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This Month:
MISSISSIPPI SEEN by WALT GRAYSON
A fitting fate planned for the ancient Nanih Waiya Mound
Sometimes you can run up on some of the best stories. If it weren’t for the high price of gasoline right now, I would probably have missed this one. And to me, this is of historic proportions.
It all started the other day when Jo and I went to the Walters’ house, outside of Philadelphia, to do a story about Connie Walters’ “jelly houses.” Connie makes all kinds of jelly and sells it all year and donates everything she makes to her church, Sandtown United Methodist, to help its members build another house in Honduras during their annual mission trip. What she sells covers the cost of materials with enough left over for some furniture. (And it’s good jelly, too!)
Even though Philadelphia isn’t all that far from home, I still didn’t want to go even that short of a distance to shoot just one story, gas prices being what they are. I knew we couldn’t be too far from Nanih Waiya Mound, so as we were leaving, the Walters pointed the way to go. Between their directions and the navigational gadget in Ms. Jo’s new car, we found the mound with no problem.
I really didn’t have any idea what the gist of the story was going to be at Nanih Waiya, other than the mound being the only nearby subject I knew I could shoot on the spur of the moment. I remembered it was one of the state parks closed back in ’03 when all the parks that weren’t paying their way were shut down. Since they never charged for anything (other than the soft drink machine) at Nanih Waiya, it was one of the shut-ees.
I had ridden through the area within the past year or so and noticed the information building had been vandalized, and the picnic area was getting pretty shabby looking. So I figured I’d go get shots of the mound and the old park facilities and whip up some kind of story about how Nanih Waiya is just this side of sacred to the Choctaw. Then I’d juxtapose that with what terrible conditions we’ve let the old park degenerate into.
When Jo and I got there, the low light and clouds were perfect for photography, especially with the new high-definition TV camera I’ve started using in anticipation of the “Big Switch” to all-digital TV next February.
Next day, when I started to edit my story, I wanted to make sure my facts were straight. So I called Parks and Recreation and asked the first person I could reach about the status of Nanih Waiya. He told me to hang on; he needed to check with the legal department. Thirty seconds later, he was back on the line telling me that it looked like by the end of August, the state would be deeding the Nanih Waiya Mound back to the Mississippi Tribe of Choctaws.
The significance of that transfer only dawned on me after I hung up. The mound became property of the U.S. Government along with some 11 million other acres of Choctaw land under the treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830. Now, over 175 years later, the state of Mississippi is giving the deed back to the original owners of their “Mother Mound,” as it is called.
Over the decades, Choctaw interests have purchased a good bit of the land surrounding the mound, but the mound itself was unattainable because it was government property. Now, it will still be government property, but rightfully that of the Choctaw government—once again.
Walt Grayson is host of “Mississippi Roads” on Mississippi Public Broadcasting television and the author of two “Looking Around Mississippi” books. For ordering information, visit www.epaofms.com.
GRIN 'N' BARE IT by KAY GRAFE
A fill-in-the-blank vacation
Vacations come, vacations go. After you return home, your memory begins to fade, and as time passes you struggle to remember where you were when a pleasant, or unpleasant, incident occurred. Photographs help—but you can’t rely on them.
“Were we in the campground at Mackinaw City when I dropped my purse off the pier?” I asked my tour guide, who never forgets anything about a vacation but forgets to turn his bathroom light off.
“No. And it wasn’t a pier, but we were still in Michigan. We’d just come out of the Shipwreck Museum at White Fish Point Light House—off shore from where the Edmond Fitzgerald sank. Remember? We bought a painting of the Fitzgerald signed by Gordon Lightfoot. A brave tourist crawled down the rocky embankment and fished your purse out of Lake Superior with an old whale hunter’s metal hook.”
My husband thinks he’s so smart.
I decided to drag out our photograph album and daily travel forms. That was only seven years ago; in seven more, I’ll forget we went to Michigan. I was lying in the bed talking as my energetic husband sat at his desk. He counted 21 manila folders. A folder for each day of our upcoming trip out west.
He’s a meticulous trip planner. We discussed the agenda: where we wanted to go, places we wanted to see and people to visit.
“Shall I begin my planning?” he politely asked, as he walked toward the computer. “Or, do you want to take charge this trip?”
Cute. That’s his idea of a dig.
O.K., so my sense of direction, map proficiency and forgetfulness (to make campground reservations) were a disaster the year I took his job. My idea was that all RV parks have vacancies. I planned to sleep until 9:00 each morning (isn’t that why it’s called a vacation?), but we were on the road by 6:00. My husband is serious about sightseeing. We missed three attractions on our list—he was heartbroken.
