For eight decades the Bay-Waveland Garden Club organization has rolled up their sleeves and worked to help educate and beautify their communities. 
- story by Denise Jacobs

“A lot of people have a misconception about garden clubs, but we really are an educational organization,” says Lana Noonan, secretary and publicity chair. “We have speakers once a month on an educational topic, from one end of the spectrum to another. 

“We also roll up our sleeves up and work.”

If it blossoms, buzzes, or breathes, it likely falls under the floral parasol of the Garden Club’s mission, which is to advance gardening of all sorts, including backyard and youth gardens, to further city beautification and the conservation of air, water, and soil quality, and the protection of native trees, shrubs, pollinators, and birds. 

Under this broad mission statement, being a member can be as simple as putting something in your backyard that provides shelter—a tree, a bird house, bird bath, or bird seed. “Our members do just that,” says Noonan. “We roll up our sleeves and work.” 

While Garden Club members can and do happily work alone, they also play well with others. The club has partnered with a bevy of organizations, from the Bay St. Louis Rotary Club to the Hancock County Historical Society (in collaborative efforts to save, document, and register aged oak trees).

The members of the Bay/Waveland Garden Club take their efforts beyond the borders of the traditional flower or vegetable plot. Historically, the club’s projects have included home and garden tours; the annual Gulf Coast Spring Pilgrimage; anti-litter campaigns; a Christmas lighting decoration contest; an annual Spring Flower Show; and Arbor Day with the planting of trees at local schools, libraries, hospitals, Stennis Airport, and the Bay/Waveland Yacht Club, among others.  

The club’s work to encourage the gardeners of tomorrow has included presentations and projects at local schools—public and private—the Boys and Girls Club, and a clean-up collaboration with local Boy Scouts.

In the 70s and 80s, Mrs. John Holmes led Girl Scout Troop #27 to win the Gulf Pines Council Certificate - twice.  In 1972, the Bay/Waveland Garden Club won the National Helen Hussey Champlin Award for outstanding service in promotion of gardening among youth.

A document commemorating the first 50 years of the Bay/Waveland Garden Club on the website of the Hancock County Historical Society identifies the organization of the Garden Club Youth Group in 1964 as “the project with the most heart.”

Mrs. Rene deMontluzin organized the first youth group with 31 girls.  It was followed by the OLG Busy Bees and Lazy Daisies, the Sunshine Gardeners, and the St. Joseph’s Academy Red Birds.

A glance at the headings of Sea Coast Echo coverage of the Bay/Waveland Garden Club tells the larger story: 

• Organization of Bay-Waveland Garden Club of Civic Interest
• Nearly 500 Visitors Tour City’s Homes and Gardens in Annual Gulf Coast Spring Pilgrimage
• National Convention Hostesses
• Bay-Waveland Garden Club Teams with Hancock Libraries
• Bay-Waveland Garden Club Donates to Community Garden
• Ready for Pilgrimage: Scouts Lead in Clean-up
• Bay-Waveland Garden Club Meets to Discuss Pageant Week Plans
• Bay-Waveland Club Wins National Award
• Bay-Rotary Club Announces 3 New Working Committees

As is apparent, even as the Bay/Waveland Garden Club turns 80, it wears work gloves as easily as white gloves.

Might you like to join?  The club welcomes seasoned gardeners and novices alike.  The meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month from September through May at the Old Town Presbyterian Church in Bay St. Louis.  A "Coffee Social" begins at 9:30 a.m., and the meeting is at 10:00 a.m.  Meetings are open to the public, and guests are always welcome.  You just have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and work!

Two young creatives are putting Bay St. Louis on the map for software development with a video game they're crafting:  StageMechanic.
- story by Lisa Monti

Two other games are in development, and Niolet and Irkalla are getting a hand from a small group of volunteers. “While Catherine and I are the main contributors to our projects, we absolutely depend on, and thank, our volunteers,” Niolet said.

Others are welcome to join in the game-developing venture which operates on a not-for-profit model. “We are extremely open to people who want to get involved, and we don’t care about their background. We’re trying to design projects for people with no experience but have a desire to learn,” Niolet said.

Recently, You’re Perfect Studio took part in a contest hosted by Game Jolt to develop an entire game in only a week. Their entry – Just for the Halibut! – is an arcade-style fishing game. In only a week they developed all the graphics, music, programming, and even AI.

Just for the Halibut! and the StageMechanic games are being developed using an open-source software model, which allows anyone to make changes to the game and build off it. “You can get under the hood and see how it works and modify it,” Niolet said.

She said the You’re Perfect Studio’s open-source games are family friendly, completely free, and do not contain ads or data collection, but users have the option of supporting further development through a pay-what-you-want model on their Game Jolt page or by subscribing to You’re Perfect Studio on Patreon.

Niolet is also in the process of developing two projects based on ancient Sumerian mythology and culture. One is an HD action/maze-navigation game that allows players to choose non-violent gameplay options and is being developed in conjunction with Sumerian language, architecture, and cultural experts, she said.

The other is being developed as a free course to be held at the Bay St. Louis Public Library. “The course will center on a 5,000-year-old Sumerian board game known as The Royal Game of Ur and will target more mature learners interested in  how modern technology can be used to preserve history using the library’s recently acquired 3D printer,” she said.

Niolet probably didn’t realize it at the time but her own career path was set early. “When I was really young - maybe 5 or 6 - my uncle started teaching me software development,” she said.

Niolet eventually settled in Houston, managing the U.S. operations of a Swedish software company, but the high pressure job took a toll. “I was traveling constantly and never home,” she said. “I got burned out and just wanted to wash dishes for a living.”

After a couple years working in local restaurants including the Mockingbird Café, she said she slowly regained the desire to enter the software industry, leading her to start working on games in her spare time and then founding You’re Perfect Studio.
 
Niolet still uses her restaurant experience, volunteering weekly at Starfish Cafe where she can “absorb” the non-profit’s emphasis on community involvement. The restaurant teaches students work and life skills, volunteers help with the operation and its customers pay what they want to support the Starfish Cafe mission.

