The 'Sip | Fall 2015

FALL 2015

complimentary issue a sip of life from the most soulful

v $4.95

state in the South

ELISE

WINTER

our former First Lady at home ’SIP SNACK:

Game Day Tent Spread

Tailgating with ’Sip-made treats DRINKING

NATCHEZ

spirits abound in this river town

g n i k l a W MONG A : s t n Gia

A Natural Wonder in the Mississippi Delta

Also: Clinton Recording Artist Shelly Fairchild • Hattiesburlesque • DeLisle Author Jesmyn Ward

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PHOTO BY MELANIE THORTIS

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CONTENTS

features Page 8

Sky Lake Boardwalk The Mississippi Delta is home to Sky Lake, one of the state's natural wonders, complete with 1,000-year-old trees and diverse wildlife.

COVER SHOT

Page 21

Page 42

Drinking Natchez

Hattiesburlesque

The only Mississippi town with a winery, rum distillery and beer brewery lures tourists with unique drinking culture.

Hattiesburg transplant creates a stage show and opportunity for local talent.

Page 31

Page 52

Shelly Fairchild

Portrait: Elise Winter

Clinton native and Nashville recording artist uses her diverse music past to forge a bright future.

Former Mississippi first lady recounts her life in politics alongside her husband, William Winter.

The trees at Sky Lake tower above visitors.

Photo by Melanie Thortis

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CONTENTS

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departments IN EVERY ISSUE

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4 « Editor’s Note 5 « Sipmag.com 7 « Spotlight: Contributors 14 « ‘Sip of Nature: Spanish Moss 26 « ‘Sip Snack: Tailgating Treats 36 « ‘Sip Trip: Columbus Historic Homes 60 « The Last ‘Sip

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FOOD 16 | Sweet Daddy's Kettle Corn Laurel couple makes a sweet treat their mission.

Contents page photo by Eli Baylis

DRINK 28 | Mississippi Cold Drip Coffee & Tea Co. Jackson businessman makes a strong — and cold — brew.

Contents page photo by Melanie Thortis

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MUSIC 38 | Larry Wallace Starkville native shares his five-string talent.

Contents page photo by Jeremy Murdock

LITERATURE 48 | Jesmyn Ward Award-winning author writes from the heart.

Contents page photo by Kim Welsh

48 HISTORY 58 | John George Ryan Canadian Confederate pays the price for mistaken identity.

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Welcome 2016 with a new MSU hanging wall calendar. Enjoy beautiful

MSU is an AA/EEO university.

MSU-2016Calendar-Combo_TheSip_HalfPgAd.indd 1

pictures of familiar campus scenes that bring back special memories of your time at Mississippi State. The official State calendar has become a Bulldog tradition. With pictures taken by MSU’s own award-winning photographers, it’s truly one-of-a-kind. You may also purchase holiday cards this year featuring a beautiful watercolor illustration by MSU alumna Tracie Grace Lyons. Spread the Bulldog spirit by ordering today. Visit the MSU Foundation website at msufoundation.com or call 662-325-7000.

9/2/15 2:08 PM

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EDITOR’S NOTE

from the Front Porch

PHOTOS BY MELANIE THORTIS

Something I have really come to love about The ‘Sip — this magazine, as well as the state for which it was named — is the intricate thread of people with whom I have connected and, in many cases, re-connected. It has made me realize how deep the roots of Mississippi really are.

Our cover story focuses on one of Mississippi’s natural wonders, Sky Lake. The Delta attraction is filled with ancient trees covered in Spanish moss. While nature — not people — is the focus of this good read by Outside Editor Nathan Beane, I feel his ‘Sip of Nature spotlight on the hanging moss that is prevalent at Sky Lake brings an important human connection into play.

My childhood home was built on what once was the Natchez Trace. The yard is a virtual forest with trees draped in centuriesold Spanish moss, connecting that place to its origins. Long before my parents poured a slab and made a home for their rapidly growing family, that land was a well-beaten path for Native Americans, settlers and soldiers — an array of people connected through the Mississippi soil.

That same interconnectivity — through each issue — has put me in touch with old family friends, artists and musicians I’ve admired since birth, former colleagues and even the wonderful nurse who helped deliver my son! This issue is no different.

I had the opportunity to reconnect with Shelly Fairchild, a fellow graduate of Clinton High School whom I very clearly remember watching belt out show tunes from the stage of our high school auditorium. Her big voice sent goose bumps rising from my skin, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a little star-struck all over again when I interviewed her.

And, I can’t begin to explain the sheer honor it was for me this summer when Gov. William Winter, a person who tops my personal hero list, and his oh-so-elegant wife, Mrs. Elise Winter, welcomed me into their home and shared stories and photos from their glory days.

Gov. Winter’s ever-eloquent words about creating a better Mississippi inspired me as a young Southern Studies major at Ole Miss. I was gripped by his large acts of human kindness regarding race relations.

In addition to the two amazing Mississippians I personally had the honor to spotlight in our seventh edition, this issue offers other great stories of people who make up this thread of community that is without a doubt unique to the ‘Sip and just as Southern as Spanish moss.

Cheers, y'all,

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THESIPMAG.COM

mag.com Want a bigger ‘sip?

Read our past issues on your computer or device! Enjoy complete photo galleries and additional content. You can also subscribe, order back issues, find out where The ‘Sip is distributed and download our mobile app.

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Marie Hull (1890-1980), Bright Fields (detail), 1967. oil on canvas. Collection of the Mississippi Museum of Art. Mississippi Art Association purchase. 1972.008.

MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM of ART

These exhibitions present nearly 150 works by beloved artist Marie Hull (1890-1980) – the most ever assembled – drawn from the Museum’s own unsurpassed collection of Hull’s work as well as those found at Delta State University, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the University of Mississippi Museum, and many private collections.

Cost: $10 adults, $8 seniors, $5 students.

FREE children 5 and under, FREE FOR MUSEUM MEMBERS

A MYRA HAMILTON GREEN AND LYNN GREEN ROOT MEMORIAL EXHIBITION AND

ON THE ROAD with

MARIE HULL

Unseen sketchbooks from the ar t i s t ’s far - flung tra vels

Traveler.

Trailblazer.

Teacher.

Mississippi Master.

ON VIEW SEPTEMBER 26, 2015 – JANUARY 10, 2016 CELEBRATING THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARTIST’S BIRTH

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT MSMUSEUMART.ORG 380 SOUTH LAMAR STREET JACKSON,MISSISSIPPI 39201 601.960.1515 1.866.VIEWART @MSMUSEUMART

Bright Fields: The Mastery of Marie Hull is sponsored by

MEREDITH & JIMMY

CREEKMORE BETSY & WADE

CREEKMORE

On the Road with Marie Hull is sponsored by Dea Dea and Dolph Baker

Long. Lean. Beautiful.

Andrea Tower

Pilates Master Trainer • Yoga • Dance Movement Specialist • Arbonne Consultant

1601 A North Frontage Road Vicksburg, MS 39183 (601) 415-9501

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SPOTLIGHT

Publisher/Editor Lauchlin Fields Photography Director Melanie Thortis Design Director Erin Norwood Consulting Editor Karen Gamble Copy Editor Olivia Foshee Outside Editor Nathan Beane Writers Gordon Cotton Elizabeth Grey Mary Margaret Halford Kate Gregory Graphic Designer Claiborne Cooksey Photographers Eli Baylis Jeremy Murdock Marketing/Sales Director Cortney Maury cortney@thesipmag.com Advertising Representative Penny Johnston penny@thesipmag.com Interns Kimberly Eady Anna McCollum The ‘Sip is a registered trademark of

Front Porch Fodder Publishing, LLC. The ‘Sip magazine is published four times a year.

Owner: Lauchlin Fields 1915 Mission 66, Suite E Vicksburg, MS 39180 601.573.9975 / 601.618.0028 editor@thesipmag.com Copyright 2015 The ‘Sip

by Front Porch Fodder Publishing, LLC Reproduction of any part of this publication is strictly prohibited.

a big thanks to this issue’s talented contributors CAMILLE BRELAND WRITER Camille is a freelance writer and public relations executive living in New Orleans. A native of Columbia, Miss., Camille has spent three decades living in and personally studying the South (albeit using very informal methodologies, such as dive bar chats and fellow river-floater conversations).

Camille earned a communications degree from the University of Mississippi and a master's in mass communications from Middle Tennessee State University.

STAN CALDWELL WRITER Stan recently became Sports Information Director at Pearl River Community College, following a 31-year career as a sports writer in Hattiesburg, including 24 years at The Hattiesburg American. Stan is a native of Kansas and a graduate of Washburn University. He also attended Ole Miss and the University of Southern Mississippi. He has won 13 first-place awards in the Mississippi Press Association Better Newspaper Contest and two first-place awards from the Louisiana-Mississippi APME. He has contributed to newspapers across Mississippi, including The Clarion-Ledger, The Sun-Herald, The Meridian Star and The Delta Democrat-Times, as well as The Cincinnati Enquirer.

KIM WELSH PHOTOGRAPHER Kim was a child psychologist for more than 30 years after graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi.

In her retirement, she contributes regularly to The French Quarterly, Offbeat and American Blues Scene magazines and serves as an archive photographer for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Kim enjoys exploring and documenting the flavor of cultural life and celebration in New Orleans, the Mississippi Delta and abroad. Her goal is to become an advocate for cultural preservation.

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k l a W MONG A s t n Gia outside editor

Nathan Beane

guides us through an impressive delta forest

EXPLORE Nathan Beane is silhouetted against the bald cypress trees as he exits the Sky Lake Boardwalk.

since i was old enough to play outside. i have spent a lot of time in the woods.

Belzoni — As a youngster, a forest canopy provided shelter from the summer sun for my friends and me to play — not to mention the endless supply of fort-building materials they afforded. From the exploration of muddy tadpole holes to the discovery of new and exciting things nature had in store, I always was watched over by those towering trees. Even today, I love spending time in the woods. I don’t take the time to build as many forts as I once did, but climbing a tree in pursuit of the elusive whitetail with my bow brings the same excitement I had as a child tucked inside my tree-branch fort.

Trees are the quintessential part of a forest — as the adage goes, “Don’t miss the forest for the trees,”— it’s true.

They tower over everything and often shade, literally and figuratively, the complexities of a dynamic forest below. But no discredit is due — trees are one of nature’s most magnificent feats, and an old-growth forest can be mesmerizing, providing a mystical feeling of walking among giants.

