When the first French colonists arrived in 1699 to what they would call Billocsi after the local Native America tribe they found there, the area now known as Biloxi, Mississippi, has always been a popular landing spot for explorers and fishermen alike.

The sleepy little Mississippi port really didn’t come into its own, however, until the early 19th century, and even then there were few Mississippians that lived along the coast. Those that did live there eked out a living as fisherman, supplying the local population with some of the most succulent shrimp and plumpest oysters that mankind had ever tasted.

Still, no matter how succulent the shrimp and plump the oysters, fishermen still made little money because they couldn’t ship their catches very far without fear of it spoiling. Three things would change all that by the mid-1800s: the coming of the railroad, the invention of artificial ice, and the acumen of a few local Biloxi businessmen.

Mississippi’s Cannery Row

In 1872 the L&N Railroad established Biloxi as a flag stop on its line that ran the Gulf Coast from Mobile, Alabama to New Orleans, Louisiana. Around the same time, machines were invented that would make artificial ice for refrigeration and keep food from spoiling so quickly.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Biloxi businessmen Lazaro Lopez, F. William Elmer, W. K. M. Dukate, William Gorenflo, and James Maycock collectively brought together $8,000 and opened the first oyster packing business in Biloxi – Lopez, Elmer & Company – in 1881. Located on Back Bay Biloxi’s Reynoir Street, they canned not only oysters, but also shrimp, and even sold raw oysters in bulk, all supplied by the abundant waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Biloxi Bohemians

After taking a trip to Baltimore, Maryland to learn more about the seafood industry, W. K. M. Dukate was impressed by the work ethic of the Bohemian immigrants working in the industry there. As a result, Dukate and his partners worked out a way to transport some of the Bohemian workers from Baltimore to Biloxi, and the first workers arrived on January 11, 1890. The workers lived in rows of little shotgun shacks built for them by Biloxi factory owners. Though they weren’t paid much, the Bohemians would continue to migrate to Biloxi for the next 28 years and become a great benefit to the Biloxi seafood industry.

When the Bohemians first arrived in there in 1890, Biloxi canneries were processing two million pounds of oysters and 614,000 pounds of shrimp a year. Those numbers would triple just two years later with a dozen canneries reporting a combined catch of nearly six million pounds of oysters and 4.5 million pounds of shrimp. With a population of around 8,000 people, Biloxi was processing so much seafood in 1903 that it became known as the “The Seafood Capital of the World.”

By 1930, Biloxi’s canneries reported that 20,000,000 cans of oysters and shrimp and 17,000 gallons of raw oysters had been shipped out of the city that year. That same year, local citizens got together and created the Seafood Festival to honor the importance of the industry to Biloxi and the vital part it played in the economy of the Mississippi Gulf Coast economy as well as the cultural fabric of Biloxi.

 

Biloxi Today

When the state legalized casino gambling in the 1990s, it seemed that the high-rise, high-rolling resorts would begin to overshadow the seafood industry. In fact, with the influx of construction crews, hospitality workers, and tourist gamblers, the new gold rush instead helped to stabilize the seafood business, with casino kitchens understanding the value of this fresh, local food source. Although it may no longer be the Seafood Capital of the World it was 100 years ago, the seafood industry still plays a big part in Biloxi today.

While shifting industries, populations, and hurricanes have all had an impact on Biloxi’s seafood production, the most consistent champion for the business has been the presence of local families devoted to the cause. Local history museums are loaded with stories of generations of these families involved in seafood.

Surnames as diverse as Lesso, Mavar, Rosetti, Gallott (responsible for ushering in the area’s Vietnamese fisherfolk), and Desporte stretch way back, some to the mid-1800s and are still essential players in harvesting, packaging, shipping, retail, and restaurants today. Thanks to this solid family backbone, Biloxi’s seafood processors are some of the largest in the country, with clients spread across the globe.

Plus, the annual Biloxi Seafood Festival continues to celebrate the city’s rich culture, heritage, and connection to the seafood industry. The event is held every year on the second weekend of September, and attendees come from all over to enjoy live entertainment, arts & crafts, kids activities, and some of the best seafood on the Gulf Coast.

