“WAAC, Wisconsin Girl, Teacher:” Putting a Near-Century of Life into Words

 As a member of the WAAC (Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, later known simply as WAC), which formed early in the United States’ involvement in WWII, who had been a longtime resident of the north Bossier community of Plain Dealing, the 2017 obituary of Dorothy “Chris” Christoffersen Walker caught my eye. I had actually been scrolling through digitized historic newspapers looking for something else entirely, but I always want to know more about local WACs. The obituary comprehensively covered the scope of her 99 years, and it also had me wanting to know more.

Dorothy started her l... Read Full Blog

Water Fights: Bossier City’s New Municipal Water Supply, 1959

A bond had already passed in 1956 allowing for the city to build its water treatment plant. The bond had passed after the distribution of false information, claimed Ned Touchstone of the “Bossier Press,” citing a statement issued prior to the bond vote that the water would not be taken from the Red River. Instead, it was purported to be taken from deep wells near the river, stating that would avoid some of the salt content in the river.

Mr. Touchstone’s newspaper led the fight to halt construction of the new water system, with the main argument against it being the City of Dallas’... Read Full Blog

Benton: The First Bossier Parish Library, September 1940

In 1925, the American Libraries Association selected Louisiana, out of twelve competing states, to be the recipient of a $50,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation to establish rural public libraries. The Louisiana Library Commission then selected Miss Essae (pronounced “Essay”) Culver, a 42-year-old librarian who had fallen in love with library work as a student at California’s Pomona College and who’d helped establish libraries in Oregon and California, to begin the project in Louisiana. She decided to work with a northern parish and a southern parish in which to establish a library syst... Read Full Blog

The Parade to Welcome Cross Lake Water: Bossier City 1928

 Like the precipitating event in a coming-of-age novel, devastating fires that destroyed much of downtown Bossier City in the mid-1920’s prompted city leaders to work together to get a municipal water system and a new fire alarm system for the people and businesses of Bossier City. (Read more about this event in the September 6, 1923 article.)

Bossier found its first municipal water supply across the Red River (rather than from the Red River, like today) when it was connected to Shreveport’s water system, supplied by Cross Lake. This connection happened with much fanfare. In ... Read Full Blog

The Lumberjack Ghost: A Spectral Story from North Bossier Parish

 Local legends abound in nearly every American town. Investigating the origins of some of these scary stories often reveals actual historical happenings. Let’s explore the history that could be behind a ghost story from the Plain Dealing area about a lumberjack ghost who appears with large boots and carries an axe.

Timber has been a thriving economic activity here since the last two decades of the nineteenth century, when Northern forests had largely been over-harvested, and the untouched forests here became more accessible after the clearings of the Great Raft of the Red Riv... Read Full Blog

Rita Keoun and the Plain Dealing Library Branch

The Bossier Parish Library System was first discussed by the PTA of Bossier High School in 1940. The Bossier Parish Police Jury approved the formation of the library on a “demonstration” basis. The demonstration library was initially funded by the State Library of Louisiana for one year, and operated with the Works Progress Administration, a federal work relief program of the Great Depression era. At the end of that year, the Police Jury approved the library on a permanent basis with the passage of a one-half millage sustaining tax in June of 1941. The first branches were located in Bossier... Read Full Blog

INTERSECTING HISTORY MONTHS: HISPANIC HERITAGE AND UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

It’s the end of September, but the middle of Hispanic -American Heritage Month (September 15-October 15), which celebrates America’s rich Hispanic history and culture. National Hispanic Heritage Month, with roots going back to 1968, commemorates the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Mexico, Chile, and Belize also celebrate their independence days during this period.

 

 

September was also International Underground Railroad month, chosen because it was t... Read Full Blog

A Lake Bistineau Fishing Story for National Hunting and Fishing Day

This past Saturday was National Hunting and Fishing Day, an event celebrated by all 50 states every year on the fourth Saturday in September. It was established in 1972 when Congress passed two bills to have a day to celebrate the conservation contributions of U.S. hunters and anglers. So it seems a perfect time to share a fun fishing story (with some hunting thrown in, too) brought to me by a reader of this column, JoAnne McDonald.

