Smoke Signals and other news
We have enjoyed a lovely Spring week with something for everyone – sunshine, rain, warm, cool, wind and calm. Nature does not discriminate. Sitting on my porch, I have seen wasps, bees, many insects, and a great variety of birds – mockingbirds, cardinals, crows, hawks, blue jays, sparrows, hummingbirds, and a wren. I watched one little one stop by several times to gather puffs of dog hair on the ground to build her nest, generating some recycling and a comfortable place for her babies.
This week we enjoyed fresh catfish caught by my niece, cleaned by her dad, and cooked by me. My dad stocked the small lake many years ago in case we needed food. We usually do catch-andrelease but decided to enjoy a few this time. I truly love sitting on the bank of that old lake built in 1972 and just listen to the quiet and watch the various wildlife stop by, not so much the snakes, but the turtles, deer, and sometimes a few others. We once saw a deer chasing a small dog who must have wandered too close to her fawn. Of course, some cows come by for a drink.
With the cool mornings and warm afternoons, I am reminded of the conveniences we have today. With the flip of a switch, we can make it warm or cool with a turn of the thermostat. Some of us grew up when it wasn’t so easy. Being warm meant cutting and chopping wood, stacking it up, then bringing it into the house to build a fire in the fireplace, and don’t forget taking the ashes out and cleaning up the mess. Maybe you just had the old gas heater you could back up to. I clearly remember my room did not have heat at all. We did not have air conditioning, just large fans to help with the breeze. Some of my friends had window air conditioning, and I was always cold when I visited them. Our schools had no air conditioning, and you were glad when you got to sit near the teacher where the fan was. Windows were open in classrooms and on school buses.
On Saturday, April 29, Byhalia Area Chamber Mainstreet will host the 2023 Great American Cleanup Day from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Everyone needs to meet at the gazebo on Brunswick Street at 9 a.m. for instructions, cleaning locations, and disbursement of supplies. Water, coffee and snacks will be provided. Bring trash pickers and heavy-duty gloves.
The Garden Clubs of Mississippi Inc. and the Byhalia Garden Club present Lanoux Youth Nature Day Camp on June 1. The camp will include crafts, outdoor fun and educational programs. The cost is $20 per child for ages 9-12 and will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Snacks, lunch, and a T-shirt will be provided. Registration is required by May 9. Forms are available at Byhalia Town Hall or online at Byhalia Garden Club Facebook Page.
Now more of Byhalia’s History. James Harvey Roper was born July 6, 1825, in County Cork, Ireland. He came to America about 1850, as did many Irishmen, due to the great potato famine. He purchased land in Marshall County in 1852 along with Leonard and Sarah Roper. James H. Roper married Leathy Jane Vaughn and lived on a large farm four miles north of Byhalia on Deer Creek Road. After serving in the Confederate Army and being wounded, he came home to recuperate. Union soldiers chased him and shot the hat off his head as he left home to rejoin his division. Taking the hat back to his wife, the Union troops told her they had killed him. James, however, had escaped and sent word to his wife, who was searching the woods for his body, that he was safe. James and Leathy had five children. James died on February 10, 1873. Leathy remarried Mr. McHenry and this union produced one child. Robert Lee (Bob) Roper married Texanna Victoria Davis. Texanna Lee died in infancy. Lillian Roper (Byhalia’s famous Miss Lillian if you grew up in the 1960s) married Ernest Linwood Lea, and they had one child, Ernest Linwood (Buddy) Lea, Jr. (who married our beloved Mrs. Ruth Lea). Robert owned land in Marshall and DeSoto County, with a portion of his holdings where the four-lane Highway 78 crosses Coldwater River. Robert was also one of the founders of Citizens Bank in 1919, where the building of the Byhalia Area Chamber of Commerce Mainstreet is located.
Robert Lee Roper and Harvey J. Roper were instantly killed in the early morning of June 18, 1928, when a train hit their car en route to the Roper farm north of town. (On Deer Creek Road, you will find a road named Roper; now you know why.
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.