Today in Mississippi August 2020 Pearl River Valley

FOR MEMBERS OF PEARL RIVER VALLEY ELECTRIC POWER ASSOCIATION

GONE FISHING WITH THE KIDS

AUGUST 2020

RIDING ON THE RAILROAD

A FOOTBALL LIFER

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outdoors today picture this my opinion grin ‘n’ bare it

Katrina: 15 years Sometimes it’s hard to believe it was weeks after Katrina barreled through so long ago and other times it seems like Mississippi, all power was restored to cusjust yesterday. tomers capable of safely receiving power.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina More than 2,700 employees — as well roared through the Gulf of Mexico and as linemen from all over the country — made landfall on coastal Mississippi. worked 14 to 18-hour days, seven days The devastation was historic. a week.

At the time, I was serving as the Public Even though co-op employees had Service Commissioner for the Southern families back at home and some of those District and was on the front lines, before, homes were damaged, without power, or during and after the storm. flooded with water, linemen were on the Rightfully so, much over the last 15 job restoring power to rural Mississippi. years has been made over the storm’s One of the Seven Cooperative Princidestruction in the urban areas of New pals is Cooperation Among Cooperatives.

Orleans in Louisiana and the cities that When cooperatives from other states dot Mississippi’s coast. sent work crews to Mississippi to help our But rural Mississippi was also hit espemembers power up, it was a potent excially hard with lost or damaged homes, ample of the sixth principal — “Cooperaa lack of communications and severe tives serve their members most effectivepower outages. ly and strengthen Looking back the cooperative at the numbers, movement by I knew restoring working togethpower back to One of the Seven Cooperative er through local, the state’s electric national, regional Principals is Cooperation cooperative memand international Among Cooperatives. bers was going to structures.” be a challenge, to say the least. But the When there were emergencies in those electric cooperatives answered in states that caused significant power outa mighty way. ages, Mississippi’s linemen traveled there More than 71 percent, or 497,000 to help those out of state co-ops in the meters, lost power while all 26 electric aftermath of their natural disasters. cooperatives reported system outages.

This action is more than returning Nine systems lost all electric service and the favor. It’s Cooperation Among Cooperative Energy, a generation and Cooperatives. transmission cooperative that serves 11 So, let’s take this month to give our systems, lost power to 198 of its 240 dedicated work force and the cooperative substations. employees of other states another round The workload was daunting. The of thanks for their tireless work ethic projected restoration time was up to six during the dark days after Katrina. weeks. More than 10,000 emergency They are always there, working together, work crew members were involved in to bring the power to rural Mississippi. power restoration efforts, including employees from all of Mississippi’s 26 electric co-ops and work crews from 22 states.

Between the patience of our memby Michael ber-owners and the hard work and Callahan dedication of the state’s cooperative Executive Vice President/CEO employees, the power was restored.

Electric Cooperatives On September 20, 2005, just three of Mississippi

Mississippi is...

On the porch — hot coffee in my cup.

Watching the rising sun come up.

Hearing the song of the mockingbird.

Gazing at a grazing cattle herd.

Awaiting the whippoorwill’s chirp to hear.

Catching a glimpse of a white tail deer.

Cool crisp mornings in the fall.

Listening for the turkey’s call.

Smelling the Magnolia blossoms so sweet.

Driving down a small town street.

Hometown football games on Friday night.

Church on Sunday morning — it all seems right.

The wind whispering through the pines.

That’s this Mississippi of mine.

by Connie Eldridge a resident of the New Hope community in Kemper County and a member of East Mississippi Electric Power Association

What’s Mississippi to you?

What do you treasure most about life in our state?

Send your brief thoughts to Today in Mississippi, news@ecm.coop or mail P.O. Box 3300, Ridgeland, MS 39158

AUGUST 2020 | TODAY 3

in this issue

5 southern gardening The beautiful summertime blues

7 scene around the ‘sip A look at special people and places around Mississippi

11

7

outdoors today The sound of silence

12 local news 18 feature

Families pray and stay together at Methodist camp meetings

The Official Publication of the Electric Cooperatives of Mississippi

Vol. 73 No. 7

OFFICERS Keith Hayward - President Kevin Bonds - First Vice President Eddie Howard - Second Vice President Randy Carroll - Secretary/Treasurer Michael Callahan - Executive Vice President/CEO EDITORIAL STAFF Ron Stewart - Senior VP, Communications Steven Ward - Editor Chad Calcote - Creative Director/ Manager Elissa Fulton - Communications Specialist Rickey McMillan - Graphic Designer Kevin Wood - Graphic Designer Chris Alexander - Administrative Assistant EDITORIAL OFFICE & ADVERTISING 601-605-8600

Acceptance of advertising by Today in Mississippi does not imply endorsement of the advertised product or services by the publisher or Mississippi’s electric power associations. Product satisfaction and delivery responsibility lie solely with the advertiser.

• National advertising representative: American MainStreet Publications, 800-626-1181

Circulation of this issue: 446,829

18

the love of 23 for the game Football lifer Ray Perkins

Non-member subscription price: $9.50 per year.

Today in Mississippi (ISSN 1052-2433) is published 12 times a year

by Electric Cooperatives of Mississippi Inc., P.O. Box 3300, Ridgeland, MS 39158-3300, or 665 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, MS 39157. Phone 601-605-8600. Periodical postage paid at Ridgeland, MS, and additional office. The publisher (and/or its agent) reserves the right to refuse or edit all advertising.

POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 507.1.5.2) NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to: Today in Mississippi, P.O. Box 3300, Ridgeland, MS 39158-3300

www.facebook.com/TodayinMississippi

24 on the menu

It’s back to school breakfast time

23

27 mississippi seen

The August holiday you didn’t know about

www.todayinmississippi.com

On the cover Children play on the spacious lawn of Salem Campground as worshipers gather to hear the gospel.

And we think you’re going to love ours. So let’s work together: As electric cooperatives, we were built by the communities we serve—and by members just like you.

