https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog daily 0.75 2025-10-22 https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2026/03/15/mystery-mix-2026-solution monthly 0.5 2026-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/046ec4c4-548a-472c-8e33-87613234543e/Songs+Without+Rhyme+-+AI+altered+logo.PNG Blog - Mystery Mix 2026 Solution - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/9ab0bce3-10fd-416a-9e1c-f89e1c199e31/Bethany+Rigney+-+2026+Mystery+Mix+winner.JPG.jpeg Blog - Mystery Mix 2026 Solution - Make it stand out Bethany Rigney, our second repeat winner, holding her trophy mugs. (photo by Russell Lott, 15 Mar 2026) https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2026/02/24/mystery-mix-2026 monthly 0.5 2026-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/75dd6a5f-d6e5-427b-8491-6717d87413e8/Mystery+Mix+image+AI+created.png Blog - Mystery Mix 2026 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/6516a3eb-46ad-43b7-81d4-99ed3b5d59a6/Spotify+logo.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2026 - Make it stand out For your convenience, here’s the playlist on Spotify. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/71707a68-d77e-478d-ab99-7d535a0a91ff/Joe+Cool+music+graphic+with+MBP+logo.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2026 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2025/10/2025/an-arabian-adventure monthly 0.5 2026-02-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/4f60108d-7466-44ab-a0ec-ecf38b8f4fc0/4+muddy+boys+%28Johnny%2C+Billly%2C+Kenny%2C+%26+Russell%29+-+Summer+1965.jpg Blog - An Arabian Adventure - Make it stand out Four muddy boys about to hose off after a fun afternoon playing in the hollow behind my boyhood home in Big Level in the aftermath of a heavy summer rain. L-R: my brother Johnny, cousin Billy Breland, cousin Kenny Lott, and 11-year-old me. (Lott family photo, Summer of 1965) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/5eadd98c-35e6-43d2-a6be-5ac75c81c6b5/Russell+and+Gena%27s+wedding.jpg Blog - An Arabian Adventure - Make it stand out The whole wedding party at Gena’s and my wedding, minus Pauline Tanner, the 5th bridesmaid who’s cut off on the left side of this poor-quality family photo. Bill Breland is the sandy-brown-haired fellow 4th from the right. (December 23, 1972, Pineview Baptist Church, Agricola, Mississippi) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/81d1ef57-b768-491d-a4c0-fa97eeefd22f/Huey+helicopter+drawing.jpg Blog - An Arabian Adventure - Make it stand out A 1981 drawing of two Huey helicopters by Paul Fretts, and presented to CW3 William H. Breland by some of his crewmen, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/733feb95-c1c1-4b51-893c-8bbfee59fe2d/Huey+helicopter+framed+photo.jpg Blog - An Arabian Adventure - Make it stand out A photo of CW3 William H. Breland’s Huey helicopter in Saudi Arabia. It was taken in December of 1990 shortly after his deployment during the Desert Storm conflict. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/445527a4-498f-4958-a9ec-741f6e061c6e/Bill+and+Luke+in+Desert+Storm%2C+Southern+Iraq%2C+1991.jpg Blog - An Arabian Adventure - Make it stand out My cousin, Bill (left), standing with my sister-in-law, Luke, after an amazing chance meeting in the desert of southern Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. William H. Breland family photo, February 1991 https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2025/8/27/whitfield monthly 0.5 2026-01-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/a7f4a734-6d2f-4a8d-a1ee-0a3c4a017f1c/Russell%27s+6th+birthday+party+-+Mom+leading+games.jpg Blog - Whitfield - Make it stand out This photo was taken in late October, 1959, on the occasion of my 6th birthday. Mama, being her usual Supermom-self, had invited several kids from the community. In addition to my siblings and cousins, there were approximately 20-25 people there. It was the biggest party I ever had during my boyhood. That’s Mama in the center, leading one of the party games. You can barely see me. I’m the little squirt in the back, left of center, behind the tall boy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/ecbe8a7c-ac6d-4df3-83da-577275c850db/Mama+holding+me%2C+with+Judy+and+Keith+standing+%281954%29.jpg Blog - Whitfield - Make it stand out This photo, from 1954, was taken a few years earlier than the events described above. I chose it for this piece as it represents the strong, happy, and caring person that my mother typically was. I love her radiant smile, her loving countenance, and her obvious pride in her growing family. That’s one-year-old bald-headed me in her arms, with Judy and Keith standing beside us. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2025/02/21/memories-they-cant-be-boughten monthly 0.5 2025-08-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/5b386295-f5f0-42c3-8fee-e4ca4ddfca33/text+separator.png Blog - Memories, They Can’t Be Boughten - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1589049075848-PP6F4SE4TC78F2H77W1E/Reynolds+%289mos%29+and+Burnell+Lott+%283%29%2C+on+quilt%2C+1925.jpg Blog - Memories, They Can’t Be Boughten Reynolds Lott (8 months old) and his big brother Burnell Lott (age 3) in 1925. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1589144887245-N280PTSASBFU0INB1LQY/Capture.JPG Blog - Memories, They Can’t Be Boughten https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1589049563060-Q5MA9DIFO5LWK1519GM9/Reynolds+and+Burnell+Lott+at+home%2C+1941.jpg Blog - Memories, They Can’t Be Boughten Reynolds Lott (age 17) and Burnell Lott (age 20), 1942. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1589056588998-26E4CF5YKTD4O8QDLCV1/Reynolds+and+Odell+Lott%2C+portrait%2C+1953.jpg Blog - Memories, They Can’t Be Boughten Reynolds and Odell Lott, 1953, ages 28 & 26 (Daddy and Mama in the year I was born) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1589056634410-R8PJ9CL9U743ZD4ZFYTN/Burnell+and+Loriece+Lott%2C+1942.jpg Blog - Memories, They Can’t Be Boughten Burnell and Loriece Lott, 1952, ages 30 & 29 (Uncle ’Nell and Aunt Reicey). https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2025/01/03/mystery-mix-2024-solution monthly 0.5 2026-02-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/4df47b7c-748c-4938-91d0-75dec4f8919b/Gotta+Digit+2.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2024 Solution - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/efddbe84-4015-4cc7-b764-1ce2fcf876dc/Dan+Browning+with+2024+and+2023+winner%27s+mugs.