The Mississippi Delta 31: the Onward Country Store, Onward

Onward Country Store, September 1996 (4×5" Tri-X film, Tachihara camera, 75mm ƒ/8.0 Super-Angulon lens)

Onward is an unincorporated community in Sharkey County, Mississippi. The modest country store at the corner of US 61 (the Blues Highway) and Mississippi Highway 1 has been a fixture of the community since 1913. In its time, it sold various goods to farmers and travelers, provided quick lunches, and housed a post office. I previously wrote about the flooding in the area during the great flood of 2019.

Interior of Onward Store, September 1996 (75mm ƒ/8.0 Super-Angulon lens)

Mechanical bears, Onward Store, September 1996

I visited the store in 1996, and the proprietor generously let me take some 4×5" Tri-X frames with my wood field camera. The two mechanical bears would move on their pedestal. Some time after that, the store was burglarized and the antique electric bears stolen. It is amazing how low some people are. The bears commemorated the legend of the Teddy Bear, which was created by The Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. based on Teddy Roosevelt refusing to shoot a tied-up baby bear during a November, 1902, hunting trip.

Steiff Teddy Bear, approx. 1953 or 1954 vintage (Polaroid Sepia film, Tachihara 4×5" camera, 180mm Caltar IIN lens)

This is my Steiff bear. He traveled from Greece to Burma to Ceylon and destinations in between, ending up in Vicksburg. Oddly, no one in the family told me the story about Teddy Roosevelt.

Onward Store, October 2002 (Kodachrome 25 slide, Nikon F3, 35mm ƒ/2.8 PC-Nikkor lens)

Onward Store, October 2002 (Kodachrome 25)

It was difficult to photograph the store because an ugly modern canopy over the gasoline pumps obscured the front unless you were way off to the side. The two Kodachrome color photographs above are from 2002. It was not possible then to take a straight-on view

Onward Store front porch, March 2019

Onward Store, March 29, 2019 (Fuji Acros 100 film, Voigtländer Vito BL camera, 50mm ƒ/3.5 Color-Skopar lens, 1 sec. exposure)

Onward Store, March 29, 2019

I checked in at the Onward Store in March of 2019 when I was exploring the flood in the southern Delta. The ugly steel canopy was gone, cleaning up the appearance of the front. The store had been largely converted into a restaurant, and it looked like business was brisk. I chatted with some British tourists who were on a Blues exploration. I took two pictures inside.

My friends and I ate at the Onward Store on April 11. The catfish was excellent. Then in about a week, an announcement on Facebook stated that the Onward Store had closed. I do not know the story. We must have been among the last customers. I hope someone can purchase the old store and continue the tradition of southern cuisine.

Farm house, Onward (Fuji Acros 100 film, Voigtländer Vito BL camera, 50mm ƒ/3.5 Color-Skopar lens)

There are not many houses near the store. This cottage on the east side of US 61 was closed and unoccupied. The vines and jungle are taking over.