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Most of the historical buffs in our area are very familiar with the April 8, 1864 Battle of Mansfield when the much larger Union Army under Gen. Nathaniel Banks was soundly defeated by the Confederate Army of Louisiana’s Gen. Richard Taylor. Equally as well know is the Battle of Pleasant Hill, which was the second battle that also occurred in DeSoto Parish. Both battles were part of the Union Army’s Red River Campaign to capture Shreveport (then capital of La.) with the intent to further invade Texas.

Little known is that a third battle took place in DeSoto at Blair’s Landing which was the portion of the Blair Plantation in Natchitoches Parish that fronted Bayou Pierre. This was one of the largest boat landings along the Bayou since it served not only the large plantations on the east side of the Bayou but also the communities of Pleasant Hill and Pelican and the area around southern DeSoto Parish.

For just $200, you can get a nonstop round-trip ticket from Shreveport to Denver with United Airlines.

My husband Marshall and I recently took advantage of this deal to celebrate our 21st anniversary.

We arrived in Denver around lunch time, so we rented a car and drove to Larimer Square in downtown Denver. We grabbed a bite at Illegal Burger, which did not disappoint. After that, we checked out 16th Street Mall and the humongous REI Denver Flagship Store.

While in downtown Denver, it began to snow the biggest flakes I’ve ever seen, followed by five inches of snow overnight.

We stayed at the Gaylord Rockies, just minutes from the Denver airport. There aren’t words to describe the breathtaking view of the Rockies — from Pikes Peak to Longs Peak — from the 75-feet-tall atrium window in the Grand Lodge of the Gaylord Rockies.

Last week at our Lions Club meeting we had to improvise a little. In Lions we have a “Tail Twister” official who makes sure everyone’s wearing their pin and fines those without. He also does a game or two after lunch to raise a little money for our Lion Projects like the Crippled Children’s Camp in Leesville, the Eye Foundation, and others. The Mansfield Tail Twister is Robert Powell and he does a great job of coming up with several trivia questions that have multiple choice answers. If you answer all correctly you don’t have to pay, but if you miss just one you have to lose that quarter. We decided to give Robert a break so his Dad, Raymond Powell, and I tried to find some trivia. Man, that’s some hard stuff when you’re actually looking for trivia!

I will just put this out here: I hated potty training. I hated having to be 30 seconds or less from the closest bathroom, I hated spending money on Pull Ups and underwear as we tried to transition, and I hated most of all cleaning up accidents that looked very much like human feces. I didn’t mind cleaning baby diapers as much, but I think with the potty training I resented cleaning it all up because if the kid had just gone to the bathroom like he’s training to do then I wouldn’t have to almost gag.

I will also confess I did not have a good attitude during the whole ordeal. I just didn’t see why it was so hard to use the bathroom. I only had boys, and they loved peeing on Cheerios in the toilet. They would drink large amounts of fluids and go into the bathroom together just to pee on Cheerios. But going #2 in the toilet proved to be much more difficult for my oldest.

Kinda a different type of Title for me but you’ll understand at the end … AND I promise this isn’t just a trick to get you to read all the way through - but no cheating and skipping right to the bottom.

“I’m basically going potluck on a roommate.”

This is what a sweet 12th grade girl named Frances told me the other day. She’s planning to attend LSU in Baton Rouge in the fall, and is gearing up for the dorms.

She met some girls on Instagram through the LSU Housing site and they all agreed to room together in an on-campus suite. She’s going to meet them over spring break.

I told her about how I went “potluck” for a roomie as a freshman at Louisiana Tech in the

90’s, and how I met a lifelong friend in Melanie.

“Of course, we didn’t have phones or social media,” I said with a grin, “so I didn’t meet Melanie until the day we moved in.”

Frances’ eyes widened. It’s hard for teens to imagine not being able to stalk potential roomies on Instagram or “Snap” them on SnapChat.

From time to time the towns of DeSoto Parish have been mentioned but several have asked that an article just on these towns be compiled. The history of the towns of DeSoto is interesting and this writer thinks you will enjoy.

I. Mansfield, the parish seat if government, was determined by the La. legislature in 1843 and incorporated April 15, 1847. Several names were suggested such as Jackson and Ferdinand however, Thomas Abington gave a very interesting speech for the name Mansfield. Lord Mansfield of England, the only British leader that supported the original 13 colonies, was chosen as the name for our parish capital. The first post office was in 1844, a few months after the Keachi post office. Mansfield’s most noted historical happenings were the Mansfield Female College that was open from 1854 to 1930 and the April 8, 1864 Battle of Mansfield.

How Being Consistently Late Led To A Lesson in Forgiveness

When our kids are Pre-K age we feel keeping them alive is all we can handle. And some days that is even debatable. So when our church ladies’ committee approached me about being President, I initially said no. But they persisted and my resolve weakened and finally disappeared. I became the new President of our women’s organization.

The Vice President invited me over for lunch, to make plans she said for the upcoming year. Innocent enough I thought-I couldn’t have been more wrong. Oh, the meal was pleasant enough-tuna sandwiches and fruit salad (staples of women’s lunches in the South). But then she began her speech.

Each Valentine’s Day I’m reminded of how my husband and I met.

It was May 1999, and I was working as a writer/producer for the CBS affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama. I was 22 years old, single, and living in a one-bedroom apartment.

The station’s news director, Peggy, began to say things like, “Allie, I need to introduce you to my middle son, Marshall, sometime soon. I think you two would really get along.”

She had a photo in her office of her three sons, and I will admit I really liked what I saw of that cute middle son!

So one Tuesday afternoon, Peggy called me to her office. I assumed it was regarding a promotion I was working on for the 5 o’clock newscast that day.

Thank each and every one of you for the years I was able to serve you. I am stepping aside as Mansfield Alderman but I will always be as close as your phone. It was a joy serving the people of District C and the City of Mansfield.

I started my journey with the City of Mansfield on May of 1989. I am a deacon at the Corinth Baptist Church where the Rev. Anthony Kennedy is my pastor.

I have served under the administration of four mayors: Druce Chapman, Harold Cornett, Curtis McCoy, and John Mayweather. I have also served with aldermen Dezell Sudds, Ray Woodley, Sonny Hall, Dillard McCoy, Troy Terrell, Boss Ray Anderson, Joseph Hall, Chris Thomas, Bob McAllen, Dudley Kemper, Brenda Hall, Betty Carter, Marylinda Green, and Kervin Campbell.

It has been a joy working with and meeting people during y thirty-two years with the City and thirty-four years as manager of Big Star grocery.