By Brad Dison

In the late 1960s, Lee was a young piano player in a band which performed on military bases. Lee and the other band members enjoyed playing for the troops, and they got varying responses. Sometimes the crowds were well-behaved, but on other occasions it was “high times and flying furniture.” Lee and the other members of the band preferred something in between. While onstage, the band enjoyed themselves. Offstage, however, they were bored. There was little for the band to do offstage to entertain themselves. The monotony of the military bases drove the band to long bouts of boredom. Lee remembered that all of the buildings and people in uniform looked alike.

After their late show one night at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which ended around 2 a.m., the band sat around their van talking. Their conversation varied from topic to topic and, somehow, they got on the subject of learning to drive. Lee explained that he had never driven an automobile. There they found an escape from the monotony.

Lee was from a poor, broken home. His parents had split up while Lee was an infant, and, shortly after his father left, his mother abandoned him. He lived a short time with his impoverished grandparents who were unable to take proper care of the young child. They sent him away to a boarding school at the age of five. It was at school that Ronnie Lee discovered his love and talent for music.

The band members poured into the band’s van. The parking lot was deserted by that time, which offered Lee the perfect place to learn to drive without obstructions. Lee sat in the driver’s seat. Guitarist Stan Reece sat behind Lee to give him instructions. The other band members were just along for the ride. Stan explained that he would push on Lee’s left shoulder to turn left, would push on his right to turn right, and would tell him when to speed up or slow down. What could go wrong?

Lee struggled to drive the band’s van. Rather than soft, fluid motions, Lee jerked the wheel left and right. Lee overcorrected each time Stan pushed on one of Lee’s shoulders. Stan told Lee to slow down and he slammed on the brakes. The van came to a screeching halt. The drummer flew from the back seat into the console between the front seats, and decided it would be safer for him to walk.

With one less passenger, Lee decided to leave the safety of the parking lot and drive on the street. Lee had just a single turn from the main street of the base to get to their hotel. No one objected. They drove down Bragg Boulevard in a sort of zig-zag pattern. As they neared the exit gate of the base, the few cars that were in front of them suddenly stopped. Just as before, Lee brought the van to a screeching halt. At the front of the line of cars, a military policeman glanced back at the van then turned back to the car nearest him. MPs had set up a roadblock to check for drunk drivers and were checking everyone’s driver’s license.

Lee, who was driving without a license, had no opportunity to switch places with any of the passengers. Lee had no choice but to face the consequences. He slowly pulled forward. When he reached the front of the line, the MP told him to exit the car, something he had not done with the other drivers. Lee politely and respectfully followed all of the MP’s instructions. The MP asked to see Lee’s driver’s license. Lee replied that he had not planned to drive that night and left his license in his hotel room. The MP became furious and scolded him for driving on the base without his license. Lee calmly explained that he and the band had played a gig for the soldiers on the base and the other members of the band were too intoxicated to drive back to the hotel. The MP’s anger subsided.

Lee knew the MP had seen him weaving while driving and assumed the MP thought he had been drinking. The MP spoke with Lee for a few minutes to make sure he was sober, and finally allowed him to continue on his way. The MP told Lee not to ever let him see him driving that way again. As soon as Lee pulled the van out of sight of the MPs, he pulled over and Johnny Christopher, the bass player, drove the rest of the way to the hotel.

That was Lee’s first and last time driving an automobile. To this day, Lee tells the story of his Fort Bragg driving lesson with a smile on his face. Lee still laughs at how he was too embarrassed to tell the MPs that he was guilty of driving while blind. For the blind man behind the wheel that night at Fort Bragg, who is credited with thirty-five number one country hits, whose middle name is Lee, was six-time Grammy Award winner Ronnie Milsap.

Source:
Ronnie, Milsap. Almost Like a Song. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1990.

The Natchitoches Soil & Water Conservation Tree and Shrub Sale, March 11-13 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the vacant lot at the corner of St. Clair Ave and Williams Ave in Natchitoches.

