The downtown riverbank area was filled Saturday, July 1 for the 2023 “Celebration on the Cane”. The fun event featured a free concert by Natchitoches’ iconic Kelli Roberts Band. The band kept the crowd happy and the dancing area in front of the stage full as they played their repertoire of classic rock.

Of course, it isn’t the Fourth of July, let alone one in Natchitoches, without fireworks. After the Kelli Roberts Band concluded their set, the fireworks show did not disappoint! The City of Natchitoches celebrated our nation’s 247th birthday with aplomb.

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The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History threw a party to celebrate ten years of chronicling our area’s history and our state’s sports heritage, Saturday, July 1. The museum’s award-winning architecture draws visitors from all over the world to our city. The LSHoF was named the number 1 new architectural project in the world when it was built in 2013, the only project to be named from North America.

About 150 visitors came by the museum’s birthday celebration to enjoy traditional Fourth of July fare and experience the new exhibits throughout the 27,500 square foot facility. In addition to displays showcasing our state’s rich athletic heritage, there are items chronicling the history of the local area surrounding Natchitoches. There is also a gallery entitled “Southern Soul” highlighting Louisiana’s folk artists.

The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History is a superb addition to our area’s diverse tourism attractions. The museum offers quality family fun for a very modest admission fee.

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A mix of size, scoring ability and multiple all-conference and all-American honors make up the latest group of signees for Northwestern State women’s basketball. 

Fourth-year head coach Anna Nimz announced the addition of four transfers and one incoming freshman on Friday to add to the growing list of newcomers for the upcoming 2023-24 season. 

Three of the players making their way to Natchitoches played their prep ball in the New England area before embarking on their junior college journeys – Jordan Brown (Plainsboro, N.J.), Niaisya Ervin (Newark, N.J.) and Nicole Parks (Fall River, Mass.). 

Brown averaged 20.2 points and earned Colonial Valley Conference First-Team honor as a senior in high school before going to Odessa College. After appearing in 30 games her freshman season she transferred to South Plains College where she made 22 starts, helping the Lady Texans to as high as a No. 3 ranking in the NJCAA Division I rankings, win the NJCAA Region V title and make the quarterfinals of the national tournament during the 2020-21 season. 

She averaged 9.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists, scoring in double figures 12 times including a career-high 14-point outing against Frank Phillips College. 

Brown’s fellow new Demon from the Garden State, Niaisya Ervin, was an all-conference player for each of her junior college stops out of high school. 

Ervin earned a Second-Team All-Southern Conference honor at Miami Dade in her freshman season where she made 17 starts across 29 appearances, shooting 45 percent from the field and averaging 7.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. 

The 5-foot-10 guard upped her production after moving on to Three Rivers College in Missouri where she earned a Second-Team All-MCCAC honor a year ago with 7.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. 

She reached double digits on 10 different occasions including to separate streaks of three or more straight games with 10+ points, helping the team to an at-large bid to the NJCAA National Tournament. 

A transfer from Colgate, Nicole Parks makes her way to NSU after one season as a Raider where she appeared in 17 games in her rookie year. She scored a season-high 14 points on a 7-for-7 shooting performance against Lafayette on Jan. 28 and grabbed a season-high nine rebounds against Oswego State on December 17. 

The 6-footer scored 1,000 points in her prep career at St. George’s School and was named a New England Prep School Athletic Council All-Conference player, NEPSAC Class B All-Star and earned an Independent School League Council All-League award as a senior.  

Another east coast product that will make her way to NSU, originally from Miami, is two-time all-American scoring guard Andrea Torres. 

Torres led her Palm Beach State squad in scoring in each of the past two seasons with a 16.1 per game clip a year ago, shooting better than 40 percent from the field and from beyond the arc for the season. She had 20 or more points in six of the first seven games in the month of January and reached double figures in all but three games on the year with eight total 20-point games. 

Her effort helped the Panthers win their first NJCAA Region VIII Division II title in program history and the first title for any sport in school history. 

As a freshman, Torres earned her first all-American honor by averaging 21.8 points per game with 10 games of more than 20 points, three with more than 30 including a career-best 51-point outburst against Miami Prep on Jan. 22, 2022. 

Torres went 22-for-33 from the field in the game and 4-for-9 from beyond the arc, outscoring Miami Prep in the second half 26-25 on her own. 

One of just two true freshmen in this year’s class for Nimz, international post presence Ane Astarloa adds more depth around the basket for the Demons entering the 23-24 season. 

The 6-foot-3 center hails from Berriz in Northern Spain where she prepped at nearby Fray Juan de Zumarraga. She will be one of three international players on the team, joining fellow European, sophomore Ivona Miljanic and Australian Sharna Ayres.

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While Gracie Armstrong was a member of Northwestern State for a single season, she left a mark among legends at the university, and that continued Friday, as she was named Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s All-Louisiana Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. 

Armstrong leads four Lady Demons on the first team, as she was joined by Olivia Draguicevich, Natalee Henry and Chloe DeShazer, which was voted on by sports information directors in the state and media members. 

