May's Artifact of the Month is a recent donation. This large storage trunk (2013.024.001) dates from the 1900s. The donor kept her father’s World War I uniform, which was donated
to the Historical Center in 2010, inside the trunk. The trunk’s lock was made
by Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company of Stamford, CT. No shipping stickers or other identifying
marks are on the trunk, so it was likely only used for storage. Yale Lock Manufacturing Company was established in 1868 in
Stamford by Linus Yale, Jr., and Henry Towne. Yale, Jr. was the inventor of the cylinder pin-tumbler
lock, but he died a few months after the
company was formed, never knowing how world famous his locks became. Henry
Towne renamed Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company in 1883, keeping his
deceased partner’s name for the business.
"Preserving the history and memories of Bossier Parish, Louisiana"
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Photo of the Month - May
May's Photo of the Month is taken from our slide collection. We recently
purchased an Ion Film2SD 35mm film and slide scanner to help process the slides
and negatives in the History Center’s collection. This scanner allows us to
convert slides to a digital format and then those digital files can be uploaded
to our Past Perfect Online database. We’re excited to be able to share these
previously hidden parts of our collection with our patrons!
We’ve selected this image (1997.031.046) as our
photo of the month. The slide shows a
young boy standing next to a sign for Lake Plain Dealing. The sign advertises
boating and swimming. The lake was also used for fishing, water skiing, and picnicking.
The beginnings of the lake, however, had nothing to do with recreation. Its
primary goal was to prevent flooding.
The town of Plain Dealing dealt with flooding for generations
until a plan in the mid-1950s to build three reservoir lakes took shape. Flash
flooding was the main concern, as the town generally experienced three to five
floods in the spring months. Floods in April
of 1958 seriously damaged crops and twelve inches of rain in one week brought
five overflows to the town. Residents
tried to save their buildings by placing feeds sacks in doorways, but water
crept into the Kelly Drug Store, Doles Insurance Agency, the Post Office, and
the telephone exchange. Floods resulted
in an estimated $41,000 of damage to Plain Dealing homes and stores annually.
In 1958, a delegation of six citizens, including M.R.
Bolinger, John Doles, Jr., and Leon Sanders, attended an area meeting of the
Soil Erosion group in Minden, LA. They
planned to take advantage of the benefits of the Watershed Protection and Flood
Prevention Act passed by Congress in 1954. The program to dam three lakes
gained support from both the Dorcheat Soil Conservation District and the
Bossier Parish Police Jury. The Police Jury agreed to help with the maintenance
of the dams and also constructed blacktopped roads to the lakes.
The whole community was involved in the project. The
rights-of-way were mostly donated by citizens. S.H. Bolinger and Company
donated work crews and equipment for clearing and leveling the shoreline and
picnic grounds. Prisoners were used to clean underbrush and debris from the
recreation area. Boy Scouts piled brush and planted grass. The Home
Demonstration Club, Women’s Clubs, and the American Legion helped financially
in projects around the lakes.
In 1961, the creation of the lakes was named national ”Watershed
Project of the Year”, and several men integral to the project, including Plain
Dealing Mayor Leon Sanders, and their wives traveled to Tucson, Arizona to
receive the honor. Plain Dealing had
taken a great step forward in flood control and also received the bonus of a
wonderful water recreation area.
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