By Kevin Shannahan
The Natchitoches Parish Journal is offering a new feature each Friday throughout the summer. “Pieces of History” will be a look at different areas of our past. Sometimes lighthearted, sometimes serious, but always interesting, Pieces of Our History will bring the past to life.
Today’s inaugural column is drawn from the amazing collections of NSU’s superb Cammie G. Henry Archives. The archive has, among its extensive collections, a complete set of yearbooks from the old Natchitoches High School, now the site of the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts. There is a memorial in the 1942 yearbook to Bobby Willis, an alumni killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. NCHS’ award winning orchestra had a predecessor in “Carrol Gordon’s Orchesta”, mentioned in the 1941 edition of the yearbook. The columnist in me could not help but notice that the Natchitoches Parish schools once taught Latin, something I’d love to see return. The gym classes in 1955 were a tad more robust than today’s with two young men shown boxing. Take a look at the gallery. I’m sure you will recognize more than a few names!
Find Mayor Lee Posey!
Upcoming columns will feature another former school in the parish and its 1944 school play, area landmarks, events and much more!
Excellent feature! Looking forward to reading these on Friday.