The Grave of Eddie Cusic

Yellow Dog: 

Southern Crossing Inspires Blues Tunes, Delta Tales

By Steve Alderman for the Greenwood Commonwealth 1987

MOORHEAD — Just mention the town's name to an outsider and you'll get quite a reaction. 

Your likely to get any one of several responses. The most likely being: Where, or what, is Moorhead?"

All Aboard!  Midnight Special

A town with only one traffic light and a population of about 2,300 would seem to have anyone asking such a question. However, this little Delta town is known among very elite circles. It is one of the few places in the world where two separate railroads cross at a 90 degree angle.

The crossing, referred to by locals as "where the Southern crosses the Dog," has been the subject of numerous songs, poems and paintings. It has been mentioned in literary works by such authors as Eudora Welty Delta Wedding i and Roark Bradford John Henry. It is now recognized as a historical site by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

The fabled crossing was created in 1898 when Chester Pond, founder of the town. built a railroad running 20 miles north to Ruleville to serve agricultural lands throughout the north Delta. Called the Yazoo Delta line, its initials were later colloquialized into the more familiar "Yellow Dog."

AS THE railroad became more profitable, the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad bought it in 1900 and extended the track northward to Tutwiler and south to Belzoni. It was later purchased by the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, which closed the line in 1979. Although the track is now closed to all rail traffic, 150 yards of the track, running north and south, were donated to the town of Moorhead.

The Southern Railroad, which "crosses the 'Dog," was later purchased by the Columbus and Greenville Railroad. The C & G still operates on the line today.

In the early 1900s, Moorhead was a bustling rail center. Every day, ten passenger trains passed through its two stations. Today, the town is known for little more than the location of Mississippi Delta Junior College. Anice Powell, director of the Sunflower County Library and a native of Moorhead. remembers the activity brought by the railroads. Her family lived near the Yazoo-Delta railway trestle just south of town.

"I CAN REMEMBER the hobos used to camp under the [Moorhead Bayou] trestle. They would always come up to the house asking for food, offering to chop food or milk the cow in return," she said. When there wasn't much to do, mama would always feed them anyway." While many published accounts tell the story of the famous crossing, some records were lost in 1902 when a herd of wild goats climbed to the second story of a local store building eating the historical records that were kept there.

Around the turn of the century, many black musicians were finding inspiration for their "blues" music by interpreting the -heart and soul" of the Mississippi Delta. It was then that Clarksdale blues musician W.C. Handy wrote perhaps the most famous song about the crossing.

While waiting for a train one night in 1903, Handy explained how he learned of the story of the -Yellow Dog" crossing. He said "a lean, loose-jointed negro commenced plucking a guitar beside me while I was trying to sleep. His clothes were rags and his toes peeped out of his shoes. As he played `Goin where the Southern cross the 'Dog, he pressed a knife on the strings of the guitar much like Hawaiians used steel bars on their guitars. The effect was unforgettable. His song struck me instantly."

HANDY DIED in 1958. His version of the "Yellow Dog Blues" sold more than a million records.

Another song written in reference to the Yazoo-Delta (Yellow Dog) line was Johnny Rivers' rendition of "Midnight Special." The song was borne out of a legend held among prisoners at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

Every fifth Sunday at Parchman was visiting day. Prisoners' wives and sweethearts from the southern and central parts of the state would gather at Jackson on Saturday night for a special train which left at midnight in order to reach Parchman by dawn.

According to the tale, the first prisoner to be touched by the light of the approaching train, would be next in line for a pardon.

 

In 1965, the crossing was painted by Memphis artist Carroll Cloar. He decided to do the painting, entitled “Where the Southern Cross the Dog,” while perusing a book on “Country Blues.”

ACCORDING TO Cloar, he misunderstood the meaning of the name of the crossing at first until he realized the dialect frequently used "cross" for “crosses." Hence, the name in the song “Where the Southern Cross the Dog” also became the name of Cloar’s painting.

The town of Moorhead now commemorates the immortal crossing with their annual "Yellow Dog Festival." The festival, which at-tracts thousands from all over the Delta, is a paragon of the small town celebration. Arts and Crafts, crawfish boils, catfish fries and bluegrass music combine to create an atmosphere that borders on pandemonium.

Not bad for a town with only one traffic light.

Winery Rushing and Prohib

"Tom Rushen Blues": Winery Rushing and Prohibition in the Delta

Winery Rushing: The Rise and Fall of the Delta’s Own Napa Valley

By Marleen Maher for the DDT

Laid down last night, hoping I would have my peace
But when I woke up, Tom Rushing was shaking me

When you get in trouble, it's no use to screaming and crying
Tom Rushing will take you, back to the prison house flying

                                                           --- Charley Patton "Tom Rushen Blues"

A man and a woman are seated in a restaurant in New York City.

After carefully studying the menu, they order dinner. “And now for the wine—we’ll have flushing White Wine from Merigold, Mississippi.”

