Columns

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.

McCheebugar

Would McDonald’s rip off the SNL Greek Diner’s signature sandwich? Yes, AND I think that food junkie and late SNL cast member, John Belushi, would be secretly smiling. Also, Butch Golsan texted to remind me that the Diner had, “No fries … Cheeps”.

First a report on the Cheeseburger Casserole that I cooked last week. It was good, I think the kiddos will like it and I was glad that I halved the onions because saving some for garnish after along with coarse chopped tomatoes and lettuce was good. If you have onion haters to cook for then the thin sliced onions cooked down so that they were almost invisible when everything was done. Toasting the chopped up bacon dripping infused buns on top of the casserole was genius and gave the whole thing an extra crunch. So, I will give it a thumbs up – but try it and let me know what you think at reechjr@yahoo. com (with the title ‘CheeBuggar’) or call 318-540-7500.

Our nation has a long, rich tradition of thanking God for his blessings. We know very little about the first Thanksgiving the Pilgrims celebrated in Plymouth. We do know it took place in 1621 sometime after the autumn harvest. More about this particular day later in this article but let’s look at earlier times in our history where Thanksgiving was practiced.

Rooting For Tree Success

Land-grant universities, including Louisiana State University, are committed to advancing agriculture in America through research and innovative growing and farming methods. Another part of our mission is disseminating research information to the public. I recently had the opportunity to attend a training program focused on urban tree health, an initiative aligned with this mission, and I’m excited to share some of the great techniques we learned.

To ensure tree health in urban settings, we’ve got to start with the roots. One technique we learned about based on successful research is called root shaving. This technique can improve the health and success of the root of newly planted trees. The technique isn’t quite so new but has not been readily adopted by many home gardeners and landscape professionals.