page 13
Highway 61
I was in a barroom drinking
Kentuckey whiskey once in ole downtown Natches when I met a very nice looking lady wearing
a tee shirt that said "For a good time, follow me to Nelly's." Me, being an
impulsive kind of guy, decided I would follow her. Nelly was about 73 then and a very
impressive woman with silver gray blue hair. She reminded me of your grandmother.
She just happened to own a family business that had existed over a hundred years. She
owned and operated a whore house.
The house was a very attractive white frame house with old fashioned window awnings. t looked quiet cozy as I drove up the steep narrow driveway to the top of the hill. Next to the house was the railroad. Inside the house I noticed ceiling fans, a swing, and a rocker.
 This is Nelly's whore house today in 1998. It is now a rent house. While asking directions I talked to a young black man and he said he used to work there. I asked doing what. He replied helping out when all the girls were busy. |
 All the lying down for fun took place upstairs in the garage apartment in back. I can just almost hear the rumble of the passenger trains in the early days and smell the hot steam pouring from the engine. Almost see the passengers, men in double breasted suites with wide ties as they were looking up at the scantly clad babes in Nelley's windows. |
I learned that Nelly took care of the collections but the actual goings on took place in
the small cottage behind the house. For all practical purposes Nelly was a lot like any
other grandmother I knew . She had her potted plants and and antique clocks. Her speech
was was slower and she definitely had a southern accent . I asked if she was ever
prosecuted for prostitution. She told me that her grandson was the district attorney.
Incidentally the five or six girls working at Nelly's were lovely.
I returned to Nelly's a few years ago and the house was closed down . Nelly was nowhere to
be found. Another elderly lady answered the door and told me the bad news. Nelly had a
dispute with a drunken customer about the $60 fee. He came back later that night with a
gallon can of gasoline. When Nelly answered the door he sat her on fire. She died
instantly.