Louisiana Tech’s baseball team, proud of its “rally trains” that often opportunistically chug across the tracks beyond J.C. Love Field’s outfield fence, found itself last weekend in need of a rally bus.
Or two.
Or more.
The 12-hour one-way trip to play Charlotte in North Carolina in the final three-game series of the regular season began mid-morning Tuesday aboard a pair of busses. This happens at a school Tech’s size many times each season. Few charter flights at mid-majors.
Most people don’t appreciate the grind of sports travel. You just think it’s hard getting to the family reunion and not losing your mind or getting in a fistfight once you’re there. That’s a ride for a quarter on a drugstore pony compared to moving an entire team from Point Home to Point Lord-Help-Us-All.
Flying commercial with a baseball team is stressful for lots of reasons — cost, long layovers or delayed flights, and mainly airport check-in folk who, God love them, are not usually prepared for the amount of equipment a team needs to transport.
You can get through a line faster at the world’s worst DMV. But say what you will about the DMV, they don’t make you take your shoes off to walk inside.
The friendly skies my ass.
But a bus, you can control. Until you can’t.
And that’s what happened.
I was tagging along with the team and, having driven to Carolina and back many times, knew my butt would be numb. Didn’t know my mind would be too.
Tech’s first leg was to Hoover, Alabama. Six hours, practice, sleep, Wednesday ride the next six hours, practice, sleep, play Thursday and Friday, play Saturday morning and ride all night the 12 hours back to Ruston.
It worked out that way and wasn’t bad, most things considered — unless you consider what should have been a Silver Streak-like, stop-at-Cracker-Barrel-for-lunch, Straight Shot to Hoover.
Unfortunately, you do have to consider it, and it was stupefying.
Our drivers stopped in Tallulah for an emergency kidney transplant. (Check that: for a soda pop.) Then we stopped an hour after lunch and only 80 minutes from Hoover because one of the busses needed to rest for 15 minutes or it might “explode.” Something about calibration or restoration but more likely a fabrication, which in this case was driver talk for “I need a heater and another soda pop.”
We were eastbound, but down. Uneasy riders.
Because there were too many hitches in too many git-a-longs, we finally worked out a compromise with the drivers. It was something like, “Can we borrow the keys?” They drove and there were no more unscheduled stops. Probably just a misunderstanding.
Probably.
The Bulldogs lost to Charlotte’s 49ers, the hottest team in the league at 11-1 against Conference USA opponents in their most recent four series, in Game 1, 11-3. Most things considered, semi-embarrassing. But as they’ve done all season, the ’Dogs rebounded to win the next two, 8-3 and 14-5, making the ride home much less painful.
The busses might have stopped, but they didn’t slow Tech down. Pretty resilient, these Bulldogs.
Funny thing about a baseball team. On the road, they stumble into a restaurant or truck stop and fan out in their street shorts and tees and the people inside don’t know if the carnival is in town, if the roadies for Motley Crue are hungry, or if the church men’s group is stopping for gas and a Peanut Pattie on the way to help clean up after a hurricane. All shapes and sizes, these baseball guys.
But on the field, if you’ve watched them play, who they’ve become is easy to recognize. Tech bussed to Hattiesburg, Miss., Tuesday — you get the feeling they’d have walked if necessary, so eager are they to play — to begin the Conference USA tournament today. They’re 38-18 overall, 20-10, and second place in the league. A tournament title is on the line, maybe a berth in next week’s regionals.
Their coach says his guys are just ready to get the show back on the road.
“This time of year, you need to be playing loose, having fun, and we seem to be doing that,” Lane Burroughs said. “I don’t know how we’ll do this week. But I can assure you of this: these guys aren’t ready for the season to end.”
The Bienville Parish Library announces the top readers of the 2022 Adult Reading Program. The theme is “Oceans of Possibilities” and gives the adult patrons the opportunity to enjoy their own reading program with prizes and certificates of participation. Here are the winners of the 2022 Adult Reading Program:
Arcadia Main
Paula Stewart – 1st Place
Pam Boyette- 2nd Place
Debbie Robinson – 3rd Place
Ringgold Branch
Troy Sanders – 1st Place
Gloria Salter – 2nd Place
Shirley Carter – 3rd Place
Saline Branch
Theresa Hammond Blewer – 1st Place
Ben Williams – 2nd Place
Merrilynne Poda – 3rd Place
Castor Branch
Patsy Quick – 1st Place
Ivy Jean Woods – 2nd Place
Betty Potts – 3rd Place
Gibsland Branch
Mary Lamb Coleman – 1st Place
NaTorius Harris – 2nd Place
Rosetta Ryder – 3rd Place
Congratulations to all our Adult Reading Program participants!
We all know that reading is good for you, many of us have heard this from our parents and teachers since we were children – but carving out time for it, even when we enjoy it, is sometimes difficult. We’re busy with kids, jobs, life, and something has to give and sometimes reading is what takes a backseat! The fact that we had so many participants reading, listening to audiobooks indicates that our adult patrons are making time to read and taking advantage of a valuable community resource – their neighborhood Bienville Parish Library!
