Author: NPJ

Remains found near Marthaville presumptively identified as Steven W. Burkett

/ NPJ

Human remains discovered near Marthaville on Friday morning, May 24, have been presumptively identified according to Natchitoches Parish Sheriff Stuart Wright.

Natchitoches Parish Coroner Steven Clanton said on May 27, the skeletal remains discovered on Friday morning at approximately 10:44 am, off of the Preston Hayes Road near Marthaville in a private pond and on the outer banks have been presumptively identified through evidence gathered at the scene as that of Steven W. Burkett.

The remains are being transported to the LSU F.A.C.E.S. Lab in Baton Rouge for examination and positive identification.

Family members were notified on Friday of the discovery.

Detectives say the investigation began, over two years ago, back on February 13, 2022 at approximately 11:00pm, when a female friend of Burkett contacted the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office reporting him missing under suspicious circumstances.

Deputies spoke with the friend, gathered information and completed an offense report for investigative purposes.

Burkett, 49, at the time, was described as a white male, 5’11”, 175 pounds, with medium length brown hair and brown eyes.  He reportedly lived in the 100 block of Eddie Williams Road near Marthaville, La.

A missing person bolo was issued along with Burkett being placed in the National Crime Information Center as a missing person.

Detectives began speaking with family and friends in an effort to gather additional information about Mr. Burkett.

Detectives executed search warrants in the area, including one at his home, searching for any clues or evidence.

On four occasions, NPSO Detectives, along with assistance from the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office, Many Police Department, Natchitoches Parish Fire District #7, cadaver dogs from Shreveport Fire Department, Ark-La-Tex K-9 Rescue searched several hundred acres in separate locations on Preston Hayes Road near Marthaville and other areas on foot, all-terrain vehicles and horseback looking for Burkett or any clues to his whereabouts.

Detectives continued to investigate the case, following up on tips, submitting evidence to the crime lab and used media sources to ask for the public’s help.

KTBS Channel 3 did an In-Dept Story on Burkett’s disappearance.

Last week, Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Detectives and Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Detectives working on a tip traveled to a private pond off of the Preston Hayes Road near Marthaville.

With the landowner’s full cooperation and permission, detectives along with assistance from the NPSO Dive Team and North Sabine Parish Dive Team discovered human skeletal remains in the water and on the outer banks of the pond.

Detectives and dive team members remained on scene throughout Friday afternoon sifting through the shallow pond water and on the outer banks for any additional evidence that may assist in the investigation.

This was the first time, detectives searched this private pond, however, other nearby ponds had been searched.

Natchitoches Parish Coroner Steven Clanton responded to the scene.  The remains were carefully collected and transported to the LSU F.A.C.E.S lab in Baton Rouge for examination, analysis and positive identification.
Clanton said “it appeared the remains had been at this location for a couple of years, and during the collection of the remains, evidence was discovered that leads us to presumptively believe the remains are that of Mr. Steven W. Burkett.”

Detectives are remaining tight-lipped about the investigation but say Natchitoches and Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Detectives are aggressively pursuing leads in the case.

The case remains active and ongoing.

If you have any information you would like to share contact the NPSO Criminal Investigations Bureau at 318-357-7830.

Public Awareness Message: 2026 motor vehicle inspection sticker fading issue

/ NPJ

Louisiana State Police has been made aware of a defect in Motor Vehicle Inspection (MVI) stickers issued for the year 2026. Upon initial adhesion to a vehicle windshield, the “26” sticker has a yellow background. Due to sun exposure, the sticker may potentially fade from yellow to clear or white.

Individuals who have received 2026 MVI stickers from January 1, 2024, until the present date may experience fading. It is important to note that despite the fading, these MVI stickers will remain valid. No action is required by the vehicle owner. The Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) is aware of this issue, and is working to replace the current unissued inventory.

Ponderings

/ NPJ

By Doug De Graffenried

Why?

I have never successfully answered the “why” question. There are times in a relationship when one will ask the other one, “Why did you hang the picture in that particular place?” “Why did you eat the last of the Blue Bell ice cream?” “Why did you mow the lawn as you did?” I think I have failed in answering those questions. It is because the answer to the question moved behind the realm of action into the realm of motivation. How many of us have the emotional intelligence to authentically answer a motivational question? Why did you blow up at the nice person in the restaurant, when they didn’t melt the cheese on your cheeseburger? 

I had an unanswerable “why” question this weekend. The dogs escaped the yard. When our dogs get out of the yard, they jet. Rolo is part Beagle and the sniffer in him takes over and he has to run each scent in the neighborhood. I know that if anything happens to Rolo, I will be in the eternal doghouse. He got out by opening a gate. No kidding, one of the dogs opened a gate. I don’t know how, and they are not confessing.

Why were the dogs in that part of the yard? That part of the yard is gated off on four sides, because my greenhouse is in that part of the yard. I was working in the greenhouse and the dogs were with me. I don’t know what motivated the dogs to be with me. I can’t explain canine motivation. I took a break and went inside; the dogs decided to execute an escape plan. The dogs did return, exhausted. I was released from the doghouse. However, the why questions continued. I know I am frustrating because I have never answered a why question, well.

The same in my professional life. Yes, I am called to this ministry. Yes, I read and study scripture daily. Yes, I talk to God several times a day. Even in ministry, I’m not good with the “why” question. “Why did this happen to me?” “Why am I sick?” “Why is my life falling apart?” I have been doing the preacher thing for forty-eight years. Here is how I now answer the “why” question. The answer to the “why” question is the purview of management, I’m only in customer service.

That is not where the conversation stops, although I have never been able to answer “why” question, I do have some insights about the better question; “how.” How do I move forward given my life circumstances How do I trust in Jesus in the middle of this storm? How do I put one foot in front of the other so I can take the next step? The question for all of us is….

How?

Joint search efforts lead to recovery of human skeletal remains near Marthaville

/ NPJ
A joint search effort by the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office and Sabine Parish led to the recovery of human skeletal remains near Marthaville, according to Natchitoches Parish Sheriff Stuart Wright.
 
Natchitoches Parish Sheriff Stuart Wright, Sabine Parish Sheriff Aaron Mitchell, Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Detectives, Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Detectives, members of the NPSO Dive Team, and the North Sabine Parish Dive Team discovered human skeletal remains on May 24 around 10:44 am in water and on the outer banks of a private pond off of Preston Hayes Road near Marthaville.
 
Detectives working the case remain tight lipped but say the search was the result of a tip and investigation into a missing person reported in the area.
 
Natchitoches Parish Coroner Steven Clanton responded to the scene along with Natchitoches Regional Medical Center EMS and Natchitoches Parish Fire Protection District #7. The skeletal remains were carefully collected by the Coroner’s Office for further evaluation. The remains will be transported by the Coroner’s Office to the LSU Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services Lab for positive identification and further analysis.
 
Natchitoches Parish Coroner Steven Clanton stated, “It appears the remains had been in that area for a few years.”
 
Detectives and dive team members remained on scene throughout the afternoon sifting through the shallow pond water and on the outer banks for any additional evidence that may assist in the investigation. Sheriff’s Detective Lt. Jonathan Byles, says the recovery of the remains were made in an area approximately three-fourths of a mile from where Natchitoches and Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Detectives searched for Steven Burkett over the course of the past two years.
 
A positive identification of the remains has not been made, however, family and friends of Mr. Burkett have been notified of today’s recovery.
 
Sheriff Stuart Wright said, “Our detectives along with the assistance of Sabine Parish detectives have been tirelessly investigating this missing person from the very beginning along with other missing person cases. We follow the leads, facts and evidence where it may take us. Our detectives and Sabine Parish detectives are continuing to aggressively pursue developing leads in this case and hopefully we can bring closure to this victim’s family.”
 
