In the last week we've noticed a great upsurge in the number of book lovers hunched over in corners and on couches, their faces buried in the wonderful new postcard history of Greenwood. Replete with fascinating old photos of the town throughout time and placed in their proper context with informative captions,
Greenwood is the kind of book that demands time and close study.
Especially interesting are the views down Howard St. The scene hasn't changed much except the streets are paved and there are much fewer horses and buggies parked along the street. Even our own Fountain Building (pictured below) looks pretty much the same from the outside.
In fact, this collection illustrates how much of downtown Greenwood's architecture has been preserved, which should give locals an infusion of hometown pride. It's really one of the best walkable downtowns you'll find, a unique combination of both refined preservation and strange decaying beauty.
That this history has been captured by two local historians, Donny Whitehead and Mary Carol Miller, is all the better. At our book launch party and signing for Greenwood, Mary Carol, who has published several books on small-town Mississippi history, gave all the credit to Donny. A local collector of photos, stories and memorabilia, Donny has published much of his material at his
website. Mary Carol sang effusive praises for Donny's site, commenting that she's never seen a small town with such a valuable online resource.
Whitehead, in turn, gave Mary Carol props for filling in the images from his collection with rich details of the town's history, and for holding his feet to the fire, making sure the book, which he'd dreamed of for years, become a reality.
Afterwards, we all enjoyed the food — including Martha Foose's bacon crackers, her husband Donald Bender's famous hominous (traditional humus made with hominy) and appetizers from our own cafe by Chef Kenny. The crowds came all Friday evening and again on Saturday, a steady line of locals grateful to these two local heroes for their good work and preservation. We put them to work as well, signing a big cache of books, so order yours now.
