Columns

The small towns and communities have contributed so much to DeSoto Parish through the years. As our early settlers moved from the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi looking for good and inexpensive farmland they selected our area. It was a rough life but they were determined to make good communities to raise their families. They encouraged everyone to be a good citizen. The following are a few of these areas but space will not allow all communities nor all family manes to be mentioned but everyone was important to our growth and culture. Some of the smaller towns and communities of the Parish will be discussed in this article.

I’m having a real good Christmas week – one of the best ever – and I hope all of you are, too. My Daughter and Granddaughter came down with friends to share presents and Christmas Eve Dinner. I did my standard roast turkey and Mama’s cornbread dressing but the kids brought scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, spinach soufflé and a big ham. Whow! Surprisingly we had few leftovers because several guests stopped by to “snack”. That’s just fine because now I need to start getting ready for New Years with another ham, boiled cabbage, a big pot of “Hoppin’ John” blackeyed pea jambalaya and, of course, a good skillet of cornbread. I may do ‘hot water cornbread’ this year?

Dear Editor and Broadband Stakeholders, Our recently approved initial proposal for the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program includes significant plans for workforce development. Particularly in Louisiana, building broadband infrastructure for hundreds of thousands of locations require robust workforce that is well prepared and ready to take on the challenge.

One way we are preparing workers and businesses for these projects is by partnering with the Louisiana Community and Technical College System to offer fiber optic training programs to students who want to find work in the telecommunications industry. This story in our success series highlights just that. Enjoy!

Veneeth Iyengar Executive Director, ConnectLA

Did you ever think of yourself as a writer of historian? Probably not but most of the “History Buffs” are people who enjoy reading things pertaining to the past. Most of the history books were written by people who didn’t actually live history but read and heard history.

Our children and grandchildren will know us if we write it down or – second best – tell them of our lives when we were younger. Even though they seem to have their heads buried in a phone they will listen if you make it interesting. Often times children listen and retain a great deal more history than you realize. Children normally are interested in your early life and your parents and grandparents. How your fore parents migrated to this part of America and why they came is also interesting.

There are several very important historical events that took place during the Christmas Season. Of course the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, was the most important and the “Reason for the Season”. But on December 21, 1620, the first landing party of Pilgrims came ashore in Massachusetts at the place they named Plymouth. There they founded the second successful English settlement in America. The first settlement was at Jamestown, Virginia, up the James River. Tradition says that as they came ashore the Pilgrims set foot on a large granite boulder that they named Plymouth Rock. That rock became a famous symbol of the revolution and of our faith. Nearly a century later the second president of the United States, John Adams, urged the early American Colonies to not forget the trials the early settlers faced and the reason they came to America.

Each year, the National Garden Bureau designates a specific plant to celebrate each year. The goal is to promote awareness, education and appreciation for that particular plant — and this year, one of the selections is amaryllis.

The amaryllis you decorate your home with during the winter holidays is a Hippeastrum, meaning horse star. Amaryllis comes from a Greek word meaning to sparkle or twinkle. Belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family, Hippeastrum bulbs originate from Central and South America, particularly the Andes region. It was first introduced to Europe in the 18th century.

Amaryllis is comprised of 90 species and more than 600 cultivars in all sorts of colors and shapes, and it’s all thanks to those hybridizers who keep making new funky styles, flower forms and shades.

The majority of bulbs you buy are either Dutch or South African hybrids. These will bloom without needing any special treatment right after you get them.

Few people have lived through the Great Depression but everyone has read and heard about it. This writer not only lived throughout the Depression but experienced some of its hardships. If you will bear with me some researched details will be presented to set the stage.

On Friday October 24, 1929 the U.S. stock market crashed which started the 12 year economic disaster known as the Great Depression. On that “Black Thursday” everyone knew the sudden massive sell off of stocks was bad but no one knew just how calamitous the results would be. Given the last two months prior to Oct. 24, 1929 it was thought things were going along as fine as they always had.

As I was reading Emily Weinstein’s blog on the NYT Cooking Section a portion of her talk on Thanksgiving leftovers struck me. I had been visiting with you about the same things but she said it so much better, “(…) but I feel in my soul that the highest and best use of Thanksgiving leftovers is in a sandwich.” AND I so agree! In my column towards the end of October I said something like the best use of turkey leftovers is a big ole sandwich with lots of mayo and a big slice of Swiss cheese. Emily and I both agree that this turkey sandwich should also have a slice of cornbread dressing in it and, she adds, “(…) Especially the cranberry sauce, which makes it sing.” I’m all hungry now ….

DeSoto Parish in the mid 1800’s was a port parish both from the west boundary by the Sabine River to the east by Bayou Pierre. Both were important to the parish and Mansfield benefited from each – probably more from Bayou Pierre. The steamboats as they approached the landing began blowing their whistles a couple of miles before their landing. The boat’s lonesome whistles blew out through the hills and hollows announcing their arrival. People in the surrounding areas would come to the port to see the boats and the people arriving and the merchandize being unloaded. The merchants would be there waiting for all types of goods: furniture, coffins, saddles; small items such as copper pots, iron skillets; cooking supplies like sugar, flour, and spices. The boats brought letters from loved ones back on the east coast also newspapers from New York and London. The date on these wasn‘t that important because all news was new news to the frontier.

Minimize Hay Feeding Losses

As we begin the transition from Fall to Winter, most local cattle producers are beginning the hay feeding season. Hay losses during feeding, if not managed properly, can be extremely high. In some instances, these losses can reach up to 60% if no efforts to reduce loss are made. On average, producers can expect feeding losses of 3 to 6% when attempts are made to reduce feeding losses.