Hopson Plantation

Duff Dorrough

2011-09-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

A benefit fund has been set up at Planters Bank for Duff Dorrough-- the name is " Duff Dorrough Benefit Fund". If you would like to contribute, you can do so by going by Planters or mail check to Planter's Bank, P.O. Box 9, Ruleville, MS 38771. Make Check payable to ' Duff Dorrough Benefit Fund" and put attention to same on the outside of the envelope. Question: call the bank at 1 662 756-4321 ask for Chris West or Amanda Ware.
Also trying to set up a blood drive for Duff. Please keep Duff in your prayers.

Jerry Lee ‘Duff’ Dorrough was born in Memphis Tennessee and raised in Ruleville, Mississippi, the Heart of the Mississippi Delta. Raised up with Blues, Country, Gospel & Pop musical influences, he sang and played drums with local bands throughout high school and college.

The core of Delta musicians that began as The Sausage & Biscuit Boys soon morphed into The Tangents in 1981, featuring Duff with piano man ‘Fish’ Michie and sax player Charlie Jacobs. They stormed the honky tonks from Memphis to New Orleans to the Western states.

Duff formed The Revelators in 2001 with Bobby Harris and Jim Ellis from Drew, Mississippi and the group appeared regularly on Oxford’s Thacker Mountain Radio. The Revelators cut their self-produced cd at Sounds Unreel in Memphis in 2002.

In 2004, Duff released Peace In The Lily of the Valley on Black Dog Records and was invited to join Jim Dickinson in the Thacker Mountain House Band, The Yalobushwackers.

He lives on Sunflower River in The Mississppi Delta and continues to play and record.

Clarksdale Flood of 1897

2011-08-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

Clarksdale Flood of 1897

Patsy Hamilton found a letter that was written to a Mr. N. E. Offenheiser of the Yazoo-Miss. Delta Levee Board. The signature on the letter can't be made out. I will be putting the entire letter up on the website soon. This is a small part of the letter which deals with the flood.

On April 4th 1897 about eleven A.M. The Rev. W.B. Murrah stepped before the congregation and made a the announcement that he had a telegram from Tunica advising that the Levee had broken at Flower Lake. The Mayor Mr. Walter Clark, requested all men present to meet him down at the bridge over the Sunflower River at 2nd St. All the men ran from the Church to the River. They started plowing Sunflower St with Oxen and all the men used shovels and hoes to pile the dirt as high as they could all the way down Sunflower to protect the town.

The men continued to work and it began to rain. The town had enough water from the rain to ride in boats all over town. The town ran out of whiskey. All the men pooled their money and Howell Hopson called B.J. Semmes in Memphis and asked him to send down two barrels of whiskey on the Kate Adams to Friars Point.

The following morning Hopson got into a boat he had tied to a sycamore tree at the top of Cutrer hill. Hopson went to Friars Point for the whiskey, and returned that afternoon about 4 P.M.They rolled out and placed the barrels on the side walk. Each man had his tin cup ready and had a wonderful celebration.

The water from the flood reached the levee they had erected but not up against it. The town was not washed away.

Juke Joint Festival Music Line-up

2011-04-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

Juke Joint Festival Weekend!

Hopson Commissary Music Line Up

Friday April 15

9pm- Bruce Brewer & The Deep Water Baptists- main stage

Eden Brent- back porch

Saturday April 16

12 noon- KM Williams & Washboard Jackson

2pm- Paul Ray Thomas

3pm- Deak Harp

4-7- Tullie Brae

9pm- Big George Brock & The Houserockers- main stage

Bearnie Pearl- back porch

Take the train to Hopson

We will have crawfish & BBQ to eat on Saturday

Friday April 22

Willy Waggs

9pm

Saturday April 30

One Way Out Band

9pm

Hopson Commissary

PO Box 1486

Clarksdale, MS 38614

(662) 624-5756

Don't Forget!

Pinetop Services

2011-04-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins

July 7, 1913 - March 21, 2011

It is with deep sadness that we announce Pinetop Perkins passed away peacefully at home on

Monday, March 21, 2011 in Austin, TX at the age of 97.

Visitation and Funeral Services

Clarksdale, Mississippi

Century Funeral Home - Clarksdale, MS

Thursday, March 31, 2011

The weekly jam at Ground Zero Blues Club will be dedicated to Pinetop in Memoriam.

Donations will be accepted. The jam will be hosted by Philip Carter and the

Blues Underground and is an open jam starting at 8:00PM.

Visitation

Friday, April 1, 2011 - 4:00pm - 7:00pm

Century Funeral Home

506 Ashton Avenue, Clarksdale, MS 38614

662-627-4182

Ground Zero Blues Club will host a reception for friends and fans of

Pinetop from 2:00PM - 6:00PM. Hors d'oeuvres will be served and the

bandstand will be available to anyone who wants to play.

Funeral Service

Saturday, April 2, 2011 - 11:00am

Century Funeral Home or larger venue TBA

506 Ashton Avenue, Clarksdale, MS 38614

662-627-4182

Burial

Saturday, April 2, 2011 - immediately following funeral service

McLaurin Memorial Garden Cemetery

Highway 61 North

Clarksdale, MS 38614

Celebration of Life and Repast

Saturday, April 2, 2011 - immediately following burial

8:00PM - Music by Guitar Mikey, Billy Gibson, Peter Nunn plus Special Guests

Hopson Commissary

8141 Old Highway 49 S, Clarksdale, MS

662-624-5756

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinetop Perkins RIP

2011-03-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins

It is with deep sadness that we announce that Pinetop Perkins passed away on
Monday, March 21, 2011 at his home in Austin, TX.

Arrangements are pending and will be announced as soon as they are formalized.

ENTER SITE

History of the King Cake

2011-02-24T05:40:00.000-08:00

History behind the King Cake...

As part of our Christian faith, the coming of the wise men bearing gifts to the Christ Child is celebrated twelve days after Christmas. We refer to this as the Feast of the Epiphany or Little Christmas on the Twelfth Night. This is a time of celebration, exchanging gifts and feasting. Today, the tradition continues as people all over the world gather for festive Twelfth Night celebrations. A popular custom was and still is the baking of a special cake in honor of the three kings called "A King's Cake."

Inside every cake is a tiny baby (generally plastic now, but sometimes this baby might be made of porcelain or even gold). The tradition of having King Cake Parties has evolved through time, and the person who receives the slice of cake with the baby is asked to continue the festivities by hosting the next King Cake party.

