September 2005 • Deep Fried Kudzu

September 30, 2005January 6, 2020

Walnut Hills, Vicksburg MS

Walnut Hills is a ‘revolving table’ restaurant, which means that you sit at a large table with 10 or 12 other people and food is put in front of you on a giant lazy susan that everybody spins to get the dish they like.

Just getting started:

We talked mostly to two couples, one was local and they were super-nice. They were originally from the Delta, and so we got to talk about Cleveland and that area for a while. The other couple (also super-nice) was in Vicksburg because they were on their way back from visiting their condo in Biloxi to see what damage had occurred after Hurricane Katrina. As it turns out, their condo (ground level unit) was damaged very badly. And the couple – they were from Franklin, Tennessee – were in for a fight with their insurance company. They said they had asked their agent when the policy for the condo was written about tidal waves and such, and they were told that they couldn’t get that type of policy written for that location. They will also have to fight (just like everybody else) because their condo is a huge, broken mess and if the damage is due to wind, then they have a certain amount of coverage. But if everything was okay until the storm surge, then it’s classified as a flood and they’re completely out of luck. It’s just something you feel terribly about.

We did get to talk about nicer subjects than the hurricane, and really had a lovely lunch with some very nice people.

As far as what was served, there was coleslaw, fried chicken, greens, rice, macaroni and tomatoes, I can’t even remember everything that they put out….Av especially likes their chicken. The only thing I wasn’t crazy about, that I didn’t remember from the last time we visited, was that they only served unsweet tea!
—
In Vicksburg, Av and I also really like Solly’s Hot Tamales (1921 Washington St).

September 29, 2005August 15, 2017

Natchez City Cemetery, Natchez MS and Trying to Find Miss Sophronia

We’ve been to the Natchez city cemetery several, several times – but I noticed when I went to their website that the site has a section for particularly interesting monuments. I couldn’t right-off find the book that we’d bought earlier about the cemetery, but I made some quick notes about some of the monuments I wanted to take pics of. Here are just a few:

This monument above is for Louise. The Unfortunate.

How sad!
Apparently she came to Natchez to meet and marry her fiance. He either died or just didn’t show up, and she didn’t want to return home. She supposedly went from respectable career choices like seamstress and housekeeper to – over the years – careers that were, ahem, less respectable in society. There are three ideas as to how she came to be buried in this plot, with a headstone (even though no dates are on it), and this is from the cemetery’s website:

…some say Louise became friends with a doctor who treated her during her hard life Under-the-Hill, and upon her death he paid for her funeral. Some say a wealthy plantation owner who frequented her room on lonely nights paid her funeral expenses. Others say a preacher paid for her funeral from his pauper funds, but she wasn’t buried in a pauper’s grave.

Natchez Drug Company / Turning Angel, Natchez City Cemetery, Natchez MS

This pic above is of a monument that was erected by the owner of the Natchez Drug Company. There was an explosion at the building that leveled the five-story structure and among others killed five of his employees, the youngest being twelve years old.

The monument reads:

Erected by the Natchez Drug Company to the memory of the unfortunate employees who lost their lives in the great disaster that destroyed its building on March 14, 1908.

Carrie O. Murray
Inez Netterville
Luella D. Booth
Mary E. Worthy
Ada White

In front of this angel monument are headstones for each of the employees. The angel on the monument is referred to as the ‘turning angel’ because it appears to turn at night as cars’ headlights shine on it from the main road.

Christian Schwartz Monument, Natchez City Cemetery, Natchez MS

Schwartz monument – Christian Schwartz had ‘White House’, the home now known as ‘Glen Auburn’ built.

—

….so we left the cemetery and went to some little just-for-tourists shop right downtown to ask them if they knew where we could find Miss Sophronia that day. Miss Sophronia sells pralines outside Rosalie and also where the Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen steamboats dock, some other places too. When we walked in to this little touristy shop (which I could not believe we were going to, but okay, we wanted to find her), we were asked by this man who didn’t sound at all like he was from anywhere south of Pittsburgh if we wanted to try *their* PRAY-LEENS. (no.)

“Prah-leens” please.

He didn’t know who Miss Sophronia was.

Update 2015: Miss Sophronia passed away July 21, 2015.

She touched the lives of a number of people with her quick style and jovial nature. She enjoyed making praline candy and delighted in meeting people from all over the United States and other countries while selling her pralines during the fall and spring tourist seasons and throughout the year at the various antebellum homes in Natchez and under-the-hill. Nobody was a stranger to her.

September 28, 2005August 14, 2017

Grand Village of the Natchez Indians in Natchez, MS

The first time I’d ever seen mounds like these was earlier this summer when Av and I visited Moundville (that visit here). Since we were going through Natchez on our way to Baton Rouge, we stopped at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians park for just a few minutes.

One site noted that although people have been in Mississippi for 12,000 years, mounds have only been developed since about 2100 years ago, and their construction continued until about 300 years ago. The mounds here in Natchez aren’t built as high as the ones in Moundville. The ones in Natchez are about 8′ high.

From one of the markers:

Reconstructed Natchez House and Granary
The Natchez Indians lived in permanent houses of mud and pole construction with thatched grass roofs. The granary held surplus corn. The structure to the left of the granary provided shade and served as a drying platform.

above, inside of the house.

