Showing posts with label Haughton High School. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Haughton High Mascot Has Changed Through the Years

Buccaneers, Vikings, Panthers, Bearkats, Tigers, and Lions, these fearsome high school mascots can all be found in Bossier Parish. And each has remained the same through the years, except for one. For Haughton High School’s mascot, the image of a swashbuckling pirate hasn’t always been the case.

Haughton High was established in 1886 in a small, two-room building with a handful of students, and today has an enrollment of approximately 1,400. Much has changed on the campus through the years, including its mascot. While conducting some research recently on another subject, I came across local newspaper accounts from 1939 through 1946 of Haughton High sports events - mainly football, basketball and baseball - that referred to the teams as the Travelers. Items such as one from The Planters Press of November 13, 1941 were common: “The Haughton Travelers football squad stayed at home last Friday and defeated the scrappy Dubach eleven, 28 - 0, before a large crowd of fans. This makes six wins and one loss for the Travelers this season,” the item states. Surprised to see Haughton called the Travelers, I began looking into the origin of the name and attempted to find a reason for its selection to represent the school. Unfortunately, these same newspaper accounts weren’t any help.

Searching through newspapers such as The Planters Press, The Bossier Banner-Progress, The Shreveport Times and The Shreveport Journal, I had no luck uncovering any information about the school mascot name. Other than game scores and details of how Haughton won or lost, articles mentioned nothing about how or why the name Travelers was chosen. Time to find another source.

Former Haughton High Principal Gene Couvillion knows the school well and shared with me a piece of information that I hadn’t expected. Another mascot name existed before Travelers. Through much of the 1930s, Haughton High was known as the Lumberjacks. A search of sports stories from that era in local newspapers confirmed this bit of campus history. A story in The Shreveport Times from December 23, 1937, states, “Bossier High School Bearkats defeated the Haughton Lumberjacks in a hard-fought basketball game Tuesday night on the Centenary College court.” An article in The Times from 1932 highlights a football game between Bossier High and the Haughton Lumberjacks.

So, Haughton High School had not one but two other names prior to Buccaneers. Perhaps Lumberjacks was chosen because of the timber industry’s significant presence in the parish. Travelers could have indicated the school’s teams played more away games than at home. Thus far, I’ve been unsuccessful in finding documented evidence to substantiate these theories. But I’m unaware of any other current parish high school that has had more than one mascot name.

Airline High adopted the Vikings moniker with the school’s opening in 1964. The Panther mascot was used by Parkway when the school was a junior high and continued after the transition to a high school in 1968. Bossier High began calling its sports teams the Bearcats in 1926, although the spelling was changed to Bearkats about 11 years later. Benton High has been known as the Tigers since at least the late 1920s. An item in The Shreveport Times from October 21, 1927 mentions a basketball game between Elm Grove High School and the Benton High Tigers. Incidentally, Elm Grove High, now a middle school with the name Eagles, called itself the Panthers. The Lion has been the mascot for Plain Dealing High School since at least the early 1930s. The Bossier Banner-Progress from October 8, 1931, has an article about an upcoming Lions football game. “The Plain Dealing High School Lions will engage the eleven bearing the colors of Sarepta High School here this afternoon …” the article states. Prior to desegregation, the African American high schools in the parish had mascot names such as Bears, Wildhogs, Yellow Jackets, Dragons and Panthers.

It seems Haughton High began calling itself the Buccaneers sometime in the late 1940s. An issue of The Shreveport Journal from October 15, 1948, contains a brief mention of a Haughton football game against Mooringsport and uses the name Buccaneers. By the fall of 1950, the name was being used extensively in sports stories about the school. But regardless of its mascot name, Haughton High is an integral part of our parish’s education system and can be rightly proud of the role it plays in preparing students for life ahead.

If you have any information relating to the history of Haughton High School’s mascots, the History Center may be interested in adding that to its research collection. Call or visit us to learn more. 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:

Haughton High Buccaneers mascot/image courtesy Haughton High School
Sports headline/Bossier Banner-Progress, Nov. 15, 1956

Article by: Kevin Flowers

Sunday, January 1, 2023

This Month In Bossier Parish History

January: Though the Years

Jan 1951: Haughton High School Newspaper "The Buccaneer Trove".

Images are newspaper clippings from the Haughton High Schools' newspaper and photos relating to clippings are from the 1951 Haughton High School's yearbook

Weekly News From 100 Years Ago

· Mr. and Mrs. M.B. Kidd are proud parents of a baby girl: Shirley Beth Kidd

· Gardeners get busy!

· Mr. M.R. (Michael Roy) Bolinger and Mr. J.E. White stopped by to renew their subscription.

