Articles by Jan Swoope
A different drummer: From world rhythms to jazz and blues, Bob Damm travels to his own beat
Bob Damm remembers how it started. He was a fourth-grader, in Quincy, Ill., attending a recital by high school students with his dad. Everybody was playing a different instrument, but it was the snare drum solo that cast the spell.
CAC presents ‘An Evening of World Drumming’
They may hail from universities that have elevated football rivalry to an art form, but Bob Damm and Ricky Burkhead have been kindred spirits for a long time.
New Year’s Eve Block Party looks for record year in ’11
No sooner is the tattered wrapping paper of Christmas Day on its way to the trash bin than plans are underway for New Year’s Eve. Presenting sponsor Stark Aerospace and Main Street Columbus hope everyone will be “Having a Ball Downtown” at the third annual New Year’s Eve Block Party in Columbus.
A bracelet for Waverly: Jewelry design honors Columbus girl, benefits foundation
Very few 4-year-old girls have a designer bracelet named after them. But, few little girls are exactly like Waverly Glenn of Columbus.
Better together: Husband and wife team up to make baklava for the holidays
Some things are just easier with four hands than two. Making baklava is one of them. It’s become a Christmas tradition for Vicky and Jimmie D. “Tuffy” Bourland, who live in northern Lowndes County.
FUMC to present ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’ Dec. 18-19
Amahl, a young crippled boy, has a vivid imagination and a habit of telling stories. So, when he tells his mother of a star like no other he has ever seen, she doesn’t believe him.
Contact Helpline: 35 years and counting
For three and a half decades, the staff and volunteers of Contact Helpline have been the collective caring voice at the other end of a 24-hour crisis telephone line. The United Way agency based in Columbus and serving eight counties — Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay, Choctaw, Monroe, Noxubee, Webster and Winston — celebrated with a luncheon Tuesday.
‘Spirit’ of St. Nick: Craftsmen’s Guild carver turns blocks of wood into the jolly old elf
“A piece of wood doesn’t stand a chance around our house — we’re either gonna carve it or cook with it,” chuckles Mike Bailey.
Columbus author wins top MLA award
Author Deborah Johnson has been awarded the 2010 Mississippi Library Association Award for Fiction for her novel “The Air Between Us” (Harper Collins). The debut work, set in the fictional town of Revere, Miss., in 1966, looks at how the murder of a white man ripples through a town already struggling with integration.
Ho Ho Holidays: Festive fare for parties, gifts or snacks
As the days tick by until Santa’s big scene, our halls are getting decked and our calendars filled.
Columbus Sings ‘Messiah’ marks 10th anniversary
James O. Allen remembers well 10 years ago when he and his daughter, Elizabeth Swartz, hoped to bring together an area-wide choir and musicians to perform one of the most anticipated sacred traditions of the holidays — George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah.”
CAFB singer finds new musical home in Girlchoir
The notes of the French carol “Come Join the Angels Singing” ebb and swell in the First Methodist Church choir room, bringing the fragrance of the Christmas season. It’s a Monday practice for the Columbus Senior Girlchoir as their Dec. 10 Christmas concert approaches.
A Tabernacle Christmas
“We hope to see many come and share a touch of history, in a church that is full of history,” said Pastor Wally Armstrong of Tabernacle United Methodist Church, home of the storied Tabernacle Camp Meeting held every summer since 1828.
‘We need help’: One family’s plight shows how United Way agencies make a difference
Sherrie and David Roberts didn’t know at first what to do or where to turn. A health problem that began during Sherrie’s last pregnancy two years ago had steadily gotten worse, but David’s construction job fell victim to a hemorrhaging economy. There was no regular income, and certainly no insurance.
Southern hospitality: Cooking savvy and a gift for entertaining inspire Carpenter to collaborate on cookbook
Stepping into Nancy and Carol Carpenter’s historic Columbus home during the holidays brings to mind a more gracious time. Bay leaf wreaths at the windows and mantles dressed in swags of greenery blend with warm colors, decor and furnishings that comfortably meld the present with the past.
Autumn morning: Photos by Laird Bagnall
The serenity of a November morning in western Lowndes County inspired artist and amateur photographer Laird Bagnall to capture images with his Nikon D60 camera.
Green thumb leads to Golden Rain, deep friendship
In spite of a brutal summer, fall foliage has managed to produce a colorful palette in the Golden Triangle. Admirers of Lola Atkins’ Golden Rain trees on Williamsburg Road in North Columbus are apt to go even so far as to knock on the door and ask for a closer look.
Y thespians prep for ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’
“I love being out there and playing against my personality,” said 14-year-old Mikaela Green of “Imogene Herdman,” the rough and tough, cigar-totin’ character she’ll portray in “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” The family-friendly holiday fare will be presented by the Y Drama Team Dec. 3-4, at 7 p.m., in Joe Cook Auditorium in Columbus.
HEARTS Holiday Bazaar will benefit after school program
What was first conceived as a nurturing outreach ministry at the Church of the Good Shepherd in East Columbus has grown in recent years into the community-wide HEARTS after school tutoring program for students at risk of falling behind in school.
Marathon mania: Area runners revel in taking on the New York City Marathon
“Maybe we’re certifiable, I don’t know,” laughs Bonnie Partridge. The “we” the irrepressible 64-year-old retired dance instructor refers to are the area runners who take on long distance-racing’s Mount Everests — the marathons. Twenty-six miles and 385 yards of challenge.
