Selecting the Site of Ouachita Junior College

Back in 1930, the Ouachita Parish School Board and Police Jury decided to bring higher education to the Parish. The first problem, was selecting a site. A July 18, 1930 article listed the suggested sites: Dr. E.G. Calvert suggested 15 acres west of the railway, west of West Monroe and running through to Stella street. … Continue reading Selecting the Site of Ouachita Junior College →

Selman Field Planes

Over the years of collecting, I have found a small handful of postcards that were sent from Selman Field during WWII. The three above are from my collection. These are the planes men attending the navigation school were training on.

Selman Field Chapel – 1941

The above postcard came up for sale on eBay and I got it. The back has a posted date of November 9, 1941. The description at the bottom states: "Never neglected by the army is the spiritual welfare of its men. At the Army Air Forces Navigation School, Selman Field, La., this white chapel is … Continue reading Selman Field Chapel – 1941 →

Selman Field Navigation School

A booklet was recently rediscovered which contains a lot of photos and information on the old Navigation School. If you are interested in the field, you can check it out here: https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-orv%3A129

Photos of Selman Field

Have you ever wondered what Selman Field Army Navigation School looked like? We have a scrapbook full of photos that have been digitized and you can see them here: https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/search/Selman%20Field?type=dismax&ns%5B0%5D=oplib-%2A&islandora_solr_search_navigation=0&f%5B0%5D=mods_subject_topic_ms%3A%22Military%5C%20bases%22

A Selman Field Navigator’s Letters Home

The website is called, "The Yap Island Missing Air Crew Project". In 1943, a young man from the New York, NY named Martin B. Unger was sent for training at Monroe's Selman field. A year later his plane along with he and his crewmates were shot down by Japanese fighters near Yap Island in the … Continue reading A Selman Field Navigator’s Letters Home →

Smoot Field

https://cdm16631.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/charm/id/13509 This photo was found in the collection of Mississippi State University. It was taken in August, 1926. Another photo showing a group of men posed around one of the planes is also in the collection: https://cdm16631.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/charm/id/13510 And an aerial view of the field: https://cdm16631.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/charm/id/13928 There are several other views in the same collection. Just … Continue reading Smoot Field →

Selman Field Football Program

I saw this on eBay last week and had to have it! It arrived in the middle of the Hurricane Thursday (GO USPS!). Before I saw this, I never knew that Selman Field had a football team! This program will soon be uploaded to the Louisiana Digital Library database (edit: Just got added a few … Continue reading Selman Field Football Program →

Monroe Photos

Take a look at the photos in this little booklet! See how many buildings you can identify. There is even one of the old Selman field airport! https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-orv%3A20

History of Selman Field

This is a great WPA paper from our collection that details the history of Selman Field. It later became the Monroe Regional Airport. https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-wpa%3A15