Merged feb2014

FEBRUARY 2014

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Come check out these private community lake lots. Features include granite counter tops in kitchen and bath, stainless steel appliances, hand scraped floors, fireplace, crown molding, walk-in closets, and two car garages. Three lots to choose from with multiple floor plans for you to customize. Experience the beauty and serenity of Tuscan Hills, just 5 minutes from downtown Oxford!

Steeplechase is back! $349,000 - $1.5million++ All lots at Least 1.5 acres. Come pick your lot & floor plan today or build a custom home. Strict architecture covenants and community lake.

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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Brighton Village

3BR/3.5BA-1725 S.F. and 2BR/2.5BA-1325 S.F. Plans Starting in the $150’s.

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4BR/3.5BA PLANS ON THE GOLF COURSE STARTING IN THE $350’S. SOME OF THE AMENITIES INCLUDE HUGE KITCHENS/WET BAR/ INDOOR OUTDOOR FIREPLACE WITH A COVERED PATIO/ DECORATIVE BOX BEAMS/BRICK ACCENT WALL/PINE CEILING IN THE KITCHEN/HUGE MASTER BATH

The Gables

4BR/3.5BA 2400 S.F. PLANS STARTING IN THE LOW $200’S. CITY SCHOOLS/PAINTED BRICK/STONE/ 10FT CEILINGS& 8FT DOORS/GRANITE COUNTER TOPS/ STAINLESS APPLIANCES/WOOD FLOORS/COVERED PATIOS

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LAKE FRONT HOMES STARTING IN THE LOW $200’S. BREATHTAKING VIEWS! CUSTOMIZE YOUR PLAN! February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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IN THIS ISSUE FEBRUARY 2014

FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURES 46 Tuned In at Tweed Andrew Ratcliffe’s expanding recording studio helps the local music scene blossom.

Warm up with

NEW LOCAL LIT

COVER PHOTOGRAPHED

BY JOE WORTHEM

54 Hitting a High Note The Lafayette High School choir travels to New York to perform at Carnegie Hall.

68 Portrait of a Prodigy Artist Jason Bouldin tells the stories of people and places through his portraits.

76 Call of the Wild The Mississippi-based Catch-A-Dream Foundation takes children with lifethreatening illnesses on outdoor adventures.

68 EVENTS

24 Room for Creativity

Four local authors who release new books this year share what makes their writing spaces special.

The rooms range from a home office lined with books to a spot on the Square complete with a bar to a front porch outfitted with comfortable camping chairs.

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

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Rebel Resale Holiday Happenings Susie Marshall Celebration Leisure Lifestyles Party Square Toast for Scholarships Lafayette’s Got Talent!

Eggs and Issues Max Hipp Retirement Party

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42 DEPARTMENTS 10 13 14 40 58 85 88

Letter From the Publisher Contributors What’s Happening In Season: Venison Kids Corner Out and About I Am Oxford: James Buchanan February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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Surprise your special one this Valentine’s Day with treats from The Caramel Factory!

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

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13 CR (Levee Road)

3Bed/3Bath You will not get closer to the Ole Miss campus in such a well planned condominium!

Cross Creek

708 Ridgewood Manor

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Units are selling as quickly as they are built.

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Perfection! This home looks like it has never been lived in! Very well priced in Wellsgate!

2202 Longspur Pointe

4Bed/3.5Bath Grandiose southern estate home located in Wellsgate subdivision. This home has it all!

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5Bed/3Bath Space galore! This home was built by the builder for his family to reside-well done!

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jamey@kessingerrealestate.com February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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LETTER FROM

the publisher

W

hen I was in third grade, my mom was in a community production of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. I often accompanied her to rehearsal. That was the first time I remember being introduced to art in words that came alive on stage. Rhythm, timbre, rhyme – it was all there, even in that amateur production.

Years later, I saw a professional production of The Mousetrap at St. Martin’s Theater in London, and I was reminded that art is more than paint, pens and paper.

This month, you can read about four area writers whose art will be published in the form of books. But before you read their new releases, due out this year, meet authors Ace Atkins, Lisa Howorth, Alexe van Beuren and Dixie Grimes, and get to know a bit more about where they write and what inspires them.

Then, there is artist Jason Bouldin, whose art manifests itself in the form of paint. His craft is creative, complex and captivating. Bouldin not only has a love for his work but also had an excellent mentor, teacher and friend – his father. Learn what inspires Bouldin’s work as well as how he has evolved as a painter and what he’s planning to do next.

Finally, a group of students from Lafayette High School will be hitting some high notes in Carnegie Hall on March 9. From the practice hall to the symphony hall, they experience yet another form of art. I feel sure these students will be inspired while sharing their talents in Carnegie Hall.

This year, we’re offering more ways for you to enjoy Invitation Oxford throughout the month.

Along the lines of creativity, visit our new blog, You’re Invited, at invitationoxford.com for craft ideas, delicious recipes and more, and check our Facebook page for more event photos.

We hope you will enjoy this creative issue of Invitation Oxford.

RACHEL M. WEST, PUBLISHER

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

PUBLISHER Rachel Malone West EDITOR Phil West DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Cindy Semmes MANAGING EDITOR Sonia Thompson ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR Emily Welly EDITORIAL DESIGN Emily R. Suber, Hallie M. Thomas STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Joe Worthem ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS Alise M. Emerson, Sheena Hagemann, Leigh Lowery, Lynn McElreath, Mary Moreton, Moni Simpson AD DESIGN Rebecca Bailey, Zach Fields, Paul Gandy CONTRIBUTORS Leslie Brooks, Amanda Brown, Meaghin Burke, Melanie Crownover, Caroline Beffa Franks, Kimme Hargrove, Mabus Photography, Megan Marascalco, Annie Rhoades, Tom Speed OFFICE MANAGER Hollie Hilliard COPY EDITORS Linda Jansen, Kate Johnson DISTRIBUTION Donald Courtney, Brian Hilliard ADVERTISING INFORMATION (662) 701-8070 ads@invitationoxford.com MAIN OFFICE (662) 234-4008 To subscribe to one year (10 issues) of Invitation Oxford, send payment of $50 to: P.O. Box 776, Oxford, MS 38655 or visit invitationoxford.com to pay online.

To request a photographer at your event, to obtain a copy of an event photo or to purchase an announcement, email Emily at emilysuber.invitationoxford@gmail.com.

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS MAGAZINE

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

INVITATION FEBRUARY Oxford

Shop • Dine • Visit New Albany, Mississippi

CONTRIBUTORS

Amanda Brown Amanda Brown is a Mississippi native who is happy to be home in Oxford after living out of state for 15 years. She is a blogger and writer at amandajanebrown.com where she shares affordable ways to create memories using simple seasonal décor, everyday recipes and family traditions. Amanda also writes about living intentionally in the little – and big – stuff and tells real-life stories from a far-from-perfect perspective.

Kimme Hargrove

Looking for a unique and spacious location for that special event...

Come and celebrate with us!

662-539-1378 1114 West Bankhead St. New Albany, MS

Kimme Hargrove is a University of Mississippi alumna who lives, works and cooks in Greenwood, Miss. She has two children under the age of 2, and loves to dream up delicious but easy recipes for her family. She shares her venison roast recipe in this month’s In Season column, and she will be writing about more seasonal ideas and dishes each month blog on our new blog, You’re Invited, at invitationoxford.com.

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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what’s happening February 2014

A sampling of important, fun and interesting events in our area. For more events, visit facebook.com/invitationoxford.

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# February 6–9, 2014 p re se n te d by AdditionA l support provided by

ATHLETICS

AdditionA l support provided by

ART, MUSIC, FILM, BOOKS AND FUNDRAISERS

February 5

January 30-February 2

February 6-9

National Signing Day Party

Oxford Fiber Arts Festival

Oxford Film Festival

The University of Mississippi Quarterback Club hosts the annual National Signing Day party.

