Representative Rodney Schamerhorn is more than just a representative and advocate for shared conservative values, he is a man with a mission. Earning a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 24 four years prior, Rep. Schamerhorn has decided to run for re- election, pledging to continue the fight for the people of Louisiana and the values they hold dear.

A dedicated family man, Rep. Schamerhorn is not only the proud father of two successful business owners but also a loving grandfather. His personal life is as vibrant and engaging as his political career, with his children and granddaughter embodying his values of hard work, perseverance, and integrity. His dedication to his family is mirrored in his commitment to serving the people of Louisiana, ensuring he remains actively engaged with the local community.

As a representative, Schamerhorn has emerged as a stalwart protector of our constitutionally protected, God-given rights and conservative values, striving for financial responsibility, quality education, robust infrastructure, and limited government intervention in our daily lives.

Rep. Schamerhorn is a staunch advocate for parental rights, standing firm against any attempts to infringe upon them. He believes parents should make decisions regarding their children’s medical treatment and their education, opposing the infiltration of radical WOKE ideologies in classrooms.

His fight also extends to election integrity, endeavoring to ensure all legal votes are counted and secured ahead of the 2024 Presidential election.

As a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, Rep. Schamerhorn is determined to uphold citizens’ right to bear arms, viewing Constitutional Carry as a non-negotiable right. He is a critic of the government’s overreach, overregulation, and high taxes, which he believes suffocates small businesses and families, and prevents economic prosperity here in Louisiana.

Recognizing the significant role of the oil and gas industry in Louisiana’s economy, Schamerhorn has committed to protecting it from political attacks and overregulation.

However, Rep. Schamerhorn is aware that there is more work to be done. He expresses his disappointment over the unsuccessful override of 24 bills vetoed by Governor Edwards and sees this as a rallying cry for more conservatives to join the fight in Baton Rouge.

Schamerhorn’s dedication and commitment have not gone unnoticed. He recently received the endorsement of the Louisiana Freedom Caucus PAC and was recognized by the Republican Party of Louisiana at Victory 2023 for being one of only 19 House members who stood firm against busting the spending cap.

As his re-election campaign gains momentum, Representative Rodney Schamerhorn continues to prove that he is a resilient voice for the people of Louisiana. With his tireless dedication to serving and the backing of his constituents, Schamerhorn stands ready to champion the causes that matter most to the people of District 24.

Northwestern State University’s School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is pleased to announce STEM Day, designed for prospective students to dive into promising career opportunities within STEM fields. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with accomplished faculty and like-minded peers, gaining valuable insights into our diverse range of degree programs. The STEM School encompasses the Department of Biology and Microbiology, the Department of Engineering Technology, the Division of Mathematics, the Department of Physical Science, and the Department of Veterinary Technology.

STEM Day:

• September 29, 2023
• 8:00am – 12:00pm
• Registration is available at https://nsu.la/StemDay
• For high school students in grades 9-12, Northwestern State University’s School of STEM is offering an exceptional opportunity to dive deep into their fields of interest. Through engaging and interactive hands-on demonstrations, students can gain valuable insights into the exciting worlds of STEM. Participants will have the chance to choose from several specialized tracks, in biomedical/microbiology, natural science/ecology, veterinary science, chemistry and physics or mathematics/engineering.
• Act fast! Register today at https://nsu.la/StemDay

By Doug De Graffenried

Are you a person of influence? Let me answer that for you. You are certainly a person of influence.

I believe that you have the power to change lives. It is a dangerous power because of the direction you might lead a life. You have the power to influence people for the cause of Christ, or you have the power to run people off from any connection to faith matters. It is up to you. People are watching you and listening to you. In our digital world they are likely recording your actions for play back on TikTok or You Tube. Live your life well. People are watching, so is Jesus. That is another article for another day.

I was thinking about the power of influence one morning at breakfast. I was at breakfast with a group of Baptist preachers. In truth, I was attending a Baptist preacher’s meeting. Now you might find it strange that a Methodist minister was attending a Baptist preacher’s meeting. It was like the time my son wanted a subscription to Cosmopolitan magazine. I wanted to know if my son was having “issues.” I asked, “Andrew why do you want a girl’s magazine subscription?”  He said, “It is the other team’s play book!” So maybe I was at the preacher’s meeting, learning what the “other team” was doing.

The truth of the matter is that I was at a Baptist preacher’s meeting along with two of Methodist church members. Now what force of the universe could get a Methodist preacher and two Methodist laypersons to attend a Baptist preacher’s meeting? Was it a great breakfast? The food was good, but that was not it. Does anyone on the face of this planet like a meeting?

The force that attracted us there was a fellow named Woody Cox. Woody was a deacon in the Baptist church, but he was also a world-famous electrician. I’m not sure about world-famous, but lots of folks in Natchitoches knew him. Jesus is the Light of the World, but at First United Methodist Church, Woody kept all of Jesus’ lights on for the Sunday crowd. He had climbed in every attic of the church. He was familiar with every line, circuit, and ballast in that building. He knew bulbs in the Baptist churches as well.

