Highway 61 North: A Glimpse Back in Time

My post for today picks up where I ended my story yesterday -- on Highway 61 North, about 35 miles north of Vicksburg. If you haven't read yesterday's post and would like to, you can click here.

After leaving the hills of Vicksburg, Highway 61 is as about as flat and straight as a road can be, cutting through the heart of hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile Delta farmlands, literally stretching as far as the eye can see. It is also known as "the Blues Highway," because legend has it that blues music was born in the cotton fields and "juke joints" of the Mississippi Delta.

I love the Delta, because no matter how many times I go, I always find new and interesting things (to me, anyway) to capture with my camera. But on this trip, time was limited and I was "on a mission."

I recently saw a photo of an old gas pump covered with vines which was taken by my friend Marty Kittrell of Vicksburg. I loved the picture and Marty graciously told me where I could find the gas pump if I wanted to go photograph it. Now, I know that a rusty old gas pump probably doesn't sound exciting, but I love a challenge and I wanted to get a picture of that gas pump!

Since we were so close to the tiny Delta community where the pump was, we decided to try to find it. After driving around for a while with no luck, I was almost ready to give up. But as we passed by this old building ...

I saw it under the shed! -- just a glimpse of orange hidden amongst tangled vines and rusty old equipment (you'll probably have to click on the photo to enlarge it to see it).

I was delighted that we found it, but cautiously approached the shed, looking for snakes and dogs and any other dangers that could have been lurking in the weeds. This is what I saw as I got closer ...

If you enlarge the picture, you can see the price of gas back "in the good old days."

Can you remember when gas was 25 cents a gallon? Well, I couldn't, so I "googled" it and discovered that it was in 1960, so that makes this old gas pump at least 49 years old!

Here's another old pump that still stands beside the highway. It shows gas at 40 cents a gallon, which was probably during the '70s. Notice the old chair and the broom propped up behind the pump. It looks as if its owner just walked away for a minute.

I love this old "service station," and I bet they even checked your oil and cleaned your windows without being asked.

I wouldn't take anything for these pictures of the gas pumps. They took me back in time for a while, to a place where the world seemed to be a kinder, gentler place.

Speaking of kinder, gentler ... I love this old country church which stands across the street from the "service station."

This beautiful monument is beside the church, and features the Ten Commandments engraved in stone.

One of the things I love most about the church is its steeple and old bell (I guess that's actually two things) ...

Upon closer inspection, I could read the words, "Nitta Yuma Plantation," engraved across the front of the bell.

I "googled" the plantation and found that its owners had ties with the Vick family, who were among the first settlers of Vicksburg. One of the things I love about going out and taking pictures of all these places ... and, yes, even old gas pumps! ... is that I learn a little bit about them. And that's always a good thing.

It was time to turn around and head back to Vicksburg, but I couldn't pass through Rolling Fork without getting a picture of "the red barn." I've taken pictures of it on previous photo shoots, but had never captured the full length of this beautiful old Delta landmark.

Isn't it magnificent! Here is a close up I took around the end of August, when I went up to the Delta to take pictures of sunflowers.

The barn is one of the sites being considered for the South Delta Interpretive Center, which will provide information about the Delta, its culture, and its history.

Another Delta landmark that I can never resist capturing with my camera when I'm in the Delta, is this gorgeous plantion home called Mont Helena.

You can click here if you would like to read about Mont Helena, and see more pictures of it.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this small glimpse of the Delta through my camera lens. I'm going to go back again soon when the cotton fields are defoliated and ready for harvesting. They are truly awesome and look like "Mississippi snow," as far as the eye can see. I wanted to get some pictures yesterday, but it had rained earlier in the day and the cotton bolls were soggy and droopy -- not a pretty picture!

Highway 61 North: Gateway to the Mississippi Delta

Yesterday afternoon was so pretty I decided to take a short ride from Vicksburg, up Highway 61 North towards the Mississippi Delta.

Highway 61 North is also known as the "Blues Highway," because it runs through the Mississippi Delta country, which was an important source of blues music. US 61 has been referenced in music by various artists with roots in the region.

As you leave the hills of Vicksburg, you will see miles and miles of flat fertile lands stretching out in some places as far as the eye can see. I took this picture at Rolling Fork, Mississippi (about 45 miles north of Vicksburg), to give you an idea of the vastness of the Delta farmlands ...

Huge tractors like this one churning up the rich Delta soil are a common sight this time of year ...

It was around 1:30 p.m. when I left Vicksburg, so I didn't go any farther than Rolling Fork, but there are several little towns in between which I found interesting.

The first little town I encountered was Valley Park, which has a tiny little post office ...

Valley Park is also home to a railroad aficionado and I captured these pictures of his railroad memorabilia, which included this wooden caboose mailbox ...

I love cabooses and sometimes wonder if I am the only person who misses seeing a caboose at the end of a train. It's like a sentence without a period ... or an "i" without a dot over it -- a train should have a caboose!

And bless his heart, this guy not only has a caboose but part of a train to go with it! (If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see an old tire swing hanging from the oak tree) ...

Can't you just imagine what fun his children or grandchildren have playing on all that stuff! He even had a miniature train in the building to the right of the caboose, but I couldn't get close enough to get pictures of it.

The next little town ("little" being the keyword) was Onward, which became well known because President Theodore Roosevelt's famous bear hunt was held close to there in 1902. The old Onward Store is known for its hot tamales and hot bologna sandwiches, but I didn't sample either.

A historical marker next to the general store in Onward tells about the bear hunt ...

As the story goes, Roosevelt's hunting guide was a famous Mississippi bear hunter named Holt Collier. This hunt was a late birthday gift for President Roosevelt from his friends. According to the story, Collier, in an effort to make the hunt a success, went out early on Friday, November 14, 1902 to scout for bears. Luck was with Collier and he trapped and tied up a 235-pound black bear. Collier sent his hunting friends to get Roosevelt for the kill.

When Roosevelt arrived, he refused to kill a tied-up bear and the bear hunt was stopped. Local and national newspapers began to run political cartoons about the President refusing to kill the bear. The Cracker Jack Company and toy companies created stuffed bears which were called "teddy bears." Interesting, huh?

Cary is the next community between Valley Park and Rolling Fork, and these three crosses caught my eye ...

I love seeing these along the highways across the country and plan to write a post about them someday. There is an interesting story behind them, too.

My next stop was Rolling Fork, where visitors are greeted by this welcoming sight ...

It seems that bears are a popular subject in this part of the Delta, because there were bear "monuments" all over Rolling Fork ...

I also passed this highway sign cautioning about bear crossings ...

I was hoping I would see one, but I guess they're still hibernating for the winter.

One of Rolling Fork's claims to fame is the fact that renown Blues musician Muddy Waters was born in Rolling Fork ...

This bottle tree in a residential area caught my eye as I passed by ...

I enjoyed my afternoon drive up Highway 61, and hope to go back someday and visit more of the sleepy little Delta towns along its route. I love exploring them, because you just never know what wonderful stories and sights await you in "Small Towns, America."