Brookhaven Magazine September/October 2019

BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE

THE CASE PLACE

UNPRETENTIOUS UPDATE BRIGHTENS AND LIGHTENS FAMILY HOME

INSIDE

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 PUBLISHER Luke Horton EDITORIAL Donna Campbell Brett Campbell CONTRIBUTING Kim Henderson Hannah Henderson ADVERTISING Kristi Carney Mark Springfield

BROOKHAVEN Magazine is produced and published by The Daily Leader, 128 N. Railroad Ave., Brookhaven, MS 39601. The magazine is published six times a year.

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6 BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE

HOME

UPDATE BRIGHTENS FAMILY HOME

9

HISTORY

42 YEARS LATER, BAND GETS MARKER 14

FOOD

FISH FRY OWNERS: IF IT AIN’T BROKE

22

THE REST

BEST OF THE BEST

PHOTO ESSAY

26

SOCIAL SCENES

30-31

GARDEN

34

WHY I LOVE BROOKHAVEN

35

SEE PAGES 36-56 FOR THIS YEAR’S WINNERS

BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE 7

home SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 19

The Case place

8 BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE

Story by Kim Henderson Photos by Hannah Henderson

UNPRETENTIOUS UPDATE BRIGHTENS AND LIGHTENS FAMILY HOME

B

efore they started studying house plans in 2007, Dusty and Donna Case already knew what they wanted — a country-comfortable home, one clad in cypress siding with two-stories of shaded views and a wide, wraparound porch. The couple had long admired a local home built in that very fashion, so their instructions to builder Delford Case (no relation) were pretty straightforward: Build it just like you built yours. So he did, finishing construction the next year.

The close replica sits just off Hwy. 550 in Caseyville in the middle of 40 acres of family land, and it’s the kind of forever home Dusty and Donna waited to build until they were good and ready.

Well, sort of.

The do-it-yourselfers were ready for projects like laying tile and painting walls. And of course, as owners of popular garden center Buds & Blooms, they were ready for shovel duty in new flower beds. But while designing a lush landscape was a given, when it came to dressing up the inside, Donna didn’t have the time or the inclination.

“When we moved in everything just got thrown in there,” she remembers. “It was never the way I wanted. Just hodge-podge.”

That all changed after a chance conversation last December.

Donna overheard her customer, Gwen Darbonne, mention something about interior decorating.

“You decorate houses?” Donna asked. When Darbonne said she did, Donna asked for her help.

They went straight from the greenhouse to the Cases’ sunroom, and right away, Gwen formulated

a plan not only for that space, but also for the rest of the home: Lighten up by changing paint colors and furnishings.

Over the next months, Darbonne did the leg work of shopping and sampling while painter Buster Buitt went to work on the walls, replacing all traces of Donna’s former favorite shade, Golden Fleece, with lighter, more neutral Bleeker Beige by Benjamin Moore. Local seamstress Patty Baggett tackled new window treatments, then Darbonne worked her distressing magic on furniture — a vintage china cabinet, a handcrafted Danny Case farm table, a rocking chair from an old store in Caseyville, and a drop-leaf table that belonged to Donna’s greatgrandmother. She discovered all that and more tucked away on the Case property.

The decorator found another updating necessity, removing clutter, difficult to suggest.

“Donna gave me free reign, but it’s hard to come into someone’s home and tell them what’s got to go,” Darbonne acknowledges.

When Donna talks about Darbonne’s decluttering efforts, Dusty laughs, indicating that it was mostly his stuff that went by the wayside. Still, they both agree they like the end result.

“Everything feels cleaner and fresher now,” says Donna.

With their sons and their families all living within a threemile radius, the Cases understand that gathering spots are a premium. Gracious and spacious, the 10-foot wide wraparound porch they insisted be part of their building plans has proved to be a wise investment, accommodating their growing needs even yearround.

BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE 9

As part of the porch update, Darbonne added cushy pillows to a bed swing Dusty gave Donna as an anniversary gift, then spiced up a play space with vintage toys. She also secured a pub table and chairs to provide further breakfast seating options for hungry grandchildren when they stay overnight.

Donna’s decorative touch on the porch is plants, including 15 hanging ferns, each with their own drip irrigation device. Dusty’s contribution might be harder to spot, but it’s important when cooler temperatures arrive: He helped professionals from Y-Knot Canvas install 30-gauge Marine Grade vinyl under the eaves of the porch and on a covered patio at the rear of the home. The material unrolls to block wind and weather, extending the use of these outdoor areas. Combined with stand-alone heaters, the vinyl surround has even enabled the family to celebrate Christmas on the patio.

Overall, the Case Place is just like that —s unfussy and casual, even though upscale wrought iron defines the stairs and a classy glass transom tops the front door. Hiring a decorator didn’t change that.

Donna is just glad to get the interior like she always knew it could be.

“We do most of our projects together,” she says, smiling at Dusty. “We’re about finished.

We get to just live here now.”

IIIII The home of Dusty and Donna Case gets an extra dose of country character from its cypress wood siding.

The Cases relax on their wraparound porch. The bed swing was an anniversary gift from Dusty to his wife.

Jonathan Bunyard Cabinetry designed the surround for a gas heater Donna had but didn’t use. Now, it’s a central component in one of her favorite spots to relax.

BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE 11

Bank of Brookhaven Presents The 45th Annual

O C T

4 Ole Brook Fest 5 O C T

H I S TO R I C D O W N TO W N B R O O K H AV E N

Friday, October 4, 6 PM - 9 PM

Saturday, October 5, Booths Open 8 AM - 4 PM Pink Sisters 5k Foam Run/ Walk 8AM Ole Brook Antique car show 8AM - 3PM

S I N C E 1 9 74 STREET DANCE

Four Way Stop & The Bridge Band Food Trucks Open!

Kidzone $10 unlimited access armband 9AM - 3PM LIVE ENTERTAINMENT ON THE MAIN STAGE FEATURING ROCK • BLUES • JAZZ • GOSPEL & SINGER-SONGWRITER SHOWCASE!

for vendor info please contact Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce at 601-833-1411 or email admin@brookhavenchamber.com

12 BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE

Recruiting Plumbers, Pipefitters, Pipe Welders, & Apprentices.

EMPLOYING LOYING O OVER VER 2 2,000 000 S STATEWIDE! TATEWID

From Nuclear Plants, Power Houses, Hospitals, Paper Mills, and other commercial industrial industries.

Tommy Newell: 601-638-2546 • Chris Newell: 601-754-5363 Randy Hunt: 918-361-3699 www.uanet.org 3203 N. frontage rd. vicksburg, ms

BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE 13

history SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 19

Story by Brett Campbell Photos by Donna Campbell Dwain Easley and his dog stand on the portion of his property where the Lynyrd Skynyrd memorial will be placed in October. Easley was one of the first rescuers on scene.

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FLY HIGH

T

he afternoon of Oct. 20, 1977, Dwain Easley and his friend and business partner Wayne Blades were shooting the bull and drinking coffee at Easley’s mother’s home on Easley Road in Gillsburg. The two men had been deer hunting and decided to call it quits when the woods started getting too dark to see clearly.

As they sat and talked, Easley heard a helicopter passing over the property at what he thought was a very low height and said as much to those at the table with him. It was about that time the house phone rang.

It was a neighbor calling to warn Easley’s mother that she had seen a plane going down over the trees and was sure it was about to crash in the trees behind their house.

Easley and Blades jumped up and went outside to see what they could do to help.

They saw what they later found out was a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, shining its searchlight in circling patterns, looking for the plane that already crashed about where the neighbor had figured it would. The men hurried across the pasture and into the swampy forested area where they followed the now-stationary beam of light to the broken fuselage of a small twinengine plane and its passengers — some on the ground, some still in the wreckage, some in the trees. By the time all were accounted for, 20 were injured but alive and six were dead, all on impact.

It was the crash of Southern rock giants Lynyrd Skynyrd and their crew.

The history of the band’s crash and moments leading up to it has become legend, with some facts lost to time and conflicting accounts. But much has been preserved.

The plane

The plane was a Convair 240, tail number N55VM, nearly three decades old, leased for a period of three days from L&J Company in Addison, Texas, by the band’s manager Peter Rudge, for $5,000 a day. The band and crew boarded at Greenville, South Carolina’s Downtown Airport that fateful afternoon, headed to perform in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the next night on the campus of Louisiana State University.

“We were flying in a plane that looked like it belonged to the Clampett family,” drummer Artimus Pyle said in the book “Whiskey Bottles and Brand New Cars: The Fast Life and Sudden Death of Lynyrd Skynyrd,”

by Mark Ribowsky.

Rudge had leased the plane because the band did not yet own a plane themselves and most private airlines they’d flown with before did not welcome them back due to multiple rowdy incidents. A couple of members from the band Aerosmith had leased the exact same plane earlier that year, but backed out when their assistant chief of flight operations, Zunk Buker, questioned the craft’s flight worthiness and claimed to have seen the pilot and co-pilot smoking and passing around an open bottle of Jack Daniels in the cockpit.

Lynyrd Skynyrd sound engineer Ken Peden told “Rolling Stone” that no one liked the plane and everyone resented Rudge, who always flew first class on commercial flights instead of with the band and crew.

“It sort of symbolized to the band that Rudge was doing things on the cheap, and here they were — one of the biggest bands in the world,” Peden said. “They were not a happy bunch and the plane was like a metaphor for them being trapped in a bad situation.”

42 YEARS LATER, LYNYRD SKYNYRD GETS CRASH MEMORIAL

BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE 15

Though many of the passengers had serious misgivings about the plane, they were looking forward to buying a Learjet after the LSU concert.

Guitar player Gary Rossington told “Rolling Stone” fellow guitarist Allen Collins didn’t want to get on the plane.

“He said, ‘I’m not gonna get on it because it’s not right,” Rossington said. But he said lead singer Ronnie Van Zant talked him into it, saying, “‘Hey, if the Lord wants you to die on this plane, when it’s your time, it’s your time.’”

Cassie Gaines, backup singer and sister of guitarist Steve Gaines, was determined to squeeze into the band’s truck with all their equipment rather than get on the plane, but she was persuaded to come along for the ride.

The crash

The plane took off from South Carolina at 5:02 p.m. and the passengers relaxed when it had no incidents on takeoff. Soon music 16 BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE

was blaring, some were dancing in the aisle and others were relaxing in their seats. Van Zant lay on the floor to stretch out his aching back. Peden said one the Honkettes — the band’s back-up singers — gave the singer a massage to help out.

Less than three hours after its uneventful rise to the blue skies, the twin-engine plane fell into the trees and swamp of Gillsburg, in Pike County. The plane’s right engine suddenly died and the pilots realized they were dangerously low on fuel even though they’d filled the tank in Greenville.

