Talking Headstones: Louisa Lamy McGuire

The final video is of Cathy Airhart Webb playing Louisa Lamy McGuire. She has left us since then and now runs her own local theater! https://youtu.be/eAVp1-w091w

Ouachita Parish Library Summer Reading certificate

OPPL Summer Reading program just finished up over the weekend. On a related note, I found this copy of a summer reading certificate from 1953 in my files yesterday. I scanned it and erased the name for privacy issues. Look! It was even signed by Miss Flanders!

Ouachita Parish Public Library

The original look of the Ouachita Parish Public Library. Did you ever wonder why the Main Branch Library on 18th street has a Stubbs Avenue address? When the building was first built in 1958, it's entrance faced Stubbs Avenue. As you can see in the photo, it has been extensively remodeled over the years. The … Continue reading Ouachita Parish Public Library →

Miss Frances Flanders

The above photo is another one from the collection of the Ouachita Parish Public Library. It shows Library Director Frances Flanders reading Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to a group of children at storytime. It shows the interior of the Anna Ruth Meyer home on Jackson street that most area baby boomers remember from … Continue reading Miss Frances Flanders →

Ouachita Parish Public Library

Ouachita Parish Public Library's second home on Jackson Street. The above photo was taken probably in the 1940's in front of the former home of Anna Ruth Meyer. She had donated it to the city of Monroe for use as a public library. It was eventually torn down in the 60's and a new facility … Continue reading Ouachita Parish Public Library →

Anna Ruth Slade Meyer: The Mother of Monroe’s Public Library System

The above painting hangs in the Anna Meyer branch of the Ouachita Parish Public Library. It was created from an actual photo of Anna currently housed in the Library's collection. Anna was a philanthropist whose legacy still impacts today. Anna grew up as an orphan. She found employment as a maid in one of the … Continue reading Anna Ruth Slade Meyer: The Mother of Monroe’s Public Library System →

The Lamy Family

I wrote this for LA Road Trips back in 2011: Everyone is familiar with Lamy Lane and Louisville Avenue in Monroe, but very few know anything about the family they were named for (correction in Sept. 2020: I have just found out Louisville Avenue is named for Louis Ashley Breard, Sr. and NOT the … Continue reading The Lamy Family →

Ouachita Parish Public Library is much older than we think!

Last week, while researching the old Monroe City High School, I stumbled across this article in the New Orleans Times-Democrat. I knew that Louisa Lamy McGuire had donated her husband's law office and books to form a library in 1885. There were articles in the Ouachita Telegraph about how they were trying to get money … Continue reading Ouachita Parish Public Library is much older than we think! →

Gardenia the Library Cat

Back in 2012, I wrote the following article about Gardenia the library cat for Louisiana Road Trips Magazine. In this day and age, when so many are allergic to cats, library cats are a rare sight. Many years ago, rats were a problem in libraries, so to get rid of the problem, many libraries got … Continue reading Gardenia the Library Cat →