The Johnson Children

From left: Paul, Betsy and Cathy Johnson, the children of the Rev. and Mrs. Silas Johnson.


Photo courtesy of Cathy Johnson Garrett

John Wayne Meets Cecil

This picture of the actor John Wayne shaking hands with Cecil was taken in New Guinea during the war. The story I always heard, perhaps mythical, was that after the picture was taken, Cecil turned to one of his friends and asked, "Who is John Wayne?"

Picture courtesy of Cathy Johnson Garrett

Classmates

This picture was taken a few years ago when June Harris was visiting from Arizona. From the left: Burma Ruff Schumpert, Jean Kelly Willis, George Kelly, Hoyle Edwards, June Harris, Larry Coggin, and Bill Martin

Note: June has just within the last few weeks moved from Arizona to East Texas.

Report on Mike Collier

Mike Collier shared some good news with me on Friday. He went to Texas last week and 75% of his cancer has vanished. He will be receiving treatments for a few more months.

Mrs. Gooch's Class

This picture was taken in December of 2001 at Estes Fish House. From left standing: Bill Martin, George Kelly, Burma Ruff Schumpert, Jean Kelly Willis, Jim Woods; seated from left: Ellen Pettigrew Wall and Mrs. Wallace Gooch.

We were in the fourth grade when Mr. and Mrs. Gooch came to Plantersville and were the first class she taught at Plantersville. When we moved to the fifth grade, Mrs Gooch moved with us, hence she was our teacher for two years.

Mrs. Gooch now lives in the Jackson Metro area. I would be glad to share her address with any of her former students.

Report on Mother

This past Wednesday my mother, Vera Stovall, had a heart attack at the personal care home in Plantersville. She survived and went back to the home today. I've been with her in the Tupelo Hospital since Wednesday.

Will try to catch up on my postings this week.

Girls at School

This picture was taken at Plantersville High School. From left, not sure, Mary Ellen Pettigrew, Mary Kathryn Park, and Burma Jo Ruff. My guess would be that we were in the 10th grade.

Jack Price Alerts Plantersville

I received e-mail from Jack Price. He shared this story: One Sunday, he rode his bicycle to John Lester Gunter’s house; John Lester wasn't home, and as he rode back, someone, he can't remember who it was, came to the door and told him Pearl Harbor had been bombed. He rode all over Plantersville spreading the news. A couple of men debated where Pearl Harbor was, offering New Orleans and Jackson as possible locations. He said that a number of people in Plantersville later told him that they first learned about the Pearl Harbor attack from him.

Mr. John Estes

While eating at Estes's on Sunday, I remembered Mr. John.

During the war and right after, whenever Mr. John Estes saw Butch and me at the store, he would place a comb on his lip and chase us pretending to be Hilter.

I saw Mr. John at church just before his final illness, and he laughed and told everyone near by the story of how he used to scare us.

The Partlow House, the Tree and the Store

Note the tree on the left, when I was small, I would sit against that tree waiting for cars to drive by; in my memory the tree was much larger, and cars seldom passed. Eleanor Ann Partlow lived in the white house; she and her husband lived in Jackson for many years. Several years ago, she moved back to Lee County and now lives in Mooreville and works at the Elvis Presley Birthplace. One of my earliest memories is being awaken in the middle of the night to watch the Partlow's barn burn.

Is that a house just east of Monts's store? If so, who lived there?

Memorial Day

The Lee County Courier ran a list of all the soliders from Lee County killed in wars since WWI. I found three that I knew of with Plantersville connections: Peggy Cook's father, Clyde W. Cook; Carolyn Towery's father, Joe H. Towery, both from WWII; and Don Allen Boozer from the Vietnam War. Were there others?

Note: I found an Andy Shumpert from Plantersville who was killed in WWI. Does anyone know who his family was?

James Conlee

From left: E. C. Kelly, James Conlee.

James was Kate's husband at the time and son of Earl Conlee who was, I think, Monts Conlee's brother. Earl and his wife lived on the road that ran by the cemetery. The house was on the west side of the road; my parents rented a room from them, and I was born there. The house burned many years ago.

Kate Price Conlee

From the left: Kate Price Conlee, E. C. Kelly, Vera Kelly

Jane Price James identified Kate in this picture. Kate is 90 and lives in Florida. She shared with Jane this story: John Dewey came home one day, and Aunt Grace met him at the door. "Drunk again," she said. "So am I," he said cheerfully.

