Random Ramblings from the Road

There’s nothing of any real value in this blog post. It’s really a collection of non-sequiturs from my weekend trip to South Louisiana. Think of it like one of those columns Larry King used to write for USA Today (maybe he still writes them, I haven’t read in a while, I finally reached the point in life where I don’t need color charts to understand articles), where he jumped all around in an incoherent fashion. Remember, I don’t make you read these things. When you go on trips by yourself, there’s no one there when you want to turn and comment on something you see, so this is a collection of the things I would have said to someone with me on the trip. (Let’s be honest, I did turn and say them to my imaginary companion in the car, but if I admit to that, some of y’all might try to have me committed . . . . OOPS.)


Was amazed to see how the Saturday afternoon Mass appears to be outstripping the Sunday morning Mass at many Catholic churches that I passed. Now, since I’m not a Catholic maybe it’s always been that way, but in the smaller towns there were clearly more folks at the Saturday Mass then on Sunday morning.

Again, this may be a warped perception of mine, but this was my first visit to spend any time in New Orleans in over two years, and I felt a different spirit. Not sure if you can credit that to the Saints victory or the time passed since Katrina (or perhaps since I’ve been watching Treme for the last few weeks, maybe my mindset was locked in the late 2005 time period of that show.) I will confess I’m not a big New Orleans fan, but it was good to sense things were back to “abnormal” in the Big Easy. I pray that the oil spoil – as Spud McConnell calls it – doesn’t dampen things (Literally. One topic discussed on the radio was the possibility that the dispersant used by BP might be evaporated into any potential tropical storm and fall on New Orleans and South Louisiana as a sort of “acid rain.”)

I’ve always been a big proponent of microfilming any and all historical records to preserve them, but one experience Saturday has added a new clause to my stance. Microfilm any and all records, BUT, do it right. I went to the New Orleans Public Library Saturday in yet another attempt to try and pin down my peripatetic grandfather through old City Directories. Someone decided to microfilm those things for the NOPL, but made two very bad decisions. First, they decided to film two pages per slide – making the print so tiny that even with my big magnifying reading glasses you had to set the reader at maximum magnification to see the images. Second, they apparently didn’t check their settings and the left hand page was virtually unreadable on all slides. I checked with the librarian to see if perhaps it was just my eyes, but she confirmed that it was a problem. So, Grandpa Jim Murphy once again eluded me. Guess my next step is to save up for a few years and head for Virginia to try and track him down.

This is probably something that has been hashed and rehashed by sociologists and social historians, but as I drove along the River Road I had a sudden brainstorm (well maybe it was just a brain cramp) about an aspect of Louisiana culture. I have to wonder if the use of the French Arpent system of land measurement might have contributed to the close-knit sense of community in parts of Louisiana. If the English township system is used, often the farm houses are land-locked in the center of large farms. But under the Arpent system, with the river or Bayou serving as the “street”, it allowed the houses to be located closer together along the banks of the stream. That proximity might have made it easier for neighbors to bond and bring stronger community ties. Or maybe not – I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express so I could be wrong.

Along Highway 90 just west of Morgan City I saw bear crossing signs in Louisiana for the first time in my life  (I think they were bear crossing signs, or else someone really can’t draw a deer.) Didn’t realize they had become so plentiful that the signs were necessary, but it was a new experience.

I’ve worked keeping books for a company involved in the road construction business for nearly 25 years now, but I’m not sure I really appreciated how amazing the skills of our road construction industry are in this country. When you look at the sophisticated roads constructed through swamps and wilderness that seem so unbending as in South Louisiana, it is really stunning. Made me wonder that if we really applied our collective brilliance to other problems we might be able to solve some nagging problems – like oil “spoils” and the like.

So, there you have it “what I did on my weekend vacation” and the random thoughts that danced through my brain.

