70 Years Ago September 24, 1953
Five Jena High School seniors will speak before the local Chamber of Commerce at its November meeting discussing the things they did and learned at Girls State and Boys State held in Baton Rouge in August. They were as follows: Johnette Moses, Louise Walker and Cordialea Hester, Allen Simmons and Tommy Collins.
The second largest herd of performing elephants in America came with A.I.G. Kelly-Miller Bros. Circus to Jena on Saturday, October 17, 1953.
Playing at The Strand Theater in Jena was “Valley of Headhunters,” “Nighttime in Nevada,” “Calling Dr. Death”, “Salome,” “Time of their Lives,” “Column South” and “5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.”
Specials at Ellis Lawrence Grocery and Market in Jena included a 25 lb. sack of Gold Medal Flour for $1.79, a 12 oz. bottle of Delmonte Catsup for 17 cents, a “giant size” Tide detergent for 69 cents, 1 lb. of graham crackers for 29 cents and 2 cans of Hunt’s tomato sauce for 15 cents.
60 Years Ago September 26, 1963
A water truck operated by the LaSalle Parish Police Jury went out of control Tuesday around 1:30 p.m. and crashed into the side of the C. C. Wright home, south of Olla. E. W. Nugent of Olla, driver of the truck, said the steering section failed and he had no control. Huey Cockerham, also of Olla, was a passenger in the truck. No one was injured, but the truck did considerable damage as it left Highway 127 while headed north and traveled over 200 ft off the pavement before knocking down a tree, swiping the rear end of the Wright’s car, knocking down one wall of the garage and then plowing into the kitchen of the home. The entire house was jarred from its foundation and one room dropped about 3 in. The kitchen was demolished as the front end of the truck stopped inside the kitchen. Mrs. Wright, the only person at home, had just left the kitchen and was at the rear of the house ironing. She was not injured, but was put to bed from shock. She is expecting a child in 5 months.
Two students from LaSalle Parish were among the 602 coeds pledged to sororities at the close of annual rush week activities on the Louisiana State University campus in Baton Rouge. Among those receiving bids were Delta Zeta: Sharon E. Shaw of Tullos, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. D.C. Shaw of Tullos; Kappa Delta: Margaret L. Aldridge of Jena, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Aldridge of Jena.
50 Years Ago September 27, 1973
The Jena Wire and Cable Company team completed their most successful softball season placing in three tournaments and winning second in league play. Members included: Ed Winnebeck, Rob Defeei, Johnny Coon, Walter Earl, Herman Cotton, Chuck Harvey, Gordon Paul, Mike Thompson, Clyde Jackson, Charles Newton, Daryl Clark, Dennis Tarver, Ben Scroggs, Ronnie Kendrick, and Donnie Kendrick.
The Piggly Wiggly in Jena had a sale which included one dozen eggs for 59 cents, a 24 oz bottle of Log Cabin syrup for $75, 12 oz of elbow macaroni for 31 cents, five cans of whole kernel or cream style corn for $1 and a 1-lb bag of Community Coffee for 89 cents.
Dave Hudspeth, local truck driver for Andrews L-P Gas Company, was shown in a photo holding a large rattlesnake that he killed near Jena. The giant rattler measured about 6 ft in length and should serve as a warning to hunters in the wake of opening of hunting season next week.
40 Years Ago September 28, 1983
George Allen, Jena Choctaw Tribal Assistant Chairman, recently presented a “bull-nosed” basket which he hand-crafted, to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. The exhibit will now become a part of the Smithsonian’s exhibit of Contemporary Indian Art.
James Lester Barron of Jena, who faces arson charges in LaSalle Parish, testified the previous Friday that he burned an Alexandria building belonging to Howard Joffrion. He faced eight counts of arson in several parishes, including Rapides, where he had confessed to setting fire to Joffrion’s Economy Auto Salvage Inc.
Several Jena dancers, with Amelie Studios, provided entertainment for the Alexandria Kiwanis Club’s banquet. Members included Amelie Lynn French II, Rana Randall, Rejina Hester, Lori Scales, Tamara Crooks, Becky Hester and Lori Cruse.
25 Years Ago September 30, 1998
A community effort provided the LaSalle Parish D.A.R.E. Program with a new vehicle which will be used in the D.A.R.E. Program, according to Sheriff Dennis Warwick. Show in a photo with the newly designed car included: Johnny Long, Kevin Long, Keith Peppers, Jim Nichols, Jerry Moss, Deputy Jeff Wyles, Sheriff Dennis Warwick and Deputy Glen Humphries.
The Jena High School rodeo team had 21 members compete in high school rodeos around the state during the school year. The team members included: Katie Lloyd, Ashley Scroggs, Danny McDowell, Libby Morphis, Dan Ganey, Jenni Sandifer, Lacy Cockerham, Dusty Taylor, Sherman Cockerham, Matt Hudnall, Chad Stapleton, Will Stapleton, Bridget Davis, Bridget Walpole, Kayla Jo Cooper, Kayla Cooper, Jaime McMillin, Jada Morphis, Bart Attaway, Kevin Allen and Rebekah Yule.
The 1998 LaSalle High School Homecoming Queen Lindsey Smotherman was crowned by the 1997 Queen Kristal Powers during halftime ceremonies at Tiger Stadium during the Friday night game.
10 Years Ago September 25, 2013
The LaSalle High School Chess Club announced that Josh Boyett is the Grand Champion of the 2013 LHS Homecoming Havoc Chess Tournament. Senior Boyett defeated Junior Tyler Beck in the single elimination championship match on September 23rd. Both players were individual bracket champions and met in the grand championship match to decide who would reign as LHS Grand Champion.
Steven Smith, 22, son of Reverend Scott and Jennifer Smith of Tullos, served a semester as a missionary to Wales in the United Kingdom. Smith departed on August 21, 2013 and spent a week training in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. On August 27th, he arrived in Caernarfon Wales, where he served until December 13th. Smith served through Hands-On Missions Program of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board.
As a part of the “My 5 Senses” unit Olla Elementary Pre-K students in Mrs. Doris Barnhill’s class participated in several activities. Some students included Cooper Stowe, Mason Cox, Bella Butler, Laynie Thacker, Tahje Varner, Charlie Seaward and Harmony Thompson.
