The Tamale Trail at Ten

In 2005, artist and documentarian Amy C. Evans embarked on a project to document the tamale culture of the Mississippi Delta. Ten years later, she reflects on a decade of documenting Delta tamales and reminisces about some of her favorite encounters. For more about Amy and her work, visit her website, www.amycevans.com

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The Mississippi Delta Hot Tamale Trail was launched in 2005, but my very first tamale interview happened two years earlier.

In June of 2003, I sat down with Pearl Johnson of Greenwood, Mississippi, as part of a project documenting restaurants in this Delta town that was once known as The Cotton Capital of the World.

Pearl Johnson made tamales by hand for six decades. Originally from Charleston, Mississippi, her first job was at the old Lucas Bar-B-Que in Greenwood, where she rolled her first bundle of meat and masa. For many years, she made and sold tamales at Reno’s Cafe, a short-order place owned by her daughter.

From my 2003 interview:

Amy C. Evans: Well, when did you start doing that kind of [wholesale] selling out of the restaurant [Reno’s Cafe]?

Pearl Johnson: Hmm, well, I think the Flat Top [Flatland Grill] been open about—it’s been open about a year, I think. [Toddler crying in background. A woman walks in the house with a young boy.] And well, Giardina’s just started getting them.

That young boy was Pearl’s grandson, Mon, who, twelve years later, cooks alongside Taylor Bowen Ricketts at Delta Bistropub in downtown Greenwood.

Today, Pearl is retired, but her daughter still makes tamales from her recipe. And Pearl’s interview is part of the Tamale Trail.

PHOTO: Pearl Johnson by Amy C. Evans, 2003.

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During the summer of 2005, I set out to collect a handful of oral history interviews with Delta tamale makers for the Southern Foodways Alliance (SFA). At the time, the SFA’s oral history initiative was just two years old, and we felt it was time to conduct a Mississippi-based project, since the organization’s headquarters are in Oxford. The SFA partnered with Viking Range Corporation, based in Greenwood, and off I went into the field, camera and tape recorder in hand.

After just a few weeks driving up and down many a Delta road, encountering so many generous people who were willing to share their stories, it became abundantly clear that this project could—and should—be much bigger than originally intended. So, instead of documenting just a handful of places, I ended up doing interviews with 20 different tamale makers from Helena, Arkansas, to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Twenty stories on a single subject inspired us to rethink how we shared our work. In order to feature these interviews in the very best way and to the largest audience possible, we decided to give them a life of their own—a life outside of the SFA’s online archive—and so we registered tamaletrail.com and created The Mississippi Delta Hot Tamale Trail.

As it turned out, the Tamale Trail laid the groundwork for future SFA culinary trails: Southern Boudin Trail, Southern Gumbo Trail, and the Southern BBQ Trail. Today, the individual trails are folded back into the SFA’s main site, and the interactive maps that were once a celebrated feature of each project evolved into the iPhone app, SFA Stories. But ten years ago, the SFA made a name for itself with these stand-alone projects that supported and inspired culinary tourism across the South. Innumerable articles were written about the Trail. We won awards. And I made life-long friends.

The purpose of this site is to highlight stories from the Trail and reflect on a decade spent talking tamales.

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For some background on the culture of tamales in the Mississippi Delta, read the introduction I wrote for the Tamale Trail.

PHOTO: Original Tamale Trail home page, designed in collaboration with Mary Geitner. 

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You're not from the Delta, if you know nothing of the tamales. It's just that simple.

Larry Lee, HOT TAMALE HEAVEN - Greenville, MS (2005)

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From pushcart to trailer, roadside stand to brick storefront, tamale joints come in all shapes and sizes. All of these photos were taken in the Mississippi Delta in the summer of 2005. Only three of the locations remain open today: Solly’s in Vicksburg, Joe’s in Rosedale, and Scott’s in Greenville (images 1, 5 and 6, respectively).

All photos by Amy C. Evans

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Amy Evans...dedicated the Mississippi Delta Hot Tamale Trail to the memory of the late Joe Pope of the White Front Café, whose death [in 2004] inspired her to try to save as many stories...as she could to keep the tradition alive.

Susan Puckett, EAT, DRINK, DELTA (2013)

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Joe Pope, Joe’s White Front Café in Rosedale, MS. Photo by Rod Davis, July 2004—five months before Joe Pope’s passing.

IN MEMORY OF JOE POPE, 1924-2004

In December 2004, revered hot tamale cook and vendor Joe Pope of Rosedale, Mississippi, passed away. He embodied the history of hot tamales in the Mississippi Delta. Born in Alabama in 1924, Pope’s family moved to a farm near Rosedale in the early 1930s. At that same time, John Hooks, who would later become an acquaintance of Pope’s, obtained a recipe for hot tamales from a Mexican migrant in the community. Decades later, Pope would turn to this tamale recipe and make it his own, selling hot tamales in an effort to earn some extra money. Before long, his side business became a full-time venture. For thirty-plus years, Pope made and sold his popular shuck-wrapped beef tamales from a modest clapboard building on Highway 1 in Rosedale, Joe’s Hot Tamale Place, a.k.a. The White Front Café.

John Williams, Jr., has fond memories of eating his cousin Joe Pope’s hot tamales while growing up in Rosedale. In 1999, Williams followed in his older cousin’s footsteps and opened a tamale place of his own, John’s Homestyle Hot Tamales, in Cleveland, Mississippi.

