On July 21, 1999, W. Allen Pepper, Jr. of Cleveland became the newest United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi. Pepper is the first Delta resident to serve in this capacity since the death of William C. Keady in 1989. Pepper's presidential appointment was made incident to Judge L. T. Senter's taking senior status. The responsibilities of the Court are shared among Chief Judge Neal Biggers posted in Oxford, United States District Judge Glen H. Davidson, and Senior U. S. District Judge L. T. Senter both stationed in Aberdeen, and Pepper, who chose to be stationed in Greenville.
  "He is going to make a great federal judge," says U.S. Senator Trent Lott, who has been close friends with Pepper since their first days together at the Sigma Nu house at Ole Miss. "He has the character, demeanor and experience as a sole practitioner and I think him being from the Delta is very important because Northwest Mississippi has not had a federal judge since Judge Keady, and although all three judges from Northeast Mississippi have been excellent, I think to have one that is actually from the Delta, lives in the Delta and understands the Delta is a positive factor."
  "Allen will make a fine Federal Judge," says attorney William S. Adams of Cleveland. "I think that we are overdue in having a Federal Judge who is from the Delta. Allen is a solid person, a fine lawyer, and a great guy with a wonderful sense of humor."
As a Federal Judge, Pepper will hear cases involving both civil and criminal matters that are within Federal jurisdiction. The case load will be tremendous, and in fact, on Pepper's first day of duty, he was greeted with 100 new cases.
  "I spent the first week at my conference table doing nothing but looking at those files. It was an interesting initiation into the job, to say the least," says Pepper.
  Pepper brings to the position over thirty years experience in the legal field from his solo law practice in Cleveland, but his roots run throughout the Delta, and his story begins in Belzoni.
In the fifties, the small town of Belzoni was a typical small Southern town. "In those days, I was blessed to have been reared under what I considered to be the best of circumstances: a strong family influence, good community, and a real sense of security. At that time, I do not think we even had a key to the house, it remained unlocked at all times. The family car always had the key in the ignition. Crime was minimal, drugs unheard of, and we did not have to face the problems then that society has now, or have all of the temptations. I came from a family that blessed me with a lot of love and guidance, and in fact, most of my extended family, uncles, aunts, and cousins, lived within a few blocks of my house. Christmas and other holidays were very special and exciting in our home."
  "Allen has always been one of the most well-liked people that I know," says older sister Louanne Cossar of Charleston. "Growing up in Belzoni, our house was filled with our friends. Academics just came naturally to Allen and he was a great student. He is one of the finest Christian men that I have ever known and we have always been very close-especially as we got older."
  During the summers, Pepper worked on his father's farm, but during the school year extra-curricular activities took a priority. "When I was growing up, the entire Delta was a single community. From Tunica to Yazoo City and from Rosedale to Grenada, young people traveled to dances and other social gatherings in the Delta. I got to know some wonderful people whose lifelong friendships I have cherished."
  "High school football was a huge thing in the Delta," says Pepper. "I am not going to say that when I was playing with the Belzoni Warriors we didn't have a good football team. We won two games in two years. Let's just say we were invited to be everybody's homecoming opponent."
  "I have always admired Willie Morris, who, among other works, authored It's Only a Game, in which he writes about his experiences at Yazoo City, in Little League baseball, high school basketball and football. In this book he talks about only two football games, one of which was between Jackson Central High School (at that time Jackson had only one high school) and Yazoo City High School, where the Jackson team drove into Yazoo City in their impressive black and gold bus looking like a professional football team and just knocked the socks off Yazoo City, and the next game, with Belzoni. When I was introduced to Willie at K.C.'s Restaurant in Cleveland on July 20, 1999, the first thing I said to him was 33-0 and 12-0, which were the opening game scores and how bad Yazoo City beat Belzoni my junior and senior years. I told him that, although forty years had lapsed, the memories, unfortunately, were still vivid. He agreed and got a big kick out of it. Willie told me that he, a few weeks before, had been in California and visited with Larry Gorden, formerly a resident of Belzoni, who is the producer of Field of Dreams, Burke's Law, and numerous other Hollywood productions. While Willie was sitting there in Larry's living room, Larry pulled out the game program from the 1953 Yazoo City Belzoni football game, and they replayed the whole game (I'm sure from each side's point of view) there in Larry's house. When you consider all of the accomplishments that these two former Delta residents had attained, it is remarkable. Those days had a lot of impact on all of us. They were very special."
  Following high school and after working one summer for the United States Forest Service in Idaho, Pepper enrolled at Ole Miss as a freshman. At the end of fraternity rush week, he pledged Sigma Nu, and the night of pledging he met three persons who turned out to be lifelong friends: Gaylen Roberts and Trent Lott, both of Pascagoula, and Guy Hovis of Tupelo, all freshmen pledge brothers of that fraternity. "Some way or another, we met around a piano that night and broke into harmony. It turned out to be a lifelong relationship. We started performing, not only for fraternity functions, but for various activities around the campus. Dr. J. D. Williams, who was then the Chancellor at Ole Miss, asked us to do a program for his benefit, and we decided to name ourselves The Chancellors. Following graduation, we were not able to get together for several years, primarily due to commitments with the military and business, but our friendships have always remained strong, and we try to get together when we can. It always winds up with singing. Gaylen had a career as an Air Force officer with over one hundred combat missions flying phantom jets over Viet Nam, Guy went onto fame with the Lawrence Welk show and other music endeavors, and, of course, Trent is the Majority Leader in the United States Senate."
  Pepper and Lott have been close friends since college, and in May 1999, Lott called on his old college quartet to join him in singing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D. C. The event was for the dedication of the Trent Lott Leadership Institute at Ole Miss and was a great salute to the State of Mississippi in general.
  "It was just unbelievable," says Pepper. "Other performers, and I mean big performers such as Marty Stuart, Gerald McRainey, Marilyn McCoo, and Billy Williams were there, and we had only practiced three minutes before we walked out on stage to perform. There was a capacity crowd at the Kennedy Center and Lott introduced us as his old college quartet. To compound the stress factor, he asked his wife, Tricia, and his daughter, Tyler, my wife, Ginger, and Gaylen's wife, Carla, to all stand, and although the National Symphony Orchestra was sitting silently behind us, we serenaded these lovely ladies accapella (without accompaniment). My son, Will, told me later, "Dad, never sing again. Y'all nailed it that time, but don't push your luck."
  Pepper got his first exposure to law in the military when he was assigned the duty of court marshal officer. Upon completion of active duty in March of 1966, he entered law school in June of that year, earning his law degree in two years and three summers. It was during that first year of law school that he met his wife-to-be, the former Ginger Brown of Jackson. "The first night I met Ginger, I fell in love with her. We dated for one year and got married-she is the best investment I ever made." The Peppers have one child, a son, Will, age 21, a student at Ole Miss, of whom they are very proud.
  Pepper says that with his new job comes many responsibilities and obligations. "This it the greatest privilege, highest honor, and most important position of trust I have ever held," says Pepper. "It is a wonderful challenge. I get up every day and look forward to going to work."
  "The only way to face life is to be as prepared as you can for what it brings your way, to trust God and to have enough faith in Him and His leadership that He will lead you to make the right choices in life."