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Community News

Potts Camp News
Mary Minor

Third graders present musical

Happy Easter to everyone!

Mary Reid School third graders presented a music program, “From the Inside Out,” directed by Thomas Cesario last Thursday evening. The program was great! Pat Kennedy is principal. Third grade teachers are Mrs. Boren, Mrs. Howell and Mrs. Lewis.

Sympathy is extended to the family of Lacy Ivy who passed away Sunday, March 25. Services were held on Tuesday at Holly Springs Funeral Home with burial in Chewalla Cemetery.

Sympathy is also extended to Betty Askew and family in the loss of a cousin, Michael Bolden of Red Bay, Ala.

Curt Ayers of Thailand and Edwards (formerly of Holly Springs) signed copies of his book “Every Man Truly Lives Alone” at the Marshall County Library on Tuesday of last week. Margaret Hart and I attended and enjoyed visiting with everyone who came out to hear about his book as well as life in Thailand. It was also good to see Selwyn Greer of Oxford and Dottie Smith Wilson of Memphis who came for a visit with Ayers.

Roger Foster and members of the Tri-State Antique Tractor Club traveled 40 miles through the country on their second annual Dogwood Ride last Saturday. Several came to the parking lot at Flick’s to visit and see them off. There were 14 tractors and one Gator in the parade. For lunch they stopped at Chewalla Lake for a picnic. They really appreciated the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department for providing an escort throughout the ride.

Nancy Germany Lane of Wichita Falls, Texas, arrived on Thursday of last week for an extended visit with family and friends.

Mitch Stone sang several specials at the Ebenezer Methodist Church during revival this week.

Joann Bready Potts of Olive Branch visited with Mitch and Jeanette Stone on Sunday afternoon and delivered a specially made birdhouse in the shape of the old coal chute. It is a very good replica of the historical structure.

Easter Thoughts: “Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth which was crucified; He is risen, He is not here; behold the place where they laid Him.” Mark 16:6.

Memories of Potts Camp
By Sylvia Seymour Akin

When I was very young the Pan-Am Service Station and Café in Potts Camp literally bustled with activity. The Pan-Am was built about 1937, when that portion of Highway 78 was paved. It was located on the southeast corner of Old 78 and Center Street, facing the highway. The service station was operated by Henry Clyde Rowland and the café by Aubrey and Mary Alvis Fowler.

In its early years, the Pan-Am was a popular place. Locals gathered there daily to share news and perhaps talk with the travelers, who stopped for fuel or a bite to eat on their way to distant places. The pride of the Pan-Am was its chef, Vance. I do not remember Vance, but Potts Camp native Lucille Isom, who is a fabulous cook in her own right, does:

“Mr. Aubrey hired Vance straight from The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tenn. He wore a big white hat and cooked up things, the likes of what folks down here never ate before. Vance lived down by Winborn and would ride the Greyhound bus to and from work every day. Mmm, he sure was a good cook.”

I do remember standing in line at the Pan-Am waiting for my Coffee Ration Coupon during the World War II years. I remember complaining because I did not drink coffee and wanted candy instead. Apparently, each individual had to be present to receive a coupon and although a child, who did not drink coffee, I was still eligible for a coupon.

I also remember being fascinated as I watched Dave Hall hand-letter the wording on the Pan-Am plate glass windows. He created each letter with such ease and skill, without a template or pattern of any kind. When he finished the arrangement was perfect. I once asked him how he managed to make every letter so exact. He said he imagined a picture of what he wanted it to look like in his mind before he started.

By the early 1950s the Pan Am restaurant had changed owners many times and was no longer the popular gathering place it was in its heyday.

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