1950s Watershed Project Revives Plain Dealing

Signage for Upper West Fork Cypress Bayou watershed. Plain Dealing Library Collection: 1997.031.043.

On Jul. 25, 1888, S. J. Zeigler, founder of Plain Dealing, auctioned off the lots that now comprise the town. For decades this flourishing little town endured an average of four floods per year, costing residents and business owners an average of $41,884 in damages annually. The town suffered nearly $16,000 worth of damages to streets, bridges, and other property each year.

Damages to farmland were approximately $4,000 annually, and with the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act passed by Congress in 1954, farmers on the upper west fork of Cypress Bayou became interested in the agricultural benefits of a watershed project for Plain Dealing. After many meetings, applications and votes concerning the Upper West Fork of Cypress Bayou watershed were approved by the Soil Conservation Service of the USDA, Mar. 1958.

Demoss livery stable, during a flood in Plain Dealing, c. 1910s. (located at Palmetto Road)
Bryce Turnley Collection: 1997.062.172.

It was estimated that the project would cost $505,000, with Federal contributions of $333,800 and local costs of $172,000. Local contributions also included the land, easements, and rights of way, as well as operation and maintenance of the project after completion. The Louisiana State Department of Public Works provided engineering services and funds for construction. In 1956 the citizens of Plain Dealing unanimously approved a bond issue for $52,000 to fund the cost of paving roads to the lakes.

The project included the damming of three lakes: one for flood storage, one for a water reserve, and the third for recreational purposes. Once completed, the 5,500-acre watershed would provide flood protection, municipal water supply, as well as fish and wildlife development. The benefits of investing in this massive project also ushered in a growth spurt for Plain Dealing.

According to an article appearing in the Shreveport Times on May 4, 1969, Gene Warren quoted Mayor Leon Sanders exclaiming that the “three watershed dams helped save his town.” That since the completion of the project in 1961, the value of those dams to Plain Dealing was “close to half a million dollars,” according to Sanders. Not only did the town realize the previously mentioned benefits, but it also made the town more appealing.

Sanders told Warren “that since the structures were built, over a dozen new businesses have opened up in town,” including a new bank, a new hospital, a new clinic, a library, and a plywood mill that employed over 200 local people. A new subdivision was developed on the outskirts of town with 15 to 20 new homes. New roads were constructed and new churches formed.

While one of the three lakes were not named, because its sole purpose was to provide flood control, the other two were named Lake Dogwood and Lake Plain Dealing. Sanders stated, “The city bought 64 acres around the edges of the lakes and developed facilities for swimming, picnicking, and camping.” He also reported that “close to 3,000 people per day from all over north Louisiana have used the lakes.” Thanks to the Louisiana Wild Life and Fisheries Commission, the lakes were stocked with fish, making the lakes ideal for fishing.

With the new recreational areas to offer and with the fear of annual floods gone, Plain Dealing became revived for the first time since the 1930s. Businesses and people saw Plain Dealing as a town with potential rising, moving there to live the American dream.

To learn more about Plain Dealing, visit the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center at 2206 Beckett Street, Bossier City. Be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB.

By: Amy Robertson

Bossier Biographies: Lettie van Landingham

In our new video series, Bossier Biographies, learn about individuals who made important contributions to Bossier Parish.

Our first biography is about Lettie van Landingham, a woman who served as Bossier's Home Demonstration Agent for 31 years.

Click the link to go to our Youtube channel.
Lettie van Landingham biography

Miss Rita Made a Difference

Rita Sanders Keoun

Bossier Parish Police Juror, Jimmy Walker, motioned on May 7, 1987, for the Bossier Parish Police Jury to declare Jun. 14, 1987 as “Rita Keoun Appreciation Day.” The resolution was passed, and a Special Committee of the Bossier Parish Library Board was assembled to organize the dedication ceremony activities for the newly expanded Plain Dealing branch, including recognizing Rita Keoun for her many years of service.

Miss Rita, as she was most affectionately known, was born in Plain Dealing on Dec. 8, 1901. After graduating high school in 1918, she went to Louisiana Polytechnic Institute in Ruston, La, where she completed her education degree in 1923. For the first six years of her teaching career, Miss Rita taught home economics and anything else they needed her to teach. First, in Lisbon and then in Hosston, until R.V. Kerr offered her a teaching position in Plain Dealing, bringing her back home to the community she loved.