There will be a variety of bare root and potted trees and shrubs, including River Birch, Live Oak, Sawtooth Oak, Strawberry Bush, Chinquapin, White, and pink Dogwood, Crape Myrtle, Fern, Azalea, Native Azalea, Gardenia, Hydrangea Red, Indian Hawthorne, Sweet Olive, Sago Palm, Mayhaw, Apple, Peach, Pear, Plum, Blueberry, Fig, Grafted Pecans, Satsumas, Lemon, Avocado, Pomegranate, Paw-Paw and others.

The tree sale is the NSWCD’s largest fund-raiser of the year. All proceeds benefit the community through sponsoring area projects including: conservation essay, and soil and water stewardship week, conservation education programs, forestry awareness and restoration of wildlife habitats and feral hog control.

For more information call 357-8366, ext 3, or email benny.dobson@la.nacdnet.net or brandy.hinds@la.nacdnet.net . Go to our district website http://www.nswcd.org to PRE-ORDER by clicking the shop tab under tree sale and find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. There are a limited number of seedlings available, so far best selections come early.

January 19, 1943 – February 22, 2020

Carolyn Ann Buckley Aldredge, age 77, of Natchitoches, Louisiana, passed away Saturday, February 22, 2020, at Natchitoches Regional Medical Center. The family will receive friends at the Blanchard St Denis Funeral Home in Natchitoches from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Tuesday, February 25, 2020, and the funeral services will be held at 1:00 pm in the Chapel. Interment will be at Memory Lawn Cemetery in Natchitoches.

Carolyn was born on January 19, 1943. She was a native of Natchitoches, graduated from Natchitoches High School and attended Northwestern State College. Carolyn loved helping young people, loved to dance, and often spoke fondly of the time she spent as the St. Mary’s dance line sponsor. She also enjoyed the many years she spent as a real estate agent before her retirement. Carolyn was known lovingly to her family as “MawMaw”, and adored her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was a loving, compassionate and spunky lady, a great mother, and a good friend. She will be dearly missed.

Carolyn was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Dessie Edwards Buckley; two brothers, Marvin and Roy Buckley; and two sisters, Mary Beth Greeson and Janet Radasinovich. She is survived by her three sons, J. Corwyn Aldredge, Jr. and wife Missy of Natchitoches, Jason K. Aldredge of Natchitoches, and J. Trevor Aldredge and wife Heather of Colfax; seven grandchildren, Justin C Aldredge and wife Stacey of Natchitoches, Ashley Brooks and husband Lawrence of West Monroe, Katie Aldredge of College Station, Texas, Austin Aldredge of North Little Rock, Arkansas, Tucker Aldredge of Alexandria, Paige Aldredge of Baton Rouge, and Drake Aldredge of Colfax; two great-grandchildren, Tate LaCour and Boston Brooks; and two brothers, Dick Buckley of Lake O’ the Pines, Texas, and Jimmy Buckley and wife Paula of Natchitoches.

Pallbearers will be Justin Aldredge, Paige Aldredge, Drake Aldredge, Lawrence Brooks, Miller Parker, and Chris Kendrick. Honorary pallbearer will be Tucker Aldredge.

NSU– A print by Northwestern State University Professor of Art Michael Yankowski has been accepted into two national print competitions. His limited edition, hand-drawn lithographic print is entitled “He Just Couldn’t Shake the Feeling.” Entries from across the nation in a variety of print media were juried into the exhibitions. Only 50 works were accepted into each show.

The print depicts a lone figure entering an aging forest as a murder of crows assemble on the treetops.

“The image is an expression of anxiety and what the future may hold. Its stark use of black and white gives the idea an ominous vibe” said Yankowski. “I was quite surprised to have the same print selected for two national shows at the same time. It is a bit unusual. Luckily it is an edition of five.”

“Under Pressure” is a National Printmaking Exhibition at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins, Colorado which will open February 29 and run through April 11.

“Ink Matters”, also a national competition, will be on display at the University of Indiana Kokomo Art Gallery, March 6-21.

Yankowski is a senior faculty member in the Department of Creative and Performing Arts. More of his work can be seen at the Carol Robinson Gallery in New Orleans and on-line at MichaelYankowski.com

Natchitoches Parish – On February 24, 2020, just after 11:30 a.m., Louisiana State Police Troop E responded to a two-vehicle, fatal crash on Louisiana Highway 174 east of Interstate 49. This crash claimed the life of a Natchitoches woman.

