Virginia Calohan Harrell

Virginia May Calohan Harrell

Mrs. Harrell was born in Cairo Ill. After the 1917 flood there she moved to Chicago where she and her brother William grew up together. She has resided in Chicago, Ill, Bristol TN (going to Kings College majoring in journalism there), Greenville, MS, Houston, TX, and New York City, NY before moving to Vicksburg in 1949. There she worked for Star Search Magazine and the OSS (secretary to Mr. TiBorg Ekhart a Eastern European refugee) during WWII and married Judson Gordon Harrell (who had been living in China during the 1930s publishing an English language newspaper). She divorced from him and came to Vicksburg,MS in 1949, meeting and later marry Henry L. MacKnight a farmer and former state representative. For several years, she edited and published two farm magazines, the Mississippi Valley Stockman Farmer and the Mississippi Angus News. And, after Mr. McKnight died, serving out his term, she became one of the first women to serve in the MS State Legistature. She was also a long time member and past- president of the MS and Vicksburg chapters of the League of Women Voters. In 1982, she wrote a history of Vicksburg, “Vicksburg and the River.” From 1985 to 1988, she attended Millsaps College and finished out her BA degree, receiving a degree in history. She worked as a tutor at Good Shepher Community Center and attended Crawford St. United Methodist. Also, she had a long time interest in the Christian Science Religion and the teachings of Unity School of Christianity in Unity Village MO.

Her book can be purchased new at the yhwhschofchrist.org web store in addition to used at Amazon.

Editiorial Column from

1963 National Federation of Press Women

Honor Award

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