VOLUME XIV ISSUE 4 2021

ROUGH The Sons of Confederate Veterans – Camp 265

AND

THE
READYS RANKIN DISPATCH
RANKIN

CAMP
265
Home of the Rankin Rough & Ready’s – Brandon, Mississippi

Commander’s Report
Our April 3rd, 2021 meeting is a go. We still need to follow CDC
guidelines. Everyone is encouraged to wear a mask and social distance.
We will have hand sanitizer and masks available, and instead of shaking
hands, maybe fist bump! I heard bringing desserts will ward off the
COVID! If you do not feel comfortable attending the meeting, please
continue doing what you think is best for yourself and your family. I look
forward to seeing everyone that is not running fever!

Our April speaker will be Rabbi Tom Fortenberry. He is a long time

member, Chaplain of our camp, and all around great guy! Please come
out and show your support!! We will swear in officers that could not
attend last month’s meeting, discuss March events, The Trail of Honor,
Our upcoming Relic Show, and more. So, come early, and bring a
someone with you! We will have good food, great friends, a good
business session, and as sure as my white truck looks like it’s turning
yellow, I will probably see you at Fernando’s in Brandon on April 3rd,
2021.
– Tim Cupit

Meeting Agenda for April 3rd:

Agenda For April 3, 2021 Meeting
- Open with prayer at 7pm sharp by Tom Fortenberry
- Pledge of Allegiance to the US flag and salutes led by 2nd Lt.
Commander Tom Lilly
Trivia by Ralph Smitherman
- Speaker - Tom Fortenberry / topic: TBA – Q&A

Unfinished Business
- Adopt minutes from March 6, 2020 - motion, 2nd, discussion, vote
- Did everyone sign in and get a door prize ticket?
- www.scv265.com and Facebook stats from Chris Merck
- First Thursday Coin Club at Brandon library 6:30pm hosted by Ed
Lofton, draw for door prize
- OCR report from Brandi Gray
- AR-15 drawing at May meeting one ticket per $50 of ads sold for our
newsletter or donations collected
- March events
- A Show of Hands on who will commit to working the Relic Show on
June 11-13, 2021?
-Scrapbook update Tara Bradley The guest speaker for the March meeting was Mr. Sandy Mitcham. So honored
-Protests, Initiatives, Politics & our Camp to have him speak at our meeting!

New Business
- New members
- Easy eat snacks for Vets
- April events Keep up with what’s happening in and around
- Civil War fiddle Camp 265 by checking out the official
- Memorial Service on April 3rd at Old Brandon Cemetery Rankin Rough & Ready’s Facebook page!
- Officer Installation http://www.facebook.com/scv265
- Trail of Honor May 14-17, 2021
- Volunteer to call a Sponsor!
- Open floor / Door prizes
- Close meeting with prayer at approx. 8:38pm
Commander’s Quote:
“If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way.
If not- you’ll find an excuse.”
New MAFOCR member Ashley Elizabeth Harris
receiving her certificate from Chapter President
Brandi Gray.

Brian Skipworth and Charla Lewis at the grave of CSA Major General Patrick
Cleburne, in Helena, Arkansas.
 CHAPLAIN’S REPORT
by Tom Fortenberry

THE SOUTHERN GENTLEMEN

The years have not passed so quickly that I have not been able to continue to experience the warmth and lives of so many.
Born and raised in Mississippi, a friend of whom I worked with for many years once told me. ‘‘I’ll give you some advice, if
you retire, don’t go home and just set on your porch. Too many people I know did that and in no time we buried them.” So get
off the porch sometimes! I remember a Bible passage that says, “This is not our home, we are only passing through.”
Hebrews 13:14 It is true that generations have come and gone like a mist that appears for a short time, and yet each
generation in it passing, leaves a lasting quality and character of its people.

I grew up in the South. I grew up with corn bread, Okra, fresh squeezed milk, and mason jar churned butter and a whole lot
of other things people seem to take for granted these days. Our way of life may have changed with time, but the attributes
that distinguish our Southern people today have not. In my travels around Mississippi, it was common then as it is today, to
experience the Southern way of life.

Yes, a lot of us talk funny and do things that would seem strange to other parts of the country, and still there are qualities that
make our Southern life different. Some of our ways of living common to the Southern lifestyle are, devotion to family,
humility, courtesy, respect toward women, integrity, benevolence, community, involvement, and faith in God.

If I had to chose where I would live, I would chose the South. I would live in the Bible Belt among a people who knew that
they were only passing through. A people who still retain their faith and a love for each other and for God. You may ask,
where are the Southern Gentlemen today? The answer in reality, is you.

And Ladies, you are an important part of the Southern Gentlemen. So I would recommend that your husbands read
Proverbs 31:10-31 to your wife often and young men read it also to your girlfriend it will show her where you value her life.

May God Bless each of you and keep you.

– Thomas Fortenberry, Chaplain, Camp 265

ADJUTANT’S REPORT
by Charles Lewis

"If this cause that is so dear to my heart is doomed to fail, then I pray heaven may let me fall with it, while my face is turned toward the
enemy and my right arm is battling for that which I know to be right." – General Patrick R. Cleburne

Forty two people signed in at the March meeting. I am glad to see the numbers going up. Rabi Tom Fortenberry opened the meeting with
prayer. Second Lt. Tom Lilly led the pledges.

