Lovin the Southland

Celebrating the Southland, and especially The Delta

On a Roots Tour in the Mississippi Delta

Life-long friends gathered to reconnect and kick-off the "roots tour"!

A high school friend of mine that has long-moved from Memphis came back home last weekend to take her college daughter on a "roots tour". Her daughter, who reminds me so much of my friend at her age, was about to be introduced to her Memphis and Mississippi Delta heritage. Definitely a life-changing event!

Rum Boogie on Beale was at capacity with a great blues band

The weekend started with their visit to the family cemetery, watching the ducks at The Peabody Hotel, and then dinner with friends. Of course we headed to Beale Street after dinner, if only for a little while, because what is a "roots tour" without hearing some real blues on the street that made the blues famous? The rest of the plan was for them to head to Clarksdale to see family and then drive to New Orleans to, well, you know what you do in New Orleans.

I woke up early the day after our dinner and realized I hadn't told her all the great places to visit on her drive down historic U. S. Highway 61 South through the Mississippi Delta to Vicksburg and then on to New Orleans. Quickly, because I was going to make us late to church, I sent a facebook message suggesting places where they could leave the main highway and see the true Delta, the one that I have grown to love over the past three years. I knew they couldn't do everything I suggested, but at least I wanted them to know what they were missing as they traveled south.

Here are some of the places I suggested, and some I sadly left out by mistake:

Blue & White Restaurant, U.S. 61 South, Tunica, MS

The Blue & White Restaurant in Tunica, MS: I can't believe I didn't tell them to stop in this old Pure Oil gas station and get my favorite, the catfish hoagie. The patty melt is good too and I hear the hamburger is their claim to fame. Some day I may try the donut tower! Sit in the lunch counter room and visit with the farmers and town-folk that fill this restaurant up daily.

Fall is my favorite time in the swamp near Tunica

My secret swamp just south of Tunica, MS: now, I couldn't tell them about this one because it is a secret, right? This is my favorite photo op place in the Delta. I love watching the wildlife (deer, ducks, egrets, cormorants, nutria, snakes, eagles and I bet some alligators), as well as the beautiful swamp flowers and cypress trees.

You can stay in original share-cropper shacks or
even grain bins at the Shack-Up Inn in Clarksdale, MS

The Shack-Up Inn in Clarksdale, MS: My friends actually spent the night here in the Pinetop Perkins shack. They sent me a picture when they checked in and said they loved it! I stayed in a shack once and will definitely aim for a grain-bin room the next time. But I do love this place and it is a must on your trek south out of Memphis.


Ground Zero in Clarksdale, MS: This one I forgot! Of course, it is best visited at night but my husband and I had a couple of beers there one hot summer Saturday afternoon when we had planned to go to a blues festival, but decided heading for the coolness of Ground Zero sounded like a better idea.

McCarty's Pottery, Merigold, MS: Don't expect to pay any less for this Mississippi Delta pottery just because you are at the place where it is made.  And, definitely use your voice-activated GPS as I literally drove around this small town for about 30 minutes before I found it! I bought my brother a replacement sea shell for the one that we chipped at Thanksgiving. McCarty's pottery is best known for their Mississippi River signature that tells you it is genuine.

Po' Monkey's is a short drive
 off HWY 61as you drive into Merigold, MS

Po' Monkey's, Merigold, MS: When driving into Merigold from Clarksdale, take the right at the Mississippi Blues Trail marker, keep to the left, and once on the gravel road keep going until you reach Po' Monkey's. This juke joint is only open to the public on Thursday nights, but worth the drive just to see the signs on the dos and don'ts about coming into the joint. In trying to get a picture once I was a little irritated that a caretaker was washing his car in just that position that was ruining my photo shot. Little did I know it was the owner and I missed my chance to beg my way into Po' Monkey's.

