From Azaleas to Zydeco: My 4,600-Mile Journey through the South

The Salon at Ravennaside

The Salon at Ravennaside Salon is a French word meaning “large room,” but it also means a gathering of people to meet, discuss ideas, or watch artistic performances . Ravennaside is a 10,000-square-foot Colonial Revival house built in Natchez in 1902 on three acres of land. As I attended a formal luncheon at Ravennaside, the word salon kept coming to me. The first meaning was apparent given the mansion’s magnificent public rooms. The second meaning became apparent during the second or third course of the five-course lunch. I called my host in the morning to confirm the time for lunch. I told him I was casually dressed but would be happy to change, if I needed to be more formal. He replied that he liked to dress formally and would be wearing a coat and tie, but that his other guests would be casually dressed so that I could come as I wished. I found myself a little intimidated arriving at the front gate and walking up the front steps to a beautiful front porch. A butler ushered me into a parlor where I waited for my host, Mr. Reuben “Buzz” Harper. Buzz might be described as colorful. The writer of an article in Southern Living about Natchez described him well: ...a distinguished gentlemen gliding in gracefully with a cane. His three-piece suit will be buttoned, fingers weighted by bejeweled rings and white hair pulled tight into a pony-tail. 254 As I said, colorful. Even though Buzz wore a coat and tie for lunch, to me he was a homeboy because he hails from the Arkansas Delta. Buzz grew up in Newport, the county seat of Jackson County, Arkansas, where Governor Mike Beebe went to high school. He mentioned graduating from the University of Arkansas in 1957. Doing some quick calculations, I realized that Buzz was a lot older than he looked. Later Buzz told me he had moved to Natchez from New Orleans, after selling his house in the Garden District to the actor Nicholas Cage. A meeting being held in another parlor soon broke up. Buzz introduced me to his business associates, Mike Recotta from New Orleans and Bill Probst from Atlanta. His butler offered me a drink, and I soon relaxed in the old-style southern hospitality and enjoyed the conversation . Ms. Lonita Byrne, a friend of Buzz’s who had recently moved back to Natchez from Vicksburg, joined us. Before lunch, Buzz gave us a quick tour of the first floor. He noted that the Ravennaside’s parquet floors were somewhat unique for Natchez. Most of the finer houses in town were older and had broad Ravennaside in Natchez 255 plank flooring. The mantle in the front parlor was not of the appropriate period for the house. Buzz said the original owner had bought it in New York City. It was finer than the other mantles which had been milled locally for the house. He said that he had been offered a lot of money for the mantle. Such offers raised the trader blood in him, but the mantle belonged to the house and wasn’t for sale. Soon we repaired to the dining room for lunch. After the soup and salad courses came a wonderfully encrusted catfish covered with shrimp Creole sauce and served over rice. I don’t want to sound like a society columnist, but I must note that my coin silver knife rested on a little silver bridge. I had never seen a little silver bridge before, but I found it to be a pretty handy piece of tableware. I could rest my knife and not worry about soiling the starched tablecloth. Strawberry shortcake with raspberries was served for dessert. A good rule of thumb: When strawberry shortcake is offered, it’s un-American not to indulge. Buzz kept the conversation moving. He moved from the opening grace to the history of his fine house. He made his guests comfortable and drew us into the discussion. During lunch, the group learned that Bill Probst’s brother was a character actor in Hollywood who played Tom Cruise’s father in the film Risky Business and that Lonita’s husband was a former mayor of Natchez. Buzz spoke of his ninety-year-old mother, who had lived most of her life in Newport. He recalled her wise counsel, “Everyone has trials in life. No matter how...