Top 10 snobbiest places in Mississippi?

I've been trying to remember the first snob I ever met.

It certainly wasn’t while growing up. My children love seeing my elementary class pictures. Every boy in the room is barefoot, our shoes and socks stuffed in the little cubby hole beneath the seat of our desks. Any place where parents and teachers are OK with that can hardly be classified as a haven for snobs.

My first true encounter with what I perceived as a snob occurred in my early adult years, when I was a sports writer and sports editor at The Meridian Star.

Meridian was a city of about 45,000 people and two country clubs. Golf was and remains a huge deal in that town, so I spent a few summer weekends covering their local tournaments.

For a couple of years, I felt uncomfortable and out of place around all those people with money and big houses and perfectly manicured yards. In my mind, they thought they were better than me.

Time revealed how silly and immature I had been. Those “snobs” could not have been nicer, and not just when I was writing stories about them. Many became my friends, and I learned that folks with thick money clips and lawns like carpet can have kind, generous hearts as well.

So I read with great interest a list released by the website roadsnacks.net, based in Durham, North Carolina: The 10 Snobbiest Places in Mississippi.

I’m happy to say Meridian did not make the list.

Madison, however, did. It was No. 1. The snobbiest of all.

It was followed (in order) by Flowood, Kosciusko, Diamondhead, Brandon, Clinton, Hernando, Gulf Park Estates, Long Beach and Florence.

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My first reactions upon seeing the list:

•What has Flowood ever done to anyone? And other than the stretch on Lakeland Drive that runs past Jackson Prep and the Dogwood shopping center, does anyone know exactly where Flowood is?

•Where and what is Gulf Park Estates? It sounds like a campground.

•Uh … Kosciusko and Florence? I guarantee you there are class photos stuffed in drawers in those towns of boys barefoot at their school desks.

What mayors said

The Cambridge dictionary defines a snob as “a person who judges the importance of people mainly by their social position or wealth, and who believes social position or wealth makes one person better than others.”

Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler isn't concerned with the definition, nor the fact that Madison topped the list.

"I've seen it," she said, "and I treat it the same way I do everything else in my life that I know is not true: I ignore it.

"They think we're snobs? Watch our community when a family is in need. Those around them will do anything they can to help. The bottom line is, Madison is Mississippi's shining star, and I make no apologies for that. It's a city with heart. It's a city that was built on prayer, and people like to be critical of us because we happen to do things the right way and we are successful."

Who can rightfully argue with her? In 1970, Madison was just another rural town with 853 residents. By 2000, the population had grown to 14,962. Today it's approximately 26,000. Butler has been the mayor through most of that growth, winning office in 1981 at age 26.

She has been criticized for micro-managing — not allowing businesses to put up tall signs, blocking the construction of apartments. Meanwhile, national publications keep tossing the city roses. A decade ago, Family Circle Magazine named it one of the 10 Best Towns for Families. Money Magazine named it one of the Top 100 cities in America.

"We didn't apply for these awards. We didn't hire someone to write an essay about how wonderful Madison is. We must be doing something right," Butler said. "So let people criticize and call us snobs. We'll just keep going."

Jimmy Cockroft, in his 20th year as mayor of Kosciusko, wasn't amused by his town making the list..

“We built a really nice visitor center right there on the Natchez Trace back in the 1980s,” he said. “A snobby town wouldn’t do that. They’d want people to keep going and not bother them.

“What I get really frustrated about is that these people put lists out and never talk to anyone, at least that I know of. To rank them the way they do … I don’t get it. It’s frustrating because we work hard every day to have a nice, polite Southern town. And then somebody tells the world your town is snobby.”

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Cockroft certainly isn’t snobby, even though he’s part Yankee — but with Southern roots. He was born in Joliet, Illinois, and grew up in Lockport, Illinois, a town of about 25,000. His family moved back to Mississippi his freshman year of high school.

He graduated from Kosciusko High, worked at a building supply store and sold shoes on the town square for nearly two decades.

Personally, I’m defensive of Kosciusko because I have used it to see if someone is really from around here. If a person can pronounce Kosciusko without stumbling, chances are you’re not talking to an outsider.

Florence Mayor Pam Clark had heard about the list. She basically laughed at her town’s inclusion.

“We have a seafood restaurant with an Andy Griffith theme," she said, referring to Berry's Seafood. “How much more ‘un-snobby’ can a town get than that? Who is more wholesome and down to earth than Andy Griffith?

“We’ve received an award for being the safest city in Mississippi. I don’t think being safe is snobby.

“I would love for these people who made up this list to come to Florence, walk around, meet the people and then decide if we’re snobby. I doubt we’d be in the top 10.”

I doubt Florence would be in the top hundred.

So what is Gulf Park Estates? 

The one that really threw me a curve was Gulf Park Estates. I’d never heard of it, and I believe I’ve been just about everywhere in Mississippi to write a story at one time or another.

Somebody told me it was a subdivision in Ocean Springs. Turns out, that’s incorrect.

“Gulf Park Estates has nothing to do with Ocean Springs,” said Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran. “It’s probably five miles from downtown Ocean Springs. It’s outside the city limits.

“It's just an area in the county, and it’s a real mixed bag. Some really nice houses on waterfront property, but also a lot of rental property and mobile homes. It has no sidewalks and they have pit bulls running loose. Having said that, the residents are known as salt-of-the-earth people.

“I think maybe the list-makers meant to pick Ocean Springs,” Moran said, sounding as if she wished they had. “We have one of the highest per capita incomes between Tallahassee and Baton Rouge. We have a thriving downtown. Since Katrina, we’ve rebuilt a town that is inviting to all ages.”

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In 2016, the Smithsonian included Ocean Springs in its “20 Best Small Towns to Visit.” In 2013, Ocean Springs was one of three cities to receive the Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

It seems Ocean Springs has snobby potential. Maybe it can give Madison a run for its money next time.

The first phone call I made about the list was to Pearl Mayor Brad Rogers. Pearl was not on the list, yet the city's next-door neighbor and bitter sports rival, Brandon, was No. 5. Maybe the pollsters got wind of Brandon's 8,400-seat amphitheater that is under construction.

I told Rogers that Pearl actually had the right to act sorta snobby. It's the home of the Mississippi Braves, Bass Pro Shop and one of the largest outlet malls in the state.

"No, no," Rogers quickly responded. "This is one list I'm glad Pearl, Mississippi, is not on."

"So how did Brandon make it?" I asked.

"I'm not real sure," Rogers said. "But they have a lot of new neighborhoods popping up over there, and we actually have some folks moving to Brandon. If they get enough Pearl people, maybe it'll help 'em when another one of these polls comes out."

He was joking, Brandon. Just joking.

What the list really means

The folks at RoadSnacks revealed how they compiled the list, and it had nothing to do with arrogance or wearing a lot of sweater vests.

No, they relied on a formula using these numbers: median income, median home price, percent of population with a college degree, private schools per capita, theaters per capita and art galleries per capita.

Madison was a shoo-in with a median income of $99,392 and 57 percent of its residents having graduated college.

But back to Florence — which has no theater, no art gallery.

"Well, we have children's plays a few times a year," Clark said. "And our Florentine Club will often have art exhibits in our community center.

"I happen to be a member."

Contact Billy Watkins at bwatkins@jackson.gannett.com or 601-961-7282. Follow @BillyWatkins11 on Twitter.