Here’s the thing, while Woody was working, he was working you. You were drawn into his web and he was eventually going to invite you to something or just end up telling you a Jesus story. He never made anyone uncomfortable and always fixed the electrical problem.

Woody Cox has gone on to glory. He knows the light of the world.

He was a great electrician who could get Methodists to go to Baptist preacher’s meetings. How are you using your Christian influence. Do you help others “see the light?”

The scene from The Andy Griffith Show, in black-and-white of course, is one you could have starred in at most any time this past Scorching Summer of 2023.

Two chairs on the wide sidewalk outside Floyd’s Barber Shop. Floyd sits in the one nearest his shop’s door, on the left of your TV screen. He is blank-faced and lazily working a whicker fan in front of his face. Up walks Sheriff Andy Taylor, who takes a seat and, as he crosses his legs, says, “Howdy, Floyd.”

 Floyd, with no small amount of effort, the heat evident on a face that, even in black-and-white, is obviously ashen: “92.”

 Andy: “It feels it.”

 Floyd: “I just looked at the thermometer over the door (points his whicker fan that way). You know what it says?”

 Andy: “92?”

 Floyd, slack-jawed and fanning, a folded newspaper, no doubt The Mayberry Gazette, resting on his lap under his other hand: “92. Like an oven. Hot! Ohhh … it’s HOT.”

 Andy: “Well, like Mark Twain said, ‘Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.’”

 Floyd, stops fanning and looks at Andy: “He say that?”

 Andy: “Yep.”

 Floyd: “I thought Calvin Coolidge said that.”

 Andy: “No. No Floyd. Calvin Coolidge didn’t say that.”

 Floyd: “What’d Calvin Coolidge say?”

 Andy: “I don’t know.”

 Floyd, fanning again, then turning back to Andy: “You sure Mark Twain didn’t get that from Calvin Coolidge?”

 Andy: “No Floyd. Mark Twain lived before Calvin Coolidge.”

 Floyd, sitting up a bit and leaning toward Andy: “Oh … he COULDN’T have gotten it from him. NO … but it’s HOT.”

 And so it went, all summer in Mayberry over in Carolina back in the early 1960s — and all summer here in North Louisiana.

 Funny deal about the weather. It gets hot around here and few seem to remember that it is always hot in the summer here. Some are cooler than others, but they’re all hot.

 Summer of 1982, I had the privilege of helping build the bypass in Camden, Arkansas. (It’s a heckuva bypass, if you’re ever up that way.) My job was to walk in front of the grader — the big tractor that has the smoothing blade — and knock the dirt off stakes, driven at equal heights, so the driver could see them and make the dirt level for the rebar and pavement that’s to come. There is not a lot of shade in roadwork, as there are few trees in the middle of roads. And it was more than 100 degrees 21 days straight.

 That was — clears throat — 40 years ago.

 It’s always been hot. Next summer, it’s going to be hot again. (Just a guess.)

 But you’ve made it! Hold out ’til Saturday and you’ve made it to autumn!

 This is being typed on an evening where the outside temperature is mid-70s as we head into October, and what a fine month it is. October might just be the best of all the months — if it didn’t mean cold weather was coming.

 And then what will you and Andy and Floyd talk about? Probably the weather. And possibly, during an ice storm, wish for a day like one we complained about in July, whicker fan in hand.

 At least that’s what Mark Twain said … or maybe it was Calvin Coolidge.

 Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu

The Natchitoches Soil and Water Conservation District has an opening for a District Secretary/Program Assistant.

 Duties include: 

general bookkeeping, managing/balancing an annual budget, customer reception, composing correspondence, preparing multiple reports each month, attending monthly board meetings and preparing minutes, and assisting office personnel in USDA NRCS Programs offered to the public. Must be proficient with Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook as well as Adobe products. Should be a fast learner, and able to self-motivate with excellent organizational skills.

Benefits:

Annual leave and sick leave are accrued on pay periods worked. Benefits will include state group health insurance and Louisiana deferred compensation benefits program.

Please email your resume to glenn.austin@usda.gov or mail to:

Natchitoches Soil & Water Conservation District
6949 Hwy 1 Bypass
Natchitoches, LA 71457

EOE

There are many ways that we as outdoorsmen can enjoy the great outdoors. There’s fishing, a very popular hobby by many, and there’s camping which takes the outdoor experience to another level. Maybe your idea of being outdoors involves playing golf or maybe exercising. But for thousands of others, there’s hunting, which for many is the main reason they wake up every day!

Hunters, in most cases, are very hard-core outdoorsmen who have a serious passion for pursuing wild game from doves and squirrel to ducks and bucks. But why?

