest. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
CARROT CAKE
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups canola or vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
3 cups grated peeled carrots
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1 stick unsalted butter, room tempera ture
1/2 cup shortening
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 tablespoons pumpkin puree, divided
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 pinches of salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans, for topping cake
For the cake, position a rack in the middle of the oven. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottom with parchment paper and then grease the top. Or grease and flour the bottom and sides of both pans.
Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl until very well blended.
In a separate bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each one.
Switch to a large rubber spatula. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the dry ingredients in three parts, gently stirring until
they disappear and the batter is smooth. Stir in the carrots, nuts and raisins, if using.
Divide the cake batter between the two prepared cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees until the tops of the cake layers are springy when touched and when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.
Cool cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then carefully turn the cake layers out onto cooling racks. Remove the parchment paper and cool completely.
For the frosting, combine butter and shorten ing in a large mixing bowl and beat until well combined. Add 2 cups confectioners’ sugar and mix until combined and smooth. Add vanilla extract and 3 to 4 tablespoons of pumpkin pu ree and mix until well combined and smooth.
Add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt and mix to combine. Add remaining confec tioners’ sugar and beat until smooth. Add addi tional pumpkin puree until desired consistency is reached.
To assemble, when the cake layers are com pletely cool, frost the top of one cake layer, and place the second cake layer on top.
Add the remaining frosting to the top of the carrot cake and use a butter knife or small spat ula to swirl the frosting around. Leave the sides of the cake unfrosted. Finish with a handful of chopped nuts on top. M
The season of giving is right around the corner, and there’s no better way to build anticipation for that perfect gift than with a carefully wrapped package topped with a beautiful bow.
We asked the professionals at Reed’s in downtown Tupelo to demonstrate the proper technique for wrapping your gifts. After all, the perfect present deserves the perfect presentation.
1. Choose your wrapping paper and a box of appropriate size to fit your gift.
2. Cover just over half of the back of the box. Tape paper in place.
3. Fold edges to make clean lines. Create triangles on the sides, and pinch in to make smooth edges.
4. Bring everything together, and fold all at once onto box.
5. Fold tips down to make clean lines and tape down.
1. Loop a larger strip of ribbon around top side of box and crisscross in the center while the top side of the box is flipped over.
2. Flip box back over and tie ribbon in a knot.
3. Make a loop, then turn ribbon over three or four times.
4. Pinch center of ribbon and fold together.
5. Snip diagonal edges to help ribbon appear fluffier.
6. Take small piece of ribbon and tie it around the middle of the larger ribbon.
7. Fluff your ribbons, and curl the edges of the smaller ribbon.
Johnny F. Miles,MD
Kristen Y. Turner,MD
BrandiS. McGehee,MD
BrittneyC.Billsby, DO
Rachel Prust, WHNP-BC
Dietriche “Dee” Jones,FNP-BC
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1041SouthMadisonSt. • Tupelo|495SouthGlosterSt. • Tupelo (662)844-8754
This December marks the CaramelCorn Shop’s 50th holiday season operating in Tupe lo.
Jason Harris, owner of the CaramelCorn Shop, also turned 50 this year. The family busi ness has been a constant in his life.
He worked for the store as a teenager in the late 1980s. It started out as a Karmelkorn Shoppe franchise in the Downtown Mall, where the Candence Bank Arena now stands.
Harris’s aunt and uncle, Barbara and Titus Harris, opened the store in 1972. They owned
and managed the shop for 45 years. When the Downtown Mall closed, the Harrises moved the store to Midtown Pointe, where it remained until 2018.
When Jason Harris bought the shop five years ago, he moved it to its current location on Main Street, near Crosstown.
The store’s original popcorn kettle still pops batches of fresh popcorn each day, kept warm under heat lamps through the day.
Everything is made daily by hand.
“It’s fresh,” Harris said. “As fresh as you’re going to buy (with) popcorn.”
story by BLAKE ALSUP | photos by THOMAS WELLS
While similar shops might be tempted to venture out into new, experimental flavors, the CaramelCorn Shop has stuck with its three core flavors for five decades: caramel, cheese and butter.
Along with popcorn, the store offers sweet treats like cotton candy, caramel apples, fudge, peanut brittle and pralines, along with seven flavors of cakes made by Westside BBQ & Cakes in New Albany.
