6/17/2009 6:00:00 PM
JUST AMONG FRIENDS
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By RACHEL EVANS
LOCAL RADIO EXECUTIVE KIDNAPPED AT GUNPOINT
On Thursday morning before the wedding of Rachel Thrash and Cody Chew on Saturday, two masked bandits walked into Laura Cole Thrash's office at Radio Station WHOC flashing guns and demanding that she get up, don't say a word and come with us. Blindfolded and handcuffed, they led her to the get-away car. "One drove and the other sat behind me, and engaged me in the game of Cash Cab. They asked me three questions related to wedding preparations, warning me that if I missed even one question, they would put me out on the side of the road. Having seen their guns, I had no doubt but what they would follow through with their threats. Finally we arrived at their destination, and still blindfolded and handcuffed, I saw that we were in an antique store with a salad bar. It was the White Dog Gallery located in the old Lyle Grovery Storey building in Louisville. Following a delicious lunch, the unmasked bandits, who turned out to be two of my dearest friends, Debbie Yates and Roberta Byars, brought me back to Philadelphia and treated me to a massage, a manicure, a pedicure and a facial. It was the best pre-wedding de-stressing kidnapping any mother-of-the bride could ever experience!" Laura has an APB out for her kidnappers. She promises not to press charges. She just wants to see if they will do it again!
All the dreams, plans and accomplishments are coming to fruition at our Historic Train Depot. The offices, meeting rooms and board room are functioning as busily as the daily trains which pass through, the parking lot and landscaping are nearing completion, and the mother and daddy kildees who have guarded their nest since the beginning of the renovation, are announcing the arrival of their baby kildees, three as of this writing with one more to hatch!
But baby birds are not all that's "hatching" at the Depot. Plans are under way for Marty Stuart Day in Philadelphia on July 9, 2009. The day will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday morning with the unveiling of the permanent sign which is being erected at the intersection of Highway 19 north and Marty Stuart Drive in the Arlington community. The sign was designed by Philadelphia's Kyle Stribling and is a cohesion of materials, form, color and symbolism which represent Marty's journey from Neshoba County to Nashville. Moving into town, the formal opening of the Marty Stuart Room at our local museum will take place at noon. From there, Marty and Connie will join their guests for lunch at the Depot, where the meal will be hosted by Peggy's. That night, beginning at 7 p.m., Connie Smith and Marty Stuart will take the stage at the Choctaw Indian Fair. It was at the Choctaw Indian Fair when he was 12 years old that, after watching Connie Smith perform, Marty told his mother, "I'm going to marry her someday!" That dream, like many of Marty's, have come true, and he has come home to share with us. He never misses an opportunity to brag about his Neshoba County upbringing; Marty Stuart Day July 9, 2009, is our chance to let him know how proud we are of him!
One of the best parts of summer is when the grandchildren come to visit. When I talked with Bobbie Hitt, she was walking around her house with a bottle of Windex, trying to make herself clean off the handprints Emma, 5, and Ella, 4, had left on the window and door panes. Just like the toys lying around, they were a reminder of the fun she and Papaw Rickie had with the girls and their mother, Stephanie Pettiette, who came from Austin, Texas for a week. "We were busy all the time," Bobbie told me. They visited Rickie's mother, Carolyn Evans, in Jackson and went to Sebastopol to visit Bobbie's mother, Odessa Goolsby, where Emma ordered "one cup of Granny's butterbeans", which were actually grown by Aunt Kathy and Uncle Junior Goolsby.
They got to play with their friend, Anna Beth Kilgore, "who they love!", the daughter of Joey and Beth Kilgore, Granny and Papaw's backdoor neighbor, and on Saturday they attended the Sesame Street birthday party hosted by neighbors Heather and Shane Knight for their 2-year-old son Barrett.
As they parted in Lafayette where Zac met them to reclaim his family, Stephanie consoled her mother by saying, "Let's just enjoy the good times we do have together." Imagine the influx of tears when Bobbie arrived home and found Stephanie's note under her pillow, thanking her for the wonderful time they had!
Summer is on at the home of Mamaw Glenda and Papaw Raymond Lundy. Three grandchildren have already come for a visit. They have nine more to go, and "we love it!" Sarah Robertso, 18, and Caitlin Robertson, 17, of Fountain Hills, Ariz. used their own "hard-earned money" to fly to Papaw and Mamaw's. Nine-year-old Scott Lundy came from Ocean Springs. Ryan Bennett, 14, of Madison is their most frequent visitor. "They love to come here, ride 4-wheelers, swim in the pool and fish in the pond," Glenda told me. I got a feeling that the food is not bad either! Though their visits will be spaced out through the summer, everyone will be here for the Neshoba County Fair - all 22 of them!
