Extra Mile Podcast: Director of the Two Mississippi Museums Michael Morris

[Music and Intro]

(Drew Hall) MDOT presents The Extra Mile Podcast.

(Paul Katool) Welcome in to another edition of The Extra Mile Podcast presented by the Mississippi Department of Transportation. I'm Paul Katool, and as always, I’m joined by my co-host Will Craft over there. And listen, we were setting up today and it is hot outside.

(Will Craft) Yes.

(Paul) It is definitely summer for sure. And with that in mind, we want you to get out there on Mississippi Highways on our interstates and travel the state. And first on the list has to be the two Mississippi Museums, which is a part of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. And today’s guest is the director of those two museums, Mr. Michael Morris. Michael, thank you so much for having us to your beautiful museums and hosting us today.

(Michael Morris) Thank you, both, for having me.

(Will) Yeah, absolutely, man.

(Paul) No doubt. So, talked a little bit before. So you, this is not your first role at, uh, Archives and History. Uh, you’ve had, you’ve had a couple, but kind of give us a little bit of background. Tell us a little bit about yourself, which led to this role.

(Michael) Well, um, it’s important, uh, to note that I grew up right here in Jackson. Uh, I graduated from Callaway High School, um, and went to Jackson State University. And I got a chance to work at a place called the Margaret Walker Center, which is kind of like the archives on campus there.

(Will) OK.

(Michael) And so that, that was the beginning of my experience in this, we call it public history, um, community. And, um, I started at Archives and History in 2016 as a Public Information Officer, um, because that was the job that was available at the time.

(Paul) Yeah, yeah.

(Michael) And so, I, I took it, and, um, I went on to become the Director of Public Relations and then Director of Public Engagement before I started this role as the Director of the Museums.

(Paul) Amazing. We love PR people!

(Michael) That’s right!

(Paul) You’re one of us!

(Will) Absolutely. How, how did those other roles, did those sort of form your interest in doing this work? Or did you kind of know when you were doing some of those other things already?

(Michael) Yeah, I think, um, I already had an appetite for research, for example.

(Will) Gotcha.

(Michael) And so, uh, in my previous role, I was asked to do some research into some of our sites, uh, in Natchez, um, a place called Windsor Ruins –

(Will) Yeah.

(Michael) that you may be familiar with.

(Will) Yeah.

(Michael) Um, but then another place called Historic Jefferson College.

(Will) OK.

(Michael) And I just used that as an opportunity to read about everything that I could find about both of those sites. And, uh, just really got excited about this idea of doing research. Um, but then I also assisted our director, Katie Blount, doing the legislative sessions, monitoring legislation, stuff like that.

(Will) Sure.

(Michael) Um, and really got involved in our, um, strategic planning process for the department.

(Will) Gotcha.

(Michael) Um, and so, it gave me a real bird’s eye view about all the work that we do, but, uh, at the end of the day, the work that we’re doing here at the museums is real central to the mission of the department.

(Will) Absolutely. No doubt.

(Paul) So, yeah. Tell us, uh, you know, we’ll zoom back out a little bit. So, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, you just give us kind of a simple overview about what all that touches?

(Michael) Yes. So, um, at the very base, um, the Mississippi Department of Archives of History manages the archival resources of the entire state. Um, and so a lot of the, the core work that we do is managing, uh, the files and paperwork of state agencies. Um, and so a lot of that work is done next door in the William F. Winter Archives and History building. Um, you know, it was founded in 1902. It's the second oldest department of archives of history in the country. Um, there are about five divisions at Archives and History: programs and communication, um, administration, archives and record services, the museum division, and then historic preservation. Uh, there are about 150 employees that work at the agency, um. In the museum division specifically, we manage about nine sites across the state that are open to the public, um, including the two Mississippi Museums. Um, but then we also have some curatorial duties at the Mississippi Governor's Mansion and the Mississippi State Capitol.

(Will) Oh, ok. Pretty nice.

(Michael) We also manage the Eudora Welty House and Garden –

(Will) Sure, yeah.