If you have any information please contact the NPSO Criminal Investigations Bureau at 357-7830.

Does color really matter?

/ NPJ

If there’s one debate in bass fishing that has gone on for decades, it’s the age-old question: Does color matter? What we are referring to is the color of the bait you’re throwing when fishing for those elusive largemouth bass. No other topic in the bass fishing world has a difference of opinion more than this topic. Today I’ll give you my perspective that could lean you in either direction.  

If you ask any angler with years of experience, some will say, “Yes, color does matter,” while others will say, “No,” that the color of your bait has no bearing on if a bass will eat it. Occasionally, I will agree with the guys who say “no” because there are occasions where bass are on a feeding frenzy, otherwise known as “schooling,” and will bite just about anything you throw at them. But I’ve also seen instances where if you don’t throw something that is very close to the forage (baitfish) they are chasing, and I mean in both size and color, you will not get bit. This rule of “matching the hatch,” so to speak, pretty much applies 90 percent of the time.

Here’s my perspective when it comes to color. I say “yes,” color does matter, if for no other reason than confidence. I know we’ve talked about confidence in the past and there’s nothing more important to an angler than his confidence, whether it’s in a particular color or a select bait. This is always a part of my message when I speak to high school or college anglers. It’s important for young anglers to gain confidence in a particular color because when the fishing is tough, you want to fish with something you have a lot of confidence in.

When it comes to soft plastic baits, color can make a huge difference on whether you catch bass or not. My argument has always been if color is not important, then why do manufacturers make so many for anglers to choose from?  Some will say that is because companies are trying to catch anglers and sell lures. That might be true, but they also make so many colors because of the many different types of water clarity we have all across the country, and certain colors are designed to match different types of forage bass feed on.

All I know is this, over my many years of chasing those little green fish we call bass, more times than I can count, I made a color change and suddenly, I started catching bass. Was this a coincidence or was the new color I switched to closer to the forage they were feeding on? Only a bass can truly answer this question of whether color really matters, and until bass learn to speak, the world may never know.

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

OPPORTUNITY: Account Executive

/ NPJ

Opportunity available:  Account Executive

Areas include: Natchitoches, Sabine, DeSoto and Red River Parishes.

Qualifications:  Self-motivated, willing to learn, reliable transportation.  Training provided.

Income: Based on 25% sales commissions plus mileage.  Paid Weekly!

If you want to work your own schedule, set your own hours, build a lifetime income and Fridays off, then this is the opportunity for you!

Send resume to:  P. O. Box 2611, Natchitoches, LA 71457

EOE

Brilliant Bertie

/ NPJ

By Brad Dison

Bertie is a historical figure who is often overlooked or discounted as a failure, but was he?  Bertie was born in Iowa in 1874.  His father, Jesse, owned a farm implement store.  His mother’s name was Hulda.  He had an older brother and eventually, a younger sister.  In 1880, Bertie’s father died from a sudden heart attack at the young age of 34.  Four years later, his mother died from Typhoid fever.  Ten-year-old Bertie and his two siblings were orphans.  In 1885, Bertie and his siblings went to Newberg, Oregon, to live with their uncle, a businessman named John Minthorn.  Uncle John managed a real estate office called the Oregon Land Company.  Bertie dropped out of school at the age of 13 to work in Uncle John’s land company. 

In 1891, Bertie enrolled in the first class of the brand new Stanford University.  He initially studied mechanical engineering but changed his major to geology after working with Dr. John Casper Branner, the chairman of Stanford’s geology department.  In 1894, a strong-minded 20-year-old woman named Lou Henry attended a geology lecture by Dr. Branner and was hooked.  Shortly thereafter, she enrolled at Stanford.  There, she met Bertie and the two became inseparable.  A year after her graduation, Bertie and Lou married.  Soon thereafter, Bertie accepted a position as leading engineer in a private Chinese engineering and mining company.  The newlyweds packed their meager belongings and moved to Tientsin, China. 

At the time, tensions were rising in China.  In June 1900, the Boxer Rebellion erupted in Tientsin.  The Boxer Rebellion was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901 by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists, known as the “Boxers” in English due to many of its members having practiced Chinese martial arts, which at the time were referred to as “Chinese boxing.”  For almost a month, Tientsin was under heavy fire. While Lou worked in the hospitals, Bertie directed the building of barricades.  On July 14, 1901, a multi-national military force defeated the “boxers” in the Battle of Tientsin. 

After the rebellion, Bertie and Lou moved to London where Bertie specialized in fixing failing mining companies.  Rather than being paid a salary, Bertie took a percentage of the profits if he was able to rejuvenate the companies.  Within a short time, Bertie had investments in mines on every continent and had offices in several countries.  His talents as a geologist quickly made him wealthy.  By 1914, Bertie’s wealth reached approximately $4 million.  That would be over $125 million in today’s money. 

Bertie wrote the book on mining.  Seriously.  In 1909, he published a book called “Principles of Mining” which became a standard textbook for geologists.  Bertie and Lou were huge fans of Georgius Agricola’s 16th century work on mining and metallurgy called “De re Metallica.”  In 1912, they published the first English translation of “De re Metallica.”  At about the same time, Bertie joined the board of trustees at his alma mater, Stanford.  Bertie was happy with the trajectory of his life.  He had a loving wife and two wonderful children.  Then something happened which forever changed his life’s trajectory. 

In 1914, Germany declared war on France.  The American Consul General asked for Bertie’s help in getting stranded American tourists back home.  With the backing of Congress and President Woodrow Wilson, Bertie was selected as the committee’s chairman.  He acted immediately.  Within two weeks, his committee helped more 100,000 Americans return to the United States.  Bertie said later, “I did not realize it at the moment, but on August 3, 1914, my career was over forever.  I was on the slippery road of public life.”

In August 1914, Germany invaded Belgium, which created a food crisis.  Germany refused to take responsibility to feed citizens in captured territory.  At this point, the United States declared neutrality in what was the early part of World War I.  Something had to be done.  With the cooperation of President Wilson’s administration, Bertie led a Belgian relief organization called the Commission for Relief in Belgium.  Bertie made 40 trips to meet with German authorities in the North Sea and persuaded them to allow food shipments.  Under Bertie’s leadership, the commission delivered millions of tons of foodstuffs to Belgium.  In 1915, the commission expanded and delivered supplies to people in the German-occupied Northern France.  American diplomat Walter Page said Bertie was “probably the only man living who has privately negotiated understandings with the British, French, German, Dutch, and Belgian governments.”  Remember, Bertie held no political office.

When the United States entered World War I, President Wilson remembered how well Bertie had handled the Commission for Relief in Belgium and France and appointed him to head the U.S. Food Administration.  Bertie’s herculean task was to manage the country’s food supplies during the war.  To avoid rationing, which other wartime countries were forced to undertake, Bertie established set days for people to avoid eating certain foods including the cleverly named meatless Mondays and wheatless Wednesdays.  The plan worked and allowed the Food Administration to send foodstuffs to allies of the United States.  Bertie was referred to as an expert administrator for his work.

After the war, Europe still faced food shortages.  The Food Administration, whose name changed to the American Relief Administration, provided food to central and eastern Europe.  Bertie also founded the European Children’s Fund to provide food and aid to some fifteen million children from 14 countries.  Despite his request that he not be named in publicity for the food program, Bertie’s selfless work during the war made him a public hero.  His abilities were also praised when he worked as Secretary of Commerce under presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge.  Despite going from being an orphan to a multimillionaire, personally negotiating with leaders of warring nations to provide aid which potentially saved the lives of millions of people in multiple countries, Bertie is often considered a failure.  How is this possible?  When the stock market crashed in the fall of 1929 followed shortly thereafter by the Great Depression, Bertie was the president of the United States.  Bertie was the family nickname for Herbert Hoover.