The Vance family of Benoit was also close with Pope, so much so that Pope shared his recipe with Jonathan Vance and his father. Jonathan began making and selling hot tamales at The Airport Grocery, which opened in 1992.

Many more have tried to replicate Pope’s recipe. Some have actually paid big money for the knowledge but stopped short of producing tamales when they realized the amount of labor involved.

The influence of Joe Pope and his hot tamales has extended far beyond the Delta, inspiring others to make and serve these bundles of meat and meal. This short tamale timeline traces the evolution of tamales in the Mississippi Delta, from Mexican to African American to cousin to friend.

The Mississippi Delta Hot Tamale Trail is the story of how tamales came to the Delta, how they were transformed, and how they have endured. It is the story of the late Joe Pope.

Today, Joe Pope’s youngest sister, Barbara Pope, runs her brother’s business. She peddles those famous Delta tamales to long-time customers and tourists alike. But Joe’s passing was a wake-up call, and it brought home the realization that a generation of tamale makers in the Mississippi Delta may just be on the brink of disappearing. Their stories should be collected. We wish we would have gotten Joe’s.

***

I wrote this piece in 2005, and it is still available within the SFA’s online archive. You can find it with the Tamale Trail interviews under the heading “XTRAS: In Memoriam.”

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Some say  tamales come from an old word that we use called 'cush.' A lot of the Africans would just take meal and season the meal…because a lot of them didn't have enough money to buy meat.

Lumumba Ajanaku, MEALS ON WHEELS - Yazoo City, MS (2005)

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Robert Stewart of Stewart’s Quick Mart in Cleveland, MS, 2005.

I’ve always loved this photograph, and I certainly enjoyed the time I got to spend with Robert. He took the time to show me everything he knew about making tamales. I heard tell some time ago that Robert closed his store. I wish I knew what happened to him.

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And I always used to tell folks, hot tamales is like making corn whiskey. You never get the same thing out twice. Makes no difference what you do, it won't never come out the same twice.

Shine Thornton, MARIA’S FAMOUS HOT TAMALES - Greenville, MS (2005)

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In 2006, celebrated chef and restauranteur Ann Cashion, who also happens to be from Mississippi, commissioned me to do a tamale painting. The end result, “They’re Red Hot,” featured above, highlights all of the things that make Delta tamales special. 

A year later, this painting was featured as part of an article on the Tamale Trail that appeared in the Oct./Nov. issue of the now defunct Y’all Magazine. 

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Visit Original Link

A year after I conducted the initial fieldwork for the Tamale Trail, I visited with Joe St. Columbia of Pasquale’s Hot Tamales in Helena, Arkansas, which is just across the river from Clarksdale, Mississippi. His family’s story and their connection to the Delta’s tamale history reaches way back into the late 19th century, farther than any other story I’ve collected. In this clip, Joe talks about his grandfather’s arrival from Sicily in the late 1800s, his connection with Mexican migrant laborers, and the tamale business he later opened.

The photo featured here is the earliest known photo of Elm Street Tamale Shop, circa 1950s, which was opened by Joe St. Columbia’s grandfather and later operated by Maggie and Eugene Brown, an African American couple who also, I’m told, served pig ear sandwiches. (Photo courtesy of Joe St. Columbia.)

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This award was established by the Mississippi Historical Society to recognize oral history projects exemplifying a distinguished collection, high-quality preservation, and proper use of oral history.

Mississippi Historical Society, on the occasion of The Mississippi Delta Hot Tamale Trail receiving the 2007 Elbert R. Hilliard Award for Outstanding Oral History Project.

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Soon after the Tamale Trail launched, I was invited to present the project at the 2006 Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration, the theme of which was “Biscuits, Gumbo, Sweet Tea, and Bourbon Balls: Southern Food and Drink in History, Literature, and Film.” It was the first time the interviews were presented in a public forum, and they received a great response. 

The Southern Quarterly published many papers and presentations from the conference. My Tamale Trail presentation, as well as many of my photographs, were included in their Winter 2007 volume, “Southern Food & Drink.”

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Alton Brown caught wind of the Tamale Trail in 2007 and filmed at many locations throughout the Delta for his popular Food Network show, “Feasting on Asphalt 2: The River Run.” I met his crew at Joe’s White Front in Rosedale, where we ate koolickles and talked tamales with Barbara Pope, the footage from which appeared in episode 3, “Soul Food Survivor.” You can also find notes, photos, and a recipe in the book version of his trek along the Mississippi River. 

I can’t say that I was ever a fan of Alton’s shows but, after spending time with him and watching him work, I have mucho respect for the man—and his crew. 

PHOTO: Alton and me outside Joe’s White Front in Rosedale, MS. Photo courtesy of Alton Brown, Feasting on Asphalt.

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I look to the dilapidated facade of Joe's White Front Cafe and out comes Amy Evans, who I am hoping will set my twitchin' mind to ease on the subject.

Alton Brown, FEASTING ON ASPHALT (2008)

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Elizabeth Scott of Scott’s Hot Tamales in Greenville, Mississippi, was awarded the SFA’s Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award in 2007. To honor her, they created this short film. I love witnessing Mrs. Scott’s dry humor. Hearing her daughters laugh is pretty great, too. 

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Seen in Chicago, 2008, when I was there to conduct fieldwork for a project documenting Southern food and the Great Migration.