Soup and dip mixes are popular around the holidays. Food items like hotdogs, polish sausage and nachos remain on the menu from the shop’s shopping mall days. And if you need helium balloons for a party, the CaramelCorn Shop is the place to go.
By far, popcorn remains the store’s primary product.
“My aunt always told me when I bought it, ‘You can offer other things, but your bread and butter will always be pop
corn,’” Harris said. “And that is the case.”
Their best seller, Harris said, is a mixture of caramel and cheese popcorn, often referred to as “Chicago mix.”
The store offers professional and college sports-themed popcorn tins, which are popular sellers in the fall and holiday season. Closer to Christmas, holiday-themed tins are available for customers purchasing popcorn for gifts or parties.
Harris encourages customers to pre-order popcorn bags and tins before the Christmas season so that they can come into the shop and pick them up without a wait.
The store sells an estimated 700 to 800 tins each holiday season, and lots of people want to pick up their orders just before Christmas. There have even been times that a line of customers has wrapped around the side of the building.
The CaramelCorn Shop’s famous popcorn isn’t just sold in their modest storefront; they also sell popcorn online at caramelcornshop.com and locally through Tupelo 2 Go.
Opposite page: Tins of the CaramelCorn Shop’s popcorn are the shop’s bestselling items during the holiday season. This page: The shop’s kettle pops a fresh batch of popcorn.
The shop offers a va riety of different pop corn flavors, including caramel corn topped with pecans, Butterfin gers or chocolate.
Popcorn fundraisers, holiday markets and cor porate orders also keep the CaramelCorn Shop staff busy during the latter part of each year.
Knowing the CaramelCorn Shop has been a part of customers’ Christmas traditions for as long as he’s been alive means everything to Harris.
“You’ve got those that, because of the fact that we’ve been here 50 years, it is a family tradition,” Harris said. “They may not come in here all year long, but come Christmas, they’re going to be here.”
Every customer who walks in the door is spe cial to Harris, and that shows in the way he treats patrons.
Despite the store’s posted, Harris often stays open later if a customer can’t make it before the doors close.
“So many days people are like ‘I’m going to be late,’” Harris said. “I say ‘Come on. I’ve got popcorn. I’d be crazy not to wait on you.’”
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Sherra Owen keeps precious holiday memories on display inside her Union County homeSherra Owen stands inside the Christmas room of her Union County home. The room, located above her garage, is filled with holiday treasures – nearly all handmade – that fill her with memories.
Every day is Christmas Day at Sherra Owen’s house. Or at least one room of it.
Above the garage of her Union County home, at the top of a narrow flight of wooden stairs, is the Christmas room. Set up like a suite, the area features living and dining areas, a small kitchen, and a bedroom with an attached bath. The tub is currently filled not with water, but stuffed animals.
Owen has decorated the space with the traditional trappings of Christmas – orna ments, stockings, a copy of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (more commonly known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas”), a collection of pottery Santas and, of course, toys, toys and more toys.
Owen, 79, describes this part of her home as a “Christmas playhouse for kids of all ages.”
“You wouldn’t believe how many adults come up here and start playing with things,” she said.
The Christmas room is full of surprises. A nondescript, antique cabinet tucked into one corner – half-buried in boxes of treasures – is filled with a tiny neighborhood, each miniature house nestled into a blanket of cottony snow. With a flick of a switch, the houses light up, making the interior of the cabinet glow like Christmas Eve.
“This has to be one of my favorites,” Owen said as she gave a tour, offering brief histories of just about every item she has. She wandered over to a large wooden wardrobe and touched one of a set of four stockings dangling from its upper lip. Each featured a traditional Christmas image – a handbell, a tree, a rocking horse, sleigh bells – stitched into its design.
Left: A straw star sits atop a small Christmas tree on a table inside Owen's Christmas room. Below: A pillow featuring the opening lines of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" are stitched into a pillow on a coach inside the room.She made the stockings herself, one for each member of her family, in the 1970s. Most of her Christmas treasures are handmade.
“I’ve always been a Christmas person,” she said. “I’ve always been a people person and a Christmas person.”
