Lifestyle

The 42nd annual Sabine Freestate Festival will be November 4th – November 6th, 2022 in Florien, Louisiana to commemorate “No Man’s Land” also known as the “Neutral Strip” of Louisiana that harbored bandits, robbers, and those seeking a safe haven from the law in the early 1800’s.

Pre-festival events include a Big Buck competition, adult division, that opens on October 29th.

The festival officially begins Friday, November 4th at 8:00 am with the veteran’s breakfast. All veterans are invited to attend. Guest speaker Command Sgt. Major Dennis Cobb will speak at 9:00 am for the veteran’s program. Education day ends at 1:30 pm and the BBQ cook–off check-in opens. Music by Southern Country and a street dance can be found on Ellie boulevard stage at 6:30 pm. Bingo will begin at 8:30 pm at the Florien train depot.

The Zwolle Tamale Fiesta is heating things up in Louisiana! The town of Zwolle will host its 46th annual Tamale Fiesta, October 6-9th, 2022 at the Festival Grounds located at 1100 S Main Street in Zwolle. There will be music, carnival rides, concessions, souvenirs, lots of tamales, and fun for the entire family!

Festivities will kick off October 1st at 2:00 pm with a family trail ride. Following the trail ride, the Fiesta First Lady’s and Kings dinner will be held from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm. At 7:00 pm, DJ-K9 production’s music and dancing will start!

Royal Mass will take place on October 2nd at 11:00 am at Saint Joseph Catholic Church.

On the first day of the Zwolle Tamale Fiesta, Thursday October 6th, there is Senior citizen’s day from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. At 4:00 pm, festival gates will open ($2 admission fee); kick-off supper, opening ceremony, and fiesta royalty presented beginning at 6:00 pm.

“I never imagined being King of the Tamale Fiesta,” said a surprised Ronnie Brandon. “When Suzette Anderson called and told me I had been named King by the Board of Directors, I was shocked.” “I am very honored,” he added. Brandon will be the 46th King to reign over the popular Zwolle Tamale Fiesta, which will be hosted on October 6-8. Large numbers of festival-goers flock to the small Sabine Parish town for a weekend of arts and crafts, contests, a parade, tamale-eating contest, music and so much more. Tamale Fiesta t-shirts, prints of the 2022 poster and plenty of hot tamales, prepared by some of the best cooks in the state, will be available for sale.

The Many Bass Club’s September Tournament of 2022 took place on the weekend of September 10 on Toledo Bend. The weather was moderate with lows finally in the upper sixties and highs in the eighties. Skies were cloudy on Saturday with light to moderate winds, and Sunday started with a foggy morning giving way to partly sunny conditions. The water temperatures were cooled down slightly to the lower eighties. As in August, the fishing continued to be tough for the Club’s anglers. Only three limits of five fish were weighed in by the thirteen-angler field, and there was only one limit that weighed in excess of ten pounds. Fish were caught on both shallow and deep patterns on various baits.

Gwen Garcie was born November 30, 1946, to the late Cleve and Theresa Kezerle Sepulvado. She is the oldest of seven children with four sisters and two brothers. Gwen attended Ebarb High School where she graduated as the Valedictorian of the class of 1964. After graduation, she furthered her education at CLTCC in the field of Business Office Administration. Gwen was employed at Sabine Medical Center for 42 years. She worked in Admissions, Billing, Medical Records and after 20 plus years as the Business Office Manager, she retired in 2012.

Justin Kossman, a natural resource conservation management senior at McNeese State University, received real- world experience this summer through an internship with the Louisiana Ecological Forestry (LEAF) Center at Hodges Gardens in Florien that will make him first choice for employers after graduation.

An Illinois native, Kossman medically retired from the U.S. Army at Fort Polk in 2021 due to combat injuries after serving almost 21 years in the military. He currently lives in Hornbeck and was looking for a new career path for his life. He discovered that at McNeese.

“I decided to pursue a degree in natural resource conservation management at McNeese because I have always had a passion for the outdoors and managing habitat. With my military retirement, I didn’t have to prioritize the financial aspects as much as I prioritized my interests,” he said. At the LEAF Center, Kossman has had a broad range of hands-on opportunities.

Nashville Recording Artists, Tim and Kim Couch will be in concert at Oak Hill Baptist, 135 Pastor’s Drive, in Many, Sunday, September 18, at 10:45 A.M. Tim has performed on The Grand Ole’ Opry several times, and, he and Kim travel the country singing and ministering. Come out for a morning of great Gospel music!

BOM is a sponsor of the Rotary Club of Many’s Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, November 19 at the pavilion in Cypress Bend Park. Pictured left to right: BOM’s Vice President & Lender Cole Ryder, Buddy Wood and BOM’s Sabine Parish Market President Daniel Bennett.

BOM Bank has received the bid to fund a two million dollar loan for the City of Natchitoches’ Train Depot Rehabilitation Project. The City of Natchitoches, Cane River National Heritage Area (CRNHA), Cane River Creole National Historical Park (CRNHP) and DSW Construction hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Depot Rehabilitation Project on Thursday, January 13, 2022. The Texas and Pacific Railway Depot was constructed in 1927 and closed its doors to passenger rail transportation in the 1960s, encapsulating its segregated entrances and waiting rooms. Today, the structure remains one of the last segregated train stations within Louisiana and has a deep connection to the City’s African American community. “For nearly four decades the community of Natchitoches has tried to preserve and rehabilitate the Depot into a museum that depicts the stories of African Americans in Natchitoches,” remarked Rebecca Blankenbaker, Executive Director of CRNHA.

As many of you know I continue to gather historical information on Peason and especially the old Peavy Wilson Mill plus the Christie and Eastern Railroad. Everett Leuck, a good friend and railroad and timber industry historian, notified me that the old rail line from Sandel to Peason has been scanned by lidar. You may have seen on many of the historical documentaries how things like the Mayan Cities, Cities of Phenom- pen, Roman roads and aqueducts, and other historical sites were found by lidar. Lidar is a type of radar that can “look” through the various types of terrain and can pick up items such as buildings, old roads, and in this case the old main rail line and many spur tracks and even siding areas. The Christie and Eastern Railroad was owned and operated by Peavy Wilson Lumber Company. Further investigation of this rail line will be conducted in the areas where the Christie and Eastern joined the Red River and Gulf Railroad that ran from Longleaf, La.