Senate Concurrent Resolution 605

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING LOIS "MISS LOIS" SWANEY-SHIPP, RESPECTED SUPPORTER OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN HOLLY SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI, UPON HER RECEIPT OF THE 2014 AWARD OF MERIT FROM THE MISSISSIPPI HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

WHEREAS, Lois "Miss Lois" Swaney-Shipp received the 2014 Award of Merit from the Mississippi Historical Society on March 8, 2014, in Jackson. The society's Award of Merit was presented for her exemplary leadership in helping establish and direct the Marshall County Historical Museum; and

WHEREAS, the Historical Society's Awards of Merit are presented to individuals or organizations for their outstanding archival, historical, museum or records management work; and

WHEREAS, Lois Swaney-Shipp, a longtime pillar in the Holly Springs Community, was President of the Marshall County Historical Society at the time of its first meeting in the old Women's Dormitory Building of the Mississippi Synodical College on April 27, 1970. The Historical Society was later supplanted by the Marshall County Historical Museum Society, after saving the old college building from certain demolition, thus paving the way for the extensive collection now enjoyed some 43 years later. Lois Swaney-Shipp, affectionately known as "Miss Lois," has been the steady hand on the museum's rudder for much of the past 30 years, since returning to Holly Springs from Vicksburg. Her daily presence has been missed at the museum since her move to Oxford, however the dedicated staff is continuing her legacy to preserve Marshall County's history and artifacts; and

WHEREAS, Lois Shipp, accompanied at the event by family and friends, said she was excited about being selecting for the award after a nomination by Chelius Carter, who stepped into her shoes as Director at the County Museum in Holly Springs. Shipp said as a youth her interest in history and historical artifacts took place at age 14. She did not know her love for history would follow her throughout her life and, in fact, become a life's mission; and

WHEREAS, Miss Lois said what prompted her interest in history was that she served as hostess at Airliewood during Pilgrimage. "That house was so incredible," she said. "It had silver door knobs. I loved the architecture. I learned all about Airliewood and the Civil War." Shipp was so caught up in the old antebellum structures and stories that she asked her mother to be a guide, a job relegated to the Boy Scouts during that day. The Swaneys moved to Clinton after having lived in Virginia. A dealer in antiques and old properties tried to sell Shipp a staircase from an old house in Vicksburg. Instead she bought the entire house - the Balfour House in Vicksburg - to preserve both the staircase and the house. The house, described as the House of Generals because of its use during the Civil War, remains an important landmark in Vicksburg today, thanks to Lois Swaney-Shipp; and

WHEREAS, the Marshall County Historical Museum, the citizens of Marshall County and all who enjoy the museum's vast holdings and use it for research, are the direct beneficiaries of much hard work by Lois Swaney-Shipp and others, including the Marshall County Board of Supervisors, who in 1970 shared the vision of a group of dedicated citizens, that Marshall County should have a museum. The college has housed that museum for 44 years; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we join the citizens of Marshall County in honoring an individual dedicated to preserving Mississippi's history:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize Lois "Miss Lois" Swaney-Shipp, respected supporter of historic preservation in Holly Springs, Mississippi, upon her receipt of the 2014 Award of Merit from the Mississippi Historical Society, and extend the best wishes of the Legislature on this august occasion.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Lois Swaney-Shipp, forwarded to the Marshall County Historical Museum Society, the Mississippi Historical Society, and the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.