“I’m hoping to bring some of their values of community, education, and pay-what-you-want to video game development,” she said.

Niolet looks at her new gaming venture not as a business quite yet but more like a partnership with volunteers. The grassroots approach and an open attitude means that age and experience aren’t factors. “My 7-year-old nephew is one of my testers,” she said.

Niolet said she and Irkalla are exploring the potential benefits of incorporating as a non-profit, allowing them to formalize their commitment to community involvement and education.

“I’m trying to do something different, not just trying to make a bunch of money,” she said.

Learn more about You’re Perfect Studio and help support their community involvement:
https://www.patreon.com/youreperfect

Download and follow the progress of You’re Perfect Studio games:
https://gamejolt.com/@YourePerfect

A historic cottage in Waveland is filled with family stories of the past - and home to a couple who is generating new ones.
- story and photos by Ellis Anderson

A striking photo of six young women graces the wall of a raised red cottage in Waveland.  It’s easy to guess they’re sisters, even if they weren’t wearing similar white dresses.  The full long flounces of skirts hiding the feet of the three in front.  Their long hair is arranged according to the custom of the early 1900s, back and up.  The style frames their lovely faces, all with Mona Lisa smiles.

If one looks closer, they'll see that the girl in the  lower right has a flash of mischief in her eyes.  Like she might shuck both decorum and shoes, then run barefoot down a pier in Bay St. Louis.  

Which she did.  A young man, visiting the coast from New Orleans actually witnessed this lively escapade.  The smile on Ada Richardson’s face and the tantalizing view of her ankles captivated the heart of Alfred Page.

But the couple have done their own share of adding to the home’s repertoire of interesting stories.  Like marrying on the front porch in the tailwind of a hurricane.
 
LiLi met Donald in 2010, two years after her husband George passed away.  They struck up a conversation in a coffeehouse line and he treated her to a cup of coffee.
 
“You meet quality people in Starbuck’s,” says LiLi.
 
“Well, I’m a big spender,” says Donald, smiling.  “A cup of coffee at Starbuck’s isn’t cheap.” 
 
Donald is a retired government contractor and petroleum reserve consultant.  He had moved to Slidell from New Orleans to be closer to family.  But as Donald fell in love with LiLi, he also fell for Waveland. 

LiLi’s connection to Waveland went back several generations.  Although she grew up in New Orleans, graduating from Magee school and then Newcomb College, she had spent a large part of her idyllic childhood at her family’s vacation home on Jeff Davis. 
 
After retirement, she and George had moved full-time to that home, “the Green House.”  In 1993, Lili and George also purchased the small red cottage next door that had belonged to one of LiLi’s aunts.  It had been vacant and boarded up for years.  The Stahlers renovated, put in a pool and used it as a guest house.  
 
After George’s passing, Lili decided to downsize and move into the red cottage.  However 750 square feet was too small for entertaining guests.  So she went to work planning a new addition – one that would echo the character of the historic cottage. “It’s just like the original part of the house - very plain with no moldings and no fanciness,” says LiLi. 
 
According to family history, the red cottage had been built in the countryside around Kiln.  It had been moved to Waveland in 1938 – surely a feat at the time.  While no one in the family recalled the exact origin of the cottage, the patchwork style of the woodwork suggested that a worker in the lumber mills had built it from scraps. 

The cottage was placed up on piers at its new location, becoming the only raised house north of the tracks in Waveland.  The family couldn’t have known that the elevation would keep the house from flooding 65 years later during Katrina’s unprecedented storm surge.
 
LiLi’s new addition doubled the square footage.  It included a bedroom, a bath and closet, a laundry room and a living area.  The kitchen of the original cottage – which had been an add-on – was revamped in the process. 
 
The only entrance to the red cottage had been from the back door, so the front of the house underwent a makeover too.  The front sleeping porch was mirrored on the new addition and a staircase added between the two in the middle. 

When the addition was complete in 2009, George’s daughter Liz and her family moved into the larger green house. LiLi moved next door into the red raised cottage to begin her “quiet widow’s life.”
 
Donald changed all that.  

As their relationship flourished, Donald found himself embraced by the coast community.  And LiLi didn’t want to leave Waveland.  She was serving her first term as an alderman, working ferociously for community recovery after Katrina. Donald, who had no emotional ties to Slidell, made plans to move. 
 
LiLi was 72 and Donald was 78 when the couple decided to marry in 2012. During Hurricane Gustav.  After a bit of investigation, the pair discovered that the president of the Hancock Board of Supervisors could perform the ceremony and contacted the current board president, Lisa Cowand. 

The wedding was delayed a bit because Cowand was tied up in emergency management meetings with FEMA, but she arrived on Labor Day afternoon in a white suit, picking her way through storm debris bearing a dozen red roses.  Donald and LiLi , dressed “in all our finery,” were married on the front steps of the red cottage. 

 Walking into the cottage, one faces the kitchen, running across the back of the house.  The dining room flanks it on one side, the living room on the other.  Family heirlooms mix easily with comfortable contemporary furniture.  The often whimsical artwork plays off the family antiques. 

There’s a story behind every item in the house.  LiLi knows them all. 
 
The bust of the Greek goddess Psyche on the mantle brings to mind the fact that as a child, LiLi and her grandmother used to wash the statue’s hair on occasion instead of just dusting it.  Dining chairs from her grandparents house were built in the mid-1800s by the famous French Quarter craftsman, Francois Seignouret. Each chair has subtle differences that LiLi can point out.

There’s the stately grandfather clock by the front door that graced the dining room of LiLi’s grandparents when she was a young child.
 
“It was made in 1792 by the Boston clockmaker W. Cummings,” LiLi says.  “He made it especially for my grandfather’s grandfather, Ephraim Marsh.”

LiLi opens a drawer in an antique secretary and pulls out memorabilia belonging to her mother, including a detailed list of wedding gifts they received so she would be able to write proper thank-you notes. 