Sources:

1.     “Herbert Hoover,” The White House, https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/herbert-hoover/.

2.     The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, https://hoover.archives.gov/.

Notice of Death – May 28, 2024

/ NPJ

Catherine Biggers Christensen
December 29, 1956 — May 8, 2024
Service: Saturday, June 8 at 2 pm at Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home

Jennifer Dorsey
July 7, 1956 – May 23, 2024
Arrangements TBA

James J. Metoyer
September 16, 1952 – May 27, 2024
Arrangements TBA

Stephen Ward Burke
November 16, 1980 — May 19, 2024
There will be no services.

Wilma J. Howard
June 19, 1958 – May 21, 2024
Arrangements TBA

Karen Morean Welch Dodd
Service: Saturday, June 1 at 1 PM at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home

Two suicide attempts later, Logansport’s own is a country music success story

/ NPJ
WE RIDE: Bryan Martin has a Top 20 hit song, and is performing with some of country music’s biggest stars. (Photo courtesy bryanmartinofficial.com)

By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Services

 “Well, I’ve been known to write a few songs
Lovin’ and leavin’ and getting’ too stoned
Bottle and a pistol by my side
The devil’s always along for the ride”

 Last Saturday, he opened for country music star Jason Aldean.

June 20th, he will take the stage ahead of Morgan Wallen – the first of a few dates with one of country music’s biggest names.

Not bad for a guy from Logansport, who twice attempted to kill himself.

“I try not to even stop and think about (my success),” Bryan Martin told the Shreveport-Bossier Journal, a few hours before performing in Oklahoma on Aldean’s Highway Desperado tour. “I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and go, ‘Oh, shi_. I just stumped my toe trying to get in the camper one night and this has all been a dream.’  It’s been amazing. It’s been crazy.”

Martin, who was born in Shreveport and grew up in DeSoto Parish, has Billboard Country’s 16th ranked song with We Ride, from his album Poets and Old Souls. Other charts have the hit song ranked even higher.”

“It just blows me away to be sitting in the Top 10 on country radio and thinking about where all I’ve been and what all I’ve been through. Never in a million years would I have thought I would even be sitting here talking to you about it. It’s just crazy.”

The fact that the 36-year-old, who bounced between schools in Logansport and Stanley before dropping out, is “even sitting here” is something of a miracle. Martin went to work on an oil rig for almost a year before enlisting in the Army. Confusion about whether he should have been accepted led to an uncharacterized discharge, which led to Martin trying to kill himself. He wrote We Ride based off a suicide written when he was 19 years old.

“I felt like a failure. I’ve never quit a job – never been sent home from a job. When I came back home, that’s when I took (30) Percocet’s, and I misfired a .357 Magnum . . . . I remember waking up the next morning and not feeling the effects of the drugs or the alcohol. That blew my mind . . . . I put that bullet back in the gun and took out all the other bullets. I pretty much cussed God and asked, ‘Why are you saving me now? It’s too late to save me.’”

But as many a preacher will tell you it wasn’t too late. Martin was saved. He went into the ministry and was sober for six years. But later, Martin went through a divorce. Then came Covid, which kept him from working.

“Same thing like the military. I just felt like a failure sitting at the house. I couldn’t draw a check. I was going crazy. I couldn’t make the music make sense. I couldn’t make money. I was pulled apart. I went back to drinking again.”

That led to another suicide attempt just three years ago – two days before his divorce was became final. Martin drove off an embankment.

“I went through a really bad brain injury and lost most of my memory. I couldn’t remember any of my songs (he had written close to 800) . . . . I had to pretty much re-teach myself how to play my own songs.”

In the process, Martin proved his doctors wrong.

“They told me I wasn’t ever going to be able to write again because of that brain injury. When I went to writing again (Martin credits medicine for ADHD), I couldn’t stop. The last three years, I’ve done what they told me I couldn’t do in the next 15 (years). The last six months, I’ve done what they said I couldn’t do in the next 10 (years).”

Martin was discovered while performing with some of his Tic Tok friends, who put together a music and comedy tour. But Martin’s current success came fast.

“A year and a half ago, I was on a barstool playing for $400 a night.”

Needing to be close to Nashville, Tennessee, Martin now lives in a town south of the country music capital. His schedule doesn’t allow him to return to Logansport often, where his mother (Donna) and father (David) still live. Martin has been back home four or five times in the last two-and-a-half years.

“When you catch a little breeze, you’ve got to ride with it. It’s a dream come true. Right now, it’s been able to afford me to retire my dad. I’m a long way from retiring, but to retire my dad is something I’ve always dreamed of doing.”

During his younger days, Martin was a frequent visitor to Bossier City.

“I would always spend my money at the arcade at the (Louisiana) Boardwalk. I went to the movies, and anywhere else I could get into. I got into the Rockin’ Rodeo (nightclub) one night. I sang Tracy Lawrence’s Sticks and Stones. That was my first time singing in front of people, at karaoke at the Rockin’ Rodeo.”

Right now, Martin is living the dream, a long way from singing karaoke. But if Martin ends up being a one-hit-wonder, that will be just fine with him. Martin has his songwriting talents to fall back on.

“If people are living life and going through struggles, somebody out there will relate to what I’m going to write next, or what I have coming out next. As long as real life is happening, I think I’ve got a pretty good chance at (staying successful), now that I’ve broke through and gained a few ears.”

But Martin’s professional life isn’t the only thing that’s better than ever.

“I’ve been dating my ex-wife (Bobbie Jo) for three years. It’s been going good. It’s the best it’s ever going to be. We get along good. If we don’t, it’s like, well, we’ll get over it. This time, you ain’t taking everything when you leave.”

Hmmm . . . . Sounds like the makings of a good Brian Martin-written song.

Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com.

Ponderings

/ NPJ

By Doug De Graffenried

Do you remember your childhood? For some it is a distant memory, for others it was not so long ago. We all had one. The role of primacy was important in the childhood experience. In many cases being or going first brought honor and privilege.

In homes with multiple children a first spot in the bath rotation was important. Adolescent shower time became fierce competition since hot water and your place in line shared a proportional relationship. In many areas, we want to be number one. First, in our class brings recognition and scholarships. First in line for the big sale gives us confidence we will depart with our purchase and not a rain-check. First in line at the check-out rewards us by removing the energy for angst and frustration to grow as we wait on others, always slower than us, to check out.

Primacy also shares a relationship with light and experience. When the sun was shining or the lights were on, there was little problem in leading the way. If the moon was out and the room was dark, there was often a call for volunteers. “You go first!” “No, you go first!” Experience could alleviate anxiety caused by the darkness. If you knew through experience that monsters had never been behind that door before, you were less likely to fear opening it. Experience has brought you through this place before.

There were other times as a child when primacy was the result of a challenge. In most places those challenges were known as a dare. The dare could be strengthened by adding “double dog” or “triple dog” to it. A good way to deflect a dare was the power of “if you will, I will.” There is something comforting about having company share in the stupid activity resulting from a dare. This rule is used by parents when warning about following friends jumping off of bridges. If your friend would not participate in the activity called for by the dare, you could claim exemption too.

There were advantages to being the pioneer. If you are the oldest child you never heard academic or athletic comparisons being made about you and your older sibling. You had none! The first born helped parents develop their skills and discover that children are basically parent proof. The first born pioneered the way for younger siblings to experience parental relaxation of the rules regarding bedtimes, friends, activities, and curfews. In many cases the first child exhausted the parents. That explains the hundreds of pictures of the first born and the scant photographic record of subsequent siblings.