Rushing White Wine from Merigold, Mississippi?

That’s the dream of the members of the Rushing family of Greenville, who have begun work on the first commercial winery in Mississippi since Prohibition.

The Winery Rushing is located on 350 acres of Delta land overlooking the Sunflower River just southeast of Merigold. And as 24-year-old Sam Rushing walked last week through the rain-soaked mud toward the vineyard site, his voice became more excited and his actions more animated.

This is more than just a job to Sam Rushing.

"We plan to locate the vineyard on 35 acres," he said while pointing to rows of wooden posts in a peachy field. The "we" Sam referred to are his wife, Diane: and his father, O.W. "Dutch" Rushing, who owns a communications business in Greenville.

The winery is strictly a family affair, owned by Sam, Dutch and Diane. Sam and Diane live In a small but comfortable home on the winery and theirs will be a full-time job.

Diane has been working at Delta State University in Cleveland, but she will leave that job to devote all her efforts to the wine operation.

The vineyard will not produce the grapes needed for wine for about three years. Until then, the Rushing’s will import grapes from North Carolina.

Construction has already begun for the underground storage-fermentation building and an adjoining office and bottling plant. They hope to be crushing grapes this fall.

The first bottle of Rushing White Wine will probably go on sale next summer. Red wine has as longer fermentation period.

The Rushings will be using Muscatine grapes, which are native to the Southeast. But instead of the cheaper "pop" wines usually associated with the Muscatine, the winery produce only a "quality table untie," according to Sam Rushing.

"We will be using the finest, the highest quality Muscatine grape--we want to make a good table wine," he added.

The winery has already received a license from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Atlanta after the Mississippi legislature passed the native wine law, per state wine operations without heavy taxation.

The operation must also get approval from the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the State Tax Commission.

But the paperwork is only one of the problems involved in starling a wine operation. Workers will also be needed in the vineyards, although Delta State students have been employed to make sense of the work.

And the Rushing’s are concerned about getting a market for their $25,000 investment.

"We will aim primarily for restaurants," Dutch Rushing said. "We hope to convince restaurants to use our wine as a 'house wine' and ship it to them in kegs."

The Rushings will be able to distribute from the winery in Merigold without having to go through the state's liquor warehouse in Jackson.

"We can arrange our own distribution, even sell it right here at the winery if we want to," said Sam Rushing.

Article on Tom Rushing and the winery from
The Yazoo Herald, Apr 16, 1978.

The Rushing family has always been interested in wine. Sam and Diane lived in the southern part of West Germany for a year and, as Diane says, "Wine growing was a way of life there."

Dutch Rushing has traveled to France, to California and to New York, pursuing his interest in grapes.

Fortunately, the family has had a lot of advice from wire experts in Mississippi—such as Dr. Doris Stojanavic, who heads the newly created Department of Enology science that deals with wine and wine making) at Mississippi State University at Starkville. MSU has established its own winery and is doing research in hopes that Mississippi will one day become a wine-making state.

The Rushings have also consulted Dr. Alex Mathers of Mathersville, who serves as a consultant to the giant Gallo wine company in California.

And, like other Deltans involved in agricultural operations, the Rushings have received help from the Delta Branch Experiment Station at Stoneville—which just happens to have a grape-producing vineyard. "There's a lot we don't know," says Diane, "but we intend to learn." Although tooth Sam and Diane grew up in Greenville—Diane is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Res Paul—both say they enjoy life in the country.

They graduated from Mississippi State, she with a degree in English and he with a degree in agronomy—with a major in, what else, soils.

Although it will be another year before the Rushings can sell their first bottle of wine, they have already picked out names for their products: Rushing Red, Rustling White and Rushing Rose.

So, in about a year, when you're dining out, don't forget the wine. And make it Rushing White from Merigold, Mississippi.

In the mid-1980s, the Rushings staged the Merigold Wine and Crawfish Festival;
see, Clarion Ledger, June 7, 1984.

In the winter of 1990, however, a former employee vandalized the winery and ruined an estimated $200,000 worth of products.  Sam Rushing had no insurance on the wine, which forced them to close down their operation.

“One of the Big Things Sunflower County Has to Show the World,”

“One of the Big Things Sunflower County Has to Show the World,” 

Jackson Clarion-Ledger, August 4, 1928.

Sunflower county is a great county, a large county, has an enviable reputation in many ways, and the world has been attracted to it by the county in three successive years, having the healthiest girl in the union. Besides this it has some of the greatest farms and some of the greatest farmers, and we invite the attention of the readers to the farm of Will Dockery, of Dockery. Sunflower county, Mississippi.

Mr. Dockery is an ideal farmer, he knows how to farm, he knows how to make his farm pay a dividend. Go and see his farm; he will be glad to show you over it.  There is not a man in the delta who has spent so much time in studying and trying to solve the problems of the delta planter.

