We come to you this week from the heart of the
Mississippi Delta, we are in the Humphreys county
town of Belzoni.
The town
was named after Italian archeologist Giovanni
Battista Belzoni and was originally known as
"Greasy Row" because of the row of saloons that
lined the bank of the Yazoo River.
Belzoni
was originally in Washington county and was
completely isolated from Greenville and the
rest of the county with no roads, no law and
no organization. The area was known as the dark
corner of Washington county, for it was too
far away for the county law enforcement to bother
about.
In 1918
areas of surrounding counties were split up
to form the final county in the state of Mississippi.
The county was named Humphreys and the county
seat was Belzoni.
Today,
Belzoni is a small Delta town with a thriving
business district. Thanks to a redevelopment
effort started over twenty years ago that replaced
concrete sidewalks with bricks, planted trees
and improved parking. They actually did this
before there was a Main Street program like
there is today.
King
Cotton's dominance has given way to catfish
is this part of the Delta. The Catfish Capitol
Visitors Center in Belzoni traces the industry
from pond to plate. The Catfish center can even
arrange a tour of a working catfish farm if
you give them some advance notice. In our first
story we show you why Belzoni and Humphreys
county is considered The Worlds Catfish Capitol.
Peaches Restaurant in Jackson has
been satisfying the appetite of the Farish Street
community for many years and we dive into a
plate of good ole soul food.
Our Classic
Roads segment takes us back ten years to the
great Chunky River Raft Race that is held outside
of Meridian.
Johnnie
Billington has developed the "Delta Blues Education
Program" to help keep the traditional music
alive in our younger generation. He would rather
put a guitar in the hand of a youngster rather
than a gun.
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