Bluffs & Bayous September/ October 2021

September / October 2021

DISCOVERIES ALONG AND BEYOND...

Plank Road Revival / St. Joe, Louisiana Attic Gallery’s 50th Anniversary Ole Brook Festival

FOOD • FESTIVALS • FOOTBALL Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 1

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PUBLISHER/EDITOR Cheryl Foggo Rinehart COPY EDITOR Jean Nosser Biglane GRAPHIC DESIGNER Susan R. DeBusk SALES STAFF Cheryl Rinehart Kari L. Blaney STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Tim McCary Bill Perkins Lisa Adams Whittington CONTRIBUTORS Dr. Gary R. Bachman Lucien C. “Sam” Gwin III Alma Womack Judy Wiggins Katie Nations Becky Doty Jenée Nagem

Cheryl Rinehart

Tim McCary

Jean Biglane

Lisa Adams Whittington

Bill Perkins

Susan R. DeBusk

Dr. Gary R. Bachman

Judy Wiggins

Kari L. Blaney

Lucien C. “Sam” Gwin III

Katie Nations

Alma Womack

Jenée Nagem

FROM THE PUBLISHER

G

reetings to September and October, brimming with festivals, football, and a fanfare of activities! Bluffs & Bayous has so many happy occasions to celebrate and activities to pique our interests and participation during these two months as we march into fall. Among these is the excitement surrounding movie-making in Natchez, Mississippi— the setting for a new Hallmark movie The Search for Christmas that was scheduled by Evergreen Productions to get underway in late August with filming to continue into September and plans to air in November.

In addition, Becky and Don Doty in Brookhaven, Mississippi, share their past over-the-top Halloween parties, and Attic Gallery in Vicksburg, Mississippi, celebrates its 50th Anniversary. Our yearly college football schedules also appear herein as your handy guide for keeping up with all the collegiate games of the season— plus, of course, the gridiron battles of the New Orleans Saints.

The 36th Annual Natchez Balloon Festival will open this year in full celebration capacity with hot-air balloons taking the October15-17 skies by storm during a weekend of music, food, and entertainment. Old Brook Festival in Brookhaven, Mississippi, will once again entertain families from all over with the magic of smalltown ambiance and non-stop activities. This autumn issue also boasts some of Bluffs’ favorite fall recipes from over the years that we were requested to publish again; and throughout the issue, we share a bevy of social events in our Social Scenes.

As summer melds into autumn, we eagerly embrace with you all the best that life has to offer in September and October along and beyond the Mississippi.

October

OFFICE

225 John R. Junkin Drive | Natchez, MS 39120 601-442-6847 bluffsmag@gmail.com | bbupandcoming@gmail.com www.bluffsbayous.com

Bluffs & Bayous is published monthly to promote the greater Southern area of Louisiana and Mississippi in an informative and positive manner. We welcome contributions of articles and photos; however, they will be subject to editing and availability of space and subject matter.

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The opinions expressed in Bluffs & Bayous are those of the authors or columnists and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, nor do they constitute an endorsement of products or services herein. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Bluffs & Bayous strives to insure the accuracy of our magazine’s contents. However, should inaccuracies or omissions occur, we do not assume responsibility.

10am-5pm Parker Park St. Francisville, La.

1 30 &The317th Yellow Leaf Arts Festival Artists showing and selling their work, jewelry, pottery, and more!

Featured Artist: Denise Greenwood-Loveless Live music: Clay Parker and Jodi James, Gina Forsyth, The Fugitive Poets, Nancy Roppolo and DayTrip, Steve Judice, and more...

Beginner ukulele class and jam, sing-a-long with Margaret Fowler, make and do kids tent, interactive pottery area, plein air paint-out!

Contact : artsforallstfrancisville@gmail.com

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 F E AT U R E S The Making of A Hallmark Movie..........................................7 - 8 Doty Annual Halloween Party.............................................34 - 35 2021 Football Schedules............................................................58 - 61 Discoveries Along and Beyond The Making of a Hallmark Movie PAGES 7 - 8

Art Gallery Still Thriving After 50 Years In A Small Southern Town....25 Ole Brook..............................................................................................31 - 32 Enjoy The Sights, Sounds And Smells On Plank Rd.........................36 - 40

FAV O R I T E S In the Garden Pumpkins and Gourds As Attractive Fall Displays...................................15

Legal Notes My Most Interesting Lawsuit (The Ben Sherrod)..............................22 - 23

From The Stacks Doty Annual Halloween Party PAGES 34 - 35

The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World.......................17 - 18

Something Scrumptious Savory Seasonal Favorites....................................................................22 - 23

Southern Sampler Early Fall Reflections...................................................................................62

The Social Scene

Aiden Whitaker Send-Off Party PAGE 43

Saluting Health Care Workers at Natchez Merit......................................13 Retirement Celebration for Beverly Ray...................................................14 Cheers to Ken’s 60 Years..............................................................................27 Send-off Party for Aiden Whitaker............................................................43 Lake St. John Flotilla Celebrating Grand Marshal Kippy Blaney............45 Christmas in July Fundraiser.....................................................................46

Up & Coming Louisiana Up & Coming......................................................................48 - 53 Mississippi Up & Coming....................................................................53 - 57

ON THE COVER

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Candi Head, owner of Tensas Exposure is pictured outside her alleyway entrance to her photography studio. She is one of the many businesses who has breathed life into downtown St. Joe, Louisiana on Plank Road. See story on pages......36-40 Photograph by Candi Head

The Making of a Hallmark Movie

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Evergreen Films – Daniel Lewis

rriving in Natchez, Mississippi, on July 19 to begin planning the production of a new Christmas holiday Hallmark movie, Louisiana native Daniel Lewis, co-owner with Rick Carter of Evergreen Films, set up office and hired staff, directors, artisans, and actors to begin filming Having been introduced earlier in the year to John Norris and Tate Taylor of Crooked Letter Films, located in Natchez, and having received repeated encouragement from Norris along with Natchez natives and actors Patrick Mulhern of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Ritchie Montgomery of Natchez, Lewis fell in love with everything about this historic, eclectic, and vibrant town—the beauty, the community, and the way the town is set up, but especially the community.

Lewis’s new movie, The Search for Christmas, was written to be set in Ponchatoula, Louisiana; but after visiting Natchez, Lewis quickly returned home and rewrote the script with a Natchez setting. All filming for the movie will take place in local businesses and homes, using local community people and keeping the names of the businesses intact for the cameras and for Hallmark Channel viewers.

Originally from Prairieville, Louisiana, and an LSU graduate, Daniel Lewis lives in Covington, Louisiana, with his wife and four children. When he graduated college, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do; so he took his degree and waited tables at TJ Ribs in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. One of his customers, Daniel Lewis - Producer, on the Bridge of Sighs in Nathchez, MS a regional manager for Chase Bank, inquired about his background and offered him a job at the bank where Lewis worked for two-and-a-half years.

One day a customer from California came into the bank and needed some assistance for his film-production company and post company based in Baton Rouge. After Lewis established a solid business relationship with this customer, his company needed to expand and approached Lewis to assist with this venture; so Lewis left the bank to work in the financial side of the film industry.

As the company owners began to move in different directions, Lewis met Ken Badish, who began to train him and then offered him a job to move to Lafayette, Louisiana, to run the administrative arm of the company’s finances. Badish also taught him how to work with the creative side of film. While partnering for ten years, these two produced about thirty-five films, some sci-fi, some Lifetime thrillers, and some Christmas movies.

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Erin Calhill

Wes Brown

Brittany Ishibashi

Lyndie Greenwood

Dee Wallace

Ryan Sands

Ritchie Montgomery

Near the end of 2019, Lewis branched out on his own and established Evergreen Films with business partner Rick Carter.

“Since I graduated college, every new opportunity presented the next stepping stone for me and led me to being a business owner, having contracts that are my own and working with networks,” Lewis explained.

The past two years have been tough ones for Lewis due to his having been diagnosed with thyroid/lymphoid cancer in February of 2020; March then brought a successful surgery along with COVID, though; and he

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Ali Liebert

was advised to isolate. The pandemic also shut down his film business, and Lewis was emotionally and financially hit hard The shining light at the end of this tunnel of dark times is The Search for Christmas, the first movie for Evergreen Films to produce, and Lewis’s first since COVID. However, the success story for Lewis is that he is able to live and work in Louisiana and Mississippi and sell the world on his films’ remarkable small-town settings— their history and traditions, their arts and culture, their solid sense of community.

The Search for Christmas will star Erin Cahill, Wes Brown, Brittany Ishibashi, Ali Liebert, Lyndie Greenwood, Dee Wallace, Ryan Sands and Ritchie Montgomery. This will be the first Hallmark movie ever to have no snow. With a stellar staff and local casting, the community will be showcased throughout the filming. In August and September, the City of Natchez, Visit Natchez, and Christmas in Natchez Committee are all working together with Evergreen Films turning Natchez into Christmas. In fact, three movie spots were donated for auction during the Christmas in July fundraiser hosted by the Christmas in Natchez Committee. The three lucky winners will have an opportunity to audition for a speaking role and be part of a significant spot in the film.

While “best-laid plans” may change, the intent is to have The Search for Christmas ready for an early November airing. Be sure to keep your eyes open for the Hallmark movie set in Natchez, Mississippi, and mark your calendars to come enjoy Christmas in Natchez and embrace all the sights and sounds, situations and settings featured in the movie but so reflective of the Natchez community.

Visit Evergreen Films Facebook page for daily updates.

BROOKHAVEN, MISSISSIPPI

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BROOKHAVEN, MISSISSIPPI

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BROOKHAVEN, MISSISSIPPI

Brookhaven, MS 601.835.1580

CUSTOM KITCHENS • BATHROOMS • WATERPROOF FLOORING • BEAUTIFUL HARDWOOD LARGE SELECTION OF BEAUTIFUL QUARTZ, GRANITE, MARBLE & QUARTZITE STONES Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 11

An All-Inclusive & Event Ven An All-Inclusive Wedding &Wedding Event Venue

reerhse a dni n | moovdeat rn g sh t a c c o m rehearsal dinn | rws eadlddi ni ng n s e |r sr |e c w e petdi o s g |s o| v errencie gphtti o an cs com i oi n 8 2 8 P L E A S A N T G R O V E D R . S E | B R O O K H AV E N , M S 3 9 6 0 1 | 6 0 1 . 8 2 3 . 4 1 9 1 | R E E D S H I D E AWAY. C O M

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THE social SCENE NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI

Visit www.bluffsbayous.com for all social scenes.

Saluting Health Care Workers at Natchez Merit Hospital

T

he people inside the walls of Natchez, Mississippi’s Merit Health Natchez aren’t just skilled professionals and hard-working support teams. This past year, against a global pandemic, they have been heroes in our midst, unwavering in the fight for the health of their patients and the wellbeing of our community.

National Hospital Week, always celebrated during the week of Florence Nightingale’s birthday (May 12), was a great opportunity to show our employees how much they are appreciated and valued. The week’s events included Monday Meditation, featuring free head and neck massages for employees; Taco Tuesday; Winner Wednesday with a Cake Walk and prizes donated by local businesses; Treats and Peaks Thursday, highlighting the return of Mississippi Therapy Animals and ice cream treats; and Fun Friday during which employees engaged in fun games and enjoyed a hamburger cook-out.

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10 1 Stacia Carpenter with Chicken Noodle, an Alpaca 2 Bessie Keys with Sunny, an Amazon Parrot 3 JJ Rabb and Shannon Longmire 4 Shirley Jackson, Jace Calcote, and Linda Baker 5 Natalie Dearmond with Bit Bit 6 Front—Amy Dunaway and Kim Johnese / Back—Hannah Butts, Pam McCann, and Shannon Murray 7 Front—Shirley Smith and Connie Merrick / Back—Mary Alice Harrison, Tammy Tatum, and Traci Swilley 8 Tammy Cranford 9 Johnny Guice and Stephanie Tyson 10 Connie Merrick

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THE social SCENE BROOKHAVEN, MISSISSIPPI

Visit www.bluffsbayous.com for all social scenes.

Retirement Celebration for Beverly Ray S

peech Pathology Associates, Inc., was established by Beverly Norwood Ray in 1972. Since then, she has provided services at the SPA clinic, at schools, and for inpatient and outpatient hospitalizations. Ray has served as MSHA President and has received achievement and honors awards from the association.

