Who Was Jim Livesay

Millsaps has been giving out the Jim Livesay Award for over twenty-five years now.  It occurred to me that there probably are a lot of recipients who never knew Jim.  This is an article about him from the May 22, 1980 Clarion Ledger. 

 Leader of new South growth group is ardent believer in democracy
By MARTIN A. RUSSELL FOCUS Writer 

No one can accuse Jim Livesay of not practicing what he preaches. Following his philosophy, that "democracy either stands or falls on the participation of citizens in their community and governmental affairs," has led him into more community service positions than most of us knew existed. He has fathered, nurtured or presided over about 20 organizations in the Jackson area and is currently organizing an advocacy group for residents of the southwest part of the city to be known as Citizens Southwest. Born in Virginia, Livesay came to Jackson as a youngster in 1949.

He was raised in southwest Jackson near Barr Elementary School and blames the closeness of the school for his present chronic tardiness. "I could just fall over the fence when the bell rang," he says. His tardiness can be excused, however, when one realizes the amount of time he spends working for the community. In the past, he has served as president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, Fondren Civitan Club, Millsaps College Alumni Association, Southwestern Industrial Editors Association, Jackson Council for Parent-Teacher Associations, Jacksonians for Public Education and two area school PTA groups. He also served on the board of directors for Haven Hall, a school for the handicapped; the Family Blood Assurance Program and the Capitol Street United Methodist Church.

In addition, he was vice commissioner of a Little League baseball program, vice president of the Jackson Parents League and served on the advisory board of the Hinds County Youth Court. But the advocacy groups are what interest him most. They provide a means for carrying out his philosophy of involvement which he says stems from his appreciation of and pride in Jackson. "We must accept the burdens and responibilities of citizenship if we are to enjoy the privilages of citizenship," he said. He sees the formation of Citizens Southwest as a means for dealing with those burdens in his attempt to insure attractive and orderly development of Southwest Jackson.

But he is not confining his efforts to that area. "I want to see the entire city develop as it should, in that same attractive, orderly manner. But we're concerned first and foremost with that area of the city in which we live," he said referring to South Jackson. Livesay and his wife, the former Mary Lee Busby of Meridian, have two sons, Jeff, a Colorado college instructor, and Gene, who is attending law school at night while working for a Jackson law firm. They have lived at 1038 Garden Park Drive for the past 19 years.

He presently serves as director of the office for institutional advancement at Millsaps College. "Millsaps has played an important part in my life," he said. He earned his undergraduate degree there and was chosen alumnus of the year in 1950. Although he admits he does not have much free time, he says he likes to spend it in walking in the woods. democracy  "I'm not much of a hunter or fisher-where the creek goes or what's over the next hill." He also enjoys researching his family history, having being chosen naional president of the Livesay Historical Society. But his community work is what he takes pride in, and he sees his job as just beginning. "We're going to continue to see tremendous growth in Jackson as a result of its sunbelt location," he said.

"With that growth is going to come blessings and problems. Uncontrolled growth can create less than desirable situations such as slums. Human inertia and apathy will cause these problems to grow unless someone gets them moving in the right direction." And Jim Livesay will continue to be one of those forces which prods man," he said. "I just like to see people into action. Jim Livesay will continue to be one of those forces that prods men into action.  

VooDoo Horticulture

I used to spend time with this lady from New Orleans, whom everyone called VooDoo.  I should have taken that as a warning, but I didn't.  Besides her brown eyes and her magical elven voice, my main purpose for keeping her around was that she was a professional horticulturalist and could identify any plant or tree I pointed to.  I tested her skills quite often.  She might have just been making up names for plants, but I believe she was pretty earnest and most likely very accurate.

She eventually discovered my ulterior motive (or she got a better offer) and invited me to no longer spend afternoons and evenings with her.  That left me with no way to identify plants and trees afield, but it left me with a desire to know what they were.  

For many years, I gave up on my quest and wistfully lamented losing my infinite font of knowledge about plants.  Then, the latest generation of smartphones came out, and a friend told me about an application called "Picture This" that could identify any plant and give you care guidelines for it.  For about six dollars, I could once again know the name of any plant I looked at without having to worry about the capricious nature of brown-eyed girls from New Orleans or anyone who even their dearest friends called VooDoo.

 

Whale Discovered in Reservoir

Reprinted from Clarion Ledger
Jackson MS April 19, 1962

Ancient Bones Give View Of Past To Digging Crew 

Workers digging at the Pearl River Reservoir took a journey through time Wednesday when St-feet of fossil bones, described as everything from dinosaur to whale vertebrae were uncovered by earth-moving machinery. The bones were discovered between 8 and 9 a.m., when a piece of machinery lifted the top dirt off of the fossil. Shovels were then used to avoid damage, and the area was roped off. Digging continued in hopes of finding the head of the fossil but as yet it has not been discovered. Plans were being made to place loose dirt or boards over the bones to keep them in good condition until a geologist can examine them.

