The Story of Kalalou's Unique Products

When he graduated from Clinton High School in Clinton, Mississippi, Jon Daniel Fasano enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. After serving in the special operations division for ten years, Jon Dan Fasano sharpened his welding skills, eventually accepting a position with Kalalou, a wholesale business based in Jackson, Mississippi.

A vacation to Jamaica in 1984 inspired founders Doug and Susan Williams to establish Kalalou when they discovered how affordable handmade baskets sold for on the island compared to how much similar products cost back home in Mississippi. The couple first built the business around imports of baskets from Jamaica and eventually expanded to more than 1,500 categories of products from nine countries.

Originally known as Country Originals, the Williams' wholesale business earned a spot on the list of "500 Fastest-Growing Privately Held Companies" published by Inc. Magazine in both 1991 and 1992. The couple changed the name to Kalalou as a nod to a type of Creole soup served in Caribbean countries, like those where the company does business. 

The Northern Strategy That Finally Won the Civil War

Joe Daniel “Dan” Fasano serves as a product designer for a gift importer in Jackson, Mississippi. As a member of the U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations forces, Joe Dan Fasano has an avid interest in military history, especially the Civil War (1861-65).

The Civil War’s early years brought scant reward to the Union. The North had won only one state (Tennessee) and a few smaller areas. President Lincoln’s chances for reelection were doubtful.

Three things hindered the North. First of all, advances in weaponry and fortifications greatly favored the defense. Secondly, the Southern rail net allowed it to move troops quickly to trouble spots. Finally, armies of that era needed massive amounts of food and ammunition, and faced with longer supply lines, Northern generals had to divert troops to protect those links. Even so, Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Lincoln managed to create a plan that coordinated military, economic, and diplomatic initiatives.

Grant devised a two-pronged attack. His own army concentrated on defeating General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. To his subordinate, General William Sherman, he gave the task of capturing the key city of Atlanta and eroding civilian morale by destroying infrastructure.

The North had blocked access to Southern seaports for the entire war. As a result, upper-class Southerners had trouble importing luxury goods, which impacted political support. The blockade also crippled the banking system that financed the war.

Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation shifted the moral high ground to the North. In addition to convincing freed slaves to join the fight, it let Northern diplomats paint Southerners as defenders of slavery, offending many Europeans.

Although 1864’s campaigns came at a high price, Grant’s strategy ended Confederate hopes of victory. Northern armies did more than kill soldiers and ruin Southern industry. They also convinced their foes that returning to the Union, while undesirable, was less painful than fighting a losing war.