Christiansen's Comments Hinds county Gazette, May 12 2011

Well, it has been a while since I was last here. Hope your Easter was pleasant and your mothers day magnificent…..Easter and Mother’s Day was that the only holidays we have had recently?…seems to me we have a lot more holidays and special days then we use to. It could be that it seems that way because the stores promote them for sooooooooooo long before they actually get here.




Whit and I have been together a pretty good bit lately. As you know may know, Whit’s grandfather, Lewis Montgomery passed away recently.  Years ago, Lewis confronted me saying “don’t you ever write about me.” I looked him in the eye and with out smiling, I said very firmly, , “ Lewis you were born and raised in Hinds County, you have to take your turn being written about….just like everybody else.” Lewis grinned and no more was ever said about that….and we were buddies.



Saturday was May Day in Edwards, lots of activity down town, Whit and I strolled down to watch the parade….the band, horses , motor cycles , and politicians…….on the way back to the house, we stopped at a stand on the corner and bought a plate of barbecued ribs and a side of spaghetti.. Whit ate spaghetti and chewed on a rib bone. We had a grand time!

Square from bridge

Oh! The back porch…is my new favorite place in this house! I don’t remember if I told you, about me calling myself redecorating the back porch a year or so ago. I poured a fabulous concrete counter top and painted the walls and ceiling…. That made the screens look awful… The screen was so dirty… I tried cleaning them, nothing worked…the screen was so disgusting.…I ripped it off ! When the screen was gone, the door come across as just silly. So I took it off too. Well, possums, came in and ate cat food right out of the bag, birds flew in and out at will and ate cat food out of the cat’s dish…..and all of that dust, dirt and grime that was being caught in the screen? Well it was now coming straight on to the porch, directly through the back door, and in to the kitchen.

Possum behind concrete leaf, on back porch.

Enter Doug Turner…He made new screens that, by removing a couple of screws, can be taken out and hosed off…He hung a new door too, it is magnificent…The whole back porch is better now, then when it was new. It looks more original then the original 1920 porch….really it does…everybody who has seen it says so. Really they do.

Back Porch

Next Doug is going to work on some rotted boards round the sun porch. That is, when he is finished out at the Coker House. There is going to be a ceremony, a dedication of the newly rebuilt, historic Coker house. The Coker house figured prominently in the Battle of Champion Hill.

Doug sees after the Coker House, cuts the grass etc, he and wife Kay Windham Turner, live across the highway from it and Kay grew up in the Coker house.….so this week Doug is hard at it getting the Coker House spiffed up and ready for visitors. But he will be back….I know he will, because he left his saw horses.

Coker House before restoration

I will be back too

Love to all

Christiansen Comments, Hinds County Gazette May 13 2010

Jerry Gibbens passed away shortly after noon, Wednesday, May 5, at the age of 92. When Paula called to tell me about Jerry’s death, my mothers words on the death of old people came to mind, “ we can’t live forever, just because our kids want us too. We are tired and want to go live with Jesus.” I can not tell you how much comfort mother’s words have brought me.




And Jerry’s death like mother’s was not long and lingering, both were at peace and ready …Just a few weeks ago the little children from the church traveled to Raymond to Riggs Manor, to sing for the residents…Jerry was too weak to come down…so they went to her room to sing for her, weak as Jerry was she sat up on the edge of her bed and sang “Jesus Loves Me” with the little children. I did tear up and had to reach for a tissue when Reverend Rydbeck told that story at her funeral.



Jerry was such a lady, she and her husband Julian sat in the pew front of me at church, and they came to church nearly every Sunday, until just a few months ago. Jerry was a petite little lady, I doubt she was 5 foot tall, and she could not have weighed 100 pounds. Jerry, at all times, was dressed beautifully…. Jerry was at always flawlessly attired in her little pastel suits and high heels, and not a hair out of place. And Jerry was accessorized beautifully too, pretty scarves, handsome purses, I always told her, she looked like a little doll, somebody had stood on a stool and dressed….Jerry was a girly girl for sure. But Jerry’s loveliest accessory was her charming smile and sweet southern nature.



Jerry loved parties, so for the family meal after the funeral…When Jacqueline I were discussing what we were going to do, I declared, “We got to make it look like Jerry!” Jacqueline agreed…. I called Robert Edward asked him to come, and help me get the fellowship hall ready…we set up tables and spread on the sparkling white table clothes. Jacqueline came with buckets of pink roses, and queen Anne’s and when she finished her magic with flower arrangements…. the fellowship hall at the Edwards Presbyterian church looked more like we were fixing to have a tea party then a funeral meal.



I wish I had taken a picture of the room when the meal was being served…of two of the men, farmers, Jerry’s son, Lewis Montgomery, and one of the pall bears, Russell Cannada, in their suits and ties, sitting at the girly girl, prissy tables. I thought to myself, “Jerry got Lewis and Russell to a tea party“ It brought a grin to my face…

Love to all