Armstrong, who is currently playing overseas with Austria’s FC Pinzgau, is the second NSU athlete in as many seasons to be named All-Louisiana Player of the Year, joining Draguicevich, who won it following the 2021 season. 

A transfer from Colorado State, Armstrong scored 26 points en route to being named Southland Conference Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. She tallied nine goals and eight assists. 

Her eight assists led the conference and were 25th nationally, leading the Lady Demons to a 12-4-3 season, their second-best winning percentage in program history and a second-place finish in the conference. 

Even after being named the conference player of the year, she turned it up a notch in the conference tournament, scoring four goals and being named to the all-tournament team. 

A repeat selection, Draguicevich capped off her remarkable NSU career by leading the conference in points with 28 (21st nationally), earning her a second consecutive SLC Forward of the Year honor. 

She finished her career by owning NSU career records in career goals scored (37), conference goals scored (25), game-winning goals (17) and conference game-winning goals (14). The native of Pflugerville, Texas, tallied a hat trick against Southeastern Louisiana in her final home game to break the goals record, one of three hat tricks recorded in 2022 by Draguicevich. 

Natalee Henry had her hand in both the offense and defense. She recorded three goals and six assists for 12 points, the third-most on the team. That total only trailed Armstrong and Draguicevich on the tean, helping lead the Lady Demons score their most goals (44) since 2005. Her six assists ranked in the top 100 nationally. 

The SLC First Team All-Conference selection helped lead a back line that held opponents to five or fewer shot attempts in 13 of the 19 games.  

DeShazer was voted as the goalkeeper on the All-Louisiana First Team. It is the third consecutive season an NSU keeper was honored on the team, joining Acelya Aydogmus, who was chosen to the team following both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. 

She was a stalwart in net for the Lady Demons, playing every minute of every game. The Colorado-Colorado Springs transfer surrendered just 14 goals for a .73 goals against average, which was the second-best mark in the SLC and second in program history for a single season. 

DeShazer posted eight shutouts in 2022, which was the third-most in school history for a single season. The Second Team All-SLC selection recorded one of her shutouts at Lamar for the only defeat of the regular season for the Cardinals. 

In addition to the four players named to the first team, Hallie Field and Nicole Henry were also honorable mention selections. 

The pairing was instrumental for the NSU defense that contributed to eight shutouts and limited shot attempts for opponents. Field aided the offense as well, scoring five goals, which was third on the team. She also recorded a goal in three straight games, which helped her earn SLC Offensive Player of the Week.  

The four members on the team are the most out of any school. LSU was the only other school with multiple athletes selected with three. 

LSU collected the other two superlatives, as Ida Hermannsdottir was named freshman of the year and Sian Hudson garnered coach of the year honors. 

2022 All-Louisiana Women’s Soccer Team
Player of the Year: Gracie Armstrong, Northwestern State
Newcomer of the Year: Gracie Armstrong, Northwestern State
Freshman of the Year: Ida Hermannsdottir, LSU
Coach of the Year: Sian Hudson, LSU 

First Team
Name | School | Pos. | Cl. | Hometown
Gracie Armstrong | Northwestern State | MF | Gr. | Broomfield, Colo.
Ida Hermannsdottir | LSU | MF | Fr. | Reykjavik, Iceland
Mya Guillory | Southeastern | MF | Sr. | Prairieville, La.
Flavie Dube | Louisiana Tech | F | Fr. | Ottawa, Ont., Canada
Lindsi Jennings | LSU | D | Sr. | Conroe, Texas
Emma Monnet | Louisiana Christian | F | So. | Yzeure, France
Wasila Diwura-Soale | LSU | MF | Sr. | Accra, Ghana
Inge Konst | ULM | F | So. | Balk, Netherlands
Olivia Draguicevich | Northwestern State | F | Sr. | Pflugerville, Texas
Natalee Henry | Northwestern State | D | Gr. | Tomball, Texas
Chloe DeShazer | Northwestern State | GK | Sr. | Kansas City, Mo.

Honorable Mention: Hallie Field, Northwestern State; Emma Jones, Louisiana Tech; Lena Goppel, ULM; Angelina Thoreson, LSU; Kalli Matlock, Louisiana Tech; Nicole Henry, Northwestern State; Mara Grutkamp, ULM; Gabby McDonald, Centenary; Rachel Young, McNeese; Karleen Bedre, Louisiana; Mollie Swift, LSU.  

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By Brad Dison

Milton Teagle was born and raised in the French Quarter of New Orleans.  Milton was an overweight child.  As a toddler, people stared just a little too long at Milton, but he paid them no attention.  When he started school, he was subjected to cruel, merciless teasing by some of his classmates.  Milton acted as if their teasing had no effect on him, but inside, Milton was crumbling.  The only comfort he found was from eating the wonderful foods of his hometown.  It was a vicious, seemingly unending cycle in which the teasing led to eating and the eating led to more teasing.

