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Hill Country Living
By Coulter Fussell
It’s Christmas week here in Water Valley! Come to think of it, I guess it’s Christmas week everywhere that practices. But, locally, everything is slowing down. Work days are wrapping up early and last-minute Christmas shopping is teetering out. School is also out, so the local teenagers are let loose and running wild. Possibly too wild? Personally, I’d say yes.
Don’t forget that Santa Claus is watching, kids! He sees you when you’re sleeping…and also when you’re supposed to be sleeping but are instead out running the back roads and highways over the speed limit and well past midnight.
We have a Wagner Letter for this shortened week. This letter is from patriarch Daniel Wagner, the driest writer of all the Wagners. He’s writing to his son, Eugene, who is off at college. Daniel opines on the “Indianola Affair” and, as some of y’all know, this is in reference to social turmoil around the position of Minnie M. Cox as the first Black postmistress in Mississippi. She was an incredible figure and you should read more about her as a Christmas present to yourself.
One of my favorite Wagner writers, Benford, writes much more eloquently about the “Indianola Affair” in a letter that I’ve previously published. But Daniel does have a knack for just cutting to the chase.
I hope that everyone has a terrific Christmas week! I also hope that when you were making name tags for all of the Christmas gift boxes to your loved ones that you did not write out your full government name in the “From” section like Daniel Wagner consistently does in letters to his own children.
Yocona Mills
Water Valley, Mississippi
January 30, 1903
Dear Eugene,
Yours of the 25th received. We are all well. Not much news. Jesse and Kalista entertained the members of The Book Club on Wednesday. Miss Kate Thomas is visiting Jesse.
You no doubt have the box by now. It’s a fine box and Jesse and Kalista spent a lot of time and labor to fix it. I spent a lot of money on it. I know you enjoy it. They sent one just like it to George.
I’m very glad to hear that you got through your exams successfully. The pamphlet came yesterday. You asked me what I think of the Indianola Affair? I think it is “much ado about nothing.” Most of the fuss is made for political purposes.
The business in Memphis is good as we can expect. We will get up a balance sheet of the month and we can then see what we have done for the first six months.
I see by the paper that they had a terrible accident on the road running into Plainfield and many citizens of that town were injured and killed. I was very much relieved to know that none of our folks were in it.
Affectionately your father,
Daniel R. Wagner
