Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Because of an abundance of news, we have temporarily started publishing Observations on Tuesdays and Fridays of each week until further notice.
What strange and unusual times we are living in. I’ve never experienced anything near the kind of Easter we had Sunday. Most Americans were on lockdown. If you went to church it was via internet or television. If you visited with your loved ones on Easter, it was by phone or over the internet.
In some places, people were arrested for attending services inside their closed vehicles on the parking lot of their church and listening to it on the radio. This is not the America we grew up in, and it shows how much fear and confusion exist around the nation.
Our neighbor Paul Gewin attended church on Easter Sunday and in a way that really touched my heart. He is the regular pianist for the church he attends, and he told us Saturday afternoon of his plans:
“I am going to church tomorrow,” Paul said. “And I’ll be the only person there. I am going to play a few songs and then I’m going to read some scriptures. I have attended church every Easter Sunday all my life, and that is what I plan to do.”
We know without a doubt that Paul’s efforts blessed the heart of God. And it certainly blessed ours.
MARK IT DOWN & TAKE PART: A thoughtful event has been organized and everyone is welcome to participate! According to Many Mayor Ken Freeman, Sabine Retirement & Rehabilitation Center at 965 Fisher Rd. has requested area citizens provide a “Honk for Love” car parade to cheer their residents, who will be watching from inside. It is scheduled for this Thursday, April 16, at 3 p.m.
All interested persons are encouraged to decorate their cars and trucks, make signs, wave flags, fly balloons, tie streamers and make whatever else might bring joy and can be displayed from their vehicles. Participants will drive through the center’s parking lot and honk, then exit on the other end.
This is a great opportunity to get out of the house, participate in something safe as a community, and bring joy to local residents who have not been able to have visitors during the pandemic. So, plan to take part this Thursday at 3!
Renowned Shreveport artist Jerry Harris has a book out that is well worth the read for anyone interested in the Louisiana Hayride, which made its home at the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport. In the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, the Hayride was one of the top Country music shows broadcast across the nation. The show became known as the “Cradle of the Stars” because so many who became legends in Country music got their starts there.
His book is titled “Tales of the Legends from Shreveport’s Historic Municipal Auditorium.” And the book features Harris’ superb artwork of the stars, and with each entertainer some little known stories about these legends from the Hayride. The criteria he used for “Tales of the Legends” is that the musical artist had to have performed at the historic Municipal Auditorium.
“Seventy percent of the inductees in the Country Music Hall of Fame sang at this grand old building,” Harris explained. “These stories are told by the legends themselves, by friends and by visitors to the Stage of Stars Legends Museum. I can’t promise that they are true, but I promise they are interesting. I drew these portraits for the most part [as] young [entertainers] as they appeared on the Hayride.”
Harris is in the Guinness Book of World Records for drawing more Country music artist portraits than anyone in the world. Over 100 of his works are on display at the Municipal Auditorium Museum. He has also done pieces for the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame and the Tex Ritter Museum in Carthage, TX, the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery, AL, and for others. To him, it is a labor of love to keep the memory of the legends alive who made Country music what it is today.
Some of the great artists included in his 96-page hard cover book are Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Jim Reeves, Kitty Wells, Jimmie Davis, Webb Pierce, Faron Young, Slim Whitman, Johnny Horton, Floyd Cramer and the great Hank Williams Sr.
If you like the Louisiana Hayride, are interested in Shreveport’s Municipal Auditorium and Country music, you need this book.
To obtain a copy, visit Amazon or contact the author Jerry Harris on Facebook or at Jerry Harris Originals, (318) 861-7727. His business location is 825 Shreveport Barksdale Hwy., Shreveport, LA 71105.
Picture From The Past
This picture of the great Japanese Fiddler Shoji Tabuchi was made at the old Many High School Auditorium on July 4, 1976 as our country celebrated its bicentennial. At the time Shoji was part of the David Houston Show. In the course of a few years, Shoji moved to Branson, MO and for years had the top show there. I talked to Shoji a few days ago and he told me that Branson is shut down – nothing going on. And he said if he would try to play the fiddle like that nowadays, he’d probably fall!
Sabine District Attorney Don Burkett continues to stay on top of the coronavirus for the parish. He announced Monday that Police Jury President Mike McCormick intends to let the proclamation banning short term rentals in the Toledo Bend area expire on April 30. Burkett explained, “By announcing today, the intent is to give those affected businesses time to begin taking reservations for May. I concur with this decision. All other proclamations regarding distancing etc., will remain in effect unless otherwise notified.” The big question is, “Are those people who were told to leave a few weeks ago going to want to come back?”
