Mississippi Roads; 2003; Meridian

If. You need me to show you speak. You know. I. Can't sing. With. You. Welcome back to Mississippi roads. I'm your host walk Reisen. And we're coming to you from near the intersection of I-59 high 20 and Highway 80. We're in downtown Meridian Mississippi. After a nearly total destruction at 1864. This place known as Meridian recovered from 1890 to 1930 became the largest and most prosperous city in the state.

Travel with us and meet an artist to inspire you. Why from the air with gum squash. And now you see them now you don't. They're Mississippi's ghost towns. One of meridians most intriguing stops is right here behind me the whole carousel. You. Climb aboard the plane as the circle you back to a time when life is carefree simple full of laughter. Talking can be brief rushes through your hair. Music sweep you away. A small slice of that nostalgia pie can still be found nestled in the Lydians Highland Park

just beyond the swimming pool. You find the carousel. The carousel itself was made to stop dancehall company. And Germantown Pennsylvania and 18 a night. And it was. A gentle Kompany and 19 0 4 at the St. Louis World's Fair in the city of Meridian in 19 0 9 to bring here a part of what was called a street car premier park at the time. This is the only. Two row. Stationary carousel still in existence in the world. There were years ago we were worn out three. One was sold and dismantled when the other one no longer operates I believe it was an 18 wheeler. Now there are all the care sales in the other two rows of three rows. With this being a two row station there that the animals don't go up and down like some do. And it's the only one in the world. Documented other. Tribes still exist. How many have

been replaced with barbed wire. To find a machine. The 53 originally there. And the unique thing about the fairy. Tale is also. Heresy. Trials. A lot of. This carousel house was specially doctor visit on just one city of radium Microsoft that saw him fail and it's the only one laughing United States designed by Mr. Denzil. The city of Meridian purchased a carousel for $2000 in 1989. Today it's worth millions. Carousel contains 28 hand carved animals. One lion. One tiger to be year two goats. Two drafts. 20 horses. And teach chariots. And they are hand car that's what makes them unique. There's no machine turning on their hand polished their hand painted. Most of the animals where have anywhere from 12 to 50 different color paint. Oh there will be.

A bridal wreath on one animal that may have 10 colors on it. In 1978 a Mr Yarbrough who was the director of Parks and Recreation called me and he said Ms road mom I know you love it. That merry go around. He said I've got bad news for you. The floor gave in during the night and the floor had been pulled out of center right in. The can that comes out of the place and it's the poorest of Hugo. And we've had considerable rain. AS. Well there and when I got out there at that table you saw was tipped at about 40 years ago. Some of the animals would fall in the hole and we took them all out and I think I don't think I was smart enough to be original about it but I had seen somewhere where from Carousel animals were in business houses for years and that sort of stuff.

Public buildings with a sign on him you know about raise money and that's what we did. And no and I went out and I had a lot of people who helped and we raised about not quite a quarter of a million. And that's what it cost to put it back in shape the first time. Radians Densil carousel and Carousel house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. October of 1986 national landmarks. Just because they are historic as he can't enjoy them to the fullest extent. I've had people come before and I ask because I'm poisoned by the news. Because there would never tried to get them. To have a beautiful ride. I made a conscious decision. To keep it. Off already

and it becomes a call for one. But if. It. Is a tragedy we can say we were one of the car. No matter what age you are whether you're 6 or 60 or not on. The carousel. Me. You're young. Bring back the laughter. And bring back fond memories. And. That's one people. Coming to the carousel. It is a tourist attraction here in the rain bringing people from all over the world to see our carousel carousels blindness and pain. We're talking to Chancellor He's the owner of whiteman's restaurant in Meridian. And then the mayor

of Meridian John Robert Smith. Who Tell me a little bit about wide wings. Well. It's one of the oldest freshman from the country it's been. And been there since 1870 it's been in the same family since that time my wife is a fifth generation. I'm not allowing that they allow a man into this. And I've been here almost 30 years and we want only a handful of reference at a band and business as long as we have been spit on by the same family. John Oliver this is a unique area what is so special about radio. Well we're ready and slept through our urban renewal. Thank goodness so we have a downtown fabric that still exist on like I think any other city in the safety and certainly have an adult skyline with a three foot building where one of the cities in the state with such a lot of done a foul ball style on the Capitol making all the money. Morning you'll find the radiant Union Station which is our historic railroad terminal that has been reconstructed and is not only unique to the state but unique to the nation and has

won a number of state national and international design awards and who is it's just a shame we couldn't get a mayor that had little energy. I tell you what I'm glad we don't have my wife only I'm going to say I've got a word in edgewise. Oh congratulations we're impressed with the town and thank you for let us come over to. The dental carousel here in Meridian is truly an artistic masterpiece. And then our next stop another example of fine art flourishing here in Mississippi. Let's drop in on Jackson artist Sandy McNeil. When I first started out back in the 70s painting professionally food was mainly water colorist and. I use a lot of those techniques in the office once. I became completely aware of the whole thing into or painting. I use a lot of turpentine

