Betty’s Week

On the paper route Wednesday, as the sun began to rise, I spotted just a bit of fall color in the foliage and trees along the roadsides. We still have lots of leaves, so if we don’t get a sudden freeze (which from the predictions seems possible) we should have a showy fall this year. Even with the recent dry conditions, we must have had enough moisture earlier in the year to keep leaves on and in good condition.

I may just have to make the drive from Grenada to Duck Hill on Highway 51 when the leaves get really pretty. This was Ed’s and my fall foliage trip (we never had a lot of time) and it is really a beautiful fall drive. Eureka and Pope/Water Valley Roads may also get pretty—they both have lots of trees and other plants.

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Had to make an extra trip to the nursing home over the weekend. Sunday night I was called in because our sitter needed to be in Memphis to be with her daughter, who was having major surgery early Monday morning. Didn’t mind at all, because I know if my child was going to have surgery, I would want to be there and I know Dorothy would be right there sitting for me. Haven’t heard from them, but just pray she made it fine.

Sunday  night I was looking for something to read and found a copy of the 2009 Spring and Summer Batesville Magazine. It contained articles about two of my favorite Panola County landmarks. First was Tocowa Springs. Located in southwest Panola County, are some of the county’s steepest hills found along the western most portion of Tocowa Road. The main attraction here has always been Tocowa Springs. The rock covered springs is marked with a white wooden sign and there is still a steady trickle of water.

The last time I visited the springs I pulled a plastic cup out of the van and had a drink, although it advises that you shouldn’t drink it. I’m still living and that’s been several years ago. My paternal grandfather, Rance Kilgore, worked with a timber company in the area about a hundred years ago. He lived in the hotel there. Yes there was a hotel and several other businesses in the area around the turn of the century, or so I was told my my father, who was only 14 years old when his dad died.               

Needless to say, I never met my grandfather, but did enjoy all the stories told by daddy and his siblings. In the days of my youth  we occasionally took a picnic lunch and visited the springs. As I remember it was fun. Granddaddy is buried in the Center Hill  Cemetery (located close to the springs), as is my father, and Mom will also be buried there, so we’ll be visiting that area as long as we live.                     

The original spelling of the springs is Ptocowa, a Chickasaw Indian word, meaning healing. In the early days it was thought that the waters from the springs had healing powers—guess akin to the Hot Springs in Hot Springs Arkansas, only on a smaller scale.

Further on in the magazine I found the “Rock Church”. This building has also intrigued me since I was a very young person. Often when we went from Crowder to Batesville, we’d pass this church, located on the  Pope/Crowder Road. Then we moved to a house about a mile from the church and for years passed it almost on a daily basis.   

Sister Jimmie and Bill now live about a half mile from the church, so I still go by it quite often. After all these years I still have never been inside the building, but have decided next time I pass and there are people around I’m going to request a guided tour. The church was founded in 1885 and the original building, a white wooden structure, burned in 1931.

The second time it was built the congregation looked for something that wouldn’t burn and selected native sandstone. I, of course, thought it was a veneered building, as most sandstone structures are. Seems the builders of this church  really didn’t want another fire so it is stone all the way, with the interior walls also stone.

Also had never known the proper name of the church—just always called it the “Rock Church” never even considering what denomination it was. The proper name is Pope Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church and at present they have a congregation of about 100.

I appreciated all the work that went into this magazine. It also contained several other stories that I really enjoyed. This was the second Batesville Magazine published and I’ve seen most of the ones that followed and enjoyed them, but this one was really special.

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  Sunday we enjoyed a Gideon speaker at Woodland Hills. We were happy to have Mike Dorr from Sardis visit us—he knew David and sent greetings. He also told me that he’d worked for the Sardis paper in his younger days—before Davis owned it. We had a great visit and then he presented a very interesting and informative Gideon Program.

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There’s a perfectly good bathroom upstairs, so I decided to  use it rather than go down the stairs to mine. The lid was down and it looked like it closed tightly—must not. I popped it up and sat down. When I flushed it I notice something brown in the water. Upon closer examination I found it was swimming and the shape was lizard like. It was a lizard. Flushed it several times and finally the little fellow went to a watery grave—sorry. Had he crawled onto me, I probably would not be writing this column—I’d be resting over in Oak Hill with Ed.

Told Jim the story and he says, “You’re not going to like your daughter-in-law any more. Seems they have lizards living around the front door and Celeste thinks the porch light keeps them warm so it has to stay on—she’s raising lizards. Truth is they like the bugs that the light draws. Probably why I  have so many—my light stays on all the time. Due to the bugs, I also have lots of frogs. This doesn’t bother me—I’m not afraid of frogs.

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