But Donald’s had a hand in shaping the house as well.  The couple have continued working on the cottage together, with the help of contractor Joe Besancon.  For instance, it was Donald’s idea to glass in both screened porches on the front to make two bright interior spaces that are comfortable year around.  On one side is a reading room and its twin on the other is a breakfast area. 
 
“We call them the reading porch and the eating porch.  Those are our two main pursuits,” quips LiLi.  “The rest of the house could blow up, because we spend most of our time there.” 

The back deck was also added with Donald’s influence.  The small porch off the kitchen was too small for his grill.  And LiLi says her husband’s grilled chicken was one of the reasons she married him.
 
Both the kitchen and deck overlook an enormous screened lanai and pool, nested in a beautifully landscaped yard, that melts into woods. 

The pool is active almost every morning with a group of friends who meet for water aerobics:  the Swimmin’ Women.  It’s a very diverse group, except in age – the youngest is 65.  
 
Donald does his water aerobics before the women arrive.
 
“It’s very clear I have no business down there then,” he says.  “I do make sure the pool is clean for them.”
 
“We call him the pool boy,” LiLi says, smiling.
 
“I get no respect,” Donald says. 

But the Swimmin’ Women is more than an exercise group.  The sisterhood that’s evolved supports each other in crisis – like when LiLi was battling cancer in 2017.
 
“There were a lot of challenges last year, including losing my hair – the vanity of women,” says LiLi.  “But now I have hair again and it’s made us appreciate life even more.”   

Walking around the house with LiLi and Donald, one can almost glimpse the future. The trees in the olive grove they planted last year will be mature and full, the boughs of the live oak will be thick and dipping toward the ground.
 
Perhaps a young girl will listen to family stories by the edge of the pool.  She’ll laugh at the tales of the grandfather’s clock and Psyche’s shampoos and the Richardson sisters.  She’ll dangle her feet into the water and ask how a man could fall in love after seeing only an ankle.
 
And there will follow more stories that she’ll carry forward into her own future:  those of the Swimmin’ Women’s club, of the Starbuck’s romance, and the hurricane marriage on the porch of the red raised cottage in Waveland. 

While dealing with a serious illness, writer Scott Naugle finds his path to recovery leads down a garden path.

Mid-March, I pushed the wheelbarrow, gripping it as my makeshift walker, slowly and falteringly struggling toward the botanical patient. A few weeks out of my second surgery within two months, withered and lame, I was intent on defying the surgeon’s orders to remain in bed.   
​

From my earliest memory, gardening has always been therapy, my green recovery room, where I locate a peaceful respite, sweating the tension away with the swing of a scythe, lopping back the Hedera covering and obscuring the earth as well as ensnarling my disposition. Eschewing traditional physical therapy, I was determined to regain strength under the warming sun surrounded by azaleas, caladiums, and elephant ears.

Gardening is an experience appreciated by many whether digging in the dirt, planning the plantings, or exchanging notes about foliage follies.

In “Onward and Upward in the Garden,” a collection of Katherine White’s garden columns for “The New Yorker” magazine, husband E.B. White, author of the children’s classics “Charlotte’s Web” and “Stuart Little,” wrote of his wife’s respect for the hard labor of planting and weeding:
​
“She refused to dress down to a garden: she moved in elegantly and walked among her flowers as she walked among her friends – nicely dressed, perfectly poised. If when she arrived back indoors the Ferragamos were encased in mud, she kicked them off.”

Katherine White’s essays both criticize and applaud seed catalogs. She notes that the horticulturists and hybridizers who assemble the annual seed catalogs are “individualistic – as any Faulkner or Hemingway, and they can be just as frustrating and rewarding.”    

White highlights Atlee Burpee and Joseph Harris for what the seedsmen are doing to zinnias in their catalogs. She aims a critical thorn at Burpee for “devot[ing] its inside front cover to full-color pictures of its Giant Hybrid Zinnias, which look exactly like great, shaggy chrysanthemums. Now, I like chrysanthemums, but why should zinnias be made to look like them?” White is in a snit and having none of this genetic tinkering. I imagine she may have removed a Ferragamo and tossed it across the room. Duck, E.B.

I lowered myself to the ground at garden’s edge close enough to the Hydrangea so that I could clip and debulk the detritus with a surgeon’s precision, preserving anything green showing signs of healthy regrowth. The coarse cool sandy soil gently scraping against my knees, after weeks of starched white sheets and bleached hospital gowns, sent a rush of warming bliss through my body. I was in touch with the earth again.
​
In the collected letters between two gardening friends, “Two Gardeners: A Friendship in Letters,” Katherine White and Elizabeth Lawrence share their lives, illnesses and births, within letters framed by the latest bulb discovery or the best positioning for a cyclamen in the sun. An inquiry from one correspondent to the other may begin with, “My next question is to ask whether you happen to know the title of any recent books on flower arrangement?”

Lawrence and White are a smidge high-minded for me, graciously formal and exacting, while writing to the other on gardening. I’ve never been able to pronounce the botanically accurate names of plants that both toss about effortlessly – Cluisiana, Marjolettii, acuminata, and Oxalis bowiei. Either my tongue is too heavy or I have a mental block in verbalizing words that sound foreign for something simple and natural, a tulip bulb, or I possibly cannot conceptualize of the odd alignment of consonants and vowels.

Pseudomyxoma Peritonei is my cancer. I cannot pronounce it either.

Henry Mitchell, writing in “One Man’s Garden,” approaches the garden with much of the same jovial, yet no nonsense approach as I, “If tender folk go to pieces for fear a plant may be hurt (even before it is hurt, and it usually isn’t) then how do they cope with the death of dog or person? We are not born to a bonbon-type life, you know.” 

Mitchell was the longtime garden columnist for “The Washington Post.” His humorous articles focus on planting and growing in small spaces, the two hundred and three hundred square feet patches serving as beds, behind Capitol Hill and Georgetown brownstones.

