Ron Miller – A Visionary Who Saved Natchez – Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper

Ron Miller – A Visionary Who Saved Natchez

Printed 9:00 am Sunday, September 11, 2022

I’ll always remember Friday, November 27, 2015. Thanksgiving had simply concluded, and I used to be feeling homesick for Natchez. This was earlier than I had truly moved to this stunning metropolis, though I really consider my coronary heart had already taken up residence right here a few years prior. It was a ravishing fall day – the right day for a drive down the Hint.

Considering the place to remain, my thoughts went instantly to Ron Miller. On the time, I didn’t know Ron and his spouse Mimi effectively. I simply remembered their kindness to me throughout an in a single day keep at a cottage they rented again within the early 2000’s. I couldn’t consider a greater place to spend a quiet weekend.

Once I heard Ron’s chipper voice on the telephone, I knew I had made the precise name. He appeared to recollect me, though on the time I assumed he was simply being type. He defined that the cottage was not obtainable for hire, however I used to be welcome to remain in a room that occurred to be obtainable in his and Mimi’s B&B, The Wentzel Home. In lower than 5 minutes the deal was accomplished, and I used to be on my technique to Natchez.

Arriving a bit of previous 5, I made my technique to the entrance door of Ron and Mimi’s beautiful Victorian dwelling, positioned within the Historic Backyard District only one block from the Mississippi River. Ron graciously greeted me on the door – and there started an exquisite friendship. From that date ahead, each weekend by way of the next Spring, I used to be the Millers’ fixed houseguest, having fun with many late evening visits of their parlor and indulging, maybe a bit an excessive amount of, in Ron’s scrumptious selfmade blueberry pancakes. I’ll endlessly cherish these reminiscences.

Hardly ever does one have the chance to satisfy a gentleman like Ron Miller. As an individual, his kindness and concern for others was evident the second you met him. As a pacesetter, Ron single handedly caused a brand new appreciation for historic preservation in Natchez. It may be mentioned that his imaginative and prescient saved it. As the primary Govt Director on the Natchez Historic Basis, he charted a course that all of us now observe. His spouse Mimi succeeded him in that workplace, and collectively they’ve completed a lot.

I don’t suppose Natchez can be the Natchez we all know and love if it weren’t for Ron. After we go searching, so many buildings that might have gone the opposite method are in the present day standing stunning, having stood the check of time all due to his imaginative and prescient and management. I thank God for blessing Natchez with a person like Ron Miller. He really made a distinction in our stunning metropolis. Might we dwell as much as the legacy he now leaves behind. As a result of Natchez Deserves Extra.

Dan M. Gibson, Mayor of Natchez