Well, this is it. I arrived in Vicksburg, and I fell in love with this city. It’s beautifully situated on the east bank of the Mississippi River, the architecture is classic and handsome, the weather is fabulous, and most of all the people are wonderful. I know it sounds sudden, but I’ve already enlisted a real estate agent and I called my wife and told her to book a ticket to fly out here and look at houses with me. So, this is the last stop of my road trip and thus my last blog post.
That’s just a lame April Fools Day joke, of course. But my praise for Vicksburg is completely genuine. Let me recount my day and I’m sure you’ll agree with me:
As I rolled into town I spotted a sign pointing to the “Old Depot Museum.” Naturally I turned in the direction of the arrow and was greeted with this sight:
Is that a beautiful railroad station or what? There were balloons in the parking lot which suggested that something special was going on, and across the street there was a line of restored, ancient tractors, some of which were spluttering to life. There were also some food trucks and tables with vendors of various sorts. A small band played blues songs. Evidently I’d come across a to-do, as they call such events in these here parts.
All became clear when I entered the museum and was charged a mere $3 entrance fee. “What a bargain!” I exclaimed. “It’s a special rate because today’s our thirtieth birthday,” explained the friendly young lady at the counter. “And not only that, but here’s a free civil war history book since you’re one of the first 30 visitors!” I was liking this, and I asked what other treats were in store for me. “Funny you should ask, because when you’re done touring the museum, you can get a slice of birthday cake!” Sadly, I had to turn down the cake because I’ve (foolishly) given up sweets for Lent. But I appreciated the thought.
But wait! There’s more! The kind young lady handed me a “Vicksburg passport,” and explained that if I got it stamped at any five of the listed venues, the Chamber of Commerce would give me a free T shirt. I’m a sucker for challenges like this, so guess how I spent the rest of the day?
The Old Depot Museum itself was OK, but nothing to write home about. Despite being housed in the original 1904 Vicksburg depot of the Grand Rapids and Illinois RR, its railroad-related displays were limited mainly to just some model railroad layouts. The rest of the space was devoted to (admittedly impressive) models of various ships, several inevitable Civil War exhibits, and a head-scratching collection of model cars and Tonka trucks. (I subtracted points for the puzzling misspelling of Studebaker’s 1963 Avanti as “Avantio.”)
One down, four to go before I got my free T-shirt. So I moseyed over to the “Lower Mississippi River Museum.” What I thought would be a helpful and engaging tutorial on The Blues Highway–or at least on the culture of the Mississippi Delta–turned out to be a shameless infomercial for the Army Corp of Engineers. Seriously: The introductory film started out with two minutes about the general history of the Mississippi Delta before it launched into soaring praise about how the Corps has done such a great job of flood control…despite the disastrous flood of 2011. The museum displays also consistently promoted the Corps, which, annoyingly, the signs kept reminding me was a trademarked name.
The one reasonably cool part of the museum was the Mississippi IV, a decommissioned transport and goodwill vessel of the Army Corps that I was able to walk through. The engine room was especially cool.
The Army Corps also built this cool scale model of the Mississippi River and surrounding wetlands that you can walk along and even trip into if you’re not careful. Ask me how I know.
Right next to the model of the river is the real thing, with benches thoughtfully provided. I got some BBQ from a food truck and enjoyed my lunch while watching old man river just keep rollin’ along.
Next up was the historic candy store where Coca Cola was first bottled. This really caught my attention. Alert readers will recall that I’d once visited the pharmacy in Atlanta where Coca Cola was invented in 1886. Eight years later a Vicksburg candy story owner named Joe Biedenharn came upon the bright idea of bottling the stuff ( because up to then you could only get it in a glass at a soda fountain). The rest is history.
This is Biedenharn’s actual candy store, still very much like it was about 130 years ago. You can still buy candy and Cokes (don’t ask for Pepsi products!), but most of the space is given over to displays of Coke memorabilia. I found the descriptions of the marketing side of Coke the most interesting. (But I was unable to find any acknowledgement about cocaine being an ingredient in the early formulations.)
I next moved to the most informative of my stops in Vicksburg: The Old Courthouse Museum. This original courthouse was built in 1858–shortly before the Civil War and the siege of Vicksburg. It functioned as the Warren County Courthouse until 1939, when court functions were transferred to a new and larger building. After sitting abandoned for awhile and almost being torn down, this old building became a museum.
