Ruby Lee Hamilton Carroll recently donated her book, “Saint Mark Cemetery Directory, Holly, LA” to the DeSoto Parish Library. Branch Manager Doris Ross said, “This is an excellent book to add to our Louisiana Room. We really appreciate our local authors.”
Mrs. Carroll was born and raised in Kingston. Her parents are Emma Dunn Hamilton and World War I Veteran Isaac “Ike” Hamilton. She grew up walking the dirt roads of Holly (which included St. Mission), and attended Holly Elementary School. She was baptized at the St. Mark Baptist Church in 1950 and recalls a vibrant community of African American sharecroppers who loved community and loved God. As a child she recalls the many instances the community would gather at the grave yard to pay homage and respect to those who had gone on before and to maintain a beautified cemetery.