Leflore illustrated Spring 2013

Greenwood, Mississippi

A River Country Journal / Spring 2013

inside features 5.

Vegetable lasagna offers a fresh take on an old favorite

11. Third-grader takes a lead role at restaurant’s front counter

13

20

people 13. Physician revisits his youth

places 7.

Giardina’s offers perfect culinary blend of tradition and creativity

26.

Itta Bena church tries to improve members’ bodies and souls

28.

Leflore family enjoys its sanctuary on the hill

33. Greenwood High band director is

in a ’57 Chevy pickup

ready to start a new chapter

17. Pat Malouf works behind the scenes for John-Richard

38. Disability hasn’t defeated Carrollton birdhouse builder

20. Filmmaking is dentist’s

42. Octogenarian bridge player

latest obsession

achieves first for Greenwood

7

38

more

4.

9.

From the editor Calendar of events

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42

44.

48.

Event snapshots The Back Page

ON THE COVER: Dentist and entrepreneur Jerry Tankersley is making movies these days. Soon, his life story may become a film.

Editor and Publisher Tim Kalich

Managing Editor Charles Corder

Associate Editor David Monroe

Contributing Writers

Bill Burrus, Bob Darden, Jo Alice Darden, Lee Ann Flemming, Ruth Jensen, Jeanie Riess and Ruthie Robison

Advertising Director Larry Alderman

Advertising Sales

Linda Bassie, Susan Montgomery, Jim Stallings and Kim Turner

Photography/Graphics

Joseph Cotton, Johnny Jennings, Andy Lo and Anne Miles

Production

Clifton Angel and Charles Brownlee

Circulation Director Shirley Cooper

Volume 8, No. 3 —————— Editorial and business offices: P.O. Box 8050 329 U.S. 82 West Greenwood, MS 38935-8050 662-453-5312 —————— Leflore Illustrated is published by Commonwealth Publishing, Inc.

Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 3

From the editor

PHOTO BY JOHNNY JENNINGS

A stick-up job A

nnette Smith says that some of her male customers can be just as particular about their hair as her female ones.

She didn’t say whether I was one of the ticky ones, although I do have one request that Annette has gotten used to during the 20plus years she has been cutting my hair.

She’s not done until the hair sticks up around the crown of my head.

That’s how I tell that it’s short enough.

I like to make a haircut last.

If the hair on the top of my head lies down just perfectly, I know I’ll be back in about a month for another trim. But if it’s sticking up a little, that buys at least an extra week or two.

That hairdressing preference does require a little extra planning. If I know a big occasion is coming up, I just make sure I get a haircut about a week out from the event.

Besides, I’m kind of used to my hair sticking up.

In the house in which I grew up, seven children and three adults shared one bathroom. My middle-class parents put their spending priorities elsewhere than on bath tubs and commodes.

We had to bathe in shifts. Mom and Dad had dibs on mornings. The children took turns at night. My grandmother slipped in whenever she could.

I went to bed with my hair wet most nights. It dried in all kinds of directions, somewhat like Albert Einstein’s. That look — as if I had just put a wet finger in a wall socket — became my trademark in high school.

Morning showers and Annette’s skilled 4 / Leflore Illustrated Spring 2013

hands have mostly tamed my appearance.

Annette has been cutting and styling hair for 43 years.

I started going to her when she was still working at the former Shirley’s on Park Avenue.

Annette gives Shirley Curtis a lot of credit for teaching her how to run a business and how to treat a customer.

Sometimes the lessons were easier than others.

One morning when Shirley arrived at the shop, she found Deomi Ballas there, terribly unhappy with the blow-dry she received the previous day from Annette.

“I was on one side of the shop crying, and she was on the other side crying,” Annette recalls.

Mrs. Ballas, now deceased, ran the cash register for decades at the family-owned Crystal Grill. The Greek immigrant became one of Annette’s best customers and best friends.

“I was still young, trying to learn, but she never quit me,” Annette says.

Annette’s father ran a barber shop for 52 years in downtown Grenada. He regularly encouraged his oldest daughter to open her own shop, but Annette was always scared to take the plunge.

After her father died in 1998, Annette found the courage. It was a way of dealing with her sorrow and honoring his memory. She opened her salon two months after her father’s passing.

“I tried to follow his wish through,” she says. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Annette wasn’t all that thrilled about being a hairdresser when she enrolled in beauty school as a teenager. But the profession grew on her, particularly the challenge of learning how to fix a mistake — or live with one.

Several years ago, she was cutting one of her male customers when the guard came off her clippers. To Annette’s horror, it left him with a 2-inch bald spot in the back of his head.

He didn’t quit her either. He’d be foolish to.

Annette has promised him a free haircut as long as she’s in business.

I might take a bald spot for a deal like that. — Tim Kalich

Food

Fresh take on lasagna

O

ccasionally, I will run across a recipe that I know is wonderful just from the reading.

Often, I see several that I like to combine and come up with the “best of both worlds.”

I adore vegetables and look forward to the spring and summer bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables that appear in the grocery and markets. Preparing a meal of vegetables alone, or a “meatless meal,” is something I like to try on occasion.

Artichoke spinach lasagna is one of those recipes that I knew was going to be a keeper

just by reading the recipe. I tweaked it just a bit, and it has quickly become a family favorite and a “go-to” dish to take for any occasion. Whenever I take this for an event or serve it to guests, I always have copies of the recipe. I am bombarded with requests for how to make this delicious dish. It is a great accompaniment or can stand on its own. Lasagna isn’t just lasagna anymore!

ARTICHOKE SPINACH LASAGNA 1 stick butter, melted 1 medium onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves 1 can (14 ounces) vegetable broth 1 (14-ounce) can artichokes, drained and chopped 1 small can black olives, sliced and drained 1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained

1 (17-ounce) jar Alfredo pasta sauce 9 uncooked lasagna noodles 3 cups (12 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese 1 (4-ounce) package herb and garlic feta cheese Salt and pepper to taste Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13inch baking dish with Pam. Melt butter in a large skillet and sauté onion and garlic until crisp tender. Stir in rosemary and vegetable broth. Heat to boiling and stir in artichokes, olives and spinach. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes; stir in pasta sauce.

Spread a quarter of artichoke mixture in baking dish and top with 3 noodles.

Sprinkle with three-quarters of a cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers twice.

Spread with remaining artichoke mixture.

Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.

Sprinkle with feta cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until noodles are tender and lasagna is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into squares for serving. LI

STORY BY LEE ANN FLEMMING PHOTO BY JOHNNY JENNINGS Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 5

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Giardina’s

O

THE RIGHT BLEND

n one side of an enormous steel kitchen, Giardina’s fry chef William Leflore takes the bellies out of a dozen soft-shell crabs.

“That won’t be good to bite into once it’s fried,” he says, holding the mustardcolored guts on the tip of his knife with an ominous and knowing look, like maybe he’s tried it before.

A few feet away, pale yellow potatoes are simmering in a pot, waiting to become gnocchi, an idea that William’s son, Giardina’s Executive Chef Lee Leflore, just had earlier that morning. Such spontaneity has been the basis of the reinvigorated version of a Greenwood classic.

Giardina’s is the well-balanced blend of four elements: an enduring Italian tradition, a Delta kick, a young chef’s creativity and teamwork.

Giardina’s was founded in 1936, as the clean glass of its Howard Street location alongside The Alluvian proudly states.

But the restaurant is older than the renovated boutique hotel it has called home for the past decade.