4 TODAY | AUGUST 2020

scene around the ‘sip co-op involvement southern gardening

picture this my opinion grin ‘n’ bare it

SUMMERTIME Bring coveted blue to home landscapes

Black and Bloom salvia booms from late spring to late fall, tolerating well the hot and humid Mississippi summer garden conditions.

Everyone has a certain color that is their absolute favorite, and I’m no different. And while I really like the entire palette of colors available for our gardens and landscape, the one color I must have is blue.

Blue is the color I covet for use in the landscape, but I get disappointed every spring when I’m reading gardening catalogs for new blue offerings. What’s really interesting is the way the color descriptions stretch the definition of the color blue. Violet to purple and every hue in between is considered some form of blue.

A plant that has an honored place in my landscape every year is blue butterfly plant, which has intricate flowers that actually resemble little blue butterflies in flight. The flowers are arranged in multiples on long, arching branches.

Individual flowers are about an inch in diameter with several pale blue lobes and a single one of darker blue-violet. I really like the way the stamens and pistil arch out and upward and remind me of eyelashes.

Blue butterfly plant should be planted in the landscape in full sun to partial shade, and it needs consistent soil moisture during the hot summer months.

This plant has an open and airy growth habit, and it flowers on the current season’s growth. It blooms from late spring to the first frost in the fall.

Blue butterfly plant is a tropical species that tolerates cooler conditions, being hardy down to about 20 degrees. In my coastal garden, this plant returns from the roots like many other perennial plants. For possibly the best performance, grow it in a large container that can be protected during freezing weather.

There are other plants that have blue flowers.

Blue My Mind evolvulus, a 2019 Mississippi Medallion winner, is a fantastic improvement of Blue Daze evolvulus, one of the very

first Mississippi Medallion plants selected in 1996. The individual flowers are funnel-shaped and always form near the shoot tips.

Blue My Mind is a prolific bloomer. The foliage has a downy appearance, and the 1-inch, funnel-shaped flowers are sky blue.

The flowers only open for one day. In the morning, they are brilliant, but by afternoon they look quite spent, especially in west-facing planting beds that receive quite a high heat load each afternoon. A location with a little afternoon shade is welcome, but too much shade will reduce total flowering.

Blue Daze needs to be planted in well-drained soil that is consistently moist.

Salvia is another great choice for blue flowers, and my favorite may be Black and Bloom, which is an improvement on the original Black and Blue. It is one of the many hybrids of Salvia guaranitica.

From late spring to deep into the fall, these deep blue flowers just wow in the landscape. On top of the blue flowers, the black calyx and stems accentuate the contrast of flowers. Best of all, Black and Bloom tolerates our hot and humid summer garden conditions.

So get out and visit your favorite, independent garden center and put some summertime blues in your landscape.

by Dr. Gary Bachman Gary Bachman, Ph.D., Extension/Research Professor of Horticulture at the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi. He is also host of “Southern Gardening” radio and TV programs.

He lives in Ocean Springs and is a Singing River Electric member.

AUGUST 2020 | TODAY 5

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mississippi marketplace on the menu outdoors today scene around the ‘sip picture this my opinion

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by Steven Ward Even though passenger service in the area ended in 1965 and freight trains stopped passing through in 1995, the Mississippi Delta city of Cleveland is well known for its celebration of railroad history.

The Martin and Sue King Railroad Heritage Museum, which opened in 2009, is home to thousands of artifacts, photographs and documents.

Part of the city of Cleveland, the museum was named for the city’s longtime former mayor, Martin Thomas King and his wife, Sue King. “Mayor King had long recognized the importance of the railroad in the town’s beginnings and development,” said Lisa Miller, the museum’s director.

The tracks were removed in 2000 and a walking trail was created for the track space after. The city used a Mississippi Department of Transportation grant to build the museum building, Miller said.

Railroad building tools, maintenance tools, manuals, signals, photos, original documents and maps make up some of the artifacts and displays at the museum.

The early railroad was instrumental in the logging industry in the region, helping to clear the wooded area that would later become vast acreages of farmland. The museum also has several original logging and farming tools on display.

In the center of the building, sits the museum’s huge O gauge model train. Measuring 71 feet by 17 feet, the display is the largest O gauge model train layout in the southeastern United States, Miller said. The model

train has a wood and glass enclosure that allows visitors to watch the model trains run through all the scenery in the layout. “There are seven men who rotate shifts running the model trains for visitors,” Miller said.

Outside, the museum features a newly refurbished 1941 Illinois Central Delta Division caboose. The city recently received a grant through the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area to restore the caboose, according to Miller.

Most of its original features are intact and open to the public when the museum is open.

The museum hosts about 20,000 visitors a year, Miller explained.

“We have church groups, school groups and civic groups visit. All kinds of people visit the museum — often repeatedly! We do have a few super fans,” Miller said. The museum is located in Cleveland’s historic downtown. “The museum is a source of pride for the city and we contribute to tourism in our area while documenting and preserving our history,” Miller said. “One thing I love is that railroad history touches on every aspect of our history. It is not just about the railroad industry. It is about everything before the railroad that brought the railroad to this region and then it is about everything that was impacted by its presence and then by its absence.”

There is no admission fee, but the museum does accept donations and there is a small gift shop where t-shirts, mugs, art prints and also one-of-a-kind mini guitars are sold.

At press time, the museum was closed due to COVID-19. Miller said the city was planning to try and re-open sometime in August.

Visit the Martin and Sue King Railroad Heritage Museum Facebook page, the website at www.clevelandtrainmuseum.com or call 662-843-3377 for more information.

The museum is at 115 S. Bayou Avenue right next to the Cleveland-Bolivar County Chamber of Commerce.

s d i K h t i w

by Scott Lemmons I started fishing as soon as I was old enough to hold a cane pole. It was a tradition that my father handed down to me, and it’s one that I’m passing down to my children. My earliest memories were bream fishing with my dad in the pond next to our house, and it sparked a passion for the outdoors that I have turned into a career as a conservationist with The Nature Conservancy in Mississippi.

