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Sunday, July 25, 2010
The Vicksburg Post
Gallery in Bay St. Louis to host oil spill fundraiser Gallery 220 and Clay Creations in Bay St. Louis will host a fundraiser Wednesday to help with Gulf oil spill cleanup efforts. The event, at the gallery at Toulme and Main streets, will feature live entertainment, food, a silent auction and a raffle for a chance to win works by Bay St. Louis artist Lori K. Gordon. Admission is $5, and proceeds will go to Audubon Society volunteer efforts in the April 20 spill. Call Jenise McCardell at 228-466-6347 or Gordon at 228342-0877.
Atlanta Symphony seeking singers The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is hosting a vocal competition. It offers a chance to sing with the symphony. Atlanta Symphony Songster 2010 is open to ages 18 and older, and contestants may enter by uploading a two-minute video of them singing “Over the Rainbow” to www.youbtube.com by
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host an event by pastor and comedian Dennis Swanberg during its 2010 student/ parent convocation Aug. 21. Swanberg will give a motivational speech while performing a comedy routine in the 2 p.m. event at First Baptist Church of Clinton, 100 E. College St. Swanberg, the author of eight books, received his master’s and doctorate in divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He has led various churches, including First Baptist in West Monroe.
from staff reports Wednesday. Three finalists will be chosen by Aug. 4 to sing in an Aug. 14 symphony concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park. First prize also includes two round-trip tickets to New York, one hotel room and two concert tickets to an Oct. 30 symphony show. For more information, call 404-733-4200 or visit www. atlantasymphony.org.
Bike MS will end at Vicksburg inn The National Multiple Sclerosis Society will host its semiannual Bike MS: Bike to the Battlefield in October. The bike route will begin Oct. 9 at the Clinton Baptist Healthplex on Clinton Parkway and will end at Battlefield Inn on North Frontage Road in Vicksburg. The weekend-long event will feature a pool party and banquet at Battlefield Inn,
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“Full Moon Egret” — a painting by Lori K. Gordon, whose works will be up for grabs in a Gulf oil spill fundraiser set for Wednesday in Bay St. Louis and conclude with a Sunday morning devotional and breakfast. Cyclists can choose from a 35-mile, 75-mile or 150-mile route, all featuring rest stops and massages. Registration is $30 for individuals through Sept. 9, $40 from Sept. 10 to Oct. 8 and
$50 the day of ride. Team rates are also available. Visit bikemsmississippi.org or call 601-856-5831.
Comedic preacher set for MC event Mississippi College will
Katrina tree art set for Coast exhibit The Jackson County Welcome Center on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is presenting an exhibit of wood sculptures by Gulf Coast artist Marlin Miller. The exhibit features wood carvings of coastal wildlife. Miller is an award-winning sculptor who received national recognition for sculptures carved from oak
trees damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The welcome center, open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., is located at the MississippiAlabama border at exit 75 on Interstate 10 westbound in Moss Point. Call 866-SEEMISS or visit www. visitmississippi.org.
Fishing club seeks youths for tourney The Association of the Louisiana Bass Clubs is accepting registration for its 26th annual youth tournament Aug. 7 at Cotile Lake Park Landing in Alexandria. Participants will be divided into two age groups, 3 to 8 and 9 to 14. Fish classes are bass, bream and white perch. The entry fee is $5 per child, and includes T-shirt and participation trophies. Trophies will also be given to first, second and third place winners. A free Zebco rod and reel will be given to the first 600 entrants. Call 318-448-4225 or 318-4450897.
local events & ENTERTAINMENT Summer Benefit Bash
2-6 p.m. Saturday; Jackson Convention Complex, 105 E. Pascagoula St.; $40 at the door, $35 in advance; $60 VIP tickets; designated driver tickets are $15 in advance and $25 at the door; Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com or The Bulldog in Ridgeland; 800-745-3000 or www.topofthehopsbeerfest.com.
structor; dance is free; lunch: $7.89 for Goldie’s Express and $7 for McAllister’s; Johnny Bellar concert: 6 p.m. Aug. 13; free; A Katrina Retrospect: 2-4 p.m. Aug. 21; featuring works by local artists, photographers and authors; free; Mixed media workshop: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 21; Elke Briuer, instructor; $45 for members, $50 for nonmembers, supplies included; Fourday portrait-drawing workshop: 6-9 p.m. Sept. 7, 14, 21 and 28; Jackson artist Jerrod Partridge, instructor; $180 for members, $190 for nonmembers; supplies included; space limited to 12; River Kids after-school art camp: begins Aug. 26; Karen Biedenharn and Kathy Gibson, instructors; for students in first through sixth grades; free, but space limited.