Deer Creek at Anguilla 

Deer Creek, winding throughout the Delta: You can stop by Deer Creek in Leland, MS, where Jim Henson grew up exploring the creek and imagining a life with the frogs (aka, Kermit) and other wildlife and animals along its banks; or in my favorite spot, Anguilla at the intersection of Highway 61 and Highway14. Mallards, wood duck, big blue herons, beavers, egrets, turtles, alligators and even kayakers and canoers love Deer Creek. With all the wildlife and the ups and downs of the creek itself, no two visits are the same. A friend of mine from Minnesota and I watched a turtle try to get up on a log for about 5 minutes. We kept thinking he would make it but, alas, he never did. Now that is better than television any day!

Mont Helena sits on a ceremonial
Indian mound between Anguilla and Rolling Fork

Mont Helena, Rolling Fork, MS: Driving south on Highway 61 from Anguilla, look to the right and you will see Mont Helena, an colonial revival home built in 1896 on a ceremonial Indian mound. After an extensive restoration, Mont Helena now hosts private functions, tours, and is the home for the annual "Mont Helena: A Dream Revisited" a locally produced musical re-telling the true love story of the home's family. The play runs weekends in April and early May and tickets sell out in about an hour, reflecting the popularity of the show. Learn more about Mont Helena at www.monthelena.com.

Visit the Onward Store to hear the
Teddy Bear legend and get a good Delta meal
(picture from theonwardstore.com)

Onward Store, Onward, MS: Ever hear of the Teddy Bear? Well, of course you have and just 12 miles south of Rolling Fork on U.S. 61, you can relive the story of President Theodore Roosevelt's famed 1902 Mississippi Delta bear hunt when the President refused to kill a wounded bear tied to a tree in spite of the fact that he desparately wanted to get his bear on this hunt. The media picked up on the story and it quickly spread throughout the US and the "Teddy Bear" was born. In addition to finding souveniers, Delta art, gasoline and a few staples, you can enjoy fine Delta cuisine in the attached restaurant. Visit www.theonwardstore.com for more details.

 Margaret's Grocery, built by her husband the Rev. H. D. Dennis, is located
on Business 61 which is a right-turn before you get into Vicksburg

Out of the Delta: When you get to Vicksburg you are out of the Delta. The Yazoo River and the Mississippi River meet at Vicksburg and some of the worst flooding in the Great Flood of 2011 took place right here. You can read more about my experience in the flood in this blog post . But it is clear as you near Vicksburg that you are no longer in the "flat lands".

The Tomato Place, Vicksburg, MS: As you leave Vicksburg headed south on U. S. 61 toward Natchez, be sure you stop by The Tomato Place. It will be on your right and you are likely to see it only as you pass it. But rest assured there is a place where you can turn back not far past it and I urge you to do so. The Tomato Place is both a farmer's market and a restaurant and even a flea market at times. I had the best BLT ever during tomato season there. They also sell fresh baked goods and even smoothies. Be sure and stop by on your way south. Check it out at http://www.thetomatoplace.com/.

As you leave the Delta and head toward New Orleans, there are many places you should stop by and see.

Port Gibson, MS survived the Civil War
 because Grant thought it was too beautiful to burn

The Windsor Ruins, 10 miles southwest of Port Gibson,
are all that is left of  Mississippi's largest antebellum  mansion
 that burned when a guest left a lighted cigar  on the balcony

Rodney, MS, located near Alcorn State University on Highway 552 W
off Highway 61, is often referred to as a ghost town. Access Rodney Road through the ASU campus

Natchez, MS is home to many antebellum homes open to the public.
Longwood, my favorite, was never finished since the Northern laborers
working on the home left when the Civil War broke out. The family finished
the lower floor and lived there. The upper floors are unfinished and you see them on the tour.

This is where I leave you. I haven't yet made the full trip from Memphis to New Orleans and may not do that anytime soon. But, as you can see, there is so much to see and do in the Delta and then south of the Delta toward Natchez. Take the time to stop and even go a little off the main highway to see what life in this special place is really all about. Trust me, you will never look at Mississippi again the same way. 