Recently, friends and colleagues congratulated her on her successful career with a retirement celebration at First United Methodist Church in Brookhaven, Mississippi. Photographs by Greg and Jennifer Whittier 1 Betsy Smith, Carla Snider, and Beverly and Cal Ray 2 Beverly Ray and Carole Bass 3 Beverly Ray, Doris May, and Betsy Smith 4 Beverly and Riley Ray 5 Beverly Ray 6 Carla Snider and Beverly Ray 7 Clint Atwood and Beverly Ray 8 David Strong, Beverly Ray, and Deborah Strong 9 Desiree Thibodeaux, Jo Ann Spears, and Angie Currie 10 Front—Desiree Thibodeaux, Rene Dungan, and Vicky Swalm / Back—Jo Ann Spears, Melissa White, Angie Currie, Beverly Ray, and Renae Hidalgo 11 Front—Gay, Beverly, Carolyn, Trish, and Laura Ray / Back—Joe, Charles, Larry, and Carl Ray 12 Maggie, Kayla, Cal, Riley, and Beverly Ray with Betsy Smith 13 Jane Hanks, Beverly Ray, and Buddy Hanks 14 Joann Holmes with Beverly Ray 15 Kayla and Riley Ray 16 Rene Dungan and Vicky Swalm 17 Shirley Banks, Desiree Thibodeaux, Beverly Ray, Carol Oglesby, and Marsha Webb 18 Seated—Beverly Ray / Standing—Sylvia Campbell, Harriet Proffitt, Pam Reid, and Jennifer Whittier 19 Virginia Sparks, Linda Kavitz, Reverend Tyler Bridge, and Beverly Ray 20 Wanda Ballard and Beverly Ray 21 Maggie and Cal Ray

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IN THE GARDEN

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BY

Pumpkins and Gourds as Attractive Fall Displays

hile the end of September may be the first of fall, the best way to know summer is ending is to look at all the colorful pumpkin and gourd displays at local garden centers around the state.

These displays are not only for Halloween. Fall harvest displays can add charm and interest throughout the season.

What is more seasonally appropriate than using pumpkins and gourds along with fall-flowering mums and colorful marimums? Besides basic orange, pumpkin colors include red, yellow, white, blue, and multicolored stripes. Pumpkins can be miniature, flattened, necked, smooth, winged, and warty.

There are hundreds of different varieties of pumpkin, squash, and gourd; and pumpkin patches are springing up all over Mississippi. Let’s take a look at a few fall favorites.

The Cinderella pumpkin is an heirloom variety that originated in France. This pumpkin has been a fall favorite since the

late 1880s. If the shape seems familiar, think back to an old Disney movie you may have seen. Popular opinion is that this pumpkin variety was used as the model for Cinderella’s carriage in the classic animated film. The flattened shape also makes this a good stacking pumpkin.

Not all pumpkins have smooth skins.

One of the more interesting varieties is the peanut pumpkin, which is a cross between an unknown pumpkin variety and a Hubbard squash. This pumpkin has a warty surface that resembles peanuts. It is a great choice for adding coarse texture to any display.

While the large pumpkins get the most attention, miniature pumpkins are very versatile. There are plenty of cute mini varieties, including some that are solid white, traditional bright orange, or white with orange vertical stripes. Try displaying minis in big flowerpots or bowls. Mini pumpkins will keep all through the season sitting on the front porch.

Dr. Gary R. Bachman

Why stop with pumpkins when there are interesting squash and gourds available for displays?

Turban squash is a popular, hat-shaped variety that Native Americans grew. The bulb-like top makes a good fall decoration with its bizarre shape and multicolored stripes. This squash would make a fantastic centerpiece for any gathering of family and friends. Other good squash varieties for decorations include Hubbard and any of the winter squash.

Gourds come in amazing varieties.

Some of the more interesting have wings and warts, and the swan-shaped gourds are colorful and spectacular.

Believe it or not, most are delicious when baked or made into a pie. A Bachman family favorite is homemade pumpkin seeds. After carving a jack-o-lantern, save and thoroughly wash the seeds. Toss with melted butter, sprinkle with sea salt, and bake at 300 degrees until slightly toasted.

It will be hard, but let the seeds cool and then enjoy.

Be sure to inspect your pumpkins, squash, and gourds before purchasing.

They will last longer if there is no surface damage, and that includes pumpkins for carving before Halloween. To extend their usefulness, try painting scary faces on their surfaces instead of carving them.

If you just have to carve a pumpkin, you can coat the cut surfaces and inside with petroleum jelly. This will help to seal and keep the flesh firm.

Enjoy all your locally grown pumpkins, squash, and gourds in a festive displays at your home this fall.

Columnist Dr. Gary R. Bachman is an assistant extension professor of horticulture at Mississippi State University’s Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi, Mississippi.

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Touching lives.

Powering the future.

At Entergy Mississippi, the communities we serve are the communities we call home. That’s why we stay active and involved – because we know our responsibility reaches beyond the power grid. So, we invest in education and industry, while developing new solutions to power tomorrow. As a community, our successes fuel each other. We’re all on a circuit.

And together, we power life. entergymississippi.com

A message from Entergy Mississippi, LLC ©2021 Entergy Services, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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FROM THE STACKS

BY

Judy Wiggins

Commemorating the 33rd Annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration, scheduled for February 24-26, 2022, Bluffs & Bayous offers this second in a series of reviews for books integral to the conference’s presentations and discussions that explore its 2022 theme —Mississippi: A Tapestry of American Life.

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The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World

id you know that cotton once grew on trees? Yes, trees. Not in the American South, but in far-away China. From the opening page until the end, Virgina Postrel’s book The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World, is filled with facts concerning every aspect of our world from the viewpoint of textiles. Her book is a lesson in history, commerce, politics, human ingenuity, in effect, in the advance of human culture from its very beginnings to the present. She begins with the Neanderthals and CroMagnons, who first began using string, then twisting it together to make it stronger.

She ends with the latest of today’s innovations in textiles that make everything from seat belts to astronauts’ space suits, to cuddly baby blankets, to golden fabrics on the red carpet at the Oscars.

Postrel tells us that in the ruins of the sophisticated Minoan Bronze Age culture (3000 BCE-1100 BCE) were found over 5000 tablets with a distinctive hieroglyph that appeared to be a tower, but it was actually a fringed piece of fabric.

It turns out that the image represented not a palace but a textile. According to Postrel, more than half of the tablets related to the production of wool and flax, from the birth of lambs to how much wool each sheep could expect to yield, indicating the importance of the textile industry. It turns out that Minoan palace workshops processed fleece from 70 to 80 thousand sheep in a season, turning out 60 tons

by Virginia Postrel

of wool in a season. They exported their woolen cloth as far away as Egypt.

She adds, “Ancient Romans wore Chinese Silk worth its weight in gold. The textile business funded the Italian Renaissance and the Mughal Empire; it left us Michelangelo’s David and the Taj Mahal. It spread the alphabet and double-entry bookkeeping, gave rise to financial institutions, and nurtured the slave trade.” (Postrel)

In the chapter on dyes, Postrel states that dyers were, in essence, chemists.

She describes a piece of blue striped cotton fabric found at a ritual site in Peru that dates back 6,000 years. This blue was derived from indigo, but the color blue was derived from different material in different parts of the world.

For instance, the traditional blue of Europe comes from cabbage. Purple, a significant indicator of royalty, comes from sea snails. Pliny called it “the color of coagulated blood . . . .” And it stank, a smell that could not be washed or worn away. The odor was a sign of social status! And that is only a suggestion of the contents of that chapter.

The chapter on weaving, the invention of looms, and the mathematical calculations involved in making patterns such as the beautiful African Kente cloth is a lesson in human creativity and ingenuity. For thousands of years, weavers were recording or memorizing complex weaving patterns.

The first woven cloth was like net. Later forms looked more like knitting. Postrel says that archeologists have found this “knitted” type of weaving in prehistoric caves from Israel to China. In 1589, a machine was invented to produce woolen stockings! Imagine such a wondrous invention for those who could afford them. In the early nineteenth century, Joseph-Maries Jacquard’s punch cards system for selecting warp threads was the precursor of the computer.

Each chapter approaches fabric from a different point of view, but my favorite is

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the chapter on the consumer. The Mongols invaded Afghanistan in 1221, and their booty was a thousand weavers who could weave cloth of gold which could make them more money than the actual gold itself. She describes the Italian sumptuary laws that forbade the middle class from wearing extravagant clothing of vivid hues and designs that should have been worn only by aristocrats. Middle class women, therefore, paid exorbitant fines to wear extravagant clothing. She describes a green woolen coat embroidered in gold with forest imagery of deer, birds, and trees. Another woman sported a coat of striped, red wool with real silver stars; and the descriptions continue. For ten florins, a woman could have silk covered buttons; but a wool dress with silk patterns could set her back fifty. European fabrics consisted mostly of wool and hemp; later some silk was grown and manufactured in Italy and France. When cotton arrived in France, it was the rage. France wanted to protect its own textile industry from this foreign usurper; but French women were willing to be arrested for wearing this cool, easily washed fabric with its brilliant and lasting colors. After 75 years, France finally had to give up. Women could

wear huge floral prints or put them on sofas without fear of arrest.

She ends the book with a chapter on innovators, describing the beginnings of polyester in the 1930s to 3D knitting today.

Imagine the rage when women were first able to buy nylon stockings instead of the expensive, delicate silk ones. Imagine being able to design your own patterns and have them reproduced in fabric. The textile world has gone from twisting string together, to labor-intensive carding and weaving by hand, to the seeming ease with which we today casually discard clothing to thrift shops because textiles are so abundant and relatively cheap.

Postrel’s book obviously will fascinate not only any individual interested in clothing and fashion but also all who want to understand the advancement of humankind from the Neanderthals to modern man.

For more information on the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration (NLCC), please visit our website h t t p s : / / w w w. c o l i n . e d u / c o m m u n i t y / natchez-literary-and-cinema-celebration/.

Judy Wiggins is a retired Humanities Coordinator for Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Natchez Campus..

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Savory Seasonal Favorites

SOMETHING SCRUMPTIOUS

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BY

Alma M. Womack

e love fall, football, and pumpkins…and these recipes that celebrate autumn we just couldn’t resist re-sharing from our archives.

Enjoy these tasty favorites during your September and October gatherings. --The Editors

RED PEPPER BISQUE

From Cheryl’s Friends & Family Recipes November 2012

Crunchy, sweet bell peppers and crisp yellow onions are liquefied into a brilliantly colored puree. Teeming with antioxidants and clocking in at only 60 calories per serving, this tasty concoction is a truly healthy comfort food for the fall. Make it a complete meal with a side of whole grains and mixed greens.

1 cup yellow onions 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped 24 ounces vegetable stock 3 cups red bell peppers ¼ cup basil, chopped 2 tablespoons fresh thyme 1 teaspoon sea salt ½ teaspoon black pepper In a pot, sauté’ sliced onions and chopped garlic until soft.

Add vegetable stock and roasted bell peppers. Bring to a boil; then reduce to a simmer. Season soup with salt and pepper.

Fill a blender half full, and blend until smooth. Repeat until all soup is blended. Reheat soup and serve hot.

Makes 6 servings

EASY SALSA Becky Junkin From Fall Favorites October 2013

The following recipe probably makes the easiest homemade salsa you have ever tried. My daughter Lari brought it to the beach; and it was devoured. It is best to wait 24 hours before eating it. I drained off some of the liquid on the diced tomatoes since I like my salsa chunky, but I did not drain the Rotel.

3 cans of diced tomatoes 1 can Rotel 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped 1 bunch green onions, chopped (If you like onions, chop two bunches.)

Garlic salt 1 teaspoon lime juice 2 tablespoons cumin Salt and pepper to taste Tabasco to taste Mix together and refrigerate for 24 hours. Serve with your favorite dippers.

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PUMPKIN STEW IN A PUMPKIN Becky Junkin From Cheryl’s Friends & Family Recipes November 2012

1 medium sugar pumpkin 1 large onion, diced 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 2 cups of 1-inch cubes cut from fresh French bread 2 garlic cloves, minced 3 cups mixed fresh mushrooms, cleaned, de-stemmed, sliced ¼ inch thick 3 cups Gruyere cheese, grated 4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled 1 container crème fraiche or ½ pint heavy cream Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Cut the top off of the pumpkin as if you were carving a pumpkin. Scrape out the seeds, being careful not to remove the pumpkin flesh. Save the top of the pumpkin.

In a large skillet, sauté the onion and 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat for a few minutes; and then add the fresh bread cubes and toss. Stir for a few minutes and add garlic. Toss the mixture until the bread begins to brown. Add more butter if needed.

Set aside.

To assemble the pumpkin for cooking, layer bread mixture, cheese, mushrooms, a bit of bacon, and a thin layer of cream.

Keep layering until the pumpkin is filled. End with a layer of cheese.