(Michael) here in Jackson, the Old Capitol Museum. Um, and then, uh, like I said, up in North Mississippi is Winterville Mounds, um, one of the oldest Native American sites in the state. Um, and then down near Jackson I mentioned, um, in near Natchez, I mentioned Jefferson College, um, and the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, um, Windsor Ruins. Um, and then we've got a project that we're working on now to create a new interpretive center at the Vicksburg National Military Park. Um, we're working with the Friends of the Vicksburg National Military Park, um, and the National Park Service to create that new site. So, we're excited about that as well.

(Paul) Amazing. I’ll say it once again, uh, for these state agencies, whenever we have people that, uh, work for them, and they come in and speak to us, there’s a lot of work.

(Michael) Yes.

(Paul) And it’s a lot of things that you wouldn’t think, you know, these agencies would be responsible for.

(Michael) That’s right.

(Paul) So, lots of stuff on y’all’s plate for sure.

(Michael) Absolutely, absolutely. It’s exciting.

(Will) Yeah, very much so. And, and just to, I guess, dive a little bit further into one of those things you mentioned, or I guess two of those things you mentioned is where we are today at the Two Museums in Jackson, uh, as Paul mentioned here. First off, uh, I, I, sort of came over here a little early, took the opportunity to sort of walk through, uh, I would say, to do the tour.

(Michael) Yeah.

(Will) But to be honest with you, there's so much information.

(Michael) Mm-hmm.

(Will) And so much to the exhibits and the displays. I really need more time, uh, than the hour and a half I sort of dedicated to trying to absorb both of those.

(Michael) Right.

(Will) But just tell us a little bit about these two museums and, and sort of what they mean.

(Michael) Yeah, absolutely. So the, these museums, um, kind of started out as, as two projects, um, one our Civil Rights Museum. Um, you know, there were veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement that really, really felt, um, that what took place in the 1960s, 1970s here in Mississippi was so important that they started saving their artifacts and papers related to the movement. Um, and then Mississippi has always had a state history museum.

(Will) Sure.

(Michael) Um, it was once situated in the basement of the State Capitol.

(Will) Right.

(Michael) Um, but then it was moved to the Old Capitol.

(Will) Mm-hmm.

(Michael) Um, until in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina made its way through Jackson, tore the roof off of the building. And so, we immediately removed all the artifacts out, uh, in preparation of creating a new state history museum.

(Will) Gotcha. OK.

(Michael) Long story short, um, in about 2011, um, Judge Reuben Anderson, um, Governor William Winter, who was the governor of the state from 1980 to 1984, convinced, uh, the governor at the time, Governor Haley Barbour, to build both of these projects together. Um, the Mississippi Legislature allocated more than $90 million to this project. Um, the Foundation for Mississippi History raised another $30 million for this project.

(Will) Wow.

(Michael) Um, groundbreaking took place in 2013, and the museums opened to the public on December 9, 2017. Um, and commemoration of the state's bicentennial.

(Will) OK.

(Michael) And, um, I’m happy to report to you that, um, the last number I saw was about 707,000 visitors that we’ve had since –

(Will) Wow.

(Michael) uh, 2017. And that’s a really big deal for a state with less than 3 million people.

(Will) That’s right, yeah.

(Michael) Um, we’re not exactly the tourist destination that we hope it to be one day. Um, but I’m very gratified with the direction that, that, that these museums are, are taking and the stories that we tell inside, um, are really, really incredible.

(Will) Absolutely. I, I’m certainly no historian, uh, and, and, for lack of the correct terminology, certainly not a museum aficionado. Um, but Pual and I made several comments several times about just how, how well done, again, from our ignorant, you know, viewpoint here, but how well done everything looks and it, you know, it does wind through, and you sort of know where you’re going. But the, the information, uh, it's a lot to take in.

(Michael) It is.

(Will) And it takes a lot of time to go through. We got caught off guard a couple of times. There's a little bit, there's some jump scares in there.

(Michael) Yes.

(Will) Uh, when you walk through certain exhibits, the sound will play or whatever.

(Michael) Not, not my favorite exhibit.

