Legends - April May 2015 by Legends Magazine

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CONTENTS APRIL / MAY 2015

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MUSIC

Editorial - 601-604-2963 | Editor@MississippiLegends.com Contributing writers: Riley Manning, Meghan Holmes, Joe Lee, Lori Watts, Kara Martinez Bachman

Fiddlin’ Around

Contributing photographers: Michael Barrett, Rusty Costanza, Robert Waldo Gray, Gustavo Moser, Benjamin Smith, Eli Bayless, Larry B. Gordon, James Edward Bates

That Life-Changing Experience

LEGENDS welcomes your calendar submissions. Submissions are posted free of charge on our website at www.ReadLegends.com. Calendar submissions for consideration in LEGENDS’ print calendar may be sent to

The Mississippi Music Experience Museum

Chris@ReadLegends.com.

Memphis in May

Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or reprinted without express permission from the publisher. The opinions and views expressed by our contributors, writers and editors are their own. Various views from other professionals may also be expressed. Neither LEGENDS nor Blue South Publishing Corporation is endorsing or guaranteeing the products or quality of services expressed in advertisements. All advertisers assume liability for all content (including text representation and illustration) of advertisements printed and assume responsibility for any resulting claims against LEGENDS or its affiliates. Materials, photographs and written pieces to be considered for inclusion in LEGENDS may be sent to P.O. Box 3663, Meridian, MS 39303. Unsolicited materials will not be returned. LEGENDS is sold on bookstore shelves in 38 states. Additionally, Blue South Publishing Corporation provides more than 20,000 free copies in its coverage area to tourism offices, welcome centers, hotels, restaurants, theaters, museums, galleries, coffee shops, casinos and institutions of higher learning. If your business, agency or industry would like to be considered as a LEGENDS distribution point, or for a list of retailers, please contact us at

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6 • APRIL // MAY 2015

USM’s Trumpet 5

The Beale Street Festival’s killer 2015 lineup

CULTURE 7

Breathless Work

The art of Jeremy Thomley

Happy Birthday, Anchuca!

Cover Story:

The Craft Beer Flavor Revolution

Vicksburg’s Malcolm Butler

www.ReadLegends.com

ABOUT OUR COVER Auctioneer Greg Kinard went to work on a cold January day selling the Holly Springs, Mississippi, property known as Graceland Too. The home and its contents for years has been a renegade museum, a tribute to Elvis Presley, with whom former owner Paul MacLeod was fascinated.

Join the Big Yam Potatoes gathering

Vicksburg’s oldest tour mansion turns 185 The 50,000 legacies of Graceland Too Following the Louisiana Beer Trail A Super Bowl hero comes home

CULINARY 22

The Hot Tamale Mama

Sugar Sweet at Weidmann’s

A visit with Louisiana’s popular take-home gourmet chef A dozen desserts and counting

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AMERICA’S FAVORITE DRAMATIC SOPRANO

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BEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI BLUES AN EVENING OF ROBERT JOHNSON

Vasti Jackson FEATURING WORLD RENOWN GUITARIST AND VOCALIST

SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015 MARGARET MARTIN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

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These events are supported in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in part, from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

STORY FROM HATTIESBURG, MISS.

“It is as easy as breathing,” is more paradox than simile to sculptor Jeremy Thomley. At 4 months old, Thomley was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a disease causing the fluids of the lungs and digestive tract to thicken, wreaking havoc on the respiratory and digestive health of its victim. It is life-threatening. Thomley’s parents were warned that their child would likely never reach adulthood. But Thomley, now 32, defied those odds. “I thrived when doctors had no answer,” said Thomley, who is thankful for the people who nurtured his will to survive. “I was raised by giants.” Thomley is this year’s featured artist at FestivalSouth in Hattiesburg, a month-long tribute to music and the arts. His collection of art called “Anthem,” tells his story. “Perhaps the biggest misconception about me is the illusion of independence,” said Thomley. “I cannot go one day without treatments to help me breathe or enzymes to help break down and absorb the food I eat. For years I tried to hide what was different about my body. Self-expression took many forms from clothes and hair to vandalism.” In 2005 he unearthed a passion for rock-climbing and in 2006 discovered his medium of welded sculpture. These outlets would provide the voice and language for Thomley to tell his story. During the last decade, Thomley has traveled the world to conquer new climbing challenges. The way in which he defies gravity is not so unlike the way in which he defies the medical predictions surrounding his disease. Most recently, he spent 18 days on top of AuyanTepui in Venezuela, where his climbing party was five days from the nearest hospital. “I was doing breathing treatments from portable solar panels and climbing hard with 65 percent lung function,” said Thomley. “My family and CF doctors cross their fingers whenever I plan a new trip.” Thomley’s other rock-climbing conquests include deep water soloing in Mallorca and bouldering in South Africa, Canada and France. The adventures have fueled his artistic expression, but only since 2013 has he begun to share his CF story. “I wasn’t hiding anymore,” he said. “I even found an answer to the question I hated most, ‘What inspires your work?’ Adven-

10 • APRIL // MAY 2015

ture, the more breathless the better.” Thomley’s monumental commissioned works include a 10,000 pound, 33-foot Yeti for RAMP Sports in Park City, Utah; an 11,000 pound, 30-foot Whomping Willow Tree for a London client on property in Bunker Hill, Mississippi; a 900 pound, 8-foot Comedy/Tragedy mask for William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and a 6,000 pound, 9-foot ICONIC for Jones Companies corporate offices in Columbia, Mississippi. Thomley’s “Anthem” contains a collection of lung sculptures created as soliloquy and in collaboration and dialogue with other artists in clay, glass, wood and film. He speaks about the exhibition with passion and emotion. “Breath is the currency we use to buy movement … I needed to document this steely grip on breath that won’t let go. No fear of rejection, no need for completion, just to be. I created this body of work to create a pause,” said Thomley. The work, he said, expresses a recreation of reality according to the sum of the artist’s knowledge, encompassing emotions such as gratitude, loneliness, the pursuit of love, fear, determination, rebellion and the joy he has found in the friendships made through the journey. L WANT TO GO? Jeremy Thomley’s “Anthem” exhibition will open June 6 at Oddfellows Gallery in downtown Hattiesburg and will remain on display throughout FestivalSouth 2015. More information on special events related to “Anthem” is available at www.festivalsouth.org. More information on Thomley’s work can be found at www.mohawksteelco.com.  Jeremy Thomley began creating his works of lung art as an expression for the challenges he faces living with cystic fibrosis. An avid rock climber, the 32-year-old uses breathing treatments powered with solar panels to complete his climbs. His collection, “Anthem,” is this year’s featured artwork at FestivalSouth in Hattiesburg.

“

Breath is the currency we use to buy movement … I needed to document this steely grip on breath that won’t let go. No fear of rejection, no need for completion, just to be.” —JEREMY THOMLEY READLEGENDS.COM •

STORY FROM WASHINGTON, MISS.

FIDDLING AROUND AT THE

GREAT BIG YAM BY MEGHAN HOLMES

he grounds of Jefferson College hold a lot of stories. Before becoming home to a fiddle gathering it was the Mississippi territory’s first chartered institution of higher learning, opening its doors in 1811 shortly after Thomas Jefferson’s tenure as president. Jefferson Davis was a student there as a 10-year-old boy, though it is the president of the United States—and not the Confederacy—that gives the campus its name. The college sits on 30 acres, quiet on most days since the school’s closing in 1964. “The buildings reverberate with echoes of the past. They’re beautiful,” says Robert Gray, founder of the Great Big Yam Potatoes gathering. “We camp in the pine trees and live oaks and play music together each evening during the weekend of the event. There’s also a fiddle competition and live performances during the day.” This May marks the eighth year of the Big Yam gathering, so named because of a collection of Mississippi fiddle tunes Patti Carr Black compiled and released in 1985 to preserve the state’s unique fiddling style and raise awareness of its musicians. “Under her leadership, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History went and dug up recordings made in Mississippi of rural fiddle players and they brought them to life essentially,” Gray says. “Prior to that they were laying there fallow in the Library of Congress. One of the tracks happened to be called ‘’Great Big Yams.’ “It’s the scratchiest thing you’ve ever heard. Listening to the record is a lot