The initial investigation revealed a 2002 Toyota Camry, driven by 26-year-old Teshika Delry, was traveling westbound on Louisiana Highway 174. For reasons still under investigation, Delry traveled off the right side of the highway and into a ditch. Delry then overcorrected her steering which caused her vehicle to travel across the westbound travel lane and collide with a 2007 Dodge pickup truck traveling eastbound.

Delry, who was unrestrained, sustained fatal injuries in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the truck, who was properly restrained, sustained moderate injuries and was transported to a local hospital. Toxicology samples were obtained and submitted for analysis. The crash remains under investigation.

Buckling up is the most effective way to protect yourself in a crash. Failure to take a few seconds to buckle up can have devastating consequences. Louisiana law requires every person in a vehicle, regardless of seating position, to be properly restrained day or night.

In 2020, Troop E has investigated seven fatal crashes resulting in eight deaths.

Natchitoches Parish Sheriffs Deputies, Red River Parish Sheriffs Deputies, Natchitoches Regional Medical Center EMS, Red River EMS, Natchitoches Parish Coroners Office and La DOTD also responded to the the scene to assist Louisiana State Police.

By Kevin Shannahan

Ms. Ethel Anderson is our community’s newest homeowner. She partnered with the Natchitoches Fuller Center for Housing and on Saturday, February 22 was presented with the release of mortgage documents that state her home is completely paid off.

Ms. Anderson, and her late husband Wilson, signed the note to purchase her home in February of 2005. Her years of diligent sacrifice paid off as she became the first fully paid owner of one of the Fuller Houses in the Natchitoches area.

The Fuller Center for Housing is a faith based non profit that opened in 2005. They currently operate in 70 communities in the United States as well as 20 countries. Their mission is to partner with individuals in need of housing and assist them in achieving their goals. The homes are built with volunteer labor. The homeowner puts in 300 hours of labor in building alongside the community volunteers. The Fuller Center does everything possible to keep the cost of materials and land down so the greatest number of people may become partners in homebuilding. The homeowner signs an interest free mortgage to repay the costs incurred. The Fuller Center makes no profit from the sale. In fact, the payments are turned around and used to build more homes. The homeowners are actually helping other people achieve their dreams when they make each mortgage payment.

The Fuller Center is a superb organization that is making our community a better place. They are men and women of every race and background who saw a need and are doing something about it. If you would like to donate, volunteer or otherwise join the men and women of the Fuller Center for Housing in changing lives and making our community a better place, please contact Jim Roberts at 318-554-8225. You may also get more information at fullercenter.org.

The Natchitoches Parish Journal wishes to extend its best wishes to Ms. Anderson on this wonderful and well earned occasion. May the Lord grant you many years in your home!

NATCHITOCHES:
Jerry Larpenter
August 13, 1930 – February 21, 2020
Service: Tuesday, March 3 at 2 pm at Friendship Church of the Nazarene in Robeline

Will Smith
March 26, 1951 – February 21, 2020
Arrangements TBA

Steve Wiggins
May 14, 1948 – February 21, 2020
Visitation: Thursday, February 27 from 3:30-5:30 pm at Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home in Natchitoches

Crawford Ficklin, Jr.
February 23, 2020
Service: Saturday, February 29 at 11 am at the First United Methodist Church, located at 411 Second Street in Natchitoches

Mary Jane Jackson Parker
February 22, 2020
Service: Saturday, February 29 at 9 am at Winnfield Memorial Funeral Home Chapel, located at 318 North Street in Natchitoches

Carol Taylor Mondello
November 09, 1938 – February 19, 2020
Service: Tuesday, February 25 at 10 am at St. Francis Catholic Church in Powhattan
Interment: Catholic Cemetery Mausoleum in Natchitoches

Anna Lou Evans Beasley
February 7, 1918 – February 18, 2020
Service: Saturday, February 29 at 2 pm at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home in Natchitoches
Interment: Weaver Cemetery in Flora

Cleveland Lewis
February 15, 2020
Arrangements TBA

Widely known business and community leader, Steve Wiggins, died peacefully and surrounded by family in his Natchitoches home Friday after a lengthy illness. He was 71.

