By Donna Traywick

Mt. Olivet News

Congratulations to Miss Taylor Russell for winning first alternate in the Batesville Junior High beauty review a couple of weeks ago. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Russell of Black Jack.

I had a wonderful meal at Black Jack Presbyterian on Sunday.

Anytime they say food at Black Jack you can go looking for a feast. They had several kinds of meats, including BBQ ribs, casseroles of all kinds, and one long table that held nothing but desserts.

A peach cobbler made by Bobby Phelps was a big hit.

Paperwork is in the works to have Black Jack placed on the National Registry of Historical Places. It certainly qualifies as it began as a mission to the Indians (Native Americans). Then it was used as a hospital during the Civil War and there are both Union and Confederate soldiers buried in the church cemetery.

Founded in 1826, Black Jack is one of the oldest churches in Mississippi, and all of the South, still having regular services. I played the organ there for about 30 years when the late Jean Smith was the pianist.

Mt. Olivet Methodist had a community worship service last Saturday night. Several churches came together for the event, which will now be held the last Saturday night of each month.

Rev. Daniel Minor of Pilgrims Rest Baptist Church was the guest speaker, and a praise and worship band of young people from Hosanna Church was a big hit. A pizza supper was enjoyed by all.

Paul (Bud) Franklin reports that the 80 degree weather we had a couple of days a few weeks ago burned up most of the tomatoes in his greenhouse, but he has planted more seeds.

McCullar Peach Orchard reports blooms have just started on their trees. A group of bee keepers from South Dakota have hives near the orchard to help with the pollination.

We are making plans to revive the community flower garden that Elvage Fondren has worked on for years. It is located on a tiny piece of land where Joiner Road and May Road pass in the Mt. Olivet/New Enon communities.

It was once a dump, but Elvage envisioned it as a flower garden. He spent hundreds of dollars and man hours cleaning up the spot and making a beautiful garden. Elvage lives on Joiner about two miles away and many times over the years would haul water in 55-gallon drums to the garden to water during dry spells.

Winfred Lawrence has been mowing around the area. We need some new plants and bulbs and a little help from anyone wanting to keep this beautiful garden going. Please let me know by call or text.

Mr. Fondren should not be the only person working so hard on this garden that is there for all of the community to enjoy when they ride by. Some help on a Saturday morning would be greatly appreciated.

How many people from Mt. Olivet get to be on the front page of The Panolian? Not many. I can’t remember anyone until last week when a big photo of Tate Anderson was on the front. He has quite a reputation as a pitcher for the South Panola Tigers and his name is in the paper almost every week when they play.

Ole Miss, are you watching? Tate is the son of Scott and Betsy Anderson and the grandson of Bobby and Sherry Anderson, and Jeff and Becky Curtis. 

Keep the phone and text messages coming to 901-828-8824.