12 • APRIL // MAY 2015

(Poster credit Dave Morgan)

like looking at a faded Daguerreotype, but it preserves these tunes from the past. As old time musicians we are coming at things from a modern sensibility but we’re drawing on traditions and that’s the beauty of it. That isn’t to say that it isn’t evolving and changing. Musicianship changes, but we’re harking back to an old, established style.” A core of musicians present yearly at the festival are also part of the Mississippi Fiddlers Association. “We’re a loose, ad hoc group of musicians who put the festival together every year. We see ourselves as an extension of Patty Carr Black’s vision of bringing these fiddlers up out of obscurity and into the modern world of the 21st century,” Gray says. Each year a fiddler from the recording is highlighted. “This year we’ve chosen W.E. Claunch, an old-time Mississippi fiddler,” he says. “Most of these fiddlers came from rural, agrarian societies functioning with a combination of cyclical cash crops and barter systems. You didn’t get money until crops were harvested. Fiddle contests were big deals for these men during this time because the family could potentially win $50 or $100. These were wildly anticipated events.” Ethnomusicologists made field recordings like “Great Big Yam Potatoes” in the 1920s and ‘30s across primarily the southeast but also in other rural areas of the country. Tunes exhibited both regional and international influences. “There were performers bringing unique playing styles from different parts of Mississippi into songs sometimes composed and performed during the Napoleonic wars,” says Gray. Tim Avalon’s book, “Mississippi Echoes,” presents another effort to pre-

Evan Kinney plays fiddle, left. The grounds of of the historic Jefferson Military College will be the backdrop to the next Big Yam Potatoes Fiddler’s Contest on May 16. The college is the first chartered institution of higher learning in the State of Mississippi, opening its doors in 1811. Bottom right: Pearl Magee plays the ukulele while her sister, Ruby Magee, plays violin. (Photographs of musicians by Robert Waldo Gray.) READLEGENDS.COM •

“

It’s the scratchiest thing you’ve ever heard. Listening to the record is a lot like looking at a faded Daguerreotype, but it preserves these tunes from the past. As old time musicians we are coming at things from a modern sensibility but we’re drawing on traditions and that’s the beauty of it. That isn’t to say that it isn’t evolving and changing. Musicianship changes, but we’re harking back to an old, established style.” —Robert Gray

serve the state’s unique fiddling styles. “Tim sat down with these Mississippi field recordings and transcribed the originals and re-authored the tunes in another extension of Carr Black’s work,” says Gray. “Avalon said, ‘Yes, there is a Mississippi fiddle style, and here is how I hear it.’ He gets all the nuances and syncopations, which are pretty sophisticated. Some are difficult to master. He often performs traditional fiddle at the festival.” For the men and women who organize the Big Yam gathering, preserving songs from the early 20th century preserves the cultural and economic norms of the era. “Tunes are here for us to decipher. The person who originally composed the piece created an image of rural life as they saw it. He might be shoeing a horse, scraping down a board, or tending to mules outside the blacksmith shop. The melodies

14 • APRIL // MAY 2015

represent the workday, and these sounds informed the composers of fiddle music,” says Gray. Continuing the tradition of contests at Big Yam Potatoes offers younger musicians exposure to older tunes. “Last year I think we had the most material from the Big Yam recording played that we’ve ever had. I think it’s been a breakthrough musically and even from an ethnomusicology standpoint. The material is out and getting played,” says Gray. The fiddle contest is also about excitement. “We have a little bit of drama, but it’s really good fun. You’re summing up your existence in this very moment and laying everything you’ve got on the line. This is me and my music,” he says. “You’ll hear Mississippi fiddling but you might also hear gypsy jazz, Cajun, swing, gospel or bluegrass.” Many of the traditions of the gathering mirror traditions of old time fiddle culture. “The buildings don’t have AC here; we just open the windows. We do a covered dish supper Friday night, and we have a plate lunch on Saturday. Last year it was red beans and rice and cornbread. We want people to be self-reliant and bring what they need. ‘Go dig up your own big yam potato,’ as we say.” There will also be a photography exhibit as well as an exhibit of wooden banjos on display. “This is just a free, community event put on by people who love old time music. We welcome everyone. When people say “happy big yam” to you it’s like saying Merry Christmas. It just puts a smile on your face.” L WANT TO GO? The Big Yam Fiddlers Contest will be held May 16 at Jefferson College in Washington, Mississippi, just north of Natchez. For more information, visit www.bigyampotatoes.com.

 Artifacts, photographs and the former sleeping quarters of the school still remain for visitors to view. During the Big Yam Fidder’s gathering, guests can hear period music, eat and tour the old buildings and grounds. (Photographs by James Edward Bates)

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ON VIEW AND UPCOMING FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.MSMUSEUMART.ORG 380 SOUTH LAMAR STREET JACKSON,MISSISSIPPI 39201 601.960.1515 1.866.VIEWART @MSMUSEUMART Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection is curated by Judith Bookbinder and Shelia Gallagher and the traveling exhibition is organized by Curatorial Assistance Traveling Exhibitions, Pasadena, California. Drawings from the Becker Collection premiered at the McMullen Museum at Boston College in the exhibition, First Hand: Civil War Era Drawings from the Becker Collection with was organized by the McMullen Museum and underwritten by Boston College and Patron s of the McMullen Museum. The Mississippi Museum of Art and its programs are sponsored in part by the city of Jackson. Support is also provided in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Support for Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection is provided through the Thomas G. Ramey and Peggy Huff Harris Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson. Support for George Wardlaw, A Life in Art: Works from 1954 to 2014 is provided through Meyer and Genevieve Falk Endowment Fund for Culture and Arts of the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson.

ABOVE: Francis H. Schell, Scene on the Levee at Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Contrabands Discharge the Ammunition From the U.S. Transport North Star, 1863. Becker Collection CW-FHS-LA-3-7-63. (detail). LEFT: George Wardlaw. Guardian of the Light, 2004. acrylic on canvas. 80 x 50 in. Collection of the Mississippi Museum of Art. (detail).

STORY FROM VICKSBURG, MISS.

ANCHUCA MANSION

— The grande dame of Vicksburg’s old Springfield —

By KARA MARTINEZ BACHMAN Photography by MICHAEL BARRETT

t 185 years old, she has never looked better. One of the few Vicksburg properties to fully withstand the Civil War’s infamous siege in 1863, the Anchuca Mansion will celebrate yet another milestone this year – she has been open to the public for 60 years, making her one of the river city’s oldest and most valued attractions. “It’s the first tour home in Vicksburg. On November 29, a Tuesday in 1955, the house was opened,” said Tom Pharr, who co-owns the home with Chef Chris Brinkley. Pharr had worked at the home during his high school and college years. “It gave direction to my life even though I didn’t realize it,” Pharr said. Anchuca has a rich history, much of it happening during the difficult years of the Civil War. The home was built in 1830 by local politician J. W. Mauldin and was modified in 1847 by local coal and ice merchant, Victor Wilson, who added the feature that gave Anchuca it’s characteristically antebellum identity: the front columns. “From the early 1840s on, Anchuca was the first house to ever be described with masonry columns,” Pharr said. During the war, the home became a hospital to care for those injured during the violence that fell upon the city. Its most notable inhabitant was Joseph Emory Davis, who occupied it in the post-war years until his death in 1870. Davis was the older brother and father figure to Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. Tours are given at Anchuca, which operates as a bed and breakfast, offering two opulent suites and two smaller rooms in the main house, plus four guest rooms in the carriage house located on the grounds. A full menu and ample wine list at Anchuca Cafe provide on-site dining, including a full breakfast for guests. Overnight guests can choose to sleep in the room where Davis lived and died. Lavish period furnishings, including a lush canopied bed, antique divan and period drapery feel like a step back in time. Visitors can enjoy a view from the balcony reported to be the spot where Jefferson Davis, while on a visit with his brother in 1869, is reputed to have last publicly addressed the people of Vicksburg. Guests can indulge to their heart’s content in the home’s library, filled with books on local and military history. Pharr has a keen eye to celebrate the days of old while still honoring the artistic and social progress of Vicksburg. Paintings by the late William Tolliver, whose work exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution and who Pharr describes as a native son of Vicksburg, hang on the mansion’s walls. He also dis-

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Tours are given at Anchuca, which operates as a bed and breakfast, offering two opulent suites and two smaller rooms in the main house, plus four guest rooms in the carriage house located on the grounds. A full menu and ample wine list at Anchuca Cafe provide on-site dining, including a full breakfast for guests. Overnight guests can choose to sleep in the room where Davis lived and died. Lavish period furnishings, including a lush canopied bed, antique divan and period drapery feel like a step back in time.

plays art by Tolliver relative and current working artist, Kenneth Humphrey. Both are African-American painters, whose work may seem out of place in a home that formerly housed Confederate leaders, but in Vicksburg, the past and present coexist in ways that create distinctive character. “It’s not something you’d expect in these formally decorated rooms, but it is the heart and soul of the community,” Pharr said. As with most places situated on the Mississippi River, cultures have mixed. “It is not black, white, rich, poor, it’s simply an American place, and a place people must visit to understand and enjoy,” Pharr said. He explains how the neighborhood was inhabited by people of Irish, African, eastern European and Lebanese descent.