The Giardinas immigrated from Cefalu, a village in Sicily, in the 1930s.

The Barrancos, who are Lee’s greatgrandparents, hailed from the very same town. The two families were neighbors, friends and members of the same church, and Lee grew up working for the Italian restaurant in various capacities. He was recently promoted to executive chef.

Giardina’s Executive Chef Lee Leflore says blending Delta fare with the traditional Italian fare of his family is easy, since the two cuisines have much in common.

STORY BY JEANIE RIESS PHOTOS BY JOHNNY JENNINGS Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 7

“Local foods are important to me.

During this time of year, I go to the farmers market six days a week ... .”

Lee Leflore Joseph Giardina opened the restaurant on U.S. 82 in 1936. When Brossie Giardina took over in 1946, he moved it to Park Avenue and took its classic Delta booth setup with him.

It’s speculated that the curtained booths — still a retro feature at the Howard Street location — are left over from Prohibition, when nobody wanted to be caught drinking bootleg liquor.

Brossie and his wife, Rosina, ran the restaurant until they retired in 2002. At that point, Frank Leflore (Lee’s uncle) and his brother-in-law Fred Carl purchased the restaurant’s assets.

They installed the restaurant in the hotel and imbued it with a state-of-the-art kitchen and plenty of old-world charm.

The bar feels like an old brasserie, with white-tiled floors and cherry-stained wood along its walls. Walking through the restaurant’s softly lit halls, it sounds as if the diners behind the booths are intentionally keeping their voices down, their conversation light and idle and hardly audible through the curtains. Maybe they are in awe of the dishes that are whisked in front of them.

Lee Leflore dreams up a different special every night. He has no planning system, he said; he simply scans through photographs of food and steals a little of this and a little of that for the night’s menu. It often depends on what he can get fresh, 8 / Leflore Illustrated Spring 2013

since he’s committed to buying local produce and groceries when possible.

“Local foods are important to me,” said Lee. “During this time of year, I go to the farmers market six days a week, pretty much, weather permitting.”

Later in the night, the potatoes from earlier are formed into macaroni-like bundles and served with a crawfish bordelaise.

Lee did not always know that he wanted to cook professionally, though he said he fried his first egg at age 9 and has always connected food with family.

“I’m from an Italian family, so the kitchen was always our gathering place,” he said.

After completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Mississippi, Lee attended the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in California’s Napa Valley. After graduating, he moved to New Orleans and worked at Emeril’s Kitchen, the flagship bistro of celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. He learned a lot, but he wanted to get back home.

Lee said he likes Greenwood because of its “small-town feel and knowing everyone. I’ve never seen a stranger.”

That small-town feel is represented well in the management team at Giardina’s. Lee works hand in hand with Josh Crump, his friend and the restaurant’s general manager. That partnership

is, in a way, the next generation of the collaboration formed by Carl, Lee’s uncle and the founder of Viking Range Corp., and Bill Crump, Josh’s dad and a Viking executive.

From the kitchen, Lee discerns a surprising amount about his dinner guests.

He picks up on some of the trends in Greenwood based on what people are ordering.

“The broiled chicken seems to be very popular lately,” he said. “I guess because it’s starting to warm up and people want to be a little more healthy.”

Lee’s dad, William, the one who fries the soft-shells, among other things, has worked at Giardina’s since the original family owned it. The father-son relationship in the kitchen is more than amiable; when asked who’s in charge, Lee laughs and says, “Me.” That could be said, though, about every relationship in the kitchen. While the life of a chef can be stressful and hurried, Lee keeps things light in Giardina’s kitchen.

“It’s about consistency and learning how to coach up your staff without degrading them, because food should not be degrading,” he said.

“I hold it as a family environment, so there are really no struggles. We get along, and I learn from them, and they learn from me.” LI

Spring Events MAY 2 — Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce golf scramble, Greenwood Country Club.

2 — Mississippi Delta Community College health sciences graduation, 10 a.m., MDCC coliseum, Moorhead.

3 — Mississippi Delta Community College academic and career/tech graduation, 11 a.m., MDCC coliseum, Moorhead.

3-4 — River to the Rails festival and ’Que on the Yazoo barbecue competition, downtown Greenwood.

11 — Mississippi Valley State University graduation, 8 a.m., Rice-Totten Stadium, Itta Bena.

13 — Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting, 6 p.m., Leflore County Civic Center.

JUNE 13-16 — The Greenwood Little Theatre presents Mama Won’t Fly.

Greenwood’s annual Independence Day celebration is set for June 28.

28 — The annual Stars and Stripes Festival and Community Picnic at the arboretum between the two bridges over the Yazoo River in downtown Greenwood.

JULY 12-14 — The Greenwood Invitational golf tournament at the Greenwood Country Club.

Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 9

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Just Ask a Kid

Budding businessman W

illiam Lang, 9, can be spotted manning the cash register at the New China Buffet in Greenwood.

The third-grader stays at the restaurant when Davis Elementary School lets out, because his mother, Emily Jiang, works there. He can be seen greeting customers and taking call-in orders. William says he pitches in from time to time to prevent boredom.

William Lang, 9, has become a customer favorite at New China Buffet on West Park Avenue, where he helps run the cash register and take call-in orders.

Does anything funny ever happen at the restaurant?

William: Yes, but I don’t remember anything right now.

What is your favorite subject at school?

William: Math. I do good at math.

What are some of the chores you have to do at home?

William: I help my mom do some work like washing dishes. I don’t like chores.

Have any pets?

William: No. I want a dog. My mom is scared of pets.

What would you name a dog?

William: I think of a name every day, but I can’t think of one.

If you could invent anything, what would it be?

William: A time machine. I would use it and go to the future.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

William: I never think about that.

What’s your favorite food?

William: Chicken! Hot wings. I don’t like vegetables.

What are some of your hobbies?

William: I like playing games on the computer.

If you could change anything about Greenwood, what would it be?

William: I would want a playground in front of the New China Buffet.

Who is your role model?

William: A Pokemon trainer. They train Pokemon, and they fight battles. LI

STORY BY RUTHIE ROBISON PHOTO BY JOHNNY JENNINGS Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 11

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Dr. Michael Boler

P ICKUP TAKES HIM BACK

Dr. Michael Boler learned to drive in this 1957 Chevrolet pickup truck starting at age 8 while growing up on a farm in Neshoba County. Below, Boler sits on the pickup with his aunt, Bea Boler, in 1960.

A

fully restored 1957 Chevy 3100 pickup is Dr. Michael Boler’s pride and joy.

Most admirers of classic vehicles see a thing of beauty, but to its owner, the antique

truck is that and so much more.

For the Greenwood physi-

cian, it reminds him of when he was growing up on a cattle farm near Union in the 1960s.

“Life was simple back then: God, church, family and work.

I spent a lot of Saturdays riding to town in that truck,” Boler said.

Boler was 3 years old when

STORY BY BILL BURRUS PHOTOS BY JOHNNY JENNINGS AND COURTESY OF DR. MICHAEL BOLER Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 13

Boler now drives the restored pickup to work several times a week, but never goes faster than 45 mph in it. “It’s fun to drive and cool to look at,” he says, “but what makes it so special for me is all the memories I associate with this truck.”

his father purchased the Chevy truck off the showroom floor from Lee Chevrolet in Union. The truck has been in his family ever since.

His father died in 1993 and then his mother in 1997. As the only child, Boler took possession of the old truck that he grew up driving as a child

and that was wasting away in a barn. He brought the truck, which hadn’t been driven in 16 years, from the Neshoba County farm to Greenwood last year to have it restored.