(Will) I know it got me every time I walked past –

(Paul) Same.

(Will) it got me. So, be on the lookout for that. But really well done. High marks, uh, for what that's worth from us

(Michael) Absolutely. I like to tell the story about, um, you know, I started working here before the museums opened.

(Will) OK.

(Michael) So, I remember when this was just a shell, and we’d come over here with hard hats, and I talked to my sister about it who lived in D.C. at the time.
And I think what she had in mind was something ragtag that we were just putting together. And so, when we finally opened and she came to town, I mean, she was blown away. I mean, she lives in D.C. which is like the museum capital of America.

(Will) Sure. Right, right

(Michael) And so, she, she was the one that told me these are Smithsonian caliber, uh, museums. And, um, she's been one of our biggest advocates. She lives in Chicago now, but she's just an example. No matter what I was telling her, leading up to this opening –

(Will) Right.

(Michael) she had to come and see it for herself to understand what we had going on here.

(Will) Hey, and look, don’t take his word for it, folks.

(Michael) That’s right.

(Will) Come see it for yourself. Come check it out. Because it really is, I mean, again, I, I’m no aficionado, museum design or architecture here, but it is really well done. It’s really awesome. Uh, really impressive out there.

(Michael) Appreciate that.

(Paul) Absolutely. I’ll hook onto what Will said, definitely world class. And not only do you have the physical museums, but you are also responsible for a good bit of programming that also takes place.

(Michael) That’s right.

(Paul) Can you kind of talk about that, break that down for us?

(Michael) That’s right. So, um, each week on Wednesday at noon, we have a program called History is Lunch where we invite somebody, usually a scholar to come and talk about some aspect of Mississippi history. Um, and so just this past week, um, we had somebody, well, let me talk about what's coming up next week, um, is gonna be a civil rights veteran that's just completed a book.

His name is MacArthur Cotton. Um, he's a civil rights veteran, um, from Mississippi. And he's gonna just talk about his experience working during the movement. Um, and he's just an example of what we do every Wednesday at noon, and that's completely free and open to the public. And we provide coffee and cookies for folks, you know, if, you know, to entice them to come.

(Will) Absolutely.

(Michael) Love that.

(Michael) Um, but we do, we also have like annual programs, so. It all begins in January for me. Um, the MLK Day, um, is a really, really big day. Um, Martin Luther King, Jr Day.

(Will) Sure.

(Michael) Um, which is, this year was our January the 21st. Um, and every year, um, since we opened, um, either, it usually been FedEx has sponsored a mission to the museums to take away any barrier for anybody to be able to come and enjoy, uh, the exhibits here. Um, our first year we had about 15,000 people come through on our opening weekend for MLK weekend. Um, and so that's grown to be an annual event that we do, um, at the museums. And not only are the museums open for free. But, um, that night on MLK Day, we also had what we call our MLK Night of Culture, where we allow usually young people to come and perform, um, poetry, singing, dancing, all in honor of not just Martin Luther King, um, but the movement veterans that –

(Will) Right.

(Michael) worked and made things happen in this state. Um, and then, uh, the following day after, uh, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is, uh, called the National Day of Racial Healing. And FedEx also, uh, sponsors that particular day. And this year we've started a tradition of honoring, um, somebody that has done a lot of work towards racial reconciliation in state. Um, and so this year we were able to honor, uh, Dr. John Perkins, um, who's a pastor, a community developer in West Jackson, um, who's been doing a lot of work for the past 40, 50 years to, uh, build relationships across racial divides. Um, and so we're excited to start that tradition. Um, and then another program that we do every year is our Mississippi Makers Festival.

(Paul) Oh, yeah.

(Michael) And so, we just had our Makers Festival, um, this past Saturday on May the 10th. And despite the fact that we had a lot of rain –

(Will) Yep.

(Michael) we had about a thousand people come out.

(Paul) Oh, nice.

(Michael) And show up, and, um, shop with some of the vendors. We had about 45 vendors out there. And so, um –

(Will) Awesome.

