Page 118 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2026

THE GLYNN MALLETTE GLYNN MALLETTE STORY”
story by Cherie Ward
photos courtesy of John Dolan
When Glynn Mallette was six years old, his family tied him into a
bucket and lowered him into a hand-dug well. There was no ladder, no
safety harness—just darkness, packed dirt, and a shovel. His job was
to dig deeper so the family would have enough water to drink.
That moment, both harrowing and ordinary for rural Mississippi
at the time, became one of the defining scenes in A Mississippi Man:
The Glynn Mallette Story, written by author John Dolan, and can be
found on Amazon.
“The first thing he said to me was, ‘I grew up very poor—you don’t
understand,’” Dolan said. “A lot of people say that. But once he
started talking, I realized this was a different level of poor.”
Dolan said the project began almost accidentally, after Mallette’s
daughter-in-law encouraged him to make the call. Skeptical at first,
Dolan agreed to meet Mallette in person. Their first conversation
lasted five hours.
“He’s a great storyteller,” Dolan said. “He remembered everything
about his childhood, but he told it so naturally.”
At the time, Dolan said, he believed he was documenting a life
defined by hardship and survival. It was only after he had written
nearly half the manuscript that he learned the full scope of Mallette’s
success.
“I met some relatives, and they casually mentioned he was a
multimillionaire,” Dolan said. “That stopped me cold. He never
talked about money. He’s incredibly humble.”
Mallette co-founded Mallette Brothers Construction in 1951, a
company that helped shape Jackson County’s modern infrastructure.
For decades, the firm was involved in paving or building many of the
county’s major roadways, including stretches of Interstate 10 and
routes serving shipbuilding and industrial sites.
Though now 87, Mallette remains a larger-than-life figure—known
for driving fast, gambling hard, and working longer than men half his
age.
“He’s a boss,” Dolan said. “That came from how he grew up. When
you’re lowered into a well at six years old, you learn early that no one
is coming to save you.”
Dolan said that the lesson is the quiet thread running through the
book—a reminder of how far Mississippi and those who built it have
come.
118 | October 2026