Tag Archives: kennett

Sivad is “Davis” spelled backward

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Growing up in Kennett, Missouri, in the 50’s and 60’s, we got our TV from Memphis, 100 miles to the south. But we were blessed with a great selection of movies. One station, WHBQ, billed their offerings, “Million Dollar Movies.” And there was a great sub-set of horror movies (Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, etc) presented as Fantastic Features. The Monster of Ceremonies was SIVAD, the only vampire with a hush-puppy southern accent.

How big was Sivad? He drew 30,000 fans to the Mid-South Fairgrounds, breaking the Beatles attendance record). You can learn more about Sivad and alter ego Watson Davis here.

Much thanks to Charles Jolliff for tipping us to this pop-culture flash-back.

“Falsely playing the race card”

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A few weeks back I posted a few times on the Heather Ellis trial in Kennett, MO, my home town. The trial and the incident that started the whole thing (3 years ago?) left Kennett with a black eye (so to speak). The local prosecutor recused himself and Morley Swingle –the prosecuting attorney for Cape Girardeau County– took over. In an op-ed piece (?) in today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mr. Swingle reflects on the trial and the incident that made it necessary:

“On a Saturday night in 2007 at the Wal-Mart in Kennett, Mo., Heather Ellis went into an angry tirade in the checkout line, grabbed another customer’s merchandise and pushed it away from the cash register, not just once, but four times.

When a manager told her to leave the store, she responded, “I’m not leaving and you can’t make me.” The police were called. They escorted her out of the store. Outside, she continued her angry rant. When an officer told her she would be arrested if she did not leave, she replied: “If you try to arrest me I’ll kick your [derriere].”

She was arrested. True to her word, she kicked the arresting officer and smacked another in the mouth, drawing blood.

Most people, after behaving so badly, would issue a few apologies and accept the prosecutor’s generous plea offer of probation to misdemeanor offenses. Instead, Ellis decided to claim to the national media that her arrest was based on “racism.”

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Joe Bankhead’s History of KBOA

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joebankhead

Joe Bankhead was there when radio station KBOA went on the air in 1947. One of the original employees. He recently retired (at the age of 92) and set down at his manual upright and banged out 17 pages of memories about the early days. My thanks to Joe (and his son, Jimmy) for allow us to share them here. You can hear some of Joe’s recollections in his own words (recorded in 1982)

AUDIO: Excerpt of interview with Joe Bankhead

Here’s Joe’s “History of KBOA” (PDF)

Anderson Cooper weighs in on race, justice and Kennett, MO

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My friend John just called report the Dunklin County courthouse in Kennett, Missouri (where I grew up), is surrounded by TV satellite trucks covering the trial of Heather Ellis. I posted on this a couple of weeks ago and have no idea what what really happened at the local Wal-Mart. I guess that’s what the trial is deciding. It sounds like CNN’s Anderson Cooper might have already have a verdict:

“… Kennett, Missouri has created both a pattern and practice of disparate treatment toward people of color. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the police of Kennett, Missouri search African Americans more than twice as often as whites (14% vs. 6%) even though they possess contraband at roughly the same rate (25% vs. 20%). Across the state of Missouri, African-Americans are searched almost twice as often as whites (12% vs. 7%), even though they are LESS likely to possess contraband (17% vs. 20%). Attorney General Eric Holder should get involved by conducting a thorough investigation of the entire Southeast Missouri judicial system.”

“My simple contention is this: Had Heather Ellis been a Duke Lacrosse player getting a little rowdy on spring break, I doubt very seriously that she would be facing this kind of prison time. America has a two-tiered justice system, where people of color are being given the bottom rung of the justice ladder. Our inability to let go of our racially horrific past is causing us to destroy our future. The Heather Ellis case is merely a symbol of a much larger problem.”

Story from yesterday on the Daily Dunklin Democrat website. I’ll update this with a verdict if and when there is one.

“Official” Song of Kennett, MO

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I’ve posted this little ditty a few times but it’s buried deep in 4,000+ posts. So here it is a again, tagged and categorized, for your listening pleasure. The song was recorded sometime back in the ’60’s (?) to promote the town (and the sponsoring businesses). Feel free to download the song, re-post, spread it far and wide. May it play for a 1,000 years.

Kennett, My Home town (MP3)