A shaded, dense forest offers serenity in itself, but a gaze upon a relict forest with larger-than-life trees that have endured the test of time makes it surreal. And although many are not afforded an opportunity to see the redwood and giant sequoia forests of the western U.S., opportunities to see giants in our own backyard exist right here in the Mississippi Delta.

Recently, I visited the Sky Lake Boardwalk, where visitors have the luxury of exploring an ancient forest that offers a stunning snapshot of history. Entering this forest is like stepping into a time portal showcasing what the Mississippi Delta once possessed to a much greater extent. Before expansive farming in the fertile soils of the Delta, which led to necessary floodwater reduction strategies including water control structures, channelization and levee building, forests like those at Sky Lake Boardwalk were commonplace in the region. I can only imagine the glorious view of expansive sloughs and backwater-flooded forests throughout the Delta and what a wildlife haven that must have been. Although many cypress-tupelo forests still exist in the Delta, their extent has been greatly reduced, making the old growth forest at Sky Lake a rare treasure.

LOOKING UP Top: The sun set along the boardwalk trail provides a grand vista in the dense cypress-tupelo forest.

Middle: A grand bald cypress tree displaying its large buttressed base. Bottom: At the boardwalk's end, a lower platform provides a great spot to rest and enjoy the views within a flooded forest.

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SWAMP TREASURES Top Left: A hollow cypress log on display at the boardwalk entrance. Top Right: An outdoor amphitheater is located at the entrance of Sky Lake. Bottom: The swollen base of the tupelo and cypress trees, termed buttress, aid in the support of these trees that grow well in wet and flooded soils.

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The Sky Lake Boardwalk is in the heart of the Mississippi Delta and just 8 miles north of Belzoni. A well-constructed boardwalk 10 feet above the flooded forest floor meanders through some of the oldest and largest living bald cypress trees on Earth. I can testify that it’s a rare jewel in the crown of the Mississippi Delta.

Aside from the natural delights, the Sky Lake area grounds also have ample parking, clean restrooms, a water fountain, a picnic pavilion and a guestbook, and all are available to visitors at no cost. Finding the area can be a bit tricky, but the Sky Lake Boardwalk website provides step-by-step directions. Scattered along the well-maintained grounds at the entrance are several remnant cypress logs on display that, as a child, I would have explored and climbed all over — though my parents likely would have disapproved. Storyboards and information panels are situated throughout, explaining the history of the area and how it was preserved for future generations to enjoy.

One can’t help but notice the transition to darkness near the entrance to the cypress-tupelo swamp. It’s extraordinary to walk into a forest possessing relic bald cypress giants — some believed to be more than 1,000 years old. The Sky Lake Boardwalk itself is an impressive feat, spanning more than 1,700 feet through the swamp and providing a unique view of the trees. The boardwalk is handicapped-accessible and even offers benches for resting or drinking in the grandeur of an ancient forest.

In addition to the larger-than-life bald cypress, some other notable tree species are swamp tupelo, elm, honey locust, pecan, persimmon and sugarberry. Along the edge of the backwater, low-growing and fan-shaped leaves of saw palmetto — characteristic in wet areas of the Delta — peek out. Various vines entangle themselves as they climb up some of the shorterstatured trees in the slough and border areas and include red vine, pepper vine and our beautiful morning glory vines. This wetland spectacle offers habitat for a variety of fauna, too, including whitetail deer, a variety of ducks and wading birds, neotropical migratory songbirds and forest-dwelling bats, as well as a diverse array of reptiles and amphibians.

r u e d n a r g AN IN THE

t n e i anc est OF

for

the Boardwalk winds through nearly 1,700 feet of swampland

cypress Knees provide a hint of creative spirit

&

w e i v TO THE uned

tt a ctator spe E U Q I N AU

The largest tree along the boardwalk, and one of the largest in the state, appears at the end of the boardwalk. All around this massive giant, cypress knees extend high above the water’s surface and provide a unique view to the attuned spectator. If you look closely, and with even a hint of a creative spirit, myriad faces and shapes unveil themselves among the knees. As a friend and I explored the boardwalk and examined all the cypress knees, we were fascinated by all the gnomes, wizards, Indian headdresses, ghouls and goblins we could depict from the knobby growth of simple tree roots.

A cool feature at Sky Lake I would love to try, of course, is the paddling trail — a 2.6-mile trail offering kayak and canoe access through the heart of the Sky Lake swamp.

Paddlers interested in this experience can enter the paddling trail to the east side of the parking lot. The trail includes four paddling segments to traverse, each delineated using different colored signs. In the winter and springtime months, when water levels are most amenable, this would be an exciting adventure offering an excellent means for visitors to experience views of the swamp inaccessible from the boardwalk.

As we toured Sky Lake in the summertime, snakes and alligators were well out-of-reach on the suspended boardwalk — an added bonus for any who wish to see nature from a safe distance. The boardwalk offers a unique viewpoint, with easy walking through one of the most diverse and productive forested ecosystems in the world. I regret not learning about this place until now, as I would have loved for my grandmother to have seen such a beautiful forest — she loved the woods as much as I do. I imagine the stories she would have told as we walked would have been irreplaceable.

Whether you’re a day-trip warrior or a nature buff at heart, making the journey to the Mississippi Delta to see Sky Lake should be a bucket list must. I’ve explored many areas while stalking hogs in cypress bottoms across the Mississippi Delta and have yet to stumble upon such a treasured view as I encountered at Sky Lake. This area is unique and provides a viewpoint of backwater and flooded forests with trees of a stature hard to find nowadays. If you enjoy nature and like seeing big trees even half as much as I do, the Sky Lake Boardwalk is sure to impress.

TREES KNEES Top: Cypress knees peek out of the swamp waters of Sky Lake. Bottom: A sign notes one of the four paddling trails. Water levels are best from late fall to early summer. Opposite Page: The Sky Lake Giant is one of the largest cypress trees at Sky Lake. At last measurement, it was 46 feet, 9 inches in circumference and 70 feet in height. Although the tree is hollow, it is believed to be more than 1,000 years old.

STORY Nathan Beane PHOTOGRAPHY Melanie Thortis

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PHOTO BY MELANIE THORTIS | ILLUSTRATION BY KIMBERLY EADY

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'SIP OF NATURE

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'SIP OF NATURE

N Spanish Moss : (Tillandsia usneoides)

A

A plant characteristic to the Southeast, Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is a staple of old plantation homes and sloughs and swamps.

The unique vista it provides — regardless of where you discover it — brings a sense of tranquility.

These mosses are epiphytes, which means they make their own food, and they live only on trees, using none of the tree’s resources except their ideal growing medium — damp, loose bark. I’m often asked to look at a tree covered with Spanish moss that appears to be dying. Usually, the tree is dying but the moss is not the cause, although its thick mats block some sunlight. Instead, the moss takes advantage of loosened bark as the tree begins to die.

The history of uses for Spanish moss by humans is diverse, with the inner, black fibers once commercially ginned, much like cotton, and used for stuffing pillows, mattresses and even the seat cushions in Model-T Fords.

Traditional voodoo dolls also once were filled with Spanish moss fibers.

The uses of Spanish moss are endless. It often is used for mulch or in planters to retain moisture and prevent weedy growth. Also, it is used extensively for arts and crafts projects.

In nature, many bird species use the moss for nesting comfort and many small insects, including a small jumping spider that has been found only in Spanish moss, use it as their homes. Hence, before bringing Spanish moss into your home, use caution and wash the plant with a mild detergent or dish soap.

Spanish moss is an incredible plant.

Although it has a specific preference for bald cypress and live oaks, it does occur on other trees, including oaks, cedars and even crepe myrtles.

As the winter months approach and the humid summer temperatures begin to fade, explore natural areas with expansive amounts of Spanish moss. They afford some of our most scenic, treasured and tranquil natural areas in this wonderful state.

g

BY NATHAN BEANE

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LAU R E L

Sweet Daddy’s Kettle Corn

Couple pops a kernel of faith into a booming business

Pop culture is here: Sweet Daddy‘s Kettle Corn offers more than 35 flavors of popcorn for local fairs, festivals, parties and special events. Contact Grant Staples at 601-498-7499 or email sweetdaddyskettlecorn@gmail.com to place an order. sweetdaddyskettlecorn.com SwtDaddysKCorn sweetdaddyskettlecorn

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Grant Staples is a dreamer, and he listens to his dreams. Hope Staples is a realist, but she listens to her husband. Together, they have taken a leap of faith that has paid enormous dividends in a short period of time with the most American of commodities — popcorn.

Y

You won’t find a store location for Sweet Daddy’s Kettle Corn because the Stapleses have turned a backyard kitchen outside of Laurel into one of the fastest-growing distributors of gourmet popcorn in Mississippi.

“My mom has a commercial kitchen out in (Jones) county, in the Myrick community,” Grant said. “When I was young, she ran a business called Aunt Bee’s Kitchen. She built her kitchen to spec, she jumped through all of the hoops to get everything lined up.”

“We were told early on that if we could package out of our facility, we’d be in good shape.”

The Stapleses have built a distribution room next to the kitchen, and that’s where they pop the corn and ship out the finished product, custom-made to order.

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FOOD

Right, top: Sweet Daddy's Kettle Corn is ready for delivery.

Middle: Grant and Hope Staples are in the process of renovating the historic home into an inner city mission house.

Bottom: Freshly popped Sweet Daddy's Kettle Corn

“It’s truly a mom-and-pop shop,” Hope said. “He’s popping it and I’m bagging, labeling. We deliver it, and I’m the person who sends out the invoices, the quotes. I’ll talk to you about your event, figure out how many gallons you need. It’s just us, and our kids help whenever necessary.”

Grant Staples first had the popcorn dream in 2008, while the couple was performing mission work in Honduras.

“It was so real,” Grant said. “At that time, I began to explore the options of starting my own business. It was something I was a little afraid to jump into.”

In 2012, after having the same dream for the third time, Grant Staples decided God was trying to tell him something important.

“The same popcorn dream, three times in a row, must mean that I need to check this out,” Grant said. “I decided that I’d step toward it, we’d start it and if it was something we were supposed to be doing, He’d let us know.”

With a background in marketing, public relations and communications, Grant holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi. Hope also has a PR background.

The first order of business was the name. Grant Staples turned to his faith for the answer.

“The Sweet Daddy’s name is a spinoff from the heavenly father,” Grant said. “He’s the sweetest father of them all.”

The Stapleses started out in June 2012, popping corn on Thursdays at the Livingston Farmers’ Market in Madison. They quickly hit the road for weekend festivals. Their big break came that fall when they were invited to have a booth at the South Mississippi Fair in the couple’s hometown of Laurel.

