Tonight I am back at Sikeston, Missouri. I am so tired after the long drive from Grenada.
But before the drive, before this afternoon's performance, I explored Grenada. It seemed to be just another small town but darned if I didn't find interesting things.
I did a little walking at the Chakchiuma Swamp, admiring the Tupelo gum trees and bald cypress and admiring my favorite blooming vine, the periwinkle. But too many hunters had trimmed their deer there so there were carcasses everywhere.
I moved on. I had read about a couple of cemeteries I wanted to see but I didn't have a map, so I stopped at City Hall. They had no maps but wondered if I wanted to see the Coke museum which was at the back of the building. It was filled with anything Coca-Cola produced from signs to glassware. There were Coke pillows, Coke trays, Coke toys.
The clerk did know where the Yellow Fever Cemetery was. Yellow fever hit the town of 2,000 in 1878, killing 367. I wandered around looking at many tombs of children. It seemed to kill the very old and the very young that year.
I went on, and found myself at the Grenada County offices. There, I found a map and was able to find the Confederate Cemetery which is behind the Oddfellows Cemetery. Here, covered with arbutus flowers were 180 unmarked graves. I had noted in the Hattiesburg graveyard that there didn't seem to be any graves of young men. I wonder if some of those Hattiesburg boys were buried here.
I took the scenic route on Highway 333 and found a Grenada Confederate Fort. Forts were built here to protect the town from the forces led by General Grant. All that remains are some earthwork fortifications and cannons. All around bright red cardinals and I observed that the men who came and died here left little behind, but the cardinals are likely descendants of some that were flying around here centuries before the Civil War.
And with that, I was at the nursing home for yet another performance with another good audience, followed by a six hour drive here.
One more performance tomorrow and I will join Gary in Dixon.
But before the drive, before this afternoon's performance, I explored Grenada. It seemed to be just another small town but darned if I didn't find interesting things.
I did a little walking at the Chakchiuma Swamp, admiring the Tupelo gum trees and bald cypress and admiring my favorite blooming vine, the periwinkle. But too many hunters had trimmed their deer there so there were carcasses everywhere.
I moved on. I had read about a couple of cemeteries I wanted to see but I didn't have a map, so I stopped at City Hall. They had no maps but wondered if I wanted to see the Coke museum which was at the back of the building. It was filled with anything Coca-Cola produced from signs to glassware. There were Coke pillows, Coke trays, Coke toys.
The clerk did know where the Yellow Fever Cemetery was. Yellow fever hit the town of 2,000 in 1878, killing 367. I wandered around looking at many tombs of children. It seemed to kill the very old and the very young that year.
I went on, and found myself at the Grenada County offices. There, I found a map and was able to find the Confederate Cemetery which is behind the Oddfellows Cemetery. Here, covered with arbutus flowers were 180 unmarked graves. I had noted in the Hattiesburg graveyard that there didn't seem to be any graves of young men. I wonder if some of those Hattiesburg boys were buried here.
I took the scenic route on Highway 333 and found a Grenada Confederate Fort. Forts were built here to protect the town from the forces led by General Grant. All that remains are some earthwork fortifications and cannons. All around bright red cardinals and I observed that the men who came and died here left little behind, but the cardinals are likely descendants of some that were flying around here centuries before the Civil War.
And with that, I was at the nursing home for yet another performance with another good audience, followed by a six hour drive here.
One more performance tomorrow and I will join Gary in Dixon.
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