Junior Chamber of Commerce Bubble Blowing Contest – 1946

Our grandparents and great grandparents knew how to party! On September 28, 1946, the Junior Chamber of Commerce threw what they called a "Big Teen-Age Party" at the new teen recreation center over the old USO. The City Directory for 1945-46 says the USO was at 113-15 Catalpa Street. That is either the old Club … Continue reading Junior Chamber of Commerce Bubble Blowing Contest – 1946 →

A List of Monroe’s African-American Newspapers

I was browsing through the Genealogy Department's collection, when I found a book called "Bibliographic Checklist of African American Newspapers" by Barbara K. Henritze. It was published in 1995. It is basically a list of all known Black owned newspapers that had been published in the United States. There were a few from Monroe that … Continue reading A List of Monroe’s African-American Newspapers →

XYZ Club Mardi Gras Program

When I saw this program come up for sale on eBay on Shrove Monday, my eyes popped out of my head! It even had a "buy it now" price, which surprised me. I thought surely, something like this would be up for bid. You'd better believe I bought it as soon as my fingers could … Continue reading XYZ Club Mardi Gras Program →

Welcome to Monroe brochure

Here is a fairly new brochure (historically speaking) we just had to digitize due to it's uniqueness! It was a guide to African-American owned businesses in Monroe produced in the 1980's. It was put together by the Top Gun Boy Scout troop. You can look at it here: https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-orv%3A113

31 Nights of Halloween (2021 Edition/Night #1): A Jonestown Victim’s Grave is Identified

Every October, Ms. Antley posts nightly stories about local graves in North Louisiana. I look forward to her posts every October! They are well researched and interestingly written. This post is about a local victim of the Jonestown Massacre. I was the librarian she mentions in this post. It was very moving for me and … Continue reading 31 Nights of Halloween (2021 Edition/Night #1): A Jonestown Victim’s Grave is Identified →

HISTORIC HASLEY: Secrets From The Grave

Last year, the Ouachita Parish Public Library’s Genealogy and Special Collections Department applied for and won a Rebirth Public Library grant* from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Our project was to create a virtual cemetery tour of some of the burials in Hasley cemetery, West Monroe. The fruits of that labor are now available to the public. … Continue reading HISTORIC HASLEY: Secrets From The Grave →

Kate Willis Carroll

Did you know that in the collection of Southern University's Archives, they have a picture of Morris Henry Carroll's mother? I didn't either! You can see it here: http://7008.sydneyplus.com/final/Portal/SouthernUniversity.aspx?lang=en-US . Mrs. Carroll was an educator herself and was involved with many charities in the area. Apparently, she had been a student of J.S. Clark!

Henrietta Winham Johnson Recreation Center Program – 1962

This is another Rec Center program, this one is from the opening of the Johnson Rec Center. It is the same format as the Marbles program, with Henrietta's biographical information in it: https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-orv%3A107 I have been thoroughly enjoying all the hidden priceless gems we have been finding in our collection! More is coming as we … Continue reading Henrietta Winham Johnson Recreation Center Program – 1962 →

The Dedication of Terzia High School

Terzia was the forerunner of Richwood High School. It was dedicated in 1952. This rare program is in the Library's collection and has been digitized on the Louisiana Digital Library. https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-orv%3A108

Dedication Program for Liller Maddox Marbles Recreation Center – 1962

https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-orv%3A98 This one was found last week and I immediately asked my boss to include it in the Digital Library. It is the dedication program for Marbles Rec Center! About two years ago, a lady called and asked us if we had a photo of Mrs. Marbles and I had never seen one. The program … Continue reading Dedication Program for Liller Maddox Marbles Recreation Center – 1962 →