22 • APRIL // MAY 2015

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“It’s a melting pot of ethnic and socio-economic diversity,” Pharr said. “We’ve got young couples now and young professionals. We’ve got a new generation really appreciating the old neighborhood. Yes, you have Anchuca, but you also have the little cottages across the street.” Pharr believes so much in the neighborhood that he undertook a unique project as an investment in the area. “It’s the first new construction in the neighborhood in 85 years,” he said, of the 6,000-square-foot home he built just across the street from the Anchuca property, a house he calls Springfield. Pharr saved most of the historic home that sat blocks away, relocated its parts and pieces and reworked them into what he calls a “new old house.” The original home was built in the 19th century and stood at 1831 Cherry St. until its future seemed to be in danger and Pharr, aided by a few other investors, came to the rescue. “It was important that the house retain its original appearance,” Pharr said. “The cypress siding, doors, windows, hinges, shutters and columns are all from the original house.” Bill Seratt, the executive director of Vicksburg’s tourism entity, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Pharr well understands the importance of antebellum architecture and the role these homes play in continuing Vicksburg’s legacy.

“Anchuca is among the finest bed and breakfast inns in the country,” he said. “We look forward to the next 60 years.” For Pharr, it is all about what this history contributes to the lives of people today – and part of that lies in aesthetics – part of it lies in economic impact. “It’s been an economic anchor,” he said of the 60 years Anchuca has employed room attendants, front desk people, wait staff and others who are drawn from the local community. Some, like Pharr, began as dishwashers or housekeepers. Some have gone on to become pastry chefs and general managers of upscale hotels. For this innkeeper though, the investments in neighborhood people are just as important as the bricks and mortar of an area he loves so much. L WANT TO GO? The Anchuca Mansion is located at 1010 First East St., Vicksburg. For more information, or to make reservations, visit www.anchucamansion. com or phone (888) 686-0111. Sunday brunch hours at Cafe Anchuca are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and tapas are served Monday through Saturday from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

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STORY FROM HATTIESBURG, MISS.

TRUMPET T hat life-changing feeling By JOE LEE

24 • APRIL // MAY 2015

Photography by ELI BAYLIS

evin Mullen was a study in concentration as he prepared to play the Erik Morales piece, “Cyclone.” His eyes closed as his agile fingers danced across his trumpet, the one he has practiced with since elementary school. “Any time I play in an ensemble, I get that feeling of my heart rate increasing,” he said, preparing for a performance at the National Trumpet Competition in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. It could be a life-changing experience. The stage doesn’t get much bigger for the group to which he belongs, Trumpet 5, whose members can make or break a national championship with one false note. Casey Keller, a Trumpet 5 member, was also set to compete in the solo division of the NTC, performing a work for cornet by Carl Hohne called “Slavic Fantasy.” For as much as the world’s budding musicians have come to USM, the students and faculty of the school’s Department of Music has spread around the globe. The USM Symphony Orchestra regularly performs with some of the world’s greatest musicians, including internationally-known artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Sir James Galway, Deborah Voigt and Plácido Domingo, said Dr. Jay Dean, director of Orchestral Activities for the USM School of Music. Guest artists are a huge impact on students because of the opportunity to make connections, said Andrea Restrepo, a native Colombian who plays the cello. “I played in different master classes, and that helped me to get in the festivals they were teaching. In those festivals, I got to know more teachers and then made connections to apply to other universities.” Thiago Bottega came to the USM School of Music from Brazil. He hopes to teach flute and perform in orchestras around the South after graduation. “The high level of the professors, students and ensembles challenges you to an ever-higher level of playing,” he said. “Our professor, Dr. Danilo Mezzadri, pushes us to be the best we can be. This environment is one of constant learning and challenges with great professors, and the updated facilities are a great environment for learning. It has been life-changing.” Mullens echoes Bottega’s thoughts. “I felt the best thing I could do in my life was to help change other people’s lives in a positive way,” Mullen said. “It was such a great thing to feel

Casey Keller, a graduate student at the University of Southern Mississippi School of Music, practices for her upcoming solo competition at the National Trumpet Competition in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. For as much as the world’s budding musicians have come to USM, the students and faculty of the School of Music have spread around the globe. READLEGENDS.COM •

Kevin Mullen, left, a junior at USM’s School of Music, practices with fellow Trumpet 5 musician David Holladay, upper right. The group was to compete at the National Trumpet Competition. Jason Bergman, lower right, assistant professor of Studio Trumpet, led the practice. The school, which has launched a number of renowned musicians, uses a “no musical boundaries” philosophy in its teaching.

when I walked into my first music class and knew everyone was there for the same purpose. Making music—and teaching it as well—really unites everyone involved. One of the biggest things I’ve learned since being here is that you have to work extremely hard for whatever goal in life you’re pursuing.” Dean said the school teaches using a ‘no musical boundaries’ philosophy. Coupled with exposure to big names within the business, the mixture is successful. “Our students come from all over the world and bring their talent, their cultures and their ideas to our organization. We have orchestral alumni teaching and performing music around the globe,” he said. For example, Grammy winner Tena Clark came to USM after learning to play drums. She had been born in Meridian and grew up on a farm 45 minutes away in Waynesboro. She moved to Nashville after graduating and has since worked with Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick and Natalie Cole. A big break was getting to know Hal David, who with co-writer Burt Bacharach, wrote a string of smash hits for Dionne Warwick, the Carpenters and the Fifth Dimension. Clark went on to write and produce advertising jingles, movie themes and hit songs before launching DMI Music and Media Solutions in 1997, a distribution company based in Pasadena, California.  Tena Clark

26 • APRIL // MAY 2015

“USM gave me amazing opportunities to spread my wings musically, meet other fellow musicians whom I respected,” said Clark, who programs the music for President Barack Obama on Air Force One. “I was blessed to be part of it.” It’s the stuff dreams are made of, and for Trumpet 5, the dream is no different. “We’ve worked really hard on memorizing this very complicated and intricate piece,” Keller said of the eight-minute selection, a piece written for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. “If we make it through to the finals, we’ll perform it again.” As the group’s director she schedules three practices a week including a daybreak session each Thursday morning. She and Mullen are joined by David Holladay, Olivia Funkhouser and Adrienne Cocco. Their accomplishments mark the fifth consecutive year USM trumpets have competed at the NTC. “Before we start, we all make eye contact and ensure that we are all in the zone together,” Keller said. “In order to execute the piece, we all must be on the same page. We achieve this by moving in time and looking at one another constantly. When all goes right, there is a brilliance created by the harmonious sound of all of us playing simultaneously.” L

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STORY FROM FOLSOM, LA.

— L O U I S I A N A ’ S —

HOT TAMALE

MAMA By Meghan Holmes

Photography by Rusty Costanza

am Warner built her business with the humble tamale. Subsequently dubbed the Hot Tamale Mama, her repertoire now includes gourmet take home dinners, food created from the culinary direction of the cultures settling around the lower Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. Her hot tamale creation, as with others who share the tamale business, is an arduous process – assembling, tying and stacking each tamale (Delta tamales keep the –e ending even when singular, as opposed to the Spanish tamal) individually before cooking. Tamale restaurants opened by families from Greenville, Mississippi, to Helena, Arkansas, added to an already rich culinary tradition throughout the Delta. These traditions became part of south Louisiana’s culinary story, too. “I call them memory meals. Things like tamales, chicken pot pies, cheese grits. We would pick up tamales as a family to take home and eat, and pot pies remind me of family reunions in Mississippi,” Warner says. “My cheese grits recipe is an old New Orleans recipe from an early 1970s River Road cookbook. I actually had to lighten it up because it had so much cheese, butter and cream but that’s New Orleans.” Warner also adds eggs to her grits, and after being baked, the coarsely ground cornmeal rises and becomes part of a soufflé-like dish that belies the image of grits spreading toward the edge of a breakfast plate. They make a perfect complement to her tamales, absorbing the flavorful red sauce dripping from each corn husk.

portabella, lentil and sweet pepper and artichoke and roasted garlic. Warner’s tamales rotate seasonally with Tim Roper at Stoney Point Farm supplying most of her vegetables along with the organic pastured eggs she also sells in her Folsom storefront. Warner’s business began in her home kitchen. “I grew up an only child. My mother worked, and my father usually prepared dinner. We ate together every night, and after I got married I also had dinner on the table nightly. I just assumed that’s how everybody did it. “After my divorce I decided to start my own business, and I gained a whole new perspective on what it meant to be able to cook for your family. I get it when parents come in and show me their gratitude because I know how it feels to be able to do that for my kids. I don’t care if it’s your husband, your children, or your dog, I want them to enjoy my meals.” Seven years ago, Warner began selling her tamales at Northshore farmers markets. A staple at Covington’s Saturday market, her longtime employees Vincent Piazza and Mauricio Moreira run the booth and offer samples of Warner’s roasted vegetable orzo and Vincent’s Skordalia - a puree of garlic and olive oil that makes a great dip for pita chips or raw vegetables. Warner’s version – called Gar’Live, contains much more garlic and works best as a cooking base. Both are delicious. Nur Pendaz of Nur’s Kitchen purveys Old World Mediterranean cuisine at the market. “She and her family really got me

