Rita Keoun and the Plain Dealing Library Branch

The Bossier Parish Library System was first discussed by the PTA of Bossier High School in 1940. The Bossier Parish Police Jury approved the formation of the library on a “demonstration” basis. The demonstration library was initially funded by the State Library of Louisiana for one year, and operated with the Works Progress Administration, a federal work relief program of the Great Depression era. At the end of that year, the Police Jury approved the library on a permanent basis with the passage of a one-half millage sustaining tax in June of 1941. The first branches were located in Bossier City, Haughton, Plain Dealing and the parish seat, Benton.

                                     

The Plain Dealing branch was one of the original three branches of the Bossier Parish Library system. The library in Benton, the Parish seat, was considered “headquarters”. The other branches were in Bossier City and Haughton. The Plain Dealing library was located on North Cotton Belt Street until 1944, when it moved to the South Lynch Street location where it remained until 1959, when the Police Jury approved the construction of a new building at Mary Lee and Lynch Street. A children’s area and preschool activity center were added during a 1987 expansion, along with the doubling in size of the public service space. The Plain Dealing Branch was renovated and expanded in 2003, almost tripling its square footage. Plain Dealing native Katie Lusk Allen and her husband, Curtis Allen, donated the property for the expansion in memory of the Arthur Clyde Lusk, Sr. family. Along with additional space for library services, the expansion allowed for exhibit spaces showcasing Bossier Parish history.

In 1991, the library was renamed the “Rita Sanders Keoun Memorial Plain Dealing Branch” in honor of a former Bossier Parish Libraries Board of Control member of over 40 years. Miss Rita, as she was most affectionately known, was born in Plain Dealing on Dec. 8, 1901. After graduating from high school in 1918, she went to Louisiana Polytechnic Institute in Ruston, 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 that was needed, first, in Lisbon and then in Hosston, until Bossier school superintendent R.V. Kerr offered her a teaching position in Plain Dealing, bringing her back home to the community she loved. As the daughter and sister of three Plain Dealing mayors, Plain Dealing was her home.

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 every summer during breaks, eventually receiving a master’s degree in primary education. In November 1949, Rita 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. And, as the story goes, to keep Mrs. Keoun’s prized perfect attendance record, the board decided to just have that meeting “off the record.”

Miss Rita also assisted the Plain Dealing library in a very hands-on way through her participation in the Plain Dealing women’s club, the Kadelphian Club. Kadelphians, Miss Rita, chief among them, held children’s story hours and raised money for the library, and saw to it that both the grounds and interior were looking good, even raising money for draperies for the library!

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,” declared by the Bossier Parish Police Jury for Jun. 14, 1987, Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards proclaimed Jun. 14, 1987, as “Rita Keoun Day” as well. When asked how she had felt about this special day, Miss Rita stated, “I was embarrassed to death.”

To learn more about Miss Rita or any Bossier Parish library history, visit the Bossier Parish Library’s History Center, 2206 Beckett Street, Bossier City. The History Center is open M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org For other fun facts, photos, and videos, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, @bplhistorycenter on TikTok, and check out our blog http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/.

Images: 

• Rita Keoun receiving an award at the Plain Dealing library branch.
• Black and white photo of Plain Dealing Library taken in 1975. 

Article by: Pam Carlisle