There are many other American Indian mounds in Mississippi – several in the Delta, some around Tupelo, and others close to Jackson. I’d love to see all of them! Some of them are flat on top, some of them are domed, and some of them have a pyramid shape. The Emerald mound, which we haven’t visited yet, is the second-largest mound in the US – it’s eight acres, and on top of it are two other mounds!

September 27, 2005August 14, 2017

Port Gibson, MS

Legend has it that Grant said Port Gibson was “too beautiful to burn” – so Port Gibson has this saying on signs around town and in their literature.

I think the most striking thing about Port Gibson (it happens to be the 3rd-oldest incorporated town in the US) is the First Presbyterian Church there.

First Presbyterian Church - Gold Hand Pointing Toward Heaven - Port Gibson MS

That gold hand pointing up is made of metal – it was originally carved from wood. It’s exactly what it’s supposed to be – pointing toward heaven. If you have a super-zoom camera lens, you can see that there are little prickly things all over the top of the hand which keep birds from landing on it.

This is from the church’s website:

By 1859, the congregation numbered 160, and they decided to tear down their old sanctuary and build anew. But because of threats of war, the northern contractor only completed the walls up to the parapet. Elder H.N. Spencer took over the project, and lent the congregation $8,000 to complete it, a debt which he forgave in his will. He is also said to have given $500 in silver coins to be cast into the bell in the steeple, weighing 2,032 pounds. It was first rung on October 10, 1860. Mr. Spencer completed the building in December of 1860, the same month in which Dr. Butler died. His funeral is said to have been the first service held in the new sanctuary.

The Hand pointing to Heaven” is the unique feature of this Romanesque Revival style edifice. The first hand was carved from wood by Daniel Foley, a young local craftsman. The ravages of time, however, destroyed it; and around 1901, the present hand was commissioned and installed. It was taken down in 1989 to be repaired and replated. It was raised again in 1990 and placed atop a newly re-enforced steeple.

September 26, 2005January 6, 2020

Fort Cobun at Grand Gulf, MS and Osage Oranges

Av and I have been to Grand Gulf, MS (Google Maps doesn’t recognize Grand Gulf. Grand Gulf is between Vicksburg and Port Gibson – there is a sign on the highway that will show you where to turn.) before, and decided to visit again last week since we were going close to it, from Vicksburg to Baton Rouge. I really wanted to see if the osage orange trees were okay, since the hurricane had brought down so many trees.

Abandoned Church, Fort Cobun - Grand Gulf, MS

Isn’t this abandoned church so pretty?

Here’s one of the osage oranges. Some people call them hedgeapples, and others call them ‘brain fruit’ because of their texture (closer shot below):

…and they’re such an odd color! Up until earlier this year, when we first visited Grand Gulf, I had never seen one! I only figured out what they were called when I did a Google search.

There was a historic sign with the history of Grand Gulf:

The town of Grand Gulf began in the 18th century as a small British settlement. By 1828 it had grown to a village of three stores, one tavern, and several houses. There was a stage line to Port Gibson and steamboats stopped at its wharves. Incorporated in 1833, Grand Gulf received its name from a large whirlpool formed as the Mississippi River struck a great rock formation. By the late 1830s Grand Gulf had become an important port and trading center with seventy-six city blocks and about 1000 people. Grand Gulf’s decline began in 1843 with a yellow fever epidemic. In 1853 a tornado devastated a large portion of the town. Yellow fever and cholera epidemics resulted in further population losses. To make matters worse, the Mississippi River changed its course and began eating into the land on which the town was built. Between 1855 and 1860, fifty-five city blocks were destroyed by the river. By 1860 only one hundred fifty-eight lived there. During the Civil War, Federal troops and gunboats destroyed the remainder of the town. The town was never rebuilt after the war and today even the river has deserted what was once a bustling river port. All that remains are a few antebellum buildings scattered along what was once the outskirts of the town.

Besides the military park, all that’s left around here is some hunting lodges and an Entergy nuclear plant. Pics from our last visit can be found here.

September 25, 2005August 14, 2017

Stamps Superburgers in Jackson MS

Av and I went to Stamps Superburgers in Jackson for supper. It was our first time, but I had heard about it before. It’s won ‘Best of Jackson’ hamburgers a couple or more years, and it’s also listed on Dixie Dining (with a mention that Bobby Rush is a fan).

These are Stamps’ french fries that Av and I shared. These aren’t out of the Sysco bag. They take a potato and cut it into round slivers and fry them, then you get to choose if you want them to be seasoned with salt & pepper or lemon pepper. Oh. Yum.

This is the *regular*/smaller hamburger. It was huge – I had to throw part of it away because there was just no way I could finish it, and Av could just barely finish his. The hamburgers at Stamps are like the hamburgers you would make at home…ground beef, formed into a patty, put on the grill. Same way at Stamps. I think the regular hamburgers are like 7.5oz and the large are more like a pound. Delish.

There is a bit of a wait after you place your order, that’s because they don’t cook until they get your order – so it may take ten, fifteen minutes, more – depending on what’s ahead of you in line. Not fast food, but great food. We ate these on the way to Vicksburg (next post).