Warner serves a beef tamale she considers part of the Delta style but with her own preference for quality cuts of meat and fresh ingredients. “My beef tamales are made with pure ground chuck, spices, fresh onions, a handful of whole oats and a handful of cracked brown rice. There’s no lard in my tamales. I roll them in raw cornmeal. I know other people who put oats in tamales but I’m the only one I know who uses cracked brown rice, which gives them a nutty taste and adds fiber. All of my vegetarian tamales have a legume,” she says. Other varieties include turkey, black bean and corn, beet and

started in business. She gave me advice and gave me access to their kitchen. I learned about different equipment and how to make good food. I’m about to go into their kitchen, and I will be able to make 30 pounds of Gar’Live rather than three quarts with the mixer that I make it with now,” Warner says. Market vendor Tiffany Lockhart of Farmhouse Dairy sells goat cheese and sings the praises of Warner’s cooking. “The Hot

“Warner also adds eggs to her grits, and after being baked, the coarsely ground cornmeal rises and becomes part of a soufflé-like dish that belies the image of grits spreading toward the edge of a breakfast plate.”

OPPOSITE: Steam rises off a fresh batch of hot tamales in Pam Warner’s kitchen in Folsom, Louisiana. The Hot Tamale Mama, dubbed so for her gourmet tamales, offers a variety of tamales, some with ingredients like cracked brown rice, black beans, beets, portabella mushrooms, lentils and sweet peppers.

32 • APRIL // MAY 2015

Tamale Mama. You can tell her food is gourmet. I love everything of hers that I’ve ever tried,” she says. About 12 miles outside of Covington, Warner makes all of her tamales and take home dinners. She plans on changing the name of the business to Tessier Gourmet – a reference to her maiden name that serves as a way to better represent her expanding food options as well as her culinary heritage. “The Tessiers came from France in the 1700s and settled in New Orleans. Years later, Charles Tessier moved to Baton Rouge and served as the first judge of East Baton Rouge Parish. My family descended from this line of the family in Baton Rouge,” she says. Warner’s repertoire represents this past as well as many other cuisines in the area. She regularly serves a chicken and andouille gumbo with a scoop of potato salad, which many attribute to German influences on south Louisiana’s foodways. Warner hopes to expand and move her tamales and dinners to retail partners, providing healthy, locally-made options to more people. “Right now we’re selling things as fast as we can make them,” she says. “I’m looking at a piece of equipment to increase how many tamales we can make, because I’m not letting tamales go, and we just can’t keep up hand cranking them using sausage stuffers. Warner’s food connects her to a long history of culinary passion

and innovation in south Louisiana and helps keep those traditions alive. Each batch of tamales holds pieces of different cultures, in some ways inevitably brought together over time, but also deliberately cultivated in an effort to create new and delicious food. L DID YOU KNOW? Tamales date to pre-Aztec cultures, commonly used as battle food that traveled well and sustained long journeys. As Latin American immigrants replaced pockets of migrant black laborers following the first Great Migration, tamales moved upriver through southern Louisiana and into the Mississippi Delta. Laborers working alongside Mexican immigrants in the early 20th century integrated African culinary traditions into established tamale recipes. Those recipes vary wildly, though it is generally agreed that Delta cooks use grittier cornmeal, considerably more spice and serve their tamales wet with sauce after simmering rather than steaming in the Latin style. Hot Delta tamales are usually larger and sometimes wrapped in paper rather than cornmeal.

OPPOSITE: Clockwise: Emily Baker removes a pan of freshly steamed tamales from the heat; besides tamales, Pam Warner also offers yellow split pea soup, pot pies, roasted vegetable soup and black bean salsa.

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STORY FROM HOLLY SPRINGS, MISS.

Greg Kinard prepares to auction off the contents of Graceland Too.

34 • APRIL // MAY 2015

COVER STORY

Gone to the highest bidder

THE 50,000 LEGACIES OF

GRACELAND TOO By Riley Manning Photography by Marianne Todd

uctioneer Greg Kinard stands in the living room of Graceland Too, the infamous house-turned-Elvis Presley museum of the late Paul MacLeod. The ceiling of the room is covered with glossy photos – the King in the Army, the King in a boxing ring, the King in his Sunday best, the King in nothing but a bed sheet. Outside, trunks stretch out in rows across the lawn. One is spilling over with rusted Elvis-themed license plates. Others have carefully maintained news clippings from Tupelo or Memphis, arranged meticulously by year and publication. Kinard points to a neon strip of tape bisecting the ceiling into two lots, the left and the right, that are set to be sold the following day at the auction of MacLeod’s estate. “My father-in-law got me hooked up with this job,” he said, scratching his head. “I won’t know whether to thank him or kill him until we count the money tomorrow night. Took us two months to clean it out. You should have seen what we loaded up and hauled off.” What was left was put on display, in the house, around the property,

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under tents, sprawled across the lawn – Elvis busts and red velvet lamps, “He had these false teeth that would jiggle when he talked,” said Elvis carved into the stock of a shotgun, an incomplete set of bowllifetime member Lyle Morgan, who estimates he’s been there, well, more ing pins bearing the thunderbolt TCB insignia, Elvis Christmas ornatimes than he can count. “Elvis is alright, but Paul MacLeod was way ments, two Cadillacs, one pink, one red, life-sized cardboard cutouts more fascinating.” – more memorabilia than one could take in during a single visit. As of At the end of each tour, the visiting group would pose in the livpress time the home’s contents ing room for a photo in front of a were still sitting there, awaitgold-framed poster of you-knowing shipping to their new and who. MacLeod would choose one Graceland Too, once open 24/7, was anonymous owner somewhere of them to wear a leather jacket. frequented mostly by University of in northern Georgia. He developed the pictures and “He doesn’t want his name kept them for himself. Kinard esMississippi students in the middle of the released, and what he’s going to timates MacLoed’s collection had night. All it took was a knock on the door do with this stuff would only grown to 50,000 or more, all takbe speculation at this point,” en from the same spot, with the to bring MacLeod rumbling out to give Kinard said. The bidder, who same jacket. Even in the house’s his pelvis-thrusting tour of self-collected bought the home’s contents disheveled state it looks like an lock, stock and barrel via an inaltar in the church of the TCB memorabilia for a mere five-spot. ternet bid of $54,500, was still (Taking Care of Business, Elvis’ in negotiations over the posband). Beside the famed poster sible purchase of the home itself. sits a smaller picture of Jesus. The winning bid of its contents came at the dismay of the crowds, who “King of Kings,” it reads, but it’s hard to know which one MacLeod weathered freezing January temperatures in hopes of taking home a little thought of as his savior. piece of MacLeod’s collection. “It’s a little unbelievable that someone spent this much time and effort Graceland Too, once open 24/7, was frequented mostly by Univeron idolizing one person,” said Hunter Deschamp, an Ole Miss student sity of Mississippi students in the middle of the night. All it took was a from Gulfport. His mother heard about the auction, prompting him to knock on the door to bring MacLeod rumbling out to give his pelvistake a road trip. “It’s a little creepy.” thrusting tour of self-collected memorabilia for a mere five-spot. When Tupelo resident Russ Polsgrove drove over for the preview as well. a visitor had taken the tour three times, they earned the distinction of He was one of several rifling through photos, trying to find a picture of being a lifetime member – and they never had to pay again. his college self.

“

Standing atop scaffolding outside of the infamous Holly Springs house, Greg Kinard sets the auction for the home and its contents in motion. Right, Holly Springs resident John Stuber came away with the pink Cadillac for a smooth $4,000.

36 • APRIL // MAY 2015

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Elvis memorabilia spilled from the home, on to the lawn and into a tent erected in the back yard. Everything from two Cadillacs, red velvet lamps, Elvis busts, furniture, photographs, Elvis Christmas ornaments, Elvis curtains and life-sized cardboard cutouts were up for grabs.

“I found a picture of my Aunt Joyce in that leather jacket, in front of that poster,” he said. “What was she doing here?” “There are a few records here worth a couple of thousand dollars,” Kinard said, the night before the auction. “But if it comes down to it, I think that poster and that jacket will bring in the most money.” Indeed, the lure of Graceland Too is a strange one, a fascination with a fascination, and to glimpse inside is to peek in on true obsession.