· Frances Abney spent Sunday with his parents.

· Mr. R.B. (Robert Beverly) Hill, owner of the Bossier Abstract and Title Co., gifted a desirable wall calendar to the Banner.

· A petition for concrete sidewalk along Cane St (a.k.a. Barksdale Blvd) to the foot of the Traffic St. Bridge at the point of the Bossier City Lumber Company was brought to the City Council.

Newspaper clippings are from the 11 Jan 1923 issue of the Bossier Banner.

Jan. 17, 1920: Prohibition was declared.

The Prohibition Era began in 1920 when the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which banned the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors, went into effect with the passage of the Volstead Act. Despite the new legislation, Prohibition was difficult to enforce. The increase of the illegal production and sale of liquor (known as “bootlegging”), the proliferation of speakeasies (illegal drinking spots) and the accompanying rise in gang violence and organized crime led to waning support for Prohibition by the end of the 1920s. In early 1933, Congress adopted a resolution proposing a 21st Amendment to the Constitution that would repeal the 18th. The 21st Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933, ending Prohibition.

Jan. 26, 1939: Mathilde Gatlin, a native of Bossier Parish, was the first female to be chosen as a company sponsor in the R.O.T.C. at Louisiana State University.

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Plain Dealing High School's Forest

Future Farmers of America with Oren S. McFatter, vocational instructor.
Plain Dealing High School Collection: 2004.013.020

In 1946, Plain Dealing High School Principal Felix G. Phillips called a meeting to discuss the organization of a forestry program for the school. Phillips explained to his audience that "he had been thinking of and was interested in forestry and the improvement of agriculture in general for many years; and for the past five years had been planning a forestry program for the Plain Dealing High School and had now reached that point where he could put those plans into effect.

"He explained that his idea was to develop a forest project on the land belonging to the school and use it to enable boys and girls to become familiar with forest development and management. In doing this it will also influence farmers in this section as well as other schools to become interested. The school is fortunate in having for its site about 25 acres.

"Mr. Phillips further stated that Bossier Parish is especially suited for the production of forest and forest products and he wanted to do all he could to get the citizenry interested. He believes this can be done by working through the children."

The meeting included members of the State Forestry Commission, Soil Conservation Service, Bossier Parish School Board, fire prevention, Louisiana State Forestry Commission, farmers, and the Southern Craft Paper Mill, an International Paper division. Those in attendance favored the idea and formed committees to see the project through to completion. By the end of 1946, Phillips' vision for a school forestry program became a reality after a 10-acre plot was dedicated to the program.

The District Forester, D.Y. Smith, brought 2,500 saplings for the occasion. That year's freshman class planted the first 500. Students in the Future Farmers of America club lead by Oren S. McFatter, Plain Dealing High School's vocational agricultural teacher; 4-H clubbers lead by Enoch T. Nix and other interested high school students planted the remaining 2,000 saplings. Over the next two years, an additional 4,000 saplings were planted in the school's forest.

Principal Phillips with sign O.S. McFatter presented
to him dedicating the forest plot in his honor, 1948.

In 1948, O.S. McFatter presented a plaque with a dedicatory inscription naming the forest plot in honor of Principal Felix G. Phillips.

Nine years after the program started, John Webb, a representative from the Louisiana Forestry Commission, visited the Phillips Forestry Project to inspect Louisiana high schools' first forestry project. Tommy Kohara, the official photographer of the Louisiana Forestry Commission, took pictures. Six months later, in celebration of the forest's 10th anniversary, a three full-page article appeared in "Forests and People," the Louisiana Forestry Commissions magazine.

According to Webb's article, "Since the dedication, small landowners in the environs of the town have planted many plots to pine. Oren McFatter, vocational agricultural teacher at Plain Dealing High School, is teaching forestry to agricultural classes each year, using the demonstration plot to teach planting and management. He and Glenn H. Crawford, present principal of the high school, plan on expanding the forestry project when and if more land can be obtained."

(L to R) C.O. Holland, James A. Gayle, B.L. Snyder, T.L. Rhodes
Dedication of Haughton High School Forest, 1961. Source: Bossier Press

Three years later, the school dedicated an additional 40-acres just north of the Arkansas-Louisiana line. In 1961, the second Bossier Parish High School forest was dedicated at Haughton High School. A 40-acre tract located just north of Fillmore, where vocational agriculture students studied under Frank Staten. Profits from selling forest products produced by both schools were used to buy equipment for vocational agriculture.

By: Amy Robertson

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Bossier Girls and Women in Sports

Today marks the 35th Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which was first declared by President Ronald Reagan on Feb. 4, 1987, to recognize the history of women's athletics. It also recognizes the progress made by the Title IX Educational Amendment passed in 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or other education program that receives federal funding.

