Always time for nostalgia

 

     Let's start with this: People love nostalgia.

     I am one of those people, although I'd like to think that I very much am a "today" person. The great majority of my blogs have been nostalgic pieces.

      There are a couple of reasons why I send out (by e-mail or posts on Facebook) many photos and/or clippings from the past: 

      (1) People like them, and will react to them;

      (2) I either "share" many that are posted on my Facebook feed or that I find in researching newspaper files.

      Speaking of research, this blog has been dormant for three months, and here's why: Much of my time since mid-June has been spent working on my latest "project," which -- I hope -- will turn into a book or booklet.

      The subject matter -- Louisiana high school outdoor track and field records/results/history -- is going to interest only a certain segment. Picking up from 2004, when Jerry Byrd Sr. (Shreveport) did a book on it, and updating those records (2005-2020) plus going back in time to fill in many missing names has taken hours and hours.

      So not much time for blogging. In fact, I am interrupting the designing of pages, working (struggling) with Word and Publisher programs, to write this blog and another one that is a continuation/addition to my Dad's story (and related to the Holocaust).

      To be honest, I also have not felt much like writing about today's sports world (baseball, NFL, college football, NBA, NHL, college football, college basketball, golf). Figure there are enough opinions out there to satisfy readers' needs; you don't need or want my opinion. (And, surprise, I do have a lot of opinions.)

      You sure as heck don't want or need my opinions on politics and social issues; more than enough of that out there ... every day, every hour, every minute.

      Sorry, fed up with all of it. From all sides, incidentally.

      Tried that once a couple of months ago, with an out-of-character political opinion that, through e-mail and Facebook, was met with more than several critical "please don't do that again" messages.

      So there. Keep your opinions to yourself. Just go vote.

      OK, back to nostalgia. I can post stuff -- stories/columns, photos, etc. -- from today's world, mostly sports but also on a variety of things, such recent posts on eating fried catfish and doing a Trinity River trash pickup. Reaction to most of those is good but not resounding. 

      Well, there is one element that is gratifying. Get the most response if I post old or new Van Thyn family photos or photos of the four spectacular grandchildren.

       But what I find gets the most reaction is photos from the Shreveport high school sports heroes of the 1950s and 1960s and some into the 1970s. My Facebook and e-mail friends really do love those.

       Most of them are aimed at Louisiana readers, and many are -- of course -- Woodlawn related. But we try to mix in some Byrd, Fair Park, Bossier, Jesuit and others.

       One popular recent post: photos of four of Louisiana's best 1950s high school athletes: Billy Cannon, Bo Campbell, Charles "Cotton" Nash and Jerry Dyes.       

     This week we posted another Bo Campbell photo, taking the baton from Byrd High teammate Pat Studstill for the last leg of a 1957 mile relay. Both went from there to football stardom in college and, for Studstill, a 12-year NFL stay as a punter and wide receiver. For Campbell, a very successful business career, primarily in banking in Shreveport.

       People liked seeing this photo.

       I'm frequently asked where I find these clippings. Easy answer: newspapers.com. Having access to many Louisiana paper files (other cities/states, too) is a big plus for research, and what's helped even more recently is having temporary access to the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate and New Orleans Times-Picayne files (thanks to the East Baton Rouge Parish library).

       So while I'm researching track and field, I happen to come across some clippings and photos I think people might enjoy seeing again.

       (For much of two years, as I researched Shreveport and Northwest Louisiana pro baseball, I would post stories and photos tying into those teams and players. That material went into a book form -- That's The Old Ballgame Shreveport -- that is available online.) 

       But it is the Woodlawn posts, because so many of my old friends are from 1960s school days, that prove most popular.

        Two examples:

     -- On August 30 (again found while looking for track stuff), I came across the clippings of Terry Bradshaw and Tommy Spinks -- our great QB/receiver team signing their scholarships to Louisiana Tech, with Coach Lee Hedges (one of our all-time favorites) in both photos.

      -- On July 1, we posted a photo of Bradshaw with Coach A.L. Williams (another all-time favorite) in a posed shot on the Woodlawn track during the national-record javelin throw spring of 1966 for Terry. That photo keeps repeating on my Facebook news feed because it is so popular.

      Who knows what I'll find next. But if the Facebook and e-mail friends keep liking them, I'll keep trying ... if you don't mind.