During the 1950s and 60s, Bossier Parish, like the rest of the country, was on edge. The alliance between the U.S. and Russia that had secured victory over Germany during the second world war had deteriorated, and the threat of nuclear attack by the Soviets was ever present. For a generation of school children, the phrase duck and cover became synonymous with that threat, and fallout shelters became part of the American landscape. But while memories of life in Bossier during the Cold War may remain vivid, physical remnants seem few.
A map in the History Center’s archive that was published by the Caddo-Bossier Civil Defense Agency lists four fallout shelter sites in the city for use by the public – Bossier City jail, Bossier Bank and Trust, Bossier Elementary School, and Bossier’s Water Treatment Plant. A newspaper article from September 1964, in The Bossier Press includes Bossier High School in this list and adds that “the new Airline High School is expected to be okayed as a shelter area in the near future.” The article also states that the school board had approved stocking the shelters at Bossier High and Bossier Elementary with emergency rations such as water and first aid equipment. Today, these locations seem to bear little witness to their time as shelters.
I was recently given access to two of these sites to see what ghosts of the past might still be found within their walls. The building that once served as the city jail is now home to the Bossier Arts Council, a place where art and artists flourish. Cells that once housed prisoners are now used as dressing rooms by performers who delight audiences at the council’s East Bank Theatre. An intriguing space separated from the staff offices by a wall was inaccessible. Any signage or other indications that the facility was once a shelter must have been removed long ago.
Bossier Elementary School’s original brick building dates back to 1923. It retains wonderful architectural features like an auditorium with its original wood floors. As I stood on those floors, I thought of all the students and all the productions that must have graced the auditorium’s stage in the last 100 years. The school’s designation as a fallout shelter is simply part of its storied history. My hope was that some of the rations supplied to the school might still be in the basement of the old building, but to my great disappointment, there were none. Only plumbing and darkness inhabit the space now. I was pleased to find fallout shelter signs attached to the front and back of the building. They show the shelter could accommodate 280 people.
Although I visited the building on Barksdale Boulevard that once housed Bossier Bank and Trust, I saw no evidence of its having been a shelter, other than the bank vault. One assumes the vault’s thick walls and heavy door could have provided protection from radioactive fallout, but lack of oxygen would have proved just as deadly.
I was unable to visit the Water Treatment Plant, but was told during a phone call to the plant that there is apparently no evidence of its past as a shelter. Built in 1958, the plant has been expanded and updated as Bossier has grown, so its civil defense legacy may be lost. I was also unable to visit the fallout shelter at Bossier High as it is inaccessible. Perhaps its supply of rations may one day be found and this part of the celebrated school’s history secured.
The History Center’s civil defense map lists two public shelters outside the Bossier City limits – Plain Dealing Upper Elementary School and the Bossier Parish jail and offices in Benton. My research is ongoing concerning these sites. Whether they may have indications of their past as shelters is still to be determined.
Thanks to the following people for helping make this column possible: Bossier Arts Council Director Brittainy Pope and her staff, Bossier School’s Assistant Superintendent Jason Rowland and Public Relations Liaison Sonja Bailes, and Bossier Elementary Principal Dr. Norcha Lacy.
Do you have items or information relating to the civil defense history of Bossier Parish? If you do, the History Center is interested in speaking with you. We are 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. We can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter/ and http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/.
Images:
1) Map of community shelter plan for Caddo-Bossier Parishes published by the Caddo-Bossier Civil Defense Agency. 2012.020.051
2) The old jail cell is located on the 2nd floor of the Bossier Arts Council building. It once housed prisoners in the city jail. The cell is now used as a dressing room for performers at the East Bank Theatre. Courtesy of Kevin Flowers
3) The fallout shelter sign is located on the rear exterior wall of Bossier Elementary School's original building which was constructed in 1923. The sign shows the school's shelter could accommodate 280 people. Courtesy of Kevin Flowers
Article by: Kevin Flowers
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