The holidays – Christmas especially – hold special significance for Owen. Woven among descriptions of the items in her collection were stories of treasured memories: her father reciting the Grandpa Jones classic, “The Christmas Guest”; she and others in her family using small figurines to build the creche scene during a reading of the Christmas story; and a time before the Christmas room was a Christmas room at all.
“This used to be unfinished storage above the garage,” Owen said. “I had stored in it old pieces of furniture … and then there was a pool table in the middle of all of it.”
As her family grew and the size of holiday gatherings with it, she transformed the space into an expansive craft area.
“We have a Thanksgiving tradition of making a Christmas craft after the meal,” Owen said. “When it turned into 60 guests … we now have 60 guests at Thanksgiving … I needed seating room.”
Eventually, the space was used to catch any overflow Christmas decorations. At some point, – 15 years ago or so – Owen stopped taking these decorations down.
“It just ended up being Christmas all year,” Owen said. It has ever since.
In the bedroom, above a wardrobe packed with quilts, is a gathering of doll-sized Santa Clauses. Clearly made by hand, they aren’t the least bit uniform. Some feature brown robes; others Santa’s traditional red. Most are holding a gift – a thumb-sized doll, a thimble-width clock, a wreath no larger than a quarter.
As with just about everything in the Christmas room, these Santas have a story. Owen and her sister made these by hand.
“These aren’t the good ones,” Owen said of the Santas, ending her sentence with a small laugh. “The good ones all got given away.”
In a way, the Christmas room started with these Santas. Ones like them, at least. Owen taught home economics for over three decades. As part of her class’s Christmas unit, students were required to take “junk” from home and trans form it into ornaments.
That’s how these Santas came to life. They began as fea tureless figures, made from “junk,” and painted gold.
“And then, one day, I just started putting cloth on them, and it evolved from there,” she said.
The largest of these Santas, made by her sister, stands in one corner of the Christmas room. It is the size of a fullgrown man.
Surprisingly, the one thing her Christmas room lacks is a proper Christmas tree, one with branches dipping from the weight of hundreds of ornaments.
“I’ve got a small one,” Owen said, motioning to a small tree – little more than a thin sapling – atop a table near slid ing glass doors that lead out to a porch. Delicate straw-wo ven ornaments dangled from its thin branches.
Over the glass doors, Owen has hung a set of 12 orna ments. Each features a petit-point illustration of one gift made famous in “The 12 Days of Christmas.”
“Everything in here has character,” she said. “Just like everything I have, you take it and make something good from it.”
Because much of what Owen has displayed in her yearround Christmas room is older – vintage … antique … pick a descriptor – many of its older visitors will remember those items from their own childhoods.
That’s part of the Christmas room’s magic.
“It’s about memories,” Owen said. “Just memories … and talking about memories.”
Long ago, the Christmas room became more than just a permanent home for leftover Christmas decorations. It’s a place where Owen – or anyone who makes the trip up that narrow flight of wooden stairs – can momentarily step back in time. It’s a place filled with childhood memories. Of stories.
Stories. For Owen, that’s what Christmas … and her room dedicated to it … is all about. The story of a newborn baby in a manager … of a father reading to his family on a chilly December morning … of children eagerly unwrapping gifts.
“Family, people and stories – that’s what I love about Christmas,” Owen said inside her Christmas room. “And they’re all welcome here.”
M
story by GINNA PARSONS photos by ADAM ROBISON
When it comes to creating a tablescape for a holiday table, Mabel Murphree pulls from what she has.
“What I use isn’t the finest,” Murphree said. “It’s just good, affordable stuff.”
She likes decorating for fall, so whenever she finds faux pumpkins or turkey dinnerware or amber goblets on sale, she stocks up.
“I can be in a bargain store or a fine store, and if I see something I like, I get it,” Murphree said. “Of course, if I’m in a fine store, I hope it’s on sale.”
Murphree teams up with floral designer Tracy Proctor of Design by Tracy Proctor to help her create her holiday tablescapes.
“You can create stunning arrangements from flowers you get at your grocery store,” Proctor said. “But I also love roadside plants and things you can pull out of your garden.”
Murphree and Proctor created two different vibes in her Tupelo home for fall entertaining.
