photo by Marcus Frazier

Nate Jackson rest in the arms of his grandfather, David Cobb, during the fireworks show on the Natchez Bluff Friday evening.

Locals and tourists celebrate the Fourth

By Mary Hood (Contact) | The Natchez Democrat

Published Saturday, July 5, 2008

NATCHEZ — R.S. and Ora Smith had never sat by the Mississippi River, held hands and watched the sun go down and they decided to do this for their 39th anniversary — which happens to be July 4.

R.S. Smith said they didn’t plan specifically to get married on the Fourth of July.

“That was just the appropriate time,” he said.

Surrounded by a large group of their family, the couple let them forge the trail and pick out spots along the sidewalk before they came and settled in.

Carmen Yearta, one of their eight children, said the rest of the family had been out on the bluff since 6 p.m. letting their children run around and tucker themselves out.

The couple did say they enjoy the fanfare of fireworks they coincidentally get every anniversary and are glad to be celebrating their 39 years together by the river.

“Isn’t it romantic?” Yearta asked.

Locals Jay Underkofler, Buddy Duplechain and his wife, Monica, sat at the round tables set up by the Natchez Downtown Development Association outside the Country Inn and Suites waiting for the fireworks.

Duplechain said they came out to enjoy the festivities at 7 p.m.

That’s when the street was blocked off behind Bowie’s Tavern and the hotel to allow people to congregate.

Bowie’s was serving up food from the grill and selling drinks.

“We started out at Bowie’s and moved here,” Underkofler said.

What they remarked on most was the weather that had waned from very hot only a few hours ago, to a gentle summer evening backed by a refreshing breeze.

“The weather is absolutely amazing,” Duplechain said.

He commented on a cloud that looked like it had rain potential, but ended up doing nothing but act as a backdrop for the sun that dipped down into the river.

“It was a beautiful sunset,” Underkofler said.

The trio went to the fireworks show last year and said it was good, lasting about between 15 and 20 minutes.

“It’s supposed to be even better this year,” Underkofler said.

The fireworks show on the bluff proved to be a tourist attraction, too.

Scotty and Linda Greer were up from the coast and thought this weekend was the perfect time to visit Natchez.

“We wanted to see the fireworks,” Scotty Greer said.

His wife said this was a major draw.

“This was one of the attractions,” Linda Greer said.

They both said the river, the bluff, the mild temperatures and the soon to be lit fireworks served as a beautiful scenario for the evening.

“We’ve really been looking forward to this,” Linda Greer said.

Benny and Barbara Schroeder came from Hammond and enjoyed all aspects of the evening, starting with the downtown shopping with First Friday Weekends.

“We took in the Main Street shopping,” Benny Schroeder said as he ticked off the things they’ve enjoyed.

They also enjoyed a carriage ride and have been delighting in their stay at the Eola Hotel.

Seeing Natchez at its best during an organized event, they decided they couldn’t help but stay one more day.

“We were going to leave today but we said, ‘No, we didn’t see Natchez enough,’” Benny Schroeder said.