Columns

A request has been made that a concise short history of Louisiana and DeSoto Parish be made for reference when needed. A prominent Mansfield person wanted to be sure his grandchildren knew this information. The Louisiana Territory was a large area with New Orleans as a valuable port near the mouth of the Mississippi River. President Thomas Jefferson realized the need for the U.S. to own and control it for its western growth. He sent a representative to France to buy the N.O. area but Napoleon needed money badly to finance the wars the he was waging. He offered the entire La. Territory, which composes about one third of the present U.S. for $15 million. Also the U.S. paid $5 million to U.S. citizens who held claims against France bringing the total to $20 million.

Even though the official first day of Summer isn’t until June 21, it already feels like Summer has arrived here in DeSoto Parish. We have already experienced 90-degree temps and very little rainfall. On a positive note, there has been some 1st cutting hay being harvested for those producers who had adequate winter forages planted. Hopefully, we will receive some much-needed rainfall soon to keep the hay fields growing.

The Catbird Seat

In one of my favorite & funniest movies, the Cohen Brother’s 1987 film “Raising Arizona”, actor John Goodman says, “Relax, little brother we’re sitting in the fabled Catbird Seat.” Webster’s Dictionary says that a Catbird Seat is an enviable position, having the upper hand or a greater advantage. The name comes from the North American Catbird that is a cousin to our Mockingbird. The Catbirds make a mocking song that sounds like a softly mewing cat.

I brought this up because for four years now when I would approach the north side entrance to the Female College Museum I would always look up to the top of the giant old bull pine on the northeast corner of the grounds. This old giant must be at least 250 years old because it was pretty big even back in some of the 1920’s pictures around the College campus.

Today’s article probably should be headlines “Did You Ever Wonder?” Probably most of us from a time to time have wondered about certain things and we just couldn’t seem to find the answer or reason. Natchitoches, the oldest town in the Louisiana Purchase by three years, boasts of Cane River. Was it once the Red River and did it actually flow through the middle of town or is that just a lake? The Red River did once flow through town until the Spring of 1837 when a flood caused the river to cut a new course at Grand Encore leaving Natchitoches with only an old “Chute” or remnant of the river’s channel. St. Denis founded the town three years before New Orleans was formed and continued to live there until he died July 11, 1744. His niece along with a large group came up to Bayou Pierre and made the first settlement in what is now DeSoto Parish, Louisiana.

It’s A Busy Spring!

The Spring season is in full swing, and boy does it feel good to be able to enjoy being outside and getting things accomplished. Everywhere you look, lawnmowers are running, flowers are being planted, hay is beginning to get cut, and school is almost out for the Summer!

We are staying busy here at the Extension Office also. If you didn’t already know, we began selling tomatoes a few weeks ago that come from our Red River Research Station greenhouses in Bossier City. This has been a huge hit for those DeSoto residents who like to snack on a nice red tomato or maybe enjoy a BLT sandwich for lunch. We typically get tomatoes in on Tuesday or Wednesday and for the past two weeks we have sold out the same day!

Remembering Tanya LaHood Dufour

Tanya! My neighbor (while in school and now), classmate (since kindergarten) and … friend (always). I was reacquainted with Tanya and her husband Donnie after I moved back home to Mansfield in 2007 and I call them good friends now. Sadly, Tanya passed away last week leaving a large loving family and many close friends. And, all of these packed into their little Catholic Church, St. Joseph’s, for her last rites. What a touching service with hardly a dry eye but Father Matthew Long brought a smile to everyone when he said that Tanya knew “the way … it was Her way!” I think I even heard a few chuckles from the family pews. He continued with many stories of her love, devotion and generosity. Everyone there agreed.

A Chimenia Visitor

Several interesting things happened in my backyard last week. I noticed that the birdseed in my feeder had been running out a lot faster than usual. Last year I noticed that a big crow had figured out a way to grasp the neck of the Shepard’s Hook that holds the feeder with one foot and to grasp the roof of the bird feeder with the other. In this way he could just hang on and shovel as much seed in as he wanted. It was something to behold.

77th Anniversary of VE Day - WWII

December 7, 1941 is the declared a “Day of Infamy” when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The American navy fleet was at anchor there on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. On this Sunday morning at 7:55 am while many of the servicemen were at breakfast and some still in bed Japanese dive bombers bearing the symbol of the rising sun burst through the clouds. Within seconds the sky was full of their war planes dropping bombs on our ships. The bombers were followed by fighters called Zeros with their machine guns strafing the brave U.S. sailors who rushed to their guns. Senator Jackson B. Davis was stationed there and tells of the fighter planes flying so low you could see the smiles of the Japanese pilots. The attack left 2400 dead, 1200 wounded, 18 ships sunk and 300 American planes destroyed.

5 Ways to Help Dad Find His Stride

I always expected my husband to do more-more help around the house, playing more with the kids. I found myself looking to other fathers and wanting my husband to be more like them. I know now it was frustrating for him, and I know he was doing the best he could. My helpful criticism was not helpful at all.

One day I was venting to a friend and asked if she had the same problems with her husband. She paused, took a breath, and said to me, “Well, I think of all the things my husband does for me and our family. I think about all the pressures he has at work, trying to get everything done and be home at a decent hour. I think about his responsibilities at church. When I consider all those other responsibilities he has, I feel blessed that he does as much as he can at home.” Wow, that brought me down a peg or three!

Crazy Easy Carnitas

When I read Natalya Drozhzhin’s recipe in her blog “Momsdish” I wasn’t sure if I knew what a Carnita was. Street tacos vaguely resonated so I read on, now hooked. Mexican Carnitas (literally “little meats”) are marinated slow cooked pulled pork shoulder similar to but not as spicy as beef Barbacoas. Both go as fillers in the soft flour tortillas or for burritos. Natalya’s recipe uses a slow cooker versus others using Dutch ovens and BBQ pits. With rain predicted all weekend I opted for her slow cooker and am glad I did because I also got to know Natalya.

She wants us to trim and heavy season a 4 lb. pork shoulder roast. I used a Tony Chachere type rub (actually my Uncle Bert’s own “Reech’s Recipe”!) with some extra black pepper. Coarsely chop a large yellow onion, de-seed and slice horizontally two Anaheim (I used one jalapeno but it wasn’t hot enough) peppers, thinly slice two navel oranges, and crush and peel six garlic cloves.