On my hands and knees, moving slowly and gingerly, I aerate the soil surrounding the Hydrangea. The wooden handle of the small hoe is worn smooth from years of gripping, weeding, rejuvenating with it. I lay on a heavy dose of fertilizer while feeling the healing sun for the first time in months. For a moment, it is silent and still. There’s no gulf breeze.
​
I know to my core that if the Hydrangea can recover, then so too will I.         

In today's convoluted and rapidly changing tax world, it's critical to have an accountant who keeps up with the new laws.  But having one who can actually explain how the regulations affect you - in plain English - is even better. 
- story by Ellis Anderson 

​That’s the reason one of the firm’s core offerings now is small business advisory services.  If someone is starting up a new enterprise, they can make an appointment with Rigby.  During the session, they’ll discuss what type of entity to form (corporation? sole proprietorship? LLC?), decide which bookkeeping method to use, even talk about marketing strategies.  The firm can then prepare most – if not all – of the required paperwork for the entrepreneur. 
 
When a small business owner is ready to expand, Rigby can analyze and assess partnerships, legal issues and tax consequences. 
 
Small businesses can also look to the firm for Quickbooks assistance and support.
 
“The Quickbooks software has become the dominant program for bookkeeping, yet small businesses, even individuals, often need our help,” Rigby says.  “They might come to us with a one-time problem.  Or they might sign up for monthly or quarterly services.”

​Rigby notes that Quickbooks is a bookkeeping program only.  There’s a big difference between bookkeeping and accounting. Accounting is the necessary review and adjustment of your books for income tax preparation.
 
“We can teach clients to do their own bookkeeping, but we can’t teach them to do their own accounting,” says Rigby.  
 
In the past year, major changes in the tax laws have kept Rigby and his staff studying and reviewing the laws.  In the most recent tax season, he took extra time with clients who might be impacted by the new laws.  In the meeting where he delivered their returns, he discussed in detail how the new tax laws would affect their taxes going forward.  In most cases, he even worked up a projection of how their return would have looked under the new laws. 
 
Rigby asserts that the new tax law hasn’t changed much for the typical taxpayer.  The changes result in smaller savings than many expected.  In some cases, people will actually pay more.
 
For example, many entertainment expenses are no longer deductible under the new laws.  Rigby felt this single change alone would affect numerous clients, so he wrote a short article about it to post on his website blog.   He writes understandable takes on accounting and tax topics – short reads that deliver need-to-know information.  

​Rigby also offers individual financial advice, although he stresses that he’s not an investment advisor.
 
“But I’m here to listen and consult with clients about their particular financial situation, including retirement planning,” he says.  “I’m happy to help them consider different aspects they hadn’t thought of and become more confident in their financial decisions.”
 
As an example, Rigby says someone may have inherited a piece of rental property. “I’ll ask them to consider whether they want to be a property manager or a landlord.  Some people hate it and others don’t mind it at all.  I can offer insights based on my experience dealing with so many people and situations through the years.” 
 
Another core service is specialized auditing – something most small-town firms don’t offer. The CPA explains that these type of audits are called Financial Statements and Compliance audits.  All government entities (think libraries, senior citizens programs, water and sewer, etc.) are required by law to have an annual audit provided by an independent firm.  Non-profit organizations are required to have them too, although only some are audited annually.
 

“Auditing is a very specialized area and requires extended continuing education to  be able to provide these services,” Rigby says.  He’s also extremely knowledgable about non-profit organizations and routinely advises them on a pro-bono basis.  
 
Tax preparation, of course, is another major arm of the accounting firm, and Rigby has worked hard to systemize the process over the years, so customers know exactly what information they need to provide and how much they’ll be paying for the preparation – up front. 
 
Last year during tax season, Rigby opened a second office in Diamondhead.  The response was so promising, now the office is open throughout the year.  Gerald Rigby is collaborating with his brother, Quinn Rigby – who’s a CPA in Gulfport - to keep the office staffed full time. 

​The Diamondhead office offers the same full range of services as the Bay location and clients there can also meet with  Gerald to take full advantage of his financial expertise – and communications skills. 
 
“Explaining complex financial issues that clients wouldn’t normally understand is an ability that takes time to develop,” Rigby says.  “I enjoy the process - and the interaction I have with clients.

"And you have to enjoy something if you’re going to be good at it.” 

DIY Diva Holly Lemoine-Raymond gives step-by-step instructions for a weekend project that's easy - as well as uplifting! 

• Circular Saw
• Drill with a Spade Bit to drill holes approximately 6/8 of an inch in diameter
• Nails
• Hammer
• Measuring Tape
• Pencil or Marker
• Rope (Any old rope will due but I used “braided manila rope” aka “hemp rope”)
• 2x8 piece of wood. (mine is 4 feet, small enough for a child but comfortable enough for an adult…)
• 1 Fireman to climb in the tree to secure the rope and tie your knots… (Thanks John Glidden!)
• Electrical Tape 

​Cut two equal lengths of rope. The height of the limb will determine the length of the rope. You’ll want to make sure the seat hangs at least 20 inches from the ground and you have enough rope to wrap the rope around the limb two or three times. Manila rope is super durable. 

Measure and cut the seat. I used a 2x8 piece of recycled wood. I cut it at 4 feet, small enough for a child yet comfortable enough for an adult. Don't forget, measure twice and cut once. 

Once the seat has been cut, you will need to decide where your rope holes will go. Holes should be evenly spaced at each corner. I drilled the holes for my swing about 1/2 inch in. ​

​Using a drill with the Spade Bit drill four holes in the corners of the seat. The holes need to be big enough to put the rope through. 

​Wrap the ends of the rope to keep them from fraying. (You can also burn the ends but why play with fire when there are other ways to make it work?) Poke the ends of the rope  through the holes in the seat. 

​Tie the ends of the rope into an “Ashley Stopper Knot”. This knot is a bit complicated for me to explain. I had a great friend and fireman who was kind enough to lend his services to not only climbing the tree to wrap the rope around the limb, but to also tie the knots… (Thanks John Glidden!)

