Minorville community marks its 13th Jubilee

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 17, 2004

NATCHEZ&045;&045;The smell of food and the sound of music filled the air Saturday as hundreds

gathered along Minor Street to celebrate the historically black neighborhood’s 13th annual Minorville Jubilee.

&uot;Our theme today is power through education,&uot; said Burnett Bridgewater, an organizer of the event.

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&uot;We want all of our children to take advantage of all educational opportunities,&uot; he said.

The event, which coincided with this year’s 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, started Saturday morning with a gospel hour.

&uot;It was great. The kids took part in the choir, and some sang individually,&uot; Bridgewater said.

But when temperatures soared into the mid-nineties in the afternoon, the kids were more interested in playing under a cool shower provided by the Natchez Fire Department ladder truck.

Natchez firemen Louis Videgaroy and Ryan Jones watched the fun from inside the truck at the intersection of Minor and East Oak streets.

&uot;We’ve been pumping at about 80 gallons per minute for two hours now, and it’s barely moved the gauge yet,&uot; Videgaroy said.

Meanwhile, vendors sold candied apples, fried fish, snowballs and cold beverages along the street.

And local DJ Walter Squalls

delivered a variety of sounds from hip-hop to rhythm and blues.

&uot;I’ve got it all, and I play it all. I’ll play until they tell me to stop tonight. I’ve been doing this for 42 years,&uot; Squalls said.

At the corner of Minor Street and Brenham Avenue, Delores Ivory grilled seasoned pork shish-ka-bobs.

&uot;I’ve been cooking these around Natchez since 1982. I call them binchos,&uot; Ivory said.

Ivory said she has cooked every year at the Minorville Jubilee but had planned to take this year off.

&uot;This is kind of a special request. I said I wouldn’t do it this year, but they said I would,&uot; she laughed.