I began introducing my girls (Vicki, 14 and Leah, 7) to fishing when they were toddlers. I focused their early efforts on easier methods of fishing that produced fast results such as taking them fishing when the bream were bedding so there would be lots of action which held their attention. As they grew a little older, I began taking them with me jug fishing. Kids love seeing a catfish pull a bouncing jug around and watching them try to grab a jug as the fish tries to swim away with it turned into a game for all of us. They absolutely loved it and they beg me to take them jugging now. An additional lesson is that they understand where a major part of our diet comes from as we eat fish on a weekly basis.

The most important aspect of enjoying fishing is that we spend quality time together doing something that we all enjoy.

Kids today have so much exposure to social media, video games, etc. that it gives them the opportunity to unplug and enjoy nature.

I know from my own experience that when I was a teenager that fishing likely kept me from getting into lots of trouble. I hope that history repeats itself!

As a conservationist, I know it is important to teach children early about the importance of taking care of our land and water.

As the director of freshwater programs at The Nature Conservancy in Mississippi, the conservation work we implement along the Mississippi River and Gulf Coast provides benefits to the very fish species that lured me into this world many years ago.

If you are planning to introduce fishing to your children, remember to start out with basics such as a cane pole. Focus your efforts on a fish species that provides lots of action so kids can interact with nature quickly. They will get a lot more enjoyment out of it that way. As their skill level improves, move kids up to a rod and reel and let them begin casting. They will get the hang of it quickly and then let them progress at their own pace. You will find that children enjoy the time spent with you as much as catching fish. Passing along this tradition has provided both me and my children some of the happiest memories of our lives. Now go fish!

Scott Lemmons is the director of freshwater programs at The Nature Conservancy in Mississippi.

AUGUST 2020 | TODAY 9

mississippi seen

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L ISTE N I N G TO THE

S I L E N C E That headline seems a blatant contradiction, at least when it is taken literally. If there is silence, there is nothing to hear. But experienced from a more abstract, poetic viewpoint, silence can readily be heard. I wrote once in some article or the other for some publication or the other that, “There is far too little silence to listen to in this world.” I stand firm on that.

The first time I recognized that I was listening to silence was in British Columbia. A young and virile 40-something back then.

I had heard silence before but had never realized what I was hearing. But then, in BC, I came to know; the silence was near deafening.

I had been delivered there via Super Cub, the loudest little flying machine ever devised. I was the first in to spike camp, some 30 miles up the Graham River on past Christina Falls from base camp. Moose hunting, I was, and a comrade would join me the next time that disruptive contrivance came clattering from the skies an hour later. But until then, I was alone; there was silence.

Yet, it wasn’t silence in the restrictive definition of that word.

There were sounds: snow splatting on spruce; the Graham gurgling over river rocks; wind pouring from the High Country; wolves in the distance, as Robert Service said of the huskies in “The Cremation of Sam McGee,” howl[ing] out their woes to the homeless snows. So, it was not silence that begged my attention.

It was the absence of noise that grabbed and held on with an inextricable grip.

Few sounds were familiar. Gone was the racket of traffic, the humming of appliances, the conversations or passersby, the screams of electronics, the unnerving blast of mufflers on pickups, the throbbing rumble of sound systems guaranteed to assure a lucrative future for audiologists. Even the heavens

were void of passenger jets. Nothing familiar. Just audible silence. I sat and waited and wondered and absorbed. Then I contemplated an odd sensation that flooded.

This sensation was one of opposing persuasions — anxiety and delight. Delight came from the quiet; anxiety, as curious as it seems, did as well. I recognized in the middle of this struggle with the unfamiliar that I was more accustomed to noise than to silence. Fear and reverie became dance partners, first one leading and then the other. I concluded that we humans regularly battle with choices, occasionally choosing the certainty of pain over the pain of uncertainty. Maybe at times choosing the other way around.

And then that boisterous Super Cub arrived — chasing darkness from behind tall peaks, scurrying with practiced haste, offloading and intruding with noise and schedules and deadlines. I felt a twinge of shame to admit that the familiar was tolerably comfortable. But at least for a week or so up here in these mountains, silence would be more abundant than noise. Then days later I would be again in that world replete with noise. Toxic noise.

I would soon, after that return to normal, long for and go in search of the unfamiliar. Silence.

by Tony Kinton Tony Kinton has been an active outdoors writer for 30 years. He lives in Carthage and is a Central Electric member. Visit www.tonykinton.com for more information.

AUGUST 2020 | TODAY 11

Columbia: 601-736-2666 Hattiesburg: 601-264-2458

Purvis: 601-794-8051 Wiggins: 601-928-7277

To pay bills or report outages:

855-2PRVEPA (855-277-8372) Visit us online at www.PRVEPA.com Member owned. Locally operated. That’s the cooperative difference.

Crews now inspecting PRVEPA’s power poles Pearl River Valley Electric maintains more than 6,000 miles of line and more than 100,000 power poles. Our utility poles reach into every corner of our 12-county service area and form the backbone of our infrastructure. In order to maintain our high level of service, our poles must be able to support the weight of power, phone, and cable lines and withstand the effects of extreme winds and weather.

Over the years, power poles can become susceptible to decay and pests. As a result, they slowly deteriorate and can fall or

break during high winds, resulting in power outages. In addition, decayed poles can pose a safety hazard for our linemen and the general public.

For these reasons, Pearl River Valley Electric has developed a systematic inspection program so that every pole is inspected for decay or other damage on a regular cycle. Poles that show signs of decay or aging are treated with environmentally safe preservatives to inhibit the decaying process and prevent further deterioration. Poles that are found to be unsafe are replaced.

OSMOSE crews are in the field To assist in its pole inspection and maintenance program, PRVEPA has contracted with OSMOSE Utilities Services, Incorporated. A nationally recognized company, OSMOSE has been in the wood preserving business since the 1930s and has inspected and retreated poles for PRVEPA for over 30 years.

OSMOSE personnel began inspecting the Association’s poles in August and will continue through December 2020. A map of the inspection areas is here.