washes the way that one would use water color washes them. Then I'll go to the heavier wallpaper paints which are usually whites or yellows or something and start cutting away so that the trees really do come out of the mist rather than are sitting on top of it. I would probably be categorized as a traditional realist. But I feel like I am the recipient of all these ages of artists breaking through. An artist is not just one dimensional and I think sometimes when you try to pigeonhole them it doesn't always come to fruition. In studio painting you have to use the sense of what you remember from being out on location which is when we were out and you Tom. There if there was just a magnificence of landscape in its

scale. But also in color and in essence I think the snow just picks up all of the colors around it. So in doing a painting on a snow scape then I will go over to make sure. That the whole thing agrees so the church believes believing that you are they are in this one area and that maybe this was just that snowfall. I want to. Say. That here in my husband's home Lisa gets what building is for sale and I want I had things from the last two or three years and I thought. What a metaphor artist. And I have I had the claim and so the wonderful architect named Robert Polk Robert purchased the building and is. This. Of redoing it and there will be. Apartment. An artist's studio and

some businesses and there is a huge gallery area down which two friends of mine and I've already had a show. I'm. So proud of him. He has taken a piece of Jackson really kept it I think the building was built in 1928 as you can see the windows are eight by 10 feet. I have a wonderful 50 feet of North fly which is incredible. When I asked seriously started thinking of my next trip I did go to Italy and painted in France. I was. Once you've had two. Good. Experiences you kind of OK how am I going to top this how am I going to find a place that's going to have as much as they had to offer and. My friend Carmen peers who was our. Arcas truck conductor here maestro and I would come up as we're

talking. You gotta come to Arlen. And. I said well there you go. Gotta go. I came back with 50 rolls of film. And I think ended. And or started about three or four. Ball playing. And then. I had done about. 10 watercolors and several sketches of people. But I think. The most I did was. The photographs. Because I come back and. Put my memories together with the photographs and some of the sketches that he had. To to produce a show usually takes years maybe to. The producer. About 20. Pieces. I guess that. Success comes from being able to do what you really want to do and the fact that I have been fortunate to do that started in

1976 painting full time. And in painting as in most starts it takes a certain amount of time to. Really learn your craft in one. Way. I'm still. Finding out something new every day. I have. About settled on the ballot. I'll go for years and I add another color or something that I have established my pal and you know which is you know the artist's signature the colors that one uses becomes what you imagine that artist to be like. But that would be the success that I have I think been able to do this for this many years. I'm. Blessed beyond belief to do that. Some people call the ghost squadron. Let's go back and visit the Confederate Air Force. This week's classic road segment.

Asked. And. Bit of a problem. The whole world especially. The. Elder coven out there that I see among members of the CAA office. Under a strong desire. To preserve the old machine. Come from so many different. Slices so many different strata

that that's still a common thing that I see and see. Yourself would go to see if to preserve in flying or. There. Might be 30. Or. 40 by the time oh ok. So see if it all a wonderful God never spake it's only music version anyway. The six airplanes and I go back a long way. Each time and they're. Not just lively debate but each time that you say that you go out and practice an air show or a bad routine. You forget the day they problem. You forget that you're 45 years old. You forget that you know a lot of money. You forget all those things and

become. You in an airplane. And. I think that will hold true for anybody. That's it's got Will and I think that this is part of the. Reasoning that they've got. Rather than the fish and know the fan base but I mean the people that have got their war burger I think this is part of one. It's an amazing fact that. Even though it takes six was trying or that every day every Saturday or Sunday every holiday from the time the War Began to the time the war ended you know it. Production of that period I built almost 11. Every day. In order to get a quantity of just that model airplane. They are. In this incredible production capacity of the United States has got that this tuning of this this monster that we that we had during that period is very impressive. But. The thing that. That I try to do with the CA of on the history lesson so to speak is. Let. The people know that that that we

did have a successful military adventure that we did. We were. Rolled. By these aggressive nations and we were behind and World War theater 6 right airpower by the world for example ahead of us and in a short period of time and we had won on two fronts in a very decisive way. They had been a successful military operation. For the United States since that time. We haven't wanted decisive victory and we're not in Korea not in Vietnam not in. And now it's a period in time and that if an American knew about it should be proud to know or should be proud of proud of the accomplishment and we've not very many do especially of the of the young. So this is what we're trying to do. I have people come from Germany far and wide to take out check out

I'll get some in the tea 6 airplane. A mostly modern night out of some never flown a conventional geared airplane much less a heavy conventional gear. So. Without doubt William it's MO it's an instructor student relationship and we don't ride up and you know when most of the time on the CFA but Owsley have been more or less of. A homecoming sort of thing is somebody from. Far away that I haven't seen. In a loud and we'll really have a problem and maybe I've got a problem with this and I think I need a park to let you know. Were you sat down about inflation and we had today. Where were today's problems and rarely some of the contemporary people that are some of the people that I was in the military with Ashley. Oh rare occasion and we really owe the good old really. Wrong Right.

