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Oak Grove, Louisiana, United States of America My family (Mama, sister, and I) lived in the Oak Grove area from the time my mother got her BA in Education from Northeast Louisiana University (NLU), now University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM), and took a teaching position at Oak Grove Elementary School, until she took a new job at Carolyn Park in Slidell, Louisiana, in 1996. I went away to college, also at NLU, in 1979. Many of the tales come from here. Others are from everywhere. Altogether, Oak Grove was a pretty good place to grow up. Most folks were decent enough, and the town was small enough that everyone usually knew the ones that weren't. There was not too much trouble that was easy to get into. The closest to real trouble I ever came was when we built a camp fire on a metal plate in an abandoned building...on top of the wood floor. Ah, well. After someone crawled under the building with a hose and put the fire out, things were a bit 'tense" for a while. We were very lucky. I am told it was sometimes called "Pin-Hook", in the old days. The story goes that during the Civil War, a group of Union soldiers came into the store (the only store) and asked what stock the storekeeper had. The unhappy fellow assured them that he had "pins and hooks, just pins and hooks." I've always wondered how much trouble Oak Grove had getting rid of that name. Oak Grove is at the intersection of LA highways 2 and 17. It is the Parish seat of West Carroll Parish. This means that it is the seat of government for the Parish. The school board, Sheriff's office, and courthouse are located in Oak Grove. This has a significant financial impact: jobs are fine things to have. A Parish is the Louisiana equivalent of a County, in most states. West Carroll is near the northeast corner of the state. At one time, a railroad ran along highway 17. Its loss during the 1970's hurt local industry rather seriously. By far, the most important industry in the area is farming, and businesses to support it. The turkey on the water tower. Picking Tomatoes. Delivering Furniture. J. C. Collins. Complaining about cold showers. Eating Popcorn in the tree house. |
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