Mississippi County Archives - Page 2 of 48

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig.

November 9, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner 2 Comments

The view from our sleeping porch

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig. I’m back home after spending five days with Momma and my sister, Staci, at home-home in Mississippi County, Arkansas. (I’ve said this before, but home-home is where I’m from, and home [singular] is where I live now.)

When we were kids, Momma always said, “Home again, home again, jiggety jig,” every time we pulling into the carport. After a trip to the lake. After a trip to Big Star. After a trip anywhere.

You remember that nursery rhyme, don’t you? There are lots of versions. The jingle has been quoted in many television shows, movies, and books. (Stephen King, I’m looking at you and It.)

The version I know:

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,
Home again, home again, jiggety-jig.
To market, to market, to buy a fat hog,
Home again, home again, jiggety-jog.
To market, to market, to buy a plum bun,
Home again, home again, market is done.
(Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes)

Now I say it. Not always, but sometimes. Because I’ve turned into Momma.Continue Reading

Little Custom Homes in Mississippi County, Arkansas

May 5, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner 5 Comments

Little Custom Homes, Bassett, Ar

It’s no secret I love to share all the interesting things happening in Mississippi County, Arkansas. That’s where I grew up and where my Momma still farms. Now we can add Little Custom Homes, LLC to the coolness.

How cute are these? The only thing missing is a puppy on each porch.

Am I right?

I’ve not officially toured these homes, but I’ve driven by them, stalked them from afar, and memorized the photos on the website. And while I’m not (yet) a tiny house dweller, these Little Custom Homes (company owned by Bill Denton) make me believe I could pare down my stuff to those can’t-live-without ~~books~~ belongings. So often, I feel stifled by stuff. Don’t you?Continue Reading

Wilson, Arkansas: How Geography Shapes a Place

March 15, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner 31 Comments

(This post is sponsored by Designsensory, Inc. Opinions are my own.)

I’ve been thinking about how geography shapes a place. Not only the physical landscape, which often determines the direction a town grows (nestled within a valley or spread across the flat prairie), but also the way geography shapes the culture of a place. Over time, geographic location has certainly played a significant role in the culture of Wilson, Arkansas. From Mississippi River swampland to cotton empire to Delta town of the present, Wilson is distinctive in part because of the very landscape surrounding it.

Consider the Music.

If a highway can affect culture, Highway 61 has certainly played a role in the small towns scattered throughout the Delta. Also known as the Great River Road, this American byway passes through downtown Wilson, paving the area in blues history. Many of our country’s greatest musicians played juke joints all throughout northeast Arkansas including a few miles north in Osceola and south to Twist.

B. B. King christened his guitar Lucille in Twist after a fight over a woman and a fire that left its mark in Delta history.

There’s no denying the Delta has long been a hotbed of passion and inspiration. My theory? The rural, pancake-flat landscape of northeast Arkansas lends itself to creativity. When one lives in a setting pulled straight from the pages of a Flannery O’Conner novel, the mind is free to wander and dream with no boundaries.

That’s a mighty far distance.

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Consider the Music.

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.