That project was engineered by Greenwood’s David Carpenter, co-owner of C&C Auto Service. It took

Carpenter and his crew nearly a year to finish the project, which included removing a lot of rust, replacing the oak wood in the bed, replacing a few parts, overhauling the sixcylinder engine and painting the inside and outside.

“I used to do a lot of restoration of old vehicles, but

it had been about 25 years since I had done one because it takes so much time that you just can’t come out on it,” Carpenter said. “But Dr. Boler is a good friend, so I decided to do it.

“It was probably the toughest one I’ve ever done because of all the rust. A project like this, you have got to do it out of love.”

Boler is more than pleased with Carpenter’s finished product.

“David just did an absolutely amazing job with the truck.

He had his work cut out for him, but it came back looking like new,” Boler said.

Carpenter and Boler’s wife, Sharon, kept the progress of the restoration project quiet and then surprised Dr. Boler with it last Christmas Eve. “When we got back from our Christmas Eve church service, they had it sitting in the drive,” he said. “It was a great surprise and a great gift.

“I drive it to work several times a week but have never gone over 45 miles per hour in it. It’s fun to drive and cool to look at, but what makes it so special for me is all the memories I associate with this truck.”

Boler learned to drive in that truck at a rather early age and later drove it to school as a high school student.

“Growing up in the country, you start driving early. I was about 8 when I started learning how,” he said. “I can remember being so small that I would have to jump off the seat to be able to hit the clutch.”

When Boler left for college, his father bought him a car and continued to use the ’57 Chevy on the farm. And that’s where it stayed until it was hauled to Greenwood last year.

Boler plans to get a trailer one day so he can haul the pickup to some antique car shows, but for now, he’s content showing it off on the way to the office a few times a week. LI Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 15

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Pat Malouf

She knows what she likes

A

lthough Pat Malouf doesn’t design a single piece of the many decorative home furnishings that John-Richard produces, she is very much a part of the company’s success.

The wife of company Chairman and CEO Alex Malouf describes her current role in the company as “support staff” and says she does much of the public relations and entertaining the business requires. Just recently she went to the large furniture market in North Carolina, where she spent all day every day meeting people on the floor.

“I’m meeting, greeting all the time — even at the factories,” she said. “While Alex is conducting business, I’m able to go through and speak to people.”

She also entertains visitors from out of town who come to Greenwood. And when company representatives and the Maloufs travel for business, it’s not a vacation. “It’s difficult work, from morning ’til night. I travel with them all the time,” she said.

Whether in Vietnam, where the company does some of its manufacturing, or in Peru, where they go to purchase original art, Pat’s opinion is respected. And though Pat says Alex is the driving force behind the business, and usually he knows what John-Richard’s clientele will

Pat Malouf says she acts as “support staff” for her husband, Alex Malouf, the chairman and CEO of John-Richard. She does public relations and meets with clients.

STORY BY RUTH JENSEN PHOTOS BY JOHNNY JENNINGS Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 17

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want, occasionally she asserts an opinion that differs from his.

“I sometimes select a painting that Alex will look at and say, ‘I don’t think that will sell,’” she said — and if she insists, they buy it anyway.

Like any wife, she likes to occasionally prove her husband wrong. “Sometimes my choices have been top sellers. I like it when that happens,” she said with a smile.

“One painting I found was done by a French artist in Vietnam. It was a beach scene that looks like it was painted in the 1920s,” she said. “Alex didn’t think it would work. I said, ‘I’ve got to have it.’ It turned into a number one seller.”

They buy original art, then have the artist reproduce it as many times as needed and also do digitally reproduced art, called giclee. “The artists in our factory touch it up with brush strokes, and it’s hard to tell the difference, but the giclee piece then sells for much less than the original oil painting.”

However, much of the John-Richard collection is high-end and is sold to people who are looking for something unique and high in quality. One of Pat’s favorite artists in Bogota, Colombia, they found by accident.

“A woman who was working as a temp at market told us her country has as many beautiful paintings as here, and we should go see them,” she said. “I told her we would go if she would go with us. She and her sister, an attorney, took us to the university in Bogota, and there we found a wonderful artist who was a senior art student.”

The company purchased a number of pieces from her, until she became more famous and the cost of her art became prohibitive.

“We can’t buy it and resell it,” she said.

Pat still enjoys several of the artist’s paintings in the Malouf home on Grand Boulevard.

When traveling, Alex and Pat are always on the lookout for interesting pieces that could be turned into accessories, such as the large piece of amethyst from Brazil that sits on a bedroom chest in their home.

Just about all of the furniture and accessories in the Malouf home are from JohnRichard. Much of the home has been recently redone with new furniture and accessories. Bedrooms have upholstered headboards from the collection, as well as chairs, lamps and accessories. In the living room, there are sofas, paintings, lamps and accessories.

In the earlier days of the company’s

“It’s a new paradigm. We’re able to shift with it.”

Pat Malouf development, Pat was definitely hands-on.

“Alex and I did everything. He’s a good designer. I’m not, but I know what I like,” she said. “The company evolved from Malouf Furniture, where I was bookkeeper.”

As John-Richard developed, she worked with photography, hauling products to be photographed and then picking them up.

She also worked on the files after a fire wiped out a warehouse of limited-edition prints, as well as antique prints from Sotheby’s of London and other furnishings.

The idea for the company came about when Pat and Alex found it difficult to acquire the amount and quality of art they wanted to sell at the furniture store.

“We said, ‘Why don’t we make our own?’” Pat said. “First there were only signed and limited pieces. Alex realized there might be other people who might like to buy them, so we hired a few people to go on the road and sell the excess. After we had reps on the road selling, we figured, ‘Why not add lighting?’”

That was the beginning of what became some of John-Richard’s biggest sellers — chandeliers and lamps. Then, realizing frames used for their prints could be used in others ways, they added mirrors and oil paintings.

After the fire, it took a couple of years to get back all of the information, but then John-Richard took off. “The Lord blessed us through that period. We started growing and growing,” Pat said.

They went to India and brought in parts to Greenwood, where lamps would be assembled, sometimes with shades made from fabrics from Belgium. Fabric also comes from India.

“India weaves fabrics, sends them to China; they make shades,” she said.

John-Richard operates a factory in China but does not own it. It owns a plant in India. In Vietnam, it owns one factory and wholly subcontracts with three others.

“We make lamp bodies and all of the wooden furniture there. We have customers from all over the world and can ship directly from there,” Pat said.

The soft furniture items — sofas and chairs — are all made in Greenwood, where the company has two factories.

“It’s all done here from scratch. Our pattern makers and other employees take great pride in what they do,” Pat said.

She participates by giving an opinion from time to time; she’s fully knowledgeable about all processes involved in the development of the John-Richard products. She also participates in other ways.

“I like to send goodies to the factories — reaching out and saying, ‘Thank you,’ or a gift for a special-event party.”

The reason for the couple’s success is in the use of their complementary God-given talents, Pat said. “Our priest says Alex’s gift is in providing jobs to people.”

Pat’s gift is hospitality. Now almost 69, she doesn’t foresee the couple slowing down; in fact, they’re picking up speed because the business has demanded it the last four or five years.

“Both of us are in good health,” she said. “We just returned from New York, where we opened a new showroom for the interior design trade.”

In recent years, some large stores have gone out of business, so now JohnRichard goes straight to the designers by way of a catalog and showrooms. “It’s a new paradigm,” Pat said. “We’re able to shift with it.”

