Columns

Wed
04
May

Did You Know?

Did You Know?
Did You Know?

As Paul Harvey used to say in his syndicated radio program, “AND now you know the rest of the story!” Most readers of this article know the details of the Battle of Mansfield when Gen. Taylor’s Confederate Army soundly defeated Gen. Banks’ larger Union Army on April 8, 1865. Taylor suffered less than 1000 casualties whereas Banks lost 2200 men. His hasty retreat allowed Taylor to capture 20 cannon, 200 wagons full of supplies and hundreds of rifles. General Kirby Smith, the general over all of the Trans-Mississippi region, was in Shreveport, La. He told Taylor to not engage the Union forces in Mansfield but wait until just south of Shreveport which was the capital of Louisiana at that time. “Too late, Sir”, replied Taylor, “The battle is over and the Yankees are on the run”!

Wed
27
Apr

Did You Know?

Did You Know?
Did You Know?

A tribute to the family of Mr. Riemer Calhoun, Sr. is long overdue for the presentation of the Mansfield Female College buildings and property to the State of Louisiana as a museum to be enjoyed down through the years. The Mansfield Female College, oldest female college west of the Mississippi River and the “Jewell of DeSoto Parish”, was presented to Secretary of State Fox McKeithen from the front steps of the Museum’s main building in 2002. A large crowd of Mansfield and DeSoto Parish citizens were present and recognized the tremendous donation and its future value to the area. The Calhouns had developed the former three story Administration Building which was now a single story into one of the most gracious homes in the parish.

Wed
27
Apr

Bright Lights to Lightning Bugs

Bright Lights to Lightning Bugs
Bright Lights to Lightning Bugs

Check In Instead of Checking Out-or Checking Off

I think this may be a touchy subject but I’m going to say it anyway. God wants us to spend time with Him together as a family, and also individually. He would like us to spend as much time with Him as possible. Whew! That’s a lot of schedule juggling! Is it really that important? I feel like I’m doing good to get a prayer in, and even a daily Bible study. But isn’t that how life is, constantly expecting more out of us at every turn? Have I made you feel totally guilty now? I promisethat was not my intent. Let’s begin again.

Wed
27
Apr

Cordon Bleu Casserole

Cordon Bleu Casserole
Cordon Bleu Casserole

Now that just sounds good doesn’t it? Well, I thought so too when I read Adam Hickman’s recipe on the My Recipes website. A little research told me that the French version that we all know that uses chicken is actually based on an older version from Russia that called for veal. Cordon Bleu simply means “Blue Ribbon” in French and I guess stands for First Place?

Mr. Hickman’s recipe calls for you to make a white sauce to start and to chop up the chicken and ham but I changed those two things. I just knew I would screw up the sauce to start with and I didn’t think I’d like a big mushy casserole. But if you do and aren’t sauce-challenged like I am then try things Adam’s way.

I preheated my oven to 400 and microwaved 3 oz. of cream cheese and 3 of sour cream until soft and stir in with 2 cups of half and half, add 1 tbl. of Dijon Mustard, 2 tsp. of chopped thyme, salt and pepper to taste and simmer all until hot.

Wed
20
Apr

Can Donuts Teach Us Life Lessons?

	Can Donuts Teach Us Life Lessons?
	Can Donuts Teach Us Life Lessons?

When homeschooling, I liked to try fun and interesting ways to teach my kids. I think looking back I had mixed results but I always enjoyed trying. I did have one experience though that produced disastrous results.

I started with good intentions, as always. We were reading the book Homer Price, a wonderful book that I highly recommend. I read it as a kid so I was over the moon to introduce it to my kids. As with most elementary age homeschooling materials, there are several different lessons to reinforce the concepts.

For Chapter III, The Donuts, the curriculum suggested we fry up donuts with oil in the kitchen. What a fabulous idea! I should probably mention at this point that I am not the most talented cook by far. In fact the kids offer to cook for me when they come home. But I am getting off topic.