7 a.m.-3 p.m., Oxford Conference Center

The fourth-annual fiber arts festival offers workshops for knitters from beginner to advanced.

The Powerhouse knit1oxford.com

The festival includes more than 80 films in a range of categories, including animation, documentary and narrative. Community film Killer Kudzu premieres Feb. 6 after Thacker Mountain Radio and will play several other times throughout the festival. oxfordfilmfest.com

February 22 Run for Hope Half Marathon and 5K

February 3

The event benefits the diabetes camping programs at Camp Hopewell for children with diabetes. The course goes through the Square, the university campus, biking and walking paths and city parks.

8:30 a.m., Oxford Conference Center oxfordrunforhope.racesonline.com

Elizabeth Spencer signs Starting Over Spencer, known as one of the great literary voices of the American South, reads from and signs her new book of short stories.

5 p.m., Off Square Books squarebooks.com

February 22

February 6

Breakfast With Bobby Bowden and Hugh Freeze All-time winningest football coach Bobby Bowden speaks at a breakfast sponsored by and benefiting the University of Mississippi chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

8:30-10:15 a.m., the Manning Center olemissfca.org

Thacker Mountain Radio A weekly radio show featuring readings and music.

Musical guests include Leo “Bud” Welch and Jimbo Mathus. The Oxford Film Festival community film will premiere after the show.

6 p.m., the Lyric thackermountain.com

February 7 Your Cell Phone and You Seminar The Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce and the Retiree Attraction Program host a seminar for seniors with questions about using cell phones.

10 a.m., 299 Jackson Ave. West 662-234-4651 or rosie@oxfordms.com for reservations.

February 8 United States Navy Band The United States Navy Concert Band performs an array of marches and patriotic selections.

7 p.m., the Ford Center fordcenter.org

February 12 St. Jude Taste of Oxford The seventh-annual Taste of Oxford, benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Enjoy food from local restaurants, music, dancing and silent and live auctions.

Cocktail attire. Tickets $60.

7 p.m., the Library Sports Bar 901-373-5051 to purchase tickets

February 13 Empty Bowls Bowls of soup, bread and water will be served at this lunch fundraiser for The Pantry. Take home a collector’s bowl crafted and donated by the University of Mississippi Mud Daubers. Tickets $15.

11 a.m., Oxford-University Methodist Church

February 14 Early Registration for the Ole Miss “Expand Your Brand” Conference on March 27 Featuring ESPN Senior Vice President Rob King, the Ole Miss Journalism School presents a conference on branding and strategic planning on March 27. Registration by Feb. 14 is $100 and after Feb. 14 is $150.

March 27, Meek School of Journalism and New Media newmedia.meek.olemiss.edu

February 21 Robert Earl Keen Concert Keen performs with Andrea Davidson.

8 p.m., the Lyric, thelyricoxford.com

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photographed by Leslie Brooks

events Rebel Resale

View more event photos @ facebook.com/invitationoxford.

Rebel Resale was held Dec. 14 at the Manning Center. Rebel fans were able to purchase new and gently used University of Mississippi hats, warm-ups, shoes, footballs, jackets, jerseys, cleats and more to benefit Ole Miss Athletics teams.

Drew and Jason Knight

Coulter, Chloe, Andrea, Lance and Cooper Clement

Catherine Holman, Wes Roberts and Kayla Jones

Billy Rose, Drew Mason and Chance Harrison

John Reid, Drew and Hilary Daniel

Ashleigh and Justin Howell

Kelly and Sandi Ferguson

Drew and Nichole Williams

Bonnie’s Pageant & Formal Wear For the best service to be seen...

See us in 2014!

662.983.7700 310 East Calhoun St. Bruce, MS 38915 16

INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

Monday - Friday 10:00-6:00 Saturday 9:30-3:30

Tammy Nichols, Carter Crawley and Jerry Nichols

155 Keating Rd. Batesville, MS 38606 Phone: (662) 561-4017

Tri-Lakes Behavioral Health Center is a 57-bed acute, inpatient psychiatric facility that specializes in the stabilization of psychiatric emergencies for Adults (18-64) and Seniors (65 and up). Additionally, the center has emergency medical detoxification services for the patient in the early stages of chemical dependency treatment.

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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holiday happenings

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1. Anna Carson Parker and Hally Grace Hudson with Julie and Trace Stokes and Sara Mize at Theatre Oxford’s production of A Tuna Christmas, which ran Dec. 13-15 at the Powerhouse.

2. Marianna Ochs, Jack Mayfield, Carolyn Lott, Marilyn Taylor and Peggie Roder at the Cedar Oaks Christmas open house on Dec. 15. 3. Brittany Vaughn and Aubery Bugg at the Oxford-Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Christmas party on Dec. 10 at the Powerhouse. 4. Martha Thompson, David Guyton and Tina Chandler at the Chamber of Commerce Christmas party. 5. Katie Hybnerova, Katie Howie and Kristy Bridgers at the More Than a Meal Christmas party on Dec. 17 at the Stone Center. 6. Jacey McMillan and Jessica Jankowski with Heather and Serenity Pritchard and Zach Wallace at the Oxford Christmas Parade on Dec. 2. 7. Josh Saddler, Kymberlee Wells, Stantavias Ivy Jr. and Stantavias Ivy at the Oxford Christmas Parade. 8. D.J., Laura and Rilyn Varner at the Oxford Christmas Parade.

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9. Alissa Elliott, Santa Claus and Leatrice Baley at the Emeritus Senior Living Christmas Ball on Dec. 5. 10. Dr. Ellen Williams, Ethel Peters and Charlie Williams at the Emeritus Senior Living Christmas Ball. 11. Christina, Kate and Emma Huckaby with Sally Hudson at the Oxford Downtown Council Holiday Open House on Nov. 29. 12. Audrey, Preston, Angela and Mason Gallaher at the Oxford Downtown Council Holiday Open House. 13. Johnny and Jenn Still with Janet and Ted Jenning at the Senior Golf Association Third-Annual Christmas Party on Dec. 12. 14. Indro, Brahma and Bulbul Pramanik at the Santa’s Workshop Family Day at the University of Mississippi Museum on Dec. 7. 15. Ginger Brown, Joanne Bagley and Helen Phillips at the Delta Gamma Alumni Christmas Party, held Dec. 10 at the home of Marie Barksdale.16. Carol Strider, Marie Barksdale and Carolyn Pegram at the Delta Gamma Alumni Christmas Party. 17. Mark Yacovone and Ron Shapiro at the Thacker Mountain Radio Membership Christmas Party on Dec. 6 at Southside Gallery.

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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holiday happenings

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18. Joe York with Patty and Pat Tatum and Adrian Baron-Robbins at the Thacker Mountain Radio Membership Christmas Party. 19. Clara and James Spence at the Veterans Home Christmas party on Dec. 20. 20. Janice Sharp and Orvil Dickey at the Veterans Home Christmas party. 21. Cliff Smith, Mary Margaret Andrews and Sarah Smith at the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council Holiday Ornament Auction on Dec. 12 at the Powerhouse. 22. Andy Douglas with Troy and Rhonda Smillee and Caitlin and Steven Hopper at YAC Holiday Ornament Auction.

23. Susan McPhail, Melanie Addington and Daniel Perea at the YAC Ornament Auction. 24. Chrystal Kelley and Tiffany Smith with Jaime and Meredith Briggs and Sandra and Avalie Knispel-Heyworth at Cupcakes with Santa on Nov. 30 at the Oxford Church of Christ. 25. Allie and Clint Mitchell at Cupcakes with Santa.