See ’Em at the Museum

So by now you’re probably wondering how I know all of this stuff about Biloxi. Well, I learned it by exploring the 300 years of history, heritage, and culture that you can find at Biloxi’s Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum.

Over six galleries at the museum take you from the diverse environment of the Mississippi coastal wetlands, to an exhibit on canning factories, to a giant hall filled with some of the most beautiful wooden boats and schooners to ever sail Mississippi’s abundant Gulf waters.

If you’re feeling a little more “hands-on,” then it’s all hands on deck at the museum which offers chartered cruises aboard local schooners for up to 44 people. For the landlubbers among you, they also offer “Walk on Sail” tours, where weekly Sea & Sail Adventure summer camps are also available for your little mariners aged 6 to 12 to learn about sailing a schooner, boating safety, and the rules of the sea. 🌊

More of a roadtripper than a seafarer, Stephanie Stuckey is the CEO of Stuckey’s, the iconic roadside stop that’s been selling pecans and pecan treats since 1937.

If You’re Going, Go! Gulf States & Stuckey’s

Are you planning a road trip to Coastal Mississippi or just passing through? Then check out more fun things to see and do along America’s Third Coast at Go! Gulf States.

No matter where you’re going in the Gulf States this season, be sure to take Stuckey’s along with you. We’ve got all of your favorite road trip snacks like our iconic Stuckey’s Pecan Log Rolls and Pecan Pralines.

If it’s along America’s third coast, let Go! Gulf States and Stuckey’s help get you where you’re going.

Stuckey’s – We’re Making Road Trips  Fun Again!

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Not that glorious Key Lime Pie isn’t enough! There are many other treats capable of representing the food of Florida Keys. Mango and Citrus and Conch everything, Cuban sandwiches, Bahamian BBQ, plus so much more. Cuisine of the region will take center stage in a national touring museum collaboration coming to Key West in early 2026.  – Editor

Florida Humanities, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution’s Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), has launched a new exhibition partnership program, “Exhibition Starter Kit: FOOD.” The partnership has selected the Key West Art & Historical Society as an inaugural recipient. In total, eight nonprofit organizations received funding from Florida Humanities in June 2024. These nonprofits will create exhibitions that capture local narratives on food, utilizing resources and support from the Smithsonian.

Exhibition Starter Kits provide a Smithsonian-developed framework to guide selected venues through the development of local humanities-based exhibitions using their own collections. While working on their exhibition project, funded venues will receive guidance from the Smithsonian. These venues will learn how to design and develop compelling exhibitions that highlight their local history and culture through the lens of food.

“Peeling back the layers of our local and regional food, you uncover a much larger story centering around the Key West’s diverse community,” says Dr. Cori Convertito, curator for the Society. “We are elated to have been selected by the Smithsonian and Florida Humanities to be one of eight partners in the state. It’s an opportunity to tell the abundant Florida Keys food story that has been shaped by a mixture of Indigenous, Bahamian, Cuban, and international peoples.”

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Collage of Rosenberg images by the Elegant Fowl

World Heavyweight Champ, Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson, nicknamed “The Galveston Giant,” was born in Galveston in 1878. He first learned to box in his travels as a young man. In 1898, Johnson returned to Galveston and made his professional debut. In 1908, Johnson won the titles of World Heavyweight Champion. He held the title until 1915. Johnson faced racist press throughout his career. After one fight, race riots broke out in more than 25 states and 50 cities, killing at least 20 people and injuring hundreds more.

Why Cigarette Cards?

From the 1870s to the 1940s, cigarette companies often included cardboard trading cards in their products to stiffen the packaging and advertise their brand. The cards covered a variety of subjects, such as popular actresses and models, athletes, military figures, animals, and much more. Collecting these cards became a popular hobby.

The cards in the Rosenberg collection date from 1910 and are part of the “Champion Athlete & Prize Fighter Series,” issued by two American companies, Hassan Cigarettes and Mecca Cigarettes. Both cards in the collection have a full-color illustration of Jack Johnson on the front, and a short biography with information about his most important matches through 1909.

