Pilgrimage

April in Aberdeen meant getting ready for pilgrimage time. Aberdeen is full of ante-bellum homes; one street was formerly called "Silk Stocking Row." People who own the beautiful old houses get them spiffed up and ready for people from far and wide to come and tour. The azaleas start to bloom, and the crepe myrtle bushes are bright with color. Local ladies who give tours at the various homes dress in period dress, and it's a time of festivities and showing off the best of Aberdeen. Although our house was not a large ante-bellum one, several houses on our street were. After I left home, they began to use the front porch of our house as a stop on the tour, and my mother greeted guests on the porch, which was set up to look like an old timey school room.

April also meant choral concerts and competitions and rehearsals after school. Our girls sextet competed at district and at state, although we were never selected to sing at the state concert. I guess a group who sounded a lot better than we did got to sing. But we got to go to Jackson for about 3 days to prepare for the state concert - probably the precursor to today's All-State choir. We took several buses there and stayed in a hotel; it was all so exciting for a bunch of small town teens!

One April meant celebrating Aberdeen's Bicentennial. Our sextet had to have ante-bellum style dresses with bonnets, and we sang at events all over town. One event was singing at the Civil War cemetery in Aberdeen. Yes, there is a Civil War cemetery. It's a little way down from Oddfellows Rest cemetery, although not all buried in the CW cemetery are war veterans. One plot is rather large and is framed by a low metal fence; there is a large headstone. I always heard that a lady was buried there sitting in her rocking chair.

During my junior and senior years in high school, as well as in the summer, I worked at a printing shop which had gotten the contract to print all the materials for the Bicentennial. Not only did I have to be a part of many of the events, I had to collate and staple the programs and get them ready for distribution. I was glad to see the Bicentennial activities come to an end.