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

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February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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COLOREXPERTS

1508 JACKSON AVE WEST OXFORD 662 234 2803

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

Van Buren Village (Downtown)

2021 UNIVERSITY AVENUE OXFORD, MS 38655 (662) 234-6680 • WWW.PJSCIGARS.COM

404 Augusta Place (Grand Oaks)

346 Winner’s Circle (Steeplechase)

152 Breckenridge

(Breckenridge Subdivision)

Glenda Keenan, GRI 662-832-0729 glenda@kessingerrealestate.com

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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Room for photographed by Joe Worthem

For these four Oxford authors who release new books this year, comfortable spaces filled with items ranging from an Auburn football helmet and a bottle of rye to a stack of yellow legal pads and cozy cat perch, help with the writing process.

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Lisa Howorth

I can’t say that this is where I wrote Flying Shoes, but it is where I finished it.

Luckily, friends offered places where I could work without being distracted by cat fights or dishes accumulating in the sink, and a residency at the MacDowell Colony helped me hunker down and really get the book going. I can write anywhere, and have written all over this house and yard, but have settled on this spot, which is actually where I first began trying to write the book years ago. (A sweet spot: There used to be a daybed where the late Ellen Douglas once slept a few nights.) John Davis of Water Valley made this lovely desk and bench, perfect because I’m hopelessly old-school and write on yellow legal pads, and I can spread out pages, notes, Scotch tape and scissors that, sadly, I use for initial “edits.” This room is lined with bookshelves, and that’s sometimes encouraging and sometimes intimidating (“does the world

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really need another novel?” I’m often thinking). There’s a basket for cats – otherwise they’d come around and lie on my stuff – and I can reach over and pet them, which is calming, like furry worry beads. There’s only one window in this room and I don’t face it or I might start fretting about the raking, pruning and stomping of vole and mole tunnels that I should be doing, or I might see deer eating the roses. The desk faces my art books, which can also be distracting (“why don’t I just stop writing for awhile and look at some cheerful Red Grooms paintings?”), although occasionally they’ve been inspirational in some way. Then there’s the hellhole across the room – the dark cubbyhole where the infernal computer lives and the scary editing and revising take place. The hellhole would make a more interesting photo, because I hate the computer and have plastered every inch around it with comforting junk to

beat back the anxiety I feel when I use it. There are dozens of scraps of paper with quotes I love (“I have walked through the valley and I am not afraid,” spoken by Barry Hannah and recorded on a cocktail napkin) and photos of family, friends, some of my heroes (Bill Murray, Pee-wee Herman, Iggy, Barack Obama, Roz Chast, certain writers) and people who’ve inspired me (the parents of Etan Patz).

Howorth’s first novel, Flying Shoes (Bloomsbury), is a work of fiction based on the unsolved murder of her stepbrother. The book, due out in June, is also about family, memory and life in an unusual small town in the 1990s.

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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Ace Atkins

Finding the right place to work is somewhat of a sacred thing for a writer. Since coming to Oxford a dozen years ago, I’ve written novels at my farm, over a grocery store in Water Valley, in a posh office in Taylor, and finally made it to the Square. While all those places worked for me at the time, I find being on the Square, around all the bustling energy of the place, to be the ideal fit. Not to mention the proximity to coffee shops and bars.

I learned to write in a busy newsroom and find too much quiet, too much isolation, to be a bad thing for me. I’m fortunate to share space in an office with several attorneys, and there’s no shortage of activity. And even as their clients come and go, my privacy is respected.

As for the office itself, I do have certain things I like to surround me. I have a collection of vintage movie posters that includes High Noon, Hud, Harper and The Phenix City Story.

I also collect books, of course, by my favorite authors that inspire my work. I have first editions from a lot of Southern authors, from Larry Brown to James Lee Burke. I also have a complete set of the works of legendary Florida crime master John D. MacDonald and my personal favorite, Elmore Leonard.

I like to keep several personal items there – my Auburn football helmet; an American flag flown in Afghanistan, given to me by a retired colonel; and framed pictures of the real people who’ve appeared in my books – from Machine Gun Kelly to Robert Johnson.

Besides a good solid desk and a good computer, a writer needs a bar. I have a small antique bar I purchased at a local shop where I keep liquor for good friends who often stop by at quitting time. Or when they feel like I might need a break. There’s always rye for Jack Pendarvis and now gin for visiting Grisham writer, Megan Abbott. I try to keep the bourbon capped during working hours through, not taking up Hemingway’s advice to write drunk and edit sober.

Although there’s always an exception to my own rules.

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Atkins is a New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels. He will release Robert B. Parker’s Cheap Shot (Putnam) in May and The Forsaken (Putnam) from his Quinn Colson series, in July.

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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Alexe van Beuren & Dixie Grimes Dixie and I didn’t plan to write a book.

There we were, minding our own business, trying to get an old-school grocery and café off the ground in Water Valley, Miss., and that didn’t involve writing anything more complicated than enticing Facebook posts. But then Penelope Green of The New York Times ate some of Dixie’s soup, and called out the B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery in a big way in an article. Three months later, we’d sold a cookbook proposal to [Clarkson Potter, an imprint at] Random House on the B.T.C.’s second anniversary.

Which meant two things: one, the store could afford to buy a secondhand cargo van to haul produce in, and two, Dixie and I had to write a book.

Having an uninterrupted conversation at the store never works. When the kitchen has

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come to a stop for the day, my children are generally with me, plus folks want to ask me about seeds they heard about from Dr. Oz, or the price of squash, or when Miz Kelly is bringing eggs in; or they want to nag Dixie about opening the café at night or when she’s going to make their favorite soup again.

So when we had to confer about the book, we fled the store and met on Dixie’s porch with beers in hand. I’d scribble down the stories she’d tell me about her grandmother Miss Vetra and the food that went along with the stories, quiz her about dishes from her fine-dining past that I’d never tasted. We sat in Dixie’s camp chairs and stared out into the Water Valley summer and talked about what we wanted our book to be like: not about us, not even about the store, but more about the people and the place that amazes and thrills us day in and day out.

As for the actual writing, Dixie tended to knock out her recipe typing on the weekends, and I fit my storytelling part into the shallow spare moments in my day: before dawn, Sunday afternoons, after the children’s bath times. But all the important ingredients of The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook were sifted through and diced fine on Dixie’s porch.

Van Beuren (above, right) owner of the B.T.C . grocery in Water Valley, and Grimes, who runs the B.T.C . kitchen, co-authored The B.T.C . Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from a Southern Revival (Clarkson Potter), which comes out in March.

READ UP More Mississippi authors with books coming out this year.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY DELORES ULMER

Specializing In

Hair & Nails

MARY MILLER

OUT NOW

Mary Miller’s debut novel, The Last Days of California (Liveright), was released last month. It follows the Metcalf family as they go road-tripping toward the Rapture in California.

Miller, a Jackson, Miss., native, will be the John and Renée Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi this fall.

n J o l a S a m Em

380-5056 2625 W Oxford Loop Suite C • Oxford, MS

MARCH Natchez, Miss., resident and University of Mississippi alum Greg Iles releases Natchez Burning (William Morrow) in March. The thriller is the first in a projected trilogy set in Natchez about a shocking murder from the 1960s.

COMING SOON

Jamie Kornegay owner of Turnrow

Books in Greenwood, Miss., is working on his first novel titled Soil (Simon & Schuster). The book tells the story of Jay Mize, a struggling farmer who moves his young family to an unfarmable river basin and is quickly undone by weather, pride and a mounting mania. The release date is still pending.

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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Open 7 Days a Week Sunday - Thursday, 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Friday & Saturday, 11:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.