More than Books!
The Bienville Parish Library is not “just” about books, you can find audio books, DVDs, and magazines to borrow from the library. If you want to get away from home for a little while, the library offers free computer access and printing, which can be helpful if you don’t have a printer at home and don’t want to print at a costly print store. You can spend hours researching family ancestry, “check-out” eBooks or browse through over 3500 online magazines from your laptop or tablet. Need to refresh your foreign language skills? ‘Pronunciator’ can help you do that. Perhaps you need to hone your job skills to level up your career, or find a new job, you can do that with ‘Learning Library Express’. Your Librarian can help you discover an “Ocean of Possibilities” and all you need is a library card!
Oceans of Possibilities 2022 Children’s Summer Reading Program
Be sure to be on the look-out for the 2022 Summer Reading Program for children from PreK to High School. Pick up an event guide and a schedule of performers that you can put up on the fridge to make sure you never miss a performance! Visiting children and grandchildren are welcome to participate and come to the performances that are slated for all Bienville Parish Library locations. See you at the Library!
Mary and her husband, George, attended a dinner party at Anna’s home. Anna’s husband was away on business so she convinced her brother, Hall, to be her escort at the formal affair. It was a big to-do. All of the men wore dress suits or tuxedos. The women wore “dinner dresses,” which differed from evening party gowns and reception gowns in the kind of fabrics used. Anna wore a white satin dress with matching gloves. The dinner party guests made small talk in the hall until the butler announced, “Dinner is served.” The men escorted the ladies into the dining room and to their designated seats. The guest list was long, but Anna made sure that Mary sat at her table. Mary and Anna were strong-minded women, and became fast friends when they met the previous year.
As etiquette necessitated, the meal was doled out in multiple courses. No one refused a course regardless of whether or not they intended to eat it. If a course did not suit their fancy, they used their utensils and pretended to eat it while making small talk. Each course lasted a certain number of minutes. The plates or bowls for each course were promptly removed at predetermined times whether or not the guests were finished eating. Everything was done with military precision.
During the multi-course dinner, Anna realized that Mary was becoming impatient with the formalities. Mary, somewhat of a tomboy, always preferred trousers to dresses. Mary enjoyed the freedom of movement trousers provided although she recognized that all of the other females wore dresses. She may have recognized it, but it certainly did not alter her decision to wear trousers. On this occasion, however, Mary wore a fine dinner dress with a mink coat (which she probably borrowed) because she would never have turned down Anna’s dinner invitation.
Mary had had enough. She was enjoying her conversation with George, Anna, and Hall, but the steady stream of servants and all of the rules of etiquette were just too much. The dinner seemed to last forever. Finally, Mary hatched a plan. She suggested to Anna that they sneak out of the party and take a short evening pleasure flight. To Anna, it seemed like the perfect adventure.
To the surprise of the wait staff, Anna, Hall, George, and Mary excused themselves from the dinner party with the simple explanation that they would return shortly. The other guests continued with their dinner as if nothing had happened. The foursome drove to the airport and boarded an Eastern Air Transport’s twin-engine biplane. The pilot and co-pilot taxied the plane onto the runway and took off.
Free from the stuffy dinner party, Mary and Anna were truly enjoying themselves. As the plane leveled out, Mary suggested that they, Mary and Anna, take their adventure to the next level and fly the plane. Anna, not one to back down from a challenge, eagerly agreed. This was her chance to fly. Anna had applied for pilot’s license but her husband persuaded her not to take flying lessons because he dreamed that she had crashed an airplane.
Mary and Anna told the pilot and co-pilot that they were going to fly the airplane for a few minutes. No record exists of George or Hall’s reaction to their decision to commandeer the airplane. Neither Mary nor Anna would take no for an answer, so Mary traded places with the pilot and Anna with the co-pilot. For a few brief minutes, the two ladies, still in dinner gowns and mink coats, flew in the skies between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, before returning to the airport. Elated, the foursome returned to Anna’s dinner party just as the dessert course was being served. The other patrons of the dinner party welcomed them back and continued with their own conversations.
Mary and Anna were thrilled with their flight of fancy. No one would expect the First Lady of the United States, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, to leave a dinner party at the White House and take a flight with Mary. Five years later, Mary and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to circumnavigate the globe in an airplane. On January 5, 1939, Amelia Mary Earhart was declared dead in absentia.
Students who aren’t sure where they’ll go to college this fall are encouraged to apply for the Journal Services NSU Scholarships, which will award three new Northwestern State University students up to $3,000 in the next school year.
Applications are being accepted beginning today through midnight June 8. A link to a simple online application form is available at the bottom of this story.
The scholarships are designed to assist Class of 2022 high school students who haven’t settled on a college choice, as well as students currently enrolled at other higher-education institutions who are considering transferring to NSU in Natchitoches.