Deer Creek

Like most of us that take pictures in the Delta, I have my favorite spots that I return to every chance I get.

Deer Creek in Anguilla is one of these spots. For those not familiar with Deer Creek, it winds its way throughout the Mississippi Delta, from the Mississippi River in Washington County to the Yazoo River in Warren County. Its banks are full of history. It was the home to an agriculturally based, prehistoric Indian culture as early as 1200 A.D. Plantations dotted its banks in some of the richest alluvial soil in the Delta. Jim Henson played on its banks in Leland, MS with his friend Kermit Scott and he shared these moments with the world through the original Muppet, Kermit.

For about a year, I have visited Deer Creek, and I have, indeed, fallen in love.

An overcast day changes the light in just a way that allows an otherwise pedestrian, some would even say ugly, culvert to look like a bridge in a Monet painting.  

Standing in just the right spot, a view down the creek rivals the best landscape scenes anywhere.

Ducks splashing, and showing off for potential mates, give way to lazy ones resting on a log on a hot and muggy September morning looking for a chance to cool off in the creek.

Turtles are often seen trying to stay on a log that just keeps rolling and finally making it to bask in the sun to replenish the calcium needed to keep a hard shell of protection.

When I close my eyes. I can imagine baptisms in the creek, at a spot marked by crosses just across from Anguilla Methodist Church,

As usual, I post my Deer Creek shots on my facebook page. They are some of the most "liked" pictures. A friend of mine summed it up completely for me when she shared a recent picture I took on the shores of Deer Creek, "I think that many times we become so used to seeing things in our own community day after day , that we fail to notice the real beauty that visitors recognize & are drawn to." 

Deer Creek is, indeed, one of those special places. Check it out some time!

Settling In

Well, I bit the bullet...I bought my little place (yes, very little) in the Delta. It took all of 2 minutes to sign the papers; even less than my 5 minute Methodist wedding!

It took a lot longer to get ready to buy the BottleTree. Figuring out how to buy a house without a realtor; having the inspection; getting estimates on repairs; finding a closing attorney; scheduling a time we could all be in town to sign the papers. Somehow, it was a little anti-climatic. Wham, bam, thank you mam! kind of stuff! But, the reason it was so easy, is that it was so right.

I had a whole year to figure out if being part of the Delta was something I wanted. And, I knew it was. During that year I made friends; figured out some of the practical stuff, like when the stores were open; learned the idiosyncracies of my cottage; and shared great times with family and new friends.

But, I still have a lot to learn:

"High Corn" near Sidon, MS

Corn can be both a blessing and a curse. It's great as a privacy screen. But blocks the breeze which can make it stifling hot!

Harvest season will last a long time this year. I can't remember when I have seen "corn as high as an elephant's eye" at the same time that I see it barely up to my knees (and I am short!). Same for soy beans and cotton, although they never get as tall as corn. A rainy early spring and a dry late spring will make work for farmers way into the fall.

Melissa Darden (L) & Meg Cooper (R) of the Lower Delta Partnership

Living in a small town means you do it all. I compare this to running a small business. You are the boss, the payroll clerk, the webmaster, and the office manager. Same in a small town...You are the one in charge of the demolition and salvage of an historical landmark; organizing and managing the electronic recycling event for the county; being on the Board for the local hospital. Same people, doing all the work with a smile on their face and a dedication that is so refreshing!

Stuff costs more in rural MS. I bought two pounds of coffee, 6 eggs, and a loaf of bread for $17.00! I don't know, maybe it's not more expensive than Memphis, but it sure seemed that way.

Sunday radio is a great mixture of country music and Bible lessons.

I've only been part of this place for about 18 months, but it is, indeed, becoming home for me. I've traded the solitary weekends for times full of visits with family and friends; birthday dinners; volunteering at festivals and plays. I've joked that I have more friends and things to do in Rolling Fork than I do in Memphis! I guess that says it all!

