Small Town Christmas
Saturday December 10, 2005
The day starts with paperwork. Although efforts have been made to keep it to a minimum, it is still burdensome. We have to fill out a tracking form for our Technical Assistance Coordinator that shows how many hours we worked each day and the expenses incurred, whether we have paid the bill yet for the car, hotel, etc., or not. This report covers the period from Saturday through Friday. I have to fill out a time sheet for our employer, fortunately for me they have a system where I can enter in my hours on line. Their pay periods run from Sunday through Saturday although the on line form shows Monday through Sunday. This all wouldn't matter much except that all these hours need to match. Some of the folks here work for companies that pay weekly, some bi-weekly and some monthly. Mine is bi-weekly so every two weeks I have to submit an expense report with receipts. Fortunately my contractor allows us to fax our receipts. Some require their people to FedEx their receipts. Sometimes weekly -- and the nearest FedEx office to my location is a 45 minute drive. All in all I have it easy.
With the paperwork done I set out to explore the Parish. As I am leaving, I chat with Willie Mae, the friendly round woman who cleans my room most days. She is trying to get done quickly, her young son is excited about going to the Christmas parade at 2:00. This seems to be the day for such things. The larger towns are all having their parades and some times other activities this afternoon.
I head north to Oakdale, first settled in 1860. The main street is blocked of for what like a Christmas fair of sorts. I eat at the Pizza hut across the way and don't venture into the crowd, it looks like most of the town is strolling down the closed streets.
I drive northwest through the northern part of the wildlife preserve to the town of Elizabeth, established in 1907. I circle around and find the public utilities building, but I am not sure I whether I found the downtown or not. I am told that Elizabeth was founded by New Englanders and is known for the houses with gable roofs and boasts of itself as a front porches. I missed that, all I saw were ranch houses and trailers.
Now I am traveling southwest towards Grant -- another town that seems to consist of only a post office (in a trailer) and a school. This is a rural town established in 1894 relies on farming, logging and some newer oil wells. All over the Parish I have seen signs directing people to a Christmas Tree farm in grant. I follow the signs down back roads and come to a place reminiscent to Smolack Farms back home, although not as crowded with people. The have goats including on inspecting everyone from a perch up on a tower. There are also a couple of donkeys. These are used to power an antique sugar cane press and children get to ride as the donkey pulls the end of the long poll around the press. People go on hayrides, pick out and cut their trees, sip hot cider or cocoa, load up their tress and head for home. I head south for Mittie.
Mittie seems to be just another trailer post office by the side of the road. It is a popular place for canoeing, boating and fishing with two good size rivers close by. An interesting feature of these rivers is the white sandy beaches along the riverbanks.
I try to take some back roads down to US 190 just west of Kinder. I drive along some desolate back roads. Areas that have been clear cut and the debris left burned. Here and there are groups or trailers and sometimes a house. I get turned around and end up back in Oberlin and so head south to Kinder and then west.
There are two towns west of Kinder I want to take a look at before dark. LeBlanc was established in the 1800s. It is the starting point for hunting and fishing trips and the main industries are silica sand mining and forestry. It is also so small that I passed through it with out noticing.
The last town to the west is Reeves. Another small village centered around its school, a few churches and a general store.
At this point the sun is setting and the various Christmas activities are done. As planned I am near the southwestern edge of the Parish, north of Lake Charles. It is a good size city, home to a couple of small colleges, restaurants, stores and a Bank of America bank machine. I head south for money and a change of pace in the food department.
The day starts with paperwork. Although efforts have been made to keep it to a minimum, it is still burdensome. We have to fill out a tracking form for our Technical Assistance Coordinator that shows how many hours we worked each day and the expenses incurred, whether we have paid the bill yet for the car, hotel, etc., or not. This report covers the period from Saturday through Friday. I have to fill out a time sheet for our employer, fortunately for me they have a system where I can enter in my hours on line. Their pay periods run from Sunday through Saturday although the on line form shows Monday through Sunday. This all wouldn't matter much except that all these hours need to match. Some of the folks here work for companies that pay weekly, some bi-weekly and some monthly. Mine is bi-weekly so every two weeks I have to submit an expense report with receipts. Fortunately my contractor allows us to fax our receipts. Some require their people to FedEx their receipts. Sometimes weekly -- and the nearest FedEx office to my location is a 45 minute drive. All in all I have it easy.
With the paperwork done I set out to explore the Parish. As I am leaving, I chat with Willie Mae, the friendly round woman who cleans my room most days. She is trying to get done quickly, her young son is excited about going to the Christmas parade at 2:00. This seems to be the day for such things. The larger towns are all having their parades and some times other activities this afternoon.
I head north to Oakdale, first settled in 1860. The main street is blocked of for what like a Christmas fair of sorts. I eat at the Pizza hut across the way and don't venture into the crowd, it looks like most of the town is strolling down the closed streets.
I drive northwest through the northern part of the wildlife preserve to the town of Elizabeth, established in 1907. I circle around and find the public utilities building, but I am not sure I whether I found the downtown or not. I am told that Elizabeth was founded by New Englanders and is known for the houses with gable roofs and boasts of itself as a front porches. I missed that, all I saw were ranch houses and trailers.
Now I am traveling southwest towards Grant -- another town that seems to consist of only a post office (in a trailer) and a school. This is a rural town established in 1894 relies on farming, logging and some newer oil wells. All over the Parish I have seen signs directing people to a Christmas Tree farm in grant. I follow the signs down back roads and come to a place reminiscent to Smolack Farms back home, although not as crowded with people. The have goats including on inspecting everyone from a perch up on a tower. There are also a couple of donkeys. These are used to power an antique sugar cane press and children get to ride as the donkey pulls the end of the long poll around the press. People go on hayrides, pick out and cut their trees, sip hot cider or cocoa, load up their tress and head for home. I head south for Mittie.
Mittie seems to be just another trailer post office by the side of the road. It is a popular place for canoeing, boating and fishing with two good size rivers close by. An interesting feature of these rivers is the white sandy beaches along the riverbanks.
I try to take some back roads down to US 190 just west of Kinder. I drive along some desolate back roads. Areas that have been clear cut and the debris left burned. Here and there are groups or trailers and sometimes a house. I get turned around and end up back in Oberlin and so head south to Kinder and then west.
There are two towns west of Kinder I want to take a look at before dark. LeBlanc was established in the 1800s. It is the starting point for hunting and fishing trips and the main industries are silica sand mining and forestry. It is also so small that I passed through it with out noticing.
The last town to the west is Reeves. Another small village centered around its school, a few churches and a general store.
At this point the sun is setting and the various Christmas activities are done. As planned I am near the southwestern edge of the Parish, north of Lake Charles. It is a good size city, home to a couple of small colleges, restaurants, stores and a Bank of America bank machine. I head south for money and a change of pace in the food department.
posted by J Corlss at 6:47 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home