​Now swing! My model is my beautiful niece Kennedy Aaron. 

​Thank you all for stopping by to read my DIY, Beautiful Things. I hope this quick tree swing project brings you years of enjoyment!

Shoofly Magazine publisher Ellis Anderson looks back to the first Cruisin' the Coast event in 1996 - and her introduction to the Pat Murphy Band. 
- story and photos by Ellis Anderson 

Patricia Urreta took on Maggie as a foster, but the 10-year-old basset hound mix found her way back to Patricia's home and into her heart. 
- story by Denise Jacobs

Speculation turned to observation when Maggie, about ten years old, came to the Hancock Animal Shelter as a Bayside stray and to Ms. Urreta as a foster. Maggs—or Miss Maggs, as Urreta affectionately refers to her, is Urreta’s sixth and longest-staying foster.

During the foster phase, Maggie was once adopted out, but as Urreta explains, “She did not get along with the adoptive family’s other dog. It just didn’t work out, so poor Maggie had to come back. I continued to foster her, and it went on and on and on.” 

As many of us do after losing a beloved family pet, Ms. Urreta decided she would not own another dog.  “When my Jack Russell died, I said, ‘I just can’t do this again,’ but I just felt so bad for Maggie that I gave in.”

​And that’s how, in January of 2018, Maggie, with her Basset Hound body and Labrador face, found her forever home. Urreta has no regrets.  “Maggie loves people,” she says, “and she has been ‘the best dog ever.’ ” ​

Still, despite the mutual adoration, Maggie’s predisposition to chicanery is more effective than a crossword puzzle at firing Ms. Urreta’s neurons.  Urreta points to a sturdy but small steel trash bin with one of those pedals you must step on to open. Urreta explains that when she left the apartment earlier, the bin was where it belonged and, when she returned, in another place entirely. The trash can was not opened or pilfered; it had simply been moved, as if Maggie had her own ideas about home decorating.

​“Now, you tell me how she did that—because I don’t know!” 
​
Ms. Urreta has also discovered that, despite arthritis in the legs, Maggie is somehow able to reach the middle shelf of the kitchen tea trolley. In the adoptive process, the learning curve can be steep for both humans and animals, but Miss Patricia is a pro, and she solved this dilemma easily with a bit of rearranging. Edibles no longer sit on the trolley’s middle shelf.  Adoptive or not, as most dog owners learn sooner rather than later, to train a dog is to train the human. 

To have a successful relationship with a shelter animal, it can be helpful to remember that no dog is perfect from the get-go. It’s important to give a new pet time to learn the household rules of conduct.  Urreta advises patience.

She says, “Animals need time to build trust. Shelter dogs have sometimes been in a shelter for weeks and are traumatized.  They will have accidents.” Then, sadly, “Adopted dogs are sometimes too quickly returned to the shelter.” 

On the topic of shelters, Patricia Urreta praises Denise Hines, her daughter and volunteer with Friends of the Animal Shelter, a non-profit organization that supports the Hancock County animal shelter. 

​“Denise does an amazing job,” Urreta says. “She has helped so many dogs get adopted. She knows all these dogs. She writes about them and posts about them on Facebook.”

As for adopting an older dog vs. a younger dog, Ms. Urreta finds it rewarding to give love and comfort to an older animal that others might pass by.

“Besides,” she observes, “Maggie is my speed. She moves at my pace.  We both dislike the heat, and neither one of us wants to stay outside very long.”  More importantly, “It’s a blessing to be able to give older dogs comfort.”

And no photo album is required to see the love written on Patricia Urreta’s face as she sits on the steps looking down at her precious Miss Maggs.  It is, perhaps, the look of one who, while giving comfort, has found a measure of the same. No album required. ​

If you know a Hancock Shelter adoptee who would make a great Shelter Star, please let us know!  Email basic info and owner's contact info to:  editor@bslshoofly.com 

The dogs below are available at the Hancock County Animal Shelter as of September 16, 2018.  Call the shelter at (228) 466-4516 for availability.  Check out the Facebook page of the Hancock County Animal Shelter for latest adoptables! 

NUFAN is one of the sweetest, most content dogs you'll ever meet! ?This 1 yr old Border Collie/American Pit bull Terrier mix thrives on the affection of children, other dogs, and even cats! ? Nufan never meets a stranger! Lol! He's a sucker for a tummy rub, and will go belly up if he thinks you'll oblige him. He's also a fan of long walks, so we think he'd be an awesome buddy for active school aged children or older, seeking a best friend and confidant.

A home with a fenced yard would be ideal for Nufan, as he loves to romp-n-play in our exercise yard with his doggie pals at the shelter. When Nufan's previous owner moved out and abandoned this sweet boy, he was fostered by a compassionate neighbor, who discovered that he is both house and crate trained, and he loves kiddos. ❤ 

​He was the perfect house guest and playmate to her young children. Nufan would be a wonderful addition to any family, or a marvelous companion for an active single person/couple or retirees. This awesome boy deserves a second chance at unconditional love!
​
*Nufan's adoption fee is $75, which includes neutering, worming, vaccines, microchip, and a free vet check with one of our participating veterinarians.

KIWI is a 1 yr old Terrier mix, who has the most lovely chocolate brown and cream colored fur. We think she is uniquely beautiful, and we are crazy about her distinct eyebrows! ? They kinda look like fuzzy little caterpillars. ? 

Kiwi is a playful and energetic pup, and would benefit from daily walks and exercise to keep her healthy and happy. A home with a fenced backyard would be ideal for this sweet girl . She is friendly and welcoming of other dogs, so she could easily join a home with existing pets. We recommend that Kiwi join a home with children at least 12 yrs of age, as she is fearful of small, rambunctious kiddos.

It appears that she is also crate and house trained because she keeps her kennel clean, and no accidents thus far.? In addition to being a trusted family pet, Kiwi would also be a cool companion for an active single person/couple or "on-the-move" retirees. She's definitely a dog who likes to be included in the fun. ?