(Michael) that’s really, really, that’s just a little taste of what we do. Events coming up. We're gonna have our Juneteenth program on June the 19th. That's a Thursday, if I'm not mistaken. Um, we usually have a lot of activities for folks to participate in terms of that. And then, um, we're actually gonna have a naturalization program here on July the 3rd –

(Will) Really? OK.

(Michael) Um, folks that are becoming, um, Americans for the first time.

(Will) Right.

(Michael) And then every year, we’re open on July the 4th here at the museum.

(Will) OK.

(Michael) So, those are just some of the events that we have coming up. Um, on July the 2nd, let me back up a little bit, is the hundredth anniversary of, um, Medgar Evers' birthday.

(Will) OK.

(Michael) And so the Foundation for the Mid South is sponsoring admission to our museums on that particular day. And, uh, we’re really, really thankful to them for allowing people to come in.

(Will) Absolutely. So, uh, full plate, I guess the short story there. No lack of events coming up for you guys.

(Michael) That’s right, that’s right. We, we try to stay busy around here. And you guys saw the students that we had –

(Will) Right, yeah, absolutely.

(Paul) Yeah.

(Will) Several buses worth of kids running around out there.

(Michael) That’s really, a lot of the work that we do is working with our school children that come to –

(Will) Sure.

(Michael) the Museums, and, um, really try to introduce them to the history of the state. Um, it was Governor William Winter that referred to our museums as the state’s largest classroom. Um, and so, we feel a responsibility to give every K- 12 student at least an opportunity to come to our museums, um, and go through them with some of our educators. Um, and in fact, William and Elise Winter, um, helped us raise a lot of money to remove the barrier for any student, um, in this state, K-12, to be able to visit these museums for free, um, to be able to get a lunch. And, uh, we also offset the cost of bringing students to the museums.

(Will) That's awesome.

(Michael) And so that's a real helpful device that we can use to help accomplish our mission. Um, in terms of, uh, bringing more K-12 students to the museums.

(Will) Yeah. And again, you know, this might just me being a, a, a dumb guy, but, uh, I, it really neat to me, I thought, you know, we came in, you did see all the students and stuff running around, but like, there's sort of a, a cafeteria type area for 'em, a space.
You go over there, get a meal, there's like mini classrooms sort of spread out through the, the museum exhibits for you to sort of get into smaller groups and do breakdowns.

(Michael) That’s right.

(Will) I mean, really good thing.

(Michael) It is. It is. And, and it is all about giving, uh, school kids an, an opportunity to get out of the classroom, take a field trip. You know, for a lot of kids, I’m thinking about my mom who taught in Hazlehurst for years. And when I’d go down to Hazlehurst and talk to them, a lot of them had never been to Jackson before.

(Will) Sure.

(Michael) And so for a lot of them, stepping into a nice $90 million building for the first time –

(Will) Sure.

(Michael) is an experience within itself.

(Will) No doubt.

(Michael) And so, whatever they learn once they leave here is like icing on the cake.

(Will) Yeah.

(Michael) Um, but that’s just something special that we’re able to do here –

(Will) I love it.

(Michael) at these museums.

(Will) Yeah, very impressive.

(Paul) Definitely. It is really cool to kind of just be around the kids when they're checking everything out. They're asking questions, super engaged. So, just an awesome experience for them.

(Michael) Absolutely.

(Paul) So, besides the uh, the two Mississippi Museums, you have a couple of other, uh, properties or other museums, I guess, kind of, uh, upcoming. So, I don’t want to butcher this. So, the Vicksburg Partnership Interpretive Center –

(Michael) Yes.

(Paul) is something that is being developed right now. Can you tell us more about that?

(Michael) So, I hope both of you have been to the Vicksburg National Military Park.

(Will) Absolutely.

(Paul) Definitely.

(Michael) They get more than 400,000 visitors a year there.

(Paul) Whoa.

(Michael) And it’s one of the biggest attractions in the state. And right now, the focus, the interpretation there is really on the siege of Vicksburg.

(Will) Mm-hmm.

