Articles by Rufus Ward
Rufus Ward: Zigzag streets
A frequent question is; “why are there so many crooked streets in Columbus?” Columbus architect and historian Sam Kaye has studied the physical development of Columbus and has the answer.
Ask Rufus: Fortress Columbus
A week ago I underwent major heart surgery at Baptist Hospital in Columbus. While the surgery could not have gone any better and the doctors, nurses and staff could not have been any more caring, I am an outdoors person who could only look out of a window while spending four days in the Critical Care Un
Ask Rufus: Fortress Columbus
A week ago I underwent major heart surgery at Baptist Hospital in Columbus. While the surgery could not have gone any better and the doctors, nurses and staff could not have been any more caring, I am an outdoors person who could only look out of a window while spending four days in the Critical Care Un
Ask Rufus: Columbus has lost a friend
Recently Columbus lost a very good friend. After a long fight with health problems, Philip Meador passed away in California.
Ask Rufus: Columbus has lost a friend
Recently Columbus lost a very good friend. After a long fight with health problems, Philip Meador passed away in California.
Rufus Ward: Pushmataha
It was a glorious sun filled day with beautiful flowers covering a wide plain. Among the few trees was a giant centuries old Red Oak that overshadowed an immense area. For ages the great oak had defied all storms. However, though it had survived many centuries unscathed, it still had not accomplished the purpose for which the Great Spirit had planted it.
Rufus Ward: Pushmataha
It was a glorious sun filled day with beautiful flowers covering a wide plain. Among the few trees was a giant centuries old Red Oak that overshadowed an immense area. For ages the great oak had defied all storms. However, though it had survived many centuries unscathed, it still had not accomplished the purpose for which the Great Spirit had planted it.
Rufus Ward: Andrew Jackson and the Free Men of Color
We all know about Andrew Jackson’s historic victory over the English at the Battle of New Orleans on Jan. 8, 1815. From television and movies we have learned that Jackson’s army was composed not only of U.S. regular Army regiments but also backwoods militia and Jean Lafitte’s Baratarian pirates. Actually, Jackson’s army was even more diverse and represented a true cross section of the American South.
Ask Rufus: A December barbecue, 470 years ago
The native American pig had become extinct at the end of the last Ice Age probably about 10,000 years ago. It was Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto who reintroduced what is now Alabama and Mississippi to pork.
Ask Rufus: A December barbecue, 470 years ago
The native American pig had become extinct at the end of the last Ice Age probably about 10,000 years ago. It was Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto who reintroduced what is now Alabama and Mississippi to pork.
Ask Rufus: Playing ball, 181 years ago
Ball games have been a part of Native American culture since prehistoric times. Early French missionaries among the Choctaw found them playing a form of stickball in 1729. Stickball in various forms was popular among almost all Indians in eastern North America. It was from stickball that the modern game of lacrosse evolved.
Ask Rufus: Playing ball, 181 years ago
Ball games have been a part of Native American culture since prehistoric times. Early French missionaries among the Choctaw found them playing a form of stickball in 1729. Stickball in various forms was popular among almost all Indians in eastern North America. It was from stickball that the modern game of lacrosse evolved.
Rufus Ward: Hunting’s roots run deep
I have several friends who believe that there are three important holidays each year: Christmas, opening day of deer season and opening day of turkey season. The roots of hunting in the South run deep. References to hunting are included in the earliest accounts of the settlement of the Columbus area.
Ask Rufus: Stories to preserve
This Thursday marks Veterans Day. I have been blessed to have grown up as a child surrounded by relatives who were veterans of not only World War II, but also World War I and the Spanish-American War.
Ask Rufus: Stories to preserve
This Thursday marks Veterans Day. I have been blessed to have grown up as a child surrounded by relatives who were veterans of not only World War II, but also World War I and the Spanish-American War.
Ask Rufus: The legend of Black Creek
In 1851 Joseph B. Cobb published a book titled “Mississippi Scenes.” It contained one of northeast Mississippi’s earliest ghost stories, “The Legend of Black Creek.”
Ask Rufus: Where did those colors come from?
Most people who grew up in the South think of homes built during the 1800s as being painted white. The “new” exterior paint colors of the Tennessee Williams home have caused many people to ask me, “Where in the world did they get those colors from?”
Ask Rufus: Where did those colors come from?
Most people who grew up in the South think of homes built during the 1800s as being painted white. The “new” exterior paint colors of the Tennessee Williams home have caused many people to ask me, “Where in the world did they get those colors from?”
