the minute magazine summer 2009 issue

SUMMER 2009 1“Never Waste a ‘Minute’ of your life!”

Remember the “Minute Mag” Philosophy:SUMMER 20092


this issue...JACKIE LEWIS & TIFFANY BYRAM

Owners/PublishersRegional Editors Graphics/Layout

VICKI CASKEYSales Manager

DANA DENNY & LESLIE COYLE

Photographers

ELAINE EATONCopy Editor

JENNY REYNOLDSFounder

Circulation & Distribution:James “Shay” Callen

CIRCULATION OF 12,000READERSHIP OF OVER 30,000

Contact Information:Offi ce Phone: 318.382.1900

Ad Sales: 318.548.2693

Mail: 512 Fort Avenue, Minden, LA 71055

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. No part of this maga-zine may be copied or reproduced without permission. The

Minute Magazine cannot be responsible for unsolicited materials. The editorial content of The Minute is prepared

in accordance with the highest standards of journalistic accuracy. Readers are cautioned, however, not to use any information from the magazine as a substitute for expert opinion, technical information or advice. The Minute

cannot be responsible for negligent acts, errors and omis-sions. The opinions expressed in The Minute are those of our writers and do not necessarily refl ect the views of the publisher. The publisher has the right to accept or reject

any advertising and / or editorial submitted.

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This quarterly magazine is FREE! However, you can have it mailed to your home or business for $20 a year to cover postage and handling. Call 318.382.1900 or send your check and mailing address to The Minute Magazine, 512 Fort Avenue, Minden, LA 71055.

this issue...this issue...this issue...this issue...INSIDE

Contributors:Donna Arender

Schelley BrownTiffany ByramAnita Goodson

Ruth JeaneJackie Lewis

Lela RobichauxCaleb Seney

Lynette Carter SheetsMargaret Timmons

Galen WhiteDr. William Wilkins

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toches, Webster, Lincoln & Orleans Parishes in Louisiana and Columbia

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Please tell us what you think - we’d love to hear your input!

5 For Good Memories... by Margaret Timmons

6 Father’s Day Car Show by Schelley Brown

9 The White Elephant by Galen White

10 EnRICH Your Life by Tiffany Byram

13 Weeder’s Digest by Anita Goodson

16 The Tornado of 1933 by Dr. William Wilkins

18 Small Town Heroes by Lynette Carter Sheets

20 My Mother’s Garden by Ruth Jeane

25 We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby by Jackie Lewis

28 Society Section

30 Bring Back the Family Dinner by Tiffany Byram

33 On the Spectrum by Lela Robichaux

34 Finding Ruston’s Place in WWII History by Jackie Lewis

39 Antique Junkie by Donna Arender

40 Letters from Daddy by Jackie Lewis

42 The Karpeles Manuscript Museum by Jackie Lewis

The cover story photos in this issue were taken by Dana Denny and Leslie

Coyle, our wonderful staff photographers. Turn to page

42 to read about this amazing story! The photo shoot was held at The Waterfront Grill in Monroe, Louisiana in late

April of 2009.


FOR GOOD MEMORIES, WE ARE THANKFUL

A WRITTEN HISTORY OF THE CARNELL & LONNA TRIPP FAMILY OF CULLEN, LOUISIANA.

WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY MARGARET TRIPP TIMMONS

Always short on funds, but long on imagination, we never had fancy swing sets... the store-bought kind, that is. But we had the most wonderful home-made swings in the entire world.

It seemed like we always had some kind of swing around to swing on. There were times when us kids would head out to a grove of trees. We’d search until we found a tree with good, strong, limbs that almost touched the ground. After finding just the right one, one of the bigger kids would pull the limb down close enough to the ground to let one of the smaller kids climb on board. We’d give them enough time to get a good hold on the smaller branches or leaves before we’d turn them loose. It would be like riding a bucking bronco! Giggles and squeals of delight could be heard as the little one rode the tree branch. We’d take turns riding until each of us had had our bout of enjoyment or until the limb lost it’s ‘bounce’ and then we’d go to find another tree branch to ‘break in’ and enjoy.

This was not our favorite kind of swing because it only lasted for a short while. Daddy would then come to our aid. He’d go looking for just the right tree down in the pasture close beside our house. He’d look for a tree limb that was fairly big, strong and fairly straight.

The next step was to find an old rope. Daddy would cut the rope about 20 or 30 feet long. After climbing the tree and finding just the right limb, he would tie the ends of the rope to that tree limb, away from the tree trunk by about 5 or 6 feet. This was to keep the swing from banging into the tree trunk when we would swing. He would then set out to find an old board about 18 inches long, 6 inches wide, and an inch or so thick. He would cut a notch in each end with his old hand saw. The notches would hold the rope securely in place. The board would then fit into the lower part of the rope that looked like a “U.” We could hardly wait until the board was in place. Daddy would let us have a ‘test’ swing to see how far off the ground he would have to tie the rope.

Sometimes, Daddy would make us a swing out of an old tire. He would tie the rope through the top of the old, worn-out tire and tie the top of the rope to a large, strong tree limb. As soon as that was done, we would put our legs through the center of the tire, rest our ‘seats’ on the inside rim of the tire, and swing to our hearts’ delight.

But this was not our favorite kind of swing, either. The swing was fun but was not as much fun as the old fashioned bag swings that Daddy would make for us.

Daddy would get an old toe sack (burlap feed sack that cow feed came in) from the extra barrel in the barn feed room. This sack would be used to hold whatever ‘stuffing’ he would choose. Sometimes he would fill it with other toe sacks that were no longer any good to hold feed. Sometimes, he would fill it with hay. He would only stuff the toe sack about 2/3 full. This would allow the filling to kind of settle. The filling provided a place for us to wrap our legs around the contents while we held on to the rope just above the top of the bag.

On the toe sack was filled with

whatever Daddy had chose, he would take the filled sack to the tree and tie the top of it with the rope that was hanging from the tree. The bottom of the bag swing had to be tied about 2 feet off the ground to allow for the tree limb to sway and swing and clear the ground. Daddy would always let us have a ‘trial’ swing to see if it was hung just right.

We’d climb onto the bag swing, wrap our legs around the bag, lock our feet together, and hold to the rope above the top of the bag for dear life. We’d all take turns pushing each other and swinging as high as the rope would let us. From that day on, we’d swing to our hearts content. High up among the branches, we’d go. Sometimes we would wind the bag swing around and around until it could be wound no more. Then

with one of us on it, we’d release the swing. We’d watch, as the swing would start unwinding fast but gradually go slower and slower until it stopped. The one riding would then get off and attempt to walk away from the swing. Needless to say, it would be impossible. They would be ‘drunk’ and couldn’t walk a straight line if they wanted to. We’d all laugh until we couldn’t and then

talk someone else into giving it a try. This was also a sure-fire way to get rid of a ‘swing hog.’ By the time they had gotten through spinning round and round, they’d be glad to lay on the soft, cool, green clover until their intestines were untwined, and their faces had returned from a greenish-gray hue, back to a normal healthy pink!

One sure thing we learned from a spinning bag swing was to NEVER try to stop a spinning bag swing. Reaching one arm out to try to stop or steady a swing in motion can end in disaster. Linda Sue can attest to having gotten a knot the size of a goose egg on her forehead from having done just such a thing. Because the rope was continually out in the weather and used so much by us kids, it would wear out and rot before we knew it and would break when we tried to use it. Rachel ended up with a broken arm because the rope broke when she tried to swing once.

Many a fond memory was made swinging on our bag swings down in the pasture. Like so many of the other ‘toys’ that didn’t cost a lot, it gave us many wonderful hours of pleasure and some of our most cherished childhood memories.

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Top Ten Reasons I Go To Petit Jean Mountain In Arkansas:

1. To be 1 of 100,000 that visit the MOTAA Father’s Day Weekend Car Show

2. To visit the Museum of Automobiles.

3. I support Mid America Old Time Automobile Association. 4. I have gasoline and oil in my veins.

5. I love the mountain air with a little exhaust mixed in!

6. One antique car is never enough.

7. I love the sound of a vintage car horn early in the morning!

8. I needed a part for my vehicle.

9. It is a family tradition!

10. I want to keep the Antique car hobby alive and well.

These are just a few of the reasons that I love going to Petit Jean Mountain in Morrilton, Arkansas. Why don’t you make plans to meet me at the top of the Mountain this year and enjoy good food, great people and

wonderful cars? Go to www.motaa.com for more information.

My day job is at The Dorcheat Historical Association Museum, Inc. in Minden, Louisiana, where I am the Director. This is a parish museum that opened in June of 2008. It seems like I am always trying to keep history alive in some form or another. I also am involved in my historic residential district area and our local historic cemetery. In fact I put on an annual cemetery tour to teach about the citizens of the past with actors and actresses. All of these always include an antique car or two in the background.

It has been said about me that if it is old, rusty, paint peeling off, buried or will not crank that I have something to do with it. I guess that is true, and I am glad to be known for that. I wish more people would care about preservation in all aspects as much as I do. Cars to me are the ultimate antique and the ultimate

way to express yourself. My car changed my life on April

9th, 2002 and I am forever grateful to her! I would never have known any of the 100’s of wonderful people and lifelong friends that I have meet in the last 7 years. Had I not made that decision to drive to Eunice, Louisiana not once but 3 times in 3 days to look at “Olivia” (she is named after the mother on the Waltons), my life would be pretty uneventful. I’d just be plain old Schelley Brown.

Who could have known that one 1937 Buick Special could change my life and make an impact on so many other lives and events in and around me. It is because of her that I am involved with Mid America Old Time Automobile Association and Ark-La-Tex Antique & Classic Car Association. It is because of her that I am writing stories for three magazines. So every time I get behind her wheel a tear or two might roll down my cheek because she changed my world.

I believe in divine intervention. I believe that God surely had a hand in me and this car getting together. It is because of her that I started the “Cruisin’ for a Cure Wheels through Time Car Show” HYPERLINK “http://www.mindencruisinforacure.com” www.mindencruisinforacure.com and HYPERLINK “http://www.mindencruisinforacure.blogspot.com” www.mindencruisinforacure.blogspot.com . This show has raised over $70,000 in six years for St. Jude Research Hospital! Who would have believed one car could do so much for so many people.

She spurred on a lifelong love of all things antique. An older gentleman once called me and said, “I hear you like old cars and old men!” (I think he was preparing to ask me out) I quickly said, “I like old cars!” That was the end of that conversation! I learned then that a 1937 Buick was like a magnet for a certain age group of men. My friends said you need to sell that car and get a 63 Corvette! I don’t care, I love my Buick. I would love to have many types of cars, and in fact I have a 28 Model A Roadster that needs to be put back together and also a 58 Cadillac in the same shape. I also like vintage Harley’s and Indians. I just like vintage except for the man and mechanic in my life, who is 4 years younger!

So when you are wondering why you need to get out and go to a car show or come to Petit Jean Mountain this year, remember how important automotive history can be. You can save these antique automobiles from becoming an abandoned or crushed pile of rusted metal. For more information on Mid America Old Time Automobile Association visit the web site at HYPERLINK “http://www.motaa.com” www.motaa.com join today and make a difference in the preservation of the antique car hobby.