This spring he took the Daily Travel Form from his file cabinet, made 21 copies and placed one in each folder. The goal of our July trip was to visit our daughter and son-in-law in Salt Lake City and explore places of interest as much as humanly possible. I’m not tongue-in-cheeking when I say, humanly possible. Not many in-house tour directors plan every detail of a 6,000-mile trip and “get her done.”
My director deals in logistics. He e-mailed chambers of commerce for information about each area we planned to visit. He worked several weeks on the precise travel route using tons of information—maps and brochures. Lastly, he made round-trip reservations at RV campgrounds.
I have confiscated an 8-by-11-inch travel form. (Keep this hush, hush; he may patent it. If you travel by car, substitute “hotel” for “campground.”)
Each topic on his July form has a blank line already filled in with:
1. Day/date;
2. Destination;
3. Distance;
4. Detailed map, plus GPS coordinates;
5. In-depth directions to campground (just in case);
6. Estimated time of arrival;
7. Sightseeing instructions;
8. Estimated expenses for fuel, restaurants, sightseeing, purchases, campground;
9. Actual expenses;
10. Fuel locations (while fueling, determine mileage, number of miles driven and fuel mileage);
11. Comments.
I have two comments: I’m amazed at Mr. Roy’s constant eagerness. And, if we can afford the diesel to get home, next month I’ll write a “Go West, Young Man” (ha) travel log.
Write Kay at 2142 Fig Farm Rd., Lucedale, MS 39452 or e-mail kaygrafe@bellsouth.net.
SOUTHERN GARDENING by NORMAN WINTER
Lily of the Nile vows to beguile
I have traveled a lot this summer, and I have seen the Lily of the Nile strutting her stuff from coast to coast. Mention summer bulbs and your first thought is probably the caladium, the elephant ear or even the rhizome of the canna lily. Or, you may be like many gardeners who are finally giving the Agapanthus, or Lily of the Nile, a try.
The name Agapanthus comes from the Greek words “agape” for love and “anthos” for flower. Growing it will likely generate an agape-type feeling for the plant. Commonly called Lily of the Nile, or African lily, the botanical name, Agapanthus africanus, refers to its origin.
Agapanthus africanus has been in the United States the longest, and it is actually considered an heirloom plant. Then there are Agapanthus praecox, Agapanthus campanulatus and hybrids that lead to much arguing among taxonomists over the correct names of the various cultivars. You can grow them and enjoy them no matter what you call them.
Most references suggest Lily of the Nile is cold hardy to zone 8. A few find bliss in zone 7. Some Agapanthus varieties are evergreen and some are deciduous. Many of the evergreens can lose their leaves in the winter and still put on a show for summer if the temperature did not get too cold.
A group called the Headbourne hybrids has the ability to spread the happiness over a much greater length of time because they are deciduous and tolerate cold weather. Most references suggest using these plants in zone 6.
The Agapanthus is in the Amaryllis family. While the plant is listed in bulb books, it is really produced on rhizomes, which are thick, modified stems that grow below the soil.
Although white varieties exist, most people grow these plants for the spectacular blue flowers produced in the form of huge globes or spheres sitting atop stalks that reach 2-4 feet above the ground. These globes, called umbels, may have as many as 20 to 100 flowers, depending on variety and species. They bloom from late May into July.
As with most of our plants, soil preparation plays a vital role in successfully growing the Lily of the Nile. The rhizomes can rot in wet soils. Prepare the bed by incorporating from 3-4 inches of organic matter and sand and till to a depth of 8-10 inches. This groundwork will allow maximum drainage and aeration, and will increase its chances of surviving winter.
Mulching is one of the most important cultural practices because it stabilizes soil temperatures and helps protect the rhizomes during extremely cold winters. In dry summers, the mulch helps hold moisture.
Best blooming will occur in full sun, so choose a site that receives six to eight hours of sun. Feed with a balanced fertilizer or a 1-2-1 ratio in the spring and again in the summer.
The Lily of the Nile not only beautifies the landscape but also excels in containers. Containers restrict root growth, which causes great flowering. Extra-special winter care is needed for plants grown in containers.
Once Lily of the Nile is established in the landscape, the clumps can be left alone and may not need to be divided for six years. Divide in the fall if you want more plants.
For a plant as beautiful as the Lily of the Nile, there are numerous ways it can be used in the landscape. Group a cluster around a windmill palm, or plant them in front of tall bananas. One of the prettiest plantings I saw this year was a grouping in front of a red bougainvillea. It was almost gaudy but still a combination planting I will not quickly forget.
If you live in a cold area of the state, try what gardeners in Great Britain do. Store the deciduous types in the garage or cellar where it is dark and temperatures remain above freezing. Do not water. Place evergreen types in cool, lighted areas and water occasionally.
You are sure to have an area around your home that would be more beautiful if you added the Lily of the Nile.
Norman Winter is an MSU Extension horticulturist at the Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center in Raymond, Miss. His Southern Gardening columns are available at www.msucares.com. |
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