A AFFAIR Family
NATCHEZ
PUBLISHER
Stacy Graning
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Justin Clarkston
COMMUNITY EDITOR
Jan Griffey
CONTRIBUTORS
Stacy Graning
Jan Griffey
Ben Hillyer
Mary Alice Higgs
Sabrina Robertson
CONTACT INFORMATION
Natchez the Magazine P.O. Box 1447
Natchez, MS 39121 info@natchezthemagazine.com
HHospitality is a word we don’t take lightly here in Natchez. On the surface, hospitality means the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.
But we know the spirit of hospitality flows much deeper and wider, much like the river that flows alongside our town.
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That’s why it’s refreshing to see new faces embrace and embody that spirit of hospitality when they move to Natchez. Chester Greer is one of those folks. Originally from Port Gibson, Greer followed his daughter, Elizabeth, to Natchez after retiring from a career as an electrical engineer. He purchased Beaumont House on Main Street, right next door to his daughter Elizabeth, and together they are running a successful bed-andbreakfast inn. There’s may be a nontraditional business, but it’s a story that is as uniquely Natchez as any you’ll find, and one you’ll enjoy reading.
This edition of Natchez The Magazine holds some other story treasures as well. Most of us know of Maggie Brown – the deeply talented singer whose voice stirs memories of languid evenings Under-the-Hill, watching the river roll by as she plays in the background. We know her engaging personality, her talent and how important she is to the tapestry of music in Natchez and Adams County. But few of us know her origin story – the lifetime of music and travels that flows through her veins and the challenges she has faced and overcome as an adult. It’s as moving as her songs, and we’re thankful she chose to share it with us.
Of course, there’s plenty of other stories in this edition – from the spotlight on a wood-carving artisan to the tales of a group of students who found that learning and travel make a good match.
We hope you’ll grab a sweet tea and a spot on the porch to enjoy this latest edition of Natchez The Magazine.
In a Pickle
Whether you’re a fan of Kosher dills or Fat Mama’s Fire and Ice, it’s easy to see why pickles are having a moment. From cocktails to dips to seasonings for main dishes, pickles are finding a spot on tables across the Miss-Lou. So, if you find yourself with an extra jar of home-canned pickles or those iconic Fire and Ice slices, here are some new ways to enjoy.
DILL PICKLE CHICKEN SKEWERS
(Adapted from allrecipes.com)
INGREDIENTS
1 (24 ounce) jar dill pickle chips
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, excess fat trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ranch dressing mix
Sauce:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon ranch dressing mix
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
For skewers, open pickle jar and transfer
pickles to a small bowl using a fork, leaving pickle juice in the jar. Set aside.
In the jar with pickle juice, add brown sugar and 1 teaspoon salt; whisk until dissolved. Add chicken to the jar, making sure all pieces are submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 12 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Remove chicken pieces from pickle juice; discard juice. Thread 1 chicken piece followed by 3 pickle chips onto an 8-inch skewer; repeat layers once, then finish with a third chicken piece. Continue threading remaining chicken and pickles onto skewers as needed; reserve any extra pickles for another use. Place skewers on the prepared baking sheet; pat dry using paper towels. Evenly brush skewers with oil. Sprinkle chicken pieces evenly with ranch dressing mix and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt.
Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat until water sprinkled on immediately sizzles. Grill skewers, pressing down on chicken as needed, just until marks form on two sides, about 1 minute per side. Return skewers to baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chicken registers at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 7 to 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, for sauce, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat; add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until butter starts to brown and garlic is lightly golden, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat; whisk in broth, ranch dressing mix, dill, and salt until well combined. Whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon butter until melted and emulsified. Transfer skewers to a serving plate; drizzle with sauce and serve immediately. Garnish with more dill, if desired.
DEVILED EGGS WITH FAT MAMA’S FIRE AND ICE PICKLES
(Adapted from delish.com)
INGREDIENTS
12 medium eggs, hard boiled
2 tablespoons Fat Mama’s Fire and Ice Pickles, finely chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon Fat Mama’s Fire and Ice Pickles juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, optional 1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh pepper to your liking
Paprika
DIRECTIONS
Vertically slice your eggs in half. Gently remove the yolks. Place in a bowl. Mash the yolks very well and not lumpy. Add Fat Mama’s Fire and Ice Pickles, Fat Mama’s Fire and Ice Pickle juice, mayonnaise, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and if you wish, hot sauce. Do not mix in the paprika.
Taste and adjust as needed.
You can pipe the filling into the eggs white halves or spoon in.