For more information on what I am up to with all of my projects and stories you can visit my blog and from there link to all the rest. HYPERLINK “http://www.eventsinminden.blogspot.com” www.eventsinminden.blogspot.com “On The Road with Schelley Brown” Blog is all about me and my family, friends and the things that make up my life here in Minden, Louisiana and on the road!

FATHER’S DAY WEEKEND CAR SHOWAre you ready for a weekend of good food, great people and wonderful cars? Then come along with Schelley Brown to a fabulous Arkansas getaway where cars rule the day! (and the rest of the weekend, too!)

written by schelley brown


The White Elephantby Galen

White

PINE POLLEN SIGNALS IT’S TIME TO GO FISHIN’

I’ve always wondered about the sand storms of the Arabic countries and the dust bowl days of Kansas and Oklahoma. You reckon either one is as bad as our prolifi c pine pollen pestilence? It sure is aggafrettin’ to have the dusty mess coverin’ danged near everything in the world.

Of course, I know pine pollen can’t hold a candle to the dust storms of other parts of the world nor compare to the dust bowl days of the U.S. But it’s kinda like bein’ sick; no one hurts or feels as bad as you do when you are sick or hurt. Therefore, the pine pollen we have been facin’ and tastin’ for a number of weeks now is just gettin’ a bit on my fretful side.

Come to think about it, though, I’ve always been told that when the pine pollen begins to fall, bream begin to bite. Now, I can’t rightly claim that’s true or not ‘cause it’s been so long since I did any kind of fi shin’ that I can’t remember. Heck! I ain’t too sure I even remember how to fi sh! Seems like you have to do it in water….

You know, thinkin’ back on my early days, it wasn’t unusual for me to grab one of the several cane poles hangin’ up in the barn, and head down to the pond or creek to drown some worms or crickets. Well? If my memory is correct, there were many times drownin’ worms and crickets was all I accomplished. It always seemed to me the fi sh bit yesterday, or are gonna bite tomorrow; they never bite the day I’m fi shin’.

Yes, sir, I can well remember goin’ out behind the old dairy barn, takin’ the shovel and diggin’ around in the…, uh…, cow manure…, for some big ol’ fat and juicy worms. Now, in case you are a city slicker and don’t know what manure is, let’s just say it’s the stuff that comes from a cow on the opposite end grass goes into.

A Folgers or Maxwell House coffee can with a little manure and dirt mixed in it is a good temporary home for earth worms. One thing about gettin’ worms for bait and usin’ the mixture for their temporary home is that you were careful not to wipe your eyes or mouth with your dirty hands. Didn’t matter how much it itched, scratchin’ was not an automatic response.

There were times when you didn’t have to scratch and dig around in the cow pen dirt to fi nd worms. Stickin’ the pitchfork tines into the ground, or drivin’ a steel rod into the ground and rubbin’ a piece of metal against the handle or rod would send vibrations into the ground. The vibrations would cause big ol’ red wigglers to pop outta the ground on their own. Sho’ was a lot cleaner gettin’ worms this way.

Of course, we used more than earth worms for bait. If I happened to be goin’ fi shin’ with my dad down to Phil’s Camp on Saline Bayou, we’d stop and buy a bag of shiners and a few buckets of crickets. Bein’ a young lad, I was always fascinated by the small shiners swimmin’ ‘round in that plastic bag. I’m sure they were fascinated…, well, maybe frightened by the kid who kept lookin’ at ‘em and tryin’ to catch one in between his thumb and forefi nger by squeezin’ the bag. I bet they thought I was some land monster. It makes sense, doesn’t it? We have our sea monsters, so…

The commercial crickets were gray in color, and for some reason I always

tried to be nice to them. Of course, runnin’ a fi sh hook through ‘em wasn’t very nice thing to do, Guess I tried to be nice to them ‘cause I thought it nice of them to be my bait for a big ol’ bluegill.

When gatherin’ bait for the creek or pond at home, we used regular ol’ black crickets; you know, the kind you see at least once a day around your home. Then there were the more exotic baits; such as waust (wasp) larva and Betsy bugs; sawyers and catalpa worms; even grasshoppers and mudbugs….uh…, not THE Mudbugs Hockey Players; mudbugs

as in crawdads.

Take it from me, folks, there ain’t nothin’ in the whole wide world quite like layin’ back on a pond, dam or creek bank, watchin’ a cork and waitin’ for a big ol’ bream to jerk it under. Even when a little punkin’ seed bream teases your cork when he steals your bait, the art of fi shin’ is undeniably one of the best experiences a human can experience. So forget the pine pollen and go fi shin’.

If you prefer a little more work, there’s always bass fi shin’, trot linin’, and deep sea fi shin’. Of course, each one of these usually requires a little more money and better equipment, but the excitement is just as rewardin’, if not more so.

Hey! If you really want to have a blast, take a kid fi shin’. It’s a good way to keep ‘em occupied and away from things that could be a bad infl uence on ‘em. And I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts you’ll have a better time watchin’ them than you will doin’ anything else.

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10 ways to...

...your lifeenRICH10 ways to...

...your life

It is so easy to get wrapped up in the constant everyday cycle known as life. We find ourselves trapped in a rut that we can’t seem to get out of. Sometimes all it takes is an idea to get us started in the right direction. The key to success with any good plan is to start small. Remember all things in moderation. The Minute Magazine encourages you to take a few of these steps and see if your life doesn’t drastically change. Think positive, you are much stronger than you give yourself credit for.

• Get rid of the drama.

We all have it. Many of us live for it. But drama sucks the life right out of us. A great way to enrich your life is to get rid of the drama. No matter what the source, find ways to remove drama from your life. Yes, it

will sting a little. There may even be tears involved. But think of all of the tears you’ve already shed. It’s like ripping a band-aid off. The quicker, the better.

• De-clutter.

A life full of clutter leaves very little room to grow. Clutter is more than just a physical problem, it’s emotional as well. We become emotionally connected to things, often things we know we don’t want or need. Sometimes we fear taking on the process of de-cluttering because we feel that it is too overwhelming. The best way to de-clutter your life is to take this task on in very small portions. Set small goals to achieve throughout the week and reward yourself when you’ve accomplished them. For example: if you have a closet full of old boxes, take one box at a time and leave the rest of it in the

closet. Put things away as you go and make a “give-away/garage sale” pile. Don’t let things pile up on you. If you begin to get frustrated, take out the trash and take the give-away pile to a nearby faciility or put the garage sale bag in the attic. This will give you a clean area and motivation. Remember resources like ebay and craigslist if you want to sell certain items online for profit. Recycling items will help both the environment and will allow you to make a little extra cash.

• Be more active.

Most people get discouraged at the thought of being more active. That’s because they try to bite off more than they can chew. Being active can be as simple as taking your dog for a walk around the block. Try quick activities like the following that will increase your energy level and enrich your

life: a) Take the stairs- this saves energy and gives you good looking legs. b) Walk the parking lot- don’t bother looking for a front row parking space, take a few extra steps and your body will thank you! c) Dance around the house- don’t act like you don’t want to do this one, I know you already have your air guitar in tune and ready to go. So turn on some music and break a sweat.

• Eat healthier.

There are tons of simple snacks and easy to prepare meals that will make you healthy and happy. a) Yogurt or fresh fruit. This is a quick and tasty snack that anyone with a sweet tooth will enjoy. b) 100 calorie packs. You can find just about all of your favorite snacks in prepackaged units. Chips, cookies, trail mixes and more. You don’t have to sacrifice flavor to eat healthy. c) Eat locally. There are tons of ways to eat locally. Buy locally raised beef from Scotland Farms, find a local bee farmer and buy some honey, or go to a community farmer’s market for fresh produce. d) Start your own garden. Doesn’t the idea of growing your own cucumbers and tomatoes sound refreshing? Perhaps you just want an herb garden. Do some investigative research online to find the perfect garden for you.


• Get to bed on time.

Having a set schedule not only allows your body to recharge but it also revitalizes your mind. If you rush from event to event throughout the day and then crash into bed, your body doesn’t have time to wind down. It is important to give yourself some consistency, especially when the rest of your day is bombarded with stress. Try developing a relaxing pattern about 15 minutes before you turn off the lights to go to sleep. One that preferably doesn’t involve the TV. This stimulates your eyes and makes it more difficult to sleep peacefully. Try soothing music or reading.

• Set limits.

If you think you spend too much time watching TV or surfing the internet, you probably do. Try to set limits for yourself so that you don’t get zoned out doing the same things day after day. This will also allow you to find new hobbies like painting or bicycling. Give yourself at least 30 minutes 3 times a week to try a new hobby.

• Make time for you.

Whether it’s starting a new hobby or picking up an old one, it’s all about

finding what makes you happy. Perhaps you just want to relax in a warm bubble bath or spend time listening to classical music. Whatever makes you happy should be a top priority in your life. It’s amazing how quickly being busy can get in the way of our happiness. For reasons too vast to cover, there are a lot of people who have feelings of guilt about being happy. If you are one of those people and you are reading this article I want you to stop. Take a deep breath. Now relax. It’s ok to have “me” time. If you don’t have “me” time, you’ll eventually crash. When you only take care of the needs of others and not your own needs you truly suffer. And eventually those around you will suffer. Please do yourself a favor and take a good, long look in the mirror. Think back to the last time you were truly happy. Now, start making time for yourself again. If this means finding a babysitter and going on a date with your husband for the first time in 3 years, do it. If it means finding a way to go back to get your GED or college degree, what are you waiting for? There is a fine line however between too much and too little “me” time. Once you’ve found yourself again, remember not to get stuck there. This is not an excuse to become self-absorbed. This is an opportunity for you to find happiness with your family while at the same

time allowing yourself to grow as an individual in new and exciting ways. Go ahead and take the plunge.

• Find happiness at work.

…and if your not happy, leave. You spend more time at your job than you do with your family. We should propose to our future jobs instead of our spouses, right? It is alarming how many people are unhappy with their jobs. But they continue to plow along, day after day. Here’s how it goes: We wake up in the morning. Get dressed. Kiss our spouse goodbye. Go to work. Get stressed and want to pull our hair out. Eat lunch. Get yelled at by the boss. Go home. Finally start to relax. Go to sleep. Start all over. The cycle is vicious but believe it or not there are jobs that are made for you. The kind of job that even when you are stressed to the max, you don’t care because you still love it. If your job isn’t a good fit for you, maybe you should be making plans today to prepare for tomorrow. So, as I said before: Find happiness at work and if your not happy, leave.

• Find a Higher Power.

Spirituality is about more than dressing your family in their Sunday best and sitting on a pew once a

week. Find time to connect with your Creator. Our readers are very diverse, so we at The Minute will not push you in one direction or another. Even if a congregation is not the direction for you, try taking at least a few minutes each day to contemplate the true meaning of life.

• Focus on your family.

In the hustle and bustle of today’s society, this can be one of the most complicated tasks on the list. Every member of the family has his/her own daily activities to complete and finding time to come together as a family can seem impossible. But I can assure you that it’s worth the effort. Making an impact in your children’s life is the most important thing that you will ever do as an individual. Did you know that from the time that your child is born until the time they graduate from high school you only have 940 weekends? By the time they start Kindergarten you only have 637 weekends left. And by the time they are in the 9th grade, you are down to 208.