At 6:42 p.m., McCreary radioed Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center and told them he needed coordinates for the nearest airport. It was McComb-Pike County Airport in McComb — 17 miles behind them. As he began to turn the plane around, the left engine died also and steering mechanisms shut down. They were now in a free fall from 4,500 feet.

Everyone suddenly got quiet. Some began praying.

“I think everyone on that plane became born again real quick,” said Easley.

McCreary left the cockpit and told the passengers, “We’re out of gas — put your heads between your legs and buckle up tight.”

It took 10 minutes for the plane to fall.

Pyle recalled Van Zant walked to the back of the plane and got a pillow before going up to his seat in the front.

“As he walked forward, he shook my hand,” Pyle said. “We looked at each other and smiled, and he continued forward and sat down. Ronnie knew that he was going to die.”

When the plane made impact with the tall pines at 90 mph, Powell said it sounded like someone hitting the outside of the aircraft with hundreds of baseball bats. The wings sheared off and the fuselage tore, ripping away the cockpit and the tail. The cabin bent into an L-shape and skidded to a stop just after 6:53 p.m., leaving a trail of metal and other debris … and people.

Rescue and recovery

Van Zant died instantly from blunt force trauma to the head. Assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick was killed on impact, as was guitarist Steve Gaines, but his sister Cassie lived a short time longer before dying from blood loss. The lifeless bodies of pilots McCreary and Gray remained strapped into their cockpit seats, now hanging upside-down from a nearby tree.

When Easley and Blades reached the wreckage, they could hear voices calling out in pain and fear, asking for help and for someone to “get us out of here.”

“The first thing I saw was a bloody hand reaching out from the debris,” Easley said.

“Folks were all mashed together. We’d move one and there would be another one laying there.”

“I didn’t know who it was, but I saw one guy holding his hand to his chest just above his stomach and there was blood just running out between his fingers and down from his hand,” said Easley. “I thought he was going to die if we didn’t get him some help and soon. Later, I found out he had one of his fingers plugging a hole and the doctor said that’s probably what kept him alive until they could help him at the hospital.”

Recollections vary from both the group of rescuers that was growing by the minute — from neighbors and emergency personnel — and those being rescued. People saw things through their own lenses of experience.

Easley recalls reaching up and opening the door on the side of the plane, which was several feet above him and turned sideways, holding it until someone handed him a limb to brace it open. As he held it waiting for support, he saw the damage and some of the wounded inside the fuselage and prayed they’d be able to help the living before it was too late.

Powell nearly lost his nose when he crashed headfirst through a table. He remembers sitting on top of the fuselage crying, wondering what happened. When he jumped down he heard voices calling for help and tried to assist efforts where he could.

Leslie Hawkins, the Honkette who’d been massaging Van Zant’s back, and Bill Sykes, a TV crewman traveling with the band, were stuck in a tree 10 feet above the wreckage, alive but below a piece of sheet metal that dangled precariously from the branches.

As Easley and others were approaching the plane from one side to help, Pyle, Peden and drum tech Marc Frank exited the opposite side and set off into the dark swamp to find help, inadvertently walking away from the help arriving.

Above and previous pages: Photos taken the night of the crash and of the wreckage the following day.

Opposite: An artist’s rendering of the proposed memorial.

BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE 17

The trio crossed a creek and struggled under a barbed wire fence into a pasture filled with cows. The house lights they saw in the distance belonged to 22-year-old dairy farmer Johnny Mote, who had seen the searchlight and heard the noises of the helicopter and the crash, and thought convicts must have escaped a nearby prison. When Mote in his pickup came upon the trio of dirty, bloody men on a path he hurried home, warned his wife to lock to the doors, grabbed his rifle and stood guard outside. As the men came into his yard, Mote fired a warning shot into the air.

“Now we’re gonna get killed by a redneck farmer!” Peden told a “Rolling Stone” reporter he was thinking.

The men dropped to the ground and yelled at him that they’d just survived a plane crash on the other side of the pasture.

Mote realized they were telling the truth and began rounding up men with pickups and four-wheelers to help and quickly headed toward the crash site.

Back at the site, men were working as fast as they could to extricate both the dead and the living from the wreckage.

Gillsburg volunteer firefighter Jamie Wall said he found the crash site by following the helicopter’s spotlight. When he arrived with just a flashlight and hatchet he realized he was almost standing on one of the victims. As he moved around the plane, he tripped over someone else.

Lighting technician Mark Howard was pinned in a hole of the fuselage. Wall used his hatchet to free him.

The mangled bodies and cries for help were overwhelming, Wall told an area newspaper.

“I got down and prayed. I said, ‘I need help, God, to deal with this.”

God sent help, said Wall, through people directing traffic on the highway, bringing tractors to pull out rescue vehicles mired in the muddy fields or make easier access to the crash site, relaying messages via CB radio.

Before the night was over, three helicopters were carrying medical personnel and illuminating the site — a Mississippi National Guard copter and one from Forrest County General Hospital in Hattiesburg had arrived to assist the original USCG helicopter — and approximately 3,000 people had gathered to see what they could do to help, or just to see what there was to see.

Some took souvenirs from the crash.

Many residents of Lincoln County recall the wreckage was stored in Brookhaven for up to two decades, and that countless people had a piece of the plane at home.

Identification of both the dead and the 18 BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE

wounded was delayed by the fact that many had been playing poker and had their wallets out of their pockets when the crash occurred.

