| The Further Information Page Below are notes I've gotten from a few of my online cronies. These notes contain some valuable historical and factual or unfactual information. Some are merely trivia. They are all greatly appreciated by me. There are many that are written in very relaxed format, "email spelling" and punctuation optional. There is no fowl language There may be some kidding around that you will not understand as it is banter between them and me. I will try to identify what they are talking about as well as I can. Some passages have never been translated. Enjoy. These notes took a special effort by the writers. Often people feel that their recollections are not important and no one would care to hear them. They are wrong . Ground level history and experiences are priceless, to drag out an overused word.The rest is just oversight. If you would like to contribute to this and other pages, please do. I know that I will never get around to augmenting each article with its add-on. The purpose of this page is to get this information out.. I'm starting with the most recently added. I will try to link to the pages the writer is referring to in the future. I'll start with Dave. David has really been a great asset in exploring the praire of southwest Louisiana. He also sends me pictures of his meals. Too bad this is just a text page. Here's the answer to questions I asked David about the difference between rice mills and dryers: Yes the Mowata "monument" is a drier, you'll pretty much find the driers are in the country and the mills are in town, however there are some dryers in town, but I can't recall a mill out in the country or very small town. And it's amazing how many there are...practically one in every town. I pressed him further and he addeed: Ok, dryers are to dry the grain as soon as it comes out of the field down to a moisture content that will store well. If not dried soon and well it will heat and mold, spoil and ruin. Then it may be sold at a later date to a mill that will process it into the finished product we eat. since the mill can run year round to process the rice there naturally doesn't have to be as many as there does dryers which have to be able to dry and store the grain as fast as it comes out of the field over a short period of time. Sometimes a mill will have a dryer along with it, but usually not. My step grandfather Clyde Hoffpauer was the 'miller' at Dore' rice mill in Crowley for many years, he ran the mill and saw to its care and repair. He would take us up in it when we were kids, its multi-storied with elevators and a miriad of machinery, most of which was run by belts and pulleys off of some main power source. There was a lot of dust and cobwebs and the elevators were a scairy, small 'cage' that rattled and shook as it went. Jules Baronet owned Supreme rice mill in crowley, never been in it and don't know the details of founding, other investers, or if a current ownership share still exists. I think today there is much improved machinery and systems for milling which simply put is grinding, sanding and polishing the hulls off the rice. some by products are chaff which is practically useless and bran which makes a good livestock feed additive. There are usually places around rice mills where one can dig gobs of huge, great, fishing worms......there, that oughta hold ya. Then I have to listen to this from him. Got a bone to pick with you Mr. 'since it's the season'; you went back to mowata and didn't photo the church and graveyard and look for German names what kinda carp is that,huh? And did you go in the Mowata store and have some boudin and a pop...nooo, bet you didn't do that either, well, you missed some good stuff. That was a pretty big round you made, seems you'da seen a lot more stuff than that...sure you not holding some back on us? Me: "Ingrate"! Junes additions about early Chenyville: The Cheneyville Story can be found in the Mother Road artcle, Bayou Boeuf Series. Your site and photos brought back so many good memories of my childhood in Cheneyville, Louisiana. I wanted to give you the story about the house and store on page 2 of your Alex to Washington trip. That's the old Bennett house and store. My friend Veronica grew up in that house. She once told me that the house had at one point been a funeral parlor. She may have just said that to scare me though! The store was vacant and we played in there often. Someone found a box of receipts including one from 1817 (when the store was new) that showed James Bowie shopped there; he invented his knife nearby and once owned a lot in Cheneyville. We never went up those stairs either! Ezra Bennett came from New York and bought the house and store in the 1830s. He is buried in the graveyard over by Trinity Episcopal Church. I'm so sad to see the house and store are in ruins now. I wish someone would restore them. Thanks for the photos and the trip back in time. :) ~June She adds: Yes, the old house across the highway is the Bennett house where my friend lived (that's the one she said had been a funeral parlor). The store is the smaller, more ornate building on the bayou side where we used to play. I believe I heard that someone ran it as a store in the 1980's but I never saw it myself so I can't be sure. I sure do hate to see they're falling down now. All that history. It's a shame! I miss living in Louisiana. There's no place like it in the world. ~June and More: Me again... I forgot to add that the white church on Klock Street in Cheneyville is the Christian Church. They originally broke away from Beulah Baptist in the 1840s. I believe it was over the issue of predestination although I'm not positive. The original Christian Church site is across the bayou in the graveyard next to Trinity Episcopal Church, the one with all the old graves and huge oak trees. The only thing left is the 4 columns. I don't