embrace your
CULTURAL STORY YESTERDAY
•
TODAY
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TOMORROW
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST NATIONAL HERITAGE PUBLICATION | SPRING 2022
MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF MARINE RESOURCES Joe Spraggins, Executive Director Rhonda Price, MS Coast NHA Director Andrew Barrett, Heritage Coordinator Jeff Rosenberg, Heritage Coordinator RoxAnn Wicker, Communications Coordinator Francesca Linthicum, Marketing Manager Joyce Hart, Administrative Assistant Marie Lewis, Administrative Assistant
U.S. SENATORS Cindy Hyde-Smith 702 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-5054
welcome
FROM OUR DIRECTOR
Spring is always a great time of year; spring means we are coming out of the dark to welcome longer daylight. Springtime is a fabulous time to walk and paddle your
Roger Wicker 555 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-6253
way along the coast on some of the most awe-inspiring trails and blueways.
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE (DISTRICT 4)
For this edition we wanted to highlight things that start with “B’s”, things that remind us of spring and brings a smile to our face. So, this spring edition we highlighted birdwatching, bees, and barbecue. Oh, and we can’t forget the Blues!
Steven Palazzo 2349 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-5772
Spring is also a great time for festivals and events that celebrate our culture and heritage. The six coastal counties of the National Heritage Area have much to offer from the 11th Annual Good Ole Days festival in Lucedale to the annual spring street fair in Picayune. Many of these events are listed in the Flavorful section of this newsletter.
DOWNLOAD THE MS COAST NHA APP! Discover the cultural, historical and natural treasures of the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area. From museums and historic sites, to year-round festivals an miles of sandy beaches, we have it all.
Spring is here, what better time to get out and celebrate the heritage and beautiful landscape of the Coast NHA.
Rhonda Price MGCNHA Director
Cover photo: A Bay St. Louis institution, the 100 Men Hall celebrates the 100th anniversary of its construction in 2022. Learn more about the Hall on page 4.
our
MISSION
ENHANCE, CONSERVE AND PROVIDE CONNECTIVITY to cultural resources of a unique and defined area through identification, interpretation and promotion.
CREATE AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCES and serve as a source of pride. Providing increased awareness and appreciation of their environment, history, culture, traditions and lifestyles.
PROMOTE ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY of heritage resources that benefit the entire region and support the long-term enhancement and conservation of those qualities that make the six counties of the MS Coast NHA unique.
TELLING THE AREA’S NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT STORY to residents and visitors through activities and partnerships that celebrate the area’s unique history, people, traditions and landscapes.
Your MS Coast NHA is a partnership of communities, businesses, governmental agencies, non-profit organizations and individuals who value the region’s rich cultural and environmental diversity, history, natural beauty and traditions.
CONTENTS HISTORICAL
INNOVATIVE 40 Bungalow-Down: Origins of the Craftsman Bungalow Housin gForm on the Mississippi Gulf Coast
24
4 4
NATURAL
100 Years at 100 Men Hall
12 Main Street Lucedale: Discovering Geirge County 19 Fire on East Beach: a history changing fire 125 years on
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23 Blueways Spotlight 24 Eco-tour of South Mississippi: A Trip on the Pascagoula 28 Bees Needs: A Journey into Pollinator Plants
LIFE 47 Upcoming Events
FLAVORFUL
34 Words for the Birds and Birders
34 52 12
52 Baby Back Ribs with Sweet Honey BBQ Sauce 54 Mother's Day Morning Brunch
H ISTORICAL
Historical | 3
4 | Embrace Your Cultural Story
100 00 at
100 Men Hall
By Rachel Dangermond, Director of 100 Men Hall
100 years ago, the vision of 12 civic-minded men became a reality when the doors of 100 Men Hall opened in Bay St. Louis. The revered landmark not only still stands, but actively serves Mississippi’s Gulf Coast as a cultural venue, hosting live music events, artists' presentations, private celebratory events and unique workshops for children and adults. Located in Bay St. Louis’s historic district, 100 Men Hall is situated across the railroad tracks from the community’s famed L & N Train Depot, which was constructed in 1928, six years after 100 Men Hall.
Historical | 5
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n 2018, 100 Men Hall changed ownership, and with the support of an engaged and enthusiastic board of directors and membership organization, is as
determined to maintain the venue’s treasured African American history as is to ensure the hall thrives today as a lively, vital Gulf Coast attraction for all. This summer’s centennial celebration will kick off a yearlong series of events designed to embrace both its history and its future. The aforementioned 12 civic-minded men were African Americans who came together to form a benevolent society to take care of their community, who until the 1960’s, were denied access to burial and medical insurance. The “Hundred Members Debating Benevolent Association” was organized to “assist its members when sick, bury its dead in a respectable manner and knit friendship.”
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From the nonprofit organization grew a desire for a place to gather and celebrate all life events, and when, in 1922, the 100 Men Hall was built, it quickly came to be the epicenter of Black life and culture for the MS Gulf Coast. Talented musicians barred from performing elsewhere were welcomed and their performances supported cooperative economics. Over the years, legendary musicians such as James Brown, Etta James and Ray Charles took the stage of 100 Men Hall which grew to be a stop on the famed Chitlin' Circuit. The nonprofit’s mission shifted to include the promotion and preservation of the hall, which had grown to become a nexus of social justice and artistic expression for a population historically denied access to both in the Jim Crow South. A notable structure with an important story, the hall represents a rare architectural monument to African American life on the Gulf Coast and is one of the few standing sites on the MS Blues Trail and within the MS Gulf Coast National Heritage Area.
Today, the hall serves as a living heritage museum that carries the unique cultural and musical history particular to the Gulf Coast into the 21st century through live music and cultural events.
Historical | 7
The 501c3 nonprofit – still using the name “Hundred Members Debating Benevolent Association” – has returned the hall to a meaningful role in the community, and today’s vision mirrors that of its original founders: to form a bridge between its original mission and the current needs of the community. In 2019-20, through a MS Gulf Coast National Heritage Community Grant, the Hall was able to strengthen its bond to the community through the 100 Men Hall People Project (the100menhall.com/blogs/100-men-hall-people-project), promote the Hall through a visual storyboard painted as a mural on the side of the building (the100menhall.com/blogs/the-mural-project) and foster its heritage with the addition of a visiting musician/artist cottage in the Tin Shed (the100menhall.com/blogs/ tin-shed).
8 | Embrace Your Cultural Story
Today, the hall serves as a living heritage museum that carries the unique cultural and musical history particular to the Gulf Coast into the 21st century through live music and cultural events. Its membership organization – 100 WOMEN DBA (the100menhall.com/blogs/100-womendba) – fosters civic participation in a variety of causes to promote the greater common good, supporting creative expression and activist art for women of color who have struggled to find a mainstream connection due to their social or artistic convictions, or minority status. Those familiar with the hall consider it a beloved community treasure; those learning about it for the first time are instantly captivated by its storied past. Having survived social and environmental events such as Camille (1969), Katrina (2005) and Zeta (2020), the hall’s yearlong, Centennial Celebration will extend from June 2022 to June 2023 with community events to engage people of all ages in its history, significance and mission. To find out more about the hall and upcoming events, add your name to our email list on our website at 100menhall.com.
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1
1. Bay St. Louis Bay St. Louis
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Biloxi
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Pass Christian
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Gulfport
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Moss Point
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The 100 Men D.B.A. Hall, a longtime center of African American social life and entertainment in Bay St. LLo ouis , was built in 1922 by the One Hundred Members’ Debating Benevolent Association. Over the years the association sponsored many blues, acts. Performances included Etta James, Big Joe Turner, Guitar Slim, Irma Thomas, Professor Longhair, Deacon John, and numerous others.