To help his struggling family— his father worked in a thrift store and his mother sold cosmetics— eight-year-old Milton began selling sweet treats at Leah’s Pralines, a candy shop located in the heart of the French Quarter and just four blocks from his home.  Working in a candy shop did not help with his weight problem. 

The relentless teasing continued throughout Milton’s high school years.  By the time he graduated from high school, he stood 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed nearly 270 pounds.      

Friends from his youth remembered him as being likable and hilarious.  He was always teasing and joking around.  Antoiniette Di Piazza, a childhood friend of Milton’s, said “You could always tell sometimes at school when he was younger, he would try to hold back tears.  I felt for him.  The boys would just pick on him because of his weight,” but he was “one of the nicest, sweetest, most humane people.  I just can’t begin to tell you how big his heart was.”  Milton once told a reporter, “You know how they teach you early on that ‘Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you?’ Well, that’s a lie.”

After his high school graduation, Milton attended the Dominican Seminary in Iowa where he planned to become a priest.  Two years into the program, Milton decided that he was not suited for the priesthood. Milton was searching for direction in his life, and that direction appeared in a simple handwritten note.  One day, Milton was walking to his car when he noticed a handwritten note under the windshield wipers.  Written on the note was, “Fat people die young.  Please don’t die. Anonymous.”  Milton tried to brush off the note, but the words kept replaying in his mind. 

Milton did not want to die.  He realized that being overweight was hazardous to his health and he wanted to do something about it.  For over two months, Milton lived off a diet of just lettuce and water.  His weight began to plummet from nearly 270 to about 110 pounds.  Because of his crash diet, Milton suffered from bulimia and anorexia.  He began to lose his hair and, by losing more than half of his body weight, his skin hung from his body.  Milton realized he needed help and checked himself into a hospital. 

During his recovery, Milton got a crash course in nutrition and health from his doctors and nurses.  Milton wanted to know more.  He began to read everything he could find on the subject.  At first, he sought out the information for his own wellbeing.  As his health improved, he decided to find a way to help others who were like him to find a healthier way to live.  Milton considered a career in medicine so he could learn more about the human body, but he changed his mind because he hated the idea of “dead bodies and blood.” 

Milton worked at a number of jobs and considered different career paths, but sharing his experience and knowledge of health and nutrition were always on his mind.  He developed a philosophy of “love yourself, move your body, and watch your portions.”  In the 1970s, Milton moved to Los Angles and began working as a maître d’hôtel for an upscale Beverly Hills restaurant called Derek’s.  Milton wanted to join a fitness center to improve his health even more, but he felt uncomfortable because all of the fitness centers seemed to be geared towards customers who were already physically fit. 

With minimal experience in the restaurant field and the knowledge he gained about health and nutrition, Milton opened a salad bar and adjoining fitness center called “Ruffage.”  His clients included some Hollywood stars, but unlike the other fitness centers, Milton made an effort to make clients of all sizes feel welcome.  He began a program called the “Anatomy Asylum” which provided training on healthy eating, portion control, and fun exercises in a supportive environment.  Because of his supportive nature, his wonderful personality, and his fitness classes, Milton guest starred on the daytime soap opera General Hospital.  From there, Milton was often a guest star on numerous talk shows hosted by Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, Phil Donahue, David Letterman, and Howard Stern.  In 1980, Milton got his own television show which featured exercise routines, discussions about health topics, and comedy.  At its peak, the show was broadcast in over 200 countries. 

It all started with a handwritten note which said, “Fat people die.  Please don’t die.”  As a child, Milton went by the nickname Dickie.  In his twenties, Milton adopted his uncle’s name, Richard.  If you have never participated in one of his many programs, you certainly know the phrase “Sweating to the Oldies.”  You also know Milton Teagle “Richard” Simmons. 

Sources:

1.     “How Richard Simmons’ Childhood Shaped Him.” People Magazine, 2017,people.com/health/richard-simmons-childhood-fitness-guru-new-orleans/.

2.     “Get Your Aerobic Outfit On and Enjoy the Life Story of Richard Simmons,” by Jack Lorre, Fansided, 2022.  https://en.onechicagocenter.com/view/?id=richard-simmons-life-occ&src=.

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With temperatures reaching the triple digits, Northwestern State University’s annual Hotter ‘N Hell Art Exhibition is opening at the perfect time.  

The show will open July 5 in NSU’s Orville Hanchey Gallery and run through September with a closing reception from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8. Gallery hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m.-noon Fridays. 

The Hotter ‘N Hell Exhibition encompasses all art forms that use fire and heat as part of the creative process, such as ceramics, glass-casting, welded sculpture, poured metals, metalsmithing and jewelry.   

The juror for Hotter ‘N Hell 2023 is Michael W. Howes of Baton Rouge. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Louisiana State University and a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Alabama. Retiring after 30 years of teaching art in Louisiana universities, Howes continues to complete commissions for private residences and public settings. In collaboration with other sculptors and designers, he has also created public art works in the cities of Covington, Franklin, Monroe and Thibodaux. 

For information on the competition, contact Hotter ‘N Hell Director and NSU Professor of Art Phyllis Lear atlearp@nsula.edu. 

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