Gurners Named Grand Marshals
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The Water Valley Area Chamber of Commerce selected Jack and Jessie Gurner as the grand marshals for the Water Valley Christmas parade. The parade will roll Friday night at 6 p.m., starting at Crawford Sports Complex and heading north on Main Street.
WATER VALLEY – The Water Valley Area Chamber of Commerce reports that Jack and Jessie Gurner will serve as the grand marshals of the annual Christmas parade, which is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, December 1. A life-long love of Water Valley led Jack and Jessie to work toward a preservation of its history and a dedication to civic improvement for their home town.
“I grew up thinking everyone’s grandparents lived on the same street,” says Jack Gurner, commenting on both sets of grandparents (Mrs. and Mrs. B.G. Gurner and Mrs. and Mrs. Marvin Groves) who lived on Panola Street just houses apart.
“One of my favorite earliest memories of Water Valley is my granddaddy (J.F. Wright) holding my hand and letting me walk on the rail of the railroad track,” says Jessie Gurner.
Both attended school in Water Valley with Jack graduating from WVHS in 1967 and Jessie in 1973.
“My first professional photography job was for Clovis Steele, taking photos of classrooms and building infrastructure for a grant. That may also have been one of my first civic contributions, when Mr. Steele offered to pay me, I donated my services.”
The two meet while Jack was home on leave from the Air Force. “The relationship nearly ended before it began,” says Jessie. “Jack was taking photos and stepped back into the street and I almost hit him with my car.”
Despite the almost bumpy start, the two married and moved to Memphis where Jack was a photographer for the Memphis Press Scimitar and Jessie worked for Media General.
Deciding that life in the city wasn’t for then, they returned to Water Valley in 1986 and operated Gurner Photography for 20 years. During this time, they became involved in civic projects and organizations. At different times, both Gurners served on the board of the Chamber of Commerce.
But it was the love of history that became the focus of Jack’s attention. “My uncle, Bruce Gurner, had collected a large amount of railroad memorabilia. People would bring in old Water Valley photographs, to be copied and I added those to the history collection.”
Jessie Gurner has been involved in civic projects with the Water Valley Town and Country Garden Club for many years like the downtown banners and the Railroad Park landscaping.
In the meantime, Jessie’s work with civic improvement began with an invitation from neighbor Betty Ruth Swearengen to join the Water Valley Town and Country Garden Club. “My mother-in-law, Mary Nell, was a charter member of the club. Everywhere you look around town you can see the accomplishments of these ladies: Railroad Park, the huge Water Valley signs on Highway 7, the landscaping at the civic auditorium, downtown planters. The list goes on and on. The first big project I was involved in was the pavilion in Railroad Park and before I knew it I wasn’t just elbow deep in potting soil I was also working on grants and budgets.”
The Water Valley Casey Jones Railroad Museum was a project that Jack worked on with his father Jack, Sr. It features artifacts purchased from the Bruce Gurner Collection of Railroad Memorabilia by the Yalobusha Economic Development Foundation. “We didn’t have any money so we created the exhibits using my photography and graphics skills and Dad’s common sense approach to getting things done.”
Jack Gurner Sr. served as Christmas Parade Grand Marshal in 2015. “I remember going to the parades when I was a kid. Every year Mom bundled me and my brother, Doug, up like Ralphie from Christmas Story. Seeing Dad ride down the street as the grand marshal was something special I wish Mom and Doug could have seen, too.”
Jessie was the first Main Street director when the program began in Water Valley. The focus was on the preservation of downtown buildings and historic neighborhoods. “The most fun thing was the Water Valley Sesquicentennial in 2008. We threw a 150th birthday party with old-fashioned games like sack races, a baby crawl competition, a hula hoop contest,and even a very messy pudding eating contest.”
Work with the state took Jessie out of town for several years. “I traveled all over the north part of Mississippi and saw some very pretty towns and some that were struggling. But none of them, ever looked as good to me as Water Valley.”
When she retired she jumped back into civic projects. “I became active in the garden club again and was fortunate to be elected to the board for the Chamber of Commerce.” She has served as secretary, vice-president and is currently the president of the Town and Country Garden Club. She has also worked with Linda Maynor and Zandra Walker to produce souvenir program book for the Watermelon Carnival. “We wanted it to be something special people would enjoy looking at not just the day the picked it up but in the future, too. Melody Smith helped take the design to a new level and we’re already working on next year’s book.”
“At my very first job my boss told me something that has stayed with me. ‘Always work with smart, talented people. They make you look good.’ I’ve been very fortunate to work with some very smart and talented people.”
She cited a recent example of heeding this advice when promoting the Chamber Power Hour for the Chamber of Commerce. “Kathy Williams, who hosted the first event, said that we needed to do a video. Tonya Eubanks and Angie Brooks were volunteered by everyone else and it just came together and worked. We’ve continued to film them for each event and every one has been such fun.”
Along those same lines, Jack hoped that someone smart and talented would come along to take over the reins of the Water Valley Casey Jones Railroad Museum. “I had no idea it would be Grant Thompson, the kid I watched grow up next door.”
Thompson is keenly interested in Water Valley’s history and has already started a revamp of the museum’s exhibits and is converting local newspaper history to digital to make it more accessible.
“It’s exciting to see the next generation come along and build on the strong heritage that we all love in Water Valley, I think that is what makes our town so special,” Jack added.
Jack Gurner is the first second-generation grand marshal selected in Water Valley. His father, the late Jack Gurner, Sr. (left), was selected grand marshal of the 2015 Christmas parade.