“

Indeed, the lure of Graceland Too is a strange one, a fascination with a fascination, and to glimpse inside is to peek in on true obsession.

“

In the foyer, the walls are covered with the same page of the same newspaper bearing the headline “Presley: He Excites Girls, Scares Critics.” It’s not as if MacLeod wanted every picture ever made of Elvis. It’s as if he wanted a copy of every picture ever made of Elvis. In truth, the Elvis curtains hid nails that could snag your elbow or ear. The floor sagged when more than four people stood in the same room. “This is unreal,” said realtor Larry Hutchens of Century 21 Realty Group. By Mississippi law, a licensed realtor has to oversee the paperwork when a house is auctioned off. “The house itself needs to be torn down. If I bought it I’d take it apart piece by piece.” In a room adjacent to the living room sits a cupboard bulging with TV Guides from decades ago. Pages of each issue are marked with paperclips designating an Elvis-related program. Elvis blankets hang from walls. Photos of Lisa Marie in intimate poses with Michael Jackson, probably more than visitors wanted to see, were posted on a nearby wall. “I never met him,” Kinard said. “But after going through his house for two months, I’d say, yeah, I know Paul MacLeod.” Not much is known about MacLeod before he came to Holly Springs from Detroit in the 1980s. According to neighbor Mary Neely,

Top to bottom: Guests offered a prayer before the auction; auctioneer Chad Brantley helps to move the red Cadillac to No. 81, Bobby Fant of Holly Springs; Brenda Young, MacLeod’s daughter, announced during the auction that a portion of the profits would go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

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MacLeod first opened Graceland Too’s doors sometime in the 1990s. “He was a good neighbor for 17 years,” she said. “Never bothered anyone. No one had a problem with him.” Some said otherwise, like Mike Lawshea. Lawshea is part of a crew that works on antebellum homes in the area. He had helped clean Graceland Too for the past few months but knew MacLeod for the past dozen years. “He was a scary guy,” Lawshea said, with a mix of trepidation and fondness. “He was always packing heat. He was something else. He was Paul.” As visitors circulated through the rooms, whispers of rumors rose. MacLeod’s eccentricity zipped electric among them. “He pulled a gun on a student once,” said Wendell Davis. “The kid thought he could steal a picture, like MacLeod didn’t know every inch of that place. He always had that pistol.” The path upstairs had been blocked off, but the downstairs had been relieved of furniture, leaving not so much as a place to sit. If there had been a kitchen, or a dining room, it was unrecognizable now. Some passers-through speculated on where MacLeod slept, if he did at all. “I don’t know where he got the money to live on,” Lawshea said. “He was always crying broke. But word has it he liked to hide money

throughout the house.” Whatever fictions they could guess at could hardly beat the truth. On a hot July night last year, a fellow named Dwight David Taylor Jr., allegedly attempted to break into Graceland Too. McLeod put two fatal bullets in his chest, but after speaking with police, no charges were filed. Two days later, MacLeod died on the front porch, “in his white rocking chair,” to hear Davis tell it. Every six months, Lawshea said, MacLeod would paint the twostory house a new color. Over the years, it had been pink and blue, and on its final day, it sat a mix of white and beige under the brushed steel January sky. The next day, Kinard arrived at 200 East Gholson Ave. in his ostrich skin boots, black cowboy hat and game face. About 100 people milled around the thread of road outside the renegade museum, disowned by Elvis’ birthplace in Tupelo, as well as by big brother Graceland in Memphis. Kinard was visibly restless. After auctioning the cars, he would offer the land, house and contents as one lot, then move to the 600 individual lots. From atop a flimsy scaffold set up on the lawn, Kinard didn’t seem optimistic about a part-and-parcel sale. “We’re prepared for an eight-hour auction,” Kinard told the crowd.

“So if we seem short with you, we’re just trying to move it along as fast as possible.” Lifetime member Lisa McGee clutched her pink leather purse with the Cadillac emblem on the side. “I’d just like a lamp or something,” she said. “You know, just a souvenir to remember the place by and say I was there.” The red Cadillac DeVille went without much hubbub, but a bidding battle ensued for the pink automobile. Kinard assured onlookers that although it hadn’t been driven in two years, a new battery and a full tank of gas were all that was needed to put it back on the road. The auctioneers revved the engine and honked the horn, edging the bidders against each other. In the end, Holly Springs resident John Stuber came away with the cruiser for a smooth $4,000. He said it was a joint investment with his wife and friends. “We were sitting around having a few cocktails at JB’s on the town square last night and got to joking about buying the pink Cadillac,” Stu-

42 • APRIL // MAY 2015

ber said. “It still felt like a good idea when we woke up this morning.” Brenda Young, MacLeod’s daughter, shivered beside the platform. Estranged from her father until finally meeting him in 2010, Young announced that $5,000 of the auction’s proceeds would go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “Thank you all for making my dad feel so special,” she said. Just then, the scaffold gave way, nearly throwing Kinard off the back of it. After it was righted, he joked, “Had to be Paul.” The bidding ended as quickly as it had begun. The spectators, lifetime members like McGee, stood stunned as the internet bid claimed the lot. The contents would go to a stranger. “Just like that,” Stuber said. “There’ll never be another place like this.” L

Home to blues legends like Kenny Brown, Joe Callicott, Memphis Minnie, Don McMinn and more, the blues have deep roots here in DeSoto County. Come catch a live show or travel back in time along our historic Blues Trail. While you’re visiting, walk, stretch, picnic or enjoy a peaceful rest on our miles of greenways and trails. For a free vacation guide, call 662-393-8770 or visit SoDeSoto.com.

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Come to Greenville-Washington County to reboot your energy with a full lineup of revelry to renew your spirit. Join us for award-winning Delta blues from artists like Greenville native Eden Brent, more crawfish than you can eat, and some of the most fun this side of – dare we say paradise? 24th Annual Crawfish Festival, Leland 2nd Annual Warfield Riverfest benefitting Camp Looking Glass 2nd Annual Mississippi Delta Dragon Boat Festival The 38th Annual Delta Blues & Heritage Festival 5th Annual Sam Chatmon Blues Festival 3rd Annual Mighty Mississippi Music Festival 4th Annual Delta Hot Tamale Festival 5th Annual “Jim Henson” Frog Fest, Leland 51st Annual Christmas on Deer Creek

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50 • APRIL // MAY 2015

STORY FROM JACKSON, MISS.

“

“We’ve let Nashville, Chicago and Memphis run with our music

“

experience. It’s time for us to take it back.” —Joseph Simpson

Photograph of B.B. King figure by Larry B. Gordon READLEGENDS.COM •

 Jaimoe Johanson, one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band, performs at the Iron Horse on opening night of the Mississippi Music Experience Museum.

velyn Scott drove 1,000 miles just to see it. “We love Mississippi Blues music and always have — my husband’s favorite artist has always been Robert Johnson. We made a trip to the actual Crossroads on the way there,” said the Ontario, Canada, resident. Accompanied by her husband for a blues-drenched weekend, Scott met up with friends from Hayes, Kansas, for the music, the food – and now the history that has become part of Jackson’s resurrected Iron Horse restaurant. Scott also knows Anne Robin Luckett, the artist whose life-sized dolls of Mississippi musical legends are on display in the Mississippi Music Experience Museum, which opened in January on the second floor of the Iron Horse Grill. “We were in Jackson two years ago when they were planning to re-open the restaurant,” Scott said. “We made plans right then to come back. We had a great time that night. It was packed, and we had catfish and watched (Allman Brothers drummer) Jaimoe perform, then we came back the next morning for the Sunday brunch and had the crawfish omelet.” The displays and exhibits include the amusing story of how

52 • APRIL // MAY 2015

Elvis Presley went about obtaining an audience with former President Richard Nixon and the fascinating comments Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant made about Mississippi Delta blues legend Robert Johnson, the man immortalized as having sold his soul to the devil in return for a heaping portion of talent. “We toured the museum while waiting on dinner,” said Rose Anthony of Madison. “I really liked the waxed statues of the blues singers, like B.B. King. Everything was so lifelike – his eyes were closed, and you could see the emotion as he held his guitar. I love Elvis and loved listening to his music as we walked around. There’s a lot of history and music in Mississippi – blues, rock ‘n’ roll, a little country – and it’s neat to have it all under one roof.” “My favorite display is the Rolling Stone list of Top 10 Guitarists of all Time,” said Iron Horse managing partner Joseph Simpson. “Eight of the ten are from Mississippi or have said their biggest musical influence was the music that came from Mississippi. The whole purpose of the museum is to promote tourism in our state. We’ve let Nashville, Chicago and Memphis run with our music experience. It’s time for us to take it back.”