So I guess my question is this: What are you doing this weekend?

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Written by Tiffany Byram


The heat of the summer is fast approaching us. For a change May was cooler than normal. Lucky for us. If only I could say that come July and August.

Your garden, whether vegetables or flowers, now more than ever will need your utmost attention. The spring rains were grateful, but, sum-mer rains are few and far in between. Pay special attention to the drying conditions. Plants have a way of telling us when to water. My hydrangeas will wilt and look very sick when dry. I take this as a signal to water the back yard. Soaker hoses work very nicely to deliver a long slow gradual water-ing. This gives the water time to soak in the ground rather than run off. Plants benefit from soaker hoses more than using sprinklers. You can deliver more water directly to the roots.

My garden is unrecognizable from last month. The lovely spring pop-pies, oxide daisies, and azalea’s have come and gone. The foliage of the hibiscus are now covering up the poppy seed heads. I save poppy seeds to share with family friends. A good Hibiscus to grow is Southern Belle. This is one of the largest hi-biscus blossoms you’ll see. I added Lord Baltimore to my collection last year. It has a beautiful red foliage with dark red flowers. It is planted in my daylily bed to give interest in that garden when the daylilies have finished blooming. Things seem to be coming and going all the time. I plan it that way to cover the unsightly seed pods and foliage.

Zinnias are a good thing to plant from seed. They easily germinate and provide color until frost. They provide nectar for the butterflies. This easily grown annual is a non-stop favorite of mine.

Fruit will soon be ripening, everything from figs to blueberries. The birds may be watching closer than you. A good preventive is to use an inflat-able owl. Tie it on a string so it will move with the wind. Plastic snakes work well also. Some say that a ra-dio playing may keep the deer out. My parents used anything from alu-minum pie plates to sprinkling blood meal at the outer perimeter of the garden to keep the deer away. The only drawback is you must refresh it after a fresh summer rain. The old timers remedy was to plant plenty for yourself and the critters.

Speaking of critters, I have captured another garden predator. He, the opossum, was coming out at night and digging for grubs. In the pro-cess he makes holes big enough to break an ankle. I filled up my trusty wheelbarrow with finished compost and filled them up. I know living out in the middle of the woods some are

sure to come back. We just have to learn to live with it.

With all the shov-eling and moving large pots outside, I am now down in my back. The lovely days have gotten to me or should I say the shovel. Remember we have not done much over winter and now everything

seems to need doing at once. Take it slow, gradually work a little each day as to break your body in slowly. You don’t want to be like me peeking out the window from the couch.

While resting I have dreamed up the longest list of things to do. It may take me a year to finish all the new items. I wish there were two of me in spring and early summer. What is one to do? We’re not getting any younger.

If you ever get a chance to visit Briar-wood, Caroline Dorman Nature Pre-serve, go, it is well worth the trip. It is located in the northern part of Natchi-toches Parish, two miles south of Sa-line. The sand hills had much to offer us as a way of learning many new and strange plants. Our tour guide Richard Johnson grew up under the

wing of Carolyn Dorman. He, in part with his wife Jessie, devote all of their spare time to the upkeep of the sanc-tuary. Nature mainly runs its course with as little human interference as possible. Mr. Johnson spoke of the sugar maples being planted when he was a young man. They do not fertilize the trees. Just letting nature do it along with the watering. Add-ing fertilizer would cause the trees to grow too quickly and create more of a possibility of splitting the limbs. Along the trail was the largest long leaf pine I have ever seen. It even had a name: “Grand Pappy”. Much care is given to this large specimen to keep it happy. Mr. Johnson keeps a watchful eye on it daily. A cabin was along the shady trail and it was explained to us as Carolyn Dorman herself oversaw the place-ment of each and every timber. She made this her home. It was named “Briarwood“. She took refuge from town and people to be all alone with birds, trees, and flowers. She soli-tarily educated herself, sometimes spending days drawing flowering plants and recording their individual habitat. On Louisiana wildlife she studied more than fifty years. Many of her record books, newspaper ar-ticles, and paintings are stored in the cabin today. She was a wonder-ful artist. She meticulously painted each drawing as true to life as only an artists’ brush can. She lived most of her 83 years in the log house set amongst this secluded woodland.

Down the path lined with Carolina Allspice bushes we walked. A lovely reflection pond was at the bottom of the hill just below the cabin. It was so breath taking I could have sat and painted in that spot for the entire day.

Onward we traipsed, crossing a small foot bridge circling the pond to come upon the bog garden. In it grew some of the most beautiful iris I have ever seen. Combinations of purple and gold were among some of the breathtaking colors. We walked on to fascinating pitcher plants and they were in bloom. This was worth the trip just to see these uncommon plants. I have never before seen so many varieties and blooming on top of that. It was too much with the native azaleas all decked out in colors of red, yellow, and pink. Our trail had come to an end. Our group thanked the Johnsons for the narra-tive trip and delightful walk through the woods.

Briarwood is open for guided tours every weekend in March, April, Au-gust, and November. Special tours are by appointment only for groups of five or more call 318-576-3379. If you are interested in joining the Loui-siana Native Plant Society, write to 216 Caroline Dorman Road, Saline, La. 71070.

Books to place on the must have list are Natives Preferred, by Caro-line Dorman, Flowers Native to the Deep South, by Caroline Dorman. Both books were illustrated by the author and are full of her own paint-ings. Also try the book Carnivorous Plants of the World by James and Patricia Pietropaolo.

Any questions or comments you can email them to [email protected] or send them to the Weeder’s Digest at The MINUTE. Remem-ber to have fun gardening, sit back and enjoy a glass of iced tea on the porch.

“The process of weeding can be as beneficial to the gardener as to the garden. It gives scope to the aggressive instinct-what a satisfaction to pull up an enemy by the roots and throw him into a heap! And yet, paradoxically, weeding is the most peaceful of any outdoor task.”

Bertha Damon - A Sense of Humus (1943)

in the HEAT o f t h e

SUMMER

with Anita

Goodson

Weeder’s Digest


MEET THEMEET THEMEET THEMinute“When love and skill work

together, expect a masterpiece.”

John Ruskin

PHOTOGRAPHER

Leslie Coyle

SALES MANAGER

Vicki Caskey

Regional Editor

Jackie Lewis

REGIONAL EDITOR

Tiffany Byram

“I began reading THE MINUTE eight

years ago. I have worked in public

relations, radio and other print

media. One of the best things about

this magazine is showing our read-

ers that there is still so much good

in this world.......one MINUTE at a

time.” I am the wife of Wayne Cas-

key, the best husband in the world,

and mother to the sweetest and

most beautiful 14 year old daughter,

Ruby.

“I have been a huge

fan of THE MINUTE for

years now. I love that I

have the opportunity to

reach out and touch so

many people in our com-

munity with our inspiring

message! I live just

outside of Minden with

my husband and our two

children, Ayla and Coen.”

“I fi rst began reading The Minute about eight years ago

when I was an active duty member of the Air Force. It

was love at fi rst sight for me! With each and every

new issue, I learn a little bit more about this wonderful

community and became inspired to learn even more. I

now live in Minden’s historic district with my husband

Shaun and our two sons, Miles and Preston, and our

dog named Biscuit. The pages that you read in each is-

sue are usually created in my home offi ce where I often

sit with my toddler on my lap!”

“I have been reading THE MINUTE

for seven years. The inspiring

stories and focus on the family has

always been a blessing for me. I

feel tremendously honored to be a

part of such a wonderful publica-

tion! I live in New Orleans with my

husband Josh and our French Bull-

dog named Cochon (pronounced

Coo-Shaun), which is French for

“little pig.”.

“I am a 2001 graduate of Minden

High School. I found my love of

photography through my best

friend and business partner,

Dana Denny. I’ve been married

for almost fi ve years to the most

wonderful man in the world, Tim,

and we have a dog named Win-

ston. I’m so excited to be part of

the Minute Magazine Team! It’s

something that gives me inspira-

tion every day.”

PHOTOGRAPHER

Dana DennyPhotos taken by Dana Denny, Leslie Coyle and Jackie Lewis


TORNADOLooking back at Minden, Louisiana’s worst natural disaster on record.

Written byDr. WIlliam Wilkins

1 9 3 3of

the

1933 began like all the other years of the great depression. As an eleven year old in the 6th grade of the Minden Elementary School, I like everyone else, had no clue that this was to be the most catastrophic year of my life. My mother was the teacher of my class, not such a lucky thing, either. I should have been an example of a good, well behaved youngster but maybe I wasn’t. She had to discipline me by a spanking - very humiliating to me and embarrassing for her, I’m sure. Spring arrived and as usual I looked forward to the day I could go barefooted and play outside more. The school was on a rainy day schedule on May 1st. This was a way to shorten the length of the school day by eliminating the lunch period and the recess allowing the school to be over at 1:30 pm instead of 3 pm. Most days I would walk home to S. Main Street but on rainy days I rode with Mother and my Aunt Lillian Phillips. They owned a Chevrolet that had been purchased jointly. My grandmother with whom we lived was off somewhere in town. We all lived together in grandmother

and granddaddy’s big two story home. She also had two roomers, Mr. Gardner who worked at the L & A Railroad shops and Mr. Folse who was a night watchman at the Cotton Seed and Oil Company. Mr. Gardner was still at work when we reached home. Sometime about 3 pm, I was still in the house because oft he rain and I went out on the back porch to watch out in the back yard. There was a combination barn and garage with a tin roof over it. There was a loud, roaring sound in the air. It sounded like a bunch of motorcycle motors running. As I was watching, there was hail mixed with the rain. My mother was in the kitchen which was adjacent to the back porch. I called her to come see the hail, which she did. In a moment we both saw a large amount of debris in the air, probably a half of a mile away over the valley behind our house. Tall limbs, timber and roofing were swirling like a huge whirlwind- around and around it went. My mother immediately knew it was a tornado because of the noise, too. We called my Aunt Lillian to come quickly so we could do something

to protect ourselves. There was a basement under the house but never having thought of tornadoes we forgot about it and went out into the yard and lay on the ground by the peach tree. The sound made by the blowing wind was suffocating. I could remember seeing a large dead tree fall further out back, fall as it was blown away. I wasn’t aware of all the damage done to the fences, the barn and to our house. Soon after the storm passed over us my aunt and I stood up but my mother had been injured and we had to help her get to her feet. The three of us hobbled around to the front of the house. The back porch and steps were gone. We had to crawl over piled up lumber and debris to get there. All the windows and the front door were gone. This must have taken us some time because there was already a young man whom I didn’t know lying in our living room on the couch. I think he was dying. The small rent house next door was d e m o l i s h e d and 2 of the 3 children living there were killed. The oldest girl, Janice Tennel, who was my age, survived. Soon people began to arrive to try to help the injured and search for people. I had severe cuts on my head and

behind, and my mother was badly injured. My Aunt Lillian was not injured at all. We believe that my mother covered me with her body as best she could. Soon Harry Coffee and another young man came in and decided to carry me to the hospital, which they did. Dr. Sentell, a new doctor in town, later married Sally Hutton. He tended to my injuries and sutured my cuts without any anesthetic. I was taken to my aunt’s home, Mrs. T. A. Glass on North Broadway to recover. I never saw my mother again. She died on May 2nd. My aunt asked if I wanted to see her, but never having seen a dead person I said, “No.” My father arrived from Shreveport and took me to his home there. After recovering from my injuries in Shreveport, I came back to Minden for a visit and saw the devastation left from the tornado. It is difficult to imagine the

effect the wind can leave with such force. Tales of pine straw blown through

bottom, right: Stella Phillips Wilkins

top: Dr. William Wilkins


TORNADO 1 9 3 3

boards, sod ripped up from the ground, animals picked up and taken to other locations.

