The battles were over and victory won. No more slavery, no more guns. The people were free from cruel tyranny. But alas, little thought had been given to how people who had only known a dependent role would be able to function in and enjoy their new freedom. Some forward thinking folks had the idea to set up educational opportunities that would give them trades and skills which would allow them to productive members of society and the pursuit of happiness promised by President Lincoln. 

A few years ago I attended the Mississippi Hill Country Picnic near Holly Springs, Mississippi, just down the road a piece from the blues and barbecue of Memphis. The “picnic” is a down home blues festival in a cow pasture. It was so wonderful that I went back a second year. 

While taking my time to have fun and explore the area I stumbled on several vacant buildings as the top of a hill in the north part of town. Being in great disrepair they seemed reminiscent of a set from the Ghostbusters movie. Stopping at a convenience store across the street I asked the young attendant “What’s the story behind those creepy old buildings up on the hill?” She replied “I don’t know. I ain’t from around here.” How long have you been here I asked. “Five years” was the reply. So much for natural curiosity! So, with water bottle and trusty Nikon D3200 in hand I trekked up the hill, roamed about, read historical plaques and peered into empty buildings. This little side trip and the markers whetted my appetite and gave me enough info that I was able to do a little research when I got back home.

In the period from immediately after the Civil War through the first decade of the1900s there were two separate efforts toward the goal of providing education for African Americans – Mississippi Industrial College (MIC) and Rust College. 

Rust College was founded in 1866 by a few northern missionaries with the Freedman’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was chartered in 1870 as Shaw university. The name was later changed to Rust University to avoid confusion with Shaw University in North Carolina. It was named after Rev. Richard Rust of Ohio, the secretary of the Freedman’s Aid Society and in 1915 assumed the name Rust College. It is the oldest of the eleven historically black college and universities associated with the United Methodist Church and the second oldest private college in Mississippi. It thrives to this day.

Mississippi Industrial College was established in 1905 by the Mississippi Conference of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (now the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church) and began its first classes in May 1906.

By 1908 there were 450 students enrolled. The school was located on the western side of North Memphis Street across from Rust College. Bishop Elias Cottrell desired to found a college for Negro youth which would instill Christian ideas and provide a practical education and for 77 years the school fulfilled that mission.

Catherine Hall was the first campus building and served as a women’s dormitory as well as a classroom. Hammond Hall the Men’s dormitory was added in 1907 and in 1910, Washington Hall named for the famous author and educator Booker T. Washington. It served as the administration building. And 1923, through a donation from Andrew Carnegie, the Carnegie Auditorium was erected. At the time, it was the largest auditorium in Mississippi open to blacks.

After integration, when all students were allowed to enroll in the colleges of their choice, MIC started losing enrollment and after a federal funding cut in 1981 due to accreditation problems, the college was forced to close its doors in 1982.

When the campus closed, the once proud buildings stood unused, unoccupied and began to show signs of deterioration. Four of them, including the Carnegie Auditorium and Washington Hall, are on the National Register of Historic Places. In an attempt to save the buildings, Rust College across the street attempted to purchase the property when the school closed in 1982. Although the offer was not considered, they were able to acquire the property in 2008. In 1999 a group named the Mississippi Industrial College Alumni Association, Inc. (MICAAI) was formed in an effort to save these important edifices and restore them to their former glory. However, in 2017 they still remain sadly neglected.

When I conducted my informal and impromptu tour of the MIC campus I felt a strong presence of the people who once walked the halls and campus and felt moved. My initial education came from the several historic markers and plaques there. It was later rounded out with the gracious assistance of my friend Jan Hyatt from nearby Blue Springs. She directed me to her friend and local attorney Fife Whiteside who is from Holly Springs. Fife gladly put me in touch with the current president of Rust College in Holly Springs, Dr. David L. Beckley. Many thanks to Doctor Beckley who was very gracious in helping me round out the story.