Family Reunion

My mother's family had a reunion at Okolona this weekend. My mother grew up in Auburn; in fact, in the late 40s and early 50s I've been told that ever family in Auburn, except one, was related to us.

I didn't see anyone from Planterville this weekend, but we did eat lunch yesterday at Estes Fish House. We ate late and missed the church crowd.

I intended to take some pictures of Planterville, but didn't have time.

On Vacation The Wives

From left: Madge Bailey; Merle Partlow; Grace Birmingham; Moman Partlow. For anyone that does not know, Merle was married to Roy, and Moman to Little Will.

The Price House

Thanks to this Web site, I have in the past few days been in touch with people from Plantersville whom I had not seen or heard from in years. Robert Rogers alerted his sister, Elizabeth, to the site; she gave it to Roger Moore, who shared it with Jane Price James.

Jane and I have exchanged several e-mails. Ignore the kid in the fob clothes, that is the house the Price's lived in on the left and the Methodist Church on the right. All my family were close to the Price family, but especially my father and mother. Jane has already identified one picture of her sister, Kate, with my parents.

The McDonalds

The cutline reads: From left, Cadet Nurse Jimmie Lou McDonald, Frances McDonald and Lt. Inez McDonald at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis in 1945. Lee County native Lt. McDonald was a prisoner of war interred in Santo Tomas from July 1942 until February 11, 1945. She was part of the 64 nurses known as the "Angels of Bataan." The nurses were among the first women taken as prisoners in a war.

Roger Moore's Memories

Roger Moore wrote: "Thinking of Cecil, I remember my Dad and my Uncle Robert, Robert Rogers' dad, used to play tennis with Cecil at the tennis court that the McDonalds had at their house. They used to play with Lemuel, one of the McDonald boys. Lemuel, as I recall, was a Lt. Colonel in the Army during the invasion of France in World War II. The McDonald's son that was my age was Virgil (Raymond Virgil). Quinlan (Leroy Quinlan) McDonald was at State when I was there. A daughter of the McDonalds, Inez I believe, was an Army nurse and was on Corregidor when the Japanese invaded the Phillippines. She was captured and was a prisoner of war."

Note: The Lee County weekly paper ran a picture of Inez not long ago; if memory serves she was eating at the Hotel Peabody in Memphis. I'm sure I have the clipping somewhere and will try to locate it.


Also, one of the stories Cecil told me about my Dad was that my Dad and several others were playing poker at the McDonald's house when the constable appeared. Don't know if any were arrested or not, but it broke up the game.

Another View of the Old Post Office

Another view of the old post office several years later than the other one. Who lived in that house in the background? Mr. Charlie Monts?

The girl is another cousin from Memphis.

Roy Partlow's Store

Dr. Ernest Kelly, Ernest Jr., and George and probably my mother in the background; this picture is dated 1946. I am guessing that Mr. Roy's store was new and maybe not even opened yet. Didn't Doc Smith build the stores and open one next to Mr. Roy's which was operated for a while by Leighton Gray or some name similar to that.

For some reason, I always thought the stores opened in 1947.

I have vivid memories of the felling of the trees on that lot; I thought they were going to fall on our house; I also remember several of us playing on the bull dozer parked there over the weekend when they were clearing the lot.

On Vacation

From left: Little Will Partlow, J. D. Birmingham, Roy Partlow and Arthur Bailey; these four and their wives frequently went on vacations together. I have no idea where this was taken.

Note: Either this picture or the other one of John Dewey must be reversed as his left arm is missing in this one and his right, I think, in the other. My memory fails me on which is correct.

Cecil and John Wayne

Cathy Johnson Garrett wrote:

"One of Cecil's most prized possessions somehow wound up among my father's personal effects - a photo of him shaking hands with actor John Wayne, who was visiting the troops where Cecil was stationed. I'll try to find it and send it to you."

I remember that picture well and often have wondered what became of it. As I recall Cecil's story. He was one of the few in his outfit who had a camera, and one of the guys stuck his head in the tent one day and told him to come take a picture of John Wayne. Cecil's reply, "Who's John Wayne."

I believe the picture was taken in New Guinea.

George