The bodies of Van Zant, the Gaines siblings, Kilpatrick and the pilots were laid in a temporary morgue at a local high school gymnasium. Rudge chartered three planes for loved ones to identify the bodies.

Among them was Ronnie’s father Lacy Van Zant, who — after having to identify the body of his son — began visiting recuperating members of the band family, telling them to “get better and rest” and not to worry about Ronnie, though everyone asked about their leader.

The music world was still reeling from the death of the King of Rock and Roll himself. Elvis Presley had died just over two months earlier, on Aug. 16. Now the rising Southern rock stars had fallen from the sky in the same state that gave birth to the King.

The official cause of the crash, issued in a report eight months later, was ruled to be “fuel exhaustion and total loss of power from both engines due to crew inattention to fuel supply.” But the focus of the band and family members has always remained more on the loss of loved ones and remembering those who worked so hard to help them.

Howard told a reporter in 2017 that Easley and Wall played a bigger role that night than they probably believed they had.

“Those two guys pulled me out of a hole in the airplane,” Howard said. “Those guys were just farm boys helping people out.

They don’t even know they’re heroes.”

Remembering and honoring the band

This year marks the 42nd anniversary of the crash and the end of the band with the name so many people were still learning to pronounce correctly — though their 1973 debut album was entitled “(pronounced ‘lĕh-‘nérd ‘skin-‘nérd)”. For fans of “Free Bird” (1973) and “Sweet Home Alabama” (1974) and every other song on each of their five albums, not enough had been done in the four decades following their deaths to honor the bandmates who lived and memorialize those who did not.

But in March, a group of fans got together and began making plans to rectify this. That’s where the genesis of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Crash Site Memorial took place.

Ever since October 1977, people from all over the world have arrived on Easley’s property to pay tribute to the band. Some have knocked on his door asking for directions. Others have just plunged into the trees and undergrowth hoping to come

across a remaining piece of debris, a tribute left by another fan or a marker of some sort.

Very soon, fans will no longer have to wonder just where to go to remember the band at the site of the crash. The memorial group’s GoFundMe web page shows an architectural rendering of how the memorial is intended to look.

The monument will include “photographs and a narrative of the accident, the heroics of rescuers and medical personnel who helped prevent additional loss of life, and the lasting legacy of the band,” according to the web page.

The original goal was to erect a $10,000 monument at the site of the crash and another at Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, in McComb, to honor the medical personnel who assisted that night and in the extended treatments in days following.

Plans have changed, however. Because so many have donated to the project, the crash site monument will now be a $49,000 tribute — much larger and more detailed. Its dedication will be on the 42nd anniversary of the crash, on Oct. 20, about 400 yards from the site of impact — a spot inaccessible due to swampy ground. With concrete steps and a walkway leading up from a gravel pull-off area next to Easley Road, the structure is planned to be 8 feet tall, 19 feet wide and in four sections of black granite — with etched pictures and information on both sides. Funds donated above the cost of the site monument and the hospital marker will be used for road signage, lighting, security cameras and long-term maintenance, said organizer Pat Nelson of Brookhaven.

“We’ve raised much in excess of our original goal,” Nelson said, “allowing us to dramatically increase the size of the monument near the crash site.”

The Sunday afternoon ceremony is planned to include notable visitors, including Ronnie Van Zant’s widow and some survivors from the crash. Donations for the memorial are still accepted through the GoFundMe page and donors will each receive a commemorative guitar pick.

For a community that includes witnesses, heroes, survivors and fans — from both Southwest Mississippi and across the globe — the ceremony is long overdue and eagerly anticipated.

In massive chorus, at least in thoughts and hearts, the question Collins and Van Zant posed in 1973 will be answered affirmatively: “If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?”

IIIII

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THE BEST IN LOCAL NEWS, SPORTS AND OPINION IS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. IN PRINT & ONLINE. BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE 21

food SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 19

Story and photos by Donna Campbell

THE PERFECT CATCH

The Fish Fry owners: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’

H

eath and Tonya Luper reeled in the perfect catch four years ago when they both decided to make a career change. The couple purchased The Fish Fry in Brookhaven and applied Heath’s philosophy of life: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Heath divided his time between home and the Gulf of Mexico, working offshore for a drilling company. He spent 28 days home, 28 days on a rig. Tonya had worked at a dentist office, but quit to stay home with their youngest, Brandt, who is a sixth grader at Brookhaven Academy. Their older son Brayden is a senior at Brookhaven High School and

22 BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE

their daughter, Rainee Luper Hodge, is a senior at Mississippi College.

Heath was offshore when Tonya, who was substitute teaching at Enterprise Attendance Center, heard from coworkers that one of the Lupers’ favorite restaurants was on the market. They’d visit The Fish Fry at least once on his off month and his go-to meal was always the ribeye.

The couple had debated Heath finding something on dry land that would keep him at home more. He was tired of heading offshore every few weeks.

“I’d always talked about owning my own business, but

never really seriously thought about it,” he said.

Tonya was scared to start a new business from scratch.

“That’s a big leap,” she said.

They talked to The Fish Fry owners Wayne and Carol Boyte and added their names to the growing list of prospective buyers. The restaurant had been open 32 years at that point and the Boytes had built it into a popular Lincoln County eatery.

Though several people wanted to buy the business, the Lupers believe they were chosen because they didn’t want to change what the Boytes had recreated.

“If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” Heath said.

They retained the seasoned kitchen staff and most of the waitresses. A few in their crew have been there for decades,

churning out scratch-made hushpuppies and frying up tons of fresh catfish filets.

