Today’s article is prompted by a reader question, to wit, “Dear Mr. So-Called History Person: I’m told that the east branch of the Pearl River was chosen as our border with Mississippi because an empty whiskey barrel thrown in upstream emerged from that stream’s mouth. What do you think?” Well, I do have a so-called answer, but first a little gratuitous information.

 

            As every schoolboy knows, Louisiana is shaped like a boot. Well, maybe more like an orthopedic shoe … with the toe blown out … that needs half-soling because of coastal erosion. Located on the U.S.’s soft underbelly, it looks like the eastward-pointing foot of America, just as the Midwest is our heart and the east coast is our face to most of the western world. Using this same anatomical analogy, I’m not sure what that would make California, but it is the last place in the Lower 48 to see the sun shine every day. I have been asked not to discuss what other states might, or might not, represent.

 

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This July 4th, we celebrate our country’s 233rd birthday. Now some would argue that the real birthday should be July 2nd when the Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Great Britain, not July 4th when they approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence. Some might argue for August 2nd, the day a majority of the members of Congress actually signed the printed document.   Some might choose September 17th, the date in 1787 that our Constitution was adopted and we officially became the United States of America.   I suppose one could also pick May 29th, the date in 1790 that Rhode Island became the last of the thirteen original states to ratify the Constitution. But why quibble? Let’s get on with it. July 4th has been chosen, the hot dogs and fireworks have been purchased, and we have plenty to celebrate.

 

We indeed have been truly blessed by history. Our greatest legacy has been the Constitution itself, but we have also been richly endowed by nature. Where would...

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Many of you – even those who are extremely familiar with Old Mandeville – are probably unaware of the insidious plot by printers and office supply companies to periodically change the names of streets in this historic old area. This ploy, which effectively forces all elements of local commerce to completely replace their letterhead stationery and business cards every few years, has for too long gone unreported in the press. With this issue of the Conifer, this shameful conspiracy of silence ends. Let others focus on corruption, financial crises, pandemics, threats to national security, yada, yada, yada – we are taking the battle for truth to the streets.

 

This perhaps disjointed thought came to me a few weeks back as I was listening to extremely interesting and educational talks given by Sally Reeves and Robin Perkins in connection with the celebration of the 175th anniversary of Bernard Marigny’s land auction in 1834. While Mandeville was not incorporated officially until 1840, Marigny’s...

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For the last several issues, I’ve added a little blurb with my article asking for recommendations on subjects related to St. Tammany history to address in future articles.  I’ve done this because I consider it the sacred duty of a public-spirited, community-minded, first-amendment-focused publication like the Conifer to provide such educational content for those who have nothing else to read with their five-dollar coffee.  Also, I was running out of ideas and thought this might be an easy, painless way to get some new ones.

Much to my surprise, I have received some!  Many of these actually seriously suggested future topics, while other suggestions, frankly, were offensive, and in some cases, I suspect, anatomically impossible. 

One of the serious ones came from a Slidell reader named Charles Neuman, who was very interested in the subject of brick making in St. Tammany Parish.  He asked a number of questions - both technical and historical - about this industry, and it would take someone with far more expertise than I have to answers the questions completely.  I will, however, try to pass on a little general history about brick-making that addresses some of the subjects raised.

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For the last several issues, I’ve added a little blurb with my article asking for recommendations on subjects related to St. Tammany history to address in future articles. I’ve done this because I consider it the sacred duty of a public-spirited, community-minded, first-amendment-focused publication like the Conifer to provide such educational content for those who have nothing else to read with their five-dollar coffee. Also, I was running out of ideas and thought this might be an easy, painless way to get some new ones.

 

Much to my surprise, I have received some! Many of these actually seriously suggested future topics, while other suggestions, frankly, were offensive, and in some cases, I suspect, anatomically impossible. 

 

One of the serious ones came from a Slidell reader named Charles Neuman, who was very interested in the subject of brick making in St. Tammany Parish. He asked a number of questions - both technical and historical - about this industry, and it would...

Read More »

When I was growing up, my family wasn’t into organized religion much. My brothers and I went to the local Methodist church, but my parents had moved to New Orleans from Georgia and I’m not sure which faith they’d been brought up in. They seemed pretty normal, however, and I don’t think it involved snakes and gibberish (not that there’s anything wrong with that if participants from all species are consenting adults).

With little fanfare, the City of Mandeville is rapidly approaching an important milestone – its 175^th birthday. “But how can that be?” you might ask. “Didn’t we celebrate its 150^th birthday in 1990? I’m not saying that Mandeville officials would cook the history books, but that doesn’t seem to add up – I keep coming up with 169; how about you?”