Doing the Possum Trot
RIP Phil "Possum" Cauthen July 8, 1953 - January 1, 2025
It is with a sad heart that I share this. We lost a good man on the first day of the New Year. Phil "Possum" Cauthen was a good friend, and good man. He and his gracious, lovely wife Laura (who preceded him in death) helped me acculturate into Clarksdale life in the 1990s when I first landed here. Possum and I explored by canoe the Mississippi in the decade before Quapaw Canoe Company came into being. See above photo. In the late 1990s Possum helped me mill cypress strips, and then was my first mate in helping me build my very first big canoe. That canoe is none other than the legendary "Ladybug Canoe" 27 foot voyageur style, who still is a working canoe in our livery. She is Mark River's favorite. Master canoe builder Ralph Frese (1926-2012) was my mentor in canoe construction.
Doing the Possum Trot
I first remember Phil doing the "Possum Trot," as he called it, slowly cruising in his white pickup truck along the River Drive in downtown Clarksdale. I lived in the basement of the Sunflower Building at the time, at river level, in a location I called "the cave," under Steven's Bar & Grille. So it was inevitable that we would meet. I think he whooped out at me one day as I sat on the opposite side of the Sunflower River. We were both enjoying the particular evening sunset beauty of that vibrant and stinky river. I whooped back. A little while later he eased down the hill on my side of the river, and stepped out of his truck extending his hand. "I'm Phil Cauthen," he said, "but everyone calls me Possum!"
Possum had a certain possum-like grin. He told me his football coach gave him the name Possum because it looked like he had a mouth full of shit. But I never saw that "shitty" side, I just saw a loving, fun-loving mirthful kind of grin, slightly capricious, sometimes fueled by beer & reefer, but always in good humor, maybe too often self-directed. Coors was his favorite. He regularly crossed over to Arkansas for Coors, because back then you couldn't get it in Mississippi. He did not have a mean bone in his body. Far to the opposite, he was always generous and looked for the sunny side of life. He wore his heart on his sleeve; he was a sensitive soul. He was quick to take the blame, even when it wasn't his doing. He took things very personally if he ever felt like he'd done something or done anyone wrong. I inadvertantly made him cry one or two times, not intentionally, for some little thing I said, or did, and it made me feel lower than the lowest rung on the ladder when I did.
He fit the Possum persona perfectly. We sometimes sang a song together:
"Possum in a simmon tree
raccoon on the ground
raccoon said ol' possum
throw them 'simmons down!
Possum begin a shaking
'simmons begin to fall
raccoon said you sonofagun
I didn't want them all!
Creator of Willow Artwork
Phil "Possum" Cauthen loved wood, and was a talented creator of willow artwork. A memorial tree seems like an appropriate way to honor his life. Too bad they don’t have willow as option! He had a woodshed behind his & Laura's School Street home where he hand-crafted unusual willow creations like fish plaques (in the style of the Christian "fish" image) and unique pieces of willow furniture, and other creations. He lovingly crafted one and made it a wedding present to Sarah and I in 2003. All the while listening to country music or American Family Radio. We had some good times visiting during his creation sessions. He helped me build my first big canoe, the cypress strip "Ladybug" Canoe in 1999.
Clarksdale Christmas Parade -- Cancelled? Not if Possum had anything to do with it. He portrayed the Snowflake at every Clarksdale Christmas during his healthy years -- for 41 years. Forty-one consecutive years. His record beat out every other entry during those years, including Santa Claus! I remember when the Christmas parade was cancelled due to gunfire the previous year. Regardless, he followed protocol, and applied to the Chamber of Commerce to enter parade. Someone told him "you can't have a parade on your own." He looked it up in the dictionary, and came back with "yes I can!" Apparently the dictionary said a parade consisted of a procession of one or more people. He was the only one who showed up that year, a self-directed route through downtown Clarksdale. He really kept the spirit alive though some dark times. Later he repeated the same solo parade when the parade was cancelled during pandemic. You can see that captured on Facebook Live. 41 years! -- God bless the sweet Possum! I'm sure he's bringing good cheer to the heavenly host on the far side of the river that never stops flowing. He really kept the spirit alive through some dark times. RIP Phil Cauthen 1953-2025. From his friend, John Ruskey (Driftwood Johnnie).
Psalms on the Sunflower One sunny Spring day when the swamp privets and willows were just starting to bloom, I was paddling up the Sunflower River from downtown Clarksdale. Possum had put in 3 miles up at the primitive access behind magnolia trees in between Friars Point Rd Bridge and the Lee Drive Bridge. We had indefinite plans to meet somewhere in between. I had paddled 2 miles upstream, past Mary Jo McIntosh's Duckwalk, behind Ramon's and all the houses along Oakhurst, and past the wetlands at the mouth of the Little Sunflower. I was paddling up into the wild part above where it is all wild, and then I heard a voice on the water. It was Possum, of course, in his canoe. But he wasn't paddling. He was floating along, and reading the Bible. The Psalms to be specific. It was very moving. I think i saw tears on his face. He was floating along, drinking a beer, and reading aloud. He often felt like he was a sinner, and he owed something to the rest of world. At the same time he knew better, and with a twinkle in his eye he that he seemed to be laughing at the world. Except when it wasn't funny, and then he was crying. His solo journeys were important to him. To get away and just be himself. I remained silent until he floated right into the opening between trees that I was also floating in. "Rooski!" He hollered out (a nickname he had for me). "I am nothing but a possum! Just me & my canoe, the possum. Isn't this beautiful?" And he was right. It was so beautiful. In so many ways.
You can find more stories and obituary for Phil "Possum" Cauthen on the Meredith Dowling Funeral Home website. Phil "Possum" Cauthen July 8, 1953 - January 1, 2025 Philip "Phil" G. Cauthen Clarksdale, MS. Philip "Phil" G. Cauthen, 71, an Engineering Department Supervisor for Coahoma Electric Power Association, died January 1, 2025. A private service will be held at a later date. Meredith Nowell Funeral Home in Clarksdale, MS is handling the arrangements. Survivors include his sister Brenda Cauthen Williams of Clarksdale, MS; niece Beth (Jimbo) Lott of Clarksdale, MS. Preceded in death by his wife Laura O'Keefe Cauthen; parents George & Dorothy Tarvin Cauthen; brothers Bobby Cauthen & Larry Cauthen. Memorials may be sent to CARES Animal Shelter, 1645 Desoto Ave., Clarksdale, MS. 38614 or organization of donor's choice.
Lower Mississippi River Dispatch No. 952 "Voice of the Lower Mississippi River" Vicksburg, MS ~ Memphis, TN ~ Clarksdale, MS ~ Wilson, AR Quapaw Canoe Company ~ Celebrating 26 Years of Service ~ ~Winner of the SBA 2024 Small Business of the Year Award~
My heart goes out to the Possum family and all of Clarksdale,MS. Possum was one of the first people I met when I moved to Clarksdale 13 years ago. He had a heart of gold and will be missed by our community. May the River Be With You Possum. Mark River
Sending love to all who loved Possum…the stories remain to give us solace. Possum gave gifts we still hold sacred and we pass them on. He will be forever with us🙏