Columns

Let’s get shakin!!

So I posted on Facebook a picture earlier this week at home making BLT sandwiches. (Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato. Let me tell you everyone went crazy.

I’ve always known everyone on social media had rather see pictures of my food than my face and this I have embraced but this one really caused a stir.

This time of year in the south there’s not much better than good homegrown tomatoes. I have to admit now my gardening abilities don’t match up with my kitchen skills, never have and I’m convinced they never will. I’m okay with that and I still try but it’s usually a bust. So thankfully friends that have the green thumb I don’t and supplied me with the tomatoes that made said sandwiches just perfect.

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.

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.

Mansfield of old would not be recognizable today. The transportation was by horseback, buggy or wagon and people did not travel to Shreveport or other distant places unless it was absolutely necessary. Logansport, 22 miles in distance, was a two-day affair. Many of the people would get up and leave by wagon to pay their taxes in Mansfield which was the Parish Seat and ladies would shop for dress material, lace, etc. After shopping they would return to a campground just west of Attwood’s on the left side of U.S. 84. Reading one account of the family camping told of Dr. Stribling (built the Milton Baker house) stopping by for coffee. The campers would cook breakfast and be on the way back to Logansport by six o’clock.

Spring Into Action: Pull Up Weeds Now To Prevent Problems Down The Road

Louisiana gardeners just never seem to catch a break from weeds. While one season’s weeds are maturing and preparing to drop seeds, the next season’s weeds have already started germinating.

And that’s where we find ourselves now. In March, many of our warm-season weeds are beginning to crop up, and cool-season weeds are flowering and setting seeds.

If you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty, there’s something you can do to prevent having as many weeds next winter: Simply pull them up.

Remove all the top growth that has seeds on it now before warmer temperatures hasten seed maturity and dying of top growth. If the seeds drop into your landscape beds or lawns, they will lie dormant over the summer and start germinating again as early as September.

Cake Challenges An interesting article on one of my recipe websites talked about taste — testing several boxed yellow cake recipes to see which was best. They compared Pillsbury, Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker, and several more I hadn’t ever heard of. Duncan Hines was the clear winner and right behind was Betty Crocker. Now you know that I am pastry challenged but I decided to try the winner. Maybe that would improve my chances of cooking a cake.

From capitol tours to community service: 4-H summit empowers future leaders

Most action starts with a spark, a catalyst to do something. Louisiana 4-H was igniting that spark for seventh and eighth graders during the first Spark Action Change Summit held Feb. 20 to 22 in Baton Rouge.

The three-day summit focused on civic engagement, service and leadership. 4-H’ers took part in civic education and personal development tracks, a tour of the Louisiana State Capitol and Capitol Park Museum, a networking dinner and a service project at the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.

Kimberly Williams, interim assistant 4-H department head, developed the summit to help form future leaders in 4-H. She charged the 4-H Citizenship Board with helping to plan and execute many aspects of the summit.

To day’s article probably should be headlined “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.

Peg-Leg Attacks!

In the predawn hours of Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at around 5:00 am the entry alarm and the motion sensors in three of the rooms of the Mansfield Female College Museum were set off. Someone or some THING had entered the building!

Interface Security contacted me and I immediately speed over to the Museum to meet our Mansfield Police force but after a cautious and thorough search we found no doors open and no one inside. Only the inside door up to the attic stood open. One deputy offered that a rat may have set the sensor off in my office since it was plugged in low to the ground but that didn’t explain the entry alarms being activated. The other deputy chuckled, “Man, didn’t you know this place has a ghost? Ole Peg-Leg Pete — it’s true!!”

There are some stories of old that should never be lost. They should be told to our children and grandchildren. The following true story that occurred following the Battle of Mansfield is just such an incident that sheds light on a familiar subject possibly in a different respect. During the Battle of Mansfield, one of the bloodiest in the war and last major victory of the Confederates, General Taylor ordered the La. Crescent Regiment forward to attack the 130th Illinois led by Major Reid. The Yankees were behind a rail fence and as the rebels charged Gen. Mouton, Col. Beard, Lt. Col. Clack, Major Canfield and seven of the ten Captains were killed along with 55 Rebel soldiers and 150 wounded. Prince Camille de Polignac, a French born aristocrat, took charge and defeated the 130th Illinois Regiment.