Put the pumpkin lid back on. Set the filled pumpkin in a casserole dish that will support its sides. Fill a roasting pan with 2 inches of water, and place the pumpkin in the casserole dish in the water. Bake for 3 hours at 200 degrees (pre-heated). Check until the pumpkin pulp is soft enough to spoon. Serves 4-6

HOT BEAN-VENISON DIP

Donnie Holloway From Donna’s Chillin’ & Grillin’ September 2011

Great for tailgating--always a big hit! ½ pound ground venison ¼ cup minced onion 1 16-ounce can kidney beans, mashed 1 tablespoon chili powder ½ cup catsup ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon cumin ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 4-ounce can green chilies, diced ½ pound Monterey Jack or Cheddar Cheese shredded

Sauté onions in butter; then add meat and brown. Add remaining ingredients, saving some of the cheese for the top; and simmer 1015 minutes. Pour into a casserole dish and top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted. Serve with tostadas or corn chips.

Ryan C. Case, MD, FACS Alex Rae Jordan - Licensed Aesthetician Lindsey Foster, Licensed Aestheticican Hayley Moak - Patient/Marketing Coordinator Hayley Moak - Patient/Marketing Coordinator

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 23

EASY PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKE cdkitchen.com Pinterest From G’s Fare October 2019

This pumpkin Bundt cake is delicious.I added the walnuts but left out the raisins, and it was still very good. I found it on Pinterest at cdkitchen.com.

1 box (18.25 ounces) yellow cake mix 1 can (30 ounces) pumpkin pie filling 3 eggs 2 tablespoons cinnamon ½ cup raisins ½ cup chopped walnuts Confectioners Glaze 1 tablespoon milk or cream 1 cup shifted confectioners sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla extract Mix all ingredients except raisins and walnuts until smooth. Stir in raisins and walnuts. Pour into a greased Bundt or tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes and then turn out onto a serving dish. You can also omit raisins, cinnamon, and/or nuts for a different taste.

To make the glaze, combine all ingredients; then, stir to blend well and drizzle over cake.

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DISCOVERIES ALONG & BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI ART GALLERY STILL THRIVING AFTER 50 YEARS IN A SMALL SOUTHERN TOWN

Lesley has been awarded the Mississippi Art Commission’s Governor’s Award for Art in the Community.

In 1997 Lesley remarried; and with the help of dedicated friends and patrons, the Gallery moved to its “new” location three blocks away from its original locale.

Eventually, Lesley and her husband moved into the building, their upstairs apartment doubling as gallery space for shows. Fifty years in, her work continues because, as Lesley says, “We need art to breathe.”

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n October, Lesley Silver’s Attic Gallery will celebrate fifty years in downtown Vicksburg, Mississippi. Nowadays you’re expected to have a well-developed business plan; but in 1971, when she and her husband walked into an art gallery in California, the only plan was to shop for a gift for the friend who was house sitting for them back home. The gallery owner struck up a conversation with them and mentioned that sometimes brides would register to receive art in addition to the more traditional china and silver. Lesley’s husband was in the jewelry business and thought there might be a possibility of adding art to their store.

This idea appealed to Lesley, whose mother was an accomplished artist. They had about thirty etchings, serigraphs, block prints, etc., shipped to them, which arrived during a birthday party for their young daughter. The excitement of unpacking was contagious, and several of the mothers of the guests found art they had to have. The most expensive piece was forty dollars.

Lesley soon ordered more original graphics and set up shop in a dark, dusty, very ungallery-like storage area in the attic of their downtown bridal shop. The early years were quiet, so Lesley had time to get to know the artists as well as potential customers and help them find each other.

Making that connection became her life’s work. Gradually she expanded her offerings to include the work of local and regional artists and craftsmen, eventually making southern folk art a big part of the character of the Attic.

Confounding expectations, the gallery has never featured magnolias, cotton fields, and other “Southern” subjects; and

unlike most people’s image of an “Art Gallery,” the Attic has always been stuffed to bursting with art of all kinds filling the walls from floor to ceiling. Pottery, sculpture, and more spill across tables, against which more art on the floor is leaning. Lesley believes all people should live with art, so she has always tried to make it a people’s art gallery.

Fifty years later, her Attic Gallery has become a destination for travelers, and increasingly, internet shoppers looking for a one-of-a-kind painting, etching, sculpture, photograph, etc. It is a place where aspiring artists throughout the South hope to place their work; and while Lesley doesn’t feel she has “discovered” artists, she is proud of helping a number of local and regional artists find a market for their work.

The Attic Gallery is the oldest art gallery in the state of Mississippi, and

And that’s her plan. In observance of this milestone. the gallery will be hosting an all-day celebration on Saturday, October 2, 2021, complete with a walking tour of art in downtown Vicksburg, and culminating in an opening from 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. that features fifty artists associated with the Attic. Also, Lesley currently is posting a series of virtual artist galleries on atticgalleryvicksburg.com that spotlights twenty-five artists who retell the Attic’s story through their reminiscences.

For more information see Facebook.com/theatticgalleryms or atticgalleryvicksburg.com. The Attic Gallery • 1101 Washington Street • Vicksburg, MS 39183 Contact: Daniel W. Boone Phone: 601-638-9221 Email: highway61coffee@aol.com.

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 25

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THE social SCENE NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI

Visit www.bluffsbayous.com for all social scenes.

Cheers to Ken’s 60 Years

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60th Birthday Celebration for Ken Williams was held June 26, 2021, at the home of Sharon and Ken Williams in Natchez, Mississippi. The casual gathering of family and friends offered a memorial exhibit of Ken’s sixty years highlighted by a cake topped the numbers 1961, the year he was born. Photography by Candice Head

1 Kate Webb, Margaret Williams, and Virginia Williams 2 Kate Webb, Margaret Williams, Sharon and Ken Williams, and Virginia Williams 3 Ken Williams and his girls 4 Sharon Williams, Janet Favrot, Linda Mann, and Candice Head 5 Janet Favrot, Sharon Williams, Tommy Favrot, Ken Williams, Joe Mann, Linda Mann, Candice Head, and Walker Head 6 Stella Sharp, Sherry Hanson, and Claude Rabb 7 Michael and Terry Gillespie, Amanda and Brad Netterville, Amanda and Roger McGuire, Michele Kaiser, and Sharon Williams 8 Chapman and Davis Sharp 9 Ken Williams and Michael Gillespie 10 Virginia Campbell and Kate Webb 11 Louise Peabody, Sandra Smith, and Sharon Williams 12 Harriet Bilbo and Linda Mann 13 Davis Sharp and Tali Beard

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Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 27

LEGAL NOTES

BY

Lucien C. Gwin III

My Most Interesting Lawsuit (The Ben Sherrod)

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his article will be more about some fascinating local history as opposed to an adventure in the Halls of Justice. I will not name names, save one, in order to focus on facts and not individuals.

In the early 2000s, I was employed to defend a construction company that had contracted with a group of investors (hereafter “Investors”) to build a coffer dam around an 1838 sunken steamboat named Ben Sherrod. You may have read about the Ben Sherrod in a series of articles written by Stanley Nelson in the Concordia Sentinel a few years ago.

The Ben Sherrod was a 400-ton steamboat that left New Orleans in May of 1838 with over 200 passengers. It was in a race with another boat named The Prairie. When the Ben Sherrod was north of Fort Adams, Mississippi, its boilers blew, ultimately catching the entire boat on fire and causing a second explosion of gun powder and whiskey. This sent the boat to the bottom of the Mississippi River.

There are multiple newspaper accounts of the accident back then claiming anywhere from 75 to 210 people died.

Many people did die. There are also accounts of individuals with $20,000 to $40,000 on their persons and a “large quantity of species” destined for banks in Tennessee.

With all the rumors of gold out there, as well as great numbers of artifacts, the Investors decided in the late 1990s that the Ben Sherrod was worth finding and recovering.

How does one go about finding such a lost steamboat that had sunk to the bottom of the Mississippi River 170 years ago somewhere between Fort Adams and Natchez, Mississippi?

The Investors went to the newspaper accounts and found the report of one woman who described seeing and hearing the explosion from her front porch. The woman was the sister of Jefferson Davis, and the Investors knew approximately where her house was north of Fort Adams.

From there, they used an electromagnetic device (ground penetrating radar); and as they walked through the swamps of the Mississippi River bottom land, they caught an echo of metal deep in the ground. The Investors then probed the ground down to 70 feet and found the Ben Sherrod! The Mississippi River in the 1990s had shifted a half mile away from this point over 170 years. Talk about finding a needle in a haystack.

The Investors started digging. The problem was that, as they dug, the water table at that level of the bottomlands would refill the hole within hours or days. By this time, they had excavated a hole that was a thousand feet wide and 70 to 80 feet deep.

This is truly amazing.

So, after a few years of fighting underground water tables, as well as the Mississippi River itself continuously flooding the site, the Investors hired a construction company with a huge pile driver. The idea was to build a gigantic coffer dam sealing the hole from the outside water seeping inside. The pilings were gargantuan and were driven, interlocked to each other, to ground level. The hole was then sealed.

Then, the investors used huge water wells and water pumps and blew water into the hole and at the same time suctioned it right back out at a higher volume and force.

The silt and water inside the coffer dam

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started going down and the Ben Sherrod started to appear. It was upside down. The Investors kept extracting silt and water nonstop, and they were able to get inside the boat by cutting holes into the bottom.

These incredible scenes were all photographed by local archeologist Bob Adams. There are over 2,000 photographs that document all of this undertaking that is truly amazing.

So you may be asking—What happened and why a lawsuit? Well, as the water and silt started to go down inside the coffer dam, the walls of the dam became more substantial and more exposed and started to lean in. Eventually a failure of the wall occurred before excavation of the boat could be realized. The Investors filed suit saying the dam was not built right. The construction company argued that had the Investors notified them, they could have come back and braced the walls.

In the end, there was a non-disclosed settlement and neither side was happy.

As my grandfather, a Natchez attorney for nearly 50 years, used to say, a good settlement is one where no one is happy.

There is talk that the Investors may try to go back and finish the job. I hope they do.

The most amazing thing to me is that the Mississippi River in over 150-plus years could move a half mile from its old bed and then through flooding build up 70 feet of sediment over its 150-year-old course.

Lucien C. “Sam” Gwin III was admitted to the Mississippi Bar in 1981 and has been practicing many aspects of the law at the firm of Gwin, Punches & Kelley in Natchez, Mississippi, ever since.

Downtown and All Around Our City...Vicksburg

September 9th Ritz on the River

October 2nd

Old Court House Fall Flea Market 11th Annual Brick & Spoke Bike Ride

Oct 9th

Over the River Run

Vicksburg

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1101 Washington Street Vicksburg, Ms. 601-638-9221 Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 29

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87 Hwy 84 East • Brookhaven, MS (601) 833-3501 Find us on Facebook!

Open Weekdays 8-5 & Saturdays 8-Noon

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DISCOVERIES ALONG & BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI

BY Katie

PHOTO BY

Ole Brook

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n small-town America, I can imagine there is that one notable annual event that every hometown kid has its fond remembrance of or special connection to.

For me, that occasion was the Ole Brook Festival in Brookhaven, Mississippi—one weekend of the year when all my favorite things in the world embarked on my beloved Brookhaven.

When I was a kid, my treasured festival fell during the middle of the summer and was held at Brookhaven Elementary

School’s grounds just steps from my childhood home on Chickasaw Street.

I was then and still am as frugal as they come; but whatever birthday money I had left over from December was shoved into my Umbros or Girbauds (pronounced JiBos…Where you at 80s/90s kids?!) and I was READY! If ever there was a time to shine, “Ole Brook,” as we Brookhavenites call it, was it for me! Top 5 for twelveyear-old Katie Lynn were as follows:

1. Chicken-on-a-sticks, fried onions, and funnel cakes: Give me either one or give me all. I’ll risk a stomach ache. Side

Nations

Bill Perkins

note: I had not discovered my love for ranch yet, so I also consumed copious amounts of ketchup.

2. All my friends free from school woes and confines of the playground fence: Was there anything better? Absolutely not.

“Hey girl hey!”

3. Cute boys: I once bought a Griffey, Jr., card for half the money I came with just to talk with my crush. Hate the game. Not the player.

4. Live jams: Dancing like a tree in a hurricane was my God-given right and still a favorite pastime. Gospel, blues, or rockn-roll, I’ll sway to the beat accordingly.

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 31

5. Last on my list BUT far from least were THE quintessential purchases every year: disappearing ink and anything that made a ridiculous amount of noise— poppers, whistles, those tubes that turn upside down and go “whhaaaaaa… whaaaauhhhh.” If it was preposterous and under $5, I bought it!

In a season of confinement, seclusion, and social media meltdowns from seemingly everyone, wouldn’t it feel nice to just throw on your Umbros and walk down to Ole Brook? I might would even pull out my mattress money for a trip to 1993’s festival about now! I’d probably spring for the Jordan card and an extra tube of disappearing ink…just for show!