“We weren’t ready at all,” Grant said. “But we took a leap and did the best we could. We popped over 2,000 gallons in seven, eight days. Just brutal.”

By the end of 2012, the couple had made more in their six months of popping corn than Grant’s annual salary was as an instructor at Holmes Community College in Ridgeland. Decision time came three months later.

“I had to sign a contract for another year at the college,” he said. “We decided to take a leap of faith and start full-time — move home to Laurel, start the business.”

The couple still sells their popcorn at fairs, festivals and farmers’ markets, but the bulk of their work now is online orders shipped all over the country and even to Afghanistan and Iraq. They ship popcorn to weddings, birthdays, football tailgating parties and for corporate gifts.

“Probably during our first year, we had a corporate order that sent 210 three-and-a-half-gallon tins all over the country,” Hope said.

“Everything about those orders has to be precise, because these companies are hiring us to give a gift to companies that do business with them. They call us, place the order, send us the labels and we do everything else. We put it in the box, label it and we send it off.”

#

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“It costs me more to buy this popcorn...It gives us a better yield, a better product, prettier popcorn. I think that's been a big part of our success; we never skimp.” ~ GRANT STAPLES of

Sweet Daddy’s Kettle Corn

The Stapleses use a variety of popping corn that the family calls a state secret, sharing only that it ships from a warehouse in Missouri.

“It costs me $20 a bag more to buy this popcorn, because I have to ship it in,” Grant said. “It gives us a better yield, a better product, prettier popcorn. I think that’s been a big part of our success; we never skimp.”

Even though it is more expensive, they say it creates more of a mushroom-shaped kernel, rather than the butterfly shape found in most commercial microwaveable popcorns.

“It makes a big, fat, round ball,” Hope said. “It holds coatings very well, so it is a premium kind of corn.”

Currently, the business’ website offers 38 flavors that range from plain to Queso Loco to Chocolate Cocoa Crunch.

The couple is using some of their profits to buy and restore a well-known home near downtown Laurel that they hope to use as a base for their business and for their missionary work.

The home previously was owned by John Bissell, an

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Fall 2015

executive with the Wausau Southern Lumber Company, who built the house in 1917. Following a 1971 addition to the back of the house, it served as a popular bed-and-breakfast until closing in 2007. Since then, it has been derelict.

It’s just one more leap of faith for the dreamer and the realist. They are confident, even when their choice translates into popping popcorn in July in Mississippi in a kettle that cooks at 500 degrees before the first kernel pops.

“Having to let go, with a family, scared me to death. I remember meeting with the president of the college to tell him I would not be back. And he asked me, ‘Do you have any fears?’ I said, ‘Doc, I’m more afraid of regret than I am of failure. I could sit in my air-conditioned office three years from now, wondering what it could have been.’ And what it has been, is it’s gotten us to this place.”

STORY Stan Caldwell PHOTOGRAPHY Eli Baylis

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Advance science and medicine. Build community partnerships. Shape the future of business.

Join the next generation of thinkers and doers.

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Fall 2015

‘Drinking town’ crafting booze three ways

NATCHEZ — For nearly 300 years, Natchez has borne witness to scores of people traveling along the Mississippi River. The city’s deep-rooted history and famed tourism industry have made it unique in its own right, but something about its hodgepodge of locals and transients has given Natchez a reputation as a bit of a drinking town.

“Historically, the river served as the highway for people to travel, so Natchez always had a lot of people coming and going from out of town, it brought eclectic people to town, people with different viewpoints and thoughts,” said David Gammill, a Natchez native whose parents opened Fat Mama’s Tamales, a favorite of residents and tourists alike, in 1989. “I think Natchez has always been a drinking town because it’s had so many travelers for hundreds and hundreds of years.

“Some stayed, some didn’t,” he said. “Some people refer to it as a small New Orleans. It draws from so many places to get where we are today.”

Unlike New Orleans, with a population of more than 384,000, Natchez is home to about 15,500 people. Much like New Orleans, Natchez is complete with everything expected of a community with a rich heritage — shops, restaurants and historic lodging. And within about a 2-mile radius, there’s also a beer brewery, a rum distillery and a winery.

21

In

1979, Dr. Scott Galbreath Jr. turned his love of homemade muscadine wine into a family business and opened Old South Winery.

“They didn’t have money for wine, so if they wanted it, they had to make it themselves,” explained Scott Galbreath III about how his father’s grandmother taught him to make wine during the Great Depression.

“When he wanted to drink wine for his health in his ’40s, he started back making the muscadine wine for himself. The state of Mississippi passed the Native Wine Act around 1977 or 1978, so my dad told my mom, ‘Hey, let’s open up a winery.’”

Today, the winery sits just across the street from where both Galbreath men grew up near downtown Natchez, and it’s run almost entirely by the Gallbreath family.

“Natchez has a lot of visitors, not only from the region but from all over the country. It’s a tourist town,” Gallbreath said. “Most small wineries like ours are family-owned and -operated, and a lot of tourists like to come see that.”

Like the owners of many other local establishments, Old South Winery’s crew is proud of their Southern roots, and they make every effort to show that in their products. In 1979, a wine consultant advised the winery to produce mostly dry wines, but Dr. Galbreath recognized that his Mississippi clientele had a love of sweet tea and Coca-Cola, so he knew sweeter wines would be a bigger hit with his customers. But regional taste buds weren’t the only Southern tradition kept alive in the wine, even the ingredients come from the area.

“Muscadines are uniquely Southern, they only grow in the Deep South,” Galbreath said, noting that the vineyards from which their products come are in Mississippi. “It’s genuinely local.”

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But

the ability to buy and sell local spirits hasn’t always been around. Nearly 50 years ago, the people of Natchez — like all Mississippians — had to venture across state lines to buy alcohol until Prohibition was repealed in 1966. When that law changed, many say that the culture of the whole state changed. More recently, just before Vidalia, La., native Pat Miller and his wife, Lisa, moved to Natchez in 2012, the state’s law banning beer with more than 5 percent alcohol had changed, opening a door for them to introduce the city to Natchez Brewing Company.

“We had been living in Asheville, N.C., which is a big craft beer town, so that’s where we kind of got hooked into it,” Pat Miller said. “When we moved to Natchez, we really missed it and there wasn’t much craft beer to be found.”

So the Millers set to work on drafting a business plan and coming up with the money to open their brewery.

“The community has been unbelievably supportive,” Pat Miller said. “They’re taking possession, and they really care that they have a brewery in their own city. Craft beer has a lot to do with the community, and we want to make sure we represent Natchez in the craft beer world.”

Opposite page: Old South Winery in Natchez This page: Pat and Lisa Miller, owners of Natchez Brewing Company

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PHOTO BY ELI BAYLIS

More

than 25 years ago, Doug Charboneau and his wife, Regina, tasted what he deemed “good rum” for the first time while on vacation, and, since then, joked about opening a distillery. After moving to various cities across the country, the couple settled in Regina’s hometown of Natchez, a place that, in their minds, would make a great home for a distillery. So, in August of 2014, Charboneau Rum Distillery was born.

“We believe that we’re the smallest town in America that has all three in one place,” Doug Charboneau said.

Charboneau Rum Distillery is next door to his wife’s restaurant, King’s Tavern.

“Because Natchez is a tourist destination, we knew that traffic was there so we’re just tapping into it,” Charboneau said. “We see every kind of person because Natchez is an everything kind of town. Young couples getting away for the first time since they’ve had a baby, parents of teenagers getting away for the weekend, retirees who can do what they want, conventions on the weekend.”

Like Old South Winery, Charboneau Distillery uses products that are local to the region to make its product.

“It has to do with availability and accessibility of product — raw sugar and molasses,” Doug Charboneau said. “Sugar cane is grown below Interstate 10 because frost is more rare in the South, so in about a 2½-hour drive, we can go to a sugar mill and buy raw sugar and molasses.”

Since 2001, Natchez has been home to a food and wine festival that brings together drinks and food from across the region.

Above: Doug Charboneau, an owner of Charboneau Rum Distillery in Natchez, stands at the bar of King's Tavern, his wife's restaurant.

“It’s a very big deal,” Charboneau said. “It’s a wellattended weekend, and I think 80 to 90 percent of their ticket sales were probably local.”

For now, the local alcohol-makers are doing some teaming up, like aging beers in a rum barrel.

“We’re hoping to do some partnership sometime in the near future,” Miller said. “Personally, I think, as a community that doesn’t have that much industry, it really is about tourism. We want people to come in and stay a weekend, and we want to make sure they come back.

Everybody is working together to make sure people have a really good Natchez experience.”

“I think the brewery, distillery, and winery add value to Natchez; it’s in the cultural value in that if you go somewhere, those things are popular and it allows visitors to get a sense of the place,” Gammill said.

“Having different mindsets, people, ethnicities, there’s a lot of variation in what people like and want.

Beer, wine, rum — those all appeal to a segment of personal likes of the community here but also to the tourists who come to view an antebellum home or visit friends and family.”

STORY Mary Margaret Halford PHOTOGRAPHY Melanie Thortis ILLUSTRATIONS Claiborne Cooksey

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'SIP SNACK

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Made-in-Mississippi tailgating treats

Special thanks to The Cinnamon Tree in Vicksburg, Ginger's in Corinth and Butter & Bread Co., Lily Pad and Katherine Beck in Oxford.

Sweet Spread

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From Natchez

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shop.eatyall.com

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1.) Sugar Taylor Sweet & Spicy Sauce

Craft Brews

2.) Taste of Gourmet Sweet Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette

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3.) D'evereux Strawberry Jalapeño Jam

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Dippin' Sauces

4.) Lazy Magnolia Brewery Southern Hopspitality and Southern Pecan

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Easy Dips

Margaritas

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J AC K S O N

Mississippi Cold Drip

Cold coffee perfect perk for businessman

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Ray Horn likes his coffee strong and cold, just like his mama served it when he was growing up in New Orleans. She always had a coffee mixture as thick as mud in the fridge that she would heat on the stove. In fact, that’s all he knew.

“I was in my teens before I went over to somebody’s house and saw them using a coffee machine. I didn’t know what they were doing,” he said.

Horn, 56, moved to Palm Springs, Calif., to pursue life in the restaurant business — a profession already familiar to him through a family of restaurateurs — and he realized he couldn’t find cold drip coffee anywhere.

“I was a chef at the time, and I just started making it for the staff. With cold brew, the longer the beans are in the water, the stronger the caffeine. In the service industry, you work very long hours, so the more caffeine, the better for them,” he said.

