The Legacy of Dr. Thomas N. Keoun

In this edition of a "Curator's Column," the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center presents the collection of Dr. Thomas Nehemiah Keoun (pronounced COW-in). As a devoted physician, respected civic leader, and influential figure in the Plain Dealing community, Dr. Keoun left an unforgettable mark on local history. This collection was generously donated by Connie Boggs Rountree, a descendant of Dr. Keoun.

Dr. Keoun was born in Arkansas on February 7, 1868. His early education was in Welcome and Magnolia, Arkansas. After graduating from the Memphis Medical College in 1890, he established his first medical practice in Red Land in Bossier Parish. In 1891, he married Lulah Edens. By 1906, the Keoun family moved to Plain Dealing, where Dr. Keoun purchased the residence and drugstore of Dr. R.H. Blackman.

Dr. Keoun served the people of Plain Dealing, extending his services beyond the walls of his medical clinic. He often traveled into the countryside, delivering babies and mending injuries late into the night. At first, he did this by horse and buggy and later in a Model T.

However, his interests were not only limited to medicine. As a landowner with extensive farm holdings in Bossier and Caddo Parishes, he cultivated crops like corn, cotton, and cane. As mentioned earlier, Keoun was the owner of a Plain Dealing drugstore, which boasted the area’s finest soda fountain in 1910, as reported by the Bossier Banner-Progress. Dr. Keoun’s collection includes his medical bag, a syringe kit, framed diploma from the Memphis Hospital and Medical Center (dated March 28, 1890), and a small ledger listing patients he visited in 1929.

Additionally, Dr. Keoun’s influence extended to civic and religious circles. He served as Bossier Parish Coroner for eight years and was an active steward of the Plain Dealing Methodist Church for 35 years. His tenure as president of the Plain Dealing School Board of Directors saw him advocating passionately for his community.

This passion for his community was on full display during the 1908 Plain Dealing High School disciplinary scandal. While serving as President of the Plain Dealing School Board of Directors, Dr. Keoun clashed with Bossier Parish Superintendent Joseph E. Johnston in 1908 over a widely publicized disciplinary issue at Plain Dealing High School. After Superintendent Johnston revoked Principal E.D. Burgess’ teaching license amid teacher and student disputes, tensions escalated. Dr. Keoun supported Principal Burgess, leading to a confrontation with Johnston and the resignation of Keoun and other local board members. Their disagreement played out publicly in the Bossier Banner newspaper.

The Keoun collection also includes several photographs of Dr. Keoun and his family, offering a glimpse into his personal life. His son, Alton Keoun, married Rita Sanders on November 24, 1938. The two were married nearly fifty years until Alton’s death on July 19, 1986. Rita’s contributions to Plain Dealing’s library system and civic organizations were also remarkable. Known affectionately as "Miss Rita," she served on the Bossier Parish Library Board for 37 years, missing only one meeting and acting as president for many years. The remodeled Plain Dealing Library was dedicated in her honor in 1987, a testament to her devotion to literacy and learning.

Dr. Keoun’s impact, however, continues to resonate through the stories and artifacts preserved in his collection. From his framed diploma to his medical tools, these items bring to life the story of a man who was not only a skilled physician but also a cornerstone of his community.

If you have any information, stories, or photos of old Plain Dealing or other communities in Bossier Parish, we would love to add them (or scanned copies) to our History Center’s research collection. We are located at 7204 Hutchison Drive (formerly called 850 City Hall Drive) just across Beckett Street from the old Central Library and History Center in Bossier City, LA. The Bossier Central Library and History Center 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

For other local history 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: 

• Dr. Thomas N. Keoun: Bossier Parish Library History Center Collection

Article by: Randall Palmer

Intriguing Bottles, Questionable Claims: Patent Medicines

 October is Louisiana Archaeology Month. What does the word archaeological artifact invoke for you? Some may think of mummies, in the pyramids of Egypt, or if more local, perhaps they think of “arrowheads” or pottery. Archaeological artifacts can be more recent too, part of a field called historical archaeology. Examples of historical archaeological artifacts can be coins, nails, bullets, toys like marbles. Among the most intriguing and visually appealing are glass bottles, particularly patent medicine bottles. “Patent medicine” historically describes medicines sold without a doctor’s prescription through the first half of the twentieth century when there was inadequate (or none at all!) oversight of the medicine’s ingredients or claims.

Sometimes the bottles one might find no longer have the labels on them. Archaeologists still have ways to date, and possibly identify, a bottle by looking at its shape how it was manufactured. If you’re lucky enough to have a bottle still with its label, many of which are in our collection, you can read the list of questionable ingredients and claims for the contents. But you can also look at advertisements from newspapers, including the local, historical Bossier Banner newspaper, to learn about these claims and the advertising tricks used by patent medicine manufacturers.

Some examples are two ads from the Banner for Pe-ru-na from 1900. Pe-ru-na was a very popular remedy, chiefly because of its high alcohol content. Why did so many medicines contain so much alcohol? Manufacturers said it was necessary to preserve herbs, but this wasn't the whole truth. Stores didn't need a liquor license to sell medication and any liquor taxes did not apply to the patent remedies. The alcohol found in patent medication provided the public with an economical way to drink. Pe-ru-na's widespread usage was also thanks to its claims to cure “catarrh.” Catarrh is when mucus accumulates in your nose, throat, or sinuses, but any kind of pain or discomfort could be pinned on catarrh by the Pe-ru-na salesmen. To hear them tell it, catarrh was the cause of stomach troubles, runny noses, earaches, and fevers. The ads boasted that no matter where the “catarrh” was in your body, Pe-ru-na could cure it.

