Sunday, August 19, 2018

Sightseeing the Delta - A Primer

In my continuing efforts to support the viability of our Delta towns, I offer an updated version of my 2010 blogpost on embracing and promoting quality of life in the region.  Often, we ignore quality of life issues that are all around us in small towns. Benefits include a calmer lifestyle: schools, churches, and other activities just minutes away; and access to recreational areas that allow for last minute fishing or camping trips. If parents behave as if they must travel long distances for recreation and entertainment, children will grow up believing it. On the other hand, if children are exposed to these rural "amenities" they will quickly come to love and appreciate them.

It is possible to secretly make some of your trips educational, and rural areas are full of such opportunities. In eastern Arkansas, for example, one can visit the Louisiana Purchase State Park (near Blackton) where there is a monument marking the spot from which the entire Louisiana Purchase was surveyed. In the fall, a tremendous education in agriculture is all around the Mid-South, as crops are harvested, processed, and prepared for market . . . if you are not a farmer, find one who'll let you and the family watch the show!  Several eastern Arkansas towns feature museums that tell the history of the region, including the Hemingway-Pfeiffer museum in Piggot, the Southern Tenant Farmers museum in Tyronza (time your visit to eat lunch with Clara at Midway Cafe), and the Sultana Museum in Marion.  


 In west Tennessee, one can visit Reelfoot Lake, a fisherman's and birdwatcher's paradise that also offers insight into the geologic history of the region (Reelfoot was created by the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes)  For more on the earthquakes, visit the museum at New Madrid, Missouri, and while you are there, get an up close view of Old Man River from the observation platform. Mississippi is not without its history, as well - travel Highway 61 through Clarksdale and the crossroads region to learn about the birthplace of the blues. Northeastern Mississippi, especially around Corinth and Baldwyn, are ripe with Civil War sites. 

Throughout the region, you will also find great spots to eat, just ask around - or message me and I’ll suggest a few.  There are too many to start naming here!

I wonder how many of us are close to these resources but have never spent time there?  In order to preserve and expand our small communities, citizens must actively seek to promote those aspects of their communities that foster a better quality of life.  I’d love to hear from you if you visit any of these sites - or find others!

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Spring or Something Like It

Yesterday I had occasion to travel in the Delta.  The day was brisk and overcast, and the fields - many of which were the object of vigorous planting activity as late as Friday, had standing water in rows.  Water that reflected the gray sky.  Weekend rains had put an end to the planting for now.  I hope that water gets off quickly, allowing today’s sun and light winds to return the soil to planting condition.  It is getting late.

With a cousin in tow, I continued the task of sorting through my late mother’s home, preparing it to sell.  Separating 60 years of accumulation into keep, sell, or trash (mostly trash) has become a tedious task.  Only occasionally was I rewarded with a photo of an unseen relative (most notably a great grandfather about whom details were sketchy) or an obituary that provided names, places, and details that an amateur genealogist thrives on.  But mostly, it was discarding old clothes, sewing patterns, or recipes.  Fabric that was never stitched into that article of clothing,  cookies that were never mixed and baked, pans with broken handles that held an unknown sentimental attachment.

We managed to find time for lunch at Midway Cafe in Tyronza (get there early before Clara runs out of the chicken fried steak, and order your pie with your meal so you get the kind you want.)  We also visited the Marked Tree cemetery and solved a mystery about the location of a grave.  Then it was back to sorting through things.

(Norwood Creech Photo)

I was alone at the end of the day.  I distributed some photos to friends in town, and bought a Diet Coke for the road.  As I turned south onto I-55 at Lake David, the sun came out.  Everything is going to be OK.