Remembering Tomorrow...

Last evening I had a pleasant surprise in finding the Robert Duvall movie, Tomorrow, being shown on the Turner Classic Movies channel. I had not seen the movie in years and it proved yet again, to be a dramatic visual treat.

The movie is special to me as it brings back memories of a year from my youth thirty-six years ago, when the movie industry came to the peaceful beautiful rural hills of Itawamba County, Mississippi. I remember the time as if it were yesterday. Everyday quiet life here was interrupted by the excitement of filming and several county locals being cast as extras for the film. This little cinematic treasure was based upon the short story by Mississippi’s own William Faulkner with the screenplay by the master, Horton Foote. Much of the filming was done in the historic Oakland community, northeast of Fulton.

During the months the movie was being filmed in northeastern Mississippi and Itawamba County, I would clip anything related to the movie from the local newspaper and these clippings would be taped into my scrapbook right along with stories about local football games, news items about family members, school pictures and other such items important to a kid in the Itawamba County hills.

Duvall played the role of Jackson Fentry, a hill country cotton farmer who spends the winter as the caretaker of a rural saw mill. The day before Christmas, he finds Sarah Eubanks, a pregnant woman abandoned by her husband, lying on the grounds of the sawmill. The kind-hearted Fentry, a man of few words, takes her in, taking care of her. Eventually he asks her to marry him but she can’t as she is already married. The intense, moving story takes off from there.

I remember after the filming ended, local folks couldn’t wait for the movie to come out. The Southern premier was held at the old Lyric Theater in downtown Tupelo at 7:30 p.m., on Wednesday, May 31. 1972. The theater was packed and when the film credits started rolling, it has been said you could hear a pin drop.

Many have proclaimed this cinematic masterpiece to be the best adaptation of Faulkner to film and is reported as one of Duvall’s favorite roles. I definitely believe the film is a true-to-life adaptation of Faulkner and the black and white cinematography simply adds to the dramatic atmosphere of the movie. Duvall simply nailed the role as he always does, proving he is a master of his craft.

When watching this movie, I simply feel as if I am being transported back to an earlier simpler time to catch a brief sacred glimpse of how my Itawamba County, Mississippi hill country ancestors lived 100 years ago.
 

Early Morning Azalea

A pink azalea is showing its colors on a foggy early Sunday morning in Itawamba County. For the next week the azaleas should put on a colorful show throughout northeastern Mississippi.

Photograph by Bob Franks

John Wesley Buse Family Portrait

John Wesley Buse was born February 3, 1858 in Itawamba County. He was the son of William M. and Stacy Harriett Johnson Buse. William M. Buse was the son of Benjamin Buse and Elizabeth Barnett, early settlers of northwestern Itawamba County, coming from Cherokee County, Alabama. The Buse family came to Itawamba County during the 1840’s settling along the old Natchez Trace near Twenty Mile Creek. Stacy Harriett Johnson was the daughter of Arthur Johnson and Nancy Woodward of Johnston County, North Carolina and later Itawamba County.

On January 16, 1879 John Wesley Buse married Julia Meeks and after her death on May 17, 1901, married Clemmie Turner on November 6 of the same year. John Wesley Buse died on December 23, 1928 and was buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery north of Mantachie. Pictured with John Wesley and Clemmie Turner Buse are children Willie, Jack, Lela, Bob, Allen and Ben. The portrait was photographed at the Buse homeplace in the Ratliff Community during the Fall of 1908.
 

Pear Blossom Time in Mississippi

Pictured above are pear tree blossoms in an orchard on a high ridge at an old homeplace near the Tombigbee River in Itawamba County. For many years the orchard at the old homeplace was probably the source for preserves, jams, jellies and delectable "half-moon" pies fried in a black iron skillet on a wood stove.

Photograph by Bob Franks

Mississippi Hill Country Comfort Food: Potatoes and Cornbread

Potatoes and cornbread have been a staple on many Itawamba County farm tables for generations and the cooking of potatoes has been elevated to a regional culinary art form over the years. Two customary potato dishes popular in the hills for years have been thickened potatoes and country-fried potatoes.

County fried potatoes are simply Irish potatoes irregularly cut up with some diced onion, salt and black pepper added. The concoction is then dusted with corn meal and fried in an iron skillet to a light golden brown. There is nothing better with garden-fresh purple hull peas, okra and a tall glass of sweet iced tea on a hot Mississippi summer day.

Then there are thickened potatoes - another favorite companion for fresh garden peas and corn bread. Thickened potatoes are merely boiled Irish potatoes, diced into generous portions. When the potatoes are fully cooked, flour is added to the hot potatoes and stock to create a rich creamy culinary concoction. Seasoned with a charitable dusting of milled black pepper and salt, there is nothing better with hot skillet cornbread.

Recently on a chilly and rainy spring evening I had a craving for some thickened Irish potatoes and cornbread - but with a twist. I added some diced onion to the pot with the boiling potato pieces, along with some milled black pepper, salt and a little butter. After thickening the potatoes with some flour I added a little parmesan and garlic seasoning along with some grated cheese. This made the most delectable rich and savory potato soup to go with the little pone of fried stove-top southern cornbread. The end result was the above-photographed deliciously perfect twist for an old fashioned Itawamba County, Mississippi hill country comfort food.
 