Bridges to the Past

An earlier post discussed the various steamboat wrecks on Bayou Dorcheat and how low water made them  visible. Well, today Dorcheat is at as low a level as I can recall seeing and that low water has "exposed" another piece of our past.

During the Steamboat Era, Minden was served by three landings on the east bank of Bayou Dorcheat. The Minden Lower Landing at Overton, the Middle Landing and the Minden Upper Landing, known as Murrell's Point. Murrell's Point was located just across the Bayou from today's Dorcheat Seafood and Grill in the area surrounding the two Highway 80 bridges. The old bridge was built in 1929-1930 as the Dixie Overland Highway, the old name for Highway 80, was constructed across the country. The newer bridge was built in the late 1950s when Highway 80 was rerouted and widened.

The low water has revealed the pilings for earlier bridges apparently on the same site as the old bridge. Based on what can be seen there seem to have been earlier bridges at that point. We know that in 1854-55, the Claiborne Parish Police Jury appropriated funds for a bridge at Murrell's Point. We also know that this bridge was not particularly well built. About a decade later, as General Polignac brought his troops to Minden for winter quarters in 1864, he was uncertain about trying to cross the bridge because of its dilapidated condition. He even included a sketch of the condition of the bridge in his personal journal. The army only crossed after being shamed when a buggy of women from Minden struck out across the bridge. The army followed. (The heavy equipment of the army was always shipped on the bayou, rather than overland because of the poor condition of the roads.)

I have always assumed that the original bridge was probably in the same location as that old Highway 80 bridge. However, it now seems that another possibility exists. The current low water has revealed the following just north of that old 80 bridge.

These piers have emerged for the first time in my memory and clearly show that at some point in the past, a bridge was located across Dorcheat at this point. I had noticed these piers over the weekend and this morning I received a call from Henry Laurence, asking me if I had noticed them. After his call I went out and snapped this picture. (I apologize for the quality, but the iPhone isn't a "world class" camera.) Not visible in the image -- at least not to my failing eyes -- are the piers over against the east bank. Another point that Henry mentioned and I noticed is that the projected path of any road using a bridge at this point is blocked by large, old Cypress trees. To me, that suggests that this may well be the crossing point of the oldest road, the one used by General Polignac and that these piers supported that old creaky bridge that held those Confederate troops briefly at bay.

Diamond in the Rough - Follow Up

Many thanks to Darrell for confirming the story of diamonds at Sibley with his mother. My vague memory was that a diamond had been found at some point in the gravel pits around Sibley and Bayou Dorcheat. After Darrell's comment on the earlier post, I went ahead and took a chance on the combination of the 1973 date given by the clipping at the Bossier History Center and Darrell's mother's memories and went to the microfilm of the Minden Press-Herald.

I found that in fact, the discovery of diamonds was the #6 local news story of 1973 as ranked by the Press-Herald. But, I also found that the story had no mention of a little girl finding the gem in her driveway. The Webster Parish story involved excavations by Gifford-Hill between Sibley and Doyline along Highway 164. In August 1973, several gem quality diamonds, between six and eight, were found in the gravel diggings. The company kept things quiet until October when they gave the story to the Press-Herald. At that point the company sealed access to the pits where the diamonds had been found and was actually exploring to see if they had discovered a viable commercial cache of diamonds.

Obviously, since 37 years have passed and we don't have diamond mines at Sibley, nothing came of this brief excitement. I've passed the clippings on to the Bossier History Center and will let them coordinate the two stories and see if they revolve around the same set of circumstances. With both taking place in 1973, that seems likely. Again, thanks to Darrell.

Diamond in the Rough?

I'm wondering if this story will ring a bell with anyone reading this blog. I received a call this week from Ann Middleton of the Bossier History Center. She was trying to track down a story about a little girl somewhere in North Louisiana finding a rather large diamond while playing in her gravel driveway. Someone had inquired about the story at the History Center and there were conflicting accounts. One placed the event in Princeton and the other placed it in Minden. The History Center staff eventually found an account in their files that placed the event in 1973 but there was no indication of where the account originated. They went through the files of the Bossier Banner for 1973, but found no clues. Their next step will be to examine the back issues of the Shreveport Times for that year and then on to the Shreveport Journal.

