Month: April 2005

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Sand Mountain Music

Well, phooey. I **really** wanted to get over to Terrific New Theatre’s production of ‘Sand Mountain Saturday Night’, but it ends Saturday and there is just no way I can get to it.

My Nanny’s people – the Gilberts and the Fossetts – came from Sand Mountain, specifically Grove Oak.

I don’t know how musically-inclined the Gilberts were, but the Fossetts were something else. My (great-)PawPaw Fossett (Azzie Franklin Fossett) could play piano by ear! PawPaw and his brother V.O. sang together, and V.O. Fossett is in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame:

V. O. FOSSETT— – Dekalb County, Alabama

  • Renowned for his thoroughness in gospel song work.
  • He was a teacher, an accompanist, a member of the Baxter Quartet, a writer of hundreds of songs, and editor-in-chief of song books published by the Stamps-Baxter Company.

V.O. is probably best known for writing the music for a song *everyone* knows – “I Shall Not Be Moved”.

The song has been recorded by (this is only a short list): Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Mississippi John Hurt, Joan Baez (recorded in Spanish!), Peter, Paul, and Mary, Ricky Van Shelton, Joe Thompson, U-Roy (a reggae version), The Carter Family, and Jessie Mae Hemphill. If you have iTunes loaded on your computer, just go to the ‘music store’ and search for the song.
“I Shall Not Be Moved”, or “We Shall Not Be Moved”, was also used as a very popular civil-rights song, and the lyrics were modified a bit and made into a labor/union song.
V.O.’s songs are Christian – that whole side of my family is – but (although I’m Jewish) I am so incredibly proud of that part of my family and their contributions.
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Ocean Springs, MS

We spent a few hours earlier this week in Ocean Springs, which is just a little east of Biloxi. We’ve spent time in this area on several occasions.

Miner’s Toy Store (927 Washington Ave) – this is a *great* toy store (lots and lots and lots of just really fun, good toys), with lots of beautiful play-withable baby dolls (not just the ones that people put on a shelf and look at) and Playmobil, which I adore.

Shearwater Pottery (102 Shearwater Drive – there are signs to get to it from town) – founded by Peter Anderson, brother of Walter, and continued by Peter’s decendants. A book about the history, etc. is available here. I picked up a little fish pendant there three or four years ago.

Walter Anderson Museum of Art (510 Washington Ave) – Walter did all sorts of different types of art – block prints, murals, pottery…but I think is probably best known for his watercolors.

The Art House (921 Cash Alley) – A co-op of local artists.

There are many, many other little shops along Washington Avenue in Ocean Springs to spend a day in…… This trip, we also visited the Tato Nut (1114 Government Street), a doughnut shop that uses potato flour in its yeast-based doughnuts. They were good. But if you’ve ever had a Duchess doughnut, or a Krispy-Kreme, there’s no comparison. 🙂

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Grand Casino, Biloxi

Grand Casino Hotel Room, Biloxi MS

Room: We have stayed at the Grand Casino in Gulfport, but this was our first time at the Grand in Biloxi. These casinos are owned by Caesars Entertainment, which also owns Caesars, Bally, Flamingo, and the Paris casinos. The room was comfortable as well as a nice size. The Grand Casino here actually has two hotels onsite (just like the one in Gulfport) – the Islandview Hotel, and the Bayview Hotel. The Bayview is less expensive because it is across the street (although there is a climate-controlled skywalk, so unless you mind two minutes extra of walking, it is **really** worth it to save the extra money).

Lobby: The Bayview Hotel lobby is very nice. Lots of seating.

Service: Front desk was friendly.

Spa: They didn’t have any appointments available, but we did get a menu of services. Many services were offered, but the prices seemed higher than what I pay here in B’ham at the nicest spas.

Food: We had supper at LB’s Steakhouse, which was very good. I had the prime rib ‘Grand’, and Av also had a very nice steak. The prices are comparable to Ruth’s Chris. We had breakfast at The Marketplace buffet onsite, which was a disappointment. The best casino breakfast – and even though I generally detest buffets – is at the Beau Rivage.

Extra: We didn’t bring our swimsuits, but the pool at the hotel looked very nice. We would definitely stay here again.

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Baymont Inn, Meridian

Baymont Inn, Meridian MS

Room: This was our first time at a Baymont Inn. It got a decent rating in the last Consumer Reports (July 2004) rating of hotel rooms – below Hampton, but well above Sheraton Four Points and some other chains. CR got it right. This room wasn’t quite as nice as a Hampton (the biggest difference was room size), but was nonetheless clean and comfortable.

Lobby: No frills/pretty bare.

Service: Front desk staff was friendly.

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