10 | Embrace Your Cultural Story
2
In the 1940s, as business on Biloxi’s Main Street prospered, Biloxi clubs featured both traveling acts and local bands, as well as jukeboxes and slot machines. Biloxi was strutting to the rhythms of cakewalk dances, vaudeville and minstrel show music, dance orchestras, and ragtime pianists by the late 1800s, before blues and jazz had fully emerged.
3
The histories of blues and jazz are often traced along separate pathways, but, especially on the Gulf Coast, the two genres were intertwined from the earliest days. Blues was a key element in the music of Pass Christian Christian’s illustrious native son Captain John Handy (1900-1971) and other locals who played traditional jazz or rhythm & blues.
Did you know that the Coast has eight markers on the Mississippi Blues Trail? These markers span from the roots of the genera, up to the 21st century. The Mississippi Blues Trail markers tell stories through words and images of bluesmen and women and how the places where they lived and the times in which they existed–and continue to 3$./Ã$)70 ) ä/# $-ä(0.$ ä # ä.$/ .ä run the gamut from city streets to fairgournds, train depots to cemeteries, and clubs to churches. We have a lot to share, and it’s just down the Mississippi Blues Trail.
Center Image: Detail of a mural depicting Irma Thomas painted on the south side of the 100 Men Hall in Bay St. Louis. The creation of the mural was par-
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Gulfport has been fertile territory for musicians who not only turned this area into a hotbed of blues and R&B but also impacted popular music on an international scale. Carl Gates, a bandleader and band director at 33rd Avenue School, also booked many leading blues and soul acts who regularly plied the coast’s chittlin circuit.
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Moss Point was a center of African American music even before the city was incorporated in 1901. The Biloxi Weekly Herald published reports on local bands as early as 1898, and praised the city’s Earl band in 1903. Several early Moss Point musicians became nationally recognized minstrel show performers.
tially funded through a grant from the MS Coast NHA.
Historical | 11
Discovering George County 12 | Embrace Your Cultural Story
By RoxAnn )&$)äWicker here is a special little place in a northern coastal city of Lucedale in George County. Home to gorgeous historic buildings, a Main Street with bustling activity, historic art and relics, and parks and waterways that provide an abundance of natural history. This hidden gem is welcomed by a tight-knit community where the long line of lineage and heritage remains strong and prevalent to date. George County’s heritage spans into several communities of Lucedale, Rocky Creek, Wilkerson Ferry and Merrill, Agricola and Barton, Bexley, and Benndale.
T
George County Chamber of Commerce, Administrator, Annis Dailey, provides a friendly exploration of the heart of her County. The building that houses the Chamber once fancied itself as Tri County Oil and later Pure Oil gasoline station in its heyday of the 1950’s and 60’s. The restored 1923 Craftsman welcomes you to Main Street as you approach the thoroughfare of daily traffic. Inside you will find the original interior walls and floors have been preserved for their visitors and guests alike. Dailey, a native of Lucedale, apologizes for the walls not displaying more artwork, “Those walls are solid so it’s hard to attach anything permanent,” said Dailey. As we gazed about the original tongue and groove ceilings and brick paver floors a local guest arrived, former Mayor, and retired physician Dr. Dayton E. Whites.
Historical | 13
Dr. Whites approached us with a reverence, a dapper of humility, yet tender Southern class. Whites emotional impact became universally styled and structured as he spoke about this beloved town and the county, he calls home. Taking us through the history of the town that molded and shaped him, often referring to himself as a ‘street kid,' he went on to become the local family physician, and author of “The Best Little Town.”
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As he weaves the cultural history of Lucedale and George County, his memories and contributions are much of that of a romantic poet. Providing a depiction of the genteel past, he spoke about Lucedale forming a literary expression which dazzled us with his antebellum dialect and vernacular much like that of Shelby Foote. With timeless antiquities and curiosities in tow, Whites presented us with a hand woven Native American basket filled with George County arrowheads. The basket alone is a beautiful exploration of basketry construction, tightly woven of pine needles and deeply dyed red and navy blue with the lid fondly atop. Whites' arrowhead collection is not only impressive, but diverse some of the largest and heaviest weighted arrowheads all of which were given to him by a former patient. Another of Whites treasures of time is an America Victorian wire shoeshine chair set. Whites reunited the pieces after they had been separated from one another. Mr. Walter Jack died in 1991 but was the oldest living resident in George County at the time and was regarded as the best shoe shiner for generations. Jack set up his shine chair for George County residents, men, and women alike in Doc Mason and Andy Powell’s barbershop, still in existence to date. The shoeshine chair set is currently on display at the George County Chamber of Commerce. Mrs. Dailey and Dr. Whites arranged a field trip around the City of Lucedale and the various surrounding communities.
Our first trip around town was to tour Main Street. A lively and energetic little city center, Main Street is the principal street for buildings dating over 100 years. Lucedale is a relatively unchanged. Main Street is comprised of stylistic elements that reflect over a century of this richly eclectic ensemble of weatherboarded, two-story buildings from agricultural, residential, and mercantile developmental areas.
Historical | 15
Main Street Lucedale X GEORGE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, MAIN OFFICE -
5152 MAIN STREET The Century Bank legacy began as the Bank of Lucedale when Gregory Luce of Grand Rapids, Michigan, entrepreneur, and mill operator came into what is now known as Lucedale in 1889 with his wife Sarah, and son. Luce founded the town on a $20,000 family investment to build a thriving city. Today, the bank has a new location, but the building stands in its original home since 1928, moonlighting as the George County School District’s main office.
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X
EDWARD JONES - 5164 MAIN STREET Currently, Edward Jones Investments reside in the once popular 1900’s drug store building. One of the most striking buildings on Main Street, the current owner, Lincoln Scaife is the Lucedale Chamber of Commerce President and is committed to keeping the exterior aesthetic period. LANDMARK CAFÉ - 5176 MAIN STREET This historic building is a local favorite offering a vintage yet sophisticated atmosphere. The second story offers hardwood floors and provides a more antiqued look to its patrons. The food is a variety of American and homestyle cooking, the service was prompt and extremely friendly. You are sure to be welcomed with the same hospitality each visit.
Z HISTORIC BAILEY’S SCRATCHING POST Located right at Y
the corner and in the heart of the city, Bailey’s Scratching Post will surely relive you of a tickle on your back as you meander your way from downtown. The original post dates to 1939, but current location on the sidewalk around 1945. Either way, it stands mounted just waiting for people to scratch their backs in just the right spot.
GEORGE COUNTY TIMES - 5133 MAIN STREET George County Times has been in operation since 1903. Remaining true to local coverage. GC Times continuous coverage circulates by the same family after all these years.
GEORGE COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE - 5177 MAIN STREET Providing representation to businesses in George County. Housed in a 1923 former gas station, the GC Chamber’s mission is to advance the interest of businesses by fostering a progressive business climate to the County. Visitors and locals alike will find a plethora of information about the City of Lucedale and George County information.
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Downtown Lucedale CITY PARK – PARK STREET If you’re looking for a place to relax and read a book, have a picnic, or play with your kids, the Lucedale City Park is a unique space that has something for young and old alike. The park has new state of the art playground equipment, courts for basketball and tennis, a walking track, facilities for picnics and gatherings. Two smaller parks are also located in Lucedale. They are the Lavelett Park and the Benyard Park.
GEORGE COUNTY COURTHOUSE – 355 COX STREET Anchored in the center of downtown Lucedale, George County Courthouse stands tall and strong after the 100-year-old building received a restoration. An extensive renewal was needed for the project to maintain the historical integrity of the structure. The custom stained-glass windows were resurfaced and reworked on each side of the dome.
[
[ HISTORIC SCHOOLHOUSE – CITY PARK, 447 PARK
STREET | TOURS: 601-947-2082 The one room schoolhouse is something magnificent as you approach her. With the one room schoolhouse was once referred to as the County Line School due to being on the edge of Jackson and Greene Counties. Operational from 1924 – 1969, the school was moved to its current location today. The school is open for tours and is filled with period pieces of furniture to maintain its authenticity.