After 48 years of marriage, the only thing that has changed with the two Maloufs is their desire “to have more fun.”

Pat said they’re more reflective these days.

Alex recently planted vegetable seeds where she had already planted chrysanthemums. “We went out there, had a glass of wine and laughed about it,” she said.

“We make a good pair.” LI Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 19

Jerry Tankersley

J

A LIFE IN MOTION

erry Tankersley, whose movie just took home a prize at the Sundance Film Festival and whose life is being made into a film of its own, has never been one to do things halfway.

When he got into martial arts in high school, he was a black belt by age 16.

When he played tennis, he was a star player. And when he started gambling, he could not quit.

Tankersley, a full-time dentist, product developer, burgeoning movie producer and Greenwood native, said that addictive personality is both a blessing and a curse, depending on how he uses it. These days, he’s using it to pursue the things he cares about most in life: movies, dentistry and not worrying about the details.

When he was 34, Tankersley got a divorce and said he went a little crazy.

He had been a dentist and professor of dentistry for most of his adult life, but he quit his job to pursue gambling and traveled around the country to do it.

When he realized that his addiction had gotten out of hand, he sold everything he owned, rented an apartment and bought a set of golf clubs.

“Every time I got an urge to gamble, I hit golf balls,” Tankersley explained. “I not only got pretty good at golf; I quit

Jerry Tankersley has been on a moviemaking roll. One of the films he helped produce won an award at the Sundance Film Festival. His production company is filming another this summer, and a movie on his life is being developed.

STORY BY JEANIE RIESS PHOTOS BY JOHNNY JENNINGS 20 / Leflore Illustrated Spring 2013

gambling. I said if I have this personality, I'm going to use it for something positive.”

When he ran out of money playing golf, he knew he had to make yet another change. He was cured of his gambling addiction, but he needed a job. He got home one evening from a round on the course and found a letter from the Mississippi Department of Corrections, seeking applications for a dentist at the State Penitentiary at Parchman. Without missing a beat, Tankersley put on a suit and tie and went to see the warden. He was hired on the spot, and he made only one simple request: He wanted to be in a maximum-security facility, not medium.

Why? “Because in a maximum-security prison and on death row, they bring them to you handcuffed,” he said.

Tankersley worked the job for three years, shuffling between Parchman and a private prison 9 miles away. While there, he witnessed a murder, operated on a patient who had to be threatened with a gun to his head during treatment and found a cellphone in an extremely private part of an inmate’s body after hearing the phone vibrate several times, though it had not been detected by guards during a strip search.

The job got to be too much. “It was like working in hell,” he said. “It was constant negativity and violence every day.”

But it did give Tankersley some good stories. And those stories are what led him to his next career: movie producer.

While working on yet another side project, the 30-Second Smile, an automatic toothbrush, with local investors, Tankersley would frequently go to dinner with a team of filmmakers who were making the infomercial for the product.

“All these infomercial directors wanted to talk about was my time in the prisons.

And they said this has got to be a movie,” said Tankersley.

With the help of a friend, Tankersley got in touch with a movie producer in Boston named Laura Bernieri. The two met, and Tankersley told her about his experiences as a prison dentist. Soon, he said, Bernieri was more interested in his entire life story than she was in a particular slice of it. She was taken with the idea and told him she wanted to make a movie about him, not just a prison dentist.

But Tankersley decided that if he were going to sign away the movie rights to his life, he’d need to learn how to make movies himself so that he could be an integral part of the process. He said he’s loved movies all his life and has seen

Jerry Tankersley, shown with his girlfriend, Suzy Bergner of Houston, Texas, stays busy as a full-time dentist. He travels around the state to see patients at 78 nursing homes.

Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 21

22 / Leflore Illustrated Spring 2013

In spite of his recent success in movies, Jerry Tankersley is still involved with his other endeavors.

them as a kind of escape from his problems, and he always wanted to know how they were made.

He started a production company called Fried Alligator Productions with the help of Bernieri and three other movie buffs. The company has already produced Mother of George, the film that won an award for best cinematography at Sundance. The team is on pins and needles waiting to hear whether the movie will be accepted at the Cannes Film Festival this summer.

Fried Alligator Productions is also filming a movie this summer in New Orleans, written by one of its team members. Then they’ll move onto the story about Tankersley, which already has a script that the dentist said is getting a lot of attention in the Hollywood world.

With a career taking off in the movie business, surely the 53-year-old dentist

“All these infomercial directors wanted to talk about was my time in the prisons. And they said this has got to be a movie.”

Jerry Tankersley cannot continue to work on teeth, hit golf balls regularly and help develop an automatic toothbrush, right?

That would not be true Tankersley fashion. He still plays golf; he’s still involved with the 30-Second Smile (he’s actually on the packaging); and he’s a more-involved dentist than ever, traveling to 78 nursing homes throughout the

state to work on the teeth of senior citizens.

With that kind of life, who wouldn’t want to watch a movie about him? But stay tuned; there is plenty more to know about Jerry Tankersley.

“I don’t want to tell it all to you, because I don’t want to give the movie away,” he said. LI Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 23

Samuel Chapel United Methodist Church

Body and soul

T

he leaders of Samuel Chapel United Methodist Church in Itta Bena are focused on improving their city, and they know one way to do that is helping citizens improve their health.

Samuel Chapelís Health and Wellness Ministry has been very active in encouraging people to adopt more healthful habits in eating and exercise. The churchís community garden is entering its fourth year, and more young people are learning about growing their own food.

Pastor Maxine Bolden says this is part of a concept stressed by the church of developing the ìwhole personî ó physical as well as spiritual. The congregation is reminded that ìour body is the temple of the living God, that we are supposed to be healthy in order to serve because itís hard to serve when weíre not healthy, î she said.

v v v The church was founded in 1880 in southeast Itta Bena as Samuel Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church and is now located on Lincoln Street. It has about 125 members, and 40 to 55 typically attend on Sunday.

Thelma Collins, who grew up in Samuel Chapel and is vice president of the United Methodist Women, said that church has been ìa rock ó pretty much a leading congregation in the community.î From back in the days when they had to build a fire in a wood stove before Sunday school, she had great role models, she said. ìAll the older members of our church were more like mothers and fathers,î Collins said, ìbecause they not only just

taught us about the word of God; they also taught us about life challenges.î Bolden, who was born and raised in Yazoo City, has been pastor since August 2011, when she came from Greer Chapel United Methodist Church in Flowood.

She wasnít familiar with Samuel Chapel when she was being considered for the pastoral appointment, but she knew about Itta Bena because her husband is from there.

She said the bishop who preached at her farewell service in Flowood spoke well of Itta Bena even before Bolden mentioned her ties to the city. ìShe said, ëWe didnít know that,íî Bolden recalled. ìAnd I knew they didnít because they normally donít send you to family; they send you as a missionary, basically, out to places to grow a relationship and build fellowships. But anyway, coming here has been a wonderful experience because my in-laws are here, and I really feel like Iíve kind of come home.î

v v v The churchís Health and Wellness Ministry was already in place when Bolden arrived, and itís continuing to expand its work today ó with plenty of outside help.

The ministry benefits from Itta Benaís ties to Communities for All Ages (CFAA), a national initiative that promotes an inter-

Pastor Maxine Bolden says her church wants to develop the ìwhole person,î both physical and spiritual.

generational approach to solving communitiesí problems. Among those problems in Itta Benaís case are obesity and diabetes, and the CFAA has a local team working with the churchís health team to address them. For example, they helped set up regular sessions about living with and preventing diabetes.