know what happened to the original church, but the "new" Christian Church is the one on Klock Street. ~June again Ray has been working on and off for TWL forever. There is stuff throughout the magazine Ray has contributed. Some is true. He is a Melville native, moved to Big Lake, La. This page has just a few of his contributions on it. Some were lost in the great computer meltdown but most is in place in the articles. Some I couldn't repeat. Ray Daigle remembers Basile: Basile had 1 hot spot on 90, a hamburger drive inn type restaurant, with malts that would put me to sleep in the back seat until we got back home to Melville. You were close enough to do a story on DI's (Daniel Issac Fruge, who started cooking seafood in his barn on weekends when he worked offshore).. Sandy wrote me after reading the Turkey Trots and Southeast La.writes. She writes so well, I may hire her on. Watch your job, Ray D. Sandy W. on various subjects, including Chatawa, MS: Hey Steve, Say.....I really enjoyed your exploration into that old dilapidated train depot on one of your last Turkey Trot rides. That must have been like stepping back in time. Love that sort of stuff. I know you have to be careful that you don't get hurt roaming around such places or arrested for trespassing but being able to look at something that's been hidden away like that for decades, or even a century...that's like going on a treasure hunt! And all I'd want to walk away with would be some pictures in my camera and the memory of it! I also just flipped over to your Maurepas Country rides. Since I live in LaPlace and use to travel Highway 55 from LaPlace over to Madisonville every day to go to work (until Katrina) I was interested to see what was around the Lake Maurepas area. You don't see squat from the elevated interstate! By the way, the music you added to the background of that piece really set the mood! What was that and can I download it from someplace? A while back you made a trip through Chatawa, Mississippi ( my birthplace) on a recommendation from Henry Harmison (my first husband) but if you ever want to go back that way again you need to go during the week in the middle of the day so that you can go inside the Chatawa post office by the railroad tracks. The post office has been there longer than anyone can remember. I believe it was there in 1900. Across from it was once a large train depot which I can remember when I was a small child (and I'm sixty now) but the station closed when the trains no longer made a stop in Chatawa. The building fell into disrepair and then finally burned to the ground. I think that might have been in the 60's. The area around the post office and train depot at one time was a busy hub of commercial buildings. As with everything except the post office, fire destroyed the structures. Today the post office is still functioning as it has for decades. When the postmaster is there (you can always tell because his car or truck will be parked in front) you can go inside and get your mail and stay for a chat. The place is literally like walking back in time. A lot of old photographs and signs are posted on the walls. Most of the building is still set up the way it was back in the 1930's. But the real gem of such a trip to the post office is to be able to spend time with the post master who knows the history of the place better than even the locals. He told us about the special guards that would ride the railcars of the trains that ran through Chatawa during the years of W.W.II. It seems that there was a large German population within a 25 mile area of Chatawa. The army feared that some of these German neighbours might try to sabotage the trains. Trains were a vital means of transportation during the war years. The army often sent solders by train to different places and also used the trains to move equipment and supplies. Certainly it would have been a problem if someone blew up one of the trains. So the guards road the trains so to be on the look out for people who might act suspicious and also the guards could keep their eyes peeled on the ground along the sides of the tracks, looking for anything that could derail the train or cause an explosion. As a kid I would love to hear the old tales told by the locals who would swear that on certain nights you could look down the tracks from the post office and see a swinging lantern off in the distance.....a red glow swaying back and forth. But if you tried to run down the tracks for a closer look the light would either zoom way ahead of you so that you could never catch up with it..or it would just disappear. The story goes that a railroad man who was the signalman for the area was killed while carrying his lantern. He either fell or was pushed onto the tracks just as a fast moving train passed. The swinging light seen by many people at night was said to be his ghost who can't rest until the mystery is solved. I've never seen the light from the lantern but my father, uncle and grandfather all swear that they have! Well, there is a lot of drinking in those parts at night since there isn't much else to do! No telling what those guys saw!!!!!!!! Andy is a recent aquaintance of mine. We know a lot of the same people. Andy has been involved on the motorcycle scene in Jennings for a long time. He is a cross country rider as well as a local explorer. Andy is as close to Mr. Motorcycle as I've met. (not counting Fagan) Here's "Andy in Jennings" reflecting on some of our common roads: Steve, Thanks, Great shots. My wife is from the metropolis of Basile. ;). And I was part raised north of Iota. 97 from Tepetate to Basile is a wreck now as it being redone. I got caught on that a month ago so I'm pretty sure it was torn up when you went thru for Thanksgiving. ...... Off to the West of 97 < I saw by your tracks you made a loop there > is the Riverside road which runs from 97 