Edna Liggin
The Bernice News-Journal
With the vast panorama of Civil War literature spread out before us, including books on the different leaders and battles, the generals, it is refreshing to fine one written from a new viewpoint such as “Brokenburn”, the diary of Kate Stone Holmes. A sensitive, educated girl, living on the family plantation of that name near Tallulah, she records what happens to her and her family during the four years of war and of their flight by boat over high water to Monroe, and on to Lamar County, Texas. The book is a fascinating picture of many sides of life in that period, mentioning names of many early settlers of that area, and towns as Bastrop, Monroe, Vienna, Homer and Shreveport.
School will soon be out and the common question anxiously asked at all the schools, is “Where will the bookmobile stop this summer?” One lad informed us we did not stop at enough places last summer. If we missed a reader any where, we didn’t intend to. Summer reading can be fun and will help mother solve the problem voiced by their youngsters as the newness of vacation wears off — “What do I know?”
It is gratify to note reading interest in science books has not decreased since the science fairs are are over, but has really given the children a more definite direction to which to direct his scientific reading.
We have had two interesting and gratifying comments from two high school librarians: For the avid reading student librarians: For the avid reading student the bookmobile gives hem so much more choice of reading material that the school library supplies, and two the observing librarian is guided from what the student reads on the bookmobile as to what books to purchase for the school libraries.
George Cicala of Linville invariably has a new funny story to tell on the bookmobile with usually a small contemporary feminine audience. Another Red Skelton in the making! We have a book, “More Stories and Speeches for Every Occasion” by Edgerton.
A church at Spencer is studying the Book of Acts and we checked out to a member “In the Steps of St. Paul” by Morton.
One member of the cooking team at Spearsville (they serve very delicious lunches) is intrigued by travel books with this interest being accented now by the imminent arrival of a new daughter-in-law from Hawaii. She and her family are enthusiasts of travel adventure books.
The need for last minute book reports at Linville last week motivated several high school students to read more books, or at least review ones they had read earlier. It is interesting to note future careers being shaped as boys from high schools, especially at Linville, Marion and Bernice, request special books on the armed forces and its many branches of which B. M. Colby has written a widely ranged series. Other books we have that they read are Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis: Old Soggy No. 1, Runway to the Sun, The Winged World and then there is the new best-seller, Battle Hymn.
Other unusual request are “Fear Strikes Out” by Jim Peirsall; “Kon Tiki” by Heydedahl; “Animals and other People” by George Herrell; Mechanical by engineering, “People in Quandaries” by Johnson.
Edna Matthews Liggin will always be remembered as the official historian of Union Parish and the Book Mobile Lady. She began writing the Uncle Lige column in The Gazette in 1939. Over the years she wrote many articles about the Union Parish history, the people there and her bottle collection. In her retired years she enjoyed visiting the older people in the Union Parish community.
Shiloh to Canaan 