Magnolia Blooms & Sakura Petals
By
Rebecca Anna Coleman

-5-
Downtown Greenville

Downtown Greenville was a very picturesque place to visit, shop, and dine. The broad main street still retained the original brick pavement of the nineteen twenties. Before then the main street was hard packed dirt, but the paving boom of the nineteen twenties and thirties changed all that. In fact it was one of the few cities in the delta to retain this charming feature. The only other city I knew of that still maintained brick paved streets was Vicksburg, some one hundred and twenty miles south.

Running down the middle, nestled between the red bricks one could iron rails, these iron rails belonged to the Greenville Electric Street Car Commission. I knew of three other towns that still maintained a small fleet of street cars, and that was Benton, a small thriving township located in the middle of a sharp 'S' bend in the Big Black River. The town was the only port located on the Big Black River.

Up next was Yazoo City, a major port on the Yazoo River, the word Yazoo was supposed to be an old Choctaw word meaning “River of Death”. Anyway the the town often calls itself the “Gateway to the Delta” because half of the town is located in the Yazoo Delta and the other half is located in the hills East of the Delta. And last but not least was Vicksburg, thriving township and major port that was located on the muddy banks of the Mississippi River. Part of the town was located on banks the other half was located on the high bluffs that overlooked the town.

The city was only second to Greenville when it came to barge traffic. Anyway, returning downtown was something special. But come to think about it, at one time I heard Greenwood, another Port on the Yazoo River, this one located where the Yazoo River started also had a street car system but they might have scrapped it five or six years ago. Of course they still might have it. I rarely if ever visit Greenwood. People from Greenwood and Greenville do not mix well. It was kind of like mixing together ammonia with bleach. The result was a toxic gas. Anyway, returning to downtown Greenville.

Both sides of main street were lined with thriving mom and pop owned businesses. And adding to the historical charm many of Greenville's historical churches were also located down here on main street. The town had two Episcopal Churches, the first one was Holy Trinity, a very high “Anglo-Catholic” Church that had been formed eighteen thirty five, kind of at the height of The Oxford Movement. The church was home to the towns protestant bourgeois, next to the First and Second Presbyterian Church's they pretty much controlled the local Country Club and Golf Club. The town's second Episcopal Church “Holy Spirit” was very “Low Church” and followed in the traditions of “The Broad Church” movement. And it was home to many working-class Episcopalians.

The Roman Catholics had two churches. The first church, St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, was one of the oldest parishes in the state of Mississippi. First organized in eighteen fifty eight. The handsome Gothic church was built and paid for by Rev. Canon Paul John Korstenbroek. The second one was a more plain looking church named St. Francis.
The town's United First Methodist Church, a handsome brick building, was up next on. Beside it would find what could only be called Greenville's largest church, the First Southern United Baptist Church. A huge building that covered most of one block. Rumor was the amount of money the church collected in offering and tithes was more than a million dollars on any given Sunday. Finally we had the Jewish Synagogue. The Hebrew Union Congregation was, according to the historical marker located out front, the second oldest Jewish Congregation in the state. The oldest was located in Vicksburg and the third oldest was located in Natchez.

Churches aside downtown was thriving on this hot, humid Tuesday afternoon. My sister had been more than pleased with the work I'd poured into getting the yard looking like a yard and not an overgrown jungle. So much so she was already drawing up another list of chores that she wanted me to do. Anyway because she was more than pleased with the work and because she noticed the extra effort I'd poured into the work she had given an extra fifteen dollars.

I'd always picked up a few yards, and mom had finally come through with two weeks of allowance. What does all that mean? It means my pockets were overflowing with silver and gold. Last time I'd counted the small, cedar, treasure chest I used as a make-shift bank account held around four hundred dollars in bills and around twenty something dollars in coins. Well three hundred dollars in bill and still around twenty something dollars in coins because I'd “Withdrawn” that is taken out a hundred dollars to fund this little shopping expedition

I'd figured if I was going to explore my hidden desire of being “Heather” I would need a new wardrobe. And while I would have preferred going to the Greenville Mall, the mecca of teenage culture in this corner of the delta. It was located on Highway One, and while the town's trolley did not reach the highway one could reach the mall via one of the  city buses. But I did not feel comfortable buying what I'll need in an overcrowded department store. Plus, I was sure a shopping expedition at the mall would reduce me to a state of financial ruin.

Anyway like I said, as I stopped from the old wooden street car and onto the cobblestone sidewalk. The sidewalk was filled with people. And in the air one could smell the savory smell of chicken frying, of collard greens simmering down with bits and bobs of bacon or cubes of ham. And both sides of the street were lined with parked cars and trucks. And like I said people were swarming downtown, all of them tourists I think because one of those old mock paddlewheelers had docked and unloaded an army of Yankee tourists who I guess wanted to see if anything remained after General Sherman had marched through Mississippi and made it howl. Or if we'd managed to rebuild. Or to see if we really married our cousins and still rode horses and buggies down unpaved streets. I mean I have no idea what people from up north expect when they come down here. Maybe nothing at all?

Which was a good thing, hopefully the clerks and shopkeepers would be too busy selling the Yankee's cheap knock off souvenirs to notice a boy dressed in washboard jeans, wearing an oversized Dragon Ball Z shirt and black trainers buying skirts, dresses, and such. Because that was my plan, buy at least two good skirts, two good tops, and some shoes, or boots. Heck maybe even a bathing suit or two. And a good dress if I could find one I liked. And shoes, I need shoes.

End of Chapter 5