Originally, King Cakes were a simple ring of dough with a small amount of decoration. Today's King Cakes are much more festive. After the rich Danish dough is braided and baked, the "baby" is inserted. The top of the ring or oval cake is then covered with delicious sugar toppings in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold.

In more recent years, some bakeries have been creative with stuffing and topping their cakes with different flavors of cream cheese and fruit fillings.

January 6, the Twelfth Night after Christmas, is also the day our Mardi Gras season begins. Mardi Gras Day is always 47 days prior to Easter Sunday (Fat Tuesday is always the day before Ash Wednesday).

So, in Louisiana especially, Mardi Gras season and King Cakes go hand in hand with literally hundreds of thousands of King Cakes consumed at parties and office lunch rooms every year.

Ordering King Cakes over the internet has now become an annual tradition by consumers all around the world - and many of our bakers offer them year round. After all, you can't have a Mardi Gras party without a King Cake!

"RIP Ginger" GG

2011-01-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

Good-Bye, My Friend

Oh, Ginger, do you recall,

When you made this house your home?

You were just a ball of fluff,

Not even halfway grown,

You stumbled when you learned to walk,

It was hard to steer four legs;

you learned to sit, and stay, and come,

And, of course, you learned to beg.

You loved those walks we used to take,

you never left my side;

And if I got my car keys out,

You were ready for a ride.

You sensed when I was happy,

Or was feeling kind of low;

You'd rub up against my knee,

You always seemed to know.

You'd fetch a ball or get a toy,

Without even being told;

But, was you face crestfallen,

If I felt the need to scold.

You found the outside world exciting,

Do you remember your first snow?

You'd not come back inside the house,

Because you loved it so.

Going to the vets for shots,

I guess was your greatest fear:

You seemed to know each scheduled date,

Though you went but once a year.

I never once felt lonely,

As long as you were here;

You were at my feet or at my side,

You constantly were near.

Oh, I am going to miss you,

No question about that;

But, Ginger, for your pain to go,

I had to send you back.

You're going back to heaven now,

From whence long ago you came;

You'll be welcomed back by God, Himself,

Who knows your doggy- name.

I think there's blue hand balls up in heaven,

And rubber, squeaky toys;

And angels who will play with you,

And little girls and boys.

But, there won't be any thunderstorms,

And no vets with shots up there;

You won't even need a leash,

You'll run freely in God's air.

And when my time on earth is done,

And at heaven's gate I'm near,

I don't want any harps or horns,

Just... happy barks to hear.

So, see you later, Ginger,

I'm glad you're now pain-free;

And I'm glad you're sitting next to Jesus,

Now... you wait right there for me.

Update to Hambone's Mexican Christmas Party

2011-01-05T12:44:00.000-08:00

I recd a thank you note from Linda Love today...(the girl that the Christmas gifts went to for her grandchildren, from Nabors Chev) As I told ya'll, the morning I delivered the gifts to Nabors, she started crying and said that that Hambone was still here taking care of her. I could feel his presence there with me that morning.

Her Note:

"I really am grateful and hope that you know how happy I am to be telling you so."

She wrote::::It is with a sincerely grateful heart that I thank you for the loving gift you gave my family for Christmas. This only goes to show that Christmas is still about Christ and is in your hearts. I pray for you a bounty of blessings and may God always keep you in his hands. With love, Linda Love and Family

She said it was the best Christmas those children had ever had.....I thank all of you, too. Love Patsy

ps...she laughed and told me that a stray dog has shown up at Nabors and she just knows that it is The Hambone, ha

PATSY HAMILTON

TAX DEPARTMENT

INFOLAB INC CLARKSDALE

patsyhamilton@infolabinc.com

Blues Harmonica Jam Camp

2010-12-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

Gindick's Blues

HARMONICA

JAM CAMP NEWS

"Information, Experience, Inspiration"

Hopson Plantation http://www.hopsonplantation.com/

March 22-26 2011
May 24-28 2011
September 27-Oct 1 2011

So Much to Share!/

I hope that you are happilly harping and jamming

and pursuing your musical dreams.

Please remember that my business is helping you

get better on harp. Don't be shy.

Check out my websites and see your many options.

http://www.gindick.com/

http://www.bluesharmonicajamcamp.com/

http://www.musically-hopeless.com/

http://www.youtube.com/jamcamp06

http://www.jongindickband.com/

http://www.sonnyboyclub.com/

Damn I've got a lot of websites!

I am very happy to report that we have gotten the Sonny Boy Club

off the ground and in two weeks we have raised over a thousand dollars.

Please check out the website I built (all by myself I might add)

and also the Tutwiler Health Clinic Website.

It's a tremendous opportunity for harp players to make a tangible difference

in the lives of Sonny Boy's people.

Please if appropriate, make a contribution spread the word.

Here's the basic idea.

MS Blues Trail

2010-05-27T05:37:00.000-07:00

Check out the MS Blues Trail. MDA will now be starting to work the Country Music Trail.
www.msbluestrail.org

Mississippi Blues Trail License Plates

2010-03-11T05:21:00.000-08:00

MISSISSIPPI BLUES TRAIL LICENSE PLATES ARE NOW AVAILABLE

INDIANOLA, MS - After working for almost two years to get Mississippi Blues Trail license plates approved by the state legislature, pre-sold to meet the required minimum, in production, and available at the local tax assessors' offices, members of the Mississippi Blues Foundation can finally see the fruits of their labor. "We had a Blues Trail marker unveiling in Benoit this week, and it was a great feeling to see several vehicles there with the new tags," said Janet Webb, a member of the Miss. Blues Foundation. Luther Brown, who is also a member of the Blues Foundation and a major proponent of the license plates, attended the unveiling and echoed the sentiments of Webb. They explained that it had not necessarily been an easy sell early on when they were trying to get people to commit to purchase a tag, not knowing exactly when they would reach the magic number of 200 to satisfy the minimum requirement. There were also people who wanted to wait until closer to the time that their current tags would expire.

These specialty tags cost $31 extra, with $24.50 of that going to the Miss. Blues Commission to help fund its projects, including aid for older musicians as well as helping with expenses of the Miss. Blues Trail marker program. Brown, who is the director of the Delta Center at Delta State University, conducts many bus and blues tours throughout the year and knows how important the exposure of the Blues Trail is to visitors to the state. "It's like a miniature billboard," Brown said. "Someone may see the tag and start asking questions about the Trail, and it gives us a great opportunity to tell the person about our musical heritage and how proud we are of that," he continued.

