"You meet people who forget you. You forget people you meet. But sometimes you meet those people you can't forget. Those are your friends." -----Mark Twain
It all began sometime in the early 1960s when Mississippi natives Dr. Aubrey Lee "Mac" McMillan (the son of Ulyss and Alta McMillan) and wife Barbara moved to Franklinton where he commenced his veterinary practice. My friendship with their young daughters Marilyn and Brooke promptly began. Marilyn, born in the summer of 1964, was my age, and Brooke came along shortly thereafter.
A multitude of memories - of Ms. Barbara - are naturally rooted in my relationship with her daughters. I spent much time playing at their home, with the big backyard and playhouse, on Fourteenth Avenue in East Acres. This was long before the McMillans built their forever home on Seventh Avenue in Babington subdivision.
Childhood memories, of birthday parties and horseplay - a slippery slide in the hallway of the McMillan home, courtesy of Brooke and Marilyn while a neighbor babysat - and dogs. I also spent my fair share of time at Dr. Mac's veterinary clinic, where not only did Marilyn and I conduct science experiments but also where I acquired a couple of my beloved Welsh Corgis. I can say with certitude that the McMillans' Corgi Taffy was the mother of my pure-bred Joshua and that my precious Benjie was perhaps the product of a liaison between Taffy and the Welsh's Chihuahua in East Acres.
But back to Barbara McMillan - like me, she was an only child. Born to Britt Hughey and Norma Williams Hughey of Smithdale, Mississippi, she grew up on their sprawling family farm. And also like me, Ms. Barbara wanted for nothing. Her parents were prominent Mississippians, her father having served from Amite County in the Mississippi House of Representatives for two terms (1956-1964). The Administration building at Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he was a member of the Board for thirty-five years and Chairman of the Board for nearly two decades, is dedicated in his honor.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention how I adored Ms. Barbara's mother, Mrs. Hughey. Many of Marilyn's birthday parties were held in the summer time at the Hughey home in Smithdale, and I thought Mrs. Hughey hung the moon. She took us on tours of the Hughey farm, to local swimming holes, and to see Mary Ann Mobley, the first Miss Mississippi to be crowned Miss America, in McComb. I suppose the apple didn't fall far from the tree because Barbara Mac, as my mother fondly referred to her (probably to distinguish from Barbara Carter), was a devoted mother and grandmother, just as her own mother once was.
While I knew Ms. Barbara as my friends' mother, much of what I really knew of her derived from what my own mother - Margie Nell Ellzey - told me. You know, what Momma said. And trust me, she was a fan. Momma said Barbara Mac was brilliant. She attended Louisiana State University and received a Bachelor's degree in Home Economics before obtaining a Master's degree at Auburn. And while her formal education reflected her innate intelligence, it was more than that. I routinely sat down, at the McMillan home, to converse with Ms. Barbara about school. She was interested and knowledgeable. Even during our elementary school years, she would quiz me on my school day.
So, it wasn't surprising to learn that Ms. Barbara - a born educator - taught Adult Women's Sunday School classes for over fifty years at Hillcrest Baptist Church where she and Dr. Mac were dedicated members. In the summer, it was to Hillcrest Vacation Bible School that she ferried us in her long-paneled station wagon, long before she moved to Mercedes. There were also shopping excursions to the Honey Pot in McComb and later Betty Ann's in Brookhaven, with my mother and her.
An early member, Momma also knew Ms. Barbara through the Franklinton Woman's Club. I kind of figured that may have been how the two first became acquainted, when Ms. Barbara moved to town and joined the club. Or perhaps it was at Margie Passman's Beauty Shop where both were regulars. In any event, theirs was an enduring friendship despite their age difference.
Ten years her senior, Momma was fond of Barbara Mac. She particularly admired her organization and efficiency. I well remember Momma asking Ms. Barbara to serve on the Bowling Green Country Fare cookbook committee. She said that she could depend on Barbara Mac. In addition to being reliable, Ms. Barbara was a fabulous cook. From barbecued corn beef and Cornish hens with oyster dressing to butterscotch praline pie, her repertoire bears repeating. And Dr. Mac's - Barbara's husband for over fifty years - brisket. Oh my!
Momma also informed that Barbara Mac had been an outstanding basketball player. This would stand to reason, given her own daughters' superior skills in the sport. While I never saw Ms. Barbara play, I sat with her in the stands of a gymnasium up in Lincoln County, Mississippi. Not all that long ago, in the last decade of her life, she was still calling basketball plays. Sitting still, I remember marveling at Ms. Barbara's expertise. It was as if she had never left the court. I bet she was a player to be reckoned with, in her day.
Barbara Mac was a highly skilled bridge player, something I later learned on my own. I had the good fortune to play bridge with Ms. Barbara at her home and mine, and at other Franklinton residences, during the last ten years. She and her long-time partner and friend Marilyn Richardson made a formidable pair.
But over the course of life, I learned more than bridge from Ms. Barbara Mac. Steadfast, she stayed the course during a lengthy illness. And always, she prioritized family - husband Dr. Mac; daughters Marilyn (Robert McGahan) and Brooke (Scott Moody); grandchildren Caroline McGahan (Daniel Lindahl), Emily McGahan, and Reagan Moody; and her beloved parents Britte and Norma Hughey. Ms. Barbara was predeceased by infant daughter Ann McMillan.
Rodney and I were in Music City in October when I received word that Barbara Mac had passed away on the Wednesday morning of the Fair. All I could envision was her, on the Wednesday morning of the Fair in the early 1970s, helping set up Marilyn and me to ride in the Fair parade in the back of my father's El Camino decorated in smiley face theme. Happy times. I hold tight to good memories. I have them in spades.