Sandy Mitcham from Monroe LA was the guest speaker. Mr. Mitcham has authored numerous books, and holds several degrees from
several colleges. The key points of his talk included:
- History is the study of the past with interpretations.
- The War between the States was about money; low labor cost, tariffs, and taxation.
- The hypocrisy of slavery, abolition and terrorism.
- The War between the States for the South was a war of southern self determination.

In appreciation for his coming to speak, Tim presented him with an early Coca-cola bottle.

Brandi Gray gave the OCR report, where she explained the "Cutest Baby Picture Contest" fundraiser the OCR will be doing at the April
meeting, Five dollars to enter a photo. Then the photos will be numbered (no names) and a corresponding numbered glass will be put with
the picture. SCV members, OCR members and guest will place money in the glass/ glasses of the picture/ pictures they think is cutest. The
photo that gets the most money will be the winner. So Bring a Few Extra Dollars and help pick the winner. She also reminded everyone of
the Prayer Decoration Service to be held in the cemetery of Drake United Methodist Church, Flowood MS on March 27th at 2:00 PM. This
is hosted by the MAF OCR, so please try to support us with your attendance.

Several reenactors, including Tim Cupit went to the Dixie National Parade honoring rodeo clown, Lecile Harris. However they weren't
allowed to march in it, but we still appreciate them braving the freezing cold and giving it the Dixie try.

Updates on the camp scrapbook and the relic show were given. Again, we need everyone's help. You are encouraged to come help, be it for
a few hours or all day. Help is needed for setting up, working booths, working the door, helping vendors unload and reload, driving the golf
cart, breaking down and cleaning up, and so much more. We must have everyone's help for this event to be a success.

At the March meeting the OCR and SCV collected easy-to-eat snacks and lap blankets for the VA State Nursing Home. Thank you to all
who brought snacks and lap throws, or gave money. Mrs Chandra D'avy will shop with the donated money, then deliver everything to the
nursing home on our behalf.

Others recognized during the meeting were: those who volunteered at the Salvation Army Souper Bowl, those who attended/helped with
Greg Barron's funeral service, those who attended the reenactment for the Battle of Texas Hospital, Quitman, MS, those who help at
Beauvoir activities ,and those collecting signatures for " Let Mississippi Vote."

Brent Bigby petitioned for membership into the Rankin Rough and Ready's and was voted to be excepted by the membership.

Don't Forget: AR15 to be drawn for at the May meeting. For every $50.00 in ads you sale for the newsletter, your name will be placed in the
drawing. SO-Good Luck and SALE SALE SALE.

Upcoming Events:
- April 3, 2021 - Camp meeting and candle light (in house) memorial service;
Confederate Memorial Service, Old Brandon Cemetery, 10:00 AM - Hosted by the Lowery Rifles
- April 10, 2021 - Corinth Relic Show
- April 24, 2021 - Confederate Memorial Day Service, Beauvoir, Biloxi, MS
- May 1, 2021 - First Pilgrimage to Elm Springs, Columbia, TN
- May 15 - 16, 2021 - CANCELLED - Trail of Honor - CANCELLED
- June 11 - 13, 2021 - SCV Reunion, Vicksburg, MS
- June 12 - 13, 2021 - Civil War Relic Show, City Hall, Brandon, MS

– Charles Lewis, Adjutant, Camp 265

Several SCV members along with other volunteers were collecting petition signatures for the “Let Mississippi Vote” campaign on March 13-14, 2021 at the Jackson Gun
Show, Wahabi Shriners Facility on I-55 South in Jackson.

For more information about SCV Camp 265,

the Rankin Rough & Ready’s, visit us online at:

