Remembering Belzoni, so Many Years Ago

My friend Andy, the Rhino, Halbrook, posted a small video clip about the 9:00pm whistle that is blown every evening in Belzoni.  Lots of folks have viewed it, liked it, and commented on it.  All this got me to reminiscing about my six yeat stay in this Delta Town.

I remember the first day we moved into the house on Kelli street.  My dad had just completed his last your with the Army and it was his time to move on with his life.

Kelli street was in a new subdivision, being built by Mr. Shannon. Kelli was the name of his oldest daughter and low and behold, we were living on her name sake.  One of my sister Julie's closest friends was her sister, Julie.  Always thought that was kinda funny.

With the subdivision being relatively new, there were lots of opportunities to pieces of lumber.  All the boys in the neighborhood would join in, grab a few boards, and we would stock pile them in our back yard.  We would save up our grass cutting money, then get on our bikes and head to downtown to the hardware store.  They sold nails by the pound, which they poured into a paper sack and we were lucky if we got home with the package intact!  We would spoend days, sawing and nailing, and fetching even more wood, til our fortress was complete!  Many an afternoon was spent playing army soldier, sometimes with an overtrnight camp out, bugs and all.  Those were the days.

We would also trek over to the Cooper plant where they made Jockey underwear.  Nowadays you call them tightywhities!  We would raid their dumpster and pull out all of the giant cardboard boxes.  We would end up in Archie Waid's backyard and make a club house out of them.  It would be a maze of tunnels and everybody had their own room.  Many a war battle was fought with sling shots and China berries from the tree next door.  Thank God we were poor shots!  Those were the days.

Many a latest spring and early summer was spent at the little league ball park..  Some older folks invented the right field lounge sitting on homemade benches along the fence, under the shade of some mighty oak trees.  I was never lucky enough to hit one over the fence.  Brother Jim had the right swing and was good for at least one or two a week.  Stubbs Drug Store gave away free milk shakes for every home run.  When Jim would hit two in a week, I was they lucky recipient of the second.  Those were the days.

Once I had graduated from playing, Dot Barron gave me a job working in her concession stand.  Her hot dogs and buns were kept warm in a steam box.  Those were by far the best dogs I had ever eaten, especially the leftovers at the end of the night.  Those were the days.

The Indian mound by the Turner house was full of activity year round.  Baseball games in the spring and summer, football games in the fall, and the fun had during snow days, sliding down the mound on a Coca Cola bottle top sign.  Those were the days.

Trips to the Yazoo River. I think every boy in town swung on that tree vine next to the cemetery and over that river, and nobody ever got hurt when they fell off.  To my knowledge, nobody ever drowned swimming across and back.  Jim and I got busted my Mom, who found our dirty underwear.  Turns out that river at the time was the sewage dump for the town.  Mom took us to the health department for a typhoid fever shot.  I thought Jim's arm was gonna fall off during baseball practice that afternoon.  Those were the days.

Watching Mr. Earl chop up that barbeque at the Pig Stand was like watching a habashi chef these days.  My favorite was the steak finger basket I would get for Sunday lunch.  Those were the days.

My Granddad was best friends with the jailer, Mr.  Huffstickler.  Many a night was spent watching the old folks play dominos at the jail.  Never did get to see the inside of that jail, now, kinda glad I didn't!  Those were the days.

Summers would get kinda slow in town.  Mr. Herb Guffrey came up with a moonlight madness carnival.  Downtown was all lit up, stores open, and people shopping, visiting, and taking in the entertainment that Mr.Guffrey had lined up.  It was even playing live over the radio of WELZ!  Those were the days.

Trips to the movie theater included double features.  White folks down stairs, black folks upstairs.  That's just the way it was back then.  Good or bad,  those were the days.

The Boy Scout hut was the center of activity for boys that needed to stay out of trouble.  I don'..emember ever getting bit by mosquitos back then, must a been all that DDT they were spraying back then.  Mr. Howell and Mr. Lister were like second and third fathers to me while my was slaving away trying to make a living farming.  It just wasn't the s.ame once the older guys left for othe
r things, leaving me to pass on the teachings to the younger ones coming up.  Those were the days.

I wasn't much of an athlete back then.  Jack Reed was coaching the Humphreys Academy baseball team back then.  As a ninth grader, he let me be the equipmcourthouse.r.  Got too see him hit a few.  New was a ball player, yes indeed!  Those were the days.

During the heyday of the catfish industry, the Catfish Festival was founded.  People from all over the State would come to town to visit, shoo the arts and crafts, listen to the entertainment, see the catfish queen and watch the catfish eating contest.  The highlight of the festival was getting a plate of fish, fries, and hush puppies, and taking a seat under one of the mighty oak trees surrounding the coLousiana.  They still have the Catfish Festival each year, but the industry has long been suffering, and those mighty oak trees are now gone.  Those were the days.

My friend Andy Halbrook still makes regular trips back from his home in Louisiana.  Looking forward to his next video clip and the story telling that comes with them.  Keep it up Rhino, your yarns about days past are quite entertaining.  Yep, those were our days!