Profile 2011: Community of One

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

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High Expectations

What you have for your

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

TABLE OF CONTENTS Coming back

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Losing their way

55

Young adults choose to move back home

Getting lost is part of hunting experience

Lahna’s love

Making his marks

11

Teen’s interest sparks action for baby

Ellard rocks

14

Mild-mannered memorabilia 65

Local banker known for unique collection

Alderman collects super collection

P.S. I hate it here

Land of kings

17

Homesickness a part of summer camp

Off to war

21

Odd jobs

26

They ‘ve got personality

30

One team Sandlot games brought races together

It must be love

Moat not included

33

Letters from past treasured by couples

38

92

In their backyard

100

Burial plots keep family close to heart

40

Committees help families with food

Pass it on

84

Family forts come in all shapes and sizes

Neighborhood Watch keeps area safe

Food for the soul

79

Where are high schools’ favorite couples?

Sometimes weddings aren’t out of fairy tales

Eye on you

74

Some have unique, yet necessary jobs

Pastor brings five churches together

Only in their dreams

68

Community boasts colorful history

Natchez men go off to Vietnam together

A new beginning

58

Retired coach leaves legacy on football

In the water

104

Baptism viewed differently in area churches

43

Pop quiz

Woman loves to give away garden treasures

Identify some of Natchez’s oddities

What was right

Real ropin’

45

108 112

Desegregation was more than black and white

Rodeo popular with local black community

For the home team

Back in time

50

Family’s heart is truly in the home

117

Time capsules provide look backward

Dear community

120

Readers write letters to future residents

ON THE COVER: More than 750 photos submitted to The Natchez Democrat’s Your Take feature form the number that best sums up this community — 1. Every grandchild, flower and dog you treasure so much makes the community special.

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6 PROFILE 2011

EDITOR’S NOTE:

D

id you take a close look at the front cover? You may just be featured on it.

The “1” on the front is composed of 756 photos submitted to The Natchez Democrat from community members during the last few years.

Each day our newspaper includes a feature called “Your Take.” Readers submit a photo — of anything and everything — and we share it with the world.

The feature has been a favorite of our staff, and, we believe, of the community. It’s exciting every day to flip to the back page of the newspaper and see who or what is featured in the Your Take.

When our staff began work-

ing on this edition of Profile five months ago we chose the theme, “Community of One.” It seemed fitting following a year that saw the emergence of regionalism efforts, the lighting of the bridge that binds us and the struggles of a recovering economy.

In a way, our community shines brightest in difficult times, always ready to organize a fundraiser or just offer a shoulder on which to cry.

When it came time to translate our theme into cover art, it didn’t take us long to turn the focus back to the community.

Your submitted photos are a great peek into the life of our Community of One. They tell the

story of daily life in the Miss-Lou, a life we hope the following pages celebrate to the fullest.

Profile 2011 is one of my favorites. The stories highlight where we’ve come from and where we are going — together.

In the end, this publication serves as a bit of a yearbook for our community, complete with letters from today’s citizens to tomorrow’s readers.

It’s unlikely you can read through the entire edition today; so don’t rush it. Keep Profile around on the coffee table and enjoy it for months to come.

Remember, each ONE of us has a story to tell.

— Julie Cooper

The welcome mat is always out in Natchez • Open 24/7 • Ultralights to Boeing 727 • Air BP-100LL and Jet A trucks • Free tie downs • Hangar available • Car rentals • 28 volt power cart • Trained staff • Meeting room • Military contract fuel • Flight planning and weather radar • 6,500 ft. long runway handles corporate jets

Welcome to the Natchez-Adams County Airport It’s the first impression for many and a lasting impression for all.

Clint Pomeroy and staff maintain the highest level of facilities, safety and service and when a tour group requires a “Southern Welcome,” we do that too!

Natchez-Adams County Airport Airport Phone Numbers: Operations 601-442-3142 • Director 601-442-5171 • Nashville AFSS 800-992-7433 • email: khez@bellsouth.net

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Partnering with our community for our community.

Charles “Chuck” Mayfield Adams County Sheriff

ADAMS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE 306 State St. • Natchez • 601-442-2752

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8 PROFILE 2011

COMING BACK

Growing number of young adults choose to return to their roots

S T O R Y B Y E M I LY L A N E | P H O T O S B Y E R I C J . S H E LT O N

S

ome say Natchez often falls victim to brain drain — young people raised under its live oaks and crape myrtles become adults and take jobs far from the river banks of home.

But recently, a growing number of 20something Natchez natives are making their way home to become the next generation of movers and shakers.

The fresh blood is welcomed, most say, and the energy is refreshing.

Many admit they scoffed at the idea of settling back home as high school students. But moving home has given them a new appreciation for the two-minute commutes, eclectic local characters and sunsets over the Mississippi River.

And all are proud to call their hometown home.

what his life would be like at the firm — and the outlook did not look good.

Smith said he harkened to the days when his dad was able to take off work early on a Wednesday afternoon and scoop him up from school for a last-minute hunting trip.

Even in his mid-20s, Smith knew he couldn’t accept the possibility of watching his future children build forts with office furniture on a weekend.

After just under two years of practicing law at a firm with a sterling reputation, he moved home in October 2009.

He had chances to practice law in Natchez, but when an opportunity to work

KEY SMITH Key Smith, 28, thought he had it all figured out.

After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 2008, he took a job at a large, well-known law firm in Birmingham, Ala. He would work hard and log long hours for a few short years then make his way up in no time.

Traffic was a drag and it was difficult to meet many people with the hours he was putting in, but that was all part of earning his keep, right?

Smith said he started to notice that working all the time wasn’t just part of the initiation process.

“It was a Saturday morning and a senior partner was in the office, and his kids are playing in the conference room,” Smith said.

The scene was like a crystal ball of

KEY SMITH, 28, Natchez Wealth Management, class of 2001 Cathedral School graduate, attended University of Mississippi

as a financial advisor at Natchez Wealth Management came to fruition, he took it.

Since he practiced securities defense at the law firm, it was almost like he gained the experience that an MBA would have given him, Smith said.

“This lifestyle suits what I value in life,” Smith said of his life nowadays.

At a big law firm in a big city, the hostile environment did not jive with his personality.

“I consider myself laid back, easy-going and non-adversarial.”

The small-town aspect of Natchez, where everybody knows everybody, is also something he grew to appreciate.

“It’s nice to me, walking into the coffee shop or a gas station and you know someone,” he said.

Other pluses?

“I have a solid, two-minute commute,” he said.

And with more regular work hours, Smith got a chance to do more socially and civically.

Since the population is so small, Natchez allows young people to be a sort of big fish in a little bowl.

“There’s so many groups in Natchez and due to the population, everyone is pulling you in,” he said.

Smith is currently in Leadership Natchez — a Chamber of Commercesponsored leadership training program — and he asked to be appointed to the planning commission in part, because of his law degree, he said.

“The people are extremely friendly, easy going. I can walk anywhere downtown from my office,” he said.

In addition, being a big outdoors man, Natchez gets points for being 15 minutes from great hunting areas, he said.

He also plays tennis and participates in the Fat Mama’s Running Club, which is a weekly social and exercise club.

“Natchez has a stereotype that nothing’s going on,” he said.

But to counteract that, he said many young people have created activities and now there is plenty going on.

“I love being back, everything about it,” Smith said.

And as far and any doubt about ditching the big city for an ancient river town, Smith said he has none.

“This is home,” he said.

ERLINE KINNIE Like many teenaged cynics, when 28-year-old Erline Kinnie was in high school, her hometown of Natchez was the last place she wanted move after college.

But having children changed that.

“I feel comfortable raising my kids here,” she said.

Kinnie spent her early years split between Natchez with her father and Chicago with her mother, but Natchez seemed like a better place for Ciera, 5, and Carmen, 2, to grow up, she said.

The commute and weather were obvious factors.

As the manager at the United Mississippi Bank branch in Walmart, Kinnie has possibly the best first-hand-experience about how often people in Natchez come across a familiar face.

Every day Kinnie said she sees and talks to someone she knows.

Balancing her job at UMB and attending Alcorn State University for her master’s in business administration is made easier since she is able to find babysitter in a town where everybody knows everybody.

“When I need a babysitter, I always know somebody who knows somebody that would do it,” she said. “It definitely

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

ERLINE KINNIE, 28, United Mississippi Bank branch manager, class of 2000 graduate of Natchez High School, attended Copiah-Lincoln Community College and University of Southern Mississippi

helps knowing a lot of people.”

Her children’s grandparents on their father’s side also help her out by picking Ciera up from school to avoid paying for after-school care.

Kinnie said she has noticed more young people she grew up with moving back home after being away for a few years.

It’s nice to see the familiar faces, but she has also gotten to know other people her age as young adults that she did not know growing up.

As a Leadership Natchez participant, Kinnie said she thought meeting a large group of people might be intimidating, but everyone turned to be welcoming and very easy to get to know.

She remembered a story that exemplified the generosity of people in Natchez who are nice simply for the sake of being friendly.

A speaker for one of the Leadership Natchez events discovered a dent in her car. Kinnie called a former co-worker whose brother she knew worked at an auto repair shop.

The dent was fixed quickly.

“That would never happen anywhere but in Natchez,” Kinnie said.

TATE HOBDY Tate Hobdy did not end up back home because of a lack of better options.

“I had tried everything but living in Natchez,” he said.

In 10 years Hobdy had moved all over and done all kinds of jobs.

He graduated with a degree in recreation and leisure management from Appalachian State University in 2004. He then worked and got his pilot’s license in Charleston, S.C., before becoming a backcountry guide in the CaliforniaWashington-Oregon area. A few years ago he found himself in the insurance business with a company in Atlanta.

As much as he loved the moving around, when Hobdy realized the sprawling city of Atlanta and its two-hour-long commutes were not for him, he decided to try something new — move back to Natchez.

Hobdy said his family never pressured him to move home, in fact he said his father seemed to live vicariously through

his son’s traveling lifestyle. But having family nearby was one of the biggest advantages of moving back home.

“My parents can watch my dog … I borrow my Dad’s truck.”

“I spent 10 years seeing my family only once or twice a year, but now I see my dad every day.”

Hobdy works with his father at Stephens and Hobdy Insurance.

“But Dad is good enough to know to stay out of my business,” he assured.

Now Hobdy is finally settled. He owns a house on Park Place where he lives with his dog, Iko, and knows all his neighbors.

“It’s really easy to live in Natchez,” he said. “It’s a low-stress place to live and really inexpensive.”

In Atlanta, Hobdy was renting a small apartment for more money.

“It’s an easier quality of life,” he said.

Hobdy said even a few years ago, he did not picture himself moving back to Natchez.

“But the longer I was gone the more I realized it’s not so bad,” he said.

The community also pulled in Hobdy.

In Atlanta he rarely got a chance to fly, but within two weeks of moving home and talking to somebody he knew who offered him use of a plane, he was up in the air.

Hobdy also keeps busy getting involved

9

in civic organizations.

He is a member of the Natchez Downtown Development Association, member of the balloon race committee and chairman of the Natchez-Adams Recreation Commission. He also coaches Cathedral soccer and plays tennis.

“I’m in better shape now than I was ever was in Atlanta,” he said.

Hobdy said many people who have an attitude of wanting to flee where they grew up should realize the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

It’s comforting for him to know that since he has moved around so much, relocating is an option he knows he can handle if needed in the future, but for now, he’s happy.

“I’ve seen a lot of different things, and there are still a lot of places I really enjoy, but Natchez is home,” he said.

SARAH POWERS Growing up, Sarah Powers said she envisioned herself living in a big city in Europe, never back at home.

But now that she is back and settled, she could not be happier.

Powers, a project assistant at a local architecture firm and artist with Arts Natchez, is doing exactly what she has always wanted to do.

“I’ve always battled between architecture and art — between which one I like more,” Powers said.

“Whenever I leave one I miss the other.”

She started college studying architecture, but finished with a degree in art.

And back in Natchez, she gets both.

She did not end up in Natchez without trying something new.

During college, Powers lived in Vincenza, Italy, and would often visit friends who were living in larger cities in Italy.

After college she tried out her talent in New York but soon realized it was not for her.

TATE HOBDY, 29, Stephens and Hobdy Insurance, class of 2000 Cathedral School graduate, attended Appalachian State University 2004

SARAH POWERS, 26, class of 2003 Cathedral graduate, project manager assistant at Waycaster and Associates, ArtsNatchez artist, attended Mississippi State University “The more I traveled, the more I realized I love living down here.”

After a late night New York subway mix-up and a run-in with unfriendly pedestrians and other off-color characters, she longed for home.

“No one would help me, a homeless guy grabbed my arm and called me precious, a taxi wouldn’t take me where I need to go,” she recounted.

“I called my mom and said, ‘I’m coming home.’”

Powers said she was in Natchez one week later, and it would have been sooner had a blizzard not clogged the airports.

Powers temporarily taught advanced art classes at Vidalia and Ferriday high schools, and then moved away again to Columbia, S.C., for a job opportunity before she realized teaching was not for her.

But six months into her job in Columbia, she longed again for the oldest city on the Mississippi River.

She moved back to Natchez in October and her reception was a warm one, especially in the artists’ circle.

“When I came back, within two weeks I was asked to have a (art) show in January,” she said.

Swapping subways for carriage rides was no problem in Powers’ eyes. “(Natchez is) not as high paced; (it’s) more friendly,” she said.

The cost of living in Natchez is also a big improvement over the big city for Powers.

“In New York the cost of everything is ridiculous. I have a friend living in a (tiny) $1,200 a month apartment who is still calling mom for money,” she said.

And there was another thing about

10 PROFILE 2011

Thank You Miss-Lou! With your help, we raised $175,000 to help our local agencies feed, shelter, counsel and guide our youth, seniors and neighbors in need.

BUSINESSES & THEIR EMPLOYEES Atmos Energy • B & K Bank • Belk • Callon Petroleum • Catholic Charities City of Natchez • Co-Lin Natchez • Concordia Bank Concordia Parish School District • Delta Bank • Entergy • IBM, Corporation Isle of Capri • JC Penney • Kimbrell’s Office Supply • Lakeside Ford Louisiana Hydroelectric • Miss-Lou Steam Laundry • Natchez Adams School District Natchez Community Hospital • Natchez Regional Medical Center Natchez Senior Center • Regions Bank • Salvation Army • The Gillon Group The Markets • United Mississippi Bank United Way of the Greater MidSouth • United Way of Greater Miss-Lou United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta • United Way of Metropolitan Nashville UPS • Wal-Mart - Natchez • Zachry Holdings, Inc. • First Natchez Radio Group Miss-Lou OB/GYN Center • Two-J Ranch, Inc. • Vidalia Dock & Storage J.M. Jones Lumber Co. • AT&T • Natchez Democrat Fortenbery Operating Company • Ferriday Rotary Club • Hefley’s Refrigeration Byron’s Drugs • Natchez Ford Lincoln Mercury • Century Investment Group Grace United Methodist Church

INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS

Judith Richards • Thomas K. Armstrong • John and Priscilla Dale Robert J. Lehmann • Leslie Bruning • Dr. & Mrs. William Godfrey Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Purvis • Helen Rayne • Dr. & Mrs. Hugh Harris Mr. & Mrs. Sam Tomlinson • Mr. Bill Slatter • Marie McCall Mr. & Mrs. Marion Stewart Jr. • Charles & Billie Laird • Lucius Butts Bernice Berdon • Charles J. Sims • Duncan & Linda McFarlane • Kent D. Knee Maria Bowser • Samuel Porter • RETIRED EDUCATION PERSONNEL OF MISSISSIPPI Carlene G. Riley • Dr. Bruce M. Kuehnle • Michael & Elaine Gemmell Norris & Lillian Edney • Joyce Washington Ivery • Betty & W.E. Stewart Charles & Betty Jennings • Mary P. Seni • Mrs. Hugh W. Tedder Albert & Gay Metcalfe • C.H. Kaiser, Jr. • George & Tammy Prince • Tiffany Mascagni

OVER 1000 SPONSORS, PARTICIPANTS & VOLUNTEERS · · · ·

Golf Tournament, May 2010 Jambalaya Cookoff/Campaign Kickoff, August 2010 Isle of Capri Balloon Race Parking, October 2010 Isle of Capri/United Way Barbeque Chicken Dinner Fundraiser, October 2010

BOARD OF DIRECTORS & COMMITTEES Scott Kimbrell • Jason Cluck • Del Loy • Pastor Ray Varnado • Andrew Calvit Alexander Dobroskok • Patricia Lozon • Richard Walcott • Joyce Washington Ivery Rev. Darian Duckworth • Cassy Muscalino • Phillip Zuccaro • Darrell White Lillian Clark Edney • Jennifer Ogden-Combs • Michael K. Gemmell Darryl Grennell • Sheri Rabb • Maria Bowser • Bradley G. Harrison Everett T. Sanders • Jimmy Hibbs • Leon Hollis • Tony Scudiero • Ken Ardoin Genna Hopkins • Alvin Shelby • Frances Bailey • Darlene F. Jones Deanne Tanksley • Alyson Bequette • Leroy Kelly • Disa Taunton • Patricia Bonds Zerline King •Terry Trovato

AGENCIES

Adams County 4-H • Guardian Shelter for Battered Families • Adams County CASA Habitat for Humanity • American Red Cross Adams County Natchez-Adams County Council on Aging • Catholic Charities Cope & Emergency T. M. Jennings Little League Baseball • Catholic Charities Counseling Guardian Sexual Assault Center

United Way of the Greater Miss-Lou P.O. Box 1466 • Natchez, MS 39121 601-442-1081 www.unitedwaymisslou.org The need is great! Donations are welcome all year!

Natchez for which she gained a new respect.

“The river, sunsets over the river — I never noticed (the river’s beauty) until I came home from college, and I’ve always lived in downtown Natchez,” she said.

“Every day there’s beautiful sunset.

And since I work (in Natchez) and live in Vidalia, I get to see it every day.”

Although Powers grew up with visions of a European metropolis, her hometown kept pulling her back the further away she went.

And the nature of Natchez provides her with all the inspiration she needs as an artist.

“I love the nature and sunsets. I need the nature down here to be inspired,” she said. “Cities don’t inspire me for the kind of artwork that I like to do.”

And since she and her fiancé, William Foley, are renovating a house in Vidalia, Powers said she can get as messy as she likes while painting at home.

She expects she will rent studio space in downtown Natchez once the house is complete.

And it is great not having to choose between art and architecture.

Powers said she does a little bit of everything at Waycaster and Associates, include 3D models, drafting and assisting project managers.

“I’m happy, I love it here. I never thought I would, but I do.”

JACK BYRNE As a high school student Jack Byrne, like many young people in town, did not think he would be back in Natchez after college.

But his hometown’s charm and character pulled him in after a few years in Oxford made him realize what he was missing.

“The more I spent time in Oxford the more I realized I loved Natchez,” he said.

It was also a family loyalty thing. He did not want to be the one to let the Byrne name die out at the insurance agency his grandfather started in 1929.

Byrne started working at the agency in 2006, and has enjoyed making Natchez his home as opposed to simply his hometown.

He said high school students tend to be more cynical and look down on moving back to Natchez.

“But the longer you’re away, you realize how good you had it,” he said.

Byrne said he realized moving to Natchez would provide him with a good lifestyle and he acknowledges he was lucky to have a family business to join.

Byrne said he was apprehensive about moving back at first because he did not know many young people who

JACK BYRNE, 28, Byrne Insurance Agency, class of 2000 Cathedral School graduate, attended University of Mississippi had moved back home, but he soon discovered he was not alone.

He enjoys living in a place with his family and friends and also in a place with a unique personality.

“There is so much history and culture (in Natchez) that in a bigger city or another smaller town you just don’t see,” he said.

“Natchez has a small town feel, but on the same token, there’s always something going on.”

The Santa Claus Parade, Great Mississippi River Balloon Race and Mardi Gras are just a few events “you don’t find everywhere else,” Byrne said.

Byrne said experiencing Natchez as a young adult is different than as a high school student.

As 2010 Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce President, Byrne was instantly plugged in. Byrne said he has been able to meet and mingle with people who grew up elsewhere but have moved Natchez.

Byrne said the chamber is very welcoming of young people and organizations like the Natchez Young Professionals club helps the young crowd stay involved.

“I think (the chamber) recognizes there’s a group that’s been untapped thus far,” he said.

“Our parents, principals of all of the organizations have put their time in and carried organizations,” he said.

“It’s only fair that we get new blood in.”

The history, culture and wonderful people helped lure Byrne to stay put where he grew up.

“And you can also have a good time,” he said. “Natchez is somewhere I’m proud to call home.”

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

11

Lahna’s love

Wilkinson teen’s interest turns to action for Natchez baby

ERIC J. SHELTON | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

BY EMILY LANE THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

STORY BY EMILY LANE

NATCHEZ — When 15-year-old Julia Pace took a seat in art class one day last August, she had never heard of lissencephaly.

But when her teacher told the Wilkinson County Christian Academy class about a baby who has a rare brain disorder, Julia couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

For Haley and Douglas Smith, Julia and dozens of other Miss-Lou residents have made life’s hell look a bit more like heaven.

The Smiths had two happy, healthy boys when the miss-

ing piece arrived — baby girl Lahna.

For five months Haley had everything she wanted. Then came the bad news.

Lissence phaly, which translates to “smooth brain,” causes severe, and likely permanent, mental retardation.

The story from her teacher sparked Julia’s interest and touched her heart.

“I asked (the teacher) for more information, and I looked (lissencephaly) up on the Internet,” Julia said.

The brain formation disorder is characterized by the absence of folds in the cerebral cortex of the brain, and prevents mental development in most cases beyond that of a 3- to 5-monthold level.

Approximately half of the children with the disorder will die before the age of 2, though some will survive until an average age of 10.

The love of strangers Hearing about Lahna’s condition wasn’t enough for Julia. She needed to know more and do more than drop spare change into a jar on her teacher’s desk.

“I’m not a parent but my

Julia Pace, now 17, plays with 19-month-old Lahna Smith at the Smith house in Natchez. Pace, at left holding Lahna, donated money to the family when she heard about Lahna’s rare condition.

12 PROFILE 2011

You focus on living.

M

U

parents tell me all the time about the love of a parent.

“They say the slightest scratch causes most pain. And I can’t just know about something like that and not do anything when I have the power to do something,” she said.

She took charge by talking to the mission committee and youth group at her church, Woodville United Methodist Church, and convinced them to give a large monetary donation to the family of baby Lahna.

Lahna’s mother said she was touched when the high school sophomore randomly called her on the phone and asked if she could bring something by her house.

But when Julia, a complete stranger, showed up at her door with a check that would make a significant dent in the household expenses, Haley was floored.

What’s meant the most, Haley said, are the monthly phone calls Julia has continued to make, just to check-in.

“It really means a lot,” Haley said.

Ever since the Smiths discovered their daughter had lissencephaly, the community’s support has helped them deal with the hand their family has been dealt.

Facing the future

B

We’ll focus on the details.

Simplify your life by taking advantage of the services offered by United Mississippi Bank.

We’ve made it easier to do business leaving more time for what’s important to you.

The initial blow was delivered on Dec. 3, 2009, a date Haley now rattles off without hesitation.

When Lahna was 5-and-a-half months old, Haley took her to the doctor for stomachaches, and a nurse gave the first sign something was not right.

Lahna was Haley’s third child, so when her first baby girl was slow to roll over or hold up her head, she chalked it up as a normal variance in early-childhood development.

After all, her two healthy sons progressed at different paces.

Haley said the nurse observed Lahna convulsing slightly and impulsively pushed Haley out of the way.

“That’s not a belly ache; that’s a seizure,” the nurse said.

Lahna’s kicking Haley had attributed to gas had been infantile seizures all along.

After several lengthy tests, the doctor told Haley the news.

“He said, ‘It doesn’t look good,’” Haley recalled.

The doctor told Haley and Douglas their daughter’s diagnosis and immediately started asking them what homehealth agency they wanted to use.

With her emotions caught in the spin of confusion and questions of “Why?” Haley dove into the only thing that could give her some clarity.

“Research, research, research,” she said.

She discovered the chances of her daughter being born with lissencephaly were near the same odds as winning the lottery, as one of her doctors described it.

Looking back before the diagnosis there were certain things about Lahna’s behavior that started making sense.

“Before diagnosis, Lahna did have feeding problems, also she wasn’t rolling over, but every kid is just different.”

When Lahna was diagnosed, she was

having 30-35 seizures a day, Haley said.

More recently, she is down to three to seven seizures a day.

Lahna needed Acthar Gel, a steroid, for six months, with three doses every month. Haley said the doctors recommended they use name brand instead of generic, so each dose cost $1,500 after insurance.

Wrapped in love But the support of the community has helped lighten the emotional and financial load for the Smiths, they said.

“Our church family has meant everything. They’ve called, checked on her, prayed for her,” said Haley, who attends the First Baptist Church of Natchez.

Almost two years to the day before Lahna’s diagnosis, the Smiths moved from Hattiesburg back to Natchez, their hometown. Douglas had just received a transfer to the position of branch manager at the Natchez branch of Regions Bank Haley Smith on Seargent S. Prentiss Drive.

“Back in Hattiesburg, I don’t think we would have gotten as much support as we have gotten in Natchez,” Douglas said.

It’s also nice being with family, Haley and Douglas said.

Douglas Smith Haley said her mother often accompanies her to the hospital with Lahna, which is helpful because navigating the parking lots with 1-year-old baby, baby stroller and diaper bags can get tricky.

Grandparents are also helpful babysitters. The Smith boys, Landon, 5, and Lawson, 3, have lots of energy and, although they like to hold “sissy” or “baby” as they call Lahna, they require much attention on their own.

The Smiths also appreciate the availability of childcare for Lahna at Kyle’s House. Knowing the staff at the nonprofit is comfortable caring for children with disabilities makes it possible for Haley to work a full-time job at a doctor’s office.

After work, Haley takes Lahna to therapy almost every day.

Lahna has physical therapy twice a week, occupational therapy once a week and she also sees a speech therapist and special needs instructor.

The community’s support reminds Haley that people have compassion for her and her family, despite the fact that Lahna’s disorder is something about which most outside the medical realm don’t understand.

“Nobody has heard of it,” Haley said.

Lahna’s pediatrician told Haley she had never seen a case of lissencephaly other than once while she was in medical school.

Haley said Lahna will likely be the one-time-example for many medical students walking the halls at the Our Lady of Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge, where Haley and Lahna make monthly visits.

“Medical students gather in the room every time,” Haley said.

It doesn’t bother Haley that the stu-

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

13

“Back in Hattiesburg, I don’t think we would have gotten as much support as we have gotten in Natchez.”

Douglas Smith Lahna Smith’s father

HANNAH REEL | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Physical therapist Kati Woodard, at left, works with Lahna Smith, now 19 months, to grab a ball during one of Lahna’s weekly physical therapy visits to Natchez Rehab. Lahna, above, follows a toy with her eyes during one of her weekly sessions. Woodard, below, makes Lahna flatten her hand, an exercise done to stretch Lahna’s muscles. dents take an academic interest in her daughter, though.

“It is what it is; it’s just life,” she said.

What does bother Haley is those who take the severity of Lahna’s condition lightly in their everyday speech.

Haley said she hears people use the word “retarded” mentioned casually every day, and she wants people to know she finds it insensitive as the mother someone who is severely mentally retarded.

“It is an actual, mental diagnosis,” Haley said.