With “Fry” in the name, it’s not unexpected to see fryers in the kitchen.

There are five of them — two for fish, one for french fries and one for seafood — shrimp and oysters. The other is for everything else like chicken tenders, onion rings and pickles.

They use soybean oil rather than peanut oil because so many people have peanut allergies.

The catfish they serve has been arriving fresh from America’s Catch in Itta Bena for three decades.

“A lot of people probably don’t realize it’s fresh. We get fish fresh out of the Mississippi Delta every week,” Heath said.

“It’s not frozen,” Tonya added.

“Every single week it comes fresh from

the Delta, straight from the processing plant,” Heath said.

Some customers voiced concern to the new owners years ago, worried they planned to swap out catfish suppliers when they purchased the restaurant. But it wasn’t ever a choice for them.

Heath shakes his head.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” he said.

But that’s not to say they didn’t make a few changes. They added a few dishes to the menu, like collard greens served with hot hushpuppies. Tonya said customers rave about the side and even one of their longtime cooks was shocked that it was collard greens since they can sometimes taste a bit more bitter than turnip greens.

The Lupers won’t share the secret to that magic, just show cell phone pictures of the dish and smile.

BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE 23

Billy Sturdivant and Gary Hutson enjoy an early dinner at The Fish Fry. Below, Ramon Batteast has been grilling ribeye steaks on the flat top for 33 years.

24 BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE

They also switched to a better quality french fry than was they first used when they bought the restaurant.

They changed the salad base from straight iceberg lettuce to an 80/20 mix with romaine to give it a more pleasing taste and presentation.

The dressings, however, remain exactly the same. They make their tarter sauce, cocktail sauce, ranch and Thousand Island dressing.

Surprisingly, the recipes didn’t come with the restaurant, but the kitchen crew did. They make the mixes from memory.

“It’s in their head. It’s not wrote down anywhere,” Tonya said.

But that’s not entirely true.

“I’ve got it written down,” Heath said, causing his wife to laugh. “I picked their brains one day. I said, ‘If something ever happens to you, I need to know.’”

Though The Fish Fry is famous for its fried fish, it’s got a not-so-secret following of customers who are big fans of the steak, lead by Heath himself.

“I tell people I liked the steak at The Fish Fry so much I bought the place,” he said.

The Lupers use Stock Yard Prime ribeye that’s 24 ounces uncooked.

It’s still Heath’s favorite plate. He likes his medium rare, cooked to perfection by Ramon Batteast. Chef Batteast has been putting out mouth-watering steaks there for 33 years.

A big part of what makes their steak special is the sauce Batteast uses, which he liberally applies while the ribeye is grilling on the flat top, Heath said.

Their steak sauce isn’t some dark brown condiment in a bottle though. It’s a compound butter, mixed with a secret assortment of seasonings, and it’s so tasty some customers request a bowl of it to dip their steak into at the table.

The Lupers give a lot of credit to Batteast and another longtime employee, kitchen manager Selena Hampton, who’s been helping to run things for 35 years. Those two along with the others in the crew made the transition from the Boyts to the Lupers much easier.

“We’re fortunate enough to have great people working for us, which that’s what makes a great business,” he said.

Another tradition the Lupers kept is the Thursday night lagniappe — fried rolls. They get their rolls delivered fresh on Thursday and they’re fried and served complimentary at dinner that night.

“If you want something sweet, if you take it and open it up and put butter on it and sprinkle some sugar, it tastes like a doughnut. It’s very good,” Tonya said.

Another sweet treat is the cream cheese pies.

It’s a dessert Tonya created to replace some of the frozen pies that didn’t sell as well. People love the sliced pie, which comes with a choice of topping — strawberry, blueberry, chocolate

or caramel, Tonya said. It’s the perfect creamy sweetness to follow up a fried meal.

The Lupers enjoy meeting new customers and their visits with the regulars.

“I don’t really consider it work,” said Heath, who overcame his shyness when he became a restaurateur. “We go up there every day and we visit. Tonya made the statement one time, ‘It’s like having a family reunion every week. You get to see everybody.’”

The couple believes in supporting the community, giving to schools and organizations.

They offer a 15-percent discount to all retired and active-duty veterans and any first responder — law enforcement, fire fighters and ambulance crews.

“It’s our way of giving back,” said Heath, who is the son of an airman.

The couple are proud of The Fish Fry and what it brings to the community.

“People feel comfortable there. It’s not a fine dining establishment,” Heath said. “We consider ourselves a business that caters to the working people. People feel comfortable coming in there, straight from doing yard work. And that’s the way we want it.”

The restaurant, located at 738 Industrial Park Road NE, is open for lunch and dinner on Thursday and Fridays and only dinner on Saturday.

They could have opted to open on Sundays, too. It would definitely be a popular spot for the after-church crowd, but that wasn’t an option for them.

“I’m not in it to get rich. I’m in it to make a living,” Heath said.

Sunday is a day of rest and they don’t want their employees to miss that time with their families.

“The Lord has blessed us with what we have.

I don’t want to take that away by opening on Sunday,” Tonya said.

The Lupers are in the midst of their five-year improvement plan. They’ve replaced carpet and remodeled the bathrooms. The parking lot has been repaved and striped and they installed a sign near Industrial Park Road so there is no mistaking the big metal building next to the fire station for anything other than The Fish Fry. They plan to create designated parking near the door for takeout service. About 60 percent of their business is from call-in orders, and for those who don’t have the menu memorized, it’s available on their Facebook page.