between Jennings and Evangeline to Basile. Part gravel and part new blacktop. My favorite route to Basile from Jennings on the KLR. In the future it will be all paved I'm sure, just ruining a great back road > Again. Above Basile it looks like you ran another favorite road of mine. Ruff blacktop all the way and not much traffic. When on rides in that area I generally go to Carl's Catfish Kitchen West of McNary. Great riding in that area also. I like the way you linked the dryers with castles on the plains of Louisiana. Kinda neat. Geesh, now I'll never see them in the same light as before and be looking for the damsel in distress to rescue with my silver or green horse. ;-).. Keep up the good work. Love it. More Andy on the rice dryers: I was passing by the old Rice Mill in Jennings yesterday and seeing how much more it's falling apart since it's closing years ago. I remember years gone by when it was a fine golden dust cloud that hung about it during operations. I think the major mill they built in Mermentau finally was it's diminish. You know the one at the start of the OST there. Here's Ray Daigle actually sending in a report and obviously looking for a Christmas bonus. Actually, Ray has been on post surgery pain pills, thus the recent ability for him to write in understandable sentences. You sir are a Cajun Walt Whitman, "and miles to go before I sleep". I like the waxing poetic about seasons (apologies to Chachere/K-Paul/Mama). My grandfather, Eugenia Daigle, lived until his mid/late 90's. He always wanted a ride to/from the grocery store, and refused to have someone pick up something for him. I realized that he just really wanted to see what was still there, gone, or new. My dad always takes the highway from Rayne to Opelousas to go to his camp/other homes that Rita spared. Along the way, he could always tell me what was still there, gone, or new. The "turkey trots twice" page stopped at the horses. Hope I get to see more. I like the portal that you use in your travels. I only knew 190 or 10 to/from Opelousas, and 105 to/from Simsport. Often, we'd make a trip to Baton Rouge/New Orleans for special shopping/school trips, but local roads was everyday life. I thought levees were for fishing only until I met Honda. Keep up the good work as always... A new aquaintance who prefers to be known as Rider X sent this in. It is his story of the day before Katrina: Wow, Hwy 105! I remember that road well, been over it many times on my various motorcycles and bicycles. Much better with a motor as traffic is fast. The last time was the day before Katrina hit NOLA. I had been weekending up at St. Francisville, riding up around Crosby, MS and on the Trace. Sunday (was it a Sunday?) about 10am I decided to head to Lafayette and tried the St. F ferry. Hmm, traffic backed up into town. Since it's a least 1.5 miles to the boat that meant probably more than 200 cars (remember the line "a mile of cars" from Used Cars the movie?). Probably would taken 4-5 hours to get across. I turned around and headed back to 61 deciding that it was better to try the old bridge at BR and then ride to Port Barre and then down to Arnaudville and home via Sawmill Rd. off 31. Could not see the traffic on the bridge until I got near the base and it was too late, it was packed and no way to turn back without risking a puncture in the dirt. It took me 2 hours to get up the slope of the bridge. Motor did not overheat though I saw temps that scared me...241F! I'd have to start creeping uphill 2 feet and kill the bike and then lock the brakes. 2 hours to go 200 yards uphill. then another to cross the top then 25 seconds blasting downhill. Then came to a halt at the base of the bridge. 190 blocked to the horizon. So then I got on the shoulder and made it to the levee rd. and crept to New Roads, which took an hour. Where this little road is close to 190 for the first 2-3 miles people in SUVs on 190 saw us. They'd turn offroad and blasted across the fields and jumped on to the levee rd.(have you ever seen a Tahoe jump a ditch?) into our line of traffic without waiting for us to make room. Many close calls. Hundreds of vehicles had gas cans strapped on. The most was an Escalade with 18 5-gallons cans, bumping and sloshing and spilling gas as it ripped across the field toward us. How much HE does that much gasoline equal? Too much. Finally got to the Exxon below the power plant at New Roads, got a slosh of gas and made a pact with a family from St. Bernard piled into their pickup. I was to lead them up to the ferry crossing then past it west to near Morganza on the levee road then point them to Alexandria once we got past Simmesport. I gave them my map but they were so frightened I agreed to lead them. That's a story by itself. We bypassed New Roads to the north and came back to Hwy 1 just east of Morganza and crept toward Simmesport. Once over the At. River, I pointed the way to Alex (they were still unsure, even with the map..totally frazzled by this time) and got on the road to Bayou Current. To my total amazment, no cars. None, all the way to the old truck stop in LeBeau. That ride down to Bayou current and Palmetto was one of the fastest I've ever taken although the Palemetto route is horrible now, all broken up. Gorgeous day, though. Took the cut-off below LeBeau and rode back by the church that was destroyed to Waxia and Bolden then into Washington and got on I-49. Zero traffic going south. As I crossed over 190 I saw only stopped traffic heading west into Opelousas. The same at I-10 in Lafayette. Packed and not moving west. To the east, nothing but stopped cars So the nightmare began, eh? Jason has a website you should visit. He is a rider-writer, also, and has been generous to share his trips and recollections. The boy's got some good stuff. We trade secrets all the time so they won't be secrets anymore. Here's Jason talking about