We wouldn’t know who was going to be there unless they had mentioned it at the ballpark earlier in the week or called you on the phone that had a cord stretched all the way to the living room. If it was too hot, we would just buy extra lemonade, not make a post about global warming. If it was chilly, we would more than likely have bought a cardigan from a vendor… and not proclaimed, “This is WHY I live in the South! #toocold #freezing” Danged wind…how dare it.

If someone strolled her new baby down to the festival…heavens to Betsy! Can you imagine!? It would have been our first time laying eyes on the child. “What a cutie!” we would proclaim! Now said baby strolls by…“Seen it! #precious” While I half-joke with my own disillusion of grandiose when it comes to

social media content, I do LOVE all your new baby photos and hope you love mine as well!

The seemingly everyday Americana of small-town festivals, fairs, and expos was set to make a strong comeback! With guidelines in place and a little extra effort and safety measures, I hope and pray these occasions never lose their luster for those little feet walking the streets. Those being strolled taking their first bite of funnel cake.

Those taking their stinky little shoes off to jump in their inaugural bounce house.

Those hearing their first live jam session.

Those that carry their weekly allowance to buy some “junk.” I hope they leave Ole Brook tired. I hope they leave sweaty (or chilly…or soaking wet…).

The festival is the first weekend in October now, so it’s anyone’s guess to the weather. I hope these little feet come every year and, when they’re grown and living down the street or six hundred miles away, come back to visit family the weekend of the festival to stroll their own babies. I think it’s the kid in all of us that longs for events and days like that.

This year’s Ole Brook Festival is currently scheduled to take place October1 and 2 in downtown Brookhaven. The festival now encompasses Railroad Avenue, Whitworth Avenue, and parts of West Cherokee Street. For its upcoming forty-sixth year in Brookhaven, the Ole Brook Festival is comprised of a Friday evening block party including live music from 6 to 10 P.M. on the main stage.

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Saturday’s events include a 5K, Ole Brook Antique Car Show, Arts & Crafts, Flea Market, Food Truck Alley, and KidZone.

The festival is free to park, free to enter, and family friendly!

Brookhaven is proud of its thriving downtown area and looks forward to showing off its revitalization and new businesses alike. Exit 40 off I-55 has become a mecca for boutique shopping with Brookhaven and Lincoln County boasting forty-plus locally owned and operated retail shops and restaurants We hope you and your family will join us during our Ole Brook Festival and come see for yourself why Brookhaven is considered a true “Home seeker’s Paradise”!

The festival is still accepting vendors!

If you sell something unique or would like to promote your business, please visit www.brookhavenchamber.org for a vendor agreement; or give the BrookhavenLincoln County Chamber of Commerce a call at 601-833-1411. To enter the Ole Brook Antique Car Show, call 601-8338620. To find out more about Brookhaven events through the year, go to www. visitbrookhavenms.com.

Katie Nations, Program Director for the BrookhavenLincoln County Chamber of Commerce, oversees day-to-day operations at the local chamber; manages events such as her beloved Ole Brook Festival; and is passionate about the Chamber-sponsored United Way, Keep Lincoln County Beautiful, and Brookhaven Tourism Council. She lives in Brookhaven with her husband Chris (the guy she bought the Griffey, Jr., card from in 1993) and their two children, Dottie and Christopher.

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 33

BY Becky

Doty PHOTOGRAPHY BY Bill Perkins

Dr. Don and Becky Doty with Sherri and Mark Mathis

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alloween is my favorite time of year. I have had an annual Halloween bash every year since 2005 unless it was a Sunday. It all started back in Kosciusko, Mississippi, when all the super creative neighbors, unbeknownst to each other, happened to go all out for trick or treating the same year. As Halloween night progressed, they were overwhelmed as word quickly spread to come to that particular street.

The next year, everyone planned elaborate costumes and decorations.

One neighbor went as far as to drain the family’s swimming pool, turn it into a graveyard, and rig mechanical skeletons to pop up. I had the party after trick-ortreating was finished. It became an annual tradition. So when I moved to Brookhaven and settled in, I decided with the support of my husband, Don Doty, to start the tradition again. We had designed our home for parties inside and out and were all set to start entertaining, so the First Annual Doty Halloween Party began in 2018.

Doty Annual Halloween Party Having had a traveling event company in the past that did custom fabrication, set work, and decorations, I found that Halloween was the only holiday that was not consumed by my business. That is why Halloween became my holiday of choice. I had time to design and execute all of my ideas for my own enjoyment at my own home with an added bonus of custom costumes, which I also loved to design. Beginning the last week of September were the tasks of completing costumes and transforming the house.

My first Doty party theme was “A Very Scary Apothecary.” I imagined it was far beneath a castle tucked away in one of the dungeon corridors. A Magic Sorcerer was the beverage attendant and behind her were shelves of glowing, under-lit bottles of all colors and mysterious labels.

With COVID being a new addition to everyone’s lives, the Third Annual Doty Halloween party was on and off. I put the band, which was booked a year ahead, on standby as we debated the fate of the party. Don and I worked through extensive planning for social distancing and managing the food service and the purchase of tents; and we decided to have the party outside. All of us had to wear a mask anyway with our costumes, right? I kept the theme “Scary Seas” since I had already planned the year before. There would be mermaids, scary ocean creatures, and pirates! I had to.

The house surrounds a front courtyard with French doors opening into every main room of the house. Therefore, for interior decorations, all those doors were opened to reveal a vignette in each room. The living room was entirely lighted—floors,

Page 34 { September / October 2021 { Bluffs & Bayous

wall, and ceiling with a moving, bluewave water effect. Animated, suspended, and swimming mermaids hung overhead.

The dining room’s oil paintings had custom Kraken shipwreck artwork and pirate portraits installed within the frames covering the paintings. The chandelier and wall sconces were embellished with Halloween decorative features making them unrecognizable. Attached to the overthe-mantle mirror were floating skeleton hands holding candles. Constructed glass shards were designed to go around the hands so they looked as if they were breaking through the glass. It was turned into a sort of museum with all kinds of curiosities lit up and described.

The entry hall was a bat cave, complete with stalactites and stalagmites and shimmering blue water to walk over that opened into an underground seacave. The opening of the sea-cave was completely covered with a screen that was back projected with moving images of mermaids pulling pirates down into the sea and scary, glowing kraken eyes peering at guests.

Another room was turned into a pirate’s private parlor. Again all the rooms’ light fixtures were transformed with crossed pirate pistols and swords. A collection of antique silhouettes was covered with pirate captain silhouettes. The sofa was black and the oil painting boasted a fictional renowned female pirate from the past.

Outside, the courtyard and front of the house were bathed in blue animated watereffect lights. A giant menacing Kraken head and eye peaked above the surface, its body submerged; but tentacles as tall as the house reached above the water surface

all together, on the top of the projected, moving, blue Scary Seas dance floor with the giant Kraken keeping a watchful eye on all, choosing its next victim.

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encircling a ship which was the food buffet table. The circular two-tier beverage area was installed around the fountain. All basins were emptied and filled with ice and beverages iced down in them. The beverage attendants were mermaids in matching costumes. There were two signature drinks: One had a floating Kraken eye in it, and the other drink completely changed color as the mermaid-finger garnish was added along with the last bit of magic potion. There was a life-size mermaid skeleton lounging in the middle basin of the fountain to oversee the party.

The Tyler Bridge Band, who cheerfully and obligingly dressed as pirates, played on the front porch. Of course, the guests danced away in their costumes, pirates, Vikings, sea creatures and mermaids

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1 Scott Shaw, Dr. Shellie Smith, Tyler Bridge, Becky Doty, Nick Bridge, and Ron Donegan 2 The Bridge Band 3 Roberto Bonilla, Davis Wisner, Becky Doty, Dr. Don Doty, and Aymee Bonilla 4 Don and Sarah Underwood 5 Paige Sullivan, Virginia Case, and Katie Jones 6 Mark Mathis, Francis Brady, James Minter, and Sherri Mathis 7 Emily Bellipanni 8 Robin and Kevin Laird 9 Tina Benge and Geri Somers 10 Anna Giust and Becky Doty 11 Aymee Bonilla with skeleton pianist 12 Nick Bridge 13 Eddie and Angela Thomas 14 Kevin Laird and Pat Lowery 15 Ron and Sheryl Donegan 16 Scott Shaw and Dr. Shellie Smith 17 James Minter and Francis Brady 18 James and Emily Bellipani 19 Carol Burgess 20 Becky Doty and Lizzie Grantham 21 Shelley Harrigill and Jim Bonner 22 JoAnna and Tommy Sproles 23 Mary and Jeffrey White 24 Geoffrey and Lisa Hodgson 25 Jay and Bethany Ballard 26 Ron Donegan 27 Pat Lowery

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 35

DISCOVERIES ALONG & BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI

BY Jenée PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Nagem

Candice Head

Enjoy the Sights, Sounds, and Smells on Plank Road When I first moved to Saint Joe, Louisiana, ten years ago, the downtown lacked quite a bit of luster.

(That is putting it nicely.) Now when I walk down Plank Road, it’s a completely different story.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Candi Head

The Western Auto Building

here is something to be said about a little grit and hard work. When it comes to rebuilding a dying town, you need a whole lot of both. On the banks of the mighty Mississippi, lies a small town that is trading in its boarded-up windows and cracking facades for something remarkable. St, Joseph, Louisiana, is known for its fertile soil, large agriculture, and prime cotton production. Now it’s gaining recognition for the re-birth of its cute and quaint downtown.

Walking down Plank Road, you may still see a few scars of the past. However, what really catches your eye are the doors propped open to the local antiques store, mannequins boasting today’s fashion trends, flags waving in the wind, dining tables set out on the sidewalks, and the aroma of appetizing food at the local restaurants.

You may spot an artist or two painting on the balcony of the old western auto store, smell a kiln nearby processing peculiar ceramics or see the restoration of the new fitness center. What you see is a revival.

The group, dubbed as The Downtowners and responsible for this revival, consists of both locals and transplants. Many are artists and entrepreneurs, ranging in ages, some born five miles down the road, others relocated from south Louisiana;

Page 36 { September / October 2021 { Bluffs & Bayous

Pensacola, Florida; and even Great Britain.

Think of downtown Saint Joseph as a melting pot of creatives breathing life back into a community and in turn making a living and creating jobs and opportunity.

Strolling along downtown Plank Road, you notice the corner post office, still very much in its 1950s style, functional, and an asset. Next door, something entirely different grabs your attention. B. Viz Global Headquarters rests in the old Cross Keys Bank location. After operating from her studio on Lake Bruin for twenty-seven years and having an international internet business for most of that time, local native Rebecca Watson Vizard decided to take a gamble in 2016 and open a brick-andmortar store downtown on Plank Road in sparsely populated St. Joseph.

Known for her exceptional antique textile pillows made by talented nearby seamstresses, she hoped to put St. Joseph B.Viz Global Headquarters on the map. “Honestly, I thought in the beginning that it would only be open in the summer to give Lake Bruin visitors a place to shop,” Becky commented. However, shoppers kept coming; inventory kept selling; and it is often visited by bus loads of garden clubs, art clubs, and antique clubs. It is a boon to the town when these groups come and shop Plank Road, eat at a local restaurant, and then come to Lake Bruin to see Rebecca’s antique textile collection in the studio and a demonstration of repurposing the textiles. In October of 2018, B. Viz Design New Orleans Atelier opened on Magazine Street and now houses the majority of the pillows although the St. Joseph location always has plenty of examples of the incredible craftsmanship.

Across the street is the newly renovated restaurant The Walking Pig, a modern Southern pub serving a varied menu of hand-crafted foods and beverages. This scratch kitchen produces traditional favorites as well as creative versions of regional classics. Owners Jessica and Stacey Mobley, both Tensas natives, lived twenty years in the Nashville area, many of which were spent building a successful food truck and restaurant business. In 2019, they began making plans for returning to Louisiana with hopes of opening another restaurant. When they learned that Michael and Becky Vizard purchased a suitable building in St. Joseph and had plans for restoring it for retail use, a wonderful collaboration was formed allowing their plans to become a reality. According to Jessica, “Becky and Michael put an inordinate amount of care and attention into the restoration project, as well as their willingness to build out the kitchen and bar to our specifications.

“They share our vision for creating a lasting landmark for the town of St. Joseph. The original Walking Pig was an iconic cafe and bar in town from the ’50s through the ’80s.

Bringing back the name is a nod to our colorful and cherished history,” Stacey added.

“During this renaissance, we want to remember what St. Joe once was as well as realize what it can become.”