“It’s used casually. . . but it’s just irritating. It does hurt people’s feelings when people say that,” she said.

Haley said she does not think she is being extra sensitive, but wants others to be aware of the possible offensiveness when they casually use the word.

One thing Haley and Douglas are thankful for is the lessons they’ve gained from Lahna’s health struggles.

“I’ve learned a lot,” Haley said.

Haley said when she was pregnant with her third child, she prayed and prayed for a girl. When Lahna was diagnosed, she realized how much she took the health of her two boys

for granted.

“Don’t take things for granted and make sure you appreciate everything,” she said.

The journey has brought the family closer to God, as well, Haley said.

And being able to receive the love of family and friends, of course, but also the love of strangers in the community is another blessing for which the Smiths are grateful.

Julia, the daughter Theodore and Ramona Pace and now a 17-year-old high school senior, said one reason Lahna’s story struck her so strongly is that her own sister’s infant son had seizures because of his diabetes, and Julia related to the terror and worry she imagined the Smiths were experiencing.

“I know God helped my sister and her husband and child, and I knew God would help them, and I wanted to be a part of it,” Julia said.

14 PROFILE 2011

ELLARD United Mississippi Bank senior vice president Mike Ellard shows the first rock that started his growing rock collection. The stone was given to him by Frances Cothren after her trip to Singapore.

ROCKS

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

15

Mike Ellard’s rock collection, at left, is made up of rocks from all over the world and includes numerous fossils, sand dollars and a variety of rock formations.

Local banker known for unique rock collection

M

ike Ellard is a rock star of sorts.

Ellard hasn’t graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine or performed for sell-out crowds. Instead his hard rock status comes from something a little quieter — actual rocks.

But Ellard’s collection isn’t run of the mill. In fact, Ellard hasn’t even had to work hard to unearth the craggy mater. Most of the rocks he has collected were gifts.

You see, Ellard asks friends to bring him rocks back from their vacations instead of trinkets.

“I have a rock from all seven continents,” he said. “Pretty impressive, right?”

While his collection now boasts rocks from all over the world, including approximately 35 U.S. states, Ellard didn’t even mean to begin collecting.

In 1998, Ellard, who worked for Britton & Koontz Bank at the time, asked co-worker Frances Cothren to bring him back a souvenir from her trip to Singapore.

“She said, ‘Do you know how many people have asked me that,’” Ellard said. “So I told her instead to just bring me back a rock.”

Something Ellard thought was a simple request, turned out to be anything but.

In Singapore, a country full of concrete and high-rises, a rock was hard to find, Cothren said.

“I couldn’t find one out laying around because the city is so neat and clean,” she said.

When she fi nally spotted a rock, she had to be a little sneaky about getting it.

“We were at the American Club for lunch, and there was a water feature at the front of the restaurant, so I just stole one,” Cothren said.

Cothren’s trip came on the heels of diplomatic nightmare in which Americans were caned in Singapore, Ellard said.

“She said she was so nervous because she thought she was going to be arrested for taking the rock.”

Cothren remembers the nervous feeling pretty vividly.

“I just kept thinking I was going to get arrested,” she recalled, laughing at the memory. “You can get arrested for just about anything in Singapore, like chewing gum.”

That was the only rock she contributed to the collection,

STORY BY JENNIFER EDWARDS PHOTOS BY BEN HILLYER

Two rocks, above, lie on top of a picture of a man who was baptized in Ecuador by former Parkway Baptist Church pastor, the Rev. Bart Walker.

Walker brought back the rocks from the baptism which occurred during a mission trip.

Vidal Davis brought back a rock for Ellard’s collection from a mountain climbing expedition up Mount Kilimanjaro.

16 PROFILE 2011 but she’s happy to know the tradition caught on with other travelers.

“I’m sure it has grown tremendously since then,” she said. “But I never really thought it would turn into a big thing.”

From there, rocks just started coming in.

“Those first rocks were a conversation piece,” Ellard said. “When people started hearing the story, they started saying ‘I’m going here’ or ‘I know such and such is going there,’ and rocks just started coming in.

“I have some pretty regular contributors to the collection,” he said. “It’s kind of unbelievable that these folks think about me when they are out traveling the world. It makes you feel good about your community.”

Each rock is labeled with the name of its original home and the person who brought it back. He even has ashes from Mount St. Helens in Washington state and sand from the Gobi Desert in China.

Each item, he said, has a story to tell.

One rock — the one from the Coliseum in Rome — has a particularly exciting story, even if it is just a rock.

David and Betty Paradise picked up the rock, while being watched by guards with automatic rifles, on a visit to the historic ruins, Ellard said. “(David) asked his wife to bend down and act like she was picking up cigarette butts off of the ground and get the rock,” Ellard said. “I’ve been surprised at the lengths people go to to bring these rocks back to me.”

Others have also risked harm to bring rocks back to Ellard, even if it wasn’t from armed guards.

Robert Paradise brought Mike Ellard a rock and several pieces of coral from an island off the coast of Vietnam.

“I have had three or four people go to Hawaii, but they all said it was bad luck to take anything natural off of the islands,” he said. “I finally had someone who was brave enough to do it.

“I checked in on him periodically to make sure nothing happened,” Ellard said with a chuckle.

All of the rocks are at home in his office at United Mississippi Bank — some didn’t travel as far as others, though.

“One jokester who works for Blain Company said ‘If you want rocks, I can get you a rock,’” Ellard said. “He came back with a piece of gravel from one of their piles out in Cranfield.”

Ellard said the rocks are kept at his office, because work is where the collection started. He also said the collection serves as a conversation piece when new, and old, customers come to see him.

“Everyone sees them and asks about the rocks,” he said. “People who come in for the first time are curious and my longtime customers like to see how the collection has grown.”

He also said keeping them at the office is good for family relations.

“I think my kids think the collection is pretty neat,” he said. “But I’m not sure my wife would find the collection quiet as interesting if they were on shelves at home.”

No matter where the rocks come from, Ellard is sure to hold on to them, give them a tag and retell the stories to anyone that listens.

Because for him, the rocks are a connection to his friends and his community.

“For all these years people have kept bringing me rocks,” he said. “With children and work, I don’t get to travel as much as other people, but these folks allow me to travel through them.

“Some of these folks bring me rocks back each time they travel. The fact that they still think about me and these rocks is kind of special.”

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P.S. I hate it here Homesickness part of summer camp experience

H

ello Muddah, Hello Fadduh. Here I am at Camp Granada. … take me home, oh Muddah, Fadduh take me home.”

The strife of life at summer camp captured in the 1960s Grammy-winning song written by Allen Sherman almost seems to be a universal truth for children away at camp for the first time.

Just ask Lynn James to see the letter from camp written by her son Ashton at age 10.

“Everyone who I show this to bursts out in laughter,” said Lynn James, owner of Kelly’s Kids in Natchez. “People ask him to tell them the story all the time — to hear him tell it is really funny!”

As a boy growing up in Natchez, afternoon tennis at Duncan Park became a part of Ashton’s life.

He was pretty good, and his coach was headed to Boston to lead a two-week international tennis camp.

Ashton got interested in going along.

“We’d also get to tour Boston, visit the harbor and watch a Red Sox game at Fenway Park,” Ashton said.

“I thought it would be really nice.”

He didn’t consider just how different from his Natchez life the camp might be.

After an approximate four-hour airplane flight by himself and landing to discover what his roommate from Japan had in store for him, Ashton’s positive thoughts quickly crumbled.

“When I first got in my room, my roommate’s parents handed me a dog, so within the first five minutes, I was dog sitting,” Ashton said. “I had to just sit there and wait for them to come back.”

Then, the first morning, he was awakened by the sound of an air horn at 4:45 a.m., and faced a hard day of tennis.

“I had taken tennis lessons before, but I had never been involved in anything this serious,” said Ashton, now 32.

While Ashton was playing tennis or participating in one of the activities, he was fine, but when he had down time, things were not perfect.

He reached out for home in the only way he knew how.

“At first, we would pick up, and on the other end was a heavy breather,” Lynn said. “I told my housemaid Georgia

STORY BY CAIN MADDEN & JULIE COOPER

At right is a copy of the letter Ashton James sent to his mom from tennis camp in Boston when he was 10 years old.

17

18 PROFILE 2011 and the other three kids not to pick up because it was an obscene prank caller.”

However, the third time she picked up she learned that it was not an obscene caller.

“On the other end, a whisper of a voice said, ‘It’s me, Ashton,’” Lynn said. “He said that he was whispering so that he would not burst out in tears, and wanted me to come pick him up.”

Lynn, who was no stranger to her children going to summer camp, knew what camp officials advised in this situation.

“They tell you to resist the urge to rescue them,” Lynn said. “Children will get homesick and make their situation seem as dramatic as possible.”

Lynn said she knew her son was perfectly safe on this trip, so, at first she tried to resist.

Then, when she counted 40 calls from Ashton in one day, she decided to call the counselors.

“The counselors said he was fine,” Lynn said. “They said he was a little clingy to them and was not mingling with the other children, but that he was one of the top three players at the camp.”

About this time, Ashton decided that his phone calls were not being taken seriously, so he sent a letter.

Written on a fill-in-the-blank stationary emblazoned with an 80s-style “Newsflash from Camp” heading, Ashton made his final plea.

He was homesick, nothing ever happened at camp, he had learned nothing

“I know it must have sounded completely desperate to her,” he said. “But really, I only thought about it at certain times.”

Ashton James Natchez resident and the other children were mean, the letter declares.

But it was the last line and the “P.S” that would play on any mother’s emotions.

“Please pick me up on the 29th. P.S.: Please call me and give me encouraging words,” he wrote.

“I think I was being as dramatic as I possibly could because I did not feel like they were getting it,” Ashton said. “Because if they did get it, then I would be home already.”

Lynn, being a firm believer in sticking out what you start, was not about to let Ashton come home.

But then, later on in the week, she received a call from the camp counselors.

“They told me that this is something that they never recommend, but in this one instance, they felt like we should let him go home,” Lynn said. “Finally, against my better principles, I caved in and let him come home.”

Not long after he arrived home, Ashton

approached his mother with a different proclamation.

“You should have never let me come home,” he recounted.

Once he got home, he started to miss all of the activities of camp and rarely being unoccupied.

“When I got home, there was nothing to do when I got up,” Ashton said. “There were no baseball games. There were no ping-pong tournaments. And, at the end of the two weeks the winner got a big prize, and I kept thinking, if only I had stayed.”

With age, wisdom and the comforts of home snuggly around him now, Ashton admits he was not as unhappy at camp as he led his mother to believe.

“I know it must have sounded completely desperate to her,” he said. “But really, I only thought about it at certain times.

“It was only when I had nothing to do that I would call, which was not that much time. Most of the time, I would be distracted with the all day activities.”

Now Lynn wishes she’d just done as Ashton asked in his P.S. “On his note, he said he was looking for encouraging words,” she said. “He probably would have been fine with those instead of letting him come home.

“If only those counselors had not called.”

The hardest part of the camp was getting used to life in a different part of the country, Ashton said.

“Most of them were from the North-

east, and they were not like anything I had ever encountered,” James said.

“They were very to the point and dispensed with Southern politeness, and they threw me for a loop.

“But, I think if I had stuck around for the second week, I would have made some friends.”

Ashton said he still remembers the baseball game as one of his good memories from childhood.

“It was Boston against Detroit, and in the last inning, Boston hit a grand slam home run to win the game,” he said. “Most of the children were Boston fans, and everyone around us was going crazy. It was great.

“And Cecil Fielder was playing for Detroit, and everyone wanted to see him James play because he hit 50 home runs a year.”

Ashton did return to summer camp — Southern style.

“I started going to the Strong River camp here in Mississippi,” James said.

“It had counselors from all over the world, especially England, but the kids were from Mississippi, and I never got homesick.”

Now, Ashton has been to Africa, Europe, Asia, Central America and even Boston again, but he still wishes he had found it in him when he was 10 to reach outside of his comfort zone.

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

19

You’ve made us look good...

Each year we submit entries to the Mississippi Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.

It is an honor and an accomplishment to be recognized by MPA for what we do.

But most of all, we’d like to thank our advertisers. Be assured of our continued dedication with the purpose of achieving the best results for your advertising dollar.

First Place Awards Political advertisement, black and white, Chuck Mayfield for Sheriff-Ryan Richardson Institutional advertisement, color, Natchez Convention and Visitor’s Bureau-Ryan Richardson Grocery or restaurant advertisement, color The Markets–Justin Clarkston

Small space advertising-J. E. Hicks Distributing-Ollie Marsaw Series of Ads-Family Dentistry Dr. Steven J. WorleyHeather Bass and Ben Williams Editorial Special Section, Common Bonds Profile 2010Democrat Staff

Third Place Awards Classified House Ad-Ben Hillyer

Service advertisement, black and white, Miss-Lou Regionalism–Kevin Cooper

Institutional Advertisement, BASF–Rita Brooks

Classified page, Lakeside Ford–Democrat Staff

Editorial Special Section, Spring Pilgrimage

Niche Product, Natchez and Its Neighbors-Democrat Staff

Niche Product, Holiday Magic

Second Place Awards

Political advertisement, black and white, Chuck Mayfield for Sheriff, Ryan Richardson

Overall advertising excellence Democrat Staff Institutional advertisement, color, Cathedral School–Ryan Richardson Service advertisement, color Paul Green & Associates-Rita Brooks Political advertisement, black and white, Vote Yes for Recreation– Ryan Richardson

Heather Bass Marketing Consultant

Honorable Mention Awards Retail Advertisement, black and white, Upton’s Nursery, Justin Clarkston Magazine Advertisement, Natchez Regional Medical Center, Ryan Richardson Advertising Promotion, $20 on the 20th- Democrat Staff

Justin Clarkston Marketing Consultant

Ryan Richardson Marketing Consultant

Rita Brooks Retail Marketing Coordinator

...and for that we say thanks.

20 PROFILE 2011 like you want to bolt, know that it is never as tough as you think it is,” he said. “And if you come home, you are probably going to regret it.

“I was out of my element, but I really missed an opportunity to stretch beyond my comfort zone.”

Natchez physician Dr. Chuck Borum can vouch for Ashton’s lessons.

Borum worked at Boy Scout summer camps for several years, including running the health lodge when he was a medical school student.

“There were quite a few kids that would always come in with stomachaches,” he said.

“The only remedy was to have momma come and check on them.

“But if you could distract them and get their mind on something else, they would forget they were homesick.”

But Borum’s experience with camp isn’t all research-proven; some of it’s personal.

“A lot of rules have been changed, so camp is a lot different,” Borum wrote home in a letter postmarked 1968.

“I’m having fun, but I’m about ready to go home.”

Borum was 12 and he was at the WarnerTully YMCA Camp in Port Gibson, a camp he attended for two years before switching to a Boy Scout camp near Jackson.

“I remember being sort of apprehensive,” Borum said. “I was excited I was doing something new, and I sort of knew one person, but I was among a bunch of other folks I didn’t

really know. It was a little bit spooky.”

Borum survived the week-long camp, and even enjoyed himself, his letter proves.

“We’ve been having a swell time,” he said. “Mom and Dad I’m going to make some key chains for you, if I get the chance,” he wrote.

Warner-Tully was just the start of Borum’s camp experiences, including adventures at Boy Scout camp that shaped hobbies he continues today.

“I got into some of the Indian stuff I’m still involved in now at Scout camp,” Borum said. “We would have a campfire ring close to a lake, sing songs and have a campfire program. The last thing was an Indian ceremony. Guys dressed up in Indian outfits and would come across the lake in canoes.

“That got me excited about Indian stuff.”

Borum now coordinates the Natchez Powwow every spring at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians.

And as a camp survivor, turned Scoutmaster, Borum believes strongly now in encouraging young children to stick it out.

“If you ever let them go home after first day or two, they never could get away from that. It was like a habit. They never come back.”

The story was the same for the boy in Allen Sherman’s famous song.

“Wait a minute, it stopped hailing. Guys are swimming; guys are sailing. Playing baseball, gee that’s better. Muddah, Fadduh, kindly disregard this letter.”

At right is a copy of the letter Dr. Chuck Borum sent home from summer camp in Port Gibson when he was 12 years old.

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Donnie Verucchi and Frank Gamberi from the Fort Polk, Second Training Brigade 1969 annual.

OFF TO WAR

Five Natchez men recall heading to Vietnam together

I

n the late summer of 1969, a young Natchez man sat in a barber’s chair at Fort Polk, La., with black puffs of his late1960s hairdo in his lap.

The 22-year-old man’s Afro vanished — strip by strip — in a matter of seconds. He had arrived at basic training less than a week ago, six years before the end of the Vietnam War. And the barber was not taking requests.

The man was former mayor Phillip West, but the memory belongs to many of the 25 young men from Natchez who reported to Fort Polk that same year for boot camp.

Henry Watts, now a county supervisor, was among the men from Natchez at Fort Polk that year.

“The drill sergeants immediately got on (West), and I was standing here with P.Z. Brewer.

ERIC J. SHELTON | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Clockwise from top, Phillip West, Frank Gamberi, Henry Watts, Donnie Verucchi and Tommy Geoghagen were just five of the 25 men in Natchez that reported to Fort Polk in 1969 for boot camp.

STORY BY EMILY LANE

Phillip West, Henry Watts and Tommy Geoghagen from the Fort Polk, Second Training Brigade 1969 annual.

21

22 PROFILE 2011 “I watched him cut Phillip’s hair in about three seconds,” Watts said.

West remembers the one-sided conversation about how he wanted his cut styled.

“The barber said, ‘How do you want it?’ and ‘Weeeaarrreeeee’ — straight down the middle (he went),” West said, mimicking hair clippers.

Watts remembers too. “(The barber) picked his hair up and laid it in Phillip’s lap and it was all stuck together,” Watts said.

West said he isn’t surprised his co-trainees remember the haircut vividly.

He remembers lots of clapping and laughing from the other men in line waiting to get their own trim.

“Everybody was tickled to death to see it cut off,” West said.

“Before he looked like he was in the Mod squad. (After the shave) he looked like a Chihuahua. We all did,” Watts said.

The members of that boot camp group have grown up and have their own lives. But many said every time they run into each other at a function, bar or civic meeting their minds skip immediately back to Fort Polk.

“Even though I don’t see (the other men at Fort Polk in 1969) often, when I see them, it’s like yesterday,” Tommy

Geoghegan said.

Geoghegan, who was bunkmates with Watts at Fort Polk, said the two of them tend to reminisce when they see each other.

“If I was talking to Henry Watts and somebody was standing there, we both knew we’d bring up a story,” Geoghegan said.

The stories There was the time on the bus ride to Fort Polk. The bus took the men to Jackson for a medical exam and then to Fort Polk, later that day, sending the route through Natchez.

Donnie Verucchi said he remembers the urge to jump out of the bus when it stopped at the red light near his house.

“We all knew what was fixing to take place, but it was the unknown,” Verucchi said.

“It wasn’t a happy trip.”

Geoghegan said when the bus passed though the hometown of half the passengers, they begged the bus driver to pull over for a case of cold ones.

“We told the bus driver, ‘We’ve got all this money if you’ll just stop and let us get some beer,’” Geoghegan said.

Their efforts for a last chance at a ring around Natchez with a brew were fruitless. “(The bus driver) hesitated for a bit, but he did the right thing,” Geoghegan said, wiser with age.

But that wasn’t their last chance to enjoy a good drink.

One night in Fort Polk, Geoghegan, Watts and Jackie Roberson

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Henry Watts still has old photos and a postcard book from his days at Fort Polk.

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

in

23

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FORT POLK SECOND TRAINING BRIGADE ANNUAL

New draftees get their hair cut at the Fort Polk Reception Center in prepartion for boot camp in 1969. went to a nightclub for some 3 a.m.” Geoghegan said.

The next day, the drill sergeant beer.

“These guys were sitting there approached the men about the and thought they were bad ass, complaint.

“They lined us up and asked us piling (empty) beer cans up . . . So to raise a hand if anybody had we did too,” Geoghegan said.

When the drill sergeant grew not gotten eight hours.

“But who’s gonna raise their privy to the soldiers’ good time, he invited Geoghegan to sit hand?” he laughed.

The first days were tough, most awake on command the rest of admitted, but Geoghegan said the night.

Run ins with drill sergeants things got better.

“They were just were a re gular rattling your cage,” thing in the beGeoghegan said. ginning.

Wa t t s and Not alone Geoghegan both Despite the funrecalled one of ny stories, the men the first days of knew what was ahead boot camp, when of them, Natchezian a drill sergeant Frank Gamberi said, was less than imand having a group pressed with the of men from home facial hair of a helped them all face member of their the facts of where platoon from Bathey might be in a ton Rouge. few months.

Watts said the “ H av i n g your drill sergeant friends there with dragged a razor you made it a lot easacross a wooden ier,” Gamberi said. table, giving it a “(Going to war) is Phillip West jagged edge, and a pretty big adjustNatchez resident asked the man to ment you’re going to shave his face. face.”

“He made him We s t s a i d eve n dry shave in formation,” Geoghe- though the men from Natchez gan said. might have gotten in a scuffle Geoghegan also remembers from time to time, having people early on when one boy’s mother’s from the same hometown made complained the soldiers did not them stick together. get enough sleep because they “It didn’t happen to people from were legally supposed to have other states, but we had a sense eight hours. of pride to a certain extent,” West “The fi rst night they come in said. “It was a Natchez thing, I hollering, shaking the beds. And guess.” you’d look at your watch, and it’s West said the emotions the

“Preparing yourselves to die is something you don’t forget, especially when you’re from the same hometown.”

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A group divided Neither West nor Watts ever deployed to Vietnam due injuries.

And their group of boot camp mates came back changed men, physically and mentally.

Geoghegan lost his leg at Landing One near the South China Sea after approximately three months in Vietnam. An American grenade launcher grenade called a Bouncing Betty exploded on his leg and sent shrapnel into his chest.

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There’s rice cooking but nobody’s here,’” Geoghegan said.

He said a Bouncing Betty normally has a 15 to 50 meter kill radius, but since it was not working well, most of the damage was to his leg.

Verruchi was wounded by a mortar attack in 1970.

“I still have shrapnel in my back from that injury,” he said.

And Jerry Lofton lost his life.

For Watts and West, tinges of guilt have always been around.

A knee injury kept Watts safely in America, working in an Army

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Soldiers from Fort Polk perform physical training exercises in boot camp in 1969.

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young men from Natchez experienced together at Fort Polk in 1969 inevitably bonded them.

“I would imagine everybody had fear, nobody was looking forward to being dead, and it was a similar kind of fear.

“Preparing yourselves to die is something you don’t forget, especially when you’re from the same hometown,” West said.

But with all of the “ribbing” West said he and Watts give each other now, the memories of sweat and lack of sleep also connect the men.

“Camaraderie and those experiences we shared together also bonded us,” West said.

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Hearing first-hand accounts of the injured soldiers made him feel as though he was there sometimes, he said.

“I always felt like I was in the war, but I wasn’t there. For a long time I felt guilty, but I talked to Tommy several years ago,” Watts said.

“For years and years it was a big burden on me, and then Tommy said, ‘The card wasn’t drawn for you,’” Watts said.

And that’s just how Geoghegan views losing his own leg — just the

way the cards were dealt.

“I make light of it,” he said.

He still fishes, hunts and plays golf.

“My friends (gripe) at me for parking in the handicapped spot,” he said. “I feel you got to play the hand you’re dealt.”

West, who stayed at home due to a foot spasm, admits he too was impacted by what happened to his friends.

“When I learned about him losing his leg, and a number of others who lost their lives in our platoon, I felt a little — I don’t know if you say guilty — but it was something I didn’t really think about.

“But I always think about (Vietnam) when I see Geoghagan,” West said. “But you probably know he still plays golf on one leg.”

Gamberi, who served 13 months in Vietnam, said years later, he finds it comforting to have people nearby who went through some of the same experiences.

“They can relate to what you’re talking about where an average person probably can’t,” Gamberi said.

“The stories enlighten you to get through it.”

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

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26 PROFILE 2011

A NEW BEGINNING

White turns unified vision for five area churches into reality

The Rev. LeRoy White and his congregation celebrate the opening of New Beginnings Missionary Baptist Church in Natchez.

At right the new church’s choir sings in the new sanctuary.

I

n 2006, the Rev. LeRoy White was the pastor of five churches across the Miss-Lou — four in Mississippi and one in Louisiana.

He was spread thin running five separate churches, White said, and God gave him a vision of one unified church where the building was nicer and the congregation was one.

Four years later White accomplished that goal.

He now pastors one united church, New STORY BY TAYLOR ASWELL Beginnings Missionary Baptist Church PHOTOS BY ROD GUAJARDO on Triumph Lane in Natchez.

Merging different congregations with different traditions, likes and wants in only four years isn’t bad considering White moved back to Natchez from California to be with his family, not to preach.

White, originally from Natchez, moved to California because of the U.S. Air Force.

“I wasn’t doing anything with my parents’ money,” he said. “I moved out there and decided to make

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

it my home. I raised my entire family there.”

In 1986, White said he received a calling to go into the ministry, and the next 14 years were spent pursuing that calling.

White attended Pacific School of Religion and later received his Masters of Divinity from the University of California at Berkeley.

In 2000, White said he and his family decided they were going to retire and move away from California, back to Natchez.

“We wanted to come back and spend some quality time with my dad,” he said. “I did not come back to pastor.”

White said pastoring is not a profession for everyone.

“It is a hard job. If you aren’t called to do it, you aren’t going to last,” he said. “There is a high rate of heart trouble among pastors, but the Lord will provide.”

White said he started off just pastoring one church, and eventually wound up in over his head.

“Before I knew it I had five churches,” he said. “It was wearing me out. I would have service at 8 a.m. and service at 11 a.m. and they would be at different locations. I knew the Lord didn’t bring me back to do this.”

Church member Thomas “Boo” Campbell said he noticed the strain pastoring multiple churches put on White.

“It was killing him,” he said. “I talked with (White) and told him there would be a whole lot of pressure until we could get these churches united.”

White said he got together with members of all five of the churches he pastored and started coming up with a plan to unite the churches under one roof.

Members from Mount Plain Baptist Church, China Grove Hands clap during the New Beginnings Missionary Baptist Church, St. Peter Rock Baptist Baptist Church ribbon cutting ceremony.

Church, Clarmount Baptist Church, all of Natchez, and Zion Hill Baptist Church in Ferriday were all told of the plan, White said.

Deacon Cleveland Moore Sr. said the unification movement by the churches was all thanks to White.

“This was his vision,” he said. “He brought it all together.

He laid his vision out, and we all followed it.”

During the next four years, plans were made, and White persevered while waiting for his dream to become a reality.

White secured an 8.9-acre plot of land on Triumph Lane to house his new church, and construction on the building began in April 2007, while construction of the congregations was still under way.

“Bringing multiple congregations together is not easy,” he said. “But God can do anything.”

But before unity could happen among the five churches,

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28 PROFILE 2011

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Campbell said problems arose causing a rift among church members.

“Each church that came in had some preconceived ideas of how things need to be done,” he said.

“Everyone wanted to keep what they had at their church.”

Campbell said there was a lot of friction in the church when the union first occurred.

“We were just trying to get people to accept other people’s ideas,” he said. “We have to look at the interests of all involved.”

Moore said getting the different congregations to agree on things was one of the most difficult things to accomplish.

“People are different on some things,” he said. “You have 18 deacons from all the different churches, how are you going to get everyone to agree?”

Before services be gan at White’s dream church, members from all of the different churches wondered whether or not they wanted to join together with other congregations.

