Photo by D. William Shepherd, September 1997

Cook's opened on South High School Avenue in Columbia about 1950. During the '50's and '60's it was the gathering place for teenagers, especially on Saturday nights prior to what was then known as the mid-night show. For the generations which grew up in Columbia in the '50's, '60's, '70's and '80's, Cook's became legendary for its milk shakes and hamburgers. From inside this small building, Mrs. Cook watched several genera- tions of Columbia teenagers grow up, move away, and then bring their own children, and even grandchildren, back to introduce them to those special milk shakes and hamburgers. Photo From A 1997 Columbian Progress Article

In this day and time, regardless of the size of the town or city, fast food places abound. You are never far from a quick hamburger, sandwich, ice cream, or whatever the fast food place serves that is supposed to pass for a milk shake. Such was not the case in the small towns of south Mississippi in the '50's. Columbia lacked such a place until about the year 1950.

The Cook family owned and operated a cotton gin and a grocery store on South High School Avenue. Sometime about 1950, the Cooks decided to open a small dairy products shop adjacent to their other businesses. They named their new business Cook's Dairy Delight, and it soon became the place for local teenagers to take a date for a milk shake, hamburger, soft drink, or ice cream. It was a business which would last for more than 40 years with practically no changes to the building or the menu.

The first milk shake I ever tasted was made by Mrs. Cook in the summer of 1953. I guess the occasion lingers in my mind because of its unusual nature. I was six years younger than my brother. As we have grown older the six years do not present much of a difference. However, when you are twelve and your brother is eighteen it is an almost unspannable chasm. That was the situation between me and my older brother in 1953. He had his set of high school friends, and I had my set of grade school friends. We seldom found ourselves in the same social setting. On this particular day in the summer of '53 -- in an attempt, I suppose, to introduce his younger brother to the ways of teenagers -- my brother took me swimming with he and two of his high school pals -- Lawrence Crews and George Thompson. After spending a couple of hours in the Little River swim hole just below the bridge at Lampton, we made our way back to Columbia, and made a stop at Cook's where my brother bought me my first milk shake. In the year's that followed, before I was old enough to be trusted with the family car, my visits to Cook's were few and far between. This all changed when I was finally allowed to take the family car out on my own. Cook's became a regular stopping place.

When Linda and I were dating in the late-50's and early-60's, Cook's was a regular stop for us -- particularly on Saturday nights. After Linda and I married in 1963, we moved away from Columbia. Over the years, as our family grew, we introduced our boys to Mrs. Cook's milk shakes and hamburgers. For years we made it a point to visit Cook's for a milk shake whenever we were in Columbia. When the boys were grown, they picked up the tradition when they were in Columbia visiting their grandparents. When our youngest son took his new bride to visit Columbia shortly after they were married in 1993, he made it a point to take her to Cook's for a milk shake and hamburger, to visit Red Bluff, and finally to go arrowhead hunting.

In the mid-90's one could sense that the visits to Cook's were nearing an end. Mrs. Cook was getting on up in years, although on occasion you would still see her working. If she saw us at the window, she would always come over to ask how we were doing and to talk for a few minutes. It was not something that happened at the fast food places that had sprung up on the by-pass and at other places around town.

As fate would have it, the last time I had a milk shake at Cook's was with my older brother in the summer of '96 while we were both in Columbia. This time I bought. It was a fitting end to our visits to Cook's.

Before my next visit to Columbia, Cook's closed, and the whole tradition was suddenly gone.

Cook's Site -- Contributed by Britt Autry, CHS '88

Just a note. My name is Britt Autry and my Dad (John Autry) notified me of the site. I graduated from CHS in '88. Cooks was still going strong with the best hamburgers/shakes around when I left Columbia. Heads above the McDonalds and other chains that invaded our town during my early childhood. I saw the building during a trip home a few weeks ago - It was my first visit since Cooks closed. Seemed cold without the warm friendly faces that always welcomed us there. Sad to see Cooks and Mrs. Cook leave us, but your web site is a good tribute. Thanks for the memories.

Ideas and thoughts when musing over Cook's Dairy Delight by john autry.

Immediately I think of Lucille Cook, who told me that her husband Neville used to take Carolyn to kindergarten after stopping at Autry's [Café] and picking me up. I remember going to Mrs. Cupit's for kindergarten, but I don't remember how I got there but I will take Lucille's word for it.

I once asked Mrs. Cook if Britt, my son, looked like me at that age. She replied, "John, you look just the same to me today as you always did." Maybe that was true for Lucille Cook even though I felt older.

My first memory of Cook's is when I went by to see Carolyn and Ellen and they were riding horses when I got there. Beautiful horses -- I don't remember if I rode one of the horses or not, but I really wanted to.

High School, college and later kinda run together but I remember Purple Cows, Lemon Sours, great hot dogs, chili dogs with homemade chili, and milk shakes. I also think Cook's was the first place that you could get snow balls in Columbia. Wait a minute, beef po-boys ummm! I didn't mention lemonades that were made from scratch and wonderful. I never had a lemon sour, but saw a lot of them served.

Also, and a very important point is that Carolyn was there, and when folk's had been gone a long time they would always stop by Cook's and talk to Carolyn. Carolyn has probably seen more displaced Columbia folks than any of us. Cook's was an institution, and it is gone now. Gone like so much that was here before, and we have to lean toward the new stuff -- even though we know it is not better just different. john autry -- December 18, 1998.

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