These two ads for Pe-ru-na used "celebrity endorsements." Whether these men and women actually gave permission for the companies to use their likeness or received any compensation is unlikely. Belva Ann Lockwood was a noted attorney in Washington D.C., and was apparently the "best known woman in America" thanks to her run for president of the United States in 1884 and 1888. In one of the ads, Pe-ru-na uses her face to appeal to women across the country. In a letter supposedly from Lockwood, we learn that it is an "invaluable remedy for cold, catarrh, hay fever, and kindred diseases."

                 

The other ad doesn't show a famous face, but rather a famous ship from the Spanish-American War. Ann Gridley touts the wonders of catarrh-curing Pe-ru-na, calling it a "grand tonic and a woman's friend." Ann was the mother of Captain Charles Gridley, the commander of the USS Olympia during the American victory at the Battle of Manila Bay. Gridley received the well-known order, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley," from Admiral George Dewey. This ad mentions Dewey three times, implying an endorsement from the heroic admiral himself. Come to the Historical Center to see more ads or ask to look through our back issues of the Bossier Banner newspaper. Don’t forget too, that you can request our programs on Archaeology or other local history topics for your group here at the History Center or request a presentation by our staff at your classroom or other public facility. We are located at 2206 Beckett St, Bossier City, LA and 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

For other fun facts, photos, and videos, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, @bplhistorycenter on TikTok.

Images: Ads from 1900 in the Bosser Banner newspaper for Pe-ru-na patent medicine, which claimed to cure “catarrh”

Article by: Pam Carlisle

Bossier Bios: Dr. S.E. Prince

Dr. Shea Edward Prince was born in the Bossier Parish town of Princeton (yes, named for his family!) on August 8, 1869. He was the son of Joseph Wilson Prince and Virginia Alice Locke Prince. He went to school in Bossier Parish and was a resident student at the Shreveport Charity Hospital in the early 1890s, where he worked with Superintendent Dr. T.E. Schumpert. He continued his education at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated in 1896. He returned to Northwest Louisiana and married Pauline Trigg in March of 1899. Prince’s marriage announcement in the Bossier Banner notes that he is a prominent and popular young physician. He practiced medicine in Bossier, Webster, Ouachita, Caddo, and Sabine Parishes. During World War I, Prince was medical examiner for the Bossier Parish draft board. Shea and Pauline had three daughters: Emmaleen Virginia, Helen Beverly, and Hallula Sue.  

In addition to his medical practice, Prince was very involved in the banking industry. He organized and served as president at the Noble State Bank in Sabine Parish. He founded the Bossier State Bank and was also president of the Plain Dealing State bank. On February 6, 1941, Prince had been at the Bossier State Bank as usual, and then spent the evening with his family at his home in Shreveport. He suffered a heart attack later that night and passed away. 

A Spoonful of Snake-Oil

Our new exhibit about the patent medicine industry is available for viewing in two of the Historical Center's display cases. Stop in to learn about the questionable ingredients and advertising tricks used by patent medicine manufacturers. All of the advertisements on display were taken from the Bossier Banner newspaper. Also on display are antique medicine bottles.

There were numerous ads for medicines in the newspaper, so we weren't able to include them all in the exhibit. Below are two ads for Pe-ru-na from 1900. Pe-ru-na was a very popular remedy, chiefly because of its high alcohol content. Why did so many medicines contain so much alcohol? Manufacturers said it was necessary to preserve herbs, but this wasn't the whole truth. Stores didn't need a liquor license to sell medication and any liquor taxes did not apply to the patent remedies. The alcohol found in patent medication provided the public with an economical way to drink.

Pe-ru-na's widespread usage was also thanks to its claims to cure catarrh - and any pain or discomfort could be pinned on catarrh by the Pe-ru-na salesmen. Catarrh was the cause of stomach troubles, runny noses, earaches, and fevers. No matter where the catarrh was in your body, Pe-ru-na could cure it, ads boasted. These two ads for Pe-ru-na used "celebrity endorsements." Whether these men and women actually gave permission for the companies to use their likeness or received any compensation is unlikely.

Belva Ann Lockwood was a noted attorney in Washington D.C., and was apparently the "best known woman in America" thanks to her run for president of the United States in 1884 and 1888. Here, Pe-ru-na uses her face to appeal to women across the country. In a letter supposedly from Lockwood, we learn that it is an "invaluable remedy for cold, catarrh, hay fever, and kindred diseases."

This ad doesn't show a famous face, but rather a famous ship from the Spanish-American War. Ann Gridley touts the wonders of catarrh-curing Pe-ru-na, calling it a "grand tonic and a woman's friend." Ann was the mother of Captain Charles Gridley, the commander of the USS Olympia during the American victory at the Battle of Manila Bay. Gridley received the well-known order, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley," from Admiral George Dewey. This ad mentions Dewey three times, implying an endorsement from the heroic admiral himself.

Come to the Historical Center to see more ads in this exhibit or ask to look through our back issues of the Bossier Banner newspaper.