The audio version of this story is AI generated and is not human reviewed. It may contain errors or inaccuracies. ROLLING FORK – Preparing to feed a revolving door of linemen Monday at her restaurant Chuck’s Dairy Bar, Tracy Harden recalled the winter storm of 1994, the last one that resembled w hat many Mississippians have lived through the past two weeks. It was then, 32 years ago, she stumbled upon a lineman she still knows well to this day.  “He was up top a light pole, and I saw him and I told my mom, ‘I’m going to marry that man up there,’” she said of meeting her now-husband, Tim.  A Mayersville resident collects downed limbs and branches Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, as cleanup continues after an ice storm that struck in late January. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today In a nearly seven-year span that has delivered more disasters to the south Delta than most see in a lifetime, Harden has grown her restaurant into a haven for local survivors and first responders. First, in 2019, was the longest backwater flood the area had seen since 1927, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic that started the following year. Multiple tornadoes struck Sharkey and Issaquena counties between 2022 and 2025, including the March 2023 outbreak that killed 22 people and left much of Rolling Fork unrecognizable.  After Winter Storm Fern blasted Mississippi over the Jan. 24-25 weekend, Harden kept Chuck’s running on generators offered by friends. Most of the 4,000 people spread out across rural Sharkey County – where Rolling Fork is located – lost electricity when the storm first struck. Immediately, Harden made sure any lineman working in the area was fed.  “A lot of times we just think about what we are going through in the moment and not who’s really out there trying to get (the power) back on for you,” she said.  While about half of Rolling Fork was still in the dark last Friday – six days after the storm hit – 90% of the city had the power back on by Monday, Mayor Eldridge Walker said.  A lineman with H. Richardson Sons reconnects power to homes on Pecan Street in Rolling Fork, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, days after an ice storm crippled the area. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today The city of about 1,500 was still working through tests with the state Department of Health to lift its boil water notice that started about a week ago when the storm took out power to the city’s drinking wells. That problem was hardly unique to the south Delta area – as of Tuesday, 117 systems in Mississippi impacted by the storm had issued boil water notices, the state Health Department announced. The small town of Cary, a 10-minute drive south of Rolling Fork, was running its water system with a generator as of Friday, said Natalie Perkins, deputy director of Sharkey County Emergency Management.  Brenda McGee, one of about 225 residents in Cary, said her connection shut off altogether for two days. While it was back on as of Monday, the water from her tap was discolored and “stinks,” McGee said.  Valerie Clay, who also lives in Cary, lost power for about a week, and with that all the food in her refrigerator. Because she drives 45 minutes to Vicksburg to get groceries, Clay said she buys about a month’s worth of food at a time.  Friends Valerie Clay, left, and Brenda McGee, both of Cary, are pictured Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. They described the hardships of losing electricity and perishable food items after an ice storm struck in late January. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today Mayersville, a town of about 200 people just west of Rolling Fork in Issaquena County, used its multipurpose facility to feed and house residents who lost power or heat. Mayor Linda Short-Williams, whose office is in the same building, said the whole county lost electricity from the storm and her town’s lights just came back on over the weekend.  Despite warnings, Short-Williams said she didn’t expect an ice storm to have such an impact there.  “None of us fathomed that we would be affected as bad as we were,” she said.  Mayersville resident Melvin Carlisle, who works at a cotton gin, said he came back home over the weekend after losing power for seven days. Carlisle estimated he lost a couple weeks’ worth of food. “I’m in the process of throwing it all out,” he said. “I’m crazy about my deer sausage.” “I gotta tell ya, it was terrifying,” Mayersville resident Melvin Carlisle says Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, describing how frigid temperatures during an ice storm days earlier had caused the linoleum in his kitchen to crack and separate from the subflooring. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today Perkins, the deputy emergency manager, said the string of recent disasters has recalibrated her mindset.  “It’s worn people down,” she said. “It just continues that feeling of, almost desperation. What’s going to happen next? I’ve learned not to ask that question.” Rolling Fork is still waiting to hear whether the federal government will provide more funding to recover from the 2023 tornado, Eldridge told Mississippi Today. Repairs to city hall, the police station and fire station are still in the “working stage,” the mayor said.  “We’ve not heard anything definitive enough to say we’ve got the funding coming so we can move,” Eldridge said. “We’re still in the waiting mode.” While the repeated catastrophes have pushed many in the south Delta to their limits, the events have also revealed a unifying resilience among locals. Harden, the owner of Chuck’s Dairy Bar, called it a “a blessing to have so many people committed to a town that has hurt so much.”  Tracy Harden, owner of Chuck’s Dairy Bar in Rolling Fork, becomes emotional on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, while talking about the resiliency of friends, neighbors and customers as the town recovers from an ice storm that struck in late January. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today “A lot of people would’ve run away. Some people did, but our businesses and a lot of our people have stood strong,” she said, adding that Winter Storm Fern “is just another thing we’ve gotta get through.”  During the 2023 tornado outbreak, several stragglers took shelter in the restaurant’s coolers, the only part of the building that stayed intact. Even after the destruction, the institution stayed alive, serving hot food out of a trailer for about a year. When the recent freeze first hit, Harden said they fed about 60 linemen a day. As of Monday, that number grew to 160. When asked how linemen knew to come to Chuck’s, she choked up. “They just know,” Harden said, wiping away tears. “We’ll help any way we can.” District 2 Issaquena County Election Commissioner Erma Peterson of Mayersville prepares to restock her freezer on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, after losing all her perishable goods during an ice storm days earlier. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayDistrict 2 Issaquena County Election Commissioner Erma Peterson restocks her refrigerator in Mayersville on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, after losing all of her perishable goods during an ice storm days earlier. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayLinemen with H. Richardson Sons reconnect power in Rolling Fork on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, after an ice storm struck the area in late January. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayRolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, praises the resiliency of the people in town and surrounding areas affected by the ice storm that crippled much of the Delta and north Mississippi in late January. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayPiles of broken limbs and branches line Rosenwald Avenue in Rolling Fork on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, more than a week after an ice storm struck. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayMayersville Mayor Linda Williams-Short at the town’s Multi-Purpose Building on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayThis photo from Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, shows trees in Rolling Fork that were damaged by an ice storm in late January. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayIssaquena County Emergency Management Agency Director Larry Short at the Mayersville Multi-Purpose Building, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayMayersville resident Brian Stafford speaks on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, about how he coped without power during frigid temperatures after an ice storm struck in late January. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayA Mayersville resident collects downed limbs and branches on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, as cleanup continues after an ice storm. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayStallard Williams, District 3 Issaquena County supervisor and lifelong resident of Mayersville, talks on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, about how the area is recovering from an ice storm that struck in late January. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayDowned limbs and branches are ready for pickup in Mayersville on Monday, Feb. 2. 2026, days after an ice storm caused the damage. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayMayersville residents Lonnie Whiting Jr., left, and Melvin Carlisle are pictured Monday, Feb. 2. 2026. They described how they coped without power, lost food and lived through intense cold temperatures after an ice storm struck in late January. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayLinemen with H. Richardson Sons reconnect power in Rolling Fork on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, after an ice storm struck the area in late January. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayTracy Harden, owner of Chuck’s Dairy Bar in Rolling Fork, talks Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, of the resilience of friends, neighbors and customers as the town recovers from an ice storm that struck in late January. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayA lineman with H. Richardson Sons reconnects power to homes on Pecan Street in Rolling Fork, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, days after ice storm struck the area. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayLinemen with H. Richardson Sons reconnect power in Rolling Fork on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, after an ice storm struck the area in late January. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today ...read more read less