FICKLING’S MILL

Once I roamed twenty-eight counties of the rolling hills and old growth forests of west central Georgia, begging physicians and other healthcare providers to host students for their clinical training. Close to a quarter of a million miles were logged over a 14 year period and I ended up convincing over 1,000 docs, dentists, nurses and pharmacists to serve as preceptors (supervising physicians). They hosted students from Emory, Mercer, the Medical College of Georgia, Morehouse and medical, nursing and dental schools across the land.

Although being on the road was necessary to accomplish my mission, I none-the-less grew bored using the same routes and began to explore different ways to get to the same small communities. I ended up being very familiar with about every county and country road in my area. There is some beautiful scenery in this region, like Sprewell Bluff in Upson county and High Falls in Butts county. So too, interesting places abound like the Red Oak Creek Covered Bridge in Meriwether county near Woodbury, a Horace King bridge. Throw in the Pine Mountain Trail in Troup and Starr’s Mill in Fayette county and you’ve got yourself a full slate.

Lately, since I have hit the three-quarters of a century mark, I have tried to focus on slowing down (ha, ha, ha) and being “in the moment.” So that was one of the reasons when Fickling’s Mill dam flashed by in my periphery, I went on about two miles and decided to double back to check it out. In all those fourteen years I had allowed it to simply flash by, always in a rush to get to the next place. The site is on Patsiliga Creek at the intersection of Georgia 137 and 208. I parked and noticed a man who seemed to have already succeeded in “being in the moment.” Doffed with a straw hat and wielding a rake, he seemed lost in reverie. I strolled over and asked if he knew the story of the place. He replied, “I was about to take a break. Let’s go sit a piece on that bench over yonder and we can talk about it.” Turned out he was the owner, so Mr. Edward Benns treated me to some wonderful tales and told the story of the mill. It was named after Dr. Fickling, an early settler and Civil War veteran who founded the site. Although various names have been used (Fickling, Fickling’s Mill, Ficklin’s Mill and Flickins Mill), Fickling’s is corect. A Fickling post office was established in 1887 and remained in operation until 1903. Mr. Benns gave me a postcard showing a 1 cent stamp required.

When the dam was built, an unusual mechanism was put into place. A portion of the water was run through a pipe at the top of the dam that connected to a concrete tower. At the bottom of the tower was a paddle which turned under the force of the water. At the top of tower was a gear that converted the vertical motion into a horizontal motion and that energy was transmitted through a long pipe to a mill building which is no longer in existence. I think originally the mill processed cotton but was later converted to a grist mill as there are several grinding stones around the property.

 

One great piece of the puzzle I did not know was the site’s connection with famous American naturalist William Bartram. Born in Philadelphia in 1739, he accompanied his father on many travels around the original colonies and soon grew interested in botany. As early as his mid-teens he was noted for his excellent drawings of birds and plants, much like John James Audubon, the American ornithologist, naturalist and painter.  In 1773, he embarked upon a four year journey through eight southern colonies, taking note of the native species of animals and plants. Bartram came through lands now consisting of Taylor county in 1775 and discovered a golden variety of St. John’s Wort (his hypericum aereum). Mr. Benns showed me some growing wild, along with some other interesting and unusual plants.

Mr. Benns told me to take my time and enjoy the solitude as long as I wished and I am grateful for his time and hospitality as well as the stories. The peacefulness of the place prompted this little poem which popped into my head about 3 this morning.

For grace and quiet solitude, to let your heart be still,

There are fewer ways to find such peace, than to sit at Fickling’s Mill.

^{Steve Scott, 2018}

ADVENTURES OF THE FLATTSIE SISTERS

EPISODE # 8 – THE FIRE STATION

We had a very exciting day today when Papa took us to a big giant Fire Station in Columbus! He introduced us to a very handsome fireman. Frannie thought he was a Movie Star. They are called firefighters too.

This is the main station in Columbus, Georgia and it is very big and high too like a monster cave. They had all kinds of trucks and stuff – regular fire engines that pump water on a fire; ladder & hook trucks that can go around corners better, a tower truck that has a long ladder thingy that can reach up very high into the sky and shoot water down onto a fire. The nice fireman even pressed the button for the fire truck noises for us and it was lots of fun. It went whooooo-eeee, brammmp, brfffftp, honk, weoooooooow, eeoo, eeoo and booop! We liked that part the best.