The Library purchased these cards at auction as part of ongoing efforts to preserve and display diverse stories within Galveston’s history. The fact that the island has kickstarted so many stories of incredible success, including Jack Johnson’s undefeated talent, reflects the true meaning and influence of Juneteenth in Galveston’s culture – having the opportunity to excel and be the best human you can be.

The post Buried Treasure at the Rosenberg Library: Jack Johnson Cigarette Cards appeared first on Go Gulf States.

When you hear the name Sarah Jessica Parker, movies and TV shows probably come to mind. Parker is a household name thanks to pop-culture standards like Sex and the City, Hocus Pocus, and Footloose. The popular actress’s newest project, however, is a different kind of venture – an imprint of Molly Stern’s publishing house Zando.

In 2022, Parker launched SJP Lit, which will publish between four and six books over three years. An avid reader since childhood, Parker has stated that some of her earliest memories were of reading and that her go-to activity between takes on film and TV sets is to pick up a book.

This September, SJP Lit published Kim Coleman Foote‘s Coleman Hill. The novel is a poignant reflection across several generations of the intertwined Coleman and Grimes families during the Northern Migration from Alabama and Florida to New Jersey, detailing grief, love and cultural shifts over decades. By using the narration of characters across decades, Foote perfectly illustrates the unraveling of abuse and connection between parents, children, and siblings, while providing a history lesson on the contrast between the remnants of Southern slavery and the price of starting over in the North.

In 1916, during the early days of the Great Migration, Celia Coleman and Lucy Grimes flee the racism and poverty of their homes in the post–Civil War South for the “Promised Land” of Vauxhall, New Jersey. But the North possesses its own challenges and bigotries that will shape the fates of the women and their families over the next 70 years.

Told through the voices of nine family members, Coleman Hill is a multigenerational debut that draws from Foote’s own family legend. As Foote told The Provincetown Independent, “When you forget parts of history, patterns repeat themselves. This goes for the great human tragedies as much as for intergenerational trauma within families.”

The book is, “At once intimate and panoramic,” according to SJP.

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This article sure brought back some vivid memories. We can clearly “see” ourselves and our pals bopping down our grade school hallways, singing along to Jim Croce’s catchy hits. The songs were so ingrained in our formative era, their influence contributed to our own musical learning and loving the guitar. Later in adulthood, we had the pleasure of seeing A.J. in concert at SXSW. The man is a master. For fans of father Jim, this son’s tribute tour will not only strum the heartstrings, it will – if you’ll forgive the 70s parlance – blow your mind.  – Editor

Is your road trip soundtrack full of your favorite Adult Contemporary hits from the early 70s? Is Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle” near the top of your playlist? Then mark your calendar for March 24 and start planning your next Gulf Coast road trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. It’s there at the Joy Theater that A.J. Croce takes the stage for Croce Plays Croce. The tour is a 50th-anniversary celebration of the music and legacy of Jim Croce, A.J.’s father.

I Got a Name

After years of being a jack-of-all-trades, Jim Croce dreamed of finally becoming a full-time singer-songwriter. The dream started coming true in 1972. That was the year things turned around for the struggling musician who had worked several jobs to pay the bills. Now, however, all of that was changing.

In 1972, Croce released his third album, You Don’t Mess Around with Jim. Two tracks received significant airplay – the title track and the hit, “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels).” He quickly followed up with another album, Life and Times, in January 1973 featuring the #1 hit “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.”

To support Life and Times, Jim went on a 45-date U.S. tour, chartering a Beechcraft E18S to fly him from venue to venue. On the night of Thursday, September 20, 1973, Croce performed a concert at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Once he finished, he hopped on the plane headed for Sherman, Texas, and a concert at Austin College. Sadly, the plane crashed into a tree on takeoff from Natchitoches killing everyone on board. Croce was just 30 years old. Along with a string of hits, he also left behind his wife, Ingrid, and son Adrian James.