For a more detailed map of this year’s pole inspection areas, please visit www.

PRVEPA.com and click on the “Pole Inspection” tab at the top of the home page.

COVINGTON

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MARION 11 £ ¤

§ ¦ ¨ 59

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LAMAR

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49 FORREST

PERRY 98 £ ¤

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Jackson

Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, USGS, Intermap, INCREMENT P, NRCan, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), Esri Korea, Esri (Thailand), NGCC, (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community

12 TODAY | AUGUST 2020

Map

Members to receive nearly $6.9 million in capital credit refunds Pearl River Valley Electric Power Association is pleased to once again announce that members will be receiving annual patronage capital refunds in August.

Patronage capital, or capital credits, represents members’ investment in their not-for-profit electric cooperative. Each year, rates are set so that the Association has enough funding to operate throughout the year, and any year-end revenue above the cost of providing electric service is assigned to members as margins based on their share of electricity use. A portion of those margins is then refunded to members each August. This year, Pearl River Valley Electric’s board of directors has authorized $6.5 million be returned to members.

In addition, our wholesale power provider Cooperative Energy, which is a cooperative owned by PRVEPA and 10 other electric power associations, also returns capital credits. Those credits, totaling $367,938, will be returned to applicable PRVEPA members, increasing the total amount returned for 2019 to $6,867,938.

“Capital credit refunds are one of the many benefits of being a member-owner of a not-for-profit electric provider,” said Randy Wallace, general manager. “Our members share in the cost of

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doing business as well as any returns.”

While investor-owned utilities return a portion of any profits back to their investors, electric cooperatives assign margins to member-consumers as capital credits and pay them when the co-op’s financial condition permits.

“Pearl River Valley Electric remains very sound financially,” Wallace continued. “This is now the 57th year since 1963 that we have returned a portion of our margins back to members, totaling nearly $58 million overall. That’s one of the best records of any rural electric cooperative in the nation, and we’re very proud of it.”

Members receive a share of the patronage refunds based on their annual electric use. Each qualifying active member will receive their refund as credit applied to their power bill mailed in August. For inactive members who qualify, checks will be mailed in September.

In addition to annual patronage refunds for members, Pearl River Valley Electric also offers discounted capital credit refunds to the estates of deceased members and to former members. A total of more than $15.6 million has been distributed overall through these programs, including more than $837,000 in 2019.

Pearl River Valley Electric is now on social media. We are excited to share information about your electric cooperative along with keeping you informed during large scale outages. Like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get updates about your electric cooperative. In addition, we will provide energy efficiency, storm preparedness and safety tips. The sites will not be monitored 24/7, so please refrain from posting outage information or inquiring about issues that require immediate attention. If you have an immediate concern, please call us at 855-2PRVEPA.

Applications for Community College Scholars program due August 7, 2020 • Applications are available at PRVEPA offices and at www.PRVEPA.com.

• Completed applications must be postmarked or emailed by August 7.

• Scholarship recipients must be a PRVEPA member, spouse or child of a member participating in the Round Up program.

• Recipients must be full time (12 hours or more per semester) freshmen students enrolled in academic or career-technical programs.

• Scholarship funds will be credited to each student’s college account — no checks will be issued to individuals.

• Scholarships should be awarded by the end of September. Students must be enrolled in good standing at the time funds are released to the colleges.

Funded by members who are rounding up their monthly bills, these scholarships are intended to assist students who will attend a Mississippi community college as a freshman this fall.

More information is available at www.PRVEPA.com.

AUGUST 2020 | TODAY 13

by David McRae As the dad of a third-grader (soon to be fourth-grader), it’s an eye-opening moment to realize my daughter is more than halfway to college. For most of us, the first question we ask is: “How did they grow up so fast?” But once you get through that shock, most start to wonder: “Are they going to be ready? Do we have enough saved to send them to college?”

Today, about 60% of Mississippi’s high school graduates go to college, but unfortunately, most will leave with around $30,000 of debt — and that number is only growing! In fact, student debt is growing faster in Mississippi than in almost any other state in the nation.

Nonetheless, a college plan is still an important one. Those with a four-year degree earn, on average, about $15,000 more per year than those without. At the same time, jobs that require a two-year degree are the fastest growing in America, an important factor to consider.

But it’s hard for many to commit to such degrees when they’re asked to also commit to the debt that can accompany them. In so many cases, young people end up having to delay major life milestones, like getting married, buying that first home, and starting a family as a result of student debt.

That’s why the State Treasury is working to help lift the financial burden on families. More specifically, we offer affordable college savings options through two important programs: The Mississippi Affordable College Savings Program (MACS) and the Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Savings plan (MPACT).

We can go into a lot of depth on these options, but for today, I just want to answer a few of the most frequently asked questions. If you have others or want to start a plan for a child in your life, please visit treasury.ms.gov or contact my team at CollegeSavings@treasury.ms.gov.

14 TODAY | AUGUST 2020

What kind of plans are available?

There are two basic options: MACS and MPACT. MACS operates like a savings account (with some nice tax advantages), while MPACT allows you to lock in tuition rates and pre-pay your child’s time in college.

How much does it cost?

You can start a MACS account with as little as $25! MPACT varies, however, depending on your child’s expected graduation date, among other factors. But here’s a pro-tip with either program: once you open an account, friends and family can contribute to it as well.

Who can start an account?

Almost anyone! Parents, grandparents, relatives and even friends can open an account and make contributions.

What can the money be used for?

MACS dollars can be used for tuition, books, supplies and certain room and board expenses, as well as elementary and secondary tuition expenses for younger students. MPACT, however, lets you prepay tuition and any mandatory fees.

Where do I get started?

Visit treasury.ms.gov or contact my team. We are here to answer questions and walk you through enrollment. Email us at CollegeSavings@treasury.ms.gov or call at 1-800-987-4450.

David McRae is Mississippi’s state treasurer.

by Susan Collins-Smith Farm-raised catfish is popular on dining tables all over the country, and it’s an important agricultural commodity in Mississippi.

