Sections
July 3, 2026
Serving Columbus & Starkville, Mississippi
In observance of Independence Day, no print edition on Sat., July 4

Articles by Rufus Ward

Ask Rufus: Once we were young and foolish

Last week I purchased two paintings by Josh Meador, Walt Disney’s longtime head of animation effects who called Columbus home.

Ask Rufus: The name in the window

Last week at a Regional Foundation for Mental Health meeting I heard a most interesting story.

Ask Rufus: Unsung heroes

People often ask me not some question about history but where do the ideas for my columns come from.

Ask Rufus: When the bridge opened

Whenever I write a column about the Tombigbee and mention bridges, I am almost always asked whether the 1928 bridge at Columbus was really a draw bridge.

Ask Rufus: ‘Oh see the boat go round the bend’

It’s February and the Tombigbee is filled to its banks with water from recent rains.

Ask Rufus: A tale of two boxers in Columbus

In 2008, Columbus celebrated the career and life of the legendary world champion boxer Henry Armstrong, who had been born on Nash Road just north of town.

Ask Rufus: The Mississippi Choctaws

I have had several people ask me to explain how there came to be both the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

Ask Rufus: A bicentennial with Miss. connections

Last week saw another bicentennial event with links to Mississippi.

Ask Rufus: A Columbus New Years 175 years ago

Sometimes it is interesting to see just how much the world has changed over the years but then some things really don’t change all that much.

Ask Rufus: Coming home at Christmas

It is the Christmas season and many people will soon be traveling “home” to spend Christmas with family and childhood friends.

Ask Rufus: From Irish linen to Cuban cigars

I never know what in a column may touch a chord that generates a lot of unexpected interest.

Ask Rufus: Barbecue, a Mississippi tradition for 474 years

It’s December and time for my annual barbecue column.

Ask Rufus: Oysters, steamboats and Thanksgiving

Next week brings the American Thanksgiving holiday and for most of us a wonderful feast.

Ask Rufus: Choctaw baskets

“Since time memorial the Choctaw Indians have lived in Mississippi, and have made baskets of the reed cane which grows in the swamps of the south.” So begins a ca. 1920 letter from Mrs. J.E. Arnold, a Baptist missionary to the Choctaw in Union.

Ask Rufus: The mystery of Mrs. Canant

It is a simple marble military headstone in a sea of more than a thousand white marble military headstones. It is not a soldier, though, who is buried there.

Ask Rufus: Forever lost

I recall years ago that Greenpeace had a T-shirt out with a dinosaur pictured on it. The text around the dinosaur said, “Extinct means forever.”

Ask Rufus: Ghosts of the Tombigbee

With all the ghost stories around it is surprising that there are not more ghostly tales about the Tombigbee River.

Ask Rufus: It was 75 years ago

We are fast approaching some important anniversary dates.

Ask Rufus: A walk down the street

The past six weeks I have been teaching a MUW Life Enrichment course on the architectural history of Columbus.

Ask Rufus: The high style of James Lull

James Lull was a Vermont born, Philadelphia trained architect who was responsible for many of most impressive buildings in mid-19th century Columbus.

Unlock this article. Just sign in.

Have an account? Sign in. New here? Get more access in seconds.

Yes! I would like to receive content in my inbox.