The story didn't spark any memories for me. It seemed I vaguely remembered an anecdotal tale of a diamond being found while gravel was being excavated from the bar pits along Dorcheat, but not the "little girl" account. I'm going to check the 1973 editions of the Press-Herald, but thought it wouldn't hurt to post this on the blog and see if someone remembers the story.

Separate But Equal . . . . Problems

Got a phone call tonight from Mrs. Noella Bostick, my 8th Grade Louisiana History teacher more years ago than I care to remember. The problem she wanted to discuss with me sounded very familiar. She was working with the Board of the Sheppard Street Cemetery -- the largest black cemetery in Minden -- and was hoping to find information about who were the earliest burials in the cemetery and perhaps a little about those people. As I've indicated before, in the written sources of local history, black residents are essentially non-existent prior to the 1970s. So, I had to tell her I really had no information and no real sources to consult. The cemetery association has the records of land ownership and dedication. I told her I will be on the lookout for any tidbits I can find, but I'm not hopeful.

The point of this title is the problems she described are so similar to the problems we have with the Minden Cemetery. Missing records and the biggest problem -- lost graves either from the land "settling" or from the terrible damage of the 1933 tornado. While I was considering that I realized another sad legacy from the years of segregation. By duplicating facilities, whatever problems were inherent in those facilities were also duplicated. A "double trouble" of sorts. We can't change history, but I can certainly wish our forefathers had used a little more wisdom in their choices.

Cameo Book

I received an inquiry from a "non-friend" on Facebook today about the possibility of publishing a book of my mother's Cameo columns from the Minden Press-Herald. Since even a "non-friend" was interested, I felt like I would share the status of that project on my blog. Been a week since I posted so it seemed like good timing. Plus this is sort of a Mother's Day present to Momma, it's something she would have wanted.

My mother's columns are of course now jointly owned by my sister and myself.  That's not a problem, but I want to make it clear that she is a full and enthusiastic partner in this plan. We both have wanted to produce a book for years and I'll share a little of that story.

We first planned to publish a book as a birthday suprise for Momma in about 1999, when she had been doing the column for about five years. At that time it would have cost more than $25,000 to have it published by a reputable company and we would have needed to charge over $40 per book to pay for printing. It just did not seem feasible unless we cut out some columns. So, with that the option we discussed it with Momma and she didn't want to cut any columns. At that point we set the project aside.

As time moved forward and self-publishing became so affordable, I should have moved on the project and got out a book before Momma's death. She would have enjoyed having that on the market so much. However, I had no experience with self-publishing and was wary of the process. I had been blessed in that my books were solicited by the publisher, and the two or three submissions rejected by publishers I took as a sign those books didn't need to see the light of day. Plus, if you are familiar with the "publish or perish" rules of academia, you know that self-published books or vanity press books don't count in the academic world. So I hadn't used that process and I guess in some ways was too arrogant to consider going that way.

When I signed my contract for my most recent book, I had a verbal agreement with my editor that she would "pitch" a Cameo book to the publisher. I tried to get her to take on the Cameo book before my Echo book, but the marketing strategy of the company made them reluctant to publish a book by a deceased author. Then, my book did not sell very well, so the chance to get Momma's book commercially published, at least by that company, died.

After Brother Bill Ichter self-published his book, I decided it was time to tackle getting Momma's columns published. Suzanne and I have been sorting out which columns to include in the book. When we gave Momma her surprise 85th birthday party (of course we didn't dream when we gave that party it would be her last, but were so glad we made it an occasion) we asked the guests to tell us their favorite Cameo. So, we have a tentative list in mind. Suzanne is a talented artist and she will come up with a cover design.