In fact, August is National Catfish Month — a time to celebrate the food, the industry and its importance to the economy.

When people think of cooking catfish, they think about deep-frying. But that’s just one way to enjoy this versatile fish.

“Enjoying fried catfish occasionally can be part of a nutritious diet, but catfish can be seasoned and cooked many ways,” said Qula Madkin, Extension instructor and registered dietitian with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “I encourage people to try some different recipes to add to their family favorites.”

Broiling, grilling and baking all can be ways to enjoy catfish with less added fat. “Panfrying uses oil but not as much as deep-frying,” she said.

Summer is a great time to try out this grilled catfish recipe from the Catfish Institute.

INDUSTRY FACTS Mississippi catfish farmers lead the nation in production, growing more than half of U.S. farm-raised catfish on 35,300 acres.

In 2019, the state’s catfish industry had a production value of $226 million, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistical Service. Here are a few more interesting industry facts: • The commercial, farm-raised catfish industry began in the U.S. in the 1960s but expanded quickly in the 1980s and 1990s.

• Ninety-four percent of the nation’s production acreage is located in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas.

• Mississippi is ranked No. 1 in volume of production and has held this spot since the late 1980s.

• Production takes place in two areas of the state: the Delta and east-central Mississippi.

• Delta ponds are filled with water from the Mississippi River alluvial aquifer from wells ranging from 50 to 250 feet deep.

Ponds in east central Mississippi are filled by pumping water from nearby streams or other surface water.

• Catfish is the largest single species in terms of aquacultural production in the U.S. Other species of U.S. farm-raised fish and seafood include trout, tilapia, salmon and shrimp.

INGREDIENTS 4 U.S. farm-raised catfish fillets ½ fresh lemon per fillet Salt and pepper to taste CITRUS SAUCE Juice and zest of 1 lime Zest of 1 lemon Zest of 1 orange 6 ounces pineapple juice ½ cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped ¼ teaspoon salt Preheat grill.

To make citrus sauce, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

Place catfish in shallow dish and squeeze ½ fresh lemon over each. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Let sit 5 minutes.

Place catfish fillets on grill skin side up for 3 to 4 minutes.

Flip over and grill 2 to 3 more minutes.

Transfer catfish to serving plate and spoon warmed citrus sauce over fillets.

Serves 4 Find more recipes on the Catfish Institute website at https://www.uscatfish.com/recipes.

Susan Collins-Smith is a writer for the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

by Steven Ward Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Mississippi at 9 a.m. on Monday, August 29, 2005.

This month marks the 15th anniversary of the storm responsible for the deaths of at least 218 Mississippians, the destruction of coastal homes that were ripped from their foundations by historic storm surges and spawned tornadoes that uprooted trees and mangled power lines.

Rural Mississippi was hit hard with power outages. More than 71%, or 497,000 meters serviced by the state’s 25 distribution electric cooperatives lost service. All 25 of those co-ops reported power outages and outside help was needed for 19 of the systems. But thanks to the dedication and hard work of Mississippi’s electric cooperative linemen, service to approximately 25% of the affected meters was restored in two days. Five days after the storm, service to approximately 50% of the affected meters was restored. On Sept.

20, 2005, three weeks after the storm, all power was restored to members capable of safely receiving power.

Linemen worked long hours, 7 days a week to power up the state after Katrina roared through Mississippi. Coast Electric Power Association lineman Buddy Bourn had to work while his house was inundated with water. “It was pretty rough. We lost everything in our home in Waveland. We lost our vehicles too,” Bourn, 50, said recently.

Bourn had recently bought his son “a little Honda dirt bike” that he was able to use. Bourn hopped on the dirt bike and drove from Waveland to Kiln so he could get to work. “I just had on shorts, flip flops and a t-shirt. But we needed to get to work,” Bourn said.

Bourn said he worked 15 to 16 hour days in the weeks after the storm’s landfall. He sent his family to stay with relatives 16 TODAY | AUGUST 2020

while he would go back to his home after work and grab some sleep on his carport. He took “showers” using a water cooler.

He remembers watching the water rise and flood his home.

Magnolia Electric Power lineman Tony Martin will never forget the days and weeks after the storm. Martin, 61, was home recovering from shoulder surgery for 10 days when he got the call he was needed back at work.

Martin was paired up with an out of town line crew from North Carolina. “One of the good things that came out of Katrina was I formed lifelong friendships with these guys from out of state. We still get together twice a year,” Martin said. Martin said 110mph winds caused a lot of damage in the Tylertown and Magnolia areas.

Martin also said members were kind and patient during the Katrina power crisis.

“Sometimes, people don’t realize what has to happen behind the scenes so they can go in their home, flip a switch and the lights come on,” Martin said. “A lot of times people think first of police, fireman and paramedics when they think of first responders.

But linemen are also first responders. And we are out there in the middle of it all while it’s happening.”

One of the many memories Singing River Electric lineman James Daughtery has from Katrina was the heat. “It was so hot. We were out there and had to rebuild lines and change poles,” Daughtery, 40, said. Daughtery remembers two straight months of working 7 days a week. He remembers working between 16 and 20 hours a day during the first two weeks after the storm. “It was the most stressful time I’ve had as a lineman,” he said. But he also remembers the people he was restoring power for. “People really appreciated what we were doing. People were so patient.

As hard as it was, it made you want to come to work every day,” Daughtery said.

K AT R I N A : S TAT E W I D E R E S T O R AT I O N F A C T S More than 71%, or 497,000 meters lost electric service.

All 25 electric distribution electric power associations reported outages.

The storm destroyed more than 50,000 utility poles and thousands of miles of power lines.

Outside emergency assistance was needed for 19 systems.

Nine systems lost all electric service.

Cooperative Energy, a generation and transmission cooperative that serves 11 systems, lost power to 198 of its 240 substations.

The projected restoration time was up to six weeks.

On September 20, 2005, three weeks after the storm, all power was restored to customers capable of safely receiving power.