Now that the license plates are in production, anyone interested in having one can order it from their tax assessor's office. It typically takes from seven to ten days to receive it after the order is placed. Webb thinks that the final product was worth the wait. "I've had many people call me and tell me how proud they are to finally have it on their car," she said.

Shurman

2010-03-09T07:01:00.000-08:00

Shurman Live @ The Commissary

Universal Republic / Sustain Records recording artists Shurman will be bringing it's high energy brand of southern rock to The Commissary this Friday March 12th. Riding high on the critical acclaim of there new studio album Still Waiting For The Sunset, Aaron Beavers and the boys (Shurman) are gigging from one end on the country to the other. In between a week long stand in Key West and a slew of performances in their home town of Austin during South By Southwest the band is stopping into Clarksdale Mississippi with the hopes of entertaining the old fans and converting all the new ears that cross their path.

www.shurmanville.com

Pinetop Perkins Foundation

2010-03-04T07:40:00.001-08:00

The Pinetop Perkins Foundation plans to offer an annual Youth Workshop Series to bring world-renowned blues artists for instruction and mentoring to young musicians. The Foundation intends for this series to be an annual event of national stature.

We are pleased to announce the inaugural event for musicians young and old. The Piano Master Class - the inaugural event of the Youth Workshop Series - will be held August 3, 2010 - August 4, 2010. Open to the young and the young at heart, it will be held at the historic Shack Up Inn and Hopson Plantation in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The event will conclude with a wrap up jam concert hosted by Bob Margolin at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale on Thursday, August 5th. This event immediately precedes the annual Sunflower Blues Festival in Clarksdale.

Selected to lead these workshops are three award-winning recording artists; Eden Brent, Ann Rabson, and Erwin Helfer. The workshops will consist of two advanced and one intermediate level master class. The advanced level will be limited to 8 attendees and the intermediate to 12 attendees to ensure a quality educational experience for all.

The cost of the workshop will be $375.00 for the Advanced level and $300.00 for the Intermediate level. The cost will include two days of personalized instructional classes plus lunches.

The Pinetop Perkins Foundation has been awarded a generous grant from the Rock River Foundation, founded by Morgan Freeman, which will enable us to extend a number of scholarships to Mississippi youth to participate in this unique and rewarding learning experience.

. Youth Workshop Series:
Piano Master Class
Aug 3, 2010 - Aug 4, 2010
Piano Master Class
Shack Up Inn and
Hopson Plantation
Clarksdale, MS
Aug 5, 2010
Performance
Ground Zero Blues Club Clarksdale, MS
Registration Form

Scholarship Application

Lodging Information

Instructor Bios

Ole Miss Cardinal Club

2010-03-02T05:49:00.001-08:00

Cardinal Club Returns to Ole Miss

By Jeff Roberson

Posted Jul 14, 2009

| More

Many Ole Miss people remember the Cardinal Club and have seen its “Welcome to Ole Miss” plaque where University Ave. meets the Grove and its signature light in front of Fulton Chapel. Inactive for 40 years, the Cardinal Club has returned.

In an effort to restructure the Student Spirit Committee, the Associated Student Body at Ole Miss has reorganized it as the Cardinal Club, bringing back a more than 80-year-old tradition this summer.

Ole Miss student Peyton Beard of Tupelo, the director of athletics for the Associated Student Body, is heading up the efforts.

“One of the goals of my platform was to restructure the Student Spirit Committee,” said Beard, the first president of the revived Cardinal Club. “One of the main goals of the Cardinal Club was always school spirit and trying to get the freshmen involved early, get them to understand the Ole Miss spirit and traditions.”

An early football season pep rally is in the works for this fall. Definite plans for that have not yet been set. It will likely be in conjunction with the first home game vs. Southeastern Louisiana. Plans also include a yell practice for fans and students, especially freshmen and transfers.

“A lot of them won’t know the cheers, and we’d like to add more excitement to the games and make the atmosphere more electric,” Beard said. “And we might even be able to develop some new traditions.”

The Club is sponsoring a “Game in The Grove” Thursday, Sept. 24, for the Ole Miss-South Carolina contest, televised by ESPN. A large screen will be set up on the Grove stage, much like the one for the Presidential Debate last fall. This event will be for all fans as well as students who can’t make the lengthy trip on a school night.

“We want this to be a fun event for everybody,” Beard said. “We want it to be a regular Grove atmosphere. Being on a Thursday makes it hard for students to attend the game. Hopefully they’ll watch it in the Grove along with fans from the community. It will be fun having everybody get together.”

Another planned activity is a “Rebel Road Trip” which is set for the Auburn football game Oct. 30-31. This is for Ole Miss students. The Club is currently looking for sponsors for this Rebel Road Trip effort to help keep costs down for the students who will attend.

And it’s not all about football. The Cardinal Club hopes to also have some events in conjunction with basketball games, baseball games, and other contests, like the Student Spirit Committee has done in the past.

The "new" Cardinal Club isn’t intended to be a large group of students. The organizers hope to keep it around 30 members who work hard at organizing and carrying out the events surrounding Ole Miss sports.

“In the past, I’ve been a part of the Student Spirit Committee, and the number signed up was large,” Beard said. “But attendance at the meetings was small. We might have 60 members but only eight or 10 would show up. It wasn’t the organization that it started out to be or that it could be.”

So a new direction was decided upon and just in time for what should be an exciting sports year in 2009-10. Those involved are serious about their efforts to make it work.

“There is an application process, and there is also an interview,” Beard said of potential members. “We will choose members from that interview process. During the summer orientation, there was a table set up with information about the organization and the events for the fall. We’ll do that again during Welcome Week when school starts.”

Since its beginnings in 1927, the Cardinal Club served several different roles and functions, from social activities to school spirit.

“It really started out as a way to greet and entertain visiting teams,” said Sovent Taylor, the group’s advisor and also an alumni assistant and club coordinator with the Ole Miss Alumni Association. “Surprisingly enough, the first team they greeted and welcomed to campus was LSU. It was never a huge group, only 20 or so. But it was an important part of Ole Miss for a lot of years.”

But after 1969, for whatever reasons, it ceased to exist.

Now seemed like the perfect time to revive it and allow it to be a driving force behind school spirit.

“There’s a lot of hype going into this season,” Beard said. “It’s a lot different this summer. Some students didn’t even show up at games in the past. Now people are even talking about SEC championships. With the success of last football season and with the outlook for the future, everybody’s so excited.”

And for the first time in 40 years, the Cardinal Club will be a part of it.

