Mary Louise Nosser
Vicksburg
Mary Louise Nosser was born on October 26, 1930, in Vicksburg, where she lived until her death. Her father came to America in 1920 from Sheikhan, Syria, in 1920 with “about fifty-five cents in his pocket,” she said. Her mother arrived in Mississippi shortly thereafter from the village of Bekhaz. Both immigrated through New York’s Ellis Island, making their way to Mississippi to join family who had come over before them.
For fifty-six years, Mary Louise participated in the annual Lebanese Dinner held at the St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Vicksburg, preparing cabbage rolls, kouby, and tabouli to share with Lebanese and non-Lebanese families alike. “We’ve had people from all over the state of Mississippi coming to the dinner,” she said.
In addition to the pleasure she took in sharing Lebanese traditions, Mary Louise had long been proud to talk about her home state. For thirteen years she volunteered as a guide at the Vicksburg National Military Park, and for twenty-four years Mary Louise volunteered as a docent at the Governor’s Mansion in Jackson. She had been to the “old country” to visit relatives twice.
This interview with Mary Louise Nosser took place in her home in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on October 14, 2017. She passed away on March 9, 2019.
AUDIO (Click to listen):
“The first time I went [to Lebanon], in 1971, I had my sixteen-year-old son Rainey with me. He said he’s so glad he got to make that trip. We were up in the mountains in Sheikhan, and we spent a lot of time in Beirut. One of the things that I loved most of all was the bread, and the vendors would come by with the fresh bread threaded on a, like a broomstick. And the bread was like a pallet. It had a hole in it, and they would file it on the broomstick and carry it around them around that way. The far end of the bread was kind of puffy and when you ordered one of those they would tear it open, and they had this little measure of pine nuts and sesame seeds and all that stuff, and throw it in there and shake it around and send it up to you in a bucket to your apartment and you’d send them the bucket down with the money. And that was so delicious. Just spices in there on that good fresh bread. Make you slap yo mama. Whew! It was so good!”
“I love history. I was fortunate in my jobs because most of my assignments were of a military nature. I worked at three Air Force bases, several Reserve units, secretary to several commanders, spent four and a half years directing the Elderhostel program, then twenty-four years working in the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion, and thirteen years in the Vicksburg National Military Park. And I’ve spread a lot of joy about the Lebanese dinner! Did I mention I taught Lebanese dancing off and on for six years? Been to Lebanon twice!”
—Mary Louise Nosser
VIDEO (Click to play):
How to Make Lebanese Kouby
Video used with permission
IMAGES (Click to enlarge):
The photographs in this collection include a photo of Mary Louise in the kitchen in St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Vicksburg the day before the annual Lebanese Dinner in 2018; a portrait of her father and mother; a ceramic tile with the name Nosser spelling in English, Hebrew, and Arabic; a family photograph with her two brothers and sister; a photo of Mary Louise’s first communion; and a collection of photographs from her first trip to the “old country” to visit relatives.