More than 10,000 emergency work crew members were involved in restoration efforts, including employees of Mississippi’s 26 electric power associations and emergency work crews from 22 states.

The states that assisted in the restoration effort were Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Kansas, Iowa, Maryland, Delaware, Arkansas, New Jersey, Texas, Oklahoma and Michigan.

AUGUST 2020 | TODAY 17

The historic Salem Campground tabernacle sits center of 22 tents (cabins) where Christians gather each October for weeklong revivals and fellowship. Photo by Nancy Jo Maples

18 TODAY | AUGUST 2020

by Nancy Jo Maples of preaching that took place often Give Bill and Dixie Wilkerson “some throughout each day. Between serof that old-time religion.” It’s good mons, they mixed and mingled leading enough for them and good enough to the establishment of societies, which for thousands more who relish organized and governed the meetings. religious revivals at Methodist camp Salem Campground lies in Jackson meetings.

County near the George County line “Camp meeting is a time for the and is the oldest existing campground family to come together and devote in the state. It began in 1826, two ourselves to worship, prayer and felmiles from its current location where it lowship all the while praising God and moved in 1842. The annual meeting has experiencing the joy of being with met consecutively except for 1863 and each other,” said Bill, former govern1864 during the Civil War, 1897 during mental affairs assistant to the Electric the yellow fever epidemic and 1918 Cooperatives of Mississippi. His wife during the Spanish flu pandemic.

Dixie agreed. So did their daughter Twenty-two “tents,” as the little Donna. wooden cabins are called, dot the “You know that saying ‘the family landscape around the storied tabernawho prays together stays together?’

It’s a family gathering, and it’s all cle, the grounds’ centerpiece. Many Well, we take that to the extreme. oriented about Christ. My life was tents trace to Salem’s founders, the We pray together, worship together, play together, eat together, sleep changed because of camp meeting. Helveston, Carter, Davis, Fletcher, Goff, Ferrill, Mizell and Wells families. Tents together,” Donna said. “There’s a lot For me it’s real holy ground. pass through generations. For example, of togetherness.”

Eloise Adkison, a direct descendant of founder Edmond Goff, A sixth-generation campground devotee, Dixie hasn’t missed owns the campground’s oldest tent, referred to as the Edmond one in her 82 years. Bill hasn’t missed one since they were Goff/Robin Parker tent. “I’ve gone every year. I was born and courting 61 years ago. Their four children grew up attending bred in it,” Adkison said. “I’ll be 77 on October 16. I was born the weeklong meetings each October, staying overnight even on Tuesday after camp meeting closed on Sunday.” Next door, during weekdays as school buses from George and Jackson descendants of late brothers, Elvis, Lum and Hillard Cumbest, counties picked up and delivered campground kids. Today still congregate in the tent built by their family in the late 1950s. their children schedule work vacations to coincide with camp Elvis’ widow, Ida Mae, who turned 99 this year, served as Salem’s meeting, rearing the eight grandchildren with the camp primary organist 57 years. meeting spirit.

Lively services offer powerful preaching and old-fashioned Camp meetings date to the very early 1800s when Methodhymns like “Love Lifted Me” and “Bound for the Promised Land.” ist evangelists, circuit-riders as they were called, traveled to Multiple prayer and worship sessions occur daily, with the start sparsely populated areas to deliver religious messages. People of each signaled by the blowing of a historic conch shell. gathered, creating encampments, for a week or partial week AUGUST 2020 | TODAY 19

A few miles north of Salem, in George County, is Mt. Pleasant campground, the state’s only African-American Methodist campground. In about 1858, slaves at Salem began listening to evangelists between their sermons to the whites. After the Emancipation Proclamation, the newly freed slaves established a campground of their own. This was probably between 1867 and 1877. Families included the Lawrences, Streets, Blackstons, Grants, Ferrills, Bilbos, Deflanders and others. Today it has about 15 tents and meets in late October. Its culminating service features a unique bread-breaking called the Love Feast.

“The breaking of that little bread is saying ‘here is a piece of my love and welcome in the name of Jesus and in love’,” Mt. Pleasant Pastor Paula Faulks said. “What I have seen at camp meeting is that all races come together in one accord to experience the love of God. People don’t focus so much on color or denominations.”

Long-time tenters from Salem United Methodist Campground share faith and friendship. From left are Bill Wilkerson, Dixie Wilkerson, Gilbert Emerson, Eunice Clark, Ronnie Miller, Eloise Adkison, Dawson Wilkerson and Linda Pierce.

Photo by Nancy Jo Maples

Pastor Paula Faulks of Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Campground welcomes worshipers while choir members set the tone for the service.

Photo by Nancy Jo Maples

How did camp meetings begin?

Dating to Mississippi Territory days, camp meetings were the product of American frontier life when people dwelled sparsely.

Because churches and schools were rare, circuit-riding evangelists spread the gospel traveling on horseback or by covered wagon to isolated places. Whenever a preacher was in the vicinity, people traveled up to 25 miles to hear God’s word and to fellowship. Oftentimes, the trip took a day or more. Families camped along the way. Upon arrival at the grounds, they stayed several days sleeping in tents and cooking on campfires.

An arbor of brush and limbs staged evangelists. Hundreds and sometimes thousands flocked to such gatherings, some out of sincere religious devotion and others desiring a break from the grueling frontier routine.

Some camp meetings became regular occurrences. Preachers changed, but congregations often remained the same. Wooden, open-air tabernacles eventually replaced brush arbors, and cabins replaced tents. Because the original encampments included real tents, these cabins are still called “tents.” Many had dirt floors and wood-burning stoves until the latter part of the 20th century. Although by the 1950s electricity had come

20 TODAY | AUGUST 2020

to the rural areas where most campgrounds sit, many families maintained a primitive lifestyle for camp meeting week. Today most are equipped with refrigerators and electric stoves, and some have air conditioning in the sleeping quarters. Concrete slabs and rugs have replaced dirt floors once covered with pine straw or shavings. Yet, there remains an old-fashioned feel. No tent boasts unnecessary over-the-top gadgets.

