I would like to preface this article by letting you know it might be a little long, but worth the read….enjoy!

Over my many years of fishing Pro/Am bass tournaments, I have run across some very interesting characters. For me, one of the most intriguing parts of fishing these types of tournaments is the people you meet, anglers you get to spend eight hours with inside a bass boat. It’s an opportunity to learn even if they are a novice angler in terms of skills. Most are very cordial and pleasant to be around. But then there are the ones who you can’t get out of your boat soon enough.

I’ve only had two that fall into the category of “get off my lawn” or in my case “get out of my boat!” One angler I had the pleasure of drawing was at a National Championship event on Red River. That’s right, a huge event in my backyard and I was in position to win. After day one, I was sitting in 3^rd place going into the final day just a little less than three pounds behind the leader. My day one partner (co-angler) was an awesome guy and we both had good 5-fish limits as he was sitting in 4^th on the co-angler side of the event. We had a great time and a great day while enjoying each other’s company.

Then day 2 rolled around and I drew a Tennessee co-angler who turned out to be the co-angler from hell. For me, it usually doesn’t take long to get a feel for how someone will be simply by his demeanor. Unaware of this co-angler’s crazy reputation, I had a bad feeling from the second he “jumped” into my boat, and I literally mean “jumped” into my boat. This guy was hyped up on some kind of drug or he must have had 15 cups of coffee that morning.

He had 15 rods and 4 tackle boxes along with a huge thermos ( I can only assume was coffee), almost a complete change of clothes, and enough food to feed a small nation. It was as if Boy Scout Tennessee Ted was now in my boat and prepared for any and all situations including an attack on US soil.

You must remember, this was at a time in my life when I had zero patience and a low tolerance for craziness…. which will be revealed here shortly. As I helped the angler get situated with all his gear, he started talking and pacing on the back deck of my boat at such a high rate of speed, I thought my carpet was going to catch on fire. He also spoke a language that I think was a combination of Italian and southern slang. Either way, we had trouble communicating from the start.

I was already frustrated with this guy, and we had not even left the boat dock yet. It was all I could do to prepare myself mentally for eight hours with the crazy man from Tennessee. Finally, it was time to go fishing which meant I would get at least ten minutes of peace while we ran to our first fishing spot. We stopped on the river to fish a certain piling next to a rock jetty.

This one specific piling for some reason held a good bass on it every time I fished it and was a great place to start each day. Sure enough, on my first cast I hooked a 3-pound bass and as I swung the fish into the boat Tennessee Ted decided to make a cast past the front of the boat to the same piling.

Now there are rules in most Pro/Am tournaments that don’t allow for a co-angler to make casts past the pro/boater in the front of the boat. But he decided to ignore this simple rule and proceeded to catch a 4-pound bass off the same piling, which really irritated the hell out of me! I expressed my displeasure with him and reminded him of the rule. He sincerely apologized and I reluctantly forgave him, but also reminded him to please not do that again.

So, now that he had been reminded of the rules, we made stop number two on a cut just off the river. I made one cast into the cut and caught a 2 ½ pound bass! Well low and behold, Tennessee Ted struck again by flipping his spinnerbait into the same cut past the front of the boat and catches a 3-pound bass! Now I’m really ticked off and proceeded to reprimand him with a few extra choice words that you might hear in a locker room. Once again, he gave another full apology for his bad judgment as I continued to pull the trolling motor up and head for my next stop.

Then on our fourth or fifth stop, not sure due to my state of mind, I hooked a four-pound bass on a spinnerbait and as I swung the bass into the boat, I hear a cast go within inches of my ear as his bait hit the water twenty feet in front of the boat! After I dropped my fish into the livewell, I simply reached up, grabbed his fishing line with my hand and bit his line in two! That’s right, I was done and so was the bait at the other end of his line that fluttered to the bottom of Red River like a wounded baitfish.

Tennessee Ted was in shock as I quietly stepped back onto the front deck and began to make a cast as if nothing had ever happened. I truly believe, for the first time in his life, he was speechless. He then asked me why I did that? I told him that after three warnings, I had run out of both patience and forgiveness and needed to make sure he understood what I meant by “do not cast past the front of the boat!” He was then told that if he continued to break the rules, I would not sign his weigh slip at the weigh-in, therefore getting him disqualified.