\ LUCEDALE DEPOT CREEK NATURE PRESERVE The area includes walking trails, a handicap accessible boardwalk, and two small fishing ponds. Visitors can also explore the main pavilion, which serves as the main event space for the Lucedale community. Don’t forget to say hello to the resident wildlife!
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Historic Attractions ] MERRILL BRIDGE (Closed indefinitely for thru traffic.) The Merrill Bridge was built in 1928 where the Leaf and Chickasawhay rivers form the head of the Pascagoula River.
BEXLEY SCHOOL Founded in 1913, the school still stands in restoration as a consolidated school which provided progressive education for the period.
VERNAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH This historic church was built
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in 1908 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. Historical | 17
Events in Lucedale GOOD OLE DAYS FESTIVAL MARCH 11 & 12 | 8 AM-4 PM LC HATCHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL An event of nostalgia, this family friendly festival will entertain you with an antique car and tractor show, craft and vendor show, musical entertainment, and good old-fashioned fun.
SECOND SATURDAY MARCH 12 | 5-8 PM DOWNTOWN MERCHANTS Downtown Main Street restaurants, boutiques, and shops whirl with energy to the sounds of live music and entertainment.
As our tour came to an end Dr. Whites and Annis Dailey provided a glimpse into the treasures spread throughout their community. Learning about the multi-million-dollar Enviva Pellet Plant that will soon make an innovative and efficient way to effectively invest in the economic health of Lucedale. With an influx of economic development and housing surges, Lucedale remains nostalgic while progressing Main Street into a strategy for continued growth, teaming with a powerful network of business leaders within the community to ensure their economic engine roars, and a maintaining a preservation of historic structures that set Lucedale apart. It is no wonder Main Street and Lucedale demonstrate a strong use of resources while valuing its heritage to address historic preservation to this unique historic downtown area.
18 | Embrace Your Cultural Story
BY JEFF ROSENBERG
Historical | 18
2022 MARKS THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEVASTATING FIRE AND RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CHARNLEY-NORWOOD HOUSE.
Charnley-Norwood House Ocean Springs, Jackson County Miss. pre 1897-from AIC Ryerson Burnham Archives Richard Nickle Collection
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nitially built in 1890, the Charney-Norwood House was rebuilt after a disastrous inferno in 1897. While devastating for the Norwoods, the fire led to many improvements to the house’s design. Fred and Elizabeth Norwood purchased the property from James and Helen Charnley in June 1896. Both families were from Chicago and used the Ocean Springs home as a winter retreat to escape the wicked winters along Lake Michigan. The winter of 1897 in Chicago was shaping up to be a brutal one. The city was experiencing its third year in a row with total snowfall greater than 45 inches. Elizabeth and her adult daughters, Vina, 42, and Winifred, 27, would have likely been eager to leave the city behind in hopes of the south’s warmer environs. While Fred would attend to business and join them later, the trio made the 24-hour train trip from Chicago to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the comfort of a Pullman sleeper car.
20 | Embrace Your Cultural Story
Perhaps they did not know, but South Mississippi was experiencing a similarly bad winter. Issues of the Biloxi Herald described this winter as equally fierce, with a blizzard striking Mississippi during the last week in January. For three days, rain, sleet and eventually snow, blanketed the Coast. As night approached, the cold grew much worse, coating trees, telegraph, telephone and electrical wires with a thick layer of ice. While the weather warmed slightly enough to melt the snow, the extreme cold remained and was remarked on for its unprecedented length and severity as torrents of rain fell the second week of February, weather which the Herald referred to as abominable, terribly wet and unusual. The Norwoods were no doubt surprised to see the weather in Mississippi not much more pleasant than what they had left behind, finding the Coast amid a cold blast when they arrived. To fight the chill, the Norwoods supplemented the four fireplaces of their house with charcoal
furnaces. The evening of February 17, the family went to bed, leaving the heaters burning to keep them warm through the night. These charcoal heaters were commonly used to heat irons, boil water or warm a small space. They were a regular yet dangerous sight in Victorian households, as they could asphyxiate persons in an enclosed space. Sadly, it was not unusual to read in newspapers from the 1890’s reports of death and destruction when the charcoal furnaces were used improperly or neglected. Unattended they could catch fire, and at approximately 2 a.m. on February 18, 1897, one of the daughters discovered that a heater had done just that. Being a mile from town with no telephone, it was futile to attempt to call out the Ocean Spring fire brigade. The ladies, along with help from their neighbor (and the house’s original architect), Louis H. Sullivan bravely fought the flames, while evacuating clothing and a few pieces of furniture. However, the house was a total loss, burning completely to the ground. Several Gulf Coast newspapers carried brief mentions of the fire and followed the Norwoods' struggle with their insurance policy to recoup their loss. The Pascagoula News reported on a major fire at the Norwood property in March 1897, suggesting that it was the result of arson: “The Norwoods are wrestling with the insurance adjusters in settlement of their fire loss on their beautiful home. It seems strange that a little good detective work isn’t employed to unearth the miscreant who applied the torch. We understand that the Norwoods will rebuild at once.” In May 1897, the same paper reported on the Norwoods' plans to rebuild, stating that “Mr. F. W. Norwood is to have a $5,000 building erected on the site where the family residence was destroyed by fire.”
Physical evidence of the 1897 fire and subsequent reconstruction remain imprinted on the site after more than 100 years. Archaeological investigations following Hurricane Katrina determined that the house was burned completely as ash, melted glass and a few rusty nails were all that was found during excavations under the existing house. Signatures of the builders on the wood shingle exterior, and on the interior walls date the completion of construction to have occurred in the late summer of 1897.
Physical evidence of the 1897 6- ä ) ä.0 . ,0 )/ä *)./-0 /$*)ä - ( $)ä+-$)/ ä*)ä/# ä.$/ ä !/ -ä (*- ä/# )ä988ä4 -. ä The Norwoods must have been fond of the home that burned. When they rebuilt the new home was done in similar fashion as the previous one, yet with several key changes. Louis Sullivan had lived in his near similar house for seven years at that point and understood how the original design could be improved. While the horizontal orientation, hipped roofs, T-shaped floor plan and large porches of the house that burned were reconstructed, Sullivan’s famed declaration of “form follows function” was taken into consideration during the 1897 redesign of the house. Some of these changes included the use of natural curly pine tongue and groove interior walls instead of the wallpapered walls previously used, the inclusion of window bays in the bedrooms and a theme of three carried throughout the house. Today the house is protected from fire with state-of-the-art dry pipe sprinklers and a fire alarm system. The chimneys have their flues covered with slate slabs, and the dampers welded shut. A small plaque has been installed in each fireplace to remind visitors that fires are not allowed, as the modern heating system has eliminated the need for them. We hope you’ll come and visit the house in person. A tour can be scheduled by reaching us at heritage@dmr.ms.gov.
