Smoke Signals and other news
My saga continues with what started with the “metapay” withdrawal from my checking account. The charges have been refunded, but still no replacement debit card. Now some person without enough to do has completely taken over my Facebook account. Not just hacked or cloned it, but totally in control of it. It started with email messages asking if I logged in from other areas in the country or changed my password, to which I replied no. It's only gone downhill from there. My email has been deleted from the account, and others have been added. My profile picture has been changed to someone much younger, shall we say.
My profile info has been changed. My “friends” list is still intact, the best I can tell, but that's scary. Every avenue to get this corrected has been blocked. The imposter is clever in the ways of the tech world. I'm unsure what the end purpose is, but everything is being watched.
If you are looking for something new to do, check out the third Monday night music at the Old School Commons. The session begins at 7 p.m. And goes on until 10 p.m. It's free and open to anyone who wants to attend. Bring your musical instrument or just your voice and join in the fun. You can also participate in and enjoy.
The Neighborhood Grill has purchased the Whistlestop Restaurant from Olive Branch. The restaurant will hold its grand opening and ribbon cutting Thursday, Jan. 19, at 10 a.m.
Thistledome Coffee Shop continues to grow to serve the customers of the area. By the end of January, they plan to have additional seating with a breakfast and lunch menu. They will also have an antique gallery and will showcase local area artists. In the Spring, they plan to install an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. The primary location is still open for limited lunches and special events.
The Titanic special event for this weekend has sold out both shows.
Parents, I want to remind and encourage you to check out your local tee ball, baseball, and softball programs. The Town of Byhalia has taken over the operation of the fields on Lowry Road with plans for significant renovations in the works. Sign-ups have already begun.
Holly Springs has a new park director and will be signing up players soon. Potts Camp will be signing up soon also.
These three communities will play together in the Marshall County Sports Association this year. Yes, some travel to these communities for games, but the friendships made with kids across the county can last a lifetime. Many volunteers spend countless hours so that your child can participate.
Our community was saddened to learn of the passing of another citizen, Randy Turner. Randy and his wife Pamela had not been members of our community too long but fit in well. Randy had been doing excellent work organizing and bringing the cemetery records up to date.
More history. With the lands in Georgia, Virginia, and North and South Carolina being worn out from lack of crop rotation, the newly opened territory in North Mississippi was too much of an opportunity to resist. Most of these early pioneers brought as many of their families and friends as would agree to come to the new frontier, selling their homes and property and giving up their lifestyle to start over on land forested with untested but promising soil.
Traveling distances of 600 to 1,000 miles by wagon. Covering ten to twenty miles per day over little or no roads, fording or ferrying rivers and creeks, they formed caravans or wagon trains for safety and for providing companionship and assistance to one another.
Several early Byhalians came from Anson County, North Carolina, in one wagon train arriving here about 1845. They brought tools for construction, farming equipment, seed, necessary furniture, and household utensils. They came West to begin new lives with a courageous spirit that later generations have taken for granted. They depended on each other to cut timber and build homes. The early settlers often named their settlements for towns they had left. There is an Olive Branch, Holly Springs, and an Oxford in North Carolina. Some communities were named after the original or most prominent family, for example, Ingrams Mill, Miller, and Watson.
You can buy a copy of the history of Byhalia at Byhalia Area Chamber of Commerce.