A MDAH Publication | Volume 46 No. 12 | December 2004

Old Capitol Shop Open House

The public is invited to the Old Capitol Shop's annual Open House on Sunday, December 5, 12:30-4:30 p.m. The Shop stocks a full selection of books by Mississippians and about Mississippi, and authors of six new books will be on hand to autograph copies from 2 until 4 p.m.: Witnessing by Ellen Douglas; Hurricane Camille by Philip D. Hearn; Grandma's Biscuits by Robert Little; Great Houses of Mississippi by Mary Carol Miller and photographer Mary Rose Carter; and Easy Does It Entertaining by Patty Roper. The Honor Choir of the G.N. Smith Elementary School, Jackson, will perform at 3 p.m. Favorite gift items to be found at the shop include Walter Anderson art, Raku pottery, hand-blown glass, McCarty pottery, Choctaw baskets, handmade jewelry, and much more.

Eudora Welty Print Series

Internationally known artist/book illustrator Barry Moser is creating five limited-edition prints depicting Eudora Welty at different times of her life. The sales of the prints will support the opening and operation of the Eudora Welty House. The first woodcut, Eudora Welty, c.1990 was made available for purchase during 2003. Now the second print (left), Eudora Welty, c. 1985, is available. Each 5.5 x 6.25 (image) print is in a limited edition of 125 and is signed and numbered by the artist. Twenty-five prints are retained by the artist to form portfolios (available at a later date). To order this print and support the Eudora Welty House, send a check for $260 ($250 plus $10 for shipping)-and $17.50 tax if you are a Mississippi resident-made payable to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to Eudora Welty Print, P. O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205-0571 or call 601/ 576-6921.Prints are mailed in acid-free packaging. Sales are limited to one print per person. Barry Moser's body of work includes almost 200 volumes that he has illustrated or designed, including Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, which won the National Book Award for Design and Illustration in 1983.His Pennyroyal Caxton Bible has been exhibited at the National Gallery of Art, the Israel Museum, and other galleries.

Christmas card, c. 1940s, from MDAH Elms Collection. Alma Kellogg Carpenter, who has lived at the Elms in Natchez most of her life, received this card and included it in the valuable collection.

Give the Journal of Mississippi History
Here are the subjects of just a few of the outstanding essays some of you missed reading in 2004:
Medgar Evers, publicist, and the role of the press in Mississippi's struggle for equality
Ole Miss law professor William P. Murphy and his defiance of segregation
the buried town of Cotton Gin Port—a meditation on place
Frederic Bancroft's notes on African Americans in Mississippi after emancipation
the spring 1862 Campaign against Corinth
the FBI's counter-intelligence program against the Ku Klux Klan
the 1932 Biloxi seafood workers' strike
The Journal of Mississippi History also features book reviews, history news, and more. To subscribe, send a check for $25 to MHS, P. O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205-0571.

Coming in 2005

The annual Genealogical Seminar, presented by the Mississippi Genealogical Society (MGS) and MDAH, will be held on Saturday, January 15, 2005, at the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center, Jackson. Robert Young Clay, senior genealogical reference archivist at the Library of Virginia for thirty years, will be the speaker. Admission to the seminar is $30, with lunch optional at an additional $15. There is a $2 discount for MGS members. Send check payable to the MGS to P. O. Box 5301, Jackson, MS 39396-5301.

A License Plate for MDAH?

MDAH is considering offering a specialty license plate to increase public recognition of the Department and to generate additional funding for programs during these times of major budgetary constraints. We would like to know 1) if you would purchase an MDAH specialty plate at the cost of an extra $30 per year, and 2) if you have suggestions for a logo and short slogan for the plate. Please send your comments to pubinfo@ mdah.state.ms.us or Public Information, P. O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205. Thank you!

Mississippi History NOW

"Cooperative Farms in Mississippi," by Fred C. Smith

At a place called Delta Cooperative Farm, families from Arkansas and Mississippi (nineteen black families and twelve white families) began a radical and visionary experiment in American agricultural history.

READ ABOUT IT AT http://mshistorynow.mdah.state.ms.us/

MDAH Holiday Events

Christmas at the Old Capitol, Jackson, December 1-23: a giant native cedar tree and antique toys, four smaller period trees, the Old Capitol trains traveling through the 1940s railroad town of Possum Ridge, "The Small One" film, wreaths and traditional decorations, the Old Capitol Shop Mississippi gifts, more. For more information, call 601/576-6920.

Holiday Concerts

Sunday, December 12, 3 p.m. at the Old Capitol Museum of Mississippi History, the Oakdale Elementary School Singers, Brandon, will perform.
Sunday, December 19, 3 p.m. at the Old Capitol Museum, the Saint Andrew's Cathedral Choir with the Capital Brass, Jackson, will perform. For more information call 601/ 576-6920.

Old Jackson Christmas by Candlelight Tour, Friday, December 3, 5 to 8 p.m.: Ride the bus between the Old Capitol Museum, the Manship House Museum, the State Capitol, and the Governor's Mansion and enjoy beautiful traditional decorations and music. The first bus leaves the Old Capitol at 5 p.m.

A Manship Family Christmas, Manship House Museum, Jackson, December 3-23: a family celebration of the mid-nineteenth century, with native greenery and authentic homemade cornucopias, paper snakes, gilded pinecones, and Victorian-era dishes such as plum pudding, cakes, tarts, and made-leines. At the St. Nicholas Day Crafts Workshop on Monday, December 6, children ages five to twelve can make a Victorian gift. Call 601/961-4724 for reservations.

Children's Victorian Christmas Celebration, Historic Jefferson College, Washington, December 11-29: Christmas trees decorated imaginatively by local and regional fifth-grade classes fill the site's historic buildings. For more information call 601/ 442-2901.

Christmas at the Governor's Mansion, Jackson, features traditional holiday decorations crafted from seasonal greenery, fruit, and nuts for the holidays. The historic section is open for free guided tours Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 to 11 a.m. on the half-hour, December 2 through 21. Reservations must be made in advance for groups of ten or more. The Governor's Mansion will be closed December 22- January 3, 2005. To confirm the availability of the Mansion for tours or for more information call 601/359-6421.

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