The one disadvantage of going first is that you have no frame of reference. You have no benchmarks or landmarks for the activity. Those moments when we are launching into new territory can be filled with doubt and fear. Following the leader isn’t fun if you are the leader. You can always find the leader; they are the ones with the arrows in their back. In business, raising a family, or living a good life there are occasions when are off the grid and out of the box. If only we had done this before. If only someone had gone before us. We might be able to follow a known pattern.

One New Testament writer points to Jesus as the “pioneer of our faith.” No matter what you are facing, Jesus says, “been there, done that.” Jesus overcame every obstacle during His life. He even threw the Devil’s dares right back at him. Jesus gave us a pattern for living a good and joyous life. We forget that He had a good life. He savored each minute of His earthly journey.

Jesus walked with the assurance of God’s presence and love. He overcame everything thrown at Him. Even death couldn’t hold Him. He scouted out the path called human life. He walked it. Jesus went first! We can follow Him confidently. He is standing out ahead of us urging us on in our living.

A salute to a fishing legend

/ NPJ

Not many people reach legendary status.

But there’s one man who lives just across the Louisiana/Texas line that falls into the category of a legend.

He’s a guy who for years has conducted the greatest bass tournaments in the world. He’s become so big that National Geographic came to East Texas and did a one-hour special on his amateur bass tournament trail. His name: Bob Sealy! He is the owner and creator of the Bob Sealy Big Bass Splash Series.

Back in the 1980’s, Bob had this great idea to conduct a big bass tournament on Lake Sam Rayburn as part of an initiative to bring tourism to the lake area. Little did he know that 40 years later it would explode nationwide, and now globally, as anglers all over the country and the world come and compete in one of his many big bass tournaments held all across the South.

Bob was also the guy who sat down with Ray Scott, the founder of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.), and convinced him to bring a professional bass tournament to Sam Rayburn. This brought national exposure to the area as Sam Rayburn became one of the legendary lakes in America with its reputation for producing huge bass and 30-pound tournament winning stringers.

Why so much success over a bass tournament? What has been the reason so many people have come and continue to make their way to all Bob Sealy events? It’s all due to a simple formula Bob figured out a long time ago. He realized most anglers will never have the opportunity to make the kind of money professional bass fishing offers. That’s when he came up with the slogan, “Where amateurs win like the pros!” As they say, the rest is history!

Another reason for the Sealy success is the fact that Bob does what he says he will do. Early on when he started these big bass tournaments, he took a few financial losses mainly due to the promises he had made. There were times when he did not have enough entries to cover the amount he was giving away. Bob still wrote checks and borrowed money from the bank in order to make sure everyone got paid.

Another example of why Bob has had so much success is his willingness to give. There’s one aspect of all Sealy tournaments where he offers $5,000 each day for any angler that weighs an exact 3.00, 4.00, or 5.00-pound bass. Even if no one weighs in an exact size bass, he will put all the entries from the tournament into a hopper and will draw a random name to give away three $5,000 checks. Most tournaments would just pocket this money and move on. Not Bob Sealy. He wants anglers to walk away with money in their pocket!

These are just a few reasons why Bob Sealy has so many participants follow his tournament trail. Bob does what he says he will do, no matter what the cost. This is the key to any successful bass fishing circuit. Anglers only want two things: enforce the rules and make sure the payout is exactly what each event says it will be.

We salute Bob Sealy on his commitment and dedication to making this tournament trail so successful. Sealy events are for all weekend warriors who love to fish. It’s also about family by offering something for all ages with plenty of food, entertainment and kids fishing division. As a member of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame and the Outdoors Hall of Fame, Bob continues to set the bar for all bass tournaments.

This article would not be complete without recognizing and thanking the entire Sealy Outdoors staff and volunteers who coordinate and make all Sealy events possible. Without these folks, the Bob Sealy Big Bass Splash would not be possible.

To learn more about the Sealy Big Bass Splash Series of tournaments go to sealyoutdoors.com.

‘Til next time, good luck, good fishing and when in doubt — set the hook.

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

The Baileyton Woman

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By Brad Dison

Many people are unsure of what to do with their future when they graduate from high school.  That was not the case with Sarah Ophelia Colley.  As a youngster growing up in Centerville, Tennessee, she decided she would become a dramatic actress.  She taught herself how to mimic those around her, but that was about as far as it got in high school.  She knew she needed formal training.  Once she graduated from Centerville High School, Sarah auditioned to join the theater department of Ward-Belmont College, which is now Belmont University.  She was well spoken with a southern drawl which she struggled to mask.  Despite her southern drawl, Sarah was accepted into the program.  She majored in theater studies and dance. 

For the first few years after graduating from Ward-Belmont, Sarah taught dance.  Sarah realized that unless she changed course, she could never realize her dream of performing on the stage.  In the late 1930s, Sarah began working as a play director for the Wayne P. Sewell Production Company, a touring theater company based out of Atlanta, Georgia.  She performed her parts perfectly, but Sarah was forgotten almost as soon as she walked off stage.  In 1947, Sarah married Henry Cannon.  Despite her best efforts, few people knew Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon as an actress.  In the 1980s, after being successfully treated for breast cancer, Sarah became an outspoken advocate for cancer research.  In 1987, she helped create the Sarah Cannon cancer foundation to raise money for cancer research.  This led to the creation of the Sarah Cannon Research Institute which specializes in cancer treatment.  On March 4, 1996, 83-year-old Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon died from complications from a stroke.   

As I said earlier, few people recognize Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon as an actress, but there is more to Sarah’s story.  While working for the Wayne P. Sewell Production Company, Sarah made brief appearances at civic organizations.  While directing a ten-day musical comedy in Baileyton, Alabama, Sarah met a woman that changed the course of her life.  Sarah needed a place to stay for the ten days, so she boarded with the Baileyton woman and her husband.  Something stood out about the Baileyton woman.  Sarah watched as the woman spoke.  She paid careful attention to her mannerisms, her attire, and her accent which was very similar to her own.  Remember, Sarah had struggled for years to hide her southern drawl.  When it was time for Sarah to move on to another town, the Baileyton woman said, “I hate to see you go.  You’re just like one of us.” 

Shortly thereafter, Sarah bought a dress and shoes similar to those worn by the Baileyton woman.  Rather than hiding her southern drawl, she began to embrace it for comedic affect, but something was missing.  In 1939, Sarah was set to perform her imitation of the Baileyton woman in Aiken, South Carolina.  Before the show, Sarah went to Surasky Bros. Department store in downtown Aiken.  While shopping for nothing in particular, Sarah put on a straw hat and did her best imitation of the Baileyton woman.  The hat completed the character.  Sarah bought the hat for $1.98 and headed to the theater.

As an imitation of the Baileyton woman, Sarah poked fun at rural Southern culture.  Rather than target other people, her jokes were aimed at herself, her fictional family, and her fictional hometown of Grinder’s Switch.  She was always trying and failing to gain the attention of “a feller.” She told fictional joke-laden stories about her Uncle Nabob and Aunt Ambrosia, Lucifer Huckelhead, Miss Lizzie Tinkum, Doc Payne (pun intended), and her brother who remained nameless.  In character, she once quipped about her Uncle Nabob, “He ain’t a failure.  He just started at the bottom, and he liked it there.” 

Sarah’s imitation of the Baileyton woman was a hit, and it led to her becoming the first solo female member of the Grand Ole Opry.  In 1975, she became the first female comedian inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  She performed the character on the stage and screen for over fifty years.  Still, no one knew Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon, and she never seemed to mind that she was overshadowed by the character she had created by imitating the Baileyton woman.  Her family, friends, and even her husband called her, not Sarah, but Minnie Pearl.  Her greeting to the audience became famous.  “How-DEEEEE! I’m just s’proud to be hyere!”

Sources:

1.     “Minnie Pearl,” Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/minnie-pearl.