“People at different churches have a sense of ownership,” he said. “We had around 100 members total leave. They figured, this church is where my family went, and I am not going to go to a different church.”

Three of White’s five churches, Mount Plain, China Grove and

St. Peter Rock, made the transition to the unified congregation, while the other two, Zion Hill and Clarmount, decided against the union due to location and other differences in opinion, White said.

But White said that’s exactly why he wanted a new, unified congregation.

“I just want to get people to understand the church is not a building, it is the people,” he said. “If we all go, and do what the Lord tells us to do, then we will be fine.”

White said he gained half of the 100 members that left back, and then decided to rotate services from each of the five churches so the members of the separate congregations could get to know each other for the union.

Members from Mount Plain, China Grove and St. Peter Rock Baptist churches, all took turns having the weekly service at each sanctuary.

“After we rotated the services for a while, we finally brought everyone together at China Grove,” he said. “We met there until our first service at the new building.”

Moore said true fellowship started to occur when the churches began meeting together.

“Everyone has been of one accord,” he said. “It cut out the

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT thought process of, ‘This is my takes unity to do anything, and church, and this is how we do we have all been brought tothings,’ and brought us togeth- gether in the love and unity of Christ. There are no more sepaer.”

Campbell said bringing the rate churches.”

White said none of the work churches together before the sanctuary was built was the would have been possible withstart of the true unification pro- out the help of local politicians and community leaders and, of cess.

“We have come around pretty course, Paul Jackson and Sons well since we joined together at Construction Company.

“All of our aldermen have been China Grove,” he said. “Since we have been in one facility, every- good to help make this happen” he said. “It has been good on evthing has been better.”

Moore said God was the ulti- ery level. We had no problems.”

White said he wanted one mesmate reason the churches finally dropped their differences and sage to shine through out of the entire experience. united.

“The motto of our church is, “The Lord was in the plan,” he said. “The Lord gave (White) ‘Bless God as he has blessed us,’” White said. the vision, and he “It goes to show worked it out. You you that if you cannot do anything just follow what divided.”

God wants, and Dec. 19, 2010, the put your mind to day of the first ofsomething, good ficial service at the things will hapnew building, startpen.” ed with saying goodThe $1.5 milbyes to the building lion project was that housed the new completed in Decongregation before cember 2010, and the merger.

White said it was White and his new a difficult but recongregation met on warding battle to St. Catherine Street get everything finat China Grove BapThe Rev. LeRoy White ished. tist Church to start White said the a parade all the way New Beginnings Church pastor funding for the to New Beginnings new church came Missionary Baptist Church, where a fresh ribbon solely from people giving out of waited to be cut by White and their own pockets.

“Not a single item was sold to the congregation.

White was given the keys to help pay for this building,” he the building, and then he gave said. “It was purely out of the the inaugural message in front love and generosity of those of the large crowd that gathered willing to give.”

Though the group has been in to celebrate.

“It is a very historical mo- New Beginnings for more than ment,” he said. “Others have two months, White said he is tried, and we did it. God is go- working to get his congregation accustomed to the new church ing to get me through it.” and would eventually like to add Campbell said the uniting of the congregation was a mile- on to the church.

“We want to build a family life stone for all parties involved.

“To have the community come center, and a track around the together and accept Christ and campus for people to come and his goals was incredible,” he exercise,” he said. “We also want said. “You have to do the things to build a school here for kinderthat are right and help people garten through third-grade stuout. Once we get beyond selfish- dents.”

Campbell said he also plans to ness, we are almost there.”

White said the new building see the church blossom as the offers much to his congregation, years pass.

“I think growth is going to conand will be a blessing for many tinue,” he said. “It has been a years to come.

“We have new ministries, chil- long road, but we have overcome dren’s church and six brand new a lot of hurdles, and we accomclassrooms for Sunday School,” plished our goals.”

Moore agreed with Campbell, he said. “Every unit has its own saying he knows God has big class.”

Moore said the whole experi- plans for New Beginnings. ence was a true life lesson for “I see the future being very big everyone involved. and bright for the church,” he “Togetherness was the one said. “I may be dead and gone thing that really stood out in by the time it happens, but that the whole process,” he said. “It church will do big things.”

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30 PROFILE 2011

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Things didn’t turn out as planned for Tammy Breithaupt and her husband Brandon on their wedding day. At top, with the wind whipping the decorations, the Breithaupts pose with for pictures with their wedding party. Family and friends, at right, spent most of the Breithaupt’s wedding reception huddled under blankets to stay warm.

What the Breithaupts had hoped would be a beautiful spring day turned very windy and cold.

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Only in their

DREAMS

Sometime weddings are more nightmares than fairytales

T

ammy Breithaupt knows what happens when an uninvited, unhappy and unruly guest shows up at a wedding.

She experienced it firsthand on her wedding day in 2002.

Like many young women, Breithaupt had dreams of the perfect ceremony long before her husband got on his knee and proposed.

With visions of family and friends gathered in a lush garden setting with bright sunny skies reflecting in a glassy lake, Breithaupt had planned nearly every detail for her perfect outdoor wedding.

What she hadn’t planned for was the howling and carrying on, the ice-cold reception and the craziness that resulted when Mother Nature showed up in a decidedly bad mood.

“Every girl has their dream wedding,” Briethaupt said. “I dated my husband for eight years. We were high school sweethearts. I had plenty of time to plan.”

After her boyfriend Brandon proposed, Breithaupt worked hard to turn her fantasy wedding into reality.

She arranged for the ceremony to be on a beautiful May day, on 20 acres of rolling hills beside a small pond her in-laws owned in Adams County. She purchased a wedding package from an out-of-town wedding planner that included magnolia flower arrangements, a lavishly decorated arch in the shape of a heart and a multi-tiered wedding cake.

In her mind, Breithaupt left no detail to chance.

But when the rains poured and storms blew out the electricity during the wedding rehearsal, Breithaupt worried that things would not be perfect for her wedding day.

The next morning, Breithaupt awoke to beautiful sunny skies. Unfortunately, she also awoke to high winds and cold temperatures.

“The almanac (now) says it was 62.6 degrees that day,” Breithaupt said. “But with the high winds, it felt like it was 30. It was that cold.”

Bridesmaids in sleeveless dresses shivered, guests wrapped themselves in fleece blankets and the bride’s veil whipped in the wind as the ceremony began.

“I straddled the white carpet down the aisle just to keep it from flying away,” Breithaupt said.

From there things seemed to fall apart.

“Of course there was no unity candle,” Breithaupt said.

Josh and Jennifer Beach pose for wedding pictures under the shelter of an umbrella. Josh and Jennifer endured torrential downpours and missing entertainment during their wedding at The Briars.

STORY BY BEN HILLYER

“My husband said, ‘I reckon,’” instead of ‘I do,” she said with a chuckle.

And if that weren’t enough the all-inclusive wedding package that Breithaupt picked out months before the wedding was not the wedding package that materialized.

“Everything I ordered had hearts on it,” Breithaupt said.

When Breithaupt discovered the flowers, decorations, even the wedding cake were not what she ordered it was too late.

“The flower guy set everything up and left. There was nothing I could do about it,” Breithaupt said.

Even an aunt had to scurry back to town to retrieve the groom’s cake that was mistakenly left behind.

“Nothing seemed to go right,” Breithaupt said.

Breithaupt doesn’t look back to that cold May wedding day very often.

31

32 PROFILE 2011

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“Honestly it makes me want to black umbrella in town, leaving the cartoon-decorated and multicry sometimes,” Breithaupt said.

“At times I think about that day colored ones behind.

“I would have bought them, if I and how every girl wants that fairy tale wedding and how mine seemed didn’t have enough,” Rinehart said laughing. to be one disaster after another.

Moffett says she has great memo“But, no matter how crazy mine was, I ended up marrying Prince ries of her wedding thanks to the hard work of her parents.

Charming,” Breithaupt said.

“I think I cried for about five minAs a wedding director for more than 10 years, Cheryl Rinehart has utes,” Moffett said. “Thanks to my helped area brides and their Prince parents, I don’t really remember Charmings turn wedding dreams the rain.”

Jennifer Beach says she doesn’t into reality.

As the person entrusted to make really remember the rain either. On sure every detail is considered, her wedding day the rain poured Rinehart knows that there is no as the temperature dipped into the 30s. excuse for anything going awry.

Guests huddled under tents “There is all kinds of drama,” and on the porch of The Briars in Rinehart said.

Controlling and sometimes ig- March 2009 to watch Jennifer and noring the drama is how she has her husband-to-be, Josh, exchange turned wedding direction into a vows.

Even though her fine art. dress was soaked to Nothing should be her knees, to hear out of a wedding direcJennifer talk about it, tor’s control, she said. the steady downpours Even the weather. were no big deal.

“That is why you alThe big deal was ways have a plan B,” when the band she Rinehart said. scheduled for the wedFor the first five ding reception didn’t years, Mother Nature show. was a well-behaved “We talked to the guest at the weddings band at 3 p.m. and he Rinehart and her busisaid he was on his ness partner Jean Biway,” Beach said. glane directed.

When the band still “Neither one of us hadn’t shown up and had dealt with the hour and a half before weather until our Jennifer Beach the wedding, Beach daughters’ own wedNatchez resident started getting nerdings,” Rinehart said. vous.

As luck would have “When we called at 4 p.m. he it, Tropical Storm Michael aimed directly for Natchez in 2004 on the stopped answering the phone,” weekend Rinehart’s daughter, Mary Beach said.

With the ceremony about to beCatherine, was to be married.

“It poured,” Rinehart said. “In gin, Beach put off deciding what to the past we always planned on a do until after the wedding.

Hearing about their predicament, plan B, but never had to use it.”

With torrential rain and high two of Beach’s friends who were winds, Rinehart had to even ditch attending the wedding devised a plan to help. Ben Long and Hunter plan B. “For Mary Catherine’s wedding, Ogden left The Briars and went to we had to use plan C,” Rinehart Andrew’s Tavern on Main Street to collect D.J. equipment. said.

“By the time we had cut the cake Rinehart was not the wedding director of her daughter’s wedding, and done the toast, they had things but she still worked to make the set up downstairs underneath the weekend event go as smoothly as porch,” Beach said.

“Ben had a lot of music and we possible.

Original plans for the wedding in- had made CDs of fun wedding mucluded having the wedding party sic,” Beach said. “It just kind of and guests walk between the vari- kicked off from there.”

“People were having such a good ous wedding-related events.

“We hoped the clouds would part time, I don’t think anyone noticed and the sun would appear,” Mary the rain.”

Despite all of the problems, Beach Catherine Moffett said. “But that never happened.” says she still looks back with fondRinehart quickly leapt into ac- ness and laughter. tion.

“All of our friends knew we were “I went to every dollar store in there for the right reason, and we town to buy umbrellas for the wed- had a good time.” Beach said. “It’s ding party,” Rinehart said. definitely not something we will Rinehart bought almost every forget.”

“All of our friends knew

we were there for the right reason, and we had a good time. It’s definitely not something we will forget.”

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

33

it must be

LOVE Letters from courtships treasured by three couples

ERIC J. SHELTON & BEN HILLYER | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Handwritten love letters may have become a thing of the past, but for three local couples they will forever be treasured. Gladys Davis kept her letters, top right, in a cigarbox her daughter recently found. Shirley Merritt keeps the letters from her courtship with her husband Herman in a wicker basket, at left. Michele Humes keeps her letters from her husband Jason along with Valentine’s Day cards, at right.

High school sweethearts

S T O R Y B Y E M I LY L A N E

P

erhaps letter writing is an art that has gotten lost in a new era of keyboard communication.

Thoughtful reflection has, in some ways, been tossed out in favor of instant gratification, but a few local residents are lucky enough to have saved some gems of the most endearing variety of the handwritten word — love letters.

These letters were passed in high school hallways in the 1960s, left at a coffee pot between double shifts and sent overseas during World War II. The exchanges and circumstances are personal to each local couple, but they all express heartfelt messages of longing and love that still exist today.

ERIC J. SHELTON | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Shirley Merritt and her husband Herman Merritt have been married for 47 years.

Herman and Shirley Merritt first spotted each other in church.

Herman, now 69, admits he was the stereotypical preacher’s son — a troublemaker — who developed a crush on a girl in his father’s new church, shortly after the family moved from Hattiesburg to Natchez.

Shirley’s red hair and “pretty freckles” attracted him instantly, he said.

Shirley, now 67, still remembers spotting Herman in a pew with his mother, dressed in a “shiny white button-down.”

The Merritts started dating in 1958, “just as soon we could,” Herman said. He was 16, and she was 14.

Since telephone service at the time was through a party line shared with neighbors, there wasn’t much chance for privacy without the chance of a nosy neighbor listening in.

Love notes were the way to go back then, Shirley said.

The young couple passed notes every day, often recruiting friends between classes to help execute delivery missions.

Now piled in a basket in the Merritts’ Linwood

34 PROFILE 2011

BEN HILLYER | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Michele and Jason Humes wrote love letters to each other in the 1990s after their ex-spouses left them.

Court home, are more than 50 notes from Herman to Shirley that she has saved from their teenage courtship.

Their notes reflected daily high school life — and love. On Feb. 3, 1959, Herman wrote: Hi Sweetheart, I am in algebra now, and it is second period. We just had a test, but I don’t know what I made. Sweetheart I love you very much.

“Now Mr. Gore will know why he flunked algebra,” Shirley laughed after reading the note.

Herman insisted that he did eventually pass algebra.

Each of the five-decade-old notes is neatly folded into two-by-two inch squares.

That way, teachers were less likely to bust the young lovebirds since passing notes in school was “a big no-no,” Shirley said.

A newspaper delivery boy as a child, Herman said he simply scaled down his newspaper folding to notebook paper in order to discretely pass notes.

“There is an art to folding them that way,” Shirley said.

The Merritts even developed their own love letter code.

Herman wrote: Doll, it’s time for the bell, so I’ll close for now until next time. ByeBye for now, stay sweet + write real, real soon. Love forever & always,

Herman P.S. Is Amo Le & HOLLAND Shirley said “Is Amo Le” was how she learned to say, “I love you,” in Latin.

“HOLLAND,” stands for “Hope our love lasts and never dies,” she said.

Herman also signed his name with the initials “YFH,” which stood for “your future husband” penciled into the tail of the “n” in his name.

Shirley and Herman, parents of two children and grandparents to six, both said they are still in love with each other’s energy and zest for life.

Of course 47 years of marriage is not rosy 100 percent of the time, but both lovebirds credit determination, God and the inexplicable love they have for each other for the longevity of their marriage.

Humor helps, too.

“Both of us like to have fun,” Herman said.

“You got to have some humor.

We just really crack up about things.”

Since Herman’s job required him to travel much of the time, the couple enjoys being homebodies in Natchez now that he is retired.

The notes are aging. Shirley said it is difficult to unwrap the intricate folds on many of the letters without tearing them, but she just

cannot part with them.

“Each time I tried to toss them I felt like I was throwing away part of our lives and being disloyal to her one true love.

Another note from Herman to Shirley contained a prediction of their future together.

I’ll be glad when we get married, and have that little one-bedroom house with a fireplace, with a sofa in front.

Sitting on an oversized couch that faced a roaring fire in their living room, Shirley said she recently looked at the note and realized their life together turned out to be everything they dreamed when they were first teenagers in love.

Between shift sweethearts Now that Michele and Jason Humes have their house to themselves, they love indulging in their “We time,” as Michele, 41, calls it.

But when the two got together in 1990, the odds were against them.

Both were recently divorced at ages 18 and 20 years old. Ironically it was their ex-spouses who inadvertently introduced them when Michele’s first husband left her for Jason’s first wife.

While the relationship between their exes did not last, Michele said the heartbreak opened a serendipitous window that led her to the man she calls her soulmate and

Some things change.

As the center of river operations since 1956, Vidalia Dock and Storage is a family owned business that understands that community pride starts right here with us. We’ve grown because the community has grown.

Vidalia Dock and Storage provides tug services for area river facilities, services grain elevators and also has boats that work up and down the river. Two J Ranch sells limestone rocks for construction and landscaping projects of all sizes.

The business was built on pride in being a part of the community every day. That’s something that will never change.

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Back row l-r: Billy Moore, Sammy Nolden, Michael Melton, Travis Morace, Virginia Hudgens Middle row l-r: Curtis Cirilo, Corey Fortenberry, Darrel Cirilo, Ray Smedley, Richard Temple, Renee Walker Front row l-r: Sarah Wisner, Carla Jenkins, Maggie Lauren Miller, Bettye Jenkins, Sonny Jenkins

Some things remain the same.

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

35

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Callon Petroleum Company is one of only four Mississippi-headquartered companies listed on The New York Stock Exchange.

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36 PROFILE 2011

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her husband of 14 years.

Michelle and Jason each had two daughters before they were married, and the little girls were between the ages of 1-and-a-half and 4-years-old when the couple started dating.

A few years into their life together, they had a daughter together, Darlene, who is now 18 years old.

They raised their kids in Connecticut, where Michele was forced to work two jobs, including nightshifts to make ends meet for their estrogen-filled family.

Michele worked from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. at one point, while Jason worked for a landscaping company during the day.

“We didn’t even get to pass in the hallway, (love notes) were the only contact we had,” Jason said.

So the tradition began.

In order to keep in touch, both would leave notes at the coffee pot, on the dresser or night stand as little reminders of how much they loved and missed each other despite their hectic schedules.

We are going to have a good life together and things are going to be great for us. Life with you is something that has been my dream for a long time. Look into my eyes, it’s all there.

Forever yours, Jason Everette Humes.

In the left-hand corner, Jason, who Michele called Jay, drew a heart with the words “Jason loves Michele” inside.

Jason had trouble sleeping alone the first six months she worked at night, and the notes helped ease the loneliness.

“I think that’s how it started,” Michele said.

The notes allowed Jason to be “in on” Michele’s day since they were not able to speak.

“Getting a letter from (Michele) made me feel like she was there,” said Jason, now 45.

“It was like getting her thoughts like she was there talking.”

Jason and Michele were married in 1997, after they had been together seven years.

Michele said the notes they left for each other eventually moved into notebooks that each would continuously write in and then leave notes around the house to remind the other to “check it.”

“Did you see the note?” they would ask each other, reminding the other to see what was left in their perpetual exchange.

Some of the notes were more romantic, some were more practical and others were ... private, she said.

This note written in 1997, was just before the two walked down the aisle: Michele, I hope you have wonderful day. Thanks for making my lunch and coffee ... I love you very much,

and I can’t wait till we can walk down the aisle.

P.S. I took $10 for cigs.

Michelle laughed at the cigarettes post-script.

She said she and Jason are still madly in love and will continue to be until they’re old and gray.

“It might come around faster than you think,” Jason joked.

Michele said they still hug and kiss when coming and going from the house, despite her children’s plea to “cut it out.”

“He still flirts with me, and I still flirt with him,” she said.

She said they both are laid back people who are unselfish, which helps their marriage.

What has perpetually sealed the deal, however, is their ability to communicate with each other, both said.

“Communication, absolutely,” Jason said.

The notes that started out of necessity developed into a way to open up.

“It’s easier to say how you feel on paper I think,” Michele said.

“I could sit down and talk to him, but I can express more in writing, and I noticed he’s the same way.”

Now that the Humes live in Roxie and work normal hours in Natchez — Michele works at Fat Mama’s Tamales and Jason does carpentry work — they write their notes and fill their journal for fun.

Michele thinks it might be one factor that not only keeps their relationship strong but helps it grow stronger as years pass.

“I can look back on (the journal), take it out from many, many years ago, and I still have same feelings,” Michele said.

“They’re more profound as the years go by, and they get stronger.

It is because we open up more, I guess.”

Now that the kids are grown — Darlene the youngest, works at Fat Mama’s with Michele and will start college in the fall — Jason and Michele will be just the two of them for the first time.

They will miss their children, but treasure their alone time.

“It’s not an empty nest; It’s ‘us time.’” Michele said.

Wartime sweethearts When Barbara Crumb was cleaning out her parents’ house just over two years ago, she stumbled upon a piece of personal history she never knew existed.

She and her niece found a 1940s cigar box overflowing and stuffed with letters sent from her father to her mother from where he was stationed during World War II. The old stationary is museum worthy — some letters are written on paper as thin as onionskin.

H.W. Davis wrote to Barbara’s

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

How close is too close to that power line?

ERIC J. SHELTON THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Gladys and H.W. Davis wrote love letters back and forth to each other during World War II. The couple planned their engagement through the letters. The couple, now in their 90s, live with their daughter Barbara Crumb. mother Gladys about the good days and “blue Mondays,” and his feelings for her.

They planned their engagement and their family all via pen, paper and stamp.

Barbara said she and her niece planted themselves on the floor for hours, going through the time capsules of adoration.

Barbara learned from the letters that her father proposed to her mother by mail.

In one letter H.W. inquired whether Gladys broke the news to her mother, “Muzzy.”

Have you said anything to Muzzy yet? If so what were her reactions? I guess I better cut the folks in it too.

Barbara asked her mother if she said yes.

“Eventually,” she said with a sassy tone, and H.W. laughed.

Gladys and H.W., both 90 now and known to the world as Granny and Pops, moved in with Barbara in 2008. In March 2009 both were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

They get confused from time to time, Barbara said, but both of their senses of humor are as sharp as a tack.

H.W. used to always tell Gladys he guessed he would have to marry her, “Because I can’t spell your last name,” he said.

“I told him there’s nothin’ to it — H-E-T-H-E-R-W-I-C-K, rolled off her tongue as if she was teasing him as a teenager.

One letter started, “Today is another blue Monday, and I do mean blue.”

Most letters were written from where H.W. was based in Hawaii when he was on rest and recuperation leave.

They also accomplished some family planning in their letters — something that Barbara said did not quite pan out as they intended in their correspondence.

Now I’ll agree we certainly will not do as the Kirks. With four children between them now and one on the way is too much for me. Don’t you think that half of what they have now have is sufficient? Two is enough for me — and your opinion?

Barbara laughed.

“I’m number three,” she said.

The longing in the letters can be felt as well. Some of them, H.W. admitted, he was writing to make sure he was “doing (his) part keep the morale up on the home front.”

While Gladys wrote every day, it was more difficult for him to write as often. U.S. government censorship, plus the long trail from Hawaii to San Francisco to Shreveport, where they grew up, made it so H.W. might not receive letters until sometimes months after they were sent.

Yesterday I received more letters from “my little redhead.”

He would often receive several at one time that had been backed up.

Once in a blue moon, they were able to talk on the telephone.

It surely was nice to hear your sweet voice last night Babe. I only wish that when I hear your voice that I could be beside you.

Each was signed with almost the same message.

Be sweet, take good care of yourself and remember, I love you dearly.

Reading the greeting aloud, H.W. spoke up.

“Well I did,” he said defensively.

“I still do.”

Barbara said although her parents might sometimes forget where they are, they never forget who they are with.

They share a double bed in their daughter’s house, but Barbara said a twin would work just fine.

“They cuddle every night,” she said.

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37

38 PROFILE 2011

I’VE GOT MY EYE ON YOU

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Watch programs make neighborhoods safer STORY BY CAIN MADDEN | PHOTO BY ROD GUAJARDO

T

wo days before Larry Hinson was scheduled to give away his beautiful daughter at the wedding of her dreams, a key part of the ceremony was stolen — two four-wheelers.

Don’t act surprised, this is the South and Hinson lives in the country. A redneck wedding is perfectly normal.

But without the four-wheelers, Hinson wouldn’t be able to drive his daughter down the aisle.

Luckily, finding replacement four-wheelers in this neck of the woods is never difficult.

New rides filled in at the ceremony, but Hinson’s interest in neighborhood crime fighting was piqued.

And no one else has lost a four-wheeler on his watch since.

them, and that the police are getting called.

They tend to go to another area to commit crime.”

Natchez Police Department Capt. Daniel White, who leads the Neighborhood Watch program for NPD, said residents on the streetlevel can help each other while making crime prevention much easier on the law enforcement agency.

“Most neighbors know what is going on in their neighborhoods, and when neighbors work together to watch each other’s backs and prevent crime — it works,” White said.

Citizens also get to know law enforcement officials through Neighborhood Watch programs, White said, building connections and developing trust.

Getting involved Hinson lives in the Kingston community, a rural area south of Natchez in which houses are somewhat spaced apart.

Crime isn’t common in Kingston, but it happens, and that’s why Hinson stays involved.

He never recovered the two locked fourwheelers stolen from behind his house before his daughter’s wedding, but he has done his part ever since to keep neighbors from becoming victims.

At the time of Hinson’s personal crime, Adams County Sheriff ’s Office Captain Randy Freeman was trying to get the Neighborhood Watch program revitalized.

“We have a good thing here in Kingston,” Hinson said. “I’ve lived here for 38 years, my wife and kids were raised here, and I’ve got a pile of friends here.

“Kingston is a community that is full of good people — people who love this place — people who also love their peace and security.”

Hinson said most of Kingston’s residents have lived in the community their whole lives.

Residents know each other, they know their neighbor’s families and they know what their neighbors drive. Residents even know what vehicles should be in their neighbor’s driveways — especially when a neighbor is on vacation and there should be no vehicle at all.

“We will call if there is suspicious activity, and if we call, a deputy will come check it out,” Hinson said. “People out here will not put up with crime.”

Extra eyes Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield and Natchez Police Chief Mike Mullins both say that citizens can stop crime by simply using their eyes. “(Neighborhood Watch) is one of the most effective tools a police organization has to reduce crime in a neighborhood,” Mullins said.

“People who want to commit crimes do not want people watching them.

“They will notice that people are watching

“Most neighbors know what is going on in their neighborhoods, and when neighbors work together to watch each other’s backs and prevent crime — it works.”

Capt. Daniel White Natchez Police Department Neighborhood Watch coordinator

Trust, Mayfield said, is a two-way street.

“People are not going to call and give us information if they feel like they are going to get blown off,” Mayfield said. “It is our duty to make sure we seriously look into every call we get.”

Mayfield said it becomes much more difficult to prevent crimes or solve crimes when people won’t talk to law enforcement officials; and it also makes the job very dangerous for the street-level deputy.

“Neighborhood Watch helps foster trust between the community and the law enforcement agency,” Mayfield said. “We interact with them at their meetings, and help build transparency by answering their questions.

We also appreciate the information people call in.”

Mullins points to the Woodlawn area, as one of the successes the Neighborhood Watch program has created in the city.

“We revitalized the program there about two

years ago,” Mullins said. “We now receive fewer calls for service in the area.”

When Woodlawn Neighborhood Watch captain Valencia Hall moved back into the area three years ago, it was common to hear gunshots, see groups of people loitering on the corner and witness drug sales.

Now, Hall said people will not hesitate to call in any suspicious activity, and such activity has become very rare.

“I feel much safer knowing my neighbors are watching my back, but I do not do this for me,” Hall said. “This community has a large population of elderly people, and I don’t want to see them afraid to go in their own front yard.”

Hall, like Mayfield, believes in the transparency, or an open bridge, between the community and the law enforcement agencies, even though she knows some information has to be withheld.

“Just recently, I received a phone call from a Metro Narcotics officer that several arrests were made in our area,” Hall said. “That is an example of the open bridge we have with the agencies. Trusting relationships have developed because of this.”

Fellowship Mayfield said Neighborhood Watch can also help bring people in the community closer together.