*Kiwi's adoption fee is $75, which includes spaying, worming, vaccines, microchip, and a free vet check with one of our participating veterinarians.

We love SPIKE'S ears and "frosted face," and the fact that he is whip smart! This 5 yr old Belgian Malinois is a favorite of our kennel techs, who spend time playing fetch with Spike as well as reinforcing his obvious training. He is great with other friendly dogs and seems open and affectionate towards all...except cats. Absolutely NO cats! ?? 

Spike walks beautifully on a leash/harness, and he is house and crate trained. He would be a loyal partner for a single person/couple or active retirees. Despite his age, Spike enjoys being active, which includes daily walks, romping-n-playing in a fenced backyard, and games of fetch, which he loves! ? He could also join a family with older children, looking for a best friend with which to exercise and share adventures. Please consider coming in to meet Spike...he is a shining star at our shelter! ?

*Spike's adoption fee is $50, which includes neutering, worming, vaccines, microchip, and a free vet check with one of our participating veterinarians. Spike is heartworm negative.
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ZULA is a one-yr-old American Staffordshire Terrier/Labrador Retriever mix, who is super sweet, playful, and loving. ? She would be a great pal for school aged children or older, who would enjoy romping-n-playing with Zula, taking her for walks, and playing ball. An active single person/couple would also be an ideal fit for for this fun-loving dog.

MALLORY is a British Lab, surrendered to us by her breeder/trainer. She has been trained in basic commands, and was mostly used for breeding. Mallory is 3 yrs old. MALLORY likes toys and is crazy for tennis balls and playing fetch. We are seeking a loving home for Mallory, so she may experience life outside of a kennel and truly be part of a family. ? 

Mallory initially came to us quite skittish of people, but our young volunteers Sabrina and Kennedy have worked on confidence building and leash training, and now this sweet girl is wagging her tail and enjoying affection and attention. In fact, she revels in being petted and doted upon. ? She makes instant friends with other friendly dogs, and seems drawn to calm-natured older children.

With a little patience and understanding, Mallory will blossom once in a home environment, whether it be in a family with children, or as the constant companion to a single person/couple or active retirees.
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*Our adult dog adoption fee is $75, which includes spaying, worming, vaccines, microchip, and a free vet check with one of our participating veterinarians.

This group works hard to help find dogs & cats homes at PetSmart adoption events, transports dogs out of state to save their lives and helps the local pet overpopulation problem with spay and neuter programs.  Click below to find out more, join and/or donate today! 

During the Second Saturday Artwalk each month in Old Town Bay St. Louis, you'll find cool deals, fresh meals and lots of art and live music!

Be sure to check out "Hot Spots" Alice Moseley Folk Art & Antique Museum (1928 Depot Way) and Bay-Tique (125 Main Street).  And be sure to stop in at Gallery 220 to see Spencer Gray's new work. You can read all about the happenings below!  

- Hot Spot stories by Grace Wilson

“There should never be a price to look at art.” Alice Moseley
 
Bay St. Louis has long been known as a place that attracts and inspires artists. 
 
In 1988, Alice Moseley found Bay St. Louis while attending the Beach Front Festival. She was 79 at the time, having begun her art career at 65.
 
According to the Alice Moseley Folk Art & Antique Museum, it was while driving over the Bay Bridge that Miss Alice said to herself, “This is it. This is where I’ll spend the rest of my life.” 

Indeed, she spent the rest of her years in Bay St. Louis, capturing the city in her painting and the hearts of its residents and visitors. Many folks have fond memories of visiting her at her Blue House near the Depot District where Miss Alice would invite anyone who passed by to “visit a spell.” 
 
“She was a character,” said Lonnie Falgout, a personal friend of Miss Alice who has lots of fond memories of spending time with her and is a champion of her legacy and the Alice Moseley Folk Art & Antique Museum.
 
Today the museum resides in the train depot, near a big oak tree that hosted Miss Alice’s memorial in July 2004. 
 
Visitors are welcome to come learn about Miss Alice, other local folk artists and see her family’s collection of antiques Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
 
The newly renovated museum lends itself to up close and personal self-tours of art and antiques, and also offers daily guided tours. Tour groups and school groups are encouraged to call in advance to schedule an appointment.
 
“The original layout of the museum was more a replica of her house,” said marketing director Shannon Wooten. “The new renovation has made this a museum that everyone is proud of.” 
 
In addition to Miss Alice’s 47 original works, the museum features art by Bob McGraw and Henry Stiller. Art coordinator Lilliana Gandour hopes to work with more local artists to host special exhibits. There’s still a corner of the museum dedicated to showing Miss Alice’s life as it was in her house, complete with her vest, hat and a nod to her trusty little dog, Herman.
 
The Moseley Museum is also becoming more involved in the community. Over 1,000 art and music lovers attended the inaugural Alice Moseley Fun Festival. The museum will also bring Miss Alice into the classrooms and continue to invite classes to tour the museum.
 
Tim Moseley, Alice’s son, has been a driving force of the museum and has created a foundation to contribute to its growth, including providing the Alice Moseley Pavilion on the lawn of the train depot. It’s also Mr. Moseley’s personal antique collection that is a highlight of the museum tour.

“We are curating Mr. Moseley’s collection to show art history through glass and pottery,” said Wooten.
 
Alice Moseley found solace from a tough time in her life through the power of creating artwork. The museum hopes to inspire others to find therapy through art. 
 
“We are the only art museum in Bay St. Louis - and perhaps in Hancock County,” Wooten said. “We celebrate Miss Alice, but also other artists, and our mission is to inspire all artists, no matter your age.”

"Slightly edgy, always fun."
 
Jane Stricker Kulpeksa used to overhear her guests at the Carroll House Bed & Breakfast say that while they founds lots of antiques and treasures in Bay St. Louis, they had trouble finding shirts, hats and other Bay-branded items to bring home as souvenirs. 
 
She got to designing and Bay-Tique was born on July 4, 2013, carrying mostly her now iconic Bay St. Louis and Bay Rat apparel for men and women.
 
