Hi, I’m Dinah from Seattle

The South is a foreign land to Steve and I, only having dabbled in it for work here and there. But for this trip, we’re all in, committed to getting a sense of what the South is all about. Underlying everything here, it feels, are the past years of slavery, which created both extreme inequity and incredible, showy wealth, as well as the Civil War, which people refer here to as “the war between the states”.  At the same time, a charm overlays all that is happening–there’s a kindness and courtesy that pervades every interaction.

Deborah Cosey giving a tour of her and her husband, Gregory’s, restored former slave quarters house as part of the Natchez Garden Club Spring Pilgrimage Tour.

We stayed in Natchez at Concord Quarters, an 1820’s former slave quarters turned bed and breakfast, with delightful hosts, Debbie and Gregory, who renovated the building. Debbie speaks graciously of Natchez (and their place) as a place of healing, a place to foster dialogue between black and white people. She was the first woman of color to be a member of the Natchez Garden Club and I cannot imagine this is an easy position to place yourself in, but she appears to do so with grace.

Cocktails on the back porch at The Burn.

Currently, the Garden Club happens to be having its Spring Pilgrimage Tour, where you can tour the many grand homes in the area, including the Concord Quarters. Steve dared me to attend one of the events and I bit and attended “An Evening of Elegance at The Burn: Cocktails & Canapés with Holly Holden”. It was so out of my wheelhouse, but incredibly fascinating. Social events like this always make me a bit nervous, but everyone was incredibly welcoming. I was there with no make-up and an emergency 2nd hand dress purchased in New Orleans. However, all I had to do was approach a group, and people were happy to include me in, especially after I introduced myself as Dinah from Seattle, as this appeared to be a point of intrigue for this southern group. The very last group of the evening I introduced myself to said, “Oh, I heard about you”(?!) Many guests had some tie to Seattle, some son, daughter or uncle that wandered off west, so that provided a basis of conversation.

Holly Holden and I at The Burn Spring Pilgrimage evening, Cocktails & Canapés.

I love the observations from events such as this. The term for the upper crust here, ‘living in high cotton’, continues to hold up. Entrepreneurs are highly regarded here still–one chic southern lady proudly introduced me to her daughter, who owns a couple of yoga studios and produces a podcast called Punch Bowl Diaries (around faith building and Christianity–yes, religion is huge here). But perhaps the top encounter was to meet the entrepreneur and host of the evening, Holly Holden, an interior design and entertaining mogul of the South who also has her own clothing line (but I believe only wears pink herself). Definitely the grand dame of the evening, it was mesmerizing to see everyone informally ‘stand in line’ to greet her.

There is a ways to go here towards a sense of equality in Natchez–for example, at the local coffee shop, the only black folks present are waitresses. But what Debbie is doing is inspiring, and it’s incredible to be here and take it all in.