Originally published in The News-Star newspaper, April 9, 2006

The significance of student publications to the history of a college is exemplified by how well the PowWow has chronicled the daily life on our campus. Its first issue was published Dec. 15, 1931, just a month and a half after Ouachita Parish Junior College opened. The school yearbook took longer to publish, but came right along and was published in 1933.

The yearbook was named "Chacahoula" which is a Choctaw term meaning "beloved home" or alternately "beloved cypresses," and its first volume was, like the PowWow, filled with information about the college. Also like the PowWow, how it got its name remains a mystery.

Like most college yearbooks, the Chacahoula had a dedication page, and over the years the dedications were, like all excellent dedications, given to the most important parts of the college. In its first six years the Chacahoula was dedicated to T.O. Brown, the citizens and taxpayers of Ouachita Parish, James A. Noe, C.C. Colvert (twice), and in 1937 to Mrs. Benton Holt.

Most people are familiar with T.O. Brown, our founder; the citizens and taxpayers of Ouachita Parish who paid for the college; James A. Noe, who helped save the college by moving it into the LSU system; and, of course, C.C. Colvert. Who then was Mrs. Holt? We know that her first name was Thyra and that she worked here from 1936 until the mid-1940s.

On Sept. 25, 1936, the PowWow announced, "Cafeteria under New Management," and wrote that Mrs. Benton Holt was replacing Mrs. Harold Mouk, who had managed the cafeteria for the previous five years. The article went on to say that she had been a resident of Monroe for the previous 16 years and would make a charming addition to the college. Her plans were to serve good wholesome food and ice cream during hot weather.

On May 28, 1937, the PowWow reported that the Chacahoula would be dedicated to Mrs. Holt, and that "the announcement had met with much approval from both student body and faculty, all of whom have considered her one of the staunchest and most loyal supporters of the college."

Thus, if you look at the beginning pages of the 1937 Chacahoula, you will see a lovely photograph of her and the dedication, "To Mrs. Benton Holt, whose quiet, tender consideration and thoughtful, motherly guidance have won the love and respect of every student on the Northeast Center campus; whose thoughts are always of us and for us; who makes our school a happier, more pleasant place in which to work and live..."

One wonders about everything that this lovely lady did to immediately capture the hearts and respect of the student body and faculty, but simply the words of the Chacahoula dedication alone serve well as another guidepost for us as we continue to learn about and honor the lessons of those early days.

Have a great day at ULM!

Dr. John Knesel, ULM Professor