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William Paul Odom flew cargo planes prior to World War II across The Hump between China and India. During the war he flew heavies including bombers. After the war he began setting distance flight records before fatefully entering the Thompson Trophy Race in a P51c Mustang. 

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina. The catastrophic impact on the people living in its path and its periphery is still part of our collective memory in the Deep South. Authors Rod Davis and Julie Liddell Whitehead examine the impact on their recent novels. 

Rod Davis:  Life in the Time of Hurricanes, TCU Press, Sept. 2025. Fiction.   Very short bio: Rod Davis is the author of The Life of Kim and the Behavior of Men; East of Texas, West of Hell; South, America; Corina’s Way, winner of the fiction prize in the PEN Southwest Book Awards for 2000-2005; and of American Voudou. Rod has worked at The Associated Press, The Texas Observer, D Magazine, the San Antonio Express-News, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and at UT-Austin, SMU, and the Texas A&M System.     https://roddavisauthor.com/   Rod's book is published through TCU Press with more details and a short synopsis. It is available for pre-order at Amazon and most other booksellers: Life in the Time of Hurricanes tcupress.tcu.edu  

Julie Liddell Whitehead lives and writes from Mississippi. An award-winning freelance writer, Julie covered disasters from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina throughout her career. She writes on mental health, mental health education, and mental health advocacy. She has a bachelor’s degree in communication, with a journalism emphasis, and a master’s degree in English, both from Mississippi State University. In August 2021, she completed her MFA from Mississippi University for Women. https://julieliddellwhitehead.com/ Order her book here: 

https://madvillepublishing.com/product/hurricane-baby/

Hurricane Baby is also available through Barnes and Noble and Amazon. 

 

 

What does the FBI, the CIA, Daniel Boone, and the fated Russian Czar Nicholas II have to do with Columbus, MS, and Friendship Cemetery? Let me take you on an old-fashioned Mississippi bird hunt.

Today, we're diving into the fascinating world of Harrison Hale and Abraham Murdock, two entrepreneurs who transformed iron production in the antebellum and Civil War South.

In the sweltering heat of a late July evening in 1881, a dark tale of murder was about to unfold on the Nick Hairston plantation near Crawford, Mississippi. This is a story of domestic tension, betrayal, and a crime that would shock the local community.

A Tale of Courage and Education

This episode aims to not just recount the Motley family's history, but to explore the intricate mechanisms of resistance, love, and hope that existed within the brutal system of American slavery. The Motley family's story emerges as a testament to individual courage and familial resilience.

A 13 year old child, Jaryan Cox was pistol whipped by a 17 year old last Sunday night. The victim's family wants the world to know what happened. I have an exclusive interview with Jaryan's aunt, Laquila Shinn.  Their story MUST be heard. 

The Columbus Community Housing Development Organization (CCHDO) sure is fast and loose with their money and HUD's money too. Where is the money? Can anyone figure out where it has gone? Or has Robert Greathree just decided not to get the reimbursements from the grant? The mystery continues!

The CHA has significant audit issues...issues so large and significant that their auditor fired them as a client. 

What do you do when a city employee uses their position to abuse power and bully private citizens? Stand up, refuse to be bullied, and FOIA! 

The Columbus Housing Authority Audit shows significant issues with internal control compliance issues. Some issues are so bad the auditors were required to report the issues directly to HUD. 

So many questions and so few answers. Why are they purchasing all that property and not using it to fulfill the mission of the Columbus Community Housing Development Organization or the Columbus Housing Authority?

Columbus Housing Authority has hired violent felons with no business license, no bond, etc. to work on their properties...and about that credit card use by the Executive Director Robert Greathree Jr...woo hoo...someone is living high on the hog on our federal tax dollars!

Why are large amounts of money being moved between accounts at the Columbus Housing Authority? Why is the movement of hundreds of thousands of dollars not mentioned in their meeting minutes? Who is managing the money and why are they so cavalier with their funds? 

