Brookhaven's Finest ...

From the Don Jackson Collection at the LLF Library

Library Caption: This group of men represent the police department for Brookhaven, Mississippi. No names are noted. "

Nor is there a date associated with this photo. I see familiar faces, but names escape me. Note the sign above reads Lincoln County Public Library. 

Help re names and possible time period welcomed here and on my Facebook page. 

His Little Pony

From the Don Jackson Collection, LLF Library

Library caption: "A little boy is sitting on a minature horse with a man standing beside him. It looks like this photo was taken downtown. No other information is available."

Anyone recognize the little boy or the man, or even the Shetland?  The car (which I believe is a 1958 Mercury) in the background might help pinpoint a possible date, but other than that, this one has me stumped.  

There are at least two signs that indicate "loans" -- perhaps someone will recognize the location from these hints?  

Help welcomed!

The One That Didn't Get Away

Both photos are from the Library's John Holly Williams Collection. 

The proud handler of this wide-mouthed bass is believed to be Tullius Brady, according to the library caption.   The date is 10.8.45.

Can anyone confirm that this is indeed Mr. Brady?  (Pronounced Braddy.)

A Party for the Birthday Girl

From the Don Jackson Collection at LLF Library.

"Seven children are at a table and there is a birthday cake for one of the little girls. This photo was made for a Mrs Francis. Scanned from the original photo." -- Library caption.

On closer inspection, the cake has four blown-out candles.  I am terrible at guessing ages, but that would most likely make the honoree 3, going on 4, with the last candle representing the "one to grow on." 

On magnification, the party favors appear to include a roll of Lifesavers and a latex balloon, in what appears to be a paper cupcake holder.

I think I see scruffy saddle oxfords on the little boy on the left.  Given the children's clothing or lack thereof,  I'm going out on a limb here (insert tongue firmly in cheek) and aver that this photo was taken in the summer of the mid 1950s, when it was Mississippi HOT HOT HOT.

Anyone recognize these adorable children?  If so, please advise either here or on my FB page.

Girls Basketball -- A Very Popular Sport in the Late 1930ss

Don Jackson Collection at LLF:  

Lincoln County Tournament 1937: Top Row, From left to right, Veda Grace Drummond, Eunice Thames, Lena Mae Huhn, Bertie Mae Boyte, Lola White, Melva Martin, and Pauline Britt (coach) : Second row : Maxie Williamson, Pauline Thames, Nellie Mae Th?, Jeanette Thompson, Pauline McGuffie, and Elcie Lee Boyte.

Photographer Unknown,  Private Collection

Johnston's Station Girls' Basketball 1938: Front row, l-r, Louise Carruth (Moak), unknown, unknown, unknown, Mary Lee (Carruth), unknown.  Second row, l-r,  unknown,  unknown, unknown, Doris  Carruth  (Gatlin), unknown, unknown. 

Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right ...

Don Jackson Photo, LLF Library

I haven't a clue ...

Another Unknown School Play

From the Don Jackson Collection at the LLF Library

The library caption reads: "A large group of children are on a stage and are in costumes. No other information. Scanned from printed photo."

I think I recognize two young girls in this photo -- the young lady in the "Heidi" locks appears to be Jenny Phillips and the young lady on the floor to the right appears to be Lucy  Cato. I am thinking I see Becky Cannon as well, but I could be wrong about that!

If so, please let us know what you know about this photo and offer up more information if you can! 

Southern Cooks of the Week ...

Both photos from the Don Jackson Collection at the LLF Library. 

The library captions read, respectively:

"A woman is serving her two boys popcorn. Her name is Mrs George Guess. She was the cook of the week. Scanned from the original photo."

"A man wearing an apron is standing at a stove. His name may be Faggo or Foggo. His name is questionable. He was the cook of the week for the local paper. Scanned hard copy of this photo."

UPDATED: If I am not mistaken, the child sitting on the table in the first picture is a pony-tailed Charlotte Guess, dressed up in her cowgirl outfit that most all of us asked for and received for Christmas in the mid to late 1950s.  The young man in the striped shirt is her cousin Bob Brown (not her brother G.G. as earlier reported.)

The gentleman in the second photo is no one I recognize, but I suspect there are some folks out there who will know who this Cook of the Week is.  I also suspect he knew how to cook up some good eats -- he's got at the ready Ann Page cayenne pepper and Milani's Charcol It "for that charcoal broiled flavor." 

What I love about these photos are the glimpses inside of homes from the 1950s: souvenir spoon collections, Reader's Digest hardcover books on the book shelf and decorative, hand-painted plates on the wall -- and let's not overlook the pothos plant on the "get up and change the channel" General Electric television set.

The painted kitchen cabinets in the second picture are nearly identical to the ones that my parents installed in their little post-WWII home.  The countertops, the white enamel stove, the aluminum pot, the bread box, even the printed apron and the cutting board shaped like a pig bring back so many memories. 

Comments here or on Facebook are welcome!

Update: Based on a reader's tip that the man's last name was Foggo, a quick Google search leads me to believe the man in the picture is Ian A. Foggo. 

Ian Aurelius Foggo OBITUARY: Natchez (Miss.) Democrat, Wednesday, March 26, 1975
FOGGO, Brookhaven, I. A. Foggo, 74 of Brookhaven, died Monday evening in Baton Rouge, La.  Funeral services will be this morning at 10 at the Catholic  Church in Brookhaven. Grave side services will be at 2 p.m. at the Natchez City Cemetery. Mr Foggo was a former resident of Natchez. He is survived by one daughter, Ann Glasser of Illinois, and one brother, Henry Foggo of Natchez.