“The staple of our business is the Bay St. Louis tees, hats, gifts and souvenirs,” she said. “That’s something I’ll never let go of.”

Since then, Bay-Tique - and Bay St. Louis as a whole - has gained a reputation for carrying some of the best women’s apparel on the coast. 
 
“Old Town Bay St. Louis has a wonderful reputation for having wonderful women’s boutiques,” said Kulpeksa. “We work together to sell different types of clothing in each shop and not duplicate each other, which is very unique and says a lot about Bay St. Louis.”
 
She travels the country to go to markets trying very hard to find U.S. made, locally made and socially responsible products. Some of the proceeds of goods, like postcards made by local artists, go to benefit local organizations like the Friends of the Animal Shelter.
 
“I do lots of research before I go to market,” Kulpeksa said. “It’s important to me to understand vendors’ fair trade practices.”
 
In addition to local artists and makers, Bay-Tique carries popular brands like Sanuk footwear, Hobo Bags + wallets, Quay sunglasses and more. Other popular items include the recycled canvas bags and Dune Jewelry made with sand from Bay St. Louis.

“It’s not easy,” said Kulpeksa. “Finding fair trade goods is a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I’ve set the bar really high for myself and my shop to have a large percentage of socially responsible goods.”
 
Kulpeksa credits her right-hand, Karen Grumbine, for the prosperity of the shop. “Finding Karen was part of the key to the success of Bay-Tique,” she said. “She’s so passionate, organized, and enthusiastic, and she loves the shop like her own.”
 
The Bay-Tique tagline is slightly edgy, always fun.
 
From baby boomers to millennials, the shop carries something for every taste. In fact, many times it’s the same taste across both ages.
 
“I’ll see a retired woman come in and buy a kimono and a 17-year-old comes in and falls in love with the same kimono,” said Kulpeksa.
 
No matter the age or aesthetic, another thing Bay-tique clients have in common is their love of the atmosphere and comfort they feel while shopping.
 
“My favorite thing is being in the store and seeing people come in and having fun,” said Kulpeksa. “Oftentimes they are running around trying on hats, shoes and clothes, prancing around in our vintage-inspired swimwear and having a blast.”

Gallery 220, one of the oldest artist cooperative galleries in the state, is excited to announce that house artist, Spencer Gray, Jr. will be showcased for the month of September.

Join Spencer and other Gallery 220 artists during the Second Saturday Art Walk on September 8, 2018, from 4-8 pm. Spencer will reveal his most recent 3-D cartoon characters that are uniquely created from found objects such as household pots and pans.

Spencer’s animated storytelling is sure to be “Bear-y” delightful. The annual event at Gallery 220 showcases his imagination as he shares an original story each September.  Accompanying Spencer during the evening will be musical guest, Cooper Elliot Lemons. Cooper is the talented ten-year-old grandson of Spencer.

 Call 228-466-6347 for additional information.

A personal challenge has become an annual community event, testing the mettle of local athletes with a two-mile swim across the Bay of St. Louis.  The 2018 event takes place Sunday, Sept. 16, starting at 7:30am at Henderson Point Boat Launch in Pass Christian (finishing near BSL Harbor).  Click here to register. 
- story by LB Kovac

Last year, Amelia and her sister, Madeline, put together the inaugural Swim Across the Bay. Fifty-five swimmers (and twelve volunteers) – ranging in age from thirteen to seventy-one years old - lined up beside the dock at Henderson Point Boat Launch on a crisp, grey Sunday morning and took the plunge under the water.

Less than two hours later, all fifty-five swimmers had made it from their starting point in Pass Christian to the Bay St. Louis Municipal Harbor.

“The event was a great way to end the summer season,” said Madeline. “Any later and the water would have been too cool.”

​The oldest participant, Chris Roth, 71, completed his first open-water swim in one hour and 36 minutes.  At the finish line, Roth celebrated with the youngest participant who was 13. 

Roth, who qualified to swim both the 50 yard and 100 yard breast stroke in the 2017 National Senior Olympics, noted that "while this race was about ¾ of mile further than I usually swim, the additional buoyancy of salt water seemed to mitigate the additional distance."  

A two-mile swim is no small feat. A 180-pound person will burn more than 1,600 calories over the course of the swim, according to data from Active.com.  For comparison, the same person would burn only 300 calories running two miles.

Madeline said, “You’re working your whole body; you’re using your muscles in a different way than you would running or walking.” 

Despite the strain of those two miles in the open water, people loved it. “We had people come back and say how much fun they had,” said Madeline. Swimming across the bay, instead of driving around it or across it, was apparently a popular thing.

And, just the day after last year’s race, Amelia announced on Facebook that she and her sister were already planning this year’s race. A commenter on the race’s Facebook page said, “I think you (have) started something.”

Now, this paddle across the bay has grown.

The Second Annual Swim Across the Bay, scheduled for September 16 at 7:30 a.m., is fast approaching, and it already has more swimmers than last year. “We have 56 swimmers signed up so far,” said Amelia, “and there’s room for more.” It is a big bay, after all.

The roster comprises swimmers of all levels, from casual to pro. “This race is made to be fun,” said Amelia. There are no rules regarding wetsuits, swimsuits, or flippers. “You get to come out and swim how you feel most comfortable,” she said. Just be in the water and get from one side to the other.

But it still holds significance for the more competitive swimmer. Madeline said that this gives newbie racers a chance to stretch their wings a bit before entering a sanctioned race. “I think it’s a great opportunity for people who are interested in getting into triathlons to get comfortable swimming open water,” she said.

Volunteer kayakers and paddle boarders, this year sponsored by Bodega BSL, help keep swimmers on course during the two-mile swim.

Why swim across the bay when there is a perfectly good bridge nearby? Amelia and Madeline are both lifelong swimmers. With their experience, they personally know just how challenging, and rewarding, a good swim like this can be.

