CALEDONIA — Henry I. Collins pinches the blade of his jackknife and pulls it open. He sticks it in the watermelon in front of him and cuts it lengthwise. The two halves split with a crisp, satisfying crunch and roll with the seeds up. Henry hands the knife to his uncle Johnnie Collins. Johnnie grasps the handle in his 82-year-old fingers, several of which are kinked at the knuckles from old breaks that were never properly set. He cuts slivers of the melon”s sweet, red pulp and pops them into his mouth.
This is summer. This is Mississippi.
Watermelons are going away early this year, and on Friday the Collins men started selling off the last ones of the season for Johnny Gilmer, a local farmer.
“Usually we”re weighing 40-pound melons,” Gilmer says. “We usually go through September, but the weather”s got us. We”re in a drought.”
Their stand is next to a large cotton field near the intersection of Wolf Road and Cherokee Road, which lends its name to their business, Cherokee Watermelons. There”s a giant pine tree off to one side, and the tin-roofed house where Johnnie lives is set back off the road. Johnnie and Henry used to sell from the front porch of the house, but the sun made the melons spoil more quickly, so Gilmer built a roof in the front yard to shade the fruits and vegetables.
Every June, watermelon season begins, and Gilmer brings in flatbed trailers piled high with the underneath the structure. Except for the occasional car, truck or tractor, it”s quiet. And hot. It”s the time of year when watermelon is a welcome antidote to the heat, and people come from all over to buy them.
“They get spread all across the country from this little stand,” Gilmer says and notes that he”s had customers from as far away as Michigan.
Helen Bobo pulls up in her car, gets out and peruses the selection of melons. She”s lived in Mississippi her whole life, and picking watermelons is a summer tradition in her family.
“I always looked forward to the Fourth of July because when I was a kid, that was our first melon,” she says. “Our daddy would let us pull one and cut it. I sure hate that they”re going to be gone. They just taste so good.”
She bought three to take home because her son and his family are coming to visit from North Carolina.
Johnnie has seen a lot of regulars like Bobo in his time. He”s worked for the Gilmer family for more than 30 years. Now, he makes the 100-foot trip from his house to the lean-to in a golf cart Gilmer bought to help him get around. He chews a toothpick and surveys the business with eyes that have taken in this same scene day in and day out for years.
Johnnie and Henry are there almost every day from sunup to sundown. Henry presides over most of the transactions with a fat wad of bills constantly tucked in his left hand. He smiles a gold-toothed grin and sends off his customers with a blessing.
“Have a nice day,” he says to one patron. “This is the last go-round. When they”re gone, they”re gone. Got to wait until next year.”
Last week, 30 of Gilmer”s melons disappeared. It”s just part of the business, he says. For the most part, though, farmers can leave their produce overnight without fear of mischief. This is the small-town South.
Bolted to one of the building”s support posts is a red steel container with a sign above it that reads, “Honor Box.” When Johnnie and Henry aren”t around, customers pick out watermelons on their own and leave their wadded bills in the box. Henry said most people respect the Honor Box, but the few who don”t will get what”s coming to them.
“It”s all in the hands of the good Lord,” Henry says. “He”s the one that you”ve got to answer to. He”ll be waiting for you down the road. Yes, yes.”
“Johnnie will get on that golf cart and chase them down,” Gilmer jokes. Johnnie tilted his head in acknowledgment from his seat inside the cart.
Gilmer says a lot of customers are eager to get one more melon before they”re gone for good.
“I think a lot of people enjoy coming out and getting them from the country,” he says. “The ones in the store are perfect. Ours are definitely not perfect, just sweet. That”s what we guarantee.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