As of noon Tuesday, Burkett now reports 10 confirmed cases in Sabine Parish. This is up one from Monday. The latest statewide deaths total from coronavirus is 1,013. Here are the numbers he shared otherwise:
Caddo now has 1097 cases, with a big jump in deaths – 56. Bossier is at 207/10, Rapides 175/5, DeSoto 139/7, Natchitoches 42/0, Vernon 14/1, and Red River is at 13/2.
“We are still okay on ICU beds and ventilators in Northwest Louisiana. Very alarming: 24-hr. death total for state is 129, which far surpasses the previous 24-hr high of 70 on April 7 and 8. This erases the downward daily trend which had given some optimism,” reported Burkett.
“[There is] Some hope in [the] fact that numbers on vents and in hospitals declined overnight. Hopefully, not because of the 129 deaths. We are still relatively in good shape in Sabine, but we cannot relax what we are doing. In fact, we need to up our efforts at social distancing or else things could go bad quickly. This thing is not over by any stretch!” he warned.
Those praising Burkett for his work continued. Tammy Bridges wrote: “Thank you, Don Burkett, for keeping everyone safe. I’m proud that we have a District Attorney that truly cares about us and our families.”
In these strange and unusual times, it adds to the sadness when we lose a loved one and aren’t able to attend the funeral. My niece lost her husband on Easter Sunday morning. He was Gilbert McMillin of Monterey, LA, and he had fought a long and valiant battle with cancer.
One of the best compliments I can pay to a person is to simply say, “He was a good man.” And Gilbert was one of the finest. First and foremost, he was a Christian and practiced his faith in many ways. He was a good husband, father and grandfather. Gilbert believed in helping his neighbors. All you had to do was call. And on top of all that, he was such a funny guy, a real joy to be around.
Because of the coronavirus, Laurie and I did not get to go see him and say our goodbyes in person as we would have liked. But, we did each write him a final letter. And in closing, I told him, “If I don’t get to see you again here, I will see you on the other side of the river, and we’ll have a lot of catching up to do.”
We send our heartfelt sympathies to his wife Linda, children Anita Murray, Jason McMillin and Crystal Strebeck, and to all his friends and family.
Come April 23, I will begin my sixth year of writing Observations for bdcradio.com. It has been a pleasure. Of late, there has been so much to write about that I have had to start publishing twice a week. Thanks so much to those who read every week. You make it worth the effort. And thanks to Tedd Dumas at BDC for allowing it to happen.
Pleasant Hill Coach Stephen Burch has been named one of two Area Coaches of the Years by the Shreveport Times. He directed the basketball team to their LHSAA Class C State Title. His 2019-20 finish is 27-9. We offer him our hearty congratulations.
Making the All-Area Second Team were Kobe Montgomery of Zwolle and Montonious Burrough of Pleasant Hill. Receiving Honorable Mentions were Chrisoric McGhee of Pleasant Hill and Sean Laughlin of Converse.
The coronavirus has become “old news” somewhat, but we strongly encourage all to not let up in their efforts to avoid getting the virus. If people become less vigilant, the numbers could ramp up again and put us all at risk. Please continue to carefully follow the CDC guidelines below to stay safe until the threat is over.
WASH YOUR HANDS OFTEN with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after if you must visit a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
AVOID TOUCHING YOUR EYES, NOSE OR MOUTH WITH UNWASHED HANDS.
AVOID CLOSE CONTACT with people. Stay at a distance of 6 feet or farther away from other people. This is especially important for people who are at higher risk of getting very sick.
STAY HOME IF YOU ARE SICK, except to get medical care. Call your doctor first, then follow directions.
COVER COUGHS AND SNEEZES; cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw used tissues in the trash. Immediately wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, clean your hands with a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
WEAR A CLOTH FACE COVERING IF YOU ARE SICK or WHEN GOING OUT IN PUBLIC to safeguard yourself and others.
CLEAN AND DISINFECT frequently touched surfaces daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks. If surfaces are dirty, clean them: Use detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.
That is all for this Tuesday, April 14. I welcome your thoughts and ideas for future Observations. Send an email to robertrgentry@gmail.com or call me at (318) 332-8653. To save, send or print today’s column, click on the appropriate icon below. To see older, archived Observations, visit our Facebook page. To see columns of the last few years, follow the pages below. Thank you for faithfully reading.
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