Mrs. McDonald and her late husband Jerry had a house in Bossier Parish with a private pond near Lake Bistineau. It was highlighted in the Shreveport T... Read Full Blog

September is Library Card Signup Month

Since 1987, Library Card Sign-up Month has been held in September to mark the beginning of the school year. However, there have been a variety of campaigns well before then, especially from women’s groups, to encourage as many residents as possible to take a first step in connecting to the widest array of library resources by getting a library card. Some of the most impassioned campaigns were in the 1960’s, and aimed at women, but with the intent that if you reach the women, you ultimately reach the whole family.

 

 

 

<... Read Full Blog

Listen to Fire Warnings, Learn From History

Even though we just got a little rain, drought conditions continue to worsen in Louisiana, with a burn ban still in effect. Fires are burning around the state and region. The Governor has pleaded, “Please follow the statewide burn ban to try and prevent any new problems for our firefighters.” On the last day of August, 2023, the southern half of the parish is in “Severe Drought.” You can look at the history of Bossier City to see just how widely destructive droughts plus fire can be. But you can also see in this history reasons for pride and positivity if you, as Mr. Fred Rogers instructed,... Read Full Blog

Black Business Month: Blacksmithing in Koran

 August is Black Business Month, founded as a time to acknowledge and uplift Black-owned businesses across the U.S., that have existed and persisted despite the obstacles historically put in front of them. Unfortunately, there are obstacles in researching black owned businesses, too. When searching the History Center’s own archives, and city directories and local newspapers readily available to us, such as the Shreveport Times and Journal, the Bossier Banner and the Plain Dealing Progress, there was little to find on early black businesses in Bossier Parish, when life and news sources ... Read Full Blog

Back-to-School in Bossier Pop Quiz

It’s back to school time…and time for a quick pop quiz! Question 1) What was the first high school in Bossier Parish? Question 2) What was the first brick building in Bossier Parish? Answer, Question 1: Pioneer High School in Plain Dealing. The Pioneer High School cornerstone in Plain Dealing was laid in 1888, making it the first high school in Bossier Parish. The school opened in January of 1889, Answer, Question 2: Plain Dealing High School. In 1921, a new brick building was built for Plain Dealing High School to accommodate its growing student body. It was the first brick building to be ... Read Full Blog

Mail Order Day and the Sears Catalog's Significance to Black Americans

August 18th is National Mail Order Catalog Day, to celebrate the old-fashioned way of shopping by selecting items in a printed catalog, and ordering and paying for it by mail or over the telephone. This ability to order items from a catalog, and not having to rely on the limited inventory of small-town stores, was significant not only for the convenience and a wider availability of “stuff” to go into American homes. Mail order’s success brought changes to American society, and these changes were especially important for African Americans, particularly in the South. The first really successf... Read Full Blog

The Sanders House of Plain Dealing, Both Practical and Trendy in its Time

Wow, it’s hot out lately. Thank goodness for air conditioning. It’s hard to imagine living here in the South without it. These “dog days” of summer are a good time to revisit the southern architectural style of the dogtrot house, which featured a central open corridor from the front to back of the house.  This style of house was common throughout the Southeastern United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

 

 

 

If you were building a house a hundred or a hundred fifty years ago, the dogtrot style was practic... Read Full Blog

More Memories from The Walker’s Chapel Reunion of the Matlock/Wise Family

I spent some time in July, National Family Reunion Month, looking through the History Center’s oral history collection for some recollections of, or from, Bossier Parish family reunions. On October 11, 2003, Bossier Parish Libraries History Center staff attended the Matlock/Wise family reunion in Walker’s Chapel and conducted oral history interviews. That reunion provided an amazing opportunity to gather family history, as well as learn more about everyday rural life in the first half of the 20th century. Last week we looked at the interviews conducted with Rex Matlock and his younger siste... Read Full Blog