They also had an ambulance there too because the firefighters in Columbus have to be Emergency Medical Technicians too. Frannie started doing her “Goo Goo Eyes” thing at the fireman so Papa said it was time to go.

Love,

the “Flattsie Sisters

I had a most interesting and unique experience last night. Was invited to “The Dot” (Springer’s Dorothy McClure Theater) to attend the first reading (for Columbus) of Topher Payne’s new hit play, Perfect Arrangement. Got to hobnob in the lobby with some fascinating folks, nibble delectable goodies and overhear lively conversations.

The cast for the Springer Theater’s production was assembled on the stage at long tables, This was the first time they had been together. After an introduction by Paul Pierce, Topher gave a quick background for the play.

I guess I expected a soporific mouthing of each character’s part as they mumbled through their parts but was treated instead to a full blown “play minus the scenery.” The richness, timing, and emotion were superb and I sat there speechless (very rare state for me). It was so well done that it could have been the dress rehearsal and I wouldn’t not have been disappointed.

The plot is that two gay couples have devised an intricate charade to cover a life-style that in the 1950s was not just unspoken but actually against the law. The two male stars are companions and the two female stars also. They are publicly married as two very midstream heterosexual couples but behind the scenes continue their secret private lives. They find a duplex apartment which allows their “duplicity” to flow unhindered through the clever use of a secret closet passage. The closet is key to the plot as a comedic bit and metaphorically.

One man and one woman work for the US Department of State during a time when communists were believed to be behind every tree. The so-called “Lavender Scare” was a witch hunt style government directive that had ordered the ferreting out employees of “deviant behavior” (read Gay) who were believed to be susceptible to blackmail and as such, security risks.

At first extraordinary humor rendered by perfect comedic timing elicited uncontrolled belly laughs from the audience and I thought this will be one great comedy. But the mood abruptly turns tense and the rest of the play focuses on the angst of not just protecting their life styles but the conflict between their dreams or taking the higher road to long term social change.

At first I thought the move from humor to intense drama was odd but this really lends itself well to the energy and message of the play. And, as playwright Topher (who will also serve as director for this production) points out, Southerners have a unique ability to handle both humor and drama in the same mix. Topher is a prolific playwright who has done several Hallmark movies and this play won the American Theatre Critics Association 2014 Elizabeth Osborne New Play Award for an emerging playwright.

This play is powerful and enduring. I strongly feel that it will become an iconic and worthy addition to the most memorable bodies of theatrical work of our time. But don’t take it from me, a decidedly unqualified theater critic. You owe it to yourself to experience it

EPISODE # 7 – AT THE HARDWARE STORE

Papa took us to a hardware store this afternoon. We had never been before so we thought it was maybe a store with iron clothes because it would be hard to wear iron clothes. But we found out that it is a special store that sells tools, and paint, and yard tools, and leather, and ropes and chains and all kinds of other strange and cool stuff.

Two very nice people helped us – Jeffrey* and Joanne. Joanne said that Jeffrey works real hard but sometimes she has to “bing him in the noggin” to make him act right. We think we’d act right too if someone was going to “bing” us in the noggin.

They took us around the store and showed us all the tools. There were too many to mention! They had saws for cutting wood, screwdrivers and screws and nails and hammers for putting stuff together and crowbars for tearing things apart. They had wrenches and pliers and drills and planes and everything! We never saw so much stuff and Papa got kind of “glassy-eyed” looking but he seemed happy. He likes hardware stores and likes to look for gee-gaws and gadgets that he doesn’t have. According to Papa it doesn’t matter if you need it or not – if you don’t have one, you must get one. It is a “man thing” he says. It’s like when ladies go shopping for clothes and they don’t know what they want but they have an overpowering need to look for it for hours (whether they buy it or not). The only real difference Papa says is that a vast subterranean network of tunnels connects all the ladies’ stores. That is why a lady can go into a Gap outlet and pop up in a Chico’s three miles away. We learned a lot about hardware stores (and grown-ups too).

 

Love,

the “Flattsie Sisters”

*not their real names