Jessica and Stacey Mobley

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 37

Back across the street, next door to BVIZ, is Ann Connelly’s Saint Joseph Annex. This purple, abstractly painted building and fine art within will instantly entice you to enter. Owner of Ann Connelly Fine Art in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Ann Connelly had visited this area for over twenty years. Always loving Tensas Parish and St. Joseph, Connelly desired to give back to the community with her newly renovated building, which includes an apartment in the back that houses artists in residence who come from all over the world to be inspired, to create, and to host workshops for children in the community.

Upon leaving the Annex, you see the flashing colors of mannequins at Shop All Daye, styling today’s most clever fashion finds. Walking through the doors of this store, you wouldn’t think you were in this small town. Owner Natalie Schauf has transformed this space into a women’s and children’s boutique. She grew up in south Louisiana and worked in retail throughout college. After marrying Tensas native Bennett Schauf, she moved to St. Joseph and opened her first brick-and-mortar store there in 2018. Since then, she has moved to her current location in this historic 1927 building, seizing the perfect opportunity to restore, keep downtown revitalization going, and accommodate her growing business.

Once you’ve grabbed your newest outfit at Shop All Daye, you then see the

Shop All Daye

lively colors of A Pinch of Salt and the cute quirky building of Plank Road Pottery.

Chip and Valerie Sloan, building owners and longtime Pensacola, Florida, residents, moved to St Joseph in 2011 to be closer to family. To keep busy, Chip transformed this space into an artist haven for him to show his eclectic side. Chip’s pottery is unique and is sometimes comical, but one is still drawn to his delicate art. You’ll find him working on the wheel, illustrating mugs or cups or making his popular chicken spooners.

Ella and Benjamin Salt, longtime friends of Chip and Val decided to join in the fun.

In April of this year, the Salts moved to St. Joe, sight unseen, after over a decade in New Zealand. “Small communities are the way of the future,” England native, Benjamin said.

“We actually bought an 1850s house in St. Joe and love it.” They opened a Pinch of Salt gallery on Plank Road where Ben imports Maldon Salt, a finishing salt from the village of Maldon, his hometown in the UK. He is also trying his hand at pottery. Ella paints bright contemporary pieces on lexis and glass, a technique she learned in New Zealand, as she explained, “I saw a friend do it and have been perfecting reversed painting ever since. I paint backwards! The reflectiveness of the glass enhances the image, and the color becomes bright and luminous.”

Ella Salt The Pinch of Salt Most recently, Candi Head, owner of Tensas Exposure, created her space within the Plank Road Pottery Building. Her sweet alleyway entrance leads you inside to be wowed by her photographs. A resident of Tensas Parish since 1982, Candi taught in the public school system for twenty years and now works as a teacher/guidance counselor at Tensas Academy. She started a portrait photography studio in 2004 and several years ago became interested in wildlife photography. She was reminded of the awesomeness of Tensas Parish with its beautiful landscapes and boundless wildlife. Her images gained a large following which led to a self-published book in 2017 entitled Tensas Exposure and a second book

Page 38 { September / October 2021 { Bluffs & Bayous Benjamin Salt

Candi Head Tensas Exposure

in 2020 entitled Another Tensas Exposure.

After receiving positive feedback and continuing to grow her portfolio, she sought to open a gallery. With the help of Chip and Val Sloan, she was able to make that happen at the end of June 2021 when she opened Tensas Exposure in downtown St. Joseph.

Next down Plank Road is one of the most iconic buildings in downtown, the historic, two-story, former Western Auto Building now known as Folkway Mercantile. Owner, Donna Ratcliff, wanted to save this piece of history and offer others the opportunity to take part in its revival. She came up with a plan to bring this town back life by offering her building for repairs to those willing to open shop downtown. The result is events, live music, art walks, farmers markets, and the streets full of locals and lake-goers alike, gathering on Plank Road.

Folkway Mercantile offers goods from small-batch artisans, mom-and-pop brands, and local seasonal provisions. It’s a bit eclectic…timeless…and hip (yes, quite the combination). You never know what you’ll find: a piece of locally crafted pottery, a unique backpack cooler for the lake, or a handcrafted leather gun case made to be passed down to future generations. Linger on the balcony, enjoy the best views of downtown, and let the kids choose a treat from the candy jars as you breathe in the simple joys of small-town living.

At Folkway Mercantile, Chip Sloan takes up most the bottom floor with his stunning antique business, River Traders.

Inside you’ll find beautiful and rare pieces from around the world. Chip’s astute knowledge of antiques will wow you as you browse.

Upstairs you’ll find Donna’s daughterin-law Leslie Ratcliff painting in her brickwalled studio. A New Iberia native, Leslie is the art teacher at Tensas Academy. In her light and airy work, she draws on nature, painting large-scale landscapes consisting of cypress trees, cotton, and lake scenes.

“There is something magical about driving through the cotton fields in the evenings or seeing a pink sunset over Lake Bruin.

If you are lucky enough, a soft breeze is blowing and the smell of fresh, peaceful, country air is unmistakable,” she said. “My prayer is that someday my own children want to come back to this place to plant roots here with their own families. Our community is continuing to show that it is worthy of that.”

Chip Sloan

Behind Leslie is Jenée Nagem’s Design Studio. Nagem moved to St. Joseph ten years ago after falling in love with Lake Bruin and the surrounding areas. She is an artist and graphic designer and has worked to help build and grow many of the businesses in the town. “After having children, working from home became a lot more complicated. I loved seeing the growth of our little town and wanted to be a part of it. Donna Ratcliff offered me an opportunity to fix up one of these spaces and make it my own. I am so incredibly thankful for her generosity and hope I can continue to help make this town the best it can be,” Jenée said.

On the other side of the hall, is Folkway Design & Wares Co., co-owned by Kimber Ratcliff (no relation to Donna) and based in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, and South Louisiana. This sister-owned interior design and wares company always had a brick-and-mortar store as part of their brand vision. Having vowed they would never stray from their design standards, there was no room for cookie cutter or conventional retail spaces. Twenty years before, Kimber stood on the pier with her soon-to-be husband at his grandparents’ home in St. Joseph. It was her first time in Tensas Parish; and he shared stories about his upbringing on Lake Bruin from the generations of family members working in agriculture and commercial fishing, to his lessons learned on hunting and fishing trips, to memories of the storied Turkey Festival, and to his rascally teenage and college summers on the lake. He was adamant that his children grow up the same way. Thankfully his dad built a camp on the property replacing the crumbling homestead for his grandchildren to have

Leslie Ratcliff

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 39 Jenée Nagem Design Studio

Kimber Ratcliff Folkway Design & Wares, Co.

those memories his children enjoyed. The lives of their children (now almost adults) have been formed one foot in Thibodaux, Louisiana, and one foot in St. Joseph— It’s a bit of Cajun meets country, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

To finish off the old Western Auto building team is Mary Beth Dickerson’s Massage Studio. Dickerson is a licensed massage therapist and has worked the past twelve years at Spa Nouvelle in Monroe, Louisiana. She grew up in Tallulah, Louisiana, but spends most of her time at their family camp on Lake Bruin.

Her children and soon-to-be grandchild represent generations four and five to love Lake Bruin/Tensas Parish. During the COVID 19 shutdown, she spent three months at Lake Bruin enjoying everything the lake and surrounding area had to offer.

She realized this is where she wanted to set up shop and offer her services to Tensas Parish, commenting, “There is nothing better than doing a job I love and ending my day with a sunset on Lake Bruin.”

Dickerson provides services four days a month in her cozy spot and has plans to extend to a full week by next summer.

Across the street, you’ll want to stop at Maria’s Mexican Restaurant. Owners, Jose Rico and Maria Aceves, opened this new eatery in November of 2020. When asked about their decision to come to St. Joseph and open a restaurant, their response was noteworthy. They had been looking in the surrounding areas for a good place to open but couldn’t find the right fit. Their good friend Angie Franklin pushed them to look into St. Joseph. Their initial feeling was worry that a town this small wouldn’t be able to sustain a full-time restaurant.

However, after opening their doors, they were shocked at the result. Their restaurant

is packed most week days at lunch; and on the weekends, there is almost always a wait for tables. The outpouring of support from the community has now given them to opportunity to purchase the building next door to be able to expand!

The Cottage Boutique and Gifts is next on the lineup, located in a building constructed in the 1800s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It Maria’s Mexican Restaurant once was used as the office of St. Joseph’s first mayor, William Davidson, in the early 1900s. Cottage Boutique and Gifts owner, Rachel Fuller, born and raised in Tensas Parish, always dreamt about what Tensas was like in the booming years before she was born.

Growing up and hearing stories of the good ole’ days, she thought how great it would be to have some of those things here now. Of course, she could not have known she would be part of the revival. With the spring 2020 COVID shutdown, Rachel found herself with plenty of time on her hands and started a little online boutique. She quickly outgrew her home office and storage, so she decided to look into somewhere to open up a little “part-time” boutique and gift store. In February 2021, her storefront opened; and she has now made her little part-time store into a full-time gig!

The soon-to-be Plank Fitness caps off the end of your stroll on Plank Road. This isn’t the first building that owners, Mike and Tammie Rachel Fuller Benoit, have purchased and restored. A few years ago they purchased and refurbished The Bruno building, originally built in 1927; it now houses Shop All Daye. They recalled, “Having a camp at Lake Bruin since 2015, but living in Baton Rouge, we found ourselves coming more often than anticipated; after falling in love with the town of St. Joseph, we decided to move permanently in 2017. Currently, they are tackling this massive project of readying Plank Fitness to help bring health Tammie Benoit and wellness to the town. The facility will have twentyPlank Fitness four-hour access; over twenty pieces of new gym equipment, including treadmills, stationary bicycles, weights, and more; and will be handicap assessable.

Plank Fitness will also offer a space and instructor for teaching Pilates and Yoga, open to all residents and nonresidents.

Waiting at the finish line and right along the levee is Tensas Community Health Center.

In terms of revitalization of a small town, one of the cornerstone requirements is being able to provide quality healthcare. Tensas Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center, has been given that opportunity with the help of grants and funding to provide this essential care. The staff has grown from five to thirty in the last fifteen years with four locations in Tensas and Concordia Parishes. One of these locations is Tensas Schoolbased Health Center, an on-campus, school-based health center in St. Joseph that serves all students and teachers in the parish. TCHC acquired a new mobile health unit this year, and currently the center is in the process of expanding its dental clinic to accommodate the demand for quality dental care. Reaching the local community with its convenient downtown location, which provides free transportation, and expanding services to more rural areas with its mobile unit are exactly what will help this parish continue to grow and thrive.

Make plans to experience a day in St. Joe…well worth the drive and well worth experiencing small-town life front and center. You might even decide to live there.

Page 40 { September / October 2021 { Bluffs & Bayous

C

WISHING ALL STUDENTS & STAFF A HAPPY & HEALTHY SCHOOL YEAR!

Dr. Kenneth Stubbs

Internal Medicine 46 Sgt. S. Prentiss Dr. | Natchez, | MS 601.446.2084 Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 41

October 15, 16 and 17th

NATCHEZBALLOONFESTIVAL.COM Page 42 { September / October 2021 { Bluffs & Bayous

THE social SCENE NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI

Visit www.bluffsbayous.com for all social scenes.

Send-off Party for Aiden Whitaker

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n Sunday, June 20, 2021, Dick and Cheryl Whitaker of Natchez, Mississippi, hosted a send-off party for their son Aiden Whitaker. A 2021 graduate of Cathedral High School in Natchez, Aiden is now attending the United States Military Academy at West Point. There he has begun his military training and collegiate studies.

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1 Cheryl, Aiden and Dick Whitaker 2 Brothers Luke, Aiden, and Silas Whitaker 3 Taylor Baroni, Annalyce Riley, Aiden Whitaker, and Sophie Webber 4 Joy Beth Whitaker, Alexis Byram, and Linda Whitaker 5 Sonny Jones, Aiden Whitaker, and Warren Enterkin 6 Aiden Whitaker, Rhett Trosclair, Bryson Moore, Jalen Moore, and Coach Mark McCann 7 Melanie Murray and Charley Folds 8 Caitlin Walker, Allie Feltus, Mae Holyoak, Lilly Drane, Vivian Tran, and Ashleigh Johnson 9 Majorie Meng, Cheryl Whitaker, and Valerie Meng 10 Aiden Whitaker and Clark Smith 11 Colleen Sandidge, Sarah Russ, and Kelly Baroni 12 J. D. Frasier and Aiden Whitaker

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 43

We’re working to create a healthier tomorrow!

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Page 44 { September / October 2021 { Bluffs & Bayous

THE social SCENE FERRIDAY, LOUISIANA

Visit www.bluffsbayous.com for all social scenes.

Lake St. John Flotilla Celebrating Grand Marshal Kippy Blaney

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he annual Lake St. John Flotilla was held Saturday, July 3, 2021, with 2021 Grand Marshal Kippy Blaney leading the festivities. A party in his honor was held Friday, July 2, at the home of Kari and Kippy Blaney on Lake St. John. Guests enjoyed music by Bubba and Drew, and Natchez Grazing provided the evening’s excellent fare.

