Kelly's Watermelon, Pumpkin, and Gourd Farm

Jesse Kelley and his wife Louise run a melon farm. They has watermelons and other melons in the summer and pumpkins in the fall. They also grow a bunch of different kinds of gourds too. I don't know why they grow them ugly things but they do. Now the watermelons is always good, just as sweet, don't ya know?
And the pumpkins make good halloween jack-o-lanterns. But the thing what's real fun about Kelly's is that him and Louise raise real big watermelons and pumpkins. Jesse tells me he has the right kind of seeds (he's saved them up over the years.) He read that mixing peanut hulls with cow manure makes the melons grow big. Jesse went 'em one better; he mixed the peanut hulls in the cows food so the manure come out with the booster already in it. Then he knowed from what he read he needed shade for proper growth, so he got Slim Woodbury, the undertaker, to sell him a tattered funeral tent to put over his giant melons. And they do grow big.
Sometimes when peoples is looking at the big'ens lying there under that tent they takes their hats off, I reckon out of respect to Jesse and his growing skill. Or maybe it's just habit from attending so many funerals.

Tomorrow:
Harley Creek Echo Cave

Jethro's Corn Maze

Jethro McGill come up with the idea of making a maze in his cornfield and charging for it. That way he could just sit at the exit and collect the money and play hoedown music on his fiddle. I heard they has corn mazes in other places but Jethro's is the only one I been to. Peoples enjoy it and you can hear them just alaughing as they poke around trying to find their way out. Now a bad thing happened a few year ago. This family from Slidell in Louisiana had heard about the maze and come up to see it. There were so many of them they come in two cars. Well, while they was wandering around in the corn it commenced to rain and it didn't just rain it come a frog strangler. The family and all the other peoples come out of there like nobody's business and jumped in their two cars and took off. Jethro run to his house too. And they forgot they grandma. She were almost ninety year old and had a quivery voice anyway but with all the rain and thunder ain't nobody heard her meager yells. It were hours before the family realized she warn't with them. It were after they was already home. One of the cars come back for her and it were already dark and had turned off cold. Don't worry she were all right after she got home and taken a hot bath and had some of her sister's chicken soup what they claim can cure anything short of cancer. But that warn't the problem. Her family come back and wanted to sue Jethro. They claim she won't stop talking about how they deserted her. All day, ever day. Willie's boy, the big New Orleans lawyer, taken the case, but the judge threw it out.
Claimed he if he had to listen to his mother-in-law they could darn well put up with theirs.
Tomorrow:
Kelly's Watermelon, Pumpkin, and Gourd Farm

Tall Light of Highhill

The third wonder of Southwest Mississippi I'm gonna talk about is the Tall Light of Highhill. Highhill ain't exactly what you'd call a town. It ain't even a village. I reckon it's best described as a hole in the road. But they got a wonder there in their radio tower. It's by far the tallest thing around here. I heard tell if it were laid down on the ground it would be like a couple of football fields long or something like that. On the top of the tower they got this light. It's supposed to be red, but Jaybird Atcheson climbed up there a year or so ago and put in a blue bulb and now it puts out a purple glow. A few years after my second wife died, she were the one hit by a streetcar in New Orleans, I started going out with womens again. I used that Tall Light to help me decide whether to keep dating 'em. Almost always when we passed close by the tower they would ask me what that tower were for? And I told them it were built to put that light on top so airplanes wouldn't run into it. The ones what said, "Oh, I see," was the ones I kept on dating. You see my first two wives was real smart womens and I loved them both, but for the time being I just warn't up to keeping up with smart women. Don't you know?

Hollis' book of the day:
All the King's Men  by Robert Penn Warren - Put your fate in the hands of a politician, sit back and do nothing for yourself, and see how that turns out.

The Hanging Garden of Brassfield

The Hanging Garden of Brassfield come about in a strange way and over a bunch of years. Way back yonder the town of Brassfield used this old oak tree to hang murderers, horse thieves, and other such criminals. One of the peoples what got hung were found out to be not-guilty when the real culprick got caught red-handed and confessed. But it were too late. So they tried to make up for it by creating a garden where the oak tree was and not hanging nobody else there. Didn't help the one what got hung for what he didn't do though. Now the hanging part of the name got to mean something else when kudzu were introduced to Mississippi. It come from Japan and were supposed to stop erosion. Well it just went ever where and somebody made the mistake of planting some in Brassfield. It took over the garden and now it is a sight to be seen.
Tomorrow:
The Tall Light of Highhill.

How This Works by Hollis

It was I who prompted Uncle Harvey Lee to give me material for this blog. He has a reputation for storytelling and people in and around Harper are often seen in groups of four or more prodding him for another tale. I go to school five days a week and work a part-time job on Saturday and two or three evenings each week. It is easier for me to meet with Uncle Harvey Lee two or three days each week and gather the material for posting. As you can see I try to divide the stories evenly, not making any one day too long. I have promised my uncle to write everything as close to his words as possible. This is not an easy task and occasionally this difficulty may show in my work.

It is my wish that everyone will enjoy reading about Harper and Uncle Harvey Lee's life here. Your comments are appreciated. Please be frank. I will not show anything to my uncle that could cause him concern. If you enjoy reading about our town please tell your friends. Uncle Harvey Lee can't believe the response and asks me every time I see him for the numbers.

Stuff Around Here

Peoples is always asking me what there is to see around here. The answer is: A lot. I like to refer to the top spots as the Seven Wonders of Southwest Mississippi. Today I'm gonna tell you about the Leaning Silo of Butter. It's over yonder in Butter, Mississippi on a farm owned by a fellow named MacDoodle. Seems like the dirt on one side was a little too loose and the building started to sink after a year or two. They tell me they has a leaning building over in It-ley across the ocean and thousands of peoples come ever year to see it. Well if y'all want to see a leaning building and don't want to mess with flying to Atlanta (you most always have to do that) and catch another plane or two to It-ley, you can just come here and I'll give you directions. It's real easy to get there. You just head straight down Harper Lake Street and hang a left where the Old Salem Baptist Church used to be.

Tomorrow: The Hanging Garden of Brassfield

Hollis' book of the day:
South of Broad by Pat Conroy - Toad, Movie Stars, Aids, Mountain Boys, Suicide, Integration, Storm, Murder, Molestation, Catholicism, and good friends in Charleston

Hollis' Night Off

Hollis is off to Jackson to go somewheres with that girl from Atlanta what goes to Millsaps. His sister Diana are typing out what I has to say today. Wilkie and Betty Faye is flying back tonight. They is coming in to New Orleans where they left their car. I reckon they'll drive home in the dark. It ain't a bad trip anymore since they got at least four lanes all the way. I ain't said a lot about Dorothy since her mama died. She's doing okay. Her mama were real old and all, but it were still hard on Dorothy. She ain't missed but two days opening the cafe. Willie is tied up mending the fence what runs on the back side of his property so I just been sitting out in front of the bus station whittling. Today I made a mountain lion. Turned out pretty good. Now I'm at my cabin just looking out at the lake. It's a hot day but the little breeze coming off the lake is cool. Ever thing is good.

Airplane Graveyard

Wilkie and Betty Faye went to the airplane graveyard right close to a Air Force base right close to Tucson.
I forget the name but it's two words and one of 'em is Davis. When Wilkie told me about it I figured they was all buried in the sand. But they warn't. They was all arranged on the ground and went for miles he thought. Anyway they looked real pretty just sitting there. It's hard to believe there was that many planes all flying at one time or another. Or that many peoples what knew how to fly 'em. Wilkie says they gonna stay only one more day. Then they coming home to Harper.