Last week's ice storm got me curious as to what is the lowest recorded temperature in Monroe. Since the National Weather Service started keeping records in 1911, the lowest recorded temperature in Monroe occurred on the morning of February 2, 1951. It got down to -2 degrees. According to an article in the News-Star on … Continue reading What was the lowest ever recorded temperature in Monroe?
Tag: Monroe History
A Fascinating Scrapbook For Our Collection
Last week, a scrapbook full of pristine candid photos was given to the library. It was about to be thrown into the garbage when it was rescued. What it contained were the personal photos of Inez Marie Schneider Dickinson, taken between 1927 and 1932. Inside were scenes of the 1927 and 1932 floods in Monroe, … Continue reading A Fascinating Scrapbook For Our Collection
History of Mardi Gras in Monroe program tomorrow!
Just a heads-up! Tomorrow morning at 10:30 on the Ouachita Parish Facebook page, I will be going live to talk about the history of Mardi Gras in Monroe! I'll touch on the Mardi Gras Ball in 1869, the XYZ club parades of the 30's and 40's all the way up to the Krewes of Janus … Continue reading History of Mardi Gras in Monroe program tomorrow!
“Dr. Box” The Apple Man: Mr. Thomas “Tom” Davidson Reid
Among Monroe's beloved colorful characters was a fruit salesman named Tom Reid. When Mr. Reid could no longer walk the streets of Monroe peddling his wares, he ran errands for Mr. Noe at KNOE and Albert Thibeaux to earn his keep. They ended up serving as pallbearers at his funeral in July, 1948. The Apple … Continue reading “Dr. Box” The Apple Man: Mr. Thomas “Tom” Davidson Reid
Fink the Tailor
Anyone who grew up in Monroe remembers Fink the tailor. A right of passage into adulthood was to go have a suit made at Fink's. He was one of Monroe's downtown fixtures.
South Grand Street Covered in Snow, circa 1870.
The above photo has been reproduced several times through the years. I don't know where the original is, or even if it is still in existence. According to the caption, this shows South Grand Street in 1870 after a snow. The bottom right bare lot is where the Austin's building now stands. The perspective leaves … Continue reading South Grand Street Covered in Snow, circa 1870.
Historic Walking Tour of Monroe
Want a neat little guide to some interesting historical sites in Monroe? DoMo has you covered! https://www.downtownmonroe.org/domo/historic-walking-tour/ Note: I am going to take a few days off for Christmas. Have a merry one, and I'll "see" you all next week!
Fort Miro Coloring Book
The Fort Miro Coloring Book Cover To go along with yesterday's post, is this little gem. The Bicentennial Committee wanted to include the children, so Dr. Williams created a coloring book for them. It gives the early history of Monroe in an easy to read format along with pages they can color, hand drawn by … Continue reading Fort Miro Coloring Book
History in a booklet
The Bicentennial Booklets In the 1980's Monroe was celebrating it's bicentennial. Dr. E. Russ Williams, Jr. was asked to put together some pamphlets on the early history of the area. The above is the result of all that hard work. The book. Then, Dr. Williams decided to expand on the pamphlets and combine them into … Continue reading History in a booklet
A History of the Jewish Community in Monroe
I found this great little article about the history of the Jewish faith in Monroe! https://www.isjl.org/louisiana-monroe-encyclopedia.html To view a great photographic slideshow on the history of the Jewish Community, check out the Temple B'Nai Archives web page here: http://www.bayoujews.org/precious-legacy-museum.html . I particularly love the photo of DeSiard and Grand streets and the photo of Sig … Continue reading A History of the Jewish Community in Monroe
Ouachita Parish History Tidbits 