To understand a hunter, you need to be a hunter or live with one. This group has the same mind set and passion for the outdoors that LSU Tiger fans have for football — they’re crazy! Hunters put in a lot of time and effort to not only hunt, but to get ready for the hunt.

Just like a bass tournament angler, preparation is key to being successful and is a part of the grind that hunters must go through to increase their chances for success in the fall. For most hunters, all the preseason planning is just as much fun as the hunt itself…or is it?

Whether they are on a lease or hunting public land, hunters have a lot of work to do. They tend to have more flexibility on a private lease than they might on public hunting land. But most owners of leases, public and private, do not want hunters to put nails into trees since at some point, the landowner or timber company will probably be harvesting the timber. Most of the time, they’re okay with you cutting a few shooting lanes, bush hogging pipelines, or planting food plots on old logging roads.

For deer hunters, the next season begins only a few months after the last one ended. Deer hunters do not get much of a break as they start the process of preparing for next season by planting food plots, fixing feeders, and repairing deer stands. Most take their ATV or UTV vehicles in for service due to the abuse their machines have gone through.  

For duck hunters, the biggest job is building the blind. Some simply rebrush blinds they’ve used for years, while others may build new blinds in different locations.

Make no mistake, the amount of work to build a duck blind is no less than what a deer hunter must do. Duck hunters must go out and gather moss and cut brush so they can brush-in their blind. This takes time and lots of work to secure the brush to the blind. Of course, all this takes place when temperatures are usually in the 90’s, so sweating is a major part of both a duck and deer hunter’s world as they prepare for another season.   

Ladies who aren’t hunters, now you know why your husbands are gone so long during hunting season, and especially during the months leading up to the hunting season. Hunting requires hard work and long hours of preparation to guarantee success.

Don’t try and justify the cost of hunting because when it comes down to dollars spent versus pounds of meat put in the freezer. You’ll see it does not come out very well for the hunter. But it’s all worth it when that back strap comes straight off the grill and is sitting in front of you at dinner time. It just doesn’t get any better than that!

‘Til next time good luck, good fishing and don’t forget to invite me for supper when back strap is served!

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

By Brad Dison

Have you ever heard of an Electric Flowerpot?  Akiba Horowitz was born in Minsk, Russia in 1856.  At the young age of fifteen, Akiba moved to Berlin, Germany where he studied liquor distillation.  In 1891, Akiba immigrated to the United States.  Upon entering the country, Akiba changed his name to something more American.  He called himself Conrad Hubert.  Conrad, now 35 years old, needed to find work immediately.  In New York, Conrad operated a cigar store, a boarding house, a restaurant, and a jewelry store.  Conrad was not satisfied until he began operating a novelty shop. 

All things dealing with electrical power following the invention of the light bulb were in fashion.  Conrad was a tinkerer.  During his lifetime, Conrad’s patented inventions included “the first automatic electric self-starter for automobiles, …the first exact amount check protector, the autoped,” and an electric gas lighter.       

Joshua Lionel Cowen was an inventor as well.  Joshua had invented the electric doorbell and the electric fan, both of which initially failed to find a market.  People complained about the protracted ring of the doorbell, and the fan produced only the slightest breeze.  His most successful product, which was the most popular item Conrad sold in his novelty shop, was his battery-powered light up tie tacks.           

Joshua and Conrad had numerous discussions about their ideas for inventions.  During one such conversation, Joshua told Conrad about one of his most recent inventions, the electric flowerpot.  The contraption was made up of a battery within a paper tube with a light bulb at one end.  The tube was mounted in the center of a flowerpot.  Once the battery was switched on, the light illuminated the plants in the flowerpot.  Joshua had patented his electric flowerpot, but he was unsure of its marketability. Conrad had faith in the invention and convinced Joshua to sell him the patent. 

Conrad manufactured a large number of electric flowerpots, added them to his inventory, and began advertising.  In the summer of 1894, citizens in Buffalo, New York held a Fourth of July fireworks competition.  Among the prizes were American flags, balloons, packages of fireworks, toy cap pistols, small battery-powered lights, and Conrad’s electric flowerpots.  Despite his best efforts, the electric flowerpot was a failure. 

Conrad had a surplus of electric flowerpots which were in no danger of being sold.  David Misell, an employee of Conrad’s novelty shop, tinkered with the electric flowerpot to see if he could help Conrad create something marketable from its parts.  David had previously invented a wooden-cased signal light and a bicycle light.  David and Conrad separated the tube and bulb from the flowerpot.  They lengthened the tube so they could fit three “D” batteries inside it, and added a brass reflector under the light bulb.  Finally, they had a product that Conrad thought he could sell.  They filed a patent application for the “Electric Device” in March of 1898.  The paperwork listed David as the device’s inventor and Conrad as a witness.  The patent was awarded in January of 1899.  Because David was an employee of Conrad’s, he assigned the patent rights to the device to Conrad’s novelty company.  Conrad added the device to the inventory of his novelty shop.  The device sold very well, but the public had just one complaint.  The “D” batteries would only illuminate the light bulb for a short time before the customer had to replace the batteries.  Due to the device’s short battery life, customers said the device could only produce a flash of light.  In many English-speaking countries, the device is generally referred to as a torch.  In the United States, Conrad’s customers gave the device a nickname that stuck.  They called it the Flashlight.         