Photographs and Memories

Adrian James “A.J.” Croce was just eight days shy of his second birthday the day his father died. As one can imagine, except for a few photographs and his mother’s memories he doesn’t remember much about his dad. What he does remember, however, there always being music around. And its music that helped him not only cope with his father’s death but also with other tragedies in his life. Physical abuse by his mother’s boyfriend caused him to go blind at four years old. (At the age of 10, he did regain his eyesight in one eye.) However, he turned to music to get him through, becoming a piano prodigy and a songwriter, like his father.

Still, for most of his life, he was hesitant to play his father’s songs. Besides not wanting to hear the same old “like father, like son” clichés, A.J. wanted to carve his own path. As a result, barely in his 20s, he began his music career. Eventually, A.J. would find himself touring with the likes of B.B. King, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and New Orleans’ own Allen Toussaint.

Ooh Child

The young Croce began to make a name for himself, touring across the country and gathering his own fan base. A mix of his father’s admirers and new and curious fans began to fall in love with his charm, piano virtuosity, and special treatment of classic cover tunes, like Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” and the Five Stairsteps’ “Ooh Child.”

So what made A.J. finally want to cover some of his father’s songs? Well, a few years ago, he found an old tape his father had made. On it were old blues, country, and folk songs Jim had recorded. They were songs by Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and Pink Anderson. Though A.J. had been playing the same songs since he was a child, he never before heard his father play them. As a result of discovering this tape, he felt a deeper spiritual connection and realized that there was more than just DNA he and his dad shared.

On the Croce Plays Croce tour, you’ll hear A.J. sing some of these songs as part of his setlist. And of course, he’ll be singing some of his dad’s songs too. However, don’t think it’s a night celebrating only the legacy of the elder Croce. The concert is actually a celebration of two generations of musicians, and A.J. will be playing his own songs, too.

Indeed, Croce plays Croce is than a catalog of songs of father and son. Audiences will be treated to little vignettes of the two musicians’ lives that share more than just the kindred of blood but also their love of music.

Croce Plays Croce makes one last Gulf Coast appearance at New Orleans’s Joy Theater. Tickets are available online or at the Joy Theater.                                                                                                                   🌊

Read More at Croce on Croce Event Listing

Wherever you’re traveling along the Gulf Coast, be sure to bring plenty of Stuckey’s along with you.

After all, is it really a road trip without a Stuckey’s Pecan Log Roll? Order yours and all of your favorite Stuckey’s souvenirs, snacks, and treats from Stuckey’s online today.

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Well, folks, the holidays have already come and gone and here we are, so close to spring. Of course, this can only mean two things. The first is that road trip season is just around the corner. The second thing is baseball, baseball, baseball.

So, if you’re a baseball fan itching to get back on the road again, it’s time to buckle up! Today we’re taking you on a trip around Florida’s Grapefruit League that’s sure to be a home run.

 

THE BOYS OF SPRING: FLORIDA’S GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE

Baseball has been migrating to Florida for spring training since the Philadelphia Phillies first spent two weeks there in Jacksonville in 1889. By 1913 other baseball teams like the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians joined them in the Sunshine State. The next year saw two more teams move to Florida for spring training, and suddenly, they had a league.

Every year since (except during WWII), nearly half of the teams in baseball descended on Florida for spring training until 2010. Today, it’s split even with 15 teams playing for the Grapefruit League and 15 playing for Arizona’s Cactus League.

Nevertheless, from Ruth to Ripken, spring training in Florida has witnessed some of the greatest names in baseball over the years.

 

HOW FLORIDA’S GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE GOT ITS NAME

Aviator Ruth Law in 1915

The weather in Florida has always been great for spring training. However, it has also served as a great place to get some good PR in for the teams as well.

One day in 1915, Brooklyn Dodgers manager Wilbert Robinson and outfielder Casey Stengel noticed that aerobatic aviator Ruth Law had a pretty good publicity stunt. To advertise a local golf course, Ruth would drop golf balls from her airplane.

Robinson and Stengel got the idea to do the same thing at their baseball field in Daytona Beach except with a baseball. Robinson himself would even stand on the pitcher’s mound to catch it. They took the idea to Law, and she agreed.