Also helping is the Mississippi Delta Health Collaborative, which works to educate people about heart disease and stroke prevention. Screenings for cholesterol, glucose, body mass index and other health indicators are held at the church and other

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fried food,î Fant said. ìThey were agreeable. And the meals that have been served since that time did not include fried food.î As the church tries to expand its healthrelated activities elsewhere in Itta Bena, its leaders have sent letters to other churches asking them to adopt such policies as the exclusion of fried food. Other community endeavors include an exercise class and a walking club that meet regularly.

Samuel Chapel also has worked with the Mississippi State University Extension Service to offer classes about exercise and food. ì We have used all types of activities that focus primarily on diabetes and obesity because we want to have a healthy community,î Collins said.

She said people had been reporting good progress from one screening to the next: ìTheyíd lost so many pounds of weight, and their blood pressure had gone down, and cholesterol had gone down. So there is an impact.î The leaders of the ministry go through a great deal of training on how to deal with citizens, teach them about health issues and collect information. They also sometimes pick up ideas from going to meetings and talking to others from similar groups. ìEvery time we go to a meeting, we hear something that some other community or some other organization is doing thatís working,î Fant said.

v v v

locations, and vendors come in to provide information on nutrition.

The Delta Health Collaborative has encouraged the church to take some bold steps to promote better health, such as prohibiting smoking on church property and not serving fried food at congregational meals. Given Delta traditions, some initially had doubts about the food suggestion, but the policy has been in place for more than a year and has worked well, said Gladys Fant, chairwoman of the Health and Wellness Ministry. ìThe health team got with the food committee that helps plan congregational meals, and we asked them to not include

Then there is the churchís community garden, now going into its fourth year, which offers not only good food but also educational opportunities.

The Miller Road garden is sponsored by donations from Samuel Chapelís members, but other citizens also may get food from it. Available items include greens, okra, peas, beans, cucumbers, squash, peppers, tomatoes, watermelons, eggplant, sweet potatoes, peanuts and more. ìIt sort of spun off from the health and wellness group,î said John Upton, chairman of the churchís leadership team, who helps oversee the garden. ìWe didnít have a grocery store, and so we decided to do a garden where we could share the vegetables with the members and the community. î Because seniors are the most vulnerable healthwise, they usually get first choice of

the garden items, and food is set aside for them. Experts also come in to lead workshops on garden management, and there are opportunities for students at Leflore County Elementary School to plant seeds and learn about how they grow.

Another way the church encourages healthful eating is through its gleaning program, in which the men bring in good food from other places.

Working with the Society of St. Andrew, which partners with the Methodists to feed the hungry, the church has agreements with farmers in a number of places who put the word out when they have excess food that might otherwise go to waste. ìIt comes from the concept of the Book of Ruth ó the concept that if thereís anything left in a field, some should be left for the poor, the widows and the orphans,î Upton said.

Sometimes in the summer, theyíll go out every month to glean ó maybe twice in a month, depending on whatís available.

Then theyíll load up a trailer with all kinds of vegetables, bring them home and make them available for any citizen to pick up. ìIf you come out and itís there, youíre welcome to it. We donít put any restrictions on the food,î Upton said. ìThe only thing we tell them is, ëDonít get more than youíre going to eat.íî And sometimes they just get lucky. ì We went to Jackson the year before last and got a lot of stuff,î Upton said, ìbut that was because a truck turned over in Jackson, and they had to get rid of the contents. ... All the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner, we had on that trailer. And the fixings didnít last long.î Upton said theyíll be trying to recruit more helpers for the gleaning trips this year. Not only do the volunteers have a chance to help others, but they also get some exercise picking corn out of fields or loading other foods from crates.

The church members have more ideas for the future, too ó health-related and otherwise. Additions being considered include GED test preparation tutorials, a food pantry and classes on personal finance ó all designed to minister to the whole person.

The ministry is a lot of work, but itís satisfying, Fant said. ìItís a blessing that we are able to help here in the community,î she said. LI Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 27

The Leflore House

A home on the hill

A

s diverse as the homes are that we visit in the pages of Leflore Illustrated, the families who welcome us all have a couple of things in common: They lead incredibly busy lives, and they have created living spaces that both deflate their stress and re-energize the family members for whatever is next.

Frank and Beth Leflore are prime examples.

Frank, 52, has spent years in the restaurant business. He and his extended family ó his sister is Margaret Carl, wife of Fred Carl, founder and former president of Viking Range Corp., who is responsible for much of downtown Greenwoodís revitalization ó moved and re-opened Giardinaís at The Alluvian on Howard Street in Greenwood. And Frank is still involved with the Dunkiní Donuts organization for this region.

His current major project is the reopening of Serioís, whose name comes from a restaurant originally owned by his great-uncle, Salvo Serio, which served Italian food for decades in Greenwood and closed in the mid-1970s. Serioís will open where Yianniís Restaurant recently closed, on Yalobusha Street in North Greenwood.

ìThere is so much to do,î Frank said ñ the interior demolition, the redesign, the rebuild, the menu development (ìcasual Italian,î he said). ìIt all takes so much time, and we are really trying to get every detail right.î Beth, 53, has about an hourlong commute to and from her job four days a week. She is a pharmacist with Wexford Health Sources Inc., which operates the hospital at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

Surrounded by armed guards and protective barriers and with everyone following strict security procedures, Beth said she never feels threatened at work. But it always feels good to get home.

Joining her parents when she is home from Mississippi State University is Spencer, 22, who will graduate in May and enter the University of Mississippi pharmacy school in the fall.

Rounding out the household are a cat named Psycho and a goldendoodle named Bay, the four-legged members of the family who cause and relieve stress for the two-legged ones in varying measures.

Beth and Frank, married in 1984, had built a house on East Barton in Greenwood, and the family moved in in 1992. But the urge to live in the country began to nag at them, and in December 2000, they made their move.

Just off U.S. 82 East, the Lefloresí home was designed for the couple by Fred Carl, an architect himself. Itís situated on land inherited by the Leflore family from their ancestor, Choctaw chief Greenwood Leflore. The piece of land was originally part of the property known

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From left are Beth, Frank and Spencer Leflore.

The Lefloresí three-story house nestles into a hill that marks the eastern edge of the Deltaís flat land.

as Malmaison.

The design of the three-story house, Frank said, was heavily influenced by the work of renowned Louisiana architect A. Hays Town, with its high ceilings, plantation shutters, three stories and breezy balconies. The house nestles its backside into the first of the hills that abruptly mark the eastern edge of the Deltaís flat land.

The approach is slow and meandering: off the highway, onto a paved road that turns into a curving gravel road leading to the long drive that ends at the wide brick front porch. Just inside the front door are two small rooms, one on each side, and a half-bath. The room on the left is used as a gym; the one on the right is set up as an office for Frank and a place to display hunting ìtrophiesî on the walls.

Between the two rooms is the final par-

tition separating the rest of the world from the sanctuary of home ó the stairway leading up to the main floor, where the living truly begins.

Emerging into the great room from the top of the stairs is like taking a deep breath. The stairs open into a highceilinged space that has been segmented clearly by function ó kitchen, den, dining area, wet bar ó but no walls impede the view.

Straight ahead, across the light hardwood floor from the stairs are French doors that open onto the back deck, and just beyond the railing is the hill. ìIt took a lot of work to get the water diverted just right, coming down that hill,î Frank said.