The Long Journey to Memphis

The scenic rolling hills and hollows of Itawamba County in the heart of Mississippi’s northeastern hill country have created quite a few sons and daughters who have made their mark in the field of the performing arts. Virginia Wynette Pugh was born in the old Bounds Crossroads community north of Tremont. She later made her mark in the entertainment industry as Tammy Wynette, the first lady of country music. There’s James Melvin Lunceford born northeast of Fulton in the old Palmetto community, the grandson of Daniel Lunceford, a North Carolina slave brought to Itawamba County during the 1850’s. Known professionally as Jimmie Lunceford, he made his mark with his orchestra entertaining millions from America to Europe with his unique big band sound during the first half of the Twentieth Century.

Then there’s Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll. His Presley line hailed from Itawamba County where they had lived since well before the Civil War. Several old Itawamba County family lines tie into the Presley lineage and many residents today are Presley cousins. Lee County historian Julian Riley writes, “…the roots of Elvis' family tree could not be deeper anywhere on earth, other than in the hills of Itawamba County Mississippi.”

Mackey Hargett, an only child, lost his father during World War II and was raised by his mother. For years, he would hear family stories from elders in the family of the Presley line and how he was related to Elvis. He grew up during the 1950’s always wanting to visit Memphis to meet his famous cousin. When he finally became old enough to obtain a driver’s license, he bought a car, and headed from the dusty Mississippi countryside to the big city of Memphis with the object of meeting his famous cousin.

His story is the story of a young man with a dream, and that dream fulfilled. It is also the story of the Presley family at Graceland, and how they took the time to make a young man welcome in their home and making this young man from Mississippi feel a part of their extended family. Below is an abridged section of an article written by Hargett from the feature article Elvis Presley: His Itawamba County Ancestors and Cousins published in the current issue of Itawamba Settlers magazine:

The story all started in the Tilden community of Itawamba County, Mississippi. My great grandfather Wallace and Rosella Presley had a son named Jessie D. Presley. This would start the blood-line which would lead to Vernon Presley and then to Elvis. My grandmother Nora Wallace, the oldest daughter of John Wallace (pictured above left), was a half sister to Jessie D. Presley. This family connection is how I got through the gates of Graceland for almost twenty years to visit with my relatives, whom I loved dearly.

During 1957, Elvis was Elvis! He was famous around the world. Both my grandmother and mother, Lillian Hargett told me that Elvis was my cousin and offered me the history behind the family relationship. My father, Tearsie Hargett, was killed during 1944 while serving his country while fighting with the 3rd Armored Division under General Patton in France. I was not fortunate to know my dad and I did not have any brothers or sisters. The simple fact that I had a close relative who was so famous was very exciting to me.

As a child I always wanted to visit Graceland and visit with Elvis. When I finally got my driver’s license during 1960, my mother and I drove up from the Mississippi countryside to Memphis and through the gates of Graceland. My mother and Vernon Presley (Elvis’ father) were cousins and they knew each other from the days when they lived in Tupelo. My mother and father lived on the same block as the Presley’s during the Great Depression. When we finally got to Graceland my mother talked with Vernon.

Elvis was not at home that day, so Vernon told me to come back another time and I could meet him. He gave us his telephone number so we could call and make arrangements to visit. Later I returned to Graceland and Vernon introduced me to Elvis. Vernon and I were sitting in the kitchen at Graceland chatting and in walked Elvis. Vernon said “Elvis, this is a cousin of yours on the Wallace side of the family.” This was something to hear by a teenager from the hills of Itawamba County, while standing in front of his cousin, Elvis Presley, in the kitchen of Graceland.

From that point on, for the next twenty years I would call Vernon and he would tell me when to visit.

He never once said no to me when I asked, but sometimes the visits would have to be changed to different dates and times. I visited Vernon for the last time during 1978 not long before he died.

Minnie Hood was married to Jessie D. Presley, my grandmother’s half brother. I will always cherish my memories of visiting with Miss Minnie, Vernon, Elvis, Vester, Patsy (Vester’s daughter), Delta and Nash. I will also always be grateful for their kindness in taking the time to visit with me at Graceland. They always treated this young man from the rural hills of Mississippi with kindness and as one of the family. Those warmhearted memories will stay with me forever.

Photographs of John Wallace and Elvis Presley with Mackey Hargett courtesy of Mackey Hargett

Wisteria: Nature's Colorful Show

Wisteria is now blooming in the hills of Itawamba County. The delicate purple flowers hanging in pods like grapes from the towering vines intertwined in ancient trees is definitely one of nature’s spectacular shows. The warm Spring air is permeated with the sweet scent of wisteria.

Wisteria blossoms drooping down
Within the dust-environed town
To March their blooms have given.
What a pure charm their beauty brings,
As though these flowers had taken wings
And flown to earth from heaven!

From Sylvan Lyrics and Other Verses by William Hamilton Hayne, Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York, 1893