“The hard part about swimming is getting in the water,” said Amelia. “But once you do, it’s the greatest feeling. It’s like flying.” That feeling can transport the swimmer from diving point to destination. It can make what would be a challenging race into a relaxing, even cathartic experience.

Beyond the health and de-stressing benefits of swimming, joining in on the swim allows you to be a part of a tradition in the making. “We have something unique with this race,” said Amelia. If last year’s swimmers are to be believed, two years of the swim just won’t be enough.

At the very least, you have an opportunity to see a different side of the bay. You are always driving across it, the water peeking out from under the Bay St. Louis Bridge. Why not take a dip?

The year’s swim promises to be extra special. “I’m really looking forward to this year,” Amelia said. “Hopefully, we’ll see some new faces. And some old ones.”

Register for the race here. Find more information about the race, including information, volunteer sign-up, and rules, here.

Veteran retail writer Grace Wilson takes the plunge and opens her own booth filled with the cool and the collectible in Old Town Bay St. Louis.

Looking around the Bay St. Louis antique scene, dealers have it fully covered. What’s your passion?

Mid-century modern furniture, folk art, found art, bottles, buttons, music memorabilia, interesting instruments, antique dolls... it’s easy to spot the many passions of collectors represented in the antique shops of Old Town. If you have a penchant for something, chances are others do, too.

My collecting started out with Pez dispensers. From there it was anything with a mushroom on it – which was a lot of vintage kitchen wear. That mushroomed in to barware and ashtrays.

When I had a baby, all that was packed up and stuffed animals (especially flamingos) found their place in my life. Stepping back, I saw I had a nice mix of mommy and baby items that needed new homes and The Captain and Pearl was born in the French Potager.

“Booths are an extension of the dealer’s personalities,” said French Potager owner Martha Whitney Butler. “My booth has stuff from all over the world because I love to travel. Everybody’s different.”

Yes, Bay St. Louis is known around the Gulf Coast for being a mecca of antiques. Thanks to shops like Social Chair, Bay-Tique (and many more) shoppers are also loving the contemporary offerings of our town.

Some of the best booths I’ve seen in town have a blend of antiques and almost-new items. A newly embroidered pillow gives an old chair a pop of life. Stick new magnets on an old piece of tin. At Captain and Pearl, we display new items (like our BSL Shirts that benefit Ruth’s Roots community garden) in vintage luggage.

It’s a modern day mantra: Tell a story.

But what does that mean? In the antiques business, they’ve lived and died by this rule for generations. A pocket watch is just a pocket watch. A pocket watch owned by a famous general and worn in the Civil War - now that’s something special. You place items in a certain time and place in history, and suddenly they take on a whole new meaning.

And it doesn’t have to be a hundred year old story to make it appealing. We put out some pretty cool handmade toys from Mexico, which didn’t move. We decided to give each one a name and write “Handmade in Mexico” on the tag and it gave them a new level of personality and interest.

The best booth owners visit their booths as often as they can to refresh and reshuffle things. Patti Fullilove, who dedicates herself to booths both in Antique Maison and French Potager, visits her booths every day. (#DealerGoals)

It’s helpful to see what people bought, but you can also see what they are picking up. Even if you don’t add or edit new inventory every day, just shuffling things around gives the booth a breath of fresh air, which keeps shoppers coming back.

Customers respond to a curated booth. Things make more sense if there’s a theme or items are in context. If you have lots of vintage barware, put it on a bar cart with some booze bottles and cocktail napkins. Put pictures you snap locally in old frames to make them feel relevant.

Keep in mind, lots of folks on the hunt for antiques like to dig. Have a section in your booth that lets them do just that, but don’t have so many items that people will get overwhelmed. Some people feel most comfortable shopping in retail stores so take cues from your favorite shops on the best way to display your items. Most importantly, help your clients visualize your items in their own homes.

​During the construction of this project, DNA Underground will do their very best to accommodate Meadow Lane residents’ ability to access their house as they please. The one request Waveland asks is for all Meadow Lane residents to have their trash on the curb by 7 a.m.  Tuesday and Friday so that Waste Management can pick up the garbage before daily construction on the street begins.
 
Project two will be the Herlihy Street sewer replacement project. DNA Underground will also be the contractor for the abandoning and replacement of the sewer on Herlihy Street. The replacement is the largest of the sewer projects that Waveland will be undertaking.
 
The third infrastructure improvement project is the 6th Street, Gladstone and Waveland Cutoff project. This will entail lining some manholes, cleaning sewer lines and replacing selected sections of sewer lines.  The project has been awarded to Gulf Coast Underground. 
 
All three of these projects will be going on simultaneously and independently of one another.  Any personal property (mailboxes, driveways, culverts, grass, etc.) that is damaged during construction will be correctly repaired before the job is complete.  As a cost saving measure for taxpayers, Waveland will be separately contracting the paving of the roads once the three projects are complete. Paving the roads after all three sewer projects are completed will save Waveland taxpayers over $50,000. 

If you have any questions, please contact project representative Mickey Lagasse at 228.372.4427 or mickey@comptonengineering.com

City of Waveland has ramped up addressing blighted properties over the last several months.  The building department, led by Dave Draz and Josh Hayes, has been addressing dozens of projects since the beginning of the year. 

​This past month, two blighted properties were removed, and this month two more blighted properties have been ordered to be removed. The most noticeable property that is going to be removed this month is the former Day’s Frontier building located on Highway 90.
 
If you have a blighted property you would like Waveland to address, please file a complaint with Waveland Building Department.

If you have driven on Highway 90 lately, you have noticed the beginning stages of construction.  This Highway 90 project is 100% funded by Mississippi Department of Transportation and it is going to address traffic safety from the Waveland city limit all the way to the Bay Bridge. 

The project will improve safety of traveling on the highway by thinning out the median, making some turning lanes longer and moving lighting to the outside of Highway 90.  Several construction crews will be working on the project at one time so traffic on the highway will be congested at times.  

The project will take around six months to complete, so allow yourself extra time if you have to travel along Highway 90.