Fading: the Volkswagen Disposal Yard, Raymond, Mississippi

Please, give me some love

In mid-September, I drove by the Volkswagen Disposal Yard (where old VWs go to be dismantled or rebuilt) at 10987 Hwy 467, a few miles west of Raymond, Mississippi. I had been there before when it was active. But now it is sad. I saw far fewer hulks than in previous years. I walked to the trailer on the property, and a cheerful lady came out to talk. She said her brother once repaired the cars, but he was sick and had just returned from the hospital. She asked me if I wanted all the old Beatles. I could have them that day! Please, take them away. (I decided to pass....)

Ten years ago, this field was just covered with Beatles, a few Golfs, and a smattering of other models such as a Type 411. I do not remember seeing any busses, but he probably repaired them, as well.

The nice lady said there were more cars in the forest (jungle) behind the trailer. Yes, indeed, there were a mess of relicts back in there. 

The little station wagon was the Type 3 Volkswagen, known in the US market as a Squareback and in Europe as the Variant. My dad bought one of these when we lived in Turkey in 1965. We later shipped it to USA, and I ended up with the car in undergraduate school. The flat rear-mounted engine was only 1500 cc and put out about 55 horsepower, which was inadequate for US freeways. Top speed was about 65 mph. But it was excellent on mountain dirt roads, and I could sleep in the back. 

Sadly, all of these cars look to be beyond repair or rebuilding. Long-term readers may remember that I visited a Volkswagen yard in Moab, Utah, with many examples in much better shape (click the link).

These photographs are from Kodak Ektar 100 film, exposed via a Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic camera with 28mm and 35mm lenses. I used a tripod for all frames. Northeast Photographic scanned the negatives with a Noritsu system. The colors in the scans were too vibrant, and I reduced the saturation with Photoshop CS6 software.

2021 Mid-State Road Trip - Central Mississippi (Hopewell and Crystal Springs)

Last May, mid-COVID, I was bored, restless, and grumpy. My wife and I had not been far afield in over two years. Walking and bicycling were getting boring. It was time for another road trip to central Mississippi.

Utica

Harris Carmichael Store, MS 27 (50mm ƒ/2 Summicron-DR lens)

Porch at Harris Carmichael Store

The Harris Carmichael Store is on Hwy. 27 near Utica. Mr. Carmichael died in 2005, and I do not know if the store operated after that date. It is is good condition, so someone maintains the property.

Hopewell and Vicinity

I had driven on Hopewell Road before while driving from Mendenhall to Crystal Springs. I saw some old buildings that were worth another visit. I returned on May 20 with Royal Gold 25 film in my Leica and looked around. The unincorporated community of Hopewell, in Copiah County, is pretty quiet.

House, Tillson Road off MS27, Crystal Spring (35mm ƒ/2 Summicron lens) 

Fixer-upper house, 1148 Hopewell Road, Hopewell (25mm ƒ/4 Color-Skopar lens)

Fixer-upper house, 1162 Hopewell Road, Hopewell (25mm ƒ/4 Color-Skopar lens)

Fixer-upper, Hopewell Road, Hopewell 

Come on, give me some tender loving care, Old River Road, Hopewell

The red door, Hopewell Road (1/2 sec. ƒ/11, 50mm Summicron-DR lens)

Where is my VCR? Hopewell Road near MS 27, Crystal Springs (1/8 ƒ/16, 50mm Summicron)

How do you really think? Hopewell Road near MS 27, Crystal Springs (50mm Summicron)

These are negatives from the long-discontinued Kodak Royal Gold 25 film. I knew that it had been frozen since new and felt confident that it would be viable. I exposed it at Exposure Index (EI) = 16 in my Leica M2 camera. For many frames, I used my Leitz 50mm ƒ/2 Summicron-DR lens and tripod-mounted the camera. This was the Type 2 Summicron from the 1960s, a superb optic that many film photographers still use. I scanned the negatives with a Plustek 7600i film scanner operated with Silverfast Ai software.

My previous experiments with Ektar 25 film, which was the same emulsion, were less successful, most likely because the Ektar was even older. For current use, buy the modern Ektar 100 film.

Small Towns in Mississippi: Union Church

Union Church is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County at the Junction of MS 28 and 550 in west central Mississippi, approximately half way between Fayette and Hazelhurst. According to Wikipedia, "The community of Union Church was formed primarily by a group of Scotch settlers who left North Carolina around 1805 for the promise of fertile land to be farmed on the eastern banks of the Mississippi River. The town was originally called Scotch Settlement. The founding families were headed by George Torrey, his son Dougald Torrey, Laughlin Currie and Robert Willis."

