Articles by Jan Swoope
One night, to help all year: Loaves & Fishes adapts fundraising to carry on its mission
Monday’s sun shone bright outside the Loaves & Fishes Community Soup Kitchen in Columbus. Even before the door officially opened, a long line of people had formed, patiently waiting on the sidewalk outside.
Thanksgiving florals, sweet potatoes are next Quick Bites topics
November Quick Bites programs offered through the Mississippi State University Extension Service will please the eyes and taste buds.
Tune in to a Halloween ‘feast’ with Seneca’s Oedipus
During this week of thrills and chills, the Mississippi State University Shackouls Honors College will present a radio drama fit for All Hallows’ Eve.
Fun frights: There’s more than one way to serve up Halloween
As we round the autumnal turn into the holiday season, it’s hard to know exactly what Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are going to look like. Even we eternal optimists know we need to make adjustments this year to protect family and community health.
Making music: Next gen musicians join the ‘maker movement’ and build their own
Sam Shmulsky likes rock — Led Zeppelin, Bush, Oasis and a host of others. The Starkville High senior has been playing guitar since he was 9. When the opportunity to make his own electric guitar recently opened up, the 17-year-old jumped at it.
Sweeten up fall with pumpkins
Sure signs of fall are the pumpkins we’re seeing at roadside stands, in grocery stores and in the remaining farmers’ market days we have left to enjoy.
‘Uncertain Times’: National poet laureate, Pulitzer winner to headline 32nd Welty Symposium
As it has with so many events of 2020, COVID-19 will affect the 32nd annual Eudora Welty Writers’ Symposium hosted by Mississippi University for Women in Columbus. The global pandemic, however, will not cancel the banner celebration of Southern writers. The symposium has instead elected to go virtual.
Sweet potato time: Harvest goodness from one of Mississippi’s premier crops
Travelers through Calhoun County — about an hour “up the road” — may have noticed an uptick in traffic lately, especially near the family-run sweet potato packing sheds around the small town of about 1,300 people.
Sweet flavors of fall: Make it all about cookies
Those of us who savor cooling days and crisp nights are happily savoring the week we’ve been given. What a refreshing way to welcome October.
Teaching hands-on skills in a hands-off world
Like teachers everywhere, Jackie Shows spent the summer nervously wondering what fall semester would look like and how to prepare for it.
Designs for fall, ag scholarships and slow cooker meals
Decorating with fall colors, ag scholarships and seasonal slow cooker meals headline Quick Bites programs offered by the Mississippi State University Extension Service in October.
Bake it for breakfast
There’s something about the teasing taste of fall we’ve had that stirs thoughts of plaid stadium blankets, wood smoke, cozy sweaters — and comfort foods.
Pinwheels for peace
Imagine more than 200 handmade pinwheels spinning in the breeze, each one bearing a hope for peace from a child. That colorful sight will greet anyone passing Annunciation Catholic School at 232 N. Browder St. in Columbus on Monday — International Day of Peace.
Hazard Lecture to celebrate Beethoven with virtual concert
The year 2020 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the most admired composers in history.
At-home tailgate
After what feels like an interminably long dry spell, football fans are finally getting a taste of what the 2020 season will look like.
A safe place to share: A 30-Day Challenge, virtual race and more mark Suicide Prevention Awareness Month at Contact Helpline
Heather Reed was in her mid-30s when she swallowed too many pills. It was her first of several suicide attempts years ago.
Upcoming Art Walk marks first downtown-wide event of 2020
After months of community events like Market Street Festival and Sounds of Summer canceled due to COVID-19, downtown Columbus will welcome the 2020 Art Walk on Thursday, Sept. 24.
Pair up with pears: Versatile fruit goes from sweet to savory
Years ago, a Plant the Town initiative in Columbus saw hundreds of Bradford pears planted along highways and byways in the city. The tree known for its white spring blossoms seemed to become all the local rage, as they say.
Read me a story: With quacks, neighs and moos, homegrown storytime gains a global audience
Time was, pre-COVID-19, when children’s librarian Loraine Walker — “Miss Rainey” — would regularly read books to wide-eyed youngsters at the Starkville Public Library. More often than not, she enlisted animal hand puppets as helpers. Most eager listeners were regulars who came for the stories, smiles and hugs.
Wellness Center to sponsor 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb in West Point
West Point firefighter Leon Kelley knows where he will be on the 19th anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks that altered the world.