For their 10-year plan, Heath wants to expand the kitchen to include a new walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer inside the building. They’ve talked about creating a drive-through pickup if they can make the logistics work.

Did the Lupers ever think of changing The Fish Fry’s name to something more personal?

Not once, Heath said.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

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photo essay SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 19

Photos by Donna Campbell

The 2019 Lincoln County Wildlife and Outdoor Expo at Lincoln Civic Center featured food, vendors, games, a catfish hand-grabbing pond (at top), Terry “The Snake Man” Vanderveter (above) and a professional competitive lumberjack show.

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social scenes SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 19

BROOKHAVEN LITTLE THEATRE SEASON REVEAL PARTY

Sarah Ellis, Erin Buckley, Hayden Walker and Sierra Wessman

Josh Brown, Lela Beth Waterloo, Mary Rhea Waterloo, Milly Ann Grice and Walker Johnson

Megan and Jeffrey Kellum, Jason and Emily Childress

Connor Cagle, Paden and Emily Phillips

Eric Johnson, Anna Walker, Jessica Scott and Sam Lovorn

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WILDLIFE EXPO

Madison Quick, Renee Wilkerson, Rowan Wooten and Reece Quick

Morgan McKee, Fletcher McKee and Jagger McKee

Adalynn Blakeney, Vaiden Blakeney and Jeremy Blakeney

Celeste, Jason, Trenton, Jacob and Daniel Westmoreland

Felicia Triggs and Timothy Triggs

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PAUL BARNETT

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garden SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 19

Lime Sizzler will make a big impact

By Gary R. Bachman MSU Extension Service

A

bout 10 years ago while attending a meeting in Miami, I had the opportunity to tour around south Florida, sightseeing and enjoying the horticulture.

We visited the Fruit and Spice Park in Homestead and discovered the joys and deliciousness of fresh tropical fruit, not the grocery store offerings most of us consider “fresh.” While in the park, I was enamored of a large, charming shrub.

I was told this was a native plant in the genus Hamelia, commonly called firebush. This shrub easily grew over 8 feet tall and wide, and it was covered with bright and beautiful, reddishorange tubular flowers, each about an inch and half long.

I knew this would be a hit back in Mississippi. It would be winter hardy along the Coast and an annual in the northern part of the state. But its size would keep it out of many home landscapes.

Then a couple of years ago while visiting the LSU AgCenter in Hammond, I discovered a new-to-me Hamelia selection that I immediately knew was a winner. This selection is called Lime Sizzler, and it lives up to that name.

Lime Sizzler is a tough plant for our hot and humid summers. It was selected as a Louisiana Super Plant for 2019, and it will be super in our Mississippi landscapes and gardens. It is a vigorous but compact-growing plant, reaching about 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. Lime sizzler is better suited for small gardens than its native south Florida cousin.

The foliage is a variegated mixture of chartreuse yellow and lime green highlighted by bright-red veins. The flowers are arranged in whorled clusters of gorgeous reddish-orange blooms. The plant produces these tubular flowers all summer and well into the fall.

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For the best flower production and foliage color, plant Lime sizzler where it has full sun for at least six hours a day.

This plant will be just fine in a shadier setting, but it will not develop the showy colors.

Though this plant tolerates pruning, the home gardener shouldn’t prune during the summer growing season, as this removes and reduces the current season’s flower development. Always prune in late winter before spring growth begins.

Lime Sizzler is an excellent choice

for butterfly and hummingbird gardens, as the flowers provide an ample supply of sweet, nutritious nectar for our pollinators.

Lime sizzler is considered a tropical perennial and is hardy in USDA Zones 8 to 11. It is likely to be evergreen most years along the Mississippi coast and is considered root hardy for most of the rest of the state.

Look for Lime Sizzler at your favorite garden center for next year’s summer garden.

voices SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 19

I

Why I love Brookhaven

and my three children were born and raised here and in its surrounding areas. Brookhaven is the illustration of the “Cheer’s” theme song, “where everybody knows your name and they are always glad you came.” To say the least, this is where someone can tell from your facial features with whom you are related to and do not mind telling you a story or two about their “good ole days.”

I love the community of Brookhaven for the compassion of love and support that is poured out when someone is in need. Also, the community give the same respect with congrats at celebratory moments. I love the fact that my kids had the opportunity to attend and walk the same school halls as my sisters and I did. As the schools have a robust sports program, I love hearing the roar of the Panther Pride.

Once a Panther, always a Panther.

There are new restaurants, a small eatery and bakery. However, I love the fact that there are still a few that are still vibrant from my childhood. Being able to get a hamburger from the Star Drive Inn or a chicken on the stick from Janey’s Pastry. To now being able to get bacon covered in chocolate from Sweeteez and turnip bites from Georgia Blue. Nevertheless, the boulevard is just minutes away with more options.

There are many things to love about Brookhaven, as I do. From the church to the community events that have rich heritage within the pavements all over the city. So, why do I love Brookhaven? Simply, it’s the place where everyone knows your name — home.

Arreika Thomas

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Our readers’ picks for the best of Brookhaven and Lincoln County 36 BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE

BUSINESS OF THE YEAR Bank of Brookhaven

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The 2019 Daily Leader Reader’s Choice Award winners were chosen by readers, who voted using a ballot printed in the newspaper and online voting.

Votes were tallied in more than 100 categories to select first- and second-place winners.

