Welcome to Yazoo City

Today was a travel day—from Canton, MS to Duson, LA. We spent two nights in Canton, but because of the rain, we did not get a chance to photograph the downtown historic district or visit the parts of town that served as scenes for the movies "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (2000), "A Time to Kill" (1996), and "My Dog Skip" (2000). Canton, formerly known as "The City of Lights," is becoming known as the “City of Lights, Camera, Action.”

We had stopped at a campground in Canton so that we could meet a friend of ours who lives in Yazoo City. We had met Snooky Hogue during our Elderhostel program last November in Fairbanks, AK. She is the secretary of the First Presbyterian Church in Yazoo City and gave us a tour of the church. In this photo, Snooky is pointing to pictures of the first church building built in 1841. This building, along with several others in town, was destroyed in the “Great Fire” of 1904.

After the fire, services were held in the town’s opera house, and when the present church was built in 1905, members voted to install “theater” seats instead pews. The pipes of the organ, though impressive, are nonfunctional.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is a member of this church.

It was a cloudy, rainy, chilly day, so when it came time for lunch we were hoping to find a "comfort food" restaurant. Snooky's suggestion of Stub's was perfect. The meal of moist, tasty chicken, creamy mashed potatoes, fried okra, the finest creamed corn I've ever had, and a piece of delicious apple pie just warm enough to slowly melt the ice cream was the perfect example of comfort food for a rainy day.

Stub's was the type of restaurant in which everyone knows everyone else--as evidenced by Snooky's greeting and being greeted by many other customers.

We drove around the plains surrounding Yazoo City and learned that this area and the 45 miles to the Mississippi River had been part of the delta centuries ago.

I believe these are some of the cypress trees growing in one of the lakes near Yazoo City (photographed from the car).

We also saw some catfish farms on our tour. Snooky's son is on the staff at Mississippi State University, and one of his responsibilities involves overseeing the catfish farms that the University is studying. He also consults with similar farms in northern Mississippi.

The much-needed rain was a welcome accompaniment to an enjoyable day of visiting with a friend.