MSM 627 Jimmie W. Person - Growing Up in Port Gibson

Jimmie Person grew up in Port Gibson, Mississippi during the 1930s.  In this episode, he recalls summers on his father's plantation and the warm, nurturing environment small-town life provided the children.  Back when Person was a child, the closest hospital to Port Gibson was in Vicksburg. He remembers how doctors would make houses calls, and the childhood diseases of that time. When Person reached high school, he attended Chamberlain-Hunt Military Academy in Port Gibson. He reflects on life at the all-male school and how they hosted off-campus dances in an old ballroom. PODCAST BONUS: Person was in his freshman year at Mississippi State when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  He shares those vivid memories and discusses how he ended up as a Military Policeman at a base in England. PHOTO: MS Dept. of Archives and History