Articles by Rufus Ward
Ask Rufus: Unsung heroes
On Friday, I spoke at the Base Community Council luncheon at Columbus Air Force Base. My topic was stories my father had told me about his World War II experiences as a tail gunner on a B-17 named Smoky Stover Jr., which was shot down near Frankfurt, Germany.
Ask Rufus: Andrew Jackson’s Military Road
This weekend the theme of the Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation’s Decorative Arts and Antiques Forum was the Military Road from Nashville to New Orleans. Contrary to local legend, Andrew Jackson did not build the road as he marched his Tennessee volunteers south to meet the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. However it was because of the Battle of New Orleans that the road was built.
Rufus Ward: The Ghosts of Black Creek
Next week two events, that appear at first glance to be unrelated, intersect. There is Halloween and the Columbus Decorative Arts and Preservation Forum, whose theme is Andrew Jackson’s Military Road. While it may seem strange that these two events are intertwined, the answer is simple. The oldest recorded ghost story in the area is of the haunting of the Military Road (Highway 12) crossing of Black Creek four miles north east of Columbus.
Ask Rufus: King Philip, not for sale at any price
There were many famous generals and horses that came out of the Civil War. Among the most noted was Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his favorite horse, King Phillip.
Ask Rufus: Where did that name come from?
More so than any other single question, I am asked about the origin of local names. What does Tombigbee mean? What is West Point west of? What does the Military Road have to do with the military? Our region abounds in interesting names. I will try to shed some light on a few of them.
Ask Rufus: History overflows at the foot of Main Street
From under the old drawbridge at the Riverwalk, the Tombigbee River looks small and peaceful as it slowly flows toward Mobile. Yet for almost 500 hundred years that location has witnessed an almost unbelievable pageant of history.
Ask Rufus: The 70-year-old roots of the Air Force Ball
Friday night the Trotter Convention Center was filled with our nation’s finest, for it was the annual Air Force Birthday Ball. Seventy years ago, predating the birth of the Air Force as a separate service, there were also pilots and other servicemen dancing at the Trotter which was then called the City Auditorium. It was a different time but the same place with different men and women but with the same sense of duty and commitment to our country.
Ask Rufus: The Island
Lately there has been much conversation about the future of the Tombigbee cut-off across from Columbus, commonly referred to as the Island. The Island has a long and historic past. Prior to the construction of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in the late 1970s through early 1980s what is now called the Island was a big bend in the Tombigbee River.
Ask Rufus: Marion Stark Gaines, an extraordinary photographer
The late 1800s were a time when women were still expected to stay at home and tend to children and household duties. Marion Stark Gaines was not one to limit her lifestyle.
Ask Rufus: Two hundred years ago today, Samuel Edmondson rode into history
Two hundred years ago today Samuel Edmondson, riding “hellbent for leather,” passed this way warning John Pitchlynn and others of death and destruction.
Ask Rufus: Once in a Blue Moon
I think we have all heard the expression “once in a blue moon” without knowing what a blue moon is. We just know it is a rare or uncommon event. Last week we had a blue moon but that doesn’t mean the moon was some strange shade of blue.
Ask Rufus: Upcoming Bicentennials of Mississippi and Columbus
Some recent discussions about the Mississippi statehood bicentennial celebration in 2017 brought to mind that 2017 is also the bicentennial of the first house built in Columbus. In 1817, Mississippi was admitted to the Union as the 20th state and settlers were moving into the newly-opened upper Tombigbee River valley.
Ask Rufus: Columbus streetcars revisited
One day last week, Keith Heard and his father dropped by for a visit and the discussion turned to Keith’s great, great uncle, G.T. Heard, who with Judge Leopold Marx, constructed the Columbus street car line in 1906.
Ask Rufus: Women, too, are part of the ‘Greatest Generation’
This past week my Aunt Marietta McCarter died and it again brought to mind the continued passing of the “Greatest Generation.’
Ask Rufus: Summer vacations of the past
July always brings, hot humid weather and thoughts of vacations. Though destinations and entertainment have to a large extent changed, summer vacations have long been with us. While people still often go to the Biloxi and the Gulf, who now goes to or has even heard of Way, Mississippi?
Ask Rufus: Mississippi and the separation of church and state
Today there is much discussion about prayer in schools and the separation of church and state. Very few people, though, realize the origin of that discussion and controversy. Even fewer know of the role Mississippi played in its beginning.
Ask Rufus: The Story of the Passion Flower or Maypop
Sometimes it is interesting how one thing leads to another. So it is with today’s column on passion flowers, also known as maypops. I have often found these flowers blooming on the edge of fields and forest near the Tombigbee River.
Episcopal Camp Bratton-Green’s Columbus Roots
I have just returned home from a week on staff at the Episcopal Church’s Camp Bratton-Green north of Canton. The camp’s origins are actually intertwined with Columbus, though the camp was never located here.
Ask Rufus: The red and blue of Mississippi A & M
With State playing in the College World Series this weekend, college baseball games of long ago come to mind. Even at the turn of the 19th century the rivalry between State and Ole Miss was fierce and in Oxford Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College (State’s name back then) was called the “school for cow pullers.” In the spring of 1897 the Red and Blue of Mississippi A & M played University (Ole Miss) a baseball game in Columbus.
Ask Rufus: Alice Vivian liked to race
One hundred and fifty years ago the Alice Vivian, a Tombigbee River steamboat turned Confederate blockade runner, was captured by the USS DeSoto while attempting to sail from Mobile to Havana, Cuba. Few steamboats anywhere experienced history as did the Alice Vivian.
Jelly Roll to perform at Jeffery Simmons Community Fun Day
July 3, 2025
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