Browsing: History

Every now and then, a story from Mississippi’s past reminds us just how deeply courage and kindness are woven into our state’s roots. One of those stories belongs to Mrs. Mamie Thomas — a trailblazer from Vicksburg who quite literally carried her community forward.

MOSS POINT—Mississippi will join other states across the country on December 13 to as part of Wreaths Across America to honor veterans who are interned in cemeteries across the state.

Throughout our nation’s history, countless Mississippians have served in the military, both at home and abroad. Even before attaining official statehood in 1817, many Mississippians joined the militia during the War of 1812

Every Veterans Day I have one particular vet that I think a lot about. He was a man I admired in so many ways and still am amazed at is achievements. He grew up in a profoundly poor family in the Mississippi Delta in a shack with no running water, no electricity and no inside toilet. They were often hungry. I am fond of saying poverty either makes you or breaks you. and this country boy hated the Delta so bad as soon as he got a chance to get out, he did. The quickest way out was to join the army. For the first time in his life, he had new, clean clothes, a comfortable bed to sleep in and all the food he wanted to eat.

Each year in November, U.S. Marines gather to celebrate their founding. Whether in formal dress or in the uniform of the day, from ballrooms to field tents to hangars, these celebrations include long-standing traditions such as cake-cutting, toasting absent comrades, and the reading of the Commandant’s birthday message. 

When I was a kid growing up in Pascagoula, adventure started in my backyard. My best friend and I would lug an old aluminum boat down to the water, haul out a car battery to hook up the trolling motor, and pack snacks, Cokes, and whatever else we could scrounge out of the cabinets into a bag. The plan—at least at first—was always to make it all the way to Round Island, that mysterious speck on the horizon that seemed impossibly far away to two kids in a twelve-foot boat

MOSS POINT—The solemnity of the eleventh day of November on the eleventh hour and the eleventh minute is a silence recognized around the globe as a small recognition of the huge thanks offered to Veterans.  Americans honor these heroes on Veterans Day while In the U.K. and other Commonwealth countries, it’s Remembrance Day. In France and Belgium, it’s still called Armistice Day.

MOSS POINT—Cemeteries—they aren’t just scary anymore. Sometimes a visit to a cemetery is an opportunity to step back in time and allow the cemetery to tell the stories of those at rest.

The African American Military History Museum will host its Annual Veterans Open House on Wednesday, November 5, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the museum, 305 East 6th Street.

PASCAGOULA—’Tis the season for visiting graveyards and cemeteries, but a visit to the historic Krebs Cemetery will be a patriotic treat as a celebration of history.

The U.S. Navy is 250 years old today! On October 13, 1775, the Continental Congress authorized the first American naval force.

For 75 years, guests from across Mississippi and the country have explored the beauty of the LaPointe Krebs House overlooking Krebs Lake in Pascagoula, a milestone worth commemoration through a resolution from the Jackson County Board of Supervisors.

In Mississippi, food is more than a necessity—it’s culture, memory, and connection all rolled into one. Whether it’s a family gathered around the Sunday dinner table, neighbors sharing a plate of fried catfish, or college students swapping stories over a late-night po-boy, our meals carry meaning. Few restaurants capture that spirit better than Oby’s, a Mississippi-grown favorite with a story that stretches from Pearl Harbor to Starkville.

There’s something sacred about a place that’s weathered centuries and still stands tall. On the quiet edge of Pascagoula Bay, the LaPointe-Krebs House does just that. It’s not flashy or ornate—but it doesn’t need to be. Its age, its bones, and the stories baked into its tabby walls make it one of the most remarkable buildings not only in Mississippi but across the American South.

Can you imagine a diet with no Italian red sauce, or tomato sandwiches? What about no French fries, guacamole, corn on the cob, or sweet potato pie? That’s what food in Europe was like before the Europeans found the Americas. The Europeans did have cabbage, onions, peas, broad beans, greens and carrots, grapes, apples, pears, raspberries, and currents, but the addition of New World foods would be perhaps the biggest change in European diets ever, in fact, it was a culinary revolution. 

(Photo by Bryce Mitchell)