On the dining room table, Proctor created a centerpiece using skewered sweet potatoes and purple onions at the base. Then, with the skewers criss crossed as a grid, he filled in with store-bought roses, gerbera daisies, sunflow ers and mums.
“I’m anti-oasis,” Proctor said. “People think you can’t create an arrangement without that foam base, but you can.”
In the breakfast room, Proctor lined the center of the table with fresh pine apples, white hydrangeas and green-eyed daisies, all from the grocery store.
On the sideboard in the dining room, the kitchen island and the kitchen bar, Proctor went with natural flowers from the garden: Maximilian sunflow ers, purple ironweed, limelight hydrangeas, Virginia sweetspire and goldenrod. And he tucked Murphree’s collection of pumpkins and stuffed turkeys in where he could.
“Don’t forget the background areas,” he said. “Buffets, sideboards, bars – flowers on those areas add another dimension of interest. A big arrangement of Maximilian sunflowers on the counter between the kitchen and breakfast room can act as a buffer of activity between those rooms.”
The tables are also set quite differently. The dining room table is laid with formal china and crystal, while the breakfast room is more casual.
On the dining room table, Murphree used gold lacquered chargers, dinner plates in the Queen’s Amari pattern, salad plates in the Imperial Brocade pattern, Fostoria water goblets and Waterford wine goblets.
“The silverplate dinnerware is a Rogers pattern my parents gave me the year before I mar ried,” Murphree said. “I use it in the dining room and the breakfast room.”
The breakfast room table is set with dark green chargers, Queen’s Majestic Beauty turkey dinner plates Murphree found at Tuesday Morning, and goblets she found on sale at Macy’s.
Clockwise from top, Murphree’s dining table is set for 10. A stuffed turkey on the buffet peeks out from Virginia sweet spire cut from the yard. The dining room table is set with Queen’s Amari dinner plates, Imperial Brocade salad plates from George Briard, Fostoria water goblets and Waterford wine glasses. The buffet features silver candlesticks and Murphree’s collection of quirky pumpkins.
“They were $2.99 each,” she said. “I think they had 48 of them, and I bought every one.”
The runners on both tables are in jewel tones, like orange and gold.
Once the turkey has been eaten and the dinnerware cleaned, Mur phree will clear everything and start anew with a blank canvas.
“After Thanksgiving, this will all be put away,” Murphree said. “I’ll change everything to Christmas.”
M
Clockwise from top right, Murphree's collection of pumpkins line the runner on the dining room table. The buffet in the dining room features pumpkins, stuffed turkeys, lots of silver, and florals from the yard. The breakfast room table is set with pineapples and daisies.
hobby turned Christmas tradition for retired Tupelo cardiologist
story by CALEB MCCLUSKEY photos by ADAM ROBISON
In 1957, a young David Irwin got his first model train. Six decades later, the hobby is still going strong as an an nual holiday tradition, expanding from train kits to Christmas village dioramas and model cars.
“(Model trains) are magic,” the Tupelo resident said. “I even took trains to medical school. We rented a house, and I put a train set on the dining room table.”
Irwin and his wife, Jenny, began building their snow village collection in 1978 when they moved to Tupelo. Since then, they rarely miss a holiday season without the village as the centerpiece of their home. Jenny Irwin said it takes about three or four days to get the collection completely put together for display. She describes the experience as a “revolving door” of friends, family and children dropping by to marvel at the display.
“Starting on Thanksgiving, I bet 100 people will come through, with three generations • people my age, people my daughter’s age and their kids,” David Irwin said. “That is really neat.”
Irwin’s collection is expansive and includes a fire station, a city hall, a train station, buildings named for local retailers Reed’s and MLM Clothiers, and much more. Irwin even named his
snow village Frog Island, an area just north of Tupelo, as a tip of the hat to where he was born.
“My mother always had a Christmas village on top of the piano, then I got into electric trains,” Irwin said, noting he still had the first model train he received as a 7-year-old.
Irwin said his favorite pieces include a classic Coca-Cola Santa Claus advertisement, which he said was a prominent feature of his childhood.
He has a train cart with the character’s jolly face displayed on the side, as well as a billboard. He said he has about 50 snow village pieces and 12 train engines. Steam engines, he said, are his favorites; he finds them prettiest.
