Life
on the River
Many Deltans retreat
to weekend getaways on the Mississippi River. Here’s
a look at three.
BY LYNN LAFOE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHARLIE GODBOLD
Ever
since Hernando de Soto discovered the Mississippi
River in 1541, the people who inhabit the area
have been lured to its banks for inspiration,
recreation or just for a chance to slip away
from the confines of civilization for a while.
The dwellings they have built along the water's
edge reveal much about these adventurous men
and women, and the lifestyle they love. Each
home is unique, designed especially to fit the
needs of the owner in his quest for the perfect
haven where he can hunt and fish, or just enjoy
nature.
Rives and Jennie Neblett of Clarksdale love
to spend time at their riverfront property between
the private Concordia Rod and Gun Club and Donaldson
Point hunting club owned by Anderson-Tully Timber
Company at a point on the river just out from
Shelby. |
|
They say their style of river living has undergone
a complete evolution during their years together.
"Fifteen years ago when we came to the river,
we camped in a pup tent and used logs to build our
fire," says Rives with a nostalgic look in his
eye. "Then, we got a bigger tent and a Coleman
stove and we were really first class," the farmer/lawyer
adds with a chuckle.
A little more than a year ago, the Nebletts evolved
into a new phase of river life. They now have a roof
over their heads when they spend time on the river.
Jennie calls it her "dollhouse," and the
name seems to fit. Nestled among the trees at the
water's edge with no neighbors in sight, the cabin
is the perfect setup for the nature-loving couple.
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"It's
called a Wilderness Cabin," says Rives.
He was so excited when he discovered the cabins
in Lexington, MS where they are manufactured,
that he called his wife immediately and bought
one on the spot. It was pulled to the site
by truck. About the size of a small mobile
home, the Neblett’s Wilderness Cabin
is sided in cypress with a spacious front
porch, and it fits neatly among the large
old cottonwood and willow trees that cradle
it on the riverbank.
Rives
is quick to admit that his wife has been a
real trooper when it comes to sharing his
love for "roughing it."
"She comes out here and camps with me,
then heads to Memphis to be the queen of the
Cotton Carnival," he jokes. "She
loves to bathe in the river and even washes
her hair out there."
Jennie, who actually was queen of the Memphis
Cotton Carnival in 1975, enjoys interior decorating
and wasted no time working her magic to make
the new cabin comfortable and attractive.
|
"As
soon as they set it down, Jennie started decorating,"
Rives says.
She began by faux painting everything–the walls,
cabinets and even the refrigerator–with Rives'
help.
"We started doing this together and that's always
a mistake," Jennie says. "We got as far
as the bathroom and just had to stop."
But nobody's complaining. The cabin is perfect for
the Nebletts, their 12-year-old son Thomas and friends
who come to hunt and fish, cook up the game they kill
and enjoy a meal at the water's edge. With a futon
in the living room and a double bed in the one bedroom,
they can easily accommodate four adults overnight,
and the loft offers sleeping quarters for a number
of children.
"I think we really appreciate the smallness,
the simplicity of it, right now. We'll probably build
some day, but for now this is just right for us,"
Jennie says.
All three Nebletts love to hunt and fish, and the
cabin is their headquarters throughout the hunting
season. Many trophies of their successes decorate
the walls, along with paintings by local artists.
Jennie enjoys creating natural arrangements, both
inside and out, using items she finds nearby.
"I love to make arrangements using nature–flowers
and other decorative things I find in the woods,"
Jennie says.
She has also been known to throw elegant dinner parties,
complete with linens, fine china and crystal, all
served from a table set up on the nearby rock dike
extending into the Mississippi River. "Once my
centerpiece was a river with live minnows swimming
in it. I'm just a crazy artist!" Jennie says
laughing.
The
Lewis' river home
On
the opposite end of the spectrum from the Neblett’s
cabin is the river home of their Clarksdale
neighbors, Pauline and Mike Lewis. Located at
Miller Point Rod and Gun Club near Stovall,
the Lewis' home is built in the West Indies
style of architecture. It overlooks Old River,
the horseshoe lake formed by a natural cutoff,
which occurred in 1848 when the river changed
its course.
Just far enough away from town, but not too
far, the Lewis' riverside retreat is a perfect
escape from the hustle and bustle of city living.
"It only takes 20 minutes to get here,"
says Pauline, who along with her husband practices
law in Clarksdale. Their son, Talmadge, is only
11 months old and is just beginning to learn
about living on the river. |
|
Architect John Jones of Memphis designed the house
with plenty of input from the owners. The raised West
Indies design, which is also popular in southern Louisiana,
features wide steps ascending in both front and back
to the gallery, or covered porch, that encircles the
house. Beauvoir, the home of Jefferson Davis on the
Mississippi Gulf Coast, is one of the more famous
houses built in this style.
"At the age of 12, I visited Jefferson Davis'
home and I thought it was the ideal design for a house
on the water," says Mike. "Although I didn't
know it until we started planning to build, Pauline
had made that same decision, too."
To take a closer look at houses in this style, Pauline
and Mike traveled to south Louisiana to visit Parlange,
the home of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Charles Parlange in
Pointe Coupee Parish. They were so impressed with
the circa 1750 home that they incorporated a unique
octagonal pigeonnaier, similar to the ones that flank
the entrance to Parlange, as part of their design.