the Carraway store in Bassfield, MS.: Steve I think your onto something...Carraways are takin over the world...Well, maybe not really...I just happen to know a little about those Carraways from Bassfield. They were from Arkansas and settled in Bassfield years ago...Most of them returned years ago as well except for a former Carraway that my wife used to work with..she said she and her parents are the only ones in her family that are still in the area...all the rest went back to arkansas..the store was opened by her great grandfather and she remembers he grandfather selling the store before moving away so the store hasn't actually been in the Carraway family for probably about 30 years... the wilkes house is close to there...you should see it before the city of bassfield attempts to move it and turns it into a pile of splinters...if you're standing in front of the Carraway store and look about 45 degrees to your right theres an old shack there...a guy I knows father used it for a welding shop... Here's a note from Ray Daigle relaying some of the information his cousin sent: She is talking about the store in Turkey Trot Two. Tell Steve unless he's older than me I don't think he remembers the store we had in Batchelor. Maybe he remembers another store in Batchelor. I remember going to a bigger one down the road and Daddy running over a snake on the way to it. Boy & Daddy built that little house/store we lived in. Those piles in the yard all over the place (in the pictures) are moss piles not hay. Daddy used to buy moss and hang it on fences to dry/cure before hauling it to the moss gin to sell. Do you remember when moss was used for stuffing in car seats, furniture and mattresses? I was born in that house/store the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed. Mama said she was suffering in labor and Daddy was telling her "listen baby, they bombed Pearl Harbor" and she told him "I don't care if they bomb the house." and that's about all she had to say about that... Ray Daigle This is David's responding to my announcement that Ray Fagan had circumnavigated MS in one day. (Fred, "circumnavigate" is what old crazies do, not what happens to unsuspecting young baby boys) Dang; You talk about a ride "AROUND" MIssissippi. That had to be more than a little grueling even if you did have an iron butt. Heck, that'd be kinda tireing in a mercedes ! It's sure something to bragg about ( why I once........). That bike you guys ride must be really smooth, otherwise the ole severe butt itch would really make one like that tough to do. Appears he rode up ole 61 through the delta. It bypasses my once upon a time home of hollandale now but it once went straight through town and followed Deer Creek up to Leland; a quaint concrete narrow 2lane. Have relatives there ,originally from S.W. Louisiana, rice farmers primarily, running about 7000 acres last I heard. Haven't been up in years now, need to go again before its for a funeral; some are quite old but the younger horses have taken the bit and seem to be pulling the wagon really well. If I'd stayed up there I'd probably been a big farmer too. One of my yoynger brothers had a Kawasaki Concors a while back; sain he couldn't go 200 mi. without it killing his rear end. He must be weak butted compared to Ray !(and you) I was around the house this weekend; crawfish boil to attend sat. afternoon and visit from daughter with her three beautiful little girls on sunday but I bet YOU were..............IN THE WIND. later Dude Here's Ray Fagan's account of that ride mentioned above: I just can't explain Ray, there are too many facets. Ray was offered by a group he belongs to, the opportunity to be the first to do an in-state 1000 mile/day-ride within MS, so he did it. You have to jump when opportunity presents itself. Below is all he remembers of the trip: Went for a ride around Mississippi yesterday. Didn't take many pictures, just soaked up the marvelous contrasts in lifestyles and the sometimes not so subtle changes in geography. Started early to get the I-10 scramble across the bottom of the state done while traffic was light. It was here that the enlightenment began. It was unexpected. The Interstate had just as much traffic as in the daytime. Where the hell are all those cars going at 3:30 on a Thursday morning? The rules for the Iron Butt Assn. ride that I was doing requires a date stamped gas receipt showing the local time at each corner to prove you were there when you claimed to be. The first stop was at Picayune. Not much to report on that first segment. It was dark. The second segment was the short run to Hattiesburg. By the time I got near Purvis, there was just enough daylight to see a field full of FEMA trailers off to the left. Must have been several hundred of the things there. Since they were not level, one must assume this is some sort of staging area. A quick stop in Hattiesburg was highlighted by the quick disappearance of a group of Mexican workers. Their boss said one of them reads a little English. He must have seen the "Official Vehicle" sign on the saddlebag and they all took off. The boss was a bit pissed that he would have to go round them up. I suggested he hire local help. As far as I could tell, those "Official Vehicle" signs had never gotten a second glance until today. They will prove to be more conspicuous than I had thought. The early morning ride across US 98 to McComb was a joy. The hills were in sunlight and the bottoms still held a hint of fog. A spiritual crossing. The two lane highways headed to Woodville are always a fun. Up and down the rolling hills, zooming along in a green tunnel of pine trees and kudzu. The middle of this stretch is punctuated by the existence of Liberty, MS. I took a quick side trip around the neighborhoods just back of the main roads. I always enjoy seeing Liberty. It deserves a photo shoot one day. At