I wanted to test the self-publishing first, so I am about half-way through a small project I will publish first, to "test the ropes." With my semester ending this week, I hope to have it wrapped before the end of May. At that point, I will move full force into the Cameo project. Many of Momma's columns are already in the computer, and the others will just need to be scanned in and formatted. So, the process won't take much time. Currently, I hope to have the book out in time for this Christmas.

I know that so many people loved Momma's columns. We used to joke about that, people loved and nearly memorized her columns, while mine basically put most folks to sleep. (My favorite story was the well-meaning gentleman who we saw in the Doctor's office after my first two pictoral histories were published. He told me he had received my book for Christmas, but had not yet been able to finish reading the book. This was in April and, of course, the punch line is that those first two books were just 125 pages of pictures with captions. No text. I had to wonder if he had even opened the book. LOL!!!) My eventual hope is to get most of Momma's columns published in book form with subsequent volumes to follow the first. The key will be to find out the "magic number" of columns to include in each book where there will be enough material but not so much to make it too expensive.

But for Momma's Cameo fans, a book is coming, I promise.

Questions, questions, questions.

Another new batch of questions, I'm not so much looking for answers this time, because I really haven't worked on these, but it's amazing how one conversation on local history can produce so many questions as it moves forward.

At Tuesday night's meeting of the Dorcheat Historical Association Board the question came up if we had a photo of one of the actual steamboats that were used on Bayou Dorcheat during the roughly 75 years of the local steamboat era. Most people associate the word steamboat with images of the massive ornate boats like those used by modern-day casinos or in the movies. The reality is that the packet boats that frequented streams like Dorcheat were much smaller, simply because of the shallow draft necessary to travel in such streams, and not nearly so attractive. While so far as I know there is not an existing image of a boat that definitely was used on Dorcheat, there are images of similar boats. In fact Eric Brock and Gary Joiner compiled a photo book on Red River Steamboats for Arcadia Press a few years ago. It is no longer in print, but I'm sure Gary still has access to the images. So, that question is answered; however, it led to so many others.

The discussion turned to steamboat wrecks on Dorcheat and if any are still visible at times, like now, of low water. We know there was one wreck in the area of the old Highway 80 bridge on Dorcheat, extremely visible as late as the 1940s. The general consensus of those involved in the discussion -- Richard Campbell whose mother saved so much Webster Parish history and Larry Milford, who grew up in the McIntyre Community -- was that some of the remains of that wreck are still visible, just south of the "new" Highway 80 bridge. Moving on, we talked about another group of wood debris visible just south of the Interstate 20 bridge over the Bayou. We were not so sure about that one, Richard, who has much more experience with the Bayou than I, thinks that is merely tree stumps.

That led to another interesting discussion about an old bridge that formerly crossed Bayou Dorcheat. In the years prior to the digging of the bar pits and the creation of the Louisiana Ordnance Plant there was another road that ran in the area south of the Interstate and north of Highway 164 that bridged Bayou Dorcheat. I've heard about this for years, but have not yet found a map that indicates where the road started and where it ended, but the bridge is long gone.

That idea turned us to a discussion of the Overton Cemetery and the sad destruction of so much of the cemetery over the last 50+ years. The interesting question raised was one I had never fully considered. We know where the cemetery is located, but where was the town in relation to the cemetery? Clearly it sat on the Bayou, but north or south of the cemetery? My educated guess would be south, as if it were located much north of the cemetery it would leave very little room for the old Middle Landing on Dorcheat. Overton was the lower landing, then there was the middle landing which stood at the terminus of the extended route of today's Middle Landing Street, and finally the upper landing at Murrell's Point, which was on the east bank of Dorcheat at approximately the site of the "old" Highway 80 bridge. (Of course another question is precisely where was that landing?)

So, it is pretty amazing to see so many historical questions arise out of a casual conversation. Just another reminder of how much history there remains to learn. (Which is a wonderful job assurance for a history teacher . . . .)