Smoke Signals and other news
Marshall County Sports has completed all baseball games for the season. The rain never showed during the postseason tournaments held at Potts Camp.
Games were won-games were lost. Regardless, every kid had fun. Each child who completed the season received either a trophy or a ring and, in some cases, two rings. The Marshall County Board of Supervisors provided the funds for this season, as they have every year since the league started nineteen years ago.
It is always fun to see kids play against each other on the field and then play together in the park when the game ends and the score is long forgotten.
This week we lost another dear cousin, Sylvia White. This one was on Mom’s side of the family. With her passing went so much family knowledge. There were eight children in that family. The father and seven siblings have had or are battling cancer. Only two siblings survive today; only one is in reasonably good health. We as a family have grieved the loss of each one but know they are rejoicing in being reunited in Heaven.
Byhalia Area Arts Council finished up another week of Drama and Visual Arts Camp on Friday with a play by the drama students and art displays by the visual arts students. I’ve been to most of the presentations over the years. I usually have at least one grandchild in the program. This year my granddaughter, Mary Clair Herring, helped with choreography.
On Sunday, I was able to attend Mary Clair’s dance recital and watch her passion for dance come to life on the stage.
The Town of Byhalia continues to freshen up around town. The Gazebo in the middle of town got a fresh coat of paint, and there are three newly painted parking spaces in front of the Byhalia Nutrition Shop.
Ruth B. French Library has new activities planned for the summer, starting with the 2023 Lego Club beginning Monday, June 12, and every other Monday from 12 p.m. To 1:30 p.m. For ages three and up. Thursdays at 2 p.m. Will feature a Summer Learning Program with a different guest speaker each week.
Happy Father’s Day to all who hold the title of Father; hopefully, everyone can spend some time with their children. To those who have lost their Dad, I hope you can treasure their memory as I do.
And from the pages of the past.
Memphis’s more advanced society life was primarily dominated by planters from the surrounding area, including Byhalia. The more affluent area planters would take seasonal quarters in homes and hotels in Memphis during winter. Frequent parties and dances were held, with the old Gayoso Hotel of Memphis being one of the social centers.
Social activities, however, were not restricted to Memphis. Sunday outings and picnics were popular gatherings for Byhalians. The larger plantations held dances occasionally in the summers but more frequently after the fall harvest. Smaller farmers and their families had socials, usually having little trouble finding a fiddler to spark the entertainment. The growing of corn was not solely for food, as some found other refreshments, especially for these social events. Additional entertaining events were shooting contests, corn huskings, quilting parties, and cockfighting.
The architectural style that prevailed during this period was determined primarily by social class. The aristocratic planters of this area usually built large two-story frame homes with wide, high porches supported by tall columns. These porches were explicitly built to keep the hot summer sun off the walls of the house; also, the front windows could be kept open even when it rained. Windows and doors were placed in direct lines of cross ventilation. High ceilings helped cool the summer heat. The families of more modest means built simple dog trot logs or frame houses, usually with a mud chimney. Many of these homes had earthen floors because of the high cost of sawmill lumber. Neither group spent much time or money landscaping their grounds with flowers, shrubbery, and beautiful lawns, as sometimes found on city estates. Hotels in small towns were rare and considered unnecessary in the early days. Visitors, drummers, preachers, etc., had no trouble finding a place to spend the night as they welcomed guests bringing new stories. Southern hospitality began with these early settlers.
Please share your news with me at jchwagg@gmail.com or text or call 901246-8843. You can message me on Facebook as Clair Wagg.