Woodville the "Official Vehicle" (OV for short) struck again. Pulled into the first gas station I found, which happened to have a number of young black men standing in a cluster. One of them looks over and spots the signs (I suppose it was the sign), said something to the group, and they split up in all directions. Black guy at the pumps said he thought it was a drug deal in broad daylight in an open parking lot. Shook his head and mumbled something about the cops. The stop at Woodville set the stage for the part of the ride I was really looking forward to. US61 travels through the cotton section of the state along our west side. Woodville to Vicksburg was the antebellum cotton capital of the USA. More millionaires were made there than anywhere else in the country. Cotton was king. If you know what to look for, the imprints of those old plantations are everywhere. Truly and interesting part of our state. From Vicksburg north you are in the Delta. That wide expanse between the Yazoo River and the Mississippi is still one of the most fertile places on the planet. The farms are enormous, some taking up as much as 10,000 acres in a single huge field. The machines to farm this country are as large as the farms. It was planting time. Farm machines worth hundreds of thousands of dollars that are only used a few weeks each year were everywhere. The Delta is awe inspiring. It was also windy. A stiff west wind hammering on my left side made the ride a two handed battle for a couple hundred miles to the next turn at Tunica. This leg of the trip would take me through Senatobia and Holly Springs to Corinth. Shortly after making the eastward turn a crop duster came out of nowhere and bombarded me with what must have been seed or fertilizer pellets. Stung like hell. It wasn't long before the road climbed up the escarpment out of the Delta and into the woods. A quick side trip into downtown Holly Springs verified that the County museum and Graceland Too were still there. No time to stop on this trip. Just checking. Corinth marked the northeast corner of the trip. At Corinth the "OV" sign struck again. While suiting up in the parking lot after supper, a little lady in a Caddy spots the signs and insists that I look at her car. She was missing the center piece from a hub cap. She grabbed my sleeve and pointed at it insisting, "They took it to make a necklace! Go find them." Now I don't know if the hubcap insert just fell off or if someone really stole it. Neither does she, but she is livid. I explain that I'm not a law enforcement officer, just a grave finder. Finally had to just close the helmet visor, mount up, and ride away. Crazy old woman. The route down US45 on the east side of the state is now mostly fourlane. The traffic was light, and for the first time today I could really make some time. This corridor has been under construction for at least twenty years. It seems that Katrina was the wakeup call that is getting it completed. Extending the current four lane MS63 from Pascagoula through what is now MS57 to meet US45 at Stateline, MS will provide a much needed new Hurricane Evacuation Route. This will also open a connecting corridor to the Gulf ports for the east side of the state. Maybe Meridian will come back to life since it will no longer be so isolated from the rest of the state. Work is going at a frantic pace. The downside for a motorcyclist is the raw earth on the construction areas are seeded with new grass. The whole construction project is a two hundred mile long food plot for deer. By now my eyes were tired, I don't like to ride in the dark anyway, and seeing hundreds of deer was a frightening experience. It was good to arrive back in Pascagoula, get that final receipt to stop the clock and head home. Great trip! Great scenery. Think I'll plan to do it once a year just to make sure things haven't changed in good ole Mississippi. Total miles were 1,030. Total time was 19.2 hours (including stops). Overall average speed was 53.6 mph. Dave on the Jennings area, on Andy and etc. Yea Steve,I know Chesley, or rather did know him way back there, but when I was a punk I think he was the big daddy of cycleing in Jennings. Too far out ahead of me at that age, you know? I think I remember him raceing a harley sporster (maybe it was a triumph) around the local yokal short tracks and scrambles tracks back then like a bat outa hell, while I was (ashamed to say it ) trying to race stripped down small hondas and bridgestones. There really wasn't much good racing hardware back then , and no money, but we still got our kicks. As far as I know Andy was always a good mechanic. Distant memories. Later I rode a B.S.A. and Triumph 650s but didn't race them, although I did break my cheekbone while fireroading during a Kisatchie / Valentines lake camping trip. Lately I've been (wishful) thinking about a bike but don't see any that make me want it...go figure. Yea, come to think about it Chesley was kind of like "The Fonze"; think he even wore leathers. Later I got leathers but road race style to ride the roads when it was cold. When I was a kid, if you can believe this, I rode a honda 50 sport 300+ miles from Jennings to Hollandale, MS several times a year with and army duffle bag strapped to the tank to visit relatives......Kids! That little Honda was more reliable than a Triumph I owned later. I could overhaul the little honda singles real cheaply in 1 day including boring,valve job, new rod and crank pin &brng pressed into flwhl, and main brngs and did it for the other guys to make my money. Guess I've always been something of a mech. too. oooh, this is getting bloggy again, better save some for later.............Later Ray Daigle adds to the Sabine Pass ride: You did good all in one day. Pleasure Island had a drawbridge connecting to it somewhere in mid city, but it broke while it was in the upright position