100 YEARS AGO,
JULY 1920
EDITORIAL BY J.A. RICHARDSON: The general good feeling of brotherly spirit in Indianola is the chief reason we have such a good town. The teamwork we have is the envy of all our neighbors.
SOCIETY: Mrs. Joe Zachariah and children are spending the summer in St. Louis and other more cooler points in the North.
A LETTER TO THE EDITOR FROM J. E. WALKER, PRESIDENT OF MISSISSIPPI LIFE INSURRANCE COMPANY. I would like to thank the citizens of Sunflower County. The rapid growth of Mississippi Life Insurance has made it necessary to move our home office to Memphis. Indianola was the birthplace of our company and we shall always cherish fond memories of the pleasant association we have enjoyed.
LOCAL NEWS: A fully opened boll of cotton was brought into the office last Friday from the Alfred Leonard plantation by Will Ford who farms 50 acres there of early cotton.
Mrs. W. H. Carothers was operated for gall stones at her home Tuesday morning. Dr. Eugene Johnson, a noted operator from Memphis performed the operation. The operation was pronounced a success. Mrs. Carothers came out of the ether with a splendid pulse and no nausea.
50 YEARS AGO,
JULY 1970
EDITORIAL REMARK: If someone asked me today “What is happiness”, my answer would be “Returning to the Delta” Jim Abbott, Editor of the Enterprise-Tocsin.
COLLEGE NEWS: Leanne R. Lipnick of Indianola is among the students who received a straight A average for the spring semester at LSU.
DREW NEWS BY MARY ALICE WOFFORD IN HER FOURTH OF JULY COLUMN; “Hats off, along the street comes a blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums, a flash of color beneath the sky, Hats Off, the flag is passing by”.
LOCAL NEWS: Miss Gayle Gresham, 19-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Gresham, Jr. will leave Wednesday for the Gulf Coast where she will represent Indianola in the Miss Hospitality contest.
25 YEARS AGO,
JULY 1995
SPORTS: Indianola’s Delta Aces, a USTA 3/0 team, winners of the state title will compete in the Sectional title in Mobile. Members are Marcie Bodie, captain, Annie Lott, Brenda Lott, Kerrie Nobile, Vickie Dodd, Shelby Knight, Tess Evans, Paula Simmons, Brenda Yant and Sandra Moore. John Bodie is the coach.
LOCAL NOTES: Dr. Bennie Wright of Cleveland, native of Inverness has been selected President of the Mississippi Chapter of American Society of General Surgeons.
Gregory Wesley Woo of Inverness was recognized for academic achievement at the University of Mississippi Medical School by receiving the John L. Lucas, Sr. scholarship.
15 YEARS AGO,
JULY 2005
ARTICLE BY DAVID RUSHING: Dozens of volunteers heeded the call in the Ruleville community to donate their time towards the first step in honoring the memory of the late Fannie Lou Hammer to turn the place where she and her husband Perry are buried into a memorial.
THE LEGACY OF THE WALKER FAMILY IN
INDIANOLA
Donald Walker, descendant of the famed Walker family lives in Memphis and has been with the FedEx Corporation for eight years recalled some of his family history.” Dr. J. E. Walker and my grandfather, A. R. Walker who was the first registered black pharmacist in Mississippi were cousins. I am very proud of my heritage. Dr. J. E. Walker came to Indianola in the early 1900s to set up a medical practice and immediately became involved in business. My grandfather owned a drug store and ice cream parlor,” he said.
Marie Hemphill, author of Fevers, Floods and Faith recorded much of the history of the Walkers, but an entire book could be written on this family. During World War II, Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Walker sent six sons off to war. Back then, families who had multiple sons serving had a Gold Star banner in their windows.
The Walker’s banner featured six golden stars: Lt. Quitman Walker, a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen who lost his life when his plane was shot down over Austria/Hungary; Sergeant Arthur Robert; Corporal William Burns; Corporal Joseph; Ensign Louie Walker; and PFC Ernest.
The Walker family includes doctors and professionals in every field. Louie and Isola Walker were the parents of Donald and Ann. Ann lives in Byhalia where she followed in the footsteps of her mother by working in the medical field. Mrs. Isola Walker was the first black registered nurse at the Sunflower County Hospital.
Their dad, Louie served on the first hospital board and was a noted educator, serving as principal at the Inverness School.