Why was a check for $75,000 made to Cash by the Executive Director of the Columbus Housing Authority, and it is not reflected in any meeting minutes to the board of commissioners before or after the event? Where did that money go? To the nonprofit Columbus Community Housing Development Organization (CCHDO)? Is anyone paying attention to where money goes at CHA or how it is spent at CCHDO? So many questions arise every turn of the page. https://youtu.be/io1t0qAjaLg

Follow along as I examine the Columbus Community Housing Development - (The Columbus Housing Authority's Non-Profit) Negative Revenue Balances. We will learn how to search the Mississippi Secretary of State Business Listings for Businesses and Charity Listings, Agents, and Members, as well as their compliance with yearly updates. Why is Seasons of Columbus included as a DBA but not Seasons of Success? Where is Seasons of Success EIN and State License to operate? Do they fall under some other business? Again, why is nothing related to the Columbus Housing Authority ever transparent and straightforward? (The video of the how-to is on YouTube). 

 When it comes to nonprofits, there's a lot that you need to know. You can ask for it in a public records request, but it's not really considered a public records request because nonprofits are guided by their nonprofit status. What you can access are their 990s, their tax filings. Here is how you do just that. (Visual version is also available on YouTube. This is just the audio version.) 

Public records are just that: Public! You are entitled to have information from government officials in the form of bank ledgers, meeting minutes, contracts, bids, emails, etc. Public Officials' and Private Individuals' Land and Property Tax Records are all in the public domain. You just have to go to your county courthouse or look at their website online and do some research!

(PS: there is a YouTube video that shows the actual screen view if you are a visual person).

Here is how:

Rusty Walker is earning $ 4,295 a month from Columbus HA. He is also receiving fees from Natchez, Hattiesburg, Brookhaven, and McComb Housing Authorities, as well as having some contracts with the City of Gulfport, in addition to his salary as a councilman for the city. I can’t imagine money should be an issue, as he appears to be a successful businessman. So why are his property taxes always delinquent? He is a Capital Funds Manager for Housing Authorities all over the state with significant budgets funded by HUD. He is an elected official responsible for millions of dollars for the City of Gulfport. Do they know he forgets to pay his property taxes? Did his opponent know he has a questionable track record where money is concerned? Is this the same man who was borrowing and then lending a million-plus dollars not even 10 years ago? Why does everything around Councilman Walker generate so many questions?

 Gulfport's City Council President and Futurespec's Rusty Walker have been playing a shell game with money and land for some time in Gulfport while consulting for various housing authorities in his spare time. Why?  According to HUD and area directors, there is absolutely no need for companies like Future Spec to do the day-to-day coding and grant fund management. That they are hired to do. The directors have so many opportunities to learn both online and in person, and HUD and various state-level agencies provide continuing credits, ongoing training, and support to those executive directors. Why are we mixed up with this guy and paying him to do something our Executive Director SHOULD be doing? 

 Unravel the financial irregularities in this community housing organization. Let's take a deep dive into the financial transparency, or lack thereof, and the organizational accountability that is missing at the Columbus Housing Authority. From single and rubber-stamped signatures to initialed checks with no invoice or purchase order numbers...the financial mess at both the Non-profit CCHDO and the CHA is appalling. 

 

This comprehensive investigative report exposes deep-seated governance challenges within the Columbus Housing Authority (CHA), revealing a complex network of potential systemic failures that compromise organizational integrity, financial accountability, and public trust.

We're uncovering a peculiar board member who appears to be a long-standing fixture in the organization. Appointed under a previous administration, Greta Gardner seems to occupy a unique position - signing critical documents for both the Housing Authority and a related non-profit, yet remaining mysteriously inaccessible.  What does Gulfport City Councilman Rusty Walker have to do with moving around the money in the CHA Draw? What is CFP? What is a JV? Why is Sheila Hosli with a non-business email and NOT an employee of the CHA “revising” the draw? Something is truly amiss here!

 Today we examine the Mississippi Ethics Commission rules related public access to public records information and how the Columbus Housing Authority Executive Director and Board Attorney are in non-compliance. 

 The housing authority uses federal grants or gifts to help pay the housing cost of its customers. Federal money is given to the housing authority to cover all the normal costs of maintaining a place to live. As a result, the housing authority must comply with state and federal bidding rules on purchasing.

The laws are really clear, and they're easy to comply with if an agency chooses to follow them. Is the Columbus Housing Authority following federal and state bid law guidelines? I. Yes, no one knows right now, since the bidding documents have not been produced, we are asking for them, but the rules are pretty clear.

My most recent FOIA request has been described as requiring 160 hours of work and cositn over $7000 to complete. What hogwash! Is nothing in the CHA digitized? 