2.     “MINNIE PEARL Interview Entertainment Tonight October 26 1985,” YouTube, https://youtu.be/h_8ZEjU1Qd0?si=MD5safekJKzx8UbZ.

3.     ‌“Minnie Pearl: Grand Ole Opry Comedian and Hee Haw,” YouTube, https://youtu.be/7d1TRxVRzU4?si=3nT9IwNr0kwC5waN.

Notice of Death – May 21, 2024

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Ivan Dwane Murphy
October 1, 1931 — May 17, 2024
Service: Thursday, May 23 at 1 pm at Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home

Linda Elaine Wallace
September 7, 1959 – May 20, 2024
Arrangements TBA

Barbara Neuhauser
October 9, 1939 — May 14, 2024
Service: Friday, May, 24, 2024 at 10 AM at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Natchitoches

Karen Morean Welch Dodd
Service: Saturday, June 1 at 1 PM at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home

Teresa Lavern “GiGi” Phillips Cutright
October 15, 1956 — May 15, 2024
Arrangements TBA

Mental Health Awareness: National Prevention Week

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By Jeanni Ritchie
 
Prevention is key in stopping problems before they start and this week is dedication to prevention awareness.
 
Programs like D.A.R.E. seek to stop drug use in children before it ever starts. The 988 lifeline was designed to prevent suicide attempts. 
 
While prevention is not the sole line of defense against mental health and substance abuse issues, it is a great start. 
 
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation, launched a refreshed National Prevention Week brand and approach in 2023. This new approach supports year-round initiatives and the possibilities prevention brings. 
 
Their goal in this new approach is to develop deeper and more meaningful relationships with prevention organizations throughout the year. They desire a more collaborative effort with the organizations who have boots on the ground across America and welcome feedback. 
 
The National Prevention Week tagline, A Celebration of Possibility, is about communities coming together to celebrate the possibilities and brighter futures that exist thanks to the ongoing work of prevention happening across the country.
 
Highlight your organization’s work on social media, join the conversation by sharing your personal story using the hashtags #MyPreventionStory and #NationalPreventionWeek24, and email David.Wilson@samhsa.hhs.gov with your thoughts and insights. 
 
Together we can make a difference for all generations and provide hope to a nation. 
 
Jeanni Ritchie is a mental health and community journalist from Central Louisiana. Follow her at www.jeanniritchie.com. 

Ponderings

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By Doug De Graffenried

It is cliché. 

A cartoon character will be in the middle of an ethical conundrum. The cartoonist will picture an angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other. Both are vying for attention and to direct the future behavior of the character. Have you felt that your bad side is trying to convince your good side to do something? We preachers talk about this matter as a paradox or as one author put it, “human polarity in Biblical perspective.” 

I had a preacher friend who described it as “people who are too bad to be good and too good to be bad.” The Apostle Paul wrote, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” That is one of the super-saints of the church describing his inner struggle and he was an Apostle! 

We all have struggles with good and bad behavior, with doing what is good and doing that which is wrong. You don’t have to ponder the great truth of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; you simply need to tell a toddler not to do something and watch what happens next. The Bible portrays us as saints and sinners simultaneously. The good news is that Jesus loves sinners, and He also loves saints. You can’t lose with the radical grace of the cross. Are you getting this, Jesus loves you and there is nothing you can do to change that.

I have arrived at my point now. If you are struggling with good and bad, right and wrong, being a saint and a sinner, do you suppose that person who so aggravated you this morning might also be struggling? The truth is all people are incredibly broken and beautiful simultaneously. Out of our acknowledged brokenness grows our unique beauty. Are we seeing others as Jesus sees them? 

Are we treating others as Jesus would treat them? Remember that Jesus said, “As you did it to one of the least of these, you did it unto Me.”

That’s right: we’re talking about practice!

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Just like NBA player Alan Iverson once said, ”We’re talking about practice?” Yes, today we’re talking about practice and how important it can be for an angler to be successful. My recent 11th-place finish at Sam Rayburn in the ABA Pro League was a reminder of just how important practice can be.

The problem with practice this time of year (spring) is that conditions can change overnight, or worse, by the hour. But nevertheless, we will see how time on the water is important to being successful and how we as anglers must keep an open mind, especially on tournament day.

Let’s start with Day 1 of practice. Conditions were very mild with warm daily temperatures reaching the lower 80’s and a mild northwest wind at 5 to 10 mph. But one thing that would be a definite factor in this event was the rising water level.

The East Texas region had been inundated with torrential rain the week of this event with as much as 10 inches falling just north of Sam Rayburn. This created a much-needed steady rise all across Sam Rayburn. The lake had been approximately 6.5 feet low prior to this tournament, creating all sorts of obstacles for anglers to navigate around, making for some nervous boat rides.

I made a decision to go shallow and shrink the lake by limiting my options and fishing fairly close to the tournament site. I wanted to really get into an area, learn it, and figure out what the bass were doing in this particular part of the lake. This proved to be a very productive move as there was plenty of cover with patches of lily pads and hydrilla in several pockets I had chosen to concentrate on.

Now with rising water on any lake, bass have a tendency to move up and head for the shallows. First thing I realized on Day 1 of practice was there were a good number of quality bass roaming the shallows as I caught a few fish in the 3-to-4-pound range. Based off a previous event I researched from the week before, I noticed the weights were down and that 12 to 14 pounds would probably be good enough to get a check.

Over a two-day period of practice, I found three areas holding quality fish and decided to rotate through each over the course of my tournament day. But one area was especially promising as I caught three good fish and shook off 10 others late on the final day of practice. So, what does it mean to shake fish off? It’s where an angler fishes a bait with either a bent over hook or fishing the bait hookless, making sure he never hooks the fish.

Years ago, a fellow angler showed me this tip that I now use when practicing for a tournament and I don’t want to hook fish prior to the event. It’s called a screw lock and allows me to fish a soft plastic bait, like a worm or creature bait, without using a hook. The fish still bite the bait and in most cases I can see or feel if they are quality fish or not.

Hooking bass a day or two before an event will cause them not to bite. Anglers call this “sore mouthing” them. But there are times when I’m on a new body of water that I’m not familiar with that I will hook a few fish just to see what size bass are in that area.

During my two days of practice, it did not take long for me to figure out that a weightless fluke, a speed worm with an 1/8-ounce weight, and a chatterbait would be my top baits for this event. Wind was a huge factor as well and was an important key to certain areas being more productive than areas with little to no wind.

As tournament day rolled around, I headed for my best area that I felt I could catch my five-fish limit rather quickly. This held true as I boated five decent keeper fish before 8 a.m. and began to cull up for the rest of the day. The day started out with calm winds, but that all changed by 11 as winds shifted out of the south at 20-25 mph for the rest of the day, making it tough to place the bait where you wanted.

But it was on those windy banks or pockets, with scattered hydrilla patches in two feet or less, where fish seemed to be feeding heavily on shad. Therefore, the chatterbait became my main bait for the rest of the day. I was able to cull several fish, but my culls were only in ounces and not in pounds. I finished with around 13 pounds total for this event, placing me in 11th overall. Most events are decided by who gets the kicker or bigger bites of a 5- or 6-pound fish. That big bite never came for me in this tournament, which is why I finished 11th.

The best part of this event for me was that I moved up in the ABA Pro League Angler of the Year standings from 27th to 7th. Only the top 10 for AOY at the end of the season qualify for the Ray Scott National Championship which will be held at Lake Eufaula, Alabama in April 2025. So, from my perspective, this was a very important event and now I must continue to do well in order to put myself in position to make another Ray Scott Championship.

‘Til next time, good luck, good fishing and when in doubt, set the hook!

