Today was a pretty emotional day. Both highs and lows.

My great grandparents lived in the Shirley House on the Vicksburg National Military Park back in the 1950s. He was working as an Assistant Superintendent of the park at the time. This is something that we talk about in my family from time to time, so I was excited to go see the house and read the history. But, there was no mention of my family. The best I could find was an article in the Vicksburg paper that said the Shirley’s had sold the house to the government in 1900. Well, I don’t doubt that, but I think there is a little more that should be said about the house. Maybe it’s time I write that author and request a little more research.

We also went to visit the house that my grandparents lived in. Unfortunately, the current owners have not done any maintenance on the house for a very long time and it is in severe disrepair. My grandfather was also very proud of the large amount of land behind his house. While he was alive it was always immaculate. He also had a small garden in the back, an office, and a small gazebo. Well, the gazebo is gone. It was removed for a pool by the new owners, but the pool is also gone. The office is in bad shape with a few random boards covering holes in the walls. Also, the area of the garden is now severely overgrown with a small exception where the neighbors have cleaned out some for their own garden. I’m sure my grandfather isn’t very happy with the overall state of the place, however, there is some good news. According to the neighbors, there are several deer that live in the area. My grandfather is buried at the Cedar Hill Cemetary and has a plot overlooking his land. Hopefully he enjoys watching the deer playing around there.

While looking through the Cedar Hill cemetary we were assisted by a very friendly Caretaker , called “Brother”, who helped us find the grave of my grandparents maid. She was a large part of our family growing up and it was nice to also be able to pay my respects to her as well as the family.

After all the excitement, what would anyone do? Go to Walnut Hills for an amazing lunch of Fried Chicken, Chicken Fried Steak, Sweet Tea, and all the trimmings. Oh yes. Gotta love the south.