Wedding Writeup From the Harper Bee

                                  W  e  d  d  i  n  g  s

Last evening at 6:30 PM on the shores of beautiful Lake Harper, Dorothy Smith and Harvey Lee Whitmire were united in holy matrimony. Rev. Hershel Holliday, pastor of the Harper County United Methodist Church preformed the ceremony.

The bride wore a fabulous yellow pants suit of her own design and making. The three button, two pocket design was the delight of all those attending.

Hollis Wainwright, the groom’s great nephew served as best man. Ms. Sarajean Smith, the bride’s sister was maid of honor.

Music was prerecorded by Mr. Wainwright and consisted of the overture from The Marriage of Figaro by W. A. Mozart and the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni.

After the lovely, but short ceremony the crowd was directed up to the old Whitmire house, 1 Harper Lake Road, for a superb reception. Food was provide by Dorothy’s Café on three sawhorse and ply board tables delicately adorned with white table cloths and the flowers brought hurriedly up from the services. The center table had punch bowls, one on the far right with lime sherbet punch and on the far left an orange sherbet punch. Mrs. Jacob Overmeyer and her daughter Sally Beth poured from both ends.

The happy bride and groom are off on a honeymoon trip consisting of several cruises in far away places such as Germany, the Mediterranean, Australia, and Alaska.

They will reside in Harper where Dorothy operates Dorothy’s Café and Harvey Lee is resident fisherman and storyteller.

Me and Dorothy's Big Day

In a couple of hours me and Dorothy is gonna get hitched. Ever thing is all set and Hollis are gonna put in the article what are being written for the Harper Bee, our weekly paper, by Marilu Jean Spinner. You can read all about it tomorrow. Well like I said this is my last daily posting. I hope to give Hollis some stuff ever now and then to tell y'all. Me and Dorothy plan to do some traveling over the next few years. We may go on tours, but I feel real comfortable about traveling on our own since me and Hollis taken that trip to England last year. I don't think I'd get lost on the Underground now. So I reckon Hollis will want to tell y'all some of my travel stories. I want to thank all of y'all who looked in on my Harper stories over the last year. I am pleased that peoples from 36 different countries tuned in. Hollis says the blog will stay up even if we don't post, so peoples can look back over the last year. Bye for now. Hope to be talking to y'all soon. And remember to check tomorrow for the Harper Bee story.
Bye,
Harvey Lee Whitmire

This picture were take awhile back. I reckon it were winter 'cause now there is more leaves on the trees. But it's the exact spot where the wedding will take place. So put some green in your imagination and you'll get the idea.

Methodist

My first wife, Bethel, were a Baptist; so I become a Baptist. My second wife, Mary Kate, were a Catholic, so I become a Catholic. Trixie, my third wife, were the one what went just to revivals, so we was always going to different churches or in one case a tent. So I guess I ain't been nothing since Mary Kate. Dorothy are a Methodist. And I reckon I am too. That's kinda the way it works around here; a man becomes what his wife is, as far as churches go. I like the Methodist minister, Rev. Hershall Holliday. He is a good preacher and tells it like it is. I don't reckon I'm gonna mind being a Methodist. Tomorrow me and Dorothy get married out on the lake. The wedding's gonna take place at 6PM when it gets a little cooler. On Sunday Hollis will print the report from the Harper Bee, our newspaper.

Gotta Wear a Tie

I don't hardly never wear a tie. And I only got one to my name. Hollis were after me about my wedding suit and he said he reckoned it were okay. And then he seen my tie, the one with a cowboy on it. He said
that just warn't gonna do so he brung me one of his own. It's red and blue stripes and I reckon it'll do. What I can't see, if Roy Rogers could wear a cowboy tie when he married Dale Evans, why can't I wear mine. Dorothy said I should listen to Hollis since he's a real up-to-date guy. Well I'm feeling better. Got over my aches and pains what I woke up with yesterday and I'm ready for the big day. We gonna meet on the shore of Harper Lake. That's on Saturday and that's the last day I'm doing this blog on a ever day basis. It will be number 365 and that's one year worth. From then on it will be done either weekly or ever other week. Hope y'all don't forget me.

The Dangest Thing

I ain't never sick much. But I waked up this morning with aches and chills. I reckon I had a little fever too but not too much. So I started doing what I know to do. I started taking CitriDrops (10 drops in a little water, followed by a full glass of filtered water.) The main thing I don't want in the water is chlorine. A doctor in Atlanta told me one time that chlorine warn't good for you to drink. It's good up to the point where the water comes out the tap. Then you need to filter it out. A funny story about the Harper water supply. For years and years old man Chester Dawes run the water plant. Peoples just loved Harper water to the point what peoples what was visiting in Harper would take home jugs of Harper water cause it were so much better than what they got at their towns. Well, old man Dawes died a few years back and the water started to taste real funny like. That's when we found out the only chlorine in Harper's water were in the samples he sent off to the state to be tested for how much chlorine were in it. I gotta get well 'fore Saturday 'cause that's when I am getting hitched.

Clothesline

We got a real nice washing machine and clothes dryer. I got 'em from Sears and Roebuck up in Jackson. Me and Willie went up in my truck and loaded 'em up and brung 'em home. And me and Dorothy gonna use 'em too. Except Dorothy likes to hang clothes out on a clothesline for the most part. She says the fresh air purifies 'em. I reckon she's right, but when we get married I plan to continue to wash my own clothes and use my new dryer to dry 'em. She said she didn't mind keeping up with my washing along with hers and I wouldn't mind but I'm kinda use to taking care of myself and as long as I'm able I plan to do just that. It ain't like it's a lot of trouble with the new machines to do all the work. I told Dorothy I didn't mind helping her taking clothes off the clothesline since she are still gonna run the cafe. I think me and Dorothy is gonna get along just fine.

Dorothy at Millsaps

When I were back from Korea living in Harper I run into Dorothy a lot. She were just a young girl and I were married and raising a family. She tells me she had always taken a liking to me, but just kinda an admiring kinda thing. She were raised a Methodist so it seemed like it were natural to go to Millsaps. She got a degree there in what they call liberal arts. But she never put it to no good use. Her mama needed her to work in their cafe. It were their only means of income and they done good at it. Dorothy don't talk like me, but she don't hold that over my head none. She said I could talk anyway I want to as long as she can understand me. So I ain't never seen no use to clean up my language. I figure that living in the same house with Dorothy some of her good English will rub off on me though. She said she don't care one way or the other. I reckon that's one of the things I love about her. We getting married this weekend. Hope y'all will tune in and read about it.

                                                     State Capitol in Jackson, Mississippi