WEBB — The Webb Community House, a local fixture for over 80 years, was destroyed by fire Sunday night.
The blaze was reported at 7:57 p.m. and the wooden structure at the corner of Chippewa and Laura streets was fully involved when firefighters arrived.
The Sumner and Webb fire departments responded to the conflagration, but the building was too far gone and was a total loss.
Webb Mayor Tracy Mims said a deputy from the State Fire Marshal’s Office was scheduled to be on site Thursday to investigate.
In initial reaction, Mims called the roughly 1,400-square-foot structure “a major cornerstone” of the community.
The building was constructed in 1938 or 1939 through President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s National Youth Administration, part of the New Deal initiative to provide jobs and relief to Americans affected by the Great Depression.
The Webb Lions Club, which was chartered April 1, 1938, sponsored the project. According to a 1988 newspaper story about the 50th anniversary of the club, the Community House building was erected at a total cost of about $2,400 — labor and materials. Utilizing $21-a-week workers and the proceeds of a federal grant, neither the town nor the club was out a cent.
Although the Lions sometimes held meetings and other functions in the building, former longtime Tallahatchie County Lions member and district governor Gary Shepherd, who now lives in Texas, said it was conceived for greater use.
“They built it for a community center, so to speak,” he said. “The Lions used it a lot; we had a lot of good functions there. It hurts me to see it go, because I have a lot of fond memories.”
The Webb Civic Club, a former women’s organization, held meetings and activities there, as did the Tallahatchie County 4-H Club and the Sumner Rotary Club, among others.
The Community House has hosted everything from wedding and funeral receptions, baby showers, birthday parties, banquets and educational activities to volunteer firefighter training classes, pet vaccination drives, family and school reunions, spaghetti suppers, cake walks, political rallies and much more.
Bobo Catoe, 69, grew up in Webb. His late father, E.V. “Vandorn” Catoe, was Webb mayor for many years. He remembers the Community House being a magnet that helped townspeople bond.
“We did lots of things there,” he said. “I remember going to Cub Scout meetings there. I went to elementary school at Webb-Swan Lake, which was almost right across the street, and we would have programs at the Community House that we didn’t have in the school.
“It was a place for the community to gather,” he added. “It was a place where the community got together and did things together and for each other.”
The Community House also held official status.
In February 1954, when the Mississippi National Guard relocated Company A of the 114th Engineer Battalion from Drew to Webb, the Community House served as the armory. Seven years later, in February 1961, the Guard unit moved into a newly built armory on Highway 49.
For many town and county elections, the facility was utilized as a voting precinct.
More recently, it has been home to the Webb Reading Corner, an educational outreach. Mims said plans are to relocate the Reading Corner to the former National Guard armory, now owned by Webb.
Mims, 55, said the Community House fire affected many, including himself.
“To watch the Community House go up in flames was quite emotional,” he stated, adding that it brought to his mind “a myriad of childhood and present-day memories.”
“This has been a tremendous loss to surrounding towns in west Tallahatchie County, as it was a great resource to many,” Mims continued. “I received several calls from citizens in tears regarding the loss.”
However, Mims hinted at rebirth, noting that state Rep. Tracey Rosebud has already expressed to him a desire to collaborate with his colleagues, the Webb Board of Aldermen and others “to help rebuild this center that meant so much to so many.”
IN THE PHOTO: The Webb Community House, also known as the Webb Community Center, is pictured six years ago in its serene setting at the corner of Chippewa and North Laura streets in Webb. (Photo special to The Sun-Sentinel)