Sources:

1.      Buffalo Courier Express, June 24, 1894, p.15.

2.     The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 17, 1928, p.2.

3.     The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York), March 18, 1928, p.8.

4.     “Conrad Hubert.” www.nndb.com. Accessed September 17, 2023. https://www.nndb.com/people/439/000169929/.

5.     “Stories of Inventors and Their Inventions: Conrad Hubert.” www.linkedin.com. Accessed September 17, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/stories-inventors-inventions-conrad-hubert-elena-louis.

Kenneth Wayne Thomas
March 20, 1965 – September 16, 2023
Arrangements TBA

PATSY RAE JETT
July 13, 1934 – September 14, 2023
Service: September 18, 2023, at Old Anacoco Baptist Church in Anacoco, LA at 2:00 PM

DARREL KENNETH SASSER
May 30, 1938 – September 16, 2023
Service: September, 2023, at Pisgah Baptist Church in Florien, LA at 1:00 PM

CLAUDE RAY AIRHART
April 4, 1931 – September 15, 2023
Service: September 20, 2023, at Prewitt’s Chapel Cemetery in Hornbeck, LA at 10:00 AM

By JIM BUTLER

Mike McConathy had $151,200 in campaign funds on hand as the Senate Dist. 31 race entered its final month.

He and fellow Republican Alan Seabaugh are seeking the vacant seat.
McConathy is retired from a long tenure as men’s basketball coach at NSU. Seabaugh, an attorney, is a term-limited state representative from Shreveport.

Candidates are required to file initial reports no later than 30 days prior to the Oct. 14 primary. McConathy filed Sept. 5.

According to his report, McConathy, of Natchitoches, has raised $187,800, including $12,500 he loaned the campaign, in the current reporting period, and spent $101,700.

He had $67,500 on hand at the start of the period.

The campaign expenses were typical of candidate spending – advertising of various sorts, charitable donations, gasoline for traveling a district stretching from Shreveport to south of Alexandria.

Those listed as contributing $2,500 to the campaign fund this period include:

Autumn Leaves Properties, Lagniappe Home Care Alexandria, both of Winnfield;

Broussard & David, Glen Armentor LTD, Laborde Earles Law Firm, The Apothecary Shoppe, all of Lafayette;

B.W. Brown, Caddo 1995, Paul E. Toung, Shalex Energy, all of Shreveport;

Cox, Cox, Filo, Camel, Wilson & Brown, J.L. Hoffoss Jr., Lee Hoffoss LLC, Lundy, Lundy, Soileau & South, MG Stream, Mudd, Bruchaus & Keating, Robichaux, Mike, Wadsack, Richardson & Watson, Stutes & Lavergne, TBTM, The Townsley Law Firm, all of Lake Charles;

Herman, Herman & Katz, Pendit Law Firm, Voorhies Law Firm, all of New Orleans;

William Hall, Kim Lott, both of Natchitoches;

Bobby Edmonton Campaign, Benton; Joseph Cain, Natchez LA; J.C. Jones, Oakdale; Meyer & Associates, Sulphur;

Morrow, Morrow, Bryant & Bassett, Opelousas; P&S Local 60, Metairie; Carl Roussel, Bossier City.

Often, I’ve been asked why do I fish tournaments? After a poor finish, I too often ask myself that same question!

After I stopped competing as an athlete in the late 1980’s, I needed something to fill the void that competition gave me, something that would fan the competitive fire that still burns in me today. I feel that most athletes never really retire; they find another avenue that satisfies that desire and urge to compete. For me, that has been tournament bass fishing. 

The Lord blessed me with athletic ability that has led me on a path of great success – from winning a state championship in high school to a college athletic scholarship to being drafted by Major League Baseball. Growing up, no matter the sport, the desire to be the best burned inside of me. I would do whatever was necessary to be successful. But understand, the day comes when you can no longer compete at a high level. You’re no longer the fastest player, the strongest or have the best arm. Father time has a way of letting us know that the playing days are over.

 Since 1990, I have competed on all levels from local club events to fishing the boater/pro side of the ABA Tour, B.A.S.S. Opens, along with the MLF series of the BFL’s and Toyota Series. When it comes to knowledge gained, I learned the most fishing the co-angler side of the FLW Tour in 2004-05. Each one of these can be very competitive including at the club level. 

Just because you’re fishing the club or lower level of tournament fishing does not mean the competition is any different. Some of the best anglers in the country fish the club level and are just as serious as the guys who fish the pro side of the MLF or the Bassmaster Series. But not everyone wants or can afford to travel the country following a pro tournament trail chasing little green fish we call largemouth bass.