School was ended as of May 1st because of the tornado. This storm was probably the most disastrous event to have happened in Minden history. I was given a white Eskimo Speitz dog by Jack Walker that always whimpered and crawled under the bed every time it rained and thundered. This storm system traveled east along Hwy. 80 and caused damage in Arcadia and Ruston. Records show that 68 people died and more than 400 were injured in Minden.

For more information on the devastating tornado of 1933, visit the Dorcheat Historical

Museum in downtown Minden. Dr. William Wilkins will be the guest speaker on Monday

July 13th, 2009 at 6:00 P.M. at “A Night For The Museum.” This event will be held at Christo-pher’s located at 615 Main Street in Minden,

Louisiana. For more information about Mr. Wilkins’ museum event contact

Schelley Brown at 318-423-0192 or visit www.museuminminden.blogspot.com.

H e i f e r s & B u l l s F O R

S A L E !

S t a r t y o u r o w n H E R D !


The dictionary describes a hero as being bigger than life, but in my quest to find the small town hero I have encountered a number of people, male and female who qualify as heroes. My heroes are people having humility- never thinking of themselves as heroes. If called a hero, anyone of them will become

embarrassed, saying, “I did what I had to do,” or “what else could I do?”

‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘ When I first started the story about Gilgal Baptist Church, I was worried about how I would obtain a history of the church and her people. I should have known God was going to provide what I needed. After all, it was in God’s house that this story outline popped into my mind. I want to thank several people for providing me with the history of this unique little church. Brother May gave to me the “100th Anniversary Celebration History” and Barbara Land recently gave me the following information compiled by her husband, Charles Land, who wrote, “Gilgal Baptist Church, In Celebration of Its’ 150th Anniversary.” Mr. Land’s account confirmed Mrs. Mary Lou Richardson Sibley’s story, but I found some interesting facts in Charles Land’s history of Gilgal that I had not seen in the earlier story. Mr. Land stated, “The first association that Gilgal Baptist Church belonged to was the Old Concord Association and in 1848, under the able leadership of Gearge W. Bains, the association divided.” The George W. Baines mentioned here was the Great-Grandfather of former President of the United States,

maybe I should say listened to her, I found this lady to be fascinating. It was at the Gilgal Christmas party that she captivated me with stories of her life. I thought to myself, “I know everyone has a story to tell, but this is very unusual and quite interesting.” Lucille began by telling me how she had met her first husband. She said, “When I was in high school a friend Willie Mae Avery and I started writing to people who would give us an address. We then started writing to soldiers. One of my friends had met George Austin on a bus. My friend explained to him that some of her friends were writing to soldiers overseas and he gave her his address.” She continued, “My friend then gave me his address and I started writing to him. When I received the first letter back from him I read it to my mother on the way from the mailbox to our house. When I told my mother that he had blue eyes she laughed and said, ‘That’s my future son-in-law!’” Mrs. Youngblood explained, “ We wrote to the soldiers until they would come home and then we would gradually wean them off. George was sent overseas and I had not met him, but we continued to write to each other. He was overseas for two years and during that period of time his mother, Eddie Lou Austin came to see me in Coushatta. I had also been writing to her and in a letter I explained what I would be wearing the day of the meeting. When she stepped off of the bus she said, “Is that you?” “ She stayed with my family for several days.” Lucille continued her story, “When I finished high school I went to work in Shreveport, at JB Beard as a inspector. I was so short that when I first applied for the job, I was sent back home to get some kind of proof that I was eighteen. The friend I was rooming with was only sixteen and they never questioned her about her age. Maybe she looked older than me. She was taller.” “I continued to write to George and sometimes I would get on a bus to go to Bearnice to visit his family.

Lyndon B. Johnson. I also found an acknowledgment to Mr. Cecil Campbell for his help in supplying some of the information for Mr. Land’s article. According to Mr. Campbell, W.E. Paxton, an attorney and newspaperman in Sparta before he was called to preach, was first married to Rebecca Wardlow. Rebecca was Mr. Cecil Campbell’s Great Aunt. James E. Paxton the brother of W.E. Paxton performed the marriage of Mr. Cecil’s grandfather and grandmother. Like so many small churches and communities around the south, Gilgal Church has a number of strong individuals who also capture a person’s attention with their personalities; some with their grace and courage and others with their laughter and wit. Nancy Sander, the courageous lady of my last story was also a very graceful and charming person. My next lady is full of wit, but I soon learned she is also a very courageous lady. Lucille, or as some know her, Mrs. Sam Youngblood, has recently had open heart surgery. To bring the readers up to date, “Mrs. Youngblood is doing great.” Right now she is with her grandson and his wife in Arkansas. As soon as she becomes stronger she says she will be back home, attending services as usual at Gilgal.

This lady is a go-getter. When I visited Lucille in rehab she was quite impatient to be up and going; working in her yard once again was one of the activities she mentioned missing the most. She did mention how her ex-son-in-law, Hughes was taking care of things for her. She told me he had been good to her. The first time I talked to Lucille, or

small town

HEROESwritten byLynetteCarter

Sheets

Jacob and Mildred Young-blood, early members of GilgalBELOW: Gilgal members in 1931


I had met his entire family, father, mother, brothers, cousins and all before I met George.” “George decided he wanted to come home. If he would enlist for one more year, he was told he could come back home for a visit. When he got back to Shreveport, he went to get his mother then they got on a bus to come see me in Coushata. They got to Shreveport and George decided he didn’t want to wait on the bus. It was too slow. He bought an old junky car and they continued on to Coushatta, at a faster speed. When they got to Coushatta they were told that I was at the Coushatta High School Carnival. I was inside the building, when someone came to tell me there were several people at the door looking for me. I walked to the door and George grabbed me and said, “Come here you little cowgirl.” Lucille explained, “ I had on a cowgirl outfit with a hat and boots.” Mrs.Youngblood said, “ George and his mother spent the night at my parents house and the next day we went back to Bernice. My brother went with us. The following day George and I got married, at a service station. The justice of the peace owned that service station. We were married for twenty-five wonderful years, before I lost him to a heart attack in 1971. We had two children, Gene Allen and Shirley Jean.” Lucille told me, “Shirley said she knew the reason she had Jean tacked onto her name. It was because her mother had wanted a boy. She said she told her daughter, “Wait a minute, it wasn’t me, it was your daddy who wanted the Jean.” Mrs. Youngblood told me she had picked Shirley because of a girl she had admired in high school. The girl was sweet and polite, never fussing. Hearing her say this reminds me to always be the best person I can be. We never know on whom we might be making an impression. Lucille explained that she had been married to two terrific men. I asked her about her second marriage and she told me how she had met Sam Youngblood. She was working at the Ramada Inn on the Sibley Road in Minden. One of the ladies she worked with was named Barbara. One day Barbara asked Mr. Madden to find her a good man to marry. Lucille said, “If you find her one, you can find me one, too.” When asked what her requirements were, she said, “Someone who doesn’t cuss, smoke, dip or drink and run around with lots of women.” She told me that everyone in there laughed. They told her, “Good luck in finding this man.” A few days later Sam’s brother-in-law Leroy came into the restaurant. He asked her if she had noticed the man who came with him to the restaurant in the mornings for

coffee. She told him, she didn’t pay attention to who came in. He then told her that the man’s name was Sam Youngblood and he sorta has an eye for you. Later on that evening she went into the dining room, and told the people there that she was looking for someone to take her fishing. She said everyone pointed at Sam. Sam made a date to take her fishing. Lucille told me, “From that fishing trip I ended up with eighteen wasp stings.” The next morning she tried to go to work, but she started feeling really sick. Dr. Daniel was in the restaurant, having his morning coffee. She told him what had happened and he told her she was having a secondary reaction to the stings and it was the worse kind of reaction. She said she swelled up like an overblown balloon. Sam did learn one thing about Lucille that day. She was a better fisherman than he was. Mrs. Youngblood said she caught two bass to his one. Sam next took her to church and after that they started dating. They dated for about three months and decided to get married. They were also married for about twenty-five years. Sam passed away in September of 1996, after a heroic fight with cancer. I could write many more wonderful glimpses from this dynamic lady’s life, but as Lucille Youngblood will tell you, “I have had a good life. God has been good to me. I can’t complain.” I think her life’s experiences I have related here show her words to be true. She has had a good life—so far. The people I have been talking to and observing all seem to have the assurance and strength to conquer their problems. I have always heard that southern women have backbones of steel and I think I know what it is that makes them so strong. It is, in part, their faith in God, but also the strengths they find in their friends. When one is down, for whatever reason, they all rally around the crippled one and give her the strength to rebound. Mrs. Youngblood talks about her friends at Gilgal and the church with a love that shines from within. It is the same way Nancy Sanders and Bro. May talked about the church and her people. These individuals know the secret to a successful life; “It’s not the amount of material things we accumulate, but, the number of lives we have touched.” When these ladies told me, “I love you,” I felt their love. If any of the readers know of a special individual, church or community with a story that should be told, please contact me at 318-268-2974 or email me at: [email protected].

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Written by Ruth Jeane

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Visiting Mother is difficult knowing she cannot remember cer-tain memories due to a devastating stroke some years ago. However, watching her is satisfying to the soul as she enjoys the company of rowdy grandchildren. Mother merely sits and smiles at the great-grand-children as they play on the floor 70 years after her first gardens were tilled.

One of her pleasures in the past were her gardens. Not only was it a plea-sure it was a necessity of life for her family. She would load a wheel bar-row with all her tools, seeds, buckets and water then plunge down the trail out behind the house to the garden and spend the early morning hours in rows of peas, butter beans, and ten-der tomatoes. Among tall green corn she hoed okra and squash, throwing over-grown cucumbers beyond the fence to the horse and cows. Mother also planted herbs for canning and winter drying.

During the first part pf the century, young girls were taught the art of gardening at a tender age, especially in the technique of canning fruit and vegetables. Their families relied on the family garden to produce a large percentage of the vegetable pro-duce consumed nationally. Learned from her mother as other young women do, my mother taught her four daughters skills for possible fu-ture husbands to admire. Every clip of a paring knife came with special instruction on how to pack the veg-etable in canning jars or how much sugar to use in jelly. “Your future hus-

band may like his jam sweeter,” she would dryly comment.

Her mother probably made the same instructions in cooking and planning meals. Mother and Daddy lived with Grandma Haley when they were first married or she lived with them. It re-ally doesn’t matter, either way mother had guiding hands in the early days of her marriage, a wedding gift any bride in 1938 would be happy to re-ceive. Considering Daddy left for the war soon after, having her mother to lean on was another plus. They had lived in the rural area of Drew County around what is now called Cut-Off-Creek Wildlife Management area. 70 years later it is still unpaved and back woods.

