A Blues Porch Party On A Rainy Night In Taylor
It was a rainy Monday night, and a work night at that, and I was tired and not feeling like doing much of anything. But …
History
The Brunswick Picnic and the Independent Order of Pole Bearers
The modern concept of life insurance did not come to the South until after the Civil War, and when it did come, the early Southern …
Remembering Phelix High School and the Town of Sunset
Segregation of the races was the law in most of the Southern United States from around 1890 on, but as the Progressive era dawned in …
A Solution Becomes A Problem in Harvard Yard
For reasons lost to history, at some point, there was a little wide place in the road north of Marion, Arkansas called Harvard. It wasn’t …
How To Destroy A Town Part 2: Turrell, Arkansas
The small town of Turrell, Arkansas in northern Crittenden County is yet another victim of Arkansas’ vicious school-closing law. Because Turrell’s school enrollment fell below …
Can Tourism and the Arts Save a Struggling Delta Town?
Along Highway 61’s strand of tired, worn buildings and washed-out towns, Wilson, Arkansas first appears as a grove of trees on the horizon straight ahead …
The Death of Nelson Street
About halfway between Jackson’s Farish Street and Memphis’ Beale Street was Greenville’s Nelson Street, the Main Street of the Black Mississippi Delta. Lined with professional …
Jimmy Duck Homes’ Legendary Blue Front Cafe in Bentonia
As we headed into the Delta from Jackson, we came to the little town of Bentonia in Yazoo County. Bentonia might be small, but it’s …
“Memphis’ Worldly Fair”: Deciphering Riddles In A Hill Country Blues Lyric
Anyone that has spent any time listening to the Hill Country blues style of Mississippi has doubtless heard the song “Coal Black Mattie” AKA “Po’ …
Two Memphis Passions Come Together at Jerry Lawler’s BBQ
Two things that practically rise to the level of religion in Memphis are professional wrestling and barbecue, so when a new establishment combines them in …