EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI 271 Ground crew member A.D. Hunter, a machinist at Soule Steam Feed Works, fashioned an automatic shut-off valve for when the fueling hose dislodged from the tank. Another Soule employee, David Steph-enson, constructed the aluminum catwalk used to perform maintenance on the plane during flight. In 1879, George Wilberforce Soulé had moved his Morton and Shubuta operations to Meridian. In 1893, he incorporated Soulé Steam Feed Works located at the corner of FifteenthAvenue and Fifth Street. James Keeton had received his pilot’s license from the Key brothers in 1933. He owned a used Curtiss Robin single-engine plane and operated Keeton- Parker Flying Services out of Bates Field in Mobile,Alabama. He also spent free time as a stunt airplane performer. Keeton used this Curtiss Robin to refuel the Ole Miss and transfer meals to the Key brothers four times a day. The airplanes made it through a near-miss midair collision, a fire on board and 52,320 miles of nonstop flight. Twenty-seven days (653 hours and thirty-four minutes) later, the Key brothers landed on July 1, 1935, with the flight endurance record they still hold today. The Ole Miss is on permanent display in the National Air and Space Museum. Relief from the Great Depression was also found in entertainment like the Neshoba County Fair. The fair included a carnival with six riding shows such as the Ferris wheel, whip, merry-go-round, thriller, tilt-a-whirl, and others. During the country’s downward economic spiral, the 40th annual Neshoba County Fair broke attendance records.