This annual day of observance acknowledges female athletes' accomplishments and honors the progress and continuing struggle for equality for women in sports. Every year the celebration inspires girls and women across the nation to play and be active and realize their full power.

Bossier Parish has seen its fair share of outstanding female athletes. Most recently is Sarah Robertson, who made history by becoming the first female football player at Haughton High School in 2018. She was the Junior Varsity football kicker for the Buccaneers and kicked her first game field goal on Sep. 17th scoring the extra point for the Buccaneers after their touchdown against Byrd High.

Crystal Smith

Another Haughton High School alumnus known for her skills on the basketball court is Crystal Smith. For four straight years, she was chosen for the Shreveport-Bossier All-City teams. In 2002 she was selected as the Scholar Athlete of the Year. She played 119 games during her high school basketball career, scoring an average of 26.2 points per game.

She played for the Iowa Hawkeyes in college, increasing her per-game average by 12 points between her sophomore and junior seasons, ranked as the second-best improvement among the nation's collegiate players. As a junior, she scored in double figures in 30 of 33 games and was named to the Women's National Invitation Tournament all-tournament team. As a senior, she was named the Hawkeyes' most valuable player and a consensus All-Big 10 selection after leading in her team with an average of 17.2 points per game. Scoring double figures in 27 of 29 games in her last season, she ended her career No. 14 on the school's career scoring list.

Scoring was not Smith’s only strength; she was recognized for her defensive play as well. She was a consensus selection to the league's all-defense team and was the only Iowa player to earn the team's defensive award for three straight seasons. While attending the University of Iowa, she held or shared six school records, including most points in a single game earning 46 points against Louisiana Tech. In 2006, after college, she was drafted to play for the Women's National Basketball Association team, the Phoenix Mercury. That year her team became the highest-scoring WNBA team ever.

Jackie Conner

Jackie Conner of Bossier City became a national Gold Medal winner at the age of 65 in the 1999 Northwest Louisiana Senior Olympic Games, playing shuffleboard and again in 2001. Since joining the Senior Olympics movement, she has been named Northwest Louisiana's Athlete of the Year and served on the local games' steering committee and the board of directors for the Louisiana Senior Olympic Games. For her contributions to the Senior Olympics movement, she was awarded the Hazel Gay Memorial Torch Award in 2002. She is also quite the marksman and served as chairperson of the shooting competition for the district games.

Over the years, Conner has earned numerous medals in the Northwest Louisiana Senior Olympic Games. In 2019, she took home a silver medal in table games; a bronze medal in the women's pistol marksmanship; a gold medal in the women's 85+ age category in washer pitching; a gold medal in the women's 85+ age category in shuffleboard, and a gold medal in the shuffleboard doubles with partner Shelly Quarles in the 55-59 age group. She's not only a competitor, but she is also an instructor conducting workshops and classes to teach the skills used in shuffleboard and other games to newcomers in the competitions for those age 50 and over.

When it comes to the Olympic games, we must not forget about Dolores "Dee" Beckmann. A member of the first U.S. women's track and field team to participate in the Olympics—chosen as the all-around sportswoman in 1936 by New York sports columnist for being the first female coach of the United States track and field team in Berlin. After her girls won both the 100-meter, breaking the world record, and the 400-meter relays, she was hailed by sports columnist as one of the best coaches, male or female.

Source: The Shreveport Journal, 28 March 1975

In 1940, she was the U.S. chairman of the 1940 Olympic women's track and field committee and was involved in the Olympics in some form or fashion for the rest of her life. Her contributions to girls and women in sports and her accomplishments are too numerous to include in this writing. Though Beckmann was not a native of Bossier City, she was from St. Louis, Missouri, but she did move here in 1973 to be close to family and lived here until 1978. During that time, she was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1976. In 1978 she was inducted into the Missouri Hall of Fame and the Missouri Track and Cross-Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

By: Amy Robertson

Thursday, October 1, 2020

This Month In Bossier Parish History

October: Through the Years

October 2020: High School Homecoming season begins!

Please enjoy the high school Homecoming photos from our parish.

1990-91: Airline High School
Homecoming Court

1953: Haughton High School
Homecoming Court

1980: Parkway High School
Homecoming Queen and King

1945: Bossier High School
Homecoming Court

Oct. 6, 1920: Since the passing of the 19th Amendment, 161 women for Bossier Parish had register to vote. Mary Bixler from Plain Dealing was the first woman to register in this parish. Do you have an ancestor that was on the list of the 161 women to register? Contact us via message, email, or phone and we can look on the list for you.