Beth Boswell Jacks 
Major Works
- Grit Guts and Baseball: The Story of Sank Powe,
Edited and Told by Beth Boswell Jacks
- The Very Personal Journal of Mrs. John Patrick
O'Mara (nee Lillian Eugenia Dahl)
- SNIPPETS I
- SNIPPETS 2:The New Cut
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Biography
of Sank Powe
Edited and Told by Beth Boswell Jacks
by Aaron Smyser (SHS)
 When someone accomplishes something great, that's what people remember. However, how a person goes about accomplishing this great achievement is just as important as the accomplishment itself. Thus the story of Sank Powe.
Sank Powe was born in Mound Bayou near Cleveland, Mississippi.
He has lived there all his life. When he was young,
he had a dream, a dream of playing baseball. Mr. Powe,
however, lived in difficult times, the time of segregation.
Along his way, through school and tough times, he could
always depend on his mother to be there for him. Their bond
grew closer and closer as time went on. Sometimes
Sank could not understand why people could be so mean to each
other and would often times come home very upset; yet his mother
was there for him to give him love and guidance (GG&B).
He also found guidance and comfort in the close friendship of
Coach Heart. Even through all the troubled times there
was one constant in his life and that was baseball (Clarion
Ledger). Baseball was life to him. He had
high aspirations of playing in the pro's. After high school
he went to college at Jackson State. There he played for
the Jackson State Tigers where he played catcher and did quite
well (GG&B). At last he had a chance to achieve his
dream of playing pro when he was invited to tryout at the St.
Louis Cardinals camp. Although very talented and
skilled, on the ninth day of tryouts, he quit. He
hated the thought of that, but his arm was hurting, he was banged
up, and he needed to graduate (just three more hours).
After he quit, he told himself from that point on that
he would never ever give up and quit on anything or anyone ever.
Quitting, according to Powe "is a sick, rotten feeling--
and deserved." He carried that thought with him for the
rest of his life (GG&B). Although he was destined
not to play in the pro's, he became the head baseball
coach at Cleveland High school. There he taught his players
how to play the great game, and something far more important:
a life lesson. This lesson was simple and short, NEVER
QUIT (GG&B, Clarion Ledger). He also taught them to
respect one another and others as well. He was quoted
once as saying  "not
slicing the enemy, but niceing the enemy." This attitude
was put to the test when he encountered the KKK on a bus ride
home from one his games. Although scared as well as furious
to have to see them and let them shove flyers in his face, he
sat there and kept quiet and then drove quickly home.
Once he was safely home once more, his mother was there
to make him feel better, safe, and loved again just like when
he was younger (GG&B). I guess that one could call
Mr. Sank Powe an example to live by, with his never-quit and
respectful attitude. He is everything that someone
wants his children to imitate. His current baseball players
have that chance every day at practice, where Sank is in complete
control. Some of the things that he has said to students
have become famous quotes in the Cleveland area. They
have become known as Poweisms (GG&B). One of my personal
favorites is the quote "If you don't like my instructions,
then don't hesitate to keep your mouth shut." You can
read all about Sank Powe's life as well as some other Poweisms
in the book Grit, Guts, and Baseball, edited and
told by Beth Boswell Jacks, whose son has had the privilege
of playing under Coach Sank. Sank Powe is one of the quiet
heroes in people's lives.
Biography
of Beth Boswell Jacks
Beth Boswell Jacks is a musician and former teacher of gifted classes who has taught in Oxford, Vicksburg, and Cleveland, Mississippi. Her love of writing and her interest in nurturing racial understanding inspired her to record the stories of her good friend and her son's baseball coach, Coach Sank Powe, in the book Guts, Grits, and Baseball. Jacks has a B.A. in English from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, as well as an M.Ed. from The University of Mississippi in Oxford. She has also been an instructor in the Delta State University Writing Lab. Currently, she lives in Cleveland, Mississippi. She and her husband have four children, two of whom are married. Jacks also has one  grandchild and a Bassett hound.
Jacks is a full member of the SCBWI. Shorter works written
by her have now been published or are bought and about
to be published in sixteen different magazines and journals.
In addition, Beth Jacks writes a syndicated personal
essay/humor newspaper column titled Snippets,
which she describes as an attempt to joogle a bit of Southern
wit and wisdom in a few snappy paragraphs.” She
has two stories coming out in Simon and Schuster's CHOCOLATE
series--one in November of 2001 and one in the spring.
The first short story will appear in Chocolate for a Woman's
Dreams, which will be published in
November and the other, called Getting My Mojo Working will
be published in Chocolate For A Teen's Soul in
the spring. A poem was published in October of 2001
in HOPSCOTCH magazine for girls with another poem set
for publication in November in SHINING STAR. Likewise,
she maintains a web page called USADEEPSOUTH, which can be found
at this address: http://www.usadeepsouth.com
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A Review of Grits,
Guts, and Baseball: Edited and Told by Beth Boswell Jacks
by Aaron Smyser (SHS)
Personally to me, the book Grits,
Guts, and Baseball: The Story of Coach Sank
Powe is a tale of a hero. When you look
at the life of Sank Powe, what he has been through, what he
has had to overcome, and how he did it, one can't help
but refer to the man as a hero. This book taught
me as well as it will teach anyone who might read it a life
lesson that is very simple: don't quit. Quitting,
according to Powe is "a rotten feeling" and "well deserved."
I agree with this statement totally. I hate quitting,
and I really enjoyed reading about someone else who has the
 same
attitude. However, Sank Powe also shows courage in dealing
with life's everyday problems. He lived during the
troubled times of segregation and had to have courage just to
make it through the day. His mother was always there for
him in those times when he needed advice, love, or just a hug.
We all need encouragement sometimes, and that is exactly what
Coach Sank Powe gives to his players as he is the head coach
of the Cleveland High School baseball team. His Poweisms
(or sayings that have become famous in the area) are well known
to all his players, and they apply them to everyday life.
For example "If you don't like my instructions, don't hesitate
to keep your mouth shut." It's sayings like these that
help people live life in ways that are respectful and good for
everyone.
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Related Websites
Excerpt
from the book can be read here.
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Bibliography
Jacks, Beth Boswell, ed. Grit, Guts, & Baseball: The Story of Sank Powe. Lee Sanford Publishers, 1996.
McCormick, Mary Dale McCormick. "Grit, Guts, & Baseball." Delta Book News, 1996.
Cleveland, Rick. "Cleveland High's Powe has story worth telling." Clarion-Ledger, 1993.
Hood, Orley. "Sank Powe wins a lot more than mere ball games." Clarion-Ledger, 1997.
"Sank Powe Home Page." Available at http://www.tecinfo.com/~jaxgbt/Powe/, May 17, 1999.
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