 What started with looking into a truck that CHA purchased and got scammed on has made me look more carefully at how they conduct their business. It makes me question a lot of things they do and makes me wonder who else is scamming them. Follow along as I explore their ledgers. 

It would appear that most of the service providers to the Columbus Housing Authority are from out of town, adding to the cost of their services. Was the Cook Pest Control account ever put out for bid? Is it rebid each year?  Why does the Columbus Housing Authority have a huge bedbug problem that shows up each month in one and only one unit at varying amounts for treatment? 

Since October 13th, 2023, Executive Director Robert Grathree has spent $52,000 on conference travel and per diem. 

 In that same period, over $100,000 has been charged to the Columbus Housing Authority's credit card. None of that is spent on resident housing improvements, and none of that is spent on bills. All of those invoices and all residency work are paid for by checks. What is this credit card used for? What have they spent over $100,000 on in less than two years?

Looking through the board minutes on the truck and the scammer, I found other anomalies that caught my eye…big dollar anomalies and still no mention of the scam. Interesting! 

My recent FOIA request related to the Columbus Housing Authority (CHA) Truck and the 60K scam has raised even more questions about the activities of the director and board at CHA. 

Tonight, I am going to tell you a story that was told to me by people in positions of authority with the Columbus Housing Authority…a strange, convoluted story…and then I will read you three emails I was handed in a meeting. I should have much more on Friday as a result of a FOIA request and a couple of hundred dollars to get said public documents…but here is the story. Bear with me as I may struggle to keep it all straight—it is a doozy!

Wales Land embodied the archetypal small farmer - hardworking, unassuming, and deeply rooted in the agricultural traditions of the American South. He farmed with his father and the sharecroppers who worked the land beside them. The Great Depression and the Prohibition era had transformed quiet rural communities into complex battlegrounds of legal enforcement, social tension, and economic survival. This is the setting of how three federal Prohibition agents gunned down an innocent, hard-working 27-year-old farmer in front of his father's house. 

City Councilman and Mayoral Candidate Stephen Jones answers questions generated by Columbus, MS, citizens. 

Columbus Mayoral Candidate Darren Leach answered questions generated by Tombigbee Tales followers living or owning businesses in Columbus, MS, city limits.

 This episode is a continuation of my series about the Columbus Housing Authority and my pursuit of public information.

Let me give you a little context about public accountability. In an era of increasing demand for governmental transparency, the pursuit of public information represents a really critical aspect of civic engagement. The narrative of this podcast explores the complex interactions between me and the Columbus Housing Authority, revealing some systemic challenges and their lack of transparency.

The Columbus Housing Authority (CHA), a critical public service organization responsible for managing affordable housing and community development, is at the center of a potentially significant procurement scandal. This investigation delves into a truck purchase's intricate details that expose potential systemic vulnerabilities in public sector financial management. Don't Worry! Tombigbee Tales is ON the Case!

The post-Reconstruction era in Mississippi represented a complex tapestry of economic manipulation and racial subjugation. Sharecropping emerged not as an opportunity for economic mobility, but as a sophisticated system of continued economic bondage for recently freed African Americans.

In this environment, labor agent D. H. Smith began recruiting farm laborers to move to Arkansas. Smith, a Black man from Forrest City, Arkansas, is first said to visit Artesia and the local sharecroppers in early Fall of 1887. He visited Starkville, West Point, and Artesia at least two more times before his final visit.

In a departure from history and current events, I interviewed my friend Mario Ruiz, a competitive sport fisherman. Come learn about his sport and how he is using it to shift the mindset of fishing in the Pacific waters of Mexico!  Follow them on Facebook Team Tex Mex 

Follow them on Instagram at Team Tex Mex 

 

Our story centers on Nancy Carpenter, CEO of the CCHF, and a web of financial allegations that raise serious questions about grant management and public accountability based on a recent Memorandum of Agreement between the city of Columbus and the Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation.

By 1884, Artesia was a boomtown. It sat on the M&O Railroad and was a busy center for business. Mississippi was a bit of a wild frontier in many ways, and Artesia embraced that image fully. It was known for all its saloons and the blind eye the town fathers appeared to turn to the rules of Prohibition. The Prohibition Presidential Platform was ignored, and the Anti-Saloon League and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union were not active or remotely influential in the town. Artesia was riding high on the coattails of the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in New Orleans and the prosperity of the price of cotton. Cash began to flow again after a post-Reconstruction depression, and the businesses in Artesia benefited. Beyond the gin and the cotton warehouses, the town had saloons, restaurants, and businesses on a busy main street.