Visitation is scheduled for Thursday, February 27, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home in Natchitoches. There will be an Air Force Honor Guard presentation for the family prior to the visitation, and private services will be scheduled at a later date.

Charles Stephen Wiggins was born May 14, 1948, at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas. In 1953, his widowed mother moved to Shreveport, Louisiana with him and his younger brother. He attended St. Theresa’s Grade School and Church where he made many life-long friends. He started high school at Jesuit High School, where he played defensive cornerback on the football team and was one of only three sophomores to letter. In 1964, his family moved to Seville, Spain, where he completed high school at Sevilla American Dependent High School. He attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and later received a degree in electronics at Northwestern State in Natchitoches, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.

Upon graduation, he attended Officer Training School at Lackland Air Force Base. As a commissioned second lieutenant, Steve was then assigned to Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas for pilot training, which he completed and was awarded his Silver Wings in 1972. He served in the U.S. Air Force as an aircraft pilot of C-141 transporters until 1975.

Following his military service, Steve joined Miller Brewing Company in Shreveport and later became a partner in Natchitoches Beverage, the distributor for Miller Beer and other products. With his gregarious personality and countless friends and associates in every realm of society, Steve was an enthusiastic and productive ambassador for Natchitoches Beverage and, as he liked to a say, a walking billboard for the company’s signature brand Miller Lite. This partnership and his love of the community enabled him to generously support the athletic programs and other activities at Northwestern and local schools, civic organizations and numerous events and projects that supported the city and region. Steve and friends initiated football tailgating activities at Northwestern. He was also an avid supporter of the Lady Demon basketball team. He was a long time member of the Mystic Krewe de St. Denis, the city’s first Mardi Gras krewe and was active in Ducks Unlimited.

Steve lived for years on his beloved Cane River Lake and started the popular Dam Run in the 1980’s, where boaters would make the run from his boathouse to the dam on the south end of the lake in celebration of July 4th, followed by the Bloody Mary Run the following morning to the North dam. He was long recognized as the “unofficial captain” of the rollicking event.

From water skiing and barge rides on the Cane, bass fishing at Toledo Bend, cooking for crowds and family get-togethers, defying gravity in his ultra-light aircraft (surviving multiple crash landings), playing in fund-raising golf tournaments, making friends and having fun all along the way, Steve lived life to the fullest.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Lloyd Clayton Wiggins and Juanita Bordelon Moberley.

He is survived by his wife, Kim Campbell Patton Wiggins; daughter Shelly Wiggins Kendrick and husband Chris of Natchitoches; son Scott Wiggins of Blowing Rock, N.C.; brother, Rick Wiggins and wife Margaret of Marietta, GA.; sister, Dona Moberley Cardenas and husband Gabriel of Dunwoody, GA.; grandchildren, Cole and Kailyn Kendrick, and nephews, Jason, Eric and Travis Wiggins, and Nicolas and Alejandro Cardenas.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Northwestern State Athletic Department through the Demons Unlimited Foundation in Steve’s memory.

The family would like to thank the staff at The Hospice of Natchitoches for their kindness, care and support, especially Marie, Haley, and Dorcus. To all of his friends and family that came to visit and express their love and support, we are eternally grateful. He was truly blessed to have you in his life!

Kevin’s Gallery

The streets of Natchitoches were lined by thousands of area residents and visitors who came to be a part of what has rapidly become one of the most enjoyable events in our city, the Krewe of Dionysos Mardi Gras parade on February 22. The parade, a fixture of Natchitoches life for over 20 years, featured the Krewe of Dionysos and the Krewe of Excellence with their signature “Soul Train”. The Red River High School, Lakeview and Natchitoches Central Bands provided a non stop musical accompaniment to the festivities. The Shriners were also on hand with their colorful clown costumes and mini cars and were joined by area beauty queens and the Christmas Belles. Natchitoches Regional Medical Center’s Armadillo Mascot made his debut promoting the upcoming Steel Magnolias 5K Run. The Natchitoches Tribe of Louisiana joined other local groups in the parade. The Lakeview High School Air Force Junior ROTC Color Guard led the parade as it has done for the past several years.

