Columns

Caddo has always cast an integral influence on DeSoto Parish from 1843 starting when the northern half of DeSoto was taken from Caddo. Many important families of DeSoto have migrated and become important citizens of Shreveport. But nothing is more important to the economy than the movement of oil drilling southward after the first oil and gas wells were drilled in 1870 on Cross Bayou intended to be a water well for an ice factory. The first oil well known to have been drilled was by Edwin Drake in 1859 near Titusville, Pennsylvania.

We worry about a lot of things, how things will turn out, are we going to have enough at the end of the day or week? Are we going to make it? Is God going to be with us? It looks like we are about to lose everything!

“All Judah stood with their little ones, their wives before the Lord,” praying and worrying how they were going to do against a great enemy that came against them in 2 Chronicles 20. The forces of Moab, Ammon, and Mt. Seir came upon them to battle.

Let’s get shakin!!!

If you are from the south, you already know, if not, I’m ‘bout to tell you all about it.

Growing up you could open the fridge and there would be 4–5 plastic butter tubs. Did we like butter? Well yeah, who doesn’t BUT, you better open them all ‘cause you never know what you might find inside. That’s right with no shame at all, they were washed and repurposed.

It’s free Tupperware y’all. Now as a spoiled rotten kid this embarrassed me to no end. I thought it meant we were poor. Well, we weren’t but we were hardly affluent. Mom always said red (or tomato based) sauce like spaghetti, chili, sauce picante, etc. would stain her good Tupperware so leftovers went in the “southern” Tupperware. As an adult I’ve realized… she was right and NO she wasn’t just trying to embarrass me.

De S o to Parish has had a long and happy relationship with its sister parish to the south, Sabine Parish. DeSoto has shared citizens, politics and even land with Sabine. Sabine Parish was organized in 1843 only a couple of months before DeSoto. Actually DeSoto’s southern border was originally a creek but a short time later a land swap between the two parishes created a straight line that followed a state section line.

La. Rouge Rice

I was all ready to make fun of an article in Southern Living by Jessica Harris titled “The Roots of Red Rice”. I’ve know about Charleston and Savannah Red Rice but had never cooked any and Mrs. Harris’ article sounded like a lot of Mumbo-Jumbo about a West African dish called Thieboudienne — What?! Yeah, I’d never heard of it either.

The early settlers of this area were a very hardy group — primarily those from the Carolinas and Georgia with exceptions of the St. Denis group along the Bayou Pierre composed of Spanish and French. Today’s article is going to discuss the Anglo-Saxon Group, which settled the northern half of the parish.

The first settlers came to the area primarily by covered wagons with the cows tied behind the wagons and the boys driving the hogs behind the cows. Normally it would be thought that driving hogs would be impossible but history tells us that hogs soon learned to follow behind the wagons and cows without trouble. Sometimes, however, it was necessary for the older boys to go back behind in the event of the pigs getting tired and wanting to wallow around in a mud hole.

The Guitarist No One Heard (But We Did)

Big cities have their perks — bright lights, endless options, and the kind of convenience that makes your head spin. But they also have a way of making people numb to wonder. When everything’s available all the time, it’s easy to stop noticing the magic tucked into the ordinary.

John and I had a layover in Dallas recently. Just one night before flying out the next day. We found a restaurant near the hotel, nothing fancy, just a cozy spot with good food and a warm atmosphere. And there, in the corner, was a man with a guitar. An acoustic set. Live music. On a Tuesday night.

He played with heart. You could tell he loved what he was doing. His fingers moved like they knew the strings by memory, and his voice had that soft, worn-in quality that only comes from years of singing to strangers. And yet — no one seemed to notice.

Making your own baking and cooking mixes might sound like something only your grandmother did, but it’s easier than you think — and worth every minute. It’s one of those old-fashioned skills that fits right into a modern life that values health, savings, and a little peace of mind.

From pancake mix to taco seasoning, soup bases to cornbread mix, these staples are quick to put together and save both time and money in the long run. Instead of reaching for a prepackaged product full of additives, you can scoop out a bit of your homemade mix and know exactly what’s in it. Most mixes only take five or six basic ingredients — flour, baking powder, salt, maybe a little sugar or spice — and they store well in jars, bags, or plastic containers right in your pantry.

Are raw oysters safe to eat? A seafood expert has answers

Two people recently died in Louisiana after eating raw Gulf oysters contaminated with the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus. Now that we have returned to the “r” months of autumn, a period historically considered safer to consume the mollusks on the half shell, seafood lovers are rightfully on edge about enjoying what many consider a saltwater delicacy.

Evelyn Watts, a seafood extension specialist with the LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant, has spent the better part of her adult life working with the seafood industry on the best ways to process and work through regulations about their catches. She wants to set the record straight about the safety of eating Gulf oysters throughout the year.

Several versions of the “Neutral Grounds”, a.k.a. the “Neutral Strip” and “No Man’s Land”, have been reported. These all refer to an area stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to a short distance above Mansfield where the Sloan Road joins Hwy. #175. The following are the actual boundaries: “Beginning at the mouth of the Calcasieu River at the Gulf of Mexico northward to the Arroyo Hondo continue north to the thirty-second parallel and westward to the Sabine River. Thence south on the Sabine River to the Gulf of Mexico”. This area includes portions of DeSoto, Sabine, Natchitoches, Vernon, Rapides, Beauregard, Allen, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis and Cameron Parishes.