Hometown Clinton - Fall 2017

“We’ve never had a boil water alert in my twenty-four years,”
he said. He also spoke of personnel plans that raised salaries and
scaled future promotions for city employees. The revitalization of
the Old Town area was also instrumental in Clinton’s face lift.
The tree man has spread large branches with his leadership and
grandsons, Grant and Cole. Perhaps he can teach them his scoring
tricks in basketball. As a senior basketball player at Mississippi
College, he led the nation in scoring. And that was before the
three-pointers!
Maybe he can pass on his trait of discipline he cultivated during
college. He never missed more than three days practicing his
shooting skills in all four years of college.
Perhaps he can pass on what his parents and grandparents
taught him – to do those things for others that today’s generation
expects the government to do. He should definitely share how
they can find ways to give to others. As the Wednesday night cook
at Parkway (another tree branch), he gathers any excess food and
carries it to the city workers for their Thursday lunches. zx
influence as administrator at Parkway Baptist Church. He works
with budgeting, grounds, benevolence and missions. His office is
brimming with African and other foreign artifacts that Jehu has
collected in his mission trips as gifts from appreciative foreigners.
This administrator oversees five African men who his church
adopted while they were in school at Reformed Theological
Seminary in Clinton. The church continues to support them
and their work in Africa along with assisting their children with
school expenses.
The interstate located adjacent to Clinton brings a continuous
flow of people seeking help. Jehu admits that God has given him
a discerning spirit which he uses in extending aid to travelers who
sometimes just need a friend to help rout loneliness.
This year marks forty-seven years at Parkway for Jehu. His
administrative assistant for twenty-four years, Shirley Dreding,
has learned that Jehu’s calling has always been about people.
“The maturity, wisdom, and discernment which he shows in his
decisions are truly gifts of God,” she says.
Jehu suggests that people stay active in service. Working
with Habitat and ringing The Salvation Army bells are part of
his heritage. “Jobs like that help keep you humble,” he says from
experience.
Now that Jehu has officially retired from public service with
the city, he can spend more time with his wife, Cheryl, and enjoy
C
Psalm 1:3 seems an appropriate
verse to characterize Jehu Brabham:
“He is like a tree planted by streams
of water that yields its fruit in its
season, and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.”
EVERYTHING FROM TIRE REPAIRS
TO MAJOR ENGINE REPAIRS
AUTO AND DIESEL WORK
449 E. NORTHSIDE DRIVE • CLINTON, MS 39056 • 601-924-2325
20 • Aug/Sept/Oct 2017
Hometown Clinton • 21