ROUGH
AND
http://www.scv265.com
READYS
RANKIN

CAMP
265

When a visiting rooster flew the coop, the people of Cullman, Alabama stepped
up to help reunite the owner with his feathered friend.
A 'pretty chill' Peep: Pet rooster reunited
with owner after going missing inAlabama
By Amy Henderson, The Cullman Times, Feb 11, 2021
CULLMAN, Ala. — When a visiting rooster flew the coop, the people of Cullman
stepped up to help reunite the owner with his feathered friend.
It all started when 18-year-old Thomas Ramsey, a student at Copiah Academy in
Gallman, Miss., and founder of the Muddy Rabbits Mess, a 32-member military
reenactment group and the largest youth group nationally, was returning from a Civil
War reenactment in Springhill, Tenn., and stopped for lunch on Jan. 31 at Cracker
Barrel in Cullman. With him was his friend Jonas Patrick and his Buff Orpington
rooster, Peep.
Peep is a handsome fellow, in keeping with the standards of this heritage breed of
chicken: heavy, with a broad body and low stance and having a “bold, upright and
graceful” carriage. He’s been the cock of the walk ever since Ramsey found him on a
roadside last summer when he was still a young chick.
Ramsey has been participating in reenactments since he was 14. It’s a way, he said, to
really connect with history as they reenact wars from the late Colonial time up to
World War II. Most of the reenactments he participates in, though, are from the Civil
War.
“It’s a part of history that needs to be represented and we represent it as accurately as
we can,” he said. He’s been around the country, from Pennsylvania to West Texas,
participating in 16-20 reenactments each year. He’ll spend three hours a day for six to
seven months researching for an event. When he’s been part of organizing event, the
research kicks up to six to seven hours a day over a multiple months. For one event,
he said, “I had all my men spend a minimum of 10 months preparing with accents and
everything.”
The experience, he said, humanizes history. He said he’s not focused on being on any
particular “side” of history, but on representing the people and times accurately. “I
don’t like to think of it in terms of who was ‘right,’ I like to think of it as individuals
going to war for whatever reason,” he said.
In his research, he said, there have been numerous accounts of soldiers going to war
with animals, including camels, and, yep, roosters. “You’ll read journals of people
caring not just fighting roosters but other support animals,” he said. In one
undisputed account, said Ramsey, a Confederate soldier carried his rooster with him
for two years. That particular rooster’s tale did not end well, though, as he ended up in
the bellies of some Union soldiers.
So when Peep entered into Ramsey’s life, it didn’t seem unheard of to take the young
bird with him into battle. “We were at the house, getting ready for an event and we’re
sitting there playing with him, and we’re like, ‘let’s take him with us,’” he said.
At the first event, one of Ramsey’s friend’s was carrying Peep in a bag by his side, but
when the friend got “hit,” Peep hopped out and just strolled about.
“There’s about 10 cannons just blazing and all the rifle fire and he’s not going crazy.
He’s pretty chill,” said Ramsey. Peep is, said the teen, “a real solider.”
The Springhill event was the third Peep has been part of, and they were headed home
when they stopped in Cullman. The young men took the rooster out of the cab of the
truck, attached him to his leash and walked him around until their order was called.
While they went in to eat, they tied the rooster’s leash to the bed of the truck as they
had done several times before.
But, an hour later, Ramsey’s friend went outside and came back with bad news: “He
said, ‘he’s gone, man,’” said Ramsey. “At first I thought he was joking; he messes with
me like that.”
It wasn’t a joke, though. Peep had flown the coop.
“I went back into the Cracker Barrel and it was very hard for me to say this with a
straight face, even though I was panicking: ‘Do you have cameras in the parking lot? I
think someone stole my chicken,’” he said. Someone overheard and said they’d seen
Peep wandering in the parking lot.
He called the police and Cullman Animal Control Officer Cooper Harris responded to
the call. Harris has been an animal control officer for about five months, and this was
only his second call regarding a chicken and the first that involved one that had gone
missing.
“I’d say it’s very, very, very rare,” said Harris.
Ramsey was impressed by Harris’dedication to finding Peep.
“He spent an hour and half riding around looking for him,” said Ramsey. Harris even
checked with a nearby farmer to see if he’d picked up the roaming rooster, and, with
the farmer’s permission, checked the coop to see if Peep, following the “birds of a
feather flock together” adage, had wandered there on his own. But there was no sign of
him.
By this time, Ramsey had posted a “missing chicken” post and photos to several
Cullman Facebook pages. “Every five minutes there was someone responding that
they were looking for him,” said Ramsey.
Ramsey continued on to his home in Mississippi, hopeful that someone would find his
feathered friend. Thirty minutes away from his home, he received the news that
Jeremy Cox had found Peep. Wherever the rooster wandered to or whatever roads he
may have crossed, he’d found his way back to the Cracker Barrel parking lot where
Cox found him. His adventures continued from there.
“He’d changed hands like three times that day,” said Ramsey, but it was John Watson,
a local farmer who’d been posting advice on finding and catching Peep, who drove the
rooster to Birmingham where teen and bird were reunited.
Watson said he stepped up to help because it’s important to him to “spread love for a
fellow man or woman.”
“I believe in paying it forward,” said Watson. “God has blessed my family so much
throughout the years, I believe we should be kind to our fellow man. Yes, it was ‘just a
chicken,’but it was his and he clearly cared for it.”
Ramsey agreed that Peep is special. “Most of the time I would not drive four hours for
just any chicken,” said Ramsey. “He’s interesting.”
Orpington’s are known as docile, friendly and affectionate birds. Ramsey isn’t
entirely sure that’s true. “I don’t know if its affection or him just knowing how to
manipulate the system,” he said.
But Ramsey felt like Peep was happy to be back with him. “He stood up and kind of
jumped when I got him,” he said.
There’s no doubt about Ramsey’s affection for Cullman. “I was really impressed; I
love y’all’s town now,” he said. “I can’t think of many places where there are that
many people willing to take the time to help out like that.”
To continue following the adventures of Peep, you can check out his Instagram page
@peep_the_towel.
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THE RANKIN DISPATCH NON-PROFIT ORG.
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317 Lake Heather Road BRANDON, MS
Brandon, MS 39047 PERMIT NO. 265

Our next meeting is April 3rd at:

Fernando’s Mexican Restaurant
2146 Hwy 471
Brandon, MS 39047
at 7:00pm. Come early!