They are being provided by Journal Services, LLC, the business that serves local and area residents by providing the framework for the Bienville Parish Journal. Journal Services, LLC, is based in Natchitoches and supports 12 journals covering north central and northwest Louisiana.
“We know there are students who haven’t decided yet where they’ll go to college this fall. We know that in many cases, money is a key factor in making college accessible,” said Bill Vance, general manager of Journal Services, LLC. “We are providing three game-changing scholarships bringing eager students to NSU to take advantage of the excellent academic programs here, and to live in a community where there are plenty of opportunities to find part-time jobs and to have a great student experience.”
A successful applicant from Bienville Parish will join 86 other local students who attend Northwestern. Among the university’s 81,000 alumni, 344 currently live in Bienville Parish.
Applicants are asked to provide their high school GPA (and college GPA if applicable), and also, report their ACT score along with listing honors, extracurricular activities and other relevant information on the form. That information will provide a basis for selecting the three winners.
The scholarship awards are for $1,500 cash per semester in the 2022-23 academic year. To renew the scholarship for the Spring 2023 semester, winners must post at least a 2.7 Fall semester GPA at NSU.
Scholarship winners must live in Natchitoches Parish during the upcoming school year. They are also required to have in-person, face-to-face instruction for 75 percent of their classes in 2022-23.
Students who have already accepted financial aid awards from Northwestern are not eligible to apply.
Edith Jeanette “Net” Howell April 26, 1949 – May 20, 2022 Graveside services will be held on Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 10:00 A.M. under the direction of Rockett Funeral Home, Ringgold, La.
A Gibsland-Coleman High School student is proof that hard work pays off. The Bienville Parish School Board recently recognized Trinitee Scott as a Student of the Year. As a dual enrollment student, she recently made Bossier Parish Community College’s Chancellor’s List.
Numerous colleges and universities are vying for Ms. Scott to attend their school and are offering her scholarship money to get her there. At last night’s graduation, Gibsland-Coleman graduate Trinitee Scott was awarded over $1,000,000 in scholarships.
Northwestern State University awarded 1,025 degrees to 991 graduates during Spring 2022 Commencement exercises. Graduates from Bienville Parish included the following:
The Castor High School Booster Club held their Annual Senior Athletic Dinner at the Castor Community Center on Friday, May 13th. This dinner honors all senior athletes, cheerleaders, and support crew at Castor High School. It was well attended by athletes, parents, and coaches. The Booster Club Scholarships were awarded to Miracle Slack and Caleb Shirley. The Taylor Weaver Memorial Cheerleader Scholarship was presented to Ty’Keira Blow. The CHS Booster Club extends congratulations to the Senior Class of 2022.
Scholarship recipients Caleb Shirley and Miracle SlackRecipient of the Taylor Weaver Memorial Cheerleader Scholarship Ty’Keira Blow and Karie Bradford,Booster Club President and Taylor Weaver’s mother
Maria Theresa Fouts was born on November 20, 1821. She was the oldest child of John and Martha Fouts. In 1840, Maria married Criswell Whitlow. Together they had seven children. On May 19, 1854, Maria became a widow when her husband died. Sometime between 1850 and 1856, Sampson “Sam” Raborn moved to Louisiana from Mississippi. Two years after the death of her husband, on October 9, 1856, Maria married Sam. It is not known when Maria’s family ramped up salt production, but the salt works became forever linked with Sam Raborn soon after he and Maria married.
As it was with the Fouts name, prior researchers have misspelled Raborn’s last name as Rayburn, Reyburn, etc. Legal documents, genealogical research, and the headstones marking his family’s graves show his last name to be Raborn. Descendants of the Raborn family still reside in the area.
In 1861, the Union and Confederate forces entered into the bitter and deadly dispute known as the Civil War. On April 18, 1861, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a blockade which was designed to prevent the exportation of cotton out of the South and to prevent the importation of war materials and other goods, including salt, into the South. By July of 1861, the Union Navy had extended the blockade to all major southern ports. In 1862, Union General William T. Sherman wrote, “Salt is eminently contraband because of its use in curing meats, without which armies cannot be subsisted.”
As the Civil War continued, many coastal salt works were destroyed or captured. Inland salt works such as the one near Friendship, which just a few years prior had produced only enough salt for the family’s own use with enough left over to share with neighbors and friends, became more important as salt shortages became common. In December of 1861, the Sparta Louisiana Baptist boasted, “We are of the opinion that with proper management, Bienville parish might supply the whole demand for salt in the Confederate States.” Civilians and soldiers needed the salt to preserve food, to make leather goods such as shoes and belts, and for medicinal purposes. Word quickly spread throughout the locality of the abundance and quality of salt at Raborn’s Salt Works.
Core samples taken from the site in the late 1970s and early 1980s showed that the salinity of the brine at Raborn’s Salt Works was 65 ppt (parts per thousand), which meant that every 1,000 grams of brine water contained 65 grams of dissolved salt. In comparison, seawater ranges from about 33 to 38 ppt. This calculation explains the popularity of Raborn’s Salt Works. At Raborn’s, people could produce almost twice as much salt for the same amount of labor as they could if they had used seawater.