This year’s parade had some special guests. The Southern Conference of the College Band Directors National Association was holding its 2020 conference in Natchitoches and was hosting a meeting at the Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest History Museum building. They had a perfect viewing spot for the parade in front of the museum.

The krewe members on the colorfully decorated floats drew from a seemingly endless supply of beads and trinkets for the delighted crowd. Mardi Gras parades are one of the things that makes life in Louisiana so special. Natchitoches’ parade is a true delight for bead aficionados of all ages.

Harriet Tubman’s life is an inspirational story of a woman with an indomitable spirit, deep and abiding religious faith and steadfast courage who overcame incredible hardships to achieve a life of dignity and freedom for herself, her family and dozens of slaves whom she led to freedom as perhaps the most well known conductor on the Underground Railroad.

She was born into slavery sometime in the early 1820’s. The exact date remains unknown. She was cruelly treated. Beaten and whipped throughout her childhood, she nearly died at age 12 from a head wound suffered when a slaveowner threw a metal weight at another slave that hit her instead. The wound left her with seizures and other problems that were to plague her for the remainder of her life.

In 1849, she discovered that her owner was planning to sell her, breaking up her family. She then fled north to freedom, eventually reaching Philadelphia. It was then that her life took a turn that was to largely define her life and lead to her fame. Not content in having won her own freedom while her family and others remained in slavery, she went back to rescue them. It was an incredibly courageous decision that was fraught with peril. Were she to be captured, she would be re-enslaved, if not killed outright. She was risking more than her life by going back. Between 1849 and 1860, she made over 13 trips to the South to lead members of her family and others to freedom. After the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act made it more dangerous for escaped slaves to live openly, even in states in which slavery was not legal, she took the men and women she was leading to freedom on the Underground Railroad to Ontario in Canada.

Harriet Tubman’s activities with the Underground Railroad led to a price being put upon her head by southern authorities. She was never captured, nor did she lose a single person in her charge to the slave-catchers and their dogs. She rescued her parents in 1857, and made her last trip as a conductor on the Underground Railroad in 1860, just before the outbreak of the Civil War. It was an incredible record of courage and honor that would be more than enough for a single lifetime. But Harriet Tubman’s struggle against the evils of slavery and oppression were far from over.

When the Civil War began in 1861, Tubman first served the Union forces as a cook and a nurse. After President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, she took a more direct role in the war. Tubman used the skills she had honed on her trips on the Underground Railroad to serve as a spy and scout for the Union Army.

In early June of 1863, Harriet Tubman accompanied units from the 2nd South Carolina Infantry under Col. James Montgomery on a raid of plantations along the Combahee River in South Carolina. The unit was comprised of Black soldiers who had at long last been allowed to join the Union Army and fight for their freedom. Tubman guided the three steamships carrying the soldiers past Confederate mines in the river. The troops landed and burned several plantations and captured supplies to deny them to the Confederacy. The slaves working in the fields saw the approaching soldiers and heard the whistles of the Union steamships. They raced to the river to the ships-and freedom. Over 750 slaves were rescued in the raid, with most of the men joining the Union Army. A month later, she witnessed the assault upon Fort Wagner by the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the unit featured in the superb movie “Glory”. Harriet Tubman spent the remainder of the Civil War nursing and assisting soldiers and working in the camps of freed slaves.

After the war, she returned to her home in Auburn, New York to care for her parents whom she had brought back from Canada. She later became involved in the women’s suffrage movement, a cause that she supported until her death of pneumonia in 1913.

Harriet Tubman left a remarkable legacy. She won her freedom and then risked it repeatedly by returning to slave states to lead others to freedom. She served the cause of the Union in combat and as a spy and scout. She nursed the sick and the wounded. Her life is a record of incredible perseverance and courage. It is also a record of selfless service to others. Perhaps her greatest legacy will never be precisely known. There are any number of our fellow Americans who are descended from the men and women she led to freedom on those long night time treks through the swamps and woods with the north star as their only guide.