The day of the PR stunt, however, Ruth found herself 525 ft. in the air, without a baseball. Accounts vary about what happened next. The popular version goes like this: Acting quickly and noticing the grapefruit she brought with her lunch, she dropped the citrus fruit below. However, Robinson missed the catch. The grapefruit hit him in the chest, exploding on impact. Robinson looked down and saw red. Because he was expecting a baseball, he thought he had been mortally wounded. Nevertheless, he soon realized he was fine.

And it’s through this little publicity stunt that the Grapefruit League got its name.

THE 2024 GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE

Today, there are 15 major league teams scattered throughout the Sunshine State for spring training. Starting with Stuckey’s favorite – the Georgia-grown Atlanta Braves – here’s where to find some of your favorite teams:

Team	Ballpark	City
Atlanta Braves	CoolToday Park	North Port
Baltimore Orioles	Ed Smith Stadium	Sarasota
Boston Red Sox	JetBlue Park	Fort Myers
Detroit Tigers	Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium	Lakeland
Houston Astros	The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches	West Palm Beach
Miami Marlins	Roger Dean Stadium	Jupiter
Minnesota Twins	Hammond Stadium	Fort Myers
New York Mets	Clover Park	Port St. Lucie
New York Yankees	George M. Steinbrenner Field	Tampa
Philadelphia Phillies	BayCare Ballpark	Clearwater
Pittsburgh Pirates	LECOM Park	Bradenton
St. Louis Cardinals	Roger Dean Stadium	Jupiter
Tampa Bay Rays	Charlotte Sports Park	Port Charlotte
Toronto Blue Jays	TD Ballpark	Dunedin
Washington Nationals	The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches	West Palm Beach

The first two games of the spring training season happened Friday, February 23, 2024. The Northeastern University Huskies took on the Boston Red Sox at Jet Blue Park in the first game, 7-2 Boston won. And the Minnesota Twins beat the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Hammond Stadium at Lee County Sports Complex.

For the complete spring training schedules of all 15 major league baseball teams, visit the Grapefruit League’s official website here.

Also, check out the inaugural edition of MLB’s Spring Breakout taking place March 14-17 at Grapefruit League ballparks across Florida. The event showcases the league’s up-and-coming talent through 16 exhibition games featuring each team’s top 20-25 prospects. This is definitely a series you don’t want to miss.

Finally, are you planning a road trip along America’s third coast this summer? Then why not catch nine innings with the Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays, or Miami Marlins while you’re there? Click on the team name for regular season schedules.

Take Stuckey’s out to the Ol’ ballgame

Sure, peanuts and Cracker Jacks have always been the go-to snacks of every American ballpark. However, why not step up your game this year with Stuckey’s Hunkey Dorey popcorn mix? Its perfect blend of premium popcorn, house-made caramel, crunchy almonds, and Georgia-grown pecans make it the grand slam of ballpark snacks. Order some now from stuckeys.com and have some on hand for the entire season.

Along the way, pick up some delicious Stuckey’s pecan snacks at select Bealls, Wawa and Stuckey’s stores throughout Florida. Click on the stores for locations and more info.

And whether it’s baseball, barbecue, or the bayou, start planning your road trip along America’s third coast today – only at Go! Gulf States!

Stuckey’s – We’re Making Road Trips Fun Again!

The post Catch a Grapefruit Game on Your Next Florida Road Trip appeared first on Go Gulf States.

If you live in Texas, it can be tough to imagine a “lighthearted take” on our state’s politics. But somehow Lawrence Wright has pulled it off with his latest, ‘Mr. Texas.’ The vaunted author has penned 11 books, including ‘Going Clear: Scientology,’ ‘Hollywood,’ ‘The Plague Year,’ and the one which earned for him a Pulitzer: ‘The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.’ Check out Brittany LeJeune’s (Deep South) interview with Wright about this book, which, by the way, makes a lovely holiday gift. – Editor

An unexpected meeting between Austin lobbyist L.D. Sparks and cattle rancher Sonny Lamb is the beginning of author and New Yorker magazine writer Lawrence Wright‘s entertaining story about Texas politics. Inexperienced Texas cowboy Sonny must learn how to navigate the legislature in Texas, and the lovable character wins the hearts of everyone at the capitol.

