Heading for Home (Our Last Post for Winter 2014)

All good things must come to an end.  Our time here is Natchez is wrapping-up on Friday when we head back toward Wisconsin.  We have truly enjoyed our time here at Blueberry Hill Cottage.  Our hosts, Carol and Braxton Hobdy, have been tremendously welcoming and given us great information about the area.  We have had the pleasure of sitting on their front porch talking about our families and our lives... what a treat!  If you ever find yourself coming to this area (and we definitely recommend it) stay at Blueberry Hill!  You will love it!!

Carol and Braxton at the front of their home overlooking the Mississippi

Enjoying some wine and cheese on the front porch

Natchez Highlights:
- Our most favorite thing of all in Natchez was the people.  They were very interesting, always ready to chat and tell you their story. We received many tips about where to go and what to see in the area.
- The setting for Blueberry Hill Cottage. The river was constantly changing and moving with barges pushing supplies day and night. 

The sunsets were breathtaking

-The Natchez Trace National Park was one of our favorite places to visit. 

Walking on a sunken part of the Trace. I imagine it would be even prettier when the trees have leafed-out.

- The river constantly gave us something to watch.  Yesterday the American Queen riverboat made its first appearance in Natchez.  The passengers disembark and tour city sights for the day.

Docked Under the Hill

The calliope played Down By the Riverside as it pulled away from the dock.

- Gene was able to golf a few times.  I even went with him to drive the cart when he went to the city course. 

- The antebellum homes of the city were something to behold

- The Natchez City Cemetery is about 1/2 mile down the road and is considered to be one of the most interesting cemeteries in all of the south.

The Turning Angel is the most famous statue in the Natchez Cemetery.  She marks the grave of 5 young women killed in a fire in Natchez in 1908.  At night she is supposed to turn her head as cars go by... Gene and I can say that we saw her do that one evening.

- I have mentioned only a fraction of the things we found fun and entertaining in this area.  Natchez is well worth a visit.

We wanted to give a special thanks to Brian and Linda Walter who watch our house while we are gone, Gene's brother, Douglas, who bravely and happily takes care of our parrot Paulie and also my sister Rose who keeps us in touch by taking care of our mail.  We wouldn't be able to go away for two months without you. 

Gene and I are looking forward to re-connecting with everyone soon in WI.

Getting To Know Natchez Better

     Visiting a new city is a little like meeting a new person.  Spend time getting to know more before you make any kind of a judgment.  Now that we've spent more than three weeks getting to know Natchez, we know we're going to miss being here and we want to make a point to visit again.

     Since the last posting we have continued to walk and explore.  The weather has cooperated and there hasn't been a day we couldn't walk outside.   There's been opportunity for golf, walking through the city, watching a Mardi Gras parade and attending a literary conference.  The most fun we've had lately has been meeting some of the people who live here.

Mardi Gras parade

     The Mardi Gras parade down Main Street in Natchez was our first ever Mardi Gras type celebration.  We were not expecting it to be on the order of the New Orleans celebration, and it wasn't.  However, it was interesting and it was entertaining.   There were marching bands (more dynamic drum lines and dance routines than those found in small town parades in the North), plenty of music, color and lights (it was a night parade), and tons of beads being thrown.  Like sitting in the box seats at a ballgame, it pays to keep your attention focused on the action.  I was hit often and sometimes hard by flying strings of beads.

The 25th Annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration
 

     After the parade we decided to walk a few blocks to get a drink at the King's Tavern, the oldest building in Natchez.  Eileen, the accountant for the movie about James Brown that wrapped up shooting in Natchez and Jackson recently and who we met on a walk on the Trace, had suggested we do so.  The only place to sit was a picnic style table for 6 and we were joined at the table by three young people who we had the chance to get to know a bit.
     Turns out that Chris was an architect who mainly designs jails.  His wife, Rachel, is museum project coordinator for the Goldring Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life and Stuart is executive director for Mississippi Humanities.  They told us they were in town to attend the Literary and Cinema Celebration Conference and, in fact, Stuart's organization was a major sponsor.  We had seen signs at the convention center that there was a conference in town and based upon their enthusiastic recommendation (and the fact that attendance was free), we decided to attend the next day.
     The theme of the conference was "60 Years and Counting: Voices of the Civil Rights Movement".  During the time we attended, literary awards were given out to Kathryn Stockett (author of The Help), Tate Taylor (the writer and director of the movie, The Help, and director of the upcoming movie on the life of James Brown) and civil rights activist James Meredith (who has written several books and was the first black student, with help from federal troops,  to integrate the University of Mississippi ).  Other speakers and persons doing introductions included the mayor pro temp of Natchez, who is an African American woman and David Jordan who began life working in the cotton fields in Mississippi and became a state senator.
     In the time we attended we learned a great deal about the struggle for black civil rights in this state and more.  The fact that this type of conference was here in Natchez was one more aspect of this small city that has impressed us.

