Phillips
Grocery Museum And Burgers
How confusing, a grocery store that
doesn’t sell groceries but burgers instead? It wasn’t always that
way, and in its storied beginning, Phillips Grocery of Holly Springs, Mississippi
was a saloon built by Oliver Quiggins following the War Of Northern Aggression.
If personalized license plates had been available Quiggins could have selected
one to reflect his prior status with the Union Army, that being an ex-pow.
In 1919, prohibition, America’s grand experiment with the marriage of
politics and religion, forced a business change in which the saloon converted
to a grocery store. A person or persons named Phillips purchased the grocery
in 1948 and began serving hamburgers. Today, burger sales account for almost
all the business sales of Phillips Grocery.
A couple of Saturdays ago, Joel and Shirley Hale along with Barbara and me
ventured to Phillips Grocery in search of the establishment’s highly
acclaimed burgers. Personally, I’ve never eaten a better hamburger than
one I cooked myself, but I don’t mind searching for a better one, especially
if the search involves the opportunity to fellowship with friends.
Phillips Grocery is located adjacent to several sets of railroad tracks and
directly across the street from what was once the depot. The building itself
is old and may not be that of the original saloon, but it looks as though
it could be.
We arrived around eleven o’clock, and there were already a few customers
ahead of us. Seating was limited mostly to three or four bistro tables for
two, but a small picnic table with benches near the front door was vacant,
so we took it. The menu was written on two overhead chalkboards. There was
little to pick from except variations of hamburgers, and popular sides, such
as fries and onion rings, though I did notice a bologna sandwich. I quickly
noted that Phillips’ "our way" burger was also made my way, mustard,
pickle, and onion.
All of us ordered a hamburger. I chose the "our way" version and a side of
fries. I might have selected onion rings had I spotted them on the board
before giving my order, but Shirley shared hers.
Drinks were priced the same from the fountain as from the cooler. We, all,
selected a bottled drink. Barbara chose bottled water; Joel and Shirley each
selected a Nehi Orange, and I picked up an IBC root beer. Our meals were
served in brown paper bags without napkins. In lieu of napkins, paper towels
were available at each table.
While I enjoyed my hamburger and can now proudly boast of having eaten a
Phillips Grocery burger, I can’t recommend a special trip to Holly Springs
to eat a Phillips burger, unless of course, one is traveling in the area
or in search of adventure. As far as I’m concerned, Pickens’ Deli,
Pickens, MS has a better burger.
We were almost through eating our burgers, when Joel asked if we wanted a
fried pie. We did, so Joel ordered one for each of us. The pies were a big
disappointment. Instead of being made from dried peaches or dried apples,
the restaurant apparently uses some sort of pie filling, so the fruit pies
had neither the look or taste of what Southerners consider a fried pie. Being
different didn’t stop us from enjoying the generously sized pies, and
we held out hope that the ones at Granny’s in Potts Camp are the type
we are accustomed to eating.
While burgers may be about all that’s on the menu, a virtual feast of
memorabilia fills the small store. Though Coca Cola memorabilia dominated
the almost museum-like atmosphere, there were other artifacts that would
be of interest to collectors, and there was no small number of articles clipped
from magazines and newspapers and posted on the walls. I remember seeing
one from the late Lewis Grizzard that should have been laminated years ago
to preserve it. It was yellowed and torn and folded partly over itself.
We posed to take pictures in order
to document our visit and even asked one customer to use our cameras and
make group pictures. I don’t know about the one she took using the
Hale’s camera, but the one on my camera was slightly blurred.
Before leaving Holly Springs, there was one other "historic" sight we wanted
to find. My niece, Felicia Brown, has been trying to get me to visit Graceland
Too in Holly Springs for at least three years, possibly more.
"It’s a couple of blocks off the Court Square," she had often related,
so we searched for it and ended up calling Felicia for directions.
Unfortunately, directions for Felicia do not necessarily translate into
coordinates familiar to the rest of us. Her "north" turned out to be our
east, but we managed to locate the house she described as having statues
of lions in front of it.
We stopped in front of the house, located on a corner lot and enclosed by
a fence, and could not help noticing the various plastic Christmas Trees
that were observable along two sides of the house. For a small fee, the homeowner
will provide a tour at any time, day or night, but none in our party were
enthused enough to take the tour.
"I wouldn’t pay five dollars," Joel laughed, "to see Elvis alive."
I figure if I wait long enough, Felicia will talk me into going with her
to Graceland Too, so I didn’t press the idea for us to stop.
Joel asked it we minded if he took a different route back to Pontotoc, "Through
Oxford?" he asked.
We had hardly passed under the future I-22 Corridor, when Joel stated he’d
like to show us a nearby golf course, Kirkwood National, where he and Bill
Jackson and a couple of other men sometimes golf. The drive to the clubhouse
provided a good view of a few fairways, and the parking lot provided a good
view of what rich golfers drive, including one sporty Mercedes and a few
BMWs.
The remainder of our drive to Oxford along Hwy 7 was filled with laughter
and conversation, as we continued to enjoy our time together. Once inside
the city limits, Joel headed straight to Phillips Grocery of Oxford, which
is located adjacent to the Baptist Hospital on Lamar Ave. We pulled into
the parking lot to size up the establishment and decided we might need to
make a trip to Oxford to compare burgers from both Phillips Grocery locations.
Joel wanted to show us were Jim Mogridge, our mutual friend, was building
condominiums but made a quick stop at a drug store, along the way, to purchase
a difficult-to-find sunscreen product. We spent about ten minutes driving
among the rolling hills between Lamar Ave. and Old Taylor Road looking at
condos Jim had built and sold as well as a large tract of land with enough
unfinished condos and unfinished infrastructure to keep Jim busy for several
more years.