It’s just not Mardi Gras in Natchitoches until the Natchitoches Humane Society’s Krewe of Wag-Uns parade rolls! The long standing local tradition rolled February 22 prior to the Krewe of Dionysus parade. This year’s parade featured family fun for all ages.

Over 75 animals, many in Mardi Gras themed costumes, joined their owners in a parade down Front Street that ended at the riverbank stage. They were joined by McGruff the Crime Dog, Sparky the Fire Dog, the D.A.R.E Lion and BOM Bank’s Monty the Owl. The three mascots engaged in a spirited dance off with the winner chosen by audience reaction. The Fire Department’s Sparky the Fire Dog took top honors in this year’s contest. BOM’s Monty and the D.A.R.E. Lion will be out for revenge next Mardi Gras. The music for this year’s festivities was provided by Bill Vance with Elite Radio Group. Queen Mutt-a-Gras and King Rex Rufus were named and prizes were awarded in such categories as best float and best costume.

The East Natchitoches Elementary School’s 4-H chapter presented the Humane Society with a range of animal care supplies donated by the hard working young men and women of the school’s 4-H members. The supplies will go a long way in assisting the local Humane Society in their mission of providing for abused and neglected animals in our area.

The Natchitoches Parish Journal congratulates the Natchitoches Humane Society for ten fun filled years for area children of all ages and is looking forward to many more.

By Lynda Hammett

I’M NOT THE ENEMY! This article has always been heavy on my heart and it is time to share it.

I became a foster parent so that I could help babies when their families couldn’t or wouldn’t take care of them. I became a foster parent because I felt like I had love to share with others.

When I sit in meetings with bio-parents I feel like the enemy. I have gotten ugly looks, been ignored, been yelled at, and just treated like crap sometimes. I understand they are upset that their children were taken and maybe they are having to face their addictions head on but I’m not the enemy.

I love every child that comes through my house like they came from me. I forgot all the time that the first two didn’t look like me and would wonder why people were staring just to look down and be reminded we didn’t match on the outside.

I’m here to help do what is right for this child. What is right for this child is that the bio-parents know what is going on with their child. I always try to share the milestones with the families. Some listen and ask questions and some completely ignore me. I bring pictures to share and hand print art they made at daycare.

I’m not the enemy!

I could be a great resource for bio-parents. I would love to communicate with them so they know what is going on with their babies.

None of my babies have gone to their bio-parents. They have all gone to other family members.

I’m here to love the babies but I’m also here to love the people that love them.

I gave my number to each of them. The first baby that left I have never heard from his family. It was hard.

The second baby left and I hear from his forever mommy several times a week. I get pictures and videos. I get to see him when they come Natchitoches and if I pass through their town I can go see them. The baby was part of our family the day he came but his forever family has become part of our family.

I’m blessed to hear from the twins as well. I get updates through texts and Facebook and get to watch them grow.

All I want is what is best for the babies. I will always love them no matter where they are. And I’m not the enemy!

By Holly Penta

The Marie Shaw Dunn Child Development Center (CDC) held their inaugural Mardi Gras parade on Friday, Feb. 21. The students have been learning about Louisiana and what exactly Mardi Gras is over the past couple of weeks. They played with beads and practiced their fine motor skills by using safety scissors to cut the beads apart. Student teachers taught lessons about how to make King Cake and beignets, teaching the kids about measurements and ingredients.

Before their own parade the students got to attend the NSU Elementary Lab parade and experience what it is like to be on the observing side of a parade. They practiced saying “Throw me something mister!” and loved trying to catch the beads.

After this, the children got ready for their own parade. Their costumes included superheroes, princesses, dinosaurs, and traditional purple, green, and gold outfits. Some made floats out of boxes while others pushed decorated toy shopping carts. Accompanied by Mardi Gras music, the kids paraded from the CDC to the NSU columns and threw beads, candy, and little toys to parents and siblings.

The students had a great time and are excited for their week off from school. Happy Mardi Gras!

Linda Dickerson, 66, has devoted 16 years of service and hospitality as employee of the Church Street Inn of Natchitoches, and she’s retiring. Linda has been with the Church Street Inn since January of 2004, shortly after the establishment opened.