Sometimes you must take matters into your own hands (no pun intended) in order to make a point. He finally calmed down, which I think was due to the fact his thermos was empty, and he did not have a whole lot to say the rest of the day. This was music to my ears as I continued to fish hard trying to win this event. While I caught my limit for the day, I was unable to overcome the three-pound deficit, falling short by less than a pound.

Ever since this event, I have made it a point to remind all my co-anglers about specific rules they may have forgotten. So far, this has worked in my favor, saving me and my sanity, by making sure they know the rules. It’s also saved my co-anglers a few baits by getting their line bit in two! Till next time, good luck, good fishing and I hope you never have to fish with a Tennessee Ted!

Steve Graf                                                                                               

Angler’s Perspective

The City of Natchitoches held a groundbreaking ceremony for Professor Frederick M. Richardson Park, Tuesday, February 27. The park, named after long-time teacher, principal, and civic leader, Frederick M. Richardson, is undergoing significant improvements largely funded by a Love Louisiana Outdoors Grant. The park’s additions include an inclusive play set, remodeled restrooms, and a pavilion. A half court basketball court will be added in the upcoming fiscal year.

The groundbreaking ceremony featured several speakers followed by the traditional turning of the first shovelful of dirt. Mayor Williams was joined by the city council members, department heads and citizens from the neighborhood in breaking ground for the park’s revitalization.

January 1, 1977 — February 22, 2024

Chasity Dianne Hassan, 47, passed away on Thursday, February 22, 2024, at her home in Robeline, LA. She was born on January 1, 1977, in Natchitoches, LA to her parents Joseph Benson Harrell Jr. and Sherry Dianne Teague Harrell.

When the news broke more than a month ago that Sports Illustrated was laying off most of its workforce, that the end of the publication was apparently on hand, I re-lived the moment someone told me in the late 1990s that my childhood favorite Red Skelton had passed away.

Thought he’d died like 20 years before.

In the late-January days after the SI punchout, eulogies followed that were heartfelt and expected. They all brought back memories of getting SI in the mail on Wednesdays or Thursdays, back when I had pimples. 

Joy. Rapture. Day and weekend made. 

But I buried Sports Illustrated 25 years ago. Was grateful for it, mourned it, and let it go. Was semi-surprised to find out last month it was still alive.

It’s like what our SportsTalk friend John James Marshall said about Fair Grounds Field, once the siren song of summertime around here. More than a year ago, after the most recent attempt to clean it up, lots of people started telling it goodbye. JJ, who spent more time at SPAR Stadium and Fair Grounds Field than probably any of us, had made his peace with the death of the place years ago. What you see now from Interstate 20 is just concrete and bat poop and a feral cat palace and a solid illustration of political foot dragging. It ain’t Fair Grounds Field; that was a beautiful place that died a long time.

So was Sports Illustrated.

And it’s nobody’s fault. Not really. It’s one of those time things. 

Once it got its footing after its founding in 1954 until the late 1980s, SI was one of the great financial successes in the world of publishing. Its covers were iconic in the culture. It billed itself as the authority — and it was. Sports Illustrated was the Cleveland Browns of the 1940s, the Yankees of the ’50s and the Celtics of the ’60s.

It happened because the most influential guy in publishing then, Time Inc. founder Henry Luce, believe in it, even though he wasn’t a big sports fan. He hired a European sophisticate named Andre Laguerre to be the managing editor. And besides the best photographers, Laguerre hired the three or four best writers in each sport, gave them an expense account, and told them to let ’er rip, tater chip.

“Oh, I thought he should’ve been president,” Dan Jenkins, the magazine’s most influential writer ever, said of Laguerre. The whole thing was a perfect place-time-people deal as Jenkins and a pile of other semi-irreverent writers pumped in fastball after fastball.

But money changed the dynamic between players-coaches and writers. Suddenly it was more opportune for a millionaire forward from the Bucks to spend time with Willow Bay instead of with a writer.

Cable TV happened. Then the internet.

And long before that, the tone of the magazine began changing. Jenkins moved on to Playboy and Golf Digest because the new editors thought they knew more about college football and professional golf than he did. SI became more political, and while a fan of 15 can argue with his 75-year-old grandfather about whether Carlton or Spahn was the best lefthander, they can’t have a fair fight about all the hot-button issues the magazine began weighing in on.

