“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would have not a single bit of talent left and could say I used everything you gave me” (Erma Bombeck).
Annie Massingale Crimm truly believes in using her talents and has this Erma Bombeck quote in her house to remind her each day of what she has always striven to achieve. She has a myriad of talents, and she has always used them to help others. She started off with a simple life, however.
“I was raised on a farm, and we picked cotton every year,” recalled Annie. “We worked in the field, and it was hot.”
All the hard work she did growing up taught her the value of hard work, and she continued to work hard once she got older. Annie worked in the school system and was able to experience the first years of integration. She was very dedicated to each of the children who were in her class and loved them all as her own, no matter what. She was able to make all of her students, even the older ones, believe they were hers as well.
“When we integrated in 1970, I was one of the P.E. teachers in the lower elementary. I taught kindergarten through the fifth grade. I taught those kids to be kind and have loving attitudes,” remembered Annie. “One day, the superintendent called me and said that he wanted me to go to the high school and teach the girls P.E. class. It was a big change. One day, I said, ‘You children line up,’ and they looked at me and told me that they weren’t children, they were students.”
Although she loved her job teaching, she eventually decided to try for another position in the school. Her history working on the farm while growing up proved to be beneficial for her and gave her confidence during her interview.
“One day, the high school principal called me in for an interview. I had put my application in for the guidance counselor secretary position that had just been vacated,” reminisced Annie. “When the principal asked me if I thought I could do it, I told him that I could do it as well as anyone else if not better and that if you can pick cotton in a cotton field then you could do anything. He gave me that job. I stayed several years in that job and retired in 1993, and everything I did was such a blessing.”
Before she had started working at the school, she had developed a talent that she managed to teach herself. She had been square dancing for a while, but she had discovered a new type of dance that she wanted to do that she eventually mastered: clogging.
“We used to go to the coast and Mobile because we were square dancers, and we’d stay the whole weekend. This lady from Georgia got on the stage and clogged, and I thought that I needed to do that,” explained Annie. “When we got home, I got me a book to see what kind of steps I needed to do to clog and would do that until 12:00 every night.”
She learned the steps she needed, and in the afternoons when she finished working at the school, she would teach classes how to clog. Her classes were popular and not limited to only Clarke County.
“Monday was set aside for my clogging classes at the National Guard Armory at 7:00 p.m.,” expressed Annie. “I also taught clogging at different towns: Newton, Decatur, Bay Springs, Laurel, and Hattiesburg. It was special to me when two professors and their wives came from the University of Southern Mississippi came to the class. They enjoyed and loved it.”
Naturally the groups she taught would compete in different events. They excelled in the competitions they entered in many different locations.
“One of our first events was in Alabama. We were back stage ready to come on stage, and the M.C. asked us what our name was. We paused, and James Ivy looked at me and said that we are cousins while I added that we are country, so we decided on the name Country Cousin Cloggers, and that stuck with us. We were known after that as Annie Massingale and the Country Cousin Cloggers,” recalled Annie. “We’ve gone on with and won many honors in events. For instance, many of my clogging team have won many events as we traveled to many different locations. Locally, the group won blue ribbons from the Jimmy Rogers Contest as a group and also couples. Some won state championships. HeeHaw was one of our favorites that we won as a group and as couples.”
Dance wasn’t the only thing that Annie taught after school. She has always been active in her church and taught some aerobics classes there three days a week.
“I was the director for the aerobics classes at Quitman First United Methodist Church on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 5:00 p.m.,” stated Annie.
Although she worked hard and stayed busy, Annie also participated in working in the community. One of her favorite things to do was assist with a summer program in the city.
“I helped with overseeing a summer program out at the city park in Quitman. It went from 8:00 a.m. until noon. The Lion’s Club and Jaycees sponsored it,” explained Annie. “I taught the kids how to play tennis and many more games. On Friday, I always carried the kids swimming at Clarkco. That was before Archusa was developed. They always had to have their buddy with them when swimming or anything for safety reasons, and I would get them if I ever saw them without their buddy. They would bring their lunch, and we would have a picnic lunch after swimming.”
The summer program isn’t the only thing about the Lion’s Club that Annie participated in. She had a position with the club in the county, and she actually received the highest award that the club offers.
“I was Zone Chairman for the Lion’s Club in this area. The International Lion’s Club gave me the highest award that Lion’s Club gives. It’s called the Melvin Jones Award and was for outstanding support, loyalty, and dedication. Somebody gave $1,000 in my name, and that’s how I got it. I got a plaque and everything,” said Annie. “Then, I established a Noon’s Lion’s Club, but they have since disbanded.”
She has a heart for others, and has helped participate in fundraisers over the years so that she could send thousands of dollars to different organizations.
“I support St. Jude’s Hospital, the Special Olympics, and the Shriner’s Hospital,” expressed Annie. “We would do different fundraisers to help different organizations. We’d raise money every year to send to local fire departments. We’d raise money by doing street dancing, and then they’d send $1,000 to the burn center in Greenville. I don’t think they do it anymore, but we made sure we did that as a fundraiser."
Her most famous form of fundraising to help organizations was through something different than dancing: cakes. In fact, her cakes are famous and renowned throughout Mississippi.
“My famous strawberry cake has been very well-known. It has been in all the auctions for the 4-H Club, Mississippi Burn Center in Greenville, Batson Children’s Hospital, St. Jude Hospital, local fire departments, and many more,” declared Annie. “It was also featured in a magazine in Mississippi. I’m thankful it always brought in several hundred dollars.”
Not only has she participated in different community things in Clarke County, but Annie has also had the privilege to participate in major events in Meridian as well. In fact, she enjoyed herself at one event when Bonita Lakes Mall first opened.
“Another outstanding event that was so enjoyable for me was when Bonita Lakes Mall held its grand opening. I was one of the ten ladies selected as a model, and I was assigned to the McRae’s store. As we paraded through the mall, we were wearing clothing from that store,” remembered Annie. “When we finished that, they assigned us to a department. Mine was fragrance, and I was assigned the Eternity fragrance. All the departments were there that day, and the department for Oscar De La Renta wanted me to change to his department because I was doing so well, so they changed me. It was a lot of fun being a fragrance model.”
Over her life, Annie has worked hard and has done everything she could to help others. She knew that she had multiple talents, and she wanted to make sure that she used her talents to help benefit her community instead of simply keeping them to herself. With her heart for helping others, it comes as no surprise that she has this advice for others:
“Do the best you can for your neighbor and anybody that needs some help.”
