June 11, 1924 - Nov. 14, 2005
Services for Paul Battle Jr. of Tunica, whose leadership helped bring casino gaming to Tunica County, were held at 10 a.m. today at Tunica United Methodist Church, where he was a member.
Battle, 81, died Nov. 14 at Baptist DeSoto Hospital in Southaven. He is survived by his wife, Norma Hooker Battle; three children, Paul Battle III and wife Marietta of Tunica, Lil Battle Long and husband Henry Earl of Rosedale and Bill Battle and wife Lynda of Tunica; a sister, Virginia Ann Battle of Memphis; nine grandchildren, Allison Koestler of Memphis and Paul Battle IV, Kate Taylor Battle, Caroline Battle, Houston Battle, Cooper Battle, Betsy Battle and Battle Hamrick, all of Tunica, and Norma Hamrick of Memphis and three great-grandchildren.
Born June 11, 1924 in Arlington, Tenn., "Mr. Paul," as he was affectionately known, graduated from high school in 1942 and immediately entered World War II in the Merchant Marines. After the war, he attended Maritime Engineering School in New Orleans in 1946, but left nautical engineering for farming after a year.
Battle often joked that he came to Mississippi "flat broke" after trying his hand at farming in Tennessee. But after he came to Tunica County in the 1950s, first renting land near Sarah and then buying 880 acres, which includes his headquarters and the Battles' home, he and his devoted wife as business partner quickly built a highly successful operation, eventually farming thousands of acres of rice, soybeans, cotton and catfish in Tunica County and in Costa Rica, where he once owned a cattle ranch and a banana plantation.
Battle was one of the first Tunica Countians to try catfish farming. He opened his first pond in 1969 and was a principal in Pride of the Pond, the largest local catfish processing plant. He also owned and operated a cotton gin, one of only a few still in operation in Tunica County, and liked to joke that he would have written on his epitaph, "Caught up at the Gin."
But if farming was his life, Tunica County was Battle's love. He was first elected to the county Board of Supervisors in Nov. 1963 and took office on Jan. 6, 1964 to begin a 35-year tenure. On Sept. 8 1978, he was elected president of that body and served in that capacity until his retirement Dec. 31, 1999. Battle was honored by the county with a reception at the courthouse on Dec. 30, 1999, where hundreds of Tunicans turned out to pay tribute to the legendary leader. It was announced at the reception that Tunica County's new multi-million dollar arena and exposition center would be named in his honor.
During his 35 years as a supervisor, Battle oversaw a county whose economy turned lean, when agriculture, once thriving, took a downturn during the 1980s. It was then, said his friend and former board attorney John Dulaney, Jr., that Battle's skills really shined.
"Perhaps his greatest service was in keeping the county financially alive until the boom commenced, a thankless chore often little appreciated," Dulaney said. "But for this, the county might have been beyond resuscitation when opportunity finally arrived. We are heavily indebted to Paul."
Battle and the board put Tunica County among the first in Mississippi to adopt the unit system of government. County officials were also quick to install a purchase order system. But it was the board's vote in the early 1990s to allow casino gambling in Tunica County that brought the rapid turnaround in county fortunes that has become known as the "Tunica Miracle."
Battle said in a feature story in The Tunica Times in Oct. 2002, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of gaming, that he approved gaming because he was "sick and tired of people saying that Tunica County is the poorest county in the nation."
In fact, unemployment in Tunica County, once as high as 26 percent, had declined to under three percent by the year 2000.
Battle was personally instrumental in the success of gaming too. He told the story that Splash Casino pioneers Fernando Cuquet and Everett McCarlie drove up to his house in 1991 and asked Battle to show them some place they might put in a riverboat casino. "I can show you the prettiest place on the river in Tunica County," Battle said, taking the pair to Mhoon Landing and later introducing them to landowners Dutch Parker and Dick Flowers. The rest, as they say, is history. Splash went on to earn millions of dollars and pave the way for today's highly successful market, which now ranks third in the nation.
For his role in bringing casinos, casino tax revenue and phenomenal economic growth to Tunica County, Battle was honored with the first Founder's Award in 2002, given by the local Tourism Commission and Convention and Visitor's Bureau.
In addition to his leadership, Battle was known for enjoying hunting and for qualities of loyalty, dedication, dignity, integrity and humility. He has been described as "the backbone of Tunica County leadership," "a great statesman (and) a great leader," and "among the very best" of supervisors.
Rev. Jeff Pruitt and Rev. Doug Hardin officiated at the services. Pallbearers were Votie Holmes, Bill Allen, Joe Graves, Billy Watson, Chuck Graves, Ed Crenshaw, Shea Leatherman and Jimmy Eubanks. Burial was in Oakwood Cemetery in Tunica. The family requests that memorials be made to the Methodist Family Life Center.
