Tombigbee Tales

The Hairston Major League Baseball Dynasty of Lowndes County, MS

Sam Hairston was born in Lowndes County on the Hairston Plantation less than a month before the founding of the Negro League. He would grow up to play for the Birmingham Black Barons before being drafted by the Chicago White Sox. 

Minor League Baseball Teams of Columbus, Mississippi

Columbus, MS had three different minor league baseball teams that supplied multiple players to the MLB: 
1907-1908 Columbus Discoverers (Cotton States League)1912-1913 Columbus Joy Riders (Cotton States League)1935 Columbus Bengals (East Dixie League)

Red Sox Pitcher Ronnie Richardson and Mississippi Exclusive Pitching Academy

Former Red Sox Pitcher Ronnie Richardson shares his expertise with young men at his (soon to open) Mississippi Exclusive Pitching Academy in Columbus, MS. 
On Facebook: Mississippi Exclusive Pitching Academy w/Ronnie Richardson

Blewett Harrison Lee

Blewett H. Lee, son of Confederate General S. D. Lee was a pioneer in Aviation Law and ensuring religious freedom for more esoteric beliefs.

A Second Missing Sign and the Mississippi John Hurt Museum Fire

The sign at Avalon went missing before the fire. It turned up on the property next door to the Spain family who caused such an ugly fuss at last year's dedication and memorial walk at the St. James MB Cemetery where "Daddy" John aka Mississippi John Hurt is buried. Coincidence? Many updates related to the fire and local law enforcement. Mary Frances Hurt is seeking an attorney to deal with State Farm malfeasance in Mississippi. Any info please contact me here or on my FB (or the Hurt Foundation FB messages) and I will share the information with Mrs. Hurt and the Foundation. To donate to the rebuilding efforts for the museum: 
https://gofund.me/bf97c4d2
 

Ruth Ford and Charles Henri Ford - Columbus' First Bohemians

Ruth Ford and Charles Henri Ford grew up in the Gilmer Hotel where their father ran the Cafe. Ruth would become an accomplished actress in film and on the stage and Charles Henri would gain notoriety as a poet and novelist. 

Alexander Meek - Poet, Orator, Statesman

Alexander Meek was a poet, orator, and statesman from Alabama. He married Eliza Cannon, the late wife of Col. William Cannon. Meek was a pro-Unionist who served as Alabama's Speaker of the House and at the state's secessionist convention. He is buried in Friendship Cemetery in Columbus, MS. 

A Woman Named Frank - Frank Miller and Karl Jung

Frank Miller was the great-niece of Lucy Irion Neilson of Columbus, MS. How did one woman's essay change the course of Jung's work and facilitate his complete split from Freud? 

The Good Old Boys' Club

Cleaning Up Carpenter's Messes

Nancy Luke Carpenter has spent/committed every dime (and then some) in the CVB marketing budget on her way out the door with six months left to go in the fiscal year. What else has she committed money to and the bills have just not rolled in yet?