(The Hydrometer shows the salinity in the water at Mill Creek Reservoir in Saline is only 7 ppt.)
As a comparison, I used a Coralife Energy Savers ACLAF877 Deep Six Hydrometer to test several different local water sources and the known salinity of seawater to compare with those provided for Raborn’s Salt Works. Hydrometers, such as the one pictured above, measure the amount of salt in water in parts per thousand (ppt). As this hydrometer can only measure the level of salt accurately up to 40 ppt, a water sample taken from depth at Raborn’s Salt Works would have beyond the range of this gauge.
Source of Water Tested
Parts Per Thousand
Raborn’s Salt Works
65
Seawater
Approx. 33-38
Fouse’s Creek (which drains from Raborn’s Salt Works)
7
Mill Creek Reservoir
7
Kepler Lake
7
My Home’s Water Faucet (Friendship Water System)
7
Lake Bistineau
6
(Geologist A.C. Veatch created this map of Raborn’s Salt Works and published it in 1900. Circles represented the known salt wells. The rows of straight lines represented the furnaces.)
In contrast to the way it looks today, Raborn’s Salt Works was a hive of activity during the Civil War. People came from many parts of Louisiana, as well as Arkansas and Mississippi, to make salt at Raborn’s. At its peak, Raborn’s Salt Works consisted of as many as 100 wells, each of which varied in depth from 10 to 20 feet. The wells provided the brackish water called brine from which the salt was derived. Each well was “cased in with notched poles to prevent caving, and a crude pump [was] installed to carry the water to the furnace.” Natural mounds, which surrounded the central part of the valley, were utilized for furnace sites. In the absence of the natural mounds, workers built artificial mounds upon which they placed the furnaces. The furnaces were created from old steamboat boilers, some of which were split in half with wooden bulkheads inserted in the ends. Each well had its own furnace, and each furnace was used to heat from 2 to 4 sugar kettles, some of which held up to 1,000 gallons of brine water. In addition to sugar kettles which were brought up from South Louisiana, Raborn’s Salt Works used “peculiar sugar-loaf kettles,” which were made in Alexandria during the Civil War.
The process of making salt is based on natural or artificial evaporation. Natural evaporation is a slow process in which brine water is placed or pumped into large shallow pans or in shallow pools. Heat from the Sun eventually evaporates the water and leaves only the raw salt. This process usually takes two to three weeks to complete depending on temperature, humidity, and a host of other factors.
Raborn’s Salt Works, like most inland salt works of the era, used artificial evaporation, which was a much quicker process. Workers used a crude pump to pump brine water into wooden troughs which delivered it the kettles. They built fires in the furnaces which heated the water to a temperature where it would produce steam, but not boiling. Boiling the water required more firewood for more heat, and the process was more dangerous. After a while, the time varies depending on the amount of brine water in the kettle and the temperature of the fire, the water evaporated completely and left behind the raw salt crystals. Workers scooped out the salt and repeated the process.
Raborn’s Salt Works did not provide the labor for the salt making process. Customers paid Raborn 2½ bits, or 37½ cents, (1 bit = 12 ½ cents) per bushel of raw crystalized salt for the use of the salt making equipment and wood for the furnace. People found that salt from Raborn’s Salt Works was far superior to what they could purchase elsewhere. Geologist A.C. Veatch contended, “Particularly was this the case in curing of meat, which kept far better when native salt was used. For this reason, they endeavored to obtain salt from Rayburn’s as long as the wells were operated.” At its peak, Raborn’s Salt Works took in $375 per day, which accounted for 1,000 bushels of salt per day. (Adjusted for inflation, $375 in 1865 would have the buying power of about $6,650.00 in today’s money. ) When someone needed salt but had little or no money, Raborn used the barter system to trade salt for produce, meat, leather goods, or whatever else the customer had to offer. The number of bushels produced per day does not include bartered salt.
Raw salt such as that which was produced at Raborn’s Salt Works differed from modern salt because it was not chemically refined. The raw salt could be a variety of colors from pink to dark gray depending on its mineral content, and contained other minerals which were sought for their medicinal qualities. Modern refined salt is treated with chemicals to remove unwanted minerals. Sodium iodide or potassium iodide is added for numerous health benefits. The Salt is also dyed white to make it more desirable to consumers.
While drilling a salt well during the Civil War, workers unearthed the remains of a Mastodon. Similar in appearance to a modern elephant, Mastodons inhabited North and Central America until their extinction some 10,000 to 11,000 years ago. On December 2, 1865, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that they had part of the remains found at the salt works. They described it as being “a piece of the tooth of a mastodon, which has a grinding surface, four by six inches.”
On April 9, 1865, after the bloody Civil War which lasted four years, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. After the blockade was lifted following the Civil War, salt became readily available and production at Raborn’s Salt Works quickly declined.
