From the beginning, seafood fueled the growth of the Gulf Coast economy. Retired fisherman Walter Ross discusses the early days of the seafood industry.

   Oyster processing plants in Biloxi used steam to make shucking the oysters easier.  Ross recalls fondly the smell of the steam coming from the many large factories.

   When he was thirteen, Ross began working part time in the factory where his mother worked.  He remembers being much too slow to keep up with the women.

   William Thiroux (pronounced T-rue), of Ocean Springs, has been catching crabs for over thirty years.  He recalls a thriving industry and a plentiful supply.

   In an effort to protect the crab population, Mississippi made it illegal to catch female sponge crabs, a move Thiroux says has decimated the state’s crab industry. He feels that by allowing the harvest of only male crabs, the law has had a negative impact on the crab population. 

    In 1967, Chris Ethridge, of Meridian, was twenty years old and working as a bass guitar player in Los Angeles.  He recalls how a mutual friend put him in contact with country rock legend, Gram Parsons. Ethridge and Parsons, together with Chris Hillman of The Byrds, went on to found country rock band, The Flying Burrito Brothers. 

    Four years later, in 1973, Gram Parsons died of a drug overdose in Joshua Tree, California. Ethridge explains how the final wishes of Parsons led to one of the most bizarre incidents in the history of Rock-n-Roll. Ethridge discusses the legacy of the Burrito Brothers and the legend of Gram Parsons.

   Chris Ethridge passed away on April 23rd, 2012, at the age of 65.

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Prior to the advent of the modern supermarket, people had their produce delivered by

local grocers and street vendors. Helen Rayne of Natchez recalls how her grandmother would shop for food.

Rayne details how her grandmother would buy whole milk and use it to make other dairy products.

She also remembers the fun her grandparents had on wine bottling day.

From an early age, Chris Ethridge of Meridian was interested in music.  He recalls how his father’s job affected that interest and how his love of Hank Williams’ music eventually led him to the bass guitar. 

In a career spanning close to five decades, Ethridge performed and recorded with Willie Nelson, Jackson Brown, Linda Ronstadt and was a member of the Flying Buritto Brothers along with Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman. Chris Ethridge passed away on April 23^rd, 2012, at the age of 65.