Garnish with paprika and a thin slice of Fat
DILL PICKLE POTATO CHIPS
(Adapted from delish.com)
INGREDIENTS
2 russet potatoes, thinly sliced
2 cups pickle brine
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. freshly chopped dill, plus more for garnish
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Ranch dressing, for dipping
DIRECTIONS
Place sliced potatoes in a large
Mama’s Fire and Ice Pickles on top. Arrange on plate and refrigerate until ready to serve.
PICKLE BUTTER
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp. dill pickle brine
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
Dash of hot sauce
1/4 cup chopped dill pickles
1 Tbsp. chopped dill
DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients. Serve warm as a dipping sauce. Serving suggestions: Grilled chicken breast, cooked burgers or cornbread.
FRIED PICKLE DIP
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups sour cream
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 packet of ranch seasoning about 1 oz, or 2 tbsp
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoon dill pickle juice
1.5 cups dill pickled, chopped
bowl and add enough pickle brine to completely submerge them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 400º. When potatoes are done marinating, drain and pat completely dry, then place in a large bowl. Add oil, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, and crushed red pepper flakes to bowl and toss to coat potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
Lay potatoes in an even layer on a large baking sheet, making sure none are overlapping. Bake, flipping halfway through, until tender on the inside, and crisp and golden on the outside, about 40 minutes. Garnish with more dill and serve with ranch dressing.
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced salt and pepper to taste hot sauce optional, to taste
DIRECTIONS
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over medium high heat. Add Panko bread crumbs and toast, stirring frequently, for a couple of minutes until crisp and golden brown.
Remove from heat and pour into a small bowl to cool. Set aside.
Into a mixing bowl add sour cream, softened cream cheese, ranch seasoning, pickle juice and lemon juice with a few drops of hot sauce (optional). Use an electric hand mixture to blend until well combined.
Add in chopped pickles, garlic, dill and chives and stir to combine.
Taste and add additional salt, pepper or hot sauce according to your preference.
Spoon about half of the sour cream and pickle mixture into a serving dish. Then sprinkle about half of the toasted breaded crumbs on top.
Spoon in the remaining sour cream mixture and top with the remaining breadcrumbs. Serve with potato chips, pita chips or fresh veggies and enjoy!
FOOD
SPICY PICKLE MARTINI
INGREDIENTS
.75 ounce spicy pickle juice
11/2 ounces vodka
.5 ounces dry vermouth
Pickled pepper or pickled jalapeno to garnish (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the pickle juice, vodka and vermouth and shake until the outside of the shaker is ice cold. Strain and pour into a martini glass. Garnish with the pickled pepper, if desired. Serve cold.
PICKLE MARGARITA
(From NYT Cooking)
YIELD: 1 MARGARITA INGREDIENTS
Ice
11/2 ounces reposado tequila or tequila blanco
1 ounce pickle brine (preferably from classic dill pickles), plus pickle chips or a pickle spear to garnish
1 ounce fresh lime juice, plus 1 lime wedge
3/4 ounce triple sec (preferably Cointreau)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 to 3 dashes habanero hot sauce (preferably El Yucateco), optional
Coarse salt, optional
DIRECTIONS
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add tequila, pickle brine, lime juice, triple sec, granulated sugar and hot sauce, if using. Shake until combined and foamy.
If you’d like a salted rim for
your glass, moisten the rim of a rocks glass with a lime wedge then dip it in salt to coat. Fill your glass with ice.
Strain margarita into the icefilled glass, garnish with pickle chips or a pickle spear, and serve immediately.
TIP
This recipe batches beautifully: For 8 margaritas, simply use a cup in place of every ounce (11/2 cups tequila for the 11/2 ounces, 3/4 cup triple sec for the 3/4 ounce, and so on) and 1/3 cup granulated sugar; add hot sauce to taste. Mix it all together in a large pitcher filled about halfway with ice. Be sure to stir the mixture vigorously to dissolve the sugar, and serve immediately. (You can also combine everything in a bowl or other storage container and measure out cocktails one at a time, agitating the whole mixture before adding a portion to the shaker to ensure you get an even blend of the ingredients.)
SIPPING FANCY
Teachers love a colorful and fun tumbler for keeping their coffee and water cold (or hot) and these fun patters from Lily Pulizter are sure to put a smile on anyone’s fact. The Linde Boutiquery: $36.95, water bottle; $18.95, cup; $24, stemless tumbler)
Class
As summer winds down the back-to-school season is upon us. For parents and youngsters returning to the classroom, here’s a little something to make the return to class a little more fun.
APPLES ALLIGATORS AND ALL THAT
Teachers can’t resist an on-theme accessory and these earrings by Stephanie Carroll are just that. XXXX, $8.
DON’T DUCK
Even the youngest outdoorsman will be proud to sport these duck motif accessories, from a backpack to a lunch box.
