Kat Robinson was going to slide out to Marvell soon for a remembrance of Wayne Shadden, the Marvell man who died last week. But  Delta kingpin Rex Nelson did the honors over on his blog. A taste:

The obituary in The Daily World at Helena simply said, “Wayne was a good cook and well-known for his barbecue. He was a Navy veteran, a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.”

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What an understatement.

Well-known for his barbecue?

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Wayne Shadden was much more than that. For true Delta barbecue aficionados, he was one of the masters. People heard about Shadden’s and came from across the country to try the barbecue. If you ate in the store, there was one table in the back you could share with others who were on their own barbecue pilgrimages.

I hope the store survives. Too many places like this don’t. An owner dies, and in small town after small town across the Delta, all we’re left with are convenience stores selling fried chicken under heat lamps.

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KAT:  It would be hard for me to exceed Rex’s research (sick child kept me home yesterday).  Been making phone calls, and while I have yet to be able to speak to someone more in-the-know, the restaurant remains closed at this time.  A helpful soul at the Marvell cop shop did nudge me in the direction of JJ’s Grocery for the sauce.

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