For the next forty years, Miss Rita taught second grade to children in Plain Dealing. As a lifelong educator, she was also a lifelong learner, returning to school during summer breaks, eventually receiving a master’s degree in primary education.

In Nov. 1949, Keoun joined the Bossier Parish Library Board of Control and was elected president in 1960. In her forty-plus years on the board, she only missed one meeting due to car troubles. She served without pay or expense reimbursement because she felt she could be of service, and because of her love for education. Public libraries are, after all, a vital part of the educational system in America.

Miss Rita was recognized for her contributions by many organizations on a regional, state, and national level. She was the recipient of the 1980 James O. Modisette Award for Public Library Trustees. Not only did the parish recognize her on “Rita Keoun Appreciation Day,” Governor Edwin Edwards proclaimed Jun. 14, 1987, as “Rita Keoun Day” as well. When asked how she felt about her special day, Miss Rita responded by saying, “I was embarrassed to death.” In another interview, she asked the writer not to make her “look special.” It’s clear she was not in it for the recognition; her only concern was making a difference.

Rita Sanders Keoun, honored at the dedication ceremony of the Plain Dealing Library.
On Rita Sanders Keoun Appreciation Day, June 14, 1987. Ada Myreck Collection: 1997.005.002.

Outside of teaching and serving on the library board, Miss Rita was also involved in numerous civic organizations. She served on the committee that created and presented a memorial plaque honoring the two hundred WWII veterans that were graduates and teachers from Plain Dealing High School, a gift of the 1944 graduating class. When the Bossier Parish Teachers’ Association was founded, May 1946, Miss Rita served as its first treasurer. She was a founding member of the Plain Dealing Kadelphian Club and a member of the Plain Dealing Dogwood Drive Association.

 

Miss Rita was on the Bossier Restoration Foundation, in which she was elected president in 1974. Anytime there were any national fundraisers, she often served as the chairman of the local chapter, including the American Red Cross Roll Call campaign, Infantile Paralysis Foundation, March of Dimes, and the Cancer Fund. For sixty-seven years, she was a devoted member of the Plain Dealing First United Methodist Church, teaching Sunday school for at least fifty of those years.

Miss Rita made a difference in Bossier Parish with her lifelong passion for educating and serving others. In a final recognition of her dedication and service to the parish, the Plain Dealing branch of the Bossier Parish Library was renamed the “Rita Sanders Keoun Memorial Plain Dealing Branch” shortly after her death in 1991.

By: Amy Robertson

Summer issue of The History Current

Check out the summer issue of our History Center newsletter - The History Current!

The History Center is now open for grab-and-go services from Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm. We are also still having curbside services available. Of course, there is also our wide selection of online resources available in the comfort of your home. If you'd like to get an eCard, please go to Bossier Parish Libraries - Library at Home. 

Louisiana's Health Exhibit Train

The Louisiana Health Exhibit Train in Plain Dealing c. 1911. Bryce Turnley Collection: 1997.062.171.

In 1910 Dr. Oscar Dowling, a prominent oculist in Shreveport, became the president of the Louisiana State Board of Health and instituted a massive campaign on public health reform. In an article in the Times-Democrat, Sep. 2,1910, Dowling was quoted as saying, “I shall try to make my administration of the affairs of the State Board of Health as efficient as possible. By means of an educational campaign, I hope to arouse a deeper and more popular interest in health matters the State over.”

He set out to teach every community in the state about personal hygiene, sanitation, mosquito control, and disease prevention. He assembled a small team of lecturers and assistants that traveled with him on the health exhibit train, which consisted of three cars; two 75-foot cars for exhibits and a Pullman car for living quarters. The Queen and Crescent Railway Company provided the train.

The health exhibit train debuted on Nov. 1, 1910, at the State Fair in Shreveport, where Dr. Dowling invited all physicians, dentists, and representatives of the press to be special guests of his “gospel of health on wheels.” When the fair was over, the train was parked at the Market Street crossing for its\ first public viewing. According to Henry Oyen, “Every city, town or village – 256 in all – of more than 250 inhabitants was visited, inspected and lectured. Where the railroads didn’t run Dowling went in motor cars or carriages. On the narrow-gauge tracks hemounted a railway hand car and pumped himself over the line. Where other methods of transportation failed he walked; in the bayou parishes launches and rowboats were called into service.”