Too much work and not enough play. Sports and Some Non-Sports Cultural Stuff Illustrated. (Boooooo…)

By Jeanni Ritchie

Ordinary Angels, a faith-based Lionsgate film, tells the true story of  “snow baby” Michelle Schmidt and the community effort to save her life after Louisville is hit by a major snowstorm during the 1994 North American cold wave.

Struggling hairdresser Sharon Stevens, played by the award-winning Hillary Swank, is the titled angel in this story, her selfless heart and no-nonsense attitude displayed as she takes on the plight of Michelle’s widowed father to save his critically ill daughter’s life.

This is a true story, not a rom-com, so expectations of a love connection between the two should be left at home. This is a selfless love, that innate desire to find meaning and make a difference when an innocent child’s life is in danger.

 This is the story of what one woman’s determination can do to move mountains. The message is that we can all make a difference in the world, that we all have something to share if we are just brave enough to do so.

Swank plays one of life’s Ordinary Angels beautifully on screen. We should all play one in real life.

Ordinary Angels is playing nationwide at a theatre near you.

Jeanni Ritchie is a journalist on a journey, drawing inspiration from pop culture as well as her faith.

Rotarian with the Program Jessica Broadway welcomed Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office Captain Jesse Taitano as guest speaker for the Feb. 27 Rotary luncheon. Taitano updated the Rotarians on the work of the Sheriff’s Office. Pictured from left are Taitano, Broadway, and Rotary President Joe Sers (Photo by Dr. Ron McBride).

The Natchitoches City Council approve the contents of the Natchitoches Next 2023 City of Natchitoches Comprehensive Master Plan for development of the City of Natchitoches and the surrounding region and the vision set forth therein, and adopting the 2023 City of Natchitoches Comprehensive Master Plan and to otherwise provide with respect thereto.

This transformative plan is a framework to address the city’s housing needs, enhance quality of life, continue the development of economic corridors, make major infrastructure improvements along the university’s edge, and renovate the medical district. This plan will be implemented over the course of the next 10 years and will be highly influential in major decisions concerning the City of Natchitoches.

Other agenda items included:

Resolution Of Support For A Grant Application Submitted To The Louisiana Office Of Community Development, For The 2023 – 2024 Community Water Enrichment Fund (CWEF) Grant For The City Of Natchitoches

Advertise And Accept Bids Consisting Of Fuel Facility Improvements, Airport Improvement Program No. 3-22-0034-031-2024 (BID NO.0666)

• The next scheduled City Council meeting will be March 11, 2024.

The City of Natchitoches released a proposed short-term rental ordinance and is asking members of the public to provide comments and/or suggested changes to this proposed ordinance. The comment period is a two week period ending on March 10. Residents may read and provide comments on this proposed law by accessing this link: www.natchitochesla.gov/elementor-10814/

Loralie Burris is an accomplished employee of City Bank & Trust with more than 25 years of experience in banking. She graduated from one of the top Universities in the Philippines and completed her bachelor’s degree in industrial psychology. She also completed an associate degree in general studies and graduated with honors in the United States.

Loralie has established her career as a Vice President-Branch Manager for Caddo-Bossier. She has a well-crafted reputation as a dedicated Christian, daughter, wife, sister, and leader in all aspects of her life.

Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, working out, reading, traveling with her husband Charles, and spending time with her puppy, Sparkle.

At its Feb. 26 meeting, the Natchitoches City Council  presented a “You Made a Difference” Award to Pastor Doris May Bioner, who takes of her own resources and does kinds things throughout the community. Her dedication and generosity has enriched many lives, young and old.

Bioner was surprised by the recognition and expressed her heartfelt thanks to everyone.

A week ago, my NPJ column stated that “perception is reality” and the prevailing perception is that Natchitoches has a crime issue.

Over the past six weeks, I have visited with citizens in all four city districts and the concern is consistent. I repeatedly hear phrases like “this isn’t the town I grew up in” and “I am worried about my town.” I also have received considerable feedback validating the premise of last week’s column. Furthermore, 97 percent of responses to last week’s NPJ poll asking if crime is increasing were affirmative.

Getting a handle on crime creates opportunities which, when combined with the strategic “Natchitoches NEXT” plan, will truly make the sky the limit for Natchitoches.