662.227.1927 carry every size egg in stock, “egg”cessories, knowledgeable staff Hours:

Mon - Fri 8:30am to 5:30pm Sat 8:30am to 12:30pm

www.clearchoicems.com 2320 A Sunset Dr Grenada, MS 38901

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photographed by Joe Worthem

events Susie Marshall Birthday Celebration and Remembrance View more event photos @ facebook.com/invitationoxford.

Friends and family of Susie Marshall gathered Dec. 28 at the Burns-Belfry Museum and Multicultural Center to celebrate her life.

Marshall, who taught for 41 years, is remembered for her efforts to educate African-American students during the days of segregation.

She also served as superintendent. Marshall turned 100 on Christmas Eve and died on Christmas day.

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33

Sharron Coffie, Greg Rogers and Sheila Hill

Thomas Young and Debra Moore

Herb McDowell, Rachel Hickinbottom, Jackie McDowell and Almelia Frierson

(front) Trent Young, Grant Wallace and Thomas Young; (back) KiKi Wallace, Debra Moore, Tanya Bird and Jonalyn Moore

Allyson Fox Crump, Dr. Robert E. Fox and Marie Fox Burton

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Kay Fox and Sally Starks

INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

Ruth Adams Ball and Cynthia Parham

Erica D. Lee and Patricia Phelps

Chester Starks and Dr. Robert E. Fox

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events Leisure Lifestyles Party View more event photos @ facebook.com/invitationoxford.

Oxford Park Commission’s Leisure Lifestyles Program, which provides recreational outlets for citizens over 40, held its annual party, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Nov. 21 at the Lyric Theatre to usher in the holiday season.

Toni Coleman and Dr. Henry Clarke

Mae Song, Mineko Murakawa, Wei Bu and Norimi Nikuma

(front) Ruby Redmond and Alice Jones; (back) Cora Booker and Lizzie Brassell

Jennett and LaToya Parham

36

Susan Dempsey, Eddie Bonds and Jo Ann O’Quin

Andrew Brimm and Zac Dana

INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

(front) Billie Jean Webb and Sonya Rodgers; (back) Brenda Snider and Sandra Bruner

Nell Cox and Helen Phillips

Darlene Easson and Deb Helms

Laurie Robertson and Peggy Green

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

37

Bruss&Sprou s Handcrafted Children’s Accessories

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

CVM Salon is a Davines concept salon specializing in hair cuts, color and perfect tress extensions.

Mandy Miller, the technician and owner of CVM, has spent the last seven years in Orange County, California as a stylist. Mandy is excited to introduce Davines to Mississippi. Davines is a color and product line from Parma, Italy. CVM is the exclusive carrier of Davines in Mississippi.

1105 Van Buren Avenue • Oxford, MS 38655 • (714) 944-9119 February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

39

IN SEASON Venison recipes and photographs by Kimme Hargrove

K

imme Hargrove, a University of Mississippi alumna who lives in Greenwood, Miss., says she cooks for her family, for comfort and, well, to keep her sanity.

“I have two children under the age of 2,” Hargrove said. “Life is crazy sometimes, so my goal is to tweak recipes to make them simple but memorable.”

This time of year, thanks to her husband, an avid hunter, Hargrove has lots of venison in her freezer. One of her favorite venison recipes is this slow-cooker roast.

“It is easy to make, but tastes much fancier,” she said. “I think of it as a twist on a Crock-Pot comfort supper.”

She adds oven-roasted new potatoes for an easy and hearty companion to the final dish.

Venison Roast 1 to 3 pounds hind-quarter venison roast Flour to dredge meat Salt and pepper to taste 2 Tablespoons butter 1 onion, roughly chopped 8 ounces fresh mushrooms 1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix 2 beef bouillon cubes, crushed 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire 2 teaspoons garlic powder Fresh thyme Fresh chopped rosemary 2 Tablespoons fresh or minced garlic 4 Tablespoons red wine Salt and pepper roast liberally and dredge in flour. Melt butter in a medium skillet.

Brown meat on all sides. Place meat in slow cooker. Using the same skillet with juices left from browning meat, sauté onion and mushrooms. Pour 1 cup water into skillet to deglaze. Pour all skillet ingredients into slow cooker. Add in onion soup mix, beef bouillon cubes, Worcestershire, garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, garlic and red wine. Add just enough water to barely cover roast.

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

Let cook in slow cooker on high for 6 hours; then switch to low for at least 2 hours longer. Right before serving, place the meat on a platter and break it up with a fork. Ladle out all vegetables, place around and on the meat and pour the remaining juice over the meat.

Roasted New Potatoes 10-12 medium new potatoes 1 Tablespoon olive oil ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper 1 to 2 teaspoons garlic powder 2 Tablespoons butter Preheat oven to 375°F. Place potatoes in small baking dish. Coat potatoes in olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place pats of butter between potatoes.

Bake for 40-50 minutes. Potatoes are done when a fork can easily slide through and the skin is crisp.

Visit our new blog, You’re Invited, at

invitationoxford.com for more of Hargrove’s recipes and featured seasonal ingredients.

Coming soon:

Rhubarb

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

41

events Square Toast for Scholarships View more event photos @ facebook.com/invitationoxford.

Square Toast for Scholarships, a walking food and wine tasting event involving restaurants and businesses on the Square, was held Dec. 5. The event benefits the University of Mississippi School of Applied Sciences.

Ryan Dougherty and Sarah Gaines Gardner Michael and Lisa Massengill with Cheryl and Michael Joe Cannon and Whitney Smith

Holli Ratcliffe, Theresa Holley and Sarah Johnson

Harland and Maygan Jones

Haley Rikard, Morgan Walter and Leigh Beth Hudson

Michael Cummings and Elizabeth Downs

Renee Pounds and Mike Mathias

Felicia Chin, Sloan Gray and Shelby Bryant

Maggie Wilkins and McKenzie Cook

Amelia Windham and Chelsea Jones

Celebrating Life Sandra and her team are awesome! I had the pleasure of providing 2 of their residents who are veterans Dream Flights last week. She brought an entire bus load of residents out to the airport to enjoy the event. Family members, staff and the general public all came out to celebrate and honor these two Hero’s. It was obvious that the team at azalea gardens love and care for their residents deeply. The attention and care that I observed the team giving the residents was truly special. I get the opportunity to interact with lots of different communities and this was above and beyond! I want to thank the Oxford team for making a difference in the lives of seniors!!

(662) 234-9600

42

• 100 Azalea Drive, Oxford, MS 38655 •

INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

www.Emeritus.com

- Darryl Fisher, Founder of Ageless Aviation Dreams

photographed by Joe Worthem

David and Teresa Flautt with Rosie and Steven Vassallo

Luke Love and Abby Bakersmith

Sarah Haynes, Anna Kate Craig and Sarah Al-Sherri

Vonn Clay, Whitney Day and Laura Jansen

Harry and Sharron Alexander with Dave and Brandi Hephner LaBanc

Jennifer Langford, Lena Snow and Lacy Jones

Stephan Price and Carmen Clifford

Susan and Andrew Alderman

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The much-anticipated Home & Garden magazine, available May 1, is the only combined Invitation Oxford and Invitation Tupelo issue of the year.

To reserve your advertising space in this issue, contact Cindy at (662) 701-8070.

All advertising must be reserved by April 8.

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

45

TUNED IN AT TWEED Andrew Ratcliffe’s expanding studio, Tweed Recording, attracts national acts and helps the local music scene blossom.

by Tom Speed

46

INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

photographed by Joe Worthem

THE NIGHT BEFORE ANDREW RATCLIFFE LEFT HOME TO ATTEND COLLEGE, HIS FATHER WENT TO THEIR BASEMENT AND RETURNED WITH A BOX.