Jon Gindick Jam Camp

2010-02-18T09:17:00.001-08:00

If You Love Blues Harmonica and Playing The Blues, Join Jon Gindick and His Coaches in the Heart of the Mississippi Delta For Your Next Blues Harmonica Jam Camp.

A Limited Enrollment 5 Day Jamming and Learning Vacation
for Diatonic Harmonica Players--
with a Focus on You, the Fundamentals of Blues
and the Joys of Jamming.

Sign up for The Jam Camp News with Jam Camp schedule plus tips and tab on better playing.

Here's the Jon's Delta Team of Performing and Teaching Coaches

Jon Gindick of Los Angeles, blues guitar and harmonica
Hash Brown of Dallas, blues guitar and harmonica
RJ Harman of Denver, blues harmonica
Cheryl Arena of Dallas, blues harmonica and vocals
Brian Purdy of Florida blues harmonica
Adam Gussow of Oxford,Mississippi, blues harmonica and guitar
Guitar Mikey and The Real Thing of Clarksdale, Mississippi
PLUS about 30 fellow "Campers" from all over the world.

Mississippi Delta Jam Camps March 23-27, 2010 and also September 28 to October 2, 2010
$995.00 for seminar only.
Lodging and Food Very Cheap .
.
. About our Mississippi Jam Camps The Mississippi Camps are held at The Shack Up Inn, 3 miles outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi. If you are flying, you will probably want to fly into Memphis, get a ride, or rent a car to drive down "The Blues Highway" (HIghway 61) about an hour an a half to Clarksdale. (We will help you find a drive-mate.)

2010 John Busby Memorial Busby Stew Super Bowl Extravaganza

2010-01-22T05:27:00.000-08:00

2010 John Busby Memorial Busby Stew Super Bowl Extravaganza

Who: The Hopson Commissary,Cathy and James Butler, Robert Birdsong,Kenny Denham and all who knew John Busby and wish to pass along his spirit of giving to the community through his love for curative cooking.

What: The 2010 John Busby Memorial Brunswick Stew Super Bowl Extravaganza will celebrate the memory of John Busby and the extraordinary dishes he shared so generously through the years with all who knew him. It was a tradition for John to invite friends to bring over whatever was in their freezer, with which he would prepare delicious dishs for the crowd. This year without John's talent in the kitchen, we will take those deer,duck, or whatever is brought to the Commissary and make a Brunswick Stew. Rumor is Kenny may have a Busby speciality there for everyone to enjoy.

This tradition will live on and now with a philanthropic component. This year's proceeds from donations for the Buzby Stew will be offered to the Busby family to help defray some of the medical and burial expenses incurred recently due to John's illness. In the coming years Meg Busby will be asked to choose a charity that John would have supported and all proceeds will go to that charitable organization. In addition to the donations for a bowl of Busby Stew, all money from the game board will be given to the Busby family as well.

Where: Hopson Commissary, Hwy 49 South, Clarksdale Ms
When: Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7th Doors will open at noon,
Why: To honor the many contributions John Busby made to his family, friends and community through the generosity of his cooking skills and his unselfish giving of time and energy.

To contribute items from your freezer, please deliver them on Wednesday, Febuary 3rd, or Thursday,Febuary 4th, before the Super Bowl to Hopson Commissary. For additional information or to schedule a drop-off time please contact James Butler, jbutler57@yahoo.com or call 662 902 3866.

Come join the celebration of John's life and generosity, watch the Super Bowl on the two new huge flat screens, make a donotation to the John Busby Stew Fund, grab a bowl of delicious Busby Stew and give back some of the love that John spread around so selflessly.

We look forward to seeing you there

John Busby "RIP"

2009-12-30T12:27:00.000-08:00

"Only the good die young" I have heard that said many times. I liked the Billy Joel hit song by that same name. I can't say that I know that it is true. I can say that it seems to happen to offen.
Karr West asked me when I told him the sad news, Who do you think John first went to see when he got HOME. I don't know the answer to that,but, I do think that the first thing John asked was, "Where is the kitchen".
When I first met John I thought that I knew how to cook. I only thought I did. John knew cooking and I learned as much as I could from him.
I think that we will be seeing a lot of very heavy angels from now on. I know that my father will have fun cooking up there with John till I can join them one day.

History of the Cotton Picker

2009-12-30T12:17:00.000-08:00

http://www.dafvm.msstate.edu/landmarks/07/fall/4-6.pdf

copy and paste the link to your address line.

RIP David

2009-12-30T06:10:00.000-08:00

Museum Mourns Loss of Delta Musician
We are sad to report that David Paul Burchfield died December 26, 2009 following a car accident near Leland, MS. Services will be at 11 a.m. today at the Interstate Baptist Church, Shaw.

David was the leader of the band "The Electric Mudd" and he played professionally throughout the region. He gave guitar lessons to aspiring musicians. David taught classes at the B.B. King Museum and was a popular performer at museum events and programs.

Burchfield was born on July 22, 1977, in Cleveland, MS to James William "Billy" Burchfield and Alma Marlene Bowen Burchfield. He married Nicole "Nikki" Roberson on July 12, 2003 and they have a two year old daughter, Piper Elizabeth.

After graduating from Mississippi Delta Community College with an Associate of Arts Degree in Field Technology, he returned to MDCC to pursue a music degree. David will be missed by his fans, his students, his friends and his family.

An online guestbook may be viewed and signed at
www.rayfuneralhome.net

Reviews from Tripadvisor

2009-12-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

“Cadillac Shack Lived Up To Our Expectations”

Shack Up Inn

We stayed for one night on a motorcycle trip through the Blues Country. Everybody who loves Blues or appreciates that the Blues was the beginning of all music should make this trip some day. We really enjoyed everything about the Shack Up Inn. We were there on a Tuesday night and not much happens on a Tuesday in Clarksdale so we missed out on the juke joints (sniff, sniff) and Madidi and almost missed Ground Zero. We managed to hit that for lunch before we left town.

We stayed int Cadillac Shack and were warmly greeted upon our arrival. There was a group staying on a work retreat of some sort and they hired a band. We were invited to come by and listen which we did for a little bit.

The best time we had was when we wandered up to the Commissary and found a nice little bar. The owner and his family were very friendly. We sat for a couple of hours drinking beer and meeting the locals that stopped in. That really makes a trip for us. This was one of our fondest memories of our entire trip.

We enjoyed every minute we were in Clarksdale. I cannot imagine being back in the area with all the other rides to do but if I am I won't be sad to be there. It was a journey that I will not soon forget. Thank you to Robert Johnson and all the other bluesmen/women who blazed the trail to provide me with many hours of listening pleasure. My heart was full and truly grateful for their sacrifices and talents.

