IEAFCS Trip April 13, 2012--P.M.

After a delicious lunch at Magnolia Hall, we crossed the mighty Mississippi into Ferriday, LA. An interesting note is that very tall flood walls have been built on both sides of the river to protect Natchez and Ferriday. In fact, a lower level of Natchez that used to be several 
blocks wide is now one street. The rest of it is in the river!

First stop was the Delta Music Museum. It features a small collection of some very famous artists that are from nearby towns in Louisiana and Mississippi. Jerry Lee Lewis, Mickey Gilley, and Jimmy Swaggart are all cousins and are from that area. There was a fourth cousin--if someone remembers who it was--add a comment.

One famous photo in the museum is of the so-called Million Dollar Quartet--Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley. Video performances of members of the museum brought back lots of memories. And you may be interested to know that Jerry Lee Lewis just got married for the 7th time. Some will remember the often colorful history of his previous marriages.

Next stop was Frogmore Plantation, which gives a contrast between a working cotton plantation of the early 1800's and a modern one today. It is over 4,000 acres of corn and cotton.  There was corn already a foot high! Owners Lynette and Buddy Tanner also have a cotton gin that serves about 25 other local farmers.The Tanners have a desire to preserve history, and they have an entire collection of buildings on the property that are set up just like it would have been on an early plantation--slave houses, overseers quarters, cook shack, barns, etc. These are the original buildings that have been salvaged and moved there!

One building houses a rare steam cotton gin--no longer used, of course. We also learned how the War Between the States (not Civil War) and the boll weevil devastated this area for many years. Louisiana has fertile soil that is replenished from the flooding of the delta on a regular basis. Many wealthy plantation owners lived in Natchez, but owned plantations on the other side of the river because the Mississippi soil soon became worn out.

Who knew that a hoe cake was named because it was cooked over an open fire on a hoe!

Lynette and one of her assistants shared insight about the music that was important  for motivation as well as communication during the slave area and the new way of life called sharecropping.

And, of course, there was a gift shop!


After leaving Frogmore, it was a short trip to the Sandbar Restaurant for dinner. Are you getting the idea that food was a very important part of this trip?