“Here,” his father said. “You need to take these with you.”

The box was full of records –­ classics by Miles Davis, Otis Redding and others.

“It was like getting the keys to the kingdom,” Ratcliffe said.

These days, Ratcliffe is crafting records of his own in his own kingdom. Tweed Recording, his studio near College Hill Road is now in its 15th year of operation, and he is planning a large expansion that will help attract national acts to record in Oxford.

He’s lost track of the number of records he’s produced there, but he estimates the count to be at least 300. It started out as a facility that mainly catered to local musicians, but recent sessions with nationally recognized acts like the Damnwells, Pokey LaFarge and American Aquarium have prompted Ratcliffe to think bigger. The expansion is coming in the form of a new house for his family, just down the road on six acres, so that their current home can be converted into lodging and a secondary studio for visiting musicians.

Tweed Recording today is a squat concrete building that sits behind that house. Ratcliffe designed and built it himself, perfecting the acoustics and adding an extensive collection of vintage instruments and highly specialized gear.

Recently, he obtained a vintage mixing console from England, as well as a set of historically significant microphones from Columbia studio in New York.

“They were used on everything [Bob]

Dylan did there,” Ratcliffe said. “They were used on Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. All the Simon & Garfunkel stuff. So they are some really cool pieces of history.”

His father not only provided him inspiration in the form of his record collection but also gave him sound advice on how to transform that inspiration into a career, making long-term viability and the current expansion an option.

“My pops has really helped me in the beginning as far as needing to have a business plan,” Ratcliffe said. “Twenty-five percent going back to the bank, 25 percent going towards gear, 25 percent is your living fund, then 25 percent back into a money market. I was fortunate over the years to have someone show me a business model.”

Inspiration and preparation paved the way for this continued success.

Ratcliffe began toying around with recording equipment in college, mostly to record his own band, Fappy Tweed. He used four-track recorders to create demos. They checked the hourly rates at recording studios like Sweet Tea in Oxford and Ardent in Memphis. Though they’d saved up their money for recording expenses, Ratcliffe decided he’d like to try it himself.

“We’d figured out four-tracks so we just said, ‘Let’s buy some ADAT machines, buy a console and a couple of pieces of outboard gear,’” Ratcliffe said.

They patched it all together in their rehearsal space and learned on the fly. Soon, friends starting coming by to use their makeshift studio, and when they realized they could start charging people to use it, Tweed Recording was born.

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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Over the last 15 years, Ratcliffe has amassed a wide array of vintage instruments for musicians to use at Tweed Recording.

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

Early on, Ratcliffe would take any business that would walk through the door.

“I was taking everything from crazy Elvis impersonations to karaoke stuff,” he said.

One of his most profitable niches was as the go-to guy for soundtrack recordings for Ole Miss sororities to use in their Derby Day competitions.

“I’d take their mix CD and run it back through a tube compression,” Ratcliffe said.

“When they played it on the field, it would hit the field and sound better than everyone else. Then word got out and everybody started coming around. So we were charging about $50 an hour to compile CDs.” By then, he was recording lots of local musicians too. Blue Mountain, Kudzu Kings, Charlie Mars, Circuit Riders and many others have recorded with Ratcliffe at Tweed.

A few years ago, Ratcliffe made a conscious effort to reach out to musicians who were passing through town on tour.

With the promise of a free place to crash in the Tweed Recording bunk room, Ratfcliffe attracted touring bands to his studio for postshow parties, where he would show off some of his recent recordings.

“Eight times out of 10, people would come back,” he said. “We’d sit up and have a couple of beers, listening to some stuff we did, and they’d say, ‘We really dig what you’ve got going on, and we want to do some recording with you.’”

That approach led to the recording sessions with American Aquarium, Truth & Salvage Company and the Damnwells, among others.

Business is booming to the extent that he’s booked months in advance, and now he gets to choose which artists he wants to work with instead of taking what comes through the door.

But now, he’s outgrown that bunk room.

“It can get kind of hectic when you’ve got a band that’s here for two or three weeks, and you throw all of them into a bunk room,” he said. “They’re all on top of each other. As a producer, you’re almost a psychiatrist. You’ve got to be a people person, to tone egos down or pump them up. It can turn into a three-ring circus real fast.”

To that circus, Ratcliffe is now adding another tent.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 50

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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Two key recent acquisitions in Ratcliffe’s recording arsenal are a vintage Trident analog mixing console he imported from England and a set of microphones from the Columbia recording studio in New York that were used for many classic recordings, including Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks, Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue and others from 1953 to 1983.

50

INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

Loving Those OXFORD SOUNDS

by Rebecca Lauck Cleary

While Tweed Recording is happy to be attracting national acts, Ratcliffe is still devoted to nurturing the unique sounds that are emerging from north Mississippi. That’s why his partnership with Oxford Sounds was the perfect match.

Oxford Sounds, a Mississippi Public Broadcasting show airing on Thursdays with replays on Sundays, highlights local musicians and those who come through town to perform. The show is a collaboration between the Meek School of Journalism and New Media and Marie Antoon, former executive director of MPB. For the show, Ratcliffe recently finished recording about half of the 20 episodes with bands in his studio. The acts ranged from the North Mississippi Allstars, Blue Mountain, Cedric Burnside and Jimbo Mathus to Rebecca West, Truth and Salvage Company and American Aquarium, but they all have one thing in common: Their sound is distinctly north Mississippi.

“People just don’t realize how vibrant the Oxford music community scene is,” Antoon said. “You’ve got a mix of hill country and Delta blues and country, but there is this incredible new generation of musicians. They aren’t just following in the footsteps of an earlier generation; they are creating a whole new genre of music that’s coming out of Oxford.”

Antoon contacted Ratcliffe, who provided her with recommendations for artists who should be included in Oxford Sounds, and his involvement grew from there.

“I really like what’s going on with that show, and it’s a really good representation of what I do in the studio. So it was a match made in heaven,” Ratcliffe said.

Setting up the Tweed studio for the recording of Oxford Sounds differed with each band.

“It was kind of a challenge for me, because what a lot of people don’t understand is those things are not fabricated.

I mean, there’s no overdubbing, there’s no Auto-Tuning, there’s no trickery,” Ratcliffe said.

In Ratcliffe’s opinion, most people don’t realize what a hotbed of musical activity Oxford is.

“I never understood why we didn’t get on the map like Athens, Ga., did with all of their music. I guess in hindsight, I’m kind of glad, because it’s a nice secret, but I think there’s just something about the musicians here,” Ratcliffe said.

For more information, visit oxfordsounds.com.

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

51

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February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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Hitting a High Note

The Lafayette High School concert choir travels to New York to perform at Carnegie Hall in March.

by Melanie Crownover photographed by Joe Worthem

The Lafayette High School concert choir, directed by Kim Gregory (front row), performs at Carnegie Hall March 9.

ighteen-year-old Kelli Coleman clears her throat and takes a deep breath backstage at North Oxford Baptist Church, avoiding peeking out the gap in the curtains at the audience.

Even though she’s been singing since sixth grade, she still gets butterflies before concerts.

The familiarity of the other Lafayette High School concert choir members lining up gives her some comfort before they all take the stage.

“If I get this nervous for our regular concerts, I can only imagine how much worse I’ll be at Carnegie Hall,” Coleman said.

That dream becomes reality March 9, when the LHS choir members will perform with singers from all over the country in the

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

National Youth Choir at the Festival of Gold at Carnegie Hall in New York.

The choir received its invitation to the event thanks to a gold rating at the Heritage Music Festival Competition in Atlanta in 2012 after receiving superior marks in its district and state competitions.

“The group gets better every year, even when seniors leave, because we grow together with a new blend and strengths when we get new freshmen,” Coleman said.

