ANSWERS TO WICKED MISSISSIPPI TRIVIA
August 20, 2010 § Leave a comment
1. Which Mississippi county changed its name in 1865 to Davis County in honor of Jefferson Davis and the name of its county seat to Leesburg, in honor of Robert E. Lee? What was the name of the original county seat? (Note: the names were restored to their originals in 1869).
It was Jones County. Ellisville was the original county seat, because Laurel, which is now one of the two county seats, was not founded until 1882.
2. What is the present-day name of the Mississippi county that was established in 1871 as Colfax County?
Clay. Colfax County was created in 1871 from parts of Chickasaw, Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Monroe. It changed its name in 1876 to honor Henry Clay.
3. From which present-day county did Bainbridge County separate in1823, only to merge back into its original county in 1824?
Covington. There is no record of the reason for the establishment of Bainbridge county, or for its dissolution, nor is there any identfication of the person or place for whom the county was named in the act establishing it.
4. What is the present-day name of the Mississippi county that was established in 1874 as Sumner County?
Webster. The county was renamed in honor of Daniel Webster in 1882.
5. In 1918 , the last county to be established in Mississippi was formed. What is its name?
Humphreys. Named for Benjamin Humphreys, 26th governor of Mississippi.
6. What present-day county seat was founded in 1832 as the Town of Jefferson? (Note: no relation to the Faulkner’s fictional town of the same name).
Hernando.
7. John L. Sullivan defeated Jake Kilrain in 1889 in the last official bare-knuckled bout in what was then Perry County. In which present-day county is the site located?
Forrest. Forrest County was carved out of the western part of Perry County in 1908.
8. President James K. Polk owned a 1,120-acre estate in the Troy community of which present-day county from 1835-1849?
Grenada.
9. Which Mississippi county seat was the home of thirteen generals of the Confederacy?
Holly Springs. The original name of the town was “Suavatooky,” which would have been a nightmare for today’s image-conscious tourism promoters.
10. Which Mississippi town was named after a newspaper published in another state?
Picayune. Eliza Jane Nicholson, a famed poet and resident of Pearl River County, was editor of the New Orleans Picayune, now the Times-Picayune, and the town was named in honor of her achievements.
11. In which Mississippi county did Teddy Roosevelt’s famous bear hunt take place in 1902 in the community of Smedes?
Sharkey. Smedes was the name of the train landing at Onward Plantation in Sharkey County. Onward, which is the surviving community in the vicinity of the plantation, is usually given as the locale, since the train landing has long since disappeared. You can read the fascinating story how African-American Holt Collier, legendary bear hunter, former slave, Confederate soldier and Texas cowboy, guided Roosevelt on his hunt here.
12. In which Mississippi county does the “Southern cross the Dog?”
Sunflower. At Moorhead, where a line of the Southern Railway crossed the Yazoo and Delta (YD=Yellow Dog, or “Dog”) at a 90-degree angle, reputedly the only place in the western hemisphere where two rail lines cross at a perpindicular. The junction is mentioned in blues recordings, notably by W.C. Handy and Bessie Smith.
13. Which Mississippi county’s name is derived from an Indian name meaning “tadpole place?”
Yalobusha. Some other unusual names: Pontotoc means “weed prairie” or “land of hanging grapes”; Noxubee means “stinking water,” and Oktibbeha means “bloody water”; and Attala was named after the heroine of an 1801 novella by Franois-Rene de Chateaubriand, spelled Atala in his work.
BIRTHPLACE OF AMERICA’S MUSIC
August 18, 2010 § Leave a comment
What do all these professional Mississippi musicians have in common?
John Alexander, Metropolitan Opera star Steve Forbert, singer songwriter George Atwood, bass player for Buddy Holly Ty Herndon, country singer Paul Overstreet, country singer songwriter Julian Patrick, Broadway and Metropolitan Opera singer Moe Bandy, country music singer songwriter Eddie Houiston, southern soul singer Don Poythress, country and gospel singer songwriter Clay Barnes, guitarist for Steve Forbert and Willie Nile, session artist for the Who Bobby Jay, rock and roll, soul and R & B musician Carey Bell, blues harmonica player for Muddy Waters Duke Jericho, blues organist for BB King David Ruffin, member of the Temptations Cleo Brown, blues, boogie and jazz pianist and vocalist Sherman Johnson radio show host and juke joint owner Pat Brown, southern soul R & B singer John Kennedy, country bmusic songwriter Jimmy Ruffin, R & B and soul singer, recorded “What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted?” Mike Compton, bluegrass mandolin player featured on soundtrack of “O, Brother, Where Art Thou?” Cap King, blues musician Patrick Sansone, guitarist for Wilco and Autumn Defense George Soulé, singer songwriter Lovie Lee, blues singer George Cummings, composer, guitarist Paul Davis, singer songwriter Scott McQuaig, country music singer songwriter Brain Stephens, drummer Chris Ethridge bass guitarist for Flying Burrito Brothers, Willie Nelson and International Submarine Band Elsie McWilliams, songwriter, Country Music Hall of Fame Ernest Stewart, blues singer Patrice Moncell, blues, soul, jazz and gospel vocalist Dudley Tardo, drummer for the House Rockers, featured in the movie “Last of the Mississippi Jukes” Rosser Emerson, blues musician Steve Moore, country and rock guitarist Cooney Vaughn, blues pianist William Butler Fielder, jazz trumpeter and professor of music at Rutgers University Theresa Needham, Chicago blues club owner Hayley Williams, lead singer for Paramore Alvin Fielder, jazz drummer Duke Otis, band leader Al Wilson, soul singer and drummer Jimmie Rodgers, father of country music, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of FameIf you haven’t figured it out by now … every one of them is from Meridian. And Meridian is not unique in our state. Mississippi’s musical legacy is phenomenal.