Kudzu Cotton, backpack, $92; lunch box, $39; tumbler, $38.
ELMO SAYS … Who doesn’t love Elmo? And this read along book shares Elmo’s adventure as he is off to school, taking the readers along with him. Kudzu Cotton, $10.99
What to read next?
From New Orleans to Great Britain, Paris to your home these books take readers on emotional journeys and through some of the season’s best fiction and non-fiction. See what the Natchez Book Club recommends now:
THE LISTENERS
January 1942. The Avallon Hotel & Spa has always offered elegant luxury in the wilds of West Virginia, its mountain sweetwater washing away all of high society’s troubles.
Local girl-turned-gen eral manager June Porter Hudson has guided the Avallon skillfully through the first pangs of war. The Gilfoyles, the hotel’s aristocratic owners, have trained her well. But when the family heir makes a secret deal with the State Department to fill the hotel with captured Axis diplomats, June must persuade her staff—many of whom have sons and husbands heading to the front lines—to offer luxury to Nazis. With a smile.
SATCHMO: MY LIFE IN NEW ORLEANS
No intellectual Ivy League BS jazz theory here, this is Armstrong on Armstrong, the tale of the musical genius, the key artist of the century, complete with his grammatical errors and misspellings.
BROKEN COUNTRY
A love triangle unearths dangerous, deadly secrets from the past in this thrilling tale perfect for fans of The Paper Palace and Where the Crawdads Sing.
EVERY STAR IN THE SKY
When Rebecca Lewis meets Richard Arrington on her first day at Harvard Business School, she wants nothing to do with him. He is snobby, he is English, and he is handsome enough to be a distraction from her goal of graduating first in her class. It is 1984, and Rebecca has to prove she belongs in a man’s world. When Richard meets Rebecca, he falls in love. Thirty-five years later, Richard has finally achieved his lifelong he is Prime Minister of Great Britain. Handsome and popular, the English aristocrat has everything he ever wanted. But when a scandal erupts accusing him of lying and stealing, Richard must answer for a secret past that has shaped his life – and a secret love that will never die.
FRACTURED
When Atlanta housewife Abigail Campano comes home unexpectedly one afternoon, she walks into a nightmare. A broken window, a bloody footprint on the stairs and, most devastating of all, the horrifying sight of her teenage daughter lying dead on the landing, a man standing over her with a bloody knife. The struggle which follows changes Abigail’s life forever.
THE PARIS NOVEL
Stella reached for an oyster, tipped her head and tossed it back. It was cool and slippery, the flavor so briny it was like diving into the ocean... Oysters, she thought, where have they been all my life? When her estranged mother dies, Stella is left with an unusual a one-way plane ticket and a note reading Go to Paris. But Stella is hardly cut out for adventure; a childhood trauma has kept her confined to the strict routines of her comfort zone. When her boss encourages her to take time off, Stella resigns herself to honoring her mother’s last wishes.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF POWER
From the former prime minister of New Zealand, then the world’s youngest female head of government and just the second to give birth in office, comes a deeply personal memoir chronicling her extraordinary rise and offering inspiration to a new generation of leaders.
CITY OF SPIRITS
Murder, lust, and a hundred-fifty year old voodoo curse. It’s Mardi Gras in the Big Easy, an escaped killer’s on the loose, and French Quarter detective Wyatt Thomas has his hands full. Get ready for a ride!
LET THEM
If you’ve ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or frustrated with where you are, the problem isn’t you. The problem is the power you give to other people. Two simple words—Let Them—will set you free. Free from the opinions, drama, and judgments of others. Free from the exhausting cycle of trying to manage everything and everyone around you. The Let Them Theory puts the power to create a life you love back in your hands—and this book will show you exactly how to do it.
ARTIST
NATCHEZ — Peter
Sherman is a man of many interests.
When he puts himself into one of his pursuits, he gives it his all, whether it’s his job selling to contractors at one of several Home Hardware stores he travels to regularly or his passion for cooking or his creation of bowls from a single log of wood, the end results of which are works of art.
“I grew up in Greenville and my family had the Greenville Lumber Company. We three boys were always in the shop building something. We always had wood within reach,” Sherman said.
However, it was 2017, that he began making his bowls, using only one tool, called an adze.
Sherman’s bowls are handmade, a skill he learned from Dr. Dunbar McCurley of Woodville.
Sherman uses only an adze, which he uses to “chop” the log into its bowl shape. Then, he sands it until he’s happy with the finished product.
“I have people calling me all the time telling me where a tree has come down or that they have a log they think would make a good bowl,” he said. Sherman said his favorite woods to work with are Willow and Hackberry.
He makes about 100 bowls a year, and right now has about 50 in the works in his shop.