That improvement is largely because of the dedication of LHS Choir Director Kim Gregory. Her love of music even led her to volunteer to teach music at Lafayette Middle School when the school’s music program was

cut from the curriculum about five years ago.

Now Gregory directs the LHS concert choir, women’s choir, madrigals, sextet and quartet during the same period each day. The group members take turns rehearsing their music. It’s a complicated schedule most directors don’t have to wrestle, but the accolades for the ensembles have grown since Gregory took over the program nine years ago. Carnegie Hall is the apex.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for my students to be able to sing in a worldrenowned venue where so many famous people have performed,” Gregory said. “I’m just happy to be able to share that with them before I retire after next year.”

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While in New York, the students will take in Motown: The Musical on Broadway and sights such as the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the 9/11 Memorial. The touring day is just one part of the stay that choir member Linsey Lawrence is excited about.

“We’ll be singing in Carnegie Hall on my 17th birthday with my mother in the audience and my best friends on stage with me,” she said. “I can’t top that.”

Lawrence, who rarely even sang at church before she took Gregory’s class in eighth grade, credits her music education for her role as children’s choir co-director and one of the only high school women in her adult church choir.

The 16-year-old alto – also a member of the LHS women’s choir, madrigals and sextet – raised money for herself and her mom to make the trip together. After three weeks of serenading everyone from passersby on the Square to the mayor at city hall, she had it covered.

It wasn’t easy – trip expenses total $1,500 per person.

Fundraising began a month after the group invitation arrived in April and is ongoing. The group has garnered more than $74,000 in donations through three raffles, an auction, one dinner, singing at nearby festivals, holding bake sales and charging admission to their performances. At press time, the choir was still shy of its $84,000 goal, but the school board has agreed to help with costs.

Gregory knows that soon all of the fundraising and practicing will be worth it.

“I just can’t wait to sit in that audience and watch them shine,” she said.

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February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

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kids corner

1

3

4

5

2

6

1. Theater group the Fable Factory performed The Revenge of Captain Hook at Mississippi schools Oct. 15-18. 2.

7

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

On Jan. 8, Katherine Estes, a fifth-grade student at Della Davidson Elementary School, won the school-level competition of the National Geographic Bee and a chance at a $50,000 college scholarship. Estes is pictured with Geographic Bee organizer Rob Winkler. 3. Oxford Elementary third-grade student and Most Improved Reader Brande Gordon with members of the Kiwanis Club of Oxford. The Kiwanis Club donated a new bike to Oxford Elementary’s Most Improved third-grade reader. 4. Oxford Elementary second-grade student and Most Improved Reader Calvin Miller with Oxford Elementary teachers Anna Purvis, Beth Parker and Stephanie Roy. The bike was a gift from an anonymous donor for Oxford Elementary’s Most Improved second-grade reader. 5. Kardesia Fuller and Jaime Jones at reading of River Royals: Master the Mississippi, a new children’s book by Sarah Wynne and Katie Clark, who read to Bramlett Elementary students on Jan. 14. 6. Oxford School District Spelling Bee winners Jenna Baker, Sophia Quinn, Owen Bruce and Tony King. 7. Trina Nix, Margaret Gill, Shannon McLaughlin, Allison Wade, Lori Bray and Frances Pierce at the Regents School of Oxford open house Jan 16.

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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events Lafayette’s Got Talent!

View more event photos @ facebook.com/invitationoxford.

The Lafayette High School choir hosted a talent show Jan. 11 in the middle school auditorium. Admission and donations benefit the choir’s trip to perform in Carnegie Hall on March 9. Read more about the performance on page 54.

Hudson O’Haver and Renee Jackson

Elsie Cooper Dixon, Carol McGonagill, Shelia Ray and Tina Lewis

Jean and Larry Purvirance

Cassidy Hill and Casey Beard

Samatha Owens and Tony Rogge

Jean and Jeff Bender

60

Wes and Gwenda Brown

Molly and Carmen Jenkins with Amy Moore

INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

Lesia Chandler and Kim Gregory

Molly and Sadie Pasco-Pranger

Mary Fleming and Virginia Mikell

Troy and Will Bailey Reid

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Walter Gurley and Celine Bell

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Kara Hudson, John Conner Edwards and Ramona Smith February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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events Eggs and Issues View more event photos @ facebook.com/invitationoxford.

Local and state lawmakers discussed education, employment, prisons and the economy over breakfast Jan. 13 at the Oxford Conference Center. The annual event is sponsored by the Oxford-Lafayette Chamber of Commerce.

Ron and Christy Knapp

Mark Boyer, Rick Ferrall and Tonya Thompson

Ronnie Windham and Steve White

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

Randy Leister and Jordan Bankhead

Pam Swain and Ron Kitchens

Catie and Paul Hester with Ginger Robey

photographed by Leslie Brooks

BJ Davis, Dr. William Baker and Allen Baker

Bill Henning, Thomas Smith and Chad McLarty

Perry Sansing and Rick Duke

(front) Baretta Mosley and Phyllis Johnson; (back) Jeff Busby and Sue LaCrosse

State Reps. Tommy Reynolds and Steve Massengill

Allyson Best and Cheryl Mitchell

Hayden Guest and Micah Quinn

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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events Max Hipp Retirement Party

View more event photos @ facebook.com/invitationoxford.

A retirement reception for Max Hipp, who served as president and CEO of the Economic Development Foundation and Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce for 25 years, was held Jan. 9 at the Powerhouse.

Barbara Smith and Max Hipp

Martha Thompson, Vickie Cook and S. Adams

Karen and Joe Geddie

Dawn and Marc Boutwell

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

photographed by Leslie Brooks

Edye Conkerton with Mary Margaret and Wayne Andrews, Jon Maynard and Matthew Copp

Kay and Nolan Mettetal

Wes Walker and Larry Tyler

Phyllis Johnson and Dianne Falkner February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

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Portrait • a

PRODIGY

Artist Jason Bouldin tells the stories of people and places through his portraits.

by Annie Rhoades photographed by Joe Worthem

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

Jason Bouldin stands in front of a portrait commissioned by Boston’s Trinity Church in Copley Square.

first picked up a paintbrush as a small child playing in his father’s studio.

Many Mississippians are familiar with the works of his father, portraitist Marshall J. Bouldin III. A native of Clarksdale, Miss., he painted for numerous politicians, among others, and his famous paintings could be seen hanging in the White House and in the halls of Congress. But perhaps his greatest work of art is the talent and expertise he passed along to his youngest son.

“My brothers and I always drew,” Jason Bouldin said. “That was something we did as part of playtime, if you will, so it was always a very comfortable and rewarding thing to do.”

Bouldin’s college career began at the University of Mississippi. But after spending a year in Oxford, he moved to Cambridge, Mass., to begin his formal art education at Harvard University.

“That first year in Oxford was a really important year,” Bouldin said. “Not only did I meet my wife, but I somehow knew that the acorn was not going to fall too far from the tree, and I was going to come back to Mississippi and become an artist.”

Bouldin and his father agreed on an education plan that would incorporate both formal art instruction and a hands-on apprenticeship.

“I couldn’t reproduce how my father received his education, which was in a very ad hoc fashion,” Bouldin said. “So the deal we struck was that I would go to college and get an art history degree, but the summers would be spent in studio training.”

After graduating from Harvard in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in art history, Bouldin began his two-year apprenticeship in his father’s Clarksdale studio, which proved to be invaluable training.

“One of the ways I would learn was to take commissions, and Daddy was always there to help and lend a hand if I got into trouble,” Bouldin said. “He very wisely set up exercises that would allow me to succeed. Like a fisherman, Daddy sort of set the hook and drew me in slowly by letting me go through those exercises. He passed away a year ago, and I really miss him. He always treated me like a colleague, which was one of the many wonderful things about being under his tutelage.”