An article in the Shreveport Journal, Jan. 7, 1911, states that one of the exhibits “tells a story of prevention of disease. Arranged on a table in the center of the room are twenty glass jars. In these are sections of the human form, not of wax or composition, but actual specimens. These sections, which have been prepared by Dr. Edmond Souchon, show the progress of tuberculosis in various stages of development. Set up along the sides of the car are transparent views prepared from photographs taken by Dr. P. T. Talbot on his recent tour of inspection of the state. There is also an interesting exhibit furnished by the Louisiana Anti-tuberculosis League. A model of a sanitary closet constructed according to the plans of Dr. Charles Wardell Stiles, the noted hookworm expert, is also on exhibition.

“Constructed according to the plans furnished by the United States department of agriculture is the framework of a model dairy in miniature. Some interesting charts prepared by Dr. Gustave Mann of Tulane, show the food values of various food exhibits. There are microscopes and other aparati, milk coolers, pails, aerators, and model school furniture of the latest design. … There is also an exhibit of bacilli cultures prepared by Dr. Jones, showing the effect of fly contamination. An interesting pathological exhibit of preventable diseases prepared by Dr. Charles W. Duval, by courtesy of Tulane University, is also in the car. Dr. William Ernest Walker’s oral hygiene exhibit attracting much attention. Additional exhibits on blindness and milk appliances have been recently added. Quantities of literature, consisting of cards, banners, etc., calling attention to the evil of flies and spitting, and also containing statistics on various diseases, are distributed from the car.

“The daily program covers a full day’s work. The car is open from 8 o’clock in the morning until 10 and sometimes 11 o’clock at night. In the mornings Miss Morris and Dr. Porter visit and inspect the schools and talk to the children. Miss Morris also meets the ladies and organizes school improvement and civic leagues. The doctors make the sanitary inspections of the towns. At night illustrated lectures, slides and moving pictures are given. These evening entertainments are free and a cordial invitation is extended to the people in the surrounding country, as well as those in town, to attend the meetings.”

In 1911, Dr. Dowling received an urgent invitation from California to bring the health train to them, which he obliged, presenting his health exhibit train at the American Medical Society Convention, making stops along the way. The popularity and effectiveness of the health train kept it going in Louisiana for well over a decade, and this method of educating citizens and improving public health quickly became adopted by other states.

Before going to California, the health exhibit train completed its first state tour and stopped in Plain Dealing in May of 1911.

By: Amy Robertson

19th Century Bossier Parish Picnic Cuisine

A picnic at Gregg's Landing in Koran, La., c. 1902.
Bossier Parish Library Collection: 0000.001.052.

According to an article in The Bossier Banner, Aug. 6, 1885, which gives insight to the American picnic of the 19th Century, the writer explains that “the distinctive American badge for a day’s out-of door recreation is the basket. It is democratic in character and has a wonderful significance of freedom and independence. It is representative of a day when the cares of business or the household are put aside.”

July is national picnic month and culinary arts month, too. To celebrate these two observances, this writer has compiled some popular recipes from the Bossier Banner, that were commonly found in a 19th Century picnicker’s basket.

Mrs. Julia Zachary on a picnic with grandchildren, c. 1910.
Beulah Findley Collection: 1997.054.051.

Sep. 16, 1880 – “Picnic Buns. – Eight ounces butter, fourteen ounces flour, six ounces sifted sugar, two eggs, half a nutmeg, teaspoonful of sifted ginger, large spoonful of caraway seeds. Beat the butter to a cream; add the eggs, well beaten; mix the other ingredients together and work them well into the butter; add a tablespoonful of flavoring essence. Bake in tin patty-pans, in a moderately hot oven.”

Oct. 2, 1879 – “Potted Beef – Boil a round of beef well, and cut very fine, as fine as for mince pies; season with sage, allspice, salt and pepper; melt butter enough to knead it all together, pack it closely in bowls, and pour melted butter over it. It will keep a week in cool weather.”

Dec. 18, 1890 – “A stoned olive stuffed with a well-flavored chicken force-meat is a delicious tid-bit at a picnic, or for any cold luncheon. Select the large queen olives for this purpose, cut with a penknife a slanting lengthwise cut in each olive, and continue to hold the knife next to the stone and thus remove it. It will come out easily. Stone a number, fill the opening with chicken force-meat, and if you wish to keep them perfectly in shape tie each one up and remove the string after a few hours and just before serving.”