“People have come up and told us that they didn’t know so-and-so lived here — but now they are friends,” Mayfield said. “This year at Providence, they had a big cookout that basically amounted to a neighborhood picnic. It absolutely fosters good will among the neighbors.”

Woodlawn also has a large cookout for National Night Out. “All of the streets involved in our watch get together for a big cookout on National Night Out, and the police departments come visit,” Hall said. “We have food and music, all provided by neighborhood members.”

Hall said the program’s leaders also hope to provide a back-to-school blowout for the school-aged children in the neighborhood.

Out in Kingston, the group also has fellowship at the regular meetings, after the night’s speaker has spoken, Hinson said.

“We will get together and eat afterward,” Hinson said. “The main thing about this, for the Neighborhood Watch, is that we talk about what is going on in the neighborhood. We share information about what we’ve seen.”

Joining Mullins encouraged anyone interested in joining, starting or getting more information on the Neighborhood Watch program to contact White at 601-445-7536. Contact the Adams County Sheriff ’s Office at 601-442-2752 for more information, including how to join or create a Neighborhood Watch on the county level.

Larry Hinson, at left, stays involved in the Kingston Neighborhood Watch program. Hinson got involved with the Neighborhood Watch after two four-wheelers were stolen from his house.

39

40 PROFILE 2011

The members of the First Baptist Church Natchez benevolent committee are, from left, Antie Holland, Eddy Kay McCall, Donna Carr, Nell Blackwell, Barbara Persons, Lanius Fortenberry and Lois Gore.

FOOD for the SOUL Zion Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church’s benevolent committee, above, is, from left, Nan Fitzgerald, Aline Mazique, Claristeen Beard, Clementen Youngblood and Velmon Haynes.

At left, Parkway Baptist Church’s benevolent committee includes, from left, Elizabeth Calhoun, Arlene Marler, Shirley Merritt, Pat Davis, Suzy Huber, Pam Sandel, Mary Dill, Christine Smith, Peggy Hill and Dawn Brewer.

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Churches feed more than stomachs during time of need STORY BY MICHAEL KEREKES PHOTOS BY ERIC SHELTON

41

W

hen Jimmy June’s mother died in September, the community around him made sure he wasn’t alone — or hungry.

And when Gloria Seals lost her godmother, a group of friends were quick to step in to ease her burden.

It’s a story repeated over and over in the Miss-Lou, and it’s a story area churches have been creating for decades.

The Parkway Baptist Church bereavement committee made sure June and his family didn’t have to worry about a meal following his mother’s funeral. And June said the meal provided was “one of the best meals you ever wanted to eat.”

“I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” June said. “They waited on us, and there was more food than you could eat. It was a delicious meal, and they packed some leftovers up for us to take home.”

Jumping in and providing support for a grieving family is the role of the church, said the Rev. Birdon Mitchell, head pastor at Zion Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

“We’re a church family, and just as the word of God says, the strong must bear the infirmities of the weak,” Mitchell said.

“When one family is going through the loss of a loved one, other families help carry a burden. A family is only as strong as its weakest link. If that person is down at that time, we have to be strong for them.”

That support from Zion was exactly what Seals needed, she said. When she received the phone call with bad news, it took a while for

the news to settle in.

“It was at night when they called, and it was a shock,” Seals said. “She had been ill, and the doctor said it was terminal, so it wasn’t a (total) surprise, but it was still a surprise. I guess it’s not meant for us to know the timing.”

The following Saturday was the funeral, and Seals said the church’s bereavement committee hosted a meal in the reception hall.

“It was wonderful,” she said. “At a time like that, you’re not really yourself. By taking that burden off of the family, it helped a lot.”

And Seals said she was very grateful for what the committee did in order to be there for her family.

“I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart,” Seals said. “I’ll always remember that and be grateful to them. My godmother had been a

Pam Sandel prepares food for a church member at Parkway Baptist Church. Sandel and others prepare meals for church members who have family members who have died.

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42 PROFILE 2011

Nan Fitzgerald, left, and Clementen Youngblood, right, of Zion Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church’s benevolent committee, prepare food after a funeral at the church.

member for (approximately) 80 years, and it showed that they really did care for her.”

The Rev. Jason Cole, the associate pastor at Parkway Baptist, said the bereavement committee’s job is to provide a meal to any church member who loses a loved one. They also provide the service to some people who may have been a member in the past, but lost a family member who still attended the church, he said.

“We’ve done it for years, but we actually got around to organizing it about five years ago,” Cole said.

“This is important, because it gives us a chance to minister to and comfort the family. It provides for a physical need and allows them to get together, reminisce and reconnect. It’s one less thing the family has to worry about.”

Cole said three or four bereavement teams exist in the church, and once a team captain of a group is notified, the captain will relay the food needs to the team.

The pattern is similar at First Baptist Church, Natchez, committee chairman Nell Blackwell said.

“If the family does want a meal, then we just make two or three calls,” she said.

The goal of the committee is to make accommodations so the family is as comfortable as possible after the meal. And that extends beyond just a meal for the family.

“If the family wants to come back to the reception room during visitation and take a break, they’d stay with us for a while,” she said.

“We’ll have crayons for children and would let them sit at a table. The church furnishes all the paper goods, ice and the meal, and we’ll also take the meal to a family member’s home if they want us to.”

The people on the committee are dependable people, Blackwell said, and they each have dishes for which they’re known. That way, when they’re called, they already know what meal to bring.

“I know I can get these people on the phone, and they’ll say, ‘What time do you want me to be there,’ and I know they’ll be there,” she said. “It always works out. Sometimes we worry a little bit, but we always have enough food and a relaxed atmosphere.”

For June, the Parkway committee met every need, even his desire for lemon icebox pie.

The meal took place in a Sunday school classroom at the church, and close to 50 people were fed.

“The ladies were just so great,” June said.

“They made our afternoon so much more pleasurable. It gave us time to sit around and talk to each other without having to worry about getting food prepared. The ladies acted like they had such a pleasure out of serving us.”

Having food waiting even made it possible for an ill family member to stick around and visit.

“It was very special that we were all able to be with him,” June said.

Nancy Bowman, a member at First Baptist who has benefited from the bereavement meals in the past, said the work their committee does is very comforting to the family in need.

“There’s just something about someone doing things like coming into the kitchen, staying in the house and washing clothes that’s very comforting,” Bowman said.

Debbie Foster, who is on the church’s committee, said the desire for church ladies to feed families in need speaks to the friendly culture of the South.

“It’s just typical Southern women,” Foster said. “It’s a Southern custom to feed the family while they’re grieving. We try to serve comfortable food like casseroles, vegetables or meat.

“There’s not a lot you can do for the family at this time, but it’s just a small part of taking care of basic physical needs.”

And Blackwell said the members of the committee thoroughly enjoy doing it.

“We love it. This is one of our things we do, and we love it. Everything is about the family.

It’s not about us, it’s about doing exactly what the family would like done.”

SUE Stedman 601-431-7653

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LIZ James, GRI 601-597-7873

PATTI Sanders 601-807-0690

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

PASS IT ON

King loves to give away her garden treasures

V

ery few people leave Joanne King’s Adams County house without a plant of some sort.

And no one would leave empty-handed if King could always get her way.

STORY BY JENNIFER EDWARDS | PHOTOS BY HANNAH REEL

Joanne King, above, looks at a cashmere bouquet blossom growing in her pass-a-long garden at her home on Pruett Road. Everything that grows in King’s yard is a plant she has received from someone. King also gives away various clippings and seeds, at left, from her plants to family and friends.

43

44 PROFILE 2011

Joanne King lines one of her pass-a-long flower beds with newspaper that she will then cover with peat and pine straw to keep the grass from growing in the bed. King has more than 40 beds that are all planted with flowers and trees that she’s received from friends and family.

For King, spreading flowers, shrubs and even trees, is her way of spreading blessings.

“I’ve given plants to everyone that comes out here,” she said. “I’ve given things to the mailman, the man who reads the meter, neighbors, friends, basically anyone who wants something can have it.

King is likely queen of pass-along plants in the Miss-Lou, and her two-acre yard is the kingdom she rules.

And the plants she is so willing to share, they were once someone else’s. King said 90 percent of the flowers, shrubs and trees in her yard are pass-along flowers that were either given to her or she propagated from seeds or cuttings from other plants.

When King moved with her husband to their Pruett Road home, the site had just been cleared and was lacking “the life flowers and plants give a place,” King said.

“We had 80 trees cut before we moved out here,” King said. “There was nothing here, so I had a lot to do and a lot to work with.”

So King, standing at her kitchen window and looking at the backyard, started planning. She decided where she’d design flower beds, what areas would be best for trees and where fast-spreading plants would have room to flourish.

Then it was time to work. She first planted the few plants she brought from her previous house in Natchez and then started collecting plants to fill her new yard.

“It has always been my saying that when you move from a house you take a few plants, leave a few and share a few,” she said. “I definitely brought some with me to this house, but not nearly what you see today.”

Today, the yard is filled with more than 20 individual flowerbeds, all of which are overflowing.

“When I started doing beds, my thought was ‘If an area is going to be hard to mow, I’ll just make it a flowerbed,” King said.

Confederate roses, cashmere bouquets, Mexican petunias, narrow-leave sunflowers, crape myrtle trees, aloe vera plants, bay leaf trees, hidden ginger, different varieties of day lilies and other plants encompass the landscape.

In many cases, King can remember exactly where

“It has always been my saying that when you move from a house you take a few plants, leave a few and share a few.”

Joanne King Adams County gardener

the plant originated. Some plants — most of the roses in her garden — were grown from clippings from the Natchez City Cemetery. Some were gathered when she did yard work for people in the community and at least once was rescued from roadwork, King said.

“When work was being done on the (Natchez) Trace, there was this beautiful spirea that was just going to be discarded,” King said. “I saw it one day and came back and got it the next. No one else was going to do anything with it, and now I’ve been able to share it with other people.”

King even walked away from a yard sale in Memphis with a plant.

“I saw this beautiful althea in the yard and asked about it,” King said. “I brought back a clipping, and it has done wonderfully.

“The flower wasn’t in the sale, but it was what I wanted,” King said laughing.

King learned about propagation while in the Master Gardeners class at the Adams County Extension Service and has put that knowledge to work ever since. She said the trick is to know what each plant needs to successfully propagate.

Some are as easy as covering a clipping with dirt or just sticking it in the ground and waiting for Mother Nature to do her magic. Others have to be planted as seeds or need to be given time to form roots before being planted.

But King said she has met very few plants that can’t be divided and moved. In fact, she said, plants need to be divided.

“Plants need to be divided every three to five years, or it is bad for the plants,” King said. “If you have to divide them anyway, you might as well share with someone else.”

And King is more than happy to share. Elaine Gemmell, a fellow Master Gardener said there is hardly a meeting to which King doesn’t bring a bag, box or truckload of seeds, clippings or bulbs to share.

“I think each one of us may have something in our own gardens that Joanne gave to us,” Gemmell said. “That is one of the things she really enjoys doing, and we are always happy to have something new to plant.”

King even uses plants as payment, when cash isn’t accepted.

“Our neighbor helped us with a yard project and he wouldn’t let us pay him,” King said. “I had to do something to say ‘Thank you’ so I planted a row of crape myrtles in front of his house.

“Sharing plants is how I get my blessings.”

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

45

WHAT WAS RIGHT ERIC J. SHELTON | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Creseda Crawford, now a teacher at the school she helped integrate, was the only black member of the South Natchez High School dance team in 1975.

For students, living through desegregation was more than a black and white issue STORY BY EMILY LANE

I

n 1975, Natchez High School teacher Creseda Davis Crawford was thrust into a racial conflict that started on the same campus where she now teaches.

Crawford, 52, was a high school senior and the only black member of the dance team a few years after South Natchez High School was integrated.

But when no black students were elected to the homecoming court, some members of the black community asked Crawford to boycott what they saw as discrimination by refusing to dance with the team at homecoming.

The problem was, she did not see it that way.

Crawford said she had been on the court in past years and had received votes from white students. She was nominated in 1975

but was simply not elected.

“I started getting threatening phone calls,” Crawford said.

Some of the voices on the other side of the phone said she would be shot if she danced at homecoming, Crawford said.

Elected officials even contacted the 16year-old asking her to boycott the performance, she said.

“I just didn’t see it,” Crawford recalled.

“My name was on the ballot.”

Crawford said she reasoned that since she had an opportunity to be elected, it would not be fair to not to dance.

Black football players and cheerleaders followed her lead.

“They told me, ‘If you’re going to dance, we’re going to play,’” she said.

Crawford said fathers of many of the dance team members rode the bus with

46 PROFILE 2011

The Sadie V. Thompson class of 1969 poses for a photo at its 10-year high school reunion. The school closed in 1970. Linda Jennings, below, was a member of the 1969 class. the team and surrounded the dance team on the field and in the stands to make sure they were safe.

“I probably danced harder that night then I did my entire life,” Crawford said.

Crawford said she was not trying to be difficult or “go against the grain” of the black community.

“I just wanted to do what was right,” she said.

Thirty-six years later, Crawford stands by her decision and said it was an easy one to make.

Crawford’s story showed courage amid racial tension at a time when South Natchez High was approximately 65-percent white and 35-percent black.

Crawford and many other people who were students in the early years of desegregation remember those times as marked with racial tension.

But many of those students’ high school memories are a special type of memory that crosses color lines — memories of being a teenager.

“When you’re young like that it’s not as easy to pick up on overt discrimination,” Crawford said.

Participating in sports and being on the dance team, especially transcended racial lines, Crawford said.

“We were like sisters,” she said of the dance team.

BEN HILLYER | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

“We were more worried about competing and winning, having fun and makeup and boys — regular teenage stuff.”

Not so regular For some, though, desegregation made a much larger impact on their daily school life.

In 1967, at age 17, Patricia McCoy West was the only black student to attend South Natchez High School for a semester.

“I was the first African American

to go there and stay,” West said.

Another black student before her attended South Natchez but did not complete a semester, she said.

There were no black faculty members at that time. West said she remembers she did not speak most of the day.

“I talked only to teachers and the staff,” she said.

“The custodial and cafeteria staff watched over me like guardian angels.”

She said the other students treated her as though she were invisible.

At lunch when she sat down at a table, all of the students would move to the other side of the table, “as if I had a contagious disease,” West said.

“At 16, I learned to find humor in their behavior. I was prepared for their ostracizing because I grew up in a family that trusted in God; also, I was always one who marched to her own music,” West said.

Like Crawford, West encountered those of her race who tried to stop her from integrating.

She transferred to the high school from Sadie V. Thompson High School in January at the end of the first semester of her junior year.

“I wanted to see if the schools were “separate but equal,” (and to) acquire the best education that I could possibly obtain,” West said.

West said she noticed the differences — new books, equipment and up-to-date facilities.

“I had seen old, used books and scanty equipment (at Thompson),” she said.

She remembered when two white students once came to talk to her while she was sitting outside during a break from class.

“Ironically, (those white stu-

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

dents) broke the line of silence. I was pleasantly surprised but cautious.

“I have not seen or talked to either of them in years, but I consider them friends. That day was a highlight for me,” West said.

West was soon joined in 1968 by four other black students. The other black students were Carolyn Mosby, the late wife of Phillip West, who later became Patricia West’s sister-in-law; Deborah Toles, who later married the late former alderman, George Hardin; Adair White; and Roosevelt Turner.

The students all graduated as the first five black students from Natchez-Adams High in May 1968.

“All of us went off to college and became either a teacher, social worker or engineer,” West said.

All lives changed Matilda Stephens remembers the effects of desegregation on the white community, as well.

“When private schools came into existence, huge white flight began into the private schools,” Stephens said.

Schools such as Trinity Episcopal Day School and Adams County Christian School created more openings for white students to avoid

“It was a really confusing time for all of us who thought, “Well, what’s going on? Why are we losing friends to different schools?’”

Matilda Stephens Natchez High School 1975 graduate

integration in the public schools.

Stephens graduated from Natchez High in 1975, where she danced with Crawford on the dance team.

Stephens said many friendships she made in preschool and lower elementary school were lost by the time she got to high school because those students transferred to private schools.

She said the movement also created a social structure among white students that was not as apparent before.

“There was a mindset, whether correct or not, that if you were rich you went to private school, and if

you were not so rich, you went to public school.”

“It was a really confusing time for all of us who thought, “‘Well, what’s going on? Why are we losing friends to different schools?’”

Stephens said when she was in middle school at Margaret Martin, the ratio was near 50/50 between black and white students. Her friendships at that age with students of both races gave her mindset she lives by today, she said.

“I think my comfort level with different races and those who are not like me — a lot of that was colored by that year at Margaret Martin,” Stephens said.

Linda Jennings remembers desegregation from a different perspective, though. She was one of the majority of black high school students at the time to remain at Sadie V. Thompson High School.

She talks about desegregation as if it was an inevitable storm.

“We knew it was coming when it came,” Jennings said.

Jennings, who graduated in 1969, remembers she did not want to attend the integrated school.

“I had relatives and friends that did attend, and they had problems with other students who said nasty

things to them,” she said.

Jennings remembers attending a birthday party of one of her friends who attended Natchez High School. White students were invited as well. “(The white students) had one face at the party and another at school; (the white students) did not want to be known for socializing with (black students),” Jennings said. “There was fear on both sides.”

Jennings said she would often ask her friends who attended Natchez High why they chose to do it.

She said they thought they would perhaps get a better education at the white school, Jennings said.

“Our books were old; we got their rejects,” she said.

Jennings said she remembered in 1969 how white teachers and black teachers would rotate between Sadie V. Thompson and Natchez High.

Jennings said two white teachers she had, one — Jim Browning — did not show any type of fear.

“They just were good teachers,” Jennings said.

She said Sadie V. Thompson also had some wonderful black teachers, which was one reason some black

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48 PROFILE 2011 community members were reluctant to integrate.

Jennings’ husband, Ralph Jennings, who was in the first graduating class at Thompson in 1954, said the black community’s thoughts toward desegregation were mixed for a few reasons.

Ralph said in the 1950s the black community was still recovering from the losses of the 1940 Rhythm Night Club fire, which killed 200 members of the black community.

He said since the fire took the lives of the football coach, basketball coach and band director, those programs took approximately 15 years to recover.

“By 1954, (the black community was) just emerging from that pall. The fire hung over the issue of desegregation,” he said.

Another reason was the construction of Sadie V. Thompson High School, a first-class facility in the middle of a black neighborhood.

Black families did not feel it was as urgent to remove their children from Thompson and enroll them at “the white school,” largely because Thompson was a good school.

Ralph’s father, T.M. Jennings Sr., was the assistant principal at Brumfield during the civil rights era.

The class action suit, Brown versus Board of Education that challenged “separate but equal” education, was filed in 1951. Thompson was built by the time the Supreme Court ruled in

“Now in later years, in some ways it has been good, and I still have to say in some ways it wasn’t.

But it was something that needed to be done.”

Linda Jennings 1969 Sadie V. Thompson School graduate 1954 that it was unconstitutional to have separate black and white public students.

Ralph said the notoriety of the Little Rock Nine in 1957 and other desegregations shone light on the inevitability of desegregation in Natchez.

“It was sort of like dominos,” he said.

Desegregation would take another 10 years in Natchez, however.

Jennings said the construction of Thompson was done in part to impede the inevitable desegregation process spreading across the country.

Looking back, Linda has mixed feelings about those times.

“Now in later years, in some ways it has been good, and I still have to say in some ways it wasn’t,” she said. “But it was something that needed to be done.”

Year After Year

Truly integrated?

Ralph said race relations in Natchez have changed since he graduated from high school almost 60 years ago.

Substantive interactions between white and black people of both business and social nature do exist in Natchez, he said, but recognition of the racial distinctions often makes the interactions inhibited.

“The (racial) barrier is still there, but it’s not as sharp,” Ralph said. “The distinction is softer.”

West said she is saddened that the racial climate in education in Natchez has not changed in the last 40 years as much as she would have hoped as a high school graduate in 1968.

The most recent data shows that in the 2008-2009 school year, 91 percent of the 3,988 students in the Natchez-Adams School District were black, 8 percent were white and 1 percent was either Hispanic or Asian.

In order for the next generation to compete globally, they must be tolerant of other cultures, races and genders, West said “I believe in excellent public schools; therefore, it is my hope that lofty educational standards in Mississippi become a priority for all students so that each young person can have the opportunity to be exposed to the best teachers, equipment, and facilities in America,” she said.

Crawford also said she finds it unfor-

tunate that her students do not have the opportunity to get to know or become friends with more students from another race.

“Whites are living in their communities and blacks are living in theirs,” Crawford said.

Crawford said she is hopeful that if educators from schools with students of all races come together to work on shared goals, they could make great strides in progress.

“Any time we can share ideas you’re at an advantage,” Crawford said.

Linda Jennings, a recently retired teacher who taught kindergarten for 27 years, said her experience being around young students has taught her much about race relations.

Just as Crawford was more concerned with dancing, boys and other teenage issues rather than racial separations, Jennings notices the inherent colorblind nature of school children.

“To see those little kids together, they don’t know anything about race. It’s just the poison as they grow up that some of them get infected with it,” she said.

Ralph Jennings said it is natural both white and black communities had mixed ideas on the issue of desegregation.

Laws can establish an outward racial structure, but progress must occur from within.

“Change fundamentally resides with the people,” he said.

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

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Come October 2011 if you happen to spot a Democrat employee or two running around town doing something unusual, game on – it’s Profile 2012.

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50 PROFILE 2011

For the home team Dr. Tom and Jeannie Milliken didn’t know where their children would end up after leaving the nest. They were overjoyed when their son Tom Terry and his wife Bridget, at left, married and moved back to Ferriday and when their daughter Summer recently announced her engagement to Natchez native Drew Thompson, at right.

For Milliken family home is truly where the heart is

W

hen Ferriday residents Dr. Tom and Jeannie Milliken shipped their two kids to Baton Rouge for college, the couple had no clue what section of the real world might snatch up their babies.

That was approximately 10 years ago.

But when their son Tom Terry, 29, moved back to Ferriday less than three years ago to marry his childhood classmate, they felt as though they had at least roped one back in for the home team.

STORY BY EMILY LANE PHOTOS BY BEN HILLYER And in October, when Tom Terry and his wife announced they were pregnant, the Milliken crew gained another pea-sized team member for their proverbial red-rover game.

But when a Natchez guy asked Tom for his daughter Summer’s hand in marriage in January they were at a loss of words for their luck.

“It’s awesome. It’s awesome,” Jean-

nie repeated, smiling with her eyes wide and head shaking.

The newly-engaged couple planned to settle just across the river in Natchez.

Tom said he never thought he would be fortunate enough to have both his children back at home.

The fact that they are starting roots of their own nearby is something he’d always hoped for but on which he never counted.

Now suddenly, the youngest baby is going to be a father and both children are starting families in the MissLou.

Tom Terry and the former Bridget Anders announced their new addition in a unique way.

The couple had just moved into their new house in Ferriday and made a big effort to gather the Milliken and Anders troops for a housewarming dinner party.

Summer said she was curious as to what the big production was about — with all of them having busy lives, family gatherings are often more casual.

Bridget confirmed it was difficult to gather every member of both families at once.

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

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51

52 PROFILE 2011

REFRESHING THE MISS-LOU SINCE 1906

Tom Terry Milliken and his wife Bridget announced in October that they are expecting their first child.

“I had to beg my sister to come,” rial Day weekend 2010 and quickly knew marriage was the right she said.

When all arrived they were move, they said.

Summer said she knew she impressed but puzzled to find a trick-or-treat bag at each place wanted to marry Drew, but she was truly surprised when he prosetting.

Inside was a photo card con- posed.

She said they had discussed taining a snapshot of the sonomarriage, and even though she gram. was ready, she was preJeannie said the surpared to wait a couple prise got her good. of years for him to finThe weekend beish school before popfore, Jeannie spotping the question. ted Bridget drinking “I would have waited a Michelob Ultra at forever,” she said. their house during Instead, she can aldinner. ready begin the countShe called her down to marrying her daughter with the best friend. lack of news.

Jeannie said she was “I called Summer not as surprised. and said ‘Summer!

“I think Summer (Bridget’s) not pregkind of let us know nant; she was drinklittle by little, how ing a beer,’” Jeannie (Drew) treated her so said, mimicking her politely and graciousconspiring, frustrated tone.

Jeannie Milliken ly and how much she liked that,” Jeannie But the joke was on mother said.

Jeannie.

And getting to know “I poured water intheir future son-in-law to the bottle,” Bridget was no difficult task. said.

“Drew never meets a stranger, Less than three months later, the Millikens received more great he can talk to anyone about anything and make you feel comfortnews. Summer was engaged.

Her fiancé, Drew Thompson, able,” she said.

“Both Tom and I know that 30, offered Summer his grandDrew loves Summer and Summother’s ring and a lifetime of commitment during dinner at mer surely loves Drew.”

Tom Terry and Bridget’s baby Monmouth Plantation on Jan. 6. is due June 21; they’ve decided She accepted.

The two started dating Memo- to let the gender of the baby be

“Both Tom and I know that Drew loves Summer and Summer surely loves Drew.”

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

for a while. a surprise.

Tom remembers how everyDrew and Summer will be married Nov. 12 at the First thing changed when Drew enPresbyterian Church in Nat- tered the picture.

“Summer wasn’t coming back chez.

“They’re getting married on … And then she bumped into Drew,” he said. opening day of duck Summer’s travelseason,” Tom Terry ing aspirations took jokingly complained her to a variety of — well, half jokingplaces around the ly. world and even to Jeannie said she Haiti to help after never expected her the earthquake of children to come 2010, but she ended home to the Missup falling for a local Lou at least until guy. after they had chilDrew had just ardren. rived home in May, “Especially Sumalso after living in mer. She wanted to Birmingham, to atsee the world,” Jeantend Alcorn State nie said. “And she University to earn has seen the world.” a master’s degree in Summer was takcounseling. ing a break in NatSummer Milliken “For three years chez from a traveldaughter I moved around. ing physical therapy Then I came home program when she for a spurt and nevreconnected with Drew, who was a mutual friend er intended stay and just fell in before they dated. She entered love,” Summer said.

Having the whole family nearthe program after getting her doctoral degree in physical by to ring in the rites of passage is a blessing for the Millikens, therapy from the University of they said.

Alabama at Birmingham.

“Within 8-and-a-half months, Summer decided last May to take a short break from her suit- I’ll get a new grandbaby and a case lifestyle to manage Tom’s son,” Tom said.

“It’s a dream come true.”

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53

54 PROFILE 2011

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LOSING THEIR

WAY

Getting lost is part of experience for most hunters

Protecting the City of Vidalia STORY BY MICHAEL KEREKES PHOTOS BY ERIC J. SHELTON

602 John Dale Drive • Vidalia, LA • 318-336-5254

I

n the life of an outdoorsman or woman, it’s a given that you’re eventually going to get lost in the woods. Just ask Vidalia resident Jason Stanley.

“There are so many things that go wrong in the woods. People just don’t realize,” Stanley said.

“If you’re a hunter, you’ve been lost.

If you haven’t been lost, you need to play the Powerball, because you have really good luck.”

Stanley said one of his more memorable experiences was in the woods near Liberty Road with a friend of his.

“It was just when GPS came out, about eight or nine years ago. We left the GPS in the truck because my friend wanted to use the compass,”

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Vidalia resident Jason Stanley was lost in the woods near Liberty Road in Natchez, with only a compass to guide him.

Stanley said.

That turned out to be a big mistake. After spending much of the day hunting, the two began their trek back to the truck around 6 p.m., Stanley said.

