Smoke Signals and other news
Maybe, just maybe, Spring has arrived. Birds are pretty busy building their nests, fire ants are out, wasps are choosing the spots for their new nests, and the grass is quickly growing. I did mow a large portion of my yard this week, skirting around piles of limbs. Some of the grandchildren, Landon and Olivia Gehrke, helped me pick them up Sunday afternoon. They live in Georgia, but had flown to Texas to be with their Dad’s family. They flew back to Memphis yesterday and I only had them a few hours while Mom and Dad went Easter shopping. They flew to Disneyland Monday as a surprise vacation for their Spring break. I will get to see them again Friday and Saturday before they head back to Georgia.
Some folks are old hands at flying. I’ve only flown a few times with a few adventures of lost luggage, and almost missed connections. My grandkids, however, can tell you every step you must take for a plane ride. Hearing it from an eight-year-old perspective puts a whole new spin on it.
My dad and his parents were great gardeners. This time of year, the garden would be “broken,” and precious seeds stored away carefully from the year before would be ready to plant in the earth as soon as the danger of frost had passed.
My grandmother passed away in 1998 at the age of 99. Many years before, she gave me seeds from one of her flowers I liked the most. She called them “princess feathers.” Her instructions were to keep them in the refrigerator, and they would remain good. Two years ago, I pulled them out of the refrigerator, still in the Tylenol bottle where she had put them. I planted them in my tiny garden. Many of them came up and were healthy plants. It was a sweet memory from my childhood.
Congratulations to Byhalia police officer Anthony Whitley. Whitley recently graduated from the Mississippi Police Academy.
Construction signs have gone up on Highway 309 in preparation for the badly needed resurfacing.
Like many others, we spent some time in our closet Friday night surrounded by pillows. It is not as easy as it used to be. My husband is disabled, so getting him in our closet is difficult. There was a time when he stayed outside watching the skies during these times, but he cannot dothat anymore. I took the dog in with us, but he wasn’t so happy and escaped quickly. Next time it will be the kennel for him before the storm arrives. The cat happily inspected every corner of the closet. As for me, I sat down in a pile of pillows. There was no comfortable position for my knee that needs surgery. When the time came to get up, it wasn’t possible. After many failed attempts, I finally was back on my feet, but the knee will never be the same. My knee was swollen and difficult to walk on, but I look forward to a cortisone shot this week.
And now, another look at earlier times. Reverend Martin Pickett Myers came to Byhalia in the early 1840s and helped establish the Farmington Methodist Church in about 1843. Myers likely lived near the church before he constructed a beautiful home in Warsaw in 1850, completed in 1852.
The furniture for the Myers’ plantation home was brought from France, shipped to New Orleans, then up the river to Natchez, and hauled by wagon to Byhalia. This home has changed hands only four times until 2022. Reverend and Mrs. Myers sold the property to Joseph Lemuel Ingram and his wife Martha (Young) in the late 1850s. Myers performed the wedding ceremony for Joseph and Martha Ingram. Reverend and Mrs. Myers then moved to Texas. In 1891, the Hicks family purchased the house and land, living there until 1968, when it was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hunt III, who restored the old home, renaming it Holly Hills. It is owned by John and Sara Lyles, who purchased it in 2022. They are restoring the beautiful old house to be the showplace it once was.
Please share your news with me at jchwagg@gmail.com or text or call 901 246-8843. You can message me on Facebook as Clair Wagg.