and they never fixed it, just built another high rise bridge. Mike D. commenting on my email about the old Huey P. Long bridge at Baton Rouge. High point is right! I road captained a group last year on a ride around New Roads and then crossed the ferry into St. Francisville and then head back via "the scenic highway!" (hwy 61) and we crossed the "old bridge" in BR to head back to Opelousas. I was shocked to see it was no longer orange and in pretty good shape. We lived in Gretna and Paridis when I was a kid and traveled back to Crowley several times a years and can still close my eyes and smell that bauxite!! And do I remember the travel jams at Krotz Springs when there was only one bridge and the rest was all four lane! I once spent 6 hours there before we go to the town! And on my second ride of my ultra classic was going to Satterfields in New Roads to eat lunch and got caught behind a big John Deere combine doing about 5 mph on the basin bridge after Krotz Springs!! Dem ole harlees get hot putt-putt along likes dat! Marion has contributed to the mag for years. He worked in the lumber industry and has added much in that area. He is also a native of Northeast La.and has always picked up a pen and added stuff on that area. Now he lives in Selma, Al. Marion on Barber's MC Museum: Good morning Steve.Yesterday I took the plunge and left home and rode up to Barber's motor mueseum.After listening to some one else on directions, I wound up taking the SCEANIC route.Always happens.What should have taken me about 2 hours total, including stops, was a little over 3 hours.BUT !!it wasworth the trip.I spent the next 5 hours wandering through and loking at some of the most fantastic motorcycles in the world!!!!!He also has a collectionof Lotus Automabiles in case you are into exotic cars.Including a 1954 original of the current LotusSeven series.Several 3 wheeled cycle cars, several unrestored Indians, Harleys and others.Quite a few world class Moto Guzzi winners, as well as a double hand full of Ducati's.And bunches of names I have never heard of.There are about 600 bikes on display and about 400 plus not on display at all times.If you want to spend a LOONGG day salivating over exotic motorcycles, plan you a day up.And I mean get there at opening ,10:00 am and stay until they close or you get too tireds of walking and looking.Important !!!!All the signs say DO NOT TOUCH !BIG BUMMER !The ground floor is open only on motorcycle race days and you have to buy the race ticket to get in because the ground floor is considered a work area for liability purposes.Popsicle time!!!!!!! Just in case I didn't tell you.Barbers is located at Leeds,Ala.20 miles east of Birmingham on highway 20.Get off to the right at exit 140,then turn right to access road leading to Barbers.Just follow the signs,Bike parking at the front door. Ray Daigle sent this about Monkey Is. at Cameron. More wasteful Louisiana. Senate OK's paying for Monkey Island ferry BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana would shell out nearly $682,000 a year to ferry about 15 people to Monkey Island in Cameron Parish if the Legislature agrees to continue the service for two more years. “There’s no other way for these people to get back and forth,” said Sen. Gerald Theunissen, R-Jennings, sponsor of the bill. The Senate Finance Committee agreed to spend about $97,400 annually per family for the seven families who live there to be able to get on and off Monkey Island. The ferry would shut down July 1; Theunissen’s bill would extend the service until 2005. The measure goes next to the full Senate for debate. ©The Lafayette Daily Advertiser April 29, 2003 More Ray, you have to watch him closely: Heard the same thing over here (Georgetown bridge), except it was a luminous ball of marsh gas (pronounced fee-foe-lay) that floated towards the people, and they abandoned that hay ride very quickly. The other one was the "ran out of gas on a date" on Tom Hebert Road, man reluctantly leaves woman in car to search for spare gas, but tells her not to open the door regardless of what she hears. She thinks he's joking and trying to scare her, and falls asleep. She wakes up to a terrible horrible noise, sounds like a fight outside the car, then only the loud sound of something dripping on the roof is heard. She falls back to sleep, only to be woke up by a policeman asking her to leave the car and not look back. The man's body was up in a tree/shrub/bush just above the car, and his throat had been slashed, hence the drip, drip, drip... I later heard this one on a radio program, and saw it in a comic book... Ray Daigle More Ray, remembering Dec. 7., the Sopranos and the last hippie in Krotz Springs. Labor day week 1984, the Lebleu family and I traveled to Hawaii. We had to watch a mini film about Pearl Harbor before going to the memorial. Arsand Lebleu, wife's grandfather, was quite moved by the film. In a very loud voice, in a very small room filled with Japanese tourists, he said: "We better watch them close, because those little yellow bastards will do it again". We were also rubbing elbows with Bobby Freeman's entourage (Clausen) and the jailhouse rock tour. I've come to the end of the Sopranos season 6 road until they put new ones on dvd. Ray Daigle More good stuff from Ray Fagan: Once upon a time I set about writing a novel set in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. I never finished the book, but much of the massive amount of research has remained lodged in my mind. One of the most memorable finds were the "Journals of Jacob Fowler". Not long after the return of Lewis and Clark, Jacob Fowler set out on a trading and exploration journey along the Arkansas River. His day-to-day experiences tell much about the way the Plains were before most white men ever saw them. I just stumbled across a site that presents the Colorado portion of