Union Church played a role in the daring raid by Col. Benjamin Grierson and 1,700 horse troopers, who rode over 600 miles through hostile territory from southern Tennessee, through Mississippi, and finally to Union-held Baton Rouge, Louisiana during April-May of 1863. The troopers briefly stopped in Union Church during the night of April 28-29, after which they continued east and then south.

I drove into Union Church on a blazing hot and muggy day in early August (2020) while I was on one of my photographic tours. Some handsome old churches, farm houses, and stores caught my eye.

Former church? (Fuji Acros film, Leica IIIC, 50mm ƒ/1.4 Canon lens, green filter, 1/200 ƒ/4.0)

Driving in from the north on MS 28, I saw this big white wood building that looked like a former church. If there was a sign describing current use, I did not see it.

Old shop (Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II camera, minor fill flash)

Two old stores sit at the junction of MS 28 and 550. On the first store, the roof looked reasonably sound, but there were fallen tree limbs and debris on it. That is definitely trouble in this damp climate.

Store 2 was engulfed with a mess of vines and jungle. The walk-up window may have been for ice cream sales, but who can tell at this stage? It is sad that these places are no longer in business.

Union Church Presbyterian Church (Moto G5 digital file)

Heading west on 28 towards Fayette, I saw two churches, one no longer in use and the other in nice condition. Union Church looked like a quiet little town with some prosperous farms. I was glad to stop and look around.

Most of these photographs are from medium format Kodak Panatomic-X film from my Fuji GW690II camera or 35mm Fuji Acros film from my Leica IIIC camera and a Canon 50mm ƒ/1.4 lens. 

Along the Nantahala River and US 19/74, Topton, North Carolina

Heading west through western North Carolina, you need to drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains. You can bypass the mountains entirely by driving south and taking the freeway through Atlanta. But can you think of a more dismal way to spend valuable hours of your life? Yuck.

Rugged terrain of western North Carolina (National Geographic base map from ArcGIS online)

West Oak Bed & Breakfast, Bryson City. Very friendly owners.

A much more enjoyable way to go west is to choose one of the mountain highways that pass through the Blue Ridge. One option is to stay in Bryson City (which is becoming a foodie place) and then head southwest on US Highway 19/74. Part of the route parallels the Nantahala River, which has carved a rugged valley through the mountains. It is slow going, especially in the tourist season when rafting groups load up busses and trucks for raft adventures. You pass farms, small towns, solitary houses, and some funky stuff. This looks like bubba terrain, in stark contrast to the ambience of Asheville and even Bryson City. 

Garage, 10444 US 74, Bryson City, North Carolina (Ilford Delta 100 film, Rolleiflex 3.5E Schneider Xenotar lens, green filter)

I stopped at an old-fashioned car repair/junk store on US 74 near the Wildwater Nantahala Rafting center. His "Vote for Freedom" sign emphasized • Limited Government  • Free markets  • Fiscal responsibility. How did that work out? This poor fellow was duped and scammed big time. 

Waiting to go (Ilford Delta 100 film, Rolleiflex 3.5E, 75mm ƒ/3.5 Schneider Xenotar lens)

There is some old Detroit iron in the yard, but will any of these samples ever be restored?

I did not see the proprietor or any activity at all.

Peanut store, 14305 US 19 west of Wesser (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

Unused house, US 19/74 west of Wesser (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

Here are some examples of western North Carolina rural decay. With all the tourist traffic, I am  surprised that the peanut store was closed. 

Rowlin Creek, east of Topton (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

The Nantahala makes a sharp right angle turn and heads south, while the highway continues southwest along the Rowlin Creek. This is a fast-moving tributary that flows into the Nantahala River. Several rafting companies offer raft trips on the Rowlin. 

US 19/74 view west, Topton, North Carolina

Country store, US 19/74 at Topton Road, Topton, North Carolina (Ilford Delta 100 film)

Finally, after driving through the Nantahala National Forest, you reach the hamlet of Topton. From here heading west, the valley opens up and the hills are less rugged. This poor old country store is at the corner of US 74 and Topton Road.

Bryson City rail line (Rolleiflex 3.5E, Delta 100 film, green filter)

A railroad once ran through this valley all the way from Bryson City. I do not know when it was last used. The ties were in poor condition.