One thing you’ll gain from fishing the higher level of tournaments is knowledge. If you want to learn and increase your ability to catch fish, follow one of the higher-level circuits. Just being around and spending time with other anglers from across the country will expose you to new techniques that will make you a better angler. 

Even on the Pro/Am trails where you’re paired up with a co-angler who fishes out of the back of the boat, you can learn so much. I’ve always said that there’s never been a co-angler get in my boat that I did not learn something from. It might not be anything major, but if you pay attention, you’ll pick up something that might help you down the road. It might be a particular bait or maybe an organizing tip, but the best teachers for anglers are anglers themselves.  

 A true athlete wants to win and be the best no matter what. Their desire to win and compete is on another level than the average Joe. This is what separates the average athlete from the great one — the desire to win!

Ever since I fished my first tournament back in 1990, nothing has been more satisfying than to win or at least have a high finish and get a check. It’s not even about the money for me, it’s about competing. The desire to compete is something you’re born with, it’s not something you can develop. So, to answer the question of what drives a tournament angler? It’s simply one word — competition!

‘Til next time, good luck, good fishing and wear your sunscreen and UV protective clothing. Melanoma kills and does not discriminate.

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

Got some handy information for you, as I was wrong about something but have seen the light, and it was cool and it was refreshing. 

Knew I wouldn’t get in bed until after midnight Saturday because of working a football game so when I was asked at the first of the week about going to the Texas Rangers game in Arlington the next day—this past Sunday—it didn’t sound so hot, simply because I am not 20 years old and not totally insane anymore.  

But when a trio of friends of 40 years ask and they have good tickets and they use the magic word — “Free” — you go to bed as quickly as you can, even if that’s not until 2 Sunday morning, get up at 6 and drive to Chief’s so the Senator and Hearing Aids can pick you up, get your butt and your water bottle in the backseat of the Senator’s Jeep Cherokee and head toward Texas, tired but up for whatever. 

Good times. 

This was my first trip to Globe Life Field, home of the Rangers, that opened during the virus-throttled 2020 season. When the Rangers announced in 2016 they were building a new ballpark, my first thought was, “They just BUILT a new ballpark?!” 

And, in terms of a ballpark’s normal lifetime, they had. The Ballpark in Arlington opened in 1994. I had socks and shoes that old. The park was just getting broken in. And what a glorious ballpark it was.  

It’s still gorgeous. It stands a home run from the new stadium, which looks from the outside like an airplane hanger. No contest. The old ballpark wins swimsuit and evening gown and it’s not close. 

Except … you know what they say about judging a book. That’s Globe Life Field. The beauty is on the inside.  

And by “beauty” I mean “air conditioning.” The retractable roof on the $1.1 billion new stadium keeps the 68-degree air inside and the 90-degree air and sun outside. No sweat. We’d have melted Sunday in the old ballpark, especially at this stage of our development.  

Globe Life Field is a five-tool player. It’s all about “fans first.” Actual baseball things would be No. 6, tops, on my list of things that are awesome about this new yard.  

You start with the roof. Arlington had three 110-degree days this summer and dozens over 95. Mercy! 

All kinds of food along what has to be the widest, most open concourses in big-league baseball. People love food and people love not being crowded. Double play. 

There are helpers/ushers in baby blue shirts by the dozens, maybe by the hundreds. One was by an escalator and while we explored an hour before first pitch we asked the man if we could go down to that level and he said we needed a ticket for down there and we said we were just ignorant people from Louisiana and he said OK and down we went, then self-reported when we got back and he said that was good because he was a few seconds from calling a SWAT team. 

Good-natured folk. 

Since Chief had a bum leg and handicapped parking, those same support people drove us in a golf cart from the Jeep to the front door. Took us back after the game. No charge, tipping not allowed. One of our lady drivers was packing heat, too. 

Texas. 

The park is a multi-purpose palace for concerts and rodeos and even basketball and who knows what else they might use it for. 

The immediate area outside is called Texas Live!, an entertainment district around AT&T Stadium (where the Dallas Cowboys play) and the new park and the “old” ballpark, now used for football and soccer and whatnot. Also in the mix are a couple of half-billion-dollar hotels, eating places, a concert venue, convention center, partridge in a pear tree, and on like that. Really pretty.  

And then there’s baseball. In the past three-ish weeks, the Rangers have nose-dived from a 3-and-a-half game lead in the American League West to a neck-and-neck race with Seattle for the AL’s third and final wild-card spot. Me and the boys did our part Sunday in rooting the Rangers to a 9-4 victory over hapless Oakland, a team that sports classic uniforms but just does not have any major league players to wear them. 