The investigation continues next week in “Raborn’s Salt Works: Part 3, The Paper Mill Connection.”
If you have any information about Raborn’s Salt Works, please email the Journal at BPJNewsLA@gmail.com.
Click Here for a complimentary subscription to the Bienville Parish Journal.
Sources:
The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana), December 8, 1861, p.1.
1609 – Shakespeare’s sonnets were first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by the publisher Thomas Thorpe.
1631 – The city of Magdeburg in Germany was seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years’ War.
1775 – The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was allegedly signed in Charlotte, North Carolina.
1802 – By the Law of 20 May 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte reinstated slavery in the French colonies, revoking its abolition in the French Revolution.
1813 – Napoleon Bonaparte led his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany, against the combined armies of Russia and Prussia. The battle ended the next day with a French victory.
1861 – American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaimed its neutrality, which lasted until September 3 when Confederate forces entered the state. Meanwhile, the State of North Carolina seceded from the Union.
1862 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law which opened 84 million acres of public land to settlers.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Ware Bottom Church: In the Virginia Bermuda Hundred campaign, 10,000 troops fought in this Confederate victory.
1873 – Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
1875 – Signing of the Metre Convention by 17 nations which led to the establishment of the International System of Units.
1883 – Krakatoa began to erupt; the volcano exploded three months later and killed more than 36,000 people.
1891 – History of cinema: The first public display of Thomas Edison’s prototype kinetoscope.
1902 – Cuba gained independence from the United States. Tomás Estrada Palma became the country’s first President.
1927 – At 7:40 AM, Charles Lindbergh took off from New York to cross the Atlantic for Paris, aboard Spirit of St Louis (1st non-stop flight).
1932 – Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland and began the world’s first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot. She landed in Ireland the next day.
1939 – “3 Little Fishies”, a song by Kay Kyser, reached #1 on the charts.
1940 – The Holocaust: The first prisoners arrived at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.
1942 – The US Navy permitted black recruits to serve for the first time.
1949 – In the United States, the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency, was established.
1956 – In Operation Redwing, the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb was dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
1959 – Ford won the battle with Chrysler to call its new car the “Falcon.”
1967 – BBC banned the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” because of drug references.
1969 – The Battle of Hamburger Hill (Hill 937) in Vietnam ended with a US victory.
1970 – The Beatles’ “Let it Be” movie premiered in the UK.
1980 – Drummer Peter Criss quit the rock band KISS.
1983 – The first publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by a team of French scientists including Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Jean-Claude Chermann, and Luc Montagnier.
1983 The single “Every Breath You Take” was released by The Police (Billboard Song of the Year, 1983).
1993 – The 274th & final “Cheers” episode aired on NBC.
1996 – Civil rights: The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Romer v. Evans against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.
2013 – An EF5 tornado struck the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore and killed 24 people and injured 377 others.
The Bienville Parish Police Jury will have a public hearing on June 8, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. to discuss reapportioning the Police Jury districts. The hearing will be held int he Police Jury meeting room in the Bienville Parish Courthouse, 100 Courthouse Drive, Suite 2100, Arcadia, Louisiana. The proposed plan maps are available to the public for inspection at the Police Jury office, 100 Courthouse Drive, Suite 2100, Arcadia, Louisiana during regular business hours from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Bienville Parish Police Jury Rodney L. Warren Secretary/Treasurer
Dorcheat-Bistineau Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution’s annual Spring Luncheon was held at the home of Chapter Regent Kathy Johnson. Special guest for this meeting was State Regent Charlotte White, who talked about her State Regent’s Project which took place during the last 3 years. During her term, she and Louisiana DAR members raised over $80,000 to donate to Phase 1 of the Baden-Roque House restoration project. This French Creole cottage, located near Natchitoches, was built before 1830. It was owned by Nicholas Augustin Metoyer (born 1768-died 1856), a prominent Free Man of Color who founded St. Augustine Catholic Church. He used the cottage as a school for his 10 children, who were educated by French nuns. The house is a poteaux-en-terre (post in the earth) design that was built with bousillage (mud and moss). It is the only one of its kind in Louisiana, and one of only 4 still in existence nationwide.
Our chapter officers, elected for the 2022-2025 term, were sworn in by Charlotte White. They are: Cindy Madden (Regent and Curator), Donna Sutton (Vice Regent, Registrar, and Historian), Mary Beth Edwards (Recording Secretary), Linda Wood (Corresponding Secretary), Nancy West (Treasurer), and Mary Long (Chaplain). Libbey Watkins was appointed Parliamentarian.
Cindy Madden and Donna Sutton finished the DAR Committee Leaders Course in February, and they were presented with graduation cords during the previous chapter meeting. They completed online modules and a final project to learn about parliamentary procedure, effective project planning and budgeting, and the responsibilities of various DAR committees at the local, state, and national levels.