Inside, the walls of the great room are a soft shade of cafÈ au lait, accented with creamy white trim and plantation shutters

on the windows. Kitchen cabinets are finished in a pickled version of the brown, slightly lighter, and the granite countertop gleams with the same warm glow.

Wooden wine boxes from Giardinaís sit in casual arrangements on top of the cabinets.

The Lefloresí close friend, Tish Goodman of Bowie Realty in Greenwood, helped with the dÈcor, Beth said. ìShe picked out all the colors.î The living areaís overstuffed sofas and chairs invite family and guests to relax and enjoy each other. The furniture is a happy mix of old and new. Cherished family pieces include some found in Bethís grandparentsí old barn, particularly a large armoire in the den and Spencerís bed upstairs. Every table and bookshelf hold groupings of framed pictures of family and friends and pets on happy occasions. ì We entertain family a lot,î Beth said, ìespecially during (college) football season and holidays.î The space, she said, is perfect for those times.

Frank does all the cooking. ìHe enjoys it,î Beth said. ìCooking is stress relief for him.î And the space allows him to visit as he works.

Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 29

Frank Leflore designed this kitchen for maximum efficiency, with Viking appliances and his beloved 350-pound wooden chopping block.

The kitchen is carved out of a corner of the great room space and is surprisingly compact. The design is intentionally efficient for the chef, and the appliances are all Viking. An essential element of the kitchen for Frank is the stocky 350pound wooden chopping block brought from the East Barton house.

Frank tries out dishes for his restaurants in this kitchen.

“I don’t usually follow recipes, except for baking, which involves too much science to play around with,” Frank said.

When he is working on a potential menu item, he does play around with ingredients until he gets the dish just right, often seeking family input and opinions.

Then, when he hands the dish over to the restaurant kitchen, the ingredients and instructions are clear and specific so they

can be duplicated for consistency.

Beth acknowledged this is her dream house. And the most important part of the design for her was the master bath — a retreat within a retreat within a retreat.

The full and half-baths in the house provide breaks from the warm browns of most of the rest of the house.

“These walls are painted a deep eggplant shade with a glaze,” Beth said, referring to the walls of the master bath.

“They’re the same shade that was in the dining room of Fred and Margaret’s house before they remodeled, and I just loved it. So I repeated the color here.”

The room is kept from feeling too dark by the bright white contrasting trim, the light marble tiling, the plantation-shuttered window and the lighting. An oversized ottoman in the middle of the room

The Leflores’ goldendoodle, Bay, stations herself on the master bath’s ottoman while Frank and Beth get ready in the morning.

30 / Leflore Illustrated Spring 2013

In the great room, comfortable furniture invites relaxation, and family photos on every horizontal surface indicate the Leflores’ top priority.

is Bay’s favorite spot when Frank and Beth are getting ready most mornings.

Through the French doors off the master bedroom is the balcony, running the width of the house, facing west and overlooking farmland.

“We get some pretty spectacular sunsets here,” Frank said. “We’re up a little higher than Greenwood, and it makes a difference.”

Upstairs are a small guest room in neutral tones and soft textures and Spencer’s room, whose walls — her choice — are deep crimson with a high-gloss glaze.

White trim and colorful art keep things bright. These bedrooms share a large bath.

For this busy family, their house on the hill offers both an escape from their often-hectic work lives and a place to recharge their energy levels. LI

Spencer’s spacious suite consumes most of the third floor. Her bed is an antique family piece Beth found in her grandparents’ barn and had refinished.

Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 31

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Gail Griggs

Gail Griggs is retiring after 20 years as band director at her alma mater, Greenwood High School.

F

Leaving home

or more than six years, rumors circulated through Greenwood High School that longtime Band Director Gail Griggs was retiring.

At the start of each school year, the rumors would take off, and Griggs goodnaturedly ignored them.

“They want me to go home. You think they’re tired of me?” Griggs, 50, asks jokingly.

This year, however, Griggs is planning to make her retirement official after 20 years as the band director. She says she didn’t enter into the decision lightly, but she’ll miss the job.

“I feel like I’ve made a difference. I learned just as much from my colleagues and students as I hope they have learned from me,” she said.

Griggs, 50, is a product of Greenwood High School who rose through the district’s band ranks as a musician.

“Had I not gotten the background that I got here, when I went to college, I would have not been able to do the dancing band that we did at Jackson State,” she said.

It all gets down to the basics, Griggs said: “If you’re not prepared musically, and you cannot perform on the instrument, there’s no way you can do what they do. You have to know what you do.”

The band program at Greenwood High School is a close-knit family affair, Griggs said.

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“I know kids perform for you if they like you,” she said. “I’ve taught for so long that I’m now teaching my former students’ children. ... They know you have their kid’s best interest at heart.”

Still, that intergenerational connection does gives Griggs pause.

“I don’t have any grandkids in here yet,” she said. “I don’t want to be around for that third generation.”

ment, she had proven her mettle with the band members and earned their respect. ***

*** For Griggs, Greenwood High School will always be home.

She started in sixth-grade band under Nathan Jackson, who was assistant band director at the high school. When she got to high school, she came under the direction of Donald Anthony.

“I had a desire to learn different instruments. So, they asked me to try the oboe,” she said.

By the time she was finished, she had mastered the flute, oboe, English horn, piccolo and xylophone.

“I thought that was the coolest thing — to be a 10th-grader and know how to play five instruments,” she said.

Griggs doesn’t think twice about naming her favorite one — the oboe.

“The oboe is a challenging instrument,” she said. “You don’t just pick up an oboe and play it. It takes a special person to play it. It takes special people to listen to it and appreciate it.”

Griggs said the instrument was tough to master.

“I remember when I started learning it.

My folks would not let me play it in the house because it sounded like a duck. ...

The neighbor’s dogs would howl. It was awful until I learned how to play it,” she recalled.

Griggs developed an interest in music theory in school. “I sang in the church choir; I was surrounded by it,” she said.

“That was the only thing that really took my interest.”

She said when she attended state band camp, representing Greenwood High, it all came together.

“I was really passionate about it. I guess I found solitude in music. It could take me places in my mind — that nobody else could be there. It was everything to me,” she said.

In her senior year, Griggs was offered scholarships at Mississippi Valley State University and Jackson State University.

She decided to go to Jackson State, where she majored in instrumental music.

“(Music) was the only thing that really took my interest.”

Gail Griggs While she was at JSU, one of Griggs’ instructors recognized she had the makings of a band director.

“He didn’t think I would ever have a problem with students because he said I was the meanest, smallest little lady he had ever run up on,” Griggs said.

While a student teacher there, she served under Jennifer Lloyd Seaton, band director of Hardy Junior High School in Jackson.

“She was awesome. I thought, ‘Wow, this is awesome,’” she said. “She was way bigger than me. That gave me the confidence that I could do it.”

Upon graduation, Griggs went to work at East School with students ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade, and she was passionate about it.

“I loved those little kids because they would come in all bright-eyed and bushytailed in the morning,” she said. “They really wanted to learn.”

It was the eighth-graders, and their natural rebelliousness, that led her to want to work with more-mature students. She went to Greenwood High School as an assistant to the band director, Mike Garnand.

She served in that position for two years, and by the time he announced his retire-

Being a member of the Greenwood High School band isn’t fun and games. In July, when most high-schoolers are enjoying summer break, the band comes in.

“There’s a lot of repetition and a lot of memorization required for them to be able to do what people see them do in five or 10 minutes at halftime,” she said.

Long hours are a requirement.