A safe and secure city generates the following:

• Higher tourism (and more return visitors) pouring more tax dollars into the city.
• More retirees moving here for their “golden years.” Keep in mind that being home to a university with all it has to offer is especially attractive to those individuals.
• A larger university enrollment. Parents do their research and want to know that their child is safe and sound. More students mean a better bottom line for local businesses and an NSU regional economic impact that will grow from the current mark of $520 million.
• Businesses and companies moving here because they have a comfort level with their employees (and their families) relocating here…and best believe that they will be doing their research before committing to “setting up shop” here.
• Last but certainly not least, peace of mind for residents.

Again, continuing to expand law enforcement staff and focusing on retaining them (compensation) is imperative. Youth mentoring programs such as Big Brothers and Sisters and the rejuvenated Boys and Girls Club of Louisiana are positive. The announcement last Thursday of a renewed emphasis on enforcing curfew by the NPD will be effective. Everyone, from the mayor to city council to law enforcement officers to the community must, however, do more. See last week’s column for some of my thoughts on this and, by the way, one of them was enforcing curfew.

The horse will never be 100 percent dead but nonetheless, we must start beating it.

Final reminder – the voter registration deadline for the upcoming election is this Saturday, March 2 and must be completed on-line at vote.gov. Early voting is from March 9-16 and Election Day is March 23.

Paid for by the Greg Burke Campaign

The Lakeview girls’ great season ended in the state semifinals Monday in Hammond, but the top-seeded Gators’ boys team joins the parish’s other highly-ranked boys basketball squads in home playoff games tonight.

In Division I Non-Select, fifth-seeded Natchitoches Central plays host to old rival West Monroe (seeded 21st) in the Teepee on the Highway 1 Bypass.

Across town, St. Mary’s begins its playoff push as the No. 4 seed in Division IV Select by hosting No. 13 Opelousas Catholic on East Fifth Street.

Outside of Campti, the No. 1 Lakeview boys begin their Division IV Non-Select postseason run against 16th-seeded Ferriday.

All three games tip off at 6:30.

Monday, the Lakeview girls ran into one of the state’s better teams in any division, Arcadia, and were overwhelmed late in a 60-29 loss in a Division IV Non-Select semifinal at Marsh Madness.

The Lady Gators, who finished with a 26-4 record, were the No. 5 seed but just could not withstand the Lady Hornets’ pressure defense. Lakeview made just 22 percent of its shots as Arcadia (30-3) allowed very few open looks.

Arcadia expanded a 9-4 first-quarter advantage to a 21-12 halftime lead that stretched to 35-22 after three periods. The wheels came off for Lakeview in the final eight minutes as Arcadia ended the game on a 25-7 run, starting with a 15-1 burst. The Lady Gators made only 1 of 13 shots in the fourth quarter while the winners made 10 of 14.

Timberlyn Washington, Lakeview’s junior returning all-state guard, scored 11 while Alonna Henderson added 10 points.

It was the second consecutive Marsh Madness appearance for the Lady Gators, who played in the state finals for the first time a year ago.

As a student-athlete and aspiring nurse Maygan Shaw is blazing a trail at Northwestern State University.  The junior sprinter from Pineville finished ninth out of 71 participants with a time of 54.63 in the 400-meter dash and, along with teammates, recorded another personal best (24.08) in the 200-meter at the Jarvis Scott Open in Lubbock, Texas, Feb. 9-10.

Shaw started the season ranked second in the Southland Conference in the 200-meters, just behind first-ranked teammate Sanaria Butler.  Earlier in February, the team traveled to Massachusetts to compete in the Crimson Elite at Harvard University and the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational at Boston University. At the Crimson Elite, Shaw reached the prelims with a season-best 7.67 to finish 14th out of 77 runners. She followed that up with another season best, running a 7.64 to finish 18th. She was also part of the strong women’s 4×400 relay team that came in fourth place out of 21 teams.

With a 3.8 grade point average, Shaw has earned several honors as a student-athlete. As a freshman, she was named to the Commissioner’s Spring Honor Roll, was Women’s Freshman of the Year and an Athlete of the Week.  She was All-Southland Conference in Outdoor Track and Field First Team 4×400 meter relay; Outdoor Track and Field Second Team, 400m, and All-Southland Indoor Track and Field First Team, 400m.

NSU sat down with Maygan to talk about how she balances nursing clinicals with training and competition, her desire to help people and how she is preparing for the upcoming Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, Feb. 25-26.  The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.  

Tell us about competition in Massachusetts.  