Kippy Blaney spends countless hours volunteering his time on almost every single Lake St. John committee to aid in making lake-life there the best it can be. Whether it’s the lake area clean-up day, Flotilla fireworks, or score-keeping for friends’ cornhole tournaments, he is always involved. A karaoke lover and good dock rocker, he enjoys life at the lake.

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6 1 Laney Claire Farmer 2 Eliza Henry and John Graham Laukhuff 3 Natchez Grazing spread by Sarah Beth Willard 4 Sarah Lindsey Laukhuff, Kari Blaney, Brittny Laukhuff, Louie, Kippy Blaney, and John Graham Laukhuff

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5 Lou Ann Chauvin, Mandy Wisner, Sherry Byrnes, Glen Wisner, and Cameron Harris 6 Brittny Laukhuff and Louie 7 Emily Blaney Farmer and Selah Blaney 8 Drew David and Bubba McCab 9 Brittny Laukhuff and Sarah Lindsey Laukhuff

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 45

THE social SCENE NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI

Visit www.bluffsbayous.com for all social scenes.

Christmas in July Fundraiser

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he Christmas in Natchez Committee hosted a fundraiser on Thursday, July 22, 2021, at The Pub on the grounds of historic Dunleith. Proceeds from the benefit financed the purchase of new Christmas decorations for the City of Natchez.

Auction items included three roles in the upcoming Hallmark Christmas movie to be filmed in Natchez.

For more information about this committee’s projects, visit christmasinnatchez.org.

1 Beau Deshotel, Jaki Robinson, Stacy Conde, Patricia Cothren, Kippy and Kari Blaney, Deanna and Dave Kimbro, and Sarah Lindsey Laukhuff 2 Daniel Lewis and Mayor Dan Gibson 3 Lauren Middleton, Karen Biglane, Margaret Perkins, and Pat Biglane 4 Dave Kimbro and Pat Sanguinetti 5 Brad Yarbrough, Wes Middleton, and Mark Robinette 6 Natalie Schwager, Cara Moody, Janice Heath, and Sheila Thompson 7 Debbie Hudson and Sarah Lindsey Laukhuff 8 Kippy Blaney and David Cothren 9 Amy Robinette, Carol Ann Riley, Noelle Stewart, and Sarah Carter Smith 10 Rene and Pete Cantu 11 Richie Montgomery and Daniel Lewis 12 Kerry Dicks and Katelee Laird 13 Sarah Lindsey Laukhuff and Hester Brown 14 Debbie Hudson, Miriam Montgomery, and Margaret Perkins

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Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 47

MOON & MAGIC

www.moonmagic.biz

Up & Coming LOUISIANA louisianatravel.com a great site for everything Louisiana ALEXANDRIA / PINEVILLE alexandriapinevillela.com rapidessymphony.org riveroaksartscenter.com lagniappetheatre.com Every Tuesday Alexandria Farmers Market 2727Jackson Street 3-6 pm Through September 25 Fall Exhibit River Oaks Square Arts Center Tue.–Fri. 10 am–4 pm Sat. 10 am–2 pm riveroaksartscenter.com September 11 Cenla Duck Derby Tree House Children’s Museum 10 am–2 pm FB: TREEHouseChildrensMuseum

2021CO-LIN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE 09/02 - 7:00PM AT NORTHWEST 09/09 - 6:30PM AT ITAWAMBA 09/16 - 6:30PM SOUTHWEST 09/23 - 7:00PM AT PEARL RIVER 09/30 - 6:30PM MS GULF COAST 10/07 - 6:30PM AT HINDS 10/14 - 6:30PM AT EAST CENTRAL 10/21 - 6:30PM EAST MS 10/28 - 6:30PM (Homecoming) JONES COLLEGE ■ Home ■ Away

Page 48 { September / October 2021 { Bluffs & Bayous

colinathletics.com

September 11 & 12 Cenla Shrine circus Rapides Parish Coliseum Sat. 10 am & Sun. 6 pm FB: Cenlashrineclub October 30 Annual Van Gogh Gala River Oaks Square Arts Center All Day riveroaksartscenter.com BATON ROUGE visitbatonrouge.com lsumoa.org rivercenterarena:baton-rouge.ticketscenter.com batonrougeballet.org Red Stick Farmers Market breada.com Through November 13 The Negro Motorist Green Book Capital Park Museum Tue./Wed./Thur./Fri. & Sat. 9 am–4 pm 225.342.5428 September 18 Baton Rouge Blues Festival North Blvd. Town Square 11 am–9 pm batonrougebluesfestival.org October 14 14th Annual Fete Rouge Food & Wine Fete L’Auberge Casino 2–5 pm / $95 225.572.0802 / Eventbrite.com

October 28–November 7 Greater Baton Rouge State Fair Airline Hwy. Park Fairgrounds October 30 Louisiana Book Festival Virtual louisianabookfestival.org

CLINTON / JACKSON eastfelicianachamber.org felicianatourism.org louisianasteamtrain.com September 4 & October 2 Clinton Market Days Courthouse Grounds 8 am–1 pm 225.683.5531

Come see our all new gift center.

Pottery, candles, baby & bridal and so much more! shopnationalhomestore.com

285 Sgt. Prentiss Dr. - Natchez, MS 601-445-5601

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 49

SEPT/OCT Louisiana Up & Coming!

September 11 & 25; October 9 Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders 3406 College 11 am–3 pm louisianastreamtrain.com September 18 & October 16 Feliciana Trade Days Corner of Hwy. 10 & Line Rd. 9 am–5 pm 225.772.5296 or 225.719.2199 FERRIDAY concordialibrary.org deltamusicmuseum.com September 12 Keepin’ the Blues Alive YZ Ealey & Band Arcade Theatre 7 pm / $5 adv. / $10 door deltamusicmuseum.com 318.757.4297 September 25 Avery Michaels & Friends Arcade Theatre 7 pm / $5 adv. / $10 door deltamusicmuseum.com 318.757.4297

MONROE / WEST MONROE monroe-westmonroe.org September 1 Brown Bag Series The Pavilion @ 7th Square Noon 318.325.1961 September 11 Children’s Fundays Biedenharn Museum & Gardens 10 am–Noon / $5 child 318.387.5281 September 26 Blend of the Bayou 2110 Island Dr. 5–7 pm / $55 pp or $100 couple nelaarts.org October 1–10 Ark-La-Miss Fair Monroe Civic Center arklamissfair.info 318.329.2225 October 2 Northeast La. Celtic Festival Kiroli Park 11 am–5 pm / $5 318.362.5540

Page 50 { September / October 2021 { Bluffs & Bayous

October 16 The Chennault Gala Monroe Civic Center 7–9 pm / $75 318.362.5540 October 26 Annual Biedenharn Scarecrow Competition Biedenharn Museum & Gardens 4–8 pm 318.387.5281 October 30 Fall Family Date Night Kiroli Park 1–9 pm 6:30 Hocus Pocus movie $3 pp 318.396.4016 October 30 Trick or Treat Through the Floats Krewe of Janus Float Den 901 Louisville Ave. 5–8 pm 318.338.3172

Louisiana Up & Coming! SEPT/OCT NEW ORLEANS neworleansonline.com neworleanscvb.com ogdenmuseum.org nola.org FB:nolajazzmuseum/live newcombartmuseum.tulane.edu nobt.org neworleansfilmsociety.org neworleanscitypark.com October 22–23 & 29–30 November 5–6 & 12–13 Oktoberfest Deutsches Haus Fri. 4–11 pm & Sat. 1–11 pm / $8 neworleanscvb.com October 21–23 New Orleans Book Festival Tulane University Free bookfest.tulane.edu October 23 Zombie Run Lucy’s 9 am neworleanszombierun.com October 23 Krewe of BOO Parade & After Party Warehouse District 6:30 pm kreweofboo.com PORT ALLEN westbatonrouge.net westbatonrougemuseum.com September 4 LA Birds Exhibit- Katherine Klimitas West Baton Rouge Museum All Day westbatonrougemuseum.com September 12 Courtyard Celebration honoring Katherine Klimitas WBRM Courtyard 2 pm westbatonrougemuseum.com September 12 & October 10 Old Time Music Jam West Baton Rouge Museum 3–5 pm westbatonrougemuseum.com

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 51

Louisiana Up & Coming! SEPT/OCT ST. FRANCISVILLE audubonstatehistoricsite.wordpress.com explorewestfeliciana.com/events.html FB St. Francisville Farmers Market stfrancisvillefestivals.com September 17–18 John James Audubon International Symposium Audubon State Historic Site 7 am–4 pm explorewestfeliciana.com/events.html October 2 Tunica Hills Yard Sale Trail Old Tunica Rd. 8 am–3 pm

Russell Butts, Jr.

Welcomes our newest financial advisor Russell Butts Jr.

October 15–16 Southern Garden Symposium The Bluffs southerngardensymposium.org John C. Bergeron

Emily Plauché Maxwell

Stephanie Smith

Frank L. “Lee” Smith, IV

Our team at Bergeron & Plauche strives to help you navigate your financial future Call us today for a consultation.

507 Franklin Street • Natchez, Mississippi 601-442-0088 • 800-308-5388 • bergeronandplauchellc.com Securities offered through National Securities Corp, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through National Asset Management, Inc, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. B&P is not affiliated with NSC or NAM.

Page 52 { September / October 2021 { Bluffs & Bayous

October 30–31 Yellow Leaf Arts Festival Parker Park All Day artsforallstfrancisville.com

ST. JOSEPH September 3 Lake Linen Night Boozy Downtown Art Crawl FB: Downtown St. Joseph Farmers Market October 9 Plank Road Pet Parade Costume Pet Parade & Blessing of the Pets 10:00 am–2:00 pm VIDALIA cityofvidaliala.com / concordialibrary.org Every Wednesday Farmers Market Old Court House - N. Spruce St. 9 am-1 pm October 15–17 Riverfront Flea Market vidaliaconventioncenter.com/flea-market

MISSISSIPPI

visitmississippi.org hikinginmississippi.com BROOKHAVEN facebook.com/VisitBrookhavenMS visitbrookhavenms.com brookhavenrecreation.com brookhavenlittletheatre.com Linclib.org/events September 9–12 Fall Fest & Fair - Lincoln Civic Center visitbrookhavenms.com September 30, October 1, 2 & 3 Anne of Green Gables Brookhaven Little Theatre Sept. 30 / 7:30 pm Oct. 1 / 7:30 pm Oct. 2 / 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm Oct. 3 / 2:00 pm 601.990.2243 tickets@brookhavenlittletheatre.com haventheatre.org October 1–2 Ole Brook Festival - Downtown visitbrookhavenms.com October 28 Canines, Cats & Corks Wine Tasting BARL Benefit Brookhaven Building 5:30–8:30 pm / $35 barl.net - 601.757.4367 November 4 Harvest Ball for Hope Butterfield Mansion FB: Harvest Ball for Hope emily.bellipani@cancer.org 601.695.4780

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 53

SEPT/OCT Mississippi Up & Coming!

