Quick snaps from the exhibit ....

GREAT JOB McComb Studio Teams!

Steve Cox Breaks Out in Song During Studio

That just happened

The Show: 10 Commandments

Dinner at the Caboose - Thank you Front Street Restoration!!

McComb Main Street Workshop Exhibit

Friday, May 29, 2009, 4:30 - 6:30 PM

McComb Sports Park, 701 S. Magnolia, McComb, MS

growth and decay

There is an old drainage channel in the cemetery, directly north of our house and perpendicular to the path which continues the line of Bendat Street. It is hidden from view from the paths by dense vegetation. The lighting wasn't so great for my automatic camera, but it's a very interesting spot to visit.


Life in the area is very diverse. Orange mushrooms feed on algae(?) which grow on the bricks.


Caterpillars(?) hang from silk.


Some of the rocks and bricks are smoothed from water. This one is so rounded that I wonder if it was around back when the channel was just a naturally-occurring swale.


I believe much of the vegetation had been cleared at some point, but succession is well on its way. Along with some maples and the obligatory oaks, there are beeches and some young magnolias. Maybe it is becoming a "magnolia-beech climax community", which is not uncommon in this region, but I'm not certain.

McComb Main Street Workshop Exhibit

Friday, May 29, 2009, 4:30 - 6:30 PM

McComb Sports Park, 701 S. Magnolia, McComb, MS

Historic Storefronts Guidelines

http://www.nps.gov/history/HPS/tps/briefs/brief11.htm

Brookhaven to McComb in 1 Day

What's Wrong With This Picture??

Meeting with Libba, the city about Railroad Blvd. improvements

Friday morning, the self-proclaimed "track team" comprised of Lance, Marcelle, Melissa and Genny met with Libba Alford and city and railroad depot representatives to get feedback on our proposed improvements for Railroad Blvd. and Main Street. Turns out we were on the same page on a lot of ideas, and they were very open to our suggestions, which is always great!!

Melissa checking out the railroad themed playground equipment that will be implemented in the new playground area.

Lance and Marcelle discussing Railroad Blvd. improvements with Joseph (last name will be inserted later, oops) who is the recreational director for the city of McComb... awesome guy!

Looking out onto our proposed site for the new playground... which was actually the previous site for the playground!

British Reporter Visits the Mission House Headquarters

Morning meetings

Recipes!

Ms. Libba emailed me some of her recipes for the party......... Enjoy!

FUDGE MUFFINS

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate

2 sticks butter

1 ¾ cups sugar

dash salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ to 2 cups pecans

Melt chocolate and butter. Place sugar, salt, and flour in a mixing bowl. Stir in eggs one at a time. Add chocolate mixture. Stir well. Add pecans and vanilla.

I have found that if I let this mixture stand for about 15 minutes, then I have no trouble loading it into paper-lined muffin tins.

Bake at 325 fro 20 to 25 minutes.

Yields 18 muffins.

BLACK-EYED PEA DIP

1 medium onion, chopped

2 T. butter

1 (15 oz) can black-eyed peas, rinsed & drained

1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained & chopped

2 T. Parmesan cheese

½ cup sour cream

½ cup mayonnaise

1 package dry ranch-dressing mix

4 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated

Sauté onion in butter. Mix in all other ingredients except mozzarella. Pour into a greased casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes at 350. Top with mozzarella and return to oven to bake until cheese melts.

rail yard + coal chute

Our team went to visit the coal chute. I had previously mistakenly perceived it as being both on the far side of the rail yard and on a hill which heads up from the yard. I thought 'chute' referenced an arm which would swing out over the nearest track. Rather, the chute is on its own mound in the middle of the yard. The surrounding trees obscure the fact that there is another area of the yard on the far side. There is currently no track directly beneath the chute. We were wondering if there previously was one ascending the mound to carry the trains underneath it. Unfortunately, there is no ladder. :(

Nearby is a dilapidated shed and a few abandoned box and platform cars.

Tuesday night the Alford family invited all of us over for dinner which was very nice. The food consisted of jambalaya, bread, and a fruit salad. All of which was amazing. Afterwords a few of us visited the neighbors and overstayed our welcome.

Old Hangout

FYI, I told my dad about the McColgan Hotel, and he said it was one of his favorite hangouts back in in 1977 when he went to school here....

The 123/125 S. Broadway and Jubilee Performing Arts Center teams working in the back room of Cox Architecture

Diligently working on Main Street

This is the headquarters for the McColgan Hotel and Railroad Avenue teams

seamless textures for sketchup

Great site with seamless textures, perfect for sketchup models!

http://www.filterforge.com/filters/

Mississippi Blues/Backroads of American Music

While researching for our Railroad Avenue project, I've been investigating the Mississippi Blues Trail site, which includes a map of different regions of Mississippi as related to the blues - and provides more context for that Bo Diddley sign in front of the pavilion. I also came across the Backroads of American Music site which "finds real American music off the beaten path and hosts an online community for other searchers to share their stories". It also lists current venues, and hosts a blog of other happening, including Mississippi Region information.

Site Visits

We made some site visits over the last couple of days. Stefan found a really sweet piece of wood, and we got some cool records. We also got on the roof and did some hardcore research up there.

Fabulous Old Signage in McComb