 

 

Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help

The Best Manhattan Ever!

     Not everyone has the same fascination with alcohol as do the people of Wisconsin.   I enjoy ordering a Manhattan as a before dinner drink and it has often been a source of amusement to see what I get in response.  Sometimes inexperienced bartenders in other states are a bit unsure of what to do with that order.
     As mentioned before we went to the King's Tavern for an after parade drink.  I thought I'd have some fun, possibly at the expense of the bartender, and I asked Ricky, the bartender, if he knew how to make a Manhattan.  The joke ended up being on me as Ricky replied, "I will make you one that will knock your socks off".
     Turns out that Ricky has quite the resume as a bartender.  He owned a club in New Orleans and was once offered the opportunity to be the person overseeing the bars in a major hotel chain.  His job before his current position in Natchez was in the South Beach area of Miami.  Apparently he was a winner of some sort of national bartending contest.  He returned to Natchez to live and work closer to his elderly parents who need family assistance at this point of their lives.
     The Manhattan was the best I've ever had and when he explained how he made it I was even more impressed.  It's a very complicated process that includes a cedar blank, a blow torch,  moonshine, trapping the cedar smoke in the glass, a drop of a substance that is used as a topical anesthetic. plum bitters and other alcohol.  Turns out that Ricky knows how to make a Manhattan and my question to him about that was crazy silly.
    

the King's Tavern - oldest building in Natchez

Ricky making the best Manhattan ever - notice the smoke trapped in the glass on top of the recently torched cedar blank

Walking the Trails and Trace

Walking the Trails

This area has a huge number of really nice walking trails and we have been able to take advantage of a number of them.  Last Sunday we went across the bridge to Vidalia Louisiana.  They have a very nice river front with a park and a paved trail along the Mississippi.  Here are a few pictures from Vidalia.

The bridge that connects Natchez with Vidalia.  We can see this bridge lit up at night from our cabin.

The river front with concert venue.

The Natchez Trace
Yesterday we set out to see the Natchez Trace.
 Here is your history lesson on that area: The Trace begins in Natchez and runs over 400 miles to Nashville Tennessee.  It is part of the National Parks system.  The Trace was originally created by the movement of Native American tribes who lived in the area.  Then in the early 1800s the Trace was heavily used by the traders called the Kaintucks.  The Kaintucks came down the river with their crops and goods on flatboats from the more northern states.  At Natchez or New Orleans, they sold their goods, sold their boats and headed home via the Trace.  Because the soil on many parts of the Trace is very porous, over 100s of years the Trace has become sunken in many areas.  We had a chance to hike through one of the sunken areas with our Kaintuck guide, Scott.
Mount Locust
Mount Locust is one of the oldest buildings in Mississippi.  It is on the Trace approximately 15 miles from Natchez.  Mt. Locust became one of the first inns for travelers on the Trace.  Later it became a prosperous cotton plantation. 

 
 

The Master Bedroom

Dennis was the Park Ranger who gave us a tour of the property.  It is nice to see someone who is so excited about their job and really wants to help others learn.

A Guided Tour on the Trace
We were lucky enough to come upon Mount Locust just as a hiking tour was beginning.  Our guide, who was a volunteer, was dressed as a Kain-tuck boatman would be if he were heading home after selling his goods.

Scott and Gene discuss Trace history

Eileen was the 3rd person in our group.  She is a native Wisconsinite, but now lives in Long Beach California.  She has been in Natchez and Jackson as an accountant for the movie they have been making here for the past few months.  

At some points the sides of the Trace were 20 - 30 feet above our heads.  A good place for robbers (but we saw none)

Signs of spring along the Trace

We all made it back (4 miles round trip)...yeah!

Volunteers:  When visiting the National Parks and the National Wildlife Refuges we have met some really great people who volunteer their time.  Many of these folks are retired from other occupations and travel around the country volunteering their time and expertise,  Scott, our Kaintuck guide, had been a Coast Guard officer and had a great deal of knowledge about archeology, artifacts and hunting.  We have appreciated everyone's time and expertise.