Now it’s your turn. The Rangers have only six regular-season home games left: Monday-Wednesday, Sept. 18-20, vs. Boston, and Friday-Sunday, Sept. 22-24, vs. those pesky Mariners from Seattle. The Rangers need you. Keep in mind that for that Sunday game against Seattle, Blue Bell ice cream sandwiches are just — wait for it — $1. I kid you not. All you’ve got to do is get your posterior to Globe Life Field. 

It’s a cool place. 

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu 

In the early 1890s, Patty Smith Hill and Mildred Jane Hill worked at the Louisville Experimental Kindergarten School in Louisville, Kentucky. Mildred was a teacher, concert pianist, and played organ in their church. Patty was the principal of the school. With Patty at the helm, the school experimented with new ways to teach younger children and to better prepare them for elementary school. Just one of the many experiments the school performed was the use of songs as teaching tools. Mildred and Patty began working on an upbeat song to welcome the children to school and to get them in the mindset to learn. Within a short time, Mildred came up with a simple melody she was happy with. Patty composed simple, repetitive lyrics that the children could learn quickly. On October 16, 1893, Mildred and Patty copyrighted their composition entitled “Good Morning to All.” Later that year, Mildred and Patty’s song was included in a songbook Story Songs for Kindergarten with the permission of the Hill sisters. Each morning, kindergarten students at Louisville Experimental Kindergarten School began their day with “Good Morning to All.”

Within a short time, the simple song became popular with children as young as a year-and-a-half. People soon began singing their own lyrics to the popular medley. On March 4, 1924, Robert H. Coleman edited the lyrics to the song and published it in a song book without the permission of the Hill sisters. It remains unclear whether Robert Coleman realized the song had been copyrighted.

On September 30, 1933, the musical comedy called “As Thousands Cheer,” produced by Sam Harris, opened on Broadway. One of the musical numbers in the play was “Good Morning to All,” but with the altered lyrics. The play was a huge success, but Jessica Hill, sister of Mildred and Patty, was angered and claimed that her sisters’ song had been plagiarized. In August of 1934, Jessica filed a plagiarism suit on behalf of her sisters against producer Sam Harris. In the suit, Jessica claimed that her sister Patty and late sister Mildred copyrighted the song in 1893, that the copyright was extended in 1921, and that she owned the rights to the song. For the infringement, Jessica asked for $250 for each of the 403 performances of “As Thousands Cheer,” for a total of $100,750. Patty, who would share in the damages, had all but resigned herself to the fact that the song “had become common property of the nation.” The court decided that Jessica and Patty owned the copyright of the melody for “Good Morning to All,” along with all versions of the melody with altered lyrics. For Sam Harris to continue to use the song in “As Thousands Cheer,” he would have had to pay $250 per performance. Unsurprisingly, Sam dropped the song from the musical. The song was so popular that some companies agreed to pay to use the song. For example, Fox Film Corporation paid $250 and used the song in the 1934 Shirley Temple film, Baby, Take a Bow.

Royalties from “Good Morning to All” and all of its variations now amount to an estimated $2-$4 million per year. You probably have never heard of Mildred, Patty, or Jessica Hill, but their song is regarded as the most frequently sung tune in the world. The song is always sung to honor someone else and not the singer. You and I know Mildred and Patty Hill’s song “Good Morning to All” as “Happy Birthday to You.”

Sources:

1. Daily News, August 15, 1934, p.391.
2. The Belleville News-Democrat, August 27, 1934, p.4.
3. Green Bay Press-Gazette, September 24, 2004, p.75.

Joe Branch
August 11, 1952 – September 9, 2023
Service: Saturday, September 16 at 2 pm at the New Jerusalem Baptist Church of Many

Joseph “Bobby” Metoyer
September 6, 2023
Service: Saturday, September 16 at 11 am at the St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, located at 911 5th Street in Natchitoches

The Marthaville Good Ole Days Festival committee on Friday announced their 2023 Good Ole Days Parade Grand Marshal will be Laurie Gentry of Many. This year marks the event’s 31st anniversary, which begins Friday night, Sept. 29, at Fuzzy Hennigan Park downtown and continues Saturday, Sept. 30, with a 10 a.m. parade, all day music and activities, food and craft vendors.

“We are proud to announce this year’s Grand Marshal is Laurie Gentry,” Festival Director Fuzzy Hennigan stated at a small, surprise reception held Aug. 25 inside the former T. M. Middleton Store in Marthaville. “Our beautiful t-shirts will, for the first time ever, be pink,” he continued, explaining, “Breast Cancer Awareness Month kicks off immediately after Good Ole Days. Our slogan across the back of this year’s shirt will say ‘Tuff enough to wear pink.’”

Among other things, Gentry is a five-year breast cancer survivor and co-founded Pink Sisters of Sabine a few years ago, which serves local breast cancer patients. Since its start, the non-profit has provided over 100 patients with recovery supply tote bags, prayer, encouragement, fuel and food cards for use during treatment and other support. In addition, Laurie is a one-year survivor of endometrial cancer, which was unrelated to her previous issue.