“Our most unique trip ever”

Shack Up Inn

Trip type: Couples Even if you see their website, you have to experience this place in person.

Stayed in one of the Cotton Gin bins, the shacks were booked up. What a hoot this place is. The room was all we needed, actually larger than most hotels.

The treat is wandering around the property. Make sure to take it all in. There are unexpected experiences all over in places some people may miss.

We were lucky enough to have found the Commisary open after we got back from dinner at a nice restaurant in town. This place is a cross between a movie set, museum, country store and a honky tonk. We ended up sitting at the bar talking to the bartender who actually is a tour guide in the area and is remarkably knowledgable about blues history. He might have exagerated or embelished some of his stories. But, it was a unique experience to go along with the stay.

2009-12-11T08:54:00.001-08:00

Music for The Holidays at Hopson.
Celebrate The Season With Us!
      Friday December 11
Willy Waggs
Country/Rock Band
  9pm
Have Dinner With Us

  Thursday December 17
Zak Kiker- Acoustic Blues
Solar Porch- Acoustic Blues Duo
Acoustic Blues Music
8pm

Saturday December 19
Mexican Christmas Party
Bruce Brewer & Deep Water Baptists
Country/Classic Rock Band
9pm


                               Wednesday December 23
Tacky Christmas Party
DJ
9pm

Christmas Night
Friday December 25
The Shakerz
Classic Rock Band
9pm


New Years Eve
Ring In The New Year with
Radioflyer
Classic Rock Band
9pm

Hopson Commissary
PO Box 1486
Clarksdale, MS 38614
(662) 624-5756

Hopson Halloween 2009

2009-10-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

Big George Brock

2009-10-06T13:41:00.001-07:00

Great New Taxi service in Oxford, Mississippi

2009-09-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos of his Taxis
Here's the link:http://rockstartaxiandlimo.com/

C A L L: 7 0 1 - 7 0 1 9
Rock Star Taxi & Limo Oxford, Mississippi
Rock Star Taxi & Limo is Oxford's best taxi service. We have awesome cars, and our drivers are awesome. Why ride in Grandma's minivan with a confused old man when you can ride in:
The A-Team Van
Pimp Mobile
1975 Presidential Limo
Many More
Take the party... to the party!
Prices
Anywhere on campus = $6/person
Anywhere off campus = $8/person
Happy Hour is 5PM - 9PM = All rides half price
Call for Sunday rates to Tunica, Taylor, and Colonel's Quarters
Rides
C A L L: 7 0 1 - 7 0 1 9
rockstartaxiandlimo.com

Harmonica Jam Camp

2009-09-11T08:02:00.001-07:00

Harmonica Jam Camp Seminars
Photo Slideshow of Jam Camp (Requires the Slideshow Plugin)

If You Love Blues Harmonica and Playing The Blues, Join Jon Gindick and His Coaches in the Heart of the Mississippi Delta for a Blues Harmonica Jam Camp.
A Limited Enrollment 5 Day Jamming and Learning Vacation for Diatonic Harmonica Players-- with a Focus on You, the Fundamentals of Blues and the Joys of Jamming. with Jon's Team of Performing and Teaching CoachesJon Gindick of Los Angeles, blues guitar and harmonica Hash Brown of Dallas, blues guitar and harmonica RJ Harman of Denver, blues harmonica Cheryl Arena of Dallas, blues harmonica and vocals Brian Purdy of Florida blues harmonica Adam Gussow of Oxford,Mississippi, blues harmonica and guitar Guitar Mikey and The Real Thing of Clarksdale, MississippiPLUS about 30 fellow "Campers" from all over the world.Mississippi Delta Jam Camps Sept. 8 -12, 2009 and also March 23-27,2010$995.00 for seminar only.Lodging and Food Very Cheap .
About our Mississippi Jam Camps The Mississippi Camps are held at The Shack Up Inn, 3 miles outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi. If you are flying, you will probably want to fly into Memphis, get a ride, or rent a car to drive down "The Blues Highway" (HIghway 61) about an hour an a half to Clarksdale. (We will help you find a drive-mate.)

2009-09-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

Blues Trail Car Tags

2009-09-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

The License Plate Campaign is well on its way to making the next deadline.
The Mississippi Blues Foundation is committed to finding
the number needed to meet the October deadline.
We still need your help to make the plates available January 1, 2010.
The Mississippi Blues Foundation is a 501c3 organization.
www.msbluestrail.org
Click license plate icon in top right corner of website for order form, also.

Pink Floyd

2009-09-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

Acoustic Piedmont guitarist and singer Floyd "Dipper Boy" Council wasborn on this day in 1911 in Chapel Hill, NC.The rock band Pink Floyd got their name from the first names of Piedmont Blues men "Pink" Anderson and "Floyd" Council.

Marshall Drew Band CD Release Party

2009-08-20T04:56:00.000-07:00

Hopson Commissary

Sun Aug 23

4-8

Marshall Drew Band

CD Release Party

Robert"Bilbo" Walker Benefit

2009-08-14T05:29:00.000-07:00

Benefit show at the Hopson Commissary

Sat August 15

8pm

Robert "Bilbo" Walker's House Burns

CLARKSDALE BLUESMAN'S HOUSE BURNS: Clarksdale-born Robert "Bilbo" Walker's house in his adopted home of Bakersfield, CA, burned to the ground on Monday evening, July 20th, 2009, while he was back home in Mississippi performing and visiting family. It was a complete loss estimated to be $85,000 according to the local fire dept. (27 firefighters worked the blaze.)

Cards and donations may be sent in Robert Walker's name to: Bertha Partee, attn. Robert Walker, 1581 Alan Drive, Clarksdale, MS 38614. Bilbo Walker has recorded albums for the Rooster Blues and Fedora Records labels and was featured in the recent documentary "M for Mississippi." He will perform at Red's Lounge on Aug 6, Sarah's Kitchen on Aug 7 and Do Drop Inn (Shelby, MS) on Aug 8 and 9.

Robert "Bilbo" Walker

Birthdate - February 19, 1937Birthplace - Outside of Clarksdale, MS Current Residence - CA
Robert Walker is a bluesman, he's a rocker, he sings country, he'll even throw in a bluegrass number just to see what happens. He dresses like Liberace, plays guitar like Chuck Berry and his flamboyant style has made him notorious.

