In this episode of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-at-Large and Cartoonist Marshall Ramsey continues his series of author interviews leading up to the Mississippi Book Festival on August 19, 2023 at the State Capitol.
Vincent J. Venturini was baptized in St. Mary’s Catholic Church when South Jackson was still in that parish. His classmates and schoolmates at St. Joseph High School in the late 1960s included many of the Lebanese and Italian residents of West Jackson. He acquired an appreciation of West Jackson and its residents in those high school years. Venturini is the co-author with Doug Shanks of “One Direction Home: A History of South Jackson”. Venturini’s latest book, “Once We Crowned Royalty” tells the story of West Jackson’s history and touches on downtown Jackson’s retail past.