“It is a privilege to be selected as this year’s Grand Marshal,” Gentry shared. “For a long time, I have considered myself an ‘honorary native’ of Marthaville. I love its people and its history as if they were my own. What a blessing to have married into such a special community that I can now proudly claim! Thank you to the Festival Committee for this honor, and I thank them for using their ‘small town, big heart’ leadership to shine a light on breast cancer awareness,” she said.

Laurie is the wife of Robert Gentry, longtime journalist, newspaper publisher, founder of Rebel State Historic Site and Marthaville native. She enjoys photography, graphic design, travel, writing and music.

Other Marthaville Good Ole Days event organizers include Karen Rawls, Sheila Noe, Mitzi Roe, Bruce and Jan Tatum, and Parade Directors Phillip Strahan and Greg Goings

By Brad Dison

Elijah was born in Ontario, Canada in 1844.  Three years later, Elijah’s family moved to the United States.  In 1859, Elijah’s father, George, sent 15-year-old Elijah to Scotland to attend the University of Edinburgh where he became a certified mechanical engineer.  When Elijah returned to the United States, he was unable to find work as an engineer.  He eventually settled for a job as an oiler and fireman for the Michigan Central Railroad, a job that was far below his level of education.  An oiler’s job was to keep the railroad’s locomotives and rolling stock lubricated.  Steam engines of the era required oilers to manually lubricate all the moving parts of an engine including ball bearings and cylinders.  Locomotives had to make frequent stops so oilers could lubricate the parts.   

Elijah knew there was a better way.  He just needed to find it.  In his free time, Elijah performed more highly skilled work at the machine shop at his home.  Through his efforts to allow trains to run for longer periods without maintenance which made them more efficient, Elijah made improvements to existing equipment and invented new pieces of equipment. 

On July 23, 1872, Elijah received patent number 129,843 for his “Improvement in Lubricators for Steam-Engines.”  Elijah’s invention was a lubricating cup which automatically distributed oil evenly over the engine’s moving parts.  Rather than having the oilers lubricate each moving part individually, which took a lot of time, they could fill a central cup with oil.  The oil flowed through pipes to the engine parts which required constant lubrication.  Railroad companies quickly began installing Elijah’s automatic lubricators on their trains. 

Elijah probably could have lived the remainder of his life off the income from this one invention, but Elijah kept making improvements.  In 1898, 26 years after he received his patent for the lubricating cup, Elijah added a glass sight feed tube to the system.  This improvement enabled engineers to visually monitor the rate at which the moving parts were being lubricated.  If the engineer saw that the automatic lubricator was feeding too much oil to the engine, he could partially close a valve to slow the release of oil.  If oil was needed, he could open the valve more.  A study published the following year concluded that Elijah’s lubricating systems were in use on almost all railroads in North America.   

Throughout his lifetime, Elijah received nearly 60 patents, most of which were related to lubrication systems.  He also received patents for a lawn sprinkler, an ironing board, and other machines unrelated to steam engines.  Elijah’s inventions proved to be reliable and long-lasting.  As with any successful product, competitors came up with their own versions of Elijah’s popular products.  Most of the copycat products were designed quickly and made as cheaply as possible to maximize profits.  The cheaper lubricators failed frequently and required almost constant maintenance.  To avoid using the cheap imitations, railroad workers began asking for Elijah’s equipment by name.  Over time, Elijah’s name came to symbolize any superior product made by any manufacturer.      

Nearly 100 years after his death, Elijah McCoy’s name is still synonymous with quality.  To this day, people who want to avoid buying cheaply made imitation goods ask for the real thing.  They ask for the real McCoy.

Sources:

1.     “Elijah McCoy – Inventions, Facts & Death.” Biography, April 1, 2021,www.biography.com/inventors/elijah-mccoy.

2.    “NIHF Inductee Elijah McCoy Invented the Automatic Engine Lubricator.” Invent.org, January 27, 2020, www.invent.org/inductees/elijah-mccoy.

3.    “Elijah McCoy (U.S. National Park Service).” www.nps.gov,www.nps.gov/people/elijah-mccoy.htm.

Northwestern State University’s School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics announces three upcoming events in which prospective students can explore career opportunities in STEM fields, meet faculty and fellow students and learn about degree programs.  The School of STEM includes the Department of Biology and Microbiology, the Department of Engineering Technology, the Division of Mathematics, the Department of Physical Science and the Department of Veterinary Technology.

STEM Day:

• September 29, 2023
• 8:00am – 12:00pm
• For high school students in grades 9-12, Northwestern State University’s School of STEM is offering an exceptional opportunity to dive deep into their fields of interest. Through engaging and interactive hands-on demonstrations, students can gain valuable insights into the exciting worlds of STEM. Participants will have the chance to choose from several specialized tracks, in biomedical/microbiology, natural science/ecology, veterinary science, chemistry and physics or mathematics/engineering.
• Registration is available at nsu.la/StemDay

By Doug De Graffenried

The usual routine for writing this article is that I arrive at the office on Monday morning, grab a cup of coffee, and start writing. This week’s routine was disrupted by the Labor Day holiday. I did enjoy my Labor Day and decided that a smoker did not violate the Burn Ban and I cooked away! Don’t get me started on governmental overreach and intrusion into our basic freedoms, because I can wax poetic on that topic.