It was a hit. So much so that he toyed with the idea of making cold-brewed coffee to sell at the area’s popular street fairs, but he never pursued it.

Five years later, he moved to Mississippi and started working at Table 100 in Flowood, where he again started making his cold brew for the staff. They even added a drink to the menu made from Horn’s coffee: the Ray au Lait.

In 2013, the Mississippi Legislature passed the Cottage Food Law, allowing low-risk foods to be prepared in home kitchens and sold for profit. Horn started making his cold brew and selling it at local farmers’ markets.

“I knew sampling was the key,” he said. “People want to know what it is you’re selling.”

After getting positive feedback at farmers’ markets, Horn was ready to take his business to the next level, but there was a problem. He still didn’t have the money required to rent his own kitchen space for mass production.

“So, I did the next best thing,” he said. “I found somebody who didn’t use his kitchen on the weekends where I could go

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in there and brew and bottle. I found Steve at Steve’s Deli in downtown Jackson. He only used it Monday through Friday, so I rented his place for Saturdays and Sundays.”

Suddenly, the owner of Mississippi Cold Drip Coffee & Tea Company has his products — coffee concentrate, Ray au Lait sweetener and Chai Tea concentrate — on the shelves of such Mississippi-based grocery stores as McDade’s, Ramey’s and Corner Market.

Business was growing, and through connections at Millsaps College, he partnered with ELSEWorks Entrepreneurship Program and in May he moved into The Hatch, a creative business incubator space in the up-and-coming Midtown area of Jackson.

“We changed the packaging to something much more appealing and started using these Prohibition-style liquor bottles. It’s already translated into increased sales at the stores,” he said.

Even now brewing and bottling 75 to 100 gallons a week, Horn is completely involved in the entire process.

He buys Columbian Excelso beans directly off the boat in New Orleans and takes them to Northshore Coffee in Brandon where they are roasted. Then he lets the beans steep in vats of water for 24 hours before bottling. Cold-brewing takes the acidity out of the coffee, which makes for a much smoother sip, Horn said.

His product is gaining fans and is expected to gain even more with the introduction to Whole Foods grocery this month.

“That’s our newest deal, and we couldn’t be more excited,” he said. “If we get one more store, we’ll be at our full capacity in this location, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Horn continues to grow his business from the ground up, and burning the midnight oil to make it happen is just part of the job.

STORY Elizabeth Grey PHOTOGRAPHY Melanie Thortis

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DRINK Top Right: Mississippi Cold Drip Coffee & Tea Company offers a Chai Tea. Bottom: Mississippi Cold Drip Coffee & Tea Company owner Raymond Horn, left, and friend Pembrooke Bonnar bottle product at the Midtown business in Jackson.

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Clinton native &Nashville performer

liv es h er dr eam o f making mu sic

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When it comes to music, Shelly Fairchild wants it all. Making her own records.

Touring her own music. Singing back-up vocals. Performing theater.

“If I can do everything, that’s what I want to do. I want to make my own records. I want to jump in on stage with somebody else when I get a chance. I’d love to revisit the theater. I would love to do another show on stage.

“My deal is that I love to sing, so I just want to make music,” she said.

The 38-year-old Nashville-based singer has been drawn to the stage since she was 6 years old — performing Dolly Parton, Amy Grant or Madonna tunes from a makeshift stage — a jam box providing the background music and friends and family enlisted as loyal fans.

“As long as I can remember — since I was a little-bitty kid — it’s the only thing I ever wanted to do,” she said.

“There has been music in my house since I was born, so it was kind of natural. I think sometimes you’re born with the drive to believe that’s what you’re supposed to do in your life. I think God gives it to you like any other gift and desire in your soul to just go and share what you have.

It was just all over me from when I was little.”

The Clinton native hasn’t faltered from those early dreams of making music her career. She has since traded her small-town front porch “stage” for national arenas and festival stages, historic auditoriums and musical theaters.

She’s recorded an album on a major label, hung out with Dolly Parton, performed on late-night television shows and is currently singing back-up vocals on tour for country sensation Martina McBride.

All this, and she’s full-speed ahead, currently working on her third album through a successful (she reached 100 percent within weeks) crowd-funding campaign.

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“Sometimes, as you get older, you start thinking the future’s not so bright. But, I just feel like the future’s super bright,” she said. “I want to grow and just be everything that I can be…I want to do good things with what I’ve been given.”

Shelly, a 1995 graduate of Clinton High School, is an alumnus of the award-winning, nationally acclaimed show choir Attaché, the group that first allowed her to belt her big, bluesy voice on stage.

Along with singing in church, these early show choir experiences rooted Shelly in her love for performing.

Her enormous talent was undeniable.

“I give a lot of credit to (Attaché director) Mr. Fehr for teaching me how to entertain — how to convey a message and get people involved in a story of what’s going on,” Shelly said. “I think it’s very significant that I learned what I learned when I was in show choir and in theater. Some people take it and it means a whole different thing to them, but whatever the spark was that was already inside of me — that just elevated it.”

The musicals she performed through show choir inspired Shelly to continue her journey with theater. After high school, she picked up a gig singing background in “Beehive, The Musical” at New Stage Theatre in Jackson.

“When I got that first job with New Stage, it was enormous for me even though it was off-stage,” she said.

“The relationships I made there with the directors and production team, I still have those relationships today and they gave me more work along the way.”

The director encouraged Shelly to try out for the role of Patsy Cline in Always Patsy Cline, which was a bit of a shock to her.

“I was like, ‘I can’t sing Patsy Cline songs.’ He said, ‘No. I think you can.’ But, she sings so low, and I was like, ‘I can’t sing that low.’ But I practiced and practiced and practiced and got that role,” she said.

Shelly, who originally had her sights set on Broadway, readjusted her compass and used the money she’d earned performing as the late country music legend to try her luck 32

Fall 2015

— and talent — in Nashville.

“I always had this idea in my head of the theater and that’s what I had learned. I didn’t know the recording industry. I knew that I wanted to sing, but I didn’t know the recording industry or songwriting,” she said. “I knew some people who lived in Nashville and I knew it was a music town, but I was thinking New York because I knew theater. But, when it came down to it, it was like, I need to get out of Mississippi and pursue what I’m dreaming about, but New York seemed so big.”

Shelly landed in Nashville in 1996, worked as a receptionist for a music manager she knew and spent her days sitting behind a desk watching other vocalists and performers make their dreams come true.

“That was hard for me because I didn’t know how to get there,” she said. “Even though I was working for a manager, I didn’t write my own stuff. I was a wreck, so I was just like, ‘I’m just going to audition for more theater.’”

So, she did. She did a year of theater in Myrtle Beach, S.C., until she was called to go on a national tour for Beehive, The Musical. This time she played the on-stage role of Brenda Lee, Connie Francis and Grace Slick.

A good run of that and Shelly was ready to make her way back to Music City.

“By that time, I had kind of decided that I wanted to pursue making records as opposed to being on stage and doing theater,” she said. “I loved theater, but I thought, I can always do theater. I don’t know that I’ll always have a shot at being a recording artist. I kind of need to start now.”

Shelly started writing songs and paving her own path. She reached out to her former boss, manager Rendy Lovelady. He became her manager and, in 2003, Shelly signed a record deal with Sony/Columbia for her first album Ride, which was released in 2005.

With Ride, she produced three singles and two music videos that were released to national cable music stations, CMT and GAC. Her single “You Don’t Lie Here Anymore” was a Billboard Hot Country Songs Top 40 Hit.

Shelly, who originally had her sights set on broadway, readjusted her compass and used the money she earned performing as Patsy to try her luck—and talent—in

Nashville.

33

“if you never leave mississippi to see there’s a whole world out there, that’s unfortunate. mississippi’s always home. the goodness that is mississippi is what i carry with me.”

-Shelly Fairchild

“The most success that came out of that was my touring,” she said. “I got to tour with some amazing people — Rascall Flatts, Keith Urban. I opened for Tim McGraw and Sugarland and John Fogerty. I toured around with Shooter Jennings.”

The first album also seemed to help Shelly discover who she was as an artist and find out what she wanted from her music while learning the process of making records.

“The first record, I felt like I had a little bit of rock, a little bit of blues influenced with country. I’m proud of that first record. I think it was made a little more commercial.

It was my first time. It was an amazing experience because I got to actually sing songs that I wanted to sing.

“I didn’t really understand about production at the time. As far as the sounds goes, I just wanted to make sure that I was myself. And, I think with having a little Mississippi kind of bluesy feel to it was very important,” she said. “I think that was captured there.”

The major label eventually dropped Shelly, which proved to be only a minor bump in the road.

Free from the confines of a major label, Shelly set out to take control of her music and released Ruby’s Money on her own label, Revelation Nation Records. She took her unstoppable voice to another level, creating an album that reflected a “Memphis kind of feel” with horns.

She also took time to write songs and work with other artists to help develop their sounds. In the 10 years since her first album was released, she has sung background vocals on a lot of albums and songs, including Eric 34

Fall 2015

Church’s “Creepin’” and Jason Aldean’s “Burnin’ It Down.”

She is one of only three background singers for Martina McBride’s “Everlasting” tour, which began January 2014 and will run through the end of November. Touring with Martina has been a major highlight to Shelly’s varied music career.

“If someone thinks I’m good enough to come and sing backgrounds for them, I’m like, ‘Yeah’ — especially if it’s music I love. Martina is somebody I’ve looked up to as a singer my whole life. I mean, I almost lost my mind when I was hired for this job.

“With being on the road with Martina, I thoroughly enjoy being a supportive part of a band, too — being a side girl, being in the background. I love that,” she said. “I love collaborating with people whether it’s singing a duet, singing backgrounds or just playing the tambourine — I really enjoy making music with people — for a living.”

While she will always take time to collaborate with other musicians, Shelly is putting a major focus on making her own music. To make this happen, she decided to start a crowd-funding campaign and allowed fans across the country help her create her next album through PledgeMusic, a direct-to-fan music platform that brings artists and fans together to share in the experience of making music.

At first, Shelly was hesitant “because I was nervous to ask people for money,” but she counted on the successful PledgeMusic campaign led by her friend, Emily West from America’s Got Talent.

“I asked her how the process was, and I just saw how elegant it was for her,” Shelly said. “So, I contacted Pledge.

The idea is that the whole world can be your label. You all do it together. The world can be your marketing tool.”

