Venison for the next Week

Undated photo of Billy McGee, Bobby Corbett, and Gideon Chisholm with a nice size deer. The man in back looks familiar, but I can't come up with his name (help).

Photo from Dr. Henry Outlaw

Sunday School Class about 1954

This apparently is Joyce Houston's Sunday School class in front of the Baptist church when it was on Main street. I guessed at the date as 1954 due to some of the guys wearing beards that were in celebration of Brice's Cross Roads reenactment that year.

Dig those crazy ties especially Fooly's! I'm not sure which Cox is behind Aaron - Billy? Can you remember all of them?

1959 BHS Beauties

Betty Ann Lytal - Dairy Queen in 1959 Homecoming game parade. She is wearing a tiara but it was cropped out before I edited the photo. Juanita Chisholm at right riding her horse with unidentified passenger.

Four of the six voted "most beautiful" in BHS '59. L-R Sandra Poole, Doris Robinson, Martha Ann Garrett, and Martha Ann Pratt. Not present at this photo op were Midge Stiles and Martha Sue Prather. Photos made at the old Dairy Bar area on US 45N. Miss Lytal is seen at top right in a '59 Chevrolet convertible.

Sawdust Memories

An undated photo of one of the the woodworking classes at BHS. A project each year was built by the students for their keeping. They only paid a small amount for the material. This project evidently is a cedar chest. The shop in these days, if I recall correctly, was in an added-on room at the west end of the gym.

Top, from left looks like Charles "Clubfoot" Weatherford(??), Tony Barber, and Larry Roberts. Need some help with the name of the person standing (Bobby Conwill?). Seated L-R Bonnie Ray Whitehead??, Donald Wayne Robinson, Bobby McCarley, and Larry Carpenter?

Corrections/additions needed.

"Popeye" at Work

Here is an old deteriorated clipping of Paul "Popeye" Gentry at his watch repair desk. He was a jovial and jocular fellow, but plagued by a crippling disease. He made the most of it, going to ball games and on short vacation trips in his many nice convertibles with friends and girlfriends.

This photo was made in his second location under Gordon's Department Store on South Second Street.

A jokester and always appreciative of a joke being told to him, his laughter could be heard for a long way. If you ever wondered about the origin of his nickname, he wore a jeweler's loupe on his right eye for magnification and when he looked at you, he reminded everyone of the cartoon character.

John Allen Sign

This sign is still in place on Hwy145N. This photo shows it shortly after it was erected. It is being checked out by two very attractive ladies - Mary Tom Gordon, left, and Pat McGuire.
 Does anyone know the date of this? It is March 8th of some year according to some text on the page.
 Sorry for the poor condition of the newspaper clipping.

More scenes from the old Shiloh Battle Movie

A scene lifted from the old movie shows a Rebel charge including 1-Henry Outlaw, 2-Jack Christian, 3-Ellis Wayne Christian, 4-Jim Agnew, 5-Wyatt Weatherford, and 6- possibly Bruce McElroy.

During the battle at the Hornet's nest, the brave Yankee rifleman, Henry Outlaw, raises up to get off a good shot. This is his worst mistake...

...as he is 'cut down' with opposing deadly fire and falls headfirst over the fence and lies hanging there. His day is done, so to speak.






Near the end of the movie, the battlefield hospital accepts another wounded soldier to be attended to by the Union surgeon portrayed by Dr. R. B. Caldwell.

Happy Memorial Day 2012

Baldwyn has a military display in the Caldwell Circle area, consisting of a large Army tank and several plaques on a wall and a tiled area at that wall. The tiles have names and other data of local folks that served in the military during wartime and peacetime. I had forgotten about this but visited there yesterday after church for a few minutes. Silently, I thanked each one listed there for their service to our great country. Long live freedom!

I took a couple of pics of some of the tiles. I'm sure you may recognize names of people alive and those that have passed on.

Old Main Fire and Death

Were any of you readers there?

On January 22, 1959, Old Main Dormitory at Mississippi State University was home to 1,100 college students. But early on Friday morning, January 23rd, the students were homeless. Old Main was ablaze and the ruins of the largest student housing facility in the United States would later produce the charred body of one of its own. Extremely cold weather, final exams, and students gone home for semester break contributed to the very difficult task and seemingly endless confusion of trying to confirm that all residents of Old Main had escaped the devastating blaze. After three days of investigation, evidence pointed to the strong possibility that the fire had been deliberately set. Searchers found a human skull in the smoldering rubble. The crushed skull was not the result of the fire, a fall or failed escape. It appeared to be murder. Had the fire been deliberately set to cover up a murder? How in the world does college life lead to murder and arson?

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Clipping from Brices Crossroads Interpretive Center archives. Text from a book description, wonder what exactly happened???

Bookmobile and Patrons

The Lee County "Bookmobile" on a visit to Baldwyn, late '50s or early '60s with local kids. Some of them we have identified, but not all - if you know any of the names please comment.
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Photo courtesy of Clarene Evans Houston

The UFO Chase

One Sunday afternoon at the old Baldwyn airport located east of town in a grassy pasture, some local pilots and spectators noticed a bright object in the sky. It was very brilliant and had moved across the horizon. Claude Gentry had some binoculars and after watching it for a while, decided to go aloft for a better look. A fellow pilot, Duke Young and he chased it for a long time before deciding they could not intercept it.

They noted that it had 2 distinguishable lights on it. Their non-supercharged airplane could not get high enough to get other details.

The story was something that had the townspeople talking for several days.The story at left from the Atlanta-Journal Constitution shows how far the story got.

Also several days later, the Tupelo Daily Journal got a bit of news that a similar craft, a plastic weather balloon, was found in a field near Eupora, Mississippi. They connected the stories but it is still unknown if they are realted. Don't know why they were written up as "River Pilots" in the AJC.



This is Mr. Claude and his Stinson Voyager plane. He used it for sport flying, in his business, and for
book research for some of his novels. Notice the painting on the side of the rear fuselage that is a representation of his first published book "Private John Allen".  He could get away from his business for an afternoon of fishing and be on Pickwick Lake and in his boat very quickly.
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Photo courtesy of BCR Museum, Ms Edwina Carpenter.

Henderson Chevrolet Mechanics

Pictured are employees of the old Henderson Chevrolet dealership service department in Baldwyn. Front center and right are Alfred Smith and Turner Christian.

Pete West is right rear. Can any one help with the names of the other three?

Pete was renowned to have the power to remove warts from skin. He did one for me, I recall he told me to look into his eyes and he rubbed the wart with both of  his hands. I can truthfully say it was gone in a couple of days or less.

Henderson Chevrolet was located on US145S, The City Cafe is located in that building now.
Photo courtesy of Betty Smith Massengill
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Add caption

The photo above was an advertisement for Henderson Chevrolet and shows a 1949 or 50 automobile.

Photo courtesy of Agnew's Restaurant, Pratts. Carefully restored by Clarene Evans-Houston.