(Michael) And what we've been doing with our partners is trying to create a museum, um, that talks about the experience of folks during the Civil War, from the end of slavery all the way through Reconstruction. Um, and so a real focus really on the Vicksburg campaign, which as you both know, starts in Port Gibson.

(Will) Mm-hmm.

(Michael) Well, actually it starts in Bruinsburg when Grant comes across the Mississippi River, um, goes all the way into Jackson, and then goes over to, um, Vicksburg. And we want to tell the entire story of the Vicksburg campaign. Um, and we want to tell the story of the Union soldiers, um, the United States Color Troops, um, but also the Mississippians that serve, uh, during the Civil War as well.
We're really excited about that project. Um, we already started contracting with different exhibit firms on what. Um, information we're gonna have on display there. And, uh, we're just really thankful to the Mississippi Legislature, um, for being very, very supportive of this project. Um, I know for sure Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hoseman is very, very interested, um, in this project coming into fruition as well as, uh, Senator Briggs Hobson.

(Will) No doubt, yeah.

(Paul) That’s awesome.

(Will) Loyal “Vicksburgonians,” however you want to put that in there, yeah.

(Michael) That’s right.

(Will) Vicksburg loyals.

(Michael) It’s going to enable us to put more people on the interstate, right?

(Will) Absolutely!

(Michael) To go from Jackson to Vicksburg, or from Natchez to Vicksburg to, you know, see these sites.

(Paul) Shout out to I-20!

(Will) That’s right. Let’s get it paved.

(Michael) That’s right.

(Will) Amen! Well, look, before we move into sort of the, the, the, our end of show here, last couple fun questions. Any other sort of upcoming, uh. Forward-looking museum projects, things y'all are working on, want to talk about?

(Michael) You know, I'm really excited, um, about what we're eventually going to do at Historic Jefferson College.

(Will) Oh yeah. Right, right.

(Michael) Um, we want to create a new interpretive center there. Um, but we've already started, um, what we call a historic preservation trade school there.

(Will) OK.

(Michael) Um, where we were actually bringing students down, K-12 students, but also college students to come down and learn some of the, um, skills and trades, um, in the historic preservation profession.

(Will) Cool.

(Michael) Um, and these are skills that are, um, highly sought after, um, because you have to have these skills to work on certain historic properties across the state. Um, and so I'm really excited about, um, the direction that that's going to go. Um, our historic preservation division has really taken a lead on, uh, that particular program, but it's a part of the long-term preservation plan for that site.

(Will) Sure.

(Michael) Um, you know, these are a collection of old buildings. Um, I think it's about seven buildings down there, Historic Jefferson College, and we're just trying to be creative in terms of trying to create uses for these buildings. Um, but that site is very, very important because, um, that's the place where delegates gathered and wrote our state's first constitution. And so, when Mississippi joined the union, it was at that site right there at Jefferson College, just outside of Natchez. Um, and we refer to it as the birthplace of the state.

(Will) Very cool.

(Michael) Uh, so that's a, that's a project that we have coming up that I'm pretty excited about.

(Will) Absolutely, yeah. That’s a pretty neat one.

(Michael) Mm-hmm.

(Paul) Very cool. And then, Will mentioned those fun questions, and they are fun. One more, one more, uh, property or museum, upcoming museum that I wanted to mention that you talked about or, uh, that you mentioned: the Margaret Ann, Can you –

(Michael) Crigler.

(Paul) Crigler.

(Will) There we go, yeah.

(Paul) There we go. You know, so what, what's going on there?

(Michael) So, um, you know, we have a dilapidated property, um, that you have to see every time you leave our museums.

(Paul) Sure.

(Michael) And we've long had a vision for creating some kind of park, um, there. Something beautiful for our students and for visitors around the world to be able to see when they leave our museums. Um, and so we worked out, um, something with the City of Jackson where they donated that property to us. Um, the Mississippi Legislature has been, uh, generous in terms of giving us funds to start the process of, of demolishing the property. Um, a very, very generous benefactor by the name of Noble Crigler, um, has given us a million dollars to turn that park –

(Will) All right!