that adventure. Thought you might enjoy reading it. http://www.pueblohistory.org/history/fowler%20jeweler.htm Much More Below Barry has contributed so much to this rag. He opened up Northeast Louisiana to me. Not only has he contributed directions and lists of points of interest, but he has given me a feel for the area. Priceless. Here are a few of hiscontributing notes.How can I forget. Barry was the backbone of the Carnay investigations. He kept me going when I was ready to quit. Barry's Route through North Central Louisiana: Ok, I tried to make this as interesting as possible for ya. All I can do by way of sending a route map is give you the attached jpeg and directions. Maybe you can then plot it out on your maps. I can't zoom in on my program and get a lot of detail for you, so I made an overall I'll start this in Alexandria, La. at US165 and IH49. Find your own fun way to get there. From the starting point, head north on 165 through Pollock. 6 miles or so north of Pollock, turn LEFT off 165 onto Hwy 524. Go north till you hit Hwy 123. Turn LEFT and go west till you hit US167. Turn RIGHT and go north on 167 through Williana. About 6 miles or so, look for Hwy 556 (Parish Road 826). Turn LEFT and go till you hit Parish Road 824. This runs into Parish Road 605. Keep going till you hit Hwy 34. Turn RIGHT onto Hwy 34 and go into Winnfield. Go east through town till you get to US84. Get on 84 and go east about 7 miles till you see Hwy 124 bearing left. Turn LEFT onto 124 and stay on it till you get to Hwy 125. Turn LEFT onto 125 and go northeast into Olla. Look for a flashing red light(?) and turn LEFT onto Hwy 127. Stay on 127 for about 20 miles till you get to Hwy 126. Turn RIGHT onto 126 and go 20 miles or so till you get to 165. Turn LEFT onto 165 and go north through Grayson and Columbia, crossing the Oauchita (Black) River, and look for Hwy 559. From this point it gets blurry for me but you have been in this area before. I was going to have you go through Harrisonburg and then to Jena. Go through Jena on 84, pass through Trout still on 84. When you see the old Post Office on the left in Trout and where 84 turns hard right, go straight on the road that leads to the Boy Scout campground. Follow this road, passing a golf course on the right, and keep going a few miles. It will lead you to Hwy 8. Turn RIGHT onto 8 and it takes you back to Pollock. You have time to visit LRWMA and finish that journey if you want to, as that will be just to the right off 165. Feel free to explore. Parish Road 826 may have signs posted calling it Alexandria Highway or Military Highway. During the War Games of pre-WW2, this was the way the Army marched (Patton among them) and is so why it is called that. Get some pic's of the bridge in Columbia for me. Columbia has a very interesting little downtown area so be sure to see it. It is right at the foot of the bridge on the right. Oh yeah, Hwy 124 will cross Castor Creek, and this is where we heard all them noises long ago thinking it was Bigfoot. Paint the area dark and it is spooky. From the intersection of US 165 and Hwy 500 in Georgetown, go westerly on Hwy 500 approx 3 miles, bear left on Bear Creek Road and then go approx 2 miles. Small cluster of homes there, the former homestead being on the right-hand side. Dunno who lives there now on account the place was sold a year ago and so no ties there anymore. The place is at the end of a long straight private gravel drive and the house is rust colored. There is (or was) an old homestead (grandparents) on the right that is all overgrown but the house fell in after my grandmother passed away 10 years ago. A shame since it was built from the old Selma schoolhouse in the late 1800's of hard as a rock southern yellow pine and cypress. Anyway, past where the house is on Bear Creek Road is nothing but NF. If you want to, just keep heading in a westerly direction fon Bear Creek Road for another mile and it will come to a place where 5 roads meet (locally called Five Forks). If you keep going straight ahead on a gravel road, it takes you thru some pretty county for about 4 miles and comes out to Hwy 472. Lemme know if you ever are heading that way and I can elaborate some more and then, coming out of the gravel road onto Hwy 472 at a "T" intersection, turning left will take you into Williana. Nothing at all there but 472 will have some serious swoops and dives for the 6 miles or so until it gets to Hwy 67. Turning right on Hwy 472 will take you about 3 miles to Hwy 500. Depending on which the wind is blowing you, go one or the other. Incidentially, if you do go right on 472 to its intersection with Hwy 500, turning right onto 500 will take you straight into Georgetown. Continuing on 500 through Georgetown (heading easterly at this point) will take you thru the small communties of Zenoria and Little Creek. You'll drive over the Little River about 3 miles east of Georgetown on 500 and there is an abandoned railroad trestle bridge about 200 yards off the vehicle bridge. The tracks have been torn up and there is nothing to walk on, it being only the iron span remaining. Many have seen a swinging lantern going across the bridge at night. Keeping on 500 it will eventually come out at Hwy 67. My relatives go to Hebron Church out in the boonies and never expected a shot of it. You sure don't miss much. The yellow Victorian house you saw in Georgetown (Selma) was one I actually considered buying 3 years ago. It used to be the pastor's house at the Baptist Church in Pollock (south of Georgetown) and was moved there and restored, and quite spectacularily too. You may have to give you the ghost on Selma as there really isn't much to see. One needs to leave the road and walk a little in order to get to the lumber ponds and it is all overgrown. There are old cemetaries out there few know of and I know of them only through my grandmother. But