OAKLAND — It was a matter of a spontaneous left turn after leaving the bank in Oakland that will ultimately be responsible for Gay Lynn Haynes going into the history records of this town.
She was honored with a proclamation by the mayor and town board of Oakland at their July meeting as the designer of the first flag for the Town of Oakland.
The proclamation expresses appreciation and sets forth “this permanent record of gratitude for her community service and to recognize her as the designer of the Flag of the Town of Oakland.”
In July of 2020, Haynes had sold her house in Georgia and was planning to move to Jackson within three days. She was staying with family in Enid during the housing transition.
She received the check for the sale of her house and wanted to get it in the bank. Her brother told her there was a BancorpSouth in Oakland, so she headed there, made her deposit and instead of going back the way she had come, she took that fateful left turn onto Hickory Street.
Alderwoman Stephanie Patterson, left, presents Gay Lynn Haynes with a framed copy of a proclamation from the Oakland Town Board recognizing her as the designer of the town flag. (Photo by Linda Ross Aldy)
“I came out of the bank and turned left. I saw the Methodist Church on the left, and then on the right was Oakland Baptist Church and right next to it a little house with a for sale sign. I did a U-turn and called the realtor. It was a great looking Arts and Craft style house. When I walked in, my throat just closed up. It was so beautiful. I called my brother and said, ‘come over here right now’. I asked the realtor, ‘How much?’” recalled Haynes.
The house was owned by the Baptist church, according to Pastor Jimmy Hood. Of course, the church was praying for a good neighbor.
“She’s been a blessing since got here. We couldn’t have asked for a better neighbor for the church,” Hood said. Haynes joined the Baptist Church and “she just jumps in for whatever is needed,” Hood said.
Church musician Steve McGregory, who performed in June at the Grand Ole Opry, knows music. He praised Haynes’ knowledge and performance of music and said he failed to recognize initially how talented and educated she was in theatrics and how much that would bring to the music. He doesn’t make that mistake anymore. “She has been a blessing,” he said.
“The church was right there. I would be sitting on my porch and everyone who was coming to the church would speak to me, even coming over to my yard and they all said to come join them. So many of them knew my mom who lives in Enid. The motto of the Oakland Baptist Church is ‘It’s Like Coming Home’ and it was. So many people told me ‘you’re exactly what God sent. You are an answer to our prayers’ so, of course, I joined!” Haynes said.
Her journey to Oakland started in Charleston, just 10 miles from Oakland, where she was born. She moved away as a toddler, graduating from Horn Lake High School, then the University of Mississippi.
Haynes now teaches art classes at the Charleston Arts and Revitalization Effort (CARE) in Charles-ton, just blocks from where she was born.
Her journey to creating the first-ever Oakland town flag, however, was colored by her introduction to the people of the town.
“Margaret Jean Ross dropped a bag of three newspapers, a Mississippi Magazine and a Southern Living Magazine with a note that said ‘Welcome to Oakland’ in a Turnage Drug Store bag and directions to where she lived,” Haynes recalled.
“I walked and found her outside tending to her roses like Doris Day. Her yard looked like a Disney movie. I said ‘Hey there, thank you for the things you hung on my door’ and from there, she began the introductions to everyone,” Haynes added. “Mahaley Hames stopped by and shouted ‘yoo-hoo’ and connected me to the Magnolia Garden Club.”
From there, the Ole Miss graduate’s skills as a drama teacher, an artist, a vocalist and a person who wanted to be a part of the community took her in many directions as the town quickly recognized her many talents. She became part of the church choir, helped with Christmas programs, helped decorate for programs and taught an art class at the Oakland Town Market’s Holiday Market.
“I was so included. Everyone made me feel welcome and appreciated. As an artist, you put yourself out in the world and you open yourself to criticism, but here I didn’t just feel welcomed but encouraged,” she said. “I’ve blossomed even to the point of saying I’m going to write a play that will be historically based on Oakland.”
The newly created Oakland Area Chamber of Commerce asked her to design a welcome sign for the first Yalo-Ribbon Festival in April. The chamber’s vision for the festival is embodied in the song “Tie A Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Old Oak Tree” and the welcome received when the character in the song sees “a hundred yellow ribbons” in the tree.
“The picture just floated up in my front of me. I saw a universal look, the ribbon on the oak tree, the sun coming over a hill — a big sun with rays, inviting people in,” she said.
“That welcome sign was amazing. I had seen other town’s flags at the annual Mississippi Municipal League meeting and I wanted Oakland to have a flag. We thought her design was beautiful and captured the spirit of Oakland, so we adopted it as our town flag,” said Stephanie Patterson, who serves on both the town board and the chamber board.
Mayor James Riley Swearengen and Patterson brought the proclamation up at the Tuesday, July 5, board meeting, where it passed unanimously and was presented to Haynes.
“Being told about that proclamation just hit me like a tsunami of gratitude. I am overwhelmed with the tide of kindness I am floating on. I have been met with big arms, wide-open, and a call for me to be involved. I’ve been a poll worker for the first time here,” Haynes said.
“When I think about Oakland, I think about all the excitement in this town and all the possibilities ahead,” she added. “I am content to be right here.”
