DOWNTOWN WANDERINGS– dn English
"CAN YOU SMELL THE FISH COOKING?"...
Haynes Fish Market, located at 216
North Shannon has been part of the downtown area since
1928. Mr. Hubert A. Haynes and his family moved from Samburg, Tennessee. When they arrived
in Jackson, Mr. Haynes moved his family into the building at 216 N Shannon, formerly a
Livery.
The family lived above the fish market during the first year. Mrs. Haynes would help clean
and
cook the fish while taking care of her two sons Robert, age 4 and Donald, almost 2. I was
told in
1929 or ‘30 the family moved into a house. I found conflicting stories about the
exact address.
Haynes fish market soon became known as the best
place to buy fresh fish, such as Tennessee River
Catfish, Buffalo and when in season Crappie. Three times a week Mr. Haynes would go to
Reelfoot
or the Tennessee River to buy fish from the local fisherman. Since he also sold cooked
fish in the Market,
he would also purchase corn and take it to Blackwell Grist Mill in Jackson and get it
ground. Mr. Hubert
and Miss Daisy ran the market with the help of their sons. When Robert Haynes came back
from the
service in the 1940's he took over the day to day operation from his parents. Mr. Ben
Glenn, a very
close friend of Robert, told me that Mr. Hubert and his wife continued to come to the
market to lend a
hand.
Robert began to add employees such as cleaners
and cooks to work in the market. He continued traveling
to the river to buy fish for many years. His daughter, Carrie, told me when she was young
she could
remember going with her father to buy fish. Some of the memories include playing on the
houseboats of
the fishermen while her father conducted business. One of the boats was that of Mr. Sayer
and his
daughter Maggie. Maggie was deaf, but in the thirties someone from up north, as the story
goes, gave
her a box camera. She would take pictures up and down the river as her father would fish
and hunt, after
all the houseboat was their home. One of the pictures included Mr. Robert on one of his
buying trips to
the river while buying fish from her father. This photo later appeared in a book
"Deaf Maggie Sayer."
Several people around Jackson that I talked with were familiar with the book and the
photo, but I couldn’t
find a copy.
Mr. Robert, in later years, would make fewer and
fewer trips to buy fish. Many of the now, commercial
fishermen would bring their catch to him at the market. In the eighties, Haynes Fish
Market started
selling other things like shrimp that was shipped in weekly. Other seafood was bought from
suppliers.
He also enlarged the market and added tables and chairs so customers could eat "good
hot fish."
Others I talked to would tell stories of how Mr.
Robert would make sure various people would have food to
eat. One local character in the sixties whose job it was to "enjoy livation"
would go by the market every
night and there would be a hot meal waiting. Many law enforcement officers have gotten
their fish hunger
satisfied at the numerous "Fish Fries" Robert would cook. Everyone from former
employees, customers
and friends could tell kind stories of the big hearted man named Robert Haynes. Though
life had dealt some hard blows, he liked people and was always willing to help those
in need.
When Mr. Robert died several years ago, his
son-in-law Dave and daughter Carrie, took over the family
tradition. Long gone are the trips to the river for buying fish or the grinding of corn
for the breading, but
when you enter the market you can still smell the fish cooking. There’s not a day
that goes by, when the
store is open , that you won’t find people of all walks of life buying fish or
seafood to take home or just
enjoying a hot plate of fish and trimmings .
I count myself as one who has enjoyed a few fish
plates at Haynes. I have yet to go in there when I
didn’t find something about times gone by on Shannon Street in Jackson. One lady told
me that,
"Fried Catfish and Buffalo Ribs just go with the Blues and honey, there’s been a
lot of them both on this corner of Jackson." "Mr. Robert Haynes knew the blues,
that’s why his fish was always
so good." with that she went back to eating her fish.