A MDAH Publication  |  Volume 44 No. 7  |  July 2002

July Kidstuff

Manship House Workshops
Summer workshops for children ages 5-12 will be held Monday mornings during July at the Manship House Museum, Jackson. On July 1 and 8, children will create paper fireworks and play Independence Day games. On July 15, they will learn about shadow play. On July 22 and July 29, they will learn to make 19th-century noisemakers such as a cornstalk fiddle or a corncob voice disguiser. All workshops are held from 10 to 11 a.m. and are free of charge, but since space is limited, reservations are required. Call 601/ 961-4724.

Discovery Week at Grand Village
On Monday, July 15, through Friday, July 19, at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, Natchez, Discovery Week daily sessions will introduce children ages 8-11 to Native American culture, archaeology, and nature studies. There is a registration fee of $25. For more information call 601/ 446-6502.

Winterville Adventures
On Monday, July 15, through Friday, July 19, the Winterville Mounds, Greenville, will offer a series of workshops for children ages 8-12. For information on individual workshops, call 662/ 334-4684.

Natchez Indians Reprinted

The Natchez Indians, by Jim Barnett, director of the MDAH Historic Properties Division, has been reprinted. A history of the prehistoric Indian tribe that lived in the Natchez area with its ceremonial headquarters at the Grand Village site, The Natchez Indians is illustrated with maps, photographs, and historical drawings and provides a comprehensive reading list and a glossary of selected Natchez Indian language terms. As director of the Historic Properties Division, Barnett supervises the administration of the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, Historic Jefferson College, Winterville Mounds, Windsor Ruins, and Department archaeological sites. Copies are available from the Old Capitol Shop (601/359-6920) at $10 each plus tax and shipping.

Local Historical Societies Busy

Projects being undertaken by the Newton County Historical and Genealogical Society include photocopying the WPA records at MDAH, a memorabilia fair, and collection of all extant church records in the county. The Brandon Historical and Genealogical Society has reviewed proofs of its new pictorial history of Brandon. The Carroll County Genealogy Society is coordinating a workspace for volunteers from the Genealogy Society of Utah who, following an MDAH records inventory, will review and microfilm chancery court records in Carroll County. The Round Island Lighthouse Preservation Society continues to seek new members interested in helping to restore and preserve the lighthouse on Round Island.

Gold Coast Music Festival Planned

Plan now to attend the First Annual Gold Coast Music Festival September 7-8 at the new Adams Street Park in Flowood along the fabled “Gold Coast” of Rankin County. The festival will be launched with a ceremony celebrating the area—just east of Jackson and north of Old Brandon Road in Flowood—with the dedication of an MDAH historical marker. During the 1950s and 60s, hotels, nightclubs, and cafes lit the night sky along the strip, and national jazz, blues, and big band groups entertained regularly. When Mississippi became the last state to repeal prohibition in 1966, the clubs—long the sole source of alcohol for Jacksonians across the Pearl River—began to close up. A “Legends of Music” roast and dinner—this year honoring Spinners vocalist G. C. Cameron—will follow Friday ceremonies, and Saturday will offer music, crafts, and food throughout the day and into the evening. Multi-level sponsorship packages are available. Contact organizer Davie Lindsey at 601/936-9084 or email him at goldcoasthissoc@yahoo.com.

MDAH Board and staff members toured the new William F. Winter Archives and History building after their quarterly meeting in Jackson May 24.

National Preservation Conference

October 8-13, 2002, Cleveland, Ohio. To register or for information, call 800/944-6847 or visit www.nationaltrust.org.

New! Historic Properties for Sale:

Visit www.preservationdirectory.com

CHARM: Preserving Rural History

The newly formed Consortium for the History of Agricultural and Rural Mississippi, housed in Mississippi State University’s Mitchell Memorial Library, is collecting historical materials related to Mississippi agriculture, forestry, and rural life. Initial partners are the MSU libraries, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, the MSU Extension Service, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “Agriculture and forestry have played significant roles in the development and history of this state,” said Vance H. Watson, interim vice president for agriculture, forestry, and veterinary medicine. Noting that MSU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is celebrating its centennial in 2003, he said the new collaboration is a way to highlight the continuing economic, social, and cultural contributions of agriculture and forestry to the state. An important collection has already been donated: more than 300 scripts and nearly 17,000 negatives from the 1954-61 television feature “Farm Family of the Week,” broadcast by WLBT-TV in Jackson. The materials were donated by the late Howard Langfitt, longtime host of the program. The larger CHARM collection contains diaries, account ledgers, and other materials, including photographs of the first mechanized cotton picker, introduced in the state during the 1930s. To expand accessibility, CHARM will digitalize materials and make them available on the World Wide Web. For more information about the consortium, call Frances Coleman, 662/ 325-7661.

Published by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History • Elbert R. Hilliard, director • Chrissy Wilson, editor
Please send correspondence to: MHN, P.O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205 or email to pubinfo@mdah.state.ms.us