Jackson Jambalaya

As we Mississippians know well, crises bring out the best and worst of us. Heroes emerge to do all sorts of innovative and caring things. Villains emerge to take advantage of the suffering in myriad ways.


We should be thankful for the heroes among us and celebrate them. Here is a small collection of stories about those making a positive difference during this coronavirus pandemic.

Cathead Distillery in Jackson converted its production from spirits to hand sanitizer and started giving it away in Jackson and Oxford. Others shifted production to deal with critical shortages of medical protective gear.

Meridian lampshade manufacturer Lake Shore Studios began sewing masks for local hospitals.

Blue Delta Jeans in Shannon shifted from making custom jeans to face guards with much of the production going to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

Kevin Charles Fine Upholstery in New Albany began making thousands of face masks for medical facilities.

Infinity-AP in Waveland shifted from custom storefront fabrication to face guards for medical personnel.

La-Z-Boy in Newton also began making protective masks.

Facilities with 3-D printers began making protective face shields for local hospitals and medical staff, including students and staff at St. Andrews Episcopal School in Ridgeland and the Nissan vehicle assembly plant in Canton.

Lazy Magnolia Brewery in Kiln and Queen’s Reward Meadery in Tupelo began producing hand sanitizer.

Hattiesburg Clinic, facing a shortage of coronavirus test kits, partnered with the University of Southern Mississippi to produce its own test kits. USM researchers not only provided materials needed for production but also pilot tested the kits to gain Mississippi Department of Health approval to use them.

Taylor Machine Works in Louisville, using circuitry developed at the High Voltage Laboratory at Mississippi State University, is converting hundreds of battery powered ventilators stockpiled to fill temporary needs after disasters to AC power for longer term use at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

The University of Southern Miss 3-D printing lab, the Eagle Maker Hub, in partnership with the Mississippi Polymer Institute and USM School of Mathematics, is making about 350 respirator masks a day for Hattiesburg area health care workers.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center, spurred by Dr. Charles Robertson, a UMMC pediatric anesthesiologist, is building makeshift emergency ventilators with supplies found at local hardware stores. This innovation allowed the hospital to more than double its limited supply of ventilators.

Then there are untold numbers of Mississippians making a difference hand sewing masks, delivering food to shut-ins, and more. One who gained some notoriety is Dr. Laura Vick, an Associate Professor at UMMC. She began sewing masks to give to others and posted a video on how to make them that went viral.

UMMC students and volunteers began collecting, assembling and distributing “COVID Care Kits” to at-risk families. The kits contain basic supplies such as toilet paper, paper towels, diluted bleach, disinfectant solution, hand sanitizer and bar soap.

Caring citizens in Grenada began distributing “blessing bags” to those in need.

Social media networks such as Nextdoor and Facebook show numerous people offering to shop and provide other services for the frail and elderly.

Thanks to all our hero helpers.

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” – John 15:12

Crawford is a syndicated columnist from Jackson.