Spencer Sutton Creech, our Children of the American Revolution state officer, participated in National C.A.R. Day of Service by cleaning Academy Park in Minden and learning about the history of the college that was once at this site. For a C.A.R. patriotic project, he made a patriotic wreath and presented it to retired Air Force Reserve veteran Jerry Madden.
Any woman 18 years or older who can prove lineal, bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence from Great Britain (1775-1783) is eligible to join DAR. Please visit dar.org for more information, and visit our Facebook page: Daughters of the American Revolution – Dorcheat-Bistineau Chapter.
Print this page to work the puzzle. If you are unable to print this page you can download it by clicking “Download” below.
Instructions: ZCIRPZCI is EINSTEIN In Cryptoquotes, one letter stands for another. In the example above, Z is used for two E’s, I for the two N’s, etc. Single letters, double letters, apostrophes, the length and formation of the words are all hints. The code letters change with each puzzle.
Yesterday, TWELVE/Westown Wingz, a hooka bar and lounge, held its ribbon cutting ceremony. Charles Tibbs, owner of TWELVE/Westown Wingz, said “we also have a food menu that consists of fish, shrimp, cheeseburgers, okra, cheese sticks, chicken, cheddar peppers, peppers, fries!! Drive thru open every day. We also have the best Daiquiris in town.”
The Grammy winning Commodores are the big name headliner for this weekend’s Natchitoches Jazz R&B Festival but, according to Board Member Lisa Prudhomme, this year’s 25th Silver Celebration Festival offers much much more in the way of entertainment for the entire family.
“Sure, we are super excited about the Commodores,” said Prudhomme. “But at the end of the day, they are just one of 25 great bands who are going to be playing on the riverbank this weekend.” Prudhomme reminded that a Friday night show has been added featuring Zydeco great Gerard Delafose and the Zydeco Gators and 80’s hairband tribute act, LA Roxx. Tickets for Friday night’s show are only $10 with active duty military and children 12 and under admitted free.
Prudhomme said that there is a lot of buzz around the return of the Nashville based Journey tribute band Resurrection which will be returning to the festival by popular demand.
“Resurrection played in Prather Coliseum when we had to move the Festival there a few years ago” said Prudhomme. “A fairly small crowd attended because of the move but every person there was totally blown away with their re-creation of a Journey concert. We knew we had to get them back as soon as possible.”
Natchitoches’ own Johnny Earthquake and the Moondogs are going to be quite busy as has been tradition with the band at this Festival. They will be joined by several guest performers including county star Marty Haggard, doing a tribute to his father Merle, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Elvis Presley’s guitarist James Burton, and Natchitoches native and former Voice contestant Deshawn Washington.
“The Natchitoches Jazz Fest is always one of our favorite events to play,” said Moondogs keyboardist Henry Reggans. “We feel like we have a great set this year and are really excited to be joined by those other great artists.”
Prudhomme emphasized that the event is family friendly with bouncy houses and other activities for the kids and that there will be lots of food and refreshments, including adult beverages.
She is also excited about the move of the Jazz Stage to the brand new Venue on Front Street.
“The Jazz Stage this year will be in the cool confines of the new Venue on Front Street, (formerly Jimbo’s and The Landing) and it will be a great place to take a few minutes to cool off, have a cool drink and listen to some smooth jazz. We think it is going to be a great addition to the Festival,” Prudhomme said. A festival armband will be required for attendance.
Finally, Prudhomme did point out that while attendees are encouraged to bring their chairs, chairs will not be allowed on the amphitheater or in the area immediately in front of or adjacent to the main stage. However, chairs will be allowed at the other three stages and at the very top of the hill, on the sidewalk and the edge of Front Street. Tickets are still on sale. For more information go to www.natchjazzfest.com.
Bass fishermen are weather fanatics! We are constantly looking at the forecast and what to expect for our next event. We are so enthralled with the weather that we will look at the forecast 10 days in advance so we can start planning our fishing strategy. But nothing gets an angler’s attention quicker than stormy skies. During my 32 years as a tournament angler, there have been a couple of situations that really made me nervous.
Back in 2015 on Toledo Bend was one such day, as the forecast was for clear skies with light and variable winds out of the south at 10 to 15 MPH. But you must first understand that a south wind on Toledo Bend means it’s coming right down the pipe. It’s a lake where even a small amount of wind out of the north or the south can make navigation difficult. The problem with Toledo Bend is that you must run the boat roads which puts you out in the middle of the lake most of the time. To compare, Sam Rayburn has no boat roads, and you can run closer to the bank and get out of the wind most of the time.
But on this one occasion in 2015, the tournament was out of Fin & Feather Resort on the far south end of Toledo Bend. This resort is located on the south bank of what is called Six Mile Bay. A south wind has no impact on this area and is an area you can fish without much of a problem. But as my number was called for takeoff and I headed for the main lake to make a run north and across the lake to Negreet Creek, I was met with 20 plus MPH winds and four-foot rollers (waves). One thing about driving a boat, it’s a lot easier to go against the waves rather than go with them. As I made the turn north in this rough water, it was apparent rather quickly that my run to Negreet Creek was not going to happen.
