Fifty Years of Coastal Scrapbooks Heading Online
Bay St. Louis, MS · November 8, 2026
Crisp bay air and clear skies make this the kind of Sunday afternoon meant for lingering on the porch before the week spins back up. Red & The Revelers take the outdoor stage at the hall tonight, giving everyone a fine excuse to stay out under the stars a little longer.
The Lead
A half-century of coastal memories kept under lock and key is about to become public property from any screen in town. The Hancock County Library System is completing a landmark digitization project for the Louise Crawford Scrapbooks, supported by a 2026 Cultural Heritage Digitization Award from the Mississippi Digital Library.
Compiled between 1934 and 1982 by founding librarian Louise Crawford, the thick volumes chronicle everything from the system’s Works Progress Administration beginnings to personal snapshots of Old Town life through multiple storms. Archivists at the Bay St. Louis branch on Highway 90 have spent recent months capturing delicate clippings, municipal photographs, and handwritten records at preservation grade.
Once the cataloging wraps up later this month, residents can browse decades of previously unindexed neighborhood lore without making a special appointment in the historical records room.
Local Pulse
County 911 Commission Convenes Tuesday Morning Safety Commissioners meet at the Highway 603 facility to review emergency dispatch operations, equipment maintenance, and winter storm readiness protocols.
Holiday Tree Gala Opens Decorator Registration Community Local families and businesses can now reserve display trees at county branches to support children’s literacy programs this winter.
Fall Trout Run Packs Waterfront Fishing Piers Parks Dropping water temperatures across the bay are drawing strong schools of speckled trout and sheepshead toward nearshore municipal piers.
What's On Around Town
Today
Peter Anderson Arts & Crafts Festival Downtown Ocean Springs, Ocean Springs, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM · Free Coastal Mississippi's largest art festival wraps up its final afternoon.
Cigars Under the Stars 100 Men Hall (303 Union St), 6:00–8:00 PM · $25 Swamp-soul rhythms by Red & The Revelers benefitting coastal veterans.
Live Music at Whiskey Prime Whiskey Prime (115 Davis Ave), Pass Christian, 6:00–8:00 PM Acoustic dinner tunes steps away from the Pass harbor.
Tomorrow
- Technology Tutoring Bay St. Louis Library (312 Highway 90), 10:00 AM · Free
- Trinity Twirlers Exercise Group Pass Christian Public Library (111 Hiern Ave), Pass Christian, 10:00–11:00 AM · Free
- Mahjong Tile Game Waveland Library (345 Coleman Ave), Waveland, 10:00 AM · Free
Tuesday
- Zumba for You! Waveland Library (345 Coleman Ave), Waveland, 9:00–10:00 AM · Free
- Chair Yoga with Sid Pass Christian Public Library (111 Hiern Ave), Pass Christian, Noon–1:00 PM · Free
- Author Talk: Kelly and Zach Weinersmith Hancock County Library System, 1:00–2:00 PM · Free
Spotlight & Story
- The Arts, Hancock County
- Operating from 405 Blaize Avenue in the Depot District, this artist-run nonprofit quietly supplies county art teachers with classroom grants each semester. Their gallery space doubles as an open studio where local potters and painters trade techniques over Saturday morning coffee.
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