“I’ll chop on one until I get tired of it and then put it down and start chopping on another.
“I’ve gotten a little bit faster making the bowls. It’s about a four-month process from green log to a dry bowl. They will last for generations, handed down to your children and grandchildren.
“Once I split a lot, I take that block of wood and decide whatever shape I want to make. I try to use as much of the wood as I can,” he said. “I draw out what I’m going to make and just start chopping with my adze. It’s kind of a primitive way of doing it.”
While Sherman enjoys making bowls and describes the process as a type of medication for him, his passion is cooking, something his father enjoyed, too.
His father, Dave Sherman, passed away
at age 95 three years ago. “He taught us a lot. He was still living by himself and doing all the things you enjoy doing. He got sick and went down pretty fast.”
He uses his father’s recipe to make bread.
“I make bread and do that for people sometimes and give it to them. I will make gumbo or soup for someone who is ill. That’s how I express myself — through food and through my art work,”
Sherman said he has signed more than 900 bowls. The process of creating a bowl is transformative.
“I just kind of almost transform into my own little world. I don’t go in there and start making a bowl because I’m angry or anything like that, so I don’t know I would call it a stress reliever. But when I get into it, I can easily lose track of time. Sometimes you want to just continue shopping or sanding or finishing and the next thing you know you are late for something.”
The adze is unforgiving, he said, but fortunately to date he has not injured himself while making a bowl.
“While I’m chopping, I’m sharpening it every 15 minutes. It would be a bad day if I’m not careful.”
Sherman and his bowls
can be found at the Farmers Market in Broadway in Natchez every Saturday morning and in the Makers Market on the Bluff when they have them.
He has also displayed his bowls at ArtsNatchez and has sold some at a number of downtown Natchez shops.
“A lot of people contact me on Facebook and I ship all over,” Sherman said. “I’m blessed to have tourists as customers and friends and local people who are customers. I have a bowl in Paris, France, and a bowl in Belgium and in other countries, too.”
You may contact Sherman on his Facebook page, Natchez Bowls, or his YouTube channel, Natchez Bowls by Peter Sherman, which contains videos of his work making his bowls.
HOME AND GARDEN
Hospitality Family
Beaumont House doubles as family home, business
STORY & PHOTOS BY SABRINA ROBERTSON
All Chester Greer wanted from his Natchez home that he moved into about three-and-a-half years ago was a place to set up his computer and coffee pot, a bed to sleep in and a three-car garage.
When the Beaumont House was offered up for sale on Main Street, it had three of the four things he was searching for. Chester is still working on the three-car garage, but the biggest perk was that his daughter, Elizabeth
Greer, lived next door.
“About four years ago, I bought what we call Granny’s Cottage,” a little house that sits on the same property next to the Beaumont House, Elizabeth said.
Chester had grown up in Port Gibson and was very familiar with Natchez, but never thought he would live in Natchez until visiting after his wife, Elizabeth’s stepmother, passed away.
TOP: A cosey fireplace sits off in the corner of this guest bedroom of the Beaumont House at 815 Main St. in Natchez.
ABOVE: “Natchez Style” an architecture and recipe book about Natchez sits on the coffee table of the sitting room at the Beaumont House. FAR LEFT: Chester and Elizabeth Greer stand on the front porch of the Beaumont House.
BELOW: Place settings are set up at the breakfast table of the Beaumont House.
“I kept looking and looking and couldn’t find anything (for Chester to buy) and then one day I get a message from (prior owner Oleta Forse) saying ‘Do you think your daddy would want to buy Beaumont House?’ I was teaching school, but I called daddy over my break and told him,” Elizabeth said. “By the time I got home, they had already talked about it and shook hands on it. Once daddy shakes on it, that’s it.”
What happened next was something neither of them ever thought would happen.
At some point in its history, the property that was all part of one family had been split up and sold to different families. When Chester moved in next door, it was like the properties were made one again, Elizabeth said.
The Beaumont House was operating as a bed & breakfaster when Chester bought it. Now the fatherdaughter duo runs the business together.
An electrical engineer by trade, Chester continues to work from home part-time with a nearby consulting firm. Elizabeth, who is retired from a 25-year teaching career, works full time at William-Johnson House, educating tourists on all things Natchez.
Chester’s is the face many people see when guests check into the Beaumont House. Elizabeth manages the webpage and handles all of the bookings behind the scenes.
“If you had told us four years ago that we would be in the Bed & Breakfast business
HOME AND GARDEN
RIGHT: The Audrey Hepburn-themed room of the Beaumont House offers guests an opportunity to play dress up.
BELOW: The closet of the Ernest Hemmingway room is stashed with everything a writer needs to stir up a creative muse.