Not all real estate development is confined to the city limits where
condominiums, being built for retirement homes and for students of the
University, abound. There’s a gated community under construction a few
miles west of Oxford along Hwy 6, the brick wall of which is roughly two
miles in length. There’s also development to the north and to the east.
I asked Joel if he had seen the Colonel’s Quarter’s, a bed and
breakfast, which is about five miles east of Oxford.
"Yeah, Jennifer (his unmarried daughter) spent a couple of nights there.
She wouldn’t tell us how much it cost."
The colonial styled main house is occupied by the homeowners; however, a
connected building has two floors devoted to guest accommodations. We drove
up the hill for a close look. Barbara and I were impressed with the houses
and courtyard, and at least one of us made a mental note to reserve a room
for a special occasion.
As we neared Pontotoc, having turned off the four-lane near Turnpike, I asked
Joel if he’d seen the old parsonage after the Harrells got it put back
together. He had not, so we pulled into the driveway of Lewis and Tammy.
"I can’t see anything that looks like the old parsonage," Joel stated.
I had to agree and could not imagine how the house looked before it was cut
into three pieces, moved about nine miles out of town, reassembled, and updated
on the Harrells’ acreage. There was no one at home, so we never got
out of the van.
Joel and Shirley dropped us off at our house without further ado. We said
our goodbyes and expressed our enjoyment of the day-trip and our time of
fellowship together. We began the day with one adventure in mind, but we
ended the day with ideas for at least two more trips.
Birthday
Parties Three This Year
One can’t tell by looking, but I’m another year older than when
some readers last saw me. I’m probably past the age where one is apt
to hear, "You’re not getting older…you’re getting better."
A female friend sent a birthday card that stated, "You look good old," and
a retailer commented, "I just hope I get around as good as you when I’m
sixty-four." I graciously accept compliments, even backhanded ones.
There was no surprise party honoring me this year, and readers who know that
August 16th is my birthday should not feel left out as my surprise
party never materialized. Though, I’ve only had two surprise birthday
parties, one the day Elvis died, and one when I turned sixty, I expect more
will follow.
While there was no surprise party for me this year, I was, nonetheless, surprised
by the number of "parties" celebrating my birthday. By my count there were
three.
On the night of my birthday, I char-grilled T-bone steaks for Barbara, Jason,
and me, and we ate them at home. Saturday night Barbara and I drove to Belmont
for the second of my birthday celebrations. My oldest granddaughter took
charge of the preparations, and we dined on hamburgers prepared by Charles
Adams and Shane Crausby. Finally, on Sunday night, Sarah and Felicia joined
Jason, Barbara and me at our house for another steak dinner.
Customarily, most of my birthday dinners involve birthday cake and ice cream.
However, this year was a little different. Barbara didn’t come up with
a cake, and Rayanne and Anna subbed with chocolate and lemon icebox pies.
Sarah baked a yellow cake and topped each slice with warm pineapple sauce.
All the desserts were good, but none of them were what I consider traditional
birthday desserts
Birthday gifts are noted as follows:
Most practical – socks by Barbara.
Most needed – Dockers pants by Rayanne’s family.
Most technical – 1G jump drive by Barbara.
Most unusual – Lighted fishing tool by Felicia and Sarah.
Joe Vs.
Glenda Tables Turned
Brother Joe Steen, Catholic Glenmary Home Missioner, and Glenda Corley, wife
of retired Methodist minister, Rev. Kenneth Corley have a friendship that
may best be described as unusual. For the five or so years that I’ve
known them, I’ve been privileged to enjoy not only their friendship
but, also, the pranks they play on one another. The most recent prank is
perhaps more complicated than I can explain in a sentence or two, plus it’s
still in progress.
In summary, Brother Joe made some repairs to a mobile unit owned by the Methodist
Church. Ryan Fuoss, the VISTA worker assigned to Habitat is currently living
in the mobile unit rent free. As a practical joke, Brother Joe submitted
a bill for the work that he did. Glenda seized the opportunity to turn the
tables on Brother Joe by asking the church secretary to cut a check but to
also enclose a note, approved by the pastor, stating they were revoking their
previous decision to provide the mobile unit for the VISTA worker and were
also evicting him from the unit.
Brother Joe is out of town until early next week and is not aware of
Glenda’s actions. Meanwhile Glenda has asked me to prepare, for Brother
Joe, only, a "special" issue of Ridge Rider News stating how Brother Joe’s
practical joke got out of hand and resulted in Ryan’s eviction from
the mobile unit.
I plan to use the space allotted this article for the fake article Glenda
has asked me to write. If it turns out okay, I will probably share it with
the rest of RRN readers next week. How I’ll escape persecution or
retribution for my role in all this is not clear. Wish me luck.
Bodock Beau
Great Truths
Some of the following "Great Truths" have been shared previously, but I
don’t recall seeing them categorized as such. Thanks go to Ken Gaillard
for sending them our way.
Great Truths That Little Children Have Learned:
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second
person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.
Great Truths That Adults Have Learned:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.
Great Truths About Growing Old:
1) Growing up is mandatory; growing old is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down
there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair
that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask
you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.
Taking It Lightly
Some city boys were on their first camping trip. As they sat around the campfire,
mosquitoes began to bite them
"Let’s go inside the tents," the counselor suggested.
That night, while everybody was sleeping, one of the boys woke up and nudged
the counselor.
"What’s wrong?" the counselor asked.
The boy pointed to a group of fireflies. "It’s those mosquitoes again,
and this time they brought flashlights!"
Source – Laugh Letter Newsletter
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