The Natchitoches Car Show—- was it not something?
Over 360 cars were displayed. Participants came in for two days… last Friday and Saturday…to kick tires, drink beer and spend money. They filled the motels and bed-and-breakfasts, restaurants and walked Front Street for two days. It was probably the first time the city’s new hotel, Hotel St. Denis, was filled to capacity. The weather was great and all had a great time. Everyone left knowing the show was a complete success and looking forward to next year. The popularity of the Natchitoches Car Show is spreading through the South and it should be an even bigger event next year.
The Oct. 14 weekend’s event will fill the motels, restaurants and Front Street again with two great events, the Fall Pilgrimage and “Wings over Natchitoches.” Those folks interested in the homes of yesteryear can tour the antebellum homes and plantations of the city and down Cane River remembering what “it used to be like” Friday through Sunday. They can add a little excitement to their lives by attending the air show Saturday at Natchitoches Regional Airport. To JT, the annual pilgrimage of Natchitoches’ history is becoming more and more important, particularly with the i-Phone driven millennium crowd trying to write their own history.
These two weekends will have been great for the Parish.
JT just heard about U.S. Federal Judge Dee Drell granting a motion for declaration of unitary status for the local school system. This brings up all kinds of emotions for JT. He’s glad to see it gone and for the school district to have the opportunity to move forward. He’s still angry it was enacted in the first place.
He was of the generation that was affected by the desegregation order of 1981. He went to the same school since kindergarten, then as a freshman attending high school at the same location, learned it would not be an option for his sophomore year. The school would be an elementary only. Some schools combined, some became elementary, jr. high or high school only.
The k-12 school was almost obliterated. The desegregation order disrupted numerous lives, and the lifting of the order will most likely do the same. Bussing has always been an issue and with the lifting of the order, the issue is back on the forefront. JT only hopes the lifting of the order allows the board and superintendent the freedom to make the best decisions for the system, without the order hovering over their shoulders like an ominous cloud. Teachers should be hired, fired or kept based on their qualifications and performance. Period. Students should receive the best education available with the best teachers guiding them. Period.
