Vicksburg, MS

May 31,2010

There are 3 Waffle Houses in this city listed with a 2000 census of 25,000. How can that be? This city that was under siege for 47 days because of their position on the Mississippi River, no longer sits on that river. There are 3 offices of the COE here controlling the flow of the Mississippi. We drove today on a levee that protects farm land from the river, except that now it is an isolated lake, a protion of an oxbow in the river that has been orphaned. A city of contradictions to be sure, but we have really enjoyed being here and researching its history.

During a tour yesterday, we came upon the first house of the area from 1827, built by George Washington Ball. That's the same Ball family as ol' George's Mom. The same Ball family that Russell is related to! We haven't gotten the connect straight yet, but it turns out we both have connections here. Who Knew?

We learned many other facts on that tour, a 2-hour trip in time, to ice merchants, nuns, governors, and Jeff Davis. Antebellum, Vicksburg was a town of merchants and plantation owners who kept a place in town for parties. We also learned that we were the first private tour for Mr. David Maggio, the biggest shock of the day. We highly recommend David if you are in the area.

We even adopted "Bbq Cat" on a very temporary basis. A beautiful little tawny adopted us for a couple of days because he/she likes the smell of Russell's cooking, but who doesn't? All part of a successful trip to this western Mississippi town.

Vicksburg, MS, Memories Before Our Time

Genealogy is addicting. When we began to unearth the family history a flurry of emails and phone calls created more links and got more people involved. Each new discovery cleared the way for a new question or theory about past events. Some of the answers are coming together. It's amazing how those answers touch on much more current events, circles are completed, and those long ago events actually become part of the current generation's memories. Time Travel....in an RV!

My great-great grandfather and his brother were two of the engineers who planned the trenches laid in the Vicksburg battlefield. We walked there yesterday morning, a day much like during the siege 150 years ago, getting warmer, muggier as the sun rose. However, we wore cotton clothes, high-tech tennies, sun screen and insect repellent as we walked between sun and shade. An hour in we got in the car, cranked up the A/C and came home for showers and lunch. Great-great grandfather MS Hasie wore a wool uniform and crummy shoes, stayed in battle for 2 months, had no trees for shade, ate what the army gave him and when possible, snuck off to see the beautiful southern girl he had met when a battle skirted near her plantation(the home was used as a hospital, like so many were) a few miles away. His experience of Vicksburg was beyond anything we can really imagine, and his team won! The poor Confederates had no relief from the elements or 2 months of starvation that eventually cost them the city and the war.

For the last 2 days I have been working through archives with the current good folks in Vicksburg, reminiscent of sitting in Texas courthouses while Dad ran title searches for lease property for Humble Oil(more summer days with no air conditioning). We found death certificates from 1878, but no bodies in the cemetery. I then found those same names on census roles in Dallas in 1900. Conflicting, yes, but proof of family lore that they escaped the city quarantine during the yellow fever epidemic. These were hardy folks!

The intrigue continues, bones rattle, and secrets are revealed. But I won't go on any more here, i have work to do on Ancestry.com!

Vicksburg, MS

May 24, 2010

We arrived in Vicksburg and almost immediately went to the battlefield. I knew that one of my distant relatives had been here, Russell thinks some of his may be as well. It is amazing how many monuments you can read when you are looking for specific names! We would move on much faster without this scavenger hunt type of motivation.

Our first stop was a wonderful visitor center on the Mississippi River, which was also part of the battlefield, it seems most of the city was at some point. The building was hosting a string orchestra at that point on a Sunday afternoon and we completely enjoyed the 1800's tunes like "Turkey in the Straw." It set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. A wonderful park ranger at the actual battlefield ran a list of family names from the Civil War and provided us valuable info for securing more detailed info.

Today we set out in earnest and did spend the whole day understanding the dire circumstances of this 47 day siege in the summer of 1862. The RV park loaned us a DVD to play during the tour and we started a the Battlefield Museum, a private business, to have a much clearer understanding of the battle, siege, and town. We drove through the 16 mile battlefield thinking more globally than yesterday. It is hard to imagine what these folks endured. The park is dominated by Union monuments and movements because the Confederates were dug in, literally, in embankments that form a crescent around the city. They literally held the high ground and bombed and mined the river to protect the west side of Vicksburg. None of the Federal attempts to breach the line were successful, only starvation and disease weakened the resolve of the Rebel soldiers and citizens. Grant marched July 4, fully appreciating the irony and significance of the day.

We had not known the significance of the naval battle that took place here. A dozen or so paddle boats had been converted to "ironsides" to wage the naval battle. The USS Cairo had been sunk in the Yazoo River by a hand detonated mine - imagine guys hiding on shore to set off previously placed bombs with wires running from mid-river! Astounding! Anyway, in the 1960's this first-ever-mined boat was recovered and placed on shore with a roof and supports to mimic the parts that are rotted and washed away. The relics recovered fill an on-site museum that provides the life on board. No lives were lost in the sinking, and the Yanks went back to cut off the smokestacks that alerted any passerby of the location. So this was a pristine archaeological find, except of course for the part about being under water for 100 years.

