The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1950-10-26
THROUGH
HAZEL
EYES

ing of greatly beloved Walter Scot
Meriwether, dean of the Mississin
pi press and one of Mississippi
best known citizens.
Skipper" as he was fondl,
called by thousands of friends. die,
Thursday at the age of 80 at II,
Tallahatchie County Co,nmunit,
Hospital in Charleston following
fall. He had lived quietly at hi
home there following his retire
nent as publisher of the Missis
sippi Sun in Charleston in 1945.
Skipper, thus called because O
his long naval service, was hes
known as the man who "scooped'
the world on the sinking of tn,
battleship Maine in Havana har
Dor - an event which led to tn,
United States becoming embroiles
in war with Spain. At that time
he was head of the New York Her
aid Bureau at Havana. Prior t.
that time he had spent ten adven.
turous years in the u. S. Nav,
from which he had resigned te
spend four years as a member Of
the staff of the New York Times -
specializing in Navy affairs, Mar.
inc news and yachting fields
in which he was especially adept
But it was not his exploits In
national journalism that endeared
Skipper to his friends. It was his
lovable character and sweet dis
position. He was that rare person
"a wonderful story teller. From
the wide range of his experiences
he had an anecdote or true story
for every occasion - and they
were always entertaining.
I shall never forget my first
trip to New York in company with
Skipper and his Mate, lovely Lily
Meriwether, his only survivor. We
sailed from New Orleans in May,
1888, aboard the SIS Dixie and
what fun we had together. Never
shall ! forget how every passenger
aboard the ship was captivated by
the Mississippi newspaperman.
What fun 1t was in New York to
be entertained so royalty by his
old cronies, some Of the best known
newspapermen in the world! They
had all been young together in
New York - and they all envied
Skipper and the good life he had
made for himself when he turned
his back on the New York rat
race and went back to his native
Charleston.
It seems incredible that it was
IA years ago / appeared for the
first time on the program of the
Mississippi Press Association max
ing a speech on: How 1t Feels To
Be Mississippi's Youngest Editor"
Skipper was right there to back
me up with refrain on how it
feels to be Mississippi's oldest ed
itor. 1t seems only yesterday.
If there were more men like
Skipper in this world it would be
a much better place in which to
live and work and try to accom-
plish something. He was a gen.
tleman of the old school yet
his spirit was eternally young and
always sympathetic. He had rare
good humor and was always able
to see the bright side. His toler-
ance never failed.
can't ever hope to live up to
the marvellous example he set
but shall always remember and
love him. ~ M
For the first time in the history
of this state national affairs for
UNI is going to be held in Jackson.
The forum will be in the Victory
Room at the Heidelberg Hotel on
Friday, November 3, at ZOO pm.
Present will be all of the Mis-
sissippi members of the House of
Representatives from Washing
ton and Senator Jim Eastland.
They will come home to partici-
pate in a public discussion OF the
nations affairs with the citizens
of their state.
The public is given cordial in
vitation to be present. There IS no
admission charge.
The event is being sponsored by
the Mississippi Economic Council,
an organization of business men
in the state.
This will be town hall meeting
on a big scale-and an excellent
opportunity for interested citizens
to find out what kind of represent
alton we have in Washington.
The idea is an excellent one -
the idea of having our lawmakers
come home to report to the grass
roots. Two similar forums have
already been held in Arkansas.
Perhaps other states will follow.
Taking long range view the for
ums might very well result in bet
ter government.
The American people could
stand that.
AS the old lady said: II don't
know what this world is coming