Delta Council Day set for this Friday

U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas will deliver keynote address for 74th annual meeting

By Michael Simmons
The Cleveland Current Managing Editor

The smell of fried catfish lingers in the air and men in seersucker suits fill the quadrangle at Delta State University — it’s Delta Council Day. The 74th annual event begins Friday, June 12, on the campus of DSU and organizers are excited about this year’s event. “There is a lot of history and a lot to celebrate,” Frank Howell, director of Delta Council’s development department, said. “There is a lot going on in our region, a lot of challenges we face, but also a lot of successes. And this is such a great event to see the regional effort made.”

This year, U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas will be the keynote speaker, joining a long list of prestigious names that have stood at the podium. From White House officials to senators, astronauts to admirals, Delta Council boasts a long history of having nationally recognized speakers attend. In 1947, Dean Acheson, secretary of state for President Harry Truman, unveiled the outline of the Marshall Plan, which created a foundation for Europe after World War II.

“We’re so excited to have our neighbor from across the river come and speak,” Howell said. “She’s been a strong supporter of the Delta and she has worked hand-in-hand with our congressional delegation on southern agricultural issues.” Delta Council President John Phillips added, “She has distinguished herself as an advocate of the fundamental issues facing the Delta, such as rural economic development, sound agricultural policy, workforce training and health care.” Her speech is slated for 10:30 a.m. inside the Bologna Performing Arts Center on DSU’s campus. She will be introduced by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Along with Lincoln’s speech, the meeting will recognize special achievements of Deltans and the Delta’s Top Honor Graduate Scholarship recipient.

A special presentation will take place prior to the meeting. At 9:15, two of Mississippi’s premiere political commentators will discuss the 2011 gubernatorial election, in a program entitled “The Run-up to 2011: After Haley.” Sid Salter of The Clarion Ledger will be alongside Jere Nash, a political author, to discuss the top candidates for the governor’s seat. “The race for 2011 has already started and it will be interesting to hear those keen observers set the stage for what the public will see transpire over the next two years,” Howell said. “People will get their first look at who the contenders will be.”

Howell invited all to the meeting, which will end with a fried catfish luncheon on the quad. He spoke of the rich traditions of Delta Council Day, specifically the cotton seersucker suits. “Cotton has been such an important economic force in the Delta. People pick their finest outfit and sport it around. We’ve even had the ‘Wear Cotton’ contest for years and it too is a celebration.”

The fried catfish is also a representation of the Delta. “Years ago they served BBQ chicken — thousands and thousands. Today, we serve thousands of pounds of fried catfish because catfish, like cotton, is so important. We’ve also added a rice and corn dish to our menu this year because they are also big influences in the Delta.”

Growing Power: Lawrence Murphy and his son Bond continue to sow the fields farmed by their ancestors over 120 years ago.

Murphy Farms, six generations of growing power

By Charlie Capps lll
The Cleveland Current

Jim Bond was born in Franklin, Tenn., in 1862. The call of family led him west to work in his brother-in-law’s store in Arkansas around 1885. From there he moved to the Mississippi Delta and purchased a stock of merchandise in Cleveland. Business went well over the next couple of years and he began to acquire land and more stores. By 1897, he and his brother, Frank, owned stores in Cleveland, Beulah, Rosedale, Lobdell and Pace.

In 1891, Jim married Nellie E. Dietz of Washington County and they had six children. One of their children, Charles Terrell Bond, married Irene Townsend of Winona whose daughter, Nan Elizabeth, married Lawrence Murphy, affectionately known as Murph, of Natchez.

All the while Jim was increasing his land holdings as his businesses fared well. Mound City and Pace were the bases where Jim and his family settled down with mercantile interests and vast farmland holdings. A long time worker of the Bond family, named Porter Bond, came down from Tennessee when Jim started his farming operation. He wrote, “Why this was a young country when I first came down here with Mr. Jim Bond, way back yonder when he was a young man and I was too, but not as young as him. There was no bottom to the roads, poor buckshot, and the more you traveled them, the deeper they get.

History 101: Lee Burke has taken the role of documenting Shelby’s history for furture generations.

Banker, historian holds secrets to Shelby’s past and future

By Ken Kossman
The Cleveland Current

Bank of Bolivar County President Lee Burke was born and raised in the town of Shelby and considers his family very much a part of the town’s history. Burke explained, “I was born in February of 1952 in the Shelby Community Hospital.” Burke’s mother, Dorothy Lee Roberts Burke, was originally from the town and his dad Charles William Burke was originally from Ruleville. “They married in 1951 and my mother’s father and his family were one of the original families here in Shelby — the Roberts family. They came in the early 1900s from Wilkinson County where most of the people here came from at that time.”

