Caroline’s Gone, But Allen’s Not Done
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DAVE’S WORLD
By David Howell
Allen Rogers stopped me crossing the street a few days ago to let me know that his last big melon, Caroline, is no more. Caroline had a bad spot and will not make it to the October Tennessee weigh-in. Allen was disappointed but determined to come back bigger and stronger next year.
Caroline, a Carolina Cross variety, was among the melons grown by Water Valley’s top growers that often continue maturing into the fall (if nothing happens). We have seen the sho’nuff melons grown by Rogers, Hal Vaughn and Jerry Vaughn keep growing until September or October. That is one reason the top growers plant the Carolina Cross—not only does it grow big, but it grows for months and months if the conditions are right. This year fungi were tough to combat, and they took some of the biggest melons out before they had a chance to reach their full potential.
Allen has helped raise the level of competition for our local growers. He has befriended a number of top growers in the nation, learning tips to share with others back home. He has learned to graft the melon vines on a bushel gourd root, a technique used for the biggest of the big melons in the nation, and he shares his knowledge with anyone interested in the area. He is the current state record holder at 274 pounds with Josephine, a melon from his patch last year.
One thing Allen hasn’t done yet is win the Biggest Watermelon Contest at the Watermelon Carnival right here in Water Valley. I believe he has set his mind to notch that achievement next year. That means we should have another fun competition with newcomer Tom Hill in the fray, ever-competitive Hal Vaughn, and there are always a few others.
I had good feedback on last week’s column about looking at ways to get more bang for the buck with the money the county receives for work on roads and bridges. When you think about a county that has two county seats, duplication is costly. It costs a lot to maintain two courthouses—but I’m staying out of that one. The county has two small school districts too, and there are rumblings that state lawmakers may take a look at this county for consolidation when the 2026 Legislative Session gets underway in January (I’m staying out of this one, too!)
My suggestion is that it may be time to consider a different style of county government. Currently, the county operates under the beat system, where each supervisor manages his own budget, equipment and labor in his district, or beat as it’s also called.
The other type of county government in Mississippi is a unit system, where a road manager is hired to manage maintenance for roads and bridges. In the unit system, there are no road districts, and the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges are done on a countywide basis. The Board of Supervisors adopt a four-year road plan, but the discretion of the day-to-day level falls on the county road manager instead of the entire board of supervisors.
Think about the duplication of equipment with five different districts operating autonomously. The duplication of labor. What would be the savings with fewer road graders, tractors, dump trucks and bush hogs? Another big disadvantage is that under the beat system, the requirement that a supervisor head up a road crew is a barrier to people who have other important skills—business development, tourism development, financial management. Folks with these qualifications might not know a backhoe from a trackhoe, but as long as that’s a primary supervisor duty, many qualified people may not run for office.
Also, speaking of last week’s paper, the gremlins struck again.
I had several pictures of different Freeman family members for publication last week, including a group shot of Clay and Diane Freeman and their children taken at the homecoming tailgate. Apparently, I saved two pictures with the same name, and it confused the computer. My apologies, Channing, for the mix-up. I’ve included the intended family picture again this week (left).
Shedlia Freeman (top left) hosted the annual Blue and White Homecoming Tailgate party last month in front of his barbershop on Wise Street. He is pictured with siblings (top row, from right) Keith Freeman, Carla Townsend and Camisha Collier, and parents (bottom row) Clay and Diane Freeman. The tailgate drew a packed crowd of alumni who set up tents, shared food, and enjoyed music well into the night.