Dr. R. R. Piddy, geologist at Millsaps has been contacted and will study the bones Thursday morning, according to workmen. Workmen on the scene were mildly excited over the find, with much speculation as to what it was, but said in their type of work, they are constantly watching for remains of prehistoric animals. A guard at the Reservoir, Carey Alridge, viewing the fossil, neatly summed up the situation by saying, "Preached to me all my life that our ancestors had more back bone than we do looks like that might be right.

PEARL RIVER RESERVOIR

Geologists Identify Fossils As Back Of Ancient Whale (Earlier Story On Page 2A)
By VAN SAVELL Associated Press Staff Writer

Geologists identified a series of fossilized bones found on the Pearl River Reservoir construction site Wednesday as the back vertebrae of a 40-million-year-old "Basilosaurus" or whale. "The find is not uncommon," said William H. Moore, a member of the Mississippi Geological Survey team. "But, the condition is peculiar with its vertebrae almost completely intact." Moort described the ancient whale a member of the "Zeugledon" family as nearly Identical to the present-day giant ocean mammal, except for its sharp head. A bulldozer operator unearthed the unfamiliar charcoal object about 9 a.m.

Wednesday. Ross Grimes of Carthage, crew supervisor, stopped work completely when he realized what had been uncovered. , The geology team described the whale as about 35 feet long with weight between eight and 10 tons. Vertebrae sections near the real end of the fossil were 17 inches in length and about 40 inches in circumference. A white bone described as part of a rib was 22 inches long and broken on both ends.

After lengthy investigations, Moore told the Associated Press the whale "apparently sank to  the bottom of the sea and turned over on its back. "You see, the vertebrae is upside down and the rib cage points skyward." He described the peculiarities of the find, apparently rare elsewhere but common in the "Yazoo Clay" found in the area.

"The animal is almost completely intact, and with patient work, we might uncover it in the same condition," Moore said. "Apparently, the ground conditions caused the bones to turn to charcoal instead of the normal lime, causing the hardness of the object." Moore said a conference with Survey Commission officials would reveal whether attempts would be made by Mississippi to preserve the whale. "If we don't have the money," he said, "then we'll have to turn to some college geology department for the work." The fossils were found about eight feet underground and scattered over a 60-foot area, except for the 35-foot long connected vertebrae section..

Fossil On Display Ms Museum of Natural History

St Andrews Teacher Attends Symposium

South's enduring past intrigues teacher
By NELL LITTER FOCUS Staff Writer 
Clarion Ledger June 15, 1983

Steve Anspach is a Northerner charmed by the South. 

Come June 25 Anspach, a resident of Florence and an English teacher at St Andrew's Episcopal School, will turn the pages of literature to learn more about the region he loves. "There's something about how the past endures in us that intrigues me," he said. "Books at least give partial answers." "For me, it's not a love of books but a love of place. It's the books that help me understand the place." Anspach will hopefully unravel some of the mystery during a Southern writers seminar at Louisiana State University that is being sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

He is among 15 high-school teachers selected from 300 applicants nationwide to attend the conference. Lewis Simpson, an authority on Southern literature and professor at LSU, is scheduled to teach the group. During the five-week course, the group will study novels by literary giants such as William Faulkner, Robert Penn Warren, and Walter Percy and visit several related literary sites. Because "The Moviegoer," a novel by Percy, is set in New Orleans, Anspach said the class would probably see the city's sights. Also, a trip to Oxford, to visit Rowan Oak, the home of Faulkner, is a second possibility for a literary field trip.

Anspach applied for the summer classes in January after his wife, a student at Mississippi College School of Law, received a brochure listing various topics of study offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities. He was tempted to learn more about Chaucer, which he also teaches, but instead chose to apply for the Southern writers course. He outlined his reasons for wanting to attend the seminar in a short one-page essay tacked onto his application. "I said I was a Northerner, and that I'd had fascination with the South ever since I'd been in the army in Fort Jackson, S.C." His wife felt the essay was too short, but Anspach disagreed. "I felt right when I wrote my essay.

I felt like I said what I wanted in a convincing way." Two months later, Anspach's instincts proved correct and he received an acceptance letter and course outline. Of the novels to be studied, there are two he is reviewing "Absalom, Absalom!" by Faulkner and "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" by 'For me, it's not a love of books but a love of place. It's the books that help me understand the place.' Steve Anspach Ernest Gaines. Anspach hopes the conference will boost his self-confidence about teaching Southern literature. He also hopes to become more familiar with the works of Faulkner, a novelist whom he finds difficult to read.

The class will be a far cry from all play and no work. Each participant is required to complete a 3,000-word essay during the course. Anspach and his wife, Judy, came south in 1978 when they moved to Florence from Cleveland, Ohio. He was scheduled to work on a doctorate degree at a Mississippi school but instead accepted a job at SL Andrew's. Since 1979, he has taught tenth graders literature of the world, and seniors, American literature.

Anspach received a bachelor's degree in psychology and English from Kent State University and a master's degree from West Virginia University. He and his wife, Judy, are parents of one son, Erich, 19, a sophomore at Washington and Lee University.