While the town had grown affluent, whites were worried as they were outnumbered by their Black neighbors, whom they distrusted.

 Jake Doss was an African American living in the Black Belt prairie about six miles from Artesia, Mississippi. Doss and his wife, Anne, were listed as sharing a household with their three children in the Lowndes County, 1880 Census. Doss is listed as roughly 27 years old with three children living at home with him and his wife. 

 

In the heart of Columbus, Mississippi, stands a testament to the grandeur and complexity of antebellum architecture. The Colonnade, built circa 1860, offers a unique glimpse into the rich tapestry of Southern history and architectural innovation. This magnificent structure serves as a living museum, bridging the gap between the Old South and the present day, inviting visitors to step back in time and experience the opulence and craftsmanship of a bygone era.

The story of The Colonnade begins with William T. Baldwin, a Georgia planter who saw opportunity in the fertile Black Belt Prairie along the Tombigbee River in Lowndes County, Mississippi. Baldwin, drawn by the promise of rich farmland ideal for cotton cultivation, constructed this magnificent home in 1860, marking the twilight of the antebellum era.

In the tumultuous spring of 1862, the entire town of Columbus, Mississippi, found itself unexpectedly thrust into a pivotal role during the American Civil War. As the devastating battles of Shiloh and Corinth raged nearby, Columbus transformed practically overnight into an impromptu hospital town. Its citizens, both white and black, free and enslaved, rose to meet the monumental challenge of caring for thousands of wounded and dying soldiers from both sides of the conflict.

On April 6-7, 1862, the Battle of Shiloh erupted in southwestern Tennessee, marking a turning point in the Western Theater of the Civil War. This devastating engagement resulted in over 23,000 casualties, shocking both the Union and Confederacy with its unprecedented violence.

I sat down with my friend Keith Johnson, the grand nephew of famed Blues musician Muddy Waters. Keith is a talented musician, a teacher, a composer, and a published author.

He plays at the Columbus, MS Catfish in the Alley Festival Friday April 11th from 12:00-2:00 . He will play Muddy Waters tribute songs and some of Keith's originals. 

 

 

In literature, sermons, and in news articles before and after Reconstruction, Black males were portrayed as over-sexualized predatory men who lived to prey on innocent white girls and women. Whites feared a loss of racial purity and miscegenation of their women. It was not an issue for the white man to father children with Black women, but white females were only to produce white children.

During the Reconstruction Era, Mississippi’s white population realized their second greatest fear: they were outnumbered by their former enslaved population. Freemen began to run for and win elected office at the local and state levels. Then, Black elected officials in the Mississippi legislature began to propose and pass anti-miscegenation laws.

In the decades following the American Civil War, a disturbing phenomenon gripped the Deep South - the practice of lynching. This extrajudicial killing of individuals, predominantly African Americans, served as a brutal method of racial control and intimidation. This narrative explores this dark chapter in Southern history, examining its causes, patterns, and lasting impact on American society.

 The story of James Williams Sykes CSA and his family is more than just a tale of one man or one family. It's a microcosm of the Antebellum South. And it captures the complexities, the contradictions, and the ultimate tragedy of a society on the brink of monumental change. 

Leon Cicero Ellis, was the first in his family to complete high school, after which he packed his bags and headed to Chicago to enter college and then to attend and graduate from medical school at what is now Rush University. Chicago is about an eight-hour train ride north of Possum Town and over his collegiate years, I am sure Doc made that trip many a time. During one of those visits home, Leon proposed to his high school sweetheart and they made plans to be married after he completed med school.

Nestled at 901 7th Avenue North Aldan Hall, is a structure rich with history dating back to the antebellum era. Originally known as the Topp-Sykes Home, this frontier-style residence was constructed around 1839. The initial design featured a simple two-over-two layout, typical of homes built during this period in the American South. 

Aldan Hall is on this year’s Columbus, MS spring pilgrimage. Miss Betty Bryan has said it is her last year to host it herself. Come see this treasured home!