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

Broomsticks and Bottlecaps

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By Brad Dison

People with humble beginnings can achieve great things.  Henry Louis was born on February 5, 1934.  Henry became interested in baseball when he was a child.  His family was too poor to afford a baseball bat or even a baseball.  Where there’s a will, there’s a way.  Hank practiced his batting by hitting bottle caps with broomsticks.  He used anything he could find to use as bats and balls.  With his makeshift gear, he could hit harder and farther than any of the other kids. 

In 1949, 15-year-old Henry got his first tryout with a major league baseball team, the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Henry’s boyhood idol was the legendary Jackie Robinson, who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Everything seemed to be falling into place, but Henry was devastated when he was not selected to join the team.  In the same year, Henry joined the Prichard Athletics, an independent Negro league team.  While with the Athletics, Henry earned $2 per game.  Adjusted for inflation, that would be about $24 in today’s money.  Next, he played for the Mobile Black Bears, and earned $3 per game. 

On November 20, 1951, a baseball scout who had been watching Henry, signed him to a contract with the Indianapolis Clowns where he earned $200 per month.  Now, that’s about $2,350 in today’s money.  Not too bad.  Remember, these teams were in the Negro league, and it was the early 1950s.  Racism was rampant.  Henry remembered back to a time when he and the other Indianapolis Clowns visited Washington, D.C. for a game: 

“We had breakfast while we were waiting for the rain to stop, and I can still envision sitting with the Clowns in a restaurant behind Griffith Stadium and hearing them break all the plates in the kitchen after we finished eating. What a horrible sound. Even as a kid, the irony of it hit me: here we were in the capital in the land of freedom and equality, and they had to destroy the plates that had touched the forks that had been in the mouths of black men. If dogs had eaten off those plates, they’d have washed them.” 

The constant racism he had to endure coupled with being homesick, Henry contemplated giving up baseball altogether.  His brother, Herbert Jr. convinced Henry to keep working toward his dream.  With a pep talk from his brother, Henry worked harder than ever.  Word of Henry’s talent spread while he was with the Clowns.  After just three months with the Clowns, Henry received two telegrams with offers to join two Major League Baseball teams, the New York Giants and the Boston Braves.  Henry later recalled:

“I had the Giants’ contract in my hand. But the Braves offered fifty dollars a month more. That’s the only thing that kept Willie Mays and me from being teammates – fifty dollars.”

Fifty dollars a month may not sound like much, but that would be nearly $600 a month extra in today’s money.  Henry decided on the Braves, but remember that he was still under contract to the Clowns.  The Braves purchased Henry’s contract for $10,000, just over $117,000 in today’s money.  On June 12, 1952, Henry officially joined the Braves.  Henry quickly earned a nickname, but that nickname had nothing to do with his powerful hitting.  His teammates called him “pork chops.”  Henry explained, “it was the only thing I knew to order off the menu.”  One of his teammates said, “the man ate pork chops three meals a day, two for breakfast.”  Opposing pitchers often called him “Bad Henry.”

Henry prospered with the Braves.  By the end of his first season with the Braves, the league unanimously named him Rookie of the Year.  In the following year, 1953, the Braves won the league championship.  Henry led the league in runs, hits, doubles, RBIs, total bases, and batting average.  Henry won the league’s Most Valuable Player Award.  Still, there was racism aimed at Henry.  One sportswriter said “Henry… led the league in everything except hotel accommodations.” While traveling in the South, Henry was segregated from his teammates due to Jim Crow laws.  While his white teammates had hotel accommodations made for them, Henry had to arrange his own hotel accommodations. 

Throughout his career, Henry earned many accolades, too many to list.  In 1973, something big was happening.  Henry, then playing for the Atlanta Braves, was closing in on Babe Ruth’s career home run record of 714.  During the summer of 1973, Henry received so many letters each week, usually in the thousands, that the Braves hired a secretary to help Henry.  Not all of the mail Henry received was positive.  Henry received a lot of hate mail and death threats.  How dare he even attempt to break Babe Ruth’s record.  Due to the high number of death threats, policemen worked in shifts to protect Henry.  On September 29, 1973, Henry hit his 713th career home run in a game against the Houston Astros.  He had just one more home run to tie Babe Ruth’s record.  Two more home runs to beat Babe Ruth’s record.  But Henry failed to hit another home run in that game.  The season ended the following day.

Henry feared that he would not live to see the 1974 baseball season.  During the offseason, his amount of mail, including hate mail, increased.  He received so much mail that at the end of 1973, the U.S. Postal Service sent him a plaque for receiving more mail than any other person, with the exception of politicians.  He received approximately 930,000 letters that year.  The number of death threats increased exponentially.  Lewis Grizzard, executive sports editor of The Atlanta Journal, who had been preparing coverage on the home run record, secretly had one of his sportswriters write an obituary for Henry because he was afraid that Henry would be murdered before he had a chance to break Babe Ruth’s record. 

Henry did live to play in the 1974 season, but there was a problem.  Braves managers wanted Henry to beat Babe Ruth’s record while in Atlanta, but their first three games were away games.  The managers were going to have Henry sit out of the first three games, but the baseball commissioner insisted that Henry play in at least two of the three games.  On April 4, 1974, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Henry made a home run and tied Babe Ruth’s record.  The managers certainly wanted to win the game, but they did not want Henry to make another home run before returning home to Atlanta.  Henry did not hit another home run in an away game.

Four days later, April 8, 1974, the Braves played against the LA Dodgers in Atlanta.  It was a home game.  A record-breaking 53,775 people attended the game.  In the fourth inning, Al Downing of the Dodgers pitched the ball.  Henry swung.  The ball flew over left-center field and into the Braves’ bullpen.  Cannons fired in celebration.  Henry had broken Babe Ruth’s record.  As Henry rounded the bases, he saw his mother proudly waiting for him at home plate to give him a congratulatory hug.   

Henry Louis is one of the most revered players in baseball history.  And it all started with broomsticks and bottle caps.  Even if you are not a baseball fan, you will have heard his name.  Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron. 

Sources:

1.      “Hank Aaron, Academy Class of 1977, Full Interview,” Www.youtube.com. Accessed May 12, 2024,https://youtu.be/pbMvgj5LIRM?si=6AW0jMztgxTRleI4.‌

2.     “David Letterman – Hammerin’ Hank Aaron,” CBS, https://youtu.be/GYmRXRlxIvk?si=GCUYa0Zj7ZZYqU5t.

Notice of Death – May 14, 2024

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Karen Morean Welch Dodd
Service: Saturday, June 1 at 1 PM at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home

Travis Lamar Alexander Jr.
September 24, 1942 — May 13, 2024
Service: Thursday, May 16 at 11 am at the First Baptist Church of Natchitoches

Ella Moore
May 13, 2024
Service: Saturday, May 18 at 11 a.m. at the Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church

Willie Mae Banks
May 14, 2024
Arrangements TBA

Daniel Waldrup
January 19, 1935 – May 13, 2024
Arrangements TBA

Gayle Scott Krouse
September 30, 1941 — May 12, 2024
Service: Wednesday, May 15 at 2:30 pm at Memory Lawn Cemetery in Natchitoches

Myrtis Vonell Beasley Parker
November 5, 1947 — May 12, 2024
Service: Wednesday, May 15 at 10 am at New Hope Church of Provencal, 140 Bellwood Street in Provencal

Thelma L. Benjamin
May 11, 2024
Service: Thursday, May 16 at 11:30 a. m. in the Winnfield Funeral Home Chapel in Natchitoches

Robert Euguene Williams
August 2, 1947 — May 10, 2024
Service: Thursday, May 16 at 7 pm at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home

Brian K. Babineaux
June 18, 1971 – May 6, 2024
Service: Saturday, May 18 at 11 am in the Winnfield Memorial Funeral Home Chapel, located at 318 North Street in Natchitoches

Ponderings

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By Doug De Graffenried

A document appeared mysteriously on my desk in the middle of another crazy week. I thought I would share the contents of this document:

“My instructor in Sabbath-keeping was not a professor or a spiritual director, but a foreman at the East Chicago Inland Steel plant named Mike Paddock. His wife was treasurer of the tiny congregation I served as a student pastor, and she wrote my salary check twice a month. Mike would deliver it along with two dozen eggs and a shopping bag full of tomatoes, cucumbers and honey dew melons.

