July 15, 2009, Baptist Town, Mississippi
From The Greenwood Commonwealth, Greenwood Mississippi
by Bob Darden
Staff Writer

Baptist Town Site Of State’s 80^th Blues Marker

Baptist Town’s musical heritage was celebrated Tuesday as blues fans from across the country came to 200 Short St. to witness the unveiling of the state’s 80th blues marker. “Baptist Town has held a special place in my heart,” said Paige Hunt, executive director of the Greenwood Convention & Visitors Bureau, in remarks Tuesday. No less than three European television crews have visited Baptist Town in the past couple of months, trying to find the origins and magic of the community. The Baptist Town marker is Leflore County’s sixth. The others sites are the Elks Lodge on West Scott Street; West River Road Extended, the site of the Hubert Sumlin marker; Money Road, near the Robert Johnson gravesite; the B.B. King birthplace near Berclair; and the former home of WGRM-AM radio at 222 Howard St. Onetime Baptist Town businessman Sylvester Hoover said the blues marker unveiling meant a lot. “We’ve been waiting on this marker for a while,” Hoover said. Hoover said encouraged spectators to “see, feel and taste the blues” in Baptist Town, which had a major role in the development of the music. The Rev. Frank Willis, pastor of Allen Chapel African-Methodist-Episcopal Church of Sidon, moved to Baptist Town in 1949. Back then, he said, it had mud streets, sidewalks and “a whole lot of love.” The preacher said that if he got off the straight-and-narrow he would get a corrective “strap” from the elders in the community — and another strap when he got back home from his parents. Willis said there was a time when Baptist Town would close down at night to strangers and not even the police would venture into it until daylight. “Baptist Town is a place to be proud of,” he said. Baptist Town blues musician Harvie Cook, of Harvey and the Bluetones fame, also watched the unveiling. Cook, who turned 71 Saturday, said when he left Baptist Town he left with some good advice that has served him for a lifetime. A Baptist Town storekeeper told Cook to “work a little harder” and “try to give a little more” in his dealings with people. He was also encouraged to refrain from drinking, smoking and drugs. Cook said he was “high on life itself,” and Tuesday’s ceremony made him feel good. State Rep. Willie Perkins, D-Greenwood, and state Sen. Lydia Chassaniol, R-Winona, had been scheduled to speak Tuesday but canceled at the last minute, Hunt said. “Y’all are stuck with no politicians,” she said jokingly to a smattering of applause.