Week of February 19, #1

As we continue locating members of the West Point branch, we out to the area of Prairie, MS. A lot of Mississippi is rural, with small towns spaced out about 10 – 15 miles from each other. Unfortunately, most of the towns have seen better days, and they are declining, both as to condition and economics. A lot of the local businesses that thrived in years past have shuttered and are vacant. Each is unique, each with its own local history. At one time, Prairie (think of Scipio, UT) had a munitions plant that operated from WW2 into the 60’s that employed over 11,000 workers. It’s hard to believe there were even that many people living in the whole county back then. It’s now gated and chained, and doesn’t look like anyone has set foot inside the grounds since it closed.
We had names and addresses of several members in the Prairie area. No one in the branch had ever seen them, or knew anything about them. With a Google map and GPS, we finally found them. I should add that GPS maps of Mis'sipi are not accurate (frequently), but most of the time they will get us close. We located the first home, guarded by a pack of dogs of all sizes. The biggest ones were on chains, but there were lots of smaller ones nipping about. In that case, I have found that the best thing is to head straight for the front door. Sister Dawn, usually brave, elected to wait in the car this time. As I was greeted by the adult son of the sister we were looking for, he told me that she had died in 2010, and gave us the date. We were sad to hear that, but at least we were able to confirm that for her records.
When we made our way to the other address, we found out the same thing, the member had died in 2011. With the information we were able to provide, the branch mission leader was able to access Social Security death records, and confirm these events.