Herald Columnists

The weather turned cold again this past week, so I had the pleasure of hauling a bunch of large house plants back inside from the porch. They had only been out there a week. I knew better than to take them to the porch in the first place considering Water Valley was very clearly experiencing…

Weather-wise, this past week has been a dream despite the fairly rainy aspect of it all. This is certainly a case of False Spring. A few of my yard plants have survived the Great Arctic Blast. The Japanese Magnolia is blooming and dropping petals and blooming again. His annual one-man party remains entirely unaffected. The…

Christian love and sympathy to the Karen Patricia Bell Merrill family of Tillatoba. Karen passed away Tuesday, February 21, at the Baptist Memorial Hospital – North Mississippi in Oxford. She was born November 9, 1956 in Michigan to Ray, Jr. and Opal Dunn Bell. Karen’s heart was in loving and being with her family. She found…

It sure is one dreary and rainy morning as I write this. But I refuse to complain because the high temperatures are supposed to be near 80 degrees by the time this newspaper hits the stands around mid-week. What a welcome weather surprise for a February! I’ll be watching closely what happens in my yard…

Don’t forget about the benefit for Quay and Shelia Peacock Saturday, February 25, at the MultiPurpose building in Coffeeville. People can start arriving as early as 9 a.m.  Quay has throat cancer and Shelia needs a lung implant. Hamburger, hot dog and barbecue plates will be available for $10. There will be a lot of other…

It’s a Wagner Week and here we have a 1940s typed-out instructional about one lady’s experience with tulip bulbs. This is so thorough and involved that I will never look at another tulip the same way again. Apparently growing a tulip is like raising a child! No more lackadaisical tulip appreciation from me. I had…

Before you start wondering if this is the Burney edition, let me explain it is a coincidence both brothers are featured this week. It started with a new reporter, Clay Hale, who will write features in the Herald. Clay is an Ole Miss student and a Water Valley native. He reached out to me a…

It’s a Wagner Week and here’s an unusual one from head-honcho of the Wagner Letters crew: patriarch Daniel. He’s the one who built the big house on Dupuy. Although a loving parent, he’s typically a strictly business type of dad. He doles out checks freely, limits conversational topics to logistical matters, scolds his kids if…

Hello, to the sub-set of column readers who are Wagner fans! A mid-January day in 1886 Water Valley wasn’t too different from one today. Here we have a letter from school-aged Corinne writing to big brother, John Henry, who is off in North Carolina at Bingham Military School. I really love the kid letters. Kids…

Merry Christmas from our home to yours. I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Christmas with your family and friends. I received a beautiful Christmas card this week from a dear friend, Sandra Craig Anderson, from Acworth, Ga. Sandra lost her only son, Craig W. Anderson, who left his earthly home for his…