Oral history with Mr. Balfour William Ruff

              Oral history with Mr. Balfour William Ruff
F341.5 . M57 vol. 746, pt. 2
Funding for this project provided by The Mississippi State Legislature, The Mississippi Humanities Council, The Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage at the University of Southern Mississippi.
This transcription of an oral history by the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage of The University of Southern Mississippi may not be reproduced or published in any form except that quotation of short excerpts of unrestricted transcripts and the associated tape recordings is permissible providing written consent is obtained from the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. When literary rights have been retained by the interviewee, written permission to use the material must be obtained from both the interviewee and the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. Please call ( 601) 266- 4574 for more information.
Biography
Mr. Balfour William Ruff Sr. was born March 31, 1923, in Jackson, Mississippi, to George William Ruff and Zillah Zent Ruff. He moved to Tupelo at a young age and attended Tupelo public schools. For many years he operated the Ruff Dairy Farm, the first in the Tupelo area to pasteurize and homogenize milk. After that, he farmed and ran a beef cattle operation. He was an active member of several area farm organizations and served on the board of directors of the Lee County Farm Bureau for fifty- five years. He was a member of the board of directors of the Federal Land Bank, and an original founder, longtime chair and commissioner of the Town Creek Master Watershed for more than thirty- five years. He was a founder and treasurer of the North Lee Rural Water Association. A land developer, he developed the neighborhood between Thomas Street and Lawndale Drive, and the Hillplace Development in Tupelo, Mississippi. He was a co- owner and founder of the Big Oaks Country Club golf course and residential development. He was a longtime member of St. Luke United Methodist Church in Tupelo and the Men's Breakfast Club.
Mr. Ruff passed away on February 9, 2000. He is survived by his wife, Frances Edge Ruff of Tupelo, a daughter, a son, grandchildren and their spouses, and a great- granddaughter.
Table of Contents
I. Childhood
II. Starting a dairy business, 1932
III. Tupelo tornado, 1936
IV. Father's demise
V. Milk deliveries
VI. President Franklin D. and Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt
VII. Edwards Hotel, Jackson
VIII. Automated milking pipeline, 1950
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