FERNWOOD fernwoodcc.com JACKSON dulinghall.com msmuseumart.org visitjackson.com jacksonfreepress.com/calendarmsnla.org craftsmensguildofms.org balletms.com msmetroballet.com September 18–20 Mississippi Science Fest mssciencefest.org October 6–7 Mississippi State Fair Mississippi State Fairgrounds mdac.ms.gov October 22–24 Vintage Market Days of Mississippi All is Bright - Mississippi Trade Mart Fri. & Sat. 10 am–5 pm Sun. 10 am–4 pm vintagemarketdays.com MCCOMB pikeinfo.com mccombarts.com mcrrmuseum.com FB McComb Farmers Market

Page 54 { September / October 2021 { Bluffs & Bayous

Mississippi Up & Coming! SEPT/OCT September 7 A Night to Remember State Theatre Members free / Non-members $20 7 pm FB: Pike County Arts Council MS October 1, 4, 21 & 28 Pike County Arts Council McComb Sports Park Noon Tunes October 7 PALS Toast & Tails The Mill / Downtown 6 pm palsrescuems.org October 7–10 The Outsiders Pike County Little Theatre 7:30 pm & Sun. 2:30 pm eventbrite.com October 28 United Givers Cooking for a Cause The Palace Theatre 6 pm pikeinfo.com MEADVILLE meadvillems.com

October 23 Homochitto River Festival - Downtown Homochitto River Race Camp Ridge Point homochittoriverfestival.org NATCHEZ Live Music Events Calendar visitnatchez.org/full-event-calendar visitnatchez.org kreweofphoenixnatchez.com natchezpilgrimage.com FB Downtown Natchez Farmers Market thetowersofnatchez.com natchezgardenclub.org natchezlittletheatre.com September 25–October 23 Grand Fall Pilgrimage natchezpilgrimage.com October 15–17 Natchez Balloon Festival Downtown natchezballoonfestival.com October 16 Balloon Race Brunch Magnolia Hall 11 am / $20 natchezgardenclub.org 601.443.9065

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 55

Mississippi Up & Coming! SEPT/OCT October 21–23 The Weekend Natchez City Auditorium yallmeansallnatchez.org October 30 The All-HallowsSwede Halloween Bash The Brewery - 207 High St. 8 pm FB: Natchez Brewing Company October 30 Longwood Afternoon Longwood Historic Mansion Food, Beer, Games, Music 11 am / $15 (10 and under free) lonwoodafternoon.com 601.807.1995

PORT GIBSON FB: portgibson.chamber msculturalcrossroads.org MADISON/RIDGELAND visitridgeland.com madisonthecity.com ardenland.net mscrafts.org October 1–2 Euro-Fest Renaissance @ Colony Park visitridgeland.com October 16–17 McGee Lungbuster Fat Tire Festival The Ridgeland Trails visitridgeland.com

Page 56 { September / October 2021 { Bluffs & Bayous

October 30 Township Jazz Festival Township @ Colony Park All Day townshipjazzfestival.com SUMMIT pikeinfo.com October 9 Summit Fall Festival - Downtown 8 am–4 pm summitfallfest@gmail.com 601.276.9536 VICKSBURG southernculture.org visitvicksburg.com vicksburgartassociation.org tarawildlife.com vicksburgtheatreguild.com downtownvicksburg.org

Mississippi Up & Coming! SEPT/OCT September 9 8th Ritz on the River Vicksburg Convention Center 6 pm 601.630.2929 September 11 & October 9 2nd Saturday - Downtown 2–9 pm FB: VicksburgSecondSaturday September 23 & October 28 History & Coffee Southern Heritage Air Foundation Museum Hanger 9–10:30 pm 318.574.2731 September 25 Vicksburg National Military Park Free Day 601.574.2731 October 2 Bricks & Spokes - Downtown 8 AM October 2 Old Court House Museum Fall Flea Market 8 am–5 pm oldcourthouse.org

October 9 Over the River Run Old Mississippi Bridge 8 am raceroster.com

October 15–November 5 Classics in the Courtyard Every Friday - Noon–1 pm southernculture.org October 16 40th Alcorn State University Jazz Festival Vicksburg Convention Center 8 am–5 pm 601.877.6602 October 23 War Bird Car Show Vicksburg-Tallulah Airport 9 am 318.574.2731 October 30 Spooky Sprint 5K/1-Mile Run Downtown 8 am vicksburgcatholic.org WESSON FB Wesson Chamber WOODVILLE woodvillems.org FB Woodville/Wilkinson County Main Street Association

Bluffs & Bayous { September / October 2021 { Page 57

2021 FOOTBALL SCHEDULES EDITORS’ NOTE:

The following football schedules were up to date at press time.

Please consult respective college and NFL websites for the any changes should they occur.

AUBURN TIGERS

Sept. 4 ........................................vs Akron Sept. 11 ........................ vs Alabama State Sept. 18 ............................... @ Penn State Sept. 25 ......................... vs Georgia State Oct. 2 ..............................................@ LSU Oct. 9 .......................................vs Georgia Oct. 16 ................................... @ Arkansas Oct. 23 ............................................ OPEN Oct. 30 ................................... vs Ole Miss Nov. 6 .................................. @ Texas A&M Nov. 13 ..................... vs Mississippi State Nov. 20 ......................... @ South Carolina Nov. 27 .................................. vs Alabama

ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

Sept. 4 ...........................vs Miami/Atlanta Sept. 11.................................... vs Mercer Sept. 18 .................................... @ Florida Sept. 25 ........................ vs Southern Miss Oct. 2 ......................................vs Ole Miss Oct. 9 .................................. @ Texas A&M Oct. 16 ........................@ Mississippi State Oct. 23 ................................. vs Tennessee Nov. 6 ............................................ vs LSU Nov. 13......................vs New Mexico State Nov. 20................................... vs Arkansas Nov. 27 .....................................@ Auburn

Sept. 4........................................... vs Rice Sept. 11........................................vs Texas Sept. 18 ....................vs Georgia Southern Sept. 25 ...............vs Texas A&M/Arlington Oct. 2 ....................................... @ Georgia Oct. 9 ...................................... @ Ole Miss Oct. 16 ..................................... vs Auburn Oct. 23 ....................... vs UAPB/Little Rock Nov. 6 ........................ vs Mississippi State Nov. 13........................................... @ LSU Nov. 20................................... @ Alabama Nov. 26 .................................. vs Missouri

FLORIDA GATORS

LSU TIGERS

Sept. 4 ..........................vs Florida Atlantic Sept. 11 ...........................@ South Florida Sept. 18 ................................. vs Alabama Sept. 25 .............................. vs Tennessee Oct. 2 ..................................... @ Kentucky Oct. 9 .................................. vs Vanderbilt Oct. 16 ........................................... @ LSU Oct. 30 ........... vs Georgia/Jacksonville, FL Nov. 6 .............................@ SouthCarolina Nov. 13 .................................. vs Samford Nov. 20 .................................. @ Missouri Nov. 27 ............................ vs Florida State

Page 58 { September / October 2021 { Bluffs & Bayous

Sept. 4 ......................................... @ UCLA Sept. 11 ................................ vs McNeese Sept. 18 .................... vs Central Michigan Sept. 25 ..................... @ Mississippi State Oct. 2 ....................................... vs Auburn Oct. 9 ..................................... @ Kentucky Oct. 16 ..................................... vs Florida Oct. 23 .................................... @ Ole Miss Oct. 30 ........................................... OPEN Nov. 6 .................................... @ Alabama Nov. 13 ................................. vs Arkansas Nov. 20 ........................................ vs ULM Nov. 27 ............................... vs Texas A&M

GEORGIA BULLDOGS

KENTUCKY WILDCATS

MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS

Sept. 4 ................. vs Clemson/Charolotte Sept. 11......................................... vs UAB Sept. 18........................ vs South Carolina Sep. 25................................. @ Vanderbilt Oct. 2 .................................... vs Arkansas Oct. 9 ....................................... @ Auburn Oct. 16 .................................. vs Kentucky Oct. 30 ............. vs Florida/Jacksonville, FL Nov. 6 .................................... vs Missouri Nov. 13 ................................ @ Tennessee Nov. 20 ............... vs Charleston Southern Nov. 27 ............................ @ Georgia Tech

Sept. 4 ......................................... vs ULM Sept. 11.................................. vs Missouri Sept. 18 .......... vs Univ Tenn/Chattanooga Sept. 25 .................... vs @ South Carolina Oct. 2 ........................................ vs Florida Oct. 9 ............................................. vs LSU Oct. 16 ..................................... @ Georgia Oct. 23 ........................................... OPEN Oct. 30 ....................... @ Mississippi State Nov. 6 ................................. vs Tennessee Nov. 13 ................................ @ Vanderbilt Nov. 20 ............ vs New Mexico State Univ Nov. 27 ..................... @ Univ of Louisville

Sept. 4 .......................... vs Louisiana Tech Sept. 11 ................................. vs NC State Sept. 18 .................................@ Memphis Sept. 25 ......................................... vs LSU Oct. 2 ................................... @ Texas A&M Oct. 9 .............................................. OPEN Oct. 16 ................................... vs Alabama Oct. 23 ................................. @ Vanderbilt Oct. 30 .................................. vs Kentucky Nov. 6 .................................... @ Arkansas Nov. 13 .................................... @ Auburn Nov. 20 ....................... vs Tennessee State Nov. 25 .................................. vs Ole Miss

OLE MISS REBELS

MISSOURI TIGERS

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS

Sept. 6 ..................... vs Louisville/Atlanta Sept. 11 ............................ vs Austin Peay Sept. 18 .................................... vs Tulane Sept. 25 ......................................... OPEN Oct. 2 ..................................... @ Alabama Oct. 9 .................................... vs. Arkansas Oct. 16 ................................. @ Tennessee Oct. 23 .......................................... vs. LSU Oct. 30 ..................................... @ Auburn Nov. 6 ...................................... vs Liberty Nov. 13 ............................... vs Texas A&M Nov. 20 ................................... Vanderbilt Nov. 25 ...................... @ Mississippi State

Sept. 4 ...................... vs Central Michigan Sept. 11 ................................. @ Kentucky Sept. 18 ........ vs Southeast Missouri State Sept. 25 ........................ @ Boston College Oct. 2 .................................. vs Tennessee Oct. 9 ................................ vs North Texas Oct. 16............................. … vs Texas A&M Oct. 23 ........................................... OPEN Oct. 30 ................................. @ Vanderbilt Nov. 6 ...................................... @ Georgia Nov. 13 ........................ vs South Carolina Nov. 20 .................................... vs Florida Nov. 26 .................................. @ Arkansas

Sept. 4 .......................... vs Eastern Illinois Sept. 11 ........................... @ East Carolina Sept. 18 ................................... @ Georgia Sept. 25 ............................ … vs Kentucky Oct. 2 ............................................ vs Troy Oct. 9 ................................... @ Tennessee Oct. 16 ................................ vs Vanderbilt Oct. 23 .............................… @ Texas A&M Oct. 30 ........................................... OPEN Nov. 6 ...................................… vs Florida Nov. 13 .................................. @ Missouri Nov. 20 .................................... vs Auburn Nov. 27 .................................. vs Clemson

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS

TEXAS A&M AGGIES

VANDERBILT

Sept. 2 ......................... vs Bowling Green Sept. 11 .............................. vs Pittsburgh Sept. 18 ....................... vs Tennessee Tech Sept. 25 .................................... @ Florida Oct. 2 ..................................... @ Missouri Oct. 9 ........................... vs South Carolina Oct. 16 ................................... vs Ole Miss Oct. 23 ................................... @ Alabama Oct. 30 ........................................... OPEN Nov. 6 .................................... @ Kentucky Nov. 13 ................................... vs Georgia Nov. 20 ........................ vs South Alabama Nov. 27 ............................... vs Vanderbilt

Sept. 4 ................................. vs Kent State Sept. 11 ................................. @ Colorado Sept. 18 ........................... vs New Mexico Sept. 25 ................. vs Arkansas/Arlington Oct. 2 ........................ vs Mississippi State Oct. 9 ..................................... vs Alabama Oct. 16 ................................... @ Missouri Oct. 23 ......................... vs South Carolina Oct. 30 ........................................... OPEN Nov. 6 ...................................... vs Auburn Nov. 13 ................................... @ Ole Miss Nov. 20 ..................... vs Prairie View A&M Nov. 27........................................... @ LSU

Sept. 4 ......................................... vs ETSU Sept. 11 ........................ @ Colorado State Sep. 18 .................................. vs Stanford Sept. 25 .................................. vs Georgia Oct. 2 ........................................ vs UConn Oct. 9 ........................................ @ Florida Oct. 16 .......................... @ South Carolina Oct. 23 ....................... vs Mississippi state Oct. 30 ................................... vs Missouri Nov. 6 ............................................ OPEN Nov. 13 ................................. vs Kentucky Nov. 20 ................................... @ Ole Miss Nov. 27 ................................ @ Tennessee

ALCORN STATE BRAVES

BELLHAVEN BLAZERS

COPIAH LINCOLN WOLFPACK

Aug. 28 ........vs N Carolina Central/Atlanta Sept. 11 ................ vs Northwestern State Sept. 18 ....................... @ South Alabama Sept. 23 ................. @ Arkansas/Pine Bluff Sept. 30 ......................................... OPEN Oct. 9 ......................... vs Grambling State Oct. 16.......................... @ MS Valley State Oct. 23 .......................... @ Texas Southern Oct. 30 .................................. @ Southern Nov. 6 ..................... @ Bethune-Cookman Nov. 13 ..................... vs Prairie View A&M Nov. 20 ........................... @ Jackson State

Sept. 2 ....................... vs Millsaps College Sept. 11 ......................... vs Southwestern Sept. 18 ..................... @ Hardin-Simmons Sept. 25 ........................ vs Austin College Oct. 2 ............................ @ Texas Lutheran Oct. 9 ............................................. OPEN Oct. 16 ........................... vs Sul Ross State Oct. 23 ........................... @ Howard Payne Oct. 30 ....................@ Mary Hardin-Baylor Nov. 6 ................................... vs McMurry Nov. 13 ..................... @ East Texas Baptist

Sept. 2 ................................. @ Northwest Sept. 9 .......... @ Itawamba Comm College Sept. 16 .............................. vs Southwest Sept. 23 .............................. @ Pearl River Sept. 30 ............ vs Mississippi Gulf Coast Oct. 7 .................. @ Hinds Comm College Oct. 14 ............................... @ East Central Oct. 21 ........................ vs East Mississippi Oct. 28 ........................... vs Jones College

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DELTA STATE STATESMEN

GRAMBLING STATE TIGERS

HINDS COMMUNITY EAGLES

Sept. 2 ............................... vs Bethel (TN) Sept. 11 ............................. vs McKendree Sept. 18 .......................... @ West Georgia Sept. 25 .......................... @ Jackson State Oct. 2 ............................... vs West Florida Oct. 9 ............................. @ Valdosta State Oct. 16 ....................... vs North Greenville Oct. 23 ........................... @ West Alabama Oct. 30 ............................. vs Shorter (GA) Nov. 6 ................................ vs MS College Nov. 13 ........................... @ West Georgia

Sept. 5 ..... vs Tennessee State/Canton. OH Sept. 11 ......................... @ Southern Miss Sept. 18 .................................. @ Houston Sept. 25..vs Prairie View A&M/Cotton Bowl Oct. 2 ............................ vs Alabama A&M Oct. 9 ................................ @ Alcorn State Oct. 16 ......................... vs Texas Southern Oct. 23 ............................................ OPEN Oct. 30 .............................. @ Florida A&M Nov. 6 .................... @ Arkansas-Pine Bluff Nov. 13 .................. vs Bethune-Cookman Nov. 27 ........................ vs Southern Univ.