Mississippi Writers Guild
Westside Theatre Foundation
Annual conference; 3:30-9 p.m. Aug. 6 and 6:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Aug. 7; Riverwalk Casino Hotel on Warrenton Road; workshops, speakers, panel discussions and critique sessions; $125 for MWG members, $144 for nonmembers; discounts for groups, students and seniors; 601-638-7235 or mississippiwritersguild.com.
“Always...Patsy Cline”: 2 this afternoon; Coral Room at The Vicksburg on Clay Street; tickets: $10, seating limited to 80; reservations: 601-618-9349.
2 p.m. Saturday; various artists playing to help victims of Gulf oil spill; Duff’s Tavern & Grill and the Upper End Lounge, Washington Street; tickets: $12 in advance, $15 at door; 601-638-8828.
Top of the Hops Beer Festival
Clash in the Kitchen Aug. 12 at Vicksburg Convention Center; cook-off to benefit Mississippi Firefighters Memorial Burn Association; tickets: $40 at the door or from Amanda Fontaine, 601-540-2995.
Vicksburg Farmers’ Market 8-11 a.m. Saturdays and 4-7 p.m. Wednesdays; parking lot of LD’s Kitchen on Mulberry Street.
Vicksburg National Military Park Fridays-Tuesdays: Living History Program, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; cannon firings, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., additional firing at 9:30 a.m. Saturday; Fridays-Sundays: walking tours every 30 minutes; $8 per car entry fee for one week or $20 for annual pass; 601636-0583.
Southern Cultural Heritage Center Reservations required for each event: 601-631-2997 or info@ southernculture.org; Photography workshop: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday; Ron Klages, instructor; $30 for members, $40 for nonmembers; bring film, camera and batteries; Beginners lace workshop: 9 a.m.-noon Saturday; Leslie Tedder, instructor; $35 for members, $40 for nonmembers, bring 135 yards of DK weight yarn and size 6 knitting needles; Let’s Dance: ballroom exhibition and dance social; 1 p.m. Aug. 1; James Frechette, in-
Vicksburg Theatre Guild “Gold in the Hills”: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; tickets: $10 for adults, $5 for ages 12 and younger; group rates: $7 and $4, respectively; all events at Parkside Playhouse, 101 Iowa Ave.; 601636-0471 or www.e-vtg.com.
Book-signings Robert Dalby: 4 p.m. Aug. 6, “A Piggly Wiggly Wedding”; Kathleen Koch: noon Aug. 11, “Rising From Katrina: How My Mississippi Hometown Lost It All and Found What Mattered”; Lorelei Books, 1103 Washington St.; 601-634-8624.
Jackson Zoo Splash & Slide water area Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Aug. 15; 2918 W. Capitol St.; summer fee: $7.25 for adults, $4.50 for ages 2 to 12 and free for younger than 2 and Friends of the Zoo; 601-352-2580 or www. jacksonzoo.org. •
Ameristar Casino, 4116 Washington St. 601-638-1000, www.ameristar.com • Glenn Williams — Variety/country; tonight and Tuesday-Aug. 1 at Cabaret Lounge; free. • Band X — Variety; Friday-Saturday at Bottleneck Blues Bar; free. • Shabang — Variety; Aug. 3-8 at Cabaret Lounge; free.
• Dr. Zarr’s Funkmonster — Variety/funk; Aug. 6-7 at Bottleneck Blues Bar; free. • The Fortunes — Oldies; Aug. 10-15 and 17-22 at Cabaret Lounge; free. • Brian McKnight — R&B; 7:30 p.m. Aug. 14 at Bottleneck Blues Bar; $50-$60; must be 21.
DiamondJacks Casino, 3990 Washington St., 601-636-5700, www.diamondjacks.com • The Rainmakers — 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday-Saturday; Fantasy Pit Stage; free. • Mo’ Money — 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Aug. 6-7; Fantasy Pit Stage; free.
LD’s Kitchen, 1111 Mulberry St., 601-636-9838 • 8:30 p.m. Monday — Blue Monday Band; call for cover. • 8:30 p.m. each second and fourth Tuesday — Central Mississippi Blues Society Band, local artists; free. • 7 p.m. each first and third Tuesday — Sounds Unlimited; free.
Eddie Monsour’s at the Biscuit Company, 1100 Washington St., 601-638-1571 • 8 p.m.-midnight Wednesdays — Open mic. • 7-10 p.m. Thursday — ladies’ night; free for women. • 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday — Band TBA; call for cover.
Jacques’ Cafe at Battlefield Inn, 4137 N. Frontage Road, 601-638-5811 • 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday — Karaoke in the lounge; free. • 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday — Richard Ahlvin; call for cover.
Beechwood Restaurant & Lounge, 4451 Clay St., 601-636-3761 • 7-10 p.m. Wednesday — Keith and Steve; lounge; free. • 9:15 p.m. Friday-Saturday — Easy Eddie; lounge; call for cover.