Historical | 21
NAT URAL
22 | Embrace Your Cultural Story
PASCAGOULA RIVER BLUEWAY SPOTLIGHT As part of the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area’s Nature Based Tourism effort, the Blueways program was established to provide explorers an unforgettable experience along miles of beaches, rivers, creeks, and bayous. There are currently 15 Blueways, or water trails, that have been mapped out for recreational canoers and kayakers within the six coastal counties in Mississippi. Here is a quick look at the Pascagoula River Blueway in Jackson County. # ä . "*0' ä $1 -ä$.ä/# ä'*)" ./ä!- Á7*2$)"ä2 / -2 4ä in the lower 48 states, and the last unimpeded major river system in the continental U.S. The Pascagoula serves as the heart for all who claim this area as home. As a natural estuary, the river hosts abundant animal life including over 22 threatened and endangered species, in addition to over 300 plant species. Two-thirds of the Eastern breeding migratory birds use the Pascagoula River and its marshes as a resting point. It is a haven for abundant life, and its banks hold many notable historic locations and economic treasures. Travel the ten-mile Pascagoula River Blueway to discover everything from boat launches and piers to historical landmarks and natural wonders. This Blueway is ideal for both long and short excursions as it offers various locations for paddlers to launch and take out. The northern reach of the marked water trail is at the Bennett Bayou Conservation Preserve just north of the I10 interstate on the Pascagoula River. This locale offers an ideal natural setting and is a great place for paddlers to launch. Heading south, an eastern tributary to the Blueway will take
you to the noted and beautiful Pascagoula River Audubon Society as well as the Downtown Moss Point Riverwalk. Even further south, you will pass several points of interest worthy of exploration. The Krebs Cemetery is located near mile marker 2 and is adjacent to the Historic La Pointe Krebs House, the oldest structure in the Mississippi valley established by French colonists in 1757. About one-half mile south of there is River Park, home to the Scranton Museum as well .ä- ./-**(. ä+ 1$'$*). ä ä *"ä+ -& ä ) ä ä ..$ ' ä7* /ing Kayak launches. Lighthouse Park is less than one-half mile further south and is home to the historic 1859 Round Island Lighthouse. Other amenities include the Pascagoula Environmental and Educational Trail, playgrounds, pavilions, ) ä6.#$)"ä+$ -. ä # ä -&ä '.*ä. -1 .ä .ä/# ä/- $'# ä!*-ä/# ä Pascagoula River Jackson County Blueway Trail, the Historic Pascagoula Bike Trail, and the Pascagoula Historic Pathway. The Blueway’s southern terminus is at the Magnolia Birding Pier and is accessible by car from Magnolia Street and Dupont Avenue. The inlet is home to many native birds including brown pelicans, blue herons, and white egrets. To learn more about Mississippi’s Coastal Blueways, visit the National Heritage Area website at msgulfcoastheritage. ms.gov/natural/blueways/. If You are planning an outing and would like to download a map of the Pascagoula River Jack.*)ä *0)/4ä '0 2 4 ä4*0ä )ä6) ä*) ä /ä(."0'! * ./# -$tage.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/BLUEWAYS-template-Pascagoula_JC.pdf.
Natural | 23
E C OO-Tou -T o u r ooff S o uuth th M ississippi Mississippi A Trip on the Pascagoula
Written by Andrew Barrett | Photos by Kathy Wilkinson
A
s each day passes, the sun’s journey from east to west is growing longer across our southern sky. Temperatures are rising and the winter’s chill is once again consigned to the wake of the changing seasons. The transition to daylight savings time has occurred and spring has arrived. And with spring comes the insatiable need to be outdoors; basking in the sunlight, where the birds are singing and bees are buzzing, watching as the world turns green one more time. I’ve seen this repeatedly, but it somehow forever seems brand new, and I never grow weary of its return. Spring is a time of rejuvenation, of rebirth; a time of promise and possibility when it feels like everything and everyone has a chance to start anew. 24 | Embrace Your Cultural Story
s a Bay St. Louis, Mississippi native, I have always been blessed with easy access to several natural environments when the springtime beckons and /# ä0-" ä/*ä 3+'*- ä nature’s wonders could no longer be contained. The quickest and most frequent means to these adventures, as a youth, came by bicycle but many days were spent traversing the woods, marshes and bayous in the Jordan and Pearl River basins by boat, canoe, kayak, or simply on foot, often with a fishing pole in tow. My reverence for nature can, in large part, be attributed to the inherited passions of my parents. We were always doing something outside; whether it was cycling, hiking, swimming, birdwatching, fishing, or identifying wild plants, my childhood was largely spent outdoors. As a result, memories such as early morning trips with my father and brothers to wade-fish along the Hancock County shoreline are at the pinnacle of what I believe defines a quality lifestyle along our Mississippi Gulf Coast. Eventually, those early life experiences would help shape an ideology of a sense of interconnectedness in all earthly affairs. As a young adult, I began to believe in a sort of preordained existence between nature and mankind where, ideally, we are meant to be in a state homogeneous continuation. We are not just observing nature, we are a part of the natural world. Practical applications of this seemed to continuously pop up: I enjoyed catching and eating fish, but success would depend on understanding the environment that the fish and I shared. Turns out simply catching a fish requires a wealth of knowledge, including knowing the water temperature, tidal cycle and range, weather patterns, a fish’s diet, feeding grounds and migration habits. What time of year are these fish in the estuary? Will you find them between the sandbars, in the grasses or over a natural oyster reef? Are they feeding on pogies? Do you see any shorebirds diving for baitfish?
The greater the understanding, the more immersed in the natural patterns, the more likely you are to actually catch a fish. Around age 12 or 13, this was explained to me by a salty old-timer in much folksier terms at the local fishing pier when I asked, “How do you manage to catch so many fish?” “To catch a fish, you have to think like a fish”, he replied. I guess I’ve been thinking fishy thoughts ever since! By no means would I consider myself a highly skilled naturalist *-ä 1 )ä ä )/ä6.# -( ) ä 0/ä ä *ä# 1 ä )ä0) -./ ) $)"ä and respect for nature and believe that our best existence within it requires a continuous absorption of knowledge at every stage of life. Granted, that connection with nature can get harder to maintain for most of us balancing a work and home life full of constant distractions and commitments that demand our time and attention, but to me, making the effort always seems to result in dividends that renew the spirt and remind me of my place in the cosmos. Natural | 25
Eco-Tours of South Mississippi is a small, family-owned, nature-based-tourism company that specializes in providing a variety of tours in the lower Pascagoula River watershed. The renowned Pascagoula River is known for its pristine, natural beauty and unparalleled diversity in plant and animal life and happens to be the United States' longest unimpeded river by volume in the lower 48 states from its confluence to its mouth some 80 miles south on the Gulf of Mexico.
Growing up with a father in the U.S. Navy, Kathy has spent her entire lifetime on the water and is naturally drawn to this type of work. Kathy and Jeff’s years of experience working on the Pascagoula River reinforces their belief that it is a system which demands purposeful conservation efforts to insure its health. They both have spent countless hours of their free time policing the river system for litter and debris or wrestling logjams from the channel of some remote section of the Pascagoula swamp. For Kathy and Jeff, being a steward of the environment is a role devoid of pretense and is more so an exercise in logic and pragmatism; a symbiotic relationship where if you take care of your environment, the environment will provide for you. Referring to the Pascagoula’s natural, unimpeded flow, Kathy declared, “Fresh water is the most valuable commodity on earth. If you think about it in those terms, why wouldn’t you want to conserve it?" A mindset I have always shared and one especially pertinent for any naturebased tourism business.
I met Captain Kathy Wilkinson, co-owner of Eco-Tours of South Mississippi with her husband Jeff, at the Gautier City Park boat launch and we set off for a three-hour tour of the lower Pascagoula watershed. Kathy and Jeff have been providing guided trips in the area since the spring of 2006. They both have amassed a wealth of knowledge and understanding about the Pascagoula River over the years and are happy to share that wisdom on their tours.
As we left the boat launch, Kathy captained the boat in and out of the Pascagoula’s main channel through a series of bayous and switchbacks: Mary-Walker Bayou, Lang Bayou, Swift Bayou, Buzzard’s Lake, Whiskey Bayou, Long Bayou, Créole Bayou, and finally back into the main Pascagoula channel. The views were breathtaking as Kathy explained the transitions from the estuarine bay to a salt-marsh system and finally to a swamp system on the northern
With its atmosphere of renewal, Springtime is the time of year when nature’s pull on me feels the strongest and the need to make that effort has gathered its greatest momentum. This year was no different and I soon found myself looking for an outing that would reconnect me to nature and restore my weathered sense of serenity. I settled on a boating trip into the lower Pascagoula river system offered by a company out of Gautier, Mississippi called EcoTours of South Mississippi.