 Visitors walk past photos and memorabilia from Mississippi’s early blues years. Honeyboy Edwards is featured in the photo to the right.  Guests stroll through the museum while waiting on dinner. Pictured are (top to bottom) Diane Singleton and Stan Arnold, and Rose and Alex Anthony, all of Jackson, and Sean and Carolyn Ellison of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who ran the Blues Marathon earlier in the day and stayed for opening night of the museum.

“We do a lot of private dining that includes a free tour of our museum. It’s something you can’t get anywhere else,” said general manager Andy Nesenson. “The museum sells the restaurant, and our state’s musical legacy sells Mississippi. It’s part of the creative economy.” The dining experience boasts a distinct Mississippi flair. “The whole thing is very well done,” Scott said. “There were modern performers I didn’t know were from Mississippi, such as Britney Spears, as well as the historical figures. I loved the video clips of Mick Jagger and Muddy Waters. It was a great excuse to come to Mississippi. When Anne Robin finishes the final four figures she’s contributing, we’ll come back again.” L WANT TO GO? The Iron Horse Grill is located at 320 East Pearl in Jackson. Hours are Mondays through Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to midnight; and Sundays 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. To check out their menu or musical lineups, visit www.theironhorsegrill.com. READLEGENDS.COM •

STORY FROM ABITA SPRINGS, MANDEVILLE, AND HAMMOND, LA.

“HERE IN LOUISIANA WE TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN OUR CULTURE

AND WE INCORPORATE IT INTO OUR BEERS WHEN WE CAN. WE’VE MADE BEERS WITH GRAPEFRUIT, LEMON, STRAWBERRY AND PECAN TO ADD SOME LOUISIANA TERROIR.”

—DAVID BOSSMAN

Zac Caramonta opens a fermentation tank while cleaning it at the Gnarly Barley Brewery in Hammond, Louisiana. Right, Caramonta and his wife, Cari Caramonta, stand in the Gnarly Barley brew house.

54 • APRIL // MAY 2015

THE

GREAT FLAVOR

REVOLUTION ————————————————————————— LOUISIANA’S CRAFT BEER INDUSTRY MEETS THE OCCASION

By MEGHAN HOLMES Photography by RUSTY COSTANZA

READLEGENDS.COM •

hen David Bossman made his investment into Abita Brewery, the local beer was called Dixie and microbreweries had not yet come into existence. “Our original slogan was the ‘New Louisiana Lager.’ Dixie was around back then but they were just doing Dixie. We were different.” Now serving as the company’s president, Bossman remembers a time before craft beer. “We didn’t call it that back then. They were just better beers. I grew up in Covington and homebrewed as a young adult. I had a passion for beer.” In 1986, Abita unveiled its first two brews: a golden and an amber. The first microbrewery in the South, its launch marked the humble beginnings of a steadily growing industry. In recent years a dozen smaller breweries have opened in southern Louisiana, leading to the creation of a state-sponsored brewery trail to connect beer lovers and brewers. “It’s like when a great restaurant opens up and others open around it and they all benefit from one another. A rising tide floats all boats and I think it’s great. These new guys definitely have an easier road ahead of them. There’s a lot more market acceptance and understanding amongst retailers and distributors,” says Bossman.

56 • APRIL // MAY 2015

The company’s location in Abita Springs, Louisiana, allows the brewery access to the southern hills aquifer beneath the town, providing water two million years old and naturally filtered by white sands. “Usually older water is harder and has a lot of minerals, which can be challenging in brewing. We get water that’s soft and has a great mouth feel. It’s a signature for our house brands. We choose not to alter it,” says Bossman. “The water is why we’re here. “People want to know their brands and the stories behind their brands,” he says. “Once they know the story they feel like they’re a part of it and like it’s a part of their culture. Here in Louisiana we take great pride in our culture and we incorporate it into our beers when we can. We’ve made beers with grapefruit, lemon, strawberry and pecan to add some Louisiana terroir.” Kathy Tujague has been with Abita nearly 25 years and directs the visitor’s center. “I’ve always said it’s about educating the palate. Some like lighter beers and some like darker and stronger beers. It depends on what you enjoy,” she says. “When you’re a brewer it’s like being a chef with great Louisiana ingredients. The sky is really the limit.” Abita’s free tours draw large crowds. Visitors wind around the bar

where a long row of taps awaits. Some recent beer releases include the Mardi Gras Boch as well as the Wrought Iron IPA. “Oh, it’s good,” says Tujague. “There are three kinds of hops in the IPA. It has a strong distinctive flavor but a clean finish because of Abita Spring’s soft water.” “We like to be different and go by the beat of our own drum,” says Bossman. “As a brewer the hardest thing to do is make the same beer over and over again with great consistency, quality and efficiency. But it’s also important. We look at new beer styles as a way to expand and exercise our artistic abilities. It’s easier to only have a couple of varieties, but we know craft beer drinkers want something new and different. You look at the fine cheeses that are available now … or coffee, tea, ice cream. This isn’t unique to beer. There’s a flavor revolution going on.” Jamie Erickson, co-owner of Chafunkta Brewing Company in Mandeville, agrees that craft beer “is about unique flavors and recipes. World of Beer in Metairie uses our porter for their cheese dip. Our beers are becoming part of the cuisine and culture. Remember Dixie and Falstaff? We are niche but it’s like we’re bringing that back but with more flavor. At that time Dixie was a great beer. We had a gentleman say recently that our Kingfish Cream Ale reminded him of Falstaff, which

he remembers drinking as a teenager. That was exciting for us to hear because we like to incorporate the history of Louisiana into our brand.” Chafunkta moved into its current space in 2012 and sold its first beer in 2013. The brewery’s name pays homage to an American Indian tribe with a settlement in Mandeville near the Tchefuncte River. “We knew when we expanded out of the state no one would be able to pronounce Tchefuncte,” Erickson says. “We also used phonetics for our Voo Ka Ray IPA. The first logo for that beer was a drawing of St. Louis Cemetery in New Orleans. “Our newest beer will be Bayou Blaze. It’s an Irish Red style named after Blaze Starr. She was a burlesque dancer having an affair with Huey P. Long’s brother during his campaign for governor. We’re hoping to release it in May and continue to slowly grow and eventually expand into a larger space.”  LEFT TO RIGHT, CLOCKWISE: Fred Perrick fills a cup of beer before a tour of the Abita Brewery in Abita Springs, Louisiana. The brewery offers free tours several times a week, which include a free beer sample; the brew house in Chufunkta Brewery Company in Mandeville; People on tour of the Abita Brewery; Murals cover the walls of the mezzanine level of the new brew house at Abita Brewery; Barley goes into the mill at the Gnarly Barley.

READLEGENDS.COM •

“Right now we’re gypsy brewing at Lazy Magnolia in Kiln, Mississippi. Basically you brew your beer at another facility, but it’s your recipe and you are in control of the process. My husband Josh and I have a very close relationship with Leslie Henderson and her husband, Mark. They also started out as a husband and wife homebrewing team. On brew day Josh goes to Kiln and he goes again to test it before fermentation. These are his babies.” The Ericksons also have close ties to several other breweries in the state, a phenomenon common in the industry. “It really is a huge family. Kirk Coco, the owner of Nola Brewery, will sit and talk shop. He home brewed at first like us, so we talked with him about what kind of grains we should order, and he was so helpful. We try to do the same for other breweries because we all have the same mission – getting great craft beer known in Louisiana,” Erickson says. “When we sit down to eat at home we drink craft beer because it enhances our food. I would love to see even more breweries and choices. Last year my husband collaborated with Zac Caramonta at Gnarly Barley brewery on a beer called Black Tooth Grin, a Black IPA, for Louisiana Craft Beer Week. They’re on the phone with each other all the time. Sometimes they come to our Friday night tours and we will all hang out.” Caramonta runs Gnarly Barley in Hammond along with his wife, Cari. Caramonta and Josh Erikson were in the same homebrew club before “going pro” as Caramonta refers to it, and he likens the camaraderie of brewers in the area to the skateboarding community of which he has also long been a part. “Everybody is here to help each other out; it doesn’t feel like a competition.” Gnarly Barley has a large facility partially occupied by a 30 gallon brewing system but with space for a tap room and additional tanks for expansion. “We want to be able to grow. It was a big leap going from home brewers to owning a commercial brewery, but during the process Zac realized that he was put on this earth to brew beer. I guess I’m here to be his taste tester,” Cari says, laughing. In addition to tasting, Cari Caramonta runs the business’ day to day operations while her husband is the brew master. “At first he was brewing on the stove, but before long he made a big system in the garage. We would push it out and have a pop up tent and spend all weekend outside brewing beer. Our neighbors thought we were crazy. They didn’t know if we were boiling peanuts, cooking meth or making crawfish. Our friends and family all liked it and encouraged us to put our beer in festivals, which we eventually did.” Reception to the beer was strong immediately. Caramonta’s brewing philosophy focuses on traditional styles with unexpected twists. “As a home brewer I’ve always been someone who respects traditional beer styles, and I’m not known for outlandish beers. I’m not against it but I think there’s a reason we have traditional beer styles that have been around for so long. Our Catahoula common is a common style beer but

