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As a lifelong resident of Port Gibson, James Allen witnessed many important moments in his hometown\\u2019s history. In this episode, he shares some of those memories. Allen attended the Chamberlain-Hunt Military Academy in Port Gibson in the early 1920s. He recalls the night McComb Hall burned and three student\\u2019s harrowing escape from the third floor.

Allen\\u2019s father owned one of the first car dealerships in Port Gibson. He recounts his father\\u2019s favorite story of selling a retired rancher his first automobile and how the man tried to coax the car up a hill. People have been decorating the cars of newlyweds since the earliest days of the automobile. Allen describes the lengths to which they would go to harass their just-married friends.

F. S. Wolcott\\u2019s travelling minstrel show used Port Gibson as its home base during the off season. Allen remembers how Wolcott would wait to pay his credit accounts until the merchant asked for the money.

PHOTO: Chamberlain-Hunt Academy postcard