Carole, We Love You Too
Starkville lost a local icon with the passing of Carole McReynolds Davis. She was a great artist who was comfortable in her own skin. She was full of life. Thank God she didn’t mind being different. We all loved her for it and will miss her decorated front porch and her colorful hats.
Carole has been called Starkville’s permanent goodwill ambassador, a local treasure and an American original. She loved her hometown and did much to contribute to it throughout her lifetime. Anyone who lived here very long knew her.
Mayors come and go. MSU presidents come and go. But Carole was a fixture. Surely she was the best known and most beloved citizen of Starkville.
Personally, her loss is painful for me. She wasn’t just a close friend. She was like a mother to me, always encouraging me, praising me and asking about my family, all of whom she knew well. Have you ever felt like somebody knew you before you were born? Carole was that person for me.
Frank, her devoted husband of 50 plus years and one of the finest people I have ever known, was my father’s roommate at MSU. They still call each other roomie. Frank and Carole were friends with my parents in college. When Frank was a groomsman in my parents’ wedding in Brandon, he brought Carole and that same weekend they picked out her wedding ring in Jackson.
Carole had a passion for our community. She had a continuing desire to improve race relations in Starkville. She used her art to accomplish this goal. In the 1990s, Carole was instrumental in the effort to transform the Martin Luther King holiday into an integrated celebration of diversity. One year she painted a portrait of Dr. Douglas Conner, a local civil rights hero, and her painting helped him receive recognition that he deserved.
Carole and I marched side by side down Main Street during the holiday. She said, “A number of the white people who are helping us improve race relations are not originally from Starkville. Some of us with deep roots here need to work on this issue too.” How inspiring she was to me.
Carole always had a smile and a laugh that was infectious. Her adventures are part of our local lore. Everyone has a favorite, personal story about her. Remember when she painted the fire hydrants and the city came behind her and repainted them. Remember when her mannequin, Dottie, was stolen off her front porch and later was returned after having been displayed by fraternity boys at a party. Carol panned, “I didn’t ask where she’d been, and she didn’t give any details.”
Her marriage to Frank was one I admired. They were always together around town. He appreciated her unique gifts and creativity. She was proud of him. The last time I saw Carole on June 14 at the Starkville Café, she was bragging about a new honor for Frank. Together they raised a wonderful family.
I’ll miss the way she said my name. She called me “Bru-tha” in her beautiful Southern brogue. Like everyone else she knew, she always ended our conversation on the phone or in person with the words, “I love you.”
Starkville will never be the same. She brightened the world for all of us, and I think I speak for all of us when I say, “Carole, we love you too.”
Brother Rogers works at the Stennis Center for Public Service and is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News.
Carole has been called Starkville’s permanent goodwill ambassador, a local treasure and an American original. She loved her hometown and did much to contribute to it throughout her lifetime. Anyone who lived here very long knew her.
Mayors come and go. MSU presidents come and go. But Carole was a fixture. Surely she was the best known and most beloved citizen of Starkville.
Personally, her loss is painful for me. She wasn’t just a close friend. She was like a mother to me, always encouraging me, praising me and asking about my family, all of whom she knew well. Have you ever felt like somebody knew you before you were born? Carole was that person for me.
Frank, her devoted husband of 50 plus years and one of the finest people I have ever known, was my father’s roommate at MSU. They still call each other roomie. Frank and Carole were friends with my parents in college. When Frank was a groomsman in my parents’ wedding in Brandon, he brought Carole and that same weekend they picked out her wedding ring in Jackson.
Carole had a passion for our community. She had a continuing desire to improve race relations in Starkville. She used her art to accomplish this goal. In the 1990s, Carole was instrumental in the effort to transform the Martin Luther King holiday into an integrated celebration of diversity. One year she painted a portrait of Dr. Douglas Conner, a local civil rights hero, and her painting helped him receive recognition that he deserved.
Carole and I marched side by side down Main Street during the holiday. She said, “A number of the white people who are helping us improve race relations are not originally from Starkville. Some of us with deep roots here need to work on this issue too.” How inspiring she was to me.
Carole always had a smile and a laugh that was infectious. Her adventures are part of our local lore. Everyone has a favorite, personal story about her. Remember when she painted the fire hydrants and the city came behind her and repainted them. Remember when her mannequin, Dottie, was stolen off her front porch and later was returned after having been displayed by fraternity boys at a party. Carol panned, “I didn’t ask where she’d been, and she didn’t give any details.”
Her marriage to Frank was one I admired. They were always together around town. He appreciated her unique gifts and creativity. She was proud of him. The last time I saw Carole on June 14 at the Starkville Café, she was bragging about a new honor for Frank. Together they raised a wonderful family.
I’ll miss the way she said my name. She called me “Bru-tha” in her beautiful Southern brogue. Like everyone else she knew, she always ended our conversation on the phone or in person with the words, “I love you.”
Starkville will never be the same. She brightened the world for all of us, and I think I speak for all of us when I say, “Carole, we love you too.”
Brother Rogers works at the Stennis Center for Public Service and is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News.