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reach of our adventure. Kathy’s knowledge of the terrain was complimented by her understanding of the types of life seen flourishing in different areas and at what time of year you might spot a given species. Mud flats, marsh grasses and reeds giving way to cypress trees draped in Spanish moss with an underbrush of palmettos and wild irises, pelicans, eagles, osprey, kingfisher, dolphin, alligators, and manatee might all be seen on a cruise with Eco-Tours at different times of the year. Even the endangered Yellowblotched Sawback Turtle, found only in the Pascagoula River, can be found on an Eco-Tours trip. In the middle of their second decade of operations, EcoTours has hosted trips for people from all 50 states, most of Europe, South Korea, New Zealand and beyond. Many of their trips are for repeat customers who have discovered the scenery and company provide for an unparalleled
experience for nature lovers. Kathy and Jeff’s wealth of knowledge comes from their lifelong interest, curiosity, and awe of the natural world as well as from formal training such as the Master Naturalist Program offered through the National Audubon Society. Even so, Kathy is quick to point out that, when it comes to learning about nature and understanding the environment, “It’s a journey, not a destination”. Upon hearing that, I knew I had made a wise choice with an Eco-Tours trip. There is always more to learn. At the conclusion of our tour, I thanked Kathy for the experience and disembarked from the boat. Much later that evening, when I arrived at home, it dawned on me that, while on the water, not a single thought or concern of my daily life had entered my mind. I wasn’t thinking about work or paying bills or that it was well past time I changed the oil in my truck. I was simply enjoying what nature had to offer. This was exactly the spring break I was looking for. Every bend in the bayou seemed to be teeming with more than the eye could assess. A sort of blissful sensory overload full of darting kingfishers and towering cypress trees. It was such a joy to be in the wilderness; feeling connected to the natural world. What’s funny is none of this was foreign to me. I spent most of my youth exploring the outdoors in South Mississippi. It was comfortable and familiar; like somewhere you know you belong but for some reason seldom seem to be. At least there’s some solace in knowing that a cure for even the most severe case of spring fever is available and it’s always nice when the medicine tastes so good. Eco-Tours customers can book trips by kayak or motorboat to an array of habitats including estuarine bays and bayous, cypress swamps, saltwater marshes, and coastal Deer Island. 2,4- and 8-hour trips are available by motorboat and kayak trips are generally a 3-hour excursion. Trips can be customized to fit your need and Eco-Tours can accommodate groups as small as 2 and as large as 22. Sunset cruises, photography trips, or interpretive tours with a guide are all available options. All trips are by reservation only.
If you would like to schedule a trip with EcoTours of South Mississippi, you can call them at (228)-297-8687. You can also visit their website at ecotoursofsouthmississippi.com and book a trip via email at ecotours.ms@gmail.com or contact them through their Facebook page at facebook. com/EcoToursofSouthMississippi.
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Bees Needs A JOURNEY INTO
Pollinator Plants by RoxAnn Rankin Wicker
Naturally, I thought I hit the jackpot when I learned my property lines intersect with a federal mandated bird refuge. The property line backs up to the U.S. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Mississippi Sandhill Crane Refuge, a sanctuary of wildlife habitat established in 1975 to safeguard the endangered Mississippi sandhill crane and its unique disappearing wet pine savanna habitat. The long and lean legged birds, sometimes called the “Steak in the Sky” due to their meat quality, are a protected species and come with a hefty fine for harvesting them.
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Since becoming a mom again at age 41 (oopsydaisy) my wild, rambunctious, and often overly curious 5-year-old son, Matthew Rocco, has introduced his teenage brother, Foster, and me the sort of activities that require ‘hands on' facilitation. His adventures in kindergarten are an information overload. Often while listening to Matthew Rocco’s daily recount, I pull Foster in for this free entertainment and pleasantry to our ears. To my delight, his educators provide the kindergarten class with a full day of adventuring outside to learn about all thing’s science related. However, it doesn’t seem to deter his rest schedule.
never spoken with “the early bird gets the worm.” In this case, Matthew Rocco explored rows and rows of varieties of homegrown vegetables, jams and jellies, breads, local organic meat, cheese, butter, eggs, flora and local honey to decide what to bring back to our new abode. Being a honey lover, I was overjoyed to see him walk up to a beekeeper selling her local honey and ask to purchase a jar. Hence, opened the floodgate of questions as we traveled back to the car where Foster patiently waited on us to return.
The days of catching up on Saturday rest has left the building. Nowadays I’m awakened at 7:30am with questions - if the weather is suitable for building a new bird house, venturing to locate something exciting we can forage such things as wild blueberries, or find ourselves taking a much-needed trip to our local coffee shop before heading downtown to the local farmers market in the idyllic, and my childhood hometown of Ocean Springs. All of which are happily acceptable on my Saturday mornings and afternoons.
As we exited the farmers market, I detoured by my grandparents' old homesite. The current owners built a luxury swimming pool over the once thriving, homegrown garden. My entire childhood summers were spent on my grandparents' whopping 5-acre spread in the heart of the city of Ocean Springs. There I learned how to plant a garden, grow award winning tomatoes in a ‘hot house,' eat sweet corn off the stalk, shell peas for days and days, and can vegetables in a house with no conditioned air. As I smiled with memories of a childhood encouraged with education and curiosities, I had an epiphany of sorts - build a tradition for my sons through life skills.
The farmers market in downtown Ocean Springs is held each Saturday morning and the earlier you arrive the better your options. Truer words were
Driving back home I thought of numerous ways to cultivate his questions into a reality. I thought of the culture I was trying to instill in Matthew
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Rocco. I wanted to build a routine outside and away from electronics; create a ton of memories that would satisfy him into adulthood; and promote a tradition that would bring us back to this place of curiosity and questions year after year. On the car ride I began asking Matthew Rocco if he and his class had learned about the significance of bees. To my utter amazement he began describing a lesson from his school on how to “Feed the Bees.” This gave way to Foster becoming overwhelmingly frustrated and Matthew Rocco screaming with delight as I told them both we were going to spend the remainder of the afternoon buying pollinator plants. Foster, Matthew Rocco and I set off to the only place I knew would sufficiently educate me on what I needed to buy and continue this spark of curiosity. The agricultural CoOp in Vancleave, a little rural town ten miles north of our homestead. There the Co-Op clerk led me from being lost in translation to quickly assisting with suggestions on our overall goals. The clerk asking such questions as, “Do you know which bees you have on your property? Which variety of bees do you want to return? Do you want to manage bees, or do you just want them to ‘visit' and my favorite, ultimate perplexing question, “Do you have your management and spring habitat plan prepared?” Oh my! A ‘spring habitat and management plan' I was informed was no more than the dizzying prospect of learning the lay of the landscape and the soil moisture content, sow cycles, sunny or shady areas, consider your audience such as butterflies, bumblebees, honeybees, consider seeds vs. plants, consider planting and blooming cycles (i.e., annual or perennials). Whew! All of which I felt more than comfortable speaking on. Come to learn, these questions were easily answered with admission we are novice and want to purchase pollinator plants now that would be ready by spring. Easy peezy. As suggested by the Co-Op clerk, first thing to examine is the habitat around you. Whether you live in a rural or city space bees will come. For a rural pollinator garden, you want to plant flowering trees and shrubs in various heights. Bees tend to be most attracted to blue, purple, and yellow flowers such as ‘Blue Cranesbill, Yellow Marigold, Eastern Redbud, or a Cockspur Hawthorn’. While in tight spaces of apartment balconies, or urban gardens it is not impossible to attract bees. Through large potted plants or even a vertical trellis, 30 | Embrace Your Cultural Story
you can still bring a burst of blooms with such plants as ‘Valley Valentines for shady spots, Chives, Lavender, and Cosmos for sunny areas.' Since I personally have a mixture of meadows and flat spaces, open aired, full sun and part shade natural habitats, it was more conducive to go with a wildflower mix. A great wildflowers mix of ‘Partridge Pea, Wild Blue Lupine, Corn Poppy, White and Purple Prairie Clover, Blackeyed Susan, Shasta Daisy, Mexican Hat' to name a few, will attract bumble bees and honeybees alike and these plants will work in both rural and city gardens. Some annual seedlings such as ‘Basket Flower, Standing Cypress, and Partridge Pea' are great options to plant at the beginning of fall when the ground is moist for germination. Because we want to repeatedly see the fruits of our labor, we went with all perennials in various shapes and sizes, going with ‘Frogfruit and Black Dalia,' which have tiny blooms for those
Planting a wide variety of native plants with various shapes, sizes, and colors will promote pollinators to your space throughout the season. smaller bees and ‘Pyramid Bush' for mid-size blooms for the bees with some heft such as bumblebees. If you are like me and you tend to be drawn to flowering trees, consider leguminous trees such as ‘Huisache, or Blanco Crabapple' which is a great fruit plant, but my favorite is ‘Mexican Plum' which is a huge, towering tree with blooms that appear to reach for the sky. With native bee species in decline, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.org, the role of native plants to their prosperity is hugely crucial. Planting a wide variety of native plants with various shapes, sizes, and colors will promote pollinators to your space throughout the season. In addition, it will create a space that you will enjoy lasting memories of. Ultimately, don’t be afraid of the bees they need our help, and we need them. For now, Matthew Rocco and I have planted our wildflower mix, but perhaps as we become more settled into our new home, we will venture into planting large flowering pollinator trees and shrubs. One thing is most certain, my education on bee varieties, pollinator site preparation, tilling and planting, and various seed mixes will encourage our newfound tradition. Praying that planting is continuously successful at the refuge we call ‘home' and will be the bee’s knees.