“After you’ve walked for an hour and realized the truck’s not there and there’s no sign of a dirt road or a highway, that’s your clue that you’re lost,” he said.

All the while, Stanley’s friend said he was insisting to Stanley that he knew which direction to go. “‘We go this way, we go this way,’ is what he would tell me. Finally about 1 a.m., we heard a car. At that point, I told him, ‘Look, you can go that way, I’m going this way,’” Stanley said.

“If you’re a hunter, you’ve been lost. If you haven’t been lost, you need to play the Powerball, because you have really good luck.”

Jason Stanley Vidalia resident About 1:30 that morning, the two followed the noise of cars going by and ended up on Mississippi 33 — about eight miles away from where they parked on Liberty Road.

“We finally flagged down an older lady that had kids or something

and said, ‘Look, we don’t mean no harm, we just want to know where Liberty Road is,’” Stanley said.

After pointing out to the two that they were walking in the wrong direction, Stanley and his friend reversed course and started the long walk back to their truck. Fortunately for them, the woman they flagged down had a soft spot for the two hunters.

“She said, ‘Do y’all need a ride?’

I said, ‘Would you mind?’” Stanley said.

At 2 a.m., the men finally got back to the truck, and Stanley said his worried wife was there to greet him when he finally got home.

“She was asking where I had been, and I told her I was on a walkabout.

We walked all the way through the national forest,” he said.

Even though Stanley and his friend didn’t know where they were, Stanley said he was able to remain relatively calm. His friend, on the other hand, didn’t.

“He was getting kind of worried.

I didn’t really panic though. I knew we were going to come out somewhere,” Stanley said.

Natchez resident Leighton Burley said keeping your cool is key.

He got lost with two friends while tracking a deer in October 2009.

Many would think it’s better to be lost with someone than alone, but for Burley and his group, tempers were short when they realized they didn’t know where they were.

55

56 PROFILE 2011

“At first, I was kind of argumentative with everyone, because everyone was pointing in a different direction and saying that was the way back to the truck,” Burley said.

“It was a mess. We finally said we’d all head in one direction, and we ended up on the road opposite to where we were supposed to be. Our flashlight batteries were going dead at that point.”

After reaching the road, Burley and his group walked a mile and a half to where their truck was parked. The experience lasted approximately two hours.

“Some people get kind of freaked out. One of my buddies was starting to get scared, but I’ve been in worse situations.

You just have to work at it, and you’ll get out.”

And it’s probably because Burley had been in a much more serious situation that he was able to keep his composure.

Burley used to live in Alaska while working for the oil and gas industry, and one day he and a friend decided to ride snowmobiles after approximately four inches of snow had fallen.

“We were eight miles away

Vidalia Resident Jason Stanley got lost in the forests of Southwest Mississippi several years ago during a hunting trip with friends. from our truck when the gas in my snowmobile ran out. It was about 4:30 in the afternoon, and at that time of the year in Alaska, the sun goes down about 5,” Burley said.

“I had to hop onto my friend’s snowmobile, and we got back to our truck running on fumes, basically.”

After getting back to the ve-

hicle, the two men had to fill up the snowmobile, and then get some extra gas to bring out to the other and ride it back.

It was 20 degrees below zero outside at that point and Burley said they were very fortunate to just barely make it back to the truck.

“We would probably have had to try and start a fire, or just

freeze to death,” he said.

Not everyone who has gotten lost exhibits calmness when assessing the situation though. It’s especially tough when you’re just a child, Natchez resident Jimmy Allgood said.

Allgood, a co-host for the television show Redneck Adventures, is known for his funloving personality, but getting lost in the swamplands of Sibley, La., as a 10-year-old was no laughing matter for Allgood.

Allgood was hunting with his grandfather at the time, and he was in the middle of heading off his deer-hunting dogs. When he reached the swamp where they were, he couldn’t find the trail leading back to his grandfather.

“There’s a certain time when you truly realize that, yes, I’m far enough away from anyone on this particular property that no one’s hearing me when I call,” Allgood said.

“It’s pretty easy to get turned around when you find yourself surrounded by cypress trees that all tend to look alike.”

And that’s when the fear began to set in, he said.

“This was the cold time of the year. I remember it being so cold

Voss knows how to survive being lost

W

Freddie Voss plans numerous survival hikes for Boy Scout Troop 158.

hen trying to survive being lost in the woods, there are few locals better armed with advice than Freddie Voss.

Voss is a Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 158 in Natchez. He’s planned numerous survival hikes, which help teach Scouts what to do if they ever get lost in the wilderness.

“The big thing is to make do with what you find. We also have the STOP principles — stop, think, observe and plan what you’re going to do to survive the situation,” Voss said.

There isn’t much difference between being lost while hunting versus hiking, other than the fact that you’re carrying a gun, Voss said.

“Everything else you should be carrying anyway, a compass, whistle, a fishing hook, string, a pocketknife and matches,” Voss said.

Voss, who hunts, said he’s been lost several times, and it’s not an uncommon occurrence.

“If you’ve ever been lost or just turned around in the woods, it’s scary,” Voss said.

“You have to be prepared.

You’ll be surprised how many people go to the hunting camp, sit in a deer stand during the daylight hours, and when you come down after dark, everything looks the same.”

Even though your first instinct is to walk around until you find a familiar setting, Voss said the best thing to do is to stay put and wait

for rescue.

“I’ve heard in Mississippi there isn’t a place you can go before you hear a dog barking or an oil pump pumping, but you may have to walk for a while,” Voss said.

“If you don’t see something you recognize after a while, it’s best just to sit.”

Voss also said not panicking is extremely important, since you can’t think clearly when you’re panicking. He also said it’s important to take as many preventative measures as you can.

“Use the buddy system. Always go with someone and always tell someone where you’re going and when you’ll return,” he said.

“That way, they’ll know to look for you.”

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

57

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“She was a bit shaken. that the dogs were shivering. It’s a scary feel- She didn’t have a clue how to tell me where they ing,” Allgood said.

“I was lost probably were,” Dickinson said.

Dickinson said her about three hours, but for a 10-year-old, that f r i e n d s g e t t i n g l o s t seems like an eternity. wasn’t surprising, since The fear was there the it was a large wooded area and they had only whole time.”

And when he finally ridden with Dickinson heard the hor n of his through the area once.

“It was a cold night. I g randfather’s vehicle blaring, Allgood said it couldn’t go back in the woods and look for them was a beautiful sound.

“There’s nothing like after dark, because I becoming un-lost,” he knew I’d get lost,” Dickinson said. said.

Dickinson asked the Getting lost in the two campers to woods is not exhelp her find her clusive to male missing friends. deer hunters, The men agreed, though. Natand went out ch e z re s i d e n t searching.

Deborah DickWhat eninson recalls sued was an enone evening in tire evening of December 2008 searching for when she had her four friends, to find several which included female friends turning a horse in the woods at loose, a truck Br ushy Creek getting stuck at Guest Ranch in the gate to the Gloster. land and search Dickinson parties finding went for a horsethe missing peoback ride by herple, only to get self that mornlost themselves. ing, and got done The whole adriding by 4:30 venture ended p.m. When she at approximatehad set out from ly 3:30 the next the camp at the mor ning. Latstart of the day, er that mor nshe noticed her Deborah ing, after some four friends had Dickinson of Dickinson’s already gone off Natchez resident friends returned riding, but they to Jackson, she weren’t there to and her remaingreet her when ing friends went she returned.

After striking up a searching for the horse conversation with some that had gotten away. campers nearby, Dickin- They finally found the son said she talked for an mare at approximately hour before noticing it 5 p.m.

A few months later, was 5:30 and her friends still weren’t back. When Dickinson said she saw 6:30 rolled around, long one of the two men that after it had gotten dark helped search for her outside, Dickinson said missing friends at the she knew her friends Brushy Ranch.

“It was dark, and I went were lost.

Dickinson then got in up to him and asked him her truck and drove to if he remembered who I where she could get cell was. His comment was, phone service and called ‘That was one hell of a night wasn’t it?’” one of her lost friends.

“It was a cold night. I couldn’t go back in the woods

and look for them after dark, because I knew I’d get lost.”

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58 PROFILE 2011

Making his

MARKS

Former ACCS coach leaves lasting legacy for area football

B

obby Marks might not be patrolling the football sidelines in the Miss-Lou anymore, but his legacy still lives on through three of his former players who learned plenty from their former coach.

Trinity coach David King, Cathedral coach Ron Rushing and Adams County Christian coach Paul Hayles all played for Marks when he coached at ACCS. Marks had two different stints coaching the Rebels, the first from 1980-1993 and the second from 2005-2006.

Marks is one of the most successful coaches in Miss-Lou history, going undefeated and winning a state championship at ACCS in 1982.

But the things his former players remember about him aren’t the wins and losses. It’s the relationships he had with his players.

“All of us loved playing for him,” said Rushing, who played halfback at ACCS and graduated in 1991. “I think everybody who played for him still has that relationship with him. I know I do.”

Rushing still remembers the positive attitude Marks always instilled in his players.

“He always brought out the positive things,” Rushing said. “He’d joke with us, calling us his all-Americans walking down the hallway. He just had a great attitude.”

Marks projected his great attitude onto his players, King said.

“He always had a kind word to say to you in the hallway and always made you feel like

you were a great football player,” said King, a receiver who graduated in 1987. “He always made you feel good when you were around him.”

Instilling that positive attitude and looking after his players was probably his most important job, Marks said.

“It’s a constant job,” Marks said. “You’ve got to be kind of a father fi gure to them.

They’ve got to be able to call you anytime, day or night, when they might need you.

Some of them don’t have parents, there’s a lot of divorces now and some of them don’t really know a daddy. You’ve got to be like a father to all of them. It’s like a really big football family.”

But Marks didn’t stop looking after his players once they graduated. He continues to keep in contact with them and support them.

And that support gave King one of his most special memories in coaching.

“I’ll never forget, my fi rst state championship in 2001,” King said. “I was a nervous young coach, sitting by myself in pre-game, and I looked up and there’s coach Marks. It was a very special feeling to see him there watching me coach. I’ll never forget that feeling.”

Marks also helped Hayles, a defensive end who graduated in 1989 realize his goal of getting into coaching, and also coming back to

S TO RY B Y J E F F E D WA R D S |P H OTO S B Y R O D G UA J A R D O

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

59

Cathedral head coach Ron Rushing, Trinity head coach David King, retired ACCS coach Bobby Marks and current ACCS head coach Paul Hayles stand beneath the sign in front of Bobby Marks Stadium on the ACCS campus. At left, Hayles, King and Rushing tell stories about their time playing for coach Marks. be the head coach at his alma mater.

“When I was in college (at Delta State), coach Marks a couple of times got me to come back and participate in workouts,” Hayles said. “I was implementing things we were doing at Delta State and teaching them to the players at AC. Coach Marks was basically helping me train to become a coach, and I didn’t even realize it.”

When Marks retired from coaching at ACCS after 2006, he was a big part of bringing Hayles from Wilkinson County Christian Academy to coach at ACCS. “He had been doing a fine job at WCCA,” Marks said. “We played them both years. We had better talent than they did and beat them, but I could tell that he was doing a great job with them and would do a great job at ACCS.” Marks had plenty of reasons to keep up with his former players this season, as all three of them led their teams into the playoffs.

In his fi rst year as Cathedral’s head coach, Rushing led his team to its first region cham-

pionship and playoff victory since 1997, while Hayles led the Rebels to the playoffs for the first time since Marks’ last year in 2006.

King, meanwhile, won his fourth state championship as Trinity’s coach, and third in the past five years.

“I was real proud of them this year,” Marks said. “I saw all of them play at least two or three times. I was really thrilled for all of them because they did do well.”

And even though football has changed greatly since Marks was running the Notre Dame Box and T-formation offenses, his former players still use some of their former coach’s old tricks sometimes.

“David sometimes uses the Notre Dame Box I used to use, and Ron uses some of it,” Marks said. “Before Cathedral’s playoff game (against Dexter), Ron called me and said ‘I put some of your old stuff in, we’re going to run it down their throats.’ And he had about 265 yards rushing.

But Dexter scored a late touchdown to take the

lead, and he had to go to the passing game.”

In addition to sometimes implementing offensive or defensive strategies they learned from their old coach, Marks’ former players learned how to deal with players.

“He was a great person to learn from, because he always helped us out any way he could,” Hayles said. “It’s no doubt, you’ve got to care about these kids. If it’s just about wins and losses, and not about making them better as young men, then you’re probably missing the greatest asset of the sport there is.”

And Marks can continue to watch with pride as his former players continue to not only win football games, but carry on with the teachings they learned from one of the most important men in their lives, their high school football coach.

“All three of them are good guys, great coaches and were great students,” Marks said. “I really enjoyed coaching them. I was really proud of them this year, and I know they’ll continue to do well in the future.”

60 PROFILE 2011

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

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61

62 PROFILE 2011

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

63

64 PROFILE 2011

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65

MILD MANNERED?

Tony“Ernest”Fields sits with the Superman collection he has been building since he was a child.

ANYTHING BUT...

Fields has one super collection of Man of Steel memorabilia STORY BY TAYLOR ASWELL PHOTOS BY HANNAH REEL

I

f Natchez were the next Metropolis Tony Fields would likely be auditioning for the part of Clark Kent.

And beneath his suit and tie, Fields would be ready to unveil the trademark “S” shirt — complete with flashing lights and music.

The not-so-traditional Superman shirt is probably the most unique item in Fields’ extensive Superman collection, he said.

“I got that in a shop in Florida,” Fields said. “My kids pointed it out to me and knew that I had to have it.”

But that’s not all he has.

His Superman collection consists of approximately 30 action figures, comic books, all four of the original Superman movies, the special edition DVDs, the “Super Girl” movie, all of Superman’s animated movies, the “Justice League” animated series and all of the “Lois and Clark” and “Smallville” TV shows.

“Anything that is of Superman on DVD, I have,” he said.

Fields’ also has an extensive line of Superman clothing, hats and miscellaneous memorabilia.

66 PROFILE 2011

Tony “Ernest” Fields has an extensive collection of Superman DVDs, including movies, television shows and animated cartoons, below.

His collection started in junior high, and it hasn’t stopped growing yet.

“I would get all kinds of toys and comic books when I was little, and I really didn’t know what I had,” he said.

“From the childhood point of view, I loved him because he could fly. Who wouldn’t want to take a couple of steps and soar into the sky?”

Once Fields got hooked on the hero, there was no turning back.

“There are Superman items spread out everywhere,” he said. “Now that my house is being remodeled, we are going to have a special place to put everything.”

Fields’ love for the man of steel is so deep, he even received phone calls from friends asking if he was OK, the day Superman actor Christopher Reeve died.

“It was almost as if a member of my family had passed away,” he said.

As an adult, respect for the character of Superman takes on a new meaning, Fields said.

“He is just an awesome character,” he said. “The whole truth, justice and the American way motto really shows how bright and altruistic he really is.”

“When you think of Superman, he is selfless. He has all these powers and he chooses to use it for good and to help.”

Tony Fields Superman memorbilia collector While other superheroes may have dark moments, Fields said Superman has always been a true source of light for the people he protects.

“Batman is a real dark character,” he said. “Superman is a bright, daytime character. While all of the other superheroes are good, they just can’t do the things Superman does.”

As an educator and now a Natchez city alderman, Fields works daily to make the character of his childhood hero a reality in his own life.

One thing stands out about Superman — he is always ready to help, Fields said.

“He cannot choose when he wants to be

Superman,” he said. “He has to be him every day, all of the time.”

All communities, not just Metropolis, have supermen, Fields said.

“Supermen are everywhere in Adams County,” he said. “Teachers, firemen and policeman all sacrifice to help others out.”

Superman is a role model for everyone, Fields said, especially elected officials.

“All it takes is to do what is right. It is as simple as that,” he said. “Every decision you make won’t be a popular one, but if you can put people first, and do their will, I think that makes you a superhero.

“You can’t do things for personal gain or praise. When you think of Superman, he is selfless. He has all these powers and he chooses to use it for good and to help. He can’t save everyone, but he does what he can.”

Community leaders live one aspect of the life of Superman, whether they uphold his morals or not, Fields said.

“There is always someone watching and you have to be mindful of that,” he said. “A lot of people are just looking for that light to show the way. They are looking for someone like Superman to be that symbol of hope.”

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Superpowers? Community leaders must have those as well, Fields said — super hearing, super sight and super strength.

“We need to be good listeners and hear all sides of the story, not just the ones we want to hear,” he said. “We need to make sure we hear the cheers and the jeers.”

X-ray vision may not be required, but the ability to look into the future is.

“We have to look not only at what is going on right now, but also what is going to be happening down the road,” he said. “We have to be proactive and not wait for a disaster to happen or a problem to arise.”

Fields said it is not an easy task to be a superhero, but Natchez has many dedicated Clark Kents who are always ready to find a phone booth and step in to help just in the nick of time.

“To me, Tony Byrne truly is Mr. Natchez,” he said. “He loves this city. Just the way he talks about it makes me want to try and copy him.”

Fields also said former mayor Phillip West and former alderwoman Sue Stedman are fellow Natchez caped crusaders, fighting for the citizens with every bit of strength they have. “(West) is not in city government any-

more and he is still working hard for Natchez,” he said. “And (Stedman) is still holding the banner high for Natchez like she always has.”

Fields said he believes if more people would step up and use their own powers, the newly formed community of superheroes could make Natchez a better place for everyone.

“Everyone has a gift, something that they are good at that they can do,” he said. “If everyone does their part, then the community can become a greater place.”

It’s not difficult to teach the lessons of Superman to a young boy surrounded by a collection of superhero memorabilia, but Fields makes a point to pass the love of the man of steel on to his son.

“He loves Superman, but he is starting to take a liking to the Flash, and I don’t know how I feel about that,” he said.

Still, the duo spends quality time watching the animated series together and Fields has an important question for his son and the community around him.

“It is up to us to decide whether or not we are going to let the superhero out or not,” he said. “Are you Clark Kent or Superman?”

Tony “Ernest” Fields has a large stack of Superman comic books, at left. His collection includes toys, movies, books, clothes and more.

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67

68 PROFILE 2011

Fit for kings Ella McCaleb Young and Dorothy Sojourner sit on the porch at the Oakwood Plantation. Sojourner’s family was one of the first to settle in the Kingston area in 1836 when they bought 500 acres and built the plantation.

Adams County community boasts colorful history

N

atchez has one of the most decorated and cultured histories of any town in the country.

It was the first town to be located on the Mississippi River, and its collection of plantations, churches and houses that have withstood the test of time are preserved for residents and tourists to enjoy for years to come.

With a city that rich in culture, it’s difficult to believe that less than 20 miles away lies another town whose residents boast a deep and colorful history of equal splendor.

The history Kingston is a small town now; so small, in fact, that residents of the town are listed under Natchez in the phone book.

Kingston resident Ella McCaleb Young said it’s the small atmosphere of the town that truly brings out the history.

“This is a plantation town,” she said.

“The settlers who started living here really focused on the smaller aspects of life.”

The history of the town starts in

STORY BY TAYLOR ASWELL PHOTO BY ERIC SHELTON 1771 when two brothers from New Jersey bought 19,000 acres of land around where Kingston currently resides.

Samuel and Richard Swayze sailed from New Jersey in 1772 with approximately 15 families to their newly-acquired land.

Twelve years later, Caleb King built his house approximately one mile from where the previous settlers were located.

King named the area Kingston and laid it off into lots, naming streets in the process.

From 1800 to 1824, Kingston began to prosper. The town of approximately 150 residents gained a tailor shop, a shoe shop and a blacksmith shop.

Young said even a couple of doctors practiced in Kingston during this time.

In 1800, the Kingston Methodist Church was organized, and built from

logs.

This marked the first ground in Mississippi deeded for a Protestant house of worship.

After 20 years of service in the log building, the church was built again out of bricks in 1822.

But the community was nearing its decline. By approximately 1830, many of the citizens had disposed of their property and moved away.

A tornado in 1840 wiped out most of the settlement, severely damaging Kingston Methodist Church.

The congregation was able to continue meeting in the building until a new building was built in 1856.

The Kingston United Methodist Church building constructed in 1856 still stands to this day, and is a constant reminder of the history of Kingston, Young said.

“There are a lot more churches now than when I was a girl,” she said. “There used to be only two.”

Young has spent the majority of her life in Kingston, and so has most of her

family.

“It has been the home of my family since the 1770s,” she said. “I am a descendant of the Swayzes and the Kings.

I even inherited part of the land they owned.”

Kingston resident Dorothy Sojourner said her family was also one of the first families to come to Kingston from New Jersey.

“My ancestors bought 500 acres that we still have,” she said. “In 1836, they built Oakwood Plantation, and it stands to this day.”

Sojourner said Oakwood was expanded in 1885, and that her daughter restored it in 1995.

“Most of the addition from 1885 was out of shape,” she said. “My daughter worked to fix that when she restored it.”

Young said her ancestors owned Smithland Plantation in Kingston, and her new home currently resides on that estate.

“Me and my husband moved back here in 1992 to retire,” she said. “It is

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT just a good quiet place to come back and live.”

Young said the Smithland Plantation home was built in 1810, and still stands to this day, even though it is in disrepair.

“I was born in that home,” she said.

“My nephew inherited it, and just could not keep up the repairs on it. He still lives on the land in a different home.”

Sojourner said she has been living in Kingston since she married her husband in 1940, and the one constant she has seen in the town has been the plantation homes.

“There is not a lot to see but antebellum houses,” she said. “Everywhere you look, there are remnants of the plantation era.”

Sojourner said she is a history enthusiast, and the rich culture of Kingston is one she has been proud to learn, and proud to share with others.

“Having lived here for so long, I couldn’t help but love the history of the town,” she said. “Ever since my husband passed away, my son has been taking care of Oakwood to preserve it and leave it for the future children to see.”

A new era Sojourner and Young both said change has come to Kingston, but not at the pace it did in bigger cities.

“There are a lot more people and paved roads here,” Young said. “There were stores here when I was a child, and historic Kingston is also no longer here.”

Kingston once had a mill, but it’s gone now, Young said.

FILE PHOTO THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Kingston United Methodist Church still stands as a reminder of the once prosperous town.

Perhaps the biggest change, Young said, about Kingston was the closure of Kingston Consolidated School.

“I went to school in Kingston through the ninth grade,” she said. “I remember in the ’40s when they started bussing all the children to go to school in Natchez.

A shift had started where people went to Natchez more for things instead of staying in Kingston.”

Sojourner said churches, plantations and volunteer fire stations are the only things that fill the streets of Kingston these days.

“About the only things you have here are the houses and the people,” she said.

“And I enjoy them all. Kingston is just a great place to visit and talk.”

Aside from exterior changes, Young

said life moves a little bit faster now than it used too.

“I have been so much busier since I came back here,” she said. “If you ever get involved in any activities, be ready because they put you to work.”

With a full schedule, Young said she is just glad to be back in an area that has such a strong focus on family.

“That was the main reason I moved back here,” she said. “I have friends I went to school with, and members from all over my family that are still here. It is nice to have them in one place.”

Family is one common bond Young said all Kingston residents share.

“It is a very family-heavy town. If you aren’t related to someone, you are related to some of their relatives,” she said.

69

“There is a saying here that whenever a new preacher comes to town, you have to tell him not to talk bad about anyone because everyone is related somehow.”

Young said an example of how everyone in the town is connected can be seen almost everywhere “I have a friend of mine that has the same first cousins as me, but we aren’t related,” she said. “Her aunt married my uncle. We know who we are connected too, even though we aren’t related.”

Young said the family environment is something she missed when she moved away.

“When I lived away from here, having grown up with so much family close by, it was strange not to be related to someone,” she said. “This is a very friendly area. People care about one another, even those they aren’t related to.”

Young said she cannot see herself living anywhere else for the remainder of her days.

“There is so much this small town has to offer,” she said. “It has been a part of my life for so long, and the memories I have cannot be replaced.”

Sojourner and Young both said they are glad to be a part of the history and culture of Kingston.

“I live in such a wonderful community full of new and familiar faces, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything,” Sojourner said.

“Everyone plays their own part in the town, and it is such an excellent atmosphere to experience.”

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70 PROFILE 2011

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

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Champlin’s Furniture 6512 Highway 84 East Ferriday, Louisiana 71334 Sylvester Gordon 318-757-6214 Freda Williams 318-757-2839

GIFT SHOPS 54 Sgt. Prentiss Drive Located inside Natchez Regional Medical Center 601-443-2728

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71

72 PROFILE 2011

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

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73

74 PROFILE 2011

Bridging the gap in hospital care

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

ODD JOBS T

At left, Natchez Water Works employees, Chris Harper, Montrell Fleming and Jimmy Myles pull up the city sewer camera from a manhole on Natchez Street. James Norman, at top left, shows the view captured by the sewer camera on a small television screen in the Natchez Water Works truck.

One of the cameras, bottom left, is so small it can snake its way down a six-inch sewer line.

he list of job qualifications for city sewer foreman doesn’t say anything about skill with remote-controlled cars, but maybe it should.

James Norman, who has worked for Natchez Water Works for 20 years, had on-the-job training with his own remotecontrolled toy — a sewer camera — but a little experience with the child’s cars certainly couldn’t have hurt.

Norman is one of dozens of men and women in the Miss-Lou who have odd, but necessary, jobs.

“If we don’t do our job, people will be calling in and saying they have water backed up in their bathtub,” he said. “As long as we can keep the lines clean, we will have no problems.”

To keep those lines clean and facilitate the process of adding new lines to the system, Norman relies on his camera.

STORY BY TAYLOR ASWELL PHOTOS BY ERIC SHELTON & BEN HILLYER

The camera is on a track system and is placed in the pipe where it is controlled by a remote. Once it is placed in the pipe, Norman operates the camera via a computer system inside a portable trailer.

“We just upgraded from our old camera that was on wheels,” he said. “We had to upgrade so it can do the things for us that we need it to do.”

Sewer department employees use an old map of all the city’s sewer lines for most of their work, but when something doesn’t add up on the map, the camera can track the course of the pipes.

Norman said the camera makes the job

Many work unique, yet necessary jobs

a lot easier, and allows Water Works employees to find problems earlier, before they cause more serious problems.

“If we don’t clean out the lines, water can back up in someone’s house and flood it,” he said.

Like Norton, city employee Richard Emanuel’s work is essential to making sure water keeps pumping.

“I clean the grease and make sure the motors are running smoothly at the lift stations in Natchez,” he said.

“It’s a non-stop job. Some of the stations have a large concentration of grease traps that you have to clean out a lot.”

Emanuel started working construction on water lines for the city, and is now — 20 years later — is in charge of maintenance for the 65 lift stations that run throughout the city.

“After I check all the pumps, I have to start the cycle back over and check

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86 St. Catherine Street, Natchez, MS 39120 • On Sundays and Holidays call 601-442-0767

601-445-4604

76 PROFILE 2011

The people of Natchez are our finest resource and we are proud to call Natchez home. We are a Certified Retirement Community and a Certified Main Street Community. As much as we respect our past, we are excited about the future by welcoming new businesses and industry.

You’re always y welcome

WARD ONE WARD TWO WARD THREE WARD FOUR WARD FIVE WARD SIX CITY CLERK CITY ATTORNEY

Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis James “Ricky” Gray Bob Pollard Tony Fields Mark Fortenbery Dan Dillard Donnie Holloway Everett Sanders

Jake Middleton, Mayor

NATCHEZ

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT again,� he said. “On the weekends, I am on call. If anything happens, I have to go out and fix it.�

Above ground, city workers also spend time making sure traffic — and not the remote-controlled kind — flows smoothly.