Linda was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. She started working at the age of 15 with a summer work program and has been working ever since.

She moved to Natchitoches for the first time in 1982 with her husband, James Dickerson who’s from the area. Here, she spent the next six years of her life in a hate-love relationship with the southern heat and small town living.

In 1988, Linda moved to Tampa, FL where she had her first brush with hospitality and has been doing this work ever since.

In 1998, she and her husband with love to the town they left behind moved back to Natchitoches where she had several jobs over the next six years until she found herself in an economy with low job opportunities, jobless. So, she started pounding the pavement.

January, 2004, she walked into the newly opened Church Street Inn where she asked for an application. The staff told her there were none available. She left her resume. This resulted in her receiving an interview the following morning and being asked to start on the spot. The rest is history.

Over the past 16 years, Linda has been a part of the Church Street Inn family and a member of the Downtown History District business community. She has seen coworkers come and go and have made and stayed friends with many of them. When asked what she would miss most about her job, she responded, “the people I’ve worked with and the guests that I’ve met and grown to care about over the years.”

Congratulations, Linda Dickerson on your retirement. We thank you for your work and service for over 50 years

There will be a regularly scheduled meeting of the Natchitoches Parish Council on Monday, Feb. 24 at 5:30 p.m.

The meeting will be held in the Parish Council meeting room, second floor, of the Natchitoches Parish Courthouse.

You can watch the meeting LIVE on the NPJ starting at 5:30p.m. Monday.

Cane River Lake is currently at 98.5 MSL and falling. The lake is open to boating traffic, please navigate carefully after any flood event as there could be floating debris on the lake. Questions or Concerns contact Betty Fuller 318-617-3235. Remember boat safe, sober, and always wear your life jackets.

At the Rotary Club of Natchitoches’ Feb. 18 meeting, Head Football Coach Aaron York introduced Rotary Student of the Month, Evan Gandy, a Senior at St. Mary’s Catholic School. Pictured from left are Rotarian Tommy Melder, Gandy, Ray Gandy, Dawn Gandy, and Rotary President David Guillet.

Rodney Harrington was the guest speaker at the meeting. He spoke about The 24th Annual Natchitoches Jazz R&B Festival which will begin on Friday, May 15 from 5-10:30 pm and continue Saturday, May 16 from 10am-11pm. Tickets can be purchased at https://natchjazzfest.com/ or contact Julie Brewton at 318-471-5778.

Pictured from left are President David Guillet, Harrington, and Rotarian with the Program Paul Rinehart (Photos by Dr. Ron McBride).

BOMFS is a sponsor of the 5th Annual Dylan Kyle Poche Memorial Bass Tournament. Pictured left to right: Karen Gardner, Reba Phelps, Shelly Poche, Burt Poche, Darlene Knecht and Gina Banks. For more information about the tournament please visit dylankylepoche.com.

Northwestern State University’s second Living Library presentation commemorated the legacy of the late Ben Johnson, an entrepreneur, civic leader, mentor and advocate in the African American community. Johnson was remembered for his quiet fortitude, business acumen and generosity. Panelists Claire Prymus, State Rep. Kenny Cox, Coushatta Mayor Dr. Johnny Cox, Edward Ward Jr. and Dr. Marcus Jones shared their experiences and memories of Johnson and the lasting impact he had on them personally and in the broader community. Dr. Vickie Parrish was moderator.

“My uncle was more of a father figure to me,” Prymus said. “His legacy continues through me. Education was paramount. He wanted to see African American youth thrive. At his core, he was a humble soul. He fostered pride and purpose. He was always wanting to help and wanting me to be better. My life’s journey was always to make him proud and be something of a small legacy to my Uncle Ben.”

Johnson was born in Campti, the oldest of 10 children, and in the 1930s launched a successful funeral home business that became one of the most prominent minority business systems in Louisiana. He was involved in government, civic affairs, youth development and many philanthropic endeavors.

Panelists shared that Johnson started out as a young man by borrowing $2.75 from friends. He was educated at the Lincoln Institute/Natchitoches Parish Training School and later at the Dallas Mortuary School. His businesses grew to include funeral homes, a life insurance company, a building service and a casket factory.

