Columns

Questions concerning the Great Depression are frequently asked about conditions in DeSoto Parish. This writer is not an authority of course due to his young age at the time having been born in 1924. It is interesting to reflect on how it affected DeSoto since we were an agricultural economy based society there were two items that particularly affected us – plowing under growing cotton and killing of healthy cattle. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plan was to reduce the amount of cotton so the price would increase and killing cattle would increase the value of beef. Of course, in areas where other crops like wheat or hogs were staples the same principle was utilized. Since DeSoto had only two cash crops they were the only ones that came under the program.

Fixing A Broken Store

Most people do not give much thought to names but that is one of the most important things about a person. His parents gave a lot of thought before naming him as a baby. The same thing is true about a place or town. So where did DeSoto Parish get its name? Down through the years many thought the name was in honor of Hernando DeSoto the explorer, however, he never came near DeSoto Parish. The closest was probably Fulton, Arkansas where he died and was thrown in the Mississippi for burial. A better candidate is Marcelo (Marcel) DeSoto who brought the first thirty families to what is now our parish. He received a grant of land along the bayou that later became known as Bayou Pierre. He was half French and half Spanish and the grandson of St. Denis who established Natchitoches. His mother was the dynamic Mariede St. Denis DeSoto.

We were standing with our hands over our hearts, facing the flag, listening to the National Anthem being played by an orchestra over the loud speakers. It was just before one of my son’s football games a couple of weeks ago.

Suddenly, toward the end of the Anthem, something happened to the sound system and the music stopped.

The crowd in the stands stood silently for a couple of seconds before singing in unison a cappella, “O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

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Kinda Taco Mac

One of the rewards of writing a weekly column like this is hearing from readers. I heard from Charlotte Miller, Grand Cane Mover & Groover AND who is also running for Police Jury Dist. 4B, texting me about her success with my Taco Mac Casserole recipe last week. I asked if she had any interesting suggestions and additions that I could pass on to you. First of all, she makes her own Gluten-Free Taco Seasoning mix (I have permission to re-print it for you) and used a family sized box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.

Charlotte’s Taco Seasoning: 1 cup minced dried onions 1/3 c. of chili powder 2 Tablespoons Cumin 4 T Red Pepper (the pizza type) 3 T oregano 2 Teaspoons garlic powder.

It has been said, “Don’t ask a question that you don’t know the answer to”. Historical buffs who follow this article like to read history that they know but certain parts of it had slipped their mind – especially dates. Mansfield’s history is one of the writer’s favorite things to reminisce about.