Dear Ol' Mississippi

I have not posted in a few days, for three reasons: 1) emotionally and mentally exhausted from last week - nephew died, two classmates died, son-in-law-to-be deployment - just exhausting; 2) wanted to see if I could stick with this blogging every few days rather than daily, and 3) lazy.  My apologies for anyone waiting with baited breath for the next press of my keyboard.

With that introduction, let's discuss something near and dear to my heart lately - Mississippi.  I was born and raised there.  I did not leave until I was 27 years old - so we are talking true Mississippi bred.  I was offered full scholarships to at least one university in every state. I could have gone to Hawaii for free.  And I turned it down to attend Mississippi College, a private Christian college outside Jackson, MS. Why?  Because they were the first ones who called me by my correct name. Really?  Because I was raised that women were inferior and was scared to go too far from home.

My family is still there and I got nothing for it. Sorry.

It is a gorgeous state with some rich history, but to me, it is a good place to be FROM.  not to be.

Here are some cool facts about Mississippi - near the bottom is a list of some famous people, ENJOY!

The father of country music Jimmie Rodgers, father of rock Elvis Presley, and the father of blues BB King - are all from Mississippi - the world owes a lot to Mississippi...


The Mississippi Gulf Coast, from Biloxi to Henderson Point, is the largest and longest man-made beach in the world.

The Ringier-America company in Corinth, MS prints National Geographic.

Mississippi has more churches per capita than any other state.

H.A. Cole in Jackson, MS, developed the cleaning product Pine-Sol and is still only manufactured in Pearl, MS.

Four cities in the world have been sanctioned by the International Theatre/Dance Committee to host the International Ballet Competition: Moscow, Russia; Varna, Bulgaria; Helsinki, Finland; and Jackson, Mississippi.

David Harrison of Columbus owns the patent on the "Soft Toilet Seat." Over one million are sold every year.

The first football player on a Wheaties box was Walter Payton of Columbia.

The Teddy Bear's name originated after a bear hunt in Mississippi with President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt refused to shoot an exhausted and possibly lame bear. News of this spread across the country, and a New York merchant capitalized on this publicity by creating a stuffed bear called "Teddy's Bear."

H. T. Merrill of Iuka flew the first round-trip transoceanic flight in 1928. The flight to England was made in a plane loaded with ping-pong balls.

The birthplace of Elvis in Tupelo includes: a museum, a chapel, and the two-room house in which Elvis was born.

Emil and Kelly Mitchell, the last King and Queen of Gypsies in the U.S., are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Meridian. Since 1915, people from all over the world visit to pay respects.

The 4-H Club began in Holmes County in 1907.

On April 25, 1866, women in Columbus decorated the graves of Confederate and Union soldiers in Friendship Cemetery. This gesture became known as Decoration Day, the beginning of what we observe as Memorial Day.

Shoes were first sold as pairs in 1884 at Phil Gilbert's Shoe Parlor in Vicksburg.

Mississippi University for Women in Columbus was the first state college for women in the country, established in 1884.

Natchez was settled by the French in 1716 and is the oldest permanent settlement on the Mississippi River. Natchez once had 500 millionaires, more than any other city except New York City. Natchez now has more than 500 buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places. This is the city Sherman refused to burn because it was simply too beautiful in his famous trek through the South.

Captain Issac Ross of Lorman freed his slaves in 1834 and arranged for their passage to the west coast of Africa. They founded the country of Liberia.

Oliver Pollock was the largest individual financial contributor to the American Revolution. He invented the dollar sign ($). He is buried near Pinckneyville.

The Mississippi Legislature passed one of the first laws in 1839 to protect the property rights of married women.

The Natchez Trace Parkway, named an "All American Road" by the federal government, extends from Natchez to just south of Nashville, Tennessee. The Trace began as an Indian trail more than 8,000 years ago.

The Mississippi Delta is the birthplace of the Blues, which preceded the birth of Jazz, the only other original American art form.

The Vicksburg National Cemetery is the second-largest national cemetery in the country. Arlington National Cemetery is the largest.

D'Lo was featured in Life Magazine for sending proportionally more men to serve in World War II than any other town of its size; 38 percent of the men who lived in D'Lo served.

In 1894, Coca-Cola was first bottled by Joseph A. Biedenharn in Vicksburg.

Peavey Electronics, in Meridian, is the world's largest manufacturer of musical amplification equipment.

Proportionally more Mississippians were killed during the Civil War than from any other Confederate state.

Serving during Reconstruction, Hiram Revels was the first Black U.S. Senator.

The first Parents-Teachers Association was founded in Crystal Springs, MS.

Babe Ruth's last home run was hit off a Mississippian, Guy Bush of Tupelo.

Famous people include James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Jim Hensen, Diane Ladd, Mary Ann Mobley, Sela Ward, Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Clower, Bob Pittman (MTV), Hartley Peavey, Jimmy Buffett, Otis Clay, Bo Diddley, Faith Hill, Leontyne Price, Charlie Pride, Britney Spears, Muddy Waters, Al Wilson, William Faulker, Charlaine Harris, Tennessee Williams, and many many more

See this list for more
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Mississippi