Mother told me one day she had left my oldest sister Kathy sleeping on a pallet on the bedroom floor while she and her mother were working in the garden out back. When she came in the house to check on her sleep-ing infant, Kathy was gone. Mother thought a coyote had made off with her baby. What she did not realize was that Kathy had learned to roll over and was under the bed asleep. Kathy slept in the shade by the gar-den there after.

I’ve taken my grandson out to the flower gardens with me. He was per-fectly content to sleep in the wheel-barrow. We don’t have coyotes on Hickory Street, but we do have fire ants. It’s a never ending battle to make a safe area for my family. Years ago I spent hours on my hands and knees plucking stickers out of my yard in Magnolia to make it barefoot and kid friendly and now the ants are the battle. I’ve given up on the craw-fish. I just take a spade and collect the spit-mud towers and then add them to the mulch. They then turn into a dandy addition to the flower beds around our home.

Chemicals you say? Remember, kid

friendly!!! I stay away from chemi-cals because they only work for a season and who really knows what the lasting effects are on you loved ones. I cringe to think about those tiny feet running on treated grass or brushing up against the flowers and bushes sprayed with concoctions mixed with Tricloprtrie, or Dicam-badime , thylamine and other ingre-dients. The label says it will not harm the lawn or plants, BUT KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN!!! No telling what the “other ingredients” are included.

There are natural ways to control weeds, mold and bugs. A little re-search goes a long way. Eradica-tion begins with a little elbow grease as well. Just pull those weeds and of course companion planting works well. Remember if you want a child friendly yard it doesn’t have to be perfect. What a better place to ex-plain imperfection to a child than a garden. Who doesn’t delight in watching a child blowing a dandelion in the wind? So what if fifteen grow from the innocent act, the memories are keepers. If you are expecting a perfect child, go live on another plan-et. Want a perfect lawn and garden? Use chemicals and keep your kids in the house, build a fence around it and hire a landscaping firm. And don’t forget to NOT go out and enjoy it.

Thanks to HGTV, Home Gardening Television and other television sta-tions around the country, women and men alike are turning their back yards into the retreats they would have normally spent the family vaca-tion savings on. With the self-help

television shows to offer assistance, a couple can gain the know how to do it themselves. Watching these shows gives me inner confidence that I was given correct instructions during my early days growing up on a farm. How lucky I was to have a mother who grew her own flowers around the house in small gardens then cut her lilies and roses and took them to a grieving neighbor or a sick child. She used her dill to make blue ribbon pickles. I still see her bent over a yellow squash then turn around with her paring knife and make me horn of a squash leaf. ‘“Take this and blow.” I’ve made these horns for others from time to time. “How did you learn to do this?” they ask. Mama taught me.

Her knowledge was enormous and clever as any self-help show on tele-vision. I’m building on this knowledge and want to pass on to my children and grandchildren. Watching them play in the grass and run through the garden is fulfilling as fresh air. My Mother may not be able to express her feelings in words anymore, but her face and smile says it all. After 70 years of marriage, and raising grand children she has earned the right to sit and watch them play. I’m sure other memories are floating through her mind mixing this child and that child, 1938 and 2008 and all points in between such as they do mine. I remember my mother’s garden like the sweet smell of earth itself.

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in Shreveport and can be reached by phone at 318.798.5553. Make an appointment today for their 2-D, 3-D or 4-D Live Motion Ultrasounds! Want to check them out online? Go to www.storkvision.com.

And don’t forget to make your ultra-sound experience memorable for the whole family. The viewing room is equiped with a toy basket for your older children, a sofa for anyone that wants to come with you to your

crystal chandellier, and lovely little touches here and there make the at-mosphere feel warm and inviting.

As we walked through the doors, we were greeted warmly and shown to the room where Amanda’s ultrasound would take place. Moments later, we were listening to the sound of her little one’s tiny heartbeat and watch-ing Baby Sexton kick and squirm around. We peeked at Baby’s tiny toes, counted his fingers (yes, she’s having a BOY!) and giggled when he yawned for the “camera!”

The entire ultrasound was captured on DVD for Amanda’s family to en-joy at home. One of the most pre-cious momentos of the trip was an adorable stuffed Teddy Bear that plays the sound of Amanda’s babys heartbeat! They captured the heart-beat on a recorder and in the process gave Amanda a treasure that she will keep forever!

If you are expecting a child and want to experience a family-friendly ultrasound in a beautiful, comfort-able environment, give Stork Vision of Shreveport a call today! They are located at 7607 Fern Avenue

WE’VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY!

Technology is amazing. Fif-ty years ago, women relied on ole’ wives tales to find out the sex of their babies before birth. Gone are the days of tying a needle to a string, holding it over a pregnant belly and waiting to see if the pendulum be-gins to swing back and forth (sup-posedly the sign for a boy) or loop in a circular pattern in the case of a girl. Thank goodness those days are gone, because that ole’ wives tale is not widely known for accuracy!

If you are an expectant mother, you need to know that there are a few options out there for you that weren’t there even in your Mother’s day. New 3-D and 4-D Technology makes it possible for us to peek into the womb and see, in great detail, your little bundle of joy. The Minute Magazine recently went with former Employee, Mrs. Amanda Sexton, to her 28 week ultrasound appointment with Stork Vision of Shreveport.

The first thing that I noticed when we walked inside of Stork Vision was the beautiful lobby! Lime green walls, a

appointment and a plasma-screen wall monitor for the entire family to watch footage of Baby!

At Stork Vision, family friendly ser-vice is the name of the game. They are happy to accommodate aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and sib-lings! So call today and book your appointment!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda Sexton at Stork Vision of Shreveport having her 28 week ultra-sound.


Founded in 1987, MedCamps of Louisiana began as a one week camp for 13 children with severe asthma and allergies. Since that time, MedCamps of Louisiana has grown tremendously. In the summer of 2008, MedCamps served over 350 children. Estimates show that by the summer of 2010 MedCamps will have provided since its inception one week of camp to over 5,000 children with varying illnesses and disabilities living throughout Louisiana. MedCamps offers 10 individualized camping sessions each summer, each catering to the specific needs of the children who are chronically ill or disabled. These specialized camps are week-long programs for children ages 6 to 16 living with: spina bifida, cerebral palsy, asthma, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, autism, epilepsy, juvenile arthritis, visual-impairment, hearing impairment, speech-impairment and

the developmentally disabled. “MedCamps fills a void in our camper’s lives,” says Caleb Seney, executive director of MedCamps of Louisiana. “Far too many children living with disabilities view life as a spectacle that is to be watched and enjoyed from a distance as it passes by. Children living with special needs often resign themselves to this life on the sidelines. NOT AT MEDCAMPS! “MedCamps’ activities are modified to accommodate a child’s special needs and are designed for success to promote self confidence. Our focus is on what each camper can do. We encourage and challenge our campers to reach their full potential.

“While at camp many of our campers are introduced to traditional summer camping activities that include horseback riding, swimming, canoeing, archery and much, much

LOUISIANAof

MED

CAMPS

more,” he says. “Not only do they get to participate in all these new and exciting activities, but they do so surrounded by thirty or forty other campers who have the same or similar disability. “At MedCamps our campers lose the feeling of uniqueness, and the stigma of their disability is relieved. At school, they may be the ‘kid in the wheelchair,’ but at camp they are just a kid.” The MedCamp program was initially developed as part of the YMCA of Northeast Louisiana and was known as YMCA MedCamps. The YMCA gave MedCamps an instant funding and administrative infrastructure. In 1988 a partnership with the Presbytery of the Pines was formed, and the MedCamps program had a permanent home in which to operate at Camp Alabama, located 5 miles north of the I-20 corridor, 10 miles east Ruston, in Sibley, Louisiana. The word quickly spread, and MedCamps found support from all over the state. Nurses donated their time and expertise to ensure a safe environment for all who attended camp. Community leaders and civic organizations were tremendous in their early financial support. Hospitals across the state were generous in their donations of medicines and equipment to the camp. Parents of campers got involved; lending their construction and architectural expertise to the many construction projects and camp improvements that ensued. Organizations and corporations began to contribute time and money to improve Camp Alabama. Cabins were

refurbished, equipped with air-conditioners and made wheel chair accessible. Roads and sidewalks were paved, and wheel chair accessable bridges were built. The old camp chapel that had tended for years to children’s spiritual needs, was remodeled into a modern camp infirmary, and now attends to the camper’s special medical needs. A wheelchair accessible pool was installed and fishing peers were constructed. These changes allowed MedCamps to expand its capacity and programs.

By 1995, support of the program had grown substantially, and it was determined that further growth could only be achieved as an autonomous organization. A Board of Directors was recruited, by-laws were drafted, and MedCamps of Louisiana was incorporated. MedCamps of Louisiana, Inc. has never charged a fee to attend camp. With the continued support of the communities, corporations and civic organizations across the north Louisiana it is the hope of MedCamps participants, staff, and volunteers that this will continue to be the case for many years to come. MedCamps of Louisiana is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. To make a donation, request a camper application packet, or simply learn more please visit MedCamps online

at www.medcamps.com, email [email protected] or call toll free 877-282-0802.

Submitted by Caleb Seney

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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Hospice & the J.R. Williamson

House

2. FOLLIES: Chris & Danielle

Fettig- Director & Assistant

Director of Cinncinatti,Ohio.

3. Elaine Eaton visiting High

Delta Safari Park in Delhi,

Louisiana.

4. Faye Cook, Tisha Newsom

& Katie Caskey enjoyed a

cruise on Carnival ship Fan-

tasy over the Easter holiday.

5. FOLLIES Macy Braswell -

Executive Director/Life Touch

Hospice & Cast Member; Beth

Weldon - Event Chair & Cast

Member


6

76. Shirley Ardoin and Dewanna Kerr at Shirley’s suprise birthday party.

Photo taken at The Butterfly Garden in Minden.

7. (L to R) Bridget Thomas, Pam Short, Jenny Mitchell, Jonathan Bryant & Theresa Mormi-no celebrating the opening of their

new Cable One office in Shreveport on March 27th.

8. “Biscuit” is a popularpooch name for Members of The Minute Magazine’s

Staff! Here is Vicki Caskey’s beloved canine. Look for Jackie’s dog “Biscuit.” He

will be featured in an upcom-ing issue. Send us YOUR pet (and people) photos to

[email protected] and we’ll do our best to publish them in a future edi-

tion’s SOCIETY SECTION!8


Family Dinner

Bring Back the

written by Tiff any Byram

Long gone are the days of whether or not families should watch tv at the dinner table. Today, cell phones, Ipods, laptops, tvs, newspapers and more grace the traditional dining table… and that’s if your family even makes it there. A home cooked meal is the exception, not the rule. How does your family’s mealtime stack up against the traditional family dinner? Answer the following questions that focus on how your family handles meals, and you may fi nd that your family could use a heapin’ helpin’ off of the old-fashioned family dinner table!

Dinner, Unplugged: Getting back to the basics.