58 • APRIL // MAY 2015

it’s a little lighter and crisper because I use a cascade hop variety. Traditionally it is excluded from that type of beer because of its citrus notes. We call it a Louisiana common because it’s better suited to a warmer climate. “ Owners at Abita, Chafunkta and Gnarly Barley all agree that burgeoning farm-to-table movements in the area contribute to craft beer’s recent rise in popularity. “People are going out of their way to find things that are local that you can’t just get anywhere. They feel more connected to the products,” says Caramonta. “I think the focus on the local products is great,”says Bossman. “If you build it they will come. That’s the philosophy.” L WANT TO GO? Check out a comprehensive list of breweries at www.breweries.louisianatravel.com

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Beale Street Fest lineup to feature Kravitz, Paramore, Avett Brothers, and Sheeran

By RILEY MANNING

Beale Street has come a long way since its near-death experience in the 1970s. Despite being designated as a National Historic Landmark in the 1960s, and declared “Home of the Blues” by Congress in 1977, Memphis’ most famous street once stood as a ghost town. “Except for Schwab’s Trading Co., most windows were boarded up,” said Carson Lamm, vice president of River City Management Group. “Then River City came along and opened Rum Boogie.” Helmed by Carson’s father, Preston Lamm, the group established its flagship restaurant in 1985. At the same time, the city did its part to bring the structures on Beale up to code. “Everyone wanted Beale Street to get back to how it was in the ‘40s,” Lamm said. “By the time the Wonders Series came in the ‘90s, Beale Street had entered a real renaissance.” The Wonders Series was a city-fronted arts program that brought in artifacts and displays ranging from ancient Egyptian tombs to Peruvian gold to relics from the life and times of Napoleon Bonapart. “At the same time, the Beale Street Music Festival was going on, and it just kept getting bigger and bigger,” he said. “With the FedEx Forum, the last two years have been really big, as well.” River City, meanwhile, went on to develop a roster of restaurants, including the Mesquite Chop House, Pig on Beale and King’s Palace Cafe. Rum Boogie, though, is still the cornerstone. Celebrating its 30th an-

 Clockwise from upper left, Paramore is scheduled to play at this year’s Beale Street Music Festival. Below is Grace Potter from a past performance and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who is also slated to perform.  The Black Keys, top, Rum Boogie Cafe, bottom left, and sea of fans at center stage near the river. Both sites will offer music during Memphis in May.

niversary this year, Rum Boogie is known for its fried catfish and, of course, barbecue. Even with the onslaught of Memphis in May festival traffic, Rum Boogie is looking forward to business as usual, Lamm said. “It’s a well-oiled machine at this point. Essentially, the restaurant business is fun if you make it fun, and hard if you make it hard.” For Lamm, it’s a numbers game, knowing the amount of staff to schedule and the amount of product to stock in order to pull off such a weekend. “Cranking so much food out of a small kitchen can certainly be a challenge, but our menu is kind of geared for speed,” he said. “Our pulled pork, red beans and rice, and championship seafood gumbo aren’t hard to get out quickly.” Lamm said he counts dollars rather than people, but a Memphis in May crowd tends to be twice the size of Rum Boogie’s normal Friday night. At this point, he said, the best part is promoting the city itself. “I can stand at the door and meet people from 10 different countries,” he said. “Literally. That happens some days. You get to tell them where is fun to go, how to get around. You know, be an ambassador and treat people the way you want to be treated.” The Beale Street Music Festival’s lineup is stacked this year. Current chart-toppers like Ed Sheeran and Hozier join triedand-true performers like Lenny Kravitz, the Avett Brothers, Paramore and Parliament and a host of others. The entire Memphis in May festival has grown to incorporate its own barbecue cooking contest and even an international tribute to Poland spotlighting Memphis artist Lester Merriweather. Even though the music festival has relocated from Beale to the river, Rum Boogie has kept a piece of it in FreeWorld, a jam band that has a reserved spot at Rum Boogie for the festival. “We tried to keep the same scale of music,” Lamm said. “FreeWorld is great because they play all kinds.” WANT TO GO? The Beale Street Music Festival at Tom Lee Park is scheduled for May 1-3. The festival launches the month-long Memphis in May celebration that includes the Beale Street Music Festival, the International Salute to Poland, the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and the AutoZone Sunset Symphony. For more information, or to get tickets, visit www.MemphisinMay.org.

Clockwise, Lenny Kravitz, Edward Sheeran, Ryan Adams and Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn are just a few performers headlining this year’s Memphis in May, an annual music festival drawing more than 100,000 visitors to the river city.

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STORY FROM VICKSBURG, MISS.

VICKSBURG – WELCOMES HOME A –

HERO PHOTOGRAPHY BY

MICHAEL BARRETT

New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler was his usual self when he returned home to Vicksburg, Mississippi, in February following the Super Bowl interception that made him a national hero – his usual self among 10,000 screaming hometown fans, that is. “The mayor threw it at us about two weeks out, and people started raising money, got volunteers, made the media arrangements, planned the parade, receptions, everything from start to finish,” said Bill Seratt, executive director of the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It was the entire city, people from all walks of life, from every part of the community, coming together to celebrate a young man who did not give up.” Less than a decade ago, Butler worked at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Seratt said. Those were the days when the travails of a minimum wage job were replaced with dreams of playing in the NFL. “It’s such a beautiful story to stick to your dreams and not give up,” Seratt said of the 25-year-old who tweeted in January that he would shock the world. “Believe what your mama tells you, and everything will be OK.” Seratt said he would imagine all eyes in the city were on Butler as he intercepted a pass at the goal line with 20 seconds left in Super Bowl XLIX, sealing a 28-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. “I’m a random sports fan, but I saw the winning play,” Seratt said. “Even I was jumping up and down.” L

 Cornerback Malcolm Butler waves to the more than 10,000 fans who lined the streets during his return home to Vicksburg in February. The 25-year-old had once worked at Popeyes kitchen but stuck to his dream of playing professional football.

STORY FROM MERIDIAN, MISS.

FROM THE KITCHEN OF

THE SWEETS LADY Story and Photographs by Marianne Todd

66 • APRIL // MAY 2015

arcia Via hasn’t forgotten what it was like to dine at Weidmann’s restaurant back in the day. “We would sit in the long room with the long lunch counter,” she says, easing into a chair in Mississippi’s oldest restaurant and motioning to the areas no longer there since its renovation. “The back room had a fireplace, and on the wall were the soldiers’ pictures with their gold stars, those who had been killed in action.” She also remembers going to the treasure chest as a child and choosing a special treat for good behavior. And although the fireplace and long lunch counters are long gone, the treasure chest remains, as does the popular peanut butter crocks and antiquated photographs. The special treats, though, have changed a bit. Via creates them all using mostly her mother’s recipes and others she picked up when she owned her own restaurant, just a few blocks away. “Oh, I started cooking 67 years ago,” she says, her eyes sparkling from behind her glasses. Her energy and her appearance might make one think she’s much younger. “I learned from my mother, who made the most wonderful cakes. Back then we didn’t use candy thermometers and that sort of thing. We dipped the icing into cold water until it was firm. Or, with caramel icing, we’d beat it until it was cool. We sifted the flour back then. When we learned to do it, we learned to do it right.” But back to those caramel cakes, the ones Via makes for Weidmann’s customers, the same recipe that graces their menu regularly. “Oh, those cakes. My mother would make one on Saturday and it would be gone by Sunday evening.” Not much unlike today. Via, who was assigned to desserts and cornbread when she began her Weidmann’s job in 2010, makes sometimes 26 pies in a day. Along with other desserts, that’s a batch of caramel cakes, bourbon pies, bourbon chocolate pecan pies, lemon pies, peanut butter pies, key lime pies, bread puddings, caramel custard cups, chocolate crème brulees, Weidmann’s signature black bottom pies, praline cheesecakes – and sometimes a specialty dessert, like red velvet cheesecakes (oh, and more than 100 cornbreads a day, plus cookies and brownies for gifts from the restaurant’s proprietor, Charles Frazier). The day starts early – 5 or 5:30 a.m. so that Via can “have my little bit of quiet. It’s a well-oiled machine, the way I work.” The methodology comes from years of practice. Longtime Meridian residents remember Via’s The Square Plate Restaurant, situated

