History Center Uncovers Story Behind Flea Market Find for Vietnam Veteran

Sharing stories from history is part of why I so enjoy being a staff member of the History Center. Researching and writing about people and events from the past is interesting to me. One recent opportunity to research military history reminded me that sometimes the most extraordinary stories can come from the most unlikely places.

In 1970, a student-led organization called Voices in Vital America introduced POW/MIA bracelets to ensure that service members who were prisoners of war or missing in action in Vietnam not be forgotten. Each bracelet, made of nickel or copper, contained the ... Read Full Blog

“Photobombing” in Europe: The John D. Collins Jr. Collection

Did you know…tomorrow (May 8, 2025) is the 80th anniversary of World War II’s Victory in Europe (VE) Day?! Memorial Day approaches on May 26th. This is the perfect month to highlight an exceptional collection in the History Center’s archives, the photographs from the World War II-era scrapbooks of Colonel John Duty Collins Jr. The photographs preserved in this collection are special because they contain images of subjects that range from delightfully quotidian to emotionally charged.

John Duty Collins Jr. flew combat missions in Europe during World War II as a B-17 pilot and Operation... Read Full Blog

“Photobombing” in Europe: The John D. Collins Jr. Collection

Did you know…tomorrow (May 8, 2025) is the 80th anniversary of World War II’s Victory in Europe (VE) Day?! Memorial Day approaches on May 26th. This is the perfect month to highlight an exceptional collection in the History Center’s archives, the photographs from the World War II-era scrapbooks of Colonel John Duty Collins Jr. The photographs preserved in this collection are special because they contain images of subjects that range from delightfully quotidian to emotionally charged.

John Duty Collins Jr. flew combat missions in Europe during World War II as a B-17 pilot and Operation... Read Full Blog

Plain Dealing’s Dogwood Drive Once a Highlight of Spring

In the spring of 1951, a celebration began in the North Bossier Parish community of Plain Dealing. As temperatures warmed and outdoor activities beckoned, dogwood trees lining roadways and hillsides in the area awoke from their winter slumber and dressed the landscape in color. And for the first time, Plain Dealing formally recognized and embraced this splendor with an organized event. The Dogwood Drive was born. Through the valiant efforts of citizens, this new annual event achieved early success, but changes eventually led to its slow demise.

A year prior, the idea of acknowledging ... Read Full Blog

Jimmie Davis - The Man and the Bridge

The Red River is one the most defining parts of Bossier Parish, and the bridges that connect Bossier with Caddo are vital pieces of infrastructure for the region. There are five bridges in the region built to serve vehicle traffic, with two more for rail. One of these bridges is particularly infamous here locally, with several delays made to the renovation projects, only beginning in early-2023. This bridge, of course, is the Jimmie Davis Bridge.

Jimmie Davis, the man, was born in 1899 in rural Jackson Parish to a large family. His parents were local sharecroppers and far... Read Full Blog

Routine Task for Bossier Deputy Takes Tragic Turn

The March, 1954 issue of Louisiana Peace Officer, the journal of the Louisiana Peace Officers Association, contains an article paying tribute to two local lawmen killed in the line of duty only a month earlier. The author of the article writes, “… Louisiana law enforcement has suffered its worst blow in the memory of its oldest officers.” That “worst blow” left the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Department and the Shreveport Police Department each asking, “why?” It also underscored how, for those of the thin blue line, even a routine assignment can turn deadly.

On the afternoon of February ... Read Full Blog

The Legacy of Dr. Thomas N. Keoun

In this edition of a "Curator's Column," the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center presents the collection of Dr. Thomas Nehemiah Keoun (pronounced COW-in). As a devoted physician, respected civic leader, and influential figure in the Plain Dealing community, Dr. Keoun left an unforgettable mark on local history. This collection was generously donated by Connie Boggs Rountree, a descendant of Dr. Keoun.

Dr. Keoun was born in Arkansas on February 7, 1868. His early education was in Welcome and Magnolia, Arkansas. After graduating from the Memphis Medical College in 1890, he establish... Read Full Blog

World War II Greece and a Benton Pilot

In a recent letter to the editor in the March 12th edition of the Bossier Press-Tribune, mention was made of a local young man who gave his life defending the Free World: 1st Lieutenant Harvey M. Bigby, a World War II pilot with the U.S. Army Air Corps, 15th Airforce. Lieutenant Bigby, with another seventy-nine men, would be involved in an air accident over the south of Greece while undertaking a bombing mission. Now you may be asking yourself why these American pilots were in Greece in the first place, and the answer is more complex than you may first believe.