BOTTOM PHOTOS: Decorative Natchez pillows provide a sense of place in the Beaumont House guest rooms.
together, I would have just smiled and said, ‘That’s cute. I don’t think so,’” Elizabeth said. “But here we are.”
Chester added, “It was not part of any plan that I would be involved in a B&B. It just was. It didn’t make any difference to me one way or the other.”
Having traveled and moved around a lot in his life, Chester said Natchez is the only city he’s ever lived in where the mayor stopped by his house just to welcome him.
Now, Chester has his computer and his coffee and a place to sleep in a private living quarters in the downstairs bedroom of the house. There is a gold plate on the door that even says “Private.”
Chester said that when the guests check in, “I tell them that’s my rank here. Private. The general lives next door.”
It wasn’t a far stretch for Chester to enter into the hospitality business, as he often gets along well with strangers and has traveled a lot in life for his work, he said.
“I was not a fluorescent engineer. I didn’t sit in the desk under a fluorescent light all day. I traveled all over the world, technically. A lot of my time was spent in customers’ plants. Today being with this customer and two days later with this customer. So in doing that, I was always meeting and having to work with new people.”
Chester said he was fascinated with what some of his guests, most of them from European countries, knew about southern American states.
“I asked one little old lady from France where she was headed and she said Houma or Thibodaux or somewhere down there. I said, ‘Wait a minute. You’re from France. How do you even know Thibodaux exists?’ ... She said we did some research and wanted to go to ‘the heart of Cajun country.’ ... I said you’re headed the right direction if that’s what you want to see.”
The Beaumont House gets its name from a man who barely lived in it,
FAR LEFT: The Beaumont House’s previous owner Oleta Force provided much of the furniture in the house, including this sitting room couch.
LEFT: Birds decorate this soft, cool colored bedroom of the Beaumont House.
BELOW: Chester and Elizabeth Greer added their own collection of things modern and antique, artfully blended together at the Beaumont House for a cosey place to stay in Natchez.
Elizabeth said.
In 1828, a Scottish builder named Andrew Brown purchased a small sawmill on Learneds Mill Road from Peter Little, who had used it to build Rosalie.
From its timbers, he supplied materials for various construction projects. When lumber prices were low, Brown used his business sense to oversee the construction of the Beaumont House along with many other building projects throughout the heart of Natchez.
Cypress from the same mill that supplied Rosalie also makes up Beaumont, Elizabeth said.
The house was made to be sold to a
high-end merchant by the name of Beaumont, who was not as business savvy as its architect. The house was foreclosed on soon after Beaumont bought it, but is henceforth known as the Beaumont House.
With a father who also worked in a sawmill, Chester feels somewhat connected to Brown.
“I was almost born and raised in a sawmill. I was not impressed with Andrew Brown when I first got here. I heard he was an architect and built houses. So what? But when I found out he was a sawmill man, that gave him some clout.”
The house has a mixture of things
modern and antique which are artfully blended together.
Force named some of the rooms for her children, Laura and Emily. Keeping with this, but putting a spin on it, Elizabeth named and decorated rooms after notable figures like Ernest Hemingway and Audrey Hepburn.
For whichever room the guests choose, they may also play dress up with costume clothes, jewelry and props staged for them in the closets. There are also dolls and things for smaller children to play with.
“We want them to treat it like their home ...put their feet up if they wish,” Elizabeth said.
WHAT
Exactly wants to be
Singer-songwriter Maggie
STORY BY JAN GRIFFEY
PHOTOS BY JAN GRIFFEY, SUBMITTED
Brown shares life journey, offers inspiration to others
SHE
NATCHEZ — It was 1982. Maggie Brown was 18 and had just graduated Huntington High School. While on a family trip to Florida, her mother, Carolyn Nettles Smith spotted a 1969 Silver Eagle bus on the side of the road.
“She said, ‘I’m meant to buy that bus and go west.’ When we got home, she called the bank, put the house up for sale and let everybody know we were selling everything,” Maggie said.
“I remember sitting on an ice chest and watching people carrying out furniture. It must have been a Monday night because I was watching a football game and somebody bought the TV. I thought to myself, ‘I guess I’ll find out in the paper who won.’
“My mother was a force of nature. You just went along with her. She was brave. Some people would say she was crazy, but that took a lot of guts. Someone said, ‘They will be naked and starving in six months.’ That didn’t happen.”
Maggie is arguably the best known and most sought after local musician and entertainer in Natchez. She is certainly the Miss-Lou’s most prolific songwriter.
But there’s much more to Maggie Brown than music.
She’s a registered nurse, who is working on her degree to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner. She is the recipient of the Y’all Means All scholarship, which she is using to pay for her degree in psychiatric nursing.