1) Describe a typical day in the life of your dining table.

a) Worst case scenario… mommy and daddy need to go out and make an investment. Ummm… there is no dining table. b) Dining table is currently unavailable. Leave a message and it will get back to you. (table is covered with junk and it would take days to sort through the debris.) c) Dining table is spotless. Unfortunately this is because no one has entered the dining room since you moved into the house. d) Dining table could be cleared in case of emergency or if visitors are coming over. Advanced warning is necessary. e) Dining table is usually clean and ready for dinner duty. It’s

also a great spot to do homework with friends or arts and craft with the kids.

2) It’s dinner time. What is your family doing?

a) The kids eat in their room when they are hungry, the grown-ups eat on the couch. Food is either picked up, delivery or what’s in the freezer. b) Mom or Dad cook dinner but no one is there to eat it when it’s ready. Every one eats when they come in. c) Parents and younger children eat dinner together at table. Tween/Teen is usually missing from meal because they are “hanging out” with friends. This is a common occurrence. When the Tween/Teen is at table, they are constantly texting on their cell phone or even talking on it throughout the meal. d) The entire family eats dinner together at the table. Cell phones are off. There are no distractions such as tvs, Ipods, ect. The family makes an effort to talk to one another and share the days events.

The Minute Magazine encourages you try to sit down as a family every night for one week… no interruptions. All portable electrical devices off. You know what to do. If necessary, give your family a countdown. If they aren’t home, try texting them 1 hour before dinner is ready. That way they have no excuse to be late. Text them again 10 minutes before.

3) How often does your family eat fast food?

a) Seven or more times a week. b) Four to Six times a week. c) Two

to Three times a week. d) Once a week. e) Rarely or never

The Minute Magazine Challenge: Don’t have time to cook? Don’t fret! Visit Stephen’s Down Home BBQ for a to-go dinner! Let Stephen do the cooking for you, then settle in for great family time and ENJOY your dinner!

4) Is there some variety in your menu?

a) We have a set schedule every week. Monday is spaghetti night, Tuesday is Meal in a Box, Wednesday is Sloppy Joes, Thursday is Pizza… b) We don’t have a set schedule but we defi nitely eat the same foods over and over. It never changes, ever. c) We try to add a new dish about once a month to our regular meals. d) One night a week is new dish night. We plan in advance and have everyone in the family get together and cook it. We might pick an easy no bake dessert for the little ones to make (with supervision of course). Our older kids usually want to bring a friend over to help make the side dishes. The key is to pick meals that aren’t complicated. This is supposed to be a fun and low key event. A simple salad, baked sweet potatoes, and grilled chicken are great for everyone. e) We are always trying new dishes but we keep our favorites. We try to get the kids involved by letting them choose recipies they are interested in and want to help cook. That way they are more excited about dinner and it’s

less of a chore. If there are a lot of family members you might let each family member pick their own night. This is a great bonding experience and offers a perfect opportunity to teach your children the value of a dollar. Sound like too much work? Just give your kids some options and be creative. Who knows? You might come out with new recipies that are just as cost effective as your traditional Meal in a Box and twice as tasty!

5) What is your typical dinner conversation like?

a) Conversation? What conversation? b) Everyone is usually too concerned about what’s on their plates to talk but we do manage to get out the usual “how was your day” routine. c) The dinner conversation is decent until about 2/3 of the way through when someone gets their feelings hurt and then everyone starts fi ghting and half of the table goes storming out of the room. d) We don’t have any trouble talking. Conversation isn’t the problem, it’s getting everyone in the same room at the same time. When we do all get together it’s great! e) Good food, good conversation. Now if only the dishes would wash themselves, we’d be in heaven.

Who’s the Boss: Are you in control of your child’s cell phone behaviors?

“Communication. It’s the fi rst thing we really learn in life. Funny


Bring Back thing is, once we grow up, learn our words and really start talking, the harder it becomes to know what to say, or how to ask for what we really need.” ~ Unknown.

... unless, of course, you are a teenager. Their lives are full of endless chatter and texting. This brings me to the topic at hand: cell phones. In today’s society, cell phones are a necessity. It’s hard to find a teen, tween, or even an elementary student that doesn’t have one. Are cell phones teaching our kids how to truly communicate, or just to “talk.” More importantly, are cell phones driving a wedge between that kids have with their parents? Teens and Children are at a pivitol age where they want freedom and independance, but they also need guidance and discipline. Take the following quiz to see where your family rates on their cell phone behaviors.

1)Why does your child have or want a cell phone?

a) Status symbol or way to fit in (all the cool kids have one!) b) Safety:To keep in contact with you (the parent) or in case of emergency.Discussing your childs motivations behind getting a cell phone can be important. It allows you an opportunity to talk about pressures in his or her life. Feelings of loneliness and anxiety could be a reason that they want a phone. You can also find out who they are going to be talking to.

2)Do you have a set of rules for cell phone use?

a) My child knows what to do… I think… b) We kinda talked about it… c) I set some rules in the beginning but I’ve forgotten most of them and so has my child. d) My child knows all of the rules we made for him/her. We try to enforce them. e) I have a set of guidelines typed up on the fridge and my child has to abide by them or he/she can’t use the cell phone.

Even if your child already has a cell phone it’s not to late to set some ground rules. Come up with a list of rules and WRITE THEM DOWN. I suggest emailing the rules to yourself or saving a few copies in different places so that you don’t lose the only copy you have. Rules can be as simple as “Always answer calls

from parents immediately.” Punishment for not answering 5 times in a row without a good, believable excuse might be to take the phone away for a week. “Only view/answer texts and calls from people they know.” Cell phones are becoming a vehicle for sexual predators and scams. Teach your child to be very, very careful of the calls that they answer and the texts they view. Another rule would be to set a limit on text messages per month. If they go over, make them pay for the extra texts. (This is of course only if you want to risk not having the unlimited text plan for your child… option 2 would be to just make them pay the $6.00 or so it costs for the unlimited plan each month and let them have at it.)

3)Does your child use their phone at night?

a) I have no idea… b) Sometimes I think I can hear my child talking on the phone at night/texting. c) I have told my child not to use the phone at night but sometimes I wonder… d) I am pretty sure that my child doesn’t use their phone at night. I have told them not to. e) My child does not use their phone at night. It is turned off and in a common area of the house away from them.

It is important for children to get a good nights sleep and for you to have peace of mind at night. This is not possible if your child is talking on the phone and texting late into the night. Children, tweens, and young teens do

not need the distraction of cell phones in their rooms at night. This is also a great (I repeat GREAT) idea for computers. Your children know tons more about computers than you do. This includes how to delete their histories and how to get into a lot of trouble without you knowing about it. One of the easiest ways for kids to get involved with sexual predators is online. And the best time for this to happen is when everyone is fast asleep. I can assure you that they won’t be happy if you take the computer that they already have out of their room and it will probably cause a fight but in the long run some things are worth fighting for. And keeping your child’s eyes away from pornography and other things that will steal his or her innocence would definitely be considered worth fighting for!

4)Does your child have proper phone etiquitte?

a) I never noticed that other people get irritated when I’m loud on my phone in public. And I never turn my phone on silent in the movies. My child is exactly like me. b) Even when I’m in public on the phone and I notice people getting aggravated I usually don’t change my behavior for them so why should I teach my child to do that? c) I sometimes make an effort to leave a room when my cell phone rings as a common courtousy to others. I have tried to show my child by example. d) My child knows when, where, and how to use the cell phone in public.

Teaching your child how and when to use their phone is just as important as teaching them not to eat with their hands. Common etiquitte might come naturally to you but today’s society is quickly slipping away from things that were once considered decent behaviors. Texting during conversations with other people or talking loudly on the phone while waiting in line are two examples of rude behaviors that can easily be avoided if children are taught at an early age that these acts are frowned upon by many people. Common sense is the key. Teach your child to be observant of other people’s reactions and emotions. This will make it easier to tell if someone is offended by his/her cell phone behavior.

How to Grade Yourself:

If you haven’t figured out the trend already, here is how you should score your answers. A=1 point. B=2 points. C=3 points D=4 points and E=5 points. Add up your total and find your group.

11 - 16 points PLEASE HELP ME! If you scored within this range, don’t panic. In our hustle and bustle society many families find themselves in your exact position. By taking a few of our suggestions and implementing them into your families hectic lifestyle, you may notice a drastic improvement in your children’s behavior. But be prepared, these things don’t happen overnight. At first you may find some resistance.


So stay in constant contact with all family members and remind them that you are doing this to bring the family closer together. By teaching your children the importance of a close-knit family dinner and proper cell phone behavior, you will be setting the example for them to do the same one day with their own children. And if you find yourself slipping back into old habits, come back and read this article again for a refresher.

17- 32 points GETTING’ IT TOGETHER Don’t worry, you’re a normal family. It sounds like you live a very full life with lots of activities. You just have to get everyone in your family on the same page. Sometimes it’s hard to control the days events. Emily has cheerleading practice, Adam has to go to a track meet. Everyone gets pulled in 5 different directions and it’s hard to get everyone in the same place at the same time. With work and school, who has time to cook and clean? But the importance of spending time together alone without the distractions of television and cell phones can be a huge character builder in the lives of your children. It can also bring you and your spouse closer. Don’t get me wrong, it will not be smooth sailing. If you are going from not spending a lot of time with your family to suddenly spending a

great deal of time with them, it can be tricky. Tempers can flair. But remember that if you can push past the first few rough patches, things will get much better. The younger your children are, the easier it should be.

33- 38 points MODEL CITIZEN This is the “ultimate goal” category. Chances are that you already live in Mayberry, your house is spotless, and dinner is always on the table at 5:15. If you scored within this range, we at The Minute Magazine would like for you to come live with us and take care of our children. Talk with your friends, neighbors, and family members and teach them some of the ways you handle dinnertime and cell phone situations. It is important to share your knowledge to others, they may need it more than you know. Try having a group picnic or a small block party. This will give you time to share your ideas about parenting. Make it a family event and bring the kids. If you have time, I encourage you to join our facebook page The Minute Magazine and share some of your parenting tips with us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


ON THE

SPECTRUMwith Lela Robichaux

One of the biggest questions that tends to come up in our lives is “Why?” The very first time I ever asked myself that question I remember sitting at home, the

phone in one hand, with one of those numerous doctors having just hung up. I was just told that we needed to do tests with my son to find out if he had any pervasive development disorders. Let me tell you, that is a very scary sentence when you don’t have any idea what it means. I just thought to myself, “Why is this happening to us?” It wouldn’t be the first time I asked this question. And it certainly wasn’t the last time I ever started a thought, statement or question with the word “why”. There are so many instances of why in our little world, but I am going to hit on one specific time.

The week exploded this morning at what was supposed to be a wonderful time: the baseball game. I don’t know why my son woke up in a foul and noxious mood. I don’t know why when he told us that he didn’t want to play, we insisted that he finish the last three games of the season so

that he could understand when you commit to a team, you need to honor your commitment. I don’t know why when we got to the field and he didn’t want to play, we coerced him out onto the field anyway so that he would participate with everyone else. I don’t know why when he started arguing and yelling and resisting any attempt to calm him that we continued to try to make it work. I don’t know why when he rushed to catch a ball that was hit to the other side of the field that we let him just run to try to get it. I don’t know why that when all the other kids ran for it too, we didn’t foresee the eruption that was about to burst forth. I don’t know why after he pushed the other child down to get the ball from him that our first reaction was to punish.

