The mighty Mississippi River
with its history of floods, hence the levee wall.
Huge concrete panels set in the ground to hold back the
mighty river, access behind it for boat launch area, access areas able to be
closed off with more panels when the river is threatening to rise.
Huge concrete panels provided an opportunity, a blank canvas
for a mural artist to capture the colorful history of the area. The war, the
cotton, riverboats, commerce, industry.
We learned that Vicksburg is
the first place that Coca-Cola was bottled for distribution, yes our own Atlanta is where it was created,
but only available at soda fountains.
We learned that Teddy Roosevelt came to Mississippi bear hunting and decided not to
shoot the defenseless bear. The press published pictures of Teddy's Bear and
soon toy companies were making Teddy's Bear, later called Teddy Bears.
The beautiful murals were painted by artist Robert Dafford
of Lafayette , Louisiana