He's spent his time paying his dues. He played the clubs in Chicago, the jooks in Mississippi, and road houses up and down the "Blues Highway". Then he took his music to California and started all over again. He loved California so much that he finally moved there. He never forgets his roots though and every few months he packs up his retinue of friends, family, and musicians and makes the 2000 mile trip from California back to Mississippi.

You always know when Robert Walker has arrived in town because it is guaranteed to be a traffic stopping entrance. Whether its an old grayhound bus he's revamped into a Walker mobile or a truck he's temporarily painted up to show who's on board it's guaranteed to be attention getting and as flamboyant as the man who drives her.

His stage performances are full of energy, he dances, prances, and revs up the audience. Whenever he comes to town the jooks are going to be hopping. So if you are traveling through Bobo, Mississippi some evening and you see a large crowd of people going into Thompson Grocery stop and see if Robert "Bilbo" Walker is in town. Then prepare yourself for some Blues.

Les Paul RIP

2009-08-13T12:13:00.001-07:00

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Guitar legend Les Paul died today. The guitarist and inventor changed the course of music with the electric guitar and multitrack recording.He also had a string of hits, many with wife Mary Ford. He was 94.According to Gibson Guitar, Paul died of complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital. His family and friends were by his side.

He had been hospitalized in February 2006 when he learned he won two Grammys for an album he released after his 90th birthday, "Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played.""I feel like a condemned building with a new flagpole on it," he joked.As an inventor, Paul helped bring about the rise of rock 'n' roll and multitrack recording, which enables artists to record different instruments at different times, sing harmony with themselves, and then carefully balance the "tracks" in the finished recording.

With Ford, his wife from 1949 to 1962, he earned 36 gold records and 11 No. 1 pop hits, including "Vaya Con Dios," "How High the Moon," "Nola" and "Lover." Many of their songs used overdubbing techniques that Paul the inventor had helped develop."I could take my Mary and make her three, six, nine, 12, as many voices as I wished," he recalled. "This is quite an asset." The overdubbing technique was highly influential on later recording artists such as the Carpenters.

The use of electric guitar gained popularity in the mid-to-late 1940s, and then exploded with the advent of rock the 1950s."Suddenly, it was recognized that power was a very important part of music," Paul once said. "To have the dynamics, to have the way of expressing yourself beyond the normal limits of an unamplified instrument, was incredible.

Today a guy wouldn't think of singing a song on a stage without a microphone and a sound system."A tinkerer and musician since childhood, he experimented with guitar amplification for years before coming up in 1941 with what he called "The Log," a four-by-four piece of wood strung with steel strings."I went into a nightclub and played it. Of course, everybody had me labeled as a nut." He later put the wooden wings onto the body to give it a tradition guitar shape.

In 1952, Gibson Guitars began production on the Les Paul guitar.Pete Townsend of The Who, Steve Howe of Yes, jazz great Al DiMeola and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page all made the Gibson Les Paul their trademark six-string.Over the years, the Les Paul series has become one of the most widely used guitars in the music industry. In 2005, Christie's auction house sold a 1955 Gibson Les Paul for $45,600.

The Bottle Tree

2009-08-13T06:36:00.000-07:00

BOTTLE TREES
Felder and a bottle tree at Disney's Epcot Center
The first bottle tree I remember ever seeing - at least the first one anyone explained to me - was alongside a dusty farm road alongside the Sunflower River, which snakes through the heart of Mississippi Delta cotton fields where I was raised. I was fifteen years old.

Since then I have photographed hundreds of these unique landscape accessories, from every state in the South to gardens in the Pacific Northest, Southern California, New England, Midwest, and even in upper Michigan. Plus Europe, South America, and Africa.

Many web sites now mention bottle trees, and quite a few offer them for sale. But most continue to pass around the same tired old history and lore, without getting into the, uh, "spirit" of what they are all about. This page - and my link to bottle tree history - is a partial compilation of many years of observation and research.

For thousands of years, superstition has held that bottles can trap bad spirits at night, which are then destroyed in the next day's sunlight - legends of "bottle "imps" and geniis in lamps originated in Arabia over three thousand years ago, and have been handed down through sub-Saharan Africa, up to Europe, and finally to North America.

For more bottle tree history go to my History of Bottle Trees. See below:
Meanwhile, here are just over a hundred examples of my hundreds of bottle tree photographs; all are original images except for three which were shared by friends.
ENJOY! Or better yet, GET INSPIRED!
Rural Mississippi Bottle Tree

History of the Bottle Tree
In Africa the kongo tree altar is a tradition of honoring deceased relatives with graveside memorials. The family will
surround the grave with plates attached to sticks or trees.

The plates are thought to resemble mushrooms, calling on a
Kongo pun: “matondo”/”tondo” [the kongo word for “mushroom” is similar to their word “to love”].

During the slave trade this tradition migrated to the southern United States where the slaves would place bottles in trees in hopes that the evil spirits
would go into the bottles and be trapped. Once the evil spirits were trapped the slaves would cork the bottles and throw them into the river to wash away the evil spirits.

The Bottle Tree Man has modernized this tradition with his welded wrought iron “Tree” base. What are the advantages? It endures the elements very well, and is removable and can be relocated. Most importantly, the Bottle Tree or Bottle Bush does not sacrifice a live tree for the yard ornament. The bottle tree is based on the belief that the shiny, colored glass can attract and then trap the evil spirits.

It is a beautiful addition to any garden. The colorful glass adorning the “limbs” will catch the light of the sun and will display a
dazzling light show.

My Story

I made my first bottle tree as a favor for my wife after I was inspired by seeing a milk churn filled with metal rods with bottles on the ends. She loved it, and soon word got around and I had more orders than I could fill on my own. I asked a long time friend to help me with the welding, and John Sabin accepted during 1997.

I started the website with help from my son-in-law in late 2005 and had immediate success with visitors and customers from all over the country. In the fall of 2006 John left to pursue missionary work, since then I have been working on my own with occasional help from family
and friends.

I have been having a great time supplying customers with beautiful trees for their homes and businesses. I hope to continue for many years to come!In summer 2008 we are delighted to introduce a new member of the Bottle Tree factory, Lee Stowers
http://thebottletreeman.