 

Fixer-upper house, 24266 US 129 (also Routes 19/74), Topton

Post Office, Topton, NC

Topton has an unusual post office clad with stone facade. I assume it is local stone. The architecture was not exactly inspiring.

This ends our very short run through the Blue Ridge Mountains. I need to return and explore some more. Western North Carolina must have plenty of interesting urban decay topics.

On the Dixie Overland Highway, Historic US 80 - Vicksburg area (MS-04)

R.H. Henry Bridge, Big Black River, Bovina, Mississippi (Fomapan 100 Classic film, Hasselblad 501CM camera, 50mm Distagon lens) 

In the previous article, I explored US 80 (formerly the Dixie Overland Highway) in west Jackson. Proceeding west, US 80 went through the town of Clinton and eventually to Vicksburg. It then crossed the Mississippi on the old Mississippi River bridge (now closed to traffic). Once Interstate 20 was built in the 1970s, part of 80 disappeared, and the route is no longer continuous west of Clinton. But from Edwards west, you can still drive on 80 as it crosses the Big Black River and cuts straight through the loess bluffs. Here are some photographs from US 80 east of Vicksburg.

Colored Motel, US 80 east of Mount Albans Road (expired Kodak Ektar 25 film, Hasselblad 501 CM camera, 50mm Distagon lens)

This is the former Colored Motel on US 80. In the 1980s, a sign above the building still showed the name, and somewhere I may have a Kodachrome slide. Regardless, the motel has been unused for 4 decades and the jungle is slowly engulfing the buildings. The pink paint on the stucco walls was rather cheerful and warranted some color frames.

Aluminum Fiberglass lady, somewhere on US 80, Vicksburg (4×5" Tri-X film, 180 ƒ/5.6 Caltar IIN lens) 

The aluminum fiberglass lady was so sweet. She was always impeccably dressed. She never objected to having her portrait taken. She was quiet. And then she went away without a word. I did not record the address in 1989 and do not know exactly where she stood, but I hope she proudly graces another home now. If any of you readers recognize her, please let me know.

UPDATE: This may be the former Miss Uniroyal, also known as the Uniroyal Gal. Amazing, she once lived in Vicksburg! Please see the last comment from a reader below. 

Oops, minor problem, US 80 (Kodak Panatomic-X film, Hasselblad 501CM camera, 50mm ƒ/4 Distagon lens, yellow filter)

Just west of Mount Albans Road, the soil under part of the roadbed washed out during the January 2020 rains (rain fell for a solid month). As of May 2020, the MSDOT highway department is in the process of purchasing land and settling contracts for the repair.

Pinewood Motel, US 80, Vicksburg (Tri-X film, 180mm ƒ/5.6 Caltar IIN lens)

A short distance west, closer to Vicksburg, was the former Pinewood Motor Court. I took pictures there over the years and wrote an article about the Pinewood in 2019. Preservation Mississippi covered the Pinewood in a 2014 article. I included a 2006 photograph to remind you what the old motel looked like. As of early 2020, all the buildings have been demolished because the site may be used for a new Warren County jail.

No more pecans here, Hwy 80, Vicksburg (Panatomic-X film, Hasselblad 501CM, 50mm ƒ/4 Distagon lens)

A long-unused steel warehouse sat on the south side of the road adjacent to the Pinewood. At one time, it may have been a car repair shop as well as a pecan shed.

The junk pile was pretty trashy. A few friends like the pickup truck perched on top of a Honda.

Some abandoned houses/trailers are in the woods south of the road. Once the foliage comes out in spring, they are hard to see.

A driveway drops down into a gully and leads off to a house somewhere. I liked the old real pickup truck.

Shed off US 80 near Anderson Road, Vicksburg (Kodak Panatomic-X film, Hasselblad 501 CM camera, 80mm ƒ/2.8 Planar-CB lens, green filter)

Once you reach the junction of 80 and MS 27, the scene becomes totally boring strip America, with gas stations and cheesy strip malls. It is un-photogenic. From here, Clay Street leads downtown, but there is no real US 80 connection to the old Mississippi River Bridge any more.

We will close with a photograph of the old Mississippi River Bridge in 1993 during construction of the Ameristar Casino. The company had to install a serious amount of geotechnical protection to reinforce the bluff and stabilize the road leading down to the casino. By 1993, the old bridge was already closed to car traffic. It may, one day, become a walk and bike trail. I wrote about 80 in east Louisiana in an earlier article (please click the link).

This ends our survey of US 80, the former Dixie Overland Highway, in Mississippi. Thank you all for riding along. Standby for more coverage of 80 in Louisiana.