| September 09 '06 |
|
| Volume 536 |
|
Historic Tour
Sarah Naugher Guides
As long as Virginia Dillard is able
to plan the activities for the Pontotoc Historical Society during the annual
Bodock Festival each August, I’ll have an inside source for advance
information. Back during the winter, Miss Virginia ran one of her ideas by
me.
"What do you think about using a limousine service to take folks on a historic
tour during the Bodock Festival? We’d put a tour guide on each limo
to share some of the history about each site. I’m thinking a lot of
people would be interested in seeing Lochinvar and other historic sites,"
she shared, adding, "What do you think would be a fair amount to charge?"
I liked the idea of a tour, and I thought using a limo would add to the
uniqueness of a guided tour. As to a fair price, I suggested $15.00.
A couple of Saturdays before the late August festival, Miss Virginia shared
the final plans, as I visited her over a cup of coffee. Upon learning that
Sarah Naugher would be guiding one of the tours, I asked if Barbara and I
could sign up in advance.
"Yes, I’ll put you down for Sarah’s tour," she said.
I’m sure the other guides would have served my needs, as well, but
I’ve long admired Sarah Naugher’s knowledge of history, plus I
knew I wouldn’t have any trouble hearing and understanding her. She’s
an excellent speaker.
"If you can come a little early, we need someone to help reserve parking
for the limousines and to help people board," Miss Virginia added.
The final price of admission was $20.00 per person, but I considered the
educational value alone would justify the rate, and then we’d be getting
a free ride in a limousine.
The limo that Sarah’s group boarded was a stretched Hummer. I rode up
front with the driver to assist with directions, and my position had the
added advantage of being close to our tour guide, whose back was to the driver.
As we passed the oldest house in Pontotoc (near First Methodist Church),
Sarah barely had time to finish her comments before we were in front of Pontotoc
Hospital where Chickasaw Female College once stood. From there, our next
stop was Lochinvar, which is an antebellum home built in 1842, that was almost
destroyed by the deadly 2001 tornado. The present owners have mostly restored
it to its pre-tornado appearance, electing to forgo rebuilding the observation
tower.
With only two hours and sixteen stops radiating as far as a dozen miles from
our point of departure, there wasn’t time for "walking tours." Sarah
Naugher did a great job in providing a running commentary between sites,
many of which were miles apart.
I’ve lived most of my life in Pontotoc and am familiar with a lot of
historic sites, but the tour sponsored by the Pontotoc County Historical
Society included sites unfamiliar to me. For example, I was aware that Pontotoc
was once the capital of the Chickasaw nation, but no one had ever pointed
out, for me, the approximate location of the Chickasaw National Council House,
which was situated on the banks of the Chiwapa
(shuh-wap"-ah) River, a few miles east
of Pontotoc. And, I don’t recall being told that Davy Crockett had a
horse corral near the site of the present-day Trace State Park, before leaving
to help his friends in Texas fight for independence.
The Natchez Trace was an early highway (mostly a trail) connecting Natchez,
Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee, with Pontotoc being roughly halfway
between the two. When the Federal Government decided to incorporate the trace
into its system of parks, the trace took on the appearance of a roadway.
For the most part, the new road, closely parallels the original trail. However,
it’s not very true to the original trail that passed through Pontotoc
County. Some folks say a wealthy landowner in adjacent Lee County had enough
political clout to get the new road to pass through his property. Sarah pointed
out portions of the original trace that passed near Furrs’ Fire Station,
Zion Baptist Church, and along Hwy 342, before paralleling Hwy. 15 south
of Pontotoc.
Much, if not all, of the historical information Sarah shared is chronicled
in various books detailing the history of Pontotoc County, but having someone
like Sarah Naugher to point out the landmarks and provide historical commentary
brought the characters and places of the past into the present in a most
educational and enjoyable fashion.