WICKED MISSISSIPPI TRIVIA
August 11, 2010 § 15 Comments
Answers next week
1. Which Mississippi county changed its name in 1865 to Davis County in honor of Jefferson Davis, and the name of its county seat to Leesburg, in honor of Robert E. Lee? What was the name of the original county seat? (Note: the names were restored to their originals in 1869).
2. What is the present-day name of the Mississippi county that was established in 1871 as Colfax County?
3. From which present-day county did Bainbridge County separate in1823, only to merge back into its original county in 1824?
4. What is the present-day name of the Mississippi county that was established in 1874 as Sumner County?
5. In 1918 , the last county to be established in Mississippi was formed. What is its name?
6. What present-day county seat was founded in 1832 as the Town of Jefferson? (Note: no relation to the Faulkner’s fictional town of the same name).
7. John L. Sullivan defeated Jake Kilrain in 1889 in the last official bare-knuckled bout in what was then Perry County. In which present-day county is the site located?
8. President James K. Polk owned a 1,120-acre estate in the Troy community of which present-day county from 1835-1849?
9. Which Mississippi county seat was the home of thirteen generals of the Confederacy?
10. Which Mississippi town was named after a newspaper published in another state?
11. In which Mississippi county did Teddy Roosevelt’s famous bear hunt take place in 1902 in the community of Smedes?
12. In which Mississippi county does the “Southern cross the Dog?”
13. Which Mississippi county’s name is derived from an Indian name meaning “tadpole place?”
WEIDMANN’S & SUCARNOCHEE REVUE
August 7, 2010 § 1 Comment
We made it to the newest version of the new Weidmann’s last night. The food was pretty good. The company was great. I’ll withhold a review while they get through their shakedown period. We’ll be back, and I am eager to try them out for lunch. Here are a few pics …
The old logo is back
An old icon returns
Enjoying the meal
Stuffed flounder
After dinner, we ambled over to the Sucarnochee Revue at the Temple Theater, beginning their seventh year. As it happened, the show was being recorded by MPB for airing later, and it was announced that the public network will televise 26 shows. Last night’s production featured music of Elvis and Meridian’s Jimmie Rodgers. It was the first time for Lisa and me. The music ranged from bluegrass, to mountain folk, to jug band, to blues, to rock and roll, to country. The quality was surprisingly good, although that should not be surprising, given Meridian’s history of talented musicianship.
The show was a great reminder that Mississippi is indeed, the birthplace of America’s music, and that Jimmie Rodgers played a major role.
Performers included Britt Gulley and Water Mocassin, Jakeleg and the Stompers, Dr. Jim Matthews, and Track 45. There were many others, but I never could put my hands on a program, before or after the show, and I didn’t have pen and paper to write them down. Next time I’ll try to do better. Here are a couple of pics …
Audience grows
Entertained by the house grand organ before the show
The show
HOOVER’S GIFT TO MISSISSIPI CUISINE
July 18, 2010 § 5 Comments
The Mississippi Delta is the fountainhead of so much Mississippiana. The blues, of course, and I’m talking the birth thereof, as in Robert Johnson, W.C. Handy (sorry, Memphis) and Muddy Waters (aka McKinley Morganfield) among many, many others. Tamales even a Zapatista would revolt for. And, of course, Hoover Sauce.
Yes, Hoover Sauce. As in that delicious sweet-salty nectar of the Delta gods, that marvelous concoction that, when used as a marinade, apotheosizes mere grilled chicken into a dish that will rival anything you will find on the menu at Galatoire’s or Antoine’s.
Okay, I exagerrate. But I’m serious on at least one count: Hoover Sauce is some superbly good stuff. A good friend who loves great cooking sent me a quart that I have managed to put to good use, and I used the last of it tonight to marinate chicken thighs. Once again, as always, the results were scrumptious. Man, I have got to get me some more of this stuff. It’s sweet and dark, salty and tangy, garlicky and soy-saucy. The result is phenomenally tasty and flavorful. And chicken is only a start. I have read about folks using it on catfish, wild duck, pork, shrimp, and who knows what else … portobellos? doves? pineapple? taters? vegetables?
The wondrous mixture comes out of the hamlet of Louise, Mississippi, in Humphreys County, which is the hometown (pop. 315) of Hoover Lee, a native of China, who invented the magical elixir and peddles it out of the Lee Hong Food Company in his town.
There is even an official Hoover Sauce web site.
I had planned to write an ode to Hoover Sauce, but Dixie Dining already did it here: Dixie Dining’s praise for Hoover Sauce.
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