Just Among Friends

Neshoba Central High School announced the Students of the Month for October recently. These students are: Charlie Moran, freshman; Debra Pankey, freshman; Aliyah Perez, sophomore; Ethan Kidd, junior; TJ Phillips, senior; Tiekera Williams, senior. Congratulations to each and every one of these students!

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Kara Daly had an exceptional weekend recently! She was chosen as the Vice President of Recruitment for Delta Gamma Sorority at the University of Southern Mississippi 2024. Congratulations!

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A very excited family headed to Mississippi from Macon, Georgia, to spend Thanksgiving week! Glen and Jennifer Alford Walker and their children, Emily, Joseph, and Grace Walker, visited with Sherry and Mac Alford at their home.  It was hard to tell who was more excited, the Walkers or the Alfords!

One of the most fun events is the annual molasses cooking at the molasses mill which is in a special shed on the Alford's nearby property. The sugar cane is squeezed with a tractor that goes around and around and the juice flows into containers. 

Mac has a wood-burning stove with a black antique cast iron cauldron that rests on a grate over the hot fire. The juice is stirred as it boils until several samples indicate it is thick enough and has become molasses. It is strained and poured into jars and labeled. The process is fascinating and something the Walker children have grown to love. It is not a quick process and the stove has to be refilled with wood so the juice will keep boiling. Mac always saves some of his blue cane for the Walkers to make molasses when they come at Thanksgiving. 

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Lilly Ruth Fulton was 3 years old the first time she saw "The Nutcracker" ballet performed at the Temple Theater in Meridian and she was totally captivated! She has been telling her parents, Rob and Rozane Richardson Fulton, ever since that she wanted to be on that stage.

Although COVID, scheduling conflicts, and missed auditions interfered with her dream, six years later Lilly Ruth was actually on that stage! This young ballerina finally performed with Ballet Magnificat in "Most Incredible Christmas" on Nov. 21! She was absolutely thrilled!

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Members of the First Baptist Church's BALL group went on a fabulous trip last week to Savannah, Ga., where they enjoyed touring the city under the guidance of a tour guide wearing a lovely period costume.

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Another Book Parade wound up at Neshoba Central Elementary School last Friday. This is an annual event that was initiated to motivate children to read for fun. Different classrooms selected a book to present in the parade. The students dressed as the characters from their chosen book and carried signs with the title and author. The teachers accompanied their classes as they paraded on the track in front of the bleachers. Parents, family, and friends enjoyed watching the parade.

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Earlier this month, Julia Cole and Regina Hicks traveled to Italy to visit Julia's daughter, Jennifer, who lives in Sicily. Their trip began with a couple of days in Rome where Jennifer organized a private tour of the famed Colosseum. They also visited the glorious St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican where Regina attended a special mass and received Communion.  After eating and walking all over Rome, they boarded a plane with Jennifer and flew to Catania in Sicily.

Julia and Regina were in for an extraordinary experience. Since Jennifer organizes custom trips for visitors to Sicily, she pulled out all the stops for these two very special guests.  

Mornings were spent strolling among the small fishing villages along the seaside and eating a traditional Sicilian breakfast of granita with oven-fresh brioche. 

According to Julia, "This was the trip of a lifetime!".

Jennifer Cole has lived in Sicily for several years. She is a travel and food writer who recently wrote a book on Sicily for Fodor. This talented young woman is the daughter of Sellers and Julia Cole of Philadelphia.