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2024 Solution - Make it stand out Daniel C. Browning, Jr., our first repeat winner, holding both of his trophy mugs. Dan, the 2024 mug will look mighty impressive sitting in your office next to last year’s—exponentially so, I might add. By the way, Dan tells me that he’s “awfully bummed” that he did not catch my bodacious digit/dig it pun. (photo by Russell Lott, 2 Jan 2025) https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2024/12/06/mystery-mix-2024 monthly 0.5 2026-02-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/7cb42fa2-85df-4f51-93b8-29d83073ee0c/Mystery+Mix+box+graphic+2024.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2024 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/6516a3eb-46ad-43b7-81d4-99ed3b5d59a6/Spotify+logo.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2024 - Make it stand out For your convenience, here’s the playlist on Spotify. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/6808abf7-7176-4d0d-be1c-763ea97a46f6/Bethany+Rigney+-+2020+Mystery+Mix+winner.JPG Blog - Mystery Mix 2024 - Make it stand out Mystery Mix 2020 (#1) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/53f44566-e955-43a2-ad37-f597ad666d0c/Mystery+Box.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2024 - Make it stand out Mystery Mix 2021 (#2) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/e39bcc45-1d0c-4066-98f8-84695dfd70ef/Mystery+Mix+2022+mug+graphic.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2024 - Make it stand out Mystery Mix 2022 (#3) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/6e7486a5-66bc-44d6-bd8e-43bde4440114/Mystery+Mix+box+graphic.png Blog - Mystery Mix 2024 - Make it stand out Mystery Mix 2023 (#4) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/7261c435-0e36-42d6-b2ec-903c5846b641/Merry+Christmas+Snoopy+%26+Woodstock+from+My+Back+Pages.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2024 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2024/10/11/grisham-and-me monthly 0.5 2025-07-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/693ab0cd-9068-4433-beaf-adac2af6f166/trs80-iii.jpg Blog - Grisham and Me - Make it stand out The Tandy/Radio Shack TRS-80 Model III was released in the middle of 1980. I cut my teeth on this computer. It was top of the line back then, with its two 5¼-inch floppy drives and 48Kb of RAM (not Gb or even Mb). It operated on TRS-DOS, Tandy’s version of MS-DOS, the operating system made famous by Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak who had recently founded Microsoft. That these two operation systems were so similar was a tremendous boon to me, as MS-DOS would soon be adopted by IBM for it’s history-making IBM-PC, opening the way for the PC-compatible marker. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/028ff938-1f10-4708-a110-a815a2d6c5cd/The+Firm+-+autographed+title+page.jpg Blog - Grisham and Me - Make it stand out This is the autographed title page from my copy of The Fim, John’s second novel. It was published by Doubleday in February of 1991. The inscription states: "To Russell Lott — thanks for the computer — the words are coming off quickly. All the best." and is signed by John on April 17, 1991. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/82ec3a03-ab40-4c14-82a5-e9b18ecdd2ba/World%27s+greatest+computer+expert+autograph.jpg Blog - Grisham and Me - Make it stand out This is my most treasured autograph. John signed it on a sample book jacket for The Client, his 4th novel, which was not yet published. John rejected this version of the book’s jacket in favor of another. The inscription states: "To Russell Lott — world’s greatest computer expert — best wishes." Though not dated, it was signed by John in July or August of 1992, at his newly-constructed house in Oxford. By the way, a couple of scenes in the 1994 movie version of The Client were filmed in Senatobia. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2024/10/8/bagel-or-beignet monthly 0.5 2025-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/daf71cfd-57b5-4a2e-afa7-f5f38d2604d1/Pelican+Brief+manuscript+p191.jpg Blog - Bagel or Beignet? - Make it stand out Page 191 from my copy of the pre-publication manuscript for The Pelican Brief by John Grisham. The two passages marked supplied the answer to the Bagel or Beignet question. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/d51bd904-0dc8-4b23-8da9-d5afe49c58a2/Pelican+Brief+manuscript+autographed+title+page.jpg Blog - Bagel or Beignet? - Make it stand out The autographed title page from my copy of the pre-publication manuscript for The Pelican Brief by John Grisham. The inscription states: "To Russell Lott — good job with the manuscript — all the best" and is signed by John on July 29, 1991. The novel was originally published by Doubleday in March of 1992. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2024/7/24/arcadia monthly 0.5 2026-01-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/8a65c44d-19d6-44a3-87c2-ba7e28cb09be/Two-topped+pine+tree.png Blog - Arcadia - Make it stand out This is my representation of the two-topped pine tree that once stood along Highway 26 near the Stone/George County line. It’s been gone for over 40 years now, and having no actual photo of it, I constructed this image, using an actual view of Highway 26 from near that spot that I captured from Google Earth. I then created the double canopy from two different trees along that route. It’s crudely done, I know, but it satisfies my recall sufficiently. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/57a5ebfa-ace4-40f3-bcd0-de88d4efa9e4/Arcadia.jpg Blog - Arcadia - Make it stand out This is a current image from Google Maps showing (in my red annotations) our home community of Big Level, Mississippi, and the small town of Arcadia, Florida. It was quite the drive back in the 1950s, before interstate highways and other modern roadways. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2024/05/26/the-king-bee monthly 0.5 2025-09-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/301f287a-9445-4074-9b82-6894af03e387/King+Bee+Ranch+detail.jpg Blog - The King Bee - Make it stand out I’ve edited this Google map image of a portion of the Big Level Community in Stone County, Mississippi to show the approximate location of the King Bee Ranch at the intersection of King Bee Road and City Bridge Road. The ranch, founded in 1917, grew within 5 years to take in more than a thousand acres, mostly to the south of King Bee Road and on both sides of City Bridge Road. I’ve not attempted to do a thorough study of the land records; therefore, I don’t know the exact size nor the exact boundaries of the ranch. But, it is apparent from the information I’ve gleaned from Uncle Crab’s accounts that the area encompassed by the ranch was most likely irregularly shaped, having grown from Dorsett’s acquisitions of several neighboring farms, and further, it may not have all been contained in one contiguous parcel. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/e3feb540-81e1-4e93-9210-6ab4f32049d3/King+Bee+Road+roadsign.jpg Blog - The King Bee - Make it stand out King Bee Road at the intersection of City Bridge Road in Lower Big Level, Stone County, Mississippi. [photo by Russell W. Lott, 26 May 2024] https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2024/01/18/school-bus monthly 0.5 2026-03-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/a8767c77-b52f-475e-a8a2-3524f8db1a57/School+bus+route+through+upper+Big+Level.jpg Blog - School Bus - Make it stand out Upper Big Level Community in northeastern Stone County, Mississippi. from the 1949 USGS Topological Map. I’ve added a few road labels and other annotations to help depict the bus route I traversed to and from Home Vocational School in the late ’50s and early ’60s. I chose this 1949 map as it shows (with small, black square dots) most of the home places that existed during my boyhood, including some that are now gone. It also illustrates how sparsely populated the area was 75 years ago. You’ll need to zoom in to see the map more clearly. A few sharp-eyed readers will notice the southerly dip in Highway 26 between Willis Chapel and White’s Crossing. That dip is no longer there, as the highway was straightened in the early 1950s. [https://livingatlas.arcgis.com] https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/5c7ac7c2-4cf9-4e0b-a9fe-855135908988/Keith%2C+Judy%2C+and+Russell++with+Karen+waiting+for+the+school+bus%2C+Sep+1961+%28two+photos%29.jpg Blog - School Bus - Make it stand out These two snapshots were taken on an early September morning in 1961 at my boyhood home in the upper Big Level community of Stone County, Mississippi. It was the first day of the new school year, or soon after. The photo on the left shows my older siblings, Keith and Judy, and me, as we were waiting for the bus to take us to Big Level’s Home Vocational School. I was entering the 3rd grade that year, Keith the 5th, and Judy the 7th. The picture on the right shows my little sister, Karen, not yet 2, standing with me a few moments before the other photo. In the distant background of this photo the rooftop of the Faulk house is visible from which we could see the bus coming. Note, that Keith and I are barefoot, which was typical; at that age, we seldom wore shoes to school in the fall and spring. Also note that I’m taking my new left-hander’s baseball glove to school to play with at recess. And some of you might wonder about that baseball bat Karen is holding. Daddy whittled it for us boys out of a hickory limb. And, yes, the barrel of that homemade bat was just as wonky as it appears in the photo. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2024/01/04/mystery-mix-2023-solution monthly 0.5 2024-11-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/33fc7f6d-2ce1-4b85-a6e1-4e416ade399f/Small+Things+Considered.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2023 Solution - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/aee90ef8-8cb2-4020-9f9d-6ecbe688ed84/Dan+Browning+with+2023+winner%27s+mug.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2023 Solution - Make it stand out Daniel C. Browning, Jr. Dan tells me that this bodacious mug has already served its “functional and braggadocious purpose” at his workplace. He also mentioned that he did indeed quickly look up “bijou” and inferred a meaning of “small” from “dainty,” and while it wasn’t for the him the immediate key that I’d envisioned, it did help him solve the puzzle. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2023/12/11/mystery-mix-2023 monthly 0.5 2024-11-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/6516a3eb-46ad-43b7-81d4-99ed3b5d59a6/Spotify+logo.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2023 - Make it stand out For your listening convenience, here’s the playlist on Spotify. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/9f3e3510-bd13-4a76-a261-a0a2b7efee31/LB+handing+Cole+the+MystMix+trophy.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2023 - Make it stand out Mystery Mix 2020 (#1) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/53f44566-e955-43a2-ad37-f597ad666d0c/Mystery+Box.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2023 - Make it stand out Mystery Mix 2021 (#2) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/e39bcc45-1d0c-4066-98f8-84695dfd70ef/Mystery+Mix+2022+mug+graphic.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2023 - Make it stand out Mystery Mix 2022 (#3) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/7261c435-0e36-42d6-b2ec-903c5846b641/Merry+Christmas+Snoopy+%26+Woodstock+from+My+Back+Pages.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2023 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2023/10/18/a-change-is-gonna-come monthly 0.5 2025-11-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/4428dae6-288a-4429-9899-77f9983893f9/big+log.JPG Blog - A Change Is Gonna Come - Make it stand out Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2023/7/12/big-level-revisited monthly 0.5 2026-02-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/8786b28a-9e24-4608-aefc-a0b7e47647ea/Stone+Co+picture.jpg Blog - Big Level Revisited - Make it stand out My wife, Gena, purchased this delightful piece of artwork for me direct from the artist, Karen S. Bryant, after I learned of it from my high school classmate and cousin, Carmen White Caldwell. The fact that it shows both Upper Big Level and Lower Big Level resonated with me immediately when I first saw it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/0769e708-ccc9-4080-b190-ad1cbc9d301c/Crabology+column+head++1917.png Blog - Big Level Revisited - Make it stand out Click this image to read my earlier post on “Crab-ology.” My Back Pages, 2 Sep 2020. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2023/2/28/the-egg-men monthly 0.5 2025-04-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/d349f6b5-28bc-405b-9f4f-4a491e4b4ea5/IH+pickup.jpg Blog - The Egg Men - Make it stand out A green 1952 International Harvester pickup much like the one Granddaddy Lott owned. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/cab009fe-3ee4-4464-9cf0-aa19279e81de/daisy+bb+gun+2.gif Blog - The Egg Men - Make it stand out A Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun much like the one I briefly had. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2023/01/06/mystery-mix-2022-solution monthly 0.5 2025-01-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/61ef2f57-6169-44a9-99b6-8782fd686f1f/Projector+%2B+Title+Track.png Blog - Mystery Mix 2022 Solution - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/5fbf82dc-db6f-422a-8633-c769fc224747/Title+Track+winner%27s+mug.