More than 90 camp meeting sites have come and gone throughout the history of Mississippi Methodism, although not all existed simultaneously. Many ceased to meet, relocated or changed names. At least eight still exist. In addition to Salem, Mt. Pleasant and New Prospect, the others are: Palmer Creek in Harrison County, Felder’s in Pike County, Shiloh in Rankin County, Old Methodist in Lafayette County and South Union in Choctaw County. If it weren’t for the current coronavirus pandemic, all of them would be having old-fashioned fun this year. Shiloh, Palmer Creek and Felder’s skipped their summer 2020 meetings. At press time, South Union planned to reduce its weeklong July meeting to a weekend revival. Salem, Mt. Pleasant and New Prospect are scheduled for October.

Rev. Matthew Pharis greets parishioners at Salem camp meeting.

Southwest of Salem lies New Prospect campground at Vancleave, in Jackson County. New Prospect was established in 1880 with a tabernacle and five cabins, called “tents” like the older meeting grounds. Surnames of its founders are Flurry, Rouse, Dubose, Havens, Byrd, Ramsay, Lott and Devareaux. Like Salem, its tabernacle sits in the center, and its meetings are in October. Today, New Prospect has 82 tents, including a preacher’s tent housing the guest evangelists and local pastors. All three campgrounds in Jackson and George counties are powered by Singing River Electric Cooperative.

For David and Cheryl Tootle, New Prospect is hallowed

Officers of the Salem United Methodist Campground Association pray for God’s guidance with decision-making on the horizon regarding the fate of its upcoming October camp meeting. Photo by Nancy Jo Maples

ground. Their four daughters grew up attending the meetings each fall and continue to do so as adults. David’s ancestors were tenters, and he started attending camp meeting at a young age. He inherited a tent from a relative he used many years, but due to deterioration built a new one a few years ago. Tenters don’t own the property; instead, they procure the right to own a tent from an association comprised of fellow tenters.

“It’s a family gathering, and it’s all oriented about Christ.

My life was changed because of camp meeting. For me it’s real holy ground,” David said.

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Ray Perkins: A football lifer’s coaching curtain call Ray Perkins is a football lifer. The final coaching curtain call came in 2013 at Jones County Junior College. Over six decades of football came to a close far away from the once bright lights of New York City.

Today, the former Alabama football All-American is back in Tuscaloosa, living with his wife and two daughters. He has two sons from an earlier marriage.

As a player, he was fortunate enough to play for two of the greatest football coaches in history — Bear Bryant and Don Shula. In college, he caught passes from Joe Namath and Kenny Stabler. If that does not impress you, how about catching passes from Johnny Unitas in the pros?

Perkins played for winners at every level of football, beginning in high school at Petal and continuing on at Alabama and into the pros with the Baltimore Colts. Winning and a strong work ethic were ingrained in him from his father — Walter Ray Perkins — at a young age. “My dad built houses and he instilled in me the value of hard work,” Perkins said.

It was not easy juggling a hectic schedule opening the local gas station at 6 a.m., then going to school and football practice and then back to the station to close it down at 10:30 p.m.

Following a stellar high school career, not many offers came from colleges. “I was not heavily recruited.

Only Southern Mississippi and Alabama offered scholarships. Mississippi State watched a practice, and Ole Miss called, but neither one offered,” the 1966 SEC Offensive Player of the Year and All-American said.

Perkins’ college football career was not ideal to begin with. He missed a lot of football practices due to National Guard duty. The next spring, in a helmet-to-helmet collision with a teammate,

he sustained a blood clot on his brain and was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery in Birmingham. He stayed in the hospital for 10 days. He red-shirted the following season, as he recovered from the head injury. “One of the happiest days of my life was getting cleared by the doctors to play football again,” Perkins said.

Perkins was instrumental in Alabama winning the 1964 and 1965 National Championships. During Perkins’ senior season, he led possibly the best team in the university’s history (1966) to a perfect season. The Crimson Tide romped over Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl to finish 11-0. The Tide ended the season third behind No. 1 Notre Dame (9-0-1) and No. 2 Michigan State (9-0-1) in the final polls.

Following college, the then Boston Patriots of the AFL and the Baltimore Colts of the NFL both drafted Perkins. He signed a three-year deal worth $250,000 with the Colts. His promising rookie season abruptly ended when he sustained a knee injury. Before Perkins retired from pro football in 1972, however, he played in two Super Bowls, with the Colts winning one in 1971.

In 1973 Perkins began his coaching journey at Mississippi State under Bob Tyler. He quickly climbed the coaching ranks earning his first head coaching opportunity only six years later with the New York Giants. Some of his first assistant coaching hires in New York were Bill Parcells, Romeo Crennel and Bill Belichick.

Bryant called him home to Alabama in 1983. Perkins coached the Crimson Tide four years, accumulating a 32-15-1 mark and leading his team to three bowl wins.

He left Alabama following the 1986 season and signed a $5 million contract to become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “Leaving Alabama was one of the most difficult decisions ever,” Perkins explained.

Perkins has no regrets. “I am not sure I would change anything about my life. It has been a great ride.”

by Dale McKee Dale McKee is a Waynesboro native who has been writing sports in Mississippi since 1973. Contact him at ddmckee18@yahoo.com.

AUGUST 2020 | TODAY 23

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grin ‘n’ bare it

with Rebecca Turner

Breakfast is considered ‘the most important meal of the day,’ and for a good reason. As the name implies, breakfast breaks the overnight fasting period. Eating a balanced meal within 90 minutes of waking replenishes your glucose supply to boost your energy levels and alertness while also providing other essential nutrients required for good health. But, in our fast-paced culture, breakfast is the most skipped meal of the day. Missing breakfast can set the stage for mindless snacking and running low on nutrients of concern like calcium, potassium, iron, dietary fiber and vitamin D. For students, skipping breakfast may negatively impact their classroom grades. When students eat a healthy breakfast, they have improved concentration, better test scores, increased energy and maintain a healthier body weight.

