POWs speak at the first 2011 “Night For The Museum”

POWs speak at the first 2011 “Night For The Museum”
The Dorcheat Historical Association Museum will hold its first “Night for the Museum” for the 2011 series of speakers on February 21st, 2011 . Cora Lou Robinson is the chairwoman in charge of finding speakers this year. Cora Lou has an exciting lineup planned for the five guest speakers for 2011. This year admission will be free to these popular events with donations accepted and of course the popular potluck desserts and snacks welcomed.

The first event will highlight the early life of Bill Barkas and Dr. Mattie Jacks Mosley, both of whom are POW survivors from WWII in Manila . Barkas moved to Minden in 1967 and has a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana Tech in Agricultural Engineering. He was born in the Philippines to an Australian father and Filipino mother. Bill became a US citizen on April 29th, 1965. Married to wife Edie, the couple has three children (Jessica, Bill Jr., Hanna) and 10 living grandchildren. Bill and Edie will be celebrating 54 years of marriage in March of this year. The couple is a member of the First United Methodist Church of Minden.

Dr. Mattie Jacks Mosley is a first cousin to Barkas. Dr. Mosley, Emeritus Professor of Library Science, LSU Shreveport retired from there in 1998. She has a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana Tech in English, a masters in library science from LSU-Baton Rouge; and a Ph.D. in library and information science from the University of North Texas in Denton . Mattie was born in the Philippines. Her mother was Australian, and her father was American. She is married to Thomas Mosley and has two sons, Thomas Jr. and Chris, and three grandchildren. She has written articles for various professional journals and served as consulting editor for the Salem Press. She has served as president of the Louisiana Association of School Librarians and in various capacities for the American Library Association. She was the recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Performance Award on two occasions while at LSU-S. Since retiring, she enjoys traveling the world and the United States. The Mosleys are active members of St. James Episcopal Church in Shreveport. Mattie also is a volunteer at Live Oak Retirement Center.

This should be a very moving and educational night for Minden citizens as we travel back in time to the years 1942-1945 in war torn Manila. “You don’t want to miss this history filled evening of a first hand account of struggle and survival by two POWs.” Events are held at Christopher’s, 615 Main St. in downtown Minden, La. Doors open at 5:30 with refreshments served at 6:00 p.m., free admission, first-come, first-served seating. Guests are welcome to bring their favorite appetizer or dessert. Drinks are provided. For more information contact Schelley Brown at 318-423-0192. Or visit the web site at http://www.museuminminden.blogspot.com/

Let's Make History In 2011

Let’s Make History In 2011
The Dorcheat Historical Association Museum located at 116 Pearl Street is looking forward to the New Year and especially the lineup for the popular “Nights for the Museum” which will kick off in February. These history filled Monday nights have become the thing to do in Minden since they began in March of 2008. Christopher’s has hosted 25 speakers so far with an average attendance of 125 history lovers. “The museum board members are thrilled with our success and the attendance to the events. We never dreamed when we started that people would look forward to these evenings as much as they do. So much history was being lost in Minden every year as our older generation passed away. Now we have preserved so many wonderful stories and this year will be no different” stated Schelley Brown.
Brown commented, “Cora Lou Robinson is the speaker chairwoman this year and she has a wonderful lineup planned. These events are free of charge with donations accepted this year. As in the past potluck appetizers and desserts are welcome.”
The museum board is making plans for the parish schools. This year we want to encourage teachers to bring classes to the museum to learn a little more about the area where they live. Last year we had over 300 children come through for our Summer Pioneer program. This year we will expand that program for the summer offering free summer admission again. Teachers and groups are urged to call Schelley Brown at 377-3002 to make tour arrangements.
The new state of the art Theater system is also a new feature that was installed this year. This gives the museum the opportunity to host meetings and parties for outside organizations and it is available to book for parties and reunions. This system is similar to what the Minden Civic Center offers on a little smaller scale and is a great asset for our city. This room is perfect to show DVDs, PowerPoint presentations or slide shows. The Media/Learning Center also houses the work in progress LAAP exhibit and the military exhibit that should be completed this year. This exhibit highlights WWI to current conflicts and also honors the men and women killed in action from Webster Parish. Working on this exhibit, the museum has learned of a Webster Parish man that was killed on the Battleship Arizona at Pearl Harbor. Donations have been steady to put this exhibit together and Larry Milford, Richard Campbell and Terry Snook are working to make this a proper tribute to our soldiers.
New exhibits are in the works and new ideas are on the board for local artist Larry Milford to use his magic in creating a first class museum. “Every first time visitor we have is amazed at the quality of the museu. It’s always a “WOW” when they walk in the door! We have had visitors from other countries this year that have been so impressed at what we are doing here in Minden, La. It makes you so proud of your community.” said Ms. Brown.
If you would like to tour the museum, the hours of operation are Tuesday-Friday 10a.m.-4.p.m. (closed from 1-2 for lunch) Saturday 10a.m.-noon. Large tours are conducted Tuesday-Friday and by appointment on Saturdays. For more information visit the museum at 116 Pearl Street or call Schelley Brown at 377-3002. Visit the website at www.museuminminden.blogspot.com or join the museum on Facebook to keep up with the latest news.

KTBS Coverage of The Hunter Family

http://www.ktbs.com/video/26478210/index.html This is a great story about Minden and the Hunter Family of Minden