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Spring Plantings ASTERS: End of the season blooms that provide the late floral resources up to the first frost. • Heath Aster • New England Aster CLOVERS: Laden with nectar and pollen, best to be used in wide, meadow plantings. • White & Red Clover • Sweet Clover
Late Fall Planting PENSTEMONS: Bloom early in the year and are critical for bumble bees. • Foxglove Beardtongue • Slender Beardtongue
Autumn Planting VERVAINS: Most common to bloom in June, attract honeybees and bumble bees • Blue and Hoary Vervain
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Spring to Mid-summer Planting MALLOWS: Terrific for some shade loving, flowering plants • Hibiscus • Rock Rose • Turks Cap MILKWEEDS: Highly sought after for nectar and pollen by honeybees and native bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. • Common Milkweed • Butterfly Milkweed PRAIRIE CLOVER: July blooming, magnum pollinator species because they attract several pollinators such as honeybees, butterflies, native bees, and bumble bees. Plant no later than August 1st to ensure good root development. • Purple Prairie Clover • Foxtail Prairie Clover SUNFLOWERS: Largest family of plant that serve as cost effective resources to add into the mixture of pollinator attractors. These plants are key to flower for months. • Stiff Sunflower • Common Sunflower • Sawtooth Sunflower
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WORDS for the
BIRDS and birders With the arrival of spring on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, bird watchers are cheerfully polishing the dust from their binoculars, stocking up on insect repellent and breaking out their favorite field guides in anticipation of the 2022 spring bird migration. With the hopes of seeing some of the more than 400 native and migratory birds of South Mississippi, this year’s migration is sure to capture an audience. By Andrew Barrett
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long tthe long he entire ent e ntir ire e No Northern Nort rthe hern rn G Gulf Gul ulff Co Coas Coast, ast, tt, migrating migr mi grat atin ing in g bi birds bird rdss fr from om Central Cen C entr tral al and a nd South Sou South th America eric er icaa will wi ll have hav h ave e their thei th eirr first firs fi rstt opportunity oppo op port rtun unit ityy to rest from their sspring migration across prin pr ing g mi migr grat atio ion n ac acro ross ss tthe he Gulf of Mexico in route their ute ut e to tthe he summer breading grounds in North America aand Canada. Neotropical songbirds of every color will soon be populating our bayous and woods across the entire Gulf Coast. Hummingbirds, tanagers, buntings, vireos, flycatchers, orioles, warblers, and grosbeaks, to name a few, will all be on display to dazzle the eye over the next few months.
A
Due to the large variety in species, birdwatching is a uniquely interesting hobby that can expose one to the great diversity found in nature. If you think about it, there are not many people that go squirrel watching. In Mississippi, if you see a gray squirrel and a fox squirrel you’ve pretty much concurred everything in that animal world. Learning
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how to identify the many different species of birds traversing the coast, however, can be quite rewarding, leading to a richer knowledge and appreciation of the environment where we live. After learning to recognize birds by their sight and sound, most birders naturally advance to learning more specific details: What type of habitat do they like? Is it a shoreline bird? Does it live in a pine savanna or in a bottomland hardwood forest? What do they eat? Insects? Fruits? Seeds? What are their behavioral traits? Where do they nest? Is it a ground bird? A predator? Whether it’s a native or migratory species, learning to appreciate Mississippi’s birds is a joy that can lead to a wealth of knowledge about anything from flora and insect species to the variety of natural habitats found throughout the south. And few hobbies have such a low financial threshold to get started. All you really need is a decent pair of binoculars, a field guide, and a little bit of time to sit still and pay attention.
Mississippi’s six coastal counties have a bounty of riches when it comes to birdwatching. In the spring, any wooded region can become a viewing area to spot the eye-popping migratory birds on their journey north. Particularly after a “fallout”. A fallout occurs when migrating birds are forced to land due to a severe weather event for a little rest and recovery before continuing their annual journey north when the weather clears, and the belly is full. If timed right for your viewing area, this is the best opportunity to see both large quantities and varieties of these extraordinary birds. If nothing else, simply putting a bird feeder stocked with seeds in your back yard will draw an array of native and migratory birds to you.
the years. Popular flyways like the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in southeast Jackson County or Ansley Preserve in southern Hancock County are ideal settings to see an abundance of species. In Harrison County, the Desoto National Forest is a well-recognized destination for serious birders. George County has a few popular bottomland hardwood forests for birdwatching in the Pascagoula h e Pa Pasc scag agou oula la watershed at Rines Lake and Boneyard Lake. Stone County, d Lake La ke.. In S Sto tone ne C the popular Flint Creekk Wate Water great Wa terr Park Pa P rk iiss a gr grea eatt location for birders o off all levels. River all le leve vels ls.. The Th e Old Old Ri Rive verr Wildlife Management western Pearl River g em emen entt Ar Area ea iin n we west ster ern n Pe Pear arll Ri Rive verr County or o r the th e Crosby Cros Cr osby by Arboretum A Arb rbor oret etum um in in the th e south sout so uth h of the t he county disappoint even seasoned nty will w wililll no nott di disa sapp ppoi oint nt e eve ven n th the e mo most st ssea easo sone ned d birdwatcher. bird bi rdwa watc tche her. r.