As part of the campaign, which she launched early this year, she offers exclusives, such as pre-orders of the forthcoming album, signed merchandise, phone calls, VIP concert tickets, a personalized tour of Nashville and even house concerts.

“Some people just want to hang out and see Nashville with me and do things that I do,” she said. “It’s really an opportunity for me to engage people that like my music.”

The highly successful campaign, which will end in early 2016, will pay for studio time, the musicians, the engineers — everything it takes to make a record.

“And, then, mastering and duplication for processing the record — all the money I’m getting, pays for that and pays for me to have LPs printed. It pays for posters, the ability to come out and play and pay the band. It’s all — the whole experience,” Shelly said.

The campaign goal is not made public, and even though she’s reached more than 100 percent, Shelly said the more people give, the more she can do to enhance the experience, make the record she wants and share her music in a bigger way.

“The vision is to play — to come to your town. What I love most is live performance. I just want to be right with everybody that loves the music that I make and wants to show up for it. The goal is to be on the road and to tour and to do as much of that as I can,” she said. “As much as I absolutely love singing background, that’s a whole different kind of personality. I love touring my own music so much, and it’s been a while since I’ve been able to do that.”

Shelly started recording for the next album — yet to be named — in May between tour dates with Martina and other projects. She said she’s working hard to make a collection of songs that is timeless.

“I don’t want to make music that’s just trendy or just has a feel for the moment — like, ‘Oh, that’s so 2015.’ I don’t want to have anybody push the fast forward button,” she said. “So, that’s what we’re working on. Even the songs I haven’t written, it’s important that they mean something.”

Like with her two previous albums, Shelly’s Mississippi roots will definitely come through in her next record.

“I don’t like to steer too far away from Mississippi because that’s what I know and that’s what I grew up with and all the amazing musical influences there,” she said. “I like having that swampy kind of feel. I hope that comes out in this next record, too. I think that has been sort of a through-line even though the music has changed a bit over the years.”

Just as much as Mississippi has a place in Shelly’s

music, so does the Music City that helped her become the powerful and successful performer she is. Nashville, the “glorified small town” where Shelly has lived for nearly two decades, will likely always be home base amidst touring.

"You find your way if you are determined to be in a city and to live a certain life," she said of her life there.

Nashville seemingly fits the singer’s lively personality.

“You’ve got a little bit of country and a little bit of rock-n-roll,” she said. “You have a lot going on in Nashville.”

But, no matter where she puts down her guitar and mic, Mississippi will always be home for Shelly Fairchild.

“I have a friend named Travis Meadows. He’s from Mississippi — a songwriter, one of the best songwriters that I know. He has a song called “I Am Mississippi,” and I feel like that,” she said. “I feel like I am Mississippi. It is me. I am it. You know, it’s made me everything that I am.

“If you never leave Mississippi to see there’s a whole world out there, that’s unfortunate. Mississippi’s always home. The goodness that is Mississippi is what I carry with me.

“I would love for everybody to know — all over the world — that I’m a Mississippi girl.”

See Shelly Perform Live!

Shelly Fairchild will headline the Moonvine Arts & Music Fest Oct. 3 at Live Oaks Golf Club north of Clinton. The music festival will be from 1 to 8 p.m. Shelly’s performance will begin at 6:45. For information, visit moonvinefest.com.

PledgeMusic

To support the making of Shelly Fairchild’s next album, visit pledgemusic.com/projects/ shellyfairchild, where you can make pledges and purchase exclusive content. For information on Shelly and her music, visit shellyfairchild.com.

Follow Shelly Fairchild on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube using the handle "shellyfairchild."

STORY Lauchlin Fields PHOTOGRAPHY Melanie Thortis

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'SIP TRIP

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Weekend roadtrip to visit Historic Homes IN

Stephen D. Lee Home & Museum (c. 1847) 316 Seventh St. North (800) 920-3533

Columbus

Stephen D. Lee

Once home to CSA Gen. Stephen D. Lee, the residence is now a Civil War museum.

Open Fridays, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. or by appointment.

Amzi Love (c. 1848) 305 Seventh St. South (800) 920-3533

Family-owned for seven generations, Amzi Love contains original furnishings and lush gardens. Open Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. or by appointment.

Rosedale (c. 1856) 1523 Ninth St. South (800) 920-3533

AMZI LOVE

Rosedale is known both for its Italianate architecture as well as its owners’ extensive collection of antiques. Open by appointment with two-day advance scheduling.

Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams Home (c. 1875) 300 Main St. (662) 328-0222

A National Literary Landmark, this home belonged to renowned playwright Tennessee Williams, and now serves as the Columbus Welcome Center. Open Monday Saturday, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

ROSEDALE

Rosewood Manor (c. 1835) 719 Seventh St. North (662) 328-7313

Whitehall (c. 1843) 607 Third St. South (800) 920-3533

This home exhibits exquisite architecture, woodwork, and antiques from both the 18th and 19th centuries. Open Mondays 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

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ROSEWOOD

For additional historic homes in Columbus, visit our website at thesipmag.com/sip-trip

WHITEHALL ILLUSTRATION BY ERIN NORWOOD

Take a step back in time, with this historic home.

Beautiful furnishings, a chapel and gardens draw attention to this Greek Revival home.

Open Monday - Saturday by appointment.

Festivals and fun. Grand historic homes. Birthplace of America’s greatest playwright, Tennessee Williams. Run or bike along the scenic Riverwalk, winding around and over the Tombigbee River. Shop, dine, and savor in the ultimate Southern experience.

Columbus, Mississippi.The city that has it all...

Share the Bounty by P. Allen Smith

UPCOMING EVENTS YEAR-ROUND Daily Historic Home Tours OCTOBER 16-17 Caledonia Days | OCTOBER 22-24 Eudora Welty Writers’ Symposium NOVEMBER 5-7 Decorative Arts & Preservation Forum / Antiques Show & Sale FEATURING NOVEMBER 6 - 10:30 am: “Share the Bounty” by P. Allen Smith, an award-winning designer, gardening and lifestyle expert MARCH 28-APRIL 9, 2016 76TH ANNUAL SPRING PILGRIMAGE

Go to www.visitcolumbusms.org for attraction and event listings.

Tennessee Williams Home & Welcome Center • 800-920-3533

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S T A R K VI LLE

Larry Wallace

Banjo player, teacher strums up a lifetime of good pickin’ In Larry Wallace's driveway is a large tour bus, silver with vintage red and blue detail and a bold marquee over the windshield that bears his name. It has some slight wear, for which Larry and his wife, Barbara, apologize, but it's the perfect symbol of Larry's illustrious career in bluegrass music and the adventures the banjo player has had along the way.

D

Pickin' Good Time: For a schedule of performances or information on Larry's banjo courses, call 662-323-9264 or email him at banjosound@aol.com. larrywallacebanjo.com

Despite the bus, it's hard to imagine anyone else having as much pride in his work as Larry. His eyes twinkle like a child’s on Christmas morning when he recounts his stories and shares his passion for bluegrass.

He's one of the ones who's been able to take his interest in music, learn an instrument and build it into a lifelong career, and the way he remembers the people who have influenced him and each minute detail of his experience makes it abundantly clear that he hasn't taken a single moment for granted.

Born near Brookhaven in a community called McCall Creek, Larry's interest in music was fostered by his grandfather, a fiddle player, and his father, who played guitar.

Through their connections, Larry developed an interest in the banjo at age 13.

"Growing up, they always played on the porch with other musicians," Larry said. "They didn't have a banjo player, but then one of the musicians' brother took up the banjo. When they'd take a coffee break, I'd ask him if I could play it."

A self-taught banjo player, Larry says the time he spent in the company of his family and friends is what helped him learn. He also listened to the works of established bluegrass musicians and read as much as he could.

"I got banjo instruction books and records," he said. "I learned a lot from albums, slowing down the albums of Earl Scruggs, who played the banjo, and I'd count notes. It was a slow process of getting it right."

He describes his style as traditional.

"I use three-finger picks," Larry said. "That's known as the traditional style, like Earl Scruggs played. I like contemporary and progressive styles, and I listen to them, but I'm definitely a traditional player."

In 1978, he was named the Mississippi State Banjo Champion and retained his title every year until 1984. He

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“It's a long way from McCall Creek, Mississippi, to The Grand Ole Opry.

I hope that through my travels, I've made Mississippi proud.” ~ LARRY WALLACE

won again in 2010. In 2009 and 2010, he was awarded “Banjo Player of the Year” by the Magnolia State Bluegrass Association, of which he is a former president and a member for nearly 40 years.

Larry attended Mississippi State University beginning in 1981, and fell so in love with the town during his time in school that he decided to put down roots there for the long haul. Now, as a member of The Cedar Creek Ramblers, he puts on numerous live shows in town, many for college students at MSU.

"College kids love us," Larry said. "We have a slogan 'Rockin' Country Bluegrass.' We play songs like 'Sweet Child of Mine,' and we bluegrass 'em up. A lot of students here think it's pretty cool to play a banjo."

He has been active in the area’s music scene, most notably serving as entertainment chairman of the beloved Cotton District Arts Festival every spring, where he performs.

But it's not only Starkville that he loves — it's his whole home state. He chose to stay in Mississippi, rather than move to Nashville as many other artists in his genre have done.

"I liked living here," he said, "And I'm close enough to Nashville that I can get there pretty quickly whenever I want."

He's a member of the Mississippi Arts Commission’s Artist Roster and has performed regularly around the state — including Jackson, Tupelo, Hattiesburg and Oxford.

He said Mississippi has a strong bluegrass community.

"Through the Magnolia State Bluegrass Association, I was able to help get Gov. Haley Barbour to proclaim May as Bluegrass Music Month," Larry said. "That was a really good time for bluegrass music in Mississippi."

Nationally, Larry has picked on stage at The Grand Ole Opry at Nashville’s famous Ryman Auditorium, as well as at The Country Music Hall of Fame.

He's also performed on television’s The Nashville Network and GAC and from California to the French provinces of Canada to a cruise ship in the Bahamas.

"It's a long way from McCall Creek, Mississippi, to The Grand Ole Opry," Larry said. "I hope that through my travels, I've made Mississippi proud."

Of course, he has recorded countless albums through the years. Playing alongside Jimmy Martin and The Sunny Mountain Boys was one of Larry’s "biggest dreams." Another was The Larry Wallace Band. He’s also been a member of The Vernon Brothers of Jackson and The Warrior River Boys of Cullman, Ala.

"When I was with Jimmy, they had a surprise celebration for him at the Country Music Hall of Fame," Larry said. "Earl and Louise Scruggs were on the guest list that night. I played a 45-minute set with Jimmy in front of Earl Scruggs.

