Frances Hardwick Hairston '61
Treasurer

I have been a member of the MUW Alumnae Association Board for a year and have been appointed to chair the faculty luncheon in August.  I have written letters or comments to the list several times during the past year.  It will be an honor to be chosen as an officer to this board.

I was born in Yazoo County in 1939, moved to Belzoni at the age of two, and graduated from high school in Belzoni in 1957.  There was never a question as to which college I would attend.  My grandmother constantly told me I was going to MSCW.  Dr. Fant had taught her when she was a child, so she felt there was no better place for me.  She was right.  I loved the ‘W from the moment I set foot on the campus.  I graduated in 1961 with a major in history and a minor in English.  I received a teaching license, taught for five years, and returned for a Masters of Art in History in 1973. While I was at the W, I roomed with Nanette Hairston Williams.  In 1962, I married her brother, James Lamar Hairston from Crawford, Mississippi.  We lived in Crawford where he grew up and where I still live.  We raised three children and were married for 41 years when he died in 2003.  My three children and my seven grandchildren are my true blessings.  After I had taught for awhile, I decided to organize my own business, The Good Earth.  I created Tussie Mussies, dried nosegays, and wreaths from dried Mississippi flowers and shipped these nationwide.  I later became a floral manager and a retail manager until my husband became ill.  Since his death, I have returned to the ‘W as a student pursuing a degree in art.  I am energized daily by being with the students and by having my brain constantly challenged by the professors.

I have served in many positions in the church.  I belong to an investment group organized with friends.   I am a member of Phi Alpha Theta, honorary history fraternity, and will be inducted into Kappa Pi, honorary art fraternity, next week. Recently, five of my art pieces were selected to be in the undergraduate show at the W Art