Tommy Polk

2009-08-07T05:18:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Natchez Characters - Tommy Polk 2009 Kisatchi-Delta Regional Grassroots Citizen of the Year
Kisatchie-Delta Regional Executive Director Heather Smoak Urena presenting 2009 Regional Grassroots Citizen award to Tommy Polk Natchez/Vidalia resident Tommy Polk was honored with the 2009 Regional Grassroots Citizen Award at the annual Kisatchie-Delta Regional Planning & Development District banquet on July28 at the Main Street Community Center in Pineville, Louisiana.The Kisatchie-Delta Regional Planning & Development District, Inc. is a nonprofit, planning and development agency serving Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, La Salle, Rapides, Vernon and Winn Parishes in Louisiana. The agency provides economic development assistance to the region in order to create and retain jobs and improve the quality of life in the area.This is the third year Kisatchie-Delta Regional has presented the Grassroots award, which is intended to recognize an individual outside of local government and/or the professional field of community and economic development for their contributions with the Kisatchie-Delta District.Polk, a native of Concordia Parish, returned to the area in 2007 following a successful 20-year career as a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, and in the hospitality industry in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His Natchez guesthouse, Shantybellum, is an adjunct to his guesthouses in Clarksdale. In addition, Mr. Polk has contributed his talents both in business and in music to assist in the revitalization of the music culture in Ferriday, Louisiana. In 2008, Polk received funding from the Louisiana Lieutenant Governor’s office and the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism for the first annual Ferriday Songfest, which was held in October and was attended by songwriting hopefuls from Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Mr.Polk was nominated for the award by Concordia Parish Economic Director Heather Malone with a letter of support by Vidalia Chamber of Commerce Director Jamie Burley. “Tommy is always there with a willing hand as well as a smile on his face,” said Ms. Burley. “His kindness and generosity have affected not only me and my family, personally, but also the Kisatchie-Delta Region. It would be nice to have a few more Tommy Polks roaming Concordia Parish." Kisatchie-Delta Regional Executive Director Heather Smoak Urena agreed: “ [Ms. Burley] specifically mentioned Tommy’s enthusiasm, originality, good-natured outlook, and willingness to go the extra mile to help both individuals and the community,” said Urena, “and we are pleased to join her in these accolades.” The award came as a surprise to Mr. Polk, who said, “I’m very honored and deeply touched to have received such wonderful recognition.”Story and Photo by Elodie Pritchartt

Sam Carr Day

2009-08-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday August 9th 2:00PM
Hopson Plantation Commissary

Come join Sam Carr and a lineup of world class musicians at the 3rd Annual Sam Carr Appreciation Day from 2-8 PM. Past performers include James “Super Chikan” Johnson, Billy Gibson, T Model Ford, Robert “Bilbo” Walker, Terry “Big T” Williams,
Mississippi Adam Riggle, 19th Street Red, Bill “Howlin Mad” Perry, Stan Street, Terry Harmonica Bean, The world famous Mississippi Spoonman, and many others. Wait until you all see who all we have lined up this year!!

World Class Entertainment – Great Food – Excitement

This years Raffle and Auction include an autographed Fernandez Guitar, lodging at the Shackup Inn, Merchandise from Delmark Records, Earwig Records, Cathead Delta Records and folk art, Hick’s BBQ and Tamale Shop, Delta Amusements and many other great prizes from local merchants and Restaurants!!

Flyers courtesy of Tricia’s Italian Restaurant and Pie Hole, 226 Yazoo, Clarksdale

Sunflower Festival Late Show @ Hopson

2009-08-03T05:16:00.001-07:00

Jimbo Mathus

Friday August 7th

Hopson Commissary

10-til

Big George Brock

2009-07-20T07:04:00.001-07:00

Big George Brock

2009-07-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

BIG BROCK'S 'BLUES BUS' HITS HIGHWAY TO MISSISSIPPI DELTA
St. Louis, MO (7/16/09) -- 50 years after St. Louis-based bluesman Big George Brock left a cotton plantation in the Mississippi Delta, the stage is set for a big return via an old-school 'blues bus.'
"I may be 77-years-old, but I ain't dead yet," joked Brock. "I've got Big George fans older than I am here in St. Louis, so I'm taking some of them back home with me. We're going to have a wang dang doodle down there in Mississippi."
As part of his blues homecoming celebration, Brock is bringing his new blues bus down to the old Hopson Plantation in Clarksdale, Mississippi -- just south of Memphis. He'll be performing a concert there on Saturday, August 8th (10pm) during Clarksdale's Sunflower River Blues Festival weekend.
"It's a big blues weekend in the Delta, so you know Big George just has to be part of it," according to Brock's manager and owner of Clarksdale's Cat Head blues store, Roger Stolle. "Big George grew up just outside of town here, where he worked on cotton plantations, fought in local boxing matches and learned to play the blues from guys like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. He loves to come home and play for visiting tourists and his local fans."
The eternal showman, Brock has never stopped looking for ways to entertain his fans and spread the word about upcoming performances. Three years ago, after he retired his last tour bus, he started renting one as needed. Then, in May, he came across "a deal he couldn't pass up," vowing to buy it and make it "extra special" this time.
"One of my fans here in St. Louis said she'd paint it for me," Brock explained. "I want folks to see that bus, turn around and follow me down the highway to Mississippi. We'll give them a real blues show down there -- not rock or rap -- just pure and natural blues."
Brock's artist-fan is Carol Boss. She's spent much of the past month painting the new bus based on photos by another avowed Brock fan, Joseph Rosen.
"Big George is a really big guy with a really big personality and stage presence," said Boss, who also operates a small design firm in St. Louis. "I just jumped at the chance to try and paint something as big as he is. When I drove it by his house the other day, he was all smiles, and I have to say, it turned a few heads on the drive over."
Boss cites the support of friends, family and C.R.E.W. Construction of St. Louis for helping to complete the big, bus undertaking.
"After they heard about the project, everyone volunteered to help out," recalled Boss. "It's not every day that you get to paint a bus for a musician from the Muddy Waters generation. It was a true team effort and a lot of fun."
Brock's new blues bus hits the highway for the first time next month for his homecoming performance at Hopson Commissary on August 8th (10pm). He'll also perform at the Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art store on that Sunday, August 9th (noon).
To book a reservation on his "Delta Blues Bus Tour," contact Big George Brock at 314-531-9207. For more information on Hopson Commissary, go to http://www.hopsonplantation.com/. View Brock's upcoming concert schedule at http://www.cathead.biz/. Visit Carol Boss Art at http://www.carolbossart.com/.

Duff and the Moonbeams

2009-07-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

Duff and the Moonbeams
Hopson Commissary
Hwy 49 South
Sat July 18th
9-1

The Clock

2009-07-13T05:32:00.000-07:00

The Clock

Thank you Chuck Lamb for the great picture of the clock.