Studies show that students who eat breakfast the morning of a standardized test have significantly higher spelling, reading and math scores than those who miss it. A morning meal is especially important for younger students whose brains use up about half of the body’s energy. Students don’t have to eat at home to see the academic achievements that come from consistent breakfast, schools who offer the School Breakfast Program notice the advantages, too, especially in math.

24 TODAY | AUGUST 2020

A balanced breakfast may sound like something hard to achieve on a school morning, but it doesn’t require a made to order, hot meal. Your first meal of the day should include three of the five food groups — whole grains, fruits, vegetables, protein and dairy. Make breakfast simple and nutritious by serving Greek yogurt parfaits, homemade smoothies, or peanut butter on whole-wheat toast with a banana. When purchasing grab-n-go protein bars or shakes, look for a brand with a minimum of five grams of fiber and five grams of protein — pair pre-packaged items with a glass of milk for quality protein plus bone-building nutrients. In the drive-thru, look for veggie breakfast wraps, fruit and yogurt parfaits, or oatmeal with a fruit cup.

A nontraditional breakfast is better than no breakfast, so why not try a ham and cheese sandwich, or good ole PB&J on whole grain bread? Plan and make several meals at once.

Make-ahead breakfast burritos, overnight oats, or muffin pan omelets will leave you and your family on schedule in the mornings while still getting well-fed. Whether adult or child, eating a morning meal improves moods, sharpens minds and prevents us from getting too hungry before lunch.

INGREDIENTS 2 pounds lean ground meat (turkey or beef) 2 packets low-sodium taco seasoning 5 eggs 1 cup egg whites 2 cups chopped spinach 1 cup sliced mushrooms 1 cup diced tomatoes 10 whole-wheat wraps 2% shredded cheese

INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup old fashioned oats 1/2 cup milk 1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt 1 tablespoon flax seeds 1 teaspoon honey 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract Add all the ingredients into a pint-sized mason jar, or similar container. Give a good stir and set in the refrigerator overnight. Before eating, top it off with fresh fruit and sprinkle with nuts of choice.

Prepare meat according to taco seasoning directions.

Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and egg whites and pour into a heated skillet. Add spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes to eggs and scramble. Combine seasoned meat with the egg and vegetable scramble.

Fill tortillas with mixture and top with shredded cheese.

Fold tortillas into a burrito. Wrap in wax paper. Place all 10 burritos into a freezer safe gallon zip top bag and freeze. When you are ready to eat, place the frozen burrito (still wrapped) into the microwave for about 90 seconds, turning throughout. *You can switch up the vegetables to your preference, and feel free to substitute the meat for black beans.

Serves 10

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rebecca Turner is an author, registered dietitian, radio host, television presenter and a certified specialist in sports dietetics with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. A lifelong Mississippian, she lives in Brandon and has spent the last decade offering no-nonsense nutrition guidance that allows you to enjoy good health and good food. Her book, “Mind Over Fork,” challenges the way you think, not the way you eat. Find her on social media @RebeccaTurnerNutrition and online at www.RebeccaTurnerNutrition.com.

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Attach digital photos to email and send to news@ecm.coop Deadline: Sept 4. Select photos will appear in the October 2020 issue.

AUGUST 2020 | TODAY 25

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26 TODAY | AUGUST 2020

A HOLIDAY IN AUGUST?

Welcome to Nanih Waiya Mound As we flip our calendars over to August, there are few if any holidays denoted in the small print within the squares of the dates. August is woefully lacking in collective joyous occasions on which to decorate the house or pop fireworks or have a cookout.

However, that is not the case for the Choctaw Nation. Their newest celebration is in the month of August and centers around the return of ownership of the oldest icon in their culture — Nanih Waiya Mound in Winston County.

When I first started doing television feature stories about the things we have here in Mississippi, one of my guides was a book published in the 1930s by the WPA that detailed the natural, architectural, historic and cultural attractions in Mississippi. Back then the book was only about 50 years old, so quite a few of the things were still here. That book is where I discovered Nanih Waiya Mound. Traveling there, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed because it was a lot smaller than I imagined it should be.

My idea of Indian mounds was shaped by a mound complex, about five miles up Highway 1 north of Greenville where I grew up — the Winterville Mounds. It still has about a dozen mounds scattered around a flat plaza crowned by a 50-foot temple mound.

So, seeing Nanih Waiya, slightly over 20-feet high and maybe a football field long, was a little disappointing. But what Nanih Waiya lacks in size it makes up for in cultural stature.

Nanih Waiya plays heavily into the Choctaw origins legend — where ancestors of the nation migrated to Mississippi from out west by following the direction of a tilting pole stuck into the ground upright in the evening but leaning the next morning. Until it was planted into the earth at the headwaters of the Pearl River.

There it stayed upright the next day, and the people stayed, too.

Nanih Waiya Mound was built to mark the event according to legend.

But ownership of the mound was transferred to the United States when the Native American population of the Southeast was removed to Oklahoma.

Only some of the Choctaw stayed behind, vowing to never leave the side of the “Mother Mound” as long as it stood.

Eventually, the mound became a state park. And in 2008 when so many of our state parks were closed, Nanih Waiya was given back to the original owning family who deeded it back to the Choctaw Nation. It just so happened to be in August when that transfer was made. And there was a huge celebration on August 18 of that year with pageants, dancing and feasting because the Mother Mound was back in the family.

So, as I understand it, August 18 is still a holiday in the Choctaw Nation — Thanksgiving and the 4th of July rolled into one may be a rough comparison. But it is a uniquely Choctaw celebration creating a unique August holiday.

by Walt Grayson Walt Grayson is the host of “Mississippi Roads” on Mississippi Public Broadcasting television and the author of two “Looking Around Mississippi” books and “Oh! That Reminds Me: More Mississippi Homegrown Stories.” He lives in Brandon and is a Central Electric member. Contact him at walt@waltgrayson.com.

AUGUST 2020 | TODAY 27

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