Roundtable

Friends Of Raymond Hosts
Chicago Civil War Round Table

      On Saturday, April 30, 2005. Friends of Raymond hosted a fried chicken fundraiser luncheon at the Raymond Methodist Church for 150 members of the Chicago Civil War Round Table. The group, which traveled the entire Vicksburg Campaign in three busses over four days, was led by the noted Ed Bearss, historian emeritus of the National Park Service; Terry Winschel, Vicksburg National Military Park historian; and Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Parker Hills, president of Friends of Raymond.
      The group of Civil War enthusiasts began their campaigning on the previous Thursday with a trip into the wetlands of Louisiana to travel the route of Ulysses S. Grant’s Union army in March and April, 1863. On Friday the bus caravan ventured into the backroads of the loess bluff region of Port Gibson and Grand Gulf to study the naval and land battles there. On Saturday the Illinoisians came to Raymond and its battlefield before traveling to Champion Hill and Big Black Bridge for the two battles in those locations. On Sunday, the campaigners walked the grounds of Vicksburg National Military Park.
     While in Raymond on Saturday, the group feasted on fried chicken and associated Southern delights, much like their predecessors did on their arrival in Raymond after the Civil War battle south of town on May 12, 1863. On that day, the ladies of Raymond prepared a feast for their Southern soldiers, whom they were sure would be victorious in the battle. Unfortunately for the ladies, not to mention the Southern boys, the retreating Confederates could not tarry to taste the cooking, and the pursuing Federals feasted while the ladies watched in astonishment at the unwelcome conversion of their magnificent feast to a pile of remarkably clean chicken bones.
     This time the feast was a bit different, however, as Friends of Raymond fully expected, and were prepared for, the folks from above the Mason-Dixon line. This time the Yankees paid for their food as a fund-raising opportunity for Friends of Raymond.   In addition to the profits from the luncheon, the Chicago Civil War Round Table graciously awarded the Friends a $1,000 preservation award, at the request of Ed Bearss, from the Round Table’s Annual Ed Bearss Preservation Award.
     The group was greeted by Mayor Isla Tullos, who left her post serving the food from the church kitchen just long enough to say, “Hello, and welcome to Raymond.” Judge Bobby DeLaughter then led the group on a memorable tour of the Hinds County Courthouse in Raymond, and then Mayor Tullos escorted the group to historic St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.
     During lunch the group was served the wonderful desserts of Brenda Davis’ Dupree House kitchen, supported by her husband Charles. Among the Friends who greeted the group, and, more importantly, who worked to make the event a huge success, were Dick and Ginger Kilby, Peggy DeLaugher, and John Barber, all of whom assisted Carol Hills, the luncheon organizer.
     The Chicagoans left Raymond with their hunger fully satisfied and with the complete understanding of the meaning of Southern hospitality. Probably the most meaningful comment came from Round Table president, Jerry Kowalski, while he was cleaning the last morsel from his plate: “This is by far the best meal we have had since we have been on tour. In fact, this may be the best meal I can remember.”

Raymond Park Day
"Best In The Nation"

The old saying that one should "try to make lemonade from lemons" came to fruition for the Friends of Raymond after the April 2, 2005, annual Park Day cleanup of a surreptitious trash dumping at the old Fourteenmile Creek bridge on the Raymond battlefield. The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) and the History Channel, which sponsor Park Day, awarded the Grand Prize of $1,000 to Friends of Raymond for the best Park Day activity in the nation. The competition was stiff, with over 90 sites and 24 organizations in the 9^th year of Park Day competition.
     On a beautiful and crisp Mississippi Saturday, almost 100 history buffs and preservationists of all ages joined forces to clean the historic site, which had been badly defaced by the illegal dumping. In just over three hours, the group filled to overflowing a 30 cubic yard roll-off container. The trash included a refrigerator-freezer, a washing machine, two sets of mattresses and box springs, aluminum gutters, old asphalt shingles and nails from a roofing job, a hot water heater, and rotted wooden siding. Astoundingly, someone had dumped it on the hallowed ground and white sand beaches of beautiful Fourteenmile Creek.
     Dick Kilby, president of Merchants and Planters Bank, donated his skills and his front-end loader to ensure that the work was completed quickly and safely. Raymond's Mayor Isla Tullos arranged for the trash container to be at the site, provided at a discount by DisposAll. As the work progressed, the anxious workers were overjoyed with the realization that the giant metal box would hold the huge amount of rubbish. Friends of Raymond paid for the container, and the $1,000 prize money from the CWPT will ease any pain caused by the disposal fee.
     Complementing the cleanup effort, the Friends of the Vicksburg Campaign and Historic Trail conducted an all-day bus tour of the Grand Gulf-Raymond Scenic Byway, which that organization successfully sponsored last year as the first state scenic byway in Mississippi. The tour terminated at the Raymond battlefield site, and the 45 tour participants joined hands with the Friends of Raymond to finalize the site cleanup. Parker Hills, president of both Friends organizations, then treated the work group to a lecture on the Battle of Raymond. A preview of the soon-to-be-constructed Raymond Battlefield walking trail was also given.
     At day's end, the tired but proud crowd enjoyed a hot dog cookout on the bridge site, with Troy Skinner of Utica and attorney Alan Polk of Raymond barbecuing the dogs. As a bonus, everyone received a free Park Day tee shirt, ordered by Mayor Tullos and complements of CWPT and the History Channel. Well-dressed and well-fed, everyone had to admit that, despite the hard work, it was a great day to preserve history in Mississippi.