We are sort of collapsed for the rest of the day. Soaking up the history of the place. With the help of several family members, we are also working at the personal ancestry this landmark has motivated. Monte, Ginger and Kyle have each given us a jump start to the wade back through time. We really appreciate their help and encouragement on the undertaking.

Caddo Lake

May 21, 2010

Caddo lives up to its billing! We drove to Uncertain, TX where we rented a john boat for our fishing trip. The first glimpse from the store is a wide expanse of water lilies-beautiful.

I have been on a few lakes, admittedly not too many, but this is the first time I have ever seen one with marked "road ways." A map seemed like a wise investment! We ventured on to road A, M, MM, V and F, and were very glad for the marked posts as we made our way back to the store. The lake is really a network of bayous separated by islands and swamps. The Guadalupe River has cypress trees, but Caddo has CYPRESS TREES! I completely enjoyed our day on the lake, Russell would have liked it better if he had seen the bass a little closer to his hook. But we had a nice picnic and enjoyed the cruising and the sitting still. We saw a few birds, heron mostly, and heard a bunch more...one very vocal owl. We also saw a beaver and his lodge. This thing was bigger than most tents and would have made a great picture. Oh, Well. We did catch a little sun and cool breezes. Perfect!

No fish on the hook meant we ate out. Catfish that was caught, cleaned, breaded, and cooked without any help from me, my favorite kind.

East Texas

May 20, 2010

We had a pretty drive through east Texas - Athens, Tyler, Marshall. Some wind, road construction, and rain, but a whole lot of pretty! Fortunately, Russell remembered our friend Mike mentioning the "best ribs in the whole world" were somewhere on this route. With the help of friends and technology, we got directions to Country Tavern on Hwy 31, just south of Kilgore. We arrived ready to give Mike an argument on the way out, but such was not the case. These have to be the best ribs in the world! Since Russell ate twice as many as I did, he does them better justice, so you'll have to ask him about the juicy details.

It has been awhile since writing. We have been involved in non-blog activities, catching up with family and friends. It has been terrific and wonderful, but not exactly a travel-log.

Tomorrow, Caddo Lake. This is the only natural lake in Texas and with cypress, alligators, and a variety of wildlife, it is suppose to be beautiful. We look forward to our first trip there.

Dallas, Texas

May 6, 2010

We arrived in Texas yesterday afternoon and one thing I noticed right away, Texas cows like to gather in groups to graze, where as, those western cows kinda' hang out by themselves. Of course, it could be that there isn't very much grass over there to graze on, but I like to think there are social implications. We were just barely across the border from New Mexico when we saw agriculture, another thing I hadn't noticed in the last 1000 miles or so.

We also saw bluebonnets! I was afraid they would be bloomed out, but we were in luck. The drive down Hwy. 287 was spectacular today. First we noticed tallish thick grasses waving in the wind. Then wildflowers started cropping up, first in bunches, then in assorted mixes all across the highway and fields; blue, yellow, pink, purple, red, orange, white. It made me smile.

And that was one of the few reasons to smile! We have driven 3 days in heavy winds for roughly 500 miles per day. We won't do that again. Now, I didn't drive a single mile, but did make sandwiches and bring drinks like any good stew. It is good to know we will be settled for the better part of a week.

Las Vegas, NV

May 4, 2010

We have had a very busy weekend in Sin City with Kyle, old friends and new ones. Russell made numerous trips to the airport and hotels getting everyone to all the important places beginning on Friday afternoon through Sunday. He should have had a meter! We had dinner at NY,NY on Friday night; Saturday shopping, "Phantom of the Opera" Saturday night; more eating and shopping on Sunday, even a little piano bar action before a wonderful dinner at Paris on Sunday night.

Each of these events was centered around the very important product launch of YWire Technologies, a start-up company in which Kyle is 1 of the 3 partners. All 3 partners and their families were together for this important event. We enjoyed getting to know each other and taking part in the excitement of creation. The most important events on Sunday included seeing the demo set into action and visiting the trade show booth. We joined board members and investors for dinner and capped off the evening with the Bellagio fountain. Fairly Perfect!

I was invited to "Phantom" by Karyn (Kyle's girlfriend), her mom Julie and Julie's friend Leslie. We were decked out for a show and dinner and completely enjoyed the evening and each other. An added bonus to the show, the star of the production is a friend of Julie and Karyn! She even came out after the show to see us. Kristen is a lovely lady with an amazing voice.

As a proud mom, i could keep this going for pages, but will show restraint!