“Our schedule is so rigorous, if we don’t get done in the summer what we need to do, there is no way we could just come like everybody else does in August without any prior training,” Griggs said.

She said the nurturing of the band’s members begins early. A majority of them start in sixth grade. In the subsequent grades, they build relationships and learn their instruments, Griggs said.

Olander Emmons, a former student, serves as assistant band director. He also directs the Greenwood Middle School Band.

Parents also get involved along the way, joining the Band Boosters and supporting the band throughout the performance season, which runs from August through the Roy Martin Delta Band Festival and Christmas Parade.

“I tell the parents, ‘You drop them off to me in July, and I’ll be a full-time baby sitter until after the Christmas parade in December. Then you get them back,’” she said.

Griggs said the rigors of the job are worth it.

“We do the same thing for 10 months.

That’s what gives me joy — to know that I played a part in that,” she said.

Now, retirement means taking a slower tempo and spending more time with family. She and her husband, Larry, have a daughter, Lauren.

“I have siblings who live out of state,” she said. “As long as I’ve been in this position, they all have sacrificed, doing things around my schedule.”

Lauren, who now works for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. out of state, started in the band in the sixth grade, so she’s experienced her mother in two very different roles.

“I couldn’t treat her any differently. I didn’t want to show favoritism. I told her, ‘When we’re at school, I’m your teacher, but when we get in that truck, I’m your mother,’” Griggs said. LI Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 35

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Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 37

Eddie Moore

Still building

T

o walk into the workshop of Eddie Moore of Carrollton is to inhale the wonderful woodsy scent of cedar.

The locally grown cedar is in process of becoming homes for bluebirds — homes that he sells. Moore leaves most of the houses with the wood in its natural state, but some he decorates by painting a bird on the front of the house after burning the bird’s outline into the wood. Sometimes he planes the wood, and other times he leaves it alone.

The Internet provides plenty of pictures to analyze, he says. He loves hearing from those who have purchased his houses that the birds are attracted to them.

“The last person who bought one told me there were birds within three hours of hanging it up,” he said.

Living all of his life in Carrollton, Moore has always enjoyed nature and watching birds. He made his first birdhouse at age 8.

He has also been long interested in working with wood.

Until suffering a disabling stroke in 2002, he made his living doing home construction. He specialized in cabinets and trim work.

After a period of recovery from the stroke, Moore began to think of something he

could do with his skill and decided on birdhouses.

He learned carpentry work by watching his grandfather, Grady Campbell, work with wood from an early age.

“We spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house,” he said. “I watched him make all kinds of things — barns, homes. I inherited some of my carpentry talents from him.”

Early on, Moore went to the University of Mississippi with hopes of becoming a pharmacist. When that didn’t work out, he turned to something he was good at — construction.

Still, he doesn’t regret going to college.

“The knowledge I’ve gotten through my schooling has helped me all my life,” he said.

Moore’s left arm is paralyzed. “I can’t move it. I can only use it to help hold something still.” But fortunately, he was right-handed, and he has full use of that arm and hand.

People in the area have enjoyed the fruits of his artistry. Moore has brought his birdhouses to various festivals in Carrollton, as well as events

Eddie Moore learned carpentry from watching his grandfather and made his first birdhouse when he was 8.

to promote the community’s library.

“People have heard about my birdhouses mostly by word of mouth,” he said.

He fashions gourds that attract martins, which come at the end of February and stay until October. He also has a hummingbird feeder, and he makes open feeders for other types of birds.

Moore, 57, says his motivation and inspiration have come from his mother, Mary, who stays very active and loves the outdoors, especially gardening.

“I’m like my mom. I’ve got to stay busy,” he said. “I’ve

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got lots of time on my hands.”

Moore enjoys his hobby, which gives him exercise, as well as a little extra money.

He also likes to fish, but these days he resorts to fishing with a pole, since he can’t use a rod and reel.

For many area folks, Moore’s birdhouses are a source of joy, allowing them to watch birds come and go and doing what nature often does — soothing one’s soul.

He hopes to continue doing it, although it sometimes isn’t easy.

“It seems it gets a little harder every year, but I’m not giving up,” he said. LI

Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 39

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Riley Cole

BRIDGE MASTER

R

iley Cole struck

gold.

The 84-year-old earned an achievement that no other Greenwood resident has ever acquired — Gold Life Master.

In the hierarchy of duplicate bridge, this makes Cole one of the elite players.

She has been playing bridge since she was a teenager, and she began playing duplicate bridge later, after she married.

Duplicate bridge is the most common type of contract bridge and is governed by the American Contract Bridge League. The league has nearly 160,000 players in the country.

Cole took a 17-year hiatus from playing duplicate bridge after she began teaching.

Once she resumed playing, she began steadily winning points from weekly bridge games and tournaments. She now holds more than 2,500 points from her 26 years of playing.

Although Cole’s steadfast concentration and sharp mind — qualities every successful bridge player must possess — contributed to her accomplishment, she did not get there alone. Every duplicate bridge player needs a partner.

Evelyn Lott and Liz

Mounger have traveled with Cole on her journey to gold status.

For 15 years, Lott and Cole played together in Greenwood and traveled throughout the Southeast to national and regional tournaments, acquiring a slew of points along the way.

“We went everywhere you can drive in one day,” Cole said.

Lott and Cole reminisced about their days of traveling to such cities as Atlanta, New Orleans and Memphis for duplicate bridge tournaments.

They followed a routine that made each trip a fun-filled day.

“We would take our sandwiches for lunch, and we would eat out at night,” Lott said. “And Riley had a little coffee pot she would take.

That was before rooms had coffee.”

“We always knew what to pack. That was routine, too,” Cole added. “Sometimes, we would see the same people when we went to tournaments.”

The two ladies talked about going to a tournament that movie star and known avid bridge player Omar Sharif attended. They even got a chance to play against professional bridge players at some of the tournaments.

“Back then, there weren’t stratified events,” Cole said.

“You had to play against the top players.”

The Greenwood Duplicate Bridge Club presented Riley Cole with her Gold Life Master trophy and a tiara at a celebration on Feb. 18.

The tournaments the twosome attended helped Cole claim her title of Gold Life Master. She had to acquire 2,500 bridge points. It is mandatory for some of those points to be earned at tournaments.

The two enjoyed friendship as well as winning points.

“It was a good stretch in my life,” Lott said. “It’s a partnership. There are different bidding systems, and you have to be on the same page as your partner. We had a very successful and congenial partnership. We got along, and we consistently won points at almost every event.”

For the past three years, Cole has been playing bridge with Mounger. Before her partnership with Cole, Mounger was new to the

STORY BY RUTHIE ROBISON PHOTO BY JOHNNY JENNINGS 42 / Leflore Illustrated Spring 2013

game, having recently received bridge lessons. She was playing bridge with other beginners until she received a phone call one day to become Cole’s partner at the Greenwood Bridge Club. This was Mounger’s first taste of duplicate bridge.

“I was so nervous, my hands were shaking,” Mounger said about her first bridge game with Cole. “It’s wonderful having Riley as my partner. I feel it has helped my game come a long way in a shorter period of time.”

Mounger and Cole have traveled to tournaments, too, picking up the final points Cole needed to attain her title.

Mounger said she gained an expansive amount of knowledge from traveling with Cole to these events.

“There is something about bridge — sometimes you click and everything goes well, and then sometimes you play and nothing works,” she said. “It’s all about strategy. You just never know when those types of things will happen. It’s very challenging and very interesting.”