For the seasoned birdwatcher, seeking out known birding locales in the six coastal counties may increase the likelihood of finally spotting that one variety that has eluded you throughout
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he Mississippi Coast ast Audubon Aud A udub u ubon on Society’s Soc S ocie iety ty’s ’s website web w ebsi site te (mscoastaudubon. ((ms msco coas asta taud audub ubon on.. org) is a greatt re resource information native migratory reso sour urce ce ffor or iinf nfor orma mati tion on on on bo both th n nat ativ ive e an and d migr mi gr or oryy birds in South Mississippi with links maps hM Mis issi siss ssip ippi pi w wit ith h lilink nkss to inf iinformative nfor orma rmati m tive ve m map apss like like tthe Local eBird Hotspots and the the Mississippi Mis Missi siss s ssip sippi pi p Coastal Coas Co asta tall Birding Bi Bird rdin ing g Trail. T Trai Tr ail.l. For Fo access tspo ts pots tss map ma map and to remote locations informed guide, may want to consider a cati ca tion onss wi with th aan n in info form rmed ed dg gui u uide de,, yo you um guided tour from one many nature-based eo off tthe he man m anyy na natu atu ture re-b -bas as ttours available on the Gulf Coast. A comprehensive list off companies offering this type of service can nsive llis istt o is
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be found on the Coastal Mississippi website at.gulfcoast.org/things-to-do/ outdoor-adventure-and-nature/nature-based-tours/ (also see the Outpost Business article on page :5). Whatever your level of experience, birdwatching on the Gulf Coast this spring will prove to be both entertaining and enlightening and can provide the perfect opportunity to commune with nature after a long winter spent indoors without breaking the bank.
FACTS for the BIRDS Victorian fashion of the late 19th and early 20th centuries incorporated the use of bird feathers as ornamentation on women’s hats. Millions of birds were slaughtered annually for their plumage driving many species to the edge of extinction. In Florida alone, 95% of the shore birds had been killed by the year 1900. Initial legislation to protect bird species began at the turn of the century with the Lacey Act followed by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 that is still enforced today.
John James Audubon’s ground-breaking work, Birds of America, published in 1838, set the standard for bird illustrating with paintings of over 1,000 American bird species with most of his works done right here in Mississippi. In fact, Audubon lived roughly 3 years in Mississippi drawing, painting, and teaching illustration at different academies in and around the Natchez area.
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I NNOVAT IVE
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BUNGALOW-DOWN: Origins of the Craftsman bungalow housing form on the Mississippi Gulf Coast
E The bungalow housing form can be found throughout the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage area. The bungalow’s hey-day, from roughly 1905 to 1935, was a period where the Coast’s population, specifically Harrison County, doubled, speaking to why bungalows can be found so frequently in the area, even after 100 years. The homes are representative of the end of the Victorian era, whose architecture expressed a verticality, along with opulence and excess, with homes that are horizontally oriented and stress simplicity in design and materials. The housing form bungalow in the United States began as a casual space, a retreat, from the formality of Victorian life in the country, mountains, or seaside. As often happens when folks are on vacation they begin to ask, “why can’t we have this carefree lifestyle every day?” And with that, elements of the bungalow form began to creep into everyday residential design. Fueling this development on a national level was the rise of the middle class, a demographic which could not afford larger or extravagantly detailed homes popular during the Victorian era. Additionally, bungalows were generally considered small enough that the house could be kept by the residents themselves and did not require domestic help.
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ED
efined as a one-story house with a low-pitch roof, a bungalow is usually a modest and inexpensive home. The word itself derived from the Hindi word ‘bangla’, or house in Bengali, and was used frequently in 19th newspaper accounts as a romanticized reference to homes in colonial territories located in Southeast Asian. The term came into popular use for housing in the United States after the frequent use of it to describe the smaller buildings built by states and other organizations across the fair grounds of the 1904 World’s Fair held in St. Louis. (Mississippi’s building at the 1904 fair was a replica of Beauvoir ¼ scale of the real Beauvoir house in Biloxi.) While over 19 million people attended the fair, that alone was not enough to spread the popularity of the term bungalow and its form far and wide. Just like today, our ancestors turned to trend setting style guides, and magazines began to fill that role, having become much more common after the turn of the century. Perhaps the most prominent of these was The Ladies Home Journal was a highly influential residential taste setter for much of the late 19th and early 20th century, and in 1903 became the first American magazine to have a circulation of more than one million copies. In addition to giving hints and tips on household care, the periodical published modest house plans. Magazines such as The Ladies Home Journal spread the popularity of terms like “Bungalow” along with the house form’s appearance. On March 26, 1909, Northrop’s Department Store in Gulfport published an advertisement in the Biloxi Daily Herald that the store carried the latest edition of the Ladies Home Journal, which featured a center spread of bungalows, “Just big enough for two,” that ranged in price from $400 to $1,800. Featured among the houses on the two-page spread was a plan designed by Pasadena, California architect Arthur Samuel Barnes that was described as, “A Well-Planned Mission Bungalow for $1,830.” Topping out just over the previously stated $1,800, the Ladies Home Journal describes the five-room home as such…
“All the rooms of this compactly planned bungalow open into the living-room, making any hallways unnecessary. The ends of the living-room are almost entirely of glass and the rear there is a pretty pergola court which makes the back of the house quite as attractive as the front. The exterior walls up to the window-line are constructed of vertical one-by-twelve-inch boards with battens, and above this they are shingled. Brick has been used to form the base of the substantial porch and pergola column. What bride would not be delighted to live in this artistic little home?” 1
If the price for all that sounds too good to be true, it probably was. The Vicksburg Evening Post published the following joke in 1908:2 Client looking over several architectural designs: Ah, That’s pretty! What is that? Architect: That is a fifteen-hundred-dollar bungalow. Client: What will it cost to build it? Architect: About eight thousand dollars. Regardless of the price, someone was interested enough to build four of these bungalows in Biloxi. Their exact date of construction or the builder is unknown, but the buildings appear to have been completed before 1914. 1
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“Just big enough for two” Ladies Home Journal (Des Moines, IA) April 1909. Page 59. 2
“Bungalows” Vicksburg Evening Post (Vicksburg, MS) 1 July 1908. Page 8.
One house was constructed at 134 Seal Avenue, while the other three lined the south side of East Howard Avenue a 497, 491, 485 in Biloxi. The latter of these have been destroyed, except the Seal Avenue bungalow. While described in the article as a “Mission Bungalow” it is clearly more in line with what today would be called a Craftsman Style Bungalow, with its low-pitched roof with wide overhangs, exposed roof rafters, decorative beams or braces under the gables, porches that are full, or partial width, with roof supported by square columns with bases that continue to the ground level. The popularity of the bungalow form also coincided with the rise in popularity of the Craftsman Style. Nearly ubiquitous with the term bungalow, the Craftsman Style originated in California before rapidly spreading throughout the United States thanks to the widespread popularity of magazines such The Craftsman. Edited by Gustave Stickley (1856-1942), a New York based furniture manufacturer, he was an ardent promoter of the English Arts and Crafts Style of architecture and decoration. Stickley published the periodical The Craftsman beginning in 1901 until 1916. The magazine’s title is said to be the origin for the naming of the Craftsman Style of architectural and decorative design. The Craftsman Style was the most popular style for small houses constructed in America between c.1905 through the 1930’s, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast was no different. The style arose as a reaction to the industrialized production and the often-ornate aesthetic of the Victorian periods' architecture styles. Styles such as the Queen Anne Style had been wildly embraced by the public due to the pattern books and pre-cut architectural details made widely available thanks to the national network of railroad lines. “We not only imitate foreign ideals in our architecture, but we have become artificial and unreal in all the detail of the finish and fittings of our homes." - The Art of Building a Home by Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin. 1901 The Craftsman movement placed emphasis on design elements in which a builder’s hand could be readily seen, with designs that emphasized exposed joinery, and simplified woodwork. This favored more simplistic (albeit still machine-made) detailing versus the elaborate carvings that came to define architecture and designs of the Victorian period (roughly 1820-1914). Both the, Bungalow form and the Craftsman Style fell out of favor near the end of the 1930’s across the United States as modern, streamline designs became more popular, along with the rise of the Ranch House, which became the dominant housing form in the United States during the second half of the 20th century.
