| FEBRUARY 20, 11:25 ET
Sharecropper Shacks Provide Lodging For Blues
Buffs
By SHELIA HARDWELL BYRD
Associated Press
Writer
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Inside the
shacks
AP/Rogelio Solis
[34K]
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CLARKSDALE, Miss. (AP)
— They are rickety ``shotgun'' shacks with paint peeling from the
cypress walls. The stale, musty scent of worn bed linen, dusty
oriental rugs and a 19th-century Washburn piano greet guests.
The circa-1970 televisions are programmed to get one station
— an all-blues music channel spinning tunes by such artists as
Bessie Smith and Billie Holliday.
Though there is indoor
plumbing, an outhouse is located just outside the back door.
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Checking on the construction
AP/Rogelio Solis [28K]
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Welcome to the Shack
Up Inn. The Ritz it ain't, but this hideaway in the heart of the
Mississippi Delta may be just the place if you're looking for some
authentic blues inspiration.
The row of six authentic
sharecropper homes sits on the 4,000-acre Hopson Plantation, just
four miles south of the crossroads of U.S. 49 and U.S. 61, where
legend has it bluesman Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil.
None of the shacks comes from Hopson Plantation, but were
found in other areas of the Delta.
(They are called shotgun
shacks because all three rooms are lined up one behind the other, so
if you fired a shotgun through the front door, the shot would go out
the back.)
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Ceiling of a shack
AP/Rogelio Solis [33K]
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The tin-roofed
structures are popular lodging for international tourists and
musicians searching for a musical muse. For just a few days, they
can live in the style of such blues greats as W. C. Handy and Muddy
Waters, Sam Cooke and Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson and Charlie
Patton, to name a few..
In the farm commissary-turned-dance
hall a few feet away from the shacks, the jukebox plays an Aretha
Franklin love song and owner James Butler attempts to pinpoint the
appeal of his blues-themed hideaway.
``It's different. It's
a blast from the past. It's a vibe this place gives off and people
just want it,'' Butler says.
Keith Oliver, a salesman from
Long Beach, Calif., and a group of his friends recently celebrated
his 40th birthday at the Shack Up Inn.
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Three shacks
AP/Rogelio Solis [14K]
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``It was fantastic.
They had barbecue waiting for us,'' Oliver says. ``The people there
are so friendly ... and the price is right. It is what it is. It's
not the Four Seasons, but that's not what you're looking for.''
The Shack Up Inn evolved from the mind of songwriters.
Butler says his cousin, Nashville songwriter Tommy Polk, hosted a
writers' retreat in 1998.
``They kept saying, 'We want a
shack.' We finally found one and fixed it up. The whole idea was to
find a place for songwriters to be creative,'' says Butler, a music
fan who is Clarksdale's public works director. His wife's family has
owned and farmed the Hopson land since 1852.
Butler, Polk
and Bill Talbot bought the first two shacks in 1998 and put them on
the plantation next to a cotton gin and outbuildings.
The group got two more investors and bought more
shacks. Four are available for rent. Two are undergoing minor
renovations that include installing a bathroom, kitchen, air
conditioning and heat.
Two of the shacks have full kitchens.
The others have microwave ovens, coffee makers and refrigerators.
All have one full bed and some have fold-out couches.
The
Robert Clay Shack bears the name of the man who lived in it as late
as 1998. He raised seven sons in the three-room dwelling without the
amenities of running water or electricity. There are few real
reminders of Clay's life there. Only his ironing board and a dresser
drawer remain.
Butler says the shacks, which rent for $40 to
$60 a night, aren't an attempt to cash in on the plight of the poor.
``I hate to think people would think we're doing
that,'' Butler says. ``We feel like we're honoring this guy (Clay).
We have his picture in there.''
There's a funky feel to the
Fullilove Shack, named for the plantation from where it came.
Purple, yellow and cherry colored plastic ashtrays decorate the
ceiling in the bathroom and kitchenette. License plates cover the
holes in the walls. This is where former Mississippi Gov. Kirk
Fordice and his wife, Ann, spent New Year's Eve.
``The
crowning achievement of the visit is ... you know how a real classy
hotel puts a mint on your pillow? At the Shack Up Inn, you get a
moon pie on your pillow,'' Fordice says. ``The next time I'm up that
way I'd love to stay again.''
While the shacks conjure
visions of the days when sharecroppers worked the steamy Delta's
endless rows of white-tipped cotton, Butler says each shack
represents an investment of up to $17,000. That includes the cost of
relocating the structure to Hopson, pressure-cleaning it and making
minor renovations.
``We cut down on costs by doing
our own maid service,'' says Guy Malvezzi, one of Butler's partners
who owns a chain of shoe stores.
Tad Pierson of Memphis,
Tenn., says the Shack Up Inn is a favorite stop on his American
Dream Safari Tour. He says many of his tourists are Australian,
Japanese and British.
``We overnight at the Shack Up Inn,
and hit some of the juke joints,'' Pierson says. ``The blues lover
gets a sense like this is the real thing.''
Visitors to the
Shack Up Inn can find blues-themed entertainment all over
Clarksdale, a cotton farming town with a population of about 20,000.
About 100 feet from the shacks is the music hall.
Blues and rock 'n' roll bands play there on weekends. Barbecue is
served every Thursday.
Near downtown, the Delta Blues Museum
houses exhibits about the region's poverty and the music form born
out of it. Actor Morgan Freeman's upscale restaurant, Madidi, and
his blues nightclub, Ground Zero, are also popular.
Kappi
Allen, manager of Clarksdale's Chamber of Commerce, says the shacks
have given the town worldwide publicity.
``They are one of
Clarksdale's biggest hits,'' Allen says. ``People have come and
written stories and taken pictures back to their states. Hopson is a
huge part of the tourism package for Clarksdale.''
———
IF YOU GO: The mailing address of
the Shack Up Inn is 001 Commissary Circle, Clarksdale, MS 38614. For
reservations call (661) 624-8329 or, if busy, (615) 385-4345. The
Web site is http://www.shackupinn.com./
The Coahoma County Tourism Commission can be found on the
Web at http://www.clarksdale-ms.com or call (800) 626-3764.
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