Page 145 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2019

John Favre
John Rogers
Arthur Matthews, M.D.
John Favre, owner of Jerry’s Lawnmower Service in Long Beach, began his love affair with vintage vehicles at age 15 when his Dad bought a 1942 Chevrolet for him. “I get a thrill out of finding the ‘diamond in the rough’ and planning a project in my mind way before I get started building,” he says. “Then I start sketching on paper. Next,
I start gathering components, which is probably my favorite part.”
He has an appreciation for original old trucks and likes to take the best
of different models and even different brands and modify them to make a creation that excels in performance, is
creative and has a ‘cool’ factor.
“It can be an expensive hobby, but I
build them, drive them for a while and then sell them and use the proceeds to fund the next project,” he says. “People know I collect old stuff and they’ll give it to me because they know I have an appreciation for it.”
His biggest issue is not wanting to
let vehicles go when the projects are completed. “My pride and joy is a replica 1923 Ford T-bucket that I built from the ground up. It literally started as a few strips of metal and I built it into one fine hot rod,” he said. “I’ll never get rid of that one; it’s priceless!”
John Rogers is a gunsmith and owner of Lop-Eared Coyote Gunsmithing in Gulfport. That’s quite different from his hobby of judging dog shows, which he’s been doing since 2012, and breeding boxers. “I just love being around dogs and working with them,” he says. “The best part about dog shows is you get to see some of the best examples of all the breeds.”
He’s had the number
one boxer in the United Kennel Club, the largest dog registry in the country, a couple of times, and many dogs in the Top Ten for their breed.
He became interested in judging after injuring his left leg in a motorcycle accident and could no longer move dogs around the ring to show them correctly. “I did not
want to give up working with dogs so I applied
to become a judge with UKC,” he said. “I had to take a written test (I have three college degrees and this is the hardest test I
have even taken) and attend a seminar.”
After obtaining a judge’s license, he still had to take several
more written test for specific breeds and do an apprenticeship under a senior judge to prove his knowledge of breeds as required by that breed’s national breed club.
Arthur Matthews, M.D., has been in private practice in Gulfport since 1979. Throughout his Gulfport school days he played in the band — mostly clarinet and saxophone — including playing in community musicals and church services, then played in the college band at Mississippi State.
He was a sideman in Gerald O’Neil’s big band, Today’s Band, until O’Neil suddenly passed away in 2007. “To continue our opportunity for playing, I formed a music company, Music Associates, and the Coast Big Band is contracted through that company,” he said. “I contract
the band and musicians for events, plan programs, run rehearsals, nd music, hire musicians, pay ASCAP fees, and do tax reporting at the end of the year.”
Managing and playing in a band takes time, but Matthews says it’s part of his routine now and that his wife understands it’s his second job.
“I do music because it has always been a part of my life and personality,”
he said. “I
love my music
friends and really enjoy playing live music at events. We have so much talent here and Music Associates helps keep live music available on the Coast.”
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October 2019 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 145