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.

The Flood of 2019 (Part 3), the Yazoo Backwater near Onward and Yazoo City, Mississippi

We will continue our review of the flooding in the southern part of the Mississippi Delta, the area known as the Yazoo Backwater. The last article was about the area near the town of Redwood. Here we continue north a few miles to Onward and briefly jump east to Yazoo City.

Onward is an unincorporated farming community near US 61 south of Rolling Fork. Onward is known for two historical notes:

1. This is near the site where president Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a baby bear that had been tied to a tree as a target for the president. A toy company picked up on the refusal to shoot, started making stuffed bears, and the rest is history - one of the most successful children's toys ever. It became an international toy, as well; my Steiff bear was from Germany.
2. The Onward Country Store has been in business since 1913. It is (or was) a popular stop with European tourists who travel on US 61, the Blues Highway. But there is bad news: the Onward store may have closed as of April 2019, according to an article in The Vicksburg Daily News. I will write about the Onward Store soon. 

Onward Store, 1996, before removal of gasoline pump canopy (4×5" Tri-X film, 75mm ƒ/8 Supar-Angulon lens)

This is the front of the Onward Store as of 1996. The store faces US 61 (the Blues Highway) and is just south of the intersection with Rte 1. Residents of Eagle Lake need to drive on Rte 1, then turn south on 465 and access the mainline levee. The levee road eventually gets them to Eagle Lake.

Farm north of Rte 1, April 11, 2019 (Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II camera, yellow filter)

Farm fields north of Rte 1 near 465 junction, March 29, 2019 (Ektar 25 film, Hasselblad 501CM, 250mm Sonnar lens)

Some of the fields north of Rte 1 were semi-dry, but heading west and closer to the mainline levees, the road dipped down, and the surrounding fields were inundated.

Flooded woods, Hwy 465, March 29, 2019 (Fuji Acros film, Vito BL camera, 50mm ƒ/3.5 Color-Skopar lens, GGr filter)

Flooded woods, Rte 1 near levee, April 11, 2019 (Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II camera, 90mm lens, ½ sec ƒ/16½) 

Rte 465 takes off south from Rte 1. The day I drove on it, a short section was underwater, but people were driving through, so I did the same carefully. The road runs through forest, much of which was flooded. What struck me was the number of snakes. I saw numerous ones that were squashed and hit at least one when it slithered across the road just in time for my tires. It appears that they cross from the woods on one side of the highway to the other. Most looked like black water moccasins, but one nicely patterned fellow sitting quietly in the middle of the pavement looked like a rattlesnake. (I decided to not get out and check in person.)

Unoccupied house, US 61, Onward (Fuji acros film, Vito BL camera, GGr filter, 1/30 sec ƒ/11½) 

Back in Onward, the fields just east of 61 were dry. I saw this unused mid-century house slowly being engulfed with vines.

Dusk at Egremont, view west, March 29, 2019 (Vito BL camera, 50mm Color-Skopar lens, GGr filter) 

Egremont is a small community south of Rolling Fork. I have more Egremont photographs to share in the future.

Hwy 16 west of Yazoo City, March 13, 2019 (Ektar 25, Hasselblad 501CM, 250mm Sonnar lens)

Hwy 16 west of Yazoo City, March 13, 2019 (Ektar 25, Hasselblad 501CM, 250mm Sonnar lens)

To the east, Yazoo City (the "Gateway to the Delta") sits on the edge of the loess bluffs. But to the west lies the flat Mississippi Delta and the Yazoo River. The fields along Hwy 16 were inundated as of mid-March when I took these pictures with my Hasselblad camera.

This concludes a short look at the flooding in the Yazoo Backwater. As of mid-June, much of this area is still under water. Depending on water conditions, I may do some more exploring and photographing.

Click the link for Part 1 of this series.
Click the link for Part 2 of this series.