And if you are looking for someone to blame when that red light makes you late for work, Curtus Norton may be your scapegoat.

Norton, city traffic and maintenance department worker for Natchez, has a detailed knowledge of electrical circuits.

Norton said he works with maintenance and repairs on all traffic signals in the city. “I pretty much handle the repair, replacement and maintenance of all the traffic signals in town,� he said. “I make and design different signs for the city and work on traffic signals. “It is really a lot of hands-on work that you learn as you go. You have to be able to learn things quickly and have an outgoing spirit. There is going to be a lot of learning.�

Norton said that while the electrical work on the signals is challenging, it’s the set-up before working on the lights that causes the most problems. “We have to park in the road and work on the signals while they are suspended,� he said. “It can be a very dangerous thing.�

Traffic and maintenance department worker John One of the jobs Natchez Water Works employee Richard Emanuel performs is making sure the city’s sewage lift stations are working properly. Emanuel, at top, sticks his hands in one of the pumps to clean out debris that has caused the pump to stop working. At bottom left, Emanuel puts on latex gloves before reaching in to clean out the pump.

The lift station on Daisy Street, bottom right, is one of the pumps Emanuel checks regularly.

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78 PROFILE 2011

Natchez public works employee John Cook replaces a traffic sign on Highland Boulevard in Natchez.

Cook said his work making and replacing street signs requires him to be ready for work at any moment.

“A lot of the time if people see me on the streets, they will tell where a sign is out and that it needs to be replaced,” he said.

Cook makes and installs the street signs you see around town.

“Some weeks I may have to make 30 signs and some weeks I may not have to make any,” he said.

Cook said the technology behind the signmaking process has changed a lot since he first started working for the traffic and maintenance department.

“We used to have to cut the signs out by hand, and we could make 10 signs in a day,” he said. “Now it’s all done on the computer, and we can make 10 signs in about 10 minutes. Technology is making things way easier.”

Cook said he knows his job is often overlooked, just like his stop sign might be ignored, but he knows his work is important.

“Jobs like this are extremely crucial when it comes to keeping the city running,” he said. “They give people a sense of balance and something they can rely on.”

All four men know they have something that is sometimes difficult to find — job security.

It takes workers to make life livable in a city, Norman said.

“You have to have water,” Norman said.

“A lot of jobs get terminated, but this job is going to be here forever. I just stuck with it.”

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Thank You to all of our loyal customers who have been with us since the beginning. Your patronage is very much appreciated by our entire staff. Thanks again for helping to keep Cathy’s dream and memory alive.

- James & Kay Franks

In Memory Of CATHY GAMBERI Founder, Cathy’s Cowboy Corral 1960 - 2007

315 B John R. Junkin Dr. • 601-445-0063

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

79

Mr. and Miss Popularity What happened to the Mr. and Miss Natchez High Schools of years past?

P

opularity obviously runs in the family.

First cousins Billy Key Smith and Marie Sandel McCall are just one of many family duos to earn an important high school title in town — Mr. and Miss Natchez High School.

The 1966 seniors remember music and dancing at the Canteen in Duncan Park, hamburgers at the Monmouth Drive-in, the Starlight Theatre and Sunday afternoons at Bikini Beach near St. Francisville, La. Natchez High School — where it stands today — was newly constructed. Socks always matched tucked shirts. And girls only wore dresses or skirts.

Marie was a cheerleader, a member of the yearbook staff

STORY BY JULIE COOPER

KEVIN COOPER THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Marie Sandel McCall and Billy Key Smith stand in the same spot on which they posed for the 1966 yearbook, at left, as Mr. and Miss Natchez High School.

80 PROFILE 2011

Past Mr. and Miss Natchez High School’s include, from left, Joe Amacker in 1975 and his brother Doug Amacker in 1976, Monica Freeman and Stan Buckley in 1984 and Stan’s brother Steve Buckley in 1981. George F. West III and Constance West Clayton, below, walk down the aisle during their coronation as Mr. and Mrs. North Natchez 1985. and homecoming queen.

Billy Key was quarterback on the football team and voted most popular.

Both live in Natchez now. Marie moved back to town four years ago after spending most of her adult life in Jackson working for the telephone company and as a Realtor.

Billy Key left for college at Ole Miss but came back as soon as he could.

“I’m a homebody, I guess,” he said.

He worked at Armstrong Tire and Rubber for five years and then for Axis Insurance.

The cousins were part of a big family, and having relatives in school might have helped explain away their popularity, Billy Key said.

“If we hadn’t been kin to everyone, we might not have won,” he said.

The family tree won out again in 1967 when Marie’s brother Freddie Sandel was voted Mr. Natchez High.

Brothers Joe and Doug Amacker claimed the title as well at South Natchez High School in 1975 and 1976 respectively.

Joe died just before his graduation in a water skiing accident that occurred at a party with D. Amacker classmates.

“He was Mr. Everything,” Doug said.

“Those folks in high school, they embraced and loved and supported us.”

Doug, a bit of a class clown in school, was 13 months younger than his brother.

A good student, Doug was a center

on the football team that went 7-3 his senior year.

“I love Natchez and love the history of the town,” Doug said. “Our group growing up was about as tight as they come. We get back together at a reunion and just kind of pick up where we left off.”

Doug now lives in the Jackson area where he and his sister operate an advertising agency, Amacker Inc.

Brothers took the titles again at South Natchez in 1981 and 1984.

Steve Buckley was the tight end on the 1981 football team that took home a state championship.

“I look back on high school memories, and one of the greatest memories is being part of an athletic program,” Buckley said.

After high school, Buckley graduated from the University of Southern

Mississippi. Since that time he has coached football at Petal High School, USM and George County High School and opened his own dry cleaning business.

Currently he works part-time at the Petal schools, coaching football, and operates his business in the mornings.

His Petal football team has won district championships two of the last three years.

His brother Stan is the pastor of First Baptist Church of Jackson.

Stan played tight end too, and like his brother, spent hours with his church youth group at Parkway Baptist Church, where his father was pastor.

Stan graduated from Stan Buckley USM and the Mississippi College School of Law. He practiced law for four years before attending seminary and becoming a full-time pastor.

His Jackson church has 5,000 members.

In 1985, George F. West III and Constance West took the Mr. and Miss title at North Natchez High School.

They shared a last name — and were even next-door neighbors — but this duo isn’t related by blood. They’ve always been close though, George said.

Constance, now Constance Clayton, was president of the National Honor Society and student council in high

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT school.

She was dating her future husband, Autry Clayton, and the couple was voted cutest couple.

They married a few years after high school and Autry joined the military, taking the couple and their children all over the world.

Living in Natchez now, Constance is working on her master’s degree in child development, being mom and substitute teaching.

George is living in Dallas, where he is the athletic direcClayton tor at Saint Philip the Apostle Catholic School.

His wife’s family is from Dallas, so the Wests are firmly planted there to raise their three children, but George doesn’t hesitate to say he misses Natchez.

“As you become older you realize how good you had things,” he said. “Things were much simpler back then. Being back home is a lot quieter.”

West played football and was a member of the honor society and choir at North Natchez.

He makes it back to visit family around the holidays, but says his heart will always be in Natchez.

“Those were the good old days,” he said.

And in more recent years, it was blood that bound the brothers, but friendship, Isaac Kelly and Morris Credit said.

Kelly, now in Atlanta, was Mr. Natchez High 1995. Credit claimed the title in 1997.

The men only have grown closer since graduation, Kelly said.

“It’s friendship you just can’t escape,” he said. “We were groomsmen in each other’s weddings.”

Kelly was captain of the NHS football team, threw shot put, discus and ran track.

He left NHS for a football scholarship at Copiah-Lincoln Community College then to Clark Atlanta University to play ball.

After sports, he got his master’s degree at Troy State University and is now working toward his dream of becoming a school administrator.

Credit lives in Atlanta, too, where he works as a personal trainer.

His Natchez High memories stem from the basketball court; the Bulldogs were consistently ranked No. 2 or 3 in the state at the time, he said.

Both men said they’ll never rule out a return to Natchez, but Credit said he’s happy in Georgia for now.

“Natchez is a great place to raise kids,” he said. “But the opportunities are more if you are in a big city.”

Kelly wouldn’t trade his Natchez roots for anything, he said.

“I would prefer growing up there as to growing up in the city,” he said. “You got a chance to know everyone and everyone knew you and your families.”

Now, the simple joy of a Happy Meal®... leads to a simple act of kindness.

The Happy Meal she loves now helps families be closer to the ones they love. And that makes every trip to McDonald’s® even more special for me.

She’s happy and I’m happy to help. Sharing a great meal with my family and helping Ronald McDonald House Charities® too?

That’s a Happy Meal.

NATCHEZ HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOKS

Tiffany Green and Morris Credit, above , were named Mr. and Miss Natchez High School in 1997. Alethea Fletcher and Isaac Kelly took the title in 1995.

Your Natchez and Vidalia McDonald’s are locally owned A portion of the sale of each Happy Meal is donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities

81

82 PROFILE 2011

Profile 2011 Spotlight On Business is pleased to feature the following that proudly serve our area. They invite you to refresh yourself with the many products and services available as they strive to bring the best to be offered to those they serve.

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

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83

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84 PROFILE 2011

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Sandlot games brought races together on the football field

C

uriosity and a touch of teenage boredom brought a diverse group of black and white youth together as one in the 1960s in unofficial football matchups.

To this day, memories of those games still hold great meaning to the players who participated.

Games occurred at a time wh e n N at ch e z seethed with fear and violence during civil rights struggles in the late 1960s.

It’s a story that many people have never heard before, since the players and fans who came to play and watch were teenagers who didn’t see the world as black and white and thus saw nothing special in what they were doing at the time.

With 40 years of hindsight, however, the games seem extra special.

Most of the players were cross-town rivals that would never meet on the field during

an official game since black schools and white schools didn’t play one another then.

“We all knew each other from the newspaper,” explained Henry Harris, who played linebacker for black powerhouse Sadie V. Thompson High School. “Each week, they would cover the different teams.”

Reading about other players caused a little curiosity, Harris said. Each group of players naturally wanted to know a little bit about the others and, as competitive teenage boys are wont to do, how they’d match up against one another.

Their interest led to a Sunday afternoon tradition that, while not a secret, was not something most folks openly talked about at the time.

STORY BY KEVIN COOPER

Kickoff No one seems to remember exactly when the Sunday afternoon games began.

Some believe they started in earnest when federal inte-

gration began forcing blacks and whites into classrooms together, opening up an unofficial line of communication between the predominantly black schools and the traditionally white ones.

Others say the unofficial, sandlot games started years earlier.

What is known is that in the 1950s and 1960s in Natchez, neighborhood youth often would play outside with one another, regardless of race.

“I was raised on Pine Street and all the kids in that neighborhood played, black and white,” said Frank Gamberi, a 1968 graduate of NatchezAdams County High School who played fullback on the school’s football team. “As far as kids coming up, I don’t ever remember having any issues.

We had always been friends.”

Harris shared similar memories.

“Before playing football, we played in the bayou with all the white kids that stayed in the area,” he said.

Those friendships contin-

In the late 1960s, when schools were segregated, football players from several area schools managed to find each other on Sunday afternoons to play as one team at the former Sadie V. Thompson High School football field. At left, a few of those players include, Leonard Frazier, seated; standing, from left, Oliver Stewart, Billy Joe Frazier, Henry “Hawk” Harris, Mannie Stewart and Roosevelt “Johnny” Baldwin. At right are football team pictures of Frank Gamberi, top, and Henry Holloway, who remember the games fondly.

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86 PROFILE 2011

BEN HILLYER | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Trees and brambles stand where the home field bleachers were for the Sadie V. Thompson High School football stadium.

The field is now mostly vacant and used for horse riding.

ued through the years, but when school started, friendships ran headlong into segregation.

But the love of football soon crossed racial lines — thanks to Sunday afternoon boredom.

“We were only getting one football game on TV back then, if you had a TV,” explained Roosevelt “Johnny” Baldwin, a standout tight end for Sadie V. Thompson school, who graduated in 1969. Baldwin went on to play at Mississippi Valley State University before an injury ended his career. “It came on at noon and was over by three.”

That meant young football fans often found themselves geared up after being inspired by their NFL heroes and ready to play until the sun set.

“We decided that we were going to play blacks against whites,” Baldwin said. “We were kind of curious how blacks and whites would play together.

“We first met at Martin School, but the white folks (adults) ran us off.”

From there they headed to Cathedral High School’s field and played for a while.

“The next thing we knew, the grownups showed up and ran us off,” Baldwin said. “We told them, ‘Next week, y’all

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

come over to Thompson.’”

“Some of the white guys were kind of leery of coming over in our community,” he said. “Back then it was kind of rough over there.”

But the next Sunday afternoon, white players made their way to Thompson, and the Sunday tradition was started. Some players recall games being played at different locations from time to time. Some recall playing mostly at Thompson, others recall that games were moved around to various fields.

The constant was that race was never a factor.

Just players In no time the curiosity that brought the young men together led to a better understanding of each other and a mutual respect.

“We matched up equally,” Harris said. “We found out, we were all football players who just wanted to play a little.”

Baldwin said soon after the Sunday after noon tradition started, the racial divide melted away.

“The white players wanted to compete and the black players wanted to compete.

Athletes are going to be athletes.”

Claude Hewitt Thomas Jefferson High School graduate

“Sometimes the white guys wouldn’t have enough players,” he said. “When they didn’t have enough, we mixed in.”

That change occur red so quickly that Harris, who was a year younger than Baldwin, doesn’t remember the games as having any black vs. white origin.

“We didn’t play black versus white; we just played,” he said.

“It wasn’t even a thought.”

But if the issue of race was not on the minds of the players while they were playing on Sun-

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day afternoons, it was at least noticed by adults.

“You never had adults over there supervising,” Baldwin said. “Every now and then, our coach would drive by, just to look in on us, but he never stopped and got out.”

“The white players wanted to compete and the black players wanted to compete,” said Claude Hewitt, who graduated from now defunct Thomas Jefferson High School in 1972. “Athletes are going to be athletes.”

Hewitt said the football games eventually led to the start of the area’s integrated adult basketball leagues that were hugely popular in the 1970s.

Although Hewitt now lives in the Jackson area, he said the early days of playing sports in Natchez are among his fondest memories.

Sandlot specifics Despite the lack of adult supervision, players remember that no problems ever occurred at the games.

“All the time we played we never had a fight or problem

87

or nothing,” Baldwin said. “We never had a problem; we were not afraid of each other. It was just about us playing ball, having fun and making some new friends.”

T he g ames were pick-up games, but it was not for the weak at heart, players said.

“We played contact. We hit,” Harris said, adding that no one wore pads or helmets.

Amazingly, none of the players remember anyone being injured, at least not seriously.

Former Natchez-Adams standout Henry Holloway said the football played on Sundays was serious business.

“It was rough. It was probably as tough as any football game on Friday night,” he said.

Holloway said he never played at Thompson — his coach had caught him playing a pick-up game at Duncan Park earlier, landing him in trouble so he was forbidden to play unofficial games with anyone.

As a spectator from the stands, however, Holloway said the Thompson games were a huge

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

event.

“I don’t know how it happened, but it got big,” he said.

Although no adults attended the games, the pickup games usually drew spectators.

“It was a big crowd,” Harris said.

Baldwin said he recalls as many as 100 people or more there watching the action.

“We didn’t have a referee,” he said.

“And, come to think of it, I don’t think we ever kept score.”

Memories of a simpler time Baldwin said as soon as the televised NFL game ended, players would head to Thompson for their weekly gridiron grudge match.

“Every Sunday, about that time, blacks and whites would come together and play,” he said. “For those three hours, we didn’t have to think anything about race.”

Gamberi said he and other white players were not bothered by the racial differences.

“We never had any issues about it,” he said. “It was just kids getting together, playing ball.”

Thompson player Leonard Frazier said the games were special.

“You put all of us together and we were united by a game,” the 1970

Thompson graduate said. “All the situations going on around town didn’t make any difference to us.

The one thing that was important to us was football.”

Despite the rough, no-pads play, Frazier said the competition was in good spirit.

“When darkness fell, we would call the game, shake everbody’s hands and hug everybody’s necks,” he said.

“If you think about it, it was beautiful what we did.”

Baldwin said today, more than 40 years later, the community could learn from the lessons he and others learned on the field — lessons about finding similarities among people of different skin color.

“When you get around folks and you’re trying to learn about them and they’re trying to learn about you, it can be a lot of fun,” he said.

“All the other stuff went out the window.”

Looking back on the decades since sandlot football brought together youth of different races, Baldwin believes more was at play than just mere fate or youthful curiosity.

“God meant for us to get together,” he said. “Some way, He meant for us to be together on Sundays.”

Celebrating 10 Years of “Allowing you to age in place”

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Former Natchez High standout Henry Holloway, in the high school yearbook photo at left, said he didn’t play in the pick-up games at Sadie V. Thompson but said as spectator the games were amazing.

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90 PROFILE 2011

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Come Grow

With Us!

MOAT NOT INCLUDED Family forts come in all shapes and sizes STORY BY MICHAEL KEREKES PHOTOS BY ERIC SHELTON

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The Adams County Christian School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, programs and athletic and other school administrated.

J

ust like the Frenchmen in the 1700s, Nigel Guillot took refuge behind the sturdy, rustic walls of a fort when he saw trouble coming.

But the tree house in his backyard wasn’t Fort Rosalie and Nigel had brought trouble upon himself. Or maybe it was his little sister Hillary who caused the trouble; family stories vary with time.

Nigel’s uncle Dennis Hogue remembers Nigel as the protagonist best.

“His sisters has blankets up there, and they never thought to look there because it was more the girls’ thing than his,” Hogue said. “He got busted and later admitted to hiding up there.”

The Guillot’s family fort wasn’t usually used for the sinister roles though, mom Angel Guillot said.

Angel Guillot For her daughters Natchez mom Devin and Hillary, the fort served as a means for two little girls to get away from the business of everyday life, Angel said.

“It was just a place for them to go and have some time by themselves,” Angel said. “They didn’t play on it very long to tell you the truth, because they weren’t that young.

“They were always just sitting back there and reading books. It was a quiet spot. Devin in particular was an avid reader.”

But as the Guillot girls outgrew the backyard fort the family inherited when they moved into their Vidalia house, Angel found a new, hand-me-down owner — Dennis’ 4-year-old daughter Emma.

“Me and her husband got it in a trail-

“It was just a place for them to go and have some time by themselves.”

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Dennis Hogue and his sister Angel Guillot sit in the fort that has been in the family since they were children.

Forts range from simple platforms to elaborate structures. At left, 4-yearold Hayden Beasley plays with a toy steering wheel that his father, Ken Beasley, placed into a fort that he and his friends designed for his children.

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94 PROFILE 2011

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318-336-6500 209 FRONT STREET, VIDALIA, LA. www.promise-misslou.com

Jackson Heart Clinic of Natchez Brad LeMay, M.D. 46 Sgt. S. Prentiss Drive, Suite 200 • Natchez, MS 39120 601-442-0011

Emergency Services 24 Hour Emergency Department at Natchez Regional Medical Center Dr. Elizabeth James and Dr. Ed O’Brien, Co Medical Directors Neely Ward, RN, Nurse Manager 601-443-2680

Facial and Oral Surgery Alexandria Oral Surgery R.L.L.P. Dr. D.M. Carlton, Jr. Dr. P. S. Arnold, Jr. Dr. R.B. Marks 303 Carter Street • Vidalia, LA 71373 1-800-274-2209

Family and General Dentistry Michael Puddister, DMD 13 Homochitto St. • Natchez, MS 39120 601-442-0006 William P. Dickey, III, D.M.D. 142 Jeff Davis Blvd. • Natchez, MS 39120 601-442-6204

Home Health Louisiana HomeCare/Miss-Lou Ferriday: 318-757-6153 Jonesville: 318-339-1280 Vidalia: 318-336-2323

Internal Medicine

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• Ventilator Management and Pulmonary Care • Infectious Disease Management (Long-Term IV Antibiotics) • Advanced Wound Care • Post-Operative Care Outpatient Therapy Services also available at Promise Hospital

Stephanie Rehms, Program Director Natchez Regional Medical Center Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit 54 Sgt. S. Prentiss Drive • Natchez, MS 39120 601-443-2365

Skilled Nursing • Home Health Aides • Physical Therapy Speech Therapy • Occupational Therapy Respiratory Therapy • Dietician • Medical Social Services Covers 11 Parishes in Louisiana Within 50 mile radius: Avoyelles, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, Franklin, Grant, La Salle, Rapides, Tensas & East and West Feliciana Dedicated to Changing Healthcare for the Better – One Patient at a Time 1913 Carter Street • 318-336-4730 or 1-800-543-9055 • www.middelta.com Medicare and Medicaid Certified • Also Accept Private Insurance & Private Pay Professional Staff Available 24 Hours

Internal Medicine Associates of Natchez, P.L.L.C. Kenneth W. Stubbs, M.D. Edward F. Daly, M.D. Blane A. Mire, M.D. Jose A. Serio, FNP Debra Probst Judy Bartley Carolyn McCallister Donna Dewitt Donna Crisp Kimberly Warren Shalita Henderson Cindy Jenkins Jessica Dewitt Aggie Shell 46 Seargent S. Prentiss Dr., Suite 300 • Natchez, MS 39120 601-446-7343 • Fax: 601-445-0833 The Laser Clinic, P.L.L.C. Jennifer Mire, RN, MSN Blane A. Mire, M.D., Medical Director 46 Seargent S. Prentiss Dr., Suite 300 • Natchez, MS 39120 601-446-7343 • Fax: 601-445-0833

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Medical Centers

Rehabilitation Services

Natchez Regional Medical Center 54 Sgt. S. Prentiss Drive • Natchez, MS 39120 601-443-2100

Natchez Regional Medical Center Inpatient Rehabilitation Stephanie Rehms, Program Director Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy 54 Sgt. S. Prentiss Drive • Natchez, MS 39120 601-443-2570

Riverpark Medical Center Dr. J. H. Fairbanks 318-336-2212 Dr. Barry Tillman 318-336-2216 Dr. C. R. Tillman 318-336-2216 Dr. John White 318-336-2214 Dr. Anubha Jati Riverpark Ambulatory Surgery Center 318-336-2218 Riverpark Imaging Center 318-336-2220 Riverpark Primary Health Clinic 318-336-2218

Key Rehab Associates, Inc. Physical Therapists: Gene Smith, RPT Cheryl Givens, RPT Patricia Gaude, RPT Occupational Therapists: Cathy Roboski, OTR/L Katie C. Goldman, OTR/L Danielle Russell, COTA/L Speech Language Pathologists: Maria Smilo, MS, CCC-SLP Support Staff: Janet Gay, Administrator Linda Cox, Billing Nicole Williams, Receptionist 123 Jefferson Davis Blvd. • Natchez, Mississippi 39120 Medical Imaging Services Medical Imaging at Natchez Regional Medical Center 601-445-0005 • Fax: 601-445-0370 • keyrehab@bellsouth.net Breast Imaging Surgery – General & Laparoscopic Bone Density (DEXA) XRay Diagnostics Natchez Regional Clinic – Surgery Nuclear Medicine PET/CT Scan Hendrik Kuiper, M.D., FRACS, FICS Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS) 46 Sgt. S. Prentiss Drive, Suite 100 • Natchez, MS 39120 Interventional Radiology 601-442-5388 64 VCT Scan with ASiR (low dose radiation) Geoffrey J. Flattmann, M.D., F.A.C.S. P.L.L.C. 54 Sgt. S. Prentiss Drive • Natchez, MS 39120 142-A Jefferson Davis Blvd. • Natchez, MS 39120 601-443-2714 601-445-8667

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Obstetrics & Gynecology Natchez Regional Clinic – OB-GYN Beverly Love, M.D. Thomas Purvis, M.D. William Godfrey, M.D. Leigh Wolfe, CFNP 46 Sgt. S. Prentiss Drive, Suite 103 • Natchez, MS 39120 601-442-3701 Jefferson County Comprehensive Health Center Dr. Bernadette Sherman, M.D., MBA Gynecology 225 Community Drive • Fayette, MS 39069 601-786-3475

Orthopedic Passman-Haimson Orthopedic Sports and Rehab J. C. Passman, M.D. Robert Haimson, M.D. Mary Jo Blanton, CFNP Marcia Passman, Physical Therapist Michelle Kaiser, Physical Therapist Jessica Clayton, Physical Therapist 46 Sgt. S. Prentiss Drive • Natchez, MS 39120 601-442-9654

Outpatient Behavioral Health Services Iva Ward, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner 54 Sgt. S. Prentiss Drive • Natchez, MS 39120 601-443-2557

Podiatric Medicine Natchez Podiatry Foot Surgery, PA 56 Sgt. Prentiss Drive • Natchez, MS 39120 601-446-9850

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Natchez Pediatric Clinic Dr. Jennifer Russ Pediatric Medicine Adolescent Medicine

SERVING THE SOUTHWEST RIVER REGION www.CaringRiver.com Roderick C. Givens, M.D. Radiation Oncologist 133 Jefferson Davis Blvd.

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95

96 PROFILE 2011 er and brought it over here,” Dennis said. “I added an upper beam to make the tarp taller so she could grow into it.”

When Emma took the reigns to the fort, Dennis said the outdoor play space truly took on a feminine touch.

“She would take all the blankets and pillows off the beds in the house and drag them outside,” Dennis said. “It wasn’t uncommon to come back there and see all the blankets and pillows from the house.”

And that made it a go-to spot for playing hide and seek.

“It was a good place to hide, particularly with all the blankets,” Dennis said.

Emma used the fort as a place to enjoy with friends, he said.

“Plenty of times when she was little, she and her friends would play with dolls, makeup and have tea parties up there,” he said. “When she didn’t have a buddy, sometimes she’d ask me to pretend to sip tea.”

With so much playtime centered on the fort, Dennis said he’s happy Emma never got injured playing on it.

“She never fell out of it, never had any broken arms,” Dennis said. “So far there have only been good stories.

I never thought twice about her falling off the thing.”

Angel now has another fort in her yard that Nigel’s daughter Araelynn uses, but the family plans to move the

Ken Beasley stands outside of an elaborate fort the he and his friends designed for his children.

original fort back for Araelynn in the coming years.

Angel believes children need something like a fort when they’re growing up.

“They need something that can have different outlets,” she said. “They swung on a rope, played hide and seek, read a book … it had so many different uses.

“It’s very important that children have something to get their imagination going. Nowadays it’s getting too high-tech. No one knows how to play freeze tag anymore.”

Of course, even backyard forts are being modernized, Dennis said.

“I ordered a zip line for Emma’s

birthday,” he said. “She wants me to build a platform on the tree at the start of the zip line, then build a rope bridge from the fort to the platform.”

Across the river, a Natchez backyard offers the perfect example of just how high-tech a fort can be.

Ken Beasley built a backyard fort for his two sons, Judson and Hayden, that he finished Christmas Eve 2009.

The massive structure serves as more than just a getaway out back but is also a family room.

“We slept out here every night this past summer, except for one week when they had Vacation Bible School,” Beasley said.

The fort is two stories high, has

swings attached to the bottom, a slide on the side, a TV and Nintendo Wii, surround sound, electricity and air conditioning. It’s so much fun to spend time in that Judson and Hayden’s friends constantly want to come hang out in it.