Maygan:  It was very organized and I really liked the environment. The people there were much louder but it raised the spirit and made everybody run much faster than we did before. It was great. I got to see a lot more things than I was ever used to, like hockey. I’ve only ever heard of [Harvard] on TV, so when I saw it in person I was like ‘This is amazing. It’s so beautiful.’ 

When did you first become an athlete? 

Maygan:  I first became an athlete when I was in elementary and I was running with [Rapides] Junior Runners.  That was for long distance.  I did the two-mile race and I was running against people much older than me and I kept coming in second place, so I was doing something right.  I’ve been running since then, nine years almost. My mom wanted me to get more involved in my school life, so when I started junior high, she put me in multiple sports and when I tried track I just happened to be really good at running fast and turning left, so I started doing track in seventh grade up until now.

Do you or did you play other sports? 

Maygan: I did play soccer but I was absolutely horrible, so I stopped playing soccer.  I could not kick the ball, I couldn’t pass, I couldn’t dribble. I’m not coordinated at all. 

Do you come from an athletic family?

Maygan: My mom used to run track, my dad used to high jump, so yes, I do come from an athletic family. 

You’ve had an impressive start this year.  What are some goals that you have set for yourself?  

Maygan: My long-term goal since junior high has been to run a 51 in the 400-meter dash and I’m getting really close. That is the goal that my grandpa had made.  He ran 51 seconds when he was in high school and I want to beat him or run at the same pace. [He is now deceased.] I really want to do this for both him and myself because it would be a great achievement.  

What are some important competitions that are coming up? 

Maygan: Conference.  Indoor conference is coming up and really excited for it. I’m running a lot faster than I did last year, so I’m ready for my time to start coming down and ready for the competition.  I really think that the girls are going to win this year. 

What are some things you’ve learned about competing as a student-athlete? 

Maygan: I learned that you really have to learn a balance being a student and an athlete.  It’s not one or the other. You have to be engaged in both communities and communicate with your coaches and communicate with your professors and make sure you’re staying ahead of the game and using that competitive energy you have as an athlete in the classroom as well.

At the meets when I’m getting ready for my races I’m also studying and studying helps me have less stress about my race because it’s taking my mind off  of ‘Oh, I’m about to run the 400.  I’m going to die.’ But after you study you’re like ‘I’m chill now. I’m ready.’

Do you have a close bond with your teammates?

Maygan: I do. I love every single one of them.  They’re funny, they’re interesting, they’re different. Every single one of them has their own personality and it’s great to just have that positive energy. No negative energy on this team. 

Why did you choose nursing as a career path?

Maygan: I chose nursing because ever since I was little I’ve always admired what they could do and I have a lot of nurses in my family, which inspired me.  I want to help people.  God blessed me with empathy and compassion to help others and I’m going to use it, so why not nursing?

What are some of your other interests or hobbies besides school and running?

Maygan: I love to draw and I love to write.  I’ll write mini-novels or draw sceneries, pictures, people, anime.   

Are you in clinicals right now?  

Maygan:  As for clinicals, they have been stressful, but I’m learning how to balance it with my track schedule and communicating with my professors has made it really easy.  I love the hands-on experience. It’s much better than being cooped up in a classroom. Clinicals are the best part of nursing.  Honestly.  It’s so much more fun than three-hour or four-hour classes. When you learn those things you get to apply them, so it sticks with you.  That’s what I like about nursing as a whole. You’re learning things in class and actually applying them, as opposed to Algebra III…I’m not going to be at the gas pump learning, “What the square root of I don’t even know.”

Are you able to do your clinicals here in Natchitoches and what’s been your favorite rotation?

Maygan:  I am.  I’m so happy that I am.  Next semester I might not be able to. I’ll have to go to Alexandria or Shreveport because they don’t have pediatrics here in Natchitoches. So far I’ve only done med-surge and geriatric care so, geriatrics [is my favorite.]  I love working with people older than me.  I like to hear their stories and what they’ve been through.  It’s a great environment.

Do you feel like your professors have been really accommodating to suit your schedule around track and field? 

Maygan: They have been very nice. Every time I’m at a meet and I have a test they let me take the test right afterwards or if I need extra time for something they’ll give me extra time.  It’s not like it’s an unfair advantage because I’m also competing for hours where I can’t pick up a book and study. They are really understanding of my schedule and they will make time for me. 

What would you say to a prospective student-athlete about Northwestern?

