Over the weekend of the last few days of May, I was in Mississippi for the funeral of a friend of 30+ years. On the last day of my trip back there, I took part of a day and visited with our friend Jim Baker and others in Sheryl's hometown of Kennett, Missouri.
I wanted to share with you some of the things I found out, which you may be interested in. First, remember some years ago when members of this forum donated to a project called Scout's Trail in Kennett? This was a project started shortly after Scout, Sheryl's dog and close companion, passed away after an extended illness. I didn't realize the project was completed until we drove by it and Jim made a comment - I don't know if many of you realize it was completed. It's in the photo below:
This is in downtown Kennett. You can see the Sheryl Crow Aquatic Center (SCAC) on the bottom left, and the Scout's Trail area above that. Part of the reason this took some time to build was that our donations weren't enough, and they had to get state and local funding to complete it. And you know what happens when the government gets involved! Things went slow. But it is completed today and is a wonderful little park where you can walk or train your dog. Pretty cool. The Sheryl Crow Aquatic Center is an interesting story also - the main city pool was damaged beyond repair some years ago, and Sheryl helped fund a project to replace it. She was the guest of honor when it opened. Sheryl's current hometown project is funding replacement of the tennis courts at her former high school. Talk about giving back to your community!
Also in the picture is the Ely and Walker Shirt Factory. It was once a major employer in Kennett, and had its demise in the 1970's. It was used for a variety of purposes, mostly for its warehouse space. It was falling apart. The city purchased the property and with a lot of help, created a low to medium income apartment complex. And wow is it nice. They kept the flavor of the old building and each apartment has high ceilings and lots of space. It has a full security system on the entry doors and many people I talked to who are Kennett residents commented that they'd live there; it's that nice. I was greatly impressed. One thing I will say about Kennett, it's a wonderful little town.
Last, I'd like to tell you that Jim took me by the Delta Childrens Home, which many of us donate to in our annual Birthday Drive. This is a charity close to a lot of us because the folks in Kennett are quite serious about helping kids in crisis. So if these children are wards of the court, caught up in domestic problems, or are orphaned, they have somewhere nice to go. I got to see the girls home (there is a boys home also) which is under some pretty heavy renovation. Jim said that part of the reason they are able to do this is due to our continuing support. The homes are the kind of place where the children's stress is reduced. It's not institutional looking at all. Each room has a nice bed, a chest of drawers and chairs, are finished in cheery colors, and look as much like a home as possible. These children are scared enough as it is, and they find that the more home-like surroundings make a huge difference in the behavior of the children. So with our donations, this is possible. They'd say it if they could - but I will for them - thanks to you all for making this possible.
If you have any questions about this, write it here or PM me. Donations to the homes are always accepted.
Gregg.