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MAIL ORDER PLANS VS. KIT HOUSES E The bungalow house featured in the 1909 Ladies Home Journal article is an example of a mail order plan house. At the beginning of the 19th century, architects would advertise house plans for sale in newspapers and magazines, where !*-ä ä7 /ä!
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through the mail but would be responsible to locate and buy the materials then build the house yourself. Beginning in the mid-19th century, building material entrepreneurs began the practice of selling complete house kits, where all the materials needed to construct the house would be sent along with the plans. However, it was not until transportation costs became increasingly cheaper after the turn of the 20th century that kit houses took off in popularity. While often referred to as “Sears Homes”, in reality, dozens of companies shipped homes all across North America. The following are some of the kit house companies that started in the 20th century, along with the location of their corporate headquarters, and year of founding. • Bennett Homes, North Tonawanda, New York – 1902 • Aladdin Homes, Bay City, Michigan – 1906 • Gordon-Van Tine Homes, Davenport, Iowa – 1907 ½ $6 ä 4ä 0/ä *( . *.ä )" ' .äÃä9A8@ • Sears Modern Homes, Sears, Roebuck, Chicago – 1908 • Montgomery Ward, Chicago, Illinois – 1910 • Fenner Factory Cut Homes, North Portland, Oregon – 1912 • Hewitt-Lea-Funck Company, Seattle, Washington – 1912 • Harris Homes, Chicago, Illinois – 1913 • Sterling Homes, International Mill and Timber Company, Bay City, Michigan – 1915 • Liberty Homes, Lewis Manufacturing, Bay City, Michigan – 1925
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FEATURES OF CRAFTSMAN STYLE HOUSES E • • • • • • •
Wood Siding types are shingle, board and batten, clapboard. Some examples have multiple siding types used. ‘battered walls' that slope out at the foundation level. multi-pane sash over sash with one large pane Triangular braced supports in the eaves. Extended or elaborate rafter ends. Trellised porch or porte-cochere roof Porch posts with ‘battered' or sloped sides.
FORM VS STYLE E Architectural forms refer to a building’s composition. Examples are bungalow, mansion, cottage, shotgun. Architectural style refers to a building’s common attributes in the arraignment of major design elements. Examples are; Craftsman Style, Greek Revival Style, Art Deco Style, Queen Anne Style. Innovative | 45
LI FE
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FLAVORF UL
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•
1 (3 lb) rack baby back ribs
Dry Rub • 1 1/2Tbsp light brown sugar • 1 tsp garlic powder • 1 tsp sea salt • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper • 1/4 tsp ground mustard braising liquid • 1/2 cup white wine • 2 Tbsp minced shallots • 2 garlic cloves, minced
Sweet Honey Barbecue Sauce • 1 1/2 cups ketchup • 1 cup honey • 1/2 cup light brown sugar • 1/3 cup water • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar • 2 Tbsp molasses • 2 Tbsp dry mustard • 1 Tbsp smoked paprika • 2 tsp salt • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1. Place ribs on a baking sheet, lined with plastic wrap. 2. Mix together all the dry rub ingredients until well combined. Smother ribs with the dry rub, on both sides, until fully coated and tightly wrap with plastic wrap. 3. Refrigerate and allow ribs to marinate for 12 hours. < - # /ä*1 )ä/*ä:?=I 5. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together all braising liquid ingredients. 6. Remove ribs from the refrigerator and unwrap. Place ribs atop a large sheet of heavy duty foil, meat side down, and lift up all sides around the ribs. Pour braising liquid over ribs and tightly wrap. 7. Place ribs onto a baking sheet and place into oven for about 2 1/2 hours. 8. While the ribs bake, combine all sauce ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour sauce into a small pot and simmer for 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and cool completely. 9. Remove ribs from the oven and carefully unwrap. Remove ribs from the foil completely and place back onto the baking sheet, meat side up. 10. Turn broiler on high in oven. 11. Brush sauce over the meaty side of the ribs and place under broiler for 4 to 5 minutes or until caramelized and the edges begin to crisp. 12. Remove from broiler and allow ribs to rest for about 10 minutes. Cut rack into individual ribs and serve with more sauce on the side.
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Makes 1 full rack
Flavorful | 53
Mother'sDayM Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon
Recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2009 INGREDIENTS: • 4 eggs • 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar ½ :ä )"'$.#ä(0!6). ä# '1 • a little butter, for spreading • 8 slices smoked salmon
HOLLANDAISE SAUCE: • 2 tsp lemon juice • 2 tsp white wine vinegar • 3 egg yolks • ½ cup of unsalted butter, diced
METHOD: 1. First, make the hollandaise sauce. Put the lemon juice and vinegar in a small bowl, add the egg yolks and whisk with a balloon whisk until light and frothy. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk until mixture thickens. Gradually add the butter, whisking constantly until thick – if it looks like it might be splitting, then whisk off the heat for a few minutes. Season and keep warm. 2. To poach the eggs, bring a large pan of water to boil and add vinegar. Lower the heat so the water is simmering gently. Stir water so you have a slight whirlpool, then slide in the eggs one by one. Cook each for about four minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon. ; $"#/'4ä/* ./ä ) ä 0// -ä/# ä(0!6). ä/# )ä+0/ä ä *0+' ä*!ä.'$ . of salmon on each half. Top each with an egg, spoon over some hollandaise and garnish with smoked paprika (if desired).
54 | Embrace Your Cultural Story
MorningBruch 0LQL :DIÁHV ZLWK Honey Drizzle Recipe from Heavenly Home Cooking INGREDIENTS: ½ 9ä 0+ä ''Á+0-+*. ä7*0• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar (can substitute sweetener, like Swerve, if trying to watch sugar intake) • 2 tsp baking powder (This is necessary to make /# ä2 !7 .ä-$. ° • ¼ tsp salt • 1 cup milk (Can use any dairy or dairy-free milk, but bear in mind that dairy-free options may change the consistency of batter and make it runnier. Adjust the (*0)/ä*!ä7*0-ä/*ä *(+ ). / ä ) ä$!ä) .. -4 ä/-4 $)"ä7*0-ä ä/ ' .+**)ä /ä ä/$( ° • 1 large egg • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled METHOD: 9 )ä ä' -" ä($3$)"ä *2' ä.$!/ä7*0- ä.0" - ä &$)"ä+*2 and salt. 2. In a blender, combine milk, egg and melted butter. Blend on low until frothy, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Alternatively, you can add the ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk briskly for 1-2 minutes or beat with an electric mixer on high speed for about 1 minute. ; *0-ä2 /ä$)"- $ )/.ä$)/*ä -4ä ) ä./$-ä0)/$'ä%0./ä *( $) ä ) ä)*ä7*0-ä./- &.ä- ( $) ä /¨.ä+ -! /'4ä6) ä/*ä# 1 ä'0(+. /ä .$ ä ) ä ''*2ä/*ä- ./ä2#$' ä4*0-ä2 !7 ä$-*)ä# /.ä0+ < - # /ä2 !7 ä$-*)ä ) ä'$"#/'4ä.+- 4ä2$/#ä **&$)"ä.+- 4 ä +**)ä9Á:ä/ ' .+**).ä*!ä // -ä*)/*ä#*/ä$-*)ä ) ä **&ä *- $)" /*ä( )0! /0- -¨.ä$)./-0 /$*). ä #ä($)$ä2 !7 ä.#*0' ä( .0- ä *0/ä;Á<ä$) # .ä$)ä $ ( / -
Mother’s Day Mimosa INGREDIENTS: • 6 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate • ¼ cup orange liqueur • ¼ cup warm honey • 1 bottle chilled champagne • ½ cup fresh strawberries
DIRECTIONS 1. Use a pitcher to combine lemonade concentrate and orange liqueur or orange juice concentrate. 2. Pour honey into the mixture and keep stirring to dissolve. 3. Stir in champagne. 4. Serve the mimosa by garnishing with fresh strawberries. Flavorful | 55
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