After riding four-foot waves for about three miles and beating my co- angler and myself to death, I finally came to a pocket on the west side I could pull into and possibly fish. After we gained our composure and dried off from our soaking short run, I told my co-angler to settle in for the day because we were not going to go out and fight that kind of rough water until time to go back for the weigh-in.
Another problem with running in this kind of rough water is the wear and tear on your boat and equipment. I’ve seen anglers come in with trolling motors hanging off or their electronic fish sonars no longer on the boat after a rough ride in. Boat hulls have sustained major damage and anglers have been hurt fighting waves and trying to stay in the boat on these long runs back. At some point as an angler you must ask yourself, “Is it worth tearing up all my equipment for a few pounds of fish?”
The answer for me is a resounding “NO,” as I must not only worry about myself, but I have a co-angler that I’m responsible for getting back safely. After a long day of fishing, we headed back with south winds now exceeding 25 MPH. We were over three miles from the boat ramp, and I knew it was going to take at least an hour to go that distance in that kind of water. So, we left at 2:00 for a 3:00 weigh-in time. It was a good thing we did as I was never able to put the boat on a plane and run. We literally idled the entire three miles back to Six Mile Bay and made our check in time with only two minutes to spare. I’ve only kissed the ground twice in my life, once on Sam Rayburn and this day on Toledo Bend.
Again, anglers face all kinds of weather every season, but nothing affects us or our decisions more than wind. The first question I always ask myself when a decision must be made, “Is it worth it?” Most of the time, the answer is “no” and will always be “no” when it comes to the safety of my co-angler and myself. Until next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget to set the hook!
Steve Graf – Owner/Co-host Hook’N Up & Track’N Down Show & Tackle Talk Live
The Claiborne Parish Library and the Claiborne Parish Police Jury have invited the public to the dedication of the Sheriff Pat Garrett Memorial Highway Saturday, May 28.
The dedication ceremony will be held at roadside at the intersection of Louisiana Highway 9 and Highway 2, just north of Homer at 10:00 a.m.
Claiborne Parish Sheriff Sam Dowies will unveil the new signage marking the south end of the highway followed by remarks by members of the Garrett family.
Highway 9 from Homer to Junction City was designated by the Louisiana State Legislature as Sheriff Pat Garrett Memorial Highway in honor of the legendary lawman who grew up in Claiborne Parish. Garrett was born June 5, 1850, in Chambers County, Alabama. His parents, John and Elizabeth Garrett, emigrated to Claiborne Parish in 1853 and quickly established a farm about six miles northeast of Homer. Pat’s youth was spent working on the farm and hunting in the woods of Claiborne Parish, acquiring the basic skills to prepare him for a future of hard, long trails and difficult times.
After the death of his parents, Garrett left Louisiana seeking a new life in the American west. Garrett eventually made his way to New Mexico where he became sheriff of Lincoln and Dona Anna Counties. Because of his bravery and tenacity, his reputation grew.
Pat Garrett was an unwilling recipient of fame, but fame came, nonetheless. During the late 1800s the public had an incessant hunger for stories of wild lawless ‘shoot-em-ups’ and shaggy outlaws. The story of Sheriff Pat Garrett’s pursuit of “Billy the Kid” contained all the necessary elements. Aided by a willing press, the tale was soon elevated to the pantheon of western lore.
Garrett’s life of a lawman overshadowed his other achievements. He served as a U.S. Customs inspector under President Theodore Roosevelt. He also initiated a plan to irrigate the lower Pecos Valley which eventually had some success. Perhaps his proudest achievement was his family. Pat was a devoted husband to his wife, Apolinaria, and a loving father to their eight children.
Garrett was killed under mysterious circumstances in the desert just east of Las Cruces, New Mexico on February 29, 1908.
His relationship with his family that remained here never faltered; he visited Claiborne Parish as often as possible. The Garrett family is still present in Claiborne Parish as a vital part of the rich heritage of Claiborne Parish.
Members of the Garrett family and visitors from out of state are expected to attend the dedication and renew old acquaintances.
The Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Department will assist with traffic control at the dedication to ensure safety.
Marjorie Wallace January 18, 1931 – May 17, 2022 Graveside services for Marjorie Wallace, 91, of Castor, LA will be held at 11:00 A.M., Saturday, May 21, 2022 in Ebenezer Cemetery, Castor, LA. Visitation will be Friday, May 20, 2022 at First United Methodist Church, Castor, LA from 4:00 – 8:00 P.M.
After spending 23 weeks at the Louisiana State Police Training Academy, they have earned the gold boot badge of a Louisiana State Trooper. They are eager to serve the citizens of northwest Louisiana.
