Bobby Lee Hayes

GAUTIER -- Today marks two years since the passing of former Councilman Bobby Lee Hayes, a committed public servant and hard-working patriot known for defending Gautier and veterans.

Hayes was 81 years old when he succumbed to mesothelioma on Jan. 25, 2007. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos.

"I doing good," said his wife, Jane, this afternoon from her home in the Hickory Hill community.  "I miss him but I'm doing good. You know, you just do the best you can."

The couple had seven children between them, including Jane Hayes' son, Randy Saunders, who lives in the Westgate subdivision off Gautier-Vancleave Road. 

"He helped me an awful lot when Bob was sick," the mother said. She said Bobby Hayes' death was tough on her son, but he also is doing well. 

"He was a step-son, but, boy, I don't know what I would have done without him," said Jane Hayes.

Last week, Hayes brought flowers to First Baptist Church of Gautier in memory of her husband's death and the Jan. 14 birthday of her daughter, Ardeth Files of Garland

, Texas, who died of cancer four years ago. The flowers had remained alive in the church, where the couple met 25 years ago.  

"They were still in church today," Jane Hayes said. "When I walked in and saw them, I said 'Oh.' It really got me."

Bobby Hayes, involved in numerous civic activities, was known as founder of the Gautier Mullet Festival, a fall event held each October, and now directed by Anna Simpson with support from the city of Gautier.  2009 marks the festival's 19th year. 

Hayes particiapted in personal and citywide clean ups, and was a staunch defender of children and submarine veterans. He had been an assistant teacher, and he belonged to the Tullibase Base Chapter of United States Submarine Veterans Inc.

Jane Hayes said the Mississippi Magnolia Chapter of the Submarine Veterans of World War II folded after Hayes died. He was state commander of the chapter and was Southeast regional director.  

"He was the last active surviving member," she said. "A lot of the chapters are having to fold because the World War II veterans are passing."

Following Bobby Hayes' death the city of Ocean Springs planted a tree in his honor near the WWII Submarine Veterans Memorial located at the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial on U.S. 90. Mayor Connie Moran presented a plaque inscribed with the words "on eternal patrol." 

Jane Hayes, who provided the words, said he husband had lost a fellow submariner, Al Hammond, during October 2006. Hammond was member of the Magnolia Chapter and had provided the designs for memorials in Ocean Springs honoring both submarine veterans and their wives. She the statue for submarine wives is the only such memorial in the country.

 

The Gautier City Council named the city's first KaBOOM! playground for Hayes. The park is located in Hickory Hill as part of amenities added to a Habitat for Humanity housing development off north Martin Bluff Road, near the Hayes' home. 

Jane Hayes said more Habitat houses have been built near the park since it was initially installed by numerous volunteers in late January two years ago. She said the park and additional homes are nice. 

"I know he would have been awful proud of the park," she said. 

Maj. Michael Green

UPDATE: A ceremony is set for 10 a.m. April 3 to dedicate the Maj. Michael Green Memorial Highway, a stretch of U.S. 90 in Gautier. The dedication will be held at the Gautier Convention Center. 

_____________________________________________________

GAUTIER -- It has been a year this month since residents of Gautier and from across Jackson County braved freezing wind and rain to pay their last respects to fallen soldier Michael Green, a native of this city.

A 36-year-old Green Beret, the Army major died Jan. 7, 2008, in Afghanistan.  Green was killed when a roadside bomb, ironically, hit a taskforce on patrol to seek out bombs.  

Hundreds of people lined U.S. 90 as the funeral procession rolled from First Baptist Church that is across from Gautier Elementary School, where Green and his twin sister, Michelle, spent their early years.

 

Rare Look at Louisiana Native Guard

BILOXI -- Earlier this month the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art opened an exhibition of rare photographs of the Louisiana Native Guard, according to media reports.

The exhibition will remain open until Feb. 20.

Soldiers in the second regiment of the Native Guard, an African American unit that served during the Civil War, were responsible for guarding Confederate prisoners of war on Ship Island.

A New Orleans native believes the history of the Louisiana soliders who served in Mississippi could attract tourists, according to www.wlox.com

Photographs may be seen at www.georgeohr.org.

Fire at in-law's home tough on chief

Sometimes the business of fighting fires gets personal.

Fire Chief Jimmy Green knows that all too well.  

On Jan. 11 he spent much of the night helping put out a blaze that destroyed the home of his wife's grandmother, Helen Parker, in Vancleave.

We all know that every house destroyed by fire belongs to someone's relative. Yet its seems a little tougher for those who protect and serve when the tragedy hits home, according to the fire chief. 

"It's hard when you're going through the house fightin' fire .... kicking your child's toys outta the way," Green told reporter Sylvia Hall at WLOX-TV 13 on Monday, Jan. 12.  

The family plans to rebuild the home that was on Gautier-Vancleave Road, the reporter said.

We salute you, Chief Jimmy Green, for your bravery in the face of family disaster and heartache.