Last week, I visited with Estha Mae and Porter Parker. They are dear, sweet people from Calhoun County, and they have lived near Pilgrims Rest Church and School almost all their lives. Because Mary Sue Stevens has known the Parkers for a long time, she took me to visit them. After we turned left on…
Author: jackikellum
Finding the Spirit of God in a Forest Church – at Pilgrims Rest
This week, I have continued my search for an old place of worship that I have been carrying in my heart for many years, and in doing so, I discovered the Pilgrims Rest Church and Schoolhouse. It is important to note that in this area, many of the original church buildings are no longer standing…
My Church Journey Feeds My Soul
For the past week, Yalobusha County’s former circuit clerk and lifelong resident Mary Sue Stevens has taken me on a tour into her past—which, in some ways, was also a tour into my own past. For many years, I have been fascinated by old, white country churches, and as soon as I settled in Water…
Theora Hamblett – I Remember
Hamblett, Theora. I Remember. Theora Hamblett, 1971. “Why am I willing to write ‘I Remember’? “As a youngster, I enjoyed listening to older persons tell about their experiences, and their experiences became part of my memory. Though of course I do not remember all that they told me, details of their lives lodge here and there…
A Newcomer Looks at Water Valley, MS, and the Annual Watermelon Carnival
Jacki Kellum at the Water Valley, MS, Watermelon Carnival 2023 This article was first published in the North Mississippi Herald on August 10, 2023 Before this past spring, I had never been to Water Valley, but three months ago, I moved here. Mississippi – I’m Finally Coming Back Home: Moving to Water Valley, Mississippi…
The Fabled Life of Aesop by Ian Lendler – A Picture Book Biography Fabulously Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
For many years, I have been a fan of ancient cultures, and I have several copies of Aesop’s Fables. But I am also a great fan of Pamela Zagarenski’s illustrations, and when I saw The Fabled Life of Aesop, I couldn’t help myself. I had to buy yet another title about Aesop. As it turns…
Aesops Fables and the Bible: How Was Ancient Greece Connected to the Bible?
In a recent Bible study of the book of Jeremiah, the phrase “sour grapes” came up. Many of us who have studied literature know that the concept of “sour grapes” is also part of one of Aesop’s Fables. Image Credit: Walter Crane – from The Baby’s Own Aesop Published in 1887 THE FOX AND THE…
My Home is in William Faulkner Country – Down the Yocona River from Oxford, Mississippi
Home of William Faulkner Rowan Oak – Oxford, Mississippi Image Credit – Wikipedia When I was an Ole Miss coed, my part-time job was that of curating at the William Faulkner house–Rowan Oak, in Oxford, MS. That was during the late 1960s and early 1970s–only a few years after the Faulkner family donated Faulkner’s home…
Jacki Kellum Watercolor Paintings
The Raven – Jacki Kellum Watercolor Sold Janis Joplin – Jacki Kellum Watercolor Sold Little Napoleon: The Rooster – Jacki Kellum Watercolor Sold The Last Rose of Summer – Jacki Kellum Watercolor Sold Boy with Curls – Jacki Kellum Watercolor Sold Consider the Lilies: How They Grow – Jacki Kellum Watercolor Sold Fiesta – Jacki…
Time for Another Miracle: New Life, New Friends, New Home in Old Water Valley, Mississippi
I suspect that the eyes of my more fundamentalist friends roll when I tell them, over and over, that something miraculous has happened in my life. After my debut picture book The Donkey’s Song was acquired for publication, I told people that my book deal was a miracle: A Pitch for #PBpitch: How My Picture Book…