Update: Per Jimmie Meese Moomaw, who is lifelong friends with Mr. Foggo's daughter, Ann, Mr. Foggo managed the Dixie and Arcade theaters in Brookhaven.

On the Tip of My Tongue

LLF Library digital photo; from the Don Jackson collection.

Based on the ladies' hats and the eyeglass styles, I suspect that this photo is from the mid 1960s.  It is entitled "Reunion for Evelyn Davis." 

I see many familiar faces, but what the occasion was is unclear. I see Annie Granberry (the  lady with the corsage in the second row) and the aforementioned Evelyn Davis on the back row, and possibly Evelyn Stamps on the far right, back row.  I do believe that is Mr. Furlow standing in the second row.  And is the tallest lady Bonnie Millbrandt? 

A few other names are on the tip of my tongue, so HELP with names is welcome!  Here and on Facebook.

File Under: Your Guess Is As Good As Mine

Pat Ott (Kentwood, LA) and Bobby Lee Eldridge (Amite, LA) 

Pat Ott (Kentwood, LA) and Celia Magruder (Hollandale, MS)

Pat Ott (Kentwood, LA) and Celia Magruder (Hollandale, MS)

These undated photos from the Whitworth College collection at the local library certainly serve to kick one's imagination into overdrive. (At least that was true for moi.)  I suspect these were taken during the late 1940s -- perhaps these costumes were from a play or a masquerade ball, which the campus was known to host from time to time.  

College women dressing up as something they are not and smoking cigarettes is one thing, but the "libation" in the frosty glasses is presumably NOT booze, since the town and county were dry.  (Never mind that the event chaperones would never have allowed such!)  

Comments, observations are welcome here and on my Facebook page.  

Lawn Tennis, Anyone?

Stumbled upon this photo while researching something else: A scene from 100 years ago or so, on the Whitworth campus. To my eye, this building looks similar to the one in yesterday's post, but it may be "close, but no cigar."  I am unclear whether this building still stands, or where it is/was situated. According to the notation at the Library, the photo was "donated by Mrs. Ruth Paxton Davis and glued on card with following data: served as president's home under part of Dr. I. W. Cooper's administration; woman at right Lena Decell, Class of 1912." The Decells were early settlers of Brookhaven.   The use of the word "City" beside Ruth P. Davis's name resurrected a long forgotten memory.  When I was a child and my mother would address envelopes, if the envelope was going to some place within the confines of the town of Brookhaven, she would write simply "City" and drop it in the appropriate box at the Post Office.   That quaint, small town practice came to an unceremonious end in 1963, when Zip Codes were introduced.

More Whitworth College Babes in Bonnets

From the Whitworth Collection at LLF Library, circa late 1800s, early 1900s. 

While I am far from an expert on the Whitworth College campus buildings, it is unclear what building this may be in the background.  According to historical information I have read, many of the original buildings designed by young Baltimore architect A.E. Moreton prior to the Civil War were of white clapboard.  They were, in time, replaced by the brick buildings that now dot the campus. 

If anyone has an idea as to the identity of the young women in the picture, or the building behind them, please leave a comment here or on my Facebook page. 

One of the Oddest Post Cards Ever

From the Cooper Postcard Collection, MDAH

This one has me completely mystified as to intentions.  It is a photograph of a riderless horse, (or perhaps a mule or hinny) in a cemetery in Silver Creek, MS.  The caption to the left reads, "Write Me a Cheerful Letter Quick. Silver Creek, Miss."  I cannot tell if the whitish blotch over the saddle is just age and discoloration or if someone attempted to alter the photo to make it appear a ghost is in the saddle.  

The date is estimated to be in the late 1800s or early 1900s. 

For the Locomotives Lovers Out There

From the Cooper post Card Collection, MDAH

Circa early 1900s.  Although, I must say, the cinder and smoke from the stack looks as if it has been "Photo-Shopped" from back in the day. (Unsure what the RD6319 might mean, either.)

The Lumber Boom Years

From the Cooper Postcard Collection, MDAH

It Wasn't All Lumber, Cotton and Dairy

From the Cooper Postcard Collection at MDAH

Rural Churches

Both from the MDAH digital archives, the Cooper Collection

Whitworth Babes in Bonnets

Property of the Lincoln, Lawrence Franklin Library

In the Navy ...

And, we're back.  After a nearly two-week interruption thanks to Superstorm Sandy and a snow-laden Nor-Easter that pinned the coastlines of the Northeast to the mat, we have had our power and internet restored.  This Blog is cranking back up.

Since yesterday was Veteran's Day, I chose this picture as a belated tribute to all the Mississippi men and women who have opted to serve their country via the U.S. Military. 

This photo was taken in 1941 in San Pedro, California.  Pictured are my grandfather (who received a deferment during WWI), my Uncle Larry and, on the right, my Uncle Norman.  This photo was taken by my grandmother right before Norman's ship, the USS Maryland, was homeported to Hawaii.

As the first bombs fell on Pearl Harbor, Norman, then a Petty Officer, and his shipmates scrambled to save the Maryland, which took a major hit but managed to limp back to the US for repairs. Norman went on to become a career Navy man, and rose through the ranks to become a Lieutenant Commander. 

After 20 years and prohibited by Navy regulations from achieving a higher rank because he had only a high school education, he retired and he and his wife both in their 40s, went to college and got their degrees in education.  They returned home to Virginia Beach to spend the "second half" of their lives as teachers in the local school district.

While he did not make the Navy a career, Larry, 23 years younger than Norman, proudly served in the US Navy during the Vietnam War.  

A snap salute to all who have worn the uniforms of our Armed Forces.