Blues All Around Me: The Autobiography of B.B. King “A treasure trove of information…told with real feeling.” —Washington Post Book World “Charming…honest…transcendent…. It reads like a warm and lengthy conversation with a close friend.” —Billboard The undisputed king of the blues, B.B. King puts his life into words in a story that spans tragedy, triumph,…
Category: Mississippi
Who Was Muddy Waters – A Delta Blues Musician from Mississippi
McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters, 1913-1983 McKinley Morganfield [Muddy Waters] was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, near the Mississippi River–in the region known as the Mississippi Delta. On the following map, Rolling Fork is near the bottom left of the yellow area. The Mississippi River is the crooked blue line near there, snaking along the side…
Advent Day 3 – The Terrible Lie – A Bible Story and Some Activities for the Family
Activities for Advent Day 3 Let’s Draw and Shade an Apple: God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of one tree, but the snake tempted Eve, and she sinned. Adam followed. Most people think that the fruit they ate was an apple. Let’s Create an Apple Design Our story today does not…
Flowers that Grow Well in Mississippi
The Following Information is from the Mississippi State University Extension Service: Selected Annual Flowering Plants For Mississippi Gardens Annuals Scientific name Light Height Spacing Remarks Ageratum Ageratum houstonianum Full sun 6-20” 9-12” Edging; tall cultivars make good cut flowers Alyssum Lobularia maritima Sun to part shade 3-4” 6-8” Edging;…
Half Horse Half Alligator
Half Horse Half Alligator Published in 1956 The University of Chicago Press Preface “These narratives unfold a fascinating story, the like of which no other body of documents can reveal. They show how an American, whose life was lived on three picturesque frontiers between about 1770 and 1823,became a legend; how the legend proliferated in…
Septembers, School Days, and Coming Back Home
It is September, and schools across the USA are back in session now. Fifty-five Septembers ago, I left my rural farmland to attend college at the University of Mississippi. In terms of the seasons of the year, that was early autumn. In terms of the seasons of my life, it was early summer. You see,…
Prentiss House in Vicksburg, MS & the Famous Innkeeper Thomas Cherry McMackin
I am researching a couple of stories that seem to link Water Valley, MS, in Yalobusha County, and Vicksburg, a town east of Water Valley and on the Mississippi River, several miles southward. I have discovered that the railroad that ran through Water Valley was a prime target for the federal troops, as they marched…
The Great South by Edward King – Published in 1875
THE GREAT SOUTH: A RECORD OF JOURNEYS IN LOUISIANA, TEXAS, THE INDIAN TERRITORY, MISSOURI, ARKANSAS, MISSISSIPPI, ALABAMA, GEORGIA, FLORIDA, SOUTH CAROLINA, NORTH CAROLINA, KENTUCKY, TENNESSEE, VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA, AND MARYLAND. BY EDWARD KING. PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED FROM ORIGINAL SKETCHES BY J WELLS CHAMPNEY. AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY, HARTFORD, CONN. 1875. https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/king/king.html ON THE OCLAWAHA FLORIDA. Page i…
Early Railroad History in Mississippi – When Water Valley Was a Hub
I moved to Water Valley, MS, about 4 months ago, and since I came here, I have been busy creating some of the content for my upcoming memoir book: Churches in the Wildwood. Churches in the Wildwood As the title might suggest, my research for that book has taken me not only to the rural…
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…