Articles by Rufus Ward
Ask Rufus: Thanksgiving
It was 400 years ago that a group of settlers from England landed in the New Word and with a ceremony of thanksgiving gave thanks to God for their safe arrival and their new settlement.
Ask Rufus: Charles Wilburn’s ‘Go Gettin Gal’
I remember Charles Wilburn of Artesia as a top notch bird dog trainer who had been a pilot in World War II. Like so many others of the greatest generation I had no idea of all he had done or his adventures in the “Go Gettin Gal.”
Ask Rufus: A Seabee’s Story
Over the almost 10 years I have been writing this column I’ve told stories of many local veterans.
Ask Rufus: MUW’S Historic Callaway Hall
MUW opened as the Mississippi Industrial Institute and College in 1885.
Ask Rufus: The Grand Heritage of the 43rd Flying Training Squadron
On Friday, Steve Wallace and I, as Honorary Commanders of the 43rd Flying Training Squadron at Columbus Air Force Base, attended the unveiling of the 43rd’s Heritage Flagship.
Ask Rufus: The First Trail Of Tears
In September 1830, President Andrew Jackson dispatched commissioners Gen. John Coffee and Secretary of War John Eaton to Mississippi to negotiate a treaty with the Choctaw Indians, whereby the Choctaws would sell their homeland and move west of the Mississippi River.
Ask Rufus: The Sugar Famine of 1919
Few people have heard of the sugar famine of 1919 and its impact on Columbus, but 100 years ago a headline in the Columbus Dispatch read, “Sugar Famine Strikes Columbus.”
Ask Rufus: Outline of Early Columbus History
As we approach the upcoming bicentennial of the official recognition of the Town of Columbus on December 6, 1819, I realized that a revised timeline of early Columbus history would be in order.
Ask Rufus: Sam Houston’s Columbus Visit
“Gen. Houston, Late President of the Republic of Texas … arrived in this city on Saturday evening last, in the steamer Victoria, from Mobile.” So began a newspaper article in the May 21, 1839, Southern Argus of Columbus.
Ask Rufus: Aberdeen and its beginnings
It’s often the unrelated and unexpected finds made while researching a topic that turn out to be the most interesting.
Ask Rufus: The Long Ride of Samuel Edmondson
Last week marked 206 years since Samuel Edmondson, riding “hellbent for leather,” passed this way spreading a warning of death and destruction.
Ask Rufus: Columbus’ Literary Heritage
This weekend’s Tennessee Williams Tribute in Columbus brought to mind the many talented literary figures that have at times called Columbus home.
Ask Rufus: Charles Ford’s Gilmer “Blues Magazine”
Though little known in Columbus today, in 1929 21-year-old Gilmer Hotel cafe cashier Charles Henri Ford was publishing Blues Magazine at the Gilmer. It was a small magazine which only lasted a year but it set the stage for Ford to become a leader in international Avant-garde art and literary circles. When he died in 2002 he was described in a lengthy New York Times obituary as; ” a poet, editor, novelist, artist and legendary cultural catalyst whose career spanned much of 20th-century modernism.”
Ask Rufus: From river chants to blues
When blues is mentioned most people think of the Delta, Memphis, St. Louis or Chicago blues, but blues music has deep roots in the Black Prairie.
Ask Rufus: Dancing Under a Green Corn Moon
Last week there was a spectacular full moon. It was known as the Green Corn Moon.
Ask Rufus: A Flag and a Single Star
Of Mississippi’s historic flags I have always thought the prettiest was the Magnolia Flag.
Ask Rufus: John Daves and the Forlorn Hope of Stony Point
Writing my column last week on the Washington medallion passed down through Sallie Govan Billups, I told of the Revolutionary War record of John Daves, her great-grandfather.
Ask Rufus: Looking for Lafayette
This fall marks the 195th anniversary of the return to America of Lafayette in 1824. In Columbus there is a rare medallion presented by Lafayette on that return visit. However, as is often the case with historic relics, it is unclear as to exactly who Lafayette gave it to.
Ask Rufus: The 1842 Tombigbee Bridge
It’s always rewarding when research confirms an earlier educated guess.
Ask Rufus: A Photo and a Hurricane
It’s odd how sometimes two seemingly different events suddenly merge into a single story.
Jelly Roll to perform at Jeffery Simmons Community Fun Day
July 3, 2025
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