By Mary Curtis

The Town of Prentiss has a history that includes many successful businesses and spiritual leaders that have been remembered over the years.

However, the town has a few old stories about some of the pranksters as well. They also have left their mark and stories on the face of the town’s history.

The following is one account of two such boys who left a story to tell.

When the Prentiss Train Depot was still being used, there were two young boys who loved nothing more than praying practical jokes on unsuspecting passengers of the rail line.

The wood floor of the depot sat quite high off the ground, and the boys would crawl under the platform to observe people walking along above.

It just so happened that on one of those lazy days of summer, they came upon a rather large king snake that had been dead for a short while.

The boys spent little time in coming up with a plan of what they might do with the snake.

It is not often that young boys can wait patiently for anything, but now they had a plan and motivation to do something with the snake!

They waited for the train to arrive at the depot. In the meantime, they had tied a long string to the body of their new reptile.

Finally the train arrived. The boy’s laughter and excitement was covered by the sound of the engine. They took the snake and slipped it onto the wooden ramp.

A lady fresh from her train ride was walking down the ramp when the boys pulled the snake up beside her.

At first she didn’t see it, but just walked along as usual as you please as if nothing was the matter at all.

As she turned to her see her new walking companion, a new look showed on her face.

The frightened shaking seem to start at her toes and worked it’s way up to the outer tips of the hair on her head. She leaped up and screamed with fear.

The excitement was too much and she passed out cold on the ramp. A crowd of onlookers came to see what had happened but it remained a mystery since the boys had pulled the snake under the boards of the depot long before the crowd had arrived.

It is not known what happened to those boys after the incident, or if they continued to entertain themselves at the depot. We do know the lady recovered and lived to tell the tale.

Wherever those two boys are, we thank them for their contribution that added hours of laughter and fun to our Town of Prentiss.

This tale of fun was submitted by Clarence Bass. Would anyone want to come forward and fess up to being those boys of long ago?

In 1993, the Canadian Northern Railroad announced it’s intentions to abandon the Illinois Central Railroad in Southeast Mississippi, from Hattiesburg to Prentiss.

The leaders would protest this announcement as the railroad was a vital part of their passenger and industry convenience.

During the process, a search for other uses of that land, it was learned that funds were available to convert old abandon railway lines and their rights of way, into multipurpose public use recreational trails.

A draft for proposed legislation to create such trail was submitted and approved and Prentiss now enjoys The Longleaf Trace Recreational Trail that runs from Hattiesburg to Prentiss