The Big Red Barn collapsed in April 2011. Meg and Melissa worked to save as much of the barn as possible. It was, indeed, the very symbol of Rolling Fork, being that landmark that just spelled "home" for those coming back from Jackson or Vicksburg. You can own a piece of this landmark and support the Lower Delta Partnership. More information will be available soon at www.lowerdelta.org.

Roundtrip Between the Delta and Bern

No, I haven't gone to Bern, Switzerland. Well, not yet at least. But the Delta has gone to Bern and Bern has come to the Delta.

The traveler was my Daddy, Dr. Jefferson Davis Upshaw, Jr, and the great work he did to understand what became known as Upshaw-Schulman Syndrome. You can read the details here, but it is a form of inherited thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Jefferson Davis Upshaw, Jr at Gulf Coast Military Academy

Daddy was born in Louise, MS, in Humphreys County, MS on July 19, 1929 - a mere two years after the Great Flood of 1927. He attended elementary school in Louise and then junior high and high school at Gulf Coast Military Academy in Gulfport, MS.

He was nominated to attend West Point Military Academy, but chose (ha ha) The University of Alabama (Roll Tide) where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He then graduated from Johns Hopkins Medical School where he also completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine.

After serving in the Air Force in Bermuda (what a tough life) he and my Mother moved to Memphis where he practiced internal medicine and hematology for 40+ years. He served as both Chief and President of the Medical Staff as well as Director of Medical Education for Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation in Memphis. He was there when Elvis died!

Now, you are saying, where does Bern, Switzerland come in? Well, Daddy, himself, never went to Bern. But Daddy's work did!

I was actually sitting in my cottage in Rolling Fork, MS in early March 2012, just about 20 miles from Daddy's birthplace and home in Louise, MS, when I got an email from Bern, Switzerland. A little (or a lot) skeptical, I did not respond. But Bern was persistent. Later that month, they reached out again:
.

"Dear Ms Upshaw Travis

We at the Inselpital Bern (Switzerland) in the University Clinic of Hematology and Central Hematology are building an international database for patients with Upshaw-Schulman Syndrom. The disease is named after Jefferson D. Upshaw, Jr.  (last known affiliation: The Memphis Cancer Center, Memphis, Tennessee 38119, USA), who we believe was your father;  and Irving Schulman.

The research database has an official Website (www.ttpregistry.net) for patients, doctors and interested parties. 

One of our goals is to provide patients with usable background information about their disease including a historical note on the people after whom the syndrome was named. 

An article about Mr. Schulman that we hope to be able to use already exists (http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2009/june/schulman.html ) but we are lacking information about Mr. Upshaw.

We thought that perhaps you could help us out in this direction.

PS: Maybe you would allow us to establish a link for your blog “deltamemories” which we like very much. "

Could I tell them more about Daddy? Did I have a picture? Could they link to my blog (the one you are reading) as they found it interesting (LOL)?

Jefferson Davis Upshaw, Jr

Well, they had me then. I sent them a copy of Daddy's obituary and then a "good" picture of Daddy as the one in the obit was horrible and then, of course, welcomed them to link to this blog!

Perhaps some of the Bern guys are reading this blog post, so I want to say: Thank you so much for carrying on Daddy's work! He was a practicing physician - not a researcher! But he always understood his responsibility to pass along what he was learning. He also understood his responsibility to advance the knowledge of how to help patients and help physicians help patients. He was proud that his work was notable, but he was moved more by the difference it made in the lives of patients that got better because of what he learned. And, if you want me to come and present at a conference on Daddy's work, let me know! I imagine I can find the time....

I think I kept many of his papers documenting his experience and findings with Upshaw-Schulman Syndrome. They are some where up in my attic. I just couldn't throw them out knowing how much they meant to him and to others.

