Charlie Barrett is the former Mayor of Shuqualak (Sugar Lock). It this episode, he recounts the story of how his great grandfather donated the land for the train station. He also recalls how the farmers would bring their cotton to be ginned on Saturday mornings and stay all day.

As a boy, Barrett knew all of the merchants in Shuqualak.  He remembers one who would speak to him in Choctaw. Years later, Barrett, now a young business owner himself, struggled to make ends meet until one day, an old merchant made him the offer of a lifetime.

Photo credit: hickoryridgestudio49.blogspot.com

John Ellzie Carr joined the Tupelo Police Department in 1921 and served as the town's chief of police from 1925 until 1952.  In this episode, Dudley Carr remembers his father’s natural talent for law enforcement. He recalls the city’s primitive jail and even more primitive alarm system.

In 1932, the infamous bank robber, Machine Gun Kelly held up the Citizen’s National Bank of Tupelo. Dudley Carr explains how the robbery inspired the city to buy its own Thompson submachine gun.

In a podcast extra, Carr looks back with pride at his father’s legacy and what it’s meant to his own career.

Emma Foret was the wife of a Navy hospital corpsman. In this episode she recalls their life together and how she and the children coped with her husband’s absence.

She also discusses the special bond between the Navy and Marine Corp and how the wives of these servicemen depended on each other.

PODCAST EXTRA: Even in times of peace, conflicts can arise at a moment’s notice.  Foret remembers her husband’s role in two such events and how the Navy kept the families informed.

Mary Louise Tarver was born in 1918 on Elm’s Court Plantation in Natchez.  In this episode, she recalls her Uncle Will’s garden and his prickly relationship with her mother.

Growing up on a farm taught Mary Louise Tarver to enjoy simple pleasures.  She remembers riding horseback to the Homochitto Swamp to spend the day fishing.

For Mary Louise Tarver, farm life meant learning to be self-sufficient. She describes how her mother would use apple peels to make vinegar, and use the vinegar to make pickles.

PODCAST EXTRA: During the Great Depression, some schools began serving students a hot lunch using food items provided by government.  Tarver recalls how the lunch lady did the best she could with what she had on hand.