I read in last week’s paper that Lila Ham had been nominated for the Governor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts. What a great honor for a special person. She is a self-taught artist who grew up in Iuka and has shared her talent throughout her life. She has left her “mark” on many buildings and homes in the area and is being deservedly honored by the Tishomingo Arts Council.
Lila (or Mae, or Maybelline as some in my family called her) is the sister of my Aunt Willard, who married my mother’s brother L.D.  That made her “kinfolk” who I have known and loved since I was a child.
My first awareness of Lila’s artistic ability was when I would visit my aunt and uncle and see this beautiful mountain scene Lila had painted on my Aunt Willard’s den wall. At the time, Willard, her sisters Lila, Wanda Lee, and Paula all lived in Memphis and my family made many trips when I was young to Memphis to visit.
I also spent many happy days playing in the yard of Lila’s parents, Urah Deaton Riley and J. W. Riley at Oldham. Mr. Riley was a retired railroad man and they lived in a large station house at the crossing. Mrs. Riley was a special, sweet lady who raised six children while following Mr. Riley wherever his job took him up and down the line. They spent most of their married life and retired life at Oldham. Mrs. Riley, one of 13 children, was known for her beautiful flowers in her yard and her talent for making beautiful needlework. It was easy to see where Lila got her talent and eye for beauty.
I also remember Mr. Riley with fondness. He would stand in the yard and count the railcars as they went by. I will never forget him telling me what a piggy back was – I had never heard the term. It is a rail car with a truck trailer on top, or maybe two. I never see a piggy back go by without thinking of Mr. Riley and those carefree days I spent in the Riley yard next to the railroad tracks. It is so sad today to go by the house that was once so full of life. The beauty of Lila’s paintings decorated the walls and her sister Paula’s piano playing filled the house with beautiful music.  
The Rileys knew sadness. Their oldest son, Pete, was killed in World War II in the South Pacific and his body was never returned to his homeland for burial. He left a small daughter, Paula, who the Rileys adopted and she lived a wonderful life beside the train tracks, thanks to caring grandparents.
After Mrs. Riley’s death, the house went back to the railroad. Her granddaughter Sheryl remembers as the hearse took her body from the house, the train stopped when the men heard of Mrs. Riley’s death and the men lined up on the rails with their caps off, heads bowed, paying tribute to a lady they had watched in her beautiful garden over the years.
Lila is much like her mother as she loves beautiful flowers and cooking delicious food. She also likes to eat good food and watch football. I remember once Lila got so involved in a football game on TV, she ate a whole bag of the Twentieth Century Club pecans!
Lila, her husband Grady Ham also of Iuka, and daughter Denise moved home to Iuka in 1969 after Grady’s retirement.  Lila had worked in the office at Sears in Memphis for years and was known for her decorating skills. Soon after moving to Iuka, she became a household name as she shared her God-given talents with home folks.  She gave ceramic classes, and art classes, and decorated homes and businesses.
When my husband and I built our first house in 1976, Lila made all the beautiful draperies. I remember coming home and she was standing on my new dresser, hanging the drapes – I was shocked and her reply was, “I wouldn’t have a piece of furniture I couldn’t stand on!” I learned a good lesson - only buy quality furniture!
Lila worked around town in the early years leaving her mark everywhere. She worked at the Vidette office as a writer and one morning we came in to work and she had painted a mural of the local waterfalls on our bathroom wall. She told daddy she was tired of looking at that vacant wall and she of course signed the work “Maybelline.”
Lila also worked at Phillips Furniture on Main Street and assisted buyers with decorating ideas. She moonlighted at Country Squire Restaurant, and her artwork could be seen displayed on all the walls.
She later got a full-time job with the Corps of Engineers during the construction of the Tenn-Tom Waterway. Paintings of the Waterway will be featured at the Burnsville Waterway Festival on September 24th. You can also go to the Tishomingo County Art Council site and see an interview with Lila about her work on the waterway.
Congratulations Lila for your nomination and thanks for all the wonderful memories!