Burke continued, “Dr. Shelby and Colonel Shelby came up from Bolivar County and started farming interests here. Their family was engaged in various businesses, including (Shelby’s) father who was a bookkeeper at an old plantation and commissary. He and his older brother worked primarily for Mr. H.L. Wilkinson in the dry goods business. He later formed an insurance agency.”

The Burke family chose to get into banking and have been involved now for almost 70 years. “The bank was actually formed during the Great Depression right before the onset of World War II. We got into the banking business in the early ’50s. This bank was formed in Shelby in September 1940. We were fortunate to be in the right place at the right time when people were trying to sell stock and my great-grandmother acquired a good bit of bank stock. We got involved in the bank at that point and have been ever since.” 

Robin Hood: Ken McGarrh takes turkey hunting to a whole new level as he takes his harvests with a bow.

Ken McGarrh, aA turkey’s number one enemy. This commodities investor takes them down with precision and patience

BY Charlie Capps lll
The Cleveland Current Sports Editor

Ken McGarrh is a sagacious hunter in all of his game pursuits and has been hunting since he was old enough to pick up a gun. His father, Peter Rabbit McGarrh, taught him well in the primal art, but Ken has pushed the limits for his own challenge.

Turkey hunting is probably one of the more demanding quests, which requires the ability to be still, call, understand the bird and have the patience of Job. Even with a shotgun, it is not easy.

Ken prefers to take his turkeys with a bow. This past turkey season was good for him since he killed three turkeys with his compound bow.

March 20, Ken was hunting at Merigold Hunting Club on a very windy day. He set up his tent blind near a closed road where he placed his Jake and hen decoys. Ken said, “I started calling about every 30 minutes or so. I had been there about two hours when I saw gobbler and a hen about 60 yards out. I clucked a couple of times and he knew where I was. The gobbler was out front with the hen following just looking at those decoys. They just stood out there at about 25 yards, which is a little further than I like to shoot. He stood there in a little opening for about 10 minutes and I didn’t see him getting closer. I decided to shoot and made a perfect shot centered about four inches above the legs. It was a four-year-old turkey with a nine-inch beard. This turkey was unique with four white feathers on each wing.”

Take me to Ruleville

Sunflower County city blossoms

By Michael Simmons
The Cleveland Current Managing Editor

RULEVILLE — Situated approximately 10 miles down the road east of Cleveland, a small community in north Sunflower County is paving its way to a prosperous future.

“We are a little town, our per capita income is only $11,000 per household and we have every problem associated with the Mississippi Delta,” Joanie Perkins, secretary of the Ruleville Development Council Board, said. “But, we aren’t going to accept that — we’re doing everything we can to better this community.”

And they have been doing just that. On Friday, Perkins picked up an authorization letter from the USDA Rural Development that allows them to begin working on a new $8.4 million wellness center.

The center is just one piece of an extensive five-year strategic plan that approximately 35 members of the community compiled over months of research to build a Ruleville that stands out amidst small Delta towns that have fallen to the wayside over the last half-decade.

Sunday Leader folds

Five-year-old newspaper calls it quits

By Michael Simmons
The Cleveland Current Managing Editor

On Friday, it was announced by Sunday Leader publisher David Johnson that his Sunday newspaper has “printed its final issue” and was going out of business.

Johnson said, “It’s a heart-wrenching decision. It’s something that we looked at every angle and determined there wasn’t but one conclusion, and that conclusion was to shut the doors.”

The publication, under the auspices of NextEd Media, was formerly known as The Cleveland News Leader and was published under Gray Banner LLC. The paper’s name change occurred this past March, and at the end of April, individual Chapter 7 bankruptcy was filed by Johnson and he listed Gray Banner LLC., as “formerly doing business as.”

Dual-Motor: Ted and Dave Alford in Bolivar Auto, their first business venture. They have since become involved with every aspect of the automobile.

Ted and Dave Alford, Cleveland’s automotive gurus

By Keith Wood
The Cleveland Current Senior Writer

Bolivar Auto Parts was established in December of 1975 by the late Theodore P. Alford. Alford’s background was in the timber business, not in automotives, so he intelligently hired Ray Brewer as the manager for his store until 1979, when his son Ted took over as manager.

“When Ray and his family moved away, I just tried to do the absolute best that I could,” said Ted. Bolivar Auto supplies not only automobile parts, but farm machinery and implement parts and supplies as well. “We have had a long list of good employees who were essential to our success. Everyone was knowledgeable about our inventory and supplying what our customers wanted and needed,” he said.

“It took a couple of years, but I eventually began to really focus on what the community and the farmers needed and stock our inventory appropriately,” said Ted. In the mid 1980s, the Alfords opened another store in Rosedale, overseen by his brother, Dave. “Dad was back and forth between both stores and Dave and I, with help from our staff, took care of the parts and sales and making contacts with people,” said Ted. After several years of commuting from Cleveland to Rosedale, Dave hired Harold Register to manage the Rosedale store. The Alfords eventually sold that store to Register, who still successfully operates it.