The Mississippi Delta 7: Boyle

Let us move further north into the Mississippi Delta. Unfortunately, I did not have time to explore Cleveland, which is the county seat of Bolivar County and home of Delta State University. But just south of Cleveland on Hwy 61 is the town of Boyle. Most motorists probably rush on through, but two sites caught my eye.


First was this lonely cemetery on the east side of the highway just south of town. There was no church on the site. Notice the skilfully-carved tombstone for a Miss Annie Gade, died Jan. 4, 1883, aged 2 Yrs. 3 Mos. & 20 Days. We forget what a terrible toll childhood diseases took on our ancestors. Never let anyone tell you we should go back to an era of simpler medicine without modern diagnostic equipment, sterilization of instruments, and, especially, inoculations against common diseases.


Further north, a more cheerful scene: this is the Daspot store where you can buy sunglasses and ladies' fashions. The proprietor was very cheerful when I asked permission to photograph the models.  The customers seemed a bit perplexed.

A profile view if you prefer....

Photographs taken with a Panasonic G1 digital camera.