Real soon. You. Will be a. Little. Over history. Then. Vanished then a show. From the ghost quadrant or ghost town sweep got some of them in Mississippi and our namesake river but a couple of that white one. Old Man River Jerome Kern declared just keeps rolling along. Well as it grows it also weeds from side to side over time. Or at least it used to until the Corps of

Engineers reined in somewhat. But before then on its way to the sea the Father of Waters walked away from one Mississippi river port and ate most of another leaving both little more than dots and names on a map and not even all maps and places where legends have taken the place of people. People who were left high and dry in one case and homeless in the other. Leaving both of them as ghost towns where we can explore. The other two places I have in mind are Rodney and Grand Gulf at one time or west Twin Cities on the Mississippi between Vicksburg and Natchez rotten even went by the name of petite Gulf. To compliment the grand counterpart just a few miles up the river. This is Rodney on the western edge of Jefferson County. It once was a river port given about equal billing as any other report in the state by Mark Twain in his book Life on the Mississippi. One said stores in a bank in a school and homes and all sorts of things and people. In the river ran at the foot of the town back when the town was founded.

And the reason I think for Romney being located here this is another of those places where the high southwest Mississippi blubs ran right up to the river and everywhere the bluffs touch the river the town was located there. Natchez Rodney Grand Gulf in Vicksburg with the Natchez and Vicksburg surviving their barrels with the river but not rotting and not Grand Gulf. Sometime in the 1880s the Mississippi River began to migrate westward several miles westward before they headed down leaving little bit bogs and bean fields between it and its former port city of Rodney. And a river port town needs a river in order to survive. And that was the case here. As the waterfront dried up sort of the town until today I'm not even sure you can call what's left here a shadow of the old town. What's left here today is hardly a shadow of what was here just a few years ago with morbid neglected buildings being either torn down or moved all the time. And are there really just two nice size landmarks in Rocky today. One is this remarkable Zion Missionary Baptist Church building with its rounded steeple.

Vines we have steeples of much older churches in Woodville some of the oldest places of worship in the state. Perhaps this one was modeled after one of those down river. And the other a landmark here is the former Presbyterian church of Rodney. The congregation disbanded in the 1920s and the building is more or less just a destination for backwoods Explorers now. Years ago I ran across an old man here and Rodney that told me that he would meet travelers who had searched out Rodney and found the old church and offered to make them official members of the church and most people thinking they were going to be humoring the old man took him up on it and him with his hat off his head and reverently say some words over them and wave his hands before them and then pronounce it done and then with a grin on his face he had inverted his hat hold it out in front of him and invite the new converts to participate in their first official act as members. And offering. Well the old church still shows a scar from the civil war. See if they're above the middle window. That's a union cannonball lodged in there. Now I'd

be less than truthful if I didn't tell you that I think it's been lovingly and carefully lodged in there but it is a spot where the church really did catch a shelling on a Sunday morning from a union gunboat park out there in the river. From the days when the river was just right there. There used to be more churches here than these two and one of them the wood frame Catholic Church building from Rodney is now up river and our other ghost town Grand Gulf now a part of the state park. Grand Gulf too was a big river reported one time Grant one of the land his troops at Grand Gulf when he was making his big push across the Mississippi River from Louisiana in 1863 as he embarked for Vicksburg. But the town's location on the bluffs gave it the advantage especially coupled with the firepower for Colbert about a mile away. So Grant took his army farther south and they crossed over routes bird. But even though Grant couldn't take Grand Gulf the river did. The Mississippi shifted course and ate about 50 blocks of the city. And from up above there still faint traces of where

city blocks were once laid out. If you the river didn't get out when it came down and helped itself through large portions of real estate from which along with a devastating tornado and about her two with yellow fever the town never recovered. But a couple of the town's original houses that survived the war and were high enough up on the bluffs to survive the river are still here in the park. At the Grand Ole cemetery up on the Hill where some of the Stones have interesting epitaphs. You'll have to come read some of them live real ghost towns courtesy of the wandering river that gave our state it's name. Interesting old places to wonder off to yourself where the boss used to meet the river. Now just where shadows of the river's past are there to greet anyone who will take the time to once again pass this way. Well thank you Meridian for opening your doors to us. I walk right in and I'll be seeing you on Mississippi roads. Meanwhile I got one last ride on the carousel.