Losing the clock is a grim reminder of our fate
For Clarksdale my friends, it may be later than we think. Our town has endured an acute, 20-year social and economic decline, which has left in its wake a bone yard of iconic tombstones.
By RANDALL ANDREWS
Monday, March 20, 2006 3:00 AM CST
Now defunct buildings and signage remain where once-thriving businesses used to open their doors, six days a week. The sounds of old National cash registers ringing, car doors opening and closing, and the clomping of busy feet stepping with purpose and verve have slowly faded into a surreal echo in our memory's' ears.

Today, those ambient trumpets of commerce and prosperity have been replaced by the chilling winds of uncertainty and desolation. In essence, our downtown becomes a ghost town around 6 p.m., each day. And those monikers of yesteryear-The Alcazar/Central Building, Okun's Shoe Store, Williams Rexall, etc.-- are left alone to endure another long night amidst a scene straight out of the Twilight Zone. They seem to await their eternal peace, where they can finally join their friends in Old Town Heaven. The Paramount, original Elks Club and Woolworth's will be there with a host of others to greet them. And now, thanks to our neighborly friends at AmSouth Bank, one of Clarksdale's most valuable and definitive landmarks has been quietly sent out to a similar pasture. (Drum roll, please!)............

The Coahoma Bank Clock no longer oversees the corner of Yazoo and Third. London has Big Ben, New York, Times Square. For over 50 years, Clarksdale has had the Coahoma Bank Clock. Despite this comparison and truth, the cherished and ornate clock was quietly removed last Friday afternoon by AmSouth, without a word, and destined for the junkyard. No plans for its removal or announcement of the bank's intentions were made to Clarksdale. In my opinion, this act is comparable to that of flying a crop duster into the old Quaker Oats building. A thousand hats should go off to Ronnie Drew for saving it and relocating the clock to Hopson Plantation. At least it is in safe keeping for now.

The only thing more troubling than the act itself is the blatant indifference attached to its execution. Make no mistake, Clarksdale. This is about far more than nostalgic musings and corporate callousness, where both history and heritage are concerned. This is the straw that should break the Camel's back. This is about everyone in Clarksdale needing to take heed to the fact that our history, heritage and downtown are the very resources that can not only save, but also revitalize our economy AND this piece of unique soil that we all call home. We are called as a community to rise to a great challenge at this moment in our history.

For far too long, Clarksdale has been at war with itself. Racial and social divisions have joined hands with laziness, indifference, and complacency. The results have been endless bickering and ultimately, crippling atrophy of the limbs of progress. In the interim, our downtown-the beating heart of any city-has seen too many attitudes harden and too many arteries of potential blocked by stubbornness and the red tape of personal and political agendas. There are many citizens struggling daily to build bridges to the future, but it will take everyone to gather the stones required for the task. What time is it, Clarksdale? The answer is as clear as the glass on that old, broken clock. Now is the time!

We are all in the same boat, floating on the same muddy river, and it would serve us, our history and our heritage, if we could all start rowing in tandem and develop a solid vision of how to resurrect the Phoenix that is Clarksdale. Otherwise, this boat is destined to remain spinning in circles, going nowhere, while progress finds safer harbors all around in other towns like Tunica, Greenwood, Hernando - even little Como. Most of these places are associated with revitalization programs designed to provide grants and other funding to inject life and commerce back into the veins of the architecture of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the communities who occupy them in the 21st. What time is it, Clarksdale? It's half past doing it, and a quarter before too late. Every time we raze another historic building. Every time we stand by and say, "What a shame", or even worse-say nothing at all, we only strengthen those haunting winds that sail down Delta, Yazoo, and Third. The whole world is fascinated with Clarksdale's history, cotton, blues and our ties to such literary icons as Tennessee Williams. We are an economically un-tapped enigma with epic potential...and only 42 minutes from the front doors of Tunica's airport, which will soon be receiving commercial flights on a regular basis. Can we afford to let one more chunk of our charm and history be ripped down and tossed into a museum, lest we become a museum ourselves?

When I was informed of the clock's ill fate, I had to go see it for myself. Sunday evening around midnight, I found myself alone at the gates of AmSouth, under a near-full moon. Only the whistling wind and the clapping of The Big Pink Guest House's gate could be heard. But as I gazed up at that huge hole in our history, I thought about Coahoma Bank and my very own father's 23-year tenure there. I began to remember watching the annual Christmas parade from the corner window just above that clock. Soon, I could hear marching bands, car horns, and Early Wright broadcasting from just across the street at WROX. And just for a minute, I could hear the soothing, hourly chimes of that grand, old clock. I could smell the aroma of the Wonder Bread Bakery. I could see the faces of people walking into The Den for a nice dinner, into the Cream Boat for a scoop, and I remembered the old folks sitting in the lobby of the Alcazar/Central Building. These chimes at midnight in my head made me think that perhaps we need to be reminded of exactly what time it is.

Perhaps we have needed an uber-entity such as AmSouth, who doesn't even list a local number in the phonebook, to rip down an old clock, thus pulling the wool from our eyes in the process.

How much community uproar, and how much money do we need to come up with to restore and reinstate that clock to its rightful place? To make a statement and demand a turn in our history and course? I am suggesting that we do just that, and offering the notion that the Coahoma Bank Clock might well serve us all as an hourly reminder of what a community can do, if it is wound tight, well-oiled...and ever aware of exactly what time it really is.

Randall Shaw Andrews is a Clarksdale-born writer, chef, photographer and producer.

Chuck Lamb
662 902-7105
lamb_cn@hotmail.com

Music at Hopson

2009-07-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

Duff Dorrough

2009-07-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

Music at Hopson

2009-07-02T14:13:00.001-07:00

http://hopsonplantation.blogspot.com/

Italian Club

2009-07-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

This is the old Italian Club just outside of Clarksdale Ms. This building is owned by Charlie Monty of Clarksdale. Ronnie Drew(known at Hopson as Donnie Rew) has told me many stories about his good times that he had in the Italian Club back in the 70's.

It is sad to see the building empty and rotting down because it played a big part in the history of the early Italian settlers in Coahoma County.

I have been told that when the early settlers arrived in Coahoma County they needed a support system because they were looked down on as second-class citizens in the area. They were here as farm workers.

The Italian club gave them a place to go to enjoy themselves and to be with other Italians in the area. They worked hard and slowly bought land and are now some of the largest landowners in the area. A real success story and I think that this building may have played a part in their story.

I would love to see some of the stories of events or memories that others have of this building. My only memory was to attend a band practice of the Remains, Ronnie Drew, Tommy Hubbard, Terry Moore, Bird Elliott, and Rich Wall.