Giddy Up Concert, Art Show and Sunset

 An entertaining concert, art show and sunset greeted visitors to the Giddy Up coffee house in Folsom Friday night. Music concerts are a regular event for the establishment, and the art exhibit opening at the Far Horizons Art Gallery next door drew a number of artists and art enthusiasts as well. Here are some photographs.

 

 

 Click on the images to make them larger. 

 

 

The Giddy Up Coffee House

 

 

 

Art Gallery Exhibit

 

 

The Far Horizons Art Gallery

 

 

Several artists were on hand showing their handiwork 

 

 

Ben Bensen III created artwork as the event was ongoing

 

 

 

Inside the Giddy Up was jazz by Dr. Ben Redwine and Company

 

 

The outdoor music concert was paused at one point and the audience members were asked to stand up, turn around, and witness the glorious sunset that was taking place in the western sky. 

Also on the agenda that night was the unveiling of the long-awaited renovation of the old library building behind the Giddy Up. For more information on the visitors to the restoration of "Aunt Decie's Library," click on the link below. 

Old Folsom Library Building Celebrated

 

Old Folsom Library Building Celebrated

 More than a dozen longtime Folsom residents turned out Friday night to visit the unveiling of the newly-renovated old library building behind the Giddy Up Coffee Shop. They shared memories of "Aunt Decie" Pittman's Library and how it opened up the world of reading for so many young people. 

Here are several pictures of the get together, during which there were plenty of trips down memory lane, even to recalling the specific books they checked out on the weekly visits from the school children. 

Click on the images to make them larger. 

A large group turned out to visit the newly renovated building

 

 

Visitors packed inside to see the renovated interior, complete with the original bookshelves. 

 

 

 

 

Recalling memories of meeting with childhood friends at the library

 

 

Looking at a group library photo they were in back in the fourth grade 

 

 

The sign

 

 

Aunt Decie's great grandson Jay and grandson David Pittman

 

 

 

A pen and ink sketch of the original little library 

 

 

Left to right Gay Core Lazare, Sue Ellen Armitage Eyre, Karen Sharp Pearson, and Leatte McLain Sharp

 

They remembered walking to the old library from the Folsom Elementary School to look over the books and check out their favorites. For a while the little library was only open on Friday afternoons, then it began opening on Mondays also, and finally it was open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Jon G. Laiche was also on hand. A historian, he provided much historical information about the library in anticipation of getting it designated a historic landmark. He hopes to add more books to the shelves as plans are finalized for the little building.

 

"This library gave me my love for reading," one visitor said.  

According to David Pittman, the building was originally a mechanics shop and storage for Clyde Pittman's business. Folsom had been served by a bookmobile for years before the Aunt Decie's Library came along in the early 1950's. "Kids from Folsom Consolidated School's third grade would walk to the library, get their books, and read them on the benches outside. They would only let five kids in at a time. That was a big thing on Friday to walk to the library," he said.

The building that housed Aunt Decie's library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 29, 2022. 

 

 See also:

First Folsom Library Building Renovated

Old Folsom Library Updated  

Giddy Up Concert, Art Show and Sunset

The History of Folsom 

J.C. Pittman Memorial Fire Station Dedicated 

Folsom Village Officials Group Portraits

 

 In one of the above photographs is a framed copy of my 1995 cartoon map of Folsom hanging on the wall in the background. Here is a close up of that map.

Restaurant Map From The Files

 I found this "restaurant map" in my files, with no date on it but the names of the restaurants may hint at what year. The restaurants included Seafood Galley, Magnolia Grill, Louisiana Star, Little Bohemian, South China, Gallagher's (on U.S. 190), Crazy Johnnie's, Friends and Morton's. Now I'm hungry just for looking at names on the map.

 

Click on the image above to make it larger. 

I must have drawn the map for a special ad in a local newspaper since the names of the restaurants were "typeset" on a computerized typesetting machine.

Maritime Museum Readies for the Holidays

 The holiday lights are going up at the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum in Madisonville as the facility ramps up holiday celebrations with dozens of decorated trees, boats, and .... alligators?

Volunteers were out Thursday setting up the Christmas trees, and participating businesses, individuals and groups came and decked out each tree with its own unique array of ornaments.

Even a couple of sailboats were parked out front with lights strung from the masts. So the celebration of holiday lights will be well represented down at the museum and research center, along with its boat-building activities throughout the year. 

Click on the images to make them larger.

  

Even the sailboats are being decorated with holiday lights 

 

 The rows of community-decorated trees 

 

 

And, of course, the town rooster is represented. In fact, he may be seen hopping around town from yard to yard (since he's available for nightly rentals)

 

 

The boats all decked out in lights (literally)

 

 

Alligators with Santa hats

 

 

 

The unique baby cradle built to look like a boat

 

 

See also:

Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum 

Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage Restored 

Maritime Museum Unveils New Jahncke Shipyard Model 

New Water System Pumps Installed

 Nearly 100 years ago, improvements continued to be made on Covington's new water supply system, decreasing the city resident's reliance on their own individual artesian wells. Here's an article from December 16, 1922, describing the installation of a new Fairbanks-Morse engine at the St. Tammany Ice and Manufacturing Plant, the engine that would power the pumps to draw the water out of the ground and distribute it throughout the city's expanding system.

 

 

The engine weighed 30 tons and presented quite a challenge to move onto its new six foot thick concrete pad.

 

Text from the above St. Tammany Farmer article:

 

WORK ON SEWERS AND WATERWORKS BEGUN

Work has started on the water-works and sewers of Covington. Mr. Bagley has his men at work. Contracts for building material and hauling have been made and the big Fairbanks-Morse engine is now being put on its foundation at the St. Tammany Ice & Manufacturing Company. 

This engine is put up in a solid mass weighing sixty thousand pounds and had to be moved in its entirety and was a job of no small proportions. It is now lying beside its foundation of solid concrete sunk six feet in the ground and standing two feet above ground. It will be resting on its foundation today.

This is the engine that generates  the power for operating the pumps, that will serve the water supply and that will give us a water supply in case of fire one thousand gallons a minute at a pressure of 150 pounds. It will also furnish the power for the 200,000 gallons of water daily for household purposes.

Manager Farris, Traffic Agent McMahon and Supt. Gould of the N. 0. G. N. were in Covington Thursday and made arrangements that removed all difficulties in the way of using the land originally selected for the power house. 

 

Next summer visitors to Covington will be greeted with great improvements in the facilities of the town and property holders will sleep with less dread of fire.
 

 End of article

The St. Tammany Ice and Manufacturing Plant not only provided Covington with ice, which was needed on a regular basis, but it also provided the town with electricity and now, in 1922, with its water supply.  The largest flowing well in the state of Louisiana (at the time) had been drilled and was providing 400 gallons per minute. 

 

 The new water supply system also meant better water resources for fighting house fires in the town, a feature that prompted even more homeowners to want the waterlines extended and fire hydrants installed as close as possible to their houses. 

 

See also: 

St. Tammany Ice & Manufacturing Company 

Wells 

Louisiana Public Utilties Expands Across Louisiana