The Witbeck, C. W., Photograph Collection depicts people and places in towns and cities throughout Mississippi dating from 1911 through 1955. The 333 black-and-white photographs focus on Brookhaven, Gulfport, Jackson and Vicksburg, Mississippi. The collection also contains views of Monticello, Meadville and Crystal Springs, Mississippi. The earliest print, from 1911, is of McGrath’s Baseball Team in Brookhaven, Mississippi.
The collection includes 18 photographs of Governor Hugh White’s inauguration (January 22, 1952), 62 photographs of the United States Naval Training School in Gulfport (July 17, 1950), 35 photographs of Senator Pat Harrison’s funeral (June 25, 1941), 19 photographs of the Mississippi Highway Patrol General Assembly (August 3, 1950), 18 photographs of the Masonic Building fire in Brookhaven (March 25-26, 1951), 13 photographs of a Wesson Lions Club event (March 26, 1951), 11 photographs of the Whitworth College Coronation Pageant (May 29, 1950), and 5 photographs of African-American Little Leaguers in Brookhaven (June 15, 1955).
Pictured above is the 1941 funeral of Byron Patton “Pat” Harrison who represented Mississippi in the United States Congress for many years. He served in the House of Representatives from 1911-1919 and the Senate from 1919-1941. See Westley F. Busbee, Jr., Mississippi: A History (Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, Inc., 2005), 209.