“That scholarship has been crucial to me. I would not be able to pay for the remainder of my schooling without it,” Maggie said. Most significantly, on Sept. 13, she will have been sober for seven years. That’s quite an accomplishment for a woman who began playing in bars at the age
At age 61, Maggie Brown is just beginning. She wants others to know you can reinvent yourself at She’s also an example of how life does not have to be one-dimensional. Follow your
passions, she says, even if you are passionate about many things.
‘SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE’
Maggie started playing music at the young age of three years old. She could pick out songs on musical instruments — the piano and guitar — which were bought for her brothers.
“I’ve been playing in bars since I was 14. I started writing songs when I was 16,” she said. “Music means more to me than anything else.”
Her mother packed up the bus with Maggie, her brothers, their dogs and Maggie’s cat, as well as Stan Smith, a friend of her older brother. Stan is the Natchez guitarist and bicyclist who died in 2021 at the age of 66.
“I think my mother’s favorite thing about me was my musical ability. I wasn’t outgoing like she was, but I loved to perform,” she said. “She sang a little bit in high school on the radio, but she had been a cheerleader and had smoked since she was 9, so she no longer sang.”
That first day on the bus, they got as far as Salado, Texas, where Maggie’s mother had some friends.
“We stopped there after about a six or seven hour drive. We figured we would start there,” Maggie said. “We lived on the bus until it got cold. We rented an old farm house and moved into that.”
Her mother put the word out that they were a band and would play for free. After a bit, they ended up playing at a Texas oil man’s ranch for food and drinks. He was also a Coors distributor.
“He was well connected and wealthy and became our sponsor,” she said. “When you let the universe be in charge, just get ready.”
They were in Texas for five years. On New Year’s in 1988, they fired up their new bus — one their sponsor owned — and headed to Nashville.
“I was 23 and through our sponsor, I had met Jerry Crutchfield, Tanya Tucker’s producer. I was working with him on some songs. I had done a demo with him when we were still in Texas. He thought I was a good songwriter,” Maggie said.
However, the universe threw a wrench in those plans when her mother got sick unexpectedly.
LEFT: Maggie Brown performs at the Under-the-Hill Saloon recently.
LEFT: This photo by Amanda Strong, was used by Brown on her promotional flyers.
TOP RIGHT: Maggie Brown and her entourage in front of the second Silver Eagle. Front is Michael Miller and Willie Murphree. Back is Charles St John and Brown’s brother, Ralph Smith, who drove the bus.
MIDDLE: Brown and her mother, Carolyn Nettles Smith.
ABOVE: The original 1969 Silver Eagle.
“Mom got sick and passed away. Six days later, she was gone. She cut her finger on a can taking the garbage out and started having flu-like symptoms. She was dead in six days,” Maggie said.
Maggie, alone and lost, ran home to the Miss-Lou. She moved in with her mother’s brother and his wife.
FAR
“They took me in. Mentally, I wasn’t prepared to be an adult. I didn’t even have a driver’s license. Why would I need to drive?” she asked.
Maggie started taking college classes and got a part-time job, “which were the rules he gave me.”
A short time later, she married a Natchez man, moved to Natchez and started a family. She has two grown children and three grandchildren.
A LONG LINE OF ALCOHOLICS
Shy little Maggie found that drinking a shot of alcohol could ease her inhibitions and make it easier for her to perform in front of a crowd.
She continued drinking on and off for much of her adult life — until seven years ago.
In 2008, her best friend committed suicide. “I started not to do well after she died.”
In her 40s, she began bartending, which didn’t help someone who used drinking to self medicate.
“During nursing school, I didn’t drink every day. The hangovers were so bad,” she said.
While in nursing school, Maggie realized all of the health risks alcohol brings with it. “It sets you up for so much higher risk for all kinds of cancer.
“I come from a long line of alcoholics. On my dad’s side, we have diabetes and food obsession. I started researching my ancestry during nursing school. I’ve been able to trace my mom’s side back to the 1600s. I found the first Nettles who came across the pond. He had 13 children and died on the street from alcoholism,” she said.
“I quit drinking during nursing school, but I relapsed a couple of times. I would be sober for a year, then sober for six months and then I got a DUI.’
That’s when she got serious about a 12-step program.
“I have done therapy since my mom died, but nothing stuck until I stopped drinking,” she said. “Within minutes of my first AA meeting and them starting to read and share, I knew I was in a room full of people who understood me.”
During COVID, when all of the meetings shut down, Maggie helped start online meetings for nurses who were in recovery.
“Nurses from all over the country meet in our Facebook group. I think we have 500 nurses. I open the zoom meetings twice a week and chair the meetings on Thursdays. That was critical in
just keeping me sober. We are talking about taking a cruise. We have all gotten to know each other so well.”
