McComb is celebrating its 150th birthday in 2022, and to commemorate the sesquicentennial, activities will be taking place throughout the entire year.
Vickie Webb, a McComb native and 1972 South Pike High School graduate, is chair of the sesquicentennial committee and announced several scheduled events.
Webb said the plan was to participate in the Martin Luther King parade, but it was postponed due to the latest wave of COVID-19. She said the sesquicentennial committee would have a float in the city’s Mardi Gras parade scheduled for Feb. 12.
“What we’ve been doing is we’ve been working on a banner program that denotes the sesquicentennial and our 150th celebration,” she said. “We’re going to have banners downtown. People have been really nice. They’ve been buying banners or giving us money to buy banners. So we’re going to have a lot of banners downtown and expand it as far out as we get money to raise and can pay for the hardware to add to the banner program.”
Mayor Quordiniah Lockley, a 1972 McComb High School graduate, recalled the 100th celebration his senior year.
“One hundred and fifty years, I was here in McComb High School when we celebrated our centennial and I think it’s important that we recognize the 150-year birthday celebration of the City of McComb,” he said.
As other events for the sesquicentennial celebration may be cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19, Webb said it was important to schedule activities throughout the year.
“The group voted, as opposed to just doing one big event,” she said. “We would do things throughout the year and partner with other things that are going on because we don't have a conflict with anybody. Believe it or not, people talk about there’s nothing to do around here, but it’s really hard to find weekends that something isn’t going on in Pike County or McComb.”
Webb said there is going to be a McComb history exhibit atMccomb library in March.
“We’ve got so many people from here that have done well, excelled in fields of the arts,” she said. “We’re wanting to recognize those people. For a community our size, it’s just a huge list of people.
“You have a bad attitude that maybe you’re from here, you’re not going to go anywhere or do anything, but that’s not true because we’ve got so many people that we can prove,” she said.
As examples, Webb said blues musicians Bo Diddley and Castro Coleman, also known as Mr. Sipp, and Grammy-nominated bluesman Vasti Jackson all come from McComb. She noted the pavilion on Railroad Boulevard was named after Diddley.
Webb is also the chair of the McComb Main Street Association and the McComb Creative Economy Partnership, which has been compiling a list of several individuals who come from Southwest Mississippi and have gone on to be stars.
“Of course, we used to be a railroad town,” she said. “When the shops went away, we’re concerned, but we are a hub for a large area. We’ve got shopping. We’ve got a hospital. We’re so fortunate to be the community that has all the assets we have. We’ve just got to capitalize on them. I’m hoping that it’s going to be a lot of positive stuff that comes out of our 150th celebration.”
J.J. White Presbyterian Church will have a special service April 2 recognizing its 150 years with tours of the church, and church officials will bury a time capsule on April 3.
“I’m really excited that different people are going to participate like J.J. White Presbyterian,” Webb said.
Webb said more information on the sesquicentennial celebration can be found at https://www.facebook.com/McComb-MS-Sesquicentennial-Celebration-1013931… or the website https://mccomb150.wixsite.com/mississippi, which is currently under construction. Historical information, facts and pictures with a description and what may be shared could be emailed to McComb150@gmail.com.
