Since it’s now officially been a year since I came on board here at The Vicksburg Post, it feels like it’s appropriate that I’m writing this column about being able to check off a pretty major item on my list of things I’ve wanted to do in the River City.

For those of you that haven’t read this part before, I have only been here at The Post for the past 12 months, but I have lived in Vicksburg for almost five years now. And, by that, I mean I basically just slept here for the first four years while spending the rest of my time running the newspaper across the bridge in Tallulah. That’s important because I was really only able to experience what our city has to offer on weekends and rare days off. 

And I know most people who have lived in any town for a long amount of time feel like there isn’t much to do in their neck of the woods. I think that’s a universal thing, no matter how much is actually going on wherever you call home. I’ve been just as guilty of that in places ranging from Mobile and Tuscaloosa in Alabama to Columbia, Missouri. And there’s plenty going on in all of those places, as there is here.

But, before I lived AND worked here in Vicksburg, one of the things that caught my attention repeatedly as I drove around town was the architecture of both homes and buildings. We all know we have some beautiful structures in Vicksburg, with most of them also having a ton of history to go along with – and sometimes to explain – the intricacies of their construction. 

Two of the homes that caught my eye most often are both along Cherry Street. One belongs to Mrs. Joyce Clingan and the other is the former home of the late Dr. Walter Johnson. Both are homes I have passed many times and wondered if people lived there, or if the buildings were museums or what other possibilities could exist for the big, beautiful houses’ current use.

As it turns out, both are private residences and, thanks to the recent O’ Christmas Tree tour of homes, I have now had the opportunity to explore them, within reason. There are still plenty of cool features, rooms and other aspects of the homes that weren’t offered during the public tour, which is more than understandable, but what I was able to see in no way disappointed, despite the years of expectation built up in my mind from regularly driving by them.

In fact, there were plenty of other homes (12 in total) that Terri Frazier and I were able to explore this year, and each brought a unique charm and history all its own. I thoroughly enjoyed each one I was able to tour.

Unfortunately, due to the busy holiday schedule (told you there was plenty going on in Vicksburg), I wasn’t able to make it to Sunday’s tour and missed out on seeing the inside of homes owned by Lee and Virginia Thames, Easy and Mary John Biedenharn and Keith Flowers. I was, however, able to see the photos Terri took of all three homes and the houses were all beautiful. You can see them too by visiting us online at www.vicksburgpost.com, where we have two separate photo galleries, one devoted to each of the two weekends.

So go and check them out, and I hope you enjoy your virtual tour as much as Terri and I – as well as more than 200 other people who took part in this year’s O’ Christmas Tree event – enjoyed ours. 

Thank you to the Vicksburg Heritage Guild for organizing and sponsoring it all. And thanks most of all to the homeowners who graciously opened their doors to us this Christmas. 

Blake Bell is the general manager and executive editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at blake.bell@vicksburgpost.com.