Mike’s seminar on Sabbath-keeping occurred on a summer Saturday morning when he saw my car at the church. “What the hell are you doing here on a Saturday morning?” he asked me. “Well,” I stammered, “I’m here being available to the congregation. I’m pretty much gone all week, at school, so Saturday, I’m here in case anyone needs me.”

“Let me tell you something, Mike said. “Nobody needs you today. If they do, they’ll call you. Nobody wants to see you today. They’re busy. They’ll see you plenty tomorrow. So go home. Cut your grass, wash your car, sit in your yard, and play with your kids. Get outta here.” I did what he said and have tried to abide by it ever since.”

In Practicing Our Faith, Dorothy Bass writes, “Americans need rest, and they need to be reminded that they do not cause the grain to grow and that their greatest fulfillment does not come through the acquisition of material things. Moreover, the planet needs a rest from human plucking and burning and buying and selling.”

In Genesis, God is busy creating for six days and then takes a day off. This is a different kind of God, a God who rests, a God who says, “I’m not going into the office tomorrow. I’ve put in long hours every day all week and tomorrow I’m putting up my feet and enjoying what I’ve accomplished. This is a life changing way of thinking: work is not finished until it is enjoyed in rest. There is a lesson in grace here—the world does not depend of our activity; we do not have sole responsibility for the grain growing, or any responsibility for the sun rising or setting.

Poet Wendell Berry takes a walk every Sunday morning and then goes home and writes a Sabbath poem. In one poem he describes how we ache and sweat in our daily labors:

“and yet no leaf or grain is filled

by work of ours; the field is tilled

and left to grace, that we may reap.

 Great work is done while we’re asleep.”

God rested. Do you?

Buck, Buck

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By Brad Dison

Following World War II, tension intensified between the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, along with their respective allies, the Western Bloc (U.S.) and the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union) in what has become known as the Cold War. It is called the Cold War because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the superpowers.  The superpowers sent soldiers and spies all over the world.  David was among the many uniformed soldiers sent to West Germany in the early 1950s. While there, David met and fell in love with a German girl named Marlene Henze.  On March 19, 1955, Walter, their first son, was born in Idar-Oberstein in West Germany.  In 1957, when David was discharged from the military, he returned home to Penns Grove, New Jersey with his new family.  Together, David and Marlene had three more children.  The family struggled to survive.  David worked as a welder and factory worker and Marlene worked in a bank. 

From an early age, Walter struggled to speak and had a severe stutter.  His parents hoped his stuttering would disappear as he got older, but it continued.  “I thought I was handicapped,” Walter once said.  “I couldn’t talk at all.”  When he went to school, the other kids picked on him because of his stuttering.  The heckling only worsened when Walter entered Penn Grove High School.  His classmates called him “Buck Buck” because of his stutter.  As any teenager who has ever been bullied can imagine, high school was especially rough for Walter because of his stuttering.  “There was a lot of bullying in my life, and I had to fight my way out.” Walter said.  “Kids get mean.”  Then, Walter agreed to do “some theatre” in high school.  People who cared for Watler tried to dissuade him while people who liked to pick on him encouraged him to take the stage.  Walter read his lines over and over until he had memorized them.  He knew he would eventually have to recite his lines verbally, but he was hesitant.  Finally, Walter took a deep breath and began to speak.  To his astonishment, the words flowed from his lips flawlessly.  He later said, “when I memorized words, I didn’t stutter, which was just miraculous.”  Everyone was shocked at how well he spoke his memorized lines.  His stuttering disappeared when he sang lyrics he had memorized. 

Walter struggled to get a handle on his stuttering.  He was elated when he took the stage in high school and spoke his memorized lines perfectly.  He considered trying to become an actor, but he had no show business connections.  Walter moved to New York and became a bartender at the trendy Kamikaze Club.  One night, a casting director visited the Kamikaze Club.  Rather than being thirsty, the casting director was visiting bars in New York looking to cast someone to play a bartender in an upcoming film.  Who better to play a bartender in a film than a real bartender?  The casting director had quickly dismissed other bartenders for one reason or another, but he liked what he saw in Walter.  After watching Walter for a short time, the casting director decided to offer the part to Walter.  In as few words as possible, Walter agreed. 

From that first minuscule part, Walter got other uncredited film parts, work on stage productions, and got cast in television shows including Miami Vice.  In 1980, the year he was cast in his first film, Walter was a nobody in the show business industry.  Five years later, his became a household name due to another detective television show.  In the last four decades, Walter has appeared in over 100 films, many of which have been box office hits.  In 2022, he abruptly retired from acting.

In a cruel twist of fate, Walter’s family recently released the news that Walter has completely lost the ability to comprehend or formulate language.  The actor whom you’ve just learned struggled to speak without stuttering as a child, who is now unable to speak due to a condition known as aphasia, is Walter Bruce Willis. 

Sources:

1.     Grant Rollings, “DIE SCARRED: Did horror accident that caused Bruce Willis ‘extreme physical pain’ on set 20 years ago contribute to shock retirement?,” The Sun, March 31, 2022, https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/18130242/bruce-willis-accident-contribute-to-shock-retirement/.

2.     Shreeja Das, “The TRAGIC reason why Bruce Willis was nick-named ‘Buck Buck’ as a young boy,” Meaww, March 1, 2023, https://meaww.com/the-tragic-reason-why-bruce-willis-was-nick-named-buck-buck-as-a-young-boy.

3.     Bruce Willis, Hollywood Walk of Fame, https://walkoffame.com/bruce-willis/.

Jones’ eighth-inning dinger rescues LSU, spoils upset bid by Northwestern State

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BATON ROUGE –  Jared Jones’ two-out, two-run home run in the eighth inning made the difference for LSU in its last non-conference game of the season, lifting the Tigers to a 6-5 triumph Tuesday night over visiting Northwestern State.

It was the Demons’ inability to break through early that ultimately proved the toughest hurdle for NSU to overcome at Alex Box Stadium.

“We had some chances earlier in the ballgame with runners in scoring position, and we gave away some at-bats where I feel like we could have had more than five runs,” first-year Northwestern head coach Chris Bertrand said. “The runs at the end were a double and a home run, which is baseball, but within the first four runs, there were some mistakes in which we felt were some self-inflicted wounds and some gift wraps. You have to be excited – and we are – with the way our guys fought and competed and played.”

The Tigers (32-19) scored the game’s last three runs to rally, getting the decisive swing on Jones’ 21st homer of the year in the bottom of the eighth. As LSU chases an at-large NCAA Tournament berth, dropping Tuesday night’s contest was not feasible, he said.

“The message tonight was this is a must-win game,” said Jones, who credited his coaches with helping set up his game-winner. “The scouting report said in his (NSU reliever Caleb Bunch) last outing he threw 51 pitches and only 3 fastballs. I was lucky enough to get a slider I could handle, and do some damage with it.”

After falling behind 2-0 on Brady Neal’s two-run home run in the second inning, the Demons (19-29) responded and took the lead with a three-run fourth inning that featured RBI hits from Hayden Knotts and Reese Lipoma and a tie-breaking sacrifice fly from Samuel Stephenson.

