Traveling along the Mississippi Gulf Coast has been part of my life since birth. We lived in Southern Illinois, but since my father came from “Miss’ippi,” we went down South to visit our relatives fairly often. So many places are no longer there, but they continue to live on in my memory.
Being in a preacher’s family, we didn’t stay in fancy hotels or go out to eat much. We pitched a tent and cooked over a camp stove! In fact, I was an adult with children before I realized that people went anywhere without camping. One of the first purchases I made with my own young family was a heavy green tarp tent from Sears.
My folks camped anywhere that would hold a tent peg. One spot I loved was the Methodist campground across the street from the beach. My younger brother and I learned how to tie old bacon into a crab net and bring up loads of blue crabs off the wooden dock. The last time I traveled in the South, that spot had become a retirement home for Methodist preachers. I’m not sure I could afford to live there now, and I’m a retired Methodist preacher!
Located two miles East of the Biloxi Lighthouse (http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=543), Fisherman’s Wharf was always “the” place to get the best fish and chips on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I have no idea how long it’s been there, but without fail, my folks took us to eat there on every trip. Even by the mid-70s, it was still there, standing alone on a bunch of rickety pilings. In the 90s, I went back and found it almost eaten up by a massive casino next door, but still open.
Being in a preacher’s family, we didn’t stay in fancy hotels or go out to eat much. We pitched a tent and cooked over a camp stove! In fact, I was an adult with children before I realized that people went anywhere without camping. One of the first purchases I made with my own young family was a heavy green tarp tent from Sears.
My folks camped anywhere that would hold a tent peg. One spot I loved was the Methodist campground across the street from the beach. My younger brother and I learned how to tie old bacon into a crab net and bring up loads of blue crabs off the wooden dock. The last time I traveled in the South, that spot had become a retirement home for Methodist preachers. I’m not sure I could afford to live there now, and I’m a retired Methodist preacher!
Located two miles East of the Biloxi Lighthouse (http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=543), Fisherman’s Wharf was always “the” place to get the best fish and chips on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I have no idea how long it’s been there, but without fail, my folks took us to eat there on every trip. Even by the mid-70s, it was still there, standing alone on a bunch of rickety pilings. In the 90s, I went back and found it almost eaten up by a massive casino next door, but still open.
Unless Katrina flattened it, Fisherman's Wharf was still operating the last I heard. If it is gone, a great landmark and truly terrific eatery has been lost to our next generations. My hunch is that it’s no longer there.
As my own children grew, I took them back to the Mississippi Gulf Coast and told a few stories. For example, their paternal grandfather had been the project engineer for building the seawall. I hope they will take their own children there and introduce them to a culture that is slowly disappearing, and to meet some of their distant kinfolk.
But things change. www.gulfcoastnews.com/gcnkatrinaphotoslandmarks.htm With the ticking clock and Katrina, much of the charm and beauty of the Old South is vanishing – has vanished.
But things change. www.gulfcoastnews.com/gcnkatrinaphotoslandmarks.htm With the ticking clock and Katrina, much of the charm and beauty of the Old South is vanishing – has vanished.
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