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Jason Bouldin’s art studio was inspired by his father’s art studio.

Since those early years painting portraits in his father’s studio, Bouldin’s work has evolved to now include landscapes and still life paintings. However, portraiture is still by far his greatest passion and influences all of his artwork.

“A portrait, for me, is an equal balance between tangible and intangible characteristics that are particular to an individual,” Bouldin said. “When you have those two in harmony and in their right balance, to me you have a very fine portrait so that you say, ‘Wow, that looks just like somebody.’ But it’s not just that it looks like somebody; it has to feel like somebody. Rather than someone say to me that a portrait looks just like Jim, I want somebody to say, ‘That feels just like Jim.’ When that happens I’ve accomplished my goal as a portraitist. Those are the types of things I learned from my father that I wouldn’t have been able to learn elsewhere.”

Bouldin’s still life and landscape paintings are a form of portraiture as well, as the significance of capturing the tangible and intangible attributes remains equally critical to the success of the finished product. Whether it’s painting the bright purple flowers that appear in monkey grass or a bobcat mounted on the wall of his studio, there’s beauty and a story to be told.

“Especially in doing still life and landscape paintings, I sort of see myself as a park ranger,” Bouldin said. “It’s my job to take somebody on a nature walk and point out all the things that are there, because if they don’t have that experience they’re not going to see them. Then it’s their turn to point out those things to others, so they can appreciate them as well. Hopefully the process is that we live deeper, and that we appreciate the world that is immediately around us.”

Aside from his formal paintings, one of the things Bouldin enjoys most is the time he spends with his 5-year-old son, William, playing in his studio. The time the two share has opened Bouldin’s eyes to other interesting and playful ways to express his artistic skills.

“I make toys for my son, and that’s a really wonderful thing to do,” Bouldin said. “One time he was interested in the yard man’s leaf blower, so I made one he could wear on his back using an old vacuum cleaner hose. I’ve February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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“I think maybe that’s the highest kind of calling of the artist, is to help the viewer be mindful or attentive to the glory which surrounds us all the time.”

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

made William a castle, a rocking boat out of wood (rather than a rocking horse) and I’m currently working on a pirate cannon. I also made his four-poster bed, complete with curtains all around that he can hide behind.”

While Bouldin enjoys the creative projects for his son, painting, particularly portraiture, remains his main professional pursuit. His commissioned works come via word-of-mouth, and he hopes to one day primarily focus his interest on the love he has for his home state by telling Mississippi’s story through art.

“I just finished a portrait of Myrlie and Medgar Evers that was dedicated at the Mississippi Museum of Art earlier this year, and that was a very rewarding commission,” Bouldin said. “What truly makes me happy is working on people and places close to home. I’m really in love with my home state, and as Faulkner said, there’s subject matter all around you; you don’t have to leave or go very far. There’s a whole generation of people who were involved in civil rights who are passing away, and I would love to be able to record that history. A portraitist helps give a visual history. As is the case with the Evers’ portrait, for some people, that will be an entry point for finding out about those two people.”

Bouldin is a firm believer that one’s training as an artist is never over, as there are always new methods to learn and new goals worth pursuing, two of the many reasons he finds his profession to be so engaging.

“I’ve fallen in love with the idea of portraiture, and I’ve really come to realize it’s a beautiful thing to be in love with your work and constantly make new discoveries,” Bouldin said. “I think maybe that’s the highest kind of calling of the artist, is to help the viewer be mindful or attentive to the glory which surrounds us all the time.”

February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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CALL of the

WILD Mississippi-based Catch-A-Dream Foundation volunteers say they get more than they give when they help make outdoor adventures a reality for children with life-threatening illnesses.

by Melanie Crownover • photographs contributed by Catch-A-Dream Foundation February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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FISHING FOR FUNDS Clockwise, from top left: Aaron Bell’s uncle, Craig Bell, and father, Chris Bell, were paid entrants in the Pickwick Lake Catch-A-Dream Team Challenge. Aaron Bell, pictured on the previous page with his father during his 2011 trip, died last year, and the tournament was dedicated to him. Tournament organizer Sandie Cox, far right, assists an angler in the Hammer Fishing Rods booth at the Pickwick Lake Catch-A-Dream Team Challenge. Twenty-nine two-boat teams launched at safe light at Pickwick Landing State Park for the first Catch-A-Dream Team Challenge, held June 8.

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Hunting black bear in the Wisconsin wilderness.

Angling for alligator in the Florida Everglades.

Fly-fishing in a Montana mountain stream.

This is the stuff dreams are made of for families that seek out Mississippi’s Catch-ADream Foundation, an organization that offers hunting and fishing excursions to children under 19 with life-threatening conditions.

Since the group’s humble start as a Mississippi State University-based organization 13 years ago, the charity has moved its headquarters from campus to the private sector of Starkville, Miss., and has now served children and families from 44 states and Canada.

“We wanted to fill the gap left for children here when Make-A-Wish stopped allowing those wishes to involve firearms, knives or a bow and arrow, ” said Marty Brunson, the foundation’s executive director. “But I guess the Lord just had bigger plans. Now our volunteers play an integral part in fulfilling the dreams of about 45 kids a year.”

The dedicated volunteers who assist in making those forest- and backwater-filled dreams come true see their service to the charity as a calling. Brunson said what sets them apart is the ability to invest wholeheartedly in another family’s future – whether for one weekend trip or the long haul.

Fishing for Funds Sandie Cox first heard about Catch-ADream in a Jumbotron ad at an MSU football game last year. The foundation’s mission spoke to the outdoorswoman in Cox, coowner of Hammer Fishing Rods in Guntown, Miss. Their focus on making each trip an allencompassing family event spoke to her as a mother and wife.

“Our industry made us a good match for Catch-A-Dream,” Cox said. “But I also know that the healing of nature can sometimes do a lot more for you than a hospital room. I know how much [fishing together has] meant to our family.”

Cox and her husband, Shane, frequent February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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MONTANA FLY-FISHING

WHITETAIL HUNTS

Clockwise from top left: Catch-A-Dream trip recipient Shad Murphy, 14, and his brother Levi, 16, from Pennsylvania, fly-fish on the Yellowstone River in Montana with guide Jim Klyap of Dome Mountain Ranch. Trip host Adam Quick with Murphy on the July 2013 trip. Marty Brunson and Nick Grubbs, 11, with his Claiborne County, Miss., buck during a November 2009 trip. Grubbs, from Mississippi, used a gun with a computer-assisted scope. Tyler Thiede, 13, from Wisconsin, and trip host Adam Quick pose with the personalized plaque Thiede received during a special ceremony on the final night of his south Texas deer-hunting trip in January 2011.

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fishing tournaments, and her 16-year-old son, Ty, won the Mississippi Student Angler Federation High School State Championship in June. The three make time to compete together in charitable tournaments in nearby locales such as Bay Springs, Ala., and Columbus, Miss., when Ty isn’t fishing for a trophy elsewhere.

Their experience sponsoring a Jackson, Miss., tournament made them see how they could help Catch-A-Dream. After talking with Brunson about logistics, Sandie began organizing an inaugural tournament to benefit the foundation at Pickwick Lake.

That’s when Aaron Bell, a local 2011 trip recipient about Ty’s age, came into her life.

“They mentioned Aaron Bell to me when I met with Marty because he was from Savannah, Tenn., near Pickwick, and we contacted him because we thought he might want to come.

We found out that next week that his tumor had returned, and within a month he’d passed away,” Cox said. “I told my husband I didn’t think I could go on with the tournament I was so torn up.”

The organization has lost one-third of its 450 recipients to date, according to Brunson.