PROCESSING A LIFE’S WORTH OF TRAUMA
Maggie said she has learned since beginning her studies to become a nurse practitioner that depression and mental illness can’t be treated properly until you take away the substance that may be causing it.
“Even though I did therapy off and on my whole life, it didn’t start to kick in until I had that clarity. It’s priceless. I don’t want to sound like an advertisement for a 12-step program, but I would not be a decent person, a good grandmother, mother, nurse or any of that without being sober, much less gotten over the trauma of my whole life.”
Some people avoid therapy because it has a stigma.
“Therapy is OK. In fact, it’s like going to the gym. People brag about their friends who got to the gym. Going to therapy is getting mentally healthy.”
She said for her, therapy is like taking out the garbage.
“It’s a way to process things in your life. Talking it out, as well as exercising, journaling have helped me so much. I walk the walking trails (on the Bluff). I like to go up Roth Hill. That’s evil. I imagine when you go to hell they make you walk up Roth Hill,” she joked.
“Walking and listening to music for me is so
had such bad anxiety for a while, and processing that through therapy has helped my anxiety, too.”
Maggie is not a church-goer, but she does have a higher power. She said she spends time in the presence of God when she sits on her front port feeding the birds. She spends time with God when she plays with Otis and Geraldine, who are her dogs, and her porch cats. She spends time with God when she walks and listens to music.
“Me and church have had a problem for a long time. I have a higher power and most of the time I call it God. Sometimes it’s the universe. God is paternal and I have issues with that.”
Maggie said turning 60 years old was liberating.
“I don’t know what happened. All of the trying to be what others thought I should be stopped. Finally, you get to be you, whatever that is.
“As a woman, it’s important to advocate for other women. I don’t think I’ve done it enough. Society puts so much pressure on women to look a certain way, act a certain way. Be a good wife and do the majority of the work. We don’t take time to take care of ourselves. I watch these young mothers just turn themselves inside out to keep it all together. It doesn’t have to be that way.
“Don’t let your age define you, whatever age that is. Take care of yourself. It’s not too late to make your life exactly what you want it to be.”
ABOVE: John Berryhill and Maggie Brown laugh while performing Underthe-Hill recently.
RIGHT: A younger Maggie Brown performs with up and coming Country music star Trace Adkins in 1987.
‘MORE THAN A
VACATION’
Adams County students take educational tour of Greece
Some Adams County Christian School students in seventh through 12th grade got the experience of a lifetime this summer while traveling abroad to Greece.
Altogether, there were over 40 people from ACCS traveling to Greece, breaking off into groups and being paired with other students traveling from all over the world.
STORY BY SABRINA ROBERTSON
It’s the second world travel summer trip ACCS has had in two years, the first one being Italy in 2023.
Students and families have two years to fundraise—about $150 per month— and plan for the trip, which has a scheduled itinerary full of educational
and fun experiences mapped out for them by Education First tours.
Leader of EF tours for ACCS, Ruth Ellis, said the trip is “more than a vacation.” The tours help students learn to navigate in a new place with a different language and also learn about themselves in the process.
“Many of them had not interacted much with each other and had become
PHOTOS ARE SUBMITTED
friends,” Ellis said.
FEATURE
Experiences of the 9-day trip from May 29 through June 7 included three sightseeing tours led by local guides, entrance to the Acropolis site and museum, the Delphi site and museum, Temple of Poseidon, Museum of Archimedes, Olympia site and museum and more.
Ellis is a native of Venezuela and moved to the Miss Lou in 2002 and lived in Ferriday and Natchez. Therefore, she knows well the educational benefits of world travel.
“It’s an intense course in everything. They learn how to navigate so many things. Money, problem solving, timekeeping. ... It’s amazing seeing them try different foods and navigate the city on their own during free time in a danger-free controlled setting.”
The tours are open to seventh through 12th-grade students who can raise the funds, have no disciplinary actions against them and maintain a passable grade-point average.
Ellis said she witnessed miracles with “neurodivergent” students returning from the trip, “so much more capable of speaking to strangers and being able to ask for directions in a country with a different language.”
Students navigated the city and island using forms of transportation they don’t typically use, Ellis said — a gondola, bus, airplane, ferry, train and subway.
EF tours also gives students the opportunity to earn High School credits for free and, for seniors, college credits at a reduced cost.
“Students can sign up for
ABOVE: Adams County Christian School students spent this past summer on an educational excursion in Greece. From left is Annie Hickman, Shirani Hickman, Patty Jo Hickman, and Sage Newman.
BELOW: From left is Sage Newman, Patty Jo Hickman and Annie Hickman.