Mr. Texas ties together issues that the citizens of the state currently face, such as drought and border control, as the officeholders fight partisan divides and jostle for position. The amusing and ironic events that take place as Sonny runs for election and wins with a narrow victory are written in a humorous context.

In addition to his success as an author, Wright is a screenwriter, playwright, and staff writer for The New Yorker magazine. Brittany LeJeune interviewed him over Zoom about the rollercoaster ride of getting Mr. Texas to book form, his hope for his home state, and the future of his novel.

The post ‘Mr. Texas’ Rides off into the Sunset: A Lawrence Wright Interview appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Five of Charles Dickens’ great-great-grandchildren and great-great-great grandchildren will celebrate the season with Galveston revelers at Rosenberg Library, It all happens just before the kick-of of the island’s annual Dickens on the Strand weekend. This is the 50th year of the Victorian holiday festival.

Enjoy a panel discussion with Polly Boyd, Mark Dickens, and Deborah Dickens. Hear about their role in keeping Dickens’ stories alive. After the discussion, the library’s Galveston & Texas History Center will provide a short talk and viewing of the first edition copies of Charles Dickens’ works in their collection. There will also be a Dickens-themed Treasure of the Month on the 2nd floor of the library.

Later that afternoon, children, kindergarten age and up may enjoy a practically perfect teatime with members of the Dickens family. Dress up  – costumes encouraged, but not required.

These events are an early celebration before Dickens on the Strand officially starts a few blocks down later that evening.

The post The Dickens Are Coming! Galveston Prepares for a Seasonal British Invasion appeared first on Go Gulf States.

As we careen into the holiday season with visions of pecan pie dancing in our heads, its a good time to reflect on the true origins of our many quintessentially American blessings. This is the story of an enslaved man, Antoine, the de facto grandfather of the American pecan industry. His story makes clear that our gratitude for innovations – the spoils of which we still enjoy today – must go to the man and not to the institutions that bound him and tried to bind his spirit. This breezy telling of “Antoine & the Pecan” was published prior to, but in the same year as a biography on the innovative gardener. Historian Katy Morlas Shannon‘s insightful 2021 biography, ‘Antoine of Oak Alley’ is a book we intend to feature on our pages again in the future.  – Editor

All of those Stuckey’s pecan log rolls we devoured as a kid (and, admittedly, still devour as an adult) may not have been possible without the work of one man – a 19^th century gardener slave from Louisiana named Antoine.

Back in the 1800s, pecans weren’t really new to the American diet. Native Americans up and down the Mississippi River from Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico were eating them for hundreds of years before Europeans first set foot on the continent. When the Europeans did come, fur traders carried pecans to help sustain them on their journeys from the wild frontier to the East Coast. In the 18th century, founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson planted pecans at Mount Vernon and Monticello, respectively, and it’s even said that George Washington always kept pecans as a snack in his coat pocket.

Over in Louisiana, there was a market for pecans and seeing this opportunity was plantation owner Dr. A.E. Columb who attempted to graft twigs from his luxuriant pecan tree that produced large, thin-shelled nuts in copious amounts onto other pecan trees. Like those who had tried in the past, Dr. Columb’s efforts were unsuccessful. Growing frustrated, he heard that there was a talented gardener right across the way at the Oak Alley Plantation. Columb went to pay Jacques Telesphore Roman, the owner of the plantation, a visit. Roman guided the doctor to his talented gardener, an enslaved man named Antoine. After meeting with Antoine and discussing his ordeal, Columb gave Mr. Roman a twig off of his best pecan tree, and, in turn, Mr. Roman gave the graftwood to Antoine. Thus, the ‘Centennial’ became the first variety of pecan that was successfully propagated by grafting.

Unfortunately, not much is known about Antoine other than he was a slave and a gardener and a very adept gardener at that. We know this because Antoine was the first person in history who learned how to propagate pecan trees. That is, Antoine knew how to make near exact copies of successfully producing pecan trees, thereby turning the pecan into a cash crop – not an easy task at the time. Then the American Civil War came along and nearly changed everything.

The post As American as Pecan Pie: The Incredibly True Story of Antoine & the Pecan appeared first on Go Gulf States.