Mounger, who is close to stacking up 300 points and earning the title of Life Master, said she was impressed by Cole’s achievement.

“I’ve been playing for several years, and points come in very small fractions in Greenwood,” Mounger said. “You can win and not even get a whole point. The idea of getting this significant a number is amazing, and I’m just sort of in awe of her. This is really quite an accomplishment.”

The Greenwood Duplicate Bridge Club meets every Monday at 6 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity. Bill Bridwell is the director, and his wife, Joan, is the assistant director. The club has existed for 70 years.

“I think it is fantastic about Riley’s achievement. It is a lifelong thing and very few people in America attain that title,” Bill Bridwell said. “In my opinion, she is the best bridge player that Greenwood has ever had.”

“She is very dedicated and very deserving of it,” Joan Bridwell added.

Only five players in Greenwood have ever reached the Life Master title in duplicate bridge, which is three titles and 2,200 points below the Gold Life Master title. To become a Life Master, points earned at tournaments are also required.

Cole is one. Her former partner Lott is another. Dr. Mike Carter and the Bridwells have also reached Life Master.

Bridge takes skill and cannot be taught in a short time. Learning the game is a process, and beginners usually take classes to start. However, to Cole it is a worthwhile process.

“I’d like to encourage more young people to take up the game — take lessons and practice,” Cole said. “Not only is it something you can do for the rest of your life; it stimulates your mind, and every game is different. There is always something to learn. I learn something every time I play.”

The club held a party for Cole on Feb. 18 to celebrate her recent accomplishment. All of the players were excited to be a part of the celebration.

When asked what she liked most about playing bridge, Cole quickly replied, “The companionship and the mental stimulation.” LI Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 43

Greenwood Little Theatre dedicated a newly designed lobby to the late Celia Emmerich on Jan. 31. (Photos by Linda Perkins) St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School held its annual Mardi Gras Ball Feb. 2 at the Leflore County Civic Center. (Photos by Andy Lo)

Ginny Emmerich and Ruth Emmerich

Eddie Amelung, Watson Lamb and Katie Lamb

GLT dedication/ St. Francis Mardi Gras

Rose Bowman, John Emmerich and Dottie Cole

Patty Brock, Donnie Brock and Carolyn Kimbrough

Wyatt Emmerich

Charles Bowman and Ray Stewart

Steve Denham and Gale Clayton

Jenny Aycock and Nelson Graham

Beau and Mauri Logan

Patrick Wynott and Ellen B. Jones

Michelle Keys, Kevin Holmes, Adrione Roach and Willie Carey

Michelle Koob and Austin Schiff

44 / Leflore Illustrated Spring 2013

The 56th annual Junior Auxiliary Charity Cotton Ball was held Feb. 23 at the Leflore County Civic Center. (Photos by Andy Lo)

Cotton Ball

King James Cunningham “Buddy” Morgan III and Queen Josephine Katherine Howard

Charles Bush and Pam Tribble

U.S singer Kelly Nagy and Martha Clark Robertson

Mary Allyn Eastland and Sumner Tackett

Jamie and Trey James

Delina and Lewis Jones

Aubrey Lucas

Carter McNeer, Mary Dudley Pillow and Anna Robertson

Anna Morgan and Austin Howell

Andrew O’Neil, Kaity Dorsett and Corte Minto

Heather Wilkey and Trisha Poe

Melissa Britt, Mariclaire Fancher and Mauri Smith Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 45

Pillow Academy’s Booster Club held its fourth annual Ag Night Auction fundraiser on Feb. 21 at Thompson Machinery.

(Photos by Andy Lo)

Pillow Ag Auction

Adron and Betsy Belk

Billy Ray Fann and Floyd Melton III

Mignon Hodges and Paige Dunn

Dr. Andy Johnson

Will Jefcoat

Merritt and Hank Reichle

Daniel and Lauren Smith

David E. Hicks

Melinda Evans and Rosanne Hodges

Dale Smith, John Thompson and Jim Simmons 46 / Leflore Illustrated Spring 2013

Steve Harris, Taylor Wood and Michael Joe Cannon

The second annual Viking Marathon & 5K was held March 30 and attracted 605 participants. (Photos by Andy Lo and Bob Darden)

Viking Half Marathon & 5K

Amber Moore and Anne Marie Kornelis

Leslie Frese and Lacy Barger

Porter Spell

Hannah McCardle and Mike McCardle

Bella Durham

DeMarcus Thomas, Stacy Jones and Chris Lanclos

Takeesha Morrison, Heather McTeer Toney and Eriah Toney

Vanessa Addison and Wendy Justice

Beth Stevens and Jamie Wilbanks

Karlye Burden and Mary Hayden Rodgers

Dennis Hodge and Maddie Franks

Frank Buscher and Kendra Jones Spring 2013 Leflore Illustrated / 47

The Back Page

by Emily Roush Elliott

PHOTOS BY JOHNNY JENNINGS AND COURTESY OF EMILY ROUSH ELLIOTT

Doing well, doing good T

he saying “doing well by doing good” has implications of a surprise ending.

“Doing good,” historically, has not been associated with financial, political or career success. Jobs related to humanitarian work have been viewed as humble opportunities, pursued by the few and the radical.

Recent decades have begun to see a shift in this attitude, and at 28 with a background in design, I am part of a field of emerging young professionals who have benefited from this restructured thinking. In many fields, students and professionals are seeking avenues to work with communities in ways that have measurable positive impacts on the public.

This focus on “doing good” is slowly moving into the mainstream, and previously obscure career paths are more clearly paved with each passing year. education, I knew little to nothing about The job title that best describes the how to put a wall, a floor or even a carport work I have been practicing for the past together. How could I design buildings if five years is not “architect,” but “social I didn’t know what they were made of? impact designer.” What does it mean to In the disastrous wake of Hurricane be a social impact designer? For me it Katrina, I saw an opportunity for an inexmeans working in a way that respects oth- perienced, relatively short female to work ers — providing the skills of critical problem-solving with which designers are equipped, for the broad challenges that face society today.

Further, social impact design functions on the basis that all individuals and communities are equally important. It was in Biloxi that I first understood architecture could be an avenue to bringing about positive change.

I was frustrated when I began my first job in an architectural firm to find that Emily Roush Elliott works on a home in Biloxi in 2008. despite four years of 48 / Leflore Illustrated Spring 2013

in construction. I began building homes in Biloxi and began my first (but not my last!) Mississippi adventure.

One family we worked with repaired large nets for shrimp-fishing companies.

We designed their elevated home so the nets could be hung underneath the house, allowing quicker repairs and a dry place to work even on rainy days. Another woman had survived Katrina by climbing onto the high shelves in a closet in her historic home. We replicated these shelves for her, bringing her peace of mind.

These experiences and many others opened my eyes to understanding that my time on the coast wasn’t an interim before finding a “real job.” Practicing architecture in a way that serves others could be the focus of my career.

Since my time in Biloxi, I have traveled and worked on community-scale projects, including a health center, an entrepreneurial center and an elementary school. Now, as an Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow, I am excited to be back in Mississippi, where the social impact design journey began for me.

During my fellowship, I will be working on both housing and community spaces in the Baptist Town neighborhood. Beyond these tangible outcomes, I hope to share my experience with young people that “doing well” and “doing good” are not mutually exclusive.

Emily Roush Elliott is an Enterprise Rose architectural fellow. She is manager of the Baptist Town Project for the Greenwood-Leflore-Carroll Economic Development Foundation and the Carl Small Town Center of the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University.

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