In August of 1954, the first franchised Holiday Inn opened for business in Clarksdale, MS. George Falls, then a senior in high school, recalls the excitment and feelings of pride shared by the entire town.

After college, Falls went to work for the fledgling company. As a member of the Franchise Department, he witnessed Holiday Inns' metamorphosis from a small southern chain into an industry giant. Please enjoy the bonus material in this extended cut.

Margaret Loesch, of Pass Christian, earned her degree from The University of Southern Mississippi in political science, but it was in children's television that she made her career. Starting as a typing clerk at ABC in 1971, Loesch quickly rose through the ranks to become head of children's programmnig at NBC. She developed many classic kid's shows including The Smurfs, GI Joe, Transformers, Power Rangers, and Muppet Babies. This is the first MS Mo podcast episode that has been extended from the original broadcast length of 4 1/2 minutes. We hope you enjoy the bonus material!

Jimmy Havard played football for Southern Miss from 1958 to 1962. He recalls making the freshman cut in the summer of ’58.

 In 1961, Havard set a record for the longest punt return in Southern Miss history. He remembers that play and Roman Gabriel, the famous North Carolina State quarterback who tried to stop him.

Years later as the coach for Petal High School, Havard kept a pre-game superstition he got from Coach Vann.

During WWII, Mississippi Southern College (Southern Miss) discontinued its football program. After the war, Coach Thad “Pie” Vann combed the South looking for new players.

  Vann recalls the decision to leave the Gulf States Conference and how an undefeated season in 1958 led to national recognition.

   Vann served as head football for Southern Miss from 1947 to 1968.  He notes how the growth of the program matched the growth of the school.

   Pie Vann was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1971 and into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987.  He passed away in September 1982.

Growing up in Greenville, Deloris Franklin developed a love of the Blues at an early age.

  After college, Franklin would often go see live music. She reminisces about the best venues in Greenville and of sitting next to a young singer named Tina Turner.

  Working with the Mississippi Action for Community Education, or MACE, allowed Franklin to put her love of the Blues to good use. She remembers one project called the Blues Mobile.

   Patty Carr Black began designing exhibits for the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson in 1970.  She recalls the decision to focus on Mississippi’s cultural heritage.

   In 1974, the Smithsonian Institute asked Mississippi to be the featured state for that year’s Folk Life Festival. Black explains how that experience brought positive national attention to the state and a new pair of friends for her.

   Black details some of the Folk Life exhibits and events that have been produced by the museum and why they are important to all of us.

As a college student in North Carolina, Ann Abadie grew to love the writings of William Faulkner.  She discusses her decision to move to Faulkner’s home town of Oxford.

Visitors to Oxford frequently requested tours of Faulkner’s home and other sites of interest.  Abadie explains how this led to the first William Faulkner Conference in 1974.

That first conference was planned as an intimate gathering of a few Faulkner faithful.  Abadie says that no one expected such a huge response or that it would become an annual event.