The Second World Wa... Read Full Blog

Clyde Connell

This month is Women’s History Month, making March the perfect time to celebrate a nationally-renowned artist with Bossier Parish connections, Clyde Dixon Connell. Clyde Connell started as a painter but was best-known as a self-taught abstract impressionist sculptor. In 1998, which was the year of her passing at the age of 97, she was named a Louisiana “Living Legend” by the Louisiana Public Broadcasting Service.

Minnie Clyde Dixon was born in Belcher, Louisiana in 1901 and lived on a large sharecropping plantation. In her adult years she lived in Shreveport and during her later years ... Read Full Blog

Julia Sparke Rule: Nineteenth Century Community Chronicler and Mother

March is Women’s history month and it’s always exciting to find women from local history who challenged conventions, achieved something out-of-the-ordinary, or used whatever gifts and opportunities they had for the good of their community. Mrs. Julia Rule, became nationally famous for driving the golden spike in Bossier City, La. to mark the completion of the Shreveport and Arkansas Railroad on April 6, 1888 (later known as the Cotton Belt). She was well-known locally for her role working in the male domain of journalism, especially as the society columnist known as “Pansy” and was not afra... Read Full Blog

Barksdale’s Air Show: Thrilling Crowds Since Aviation’s Early Days

When the Wright brothers’ Wright Flyer first took flight on December 17, 1903, one of the onlookers – John T. Daniels – was left in awe. Historian David McCullough, in his book “The Wright Brothers,” wrote that Daniels gave an interview years later about the historic event and said that the aircraft “ … sailed off in the air … as pretty as any bird you ever laid your eyes on. I don’t think I ever saw a prettier sight in my life.” It was he who captured a photo of the Flyer’s successful launch from the sands of Kill Devil Hill, North Carolina. Thirty years later, that same sense of wonder ma... Read Full Blog

Forty-Nine Years of Joy

The recent warm weather has been an opportunity I have been taking to get back outside and stretch my legs without the bite of cold. One such place here in Bossier Parish to do so is the Mike Wood Memorial Park. Named for Mike Wood, a student athlete from Bossier who was tragically killed in an auto-accident in November of 1968, this park has been a fixture in the Shady Grove area for decades. From local events to simple day outings, the Mike Wood Memorial Park has been available and home to many thousands of people seeking a pleasant place to experience the outdoors.

Mike Wood wa... Read Full Blog

Inez Smith Grisby – Accomplished Teacher, Trailblazing Student

As one of Bossier Parish’s esteemed supervisors of schools for African American children in the mid-20th century, Inez Smith Grisby was especially known for her role as teacher, and teacher supervisor, not only in Bossier Parish, where she worked for over twenty years, but throughout the state. Less known, but as much of an achievement, was Inez Grisby’s role as a student, first in obtaining a rare high school diploma in 1925, because secondary schools for African-American students in Louisiana were few and far between, and then as a recipient of a master’s degree from Louisiana State Unive... Read Full Blog

Bossier City’s Official Flags Represent Link to the Past

While writing a History Center column last September about Bossier City officially being named a city, I learned that along with that new title, Bossier gained its first official city flag. This made me curious as to how many official flags the city has had through the years and where the flags might be today.

In 1951, due to Bossier’s population growth, Louisiana Governor Earl Long issued a proclamation stating that henceforth, Bossier would be known as the City of Bossier City. Prior to this, it had been a village and then a town. As part of the celebrations surrounding this auspici... Read Full Blog

A Black History Month Call for Donation

Writing this week’s local history column, I feel a mix of gratitude and sadness. My wife and I will soon be moving out of state, and this column will be my last. While I am excited about the new opportunities ahead, leaving this role is bittersweet. The work we at the History Center do together—documenting, preserving, and sharing the rich history of Bossier Parish—has been some of the most rewarding of my career.

When speaking with donors of our collection items, I often use the analogy comparing history to a jigsaw puzzle. With every photograph, letter, or artifact donated, a new pi... Read Full Blog