Irwin said his love of model trains began at a very young age. As a kid, he’d plop in front of the family television set to watch the beloved children’s program “Captain Kangaroo,” noting that he remembered watching Captain Kanga roo, which featured a Lionel brand model train. Irwin said he remembers watching the model moving toward the camera and wanted to recre ate it at home.
Another distinct memory of his early child hood connection to trains was through a story his mother often told.
“When we lived in Jackson, I could remember going to the department store that had a big Lionel layout,” Irwin said.
During those shopping trips, Irwin would beg his father to let him look at the trains.
“He would say, ‘OK,’” Irwin said.
The next time Irwin asked, his father told him the trains would have to wait. But, over time …
“(It) finally evolved into Daddy saying, ‘Well, let’s go look at the trains,’” Irwin said.
With Irwin’s children grown and with families of their own, Jenny Irwin said the holiday tradition has become multi-genera
tional. Their daughter even started a Christ mas village collection at her own home.
“Our daughter started (displaying snow vil lages), and her son has some trains, so it runs in the family,” Jenny Irwin said. “We really enjoy it, and the kids absolutely love it.”
David Irwin, who retired from cardiology about three years ago, said over the past de cade or so, the hobby transformed for him to include photography. He said he was happy to share the photos of his diorama with peo ple, noting the feeling of a photo coming out as if it were “real life” brings him a lot of joy.
Throughout the holiday season, Irwin said
he spends a little time every day messing with his displays. He usually packs it up mid-to-late January. When he can go a day without tinkering, he knows it’s time to pack them up.
With the pandemic, few were allowed in the Irwins’ home to see the display. This holiday season, the couple expect a return to form.
“While everybody is at duck camp walk ing in the mud, freezing, I’m sitting in here having a martini,” he said with a laugh. “Cold and wet is not what I like, so I really like putting the trains up.”
Inspired by the West, made in the South Mary Landrum Pyron is from the small town of Crystal Springs, Mississippi –located just south of Jackson.
After graduating from Ole Miss in 2016, Pyron ventured out West to work in Wyoming. While there, she fell in love with the hats her employer required her to wear.
“I had to wear a hat every day for my uniform where I worked. One hat led to another, and I was always thinking about the next hat I was going to buy,” Pyron said.
While in Wyoming, Pyron began learn ing how to make her own felt hats. She moved back home to Mississippi shortly after, taking her new skill with her.
“I moved back to Mississippi and start ed making hats for myself on my family’s farm. It’s in the middle of nowhere,” she said.
Although Pyron has been making hats for three years, she only recently estab lished her own business. In July 2021, she opened ML Provisions, where she makes custom felt hats.
Although she has a website for potential customers to browse, the actual process of creating a hat begins with an in-person visit.
“You’re not only getting a handmade hat, but you’re getting an experience,” Pyron said. “Many people don’t come to this part of Mississippi, and it makes a wonderful setting.”
Pyron’s custom hats are made from rabbit and beaver fur. She uses the felting process, which she describes as “the hair working together.”
After processing the material, Pyron blocks it on a piece of equipment from 1860.
“I used to do that by hand,” she said. “Now, it saves me 45 minutes.”
Once the material is secured to a blank hat, it’s then left to dry overnight. Pyron sands the hat and burns the crown. Final ly, she irons it.
Although Pyron is both the face and hands of the business, she said she gets a lot of much-needed help from her loved ones.
“My family has supported me, and it’s a lot of hands-on work,” Pyron said. “I’m glad I chose to do it on my family’s farm in Crystal Springs.”
What started as a dream has developed into a full-time operation.
“I really went out on a limb by moving back,” she said. “It’s mostly warm in Mis sissippi to wear a felt hat. I was worried that no one was going to buy one.”
Turns out, she had no reason to doubt.
“I say, ‘Thank you, Jesus,’ because peo ple keep using them,” she said.
Although ML Provisions hats can’t be shipped, gift certificates are available to purchase for anyone interested in travel ing to Crystal Springs to make a hat that will be as unique as the head on which it sits.
For now, Pyron’s Mississippi-made busi ness keeps growing, but no matter where it leads her, she’s just grateful to have found her passion.
“Whether I do it for 10 minutes or 100 years,” she said, “I don’t have the doubt of not having done it all.”