Their pigeonnaier serves a useful function and, rather
than a home for the pigeons, hides the water supply
system for the house.
Inside, Pauline and Mike have created an elegant,
yet comfortable, living area with large windows, vaulted
ceilings and hardwood floors throughout the central
great room.
"We designed the interior to bring everybody
together in this one big room with smaller rooms radiating
from it," says Pauline. "We started with
a decorator, and then just did our own thing."
Both Pauline and Mike enjoy hunting and their trophy
mounts played a major part when they started decorating
the house. The furnishings are an eclectic mix of
their special treasures, including French tapestries
and antiques, along with paintings from street artists
in Paris, one of their favorite places to visit. An
antique Chinese trunk and Oriental altar are paired
with a French armoire in one bedroom, and the baby's
room is furnished with animal print pieces.
The central room combines a contemporary curved sofa
in front of the large fireplace, with an antique sideboard
by Jean-Francois Leleu (1729-1807) and a long custom-made
dining table that seats 12. A sensational sound system
and large screen television are essential additions
for entertaining. There's also a game room, complete
with pool table and chessboard.
You might not expect to see a Baldwin piano in a house
on the river, but there it is, centered along the
back wall with the river as a backdrop through the
open windows. An electronic player device allows every
guest to become an instant pianist, and is especially
popular at Christmas parties. The Lewises enjoy entertaining
and often cook dinners for friends in their complete
Viking kitchen. With three bedrooms on the main floor
and another upstairs, Pauline and Mike often invite
guests to spend a night or a week, especially during
hunting season. Hospitality among hunters is a way
of life along the river.
"The hunting club culture that takes place on
the unprotected side of the levee is really a unique
thing," says Mike. "This is like the land
that time forgot. There's no agriculture here, and
the occasional timbering is the only change since
de Soto discovered the Mississippi River somewhere
near this point on the river. We still have abundant
wildlife–deer, ducks, raccoons, opossums, and
even a bear sighting now and then."
The Almands
Rustic is the word that Genie Almand uses to describe
the house she and her husband Jeff, an orthopedic
surgeon, completed last July at Catfish Point on the
Mississippi River near Scott.
"We wanted it to be rustic, since our home in
Leland is not," Genie explains. The raised A-shaped
front of the house features huge hand-hewn beams and
a sprinkling of cedar shake to achieve that rustic
look. Bricks hide the work area underneath, so the
house appears to sit on a foundation.
The
Almands did not use an architect because they
knew the type of house they wanted to build, and
Genie's artistic talents came in handy when they
were ready to put their ideas on paper. "Whenever
we rode somewhere in the car together, I would
sketch the house and different floor plans,"
she says.
Greenville builder Steve Ramsey translated the
final plans into an inviting and cozy home-away-from-home.
The house took a year to build and was finished
in July 2002. The Almands searched for first-class
raw materials and managed to buy heart pine from
a Coca-Cola plant being torn down in Atlanta,
as well as the huge beams which came from an old
barn in upstate Pennsylvania. |
 |
"We wanted to use the heart pine and old beams
to give it the feel of the mountains in North Carolina
where my family lives," Genie says.
"We had everything trucked in right to the site
with no trouble." The floors, walls and ceilings,
as well as the window casings and trim are all constructed
from pine. Knotty pine was used for the ceilings to
give a more "raw" look, Genie says. The
front screened porch also sports a touch of the mountains
with 10 rocking chairs made in Black Mountain, N.C.
Jeff's antique decoy collection is displayed in the
living room where the brick chimney rises to the second
floor ceiling. The walls and rafters of the open living
area are lined with a menagerie of mounted creatures
that once roamed the area. The usual ducks and deer
are joined by a huge hog (wild boar) head, a goose,
a raccoon whose paw hangs delicately over the edge
of a lofty beam and even a mink resting on a nearby
table.
The small, but efficient kitchen boasts an old porcelain
sink the Almands salvaged from the defunct Leland
Oil Mill which they now own, and two more similar
sinks were installed along the far wall of the great
room for additional game cleaning and in the mud room
at the back. An old barn table and a wagon wheel light
fixture were also purchased in North Carolina to carry
out the rustic theme.
Genie and Jeff, along with their daughters Mari Liza,
6, and Anna Douglas, 4, are happy to open their home
to family and friends who come to hunt, fish and enjoy
the outdoors. A new ski boat offers the promise of
fun-filled days on the water in nearby Lake Whittington
this summer, and early morning fishing trips with
Dad are always a favorite adventure for the two girls.
Although Genie doesn't much like to get out on the
river, she enjoys walking and jogging along the paths
at the camp. She also takes advantage of the beautiful
scenery as she pursues her passion for painting.
"It's so peaceful here. We love listening to
the birds and watching the deer that come right up
to the back yard in the evening," Genie says.
The Almands plan to use their river house as a gathering
place for their extended family year round through
the hunting seasons and especially during the Christmas
holidays. The house sleeps 16 to 20 people with five
bedrooms, including one long bunkroom for the younger
set.
Life on the river just doesn't get any better.
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