It’s an impressive, stately building with a commanding view of the city. The museum displays are focused largely on the Civil War, with an impressive array of uniforms, flags, weapons, documents, maps, and photographs. I found them to be engaging and entertaining…but some of them presented a perspective on slavery that I never learned in school.
As to the siege of Vicksburg specifically, though, my heart goes out to the residents who suffered through it for 47 days. War is, as they say, hell. But the suffering of civilians is especially hard to swallow.
This merges perfectly with my next stop, which was the Vicksburg battlefield. It’s now a national military park, with a visitors center and a driving tour that takes you past the various Confederate fortifications, Union artillery batteries, and hundreds and hundreds of monuments which have been erected in subsequent years.
When I arrived at the visitors center after driving around the park, I was just in time to witness the firing of one a Civil War cannon. Was this my day, or what??
Now, you may be wondering what all this Civil War stuff has to do with the blues, which had been the nominal focus of this trip. I think it has everything to do with the blues. Notwithstanding the perspective of the Old Courthouse museum, the Civil War was about slavery. And the legacy of slavery is inextricably linked to the blues. The effects of slavery lasted well beyond emancipation, and to some extent they exist even today. I see it as I drive along Route 61– large numbers of African Americans are here because their ancestors were brought here as slaves. And today, 150 years later, they overwhelming live in de facto segregated communities that are significantly poorer than the white communities. I’ve been a distinct minority on the Blues Highway ever since I left Jackson…until I arrived here in Vicksburg, where I’ve been surrounded by white tourists.
I don’t have any policy prescriptions. My only point is that the African American experience in the Delta is inextricably tied to the blues. That becomes painfully clear when these museums depict how Muddy Waters and Son House and Robert Johnson and so many others grew up in poverty, faced discrimination, sought strength in their faith, and channeled their pain into their music.
All that said, at this moment I’m sitting at the upstairs patio of Key City Brewing Company, listening to three white guys play the blues. I have to admit they’re pretty good.
Brew of the Day
The Key City Brewing Company, in the middle of the historic downtown, makes a very interesting range of brews, including red ales, oatmeal stouts, Czech dark lagers, pilsners, and saisons. (“Key City” is Vicksburg’s nickname. It comes from a quote from none other than Abraham “Abe” Lincoln, who said ““Vicksburg is the key! The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket.”)
I tried Key City’s imperial “Saison d’Amour,” which is made with cabernet franc grapes. It has that slightly fruity, sweet-‘n’-sour taste that one associates with a saison, but unlike most saisons, this one clocks in at 10.3% ABV. Despite the high octane, it’s brisk and refreshing. However, the mouthfeel is a little thin, a little watery. As a small compensation, it’s quite carbonated.
This beer has almost no nose (something that can’t be said for me) and the flavor profile reminds me of Old English furniture polish. OK, that’s probably unfair…to the furniture polish. Seriously, though, have you ever taken a wine bottle out of the recycling bin and smelled it? That’s what this saison reminds me of.
So maybe I’m just not a huge fan of saisons. The only one I’ve really ever liked was the one that I and my good friend Scott Smith made for Christmas a few years back. So I’m giving this beer 2 stars.
With the intention of erasing the Saison from my memory, I ordered a chaser in the form of the “Nightmare Imperial Stout.” Yes, yes, I know–it seems that the BOTD is always an imperial stout. But if you don’t like it, start your own blog.
The Nightmare Imperial Stout lives up to its name. It’s dark and somewhat unsettling. The ABV is 10.3, which means this will be my last beer tonight. There’s definitely some roastiness on the malt, and there’s very little carbonation to balance the heaviness. It’s quite sweet, tasting of off-brand chocolate Easter eggs. I think it would benefit from a bit more hops, just to balance the heavy malt. It also could use some of the coffee notes that are associated with successful imperial stouts. Overall, it’s a good concept with a weak execution. Three stars.
At this point I need to thank my server, Alexia, for being patient with me as I questioned her about the different brews and asked her to bring me a number of “tastes.” Thanks, Alexia!
Oh, and here’s my reward for the day:
Chasing Phantoms 