Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1894-07-05
A READABLE ARTICLE ABOUT AN
OLD CITIZEN OF IUKA

OLD CITIZEN OF IUKA
The editor of the Ripley Sentinel,
during a business trip to Iuka recently,
in company with some of our citizens,
visited the old home of DR.. M. A. Sim
mons, SO well known to the people OF
this county. The following description
of what he saw and heard is well worth
reproduction in the columns of the RE-
PORTER:
'Most of the Sentinel readers have
, seen the picture of M. A, Simmons as
it appears on the packages Of medicine
bearing his name, and a large number
probably have partaken of the medi-
cine itself.
1.-The writer was in luka few days
since, and was told that DR.. Simmons
was a resident of that place, occupying
house of peculiar construction in the
southern suburbs. Curiosity prompted
the Sentinel scribe to visit the aged
| doctor.
''We found his residence back of the
Normal College building, on the south
side of the hill.
"a horse attached to a plow was
standing in front Of the porch, upon
which the Doctor was seated. He
came forward and opened the gate
upon our approach, and invited our
party to enter.
"The hand OF time has whitened the
Doctors head and whiskers since his
well-known picture was engraved.
''He was "A years of age, he said,
had settled down to see how long he
could live, and thought it likely he
could reach the century point, though
he was ailing some from a hurt re.
ceived Il year since.
HE asked about Ripley. In 1912 he
had employed Mr.. Ford. of the Adver-
tiser. to do some advertising for him.
"The Doctor is a great Populite He
said that history told OF but three true
friends of humanity Jesus Christ,
Coxey and himself.
"On our expressing desire to ex-
plore his building. the Doctor pro-
| ceeded to show us through his unique
dwelling. 1t is built OF rough planks,
three tiers thick, in an excavation in
the hillside. The windows are made
to slide horizontally. The first room
shown was his library. Here was
vast heap of books. mostly medical
works. but one side was filed with re,
ligious books. In explanation, the
Doctor said he had been Methodist
preacher for % years. but was forced
to quit because Els wife hampered him
by talking of his failings, destroying
his influence.
HE afterwards carried us through
the remainderof the building. Things
were scattered around in more or less
confusion.
There was a printing press and q
large amount of type which he once
used to advertise his medicine. The
outfit cost him 81 400, so he stated, but
was covered with dust, showing that
it had been unused for many years.
His son Frank. who lives in st.
Louis, now has exclusive possession of
the proprietary rights of the medicine,
though the Doctor said that he was al
lowed to sell all the medicine in Tish-
omingo county, (which helped some.'.
The lower story, or basement. is
without annoor, and is dark but de-
lightfullv cool. As our guide expressed
it. lit was used for plumber" One
room was used to store sweet potatoes,
and there was a considerable quantity
of these tubers of last years crop still
there in good state of preservation.
The well from which the water supply
is drawn is located about the center of
the basement.
'.In response to questions the Doctor
said that he had acquired possession Of
large bodies of land through the sale
of his medicine. This land he had
mostly sold to his children on twenty
years time. but whether he received
any income from this source he failed
to state, though the inference was that
he did"
1t has been said that the South never
would have a great literary periodical.