Readers had to fill out at least half the ballot in order for their votes to be counted.

First-place winners will receive a certificate in honor of their accomplishment.

The list of winners is found on the following pages. We thank those who participated — both voters and advertisers. And we offer a hearty congratulations to this year’s winners.

ACCOUNTANT

BANKER

CAR/TRUCK ACCESSORIES

1st: Mary Helen Miller 2nd: Korey White

1st: Shannon Aker 2nd: Stan Foster

1st: Fielder’s Pro Shop 2nd: GT Collision

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

BANK TELLER

CHILDREN’S CLOTHING

1st: Sharon Hughes 2nd: Cindy Smith

1st: Karen Sterling 2nd: Kathy Smith

1st: Beyond the Rainbow 2nd: Expectations Too

APPLIANCE DEALER

BARBER

CHIROPRACTOR

1st: Sears 2nd: Home Depot

1st: Mary Case 2nd: Pam Smith

1st: Giust Chiropractic Center

ATHLETIC STORE

BARBER SHOP

CONSIGNMENT SHOP

1st: 601 Sports 2nd: Hibbett Sports

1st: Mary’s Barber Shop 2nd: Brookhaven Barber Shop

1st: Zeal Consignment 2nd: Roxy Magnolia

ATTORNEY

BODY SHOP

CONTRACTOR

1st: Bill Boerner 2nd: Joey Norton

1st: Smith Bros. Collision 2nd: Porter’s Body Shop

1st: Rushing Construction 2nd: Paul Jackson & Sons

ATV DEALERSHIP

BRIDAL REGISTRY

CONVENIENCE STORE

1st: Brookhaven Honda 2nd: Brookhaven Powersports

1st: Hall & Company 2nd: Engravables

1st: Cracker Barrel 2nd: 84 Chevron

AUTO GLASS DEALER

CAR WASH

DANCE STUDIO

1st: Linton Glass 2nd: Brookhaven Glass

1st: Scrub-A-Dub 2nd: Touch & Go

1st: Show Stoppers 2nd: Brookhaven Dance Academy

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We love a good

PARTY And so do our readers.

Keep the party going and the memories alive by submitting your pictures to the Social Scenes section of the Brookhaven Magazine!

When submitting your photos, please keep the following guidelines in mind: • The higher the resolution of your pictures the better!

• Include names and a brief description of your event.

That’s It!

Email them to: editor@dailyleader.com or for more info call us at The Daily Leader - 601-833-6961 BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE 41

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DAY CARE

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

HAIR SALON

1st: Wee Care, FBC 2nd: Easthaven Baptist Church

1st: Bank of Brookhaven 2nd: Trustmark

1st: Inez 101 2nd: The Loft

DENTIST

FITNESS CENTER

HAIR STYLIST

1st: Nic Belk 2nd: Shannon Patterson

1st: KDMC 2nd: The Body Shop Edge

1st: Jaylyn Roberts 2nd: Misty Robinson

DENTAL HYGIENIST

FLOORING DEALER

HARDWARE STORE

1st: Kelsey Myers 2nd: April Poole

1st: J&B Tile 2nd: Brookhaven Flooring

1st: Perkins Ace Hardware 2nd: Home Hardware

DETAIL SHOP

FORMAL WEAR

HEATING/COOLING SERVICE

Tie: Fielder’s Pro Shop, GT Collision

1st: Men’s: The Well-Dressed Man 1st: Women’s: Liz-Beth Pageants

1st: Blake Wallace/Comfort Zone 2nd: Ole Brook Heating & Cooling

DOG GROOMER

FUNERAL DIRECTOR

HOME HEALTH AGENCY

1st: Janice Wallace 2nd: Classy Clips

1st: Clay McMorris 2nd: Colby McMorris

1st: Sta-Home 2nd: St. Luke

ELECTED PUBLIC OFFICIAL

FUNERAL HOME

HOSPICE AGENCY

1st: Joe Cox 2nd: Becky Currie

1st: Riverwood Family 2nd: Brookhaven Funeral

1st: Hospice Ministries 2nd: Hospice Compassus

ELECTRICIAN

FURNITURE STORE

HOTEL/LODGING

1st: Brown Electric 2nd: Troy Jordan

1st: J Allan’s 2nd: T.H.Perkins

1st: Inn on Whitworth 2nd: Hampton Inn

EVENT VENUE

FLORIST

INSURANCE PROVIDER

1st: The Hideaway at Reed’s Estate 2nd: The Homestead

1st: Shipp’s Flowers 2nd: Bertha’s Flower Shop

1st: Farm Bureau 2nd: Insurance & Risk Managers

EYE CARE SPECIALIST

GIFT SHOP

INSURANCE REPRESENTATIVE

Tie: Tressie Hall, Chad Smith

1st: Engravables 2nd: Hall & Company

1st: Sam Sones 2nd: Mike Smith

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KDMC BOB

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INVESTMENT REP.