“We always have someone over after Sunday School,” Beasley said.

And the family still hasn’t gotten tired of the fort.

“We stay out here a lot,” Beasley said. “For it to be almost a year old, it’s still not boring to us.”

Beasley and his sons have already beaten the latest “Super Mario Bros.” game on the Wii, and are now going back to collect the coins. But the children aren’t just sitting inside in front of a TV all the time.

“We have the swings that they like to play on, and we also have a trampoline,” Beasley said.

But the fort still offers a low-tech vibe, serving as a place where Beasley and his sons can bond, he said.

“We definitely spend a lot of time out here,” he said. “Sometimes we leave the TV off and just talk. I like that. I enjoy the time I get to spend with them just talking.”

For Beasley, the fort is also allowing him to sort of live a childhood dream, he said.

“I always wanted something like this when I was a kid,” he said. “We built stuff out in the woods with sticks and things, but nothing like this.”

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

97

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FUNERAL HOME Serving the Miss-Lou since 1898 300 Martin Luther King Street Natchez, Mississippi

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Young’s FUNERAL HOME

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When a loved one is lost, our entire community feels it, not just immediate family or close friends.

Our online condolences lets you say what you may not otherwise get a chance to; no need to ask for phone numbers or a mailing address; just log on to our web site, click on “online condolences” and you’ll be able to write or read condolences, as well as read the online obituary.

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98 PROFILE 2011

Follow us to Franklin County.

Patients can expect a lot more at FCMH. Together we focus on providing first class, high quality health care. Our doctors believe that each patient deserves individualized care.

When our patients leave, they say thanks!

Franklin County Memorial Hospital 601-384-5801 • 40 Church Road • Meadville, MS 39653

Dr. William Larkin, Dr. Ben Yarbrough, Dr. Kimberly Estes, Dr. Elmo Gabbert, and Dr. Calvin Poole

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Franklin County where time almost stands still and you know your neighbor by first name.

Bank of Franklin P.O. Box 606 • Meadville, MS 39653 601-384-2305 • Fax 601-384-2300 www.bankoffranklin.com

BOONEDOCKS

Log Cabin Rentals For information and reservations contact...

Barbara Savage 601-384-5122, 601-384-2288 or 601-384-0363

Comprehensive Outpatient Therapy and Fitness Center Serving Franklin County since 2006 113 Main Street • P.O. Box 783 Meadville, MS 39653 601-384-1898 • 601-384-1878 fax

Franklin Telephone Co. Inc. provider of

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99

100 PROFILE 2011

New location.

In their backyard

Same great service

Burial plots keep family, strangers front of mind, close to heart

We’ve moved to a new location, 420 John R Junkin Drive. But we still offer the same compassionate, professional service that’s made us a part of the Natchez area for so long. With highly trained crews and the latest in advanced equipment, AMR specializes in saving lives.

And we're glad to do it.

After all, we’re hometown folks ready to serve when emergencies or health problems strike.

STORY BY MICHAEL KEREKES

Call on us any time you need assistance or reliable medical transportation.

(601) 442-4259 (In emergencies, call 9-1-1.)

ERIC J. SHELTON | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

420 John R Junkin Drive, Natchez

Gwen Carnette inherited a small cemetery when she bought her house. When her dog Scamper died, she added to the plot.

T

erry Marks made it a habit to pass by the burial plot on her family property without a glance for several years.

But an early morning car accident in September 2008 changed that habit forever.

Jacob “Jake” Marks, 24, spent the day helping friends move furniture.

“He didn’t get done until about 1:30 a.m., and on his way home, he fell asleep at the wheel and hit a tree head on,” Jake’s father Rusty Marks said.

Jake was buried on family land just behind the grave of his great-aunt Eugenia “Gene” Matthew.

It was her aunt Gene’s gravesite that Te r r y had forced herself t o ove rl o o k since her aunt’s 2004 death.

But when the burial plot grew, Terry began to appreciate it.

“It’s comforting to know (Jake) didn’t have to leave,” she said. “Since Jake was buried, I always make a point to look. I don’t know why.”

And Terry said there’s a tremendous ache that rises up whenever she looks at the grave.

“Jake was always very quiet, always smiling and laughing,” she said. “He was a little mischievous. He and his brother Russ are 11 months apart, and when they were kids, them and their cousin Trey would go out and play in the morning and not come back until

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

101

ERIC J. SHELTON | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Rusty and Terry Marks stand next to the grave marker for their son Jacob, who was buried in a family burial plot on their land. Marlon Copeland, below, stands in one of the small cemeteries that came with his land when he bought his house on Old Highway 84. that night.”

Enjoying the same piece of the family’s countryside property was something Jake’s great aunt did all her life, Terry said.

“Her dad ran cattle and farmed, and Gene had a sister that was close in age, so I’m sure they played together,” Terry said.

Because of her life out in the country, Terry said her aunt adopted a jack-of-all-trades lifestyle.

“She did everything — cooked, sewed, rearranged furniture, made her daughter’s prom and wedding dress. She just did everything,” Marks said.

“If it was something she thought about doing, she’d try it. That was just her personality.”

Gene grew up in her home, “Donahue,” on the Natchez Trace, moved her husband to the property and lived her final years on the property.

During a battle with cancer, Gene made it known that she intended to stay on the property forever.

and Gene’s nephew and his wife.

For the Marks couple and their extended family, having loved ones close by helps ease the pain.

Still Rusty said looking at the grave of his son always brings questions to his mind.

“You wonder why it happens to young kids,” Rusty said. “He had just turned 24 that Monday and was killed that Friday.

“You move past it, but you never get over it.”

Stranger tenants

“There wasn’t an established cemetery (on the property), but she jumped through hoops to allow herself to be buried there,” Terry said.

“She owned the property, so it wasn’t illegal.”

Now a gravesite for two, the small cemetery overlooks a lake on the family’s property, and is surrounded by flowers during the spring.

The property is also home to Terry’s parents, her brother and his wife

When Marlon Copeland bought his house on Old Highway 84 in 1993, the property came with two small cemeteries in the backyard. Previous owners had buried family members on the property as far back as the early 1800s.

“We bought the house from Mel Anne Scott, and when we bought the property, part of the deal was to have a spot reserved for another couple of graves,” Copeland said.

Those graves will serve Scott when she, her foster children and a close

102 PROFILE 2011

PARADE OF HONOR We salute the long established as well as the new businesses in the Miss-Lou area!

–146 Years–

–72 Years–

–195 Years–

“Saving lives, one child at a time since 1816” 806 N. Union • Natchez, MS (601) 442-6858 • Fax (601) 442-7722 www.ntzchs.org

–100 Years–

–83 Years–

J.M. JONES LUMBER COMPANY INC.

Byrne Agency, Inc.

MANUFACTURERS AND WHOLESALERS HARDWOOD AND CYPRESS

For Your Complete Insurance Needs Home • Life • Health • Commercial • Fire Liability • Workmen’s Comp. • Auto • Bonds

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–61 Years–

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Respecting the traditions of the past, poised for the opportunities of the future.

EXPERIENCE • KNOWLEDGE • SERVICE 520 Main Street • Natchez (601) 442-1494

Callon Petroleum Company 503 North Broadway • Natchez, MS • 601-445-5618

–37 - 35 Years– years -

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–33 Years–

Bluff City Post Newspaper and Printing Co. With Roots in the “Miss-Lou” 37 Years for more than 35

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–27 Years–

email: kosco@kimbrells.net www.kimbrells.net

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Bus. (601) 446-5218 Fax (601) 446-5218 (after 3 rings) Res. (601) 446-6288

–25 Years–

–28 Years–

Natchez Telephone and Security Systems LLC TELEPHONE LEASING SECURITY SYSTEMS ADVANCE WIRING

SINGLE LINE TELEPHONES KEY & COMPLEX SYSTEMS

Installation – Sales – Service

601 446-8772 –13 Years–

Miss-Lou Vending, Inc. 285 John R. Junkin Dr. Natchez, MS 39120 • (601) 442-8436

All Types of Snack Vending Quality Full Line Vendor & Service First Both Pepsi and Coke Products

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

103

PARADE OF HONOR –175 Years–

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–82 Years–

Premo Stallone, Inc. Professional: Air Conditioning • Refrigeration • Plumbing • Heating and Cooling Ice Machines • Commercial Food Equipment • Electrical Duct & Other Sheet Metal Work

Serving the Miss-Lou for over 70 years under the same expert supervision.

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–41 Years–

Trailer Sales & Service

ATER

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–28 Years–

QUALITY TAX & BOOKKEEPING SERVICE Robert O. McWilliams 1479 Martin Luther King Jr. Road Natchez, Mississippi 39120 601-442-5961

–11 Years–

CONCORDIA METAL INC. OPEN MONDAY - FRIDAY 7:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. Aluminum • Cans • Copper Brass • Junk Cars Ferriday - Vidalia Hwy 318/336-5218•1-800-722-6264

BEN HILLYER | THE ANTCHEZ DEMOCRAT

A marker in the shape of a dog sits in the Routh Cemetery across Homochitto Street from the antebellum house Dunleith. One legend has it that the dog refused to leave his master and died at the foot of his master’s burial ground. The dog was buried at that spot. friend of hers die, Copeland said. Even though Copeland doesn’t have a personal connection to the permanent tenants at his house, he doesn’t mind the company.

“I’ve even considered putting an addition to the cemetery on the left to bury (me and my wife) one day,” he said. “My wife’s kind of gotten away from the idea, but I wouldn’t mind it.”

But Copeland said his attitude would be different about the graves if they weren’t in his backyard.

“What would bother me is if they were in the front,” Copeland said. “I don’t want it to where, every time I walk outside, I see a tombstone. I’m a real estate man, and I think it would be a hard sell.”

Born to dig (6-feet under) Perhaps the most common backyard grave tenant is the four-legged variety, and even famous mansion Dunleith in Natchez has a dog gravesite.

The dog is buried next to the grave of Job Routh, who built Dunleith along with his wife Ann Miller in the late 1700s.

“No one can remember the dog’s name,” said Judy Grimsley, a Natchez resident who has done extensive research on Dunleith’s history. “There are two stories on it, and my understanding is, the correct story is similar to the one about Franklin

D. Roosevelt’s dog, Fala.”

Fala supposedly would not move from the spot of his master’s death, and lay there until he died, Grimsley said.

“It’s the same story — the dog was so devoted to Routh, it did the same thing,” Grimsley said. “He simply died at the foot of the burial ground for his master.”

Natchez resident Gwen Carnette, who bought her home on 4 Bryan Road, inherited a house with graves in her backyard dating back to the 1700s.

When her dog Scamper died, she chose to bury the dog just a short distance away from the human graveyard.

“It’s just a special place to me,” Carnette said. “She was so special to me.

That’s probably why I chose that spot to bury my little baby.”

For a while after Scamper died, Carnette said she wouldn’t allow herself to look at the dog’s grave.

“When I’d mow, I’d try to mow and not look at it,” she said. “I tried not to see it and pretend it wasn’t there. It was surreal at first.”

Now, though, the sight of the grave doesn’t cause as much pain.

“I still miss her, but I can look at it and not get upset. Every time I look at it, I think about how much we enjoyed her,” Carnette said.

104 PROFILE 2011

In the WATER Gene Williams was baptized as an infant in the Catholic church. Less than a year ago Williams was baptized at Parkway Baptist Church after 26 years of visiting both the Catholic church and the Baptist church with his wife Faye.

Different denominations view baptism differently STORY BY NICOLE ZEMA PHOTO BY KEVIN COOPER

B

aptism is one of the most personal of public experiences, just ask Gene Williams; he’s done it twice.

Williams was baptized in the Catholic church as an infant, but less than a year ago was baptized at Parkway Baptist Church in Natchez.

Gene and his wife, Faye, have been married for 27 years, and they attended both Baptist and Catholic churches.

“My mother, Mary Williams, is one of the strongest Catholics in town,” Gene said. “We weren’t just Christmas and Easter Catholics. We were everyday Catholics. She raised us to be good people, so when I told her that I would be baptized in the Baptist church, she said she didn’t care where I went to church, as long as I went and believed.”

Through work — as owner of Natchez Exhaust — and regular life, Williams has gotten to know much of the community and therefore many denominations, he said.

“I told her that I would be baptized in the Baptist church, she said she didn’t care where I went to church, as long as I went and believed.”

Gene Williams Parkway Baptist Church member To him, denominational affiliations aren’t as important as faith.

“Catholics worship the same God that Baptists do,” Gene said. “We all believe Jesus died for our sins.”

Gene said he felt compelled to make the public profession of his faith through baptism at Parkway after he accepted an invitation to rededicate his life to Christ.

“I felt strongly in my heart to make the public statement that I believe Jesus died on the cross to save me,” Gene said. “Being baptized felt

good, but you know, I already had that good feeling.”

When Gene was baptized by immersion, he officially became a member of the church, making Parkway the family’s church home.

“I’m glad we’re going to the same church now as a family,” Faye Williams said. “It’s hard being from different faiths and going back and forth to each other’s churches. It feels good to attend church together as a family now. Gene’s family was very supportive of his baptism — but then he has a wonderful family.”

Baptism by immersion is required for church membership at most Southern Baptist Churches based on Scripture, First Baptist Church Pastor the Rev. Doug Broome said.

“The Greek word for Baptist is baptizô, which means ‘to submerge,’” Broome said. “It’s a universal understanding. People practice different modes, but that’s our interpretation.”

But in other denominations, the

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Working together the cooperative way.

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The power of teamwork.

105

106 PROFILE 2011

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tank, tub or river of water isn’t chez said the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) practices ina necessity.

The Rev. Ed Temple of Jef- fant baptism as well.

“Theologically, we believe God ferson Street United Methodist Church said Methodists consid- chooses us before we can make er baptism to be one of two sac- a choice,” Read said. “We rely raments, the other being Holy on Psalm 139, the idea is God knits us together in the womb Communion.

The United Methodist Church, and our purpose is already eslike the Catholic, Presbyterian tablished, or in other words, and Episcopal churches, prac- God’s purposes are worked out before we are conscious of own tices the baptism of infants.

“We baptize through sprin- existence.”

Read said the baptism of inkling, immersion and pouring, though the amount of water is fants is the visible sign of an innot important. We’ll use any visible grace, and baptisms are mode preferred, but sprinkling usually carried out in Sunday morning worship services. is the most common mode.”

With the baptism of an infant Young people and adults who comes the commitcome forward for ment of the church membership who to nurture the child have not been bapin a community of tized previousfaith. ly, can be, but the “One of the stronchurch does not regest elements to peat baptisms. baptism is the ele“We believe one ment of communib ap t i s m i s s u f ty obligation,” Read ficient,” Temple said. “This is why said. we baptize openly Temple said his in a worship serchurch considers vice. We are affirmbaptism a gift of ing as a communiGod’s grace. ty of faith that we “It’s a sacrament are taking on the of the church proresponsibility of claiming our adopnurturing the child tion by grace into in the faith.” the community of Re a d a ck n ow l faith,” Temple said. edged that other “Baptism is the recdenominations preognition that God fer to baptize when is present with us children and adults even from the very beginning, offering The Rev. Ed Temple are old enough to grace through the Jefferson Street United Methodist understand what they believe. journey of life.

Church “They don’t like “Baptism is very the idea that you important, and acare not responsible tually a quite lovely thing,” Temple said. “God’s in your decision to be part of the faith, and I can understand grace is present in the life of the person from very begin- that,” Read said. “Our perspecning. The church community tive is, everything we do is a surrounds that person to nur- response to grace revealed to ture and grow in that grace us through Jesus Christ. Othuntil that time of acceptance. er denominations believe it is Then they become confi rmed important first for people to beand professing members of the lieve and make the choice first to be baptized. There’s credit to community of faith.”

Temple said the church rec- that, and we do perform believognizes infants as church mem- ers’ baptisms.”

Read said Presbyterians bebers, and confirmation completes the work begun at bap- lieve that once a person is baptized in any Christian church tism.

Confirmation in the Meth- and switches to the Presbyteriodist church is the time when an denomination, a second bapthe person comes forward and tism is not necessary.

Read added that when a bapprofesses faith in Christ, and unites with the church as a full tized infant gets older, they will go through a process called conmember.

The Rev. Denny Read of First firmation.

“Kids come into the underPresbyterian Church in Nat-

“God’s grace is present in the life of the person from very beginning. The church community surrounds that person to nurture and grow in that grace until that time of acceptance.”

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

standing of the faith them- faith.

“Some people want to join selves,” Read said.

A nine-month course helps as adults who are already bapchildren gain greater under- tized, and we accept that origistanding of the Bible and nal baptism unless they insist church history, and they are on another,” O’Connor said. encouraged to explore the faith “They join as a profession of and finally answer the question faith, which is a statement of in the essential tenants of the belief that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the forgiveness Christian faith.

“If they say yes, we don’t re- of sin and life everlasting.”

O’Connor said the ritual acbaptize, but we do confirm them tions developed and carried out in their faith.” in a baptism are not as essential The Rev. David O’Connor of St. Mary Catholic Church in as the pouring of water.

O’Connor said a baptismal Natchez said the Catholic faith typically practices the baptis- candle is lit and given to the mal mode of pouring and im- person, or family of the infant, signifying the light mersion in Catholic of Christ coming churches that have into that person’s a baptismal. life.

“Baptisms initiate “Parents and membership in the sponsors symbolichurch and therecally keep that light fore establishes a bu r n i n g b r i g h t connection with ly, and keep the the body of Christ, child in the faith,” which is the church, O’Connor said. and makes a person But in the Bapeligible for whatevtist church, a child er privileges that or adult must make comes from that in their own decision church,” O’Connor to be baptized and s a i d . “ P r iv i l e g infant baptisms are es in the Catholic The Rev. David not practiced.

Church are Holy Broome said bapCommunion, the O’Connor tism is the immersacrament of conSt. Mary Basilica sion of a believer in fi rmation, celebrawater in the name tion of marriage in of the Father, Son the church and the sacrament of anointing of the and Holy Spirit.

“It’s an act of obedience, symsick.”

O’Connor said like most bolizing believer’s faith in the Christian denominations, bap- crucified, buried and risen savtism is seen as establishing a re- ior, the believer’s death to sin, lationship with Christ that can the burial of the old life, and presuppose a belief in Christ, the resurrection to walk in newand ascertain a commitment to ness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testament to his faith in the live that belief. final resurrection of the dead,” O’Connor said at the end of the first century, the norm was he said.

Broome said that there is no for whole families to be baptized, and additional children minimum age limit for baptism at his church, but he prefers to were baptized separately.

“For baptism to have effect, meet with the parents of youngwe need awareness of faith and er children to make sure they commitment,” O’Connor said. understand their faith.

“We don’t push a child into “With infants, we build on faith of parents or sponsors (godpar- being baptized nor hold him ents). That responsibility is on back,” Broome said. “It’s a perthe extended family as well. sonal choice, and we provide Part of the service requests that guidance if we can.”

An anecdote that stands out to the participants make a profession of faith, saying, ‘This Broome was one child’s funny, is our faith, we request to have but appropriate, mix-up with a little one baptized, and make the language.

“One little child was so excommitment to help this child cited about being baptized,” grow in the faith.’”

O’Connor said adults join- Broome said. “He said, ‘I am ing the Catholic Church make ready to be advertised.’ But it’s a profession themselves, and not a bad analogy, because bapto the community, to live the tism is a public profession.”

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108 PROFILE 2011

A B Natchez residents drive by these oddities many times without questioning what they are or why they exist. At left is one of the brick columns that stands across from Monmouth along John A. Quitman Boulevard. Above is one of the few remaining concrete steps in downtown Natchez. At left is a trench that lines Broadway Street.

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

109

POP QUIZ

Take the PROFILE 2011

How well do you know these Natchez oddities?

STORY BY TAYLOR ASWELL | PHOTOS BY KEVIN COOPER

W

hether it’s a lack of curiosity, lack of free time or a lack of concer n, there are some things people pass every day, wonder about and write off.

It may be an old building you pass on the way to work, or a monument you see around town.

Much of the time, these unknown landmarks are things people have never thought to look at, and sometimes they

can provide links to the past, offering a link to times that are slowly slipping away.

Here are a few of those landmarks.

What are the brick columns across the street from Monmouth?

A

Monmouth Plantation has been around since 1818, and two brick columns that sit near the entrance to the build-

ing do require some explanation, Historic Natchez Foundation Director Mimi Miller said.

The two columns used to mark the entranceway to Monmouth Plantation.

“You used to have to drive between those two columns to drive up to Monmouth until the 1970s,” Miller said.

Miller said that prior to building John A. Quitman Parkway in between the columns and the plantation, there was no road there,

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meaning the columns marked the beginning of the driveway, instead of where it is now.

“Just picture there is no Quitman Parkway there,” she said. “Monmouth’s driveway went across where the street is and all the way up to the plantation.”

Miller said the decision to cut through Monmouth property to place the road makes the location of the two columns that much more important.

“The pillars are separated

from their driveway but they still survive to document where an earlier entrance to Monmouth was located,” she said. “It just shows how things have changed.”

Why do some downtown houses and businesses have two steps at the sidewalk?

B

Miller said the raised steps that sit in front certain homes

NATCHEZ SENIOR CITIZENS’ MULTI PURPOSE CENTER Natchez Senior Citizens’ Multipurpose Center, conveniently located in the beautiful former Carpenter 2 School, 800 Washington Street, Natchez, MS the human and social services department of the City of Natchez is the focal point for services benefitting older persons in Adams County, Mississippi. Organized in 1974, the Natchez Senior Center provides a comprehensive array of services including Adult Day Care, three Nutritional programs, Senior Center Activities, Aquatic Swim Center, Retired Senior Volunteer Services, Adult Literacy Programs, Adult Computer Classes, and Health and Fitness Center. The agency’s service advisory board is the Natchez Adams Council on Aging a 501C3 organization. The Natchez Adams Council on Aging has provided these services through the Natchez Senior Center for more than 30 years. From long standing coordinated efforts with the Natchez Transit System Services public transportation is provided to the elderly and disabled community. Targeted groups included financially challenged individuals, individuals with disabilities, and those individuals aged 60 years and older. Although targeted, these groups are not exclusive and services are provided to the general population. The Natchez Senior Center provides fun filled, life enhancing, educational, healthy lifestyle oriented activities to the older adult. Recognized as a premier comprehensive senior center receiving the “Governor’s Award of Excellence” by former Governor Ronnie Musgrove, the center serves as a model for other agencies throughout the state. Many activities are free or charge but donations to the Natchez Adams Council on Aging or United Way of Miss- Lou to help those with needs but remain on the ‘service waiting lists’ are greatly appreciated. The hours of operation are Mondays through Fridays from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The Natchez Senior Citizen’s Multipurpose Center is under the exceptional, visionary leadership of Sabrena G. Bartley, CCTM Executive Director who is committed to ‘Making each day a better day for those whom we serve.”

110 PROFILE 2011

D

E

Other Natchez oddities include a marker near the Adams County Courthouse on Market Street, the building on Cemetery Road near the entrance to the Natchez City Cemetery and the marker that is found on Commerce Street marking the “Center of City of Natchez.”

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT and businesses in Natchez are called mounting steps, and there are very few that remain intact in the city.

Miller said one of the best remaining examples of these mounting steps sit right in front of antebellum Glen Auburn on Commerce Street.

“These steps were where you stood to get into a carriage or onto a horse,” she said. “When people started driving cars, the need for these steps went away, and so did the steps.”

Miller said steps that still remain are a good reminder of just how far things have come in the city.

Some streets downtown have trench-like gutters alongside them, especially near the bluff, why?

C

Miller said the gutters that reside in Natchez on certain area streets such as Broadway Street and Cemetery Road, are tiny blasts from the past.

“These trenches used to be spread out all over downtown,” she said. “They drained the water in the city before the current system we have set up now.”

Miller said while their main purpose was to drain the city, many residents used the trenches for things other than water control.

“We have in our records, complaints from the 1860s about people using the trenches to cook in,” she said. “Women in the town would use the trenches to fry catfish, and that did not go over well with many people in the city.”

Miller said that while the city filled in the majority of the trenches over the years, many of them managed to escape their fate to live on and confuse present-day citizens.

D

Is there a tombstone near the courthouse on Market Street?

Miller said the next item is what appears to be a tombstone with the words “John Gerault” written on it.

“People always assume it is a tombstone to the man whose name is on it,” she said. “It is simply just a memorial marker. He is not buried there.”

Miller said while the marker is there to be a memorial, there is an error in the spelling of the man’s name it was meant to honor.

“It is kind of a funny thing,” she said.

“It is supposed to be spelled Girault not Gerault. It has been there for that long and the name has been misspelled the entire time.”

Miller said Girault worked in the court in Natchez as the keeper of the Spanish records, and his name, even

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though it is the wrong name, lives on with most residents never knowing the true story.

In the Natchez City Cemetery, there’s a building marked 1911, what is its story?

E

This looks like an old abandoned shack on Cemetery Road on the right.

“It is a little pavilion building with brick piers,” Miller said.

Miller said the building appears to be a simple shack that was used for housing items, but it was actually used by residents wanting to ride one of the streetcars that used to roam Natchez’s streets.

“This was a street car building that was a little place people wanting to ride the cars could wait at and sit in the shade,” she said. “It was just a waiting station for residents to sit at while they were waiting on their car to arrive.”

Miller said the numbers 1911 written on the building represent the year in which the building was completed.

“The building was a place where pretty much everyone waiting on a street car could have waited to get a ride,” she said.

F

111

Does the sign on Commerce Street truly mark the center of town?

Between two doorways to the right of the former Center City Bistro lies a little block with the words “Center of City of Natchez” written on it, that dates back to the era when the Spanish controlled the city, Miller said.

“When the Spanish laid out the town, that spot was the exact center point of the town,” she said. “There was a church that sat right in front of it.”

Miller said the church that was placed directly in front of the center point was known as the Church of San Salvador, and was the first Catholic church to reside in the city limits.

“The first Catholic church in the area was originally where the casino parking lot is now,” she said. “But San Salvador was the first one to be built in Natchez.”

Miller said eventually, Natchez was divided into lots, and was sold, shifting the center point of the town, leaving the sign on Commerce Street as a simple reminder to residents of exactly how much Natchez has changed.

“There are so many things people just drive by and never even think of,” she said. “These things are all a part of our past in some way, and people need to know what they are there for.”

112 PROFILE 2011

REAL ROPIN’ Local black community interest in rodeo substantial P.J. King competes in a calf-roping competition.

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THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

R

odeoing in Adams County today is anything but a goat rope.

A generation of local cowboys have increased interest in the sport, built backyard arenas, trained champions and kept young people out of trouble and busy in the barn.

But the most significant detail about one large segment of the local rodeo scene is, its participants acknowledge, a surprise.

These cowboys are black.

Punchy King is one of the elders of the county’s rodeo world, and he knows this group isn’t like most. “There are just so many black people around here that like horses,� he said. “They just started roping and went from there. There are a lot of black cowboys here — a lot.�

But the sport did begin as a goat rope — literally. “Calves were really expensive, about $250 apiece, so black people just started roping goats,� King said. “You could get a goat for $35. It got larger as time went on, and now they have goat roping events like ‘The Best of the Best’ and ‘World’s Richest,’ where you can win a lot of money.�

Because of that, King said the

cowboy life in Natchez’s black community grew to be very big.

For King, riding horses was something he picked up from being raised around horses by his father.