From left to right: Trey Porter, Sheppard Stutts, LeAnn Hodges, and Cade Talbert
National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6th and ends on May 12th, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Nightingale is considered the founder of modern nursing. In celebration of nurse week, staff and nurses at the Ringgold Nursing and Rehabilitation Center dressed in different themes each day. On Friday, May 13, they came dressed in outfits representing their favorite sports teams. (see photo above)
Ringgold – Earlier today, just before 10:30 a.m., Troopers assigned to Louisiana State Police Troop G began investigating a one-vehicle fatality crash on US Hwy 371, just south of Pietsch Road. This crash claimed the life of 34-year-old Amber Holman, of Ringgold who was not wearing a seat belt.
The initial investigation revealed a 2006 Honda Accord, driven by Holman, was traveling north on US Hwy 371. For reasons still under investigation, Holman left the roadway and struck a tree.
Holman, who was not restrained, was transported to Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport, where she was later pronounced deceased. An infant passenger, who was properly restrained in a child seat, was not injured, but was transported to Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport for evaluation.
Impairment is not suspected to be a factor in this crash; however, routine toxicology samples were taken and submitted for analysis. The crash remains under investigation.
While not all crashes are survivable, statistics show that seat belts and child seats, when used properly, will dramatically reduce your chance of being injured or killed in a crash. Louisiana law requires that every person in a vehicle, regardless of seating position, always remain buckled up.
In 2022, Troop G has investigated 12 fatal crashes, resulting in 13 deaths.
332 – Emperor Constantine the Great announced free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople.
1631 – In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop took the oath of office and became the first Governor of Massachusetts.
1652 – Slavery in Rhode Island was abolished, although the law was not rigorously enforced.
1756 – The Seven Years’ War began when Great Britain declared war on France.
1783 – First United Empire Loyalists reached Parrtown (later called Saint John, New Brunswick), Canada, after leaving the United States.
1804 – Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate.
1812 – John Bellingham was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval.
1860 – 1860 United States presidential election: Abraham Lincoln won the Republican Party presidential nomination over William H. Seward, who later became the United States Secretary of State.
1863 – American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg began.
1896 – The United States Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that the “separate but equal” doctrine was constitutional.
1897 – Paul Dukas’ symphonic scherzo “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (used in Disney’s Fantasia film) premiered It was based on poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
1917 – World War I: The Selective Service Act of 1917 was passed which gave the President of the United States the power of conscription.
1926 – Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappeared in Venice, California.
1927 – The Bath School disaster: Forty-five people, including many children, were killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in Bath Township, Michigan.
1933 – New Deal: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an act which created the Tennessee Valley Authority.
1953 – Jackie Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier.
1965 – Gene Roddenberry suggested 16 names for Star Trek Captain; they included Kirk.
1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 10 was launched.
1970 – The Beatles’ last released LP, “Let It Be”, was released in US.
1972 -Pop rock band Looking Glass released their single “Brandy”.
1974 – Novelty song “The Streak” by Ray Stevens hit #1.
1980 – Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington, United States which resulted in the deaths of 57 people and caused $3 billion in damage.
1985 – “One Night In Bangkok” by Murray Head hit #3.
1995 – “Braveheart”, directed by Mel Gibson and starring Mel Gibson and Sophie Marceau, premiered at the Seattle Film Festival (Best Picture 1996).
1999 – “Millennium”, the third studio album by the Backstreet Boys, was released. It ranks as one of the best-selling albums of all time with over 30 million copies sold.
2001 – DreamWorks Pictures “Shrek”, starring Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz in voice-over roles, debuted.
2005 – A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirmed that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.
2018 – A school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas killed ten people.
Northwestern State University Office of Business Affairs seeks a qualified applicant for the position of Purchasing Director.
Review of applications will begin immediately.
Closing Date: Continuous until filled Salary Commensurate with experience Job Type: Unclassified Location: Natchitoches, Louisiana
To Apply: Send letter of application, resume and complete contact information for three professionals references to: Apply@nsula.edu
or submit to: Human Resources Northwestern State University ST. Denis Hall Natchitoches, La 71497
The successful candidate will be subject to a background check, as a condition of employment.
Northwestern State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, pregnancy or parenting status, and veteran or retirement status in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following individuals have been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies (i.e., Title IX):
Employees/Potential Employees- Veronica M. Biscoe, EEO Officer (318-357-6359) Students- Reatha Cox, Dean of Students (318-357-5286)
For Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) concerns, contact the Disability Support and Tutoring Director, Randi Washington at 318-357-4460.
Additionally, Northwestern complies with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy & Campus Crime Statistics Act. Information about NSU’s campus security and crime statistics can be found at http://universitypolice.nsula.edu/annual-security-report/.
On Sunday night and into early Monday morning, May 15-16, stargazers in the area watched as the Moon entered into and passed through the Earth’s shadow.
During a lunar eclipse, the moon passes through the umbra, the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow, which makes the Moon seem to disappear from the night sky.
Some of us tried to take photos of the Lunar Eclipse with our cell phones with varying success. Rodney Snead shared his series of photos of the eclipse for those who missed it or were unable to capture photos of it.