Mr. and Mrs. R.C. Peebles announced the marriage of their daughter, Sara, to Ray Howell, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Howell on June 5, 1949. The wedding took place in The First United Methodist Church (the present location of the downtown Citizens Bank offices) at four o'clock in the afternoon with the Rev. J.L. Neill officiating. Charlene Peebles (Webb) served as her sister's maid of honor and the groom was attended by his brother, Boots Howell. Sixty years later on June 5, 2009, Sara and Ray's daughters, Debbie Howell of Hattiesburg and Janie Tay Howell of Atlanta, dined with their parents at the local City Limits in celebration of the event. May we add our congratulations!
Avon and Don Wroble were in Louisville, Ky. for the celebration of their friends, Donald and Myrna Hinkebein's 50th wedding anniversary. Some 200 guests attended the beautifully appointed dinner party held at the Audubon Country Club. The couples have been friends since the 1970s when their children grew up together in Louisville.
Peggy Russell gives Patricia Perry's daughter, Pam Perry Stuart of Clinton, all the credit for getting her and Hal and Patricia to the 63rd reunion of Philadelphia High School's class of 1946. "With great determination, she packed the three of us, plus mine and Patricia's wheelchairs, into her SUV, and off we went to join our fellow classmates at The Cole House. Meeting at 10 a.m., we talked until noon, broke for a typically delicious Cole House lunch, after which we laughed and talked until three in the afternoon." I think Peggy deserves the title "class reporter/scrapbooker emeritus". She has a volume of memorabilia which she compiled for the class's 50th reunion and continues to update each year. Making memories for "This Is Your Life" as recorded by Peggy were Peggy and Hal, Patricia Perry and Pam Stuart, Clayton Kilgore of Perdido, Fla. and daughter, Becky Stacks of Atlanta, Doris Henley Murphy of Clinton, John and Jo Houston Willis of Shreveport, Billy Greenleaf of Philadelphia, Bob and Barbara Atkinson Walker of Meridian, John Berry of Philadelphia, Molly Williamson Cox of Philadelphia, Sue Gipson Barnett of Carthage, Doris Jean and Paul Johnson of Dallas, Beth Spears of Clinton, Mildred Young Calvert of Louisville, Betty Jean Tucker Temple of Brandon and Buddy and Coreen DeWeese of Brandon.
Flying to San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dot and Harold Lewis and Regina and Bill Dungan boarded the Royal Carribean cruise liner, Adventure of the Seas, and sailed from Sunday to Sunday in the beautiful Carribean waters. They docked and toured Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Martin, Maarten and St. Croix, "St. Martin was our favorite," Dot told me, as spokesperson for this group who share wonderful experiences together - whether it's cruising or cheering at Mississippi State ballgames.
The roles were switched when Madison Hardy played "the perfect hostess" to her grandparents, Bobby and Joyce Hardy, in her Nashville condo where she is a student at Belmont. "She took us to her favorite restaurants, and on a tour of country music stars homes, including Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Vince Gill, LeAnn Rimes and Willie Nelson. We had breakfast at Nashville's famous Pancake Pantry where we were joined by Aldean Valentine with whom Bobby had worked for over 30 years at U.S.D.A.," Joyce told me. Leaving Madison, who is living her dream in Nashville, Bobby and Joyce went to visit Bobby's cousin, Joe Posey, and his wife, Marty, in their mountain home located on 15 acres of hemlock, giant magnolias, rhodendrons and mountain laurel, two waterfalls, and a natural bridge on the Cumberland Plateau in Allardt, Tenn. Not having seen each other in 47 years, Bobby and Joe spent a lot of time reminiscing about family and old times.
They visited Blue Heron, a restored mining camp in Southwest Kentucky where one could see the entrance to the coal mine, the coal tipple that sorted the coal, the bridge over the Cumberland River where the railway cars came to pick up the coal, and the homes where the miners lived and worked. They joined in the celebration of Allardt's postmistress, Mrs. Lowanda Gernt's 70th birthday, held in the home of Malcolm and Harriet Colditz. Harriet is a Mississippi girl, from Greenville; therefore, a lot of Mississippi memories were shared. The party ended with dinner at Baccara's Restaurant in Jamestown, Tenn. where the evening was made more special by an attentive German chef.
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