Apr. 29, 1871 – “May Haw Jelly – Simmer the fruit in a brass or earthen vessel with just enough water to prevent burning, in the beginning. When done, and the juice runs from the fruit freely, strain through a flannel cloth. To a cupful of the juice put a cupful of sugar. Boil together in a brass or earthen vessel for twenty minutes. Pour into small vessels as cups, tumblers, &c. When cool cover nicely with writing paper dipped in whisky, the paper dipped in whisky, the paper to lie immediately on the jelly. Sun the vessels a few days. The common plum also makes an excellent jelly when treated in the same way.”

May 25, 1872 – “Sweet Pickle (peaches) - Boil a pickle made of one pint and a half of cider vinegar, three pounds and a half of sugar, with mace, cloves and cinnamon. Pour this boiling hot over six pounds of fruit; plums require five pounds of sugar to six of fruit.”

Picnic in Plain Dealing, might be a Zachary family reunion, c. 1910.
Beulah Findley Collection: 1997.054.052.

Aug. 28, 1879 – “Chow-Chow - 1 peck green tomatoes, well chopped; sprinkle a handful of salt and let remain over night; in the morning drain off the water and add 1 cabbage chopped fine, 1 cauliflower picked fine from the stalk, 2 red peppers, 2 green peppers, 2 onions, ½ cup salt, 2 tablespoons celery seed, 4 ounces white mustard seed, 2 teaspoonfuls whole cloves, 2 teaspoonfuls allspice, 2 sticks cinnamon. Boil the cabbage and cauliflower in a little vinegar 20 minutes; then put the rest of the ingredients together and boil 10 minutes longer. Cover with cold vinegar and set away. The chow-chow made in this way keeps excellently well.”

Jan. 2, 1896 – “Sponge Cake – Two cups of sugar, two cups of flour, eight eggs, one teaspoon of lemon. Beat well together and bake in dripping pan.”

Aug. 31, 1882 – “Cakes which are particularly nice for picnics, as they can be carried in a basket without much danger of crumbling, are made of one cup of sugar, half a cup of butter, two eggs, half a cup of sweet milk, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, a half a tablespoonful of soda (or two even teaspoonfuls of baking powder.) Mix with flour enough to make the dough as stiff as for sugar cookies. Roll out, or cut in strips, twist these strips like old-fashioned doughnuts, bake till they are a light brown. They may be flavored with lemon, or with cinnamon, or they may be dipped in cocoanut and sugar while hot. - N. Y. Post.”

These recipes are just a sampling of ideal picnic foods, no matter what century it is. Other everyday items were bread and butter, hard-boiled eggs, fresh fruit, crackers, pickles of any variety, cold meat, and salad fillings, such as chicken or egg salad. For beverages, lemonade was a favorite in the 1800s, as well as tea and coffee.

By: Amy Robertson

"Mail for Morale" - World War II military patch collection

Learn about "Mail for Morale", our exhibit based on a World War II patch collection. This exhibit features military patches sent to Mary Young Carlisle.

Click here to view the video on Youtube.

This Month In Bossier Parish History

July: Through the Years!

July 4, 1912:  The annual Alden Bridge 4th of July celebrations announcements were made.  Providing entertainment and barbecue for all visitors

Bossier Banner
27 Jun 1912

                       

C. 1910s: Fourth of July Dance at Alden Bridge

1997.054.119 Findley Collection

July 14, 1887: A Parish Agricultural Society was organized

Bossier Banner
14 Jul 1887

                                

Farmer's Cooperative Meeting held in Benton in William Clement

 home in 1927.  Man in leather jacket incenter is Eli Whitley.

  In second row, second from right with slicked hair is John C. Merritt. 

 John Thomas Merritt is standing, second from right.  Emmett Jones, Sr.,

 wife Mary Lee Jones, and baby Emmett Jones, Jr are in front of picture

 frame on back wall.  Arthur Jones is 

standing in doorway, wearing black.

1998.081.093   Carol Young Collection

       

C. 1900—1910:  "Building Red River levee"  

men constructing levee with mules 

0000.004.119  Scanland Collection

Unidentified man on a mule

 (in Bradford family photos)

2002.035.223D      McKim Collection 

July 15, 1920: 100 years ago today   

    · A friendly game of baseball was played between the Linton and Rocky Mount boys.

 · Male school bus drivers made $75 per month.