Me and Daddy, April 24, 1982

Daddy's work made its way to Bern and now many of them are learning about the Delta, the land and people that helped raise the man whose work and name is making their work possible, through this blog.

Who would have thought that a man, born in the Delta, educated in what many would call the "Deep South", and serving patients, not a researcher, would some day be sought after by Bern, Switzerland?

Well, if you know the Delta the way I do, this is not surprising at all!

I Have Arrived!

I haven't posted a blog in what seems like forever. Sure, I posted my backroads video, so I guess that counts. But not a real blog.

This city girl just turned around & left after reading this at the Cypress Preserve in Greenville!

But what's funny is I have 5 draft blog posts that have just gone nowhere. Draft titles such as "The Bible Belt", "We Got a New Preacher Today", "Cousins", "It's the Land Katie Scarlet", and one of my favorites, "Leave All Snakes Alone".

So, why didn't any of these make it to prime time? Well, the ones on faith were, perhaps, a little too personal and in my attempts to put them in context, they became too factual. That's a boring combination: personal and factual! And, as far as the others, life just got in the way and I lost focus.

But underlying all of these drafts and why they didn't make it to this blog is the fact that although I haven't finished my first year in the Delta yet, I have actually become a Deltan and not just its observer.

I hope that does not sound bragadocious, because if you are not from the Delta, you can't just claim this "title", you have to be given it. And, that is just what has happened to me twice over the past month.

Ruffin and I had a great trip to the 1,000 year-old cypress tree at Sky Lake

The first time came as I was having lunch in Belzoni with my cousin Ruffin. He asked me to explain what I did for a living, which is always a challenge for me, and we started talking about how the Delta was getting a lot of federal grant dollars to improve health. I casually said "If y'all get it, Memphis won't get it since we are so close". Ruffin immediately came back with "What do you mean by "ya'll", you are one of us now!". Wow, what a moment for me; and very special since it came from Ruffin, the Mayor of Louise!

Just this past week, a Facebook friend posted a story on yet another stranger that was looking for a place to stay in Rolling Fork and how the community opened its arms to find him a place for the night and a hot meal. This was the second such story in just 8 weeks! Back in late October, the hospital, which had the only handicapped-accessible room in town, opened its doors to Rich, who was hand cycling his way down the Mississippi river corridor, raising funds for Convoy of Hope and crossing an item off his bucket list! (Read about Rich's trip and scroll down for October 28 post to read about his adventure in Rolling Fork). This last week, Michael, a 29-year old Australian making his own trek down The River corridor, spent the night in Rolling Fork's B&B and was treated to a Flatland's Pizza dinner (Read about the hospitality Michael received throughout the Mississippi Delta)!

I was so humbled by the giving spirit of my friends in Rolling Fork that I posted on Facebook how I, too, had experienced the hospitality of "Rolling Forkians". Quickly, a friend posted back that they now considered me a "Rolling Forkian" myself.

So, you see, I have been given the titles of "Deltan" and "Rolling Forkian", titles that are near and dear to my heart. But titles that do come with a lot of responsibility. Now, instead of being an observer, I am a member of this great community and as a new year approaches I am committed to becoming more involved in the fabric of the Delta.

I am reminded of my very first post on this blog:

"So now I start a new chapter in the Delta. I have rented a little house in Rolling Fork, MS for an entire year. It's my little piece of the Delta. A base camp, if you will, to learn what it is like to really live there".

And a later post where I hoped that "Maybe, just maybe, some day, I can say I am from there."

I'm not sure I am completely able to say I am from the Delta, but I know I am closer than I have ever been to being able to say just that.

Taking a Back Road

Coming home from Nashville a couple of weeks ago, I decided to take the "long way home", the "slow way home".. Getting off the interstate and even the main highway just gives my soul a lift..I love seeing life as it is lived along the back roads..it is so much better than on the main road.

Here are my favorite back roads, mainly in the Mississippi Delta and a few other back roads, including that one I took home from Nashville, that have made my year special so far.