Back to the Blog

Weather Report

     We had a chance to rest up from touring and make some plans for what to do with our remaining time here as Natchez ended up on the southern edge of the bad weather systems moving from the south up to the northeast this past week.  A couple of days of cold temperatures and freezing rain kept us off the roads and in the cottage.  The day after the ice storms it warmed up slowly and the melting began, making for a very interesting day of watching the ice drop slowly off the power lines and trees as the sun came out and slowly warmed things up.

Local History

     The Natchez Indians inhabited this area well before the first European settlers showed up.   A couple of fun facts about the Natchez Indians.  There were two classes in their society, the nobility and the commoners.  The commoners were called the "Stinkards".  Take that!  The second fun fact was that when the leader (the Sun) died, all the spouses (plural) and the servants of that Sun were sacrificed and buried with the deceased leader.  That would seem to create a serious incentive for the spouses and servants to do everything possible to encourage a long life for the leader.

Reconstruction of a dwelling at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians

     The first chartered educational institution in the Mississippi Territory was Historic Jefferson College located near Natchez.  We visited the park in which it is located to learn more about its history and to hike the nature trail on the park grounds.

 

Vicksburg
     Today's excursion was to Vicksburg, about 60 miles to the north of Natchez.  A major event in the War Between the States was the surrender of Vicksburg by the Confederacy to the Union on July 4, 1863.  The Vicksburg National Military Park is the site where the two armies battled for control of the city.  The capture of Vicksburg allowed the Union army to gain control of the Mississippi and split the Confederacy in two.  We walked and drove all over the park following a guided auto tour.  Most importantly we learned the difference between a redan and a redoubt but not why that matters. 

     Monuments from all the states that sent soldiers to fight the battles commemorate the sacrifices of both sides to the effort.

battlefield terrain

Wisconsin Statue

Ohio Monument

Wisconsin Monument

Illinois Monument ( a smaller version of the Pantheon in Rome)

     A very interesting stop at the National Park was the Cairo Museum.  The Cairo was a Union gunboat sent as part of a small fleet to bombard Vicksburg during the seige.  It was the first warship of its kind to be sunk by a mine (a gunpowder loaded IED placed in the water and detonated by Confederate soldiers from the shore as the Cairo passed near it).  The Cairo sunk in minutes and about 90 years later it was salvaged from the silt at the bottom of the river.  What could be salvaged from the wreck is on display both outside (under the tent-like structure stands the remains of the warship itself) and inside the museum (all of the recovered artifacts used by the crew).

Old Courthouse building in downtown Vicksburg

A selfie (is it still a selfie if more than one person is shown?) from Valentine's Day lunch

Random Thoughts
 

     One stop on our visit to Nachez that wasn’t noted in an earlier posting was Stratton Chapel Gallery at the First Presbyterian Church.  The reason it wasn’t mentioned is that we don’t have any pictures from the inside of the gallery because photographs were not allowed.  There’s a certain irony in the “no camera” rule given that the collection itself is of historic photographs of people and scenes in and around the Natchez area.  There are more than 500 photographs displayed, representing the work of three photographers.  A doctor, Thomas H. Gandy, discovered in storage hundreds of glass and celluloid negatives from photos taken as early as the 1850’s.  He then developed a method for printing the pictures from these negatives and the pictures are displayed in this gallery and in other galleries around the country.  We spent a long time viewing the pictures and left with a much better understanding of what historical Natchez looked like.  web site with some of the pictures

     On a more personal note I’d like to mention our hosts, Carol and Braxton Hobdy.  Carol and Braxton own the cottage we are staying in for this month.  The cottage is located next door to their very lovely home on their property high up on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River.  For a few days recently we had a stretch of cool and cloudy days with substantial rainfall.  Then along came a great day with sunshine and warmer temperatures and we visited their home.  We sat on their sundrenched porch and got to know more about them, their family and history. Although the sunset over the river was beautiful in its golden glow on the water below, I was just a bit sad that it signaled the end of a very pleasant afternoon of company and conversation.

     I made a mistake in a earlier blog when I identified a flower on a tree in the city cemetery as a rose.  I'm sure everyone caught the fact that it wasn't a rose at all.  Sorry.

