Articles by Rufus Ward
Ask Rufus: ‘By the flow of the inland river; Whence the fleets of iron have fled.’
The poem “The Blue and the Gray” by Judge F.W. Finch of New York was inspired by the April 25,1866, actions of the ladies of Columbus decorating the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers buried in Friendship Cemetery.
Ask Rufus: Dr. John Richards, Columbus’ connection to the Titanic
Last Tuesday afternoon I was on Mississippi Supertalk Radio’s “Good Things With Rebecca Turner” program telling about a Mississippi connection to the Titanic.
Ask Rufus: A timeline of the founding of Columbus
I’m always digging into southern history with Carolyn Kaye and Gary Lancaster, and new information is constantly turning up.
Ask Rufus: Columbus, an architectural gem
Columbus has for more than 200 years been a cultural crossroads. That diversity of people led to Columbus having a unique mix of architectural styles found in its early buildings.
Ask Rufus: Stories told by a silver case and a Turkish corner
I recently got into a conversation about Turkish corners, a popular decorative fad in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. I was asked why I hadn’t written about them.
Ask Rufus: MSU Opera sings the blues
Mississippi’s music is the blues, and though African American in origin, it transcends race and culture.
Ask Rufus: The Tombigbee bridges
With work going on to repair the 1928 Tombigbee bridge at the foot of Main Street, several people have asked me about the history of the river bridges at Columbus.
Ask Rufus: Historic ‘Old Main’ Hall at MUW
On the MUW campus one of the structures I heard recently referred to as “just an old building” is Callaway Hall, an architectural masterpiece.
Ask Rufus: Rev. John Wesley’s Chickasaw interview
I enjoy talking about Mississippi history with my longtime friend Roger Wicker. With his being from Tupelo and enjoying history, tidbits of history from northeast Mississippi are always fun to pass along.
Ask Rufus: Tombigbee steamboats of 1857
On Jan. 12, 1857, the The New Orleans Times-Picayune ran a notice for the Cox Brainard & Co. of Mobile providing “New Arrangements” for their steamboats on the Alabama, Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers.
Ask Rufus: Rural changes and crossroads
Currently the Smithsonian’s “CROSSROADS Change in Rural America” traveling exhibit is at the Black Prairie Blues Museum in downtown West Point. The exhibit traces the changes in rural areas across America.
Ask Rufus: The enduring legacy of four friends
On Thursday I listened to the Supreme Court arguments in the case of Trump v. Colorado. I guess, being a recovering attorney, I was particularly interested in the back and forth between the lawyers and the Supreme Court justices.
Ask Rufus: There were giants among us
My last column mentioned a group of people who were friends of my father and like him had served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.
Ask Rufus: The names in a book
While cooped up and iced in last week, I started rearranging books in my bookcases.
Ask Rufus: Tecumseh’s journey during the ‘year of wonders’
Annus mirabilis is Latin for “year of wonders.”
Ask Rufus: Celebrating Epiphany and chalking doors
Today is Epiphany. It is the 12th Day of Christmas and the day we celebrate the story of the three wisemen or magi and the gifts they brought Jesus.
Ask Rufus: A wall of separation between church and state
Prayer in schools, prayer at public events and the public display of religious scenes all too often seem under attack by the courts. The courts base their rulings on more than 200 years of legal precedents that there must be a separation — a wall — between church and state.
Ask Rufus: Starkville’s Christmas Day blizzard of 1540
Christmas 1540 in what is now the Starkville-West Point-Columbus area was the first Christmas celebrated in Mississippi.
Ask Rufus: Christmas of Columbus’ past
I recently was looking at an old book that my great aunt Marcella Billups Richards had.
Ask Rufus: The story a jar tells
A couple of days ago a friend gave me an old coffee jar. Now I do love a good cup of coffee, but I enjoy a good story even more and this jar tells a fascinating one.