Reaching out to our Commissioners has been an amazing opportunity not only to get to know each member but also to get to know their community. They know their towns well and are wonderfully connected to the people and organizations we serve or need to be serving.

Reaching out to Ada McGrevey was a prime example of this. Ada told me to meet her in Newton, Mississippi, and we would just go from there. We met up at the Newton Little Theater, which is situated in a former Roxy theatre. But it took a hot minute for me to get there. I left for Newton soon after a lunch meeting about our Mississippi Whole School Initiative – but traffic on I-20 proved rather problematic. I got on the phone with Ada, who just happened to be with Representative Rushing, who just so happened to have come from that way and knew how to navigate me through each backroad to get me there as easily and quickly as possible. Because, of course, he would know! And I was so thankful.

The Newton Little Theatre group is an all-volunteer team of experienced community theatre veterans who put on a remarkable season of shows. Julie Rowzee led us through a tour of the facility with Newton Mayor Antonio Hoye. We toured all throughout the backstage and saw the immaculate costuming storage that Lynn Wagner, along with Julie, had so carefully kept tidy and orderly. I know the costuming storage I’ve seen in my community theatre days growing up would have only dreamed to have looked that well sorted. It is a visual testament to their care and dedication to this theatre program. Tammy Cleveland and Colt Cleveland are board members of the Newton Little Theatre and just joined us for the tour.

After the theatre visit, I hopped in the car with Ada for a tour of the town. We drove by the McElroy-Hoye House, a wonderfully preserved historic home in downtown. And drove past two murals by local artist Dottie Armstrong. The next thing I know, Ada has Dottie’s husband, Andy, on the line asking if we could stop by “real quick. We won’t even come inside.” I wasn’t sure what to expect, but what happened next was a delightful surprise.

As we made our way to their home, Ada explained that Dottie and Andy taught at the high school and retired together on the same day. Dottie taught art at the high school but now taught classes at the “Secret Garden studio.”

“The Secret Garden Studio?” I wondered.

“Is this the secret garden?” I asked naively as we passed a series of bushes and a decent garden.

“Oh no,” Ada responded as she politely grinned in a way that told me I was in for something better.

We turned the corner and parked in front of this lovely light pink cottage with hand-painted details and a sign that said “The Secret Garden Art Studio.” And as I turned to the right, I noticed a coordinating house up on the hill with Andy standing on the back porch awaiting our arrival.

Ada introduced us, Dottie joined us, and we all headed down past the pool and playground (also covered with hand-painted and crafted details) and into the studio. Enchanted – the best word to describe my experience. The interior of Dottie’s studio was a storybook of color – complete with clouds and sky painted on the ceiling. This is where Dottie leads her wonderful art classes – something I hope to experience firsthand someday. Andy then asked if we’d like to see the rest of the grounds, and he led us across the property. We passed a neighborhood of birdhouses on our way to the “Mosaic Barn” – a structure that was covered on two sides with hand-laid mosaic murals. On the way to the “Bottletree Bungalow,” we passed “The Tree of Wisdom” (a tree covered in wise, funny sayings painted by Dottie) and the “Door to Nowhere.” We toured the dreamy bungalow before walking over to their home, passing one of the bicycles that Andy rode cross country that Dottie had covered entirely with beads and hung on the carport wall. We ventured inside, which was immaculate and also a continued expression of artistic genius. It was an absolute wonderland, from rugs painted onto the floor to murals on the ceiling. It was time for us to go and pick up Ada’s husband, Mike. But I was so thankful to have seen this site for myself and hope to see it again one day.

We picked up Mike and drove around Decatur, seeing their first mural recently commissioned downtown, and it was wonderful. Side note: I think every town in Mississippi deserves to have its own mural.

And with that, we were on our way to Meridian to meet up in Meridian with another commissioner, Julie Martin, and her husband, Bruce. Tune in next month to hear about my adventures in Meridian!

Update: Ada has since informed me that she reached out to the city about restoring the murals that are fading in downtown, and they are working on it! https://www.newtoncountyappeal.com/newton-daughter-leads-restoration-effort-mural