Roca Restaurant & Bar 127 Country Club Drive, 601-638-0800 • 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays — Ben Shaw; free.
White Continued from Page C1. a handsome slip sewn by her mother, bordered with detailed embroidery, which she made when she was 17, before she got married. It’s still in pristine condition. “I wore it once as a wedding dress,” when she was in her teens in a competition at a skating rink, her date posing as the groom “and we won the prize. No one knew where I got that wedding dress.” Sewing wasn’t a talent Evelyn enjoyed, for she made her own outfits “only once or twice and wore them only once.” One ensemble was pink gingham with matching gloves and high heels. She wore it to the Hotel Vicksburg to listen to the orchestra. When she was a girl, the family moved a few blocks to South Street, which was basically a Jewish neighborhood with the Presbyterian Church in the middle. One neighbor, Mrs. Hughes Mendel, made quite an impression, for she was always elegant in either pink
or white and had beautiful blonde curls that Evelyn said “she washed in champagne. She had a carriage and a footman.” Evelyn is virtually a living city directory from bygone years, and she said, “If you had time, I could tell you about every store on Washington Street and everybody who owned them.” She laughs about the time when she was 17 and appeared on stage at the old Walnut Street Theatre, later renamed the Saenger, when she danced to “Dancing the Devil Away” in a production arranged by instructor Glen Chandler Jones. Just before the curtain went up, Mrs. Jones was dipping a comb into a glass of water, then combing Evelyn’s hair to make it stay in place, “and the water ran all down the back of my red satin pants — so I couldn’t turn around on stage.” It was an entrance actress Loretta Young later claimed as her trademark on TV — but Evelyn did it first. Evelyn’s father died when
she was only 40, five years after they had moved to Main Street. Evelyn went to St. Francis all of her school years, learning the skills needed for secretarial work. Her first job was for nine doctors at the Sanitarium. “I loved it,” she said. “I’d still be there if they had paid me anything, but they didn’t need me that much.” She later worked for the Mississippi River Commission, where she retired in 1975. But she wasn’t through working. She had two golden retrievers she walked in the park every day, “had been doing it for seven years, and one day Tony Franco saw me and said, ‘Evelyn, Father Egan needs a secretary.’ It was Christmas week. I said, ‘Well, I’m retired. I walk my dogs every day and go to the beauty shop. I don’t have time.’” Franco urged her to go and talk to Egan, “which was in 1982, and I was there until two years ago, when I broke my hip.” She worked for a battery of priests.
Evelyn was 32 when she married Jasper “Jack” White. They met right after World War II, when she and friends went to Tuminello’s Restaurant to celebrate someone’s birthday. “When I got out of the car, I saw through the window four men sitting at a table, and I commented that I liked the looks of the back of one man’s head — and I married him.” They began dating when he asked her to go to the Rainbow Club with him, a place they often frequented, “and I married him because I got tired of staying out all night.” The wedding was in Jackson, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Scott Fowler, on the Road of Remembrance. To Jack and Evelyn were born two children, Martin and Evelyn. Jack, who had heart and kidney problems, died in 1970. Evelyn has always enjoyed writing poetry, penning lines “about just about everybody I know” just for fun, something she began when she
was young. She wrote the following about one of her golden retrievers: “His name is Leroy Lijah Brown, The prettiest dog in my hometown. Eight years old, and good as gold. Likes to hunt, likes to swim, I cater to his every whim. You know why Leroy dotes on me? ’Cause he thinks I’m family.” She entered the bit of doggerel in a dog food contest and said, “I thought I was going to win $25,000 and get to ride in the Macy’s parade,” and she did make it to the semi-finals. She saw the parade two years ago — but she wasn’t riding in it. She loves to travel — has seen much of Europe and this country — but the trip to Knoxville two years ago was not exactly a vacation. She had just broken her hip, and her son, Martin, came to get her and take her home with
him to Knoxville. A broken hip didn’t slow her much, and she told Martin, “ I’ve never been to Boston,” so with family and friends they went to snowy New York where they stayed a week, seeing the sights, but never making it to Boston. Evelyn remained in Knoxville for two years, then came home to Vicksburg. Evelyn has an apartment at Belmont Gardens, and her granddaughter takes her where she needs to go, including Mass each week at St. Paul, where she was christened 96 years ago. She recently asked her granddaughter if she knew any women over 90 who still wore eye shadow. She said she didn’t. “Well, I’m not going without it, and I’m not going without my earrings,” Evelyn told her. “Absolutely not.” Of course not — no one would recognize her if she weren’t dressed to the nines! •
Gordon Cotton is an author and historian who lives in Vicksburg.