(Michael) turn that property into a park, and we're going to name it in honor of his late wife, Margaret Ann Crigler. Um, and so that's where the name Margaret Ann Crigler Park comes from. Um, but in addition to thanking Noble Crigler and the Mississippi Legislature, I also want to thank the Community Foundation for Mississippi who made a recent $1 million contribution, um, to the correction of that park. And that park is gonna connect with our Mississippi Museum Trail.

(Will) Oh, yeah.

(Michael) Um, that's, that's, uh, really taken off lately.

(Will) Yeah.

(Michael) Um, I believe that I, I heard the Commissioner mention that that trail is going to eventually take you to Jackson State University.

(Will) Yeah.

(Michael) Well, before you get there from, um, LeFleurs Bluff, you know, you'll stop, stop here at the museums.

(Will) That's awesome.

(Michael) And you'll have a chance to go through this beautiful park that we're in the process of creating.

(Will) I love the connectivity of it all, too. That’s, I love that.

(Michael) Yes. It’s going to be awesome.

(Will) That's very cool.

(Paul) Well, very, very good information. And hey, come and check all this stuff out.

(Will) That's right.

(Paul) Whether it's already built or you know, in the future.

(Michael) Absolutely.

(Paul) Lots of stuff going on. But yeah, let's hit it, Will.

(Will) Absolutely.

(Paul) What you got, what you got?

(Will) Moving to the, the couple of things we like to tie on the end here. Apologies, the, uh, pollen or the weather, whatever it's gotten, gotten to me this week. But, uh, we, we spend a lot of time running around the state and traveling these roads. I'm sure that you find yourself doing the same thing.

(Michael) Yes, absolutely.

(Will) Uh, so oftentimes, we, we'll find a good hole in the wall, uh, a place that, uh, maybe we hadn't heard of before, to go catch a bite to eat. Do you have a favorite, mayb –

We will certainly allow a local suggestion, but, uh, somewhere maybe you don't get to go very often.

(Michael) Mm-hmm. That's a good question.

(Will) I like it.

(Michael) Um, what comes to my mind is the, is it called the Country Store in Loman, Mississippi?

(Will) Oh, man. Okay. I don't know, man.

(Michael) They've got some great fried chicken.

(Will) OK, all right.

(Michael) I don't get a chance to go to Alcorn State University a lot, but when I do, I try to make a point of going there.

(Will) Lorman. The, the Country Store in Lorman.

(Michael) In Lorman, Mississippi.

(Will) Put it on the list!

(Michael) I, I’ve been told it’s the best fried chicken in the state, so.

(Will) OK.

(Michael) I’ll let you guys be the judge.

(Will) We are, we’re going to try. Two Sisters here in Jackson used to be –

(Michael) Yes!

(Will) That's where I was going to get my fried chicken any day of the week. And you know, unfortunately the not, no, no longer an option. Uh, but Farmer's Market, I will say now.

(Michael) The Farmer's Market's pretty good.

(Will) It's pretty good. Go down.

(Michael) It's convenient for me, too.

(Will) It is. I'll say, yeah, it's probably dangerous with being that close. It's blue plate, meat and threes and –

(Michael) Mm-hmm.

(Will) That's what I gotta watch out for myself.

(Michael) Another place that comes to mind is, uh, you know whenever I go to Natchez is The Camp.

(Will) OK.

(Michael) Under-the-Hill?

(Will) Yes.

(Michael) I don’t know if you've ever been there.

(Will) Yes. Just the last time I was there, discovered it. Yeah, absolutely.

(Michael) And then, when I’m in Vicksburg, I love Walnut Hills. That’s a great restaurant.

(Will) Oh, yeah. Can’t beat that one either. And is that the, is that the one with the Lazy Susan style?

(Michael) That’s right.

(Will) Yeah!

(Paul) Oh, yeah.

(Michael) That’s right.

(Will) Yeah, just buffet-style at the table.

(Michael) And something they do their greens.

(Will) I don’t, it’s all good.

(Michael) They wouldn’t tell me the recipe, but they do something special to those greens, man.

(Will) I’ll have to remember that. Next time I go, I’ll see if we can get it out of them.

(Michael) Absolutely.

