Columns

Women have helped defend the United States since the birth of our nation. Some women donned men’s clothing – passing as soldiers to serve our country long before being allowed to vote. March is Women’s History Month and very little publicity is given this event but they deserve our homage and recognition.

During the Revolutionary War the Continental Army and Colonial Militia did not allow women to enlist. Women served as cooks, seamstresses and nurses while accompanying men on battle campaigns. More than 20,000 women assisted in the above ways and down through the years women served in other ways. Deborah Sampson in May 1782 took the name of Robert Shurtlift while serving in an infantry company of the 4th Mass. Regiment. She received a musket ball on July 3, 1782 but was not found out to be a female until she became seriously ill on October 25, 1783. Another woman named Sally St. Clair joined her in battle and was killed Oct. 9, 1779.

Thank you, Thank you, Ms Anna Dunn and your sweet sister for all the adult coloring books.

We absolutely love them. Things like this keep us occupied, during the day when we’re not busy with crafts and other activities.

We had our Mardi Gras parade Thursday. We had to have it a little late due to the winter storm that came in. Talking about fun! Our staff, gave us pizza, King Cake from Julianne’s in Shreveport, Beads, Beads, and more Beads, stuffed animals, with Mardi Gras music making everyone smile as we went up and down our halls. This gave us all inspiration and laughter. It was such a fun time. Thank you, Amber, our Activity Director, you really out did yourself this time!

In 2013, a friend of mine had a cat with a brand new litter of kittens.

“Is there a yellow one?” I asked. “I had a beloved yellow cat as a child, and would love to adopt one for our family now.”

“There’s one little yellow boy,” she said.

And that’s how we got Foxworth Craven Carpenter — “Fox” for short.

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I’m a coldweather girl.

I vividly remember standing in the back yard last July in 98-degree weather, sweat dripping down my forehead, remarking out loud to my sister, “I hope this winter is absolutely frigid. I mean, ice everywhere. Temperatures in the twenties.”

Last week as we experienced a winter weather event that hasn’t been seen in Louisiana in over nine decades, I got my “wish.”

When the first round of snow hit on Monday, I was excited. We still had electricity. And water. We played out side and made snow ice cream. We ordered Pepito’s fajitas and started binge-watching The Wonder Years on hulu.

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A number of historical buffs have wondered how the early settling of the parish was done and how the settlers were organized. Generally speaking the northern part of the Parish was settled by slightly more affluent families and earlier than the southern portion. For this article let’s trace the southern portion south of present day U.S. Hwy 84 from Mansfield to Stanley, La. This road, one of the five major east/west roads of Louisiana known as the “Lone Star Road” or “Three Slash Road” because it was marked by 3 slashes on the trees lining the trail to mark this road.

Ya Mama’s Meatballs

In the NYT Cooking Section Kim Severson was discussing her new cookbook, “A Grandchild of Italy Cracks the Spaghetti Code”…. AND how can you not be captivated by that title? I was hooked immediately!

She starts, “I’d come in search of a recipe. Or more precisely the evolution of a recipe (…) I had been obsessed with tracking a path that began in my Grandmother’s village in Italy and ended with the pot of red sauce that simmers on my stove on many Sunday afternoons.” The following is her own Mother’s recipe and she says, “These are the meatballs I’d use but your favorites will work just as well. The key to the recipe is a light hand in the mixing.”

It is interesting to take a few minutes and peruse through the old Mansfield Enterprise Newspapers at the Mansfield Female College Museum. Newspapers from the 1930’s to the 1960’s are available for your inspection. The 1951 issues reveal some items that many of you probably have forgotten. The DeSoto Hospital Fund Drive to add to the original facility was kicked off for the $100,000 expansion in 1950 with J.C. McLaren, Sr. and J.W. Caraway as Co-Chairman and Mrs. B.W. Goss, Vice Chairperson. Roger H. Silver, General Gifts Chairman, built an organization of 77 to serve as Division Chairman. The Big Gifts group was headed up by Oliver H.P. Sample, Claude Roberts, P.E.Dixon and Marshall Calhoun. Team Captains were H. L. Wiggins, Raymond Powell, Ned W. Jenkins and Riemer Calhoun, Sr. Special Gifts group consisted of Hartwell Smith, Floyd Knott, R.U. Johnson, A. N. Latham and Sam Murray.

“What do you do?”

“I’m a stay-at-home mom,” I replied with eye contact and a smile.

The “what do you do” question doesn’t bother me, though, because I dearly love my calling, or in my case — my answered prayer.

You see, for many years while my colleagues were praying for a promotion, I was pleading with God to let me be at home with my babies.

And even though I’ve been a homemaker for almost ten years, I actually do know what it’s like to be a working mom of three children.

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It’s that time of year again when we study our history. Thank you, Mr. Carter G. Woodson, for being the Father of Black History Month. February is the designated month but it’s also a wonderful thing when we take a little time and study our history every day. In order for us to get where we need to be we cannot forget where we came from. If we discuss only our victories and not our struggles we allow others to believe that you can win a war without engaging in battle. If we stand it’s because we stand on the backs of those who came before us.

“What do you want for Valentine’s Day?” My husband, Marshall, was sitting in his favorite gray chair in the living room last week when he asked me this question during a commercial.

I thought for a minute. The longer I remained in thinking mode, the more Marshall looked as if he regretted the question.

“Well, I’d reallllly like some new furniture for the back patio,” I said with a grin and raised brows.

“Um, I was thinking more along the lines of chocolate-covered strawberries,” he said.

Sigh.

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