Wed
20
Apr

Did You Know?

Did You Know?
Did You Know? ...

State’s names and how they were acquired have always been an interest. Let’s look at a few states in today’s article and if you are interested. They may be completed in increments for a later date.

Alabama – After the Alabama River and the Alabama Tribe of Indians whose name means “Plant Gatherers”.

Alaska – After the Aleut Eskimos name for “Great Land”.

Arkansas – From a Basque word meaning “Good Oak Tree”.

California – By early Spanish explorers after a legendary gold laden island.

Colorado – From the Spanish word meaning “Colored Red”.

Connecticut – After an Indian word meaning “Beside the Long Tidal River”.

Delaware – After the first Virginia governor Sir Thomas West, Lord De La Warr.

Florida – Named by the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon who discovered the peninsula on April 12, 1513 “Flowery Easter”.

Georgia – In honor of King George II of England.

Wed
13
Apr

On The Bright Side

On The Bright Side
On The Bright Side

In the captivating and impactful book, “Captive in Iran,” two young women, Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh, had passed out Bibles to twenty thousand people in Iran. They knew the dangers, but felt it was worth the risks.

Years before, both women had a powerful conversion from Islam to Christianity, and both were passionate followers of Jesus Christ.

Converting from Islam to Christianity can be punishable by death in Iran.

At one point, Marziyeh was asked in a demanding tone, “You have an Islamic name. Your parents are Muslims. How can you be Christian?”

“With the Lord, anything is possible,” she replied, silencing the questioner.

Despite the known risks of being Christians in Iran, Maryam and Marziyeh also hosted two secret home churches in their apartment — one for young couples and another for prostitutes.

However, in 2009, Maryam and Marziyeh were arrested and imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious, brutal Evin Prison.

Wed
13
Apr

On the Go with Mike – News from MNC

On the Go with Mike – News from MNC

Hello Folks!! Hope everyone is doing well out in reader land. I know we are doing well over here on Hwy 84 East at MNC. Time is just flying by and here it is time for me to write about our happenings here at MNC. I’ve been so busy I didn’t have time to interview a resident this week, but we will catch up on that next week.

One of the reasons I’ve been so busy is our beloved Transportation / Ward clerk Mrs. Linda Sue Peoples has had a stroke and is now in Therapy in Shreveport, so I am driving residents to their appointments in Linda Sue’s absence. Please pray for her and her family as they take this journey. She is doing well, I was fortunate to visit with her yesterday and attend therapy with her. She’s really doing well so far, but has a road ahead of her that we know she will conquer. We all miss her terribly and can’t wait for her to be well!

Wed
13
Apr

Bright Lights to Lightning Bugs

Bright Lights to Lightning Bugs
Bright Lights to Lightning Bugs

So my oldest is twenty-three. Wow-I just can’t even. But I am trying to go with the flow and not even think about how old that makes me. He recently came home from the military and is in transition phase. He is waiting for his apartment lease start date and his job to begin again. So he is living with us-a discussion for another time. He runs frequently and likes to have a buddy. Enter his mama who just walks for a living.

“Hey Mom-why don’t you be my accountability partner so when I get up at 6:30AM every morning to run you can go with me but I know you will just walk because….” Here my kid stalls, not sure how to proceed. I help him out a bit. “Ummm….so you want me to go with you to town and you will run and I will walk? At 6:30 every morning?” He grins sheepishly, “Yes Mom, if you don’t mind.”

Wed
13
Apr

Hey, Let’s Talk!

Hey, Let’s Talk!

An early morning awhile back Mr. Powell and I noticed a huge silvery full moon just setting to the west of Mansfield as we headed to our coffee group at the Female College Museum. It caught us by surprise and we both commented on how spectacular it was. Mr. Powell said he thought it was “The Snow Moon” so named because it’s the last full moon when there’s still a chance of a snow. That just HAS to be true because he knows these kinda things.

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