“What really impressed me about Mr. Johnson is that he started this business right on the heels of the Great Depression when food and opportunity were in short supply,” said Ward, who worked for Johnson for more than 50 years. “He had no college education, no money and had the courage to start a business. It took nine men to put that $2.75 together. He went so far beyond the norm for a young black uneducated man with no resources and made a great and lasting contribution. He was a man that we talk about, write about and pattern ourselves after.”

Johnson mentored many African American youth, including brothers Kenny and Johnny Cox in their military and public service careers and Jones, an attorney and professor at NSU.

“Mr. Johnson was a quiet man. I grew up during the Civil Rights era and I had never seen a black man like him,” Kenny Cox said. “He wanted the community to be educated. He was a conduit between black and white communities.”

Johnny Cox said Johnson mentored him as a young employee and encouraged him to always be persistent. Johnson’s influence carried over into Dr. Cox’s duties and responsibilities as the current major of Coushatta, where he has coordinated improvements to the town and encourages people to register to vote.

Jones said Johnson was his first client when he became a lawyer.

“I met Mr. Johnson was I was teaching at NSU. I had finished my master’s degree and wanted to go to law school. I had never seen an African American man who had accomplished so much and had so much money that he could give it away.” Johnson established a professorship at NSU and also donated to Grambling State University and Southern University, in addition to funding churches, ballparks and youth programs, Jones said.

“He also had one of the keenest minds,” Jones added.

“He was always willing to continue,” Ward said. “Age didn’t matter. Weather didn’t matter. He kept going and he had a vision and a plan and was willing to work himself so hard that it inspired others to work that hard. He was a foot soldier in addition to a great leader.”

Johnson received many honors throughout a lifetime of service. He was named an honorary Louisiana state senator and awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters from Northwestern State University, where he established the Ben D. Johnson Endowed Professorship in Business. He received the NAACP humanitarian services award was lauded by U.S. President Bill Clinton and South African President Nelson Mandela.

Johnson passed away in 2005. Today, his work lives on through initiatives coordinated by the Ben D. Johnson Education Center, the Legacy Youth Workforce Development Program and the Legacy Café.

“Ben Johnson: A Natchitoches Legacy” was presented by NSU’s Eugene P. Watson Library. The concept of a living library encourages individuals to share their experiences on a specific topic so that listeners get a first-hand account of what the person saw or lived through. The panels are recorded and become part of the collection that researchers can use to supplement books, journals and other traditional resources.

The next Living Library event will take place during the Fall 2020 semester and will include a panel discussion on world religions. For more information, contact Living Library coordinator Deborah Huntington at huntingtond@nsula.edu or (318) 357-6947.

Pictured: Northwestern State University hosted a Living Library events, “Ben Johnson: A Natchitoches Legacy,” featuring panelists, from left, State Rep. Kenny Cox, Dr. Johnny Cox, Claire Prymus, Edward Ward Jr. and Dr. Marcus Jones who shared stories and experiences of the late businessman, philanthropist and community leader.

Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA) Executive Director Emeritus and Faculty Emeritus Dr. Arthur Williams recently returned to campus as a guest lecturer for Prem Gongaju’s Abrahamic Faiths Class.

Williams, who taught English for 34 years at LSMSA, is a member of the Reform Jewish faith and delivered a lecture on the history and origins of Judaism, including its revolutions and holidays.

“I appreciated the first-hand knowledge and views that Dr. Art was able to provide to the class,” said Jacqueline Schlamp (’21). “It enlightened my interpretation of the religion and gave a real-life perspective to supplement the textbook.”

Gongaju’s class covers the origin and religious aspects of the Jewish and Islamic faiths.

“If Judaism is a dark brown kosher chocolate cake, Dr. Art’s lecture is the icing, whose ingredients come from the Abrahamic faiths consisting of moral and ethical recipes that few of us are familiar with but every one of us knows its superb taste,” said Gongaju.

Williams was named executive director in 1990, serving four years in the role. He was a member of LSMSA’s original English faculty and continued to teach until his retirement in 2015.

To view more of LSMSA’s unique class offerings, visit http://www.LSMSA.edu.