Starring Greenwood as Jackson

By: Beth Alexander

Published On: September 09, 2010

Stories told during courtship somehow end up part of a couple’s emotional vocabulary. When I was getting to know my husband, a great story-teller, one of many fraternity tales had to do with a charming young man from Greenwood, Miss., who wore long-sleeved shirts, always pressed, with monogrammed cuffs. Lemuel Eggleston Montgomery’s shirts were embroidered LEM. The stories of Lem from Greenwood, Miss., and his genteel vernacular left me enchanted with the vision of a misplaced Delta gentleman bemused by fraternity antics.

Some time in the late ’80s, a good friend took up real estate and joined Pilkerton Realty. She was likewise fascinated by a more experienced co-worker and mentor, Peggy Montgomery, whose well-bred southern accent she liked to imitate. Peggy’s “Oh, good grief!” covered a range of emotions, impatience, mild aversion, surprise. To this day, when we mean let’s get on with it, the gentlest nudge we can employ is, “Oh, good grief!”

I had never met either of these people, but loved them because of the stories. In 1999, Nfocus founder Herbert Fox invited me to start covering the occasional party for the magazine. A Nashville native, Herbert knew everything about Nashville famiies and their lineage and told the most wonderful stories. Friends begged him to write a book, but he said too many people would have to die first. If you didn’t know Herbert, who was quite a character and whose caricature hangs at The Palm, I am sorry. And if you did, you know that Herbert’s tone was warm, wry and confidential—and irresistible to imitate. His most enduring words to me were, “Honey, nobody every likes their picture.” Think about that the next time you peruse the Swan Ball issue. Herbert died five years ago this month, and I don’t know a single person who doesn’t smile to recall some personal Herbert anecdote.

I remember meeting Herbert’s sister Peggy Morgan at Sunday in the Park about ten years ago. She was darling, someone whose words you want to cup in your hands so you can examine them later, like jewels that fall sparkling from the good sister’s mouth in the fairy tale. It’s easy to envision Peggy and Herbert as classic film stars, exchanging silken barbs and dressed for dinner a la Nick and Nora Charles.

Well. Imagine my surprise to learn, decades after the original stories, that Herbert’s Peggy was Peggy “Oh, good grief” Montgomery, nee Fox, now Kelly. And Lem was Peggy’s son, who still lives in Greenwood, Miss., population 18,000. You’ll be hearing about Greenwood soon, if you haven’t already, because Kathryn Stockett’s blockbuster book, The Help, is being filmed there this summer. Kathryn’s childhood friend Tate Taylor wrote the screenplay and is directing the movie. Greenwood was chosen because it’s the closest approximation to Jackson, Miss., in the ’60s.

Herbert would have loved the Nashville connections. Past Nfocus cover girl Lucy Mudter married Charlie Swayze, “from one of the most prominent families in Greenwood,” says Peggy, who lived there for 22 years during her first marriage. Lem’s son Will is best friends with Charlie and godfather to his and Lucy’s firstborn. (If you find this tricky to follow, this is exactly what conversation with Herbert was like. I always felt I should be taking notes.)

The film crew is staying in homes along Grand Boulevard, some refurbished by the CEO of Viking Stoves, which is headquartered, yes, in Greenwood. All reports are that the Hollywood types are, of course, taken with the locals. Starring in the film are Viola Davis, Emma Stone and Ron Howard’s daughter Bryce Dallas Howard. The whole thing is a Spielberg production, produced by Mississippi native Brunson Green. I expect women will turn out in droves not seen since the debut of the first Sex and the City movie.

Imagine the film debut in Greenwood! It might be worth the drive down. My dearest hope is that they get those marvelous accents right. I’d love to close my eyes and hear them again. And I do wonder whether Lem still wears pressed shirts, monogrammed LEM.