Afterward, we shook hands, and he said 'Good pickin’. You

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done a fine job.' That was one of the proudest moments of my life."

With such a storied history and a long travel log, it’s easy to see why his bus may show some wear and tear. But Larry’s energy is strong as ever, and he’s putting quite a bit of it toward teaching.

Just off the side entrance to his welcoming brick home is a sizable spare room that serves as his home office. Today he spends a majority of his time there, conducting banjo, mandolin and guitar lessons, both in person with local students and through online teleconference with interested learners as far away as Australia.

"The time difference with my Australian student makes scheduling sort of difficult," Larry said. "But what's amazing is that our connection is so clear. We make it work."

Additionally, he has taught short courses in banjo and guitar at MSU.

"Living in Starkville has given me the opportunity to teach," Larry said.

He taught Caroline Melby, a mandolin student and current member of HanaLena, a young Mississippi sister duo achieving success in Nashville.

"I've always taught," he said. "All ages, small kids who could barely hold their instruments to people in their 70s."

He's particularly proud of his work with Charlie Worsham of Grenada.

"Charlie drove over here every week," Larry said.

"Charlie's on Warner Brothers' label now. He's just a great musician overall, and I was just happy to be his banjo teacher."

Larry’s office is adorned with his instrument collection that includes guitars, fiddles, a mandolin and, of course, his beloved banjos. A bookshelf holds countless framed photos of Larry and his friends — a montage of celebrity faces, from historic bluegrass greats Scruggs and Bill Monroe to contemporary stars such as Ricky Skaggs, Allison Krauss and Union Station and renowned Philadelphia, Miss., native and country artist Marty Stuart.

The photos and instruments are a testament to the rich life Larry has led. But, those are just stops along the way. He’s planning to give his tour bus a tune-up to get it road-ready again. Barbara said they're looking into getting a camper and traveling the country for a while.

Whether on the road or at home, Larry and his banjo will surely continue to touch others' lives, and he will carry his love of Mississippi, the South and its special, string-driven soundtrack wherever he goes.

STORY Kate Gregory PHOTOGRAPHY Jeremy Murdock

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Burlesque in the Bible Belt, as its name implies, offers plenty of lace, corsets and fishnets, but is more about amazing local talent, a sense of community and an undeniable sisterhood that has empowered every woman who has stepped on its stage.

Hattiesburg — Hattiesburlesque, a burlesque-inspired musical revue, began three years ago as the brainchild of Abigail Lenz Allen, a Hattiesburg transplant by way of New York and Los Angeles. To truly understand her passion for this show, you must first understand 45-year-old Allen’s zeal for life, her love for Hattiesburg and the bumpy road that brought her here.

The world of entertainment is in her DNA. Her mother was a low-budget horror movie producer and her father was a working character actor in Hollywood. Her grandfather Claude Rains was a four-time Oscar nominee who appeared in more than 40 movies alongside the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis. So, as early as elementary school, it was natural that this young Hollywood darling would have high hopes of being famous.

“I remember being around 8 and my father asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said a rock star,” she said. “He said, ‘Are you sure you want to do that?’ And my response was, ‘Well, you wanted to be an actor.’”

And so began Allen’s passion for the world of entertainment. Having family in the business only amplified her drive for success.

“I grew up knowing who my grandfather was and knowing he was a movie star, so if you told me that I couldn’t be a rock star, and 8 years old, I’m going to look at you and go, “Yes, I can. Grandpa did it,’” she said.

Allen is a self-proclaimed kinesthetic learner who said music was always her first love, along with dancing and

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theater. Broadway songs even helped in her schoolwork.

Her mother used the familiar tunes to help Allen learn verb conjugation.

“I was a dancer by default, but then I realized that the singers usually got to be in front of the dancers on stage, so that was it for me,” she said as she laughed.

She made her official debut as a rock star at the age of 14. Accompanied by her mother to every gig since she was a minor, Allen was playing at Sunset Strip mainstays such as The Roxy and Whiskey A Go Go by the time she was 15.

By 21, she was the lead vocalist for the Swamp Boogie Queens, playing as the house band at the newly opened House of Blues in Los Angeles. One night, after opening for Gregg Allman, the band was approached by renowned music producer Phil Ramone.

“He came backstage and said, ‘Do you guys want a big fat record deal?’ It was like literally out of a movie,” she said.

That was all it took to kick Allen’s fairytale dreams of stardom into high gear.

The band spent two years on the road opening for Lynyrd Skynyrd, then for Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Allen and her band were living the rock star dream.

“I believed so blindly in this fairytale of thinking we were going to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. I think that's why we had the success we did. I believed in this band, and I was the cheerleader for us through the hard times,” she said. “I think it's important to believe in yourself blindly, but at the same token, I believed in something

FUN TIMES Dancers take center stage, putting on a fun show for guests.

ON STAGE Talented women not only perform but gain confidence through Hattiesburlesque.

that wasn't a real thing. I mean, what does being a rock star even really mean?”

But the hard times and that blind confidence eventually got the best of them, and one night after a gig in Vancouver, the band called it quits.

“I was so sick with that Hollywood mindset thinking that if you weren't constantly climbing that ladder to the next rung of success, you were failing,” said Allen. “The truth is the minute you get to that next level you're just going to want to go higher.”

Over the next three years, Allen found herself in a dark place with drugs and depression. She considered herself a failure. Down the proverbial rabbit hole she fell, chasing whatever she could to make her feel successful again. At the suggestion of a wise friend, Allen landed in Hattiesburg 10 years ago searching for a new start and professional help with her addiction. To this day, she says it's the best decision she ever made.

After rehab, she immediately became pregnant with daughter Frances, which Allen said saved her life.

“That situation made me stay here in Hattiesburg,” she said. “If I had gone back to that Hollywood environment, I would have just done drugs again. That was all I knew.”

Allen said she quickly learned the truth of what was really important in life. It wasn't the money or the fame.

“Two years into living here, I looked around and realized I was actually showing up for people. I could be counted on. I had friends who had never seen me fall and make excuses. I found the best people with the strongest roots that I had ever met it my life here in Hattiesburg,” she said. “There's a sense of community that I never felt growing up in L.A. I could never leave this place.”

Allen began to flourish in the downtown arts scene.

Her passion for music — once dulled by depression — returned with a vengeance, and in 2009 she partnered with local musician Lance Blackwell to form a new band, Ralph

Nix and the Catfish Gospel.

“I never dreamed there would be such incredible musical talent here in Hattiesburg,” Allen said. “I mean, why would there be? Coming from that rock and roll mindset, I just assumed that anyone who was a really great musician would want to be on MTV. It never occurred to me that there were people out there who just truly loved to play amazing music and not chase the fame.”

After a few years of immersion in the art world of the Hub City, Allen had a new goal — to bring a fun, interactive burlesque show to town. Hattiesburg had community theater, a thriving local music scene and an outstanding dance department at the University of Southern Mississippi. There just didn’t seem to be a platform to combine the three.

“I knew burlesque would be fun. I’ve always loved musical theater, and I felt like it was time that people here experience a show like that,” she said.

The name Hattiesburlesque just rolled right off her tongue.

A mutual friend introduced her to Rebecca Chandler, a USM dance performance and choreography major who recently had success opening her own ballroom dance studio.

“We were as opposite as could be in every aspect, but if you played an old Broadway tune, it would bring us both to tears. We immediately connected and thought we could really make Hattiesburlesque a reality,” she said.

This was the summer of 2013, and the Thirsty Hippo — one of the downtown mainstays for live music since 2000 — had recently moved into a new location on McLeod Street. The new building just so happened to feature a separate performance area in the back of the building complete with its own bar and stage. Allen thought the space would be ideal for the show's debut.

“It kind of had a speakeasy feel. I talked with Brad Newton, the owner, and he not only said that I could do it there, but he said he would help make it happen,” she said.

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“We started rehearsals for our fall show, and we had all this great momentum, and then school started. Our dancers were all from the USM dance department. There was no way they could keep up with their own rehearsal schedule along with ours, too. It fizzled pretty fast,” said Allen.

They put the idea on the back burner for almost a year until Chandler introduced Allen to Julie White, one of her former professors in the dance department who wanted to help. White agreed to help provide set rehearsal times for Hattiesburlesque if it did not interfere with the dance department’s standing rehearsal schedule.

This time around, auditions were promoted on social media, and 18 women showed up.

“We had all kinds of women come — all shapes and sizes with all levels of dance experience. And every single one of them had a different reason for being there,” said Allen. “Some fumbled through the dance; some aced it. We were just amazed. At the end, we told them this had not been an audition of their dance skills; it was an audition to see who had the courage to put themselves out there, and every one of these ladies nailed it.”

Eight weeks later Hattiesburlesque made its debut at the Thirsty Hippo — after only one full dress rehearsal with the lights, costumes and live band.

“The dress rehearsal was a disaster. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong,” said Allen. “But when it came to the night of the show, it was pure magic.

Everything was absolutely perfect and these girls put on one hell of a show.”

The rest, as they say, is history. The two-night February show sold out two weeks before the opening night and later went on the road with a performance at Duling Hall in Jackson. The most recent show — themed “Beach Blanket Blowout” — sold out all three performances days before the curtain opened in June.

Allen and Chandler, along with choreographer Katie Ginn and Thirsty Hippo owner Newton, are the combined beauty, brains and brawn behind the success of Hattiesburlesque. They seem to have found the perfect balance of local talent, crowd participation and contagious spirit. Newton plays the drums in the Hattiesburlesque house band alongside a blend of members from Ralph Nix and the Catfish Gospel and Scott Chism & the Better Half, another Hattiesburg favorite.

“We really consider it as a type of community theater,” said Allen. “Everyone volunteers their time and their talent. All the money we make, aside from equipment rental fees and a few other things, goes right back into the next show.”

Hattiesburlesque has been embraced overwhelmingly by the community, garnering more donations and

contributions than Allen can name, and it has even coined its own catchphrase: Art makes art makes art.

“Maybe one of our dancers can also sing, and maybe one of the singers can also sew. Maybe one of the costume designers likes to paint and helps make our props. It can go on and on and on, so art makes art makes art,” said Allen.

Unlike any preconceptions of what a burlesque show might be, this show is about community and inspiration.

“We have had women who hated to speak in public now get up on stage and belt out a solo. We’ve had women who never wanted to get in a bathing suit now proudly walk around the water park with their kids. We’ve had women who never had the courage to stand up for themselves leave bad marriages because they finally had the guts to do it.