Northwestern maintained that momentum after Tyler Nichol wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam by getting Tommy White to line out to second base in the fourth.

The Demons kept that edge and extended their lead in the following inning by taking advantage of a Fidell Ulloa wild pitch with a Colin Rains two-run single. Rains’ hit was part of the Haughton freshman’s second straight three-hit game.

Since driving in the go-ahead run in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Lamar, Rains is 7-for-9 with three RBIs.

“As we continue to talk about the growth of this team, what we talk about is gaining valuable experience,” Bertrand said. “What you’re seeing now is the fruits of Colin’s labor in how he is one of the hardest-working guys we have. That’s the thing – hitters hit and workers work. You’re seeing the fruits of labor mixed with a level of experience gained. That’s why he’s having success. The game of baseball is rewarding him for going about his business the right way.”

The NSU bullpen and its defense had its moments to keep the Demons on top for much of Tuesday night’s game.

Both Conner Bivins in the fifth and Alejandro Marquez in the seventh stranded inherited runners to keep the Demons on top as LSU began to chip away at its three-run deficit.

Bivins also worked a scoreless sixth inning that was highlighted by Balin Valentine’s diving catch that robbed Jared Jones of a potential RBI double to left field.

“The guy made a great play,” said Jones. “You just tip your cap. I did everything I could to put a good swing on a good pitch.”

While LSU (32-18) chipped away at the lead, right-hander Gavin Guidry (2-0) worked four shutout innings of relief to keep the Tigers in striking distance. He gave up only one hit after the visitors rapped nine in the first five innings.

“I’m so thankful for Gavin Guidry going four innings,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “I’m so proud of our team. We’ve been playing playoff baseball for a month, and they’ve just stayed with it. This was a game we couldn’t win a month ago … just the poise. Sometimes you need competitors. I called them up at the end of the fourth inning and said, ‘We have to win.’ And I never do that.

“That’s a good team. We’ve played a lot of teams in that league, and they’re right in the middle of the pack,” he said. “They do a great job coaching. They’re getting the most out of what they have … they played great tonight, made us have to stay with it to win. We played like a winning team, and deserved to win in a really good baseball game.”

There was postgame pride in the Demon dugout, too.

“The message we delivered to the team was how proud we were of fight and the great things we did do against an unbelievable baseball team,” Bertrand said. “We got 10 hits. For the most part, we were able to suppress their offense from big swings. There are a couple of things we need to clean up.”

The Demons return to action Friday when they host New Orleans in the opener of NSU’s final Southland Conference series of the season. The Tigers open an SEC series at Alabama Friday.

Where have all the dads gone?

/ NPJ

Today, we’ll once again venture off topic just a little. I have something I must get off my chest. This might be a little painful for some to read but it comes from my heart and it’s not only my perspective, but it’s the truth. I’m talking about dads. Where have all the dads gone who should be raising their own kids?

Mother Nature and the animal world understand how to raise their young to be independent and teach them to fend for themselves in the cruel animal kingdom. They are taught responsibility at an early age in order to survive and once the mother feels they are capable of going out on their own, she pushes them away or as birds do, out of the nest.

But let’s look at what has transpired in the last 20 years with regards to the male version of the human race, known as dads. As a dad who has raised a son and two daughters, I am aware that there are a number of men walking away from their responsibilities. They are no longer committed to raising their own kids and expect grandparents, teachers, coaches or the wife (they’ve walked out on) to raise these young kids.

A lot of the young kids today no longer have a dad’s perspective on how to deal with some of life’s tough issues. They have no idea on how to navigate the difficult day to day problems that arise. So, who are these kids turning to for advice? Well in some cases, it’s people that we don’t want giving them advice. One thing is for certain, kids will turn to whoever is willing to give the time they so desperately desire.

Kids don’t always make good choices when seeking out a male role model mainly because they are looking in the wrong places. This is where a dad is supposed to point them in the right direction. You would hope they would want to look at their own dad as the person they should be trying to emulate.

So, what is the result of this lack of guidance? First of all, it has led to a weaker generation of young boys and girls who have lost the ability to lead. It’s a generation that has little to no toughness or determination to compete in today’s brutal world. It’s a generation that has no respect for any type of authority.

Many of today’s youth have been raised in a society where everyone gets a trophy. They have no understanding of how to handle defeat or rejection when they lose a game or interview for a job. Learning how to handle rejection is a part of life and growing up. Rejection teaches us that we need to work harder in order to achieve the goals we have in life.

So many student-athletes are coming out of high school as an all-district or maybe an all-state athlete and think they should be a starter in their sport their first year in college. They don’t want to accept the fact they have to earn that starting position. This is also why the transfer portal that exists in college athletics is out of control and full of athletes that don’t want to compete for a starting position because they think they are entitled to that position due to their past success before they got to college.

So back to the question of the day: where are the dads who should be teaching many of life’s lessons? In my eyes, many have CHOSEN to walk away due to their own selfish wants or needs. They have rejected their responsibility of raising their kids to be respectable and productive citizens.

If this does not change, our country will continue in a downward spiral led by people who don’t know how to lead. Step up dads and do your job! Do the job that is your responsibility! Teach your kids good work ethics and how to take defeat or rejection and turn it into something positive. Teach them that dedication and hard work are still the backbone for having success.

‘Til next time, be a dad and do what you were put on this earth to do — raise your kids!

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

Natchitoches Jazz/ R&B Festival – Lineup and information!

/ NPJ

ALERT!!!! VIP tickets are nearly sold out! Get yours today! If you wait, it may be too late.

Spectacular weather forecast! The official forecast for Friday and Saturday is absolutely perfect!

FRIDAY NIGHT KICKOFF  *REQUIRES A SEPARATE TICKET

​7:00 – 8:30    Lone Star Skynyrd (Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Band) The crowd is sure to sing along, dance, and sway to a celebration of the original Skynyrd rock ‘n’ roll legacy. Winners of the prestigious 2022 Josie Award for Best Tribute Band in America: Lone Star Skynyrd. More than a tribute! More than a good time party!

​9:00 – 10:30  Rumours ATL: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute Fans from across the nation claim that Rumours is the band to see if you are looking for an authentic recreation of live Fleetwood Mac shows. In just under 10 years, Rumours has landed itself the reputation of being the best Fleetwood Mac Tribute band and additionally has made fans internationally.

SATURDAY 

​1:00 – 1:50     Mason Trail and Zydeco Rhythm (High-energy Zydeco) Out of Lake Charles, they’ll have the crowd dancing early with an eclectic repertoire of modern zydeco along with traditional authentic zydeco music with an R&B flavor.  

 2:20 – 3:25     On Point Band (Rhythm & Blues) The On Point Band out of Natchitoches will be performing an exciting high-energy, brand of soul and R&B, classics, as well as modern hits, with a little jazz thrown in. Don’t miss this young and entertaining upcoming group!

​3:40 – 5:00    The Young Ones (Jazz & R&B with a Latin flavor)  NSU music students who all hail from South and Central American countries. These super-talented musicians will be performing a unique mixture of rock and roll, jazz, and rhythm and blues, all with a Latin flavor in their tribute to the music of Michael Jackson, The Beatles, and Bruno Mars. 

​5:20 – 6:45     Johnny Earthquake & The Moondogs (High-energy variety show band)  The popular Natchitoches-based nine-piece, rhythm and blues, and rock ‘n’ roll band which critics have called: “quite simply, Louisiana‘s best Showband”, will be making this stop on their 30th anniversary “Over the Moon Tour” a special one as after their performance they’ll be inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. 

 Don’t forget about our headliners; America’s got talent Finalists “Chapel Hart” at 7:15pm and County hitmaker, Craig Morgan at 9:00pm.

For more information or to purchase tickets online, visit

https://www.natchjazzfest.com