For the February 29, 1968 issue of The Bossier Press, Cora Seward wrote the following article:
“Amid the moaning sound of the bare limbs whipped by the wintry winds, the tireless hammering and the buzzing saw of the volunteers…if a person listens very closely and waits until a shadow crosses the sun…you can hear the whispered voices of Bossiers’ minutemen, the Robin Grays, as they planned the move toward a declaration of war and succession [sic] from the Union.”
“The voices become more audible as your enthusiasm for the legendary pass increases…Loudon Butler’s argument for a state of war rings clearly as the Bossier Parish Citizens finishing statement ‘we’re free men dissolved from the ties of the union’ creates a moment of controversey [sic].”
“Listen…Now to the defense of the Union, the argumentative voice of Bossier’s Congressman, Representative John Milton Sandidge, urges ‘the South must keep its representation in Washington.’ In further debate you hear, ‘Return home…postpone your actions until you are in a calmer frame of mind.’ ”
“Someone says ‘We need some help here on this hoist’ as the workmen are truing the old framework and then you realize the words you heard were spoken over a hundred years ago…here you are in another era watching Historical volunteers recapturing the past in an attempt to share with the present generation, and the ones to follow, a small part of our heritage.”
“A movement to restore one of this parish’s oldest communities, as it was before the War Between the States, was conceived in the dentist chair of Dr. Webb Hunter Martin in Shreveport as he administered a patient of his, Lettie Van Landingham. Dr. Martin, a descendent from one of the oldest families in that area and a student of the ‘Old South’ had long hoped to make Rocky Mount a tourist attraction. With only two hired Negro carpenters, the Bossier Restoration Foundation members are slowly but surely restoring the old Jim Hughes home, where the succession [sic] meet was held, to its original beauty. The finished project will be called the Northwest Louisiana Museum.”
“As I arrived on the scene on Saturday the workmen were so involved with their job that they were unaware that they were being photographed and watched. After a close look at the front of the structure I started toward the back of the grounds and met the three lady workers for the day: Mrs. Abb Knighton, secretary for the foundation, Mrs. Edna Gresham of Benton and Miss Lettie Van Landingham. They were surveying the progress being made by the group. Miss Van had prepared a hearty lunch for the workers consisting of chicken and dressing, string beans, sweet potatoes, cold slaw and mugs of steaming hot coffee. I was an invited guest to the meal and then I had a conducted tour of the old place.”
Ann Middleton is Director of the Bossier Parish Library Historical Center. She can be reached at (318) 746-7717 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