 Marcia Via began making desserts for Weidmann’s restaurant in 2010, using the cooking techniques and some of the recipes she learned from her mother.  Top to bottom: Weidmann’s, started in 1870, is the oldest restaurant in the state; Via arrives in the kitchen each morning at 5 to make several types of pies, cakes and other desserts; Weidmann’s praline bread pudding; Via’s caramel cake, a recipe she learned from her mother when she started cooking 67 years ago. READLEGENDS.COM •

across from the city’s newspaper, The Meridian Star, and next to the former Peavey Melody Music Company. “I was determined to open my own restaurant and my dad said not to do it. He said, ‘You’ll lose your shirt.’” But Via was determined. She started by using square plates and offering two soups a day, a salad bar, homemade bread, sandwiches, quiches and all homemade desserts. In 1979, in Meridian, Mississippi, the salad bar was a novelty. “I thought it was ahead of its time in concept,” she says. “I loved baking bread, and I made an almond cake that was so good and homemade ginger bread with orange marmalade sauce, oh, and a rum cake that was so moist. Mama made homemade aprons and insisted that we wear them. We used cloth tablecloths and napkins. Then fast food started to take over Meridian.” By 1981, her father’s words had proven prophetic. “We were paying the bills, but we weren’t making any money. I had to close it, and I have missed it every day of my life since.” After an office job at a nursing school, Via took a job at a local restaurant making chicken salad. Nothing compared to the days of The Square Plate. Then Frazier’s wife, Trish, approached her about an opening at Weidmann’s. “I was hired on the spot,” she says, emphatically. “It was such an honor for me to be included in the Weidmann’s family. Charles has done an outstanding job. We have a good staff and good workers, and I’m so glad to be a part of it. They’re my family.” These days Via worries less about running a restaurant and concentrates more on what she loves doing best – baking. “At my age, it’s rewarding for me to be able to do what I love to do.” L WANT TO GO? Weidmann’s, at 210 22nd Ave., Meridian, is open six days a week and for bunch on Sundays. Call (601) 581-5770 or visit www.weidmanns1870.com.

 Clockwise: Via puts the finishing touches on the desserts in the Weidmann’s kitchen; praline cheesecake; bourbon pie; chocolate pecan bourbon pie; Weidmann’s signature black bottom pie; custard cup; peanut butter pie; lemon pie.

68 • APRIL // MAY 2015

•

WHAT’S SHAKIN’ IN THE CRADLE? •

•

ABITA SPRINGS, LA.

• April 18 and May 16 … Abita Springs Opry music series of old time country, bluegrass and traditional southern gospel. For more information call (985) 892-0711 or visit www.abitaopry.org. CLARKSDALE, MISS.

• April 11......................... Juke Joint Festival, blues all throughout Clarksdale. For more information visit www.jukejointfestival.com. CLEVELAND, MISS.

• April 18......................... Crosstie Arts and Jazz Festival. Fine juried art competition with more than 100 vendors. Jazz tent, author’s tent, children’s area, southern cuisine. Bolivar County Courthouse grounds, 9 a.m.to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.crosstie-arts.org. COLUMBUS, MISS.

• April 6-18..................... Spring Pilgrimage, celebrating the 75 years of historic home tours. For more information call (800) 920-3533 or visit www.visitcolumbusms.org. DESTIN, FLA.

• April 17-18.................. Sandestin Wine Festival, pouring hundreds of domestic and international wines by vineyards from across the globe. For more information call (850) 650-2519 or visit www.sandestinwinefestival.com. • May 2............................ Cinco de Mayo Fest at HarborWalk Village. For more information call (850) 424-0600 or visit www.emeraldgrande.com/harborwalk-village. GREENVILLE, MISS.

• May 10.......................... Delta Art in the Park at Stein Mart Park. For more information call (662) 347-9218 or email themsgallery@hotmail.com. HATTIESBURG, MISS.

• April 25......................... An evening with America’s Favorite Dramatic Soprano, Deborah Voigt, featuring the University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. For more information call (800) 844-8425 or (601) 266-5418, or visit www.southernmisstickets.com. JACKSON, MISS.

• April 25, 26.................. Coppelia by Ballet Mississippi, Thalia Mara Hall, 2 p.m. For more information call (601) 960-1560 or visit www.balletms.com. MADISONVILLE, LA.

• May 16.......................... Cruisin’ on the River Car Show. For more information call (985) 377-9497 or email cruisin@madisonvillechamber.org. MERIDIAN, MISS.

• May 1............................ Sucarnochee Revue at the Temple Theater for the Performing Arts. A tribute to James Burton. Various artists and special guests perform a variety of music. Cost: $10. Fore more information call (205) 499-9988 or visit www.jackyjack.com. • May 1-2........................ Jimmie Rodgers Music Festival featuring Jason Isbell, Steep Canyon Rangers and St. Paul and the Broken Bones. For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.jimmierodgers.com. • May 5............................ The Taj Mahal Trio at the MSU Riley Center, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $39, $33. For more information or tickets call (601) 696-2200 or visit www.msurileycenter.com. READLEGENDS.COM •

• May 14.......................... Chris Botti at the MSU Riley Center, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $59, $53. For more information or tickets call (601) 696-2200 or visit www.msurileycenter.com. MEMPHIS, TENN.

• April 17-19.................. Ballet Memphis presents Swan Lake at The Orpheum Theatre. For more information call (901) 525-3000 or visit www.orpheum-memphis.com. • April 30......................... Bob Dylan and His Band, 8 p.m. The Orpheum Theater. For more information call (901) 525-3000 or visit www.orpheum-memphis.com. • May 1-3........................ Beale Street Music Festival / Memphis in May with Lenny Kravitz, Ed Sheeran, John Fogerty, The Avett Brothers, Paramore, Wilco and more. For more information or tickets, visit www.memphisinmay.org. NATCHEZ, MISS.

• May 9............................ Best of the Mississippi Blues with Vasti Jackson, an Evening with Robert Johnson. Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center. For this and other performances during the Natchez Festival of Music, visit www.natchezfestivalofmusic.com. NEW ALBANY, MISS.

• May 22-23................... Down from the Hills Mississippi Bluegrass championship with entertainment featuring Sean Watkins of Nickle Creek and The Cake Walkers. Tickets: $5 for the day. Opens with farm-to-table dinner and includes quilt show and arts and crafts along the river. For more information, visit www.mississippifiddlers.com or www.mississippibluegrass.com. RIDGELAND, MISS.

• April 18-19.................. Ridgeland Fine Arts Festival, a juried fine arts festival with America’s finest artists. For more information call (800) 468-6078 or visit www.ridgelandartsfest.com. SLIDELL, LA.

• April 25, 26.................. Slidell Antique District Street Fair. Antiques, china and vintage collectibles. Hundreds of dealers and interior design specialists from around the country. For more information call (985) 641-6316 or visit www.slidellantiques.com. • May 23.......................... Slidell Jazz and Blues Festival at Heritage Park. For more information call (985) 710-3691 or email slidelljazzandblues@gmail.com. TUNICA, MISS.

• April 25......................... Chicago at the Horseshoe Casino. For more information call (800) 303-7463 or visit www.horseshoetunica.com. TUPELO, MISS.

• April 16-18.................. 12th Annual Tupelo Film Festival at Malco Theatre at Tupelo Commons. For more information call (662) 871-7723 or (662) 213-330 or visit www.tupelofilmfestival.net. • May 1-3........................ Tupelo Blue Suede Cruise. Antique and classic car show alongside the Tupelo Automobile Museum. For more information call (662) 213-8873 or visit www.bluesc.com. • May 9-10...................... Gum Tree Festival. Arts, music and food including paintings, sculpture and jewelry. For more information visit www.gumtreefestival.com. VICKSBURG, MISS.

• April 17-18.................. Vicksburg River Fest 2015, music and arts festival. For more information visit www.riverfestms.com.

70 • APRIL // MAY 2015

VISIT

SHOP. DINE. PLAY. STAY.

CORINTH CIVIL WAR INTERPRETIVE CENTER 501 W Linden Street (662) 287-9273 Open Daily: 8am-5pm

Shopping

Dining

Family Fun

From handcrafted Made-in-Mississippi items, to a wide variety of home decor, gift and specialty clothing boutiques, you can shop until you drop for just about anything in Corinth. From unique to antique!

Corinth’s restaurants oﬀer a surprisingly diverse mix of cuisine. Savor international dishes or nd an interesting twist on American and regional classics, including our very own claim to fame, the slugburger. We promise, you won’t leave hungry!

Corinth oﬀers a variety of things to see and do from outdoor recreation, to art, culture and of course, history. Explore our museums and civil war sites and visit the National Park Service Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center.

HISTORIC CORINTH, MISSISSIPPI (662) 287-8300 | www.corinth.net CO R I N T H A R E A CO N V E N T I O N A N D V I S I TO R S B U R E AU

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72 • APRIL // MAY 2015