(Paul) Hey, we’re putting those places on the list.

(Will) Excellent suggestions!

(Paul) I’ve had that fried chicken at the Country Store. It is, say, it’s pretty, pretty good.

(Michael) I’ll mention one more thing.

(Will) Yeah, please.

(Michael) Um, there’s a Chevron gas station.

(Will) Oh, that’s, no, this is, this is real info here, Mississippi.

(Michael) There’s a Chevron gas station. When you get off of I-55 and Highway 84, that takes you over to Natchez.

(Will) OK.

(Michael) And um, if I’m driving down real early, like I usually do when I get down there around nine. I will stop there for breakfast. Their breakfast is really, really good.

(Will) OK. I don’t know if we’ve had a breakfast suggestion on the podcast yet, so that might be a first time.

(Michael) A sausage and biscuit sandwich from there is pretty good.

(Will) I love it.

(Paul) We’re going to have to do that.

(Will) A first. Breaking through the wall right here. Breakfast suggestion, I love that.

(Paul) Just over a hundred episodes in and first breakfast. Love it.

(Will) Seriously.

(Paul) There, there we go. Those are, those are awesome, um, suggestions. We're definitely gonna hit some of those up for sure. The other fun question we love to ask, hey, Mississippi and music, hey, they just go hand in hand. Is there a concert that sticks out in your mind that you've been to in the past? Give us your favorite concert.

(Michael) That’s a good question. And it has to take place here in Mississippi?

(Will) No.

(Paul) No, anywhere!

(Will) Bonus points if it does, I suppose.

(Michael) Yeah, well, I, I, I will say this. Last year, for the Maker's Fest, um, we had Kingfish perform.

(Paul) Oh, yeah.

(Will) Yeah.

(Michael) And that was pretty awesome.

(Will) If you’ve ever seen him live, too, yeah.

(Michael) That’s right. And he, he like left the stage, went into the crowd with the guitar. It was like really, really interactive. Um, but another. Uh, event that comes to mind is the Chicago Blues Festival.

(Will) OK.

(Michael) I went there for the first time about five years ago. Um, and I’ve seen Bobby Rush a thousand times, but he really turns it up –

(Will) Sure.

(Michael) when he’s doing the Chicago Blues Festival, yeah.

(Will) We, I bet we, we got to get Commissioner Simmons to see if we could get, uh, Mr. Rush on an episode, that would be –

(Paul) That would be cool!

(Will) Because they’re buddies. I bet we could work that out. We're going to have to, we're going to swing that folks out there. Put the word in his ear. If somebody's got, that's what we're going to work on.

(Michael) Fantastic.

(Will) Paul and I will be in Chicago later this year.

(Michael) Nice.

(Will) I don’t know when the Blues Festival is, but, uh –

(Michael) I believe it takes place in June or July.

(Will) Oh, we will not make it.

(Michael) Yeah.

(Paul) But one day, hey!

(Will) That’s a great one.

(Paul) That is a good one.

(Will) Absolutely.

(Paul) I was there for the Kingfish, and there was a ton of people there that day.

(Michael) There were.

(Paul) It was, I, hey, shout out to you! That was, that was really cool.

(Michael) We probably had about 5,000 people out there that day.

(Will) Wow.

(Michael) And so, yeah, when it's not raining.

(Paul) I was about to say, fingers crossed, next year, no rain.

(Michael) That’s right.

(Paul) And we’ll get it back to that level.

(Michael) That’s right.

(Paul) Well, Michael, thank you so much for hosting us. This is awesome. We learned a lot today just walking around it. Please everybody come and check out the Two Mississippi Museums in in downtown Jackson. Thank you so much for having us.

(Michael) Thank you both for having me.

(Will) Appreciate it.

(Paul) Absolutely. We'll go ahead and wrap things up right there. Thank you for our listeners, our viewers, for tuning into the Extra Mile Podcast. You can watch and listen to episodes by visiting GoMDOT.com/TheExtraMile. Follow us on social media, @MississippiDOT is the handle. And remember to drive smart out there on Mississippi highways.

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