Remember When: Dixie National bringing back memories

By Guest Columnist Mary Jane Boutwell

All the publicity about the Dixie National has brought back memories like the wagon train and riding horses in the parade from the fairgrounds down Capital Street in the late 1950s. While in high school, a classmate talked me into joining a trail ride on a borrowed horse. We joined the wagon train in Jackson, paraded, and spent the night somewhere north of Jackson. I ended my ride by going east on Highway 22 until I reached Virlillia Road and home. My information about the ride left out meals and the overnight. I had no food or bedroll. But I carry memories- the parade with the horse drawn wagons. And on the way out of Jackson, I stopped at a store on North State Street close to the Presto plant and the Salvation Army store to get something to eat. My horse got loose, and everyone was running to help catch him. 

Recently, my long time neighbor, Harold Ray Tyner, died. He was a farmer-a good farmer. His property, way down Virlillia Road, had a tendency to wash out. After harvesting his current year’s crop, a lot of cotton per acre, he used his equipment in the late winter and early spring to move the soil from the gentle slope bottoms back over the fields. This area along the river had been settled by the Indians. Several families collected arrowheads and some other stone items. Several of the arrowheads were made of stones from the west of the Mississippi to Canada to the eastern coast. This and other finds prove the meeting and trading between tribes that were distant from each other. 

Many stories involving Harold Ray are from his service in the Korean War. He was a member of the Grenada Army National Guard, Dixie Division. This was an artillery unit. They were called up for federal service. Upon arriving in Korea, the unit was broken up, with individuals sent to units in need of personnel. During this time, the artillery was firing constantly but not hitting its targets. One day, an officer showed up. He was mad as all get out. The officer asked if there was anyone who could aim, fire, and hit a target. Harold Ray said he could. The officer asked Harold Ray if he could teach the artillery group how to aim, shoot, and hit. Harold Ray said he could. The officer told Harold Ray that if he could teach the unit how to fire accurately, he would be sent back to the states to teach others. After spending some time instructing the unit how to aim, fire, and hit the target, Harold Ray was sent back for the rest of his enlistment. 

Oh, the Dixie Division was an artillery division with a lot of back home practice. A good ole southerner comes through again.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Mary Jane Boutwell is a passionate historian and is thrilled to share stories about “way back when.”