MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2014 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Chassaniol, Butler (38th), Fillingane, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND CONGRATULATING GREENWOOD HISTORIAN AND HISTORIC PRESERVATIONIST MARY CAROL MILLER FOR RECEIVING TWO NATIONAL AWARDS BY THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
WHEREAS, Mary Carol Miller was a teenager when she first set her eyes on Cotesworth, the antebellum plantation house in Carroll County. The lavish home, built by U.S. Senator J.Z. George 170 years ago, immediately sparked Miller's interest in preserving historic buildings and keeping alive the stories that the old walls hold; and
WHEREAS, Miller, 50, is known as a Writer, local Historian, Community Volunteer and Historic Preservationist. Her prolific efforts were recently recognized at the March 2014 meeting of the Chakchiuma Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, where she was presented two National Awards by the Chapter. Miller is the Chakchiuma Chapter's first National Award recipient. Only about 20 of these awards are presented annually throughout the United States; and
WHEREAS, Miller, unaware that the chapter had nominated her for the two prestigious awards, attended the meeting as a guest speaker. Her planned presentation was about the book Greenwood: Mississippi Memories Vol. I, which she co-wrote with Allan Hammons and Donny Whitehead, and the upcoming second volume of the book that recently began printing. Her introduction to the group soon took a turn Miller did not expect, as the chapter member announced the awards to the crowd and the recipient. "Mary Carol is deeply involved within the community, and we depend on her for her architectural influence and her knowledge of Greenwood. Her knowledge is respected"; and
WHEREAS, Mary Carol Miller is a Greenwood native, but college, medical school, marriage and children took her to other places, including two years in Scotland, for 34 years before she returned to her hometown in 2005. Her mother was Sara Criss, who lived in Greenwood for 85 of her 88 years. Throughout Miller's life, she said, her mother had two jobs, one at the Chamber of Commerce and the other as Bureau Chief for the Memphis newspaper The Commercial Appeal. Both of her jobs allowed Criss to know the ins and outs of the community. Already having a thorough knowledge of Greenwood, Miller steadily studied architecture, history and, particularly, antebellum homes from the time she first saw Cotesworth to adulthood. The first story she ever published was about the history of the Star of the West ship, which she lectured on at the museum about a year ago during the "War Comes to the Mississippi Delta" exhibit; and
WHEREAS, in 1996, one of her articles, "Lost Mansion," led to a book that was published by University Press. That was the first of 11 books that Miller has authored. "I was very fortunate, and it turned into an avocation and then to publishing and, then, to something that is not a job, it's a productive avocation," said Miller. "I am one of those fortunate people who get to work with something they love"; and
WHEREAS, looking through her work, from her first published story to the second volume of the Greenwood books, it's evident that the town where Miller grew up has been her muse. "We live in a beautiful town with a lot of beautiful architecture and a committed group of people willing to work for that historical architecture. It's a fascinating place to live, and I can't imagine living anywhere else now"; and
WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we pay tribute to a citizen whose enormous civic energy is a source of inspiration and example for historic preservation in the City of Greenwood and in the State of Mississippi:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize and congratulate Greenwood Historian and Historic Preservationist Mary Carol Miller for receiving two National Awards by the Daughters of the American Revolution, and join with the Citizens of Greenwood in commending this record of achievement and legacy of leadership, and we extend our best wishes to Mary and her family at this auspicious honor.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Mary Carol Miller and her family, forwarded to the Chakchiuma Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.