Oakland Matriarchs Will Help Preserve Local History
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Chuckie Moore of Oakland has been named to the Mississippi Valley State University’s Choir
Executive Board forthe third consecutive year. Moore serves as section leader in the choir.
– Photo by Kelly Paris
Oakland News
By Linda Aldy
We hated to cancel our Memorial Day Tribute Walk honoring those who died in service, but we will incorporate a tribute into our July 4th Celebration. In the meantime, the Oakland Area Lions Club has a virtual tribute on their Facebook page. Let’s hope the weather cooperates a bit better for July!
As a part of our America250 Mississippi and Mississippi Humanities Council grant, we have been able to order American flags that will fly down Hickory Street. It’s going to be so pretty and I can’t wait to see them in place. It was quite the adventure ordering them. I never knew how many parts and pieces were required! Obviously, a flag and a pole, but there are also clamps and brackets and banding straps, plus it required me to know the diameter of the poles in town. They are NOT the same throughout! Thanks to former mayor James Riley Swearengen who took the time to measure a number of poles so that I could get the order right. Then, in an effort to squeeze our dollars, everything had to be ordered from a different supplier. I have a mental vision of what this will look like and hope it turns out that way!
In the spirit of remembering, the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall will be in Olive Branch from June 4-8 at the Olive Branch Soccer Complex. According to their website, the wall is a 3/5 scale of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC, it stands six feet tall at the center and covers almost 300 feet from end to end. It is a reminder of the great sacrifices made during the Vietnam War. I have had the opportunity to visit the Memorial in Washington, DC and it is remarkable and moving. Thanks to Rosemary Irby for making me aware of this.
Rosemary, who was in the last graduating class from Oakland High School, created and runs the “If You Grew Up in Oakland” Facebook page. She does an incredible job of keeping us all together and all up-to-date.
Congratulations to Chuckie Moore who has been named for the third year as section leader in the Mississippi Valley State University Choir. This puts Chuckie on the Executive Board of the Choir’s leadership for the 2026-27 school term. It has been such a joy following this talented young man’s musical career. A few years ago, he cancelled his birthday plans with his friends to show up in Oakland and sing for our town’s Christmas event. Not many college students would do that.
Two new names of graduates have been shared with me. Mykaylon Sally and Brittany Russell were shared by Della Faye Kendrick and Dianne Lyons, respectively. We wish these graduates much success in the next chapter of their lives.
Margaret Ross had a stream of visitors this past week. Wendell Carven is a regular who drops off his Greenwood Commonwealth for her. Mother is a voracious reader of newspapers. Wendell often just sticks the paper inside the screen door, but he came in and visited a bit on Sunday. Pam Brewer and her granddaughter Zoey of Oxford stopped by as did Mother’s neighbor Joy Mullen and her houseguest, Lee Denley Faust. Lee grew up in Oakland and Charleston and now lives in Virginia and in recent years has come to visit the area annually. My cousin Mel Ross and his wife, Linda, from Southaven also visited. It’s been interesting through the years as both she and I are named Linda. I call myself the “original” Linda Ross and we laugh at sharing the name. Coach Mickie DeMoss was also a visitor. Mickie and sister Carol coached together at Auburn and have stayed great friends. Mickie coached with Pat Summitt at Tennessee, was head coach at Kentucky and coached many other places including in WNBA. Mickie is a great cook and is always welcome wherever she goes because of her funny personality and she always offers to cook!
Mother attended what we affectionally call “Lunch Bunch” which are the attendees at the Timothy Booker, Sr. Oakland Senior Citizens Center. This week they learned that there will be a bus provided by the Area Agency on Aging for those 60 and over to run errands and go to doctor’s appointments. Oakland’s days will be Monday and Wednesday. This is exciting, but they are closed as I write this so I will have to get more details for next week’s column.
Mother and Ms. Bessie Earl are considered to be two of Oakland’s matriarchs and often get to visit during Lunch Bunch. As a part of our America250 grant, we will be doing oral history interviews and these two ladies will certainly be a major part of capturing memories of Oakland.
Oakland’s Farmacy Marketplace is not only offering The Sweet Spot Creamery for all things ice cream, but they just started offering hot lunches along with their cheeseburgers and deli foods. The reports coming in on the lunch service are great. I’ll be giving a personal review soon! I can already promise you’ll love the cheeseburgers!
Let me know if you have news to include. Contact me via email at oaklandareachamber@gmail.com or text or leave a message at 601-853-3942.