Turn your backyard into an adventure park
Finding gifts for the whole family can take an excessive amount of time and money. Even more difficult is finding something that doesn’t require an ad vanced degree in engineering to set up.
With this in mind, Scott Beggs of Holly Springs ventured into the realm of back yard accessories like zip lines, air pogos and swings. Thus, Adventure Parks was born. “It’s really just for turning your backyard into an adventure park,” said Beggs.
Through his business, Beggs creates zip lines, air surfers, air pogos and classic swings. All products are manufactured and shipped from Holly Springs, Mississippi, to back yards across the state and beyond.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the air pogo, which was created by a banker in Hattiesburg.
Besides purchasing the air pogo from its original inventor, Beggs also bought the design for the zip line from two elderly gentlemen. His team created their air surfer and classic swing.
Adventure Parks prioritizes U.S.A. made products and has continued to do so since the company’s earliest days. All Adventure Parks products are made in Holly Springs and can be ordered online from all over the country.
“We wanted to have total control of our quality and have everything inspected and
know where all the parts were coming from,” Beggs said. “The customers are always saying to us that safety is worth more than saving a few bucks by manufacturing internationally.”
To order, buyers can visit Adventure Parks’ website.
“You can go to adventureparks.com and purchase everything,” Beggs said. “Another popular place to buy Adventure Parks’ zip line is Tractor Supply.”
The Mississippi-based business has proved a successful venture for Beggs and his family over the last few years.
“One of the things we always try to look at is the rate of return for these products,” he said. “People have actually written these zip lines into a sales contract for a house for sale. It sometimes sells the home.”
At one point, Beggs received a call from a woman who wanted one of his swings for her daughter’s wedding, which was set to take place just a few days afterwards.
“We always look for something remarkable for someone’s home and life,” he said. “We don’t want to do the ordinary or mundane. We want something that’s treasured.”
For the past seven years, Michael and Andrea Gibson have hand made and sold custom wooden items.
The Mooreville couple both previously held different jobs beyond their trade. But in 2017, they realized that their side hustle could take on a life of its own.
Just two years after its 2015 inception, Raw Furniture took shape in a downtown Tupelo storefront.
“We started in 2015 but didn’t do a brick and mortar until 2017,” Michael Gibson said.
The Gibsons both had full-time jobs before Andrea Gibson quit hers in order to stay home with their first daughter.
Michael laughed and said he was instantly jealous.
“I told her that wasn’t fair, so I quit mine too,” he said.
Following their change of careers, the Gibsons dove headfirst into their woodworking business.
“Then we just jumped in and started this,” Michael Gibson said. “Whenever we first started, I built our first home off of YouTube videos. I knew Andrea loved me when I did that.”
Upon finishing their home, Gibson began creating handcrafted furniture to fill their new home.
“I built some stuff for the house and started getting some orders,” he said.
To this day, all Gibson-made products for Raw Furniture are creat ed in their wood shop at home.
Although Raw Furniture offers everything from charcuterie boards to candles, most of their clientele order custom pieces.
“Mainly what we do is custom orders,” Gibson said. “Usually stuff never makes it into the store because it’s delivered straight to some one’s house from the wood shop.”
The storefront is only open Thursday through Saturday, but the wood shop is open just about every day.
“We have two little girls, so when we started this, we said we want ed to spend as much time with them as we can,” Gibson said. “As long as we can spend time with them in what we call their golden years, that’s what we want to do.”
For those interested in custom orders, the Gibsons take requests during their storefront’s operational hours, but they also keep their business phone on them at all times.
“Our business phone is a cell phone so we’ll get a lot of text mes sages of different things and ideas of what people want.”
Lately, the Gibsons have dabbled in crafts beyond woodworking and candle-making, including some metalwork.
Raw Furniture also prides itself in only carrying products and ma terials made in the United States.
Whether the couple is taking on a custom order or displaying their homemade candles at their store, the Gibsons make it a priority to welcome all customers into their storefront or social media inbox.
“We always say, ‘You never know who’s going to walk through the doors next,” Gibson said. M
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Reed’s Department Store in Tupelo & Starkville. ON Shoes for the family. Prices vary. a special advertising section
New arrivals at Golden Dreams Jewelry. Golden Dreams