My son will face such hard times as he grows up simply because his disability isn’t “visible”. Since he is “high-functioning”, sometimes it is easy to forget that he lags behind in social areas. It seems we forgot that he was probably having a very hard time processing what was happening around him. A baseball game is fast-paced and full of excitement. That tends to overwhelm him and he reacts in the only way he knows how. We catch ourselves all the time getting upset and reprimanding him over things because he’s “old enough to know better.” With Asperger Syndrome, a person’s social age isn’t necessarily

on track with their physical age. Our son has been placed about 3 years behind neurotypical kids his own age. So we have to slow down and remember that in instances like this, we’re really dealing with 7-year-old instead of a 10-year-old.

But, no matter how old he gets, that one little word will never go away. “Why” will always be on the edge of my mind, tickling at every incident and bursting out when we face any type of resistance. And it seems that my son has already learned to question himself with whys. It is the answer he gives us, while sobbing: I don’t know why I did it. I don’t know why my brain doesn’t think. I don’t know why I can’t control it. I don’t know why I am different. I don’t know why I can’t understand. I don’t know why I can’t be good.

But I DO know why I have tears now. I know that I love my son so much that the pain I feel when I hear these things from him digs into my heart and, piece by piece, pulls every fiber out and twists it to breaking. I DO know why I wish for him a life without hardships and without so much struggle to “get it right”. There are so many questions and only a few answers and none of them are adequate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A narrative about one fam-ily’s life on the Autistic Spectrum, written by Mrs. Lela Robichaux of Shreve-port, Louisiana. Her col-umn lets you peek into her world and experience what life is like raising a son with Asperger’s Syndrome.


fi nding RUSTON’S PLACE inWWII HISTORY

(left) Peggy Carter with The Louisiana

Tech University Archives shows off

a book written on the subject of the

Ruston POW Camp. (middle) A belt made

by a German POW at the Ruston POW Camp. (far bottom) Aerial Photograph

of the Ruston POW Camp. (far top) The U-505 in tow imme-

diately following its’ capture in June of

1944. These are but a few pieces of the

enormous collection housed at Louisiana

Tech University in Ruston. The Ar-

chives are home to a wealth of artifacts,

books, photos and momentos from the

POW camp.

It is common knowledge that the city of Ruston, Louisiana is a hotbed for peaches and bulldogs, but did you know that this charming little college town was once home to one of the largest Prisoner of War Camps in the United States? The camp, established in 1942, was located seven miles outside of the city limits and was built by Ruston’s T. L. James Company.

In order to gain a complete picture of who, how

and why the Ruston POW Camp was of such importance during WWII, The Minute Magazine recently traveled to Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. Peggy Carter of Louisiana Tech University’s Special Collections’ Department guided us through the pieces of Camp history in their possession. The immense collection is a living record of local history and is more than impressive. From furniture, hand carved by German prisoners, to a belt made of discarded wrappers, it is obvious that the POW’s from Camp Ruston left their mark on North Louisiana.

During its height, Camp Ruston housed over three thousand Prisoners of War, the most famous of whom were captured on 4 June 1944 off the coast of Casablanca. On that fateful June morning, the 58 surviving crewmembers of the German Submarine known as the U-505 began a journey that would take them from the salty, rough waters off the coast of Africa to the sleepy, rolling hills of Northern Louisiana.

When the US captured the Enigma decoding machine off of the (German Submarine) U-505 on that day in 1944, it was imperative that news of the capture did not reach the German command. Prior to the U-505 capture, the Allies had been

unable to break the Enigma’s complex code. With the newly captured Enigma code-breaking machine at Allied fi ngertips, top-secret German transmissions were fi nally being interpreted. These transmissions would undoubtedly stop if Germany suspected American involvement in what they considered to be a “missing” German U-Boat.

Immediately after its capture, the U-505 was towed away quickly and preparations were made in Ruston for the soon-to-arrive U-505 POW’s. Here, in the piney forests of Louisiana, their identity could be concealed. Separated from the other POW’s at Camp Ruston, the crewmembers of the U-505 spent the remainder of the war far away from their homeland and their families. These special POW’s were not allowed to write letters home, for if their capture had been discovered the Allied possession of the Enigma would have been discovered as well.

Over sixty years later, hundreds of documents and momentos have been collected and are on view at Louisiana Tech University. You can visit the Special Collections Section for FREE and piece together the accounts to gain a more vivid picture of what life was like for

Written by Jackie Lewis


fi nding RUSTON’S PLACE inWWII HISTORY

Photoscourtesy of LA Tech Archives.

(top, left) Camp Guard and German POW at the POW Camp in Ruston, Louisiana.

(bottom, left) Camp HQ at the POW Camp.Pictured are (l to r) John Hoffman, Mike Harris,Mary Snelling & Charles Torrey.

the POWs in Louisiana during the 1940’s. Visitors can look at offi cial maps, books, prisoner art and hand-carved furniture, hear interviews from former POWs and Camp Attendees, and see hundreds of other relics from the camp on display.

In the Archives you will fi nd fi rst hand accounts of the way the prisoners were treated. Though security was always taken seriously, the Prison Guards approached the POWs with dignity and respect. American culture was infused into the activities when the Guards taught the POWs to play Baseball. Select POWs were entrusted to work in the surrounding communities. Enlisted POWs worked locally picking cotton, cutting grass and helping with other needed odds and ends in North Louisiana. The POWs gave labor assistance and received in return SCRIP to be used at the Camp Canteen, where they could purchase everything from candy to cigarettes.

````````````````````````````````````````````````

If you would like to learn more about Camp Ruston, you might want to start by reading any of the Numerous books that have been written about the experiences at Camp Ruston. Here are three of the most famous:

Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, a World at War, and a Field of Broken Dreams. Written by Gary W. Moore.

Fish Out of Water: Nazi Submariners as Prisoners in North Louisiana During World War II. Written by Weley Harris.

Steel Boat, Iron Hearts: A U-boat

Crewman’s Life aboard U-505. Written by Hans Goebeler with John Vanzo.

````````````````````````````````````````````````

For those of you that want to submerge yourself into the complete history of the U-505, consider taking a trip to Chicago. The U-505 is on display there at the Museum of Science and Industry. For more information, visit the museum online at www.msichicago.org, or phone them at 773-684-1414.

For more information about the Louisiana Tech Archives, contact Peggy Carter by phoning 318.257.2935 or emailing [email protected].


What would you do if you could spend a single minute of your time doing anything?

TIME FOR What would you do What would you do if you could spend a if you could spend a single minute of your single minute of your time doing anything?time doing anything?

TIME FORTIME FORThought

Jennifer Bien

“I would go back 20 years ago and tell my Grand-ma Mouser how much her prayers worked. She nev-er knew I got into church. I wish I could see her and tell her all about the missionary work we do now.”

Amy Coleman Peace

“I would spend it with a friend of mine who died 16

years ago and make sure that he knew what a good friend

he was to me.”

Wendy Litton

“I would spend my ‘minute’ enjoying ALL OF my family

like I did 2 weeks ago, when my mom, one sister, an un-

cle, an aunt, a cousin and her kids were in town from

3 different states. We spent most of our time out at my

other aunt’s house with her family and my grandmother

and my other uncle from N. Webster Parish.”

Kaye Deane Hanson

“Let’s see.... it would be 1970 and I would be with my broth-ers & sisters on my grand-mother Wil-iams’ beauti-ful farm in the rolling hills of Ohio climbing trees, riding horses & hav-ing good, old fashioned fun.”

Rhonda Burns Dyson

“Holding my child and telling him how

much I love him!”

I would sit down with my grown children and my deceased mother. They never got to meet and I would introduce them to her. My grandchildren are precious, but the love and pride that I have for my own children is immeasurable. I want her to know them. We only have a minute, you know. Judy Lewis


the true confessions

of an

ANTIQUE JUNKIE

written byDonna Arender

Many of you have been following my stories to how I became an “antique junkie.” Its not secret that I love old furniture and treasures of the past. But I have also found something more valuable than even the finest antiques... and I’d like to share it with you.

During my travels all across the mid-south states I have found the friendliest folks at antique shops, flea markets and garage sales. There seems to be a common bond between people who like “old stuff.” Store owners frequently strike up a conversation about the items of interest and garage sale enthusiasts share with “regulars” where the good buys are at! A few years ago I just happened upon a very sweet lady in an antique shop not too far away, and now we’re the best of friends.

Shirley Alexander worked for Bell South for 25 years. After retiring in 2000, she opened an antique store in the quaint little town of Arcadia. I met her on one of my “antique outings” while shopping in her store. But it wasn’t just the wonderful old primitives and vintage treasures that made me a repeat customer. It was her warm and friendly personality that drew me back again and again.

Anyone who visits her shop will know exactly what I’m talking about. When you step into the store you’ll feel its charm. It’s as though you’ve taken a step back in time. Everything around you is from an era gone by. There is colorful glassware from the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. There are old store displays, gardening items, farm tools, pottery, jewelry, primitives, furniture and much more.

And just like the “good old days”, Shirley greets everyone with a smile. She loves to talk with her customers and find out what their interests are. She’s very knowledgeable about all kinds of antiques and vintage items. But she’s also quick to tell you if she doesn’t know anything about an item. Honesty seems a rare value these days, but not in her. It’s just another reason people like to buy from Shirley... because they know they can trust her.

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit with Shirley over at her shop. I told her I was just curious about how she got started in the antique business. Here are several things she shared with me. Shirley said she started buying and storing things for her shop about 10 years before she actually retired. She has loved antiques all of her adult life and her sister, Claudine, has been a big influence - especially in her collecting.

Some of her first interests were in vintage decorations, such as Christmas (her favorite), Halloween, Easter, etc. When I visited Shirley’s home, I was in awe of all her unique collections. They range from holiday items, head vases, English enamel bath pitchers, antique cast-iron door stops, Fireking jadeite and turquoise blue dinnerware, peanut butter tins, children’s advertising shoe banks, old toys and more.

How do you find all this “good stuff,” I asked. Shirley grinned, as if I was

finding out a secret. She travels with her husband, Larry. They both love to travel and shop. They usually go to the annual 100 & 150 mile highway yard sales in neighboring states. And they also shop as they travel to and from Nascar and dirt track races.

“Larry has a good eye for things,” Shirley says. And having the eye for good items is just as important as knowledge. If you don’t have the eye to find the piece, the knowledge doesn’t do you much good. Some people just know the “look” of a good piece when they see it. So, together, Larry and Shirley make a pretty good team.

You have to study the books on individual items if you really want to “know” them. There are numerous kinds of glassware, potteries, jewelry, toys, furniture, collectibles, etc. Glassware from the 30s, 40s and 50s are always popular items. The glasses came free in laundry soap, oatmeal boxes and loose tea, or they held food items such as peanut butter, Kraft cheese, or caramel... just to name a few. Sometimes collectors go for certain items by their design, some by their color. But there’s always something for everyone.

Another “free” collectible is flour and feed sacks. People used them to make things such as clothes, aprons and curtains. They are not popular among collectors, with the most desirable theme being Cowboys and Indians. Depending on the design and color, they start around $6 and sometimes fetch as much as $50-$60 for the the more sought after ones.