still, iffen you're determined, it's there for the taking. Beware of the rumors of Bigfoot's cousin lurking in the area. So sad to know the Bridges of Caldwell Parish are disappearing, especially at Columbia. Looks like something crashed into the pier down on the water there, maybe a drunken barge skipper. Shades of Exxon Valdez. The road out of Grayson is pretty alright and gets twisty only near Olla. There was a Finger of God twister that hit that area last November and cleaned the clock in that area pretty well. Those old bridges you saw, where old and new 165 bridges cross the Little River, brings back a lot of memories. Me and the buddies used to park on the bridge at night and drink beer, waiting for the trains to go over the trestle. Why? Dunno... The area is called Rochelle and used to be a thriving lumber mill town like Selma, but you'd never know it now. It wasn't used much and appears so even less now. Oh yeah, the town of Williana has a campground off 167. You can use that as a base to explore around the area some more. Lemme know iffen you'll do that and I can dream up another route. You are very welcome to use my ditties in your articles to fleash out your stories, especially when they give added substance to pictures. Many times you (and I) pass an interesting spot and wonder about it, wishing there were more to the story than its appearance only belies. I've seen to many places and edifices that whisper "come and find out" but never learn its history. Personal insight is priceless and I've said it before, but a library burns when someone dies. Inside that old yellow house were numerous pictures of the area back when it was thriving and was the capital of Southern Yellow Pine, the kind of lumber you don't see anymore. In the bottom of those lumber ponds are likely huge logs that sunk 100 years ago and are probably still salvagable if brought out and dried. My grandmother's house was made of the stuff and driving a nail into that wood was like working with concrete and an exercise in futility. The LRWMA is probably going to be anticlimatic but the suspense is building; I know you lie awake thinking of it, right? It is all you think of now. 167 is west of 165 where Tullos is right, I mean left. I have it terrible and I find I'm backwards all the time. might be now? Military Highway is about 30 miles to the east of Tullos, off Hwy 167. It was on the ruote I had planned for you and of which was so callously disregarded. You are welcome to flesh out the article with my personal ruminations so far on the area, ie. train-watching in a drunken stupor. But things like that is what one remembers, not the everyday, mundane stuff. Before Selma was razed, us Boy Scouts used to walk the railroad track down to Selma and go camping in the ruins of the lumber buildings. It was awesome. There is plenty of live ordinance in them there woods, waiting for some Bubba with a hammer to find them. It's been know to happen. I heard one dude found an artillery round out there and propped it on a stump. He shot at it and set it off. Dunno what happened to him but haven't seen him in a while, no pun intended. Before England AFB in Alex closed and moved, they used to practice their skills in the Breezy Hill area. It is still designated military airspace. A-10 Warthogs and F-16's came low and fast over our farm everyday. From an uncle that went to the base PX for groceries (he was a Viet Vet), we learned the pilots used out farm as a way station on account of all the tin on our roofs among the many, many buildings on the farm. My dad and I debated painting over the bare tin with green paint unexpectedly. Just as well we didn't as they probably strafe us when they found us out. Trivia: just north of Alex off 165 is Camp Livingston, an old WW2 base. It is the home of the US Marshal Service's SWAT training camp. Hardly anyone knows it's there. Here's some Marion's I was telling you about. Steve, what most people today do not know is that from Alabama to east Texas,was a tremendous long leaf pine forest.These forest were cut down and shipped north to build all the big northern cities.Most people up there have no idea od where the lumber in their houses came from.I can remember driving through central La.with my folks and not seeing a tree for miles.It is rare to an old growth long leaf pine in that area,but a few still exist in small pockets. The pines you see now are hybrids, mostly, Slash and Loblolly.These were planted by the paper companies and the state to furnish cover and new wood. What the sawmills didn't cut they ran over and destroyed getting the big timber out to the mills.When you hear some one mention the term "clear cut", think about being able to see from alexandria to Oakgrove or Jena with no trees in the way. Boy, Johns Hills has to be the no.1 can't get there spot in the state of Louisiana. My wife was trying to look it up on mapquest and could not get there. I looked at her maps later and saw a lot of places in upper Winn and lower Jackson parishes I had not thought of in many years. My wife is very busily making plans for the Natchitoches trip so I think I am going to try John Hills going back monday. We usually go through West Monroe to antique shop, but the stop in Coushatta to get meat pies is going to take up part of that time. She did find a map quest page that showed Okaloosa on it. I never it was on any kind of map. It is northeast of Chatam roughly 10 miles or so out in the woods. They didn't have a school even when I was growing up. Chatam is about 5 to 8 miles east of Jimmy Davis lake where you stayed one trip. Eros is my mothers home,what there is left of it. They even took up the railroad tracks many years ago. Eros was another saw mill town back in the teens and 20's until they cut the timber out. Much More to Come. |
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