Maygan: I would say this is a really nice school.  The people are nice, the community is nice, everybody is really accommodating to your schedule.  You get used to dorm life and school life and the food. It’s a nice campus. 

Editor’s Update: The NSU women’s team dominated in the 200-meter dash at the Southland Conference Championships Sunday, Feb. 25, earning a spot in Monday’s finals. Shaw ran a personal-best 24.03 to place second in the event, as the top eight advance to the finals.

By Doug De Graffenried

Truth has always been true, right?

Let us ponder colors for infants. A truth regarding infants is that pink is the color for girls and blue is the color for boys. That has been true since WWII.

In the 19^th century, boys and girls were primarily clothed in white dresses. The color designation for children began appearing in the later part of 19^th century. The colors were opposite of what they are today.

In the early part of the 20^th century boys wore pink and girls wore blue. Baby books, new baby announcements and cards, gift lists, and newspaper articles from the early 1900s indicate that pink was just as likely to be associated with boy babies as with girl babies. For example, the June 1918 issue of the Infant’s Department, a trade magazine for baby clothes manufacturers, said: “There has been a great diversity of opinion on this subject, but the generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy; while blue, which is more delicate and daintier is prettier for the girl.” Blue is also the color most associated with the Virgin Mary, which helped cement the idea of blue for girls.

The reversal of this trend occurred in the late 1940’s. The catalyst for this reversal was drab army green which was a primary color of uniforms for the military. During WWII, women entered the work force in societal shifting numbers. During WWII, the ladies had a limited color pallet for their clothing options. It seemed to the baby clothing gurus that pink would be much more appropriate for girls now. Pink was viewed as a softer color and thus more appropriate for females. It would help soften the army’s green world created by the war effort. One must ask what happened to cause the color shift. In the early part of the century blue was dainty and pretty and by the mid-century pink became dainty and pretty.

Can truth be a moving target? What is true today might not be true tomorrow? Is truth changed by a study or by our assent to the results of the study? Take wine for instance. Is wine good for you or bad for you? It depends on which study you are reading. Each new study contradicts the previous study.

Here is a novel idea, why not trust your common sense? Humans thrived for thousands of years before the advent of “a scientific study.” Living joyously and freely is about using good common sense. 

Living in a world in which the truth is stranger than it used to be is not easy, but there is hope. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free.” The truth He described was not about a construct, but about a person. Do you follow the One who spoke and lived truth? His truth is the only source of freedom.

It is true!

June 6, 1962 — February 2, 2024

By Brad Dison

By Jeanni Ritchie

The young man known as Backpacker Joe turned 30 today and dozens of Natchitoches residents wished him a happy birthday as he departed from the city who has hosted him for the last few days.

Joe Domina began his cross-country journey at the Statue of Liberty and will end it in California early next year. He has no timeframe and no agenda other than walking from community to community praying for its residents.

It’s a good thing because I’m pretty sure his journey through Louisiana has added at least a month to his trip! Catching up with #backpackerjoe on the outskirts of Natchitoches today, Feb. 26, I gave him the birthday cards collected as cars drove by honking in recognition. Some even shouted “Happy Birthday” as they drove past. The welcome Joe has received here is nothing short of amazing and has proven that nothing beats Southern hospitality.

After all, Joe’s journey was mostly one of solitude until he reached Natchez, MS and was interviewed for a video by Miss-Lou Champions Spotlight. His story then began to spread like wildfire.

As he made his way through Louisiana, the excitement began to grow in communities he was scheduled to reach. Everyone wanted to meet him and many searched up and down highways for days. It got a little easier for residents when the Facebook group Where Is #backpackerjoe was created by Lakin Gremillion, a local citizen who wanted to make it easier for both Joe and for those searching for him.

People post photos with Joe as he slowly moves across the country, this digital portfolio being a priceless documentation of his journey. Within a week of its creation the private group had over 1300 members. People are invested in this journey.

Like Brooklyn Cagle, 8, who stopped with her grandmother to wish Joe a happy birthday and pray with him as we sat on the side of the road catching up. Savannah Elliot, 10, and her mother did the same just a few minutes later. Many more stopped after we parted; the pictures continue to flood Facebook.

Goodbye, Backpacker Joe! While you may be leaving our town, you will definitely not be leaving our hearts.

Jeanni Ritchie is a journalist, pizza aficionado, theatre geek, and perennial Peter Pan.