July 15, 1920: Bossier Banner

C. 1910-1920s : Early baseball game. 

 in the Plain Dealing vicinity.

1997.054.050 Findley Collection

July 15, 1920: Bossier Banner

C. 1920s: These buses, or transfers as they were 

called, carried approximately 200 students to 

and from Haughton school. The transfer with the

 boy leaning against the fender was driven by 

D.A. Horton, Jr. of Fillmore, Louisiana. 

Early  Bossier School Buses

One is marked "Haughton High School"   

1997.003.003 

Jul. 22, 1880:  Judge John Watkins made the announcement that the construction on the Shed Road has resumed with the intention to push it to a speedy completion. Mr. William Manly said, “the entire work will be completed to the mouth of Dillard’s lane in less than two months.”  The  Shed Road will bring a vast amount of cotton and trade to the markets from North Louisiana and Southern Arkansas.  

1895; Historical map showing location of 

shed road 1873-1887, highlighted on red

 is the covered 9 mille Shed Road 

extending to the Red River. 

VF-2594

1997.003.004

U.S. Postal Service and Bossier Parish

First US Postage Stamps, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, issue of 1847, 5c and 10c

Did you know that Benjamin Franklin greatly influenced how the postal service operates today in the United States? His work in postal services began in 1737 when the British Crown appointed him as the postmaster of Philidelphia. Franklin was dismissed as postmaster in 1774 because the British Crown felt he was too sympathetic to the colonies as he vocalized support for their independence.

On Jul. 26, 1775, the Second Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster general of the United Colonies. The Declaration of Independence created the United States in July 1776, making Franklin the first postmaster general of the United States.

The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution were both written to ensure the vital services were preserved. In 1792, President George Washington signed into law the Postal Service Act, which established the United States Post Office Department as a permanent part of the Federal government.

General Jean Pierre Baptiste Bossier
Charcoal drawing by John J. Audubon, Nelson
Museum, Kansas City.
Patrick D. McAnany Collection: 2001.044.001

Louisiana’s first post office was established in New Orleans in 1804. It wasn’t until 1843 that Bossier Parish was carved out of Claiborne Parish, and that same year General Pierre Bossier began his term as a congressman for Louisiana’s fourth district. According to the official Bossier Parish historian, “One of the first actions taken in 1843 by the newly elected General Bossier in the U.S. Congress was to obtain postal service for his namesake, Bossier Parish.”

General Bossier introduced a bill to authorize a survey for a postal route from Shreveport to Bellevue by way of Willow Chute and on up to Conway, Ark. Unfortunately, General Bossier died of tuberculosis just 13 months into his term, before his efforts for a postal route were realized.

The first post office in Bossier Parish was established at Red Land on Nov. 20, 1846, with Jerome Bonaparte Mading serving as the first postmaster. After nearly 63 years in service, the post office in Red Land was discontinued on Apr. 15, 1909.

This year, the Benton post office celebrates its 150th anniversary as the oldest post office in Bossier Parish; it was established in March 1870 with Elias O’Neill serving as the postmaster. Through the implementation of the Rural Free Delivery, postal mail was delivered to Benton residents, beginning in 1907 before this time residents had to travel to the post office to retrieve their mail or pay a private delivery service.

Unidentified postal carriers for the RFD (rural free delivery) in Plain Dealing C. 1910
Buelah Findley Collection: 1997.054.054

Another fascinating part of postal history in Bossier Parish can be discovered in the Apr. 17, 1913 issue of The Bossier Banner, where the following article appeared.

“Our fellow townsmen Mr. Edwin W. Doran has been granted a patent on a mail box indicator. The device accurately indicates the last hour the box was ‘robbed’ by the postman, thus serving as a convenient guide to the public when wishing to post letters. It is particularly intended for use in cities, but would be practical anywhere. Mr. Doran has received encouraging communications from the postmaster general and others regarding his patent and he will no doubt later reap considerable pecuniary gain from it.”

Bossier Parish currently has seven post offices located in Benton, established 1870; Bossier City, established 1891; Elm Grove, established 1902; Haughton, established 1884; Plain Dealing, established 1888, and Princeton, established 1910.

The History Center is excited to announce that our branch of the Bossier Parish Library System will be re-opening our doors to the public this Monday, July 6. Until then, we are here to answer your calls and emails. What do you want to know about Bossier Parish History? Email history-center@bossierlibrary.org or call us at 318-746-7717.

By: Amy Robertson