Remembering When the Local Stores were the Center of the Community

A recent addition to our collection is Country Stores of Mississippi by June Davis Davidson, a resident of Mississippi for over 50 years.

Inside is a collection of images, stories and, in some cases, addresses to the country stores that are still open.  Some have become antique stores, restaurants, and even museums but still show signs of their past lives from when they were the cornerstones of their communities.  The stores are grouped by county.  Both entries for Warren County are located in Bovina : Buck's General Store and The Old Store.

Looking through the book, the photographs and stories of the local stores  that have been gathered by Davidson are enjoyable reading as well as an interesting lesson in local history.

Two New Woodworking Titles

Vicksburg is considered a retirement community and we get a lot of retirees visiting our library. Many are looking for hobby books to keep their minds sharp and their hands busy. From time to time, I get a retired gentleman (and sometimes a lady) who would like to learn more about crafting their own furniture. It just so happens that we have recently received two books on the subject from the editors of Fine Woodworking Magazine.

The first of these is titled: Fine Woodworking: Tables and Chairs. While most of these projects seem to require quite a bit of knowledge of woodworking, the editors believe that even beginners will find a project to help increase their skill as well as be able to build a piece of furniture to pass down to future generations. One of the first projects in this book is a sleek Mahogany coffee table with beautifully curved legs. Other projects include a Bow-front hall table, classic Shaker dining room table, 18th-century corner chair, and a simple and elegant bench. Designed by some of America's best woodworkers, these projects cover a broad range of styles and ensure that you will find something for your taste.

The second title we have is Fine Woodworking: Chests and Cabinets. This collection of chests, cabinets, and other storage projects takes you through the process of building beautiful pieces of furniture using clear instructions and comprehensive photos and drawings. Whether you love the classic Shaker style or lean more toward a modern look, you will certainly find something to inspire you. Some of the projects in this book are: an Arts and Crafts display cabinet, a cherry and fir bookcase, a Victorian-inspired vanity cabinet, and a Shaker chest of drawers. I think my favorite project is the Pennsylvania Spice Box. This adorable chest would be perfect to pass down to future generations.

 

Both books index their projects and offer a brief bit of information on the various contributors. They both also give information about connecting with Fine Woodworking Magazine online. If you would like to check out these or other books on woodworking projects, please come to the library and look in the non-fiction section using the number 684 to find other ideas to inspire your hobby.

Jamaica - The Real Location That Spawned a Fictional Legend

Ian Fleming first set foot on Jamaican soil in 1943 during World War II as Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, sent to assist in the problem of German U-boats sinking shipping vessels in the Carribean.



After the war had ended, he returned and, for eighteen years from 1946 until his death, Ian Fleming spent two months each year at Goldeneye - his home built overlooking a small white sand beach on Jamaica's north coast.  It was during these months that all of the James Bond novels and stories were written.



While quite a few of the Bond stories had Jamaica as the setting, the influence of the area - the music, the people, his circle of friends - can be felt throughout the series including the creation of the character of Bond himself.



Matthew Parker mixes Jamaican history and culture with the times and circumstances that shaped Ian Fleming's viewpoints.  He not only covers the life of Mr. Fleming following the war, but the decline of the British Empire and the effects that had on Jamaica as one of the remaining outposts of that Empire.  He also covers not only the Bond stories but also the films that were made from them.  Both Sean Connery and Roger Moore took their first turns as Bond on Jamaica, with Roger Moore actually visiting Fleming's Goldeneye while on Jamaica to film 'Live and Let Die'.



Part Fleming biography, part study of the genesis of James Bond and part Jamaican tour guide of days past, Parker's book appeals on many fronts, but will likely be most interesting to fans of 007 lore.

Two Beautiful Photography Collections

We don't get a great many photography collections here at the library, but two new collections we have just received are Abandoned America: The Age of Consequences by Matthew Christopher and American Ballads: The Photographs of Marty Stuart edited by Katherine E. Delmez for the First Center for the Visual Arts Vanderbilt University Press. Both of these books contain beautiful photos and brief explanations of the history of the pictures.

In, Abandoned America, the author gives us a glimpse of what happens when man-made structures are left to weather the ravages of time without humans to keep them in top shape. These beautiful and eerie photographs include old schools, hospitals, theaters, factories, and churches. Slowly, everything returns to the Earth. Plaster walls crumble and tumble to the floor. Ceilings cave in and allow the wind and rain to wear down the interior of buildings. Machinery, too, rusts and falls victim to the ravages of weather and time. All manner of creatures come in and make themselves at home in the ruins of once-splendid architecture. As you can see below, these haunted photos give a a glimpse at what a post-human world would look like.

The other book of photographs, American Ballads, is a collection from country music legend, Marty Stuart.

This collection is introduced by Stuart himself. After a brief history of Stuart, his career in music and his love of photography, readers are given three distinct sections of photographs to ogle. The first section is entitled "The Masters" and includes photographs and portraits of some of the most famous names in music; especially Country Music. There are portraits of Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Bill Monroe, George Jones, and Jerry Lee Lewis to name a few.

The next section is called "Blue Line Hotshots" and includes photos of every day folks from all over small-town America. These are the unsung heroes of the truck stops, county fairs, and everyday life in what some call the "fly-over states."

The final section is named "Badlands" and it contains photographs from the native peoples of South Dakota. These photos were taken over many years and many trips to visit the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Lakota.

These photos are sometimes whimsical, sometimes pensive, but all of them evoke the emotion of the subjects being photographed.