Chandler said the production value, from the props and the set to the dancers’ skills, keeps getting better. The group is now working on a Halloween show, scheduled for Oct. 22-24.

Clearly, this burlesque show is unique to Hattiesburg, as well as the Thirsty Hippo. It’s a production like no other, and all parties involved agree it wouldn’t have quite the pizazz if at another venue.

And as for Hattiesburg, Allen said Hollywood has nothing on the Hub City.

“I wouldn’t live anywhere else — not for a million dollars,” she said. “This is the best place with the best people in the world. Man, everyone else is just missing out.”

STORY Elizabeth Grey PHOTOGRAPHY Eli Baylis

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LITERATURE

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Jesmyn Ward

Author shares the ghosts of her past All the stories of author Jesmyn Ward point to the South, most specifically to the home of her childhood, DeLisle. The 38-year-old mother of a 2-year-old has penned three books and, in the footsteps of Southern literary giants, has relied on her homeland for the foundation.

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Her first two novels, Where the Lines Bleed and Salvage the Bones, which earned for her the 2011 National Book Award, are set in the fictional Gulf Coast town of Bois Sauvage.

Her third work, a memoir titled Men We Reaped, details the difficult story of five young men, including her brother, Joshua, who died in four years. They were all in their late teens or early 20s. They were all black. They were all from DeLisle.

Ward allows her work to show how deeply she was entrenched in a world of being poor and black in a rural and modern American South. Themes of race, religion, family and community set the stages.

Savage the Bones is prefaced with three quotes: a verse from Deuteronomy; a line from Spanish poet Gloria Fuertes; and a lyric from an Outkast song. For readers, she’s eliciting something Biblical, something literary and something cultural. Her sense of place is entangled in her characters.

Ward was born in Berkeley, Calif., where her mother was attending a community college. They moved to her family’s hometown of DeLisle while she was still a toddler, uniting her with generations of the family who lived in the same neighborhood.

In the early 1980s, Ward’s family “fell on hard times,” she said.

Her parents and three siblings moved in with her grandmother, for a while bringing to 13 the number of people under one roof. As the eldest child in her immediate family, Ward often was called on to help watch her younger brother and sisters.

At school, she was bullied, but she found solace in reading.

“My love of writing came from my love of reading,” she said.

In the second grade, she was placed in a program for gifted children that required students to complete reading-enrichment packets.

“All of the other girls in the class hated doing the reading packets,” she recalled.

She took a stance.

“I remember one day grabbing a reading packet and thinking to myself, ‘I’m not going to be like everyone else,’” she said. “It wasn’t this

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natural thing that I realized. I just made this decision.”

So began her love affair with books. The Secret Garden, Harriet the Spy, Island of the Blue Dolphins. She devoured them one by one, running her hands along the spines in her school library, scanning the titles. Looking back, she was always drawn to novels with a strong, female protagonist.

Ward adored reading, but could not imagine herself a writer. She didn’t journal or write creatively until the sixth grade when she and her classmates were asked to write poems for Arbor Day. Then she was asked by her teacher to read hers aloud at a school program.

“That was the first time that I felt like I did some kind of creative writing and people responded positively,” Ward said.

She wrote “bad short stories” and poems throughout high school, but when she got to college at Stanford University, she felt overwhelmed and out of place among some of the nation’s most competitive students.

“I didn’t seriously pursue it in college because I didn’t think I had the talent or know-how,” she said.

With an undergraduate degree in English from Stanford, Ward decided to pursue a master’s, believing that would aid her job prospects. She sought work while finishing college, but was forced to move home when nothing panned out. Her job struggles continued, leaving her to take a holiday job at an outlet mall to make ends meet. The grind led her to venture out once again, this time to New York and sleeping on couches until she landed a position at Random House.

At the prestigious publishing company, she edited other people’s works, secretly yearning to make a serious effort for her own novel. She learned about the book publishing industry and realized she had two options if she wanted to be a fulltime writer: Work a 9-to-5 job and write at night, teaching herself how to get better at her art; or pursue a master’s degree in creative writing, all the while learning from experts and devoting her time to studying.

“You have to have a lot of discipline, and it’s really hard.

It’s hard to work a full-time job, and then come home and discipline yourself to seriously become a better artist,” she said. “I couldn’t do it.”

Ward applied for scholarships to various Master’s of Fine Arts programs and eventually was accepted at the University

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of Michigan, where she wrote her first novel and worked for three years to have it published.

She began teaching college-level English and writing courses, eventually returning to Stanford for the Stegner Fellowship Creative Writing Program. There she wrote her second novel. Later, while working as the Grisham Writer-inResidence at the University of Mississippi, she wrote her third book and most mentally challenging — her memoir, Men We Reaped.

“Oxford is a very ghost-rich place,” she said, telling how William Faulkner’s home, Rowan Oak, can be seen from the window of the writer’s residence.

But, she was intimidated by the open wounds of losing her brother and four others to tragedies she traces to a cycle of poverty and oppression for many blacks in the South.

“All of these issues … all of those things weighed heavily.

I was living in a huge house by myself and working on a manuscript that was taking a lot out of me and was making me relive my ghosts every day. It was really tough,” she said.

“I wanted to write about the experiences of the poor and the black and the rural people of the South so that the culture that had marginalized us for so long would see that our stories were as universal, our lives as fraught and lovely and important as theirs,” Ward told her audience as she accepted the National Book Award in 2011.

Today, Ward is working on her fourth book, a return to fiction and the town of Bois Sauvage. She is elated to be completing a final draft of the novel, having worked on it for three years while caring for her daughter and teaching in New Orleans.

As she writes at her home in DeLisle, Ward is surrounded by the ghosts and experiences that continue to find themselves on her pages.

“When I was a kid, I thought what authors accomplished was a kind of magic. They created these books,” she said.

“As I got older, I understood that it’s not magic, it’s work.”

STORY Camille Breland PHOTOGRAPHY Kim Welsh

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JACKSON — Her grace and strength, in fact, have been a visible presence in her husband’s long and prosperous political career.

“There is no governor or first lady in the history of Mississippi who has served this state so long and so well as (the Winters),” said David Sansing, Mississippi historian and Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Mississippi.

Elise, a native of Senatobia, has stood firmly and lovingly beside William since 1947, when he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives. Embracing a life of politics, she married him three years later.

A proponent for positive change in Mississippi, William served as state tax collector, state treasurer and lieutenant governor. After two unsuccessful gubernatorial runs, William was elected as the 57th governor of Mississippi in 1979. During his term and with his wife fully supporting him, William successfully pushed legislators to pass the historic Mississippi Education Reform Act of 1982 and rewrote the state public utilities law with the Public Utilities Reform Act.

In his more than six decades of public service, William Winter has had buildings named for him, served as a member of President Bill Clinton’s Advisory Board on Race, received the Profile in Courage Award by the John

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Elise Winter at 88 is just as graceful and elegant as she was 35 years ago, when she and her husband, former Gov. William Winter, welcomed presidents, prime ministers and celebrities to their home at the historic Mississippi Governor’s Mansion.

F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and had the William Winter Institute of Racial Reconciliation at Ole Miss named in his honor.

Elise Winter has been right there the whole time.

“He is the most acclaimed public servant in the United States,” Sansing said. “He’s been in politics for more than 60 years, and she’s been with him every step of the way.

“In almost every picture of Gov. Winter (in any official capacity), there she is standing right by him. She brings truth to the living expression, ‘Behind every great man, there is a great woman.’”

The scrapbook gallery on a wall in the Winters’ home in Jackson is proof. Framed photos show the people and places the couple encountered during William’s decades in public office and capture Elise in perhaps her truest form, next to her husband, welcoming visitors to her beloved home state.

William and Elise stand with such notables as John F. Kennedy, Merle Haggard, Hank Aaron, Eudora Welty, Leontyne Price, Archbishop Tutu, comedian Jerry Clower and good friends, Bill and Hillary Clinton. The list goes on and on.

Old campaign buttons sporting such slogans as “Winter: He’s for Real” and other memorabilia document

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the former governor’s long political journey to create a vivid look into this power couple’s past. The wall of fame could ignite conversations for days about the fascinating lives the Winters have led.

Elise doesn’t seem to mind reflecting on her life with William, her husband of nearly 65 years. In fact, many of those memories are captured in her recent book, Once in a Lifetime: Reflections of a Mississippi First Lady, a collection of journal writings she kept when William was governor.

“During William's administration, our days were so full and the journal was a way to record what we were doing and what we were thinking in real-time,” she said. “It was meant to be a personal account for our family.”

The journals offer an engaging behind-the-scenes look at Elise’s life during that important time in our state’s history — when education and prison reform along with budget deficits were at the fore. The book serves as a historic record through her firsthand accounts.

“William and I were getting ready to take the journal and some other papers to the (Mississippi Department of Archives and History) and a couple of friends read it and suggested that it be published,” Elise said. “Having it published was never my intention. I simply wanted to record as much as possible so our family would have some kind of a record of our days in the mansion.”

Elise’s writings embody her giving spirit.

“Although people know who she is, not many people know how she is,” said JoAnne Prichard Morris, widow of renowned author Willie Morris and editor of Elise’s book.

“We were trying to allow people to see her as a human being — as a mother, as a wife and a friend.”

The book also helps outline her role in politics as first lady, a busy job Morris said Elise took very seriously.

“Every day was so different and so full,” Elise said of the four-year term. “One day, I could be traveling, making a speech somewhere in the state. The next day, we could be welcoming a delegation from China and a classroom of children from one of the local schools. The day would often end with a dinner for 60 — we were never bored!”

The Mississippi Governor’s Mansion on East Capitol Street in Jackson is the second oldest continuously occupied governor’s residence in the United States. It’s one of only two state gubernatorial residences to receive

the honor of being a National Historic Landmark. The Winters moved in just as the Mississippi Department of Archives and History had placed new regulations on the Mansion to ensure proper care and preservation, something the Winters strongly supported.

The couple had a busy four years living and working inside what they considered a museum. Elise played a vital role in acquiring furnishings to fit the style of the Mansion and hosted many dinner parties and events, including regular tours, to showcase its grandeur.

“William and I felt strongly that the Governor's Mansion should be open and accessible to every citizen,” Elise said. “It is an architectural gem. Every Mississippian should regard the Mansion with great pride. We felt incredibly privileged to live there and we enjoyed every minute.