Bodock 2006
Music An Integral Part
It was, according to those who wrote about it in the newspaper, another
successful event. I didn’t visit any of the food vendors or craft booths,
but during the brief times I was there, business appeared to be slow. In
fact, there were only two reasons I wanted to be at the Bodock Festival,
the tour of historical sites, sponsored by the historical society and to
hear a band perform Saturday night.
The tour was as much or more than I expected
it to be, and the band was, too.
The band’s featured singer is Jason Carter, who also plays a pretty
mean slide guitar. This is the same "thrown together" band that played at
our fish fry on June 3rd and has since had a few gigs. One was
at a theater in Columbus, MS, and another was at Jefferson Place in Tupelo.
The owners of Boondocks Grill in downtown Pontotoc hired the band
to perform in front of their business on Saturday night. A more widely known
band performed for a larger audience on the Court Square, but a sizeable
crowd gathered across the street in front of the old Carpenter’s Ford
location to enjoy a few hours of the soulful sounds of "The Legendary Blues
Experiment."
Jason sat out about the first half-hour of the band’s performance,
protesting, "I told Barney I don’t play Motown." (Stubbornness can be
an admirable trait.)
After Jason had played and sung several blues tunes, spokesperson for the
band, Barney Harris, pulled a singer from the audience, who sang three songs
before Jason returned to the spotlight.
Felicia, her boyfriend, Cullen Pollard, and Cullen’s parents were present
for the performance, as were certain members of the Bill Ard family, who
consider Felicia as one of their own. Felicia was to have sung with the band
but was having voice problems and elected not to sing.
I asked Donnie and Michelle Benjamin, who seemed to be enjoying the music,
if they knew who the red haired singer was. They didn’t recognize Jason
and were pleasantly surprised when I told them who he was.
Apparently, "Blues" appeals to persons young and old and crosses racial lines,
as evidenced by those in attendance.
Jason surprised a lot of folks with his musical ability.
A number of persons told me how good he sounded and comments like, "I
didn’t know he could play like that," were common.
June Hatcher said she was inspired to go home and get her keyboard and join
them (but didn’t). However, with June’s connection to Kaye Bain,
I won’t be surprised to hear of Jason’s band appearing on the Morning
Show in the near future. (Actually, I will be surprised…that’s
an early morning program.)
Bodock Beau
Bible Answers
The following comes from a Catholic elementary school test on which kids
were asked questions about the Old and New testaments. The following statements
about the Bible were written by children. They have not been retouched or
corrected. Incorrect spelling has been left in. .
1. In the first book of the bible, Guinessis. God got tired of creating the
world so he took the Sabbath off.
2. Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was Joan of
Ark. Noah built and ark and the animals came on in pears.
3. Lots wife was a pillar of salt during the day, but a ball of fire during
the night.
4. The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble with
unsympathetic genitals.
5. Sampson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a jezebel like
Delilah.
6. Samson slayed the Philistines with the axe of the apostles.
7. Moses led the Jews to the Red Sea where they made unleavened bread which
is bread without any ingredients.
8. The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses went
up to mount cyanide to get the Ten Commandments.
9. The first commandments was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.
10. The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.
11. Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews
in the battle of Geritol.
12. The greatest miricle in the bible is when Joshua told his son to stand
still and he obeyed him.
13. David was a Hebrew king who was skilled at playing the liar. He fought
the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in biblical times.
14. Solomon, one of David’s sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
15. When Mary heard she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna Carta.
16. When the three wise guys from the east side arrived they found Jesus
in the manager.
17. Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.
18. St. John the blacksmith dumped water on his head.
19. Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do unto others before
they do one to you. He also explained a man doth not live by sweat alone.
20. It was a miricle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the
tombstone off the entrance.
21. The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 decibels.
22. The epistels were the wives of the apostles.
23. One of the oppossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan.
24. St. Paul cavorted to Christianity, he preached holy acrimony which is
another name for marraige.
25. Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony.
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