Nativity Newsletter

Nativity - Spotlight - Jean Bynum

I caught Jean Bynum yesterday afternoon not long after she had spent all morning working in her yard and garden. “I can’t work hard outside but for about half a day now.” lamented the 95 year old Bynum. I laughed.

Of course there is no way to cover her 95 years, so I asked her a few questions about her background. “I grew up poor in southern Arkansas, northern Louisiana, Texas area. We didn’t have running water or electricity in the house and used an outhouse. We had a refrigerator that ran off kerosene. It kept food from spoiling but not cold enough to make ice. My mom cooked on a wood-burning stove.” When asked what she thought contributed to her longevity, she didn’t hesitate, “I didn’t think I would live past 40. I guess it’s because we were poor and everything we ate was organic. We only ate what we raised or caught. Our only fertilizer was from the animals and we didn’t use pesticides.”

I first saw this photo of Jean on the bucking bronco riding bareback several months ago, and was curious to know more. (Jean informed me that most people think she is riding in the photo. She pointed out that the photo was taken as she was being bucked off.) Jean and her siblings started riding at an early age. In fact, when she was 7 years old and started school, she rode a mule to school every day. When she was 14-15, she started riding bulls or broncs for “mounting money”. Her mother thought she would be killed, but her dad thought it was great.

“What is ‘mounting money’?” I asked. “There were several amateur rodeos that would pop up where they would pay you to ride whatever they put you on.” She went on to tell me about the mule scramble she participated in once. “Five people were put on a mule which would make the mule buck. I was bucked off and suffered a concussion. When I woke up, I was in the ambulance,” said the ever tenacious Jean. “I told them to turn around and take me back. They put me in a car with a lady and told me to stay there. The woman restrained me with her arm and I bit her. I only know about this from what others have told me. I don’t remember any of it.”

After graduating high school during WWII, she thought she was going to work for John Deere, but they gave the job to someone else. This really made her mad. She then looked for opportunities to make some mounting money. One day she received an invitation from South Texas to be a part of the Wild West Rodeo in Mexico City. She took advantage of this all-expense paid trip to Mexico City. Jean said “this green, naive girl from southern Arkansas, didn’t know a word of Spanish. I didn’t even know which one was the lady’s bathroom.” After a number of rides, she found that her sponsors had not paid bills and the Mexicans wouldn’t let them leave. Eventually with help from the American Consulate, she was able to get out of Mexico. She continued to ride bulls or bareback broncs until she became pregnant with her third child.

Unfortunately, Jean soon found herself a single mom to three children. She worked at Safeway in Dallas but looked for work closer to home. She took a job at an ammunition plant in Texarkana so that she could be near family to help with the kids. There was an explosion at the factory that damaged her hand and to this day she still feels the effects of the incident.

At age 53, Jean received her BSN and was a NICU nurse in Dallas until she retired at the age of 74! All three of her children went to Ole Miss. The two girls received their Master’s there and her son went into the Air Force after graduating from Ole Miss.

In 2014, after living in Oklahoma for many years where she and her husband farmed, realization struck that they could no longer take care of everything so they moved to Water Valley to be close to her daughter Kay who lived in Oxford. Jean had spent a great deal of time in this area visiting her kids while they were at Ole Miss, and visiting Kay, so she was very familiar with the Oxford/Water Valley area. Jean’s husband passed away a few years after moving here. “I love Water Valley. It’s small enough and I’ve made many friends here. I live alone and still drive. I can and put up vegetables like I am still feeding a big family.”

Jean grew up in another denomination but after some upheaval in the church, she started looking for a church that was more inclusive and less judgmental. “I found it here at Nativity. I really love it here. I love this little church. People are so nice, so real, and nonjudgmental from what I can tell.”

I asked Jean what keeps her coming Sunday after Sunday and climbing those steps to the church. She said “for the message and for the fellowship.”

What a lady! What a treasure! How fortunate we are at Nativity to know her and call her “ours”.

Sunday, September 7, 2025

Morning Prayer - Michael Prager

Lessons:

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17

Philemon 1-21

Luke 14:25-33

Those who serve:

Lectors; Eddie and Dawn

AG - Erin

MC POD - April

Coffee Hour:

Set-Up: 1. Shannon 2. ________

Food: 1. _____ 2.______ 3._______

Clean-up: 1. Jack 2. _______

Announcements

Altar Guild: is recruiting. Please see Liz or Kathy at Coffee Hour if interested.

LEM or LEV: needed. If interested contact Michael Prager or Robbie Fisher.

Blessing of the Animals - Rev. Ann Whitaker - Saturday, October 4, 10:00 am - Pocket Park

Ladies Retreat - Rev. Jennifer Holder Friday, October 3 and Saturday, October 4

Based on Anne Lamott's book: Help, Thanks, Wow

Sign-up needed. see Kathy or Margaret Love