“The Mansion served multiple purposes. It was a living museum with guided tours going on every day, as well as the center for entertaining guests of every description. We welcomed a sitting president of the United States, two future presidents, numerous cabinet secretaries, two first ladies, ambassadors and foreign dignitaries, astronauts, nationally acclaimed figures in literature, sports and the arts. The Mansion provided an exquisite backdrop for entertaining. It also served as a working office for me and for William, due to the Capitol being closed for renovations at that time.”

She was not, however, always at the Mansion.

“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel around the state and see first-hand the challenges that so many people were facing in their day-to-day lives,” she said. “It was always refreshing to talk to people faceto-face. I was also struck by the fascinating ethnic and cultural diversity in the state.”

The four years in office brought a great deal of change for the Winters.

“On a personal level, we suffered the loss of both of our mothers while William was in office,” she said. “On the other end of the spectrum, we welcomed the birth of our first grandchild — the son of our oldest daughter, Anne, and her husband. We also had the privilege of seeing our middle daughter, Lele, married in a beautiful ceremony at the Governor's Mansion.”

Through it all, family was top priority for the

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Buy the Book

Once in a Lifetime: Reflections of a Mississippi First Lady written by Elise Varner Winter | edited by JoAnne Prichard Morris

available at local bookstores across the state

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You can't be friends with William without being friends with Elise.She's so much a part of him.

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Winters. Elise was a devoted mother to their three daughters — Anne, Lele and Eleanor — and an active volunteer.

“I think I balanced my roles the way everybody else does — one day at a time,” she said. “The family always comes first, and everything else, with a little luck and hard work, usually falls into place.”

Sansing said Elise’s three grown daughters embody her devotion to family, as well as her grace and elegance.

“She has never abandoned her role,” Sansing explained. Her daughters “are living examples of what kind of mother she is.”

Sansing, a friend to the Winters since the 1960s, first met the family when he invited William, then serving as state tax collector, to speak to his American government class. The young professor was fascinated by the fact that a politician was trying to abolish his own post. William had opposed the position when he was a Legislator and, upon being elected as tax collector, the most lucrative of state-level government jobs at the time, urged legislators to abolish it. Its sole purpose, Sansing said, was to collect on an illegal alcohol tax.

“He was the only man in America in public office trying to get rid of his own job,” he said. “I didn’t know him, but I wrote him to ask if he would speak to my class.

I was so impressed with this man that we became really, really good friends.”

Through his friendship with William Winter, Sansing came to know and respect Elise.

“You can’t be friends with William without being friends with Elise,” he said. “She’s so much a part of him.”

Even though Elise was a “busy first lady” who never sought the limelight or praise for her diligent work to improve the state’s prison system or to help reform education, the hard work didn’t stop when it was time to move out of the Mansion.

The duo’s work continues.

“Our days are full and we continue to be involved with the organizations we feel passionate about,” Elise said.

Each day, 92-year-old William goes to his law office at Jones Walker Law Firm in Jackson. He also travels across the state and country to give speeches. He is involved in the Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and the building of the new Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History, both planned sites in

Jackson.

Elise, always an avid gardener, spends time nurturing orchids in the greenhouse William built her. She goes on walks with Charlie Brown, the couple’s rescue schnauzer.

She also remains heavily involved as a board member with Habitat for Humanity, which she helped organize in 1986 as the first of its kind in Mississippi.

“I have always had a keen interest in affordable housing and this was a cause I wanted to get more involved in,” she said. “Habitat is an extraordinary organization, and I am especially proud that we have just built our 600th house and we are still building!”

Much like her husband, Elise has put her heart into the things that matter to her. And, when it comes down to it, the thing that matters most is family. The couple has five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, including a set of twins.

“I hope I have been a good mother to my three girls and a loving partner to William,” she said. “I also hope, in some small fashion, I have given back in a meaningful way to the various causes I have cared deeply about.”

Elise knows her husband will long be remembered.

“My hope is that his legacy will be his support of public education, racial reconciliation and historic preservation,” she said. “Of course, he has been a marvelous husband and father to our girls.”

Despite her husband’s numerous achievements, Elise said she is most proud of his character.

“He has never compromised his values in order to be elected to any office,” she said. “In addition, he has a marvelous sense of humor and exemplifies grace under pressure. I am so proud of him!”

With the exception of country music and baseball (two things William loves), the Winters see eye-to-eye on most things. That, along with their undying love for their home state and family, is what makes them such a good team.

“I’ve never known another man and wife who were more dedicated and devoted to each other,” Sansing said.

STORY Lauchlin Fields PHOTOGRAPHY Melanie Thortis

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HISTORY

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John George Ryan A case of mistaken identity

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History buffs welcome Discover more historical facts and stories at Vicksburg's Old Court House Museum. The Old Court House, built in 1858, stands today as Vicksburg’s most historic structure and has hosted such guests as Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Booker T. Washington, Teddy Roosevelt and William McKinley.

1008 Cherry Street Vicksburg, Mississippi (601) 636-0741 Mon.-Sat.: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Sun.: 1:30-4:30 p.m. oldcourthouse.org OldCourtHouseMuseum

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He was called "The Mysterious Prisoner," but to John George Ryan, the most baffling mystery was why he was in jail.

Ryan was a Canadian who came south to do his part for the Confederate States. He joined the Army at Crawfordville near Columbus, Miss., and was in Company B of the 12th Mississippi, Armistead's Division. Later he served as a scout and a spy, helped organize the 18th Arkansas Cavalry and, for a time, fought under the command of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

After the war ended, Ryan, who had achieved the rank of captain, was paroled at Jackson on May 12, 1865, and made his way to Vicksburg then upriver to Memphis. He was standing at the desk in the Gayoso Hotel, just 10 days after his parole, when a man approached and asked if he was John George Ryan, late of Confederate service. Thinking the man must be someone he had met during the war, Ryan extended his hand, but the man pulled back his coat, revealing an officer's badge and advising him that the provost marshal wanted to see him in his office immediately.

Ryan could think of nothing that might jeopardize his parole. He had written a letter to a newspaper expressing satisfaction at Lincoln's death, but, if that was a crime, most Southerners were also guilty.

At the provost marshal’s office, he was thoroughly searched and his personal possessions were taken, leaving him nothing but his worn-out Confederate uniform. He was given a receipt for the $16 taken from him. He was then taken to prison, "dumbfounded at my situation," he later wrote, for no one would even hint at the reason for his arrest.

Heavy balls and chains were cold-welded to Ryan’s ankles and he was chained to the floor.

Several days later, Ryan was taken in a closed carriage to board the City of Alton and, at Cairo, Ill., he and his guards were put on a train for Baltimore.

He still had no clue why he was being held. If there were any charges against him, he was not told. Even his guards didn't know the reason for his arrest, one telling him that all he knew was that he had heard a hint that “you are a very important prisoner.”

A newspaper he saw at Harrisburg told the story. Ryan glanced in disbelief at the headline: “I found that I was supposed to be John H. Surratt, one of Lincoln’s assassins.”

The news had spread: at Baltimore a mob might have killed him had his guards not acted quickly. In a ride to Washington, in an Army ambulance, soldiers with fixed bayonets waited for him to make a false move. In the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, he was

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Shortly after the event, the district commander of Union held in a cell, where, ironically, Mary Surratt, John Surratt’s troops at Vicksburg recommended every officer on his staff mother (also accused in the Lincoln conspiracy) had been brevet rank promotion except Capt. Koch “because of his confined. unwarranted sympathy for a rebel” even though Koch had

In the jail, another prisoner was shot and killed by a given four years of loyal service in the cause of the Union. guard who mistakenly thought he was Ryan. Ryan was then

Ryan decided to settle in Pine Bluff, Ark., where he put in a sweat box, a dungeon-like room with vermin and and two friends published The Southern Vindicator. The rats and made almost unbearable because of the steam from carpetbagger government charged Ryan with “obstructing the cook house and the stench from sewers. reconstruction and inciting disturbance of the peace by

For some untold reason, Ryan was transferred in incendiary publications.” Nothing came of the charges, September to the jail in Vicksburg, where his situation greatly but, later, Ryan was arrested for violating a military order. improved. He was allowed to have company and write That charge also was dropped. Ryan wrote not only antiletters. He asked Gov. Benjamin Humphreys and Sen. William government articles, Lesis Sharkey for help. but also poetry and The provost marshal at some Southern Vicksburg, Capt. C.R.E. patriotic rhymes.

Koch, was curious about

For a while, Ryan’s imprisonment Ryan returned to — especially a slender Canada but then made man shackled with ball a trip to Washington, and chain. Koch listened where he sought to Ryan’s story and reimbursement for his concluded he was telling false imprisonment. He the truth. He appealed soon settled in Chicago, to Gen. H.W. Slocum, where he practiced who agreed that no one law and was a leader should be held without in the Ex-Confederates being charged and Association. He worked directed an inquiry from tirelessly to make the war department. sure that the graves

After a thorough Early photo of the jail in Vicksburg, where Ryan was transferred. of Southern boys investigation, Capt. who had died in an Koch ordered the Illinois prison were properly marked and that a memorial be fetters removed, gave Ryan the best quarters in the jail and, established at Oakwood Cemetery. His work received the as time passed, placed Ryan under parole and allowed him to thanks of President Jefferson Davis. spend the afternoons out of jail on condition that he would

Ryan died at his Chicago home and his funeral was held return at sundown and be locked up. there on May 9, 1895. He was buried with other Confederates

On Oct. 25, 1865, an order was issued by Gen. Peter at Oakwood Cemetery.

Osterhaus that Ryan be released, but it was Nov. 8 before it

Ryan never received an apology from the government was carried out. He was at last a free man but in a city where for his treatment. In 1867, after Surratt was found, Ryan few knew him. He had no decent clothing, no money and he went to Washington to his trial and sat very near the man. was far from his Toronto home.

He wrote that, “While I could discover no resemblance

Capt. Koch reported the case to Gen. Osterhaus, asking between us, the papers declared we looked enough alike to that transportation to Memphis be provided for Ryan. The be twins.” general flatly refused. Koch turned to the owners of the

Just because he resembled someone else, Ryan said, did opera house in Vicksburg, and a benefit was planned. On the not justify his being so cruelly treated. evening of Nov. 17, sounds of gaiety filled the theater as a packed house paid to celebrate the release of Capt. Ryan. A letter from him to the Vicksburg Daily Herald expressed his thanks and asked that “the Great Giver of all good ever smile” STORY Gordon Cotton upon those who came to his aid.

IMAGES Courtesy of Old Court House Museum 59

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photo by Melanie Thortis TH OR T I S P HOT OGRAP HY.C OM

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