But when local black roper Pokey Johnson put on a team-roping event at Liberty Park, while King was a child King became interested in team roping. “Pokey was probably one of the better black cowboys in the area — ‘older better,’� King said. “He was an icon to me while I was growing up. “I just wanted to try something new, and learn how to team rope. I won some money at that event, and just started going from there,� King said.

And decades later, King said the opportunity to travel and meet people into the rodeo scene is what he’s enjoyed the most. “There are a lot of good people into rodeoing,� King said. “There are a lot of interesting people that you meet, just going from state to state.�

Thanks to people like Johnson, King said team roping has also caught on in the black community in Natchez.

The black cowboy community has been growing across the South for years, King said, especially in

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114 PROFILE 2011

bigger cities.

He pointed to the Real Cowboy Association, a black cowboy group founded in 1985 with members from all over the South and Midwest.

“It’s not saying that blacks are the only one’s doing it, but it’s a black man doing rodeo,” King said. “The RCA has a meet in Jackson in June called the Juneteenth Rodeo, and it draws over 20,000 fans.

“Why? There’s only one reason — it’s black cowboys. It’s unexpected. For most people, all they’ve ever seen black people do is ride saddle horses, but it draws more fans than the Dixie Nationals.”

“There’s a lifestyle of ranching around here that’s evolved into what it is now. The resources are better, so we’re able to travel all over.”

Lionel Brown Natchez cowboy

The next generation It was likely inevitable that King’s son P.J. would join the rodeo life.

“When P.J. was 5, I was team roping, and he’d be with me at that age,” King said. “All my friends knew him, and he won his first belt buckle at that age.

“Then I started carrying him to calf ropings, and he won his first belt buckle at Barry Burk Calf Roping in Oklahoma at age 14. He won either $2,000 or $3,000. We went back when he was 15, and he won

first place in the ages 13-15 tie-down event.”

Punchy said his son’s rodeo life evolved from there, and includes a first-place finish at the Larry Solomon New Year’s Rodeo in Brenham, Texas, at age 17.

“It’s been good, just me being with him, showing him the ropes” King said. “Just being able to be with your child and seeing them do well

is good.”

P.J. is now in college at Alcorn State University, and he said he hasn’t met anyone else at the school that rodeos — but there’s quite a bit of interest.

“A lot of people ask me about it,” P.J. King said. “Some people come home (to our ranch) and either ride or watch me practice.

Like P.J., Lionel Brown followed in father’s boot steps.

Now a student at McNeese State University, Lionel competes in RCA events along with his two younger sisters.

Brown attended Natchez High School, and said he was in a small group of black teens in his age group that liked rodeo.

“I was one of the only three African American members of the Mississippi High School Rodeo Association, and the only African American that completed the season in the top 10 in the State of Mississippi,” Brown said.

The rodeo life has allowed Brown to travel, and during those rodeo travels, Brown said he’s noticed that the black the rodeo community in

Natchez is unique.

“I’ve been a lot of places, and that might be exclusive to Natchez,” Brown said. “In Texas, everyone rodeos. Around here, it’s predominantly black.”

And Brown said it’s one of the things that illustrates the uniqueness of Natchez.

“It’s just a cultural thing,” he said. “There’s a lifestyle of ranching around here that’s evolved into what it is now. The resources are better, so we’re able to travel all over.

Ten years ago, we wouldn’t have been able to travel as much.”

Brown, who is majoring in agricultural business at McNeese, was named the president of the McNeese rodeo team as a freshman.

He’ll be getting his pro card this year, which will allow him to compete in professional rodeos.

“They call me ‘Cowboy,’ at school,” Brown said. “I’m popular because of being the only black person on the rodeo team. No one will miss me.”

Lionel is just one in a long line of Brown cowboys, he said. “(My dad) started doing it before

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I was even born,” Brown said. “I decided to pick it up myself. His family did it, my grandfather did it and all of his brothers did it, so it goes back a pretty long way.

“I have two sisters, one in junior high rodeo and one in high school rodeo. Whenever I can, we all help each other in practicing.”

Brown’s family helped form a youth rodeo group in Natchez, and Brown said the group’s goal is to get the younger generation into the sport.

“The main thing (in forming the group) was to get little kids involved, teaching them the fundamentals of rodeo at an early age,” Brown said. “It makes them better later on, and teaches them to follow the rules.”

Fredrick Mayberry is trying to instill those exact lessons in his 9year-old daughter Rearnne.

Mayberry picked up the sport on his own — his father owned horses, but didn’t rodeo.

“I’ve been rodeoing for a long time,” Mayberry said. “I started winning about age 11, and it just got going from there.”

Rearnne competes in RCA, and Mayberry said she’ll be starting out in the Little Britches division

ERIC SHELTON | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Eleven-year-old Rearnne Mayberry sits on top of her horse. Mayberry’s father Fredrick is trying to teach his daughter the fundamentals of rodeo at an early age. soon. Despite the lack of local arenas, Mayberry said Natchez is a good spot to raise a child that’s interested in the rodeo life.

“There’s a lot of goat roping and calf roping around here, and you

have a couple of All-Stars like P.J. King,” Mayberry said.

Mayberry said rodeos are a good outlet to keep children occupied with something that can give them a bright future.

“There’s nothing else for a young person to do to tell you the truth,” he said. “If you have a horse, you want to ride it. That’s why we rodeo every weekend almost.

“It’s what we like to do, and I’m glad she likes to do it. I know one thing, it’s not a cheap sport. You have to have a good horse and vehicle up under you.”

And Punchy King said a lack of money is what usually hinders most black cowboy enthusiasts from pursuing the sport. It’s not because of a lack of talent, he said.

“Black rodeoing in the South is getting bigger,” King said. “There’s a lot of talent, they just don’t always have the money to go where it’s at.

“When I first started to rodeo, I rode around in a ’78 Chevy, and the reverse wouldn’t work. I didn’t always have all this stuff. I sold and trained horses and worked hard to get where I am.”

Mayberry, Brown and the others are intent on working hard to sustain their sport as well.

“Rodeoing in the black community goes back a long way here, starting with a lot of people that goat roped,” Mayberry said. “We’re going to try and keep it going as long as we can.”

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116 PROFILE 2011

Back in time Time capsules valuable if you can find them

T

he Natchez High School class of 1961 is missing its knee-tickler, and no one is happy about it.

They’ve searched low — but not necessarily high — and even spread the word about the missing tickler, to no avail.

So at their 50th class reunion the old friends may have nothing left to do but reminisce and ask the question, “What is a kneetickler, anyway?”

The only tickler certainty is that it was among a pile of other 1960s items the class thinks they buried on the grounds of their school — now the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center.

The Natchez High School class of 1961 was the last group to graduate from the school, and class member Don Estes knows there was plenty of talk about burying the time capsule during their senior year.

“Our school newspaper called The Echoes, printed an article in one of its last issues that our class was placing a time capsule on grounds somewhere,” Estes said. “Since our 50th reunion will come around in May, we’re all excited to dig it up, but no one knows where we hid it.”

Estes, a former Natchez City Cemetery director, practices the art of grave dowsing, a procedure that he said exceeds the abilities of a metal detector. Grave dowsing can identify the locations of unmarked graves or buried objects within a cemetery or lot by holding two metal rods that uncross when

STORY BY NICOLE ZEMA

A clipping from the Natchez High School newspaper, at left, says a time capsule was to be buried on the grounds of the school. It even listed the items that were to go in it, including a 1961 class ring. Unfortunately the capsule has yet to be found 50 years later.

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

a body, or object, is detected underground.

“I’ve been out twice with a probe and dowsing, but nothing is in the front lawn,” Estes said. “The joke’s on us I guess, so we’ll just sit around at the party and lament.”

Whether the capsule was ever buried or not, the class at least has a list of what was to be inside.

Class member Duncan McFarlane still has a copy of the list from The Echoes. It includes: 4 A copy of the 1961 Colonel Reb yearbook. A class ring and pin.

4One graduation announcement.

4 Copies of The Echoes from the ’60 through ’61 school year.

4 One pair of Bermuda shorts.

4 A Centennial Symphony cap.

4 A pair of white tennis pumps.

4 One term paper from English teacher Miss McCoy’s class.

4 A spelling test from Ms. Lynda Mead’s class.

4 A yellow un-excused slip.

4 A copy of “The Halls of Ivy.” 4 Pictures of Fidel Castro, Rus-

t A proud member of

sian Khrushchev and JFK. 4 A Peanuts cartoon.

4 The Sing Song banner.

And …

4 One knee tickler.

Class of ’61 graduates are still not giving up, though. They are searching for anyone who has knowledge of where — or if — the capsule may be buried.

“The plan might have never been executed,” Estes said.

And though the men have no idea what a knee tickler is, a bit of Internet research confirms that “miniskirt accessories” popular in the 1960s were called knee ticklers. The jewelry-like chains attached to the bottom of the shirts, dangling to the knee.

100 years later The City of Vidalia buried a capsule of its own in 1970, but the group made a better plan for its retrieval.

An October 1970 edition of the Concordia Sentinel newspaper ran an article about the city’s centennial celebration and a time capsule buried to commemorate it, which says

nt s C ou m a d A he

y com

ity. m un

the capsule is meant to be unearthed in 2070 for Vidalia’s bicentennial.

The article states the presentation of the time capsule cast a somber atmosphere over the centennial celebration.

The capsule was donated by Young’s Funeral Home in Ferriday — not a coffin, but a small vault.

Leo Young, who worked with his father at the funeral home in 1970, said he can’t remember exactly, but he’s almost certain the capsule was a child-sized vault.

Vidalia Fire Chief Jack Langston said he remembers seeing the time capsule buried in 1970.

“There’s a big concrete marker in front of the fire station,” Langston said. “People from all over town came out to see it buried in 1970, and you could put anything you wanted in it, as long as it didn’t take up too much room, like clothing, shoes and letters to relatives in the future. There’s no telling what all is in there.”

The fire department is set to move to a new location in the coming years, but Langston said the capsule will be

protected at the current office.

“I’m going to be the guest speaker when they dig it up in 2070,” Langston said, laughing. “I will be the only one there who remembers when it was buried in 1970.”

Some of the mementos included were listed in the newspaper article.

4 Letters addressed to their own descendants in 2070.

4 Bibles.

4 Catalogues.

4 Maps.

4 A sealed book from the Vidalia Post Office and a letter from the librarian.

4 Pictures of various local businesses.

4 A package of seeds addressed to the LSU agriculture department to be planted in 2070.

4 The centennial edition of the Concordia Sentinel.

4 A copy of the Vidalia Vikings football program signed by the players and coaching staff.

4 Vidalia Vikings yearbook.

4 Coins from 1970.

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118 PROFILE 2011

4 A sealed package from town officials to the city’s 2070 leaders 100 years from then.

4 A stamp collection dating back to 1870.

4 Vinyl records and tapes.

Decade in review Students, teachers and alumni at Adams County Christian School had their peek into the past recently, opening a time capsule from 1990.

Included in the capsule was a New Kids on the Block cassette, popular toys, a Rebelettes uniform, 20th anniversary T-shirt, newspaper clippings, photographs and more.

The time capsule was uncovered at the 40th anniversary of the school.

Kathy Watts, a teacher at ACCS, said a 2011 time capsule will be buried soon with items including a football jersey, pictures and a late model cell phone.

“It’s been something that we talked about, and we wanted to do it before December, but we decided it would be easier to do it at the end of the school year,” Watts said.

HANNAH REEL | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Adams County Christian School eighth grader Skylar Adams, 14, looks at items that came out of the 1990-2010 time capsule in September.

Planning for the future Sarepta Baptist Church in Meadville has also planned for a new generation to have a piece of today’s life.

The church buried a time capsule in September 2010.

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The church’s doors opened in September of 1810, and the capsule will be unearthed in 49 years on the church’s 250th anniversary.

The capsule contains a history book made for the 200th anniversa-

ry, along with newspapers, money printed in 2010, private notes written by members of the church, pictures drawn by children of the church and a Bible.

The church had previously buried a time capsule, but it was never located.

Sarepta Baptist Church pastor Rev. Billy J. Howse said it was buried probably 50 or 60 years ago, but the records of its location were never found. The 2010 time capsule has been noted in the records so it can be located in 2060.

Howse said he hopes that when the capsule is exhumed in 2060, its finders will see that the church has continued to carry out its mission in the community.

“The name of the church, ‘Sarepta’ means ‘refining,’” Howse said.

“We’re refining people’s lives for the glory of God. We have kept the tradition of the church going for 200 years. We hope that tradition will keep on, and they will see that’s what we’ve been doing.”

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PROFILE 2011

ADVERTISER’S INDEX Adams County Airport Commission............................. 6 Adams County Christian School................................. 92 Adams County Circuit Clerk ..................................... 110 Adams County Sheriff’s Department........................... 7 Adams County Water Association.............................. 84 Alfa Insurance ........................................................... 77 American Insurance .................................................. 20 AMR ........................................................................ 100 Anderson Medical Clinic of Natchez ........................ 114 Andy Anders, State Representative District 21 ........ 114 Arthur’s Tire Sales & Service.................................... 111 BASF-The Chemical Company.................................... 24 Blankenstein’s Supplies and Equipment.................. 113 Bowie Outfitters LLC.................................................. 22 Britton & Koontz Bank .............................................. 64 Brookhaven Urology.................................................. 69 Business Card Directory..................................70, 71, 72 Callon Petroleum ...................................................... 35 Cancer Care Center .................................................. 112 Caring Hands Medical Store .................................... 112 Carriage House Restaurant...................................... 114 Cartoon Map ........................................................62-63 Cathedral School......................................................... 4 Cathy’s Cowboy Corral ............................................... 78 Cellular Plus .............................................................. 87 City of Vidalia............................................................ 53 Concordia Bank & Trust Company.............................. 90 Concordia Parish Clerk of Court ................................. 57 Concordia Parish Tax Assessor ................................... 96 Conrad Anderson Company....................................... 87 Copiah-Lincoln Community College ........................ 117 Corrections Corporation of America......................... 117 Crown Health & Rehab of Natchez .......................... 118 Crye-Leike Stedman Realtors .................................... 42 D & D Petroleum ....................................................... 41 Delta Bank .............................................................. 115 Delta Rentals, Inc. ................................................... 108 William P. Dickey, III, DMD, PLLC................................ 41 Donald’s Camper Village.......................................... 109 Dunleith.................................................................... 28 Entergy ..................................................................... 37 Farm Bureau ............................................................. 88 Field Memorial Community Hospital....................... 115 Fish Fry, The .............................................................. 88 Franklin County Grouping ......................................... 99

Franklin County Memorial Hospital........................... 98 Funeral Home and Burial Services Page.................... 97 Gillon Group, PLLC, The ........................................... 107 H. Hal Garner Antiques.............................................. 54 Hazlip Companies, The .............................................. 88 Home Hardware Center............................................. 67 Integrity Mortgage Center, Inc. ................................. 57 J. E. Hicks Distributing Company............................... 47 J & J Carpet Company................................................ 69 Ketco Advertising and Specialties ........................... 118 Key Rehab & Associates, Inc.................................... 106 KFC................................................................back cover Kid’s Page.................................................................. 85 Kimbrell Office Supply............................................... 47 Louisiana Technical College..................................... 110 Magnolia House........................................................ 53 Markets, The.............................................................. 91 McDonald’s................................................................ 81 Medical Directory................................................ 94, 95 Miss-Lou Veterinary Hospital .................................... 23 Mr. Whiskers ............................................................. 29 Natchez Adams County Chamber of Commerce......... 32 Natchez Adams School District.................................. 83 Natchez Children’s Home Services............................. 36 Natchez, City of......................................................... 76 Natchez Coca Cola ..................................................... 52 Natchez Community Hospital.................................. 123 Natchez Democrat, The ............................19, 49, 51, 90 Natchez Grand Hotel ................................................. 35 Natchez Little Theatre ............................................. 111 Natchez Mall ............................................................. 64 Natchez Medical Foundation..................................... 49 Natchez Pathology Laboratory.................................. 64 Natchez Pilgrimage Tours Inc. ................................... 96 Natchez Regional Medical Center................................ 2 Natchez Seniors’ Center........................................... 109 Natchez Transit System ............................................. 25 Natchez Veterinary Clinic........................................... 86 Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau................... 27 Natchez Water Works ................................................ 51 Open Air MRI of Miss-Lou.......................................... 36 Parade of Honor ...................................................... 103 Paul Green & Associates............................................ 18 Pentecosals of the Miss-Lou...................................... 25 Personal Homecare Services...................................... 89

Port Gibson Reveille.................................................. 96 Premo Stallone, Inc................................................... 75 Promise Hospital of Miss-Lou.................................... 74 REDCO, Radcewicz Exploration & Drilling Co ............. 48 River View RV Park & Resort...................................... 96 Riverfront Royale Salon........................................... 110 Riverland Medical Center .......................................... 16 Robert Mims Jewelers............................................... 48 Rogers Lawn & Garden.............................................. 25 Sandbar Restaurant .................................................. 67 Silas Simmons, LLP ................................................... 73 Southwest Distributors, Inc..................................... 105 Southwest Mississippi Electric Power Assn.............. 105 Sports Center ............................................................ 49 Spotlight on Business................................................ 82 Sta-Home Health and Hospice .................................. 18 Sun Moon & Stars ..................................................... 24 Sunshine Children’s Center...................................... 108 SWD Acidizing, Inc .................................................... 86 T & E Enterprises ....................................................... 88 Tensas State Bank ..................................................... 77 Turning Pages Books & More..................................... 88 United Mississippi Bank ............................................ 12 United Way of the Greater Miss-Lou.......................... 10 Vidalia Conference & Convention Center ..................... 3 Vidalia Dock & Storage.............................................. 34 Vidalia Police Department......................................... 54 WTYJ/Natchez Communications ............................. 114 Woodville Republican, The........................................ 23 Worship Directory ............................................... 60, 61

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120 PROFILE 2011

LIFE IN MY

COMMUNITY IS...

Residents write letters to future generations today is ife in my community loving ny surrounded by ma ends fri d an s er mb family me as I e tiv or pp who are very su was o wh son my ut tho learn to live life wi 21. of e ag taken by cancer at the two years since s On Dec. 28, 2010, it wa t continues to ar he my t bu , us t Tyler lef but for the many, hurt not only for him are battling this that many other families awful disease. s daily as I hear of My prayer list grow s received the news ha t another family tha ones has been diagthat one of their loved er. nosed with canc ayers are that in 20 So my hopes and pr ing with the statisliv be t years we will no ay. While watching a tics that we have tod Cancer,” earlier this to Up program, “Stand find out that one in year I was shocked to four men are diagin o tw d three women an their lifetimes. nosed with cancer in r wonderful sons, fou th wi I was blessed nths after Tyler died and less than two mo gnosed with thyroid dia s another son wa r died to breast cancancer, and my mothe o. ag s cer just 10 month morial for my son While attending a me ital in Houston, sp Ho n at M.D. Anderso ed while more than Texas, I sat and listen out — with Tyler’s d lle ca 800 names were battle in just one — who had lost their year’s time. the people who died The list only included the thousands who t no re, as inpatients the there and then lost the received treatments metowns. ho ir battle back at the d why we seem to an rst de un n’t ca t I jus nces in technolva ad ny ma be making so t cannot find a ye t bu ogy in today’s world cure for cancer. oud to live in a comYet, I am also very pr ed with supporting olv inv so munity that is

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There would be one paramay not help in graph that stated it at all but could se ea dis the the his treatment of ents of other atm Am er ica n Ca n- be beneficial in future tre aniz ga er or patients. cer Society and oth t if it didn’t cure hard to improve so Tyler told me once tha ing rk wo are t tions tha someone else. lp he . uld ay live with tod him maybe it wo the statistics that we ive spirit of anyone our Relay for Life He had the most posit I have been a part of atsh n. er e cancer ev I have ever know for many years befor letter is one of the So I hope that if my . rld wo r tered ou a part of this 2011 be the to of n rt to be a pa lucky ones chose s Tyler was so proud someone reading thi thank each and every Profile edition that and say s thi d survivors’ lap, and I rea t ll or wi eff w d no e, money an 20 years from ght his battle so one that dedicates tim Relay for Life one “I remember Tyler...he fou u Lo ssMi r ou ke hope a cure for to ma I all es of on d st ate st particip bravely.” But mo and families of the biggest and mo nd fou cancer will have been have to hear r in the nation. ge lon al no nic cli ity on a new in our commun d by another Each time Tyler went ere att the research drugs their world has been sh trial, as they called ost er! alm nc ed during his diagnosis of ca and poisons he receiv ted Mom from the d to sign a release ha From a broken-hear he e, ttl ba ar ye threeunity of Kingston. mm co small but loving for m. three pages of devThis included almost Ramee Enlow Thompson t ranged from nautha s ect astating side eff g damage. sea, to heart and lun SUBMITTED PHOTO | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Ramee Thompson and her son Tyler visited the Olympic National Forest in Washington state in July 2008. Tyler died from cancer later that year.

THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

ERIC J. SHELTON THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

y communit ife in my . Here in g is amazin 1 we have 01 January 2 s in Natg g reat thin tebellum e an th s a h c rse the chez su and of cou d o fo s, e hom pi River.

Mississip thedral ElemenI go to Ca the fifth grade. in tary. I am r classes, math, u fo e v a h lling, We glish/spe ce. I n E / g n ie readin dies and sc social stu basketball right g am playin school. e th r fo w a readno l we have . You o o h At sc R A m called ing progra ad a book and e have to r to the Inter net go u o y n e on the th king cake reen ke a test we get a r a e y r ple, g and you ta ad. We also have y r s e e Ev at has pu it. If you that go re th rd e u a o k o y a b c k a a o o b is It’s by in e Inter net which an Board. the o has a ba Promethe You can go onto th ou tur n and yellow. It als you have to bring y ll. n a if e w n th e e r. y a th th b e a y n d o an ing b- get the b omputer the follow nd the we That on your c n Board a puter dis- next king cake e have Pilgrimage. are a e th e m ro m s w P o e g c e n m r o th ri u h o n sp y o m n In the . antebellu ou have o ery site that y Promethean Board We have is when all of the The houses are v e r. t. th u a n to re o g r s y y fo ll la a le p here is re ood. Natchez also availab ace.

The food balloon r e - beautiful. lly g re a a re s a is h t a z have the th e th e d h d n w tc o u a ll fo N ro a . fa a se In the d catfish from all o o le g p ace o y r e ll d p a r. n n e has re hez a e riv t That is whe view of th s are houses tha me to Natc g when they o c s te ta S ally good m home e 1800s. United is amazin Antebellu the 1700s and th nd the in their balloons. It u in t ro il a were bu times have tours z. e off. e o tell the all tak in Natche They som e tour guides als ned the is my life is h T w h o T t le tha Paige Rentfro houses. t the peop u o b a l School ts is tour t at Cathedra ivals. Margrade studen and Missy Rentfro st hfe ft fi f o t lo houses. onny re there lso has a daughter of D Natchez a ing up. That is whe to peom s o d c a e is b throw di Gras e beads. and people are floats waiting to catch th re a t ple tha

Cathedral Elementary student Paige Rentfro, left, thinks the Mississippi River is just one of the things that makes life in her community amazing.

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ers, fun. ear future read munity today is m co y m Life in first e th d. I am in I am 6 years ol I like to ride my r Primary. grade at Frazie mes. ga ve lo I an Park bike and I can go to Dunc ity I can go .

In my commun to the game room and play. I can go mily. And go to the mall y fa bowling with m . ily m fa with my k with my dad.

I lik to go to wor hope you are happy here .I I love to live here o. to Sincerely,

D

Tyrese Wilson Frazier Primary first-grade student at son of Tammy Wilson

ERIC J. SHELTON | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Tyrese Wilson, right, thinks places like the playground at Duncan Park make his community fun.

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ife in my community today is fun because at school we use a Promethean Board to learn, sit in a wooden desk and go to recess.

We have cell phones, Ipa ds and computers and lot s of other stuff. I have a Xbox 360 and it has lots of gam es I play Halo Reach; it’s fun too.

I have two dogs Copper and Robbie; they’re fun to play with. When I’m bored I usually play with Legos or soccer, football and other fun games. My favorite foo d is chocolate cake and my favorite sport is soccer.

Brye Edwards fifth-grade student at Cathedral School son of Steve and Michelle Edward s

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122 PROFILE 2011 today is ife in my community ends fri to k tal to up waking Zealand, w Ne in on the Internet Natchez, d an ia rn lifo Ca , England t ou ing ch rea everybody all at once, ht lig at the speed of e you, to tell each other, I lov ange. ch er ev ll and nothing wi

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SUBMITTED PHOTO

Natchez resident Elodie Pritchartt enjoys the connections life today provides with family, like her daughter, Annet Ackerman.

a sandbar, It’s taking a stroll on ry sticking tte po of s ard sh g findin ng eri nd wo d, out of the san made it o’d wh n rso pe the t abou years ago, what squatting here 2,000 d, Gods they’d worshipe they had seen, what had what dreams they’d wanted y’d the s pe ho at and wh for the future. y downriver, A barge chur ns slowl rn and, I look up blows its mour nful ho . by ng ssi pa at the present of s ton 000 20, at ve I wa water, steel, sitting low in the or nuclear al co or ain gr th wi laden l phone rings. reactors, and my cel on a riverbank I think about standing n see who it is, ca I talking on the phone. d I realize that an er, sw an even before I would have s when I was a child, thi hter, ug da my It’s been magic. nt away, a world and a contine hand. my of lm right in the pa ver change.” ne ll wi at Th u. yo e “I lov ir faces the echoes I see my friends, the and their es fac ts’ of their paren om I remember wh grandparents’ faces, I see my ys. da od ho from my child d see these an es friends’ children’s fac ce again, on re the d oe ech same people in old le op pe like the solemn-faced ntles from long ago, ma on st du g rin photos gathe ges. an ch er ev and I think nothing arks, the houses I see familiar landm ve punctuated ha t tha s and building g, and I think my life for so very lon ce pla s thi t how nice tha reveres its past.

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ife in my community today is great. Today we have great things and our life and community.

We have clothes, shoes and nice coats to keep us warm and all kinds of new cell phones. You won’t believe all the new stuff that is in our city.

Natchez is a good place to be.

We don’t have floods and hurricanes and other bad storms. I can live in Natchez for my whole life it’s a wonder place to live. It might be small but it’s still the best.

My name is Jamika Davis. I go to school at Cathedral. It’s a good school. I love to play sports like … cheerleading, softball, tennis

and basketball. I love my family they are the best family I ever knew. I have a lot of friends at my school. They are awesome. They love me and I love them. I have an awesome brother named D.J. Perry and a awesome mom named Jackie Davis. I have a cool grandma named Peggy Norman.

On weekends I love to play with friends. I have a lot of friends my best friends are Danielle Fleming, Allennca Shelby, Jada Johnson and Sejmaj. Sometimes I will play my Wii which is fun and nice.

Jamika Davis fourth-grade student at Cathedral School daughter of Jacqueline Davis

too, I see new buildings, people w ne es, new business Caucasian, Hispanic, — es rac t en fer dif of ian, Asian — all African-American, Ind call home, I t sharing this place tha king ma , me ho ll that they ca ether. tog — w ne ing eth som And I think ce how nice that this pla e. ur values its fut l constant.

Change is the only rea my community in I smile because life . od today is go unity

And life in our comm tomorrow will be even better.

Elodie Pritchartt Natchez resident ERIC J. SHELTON | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

One of the things Jamika Davis loves about her community in Natchez is her school.

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