I whipped into the offices on Tuesday morning knowing that my writing routine was a day late. 

I grabbed a cup of coffee and that is where the day derailed.

My morning was disrupted by Bill Gates! I’m one of those dinosaurs that uses Microsoft products. Only the cool people on our church staff have Apple products. They are also the people who do all the graphics and video production. They are always bragging about their cool computers, iPads, and such not. I sat down at my desk and noticed my computer was off. I never turn my computer off. Bill Gates and Microsoft had turned my computer off. It was in the middle of one of the infamous Microsoft updates and had not turned back on.

I hit the power button. If you have endured one of those updates recently, you know that I sat gazing at a screen with the, “please be patient” message. I was. The computer cooperated and all was well. Until I tried opening Microsoft Word. The update had fouled up all of my functioning Microsoft product. I could not open Word. I could not open the mail program. I could not open another product the church uses for internal communication. My computer was fully functional, but the programs I needed to write this article and send this article out were not functioning.

My workday was in a state of disruption.

Those of us who are set in our ways don’t like disruption. Our habits give order and symmetry to our life. I was upset with Bill Gates and the Microsoft software update disruption of my writing schedule.

I have an antidote for dealing with disruption. What if, rather than all our usual ways of grousing about disruption, we practiced improvisation. When life comes at us with something that causes us to get off our beaten path, can we “make it up” as we are going along? Then a disruption becomes a blessing and opportunity to learn and do something different.

If we are anchored to Christ, let the winds blow and let the disruptions come. We have an anchor that holds. Now we can move where the winds of the spirit move us. That is called improvisation, or some call it faith. 

As anglers, we are always looking for the best bass fishing lake in the country. It’s our dream to catch 10-pound bass on every cast, but we don’t want anyone else to know about our secret destination.

It begs me to wonder, “Where is the holy grail of bass fishing?” Is there really a Bassfield USA and if so, is it a destination all anglers should put on their bucket lists?

This topic came up at lunch the other day with my so-called “Lunch Bunch” crew. We are a sad group of guys that eat lunch together at least twice a week to discuss everything from LSU football to the prettiest women of the ‘70’s and ‘80’s. It is a group of both Republican and Democratic loyalists with a couple of Independents mixed in who have the answers to most of our country’s political issues.

It was during a conversation about a former NSU Demon that someone asked where he was from? Turns out, he was from a town by the name of Bassfield!

After some lengthy discussion, someone finally Googled to discover that Bassfield is in Mississippi, located in the northeast region of the Magnolia State. My peer group of misfits (the Lunch Bunch) thought it was funny that I did not know where Bassfield was since I am a bass fisherman.

While I failed to see the humor in their dubious accusation, they just could not understand how I could call myself a bass angler and not know the location of Bassfield, Mississippi! They pretended to be disappointed in my lack of knowledge, but I thought they were juvenile!

However, this topic did raise a question with me: are there any other towns called by another species of fish like catfish? Or might there be a town by the name of Sac-a-lait, otherwise known as a white perch to most southerners. How many fish towns are there?

Turns out, after extensive research and a waste of my time, there are at least 81 towns around Canada and the good ol’ USA that have a name associated with a particular fish species. Some include Catfish Paradise, Arizona; Fish, Georgia; Fishkill, New York (love that one); Marlin, Texas; King Salmon, Alaska; Sturgeon, Pennsylvania; and one of my favorites — Jack Fish, Ontario, Canada.

There’s even a Trout located in north Louisiana’s LaSalle Parish. Did you know there are three other town names with the word Bass in it? They are Bass Harbor, Maine, Bass Lake, Wisconsin; and Bass River, New Brunswick, Canada.

So, there you have it. More useless information that no one really cares about! But at least next time when my “Lunch Bunch” asks about a town with a fishy name, I’ll be able to hold my head high by spouting off the location of several.

It pains me to waste my valuable time on such trivial information, but when you have friends like the ones I have, you need all the ammunition you can get since these guys are ruthless when you don’t know the things THEY think you should know.  

‘Til next time, good luck, good fishing and when you get that bite of a lifetime, don’t forget to set the hook!

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

Mrs. Shirley Woodard
August 31, 2023
Arrangements TBA

Clifford Blake, Jr.
September 1, 2023
Arrangements TBA

Don Davenport
February 14, 1953 – August 30, 2023
Service: Friday, September 8 at 11 am at the First Baptist Church of Robeline

Margaret Brooks
August 28, 2023
Arrangements TBA