In the face of such grim statistics, the Cox family dedicated the tournament to the teen instead. The June 8 event drew 29 four-person teams to Pickwick and raised $8,000 for the foundation. Bell’s mother was on the banks, and his dad and uncle were out on the water.

“It was one of the most touching things I’ve ever been a part of,” Cox said. “We’re already set for June 7 next year. I’ve already seen firsthand what peace this organization can give a family. Our goal now is to bring as much recognition to Catch-A-Dream here as they have further south.”

Dream Hunter Oxford Realtor Adam Quick said CatchA-Dream became part of his life in 2009 thanks to a television hunting program and a self-described aha moment on the couch.

The avid hunter was serving within months as a volunteer outfitter with his thengirlfriend, Brynnen, by his side. The pair felt a calling when they went along on their first trip with Brunson serving as host. Adam watched as a frail 11-year-old throat cancer patient February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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DELTA DUCK HUNT Clockwise from top left: (back to front) Garrett Grant, a 15-year-old trip recipient from North Carolina, with father Bob, sister Julianna and guides Caleb Westmoreland and Kevin Drewry.

Trip host Adam Quick with Garrett, Julianna and Bob Grant after a successful duck hunt in a rice field at Mallard Manor in Drew, Miss. Garrett Grant’s December 2011 Mississippi Delta duck hunt included a snow goose shoot.

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“We wanted to fill the gap left for children here when Make-A-Wish stopped allowing those wishes to involve firearms, knives or a bow and arrow, but I guess the Lord just had bigger plans.

Now our volunteers play an integral part in fulfilling the dreams of about

45 kids a year.”

- Marty Brunson took aim on a Mississippi whitetail deer using a computer-assisted scope to keep him from shouldering the gun, while Brynnen rode horses and talked shopping with his little sister.

“That trip was a game changer for us both,” Quick said. “Once that experience happened, my wife and I both got trained as hosts to travel with these kids year in and year out. You go out for these kids and their families, but what you get back mentally, spiritually and emotionally is so much that you almost need a couple of down days to take it in when you get back.”

Unlike outfitters, who provide a venue and an experienced guide for the sporting trip, hosts act as the middlemen between the site provider and recipient family, tailoring the experience to the family’s tastes – from taking pictures and getting a fish mounted to making sure a child’s favorite candy is on hand or having coffee with Mom on the front porch during a hunt.

That commitment meant one annual trip for the Quicks, until a new baby and home remodel brought a hiatus last year. But in July, Adam went to Montana on a fly-fishing trip for a 13-year-old with cystic fibrosis.

“I will continue to do this until I’m no longer physically able. It’s not just killing a buck or catching the biggest fish. It’s giving hope and renewing faith and strength for the fight they’re still facing,” Quick said. “These experiences remind them what they’re capable of and that God is in control. How could you ever walk away from that?”

To learn more about the Catch-A-Dream Foundation, visit catchadream.org.

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February 2014 | INVITATION OXFORD

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1. Julia Drewrey, Christie Perkins, Lt. Commander Rhea Tannehill, Lindy Rikard and Larry Dilley at the Gentiva Hospice Veterans Day Celebration Nov. 13 at the Veterans Home. 2. James and Clara Spence at the Gentiva Hospice Veterans Day event. 3. Stonewashed Hair Salon (formerly Bethany’s Salon) celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 25. The salon is located at 2580 Jackson Ave. W., Suite 41. 4. Danny and Lauren Klimetz with Tim Burkhead at the Filter Filler launch party Jan. 8. The new Oxford-based website delivers new air filters to homeowners’ doorsteps. 5. Cris Hughes with Phil and Emily Bailey at the Filter Filler launch party. 6. Cindy and James “Bubba” Bounds at Bubba’s retirement party Dec. 5 at First National Bank. 7. Sallie Parker, Cindy Bounds, Judy McMima, Baretta Mosley and Teresa James at the retirement party for Bubba Bounds. 8. Tricia Copelin and Debbie Myers at the Colonial Dames of Mississippi luncheon Nov. 12 at Oxford-University Club. 9. Sallye Clark, Barbara Bordelon, Mindy Maxwell, Charlene Baker and Margaret Hall at the Colonial Dames luncheon. 10. Barbara Boling, Bea Cox and Linda Garrett at the Colonial Dames luncheon. 11. Donna Ruth Roberts and James H. Herring at the Colonial Dames luncheon.

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out and about

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12. Marti Funke and Rebecca Phillips at the University Museum Artist’s Lecture: The Wellspring on Dec. 18. 13. Carlyle Wolfe and Angela Barlow at the UM Museum artist’s lecture. 14.

Martha and Bob Whitwell with Anne Fair at the Charles H. Walker Real Estate Scholarship Endowment presentation on Nov. 20. 15. Wanda Lamb and Arlen Coyle at the Walker scholarship presentation. 16. Caroline Davis, George Haymans, Cory Williamson, Samantha Weathersbe and Mary Walker at the Walker scholarship presentation. 17. Jennifer Eastland, Freddie Pinion, Rosie Vassallo and Jessica Windham at the Oxford-Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Lunch and Learn on Jan. 15. 18. Sarah Gardener and Stacey Sanford at the Larry Brown literary landmark dedication ceremony Nov. 11 at the Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library. 19. Pam Smith, Billy Ray Brown, Sarah Brown, Michelle Bright and Mike Roberts at the Larry Brown dedication ceremony. 20. LeAnn Corban and Pam West at the Larry Brown dedication ceremony. 21. Members of the 2013 USTA Mississippi Tennis Association Singles Team of the Year: (back) Hayden Guest, Christine Waldrop and Marta Panickar; (front) Amy Farmer, Tiffany Gililland and Michele McCay. The team was recognized Jan. 11 at the USTA Mississippi Tennis Association Awards luncheon in Jackson, Miss.

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INVITATION OXFORD | February 2014

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I AM OXFORD James Buchanan

by Meaghin Burke photographed by Joe Worthem February is Black History Month as well as the 100th anniversary of African-American fraternity Phi Beta Sigma. The fraternity’s Eta Beta chapter at the University of Mississippi was founded in 1975. James Buchanan, Ole Miss chapter president, talks about what it means to be a Sigma member.

Q: What makes Phi Beta Sigma special?

A: We were founded on the principles of brotherhood, scholarship and service. We’re in the business of making each other better men.

We hold each other accountable scholastically and personally. Recently, we assisted a pastor with a food distribution at Stone Park. We also partner with the March of Dimes, so every semester we raise money for them.

Q: How has the organization helped you personally?

A: I’m a senior, going into my last semester.

I’m getting my degree in business administration with an emphasis in human resources. Phi Beta Sigma helped me get out because I’m from Okolona, Miss., a small town. It put me on stage to be seen by other people. It put me in the position to be responsible and to be a role model. It also gave me access to older students and alumni who are a great support system.

Being a Phi Beta Sigma is like having a family at the university, and it made a big difference in my college experience.

Q: What do Sigma members do for fun?

A: Every Homecoming we participate in the step show, a type of percussive dance. We also do a step show during Meet the Greek Week.

We work on our shows for at least a month. It takes a lot of work and practice to make it look natural. We have so much fun while stepping.

In honor of the centennial of Phi Beta Sigma, we’re also hosting a “Blue Tie Event,” with the international executive director of Phi Beta Sigma as our keynote speaker.

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It’s time to take better care of your heart.

Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, continues to be the No. 1 killer of Mississippians. The majority of these deaths are preventable. February is Heart Month, and Baptist North Mississippi wants to encourage you to take better care of your heart — before it’s too late.

Improve your diet, exercise more, and quit smoking.

Have a blood pressure and diabetes check. Talk to a health care provider today, and get better with Baptist.

northmiss.baptistonline.org

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