Shirley also buys out estates. She said that some people don’t like to buy from estates because it makes them feel sad for the people that left it behind. To Shirley, it’s a way of “preserving” the items so they can be passed along to someone else who will love them

Last but not least, I asked Shirley what she likes about being in the antique business. She

said that after working full time and raising three kids that she knew that she didn’t want to punch a time clock again. But the best reason is because it makes people smile. Customers can come in with the weight of the world on their shoulders and they leave with their spirits lifted. It takes them back to a happier time because they see items that mama or grandma once had or used. It keeps them connected to their loved ones and their childhood memories.

So... in my travels to quench my cravings for my antique addiction, I have found the best treasure of all: friendship. It is priceless, and not even the most rare or finest antique can begin to compare. If you find yourself needing to “get away” for a few hours, I highly recommend that you drive over to Arcadia. Visit any of the antique shops and the friendly folks there and you’ll leave with a happy heart... and maybe even a treasure or two to bring home!

Photos:

top, left: First Street Antiques in Arcadia,

Louisiana.

bottom, right: Shirley Alexander displays one of the oldest dated vin-tage toys in her collec-

tion. The rocking horse dates to 1913.


Meant to bein their hands!

Clockwise from top, left: Claudie & Nellie Johnson’s family photo and the letters that he wrote home to his Momma during WWII. The baby in the photograph is Claudette, their firstborn; Bobbie Osterland and her daughter Jana Norton, both from Monroe, Louisiana, read about their fam-ily’s history. Bobbie is Joe and Ella Johnson’s Granddaughter; Claudette Romano of Germantown, Maryland and her cousin Louise Toups of Houston, Texas, met up with us in April of 2009 to collect their family’s missing letters; letters written by Claudie Johnson, bundled together with twine; The Johnson Family. (l to r, front row) Bobbie, Fred, Ella, Bea, Hazel. (l to r, back row) Claudie, C. L., Alvie; We had the amazing opportunity to follow Claudie Johnson through WWII via letters and then through photos that the Johnson Family brought for us to see; Ella Johnson’s photos scattered across the article that grabbed the family’s attention this spring; Claudie Johnson, sitting, during WWII.

PHOTOS by LESLIE COYLE & DANA DENNY.


The call came in quite unexpectedly a month after our Spring Issue hit the newsstands.

“Hi.... I’m.... um.... Ella Johnson’s granddaughter,” the woman’s voice on the other end of the line sounded a mixture of surprised, confused and curious. “My name is Bobbie Osterland. And who am I speaking to?”

For a few brief moments, and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t know what to say. I had been searching for Claudie Johnson’s family for so long that I had almost given up hope of ever finding them. The words escaped from my mouth before I had the chance to think of something more fitting... “Are you serious?”

If you missed the article entitled LETTERS TO MOMMA in the Spring Issue of The Minute Magazine, then you undoubtedly have no idea why the above conversation was so important. If you read the article, then you can go ahead and skip to the next paragraph. If you didn’t, then here is a very brief review of the article. Over two years ago, I stumbled upon a box of old letters at a garage sale. They were all addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Joe Johnson of Glenmora, Louisiana, and the postmarks varied from the 1920’s to the 1950’s. Some of the letters were from the young Johnson men during their wartime service during WWII. Others were from cousins, friends and politicians. After reading them, I realized that the letters needed to be handed down to the remaining members of the Johnson Family. That box practically haunted me until I had the idea to write a story about the letters and ask for the readers of The Minute Magazine to help me find the Johnsons. Never did I consider that a direct descendant of Joe and Ella Johnson would pick up The Minute Magazine and read my article. But somehow, against all odds, it happened.

So there I was with phone in hand, mouth hanging open, and eyes wide with shock. “Where do you live, how are you, who are you and how did you hear about the article?” The words came out of my mouth as quickly as Thoroughbreds approaching the finish line at The Kentucky Derby. During the course of the next thirty minutes, Mrs. Ella Johnson’s granddaughter answered those question and many, many more. And she had just as many questions for me.

Two days and five Johnson Family phone calls later found the pieces of the puzzle all connecting together and an image of Claudie Johnson’s life

beginning to appear. I had spoken with Claudette, the very excited daughter of Claudie Johnson, the same Claudie that had penned the majority of the WWII letters. It was obvious that these letters were very important to her. Claudette explained that the letters had been taken from her Grandparent’s vacant home over 20 years earlier. There was no trace of the letters that had been kept in a washtub beneath Ella Johnson’s bed for over twenty-five years. Then one day her cousin called her on the phone and read her an article with the headline of LETTERS TO MOMMA.

Less than a week after our intial contact with the Johnson Family, we had another amazing surprise. Mr. Lloyd Savage of Haynesville, Louisiana phoned to say that years ago he had found a group of letters addressed to the same Ella and Joe Johnson from Glenmora, Louisiana. He brought a stack of nine more letters to Minden and asked for me to return them to The Johnson Family!

In late April, Claudette Romano flew in from Germantown, Maryland to meet with the staff of The Minute Magazine and to collect the letters that her Father had penned so many years ago. We met at The Waterfront Grill in Monroe, Louisiana, and spent an afternoon reminiscing about the Johnson Family members mentioned in the letters. Hazel Johnson, Claudie’s sister, also penned several letters in the collection. Her daughter Louis flew in from Houston, Texas for our meeting as well!

Sometimes in life, things are too unbelievable to be written off as mere chance. What are the odds of descendants from the Johnson Family that lived in Glenmora, Louisiana in the 1940’s picking up a copy of this magazine and then reading the article and realizing their connection to the story? Those odds were not in our favor. So when it actually happened, we were overwhelmed with emotion. This amazing experience has touched each and every person involved in a wonderful way. When Lloyd called to inform us about the additional letters

that he would like to return to the family, I realized that we were all part of a much, much larger picture. I can honestly say that I feel blessed to be a part of this beautiful story. God gave us all the opportunity to be a part of something amazing!

As Claudette, Louis and Bobbie walked away from The Waterfront Grill on that overcast spring afternoon, they carried with them their family’s long-missing letters. And so the letters began yet another journey, only this time they weren’t sent through the post office. Some things are simply too precious to risk putting in the mail. Besides, these letters have already taken a trip around the world and then yet another mysterious journey through time. How they bridged the distance between Glenmora, Louisiana in

the 1960’s to Minden, Louisiana in the new millennia we will probably never find out. But we do know one thing. Claudette has been given the gift of a new connection with her father over twenty years after his death. That’s a gift more precious than anything money could ever buy. Enjoy reading about your Father, Claudette.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We would like to thank the following members of the media for giving additional coverage to this story: The Minden Press Herald (Minden, Louisiana), KNOE (Monroe, Louisiana), KSLA (Shreveport, Louisiana), KTBS (Shreveport, Louisiana), and WUSA (Washington DC).


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MUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUMMUSEUM

Have you ever had a defi ning moment? A moment when you suddenly realized that the world is indeed a tiny place and that it is still possible for one person to change our society? Dr. Karpeles, founder of The Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums, knows exactly what it’s like to be in one of those moments. And he wants YOU to experience that feeling.

When you step inside of Shreveport’s Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, the historic building’s beautiful architecture greets you warmly. Charming moulding and dark, rich woodwork sets the stage for your visit. Beyond the historic pillars framing the entrance of the museum lies a collection of original, world-changing manuscripts; over one million of them are in Dr. Karpeles’ amazing collection. These historic relics are housed in the ten Karpeles Manuscript Museums that have been sprinkled across the American landscape, and Shreveport is blessed indeed to have one of them. Here, taveling displays introduce museum-goers to scientifi c works by Darwin and Freud; history buffs are in awe of important documents such as the Surrender Agreement of World War II and the Thanksgiving Proclamation of the United States, signed by George Washington.

The shaky penmanship of the world’s best minds might startle you a bit. After all, our society has built the reputations of Einstein, Gallileo, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Shakespeare up so high that without a sturdy base of realism, they can easily topple over in the mind of a child. Understanding the mind of a genius can be quite intimidating. Often times we tend to focus on their greatness, and in doing so we often overlook their humanity. If there’s one thing that our educational system

does not teach, it is imperfection. Yes, people like Thomas Edison were brilliant. But not everything that they touched turned to gold. The greatest thinkers of all time were geniuses because of their ability to think outside of the box. If there’s a magical, mystical quality about The Karpeles Manuscript Museum, it comes from the knowledge that here you are given the amazing opportunity to see the works of our world’s geniuses, penned in their own hand, inside of the box once again.

It is important for our children to realize that in the pursuit of fulfi lling your potential, it’s impossible to be perfect. In an attempt to become enlightened, we are all going to fall fl at on our faces and make mistakes; but our lack of perfection in the pursuit does not mean that we are anything less than remarkable. When you are standing before a case displaying the penmanship of historic fi gures such as General Custer, Mark Twain, and King Phillip, the sense of greatness is so palpable that it is almost overwhelming. For many, standing amidst the great manuscripts will become a defi ning moment, a moment in which they realize that the men and women who have shaped history are just that: men and women. They are, and were, as human as you and I. They felt, dealt with and conquered many of the issues that are still with us today: war, hunger, love, jealousy, uncertainty, pride, power and beauty.

Why exactly does Dr. Karpeles feel that it is important to introduce Americans to these documents? His passion for helping others truly understand the world around us is the driving force behind his mission. That is why he funds the collection and the museums nationwide with his own capital. He uses his own money to make it possible for you and I to experience history fi rsthand.

“As a child I remember a world fi lled with hope and pride. Those who had pursued their goals, whether successfully or not refl ected their pride and fulfi llment. One could feel their excitement in their desire to follow their new and future goals. Those of us too young had hope and looked to the inspiration of our predecessors to give us purpose.

“The world is no longer so fi lled. There is little hope and little pride. Our children have no sense of purpose and few goals. They make

no commitments for fear that they will make mistakes and fail. They see our mistakes but are blind to our accomplishments. Their emptiness spreads over us all.

“I for one, will not accept this. I wish to renew that feeling I had as a child; that hope, that pride, that sense of purpose. I believe that we learned those feelings by our exposure to the accomplishments of our predecessors. We studied history; we studied literature, we studied government, science, philosophy, art and music. Our children have not. They do not know who is Simon Bolivar, Rudyard Kipling, Immanuel Kant, Franklin Pierce, Sir Walter R a l e i g h , Virginia Dare or Queen Isabella. They are hardly aware of the Quest for the Indies, the Origin of the Species, the discovery of vaccines, the Reformation, the Black P l a g u e , E s p e r a n t o , the Peer Gynt Suites, the Rubaiyat, the Magna Carta.

“It is to cure this lack and thereby fulfi ll my own desire to renew the sense of purpose for our children and ourselves that the

Karpeles Manuscript Library has been created.” - David Karpeles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You may visit the Karpeles Manuscript Museum in Shreveport for free. They are located at 3201 Centenary, and may be reached by phone at 318-861-7615 or online at www.rain.org.

Written by Jackie Lewis

Photos: Jean Glabus - Assistant Director, and Mr John J Herring III. Bottom: The Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, Shreveport, Louisiana.

the minute magazine summer 2009 issue

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