Sept. 2 ........... @ Coahoma Comm College Sept. 9.............. vs Holmes Comm College Sept. 16............... @ NE MS Comm College Sept. 23 .. vs MS Gulf Coast Comm College Sept. 30 ......................... @ Jones College Oct. 7 .....vs Copiah-Lincoln Comm College Oct. 14 ............... @ SW MS Comm College Oct. 21 ....... vs East Central Comm College Oct. 28 ......... @ Pearl River Comm College

HOLMES COMMUNITY BULLDOGS

JACKSON STATE TIGERS

LOUISIANA COLLEGE WILDCATS

Sept. 2 ... vs MS Gulf Coast Comm College Sept. 9 ................ @ Hinds Comm College Sept. 23 ........... @ East MS Comm College Sept. 30 ........ vs Coahoma Comm College Oct. 7 ............@ Pearl River Comm College Oct. 14 .......... @ Itawamba Comm College Oct. 21 ........... vs MS Delta Comm College Oct. 28 ................ @ NE MS Comm College

Sept. 5 .............................. @ Florida A&M Sept. 11 ...................... @ Tennessee State Sept. 18 ................... @ Louisiana-Monroe Sept. 25 ............................. vs Delta State Oct. 9 ............................. @ Alabama A&M Oct. 16 .......................... vs Alabama State Oct. 23 ................... vs Bethune-Cookman Oct. 30 ............. @ Mississippi Valley State Nov. 6 .......................... vs Texas Southern Nov. 13 ................................. @ Southern Nov. 20 ............................. vs Alcorn State

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Aug. 28 ....................... vs North American Sept. 4 .............. vs SW Assemblies of God Sept. 11 .................... @ Abilene Christian Sept. 18 .................... @ Arizona Christian Sept. 25 ............... vs Ottawa Univ Arizona Oct. 2 ........ vs Oklahoma Panhandle State Oct. 16 ............ @ Wayland Baptist (Texas) Oct. 23 ......................... @ Texas Wesleyan Oct. 30 .................................. vs Langston Nov. 6 ....................... @ Lyon College (AR) Nov. 13 .......................… vs Texas College

LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS

MILLSAPS MAJORS

MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE CHOCTAWS

Sept. 4 ................................... @ MS State Sept. 11 .......................... vs Southeastern Sept. 18 ....................................... vs SMU Sept. 25 ............................ vs North Texas Oct. 2 ...................................... @ NC State Oct. 16 ......................................... @ UTEP Oct. 23 ........................................ vs UTSA Oct. 30............................ @ Old Dominion Nov. 6 ........................................... @ UAB Nov. 13 ................................. vs Charlotte Nov. 19 ......................... vs Southern Miss Nov. 27 ......................................... @ Rice

Sept. 2 .................................. @ Belhaven Sept. 18 ............. @ SW Assemblies of God Sept. 25 ........................ vs Olivet College Oct. 2 ........................... @ Rhodes College Oct. 9 .............................. vs Berry College Oct. 16 ........................................@ Trinity Oct. 23 .......................... vs Centre College Oct. 30 .................................. vs Sewanee Nov. 6 ......................... @ Hendrix College Nov. 13.............. vs Birmingham-S College

Sept. 2 ............................. vs Albany State Sept. 18 ...................... vs Fort Lauderdale Sept. 25 ........................ vs West Alabama Oct. 2 ......................... @ North Greenville Oct. 9 .............................. vs West Georgia Oct. 16 ..................................... @ Shorter Oct. 23 .......................... vs Valdosta State Oct. 30 ............................. vs West Florida Nov. 6 ................................. @ Delta State Nov. 13 .......................... @ West Alabama

NORTHWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY DEMONS

Sept. 4 ................................@ North Texas Sept. 11 ..................................... @ Alcorn Sept. 18 ............................... vs UT Martin Sept. 25 ........... @ Southeastern Louisiana Oct. 2 ........................... vs Incarnate Word Oct. 9 .......................... @ Houston Baptist Oct. 16 .................................. vs McNeese Oct. 23............. vs Southeastern Louisiana Oct. 30 .................................... @ Nicholls Nov. 6 ......................... vs Houston Baptist Nov. 20 .................................. @ McNeese

SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY JAGUARS

Sept. 4 .......................................... @ Troy Sept. 11 ......................... vs Miles College Sept. 18 ........................ vs McNeese State Sept. 26 ....................... vs MS Valley State Oct. 9 ............................ @ Texas Southern Oct. 16 ....... @ Univ of Arkansas/Pine Bluff Oct. 23 ...................... vs Prairie View A&M Oct. 30 .............................. vs Alcorn State Nov. 6 .............................. vs Florida A&M Nov. 13 .......................... vs Jackson State Nov. 27 ... vs Grambling State/Superdome

SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI BEARS

TULANE GREEN WAVE

UNIV OF LA @ LAFAYETTE RAGIN’ CAJUNS

UNIV OF LA @ MONROE WARHAWKS

Sept. 4 ................................ vs Oklahoma Sept. 11 ......................... vs Morgan State Sept. 18 .................................. @ Ole Miss Sept. 25 ........................................ vs UAB Oct. 2 ............................... @ East Carolina Oct. 7 ..................................... vs Houston Oct. 21 ......................................... @ SMU Oct. 30 ................................ vs Cincinnati Nov. 6 ............................................ @ UCF Nov. 13 ....................................... vs Tulsa Nov. 20 ......................................... vs USF Nov. 27 ................................. @ Memphis

UNIV OF SOUTHERN MS GOLDEN EAGLES

Sept. 4 .......................... @ South Alabama Sept. 11 .............................. vs Grambling Sept. 18 .........................................vs Troy Sept. 25.............................. … @ Alabama Oct. 2 ............................................ @ Rice Oct. 9 .......................................... vs UTEP Oct. 16 ..................... @ Middle Tennessee Nov. 6 ............................... vs North Texas Nov. 13 ........................................ @ UTSA Nov. 19 .......................... @ Louisiana Tech Nov. 27 .......................................... vs FIU

Sept. 4 ......................................... @ Texas Sept. 11 .................................. vs Nicholls Sept. 16 ....................................... vs Ohio Sept. 25 .................... @ Georgia Southern Oct. 2 ............................ @ South Alabama Oct. 12 ..................... vs Appalachian State Oct. 21 .......................... @ Arkansas State Oct. 30 ............................... vs Texas State Nov. 4 ............................ vs Georgia State Nov. 13 ......................................... @ Troy Nov. 20 ..................................... @ Liberty Nov. 27 ........................................ vs ULM

Sept. 2 ......... vs Itawamba Comm College Sept. 9 ............. vs East MS Comm College Sept. 16 .............. @ Co-Lin Comm College Sept. 23 ..... vs East Central Comm College Sept. 30 .......... @ MS Delta Comm College Oct. 9 ............................. @ Jones College Oct. 14 ................ vs Hinds Comm College Oct. 23 ........ vs Pearl River Comm College Oct. 30 .... @ MS Gulf Coast Comm College

Sept. 4 ................................... @ Kentucky Sept. 18 ......................... vs Jackson State Sept. 25 ........................................ vs Troy Oct. 2 .......................... @ Coastal Carolina Oct. 9 ............................. vs Georgia State Oct. 16 ..................................... vs Liberty Oct. 23 ......................... vs South Alabama Oct. 30 .................................. @ App State Nov. 6 ................................. @ Texas State Nov. 13 ......................... vs Arkansas State Nov. 20 .......................................... @ LSU Nov. 27 .......................................... @ ULL

COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIP BOWL GAMES DEC. 5 - ACC CHAMPIONSHIP - CONWAY, NC JAN. 10 - SEC CHAMPIONSHIP - INDIANAPOLIS, IN DEC. 4 - SWAC CONFERENCE - TBA DEC. 4 - CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP - TBA

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Sept. 1..................... vs Green Bay Packers

Nov. 21.................. @ Philadelphia Eagles

Sept. 19..................... @ Carolina Panthers

Nov. 25.............................. vs Buffalo Bills

Sept. 26................@ New England Patriots

Dec. 2.......................... vs Dallas Cowboys

Oct. 3.......................... vs New York Giants

Dec. 12............................ @ New York Jets

Oct. 10.................. @ Washington Football

Dec. 19.............. @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Oct. 25....................... @ Seattle Seahawks

Dec. 27....................... vs Miami Dolphins

Oct. 31................................. vs Tampa Bay

Jan. 2....................... vs Carolina Panthers

Nov. 7............................vs Atlanta Falcons

Jan. 9............................ @ Atlanta Falcons

Nov. 14....................... @ Tennessee Titans

Feb. 13 … NFL Super Bowl ................. TBA

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SOUTHERN SAMPLER BY Alma M. Womack

Early Fall Reflections

I

’ll admit to being a child nerd, who looked forward to the opening of school every year after third grade. Seeing school friends, getting new textbooks, especially the social studies books and new readers, was just a grand thing to my little girl self.

Every year, our teacher of that particular grade would tell us “not to read ahead” in the good books; and every year, I read them completely the first night. Having to wait to resolve situations, chapter by chapter, would have been pure agony for me; so I disobeyed. But...I never admitted it.

School was fun for me, and I enjoyed all subjects until I hit high school math.

While I learned to work algebra and geometry, these were always my least favorite subjects. I found out then that word subjects were my best bets for good grades; numbers subjects came in a definite second.

As I write this, my grandsons are getting ready for another school year; and, my, how times have changed.

We don’t know as of now if they will be forced to wear the air-restricting masks again or if they will breathe freely as people are intended to do. They don’t have textbooks to any great extent, having to rely on computer programs where a parent cannot see what they are being taught.

Arithmetic in Louisiana schools has been replaced with Common Core math (by another name now) that is an abomination and a road to mediocrity in solving

problems. No spelling lists, no vocabulary lists, no reading assignments, no book reports on real books—just a new world from the one I occupied for my childhood.

At any rate, we must play the hand we’re dealt and do the best we can in educating our little ones. That will take a lot of parental supervision and outside-theschool learning. Are parents today up for it?

School starts early now, but we always started after Labor Day in September, when it might be a tad cooler in the non-airconditioned school buses and classrooms.

That is one thing we still look forward to in September, even now, the possibility of a little cooler weather and a lessening of the killing humidity. I believe that sultry is the word for the condition of our weather in July and August, and the hint of fall days in September is certainly anticipated when a person can walk outside and breathe at the same time.

For us farm folk, late August and September are the time for harvests to begin, culminating a year of work with hope for a fair price for our crops. Now is not the time for those afternoon showers that only slow down the work of the combines and cotton pickers. We need the dry season now.

And then, once we’re done with September, it’s October with football games and tailgate parties, and class reunions for homecoming games— activities that we look forward to all summer and things that keep us connected

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to our families and friends and Southern way of life.

Halloween ends the month, and I could write an entire column on how Halloween has been hijacked by modern culture, masking, if you will, the true intentions of the holiday.

So for now, let me skip the history lecture and just wish all of our readers a pleasant and peaceful September and October with dry weather for harvest, wins for our school football teams, and cool days with low humidity for us and our pets.

Columnist Alma Womack lives on Smithland Plantation on Black River, south of Jonesville, Louisiana. In addition to her duties as maitresse des maison, she is the keeper of the lawn, the lane and the pecan orchard at Smithland.

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