NAIL TECHNICIAN

PEST CONTROL

1st: Glenn Driskell

1st: Jalynn Roberts

1st: Positive Pest Control 2nd: Ole Brook Exterminating

JEWELRY STORE/JEWELER

NEW CAR DEALERSHIP

PHARMACIST

1st: Smith Jewelry House of Diamonds

1st: Stan King GM 2nd: Sullivan Ford

1st: Clint Bane 2nd: Larue Baker

WOMEN’S CLOTHING

NEW CAR SALESPERSON

PHARMACY/DRUG STORE

1st: Expectations 2nd: Castles

1st: Prentiss Smith 2nd: Paxton King

1st: Larue’s Drugs 2nd: Clint’s Pharmacy

LANDSCAPING

NURSE

PHOTOGRAPHER

1st: Rainbow 2nd: Growin Green

1st: Taylor Berry 2nd: Anna Guist

1st: Johnny Smith 2nd: Cassie Mathis

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

NURSE PRACTITIONER

PHYSICAL THERAPIST

1st: Kenny Collins 2nd: Steve Rushing

1st: Cathe Knott 2nd: Beth Brown

Tie: Tim Cunningham, Courtney Owens

LAWN & GARDEN CENTER

OIL CHANGE

PHYSICIAN

1st: Buds & Blooms 2nd: Home Depot

1st: Valvoline Instant Oil Change 2nd: Quick Lane/Sullivan Ford

1st: Ray Montalvo 2nd: Bryan Calcote

MASSAGE THERAPIST

PAWN SHOP

PLUMBER

1st: Caitlin Clark 2nd: Valerie Delozier

1st: Indian Creek Outdoors 2nd: 51 Pawn & Gun

1st: Ross Jackson Plumbing 2nd: Tommy Cupit

MEDICAL CLINIC

PEDIATRICIAN

REAL ESTATE AGENT

1st: KDMC 2nd: Complete Family Medical

1st: Josh lles 2nd: Timothy Shann

1st: Betsy Smith 2nd: Amanda Warren

MEN’S CLOTHING

PERSONAL TRAINER

REAL ESTATE COMPANY

1st: The Well-Dressed Man 2nd: Goody’s

1st: Dedrick Clark 2nd: Tra Collins

1st: Betsy Smith Properties 2nd: United Country Real Estate

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RECEPTIONIST

SPORTING GOODS

TRACTOR DEALER

1st: Kathy Smith

1st: 601 Sports 2nd: Hibbett Sports

1st: Farmbelt Equipment

RETIREMENT HOME

TANNING SALON

USED CAR DEALER

1st: BeeHive Homes 2nd: The Aspen

1st: Glow Tanning Salon & Spa 2nd: Suntan Depot

1st: Stan King GM 2nd: Auto Direct

SCHOOL

TEACHER

VETERINARIAN

1st: Brookhaven Academy 2nd: Brookhaven High School

1st: Kay Jarancik 2nd: LeeAnn Griffin

1st: Bob Watson 2nd: Greg Howell

SHOE STORE

TIRE DEALER (NONDEALERSHIP)

1st: Judy’s II 2nd: Hibbett Sports

1st: Ole Brook Tire & Auto Service 2nd: Bozeman Tire & Service Center

FOOD, DRINK, DINING ASIAN CUISINE

BUSINESS LUNCH

COFFEE

1st: Little Tokyo 2nd: OEC Japanese Express

1st: Broma’s Deli 2nd: Georgia Blue

1st: Georgia Blue Bakery 2nd: McDonald’s

BARBECUE

CATERING

DELI

1st: Magnolia Blues BBQ 2nd: Bowie Barbeque

1st: Mitchell’s Special Events 2nd: Donna’s Catering

1st: Broma’s Deli 2nd: Georgia Blue Bakery

BREAKFAST

CATFISH

DESSERTS

1st: Dude’s Sausage & Biscuit 2nd: Georgia Blue Bakery

1st: The Fish Fry 2nd: Poppa’s Buffet & Grill

1st: Georgia Blue Bakery 2nd: Janie’s Pastry Shop

BUFFET

CHICKEN

FAST FOOD

1st: Poppa’s Buffet & Grill 2nd: Bo Bo Chinese

1st: Zaxby’s 2nd: Popeyes

1st: Wendy’s 2nd: Zaxby’s

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FRENCH FRIES

LUNCH

RESTAURANT

1st: McDonald’s 2nd: Wendy’s

1st: Broma’s Deli 2nd: Betty’s Eat Shop

1st: Betty’s Eat Shop 2nd: Georgia Blue

FRIENDLIEST SERVICE

MARGARITA

SALAD

1st: Dude’s Sausage & Biscuit 2nd: Los Parrilleros

1st: Los Parrilleros 2nd: Magnolia Blues BBQ

1st: Broma’s Deli 2nd: Poppa’s Buffet & Grill

HAMBURGER

MEXICAN FOOD

Seafood

1st: Chism’s Diner 2nd: Betty’s Eat Shop

1st: Los Parrilleros 2nd: El Dorado

1st: The Fish Fry 2nd: The Shack at 550

HOME COOKING

PIZZA

STEAKS

1st: Poppa’s Buffet & Grill 2nd: Chism’s Diner

1st: Fox’s Pizza Den 2nd: Little Caesars

1st: Magnolia Blues BBQ 2nd: Backwoods Bayou

ICE CREAM

POBOY

1st: Dairy Queen 2nd: Sonic

1st: Gagliano’s 2nd: Broma’s Deli

KIDS MEAL

QUICKEST DRIVE-THRU

1st: McDonald’s 2nd: Wendy’s

1st: Wendy’s 2nd: Dude’s Sausage & Biscuit

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C A T E R I N G

Find us online

www.dailyleader.com BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE 57

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our

WINNERS!

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KDMC

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BANK OF BROOKHAVEN

YOtL

FOR VOTING US

Business of The Year, Best Financial Institution and Best Banker!

Congratulations to Karen Sterling Voted Best Bank Teller

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