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2022 Solution - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2022/12/14/mystery-mix-2022 monthly 0.5 2023-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/ea068d60-675e-49f3-b763-33ab371c36ae/Mystery+Mix+2022+mug+graphic.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2022 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/47cb5018-3bf9-41c7-a51e-d28198974df8/Merry+Christmas+Snoopy+%26+Woodstock.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2022 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2022/10/14/old-bob-lott-and-the-copeland-gang monthly 0.5 2025-10-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/033bd420-98c2-4b09-a3f8-bc5bfdce19e7/Copeland+book+cover+angled+shot.jpg Blog - Old Bob Lott and the Copeland Gang - Make it stand out “Life and Confession of the Noted Outlaw, James Copeland” by J. R. S. Pitts. An online copy is available at Google Books. (Notice that this reprint edition shows the author as Dr. Pitts. Not long after Copeland’s execution, Pitts gave up being a lawman and later became a doctor. He practiced medicine for many years in Waynesboro, Miss.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/2af9049b-6812-4abb-805a-439e19ef7539/1872+map+showing+Robert+Lott+community+in+Marion+%28now+Lamar%29+County.png Blog - Old Bob Lott and the Copeland Gang - Make it stand out “Hardee's Topographic, Historical, and Statistical Official Map of Mississippi” by T. S. Hardee, State Engineer. Published in New Orleans by Hugh Lewis in 1872. The full map can be accessed at the University of Alabama’s online archive of historical maps. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2022/06/10/the-hidden-farm monthly 0.5 2023-02-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/28c253f4-5a0b-4517-b233-562de22c981e/The+hidden+farm+1947.JPG Blog - The Hidden Farm - Make it stand out A portion of upper Big Level from a 1947 USGS topological map with my annotations showing the hidden farm in relation to our place. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/27fdc9b6-f197-4408-b22e-a9addd866327/The+mystery+farm+%282022%29.JPG Blog - The Hidden Farm - Make it stand out A satellite image from Google Maps showing this tract of land today. The hidden farm would have been located on the north end of the Charlie’s U-Pik property on the image right. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2022/02/23/kitchee-kitchee-ki-me-o monthly 0.5 2024-04-27 https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2022/1/18/providence monthly 0.5 2023-02-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/03b2c12c-7b90-4933-9df8-1c01ad52bea4/Stone+County+Fair+headline.png Blog - Providence - Make it stand out Front page of the October 12, 1967, Stone County Enterprise announcing the upcoming county fair. (From newspapers.com) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/dcc88325-56df-48e1-8de3-e32b08919a76/Helen+Redmond+Moore+image.jpg Blog - Providence - Make it stand out Helen Redmond Moore, 1923-2011 (Photo from the 1967 Stone High School yearbook) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/4327ee8f-6f48-488c-9246-ab0622a49128/Lawton+K+Owens+image.jpg Blog - Providence - Make it stand out Lawton K. Owens, 1919-2000 (Photo from the 1976 Delta State University yearbook.) https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2021/12/30/mystery-mix-2021-solution monthly 0.5 2022-10-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/7afa7d87-7fbf-411a-bb6e-4b7851f0422e/These+Is+Good.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2021 Solution - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/5eff3d23-0d06-46c5-89a7-359040142470/Mystery+Mix+2021+mug+These+Is+Good+Songs.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2021 Solution - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2021/12/13mystery-mix-2021 monthly 0.5 2023-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/ad45862c-a344-43e6-b65f-f4f582ac4300/Mystery+Box.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2021 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/9fa3b2ae-a2d7-43a6-9475-b60fc5fcc064/Merry+Christmas+Snoopy+%26+Woodstock.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix 2021 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2021/12/06/stuff-happens monthly 0.5 2026-03-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/b123672d-7ef5-4286-930d-8384774c0176/Dog+and+truck+image+for+Stuff+Happens%2C+AI+created%2C+2nd+version.jpg Blog - Stuff Happens - Make it stand out AI generated image based upon my prompts. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/12f05599-3aa0-4825-a3fb-26ab89037f98/charolais+bull+2.jpg Blog - Stuff Happens - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/3d169202-2a40-475a-a617-495650576807/trotline+hook.jpg Blog - Stuff Happens - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2021/11/05/for-the-record monthly 0.5 2026-03-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/ec4212f8-e9d9-4bf0-a714-c4d04df24655/My+stereo+system.jpg Blog - For the Record - Make it stand out My new old stereo system. Components were manufactured circa 1976 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/9a042232-ae79-4d6c-9b10-4126334a1760/1971+Columbia+House+selection+magazine+2.JPG Blog - For the Record - Make it stand out A page from a 1971 issue of Columbia House’s monthly selection catalog. Image from the Internet Archive (https://archive.org). https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2021/10/09/mr-maney monthly 0.5 2026-03-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1633826230455-51Y6528GVADN2HAYDWOE/Honda+CB175+1970+Super+Candy+Gold.jpg Blog - Mr. Maney - Make it stand out My second motorcycle, a 1970 Honda CB175 that I purchased at the beginning of that summer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1633826414592-DT7M7EYV1U1WS9P06607/Otis+Reynolds+Lott+gravestone.jpg Blog - Mr. Maney - Make it stand out Paramount Cemetery, Big Level Community, Stone Co., Miss. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1633826455387-T6N1LYRUUHZAL4LI2XLD/Jessie+Maney+gravestone.JPG Blog - Mr. Maney - Make it stand out Woodlawn Cemetery, Wiggins, Stone Co., Miss. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2021/09/10/summer-of-69 monthly 0.5 2026-03-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1631301126556-6LQKM0QXICH4CR1ZAF6K/Lott+Farm+aerial+view+2020-04-11%2C+annotated+to+show+trees+lost+in+Camille.jpg Blog - Summer of ’69 - Make it stand out This aerial photo of the house and grounds on the Lott farm was taken by my friend Dan in April of last year. I’ve annotated it to show the location of the four large trees that came down near the house 52 years ago on the night when Hurricane Camille roared through Big Level. The arrows indicate the direction of each tree’s fall. The two ovals in the photo’s foreground indicate the position of two large pecan trees that were on the east side of the house but withstood the storm. My brother John, who now owns the old homeplace, says Hurricane George took care of those two pecans in 1998. Luckily, they fell to the south, again sparing the house of any major damage. John has planted a few other trees over the years, but none are large enough or close enough to threaten that old home. (Photo by Daniel C Browning Jr, 2020-04-11) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1631301214271-XAFOH38TMQN2CZF55EIA/Hurricane+Camille+photo+-+Karen+and+Linda+on+fallen+oak+in+front+yard.jpg Blog - Summer of ’69 - Make it stand out My younger sisters, Linda, age 7 (standing) and Karen, age 9 (seated) on the large oak that fell in the front yard of our house during Camille. (Lott family photo from late August 1969) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1631301257075-UM0AHBNE6S0KVVW350UR/Hurricane+Camille+photo+-+Karen+and+Linda+in+driveway+with+fallen+pecan+on+shed.jpg Blog - Summer of ’69 - Make it stand out My younger sisters, Linda, age 7 (on bicycle) and Karen, age 9 (standing) in front of the large pecan tree the fell on the shed in the back yard during Camille. (Lott family photo from late August 1969) https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2021/08/27/nice-throw-lefty monthly 0.5 2021-08-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1630091698183-IZZ5GWAECSUI2EQL1ODG/Keith%2C+Judy%2C+and+me+waiting+for+the+school+bus+-+Sep+1962.jpg Blog - Nice Throw, Lefty - Make it stand out Keith, Judy, and 4th-grade me waiting for the school bus, September 1962. Notice that I’m wearing my lefthander’s baseball glove. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1630092501800-GIMUP7HZ56TW1D4UYZ0B/Minibike+ad+in+Boys%27+Life%2C+Mar+1963.JPG Blog - Nice Throw, Lefty - Make it stand out A page from the March 1963 issue of Boys’ Life showing one of the minibikes I drooled over as a kid. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1630092798736-0LIREUH9ZCVD1V03UPYD/Tommy+Hall+obituary.jpg Blog - Nice Throw, Lefty - Make it stand out Thomas Edward “Tommy” Hall (29 Oct 1952 – 25 Jun 2021) The Hattiesburg American, 30 Jun 2021 p2A https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2021/7/8/the-burden-of-memory-revisited monthly 0.5 2025-05-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1625760524365-RTVL06EAW3IUSXP4F3GY/Russell+%28age+16+seated+center%29+and+his+cousins+on+motorcycles+at+Papa+Bond%27s%2C+July+1970.jpg Blog - The Burden of Memory, Revisited - Make it stand out That’s me, seated in the photo’s center, at age 16, with a few of my cousins in July of 1970. We wee down at Papa Bond's farm and homeplace in the Beatrice community of Stone County, Mississippi. This image is also on the homepage of this website. I chose to present it again here because a close friend from those long-ago days recently told me that this is how she remembers me. Her statement pleased me greatly, as this is how I most often remember myself when I think about my Big Level days. In my mind, this image very strongly represents the true me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1625769633973-S3ULEALPQDC3UD4R5PLC/T-shirts.jpg Blog - The Burden of Memory, Revisited - Make it stand out These are two of my favorite t-shirts of late. The one on the left is my Grateful Dead shirt. I purchased it last year during the height of the pandemic. It seemed to ideally capture the strangeness of our shared COVID ordeal. The other carries a double meaning, particularly when spoken, that delights my wacky sense of humor. Now, both shirts seem to nicely encapsulate the wild emotional ride this journey through my back pages has been. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2021/06/24/a-family-outing-100-years-ago monthly 0.5 2023-09-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1624560385809-BIP72Z898PD9HSR30P2M/Grandma+and+Granddad+Lott+with+grandchildren+%28Jan+1956%29.jpg Blog - A Family Outing, 100 years Ago - Make it stand out This picture from January 1956 is one of the most prized in my photo collection. That’s my two-year-old self sitting in Grandma Lott’s lap with Keith and Judy, my two older siblings on her right. Granddaddy is holding Mike and Jerry (two of Uncle ’Nell and Aunt Reicey’s sons) and Wallace (their oldest) is kneeling in the shadows behind me in the photo’s center. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1624560599656-35M249P0ZFDU1ACKDOLL/Fun+at+the+Creek.jpg Blog - A Family Outing, 100 years Ago - Make it stand out That’s me back in my mid-thirties with my two daughters, Laura Beth and Leigh Ann. and my nephew, Matt (John’s son) enjoying the warm water and white sandbars of Red Creek on a June outing to the City Bridge in 1993. It’s high time we got back down there! https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2021/05/27/mary monthly 0.5 2021-05-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1622130896502-2Y9OSGG0GON8MBD6FR5R/flooded-country-road.jpg Blog - Mary - Make it stand out An Almy stock photo I crudely edited to approximate Punk Lott Road flooded as I remember it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1622133250959-ZY9HCEQEJUZJX4DSI1HH/Fairley%2C+Mary+%26+Hardy+gravestone.jpg Blog - Mary - Make it stand out Fairley Cemetery, Stone County, Mississippi (https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/59243/fairley-cemetery/map) https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2021/03/24/wampus-cat monthly 0.5 2024-07-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1616623844181-IGB488XYWLSZ3K0GUYQ7/Kirby+Creek+at+Big+Four+Rd.png Blog - Wampus Cat This satellite image from Google Maps shows our road, named for my dad, as it runs north from Big Four Road and the Kirby Creek bridge where this big-cat incident occurred. Not much has changed in the last 60 years. Our sandy gravel lane has been paved and the old wooden bridge has been replaced with one of concrete, but the woods are still as thick as they’ve always been and the Kirby still flows through the same creekbed hidden from above. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1616624563647-6GDLK7L1DBFJNZ6LAMTE/Conway+High+School+wampus+cat.jpg Blog - Wampus Cat The wampus cat is the mascot at Conway High School, in Conway, Arkansas. It is depicted with six legs, the hind four for running and the upper two for fighting. Conway is one of six high schools in the U.S. with the wampus cat as its mascot. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2021/2/26/new-ground monthly 0.5 2026-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1614380685956-IPA9GVAOCYCMICY08XYW/American+Pickle+Company+Wiggins+MS.jpg Blog - New Ground The American Pickle Company, Wiggins, Mississippi (c. 1920). Pickle production in Stone County, began in 1912 when the Finkbine Lumber Company sought new ways to profit from the cut-over land after it was stripped of the old-growth pine timber. Finkbine formed a company called Mississippi Farms and began experimenting with growing and canning different types of vegetables. It was found that cucumbers thrived in the hot and humid South Mississippi climate, outperforming most other produce. The first pickle plant in Wiggins was built in 1913 and was operated by the American Pickle and Canning Company. After changing hands several times, it was acquired in 1944 by the Brown-Miller Company, a division of Beatrice Foods, which operated it until the plant’s closing in 1986. During my growing-up years, the plant was popularly touted as the largest pickle plant in the world. Whether that was true or not, there’s no doubt that during its 73-year history, the pickle plant in Wiggins had an enormous financial and social impact on the town and surrounding area. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1614617796865-PF004ALZ7NL1FOEKZFSE/brogans+4.jpg Blog - New Ground An old work pair of brogans (Not mine or my daddy’s, but a photo from Pinterest.) https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2021/01/29/a-matter-principle monthly 0.5 2024-01-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1611942296685-UAVWH2RRADB9V6Y5NZ3N/Russell%2C+9%2C+on+his+bicycle%2C+Wallace%2C+17%2C+on+his+horse%2C+Flicka%2C+1963.JPG Blog - A Matter of Principle That’s my 9-year-old self on my bicycle with my cousin Wallace, age 17, in the background on Flicka. I captured this grainy still image from one of Uncle ’Nell’s Super 8 home movies. He was filming his eldest son on his horse when I came photo-bombing through the frame on my bike. (May 1963, the Burnell Lott residence, Big Level, Mississippi.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1611948084500-OSFTK2GWYKWIEAIHL6K2/wingding.gif Blog - A Matter of Principle https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/12/16/mystery-mix-solution monthly 0.5 2025-01-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1608135139540-J6R90SBIZZI6YEHXZCKD/Bethany+Rigney+-+2020+Mystery+Mis+winner.JPG Blog - Mystery Mix Solution https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1607622865983-FEYW0VQDHBFWOZ9SQUZV/Little+Green+Bag.jpg Blog - Mystery Mix Solution https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/11/27/mystery-mix monthly 0.5 2022-11-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1606503402250-COMP80F3I2XDID3NZNDB/LB+handing+Cole+the+MystMix+trophy.jpg Blog - The Mystery Mix Laura Beth, not too happily, handing off the traveling mystery mix trophy to hubby Cole, the 2017 winner. (25 December 2017) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1606514303465-R5R0PSEDTVAJET5RH3LI/mystery%2Bmix%2Bplaque%2B2019.jpg Blog - The Mystery Mix The Wall of Honor. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/11/21/courage-and-confusion monthly 0.5 2026-03-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1605912352292-Y5Q8KW12GRRTSOALBSCV/Mr.+Chambers%2C+SHS+1971+yearbook+photo.jpg Blog - Courage and Confusion Mr. Chambers, Stone High School Social Studies teacher. (photo from my 1971 SHS yearbook) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1605910318738-9TCSW23S12TVTMYZMTAY/Gary+%26+Anita+at+the+SHS+Junior-Senior+Banquet%2C+Dec+1970.jpg Blog - Courage and Confusion Gary Simpson and Anita Wesson speaking at the December 1970 Junior-Senior Banquet. (photo from the 1971 SHS yearbook) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1606245312558-2EFJES0WP4NW9X31TKWJ/SHS+annual+staff+around+my+bike%2C+Feb+1971.jpg Blog - Courage and Confusion Several members of the 1971 SHS yearbook staff gathered around my motorcycle while taking a break from the task of laying out the pages (March 1971). L-R: Benny Newton, Russell Lott, Carmen White, Toni Smith, and Jeanne Rogers. This photo was taken by Gwen Smith; I remember that because that’s what she wrote when she signed my annual. (photo from the 1971 SHS yearbook) https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/10/30/little-eva monthly 0.5 2026-03-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1604084878953-CWHZ2LOH48V6TGMUN5IW/Home+School+2nd+grade+1960-61+%28with+edited+names%29.jpg Blog - Little Eva The Second Grade page from the 1960-61 Home School annual (Big Level, Mississippi). That’s my 7-year-old self in the center of the second row. It just occurs to me that if these yearbook portraits were taken in October of 1960—a reasonable assumption—then my classmates and I were as close then to the end of the 1800s as we were to today here in October 2020. Makes the head spin, doesn’t it? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1604085570913-JFZUDB3NLPWVWEPGS8X5/Eva+Gail+-+1970s+photo.jpg Blog - Little Eva Eva Gayle Wells Patterson in an unidentified photo from the 1970s. This is how I last remember her. Source: WDAM.com https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/10/6/fair-weather monthly 0.5 2021-07-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1601951727548-XS7VNGEH1SHUWMBLFS6O/Pine-straw+maze+2.JPG Blog - Fair Weather My grandson, Patrick, running the pine straw maze I raked up in our back yard. (Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Oct. 2016) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1601952601497-BOMDOO1S27J2ZT3490L9/Hay+hauling.jpg Blog - Fair Weather Hauling hay in south Mississippi, c. 1965 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1601952848346-1B1AA946GWN93N8K8C8E/HondaCB175+front+view+jpg.jpg Blog - Fair Weather The instrument cluster on my 1970 Honda CB175. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/09/22/ticket-to-ride monthly 0.5 2023-07-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1600804842134-WHHMQ37GRSAP1694ZOB0/Cattle+dipping.jpg Blog - Ticket to Ride Cattle dipping (Alamy stock photo — pun not intended but well savored) https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/09/01/crabology monthly 0.5 2024-06-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1598981349532-NKZQ5U7ZWMCX7IB0S37P/Crabology+column+heads.png Blog - Crabology The different headers used over the years for the “Crabology” column in the Daily Herald newspaper. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1598982366939-7LU3LD9DCJTRO8JNEFL0/Russell+%26+Gena+at+Cedar+Grove+Farms.PNG Blog - Crabology Russell & Gena Lott at Cedar Grove Farms, This grainy photo was taken in May, 1973, just before we moved to Cleveland, Mississippi, to attend Delta State University. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/8/11/little-honda monthly 0.5 2026-01-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1597175364844-WDSDVNXXIACNKWO5ZDGJ/Sears+motorcycles%2C+2-page+spread%2C+c.+1966-67.jpg Blog - Little Honda Sears motorcycles, 2-page catalog spread, c. 1967 Yup, back in the 1950s and ’60s, when I was a youngster, long before Amazon made every book, boom box, and bowtie available with a mouse click, Montgomery Ward and Sears & Roebuck dominated the retail home-delivery business with massive printed catalogs. Everything under the sun was within reach of anyone with a postal address. You could even buy a DIY house kit and have it delivered to your Poverty Fork property. It was all just a mail-in form away, motorcycles included. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1597175961025-M841FB3YYQED36ENV095/you-meet-the-nicest-people-on-a-honda-2.jpg Blog - Little Honda An advertisement for a Honda 50 Super Cub, Life Magazine, 20 Mar 1964. Just about the sexiest thing my adolescent self could imagine! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1597176592707-OOUZA5YUITQ53P31Q32M/1968-Honda-S65-Black.jpg Blog - Little Honda My first motorcycle, a 1968 Honda S65 with 65cc engine and scrambler pipe, purchased by Santa, December 1967. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/202/07/24/i-was-home-schooled monthly 0.5 2023-04-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1595516199839-YBWD4A8CN43NVU8QVJJE/Hope+School%2C+Big+Level%2C+Stone+Co.%2C+MS%2C+1911.jpg Blog - I Was "Home" Schooled This is Hope School, shown in 1911, the year before it was consolidated with the new Home School. It was located about 7-8 miles from Wiggins in the upper Big Level community. My granddaddy, Dolph Lott (1897-1976), attended this one-room school; he’s the handsome young 14-year-old man in the dark suit near the image center. Two of his sisters, my great-aunts Vergie and Minnie, are also pictured, Here is the complete lineup, as published by the Old Firehouse Museum located in Wiggins at 117 N Front Street: (Front row) Edwin Taylor, Vardaman Taylor, Stella Taylor, Iduma Berry, Pearl Breland, Ethel Taylor, Eugenia Taylor, Mildred Breland, Mamie Taylor, Norwood Breland, Broxton Berry; (Center row) Dewey Taylor, Shannon Taylor, Dolph Lott, Atsie Taylor, Connie Breland, Virgie Lott, (Back row) Clyde Breland, Quider Breland, Melton Hatten, Willard Taylor, Minnie Lott, Bertha Taylor, Versa Hatten, Talmadge Taylor, Viola Taylor and Grady Hatten. The woman at the far right is Lillian Galloway, teacher. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1595520174887-9QKDH6RF7IPO4B46WABE/Home+School+historical+marker%2C+Big+Level%2C+Stone+Co.%2C+MS.jpg Blog - I Was "Home" Schooled Photo by Russell W. Lott, 19 May 2019 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1595619277122-4UP2SOCQMZTBP02J85KC/Home+School+photo+c.+1965.jpg Blog - I Was "Home" Schooled This photo shows the entire student body and faculty of Home School during the 1965-66 term — all eight grades, the four teachers, and the principal. I’m on the back row, my black-haired head just visible in front of Mrs. Bailey, the 7th-8th teacher, who is second on the back row between her husband and Principal Gordon. The other teachers are: Mr. Bailey (5th-6th), Mrs. Gordon (3rd-4th), and Mrs. White (1st-2nd). As you can see, with only 75-80 students in the entire student body, closing the school was economically justified. It’s surprising that it stayed open as long as it did. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1595531403042-68SS60DQW2AXP66LL4NL/Home+School+basketball%2C+Daily+Herald+16+Feb+1914%2C+p6.jpg Blog - I Was "Home" Schooled From the Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald, 16 Feb 1914 Just as the historical marker indicates, basketball was a big part of Home School’s glory — this news item tells us that this tradition started early. Though it’s not stated here, many of those early games were played on dirt courts, possibly the same courts my classmates enjoyed during recess in ’50’s and ’60s. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1595531316417-YP5DC7P8IF8Y5L8I1ZW3/Tomato+Club%2C+Daily+Herald+15+Feb+1915.jpg Blog - I Was "Home" Schooled From the Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald, 15 Feb 1915 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1595531780817-O2C3JDWZUGYMW5BZY6A4/Tomato+Club+girl+and+her+one-tenth-acre+plot.+1913.+Photo+from+%E2%80%9CDown+South+on+the+Beautiful+Gulf+Coast%2C%E2%80%9D+Volume+30%2C+%234.+Courtesy+May+Quarles+Collection%2C+Miss+State+Univ.gif Blog - I Was "Home" Schooled An unidentified Harrison County tomato club teenaged girl and her one-tenth acre plot. This 1913 photo is from “Down South on the Beautiful Gulf Coast,” Volume 30, Extension Service History Collections, Mitchell Memorial Library, Mississippi State University. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/6/18/i-was-born-in-a-log-cabin monthly 0.5 2026-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1592485980733-VU2KYR0K9J1MFKSZGYQI/log+cabin.jpg Blog - I Was Born in a Log Cabin No actual pictures of that original cabin exist, to my knowledge; however, this stock photo depicts a log structure of the same approximate dimensions and configuration as that of the John Lampkin Bond house. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1592487293752-4Q90BT8SUNO5SCYTKPSQ/house+1.JPG Blog - I Was Born in a Log Cabin This photo, taken in 1953, shows the house as it was when Daddy and Mama bought it. Pictured are Mama’s youngest sister, Wyvena Bond Hatten at age 9 (back center) and some of her nieces and nephews. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1592488726608-DTUEEAZUG32SF27SXVVE/two-holer.jpg Blog - I Was Born in a Log Cabin This stock photo depicts a two-hole outhouse very much like the one of my youth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1592489079304-AMDFVQY54AQLCMQQRJ1S/house+2.jpg Blog - I Was Born in a Log Cabin This photo from the 1970s shows the house as it appeared following its extensive renovation in 1968. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1592513824934-CIYHFYWSA7ZAZFHGF4CC/aerial+view+of+Lott+farm+%28cropped%29.jpg Blog - I Was Born in a Log Cabin An aerial view of the house as it appeared in the 1990s. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1592490853334-73JTBEVKEJYY5PGP8RNA/logs+2.JPG Blog - I Was Born in a Log Cabin In a recent renovation, my brother John left a section of one wall uncovered so that those old logs are once again visible. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/06/03/its-still-one-of-my-favorite-memories monthly 0.5 2025-02-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1591116888155-3FEMJKIIJHM4IPZEQACT/PunkLottRoad-Ground-Hillshade-roads.jpg Blog - It’s Still One of My Favorite Memories Image by Daniel C Browning Jr, with annotations by Russell W Lott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1591119856228-ALHZN5WWJPLCHFWINT9I/Bell_47G.jpg Blog - It’s Still One of My Favorite Memories Stock photo of a Bell 47G Helicopter. The Bell 47 was a single rotor light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. Though used extensively by the military, the 47 became the first helicopter certified for civilian use. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1591117826120-97IBAQU830U3K3RT5UOU/Lott+Farm+aerial+view+2020-04-11+15-21-47.jpg Blog - It’s Still One of My Favorite Memories Aerial view of the house and grounds on the Lott farm, Big Level, Stone Country, Mississippi. Photo by Daniel C Browning Jr, 2020-04-11 https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/5/21/antique-roadshow monthly 0.5 2024-10-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1606504048403-8B0CA3ENGIFIH4HM2Q4V/Bound+for+Red+Creek%2C+June+1959.jpg Blog - Antique Roadshow In this June 1959 snapshot, we were in the back of Daddy’s pickup, “bound for Red Creek” as the handwritten caption says. That’s my cousin Jerry (7) on the running board, John (3) is seated, Judy (9) and my cousin Mike (8) are standing, and that’s my 5-year-old self leaning on the tailgate. Keith (8) is obscured behind Mike. Aunt Reicey is standing beside the truck and I’m not sure who is in the cab. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1590085821104-C3ZKRD3LY5OFO1DX87TH/Dad+with+Judy%2C+Keith%2C+and+Russell+-+Red+Creek+at+City+Bridge%2C+1958.jpg Blog - Antique Roadshow Daddy (Reynolds Lott, 32) with Judy (8), Keith (6), and me (4) at the City Bridge in 1958. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1606504132547-Y552W5JB2F880C187G6I/City+Bridge+at+Red+Creek%2C+1963.png Blog - Antique Roadshow Men from Paramount Baptist Church awaiting the beginning of a baptism (City Bridge, 1963). Note the unpaved road and the single-lane bridge path. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1606504265948-N5FT9AOYASV7PF9IL3HO/Old+City+Road+annotated+map+image.png Blog - Antique Roadshow Google map of Harrison and Stone Counties in Mississippi, annotated by Russell W. Lott, May 19, 2020 https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/05/11/memories-they-cant-be-boughten monthly 0.5 2025-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1589049075848-PP6F4SE4TC78F2H77W1E/Reynolds+%289mos%29+and+Burnell+Lott+%283%29%2C+on+quilt%2C+1925.jpg Blog - Memories, They Can’t Be Boughten Reynolds Lott, my dad (8 months) and his big brother, Burnell Lott (3), 1925 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1589144887245-N280PTSASBFU0INB1LQY/Capture.JPG Blog - Memories, They Can’t Be Boughten https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1589049563060-Q5MA9DIFO5LWK1519GM9/Reynolds+and+Burnell+Lott+at+home%2C+1941.jpg Blog - Memories, They Can’t Be Boughten Reynolds Lott (17) and Burnell Lott (20), 1942. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1589056588998-26E4CF5YKTD4O8QDLCV1/Reynolds+and+Odell+Lott%2C+portrait%2C+1953.jpg Blog - Memories, They Can’t Be Boughten Reynolds and Odell Lott, 1953, ages 28 & 26 (Daddy and Mama in the year I was born) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1589056634410-R8PJ9CL9U743ZD4ZFYTN/Burnell+and+Loriece+Lott%2C+1942.jpg Blog - Memories, They Can’t Be Boughten Burnell and Loriece Lott, 1952, ages 30 & 29 (Uncle ’Nell and Aunt Reicey). https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/04/28/solitary-man monthly 0.5 2026-03-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1587848980993-CBX1LRZ2ZQLOZRFBEUME/1962+Chevrolet+Biscayne+station+wagon.jpg Blog - Solitary Man 1962 Chevrolet Biscayne station wagon https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1587833235845-8RR46ZDCA5JZANWSVNIE/Russell+Lott+%28age+13%29+Jan+1967.JPG Blog - Solitary Man My 13-year-old conflicted self (Russell Lott, March 1967) https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/20/04/21/my-love-hate-relationship-with-genealogy monthly 0.5 2025-11-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1587413018671-LAAHRS1FN81DP5SNTW4F/Holmes+quote.png Blog - My Love-Hate Relationship with Genealogy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1587414127781-3XZ2RNVIKXBETEEG0LL1/Lott%2C+Absolam+Nathan+%281806-1887%29+gravestone+2.jpg Blog - My Love-Hate Relationship with Genealogy Absalom Nathan (1806-1887), Jerry Bond-Lott Cemetery, Big Level, Stone Co. MS ( gravestone image 2) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1587415258965-ITCIR7PSYQWBE8J8Q9KU/Melissee+Lott+in+the+1870+Census.png Blog - My Love-Hate Relationship with Genealogy A clip of 1870 U.S. Census, Beat 5, Harrison Co., MS. In the Absalom Lott household, youngest son Elisha is listed at Melissa or Melissee, a female, aged 19. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/04/14/am-radio-rocked-my-world monthly 0.5 2026-02-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1586708190268-7TQRJQI9XGDZ044ACVJJ/KAAY.jpg Blog - AM Radio Rocked My World https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1586705204778-QCCPAP092MIQ1YY9SHYS/image-asset.jpeg Blog - AM Radio Rocked My World These two images are close approximations of the radios mentioned above, courtesy of Google Images. They’ll have to suffice, as I couldn’t find the actual items in any of my old photos. My portable transistor had a leatherette light tan carrying case. Judy’s tabletop unit was dark brown; I’ve forgotten it’s brand. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/03/27/big-bloody-four monthly 0.5 2026-02-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1585408684956-J9MASWW8X83W0FN140RV/1968-Honda-S65-Black.JPG Blog - Bloody Big Four My first motorcycle, a 1968 Honda S65 with 65cc engine and scrambler pipe. https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/03/26/big-level monthly 0.5 2024-07-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1586121307425-04R43C2SFPQ4GUV0OW8V/Home+Vocational+High+School%2C+aka+Big+Level+School%2C+1961.jpg Blog - Big Level Home Vocational High School, aka Big Level School, 1959-60 https://mybackpagesblog.com/blog/2020/03/25/the-burden-of-memory monthly 0.5 2024-01-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7c1fd9c83860640d1ce1f1/1585843172152-YY20ZVI6SVIZW46K21BI/Lott+and+Bond+brothers+-+1953.jpg Blog - The Burden of Memory Left to right: Reynolds ‘Punk’ Lott (Daddy), Warren Bond, Burnell Lott, and Gorden Bond. Taken in 1953, the year I was born, this picture of my dad and his brother and two of my mom’s brothers, all standing elbow-to-elbow, is one of my favorites. It resonates with me that they are alternating, Lott, Bond, Lott, Bond. 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