John Rice and Richard Carter did not receive full 
compensation for building the store of Will Dockery. They made
threats of revenge, and the store burned the same night. 
A local posse thus hunted them, found them, and shot them; 
see the Clarion Ledger, Mar 10, 1892.

H. A. Carpenter, County Farm Demonstration agent, in a local paper, said, "After you ride over the large 1 plantation and talk with him or his most efficient manager, Mr. Jett,  you will see that they are much nearer to the solution of these farm problems than most farmers are."

Mr. Dockery does not believe that, any planter or farmer can make a success of farming unless he grows all of his feed and you will notice on this farm there are several hundred acres of feed stuffs of corn, sagrain, soy beans, peas, clover, etc.  He has several hundred acres of corn that will average around thirty-four bushels of corn per acre and his sagrain and soy beans are just as good or better than his corn.

He has about two hundred head of hogs that have been raised mainly on mellilotus pasture that are now ready to be turned on his sagrain and soy beans. 

His cotton crop will average a bale or more to the acre according to the estimates of those who have been over his farm.  On this farm, you can see what pure seed, fertilizers and the thick spacing amount to in the making of a profitable cotton crop.  One hundred and thirty-five acres of this cotton is in check rows and has been worked with tractors. It is interesting to compare the cost of making this checked cotton to that planted and worked in the drill.

A large number of farmers from all over the delta have visited this farm and I would like for groups of farmers from all over Sunflower county to go see it.

"Delta Blues Grew up on Plantation"

By Barbara Wright

Bolivar Commercial Staff Writer For The Commonwealth

1978 Review of "Good Mornin' Blues," 

a one-hour documentary broadcast on Mississippi ETV.

[NOTE: This promo piece romanticizes the past inline with the Moonlight and Magnolias narrative, which intentionally avoids (or silences) any uncomfortable aspects of the state's dark racial past and invokes racial stereotypes.]

DOCKERY — Back in the days when cotton was picked by hand and the old Peavine Railroad transported cotton and passengers, Joe Rice Dockery remembers seeing on his father's plantation.  Black children always dancing in the tenant houses and hearing singing in the old Baptist Church for a mile or two.

These were the days of the birth of country music blues in the Delta which has provided the basis for rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul and much modern music.

"The Charleston was a native step to the children. And all the [black folks] had music in them, there's no question," Dockery said.

The Dockery plantation established in 1895 by Will Dockery off what is now Highway 8 just inside Sunflower County is the scene of part of the filming of "Good Mornin' Blues," a one-hour documentary broadcast on Mississippi ETV. The program, which is narrated by Mississippi-born B. B. King, has been accepted for national distribution by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

Vicksburg Herald - 1901

King's narration was filmed at Dockery which is recognized as the home of many of the singers in the film. Others were filmed around Mississippi- where they live or work. The program traces blues music from its earliest origins around the turn of the century until World War II. Featured is the music of 18 blues musicians.

Dockery particularly remembers Charley Patton who lived on the farm for quite a while and whose cousin still lives in Cleveland. "He was quite a rounder as all blues people were," Dockery recalled. "Those kind were never steady farm workers. They'd much rather be singing at a party somewhere. They had no ambition other than to sing."

The Vicksburg Herald, Dec 28, 1902.

A blues record sent to Dockery includes a Charley Patton song in which he sings, “They run me away from Will Dockery." Dockery grew up in a time when a man who acquired money sent his family to live in the hills away from the malaria-ridden swamps. The Dockery children lived in Memphis and Joe Rice visited the Delta farm periodically.

But the workers lived on the farm and they had no entertainment other than themselves. "They had fun among themselves with dances, picnics and such. Saturday night was a first-class brawl for a lot of them," Dockery said.

"They were great crap-shooters. On Saturday afternoon there was a lot of drinking, gambling, cutting and scraping. But murder was always a crime of passion, not pre-meditated,” he continued.

"Generally the plantation owner would get his men out of jail because he needed them," he said. Dockery noted that his father took care of his workers providing a doctor to look after them and a non-profit burial society. 

Clarion Ledger, 1894

Music, particularly the blues, seemed to be a natural evolvement of the lifestyle. "Blues occurred when a person lost a loved one, particularly when a [black] man lost his woman. That's all they had, that and religion," Dockery commented.

"We used to have a big, brick store with five or six clerks, a post office and a tremendous railroad depot. The train on the Peavine made up in Cleveland, went to Boyle and backed all the way to Dockery before going to Rosedale. Back then it had passenger cars," he recalled.

But these all disappeared as farming became mechanized, trucks took over the railroad business, the labor went to town to shop and finally moved off to the city to live. But the blues music born in those times and surroundings has lived on.

The lifestyle on the Dockery farms has changed greatly since Will Dockery bought up thousands of acres in Mississippi and Arkansas, clearing the timber for crops.  Yet, in some very important ways, it remains the same.