 

St. Francisville, LA
This past Saturday we took a trip to a small town, about an hour south of Natchez, called St. Francisville.  It is a town with a population of less than 2000, but has a rich antebellum history.  There are many well-preserved plantations that are open for touring and also a really beautiful downtown area that has restored homes.  We were lucky to have a nice sunny day so that we could walk all over the town.   St. Francisville was spared during the Civil War, so its buildings exist much the way they did when the town began in the early 1800s.  
Rosedown Plantation:
Rosedown was owned by the Turnbull family, one of the richest families in Louisiana at the time.  Their home and gardens reflected this wealth.  Rosedown now is a state park.

Looking down the alley of live oak trees toward the plantation house.

Looking at the house through the huge garden area

The plantation was large enough (over 400 slaves) that the family employed their own doctor to take care of everyone including the family.  He had his own office on the grounds.

The last person to actually live in the house built this smaller home where she lived until she died.

 

Looking down oak alley from the front porch of the home..we imagine it would be extremely beautiful when the gardens were in bloom.

  The Cotton Plantation
The Cotton Plantation began in the early 1800s.  It has many of its original buildings including some slave quarters.  It is currently lived in by its owners and is used as a Bed and Breakfast.

The Town of St. Francisville
St. Francisville is one of the oldest towns in Louisiana established in 1785 by a grant from the King of Spain.  When the U.S. purchased Louisiana in 1803, West Florida, a section along the Gulf Coast, was retained by Spain.  In 1810 after a brief battle with the Spanish governor, the planters set up their own republic called the Free and Independent Republic of West Florida... "a small, but spunky nation".  After 74 days the U.S. army marched into St. Francisville and claimed West Florida as part of the Louisiana Purchase.  The West Florida flag continues to fly over many houses and businesses in the town.  

This was a store called Grandmother's Buttons.  They had beautiful clothing, art from local artists and jewelry.  The building was originally a bank.  The original counter with metal teller windows was still in place.  The vault served as a button museum. 

A local church surrounded by its own cemetery amid the old trees.

Mississippi Government
  
     We had the opportunity to watch all of the branches of Mississippi government in action on our day trip to Jackson, the capital of Mississippi.  Jackson is about 100 miles from our temporary home in Natchez.

The state capitol building in Jackson

     As we began our walk-thru of the capitol, we happened upon the public proclamation by the governor of Voter Registration month.  Given the general national politics involving the issue of voting registration I was suddenly struck by the irony stick.

The governor (seated and with the gray hair) signing the proclamation in the rotunda

     After watching the voter registration month proclamation, we sat in on part of a session of the State Assembly.  Among the issues dealt with during our observation was repeal of a law limiting all school buses to 45 miles per hour (regardless of the speed limit of the highway they are traveling on) and a bill dealing with the issue of the state take over of failing schools.

view from the gallery of the state assembly chamber

     During our visit to the home of the third branch of government, the Supreme Court building, we had a chance to watch an oral argument before the Mississippi Court of Appeals.  The case before the court was an appeal of a conviction for murder and aggravated assault related to a night club shooting.  Reminded me of a past life.





History of a State, a City and its Citizens 

State History

     The Old Capitol building in Jackson has been converted into a Mississippi history museum.  The museum is very well done and it was hard not to learn a lot about the state's history.

the old state senate

the old state Supreme Court

City History

     A major part of the history of Natchez involves the growth and sale of cotton.   Because of the preservation and restoration of some of the large homes in Natchez, we can get a view of what a certain era in the city's history looked like.  Melrose house is part of the National Park system and is a large ante-bellum dwelling that is well preserved because it has been in continuous use since it was built. 

period piece - a couch for an unmarried man and woman to sit in designed to prevent ...

 

 

on display is some of the 1,000 piece china set owned by the original residents

The History of the People of the City
      Our temporary home is located on Cemetery Road.  Nearby is a national veterans' cemetery as well as the cemetery for the City of Natchez.  Local historians have prepared a great CD tour of the city cemetery complete with stories about some of the former residents of Natchez buried there.

The Turning Angel

     The Turning Angel statute stands near the entrance of the cemetery and watches over the graves of five women who tragically died in a fire.

 

     A ten year old girl is buried in this crypt.  She was afraid of the dark so there are stairs that go down to the grave and glass was placed at one end of the underground chamber to let the light in.  Note the small angel who sits on the fence at the top of the stairs watching over the grave.

many grave sites with fancy old iron fences

 

 

Fences with the name of the deceased and items of meaning in the iron work (find the butterfly)

One rose plant on one of the grave sites was still blooming

 Walking always walking
     Despite the cold (Mississippi style cold), we did manage to get our steps in walking at the nearby St. Catherine Creek Wildlife Refuge.  During our walk we encountered an armadillo, an opossum and four deer.