RIGHT: A student-submitted photo of the ancient Ephesus ruins in Turkey.
topics related to the country they visited,” she said.
FEATURE
Christine Daugherty, who went on the trip with her husband and two children— with the parents attending as chaperones and the children as students—said it was a great experience to have as a school and as a family.
“It was very organized,” she said. “From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., we were booked. We hit all of the spots you want to see as a tourist and EF Tours arranged it all.”
Christine said it was an especially good experience for her son Caleb, who graduated from ACCS this year.
“This senior class is so special. Not only was this the class I started out with, coming from Trinity (school) but my son and a lot of our faculty and administrative staffs’ children were in it,” she said.
Caleb Daugherty said he enjoyed spending the summer with his family and senior class before he goes to Ole Miss in the fall.
“This was our last trip to go on,” as a class, he said. “We made a lot of memories and learned a lot of stuff.”
He particularly enjoyed the three-day Greek island cruise to Ephesus, Caleb said.
“I enjoyed learning the overall history of it. Every place we went to involved learning about different time periods, Greek gods and things.”
Most of all, Caleb said he enjoyed meeting people in another culture from the tour guides to restaurant workers to civilians.
“It’s a different and inviting culture,” he said. “And the landscape and agriculture are
ABOVE: A student-submitted photo of the Erechtheion in Athens, Greece. BELOW: Adams County Christian School students and staff visit the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.
BELOW:
way more natural. Most of the restaurants and places we went to, they grew most of their food. ... Out of Greece and Rome, I liked Greece more.”
Lizzie Fife said she, too, enjoyed visiting Ephesus and making connections between Greek landmarks and her Christian beliefs.
“We learned about all these places in the Bible in school but it really brings those lessons to life when you get to see them up close and in person,” she said.
When asked what she took from the experience, Fife said community.
“It’s community building — getting to know your comrades, their families. You take so much away from it, whether it’s educationally, religiously or just community building. I didn’t travel with my family. I went by myself, but I did get to travel with all my friends, teachers and classmates. It really was a great experience.”
Fife said language barriers were minimal. Each group is paired with a translator, she said.
“Education First does a good job and I’ve always felt safe traveling with them,” she said.
Not everything in the trip went according to plan, which Ellis said wound up being a “blessing in disguise.”
An itinerary change offered a leisurely time at the beach on the island of Crete rather than battling large crowds at castle ruins because too many cruise ships were scheduled to dock at one time, “which is not great for tourists and a big issue for people that live there,” Ellis said.
“The government listened and cut off the number of ships docking at one time, which for us was a blessing in disguise. We enjoyed low crowds. It was beautiful, of course, but also peaceful and laid back.”
Ellis said she wants to see other schools
take part in Education First tours, be they public or private. There would need to be a minimum of 30 traveling at one time, but they can pair with another smaller school group if needed.
“Students also invite friends and family. There was a student from Cathedral who got to go on this trip with us, and it was fun to have them,” Ellis said.
She encourages students to challenge themselves and diversify their experiences.
“Put yourself in an uncomfortable position,” she said. “It might be scary because you may think you can’t navigate this, but you can. You also learn to appreciate your country a little bit more when you see things we do a little bit better—like internet, phones, customer service and just the ease of living even the size of hotel rooms and air conditioning.”
To learn more, contact Ellis at ruthellis@adamschristian.org.
RIGHT: An overlook from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, facing the Pleistos Valley from the slope of Mount Parnassus.
The ruins of the Library of Celsus in Ephesus, Anatolia. BOTTOM RIGHT: Adams County Christian School students and staff pose for a group photo with their school logo on their tour of Greece.
JULY FOURTH CELEBRATION
1. Katherine Parker, Oscar Mitchell and Mia watch the sunset on the Natchez Bluff.
2. Nathan Smith tries out the burner of a hot air balloon.
3. Louis Whitley and his children Zyah, Zaire and Zyon from Vidalia, Louisiana enjoy July 4 activities on the Natchez Bluff.
4. Tate Hobdy inflates Lady Jester the hot air balloon during the July 4 celebration.
5. Zyah and Zaire Whitley get their picture taken inside a hot air balloon basket.
6. Christine “Cookie” Plemer and new fiancé Lawrence Childress of New Orleans celebrate July 4 together in Natchez.
7. Charleigh Hanson practices her hula hoop.
8. Whitlee Ward wears patriotic gear to the July 4 celebration in Natchez.
9. Carla Allgood and Penny Jackman are a vision of red, white and blue at the July 4 celebration on the Natchez Bluff
10. Adrian and marshal Edmonds with baby Margo and Bennett (hiding behind them) celebrate July 4 on the Natchez Bluff.
PHOTOS BY Sabrina Robertson
