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Originally posted by: Mississippian in Exile
"I'm many miles from Hattiesburg, but I do access the news from there by reading the websites of the three major Mississippi newspapers each day (and, of course, each issue of the Student Printz). Didn't I read somewhere that, not very long ago, there was a move to relocate the School of Nursing to a building which formerly housed the now-defunct Albertsons grocery store? Also, I recall reading something about moving Art to the old Hattiesburg High School building on Main Street. Am I missing something? How did that sit with the respective departments? Would the university run busses back-and-forth from those distant locations? Wouldn't such moves make it a little bit inconvenient for the students to get to the campus library, to the offices of faculty members teaching them outside their discipline, or even to the hub? I Was I having a nightmare, or did I really read that somewhere? How did those decisions, if they actually occurred, come about? Can anybody explain this to me? Thanks. "

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While I cannot claim to know for certain, I have some speculations to offer:

The first thing you have to know is that Shelby is "Old Hattiesburg Society."  He's a member of the old Country Club; He's was member of the Krew of Zeus, and attended every year; He lives in what was (before Canebrake) THE neighborhood where "everyone who is anybody" lived; His children attended the correct all-white, private schools when possible, and went to Oak Grove when those schools closed.

The second thing you need to know is that Shelby is obsessed with the idea that he must be thought of as perfect by those around him.  As has been discussed many times on this board, he is confident to the point of megelomania.  His ideas are not theories to be discussed, they are orders to be implemented.  And woe be unto those who would dare to disagree.

The third thing you need to know is that Shelby has spent the majority of his life surrounding himself with people who completely agree with the above two paragraphs.  Many of them are also "Old Hattiesburg Society," or want to be thought of as such.  Some are new to the area and want to join.  All either wholeheartedly subscribe to Shelby's "perfection" or profess to in order to fit in with the crowd, including members of his own family.  Any deviation from the above and you are "Out", and thus subject to punitive retribution.

With these things in mind, the moves concerning Albertsons and the old Hattiesburg High building become clearer:

• Both buildings are miles distant from the campus, but that doesn't matter: Both projects are going to involve construction/renovation contracts that will certainly be directed to members of his "group."  (Fairchild Construction or Sims Construction)


• The old Hattiesburg High building is a favorite of old Hatteisburg Society because many of them attended school there.  Who cares if it's over 100 years old, has been condemned as uninhabitable on more than one occasion, and is truly unsuitable as a modern educational building?  Hattiesburg Society will say, "What a wonderful thing you're doing, preserving our old high school and turning it into something useful!" (For confirmation, see the Hatt-Am articles on the project.)


• The former Cloverleaf Mall sparks many of the same feelings amoung younger Society members.  Remember Milton Waldoff and his clothing store, Waldoff's?  Milton was one of the main motivators involved in the Cloverleaf Mall Expansion project, an effort to upgrade and renovate the existing mall site to include new and larger stores, one of which was a much-expanded version of Waldoff's.  Before it went bankrupt, Waldoff's was the store where Society members shopped.  "If it didn't come from Waldoff's, it isn't worth putting on," was a line I heard from Society members throughout high school and into college.  As in the above paragraph, Society members must be thrilled at the prospect of making money while "preserving" the location of a cherished icon.


• In all of this, Shelby is obviously attempting to build his image as a civic leader and a member of Hattiesburg Society.  However, there is another side to it that is more subtle, and perhaps more sinister:  Notice that, after the projects are completed, it will be possible to say that the USM campus is spread "throughout Hattiesburg?"  Now USM will "have authority" over buidlings and areas far removed from the "main campus."  Will Campus Security now be allowed to patrol these areas?  Will additional or seperate parking permits be required for these areas?  Will Shelby suggest that he attend/vote/become a member of the Hattiesburg City Council since USM will now be more intwined with the city?

Again, these are just speculations, but I base them on 30+ years of knowing Shelby, his family, and Hattiesburg Society in general.