Stones of Poynton Manor – Thomas Stone

When we think of the men who gathered that hot July day in 1776 to put their signature on the foundational document of the Declaration of Independence, many notable men come to mind. But each of the fifty-six men who signed were equally putting their lives on the line, whether they were notable or not….

The Stones of Poynton Manor – Governor William Stone

The Stones of Poynton Manor in Port Tobacco, Maryland, like their name are much like building stones that became part of the foundation and structure of America from its early colonization to its expansion in the west. Poynton Manor, located on the shore of the Potomac River in Maryland, is the ancestral home and birthplace…

The Four-Sided Pentagon

  One of the first questions asked by any visitor to the Pentagon Barracks in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is, “Where is the fifth building?” There is a space for it, but there are only four, hefty-columned brick buildings in a pentagon arrangement with the fifth side open to the river.   This architectural anomaly, originally…

The Guice Box

I have been in possession of the Guice Box for several years now. It is a well-built, sturdy, varnished box emblazoned with the Guice family crest on top and trimmed out with brass handles and latch. I came to acquire it in a roundabout way. In 2008 my mother and I traveled with other members…

Life on Byron Street: Christmastime – 1960’s Style

Santa and me at D.H.Holmes in Delmont Village in 1967 Every Christmas season our little noses were pressed against the store windows of Delmont Village Shopping Center which was located just a couple of blocks from Byron Street.  We closely inspected every detail of the colorful, animated window displays. The mechanical elves slowly repeated their…

Life on Byron Street: Grandma’s House

We didn’t have to go over the river and through the woods to get to my Grandma’s house, because she lived right down the street from us.  That meant that I spent lots of time in that little red-brick house. I spent much of my time in her kitchen “helping” her cook.  As a former…

Life on Byron Street: The Fruit Stand

Right across a gravel drive from my father’s hardware and garden store on Plank Road between Byron and Evangeline streets sat Tony’s Fruit Stand.  This was very convenient for a kid like me.  I used to walk over there and plop my dime down on their counter and ask for “10 cents worth of grapes.” …

Life on Byron Street

Life was good on Byron Street.  My father could walk to work every morning from our house to his store located on the corner at Plank Road. My grandmother lived down the street behind my Pa-pa’s store, which was connected to my father’s store.  The local fruit stand was next to them. I could walk…

“The Choo-Choo Train House” (1911-2005)

The Choo-choo Train House 1980s Box fans, window fan, ceiling fan, tuna-fish sandwiches, train horns, sand, donuts in the morning, the beach, seining, hot summer days, cold-water showers, afternoon naps, no TV, no telephone, sand, stacks of Reader’s Digest books, dart board, cards, sand, late-evening thunderstorms, crabbing, fishing, and oh, I almost forgot to mention…sand….

“House Calls, Hogs, and Heartbreak” – Life and Times of a Country Doctor (Episode 3)

The following entries from the  Alanson Wood Moore Diary  and Dr. Cicero Guice’s ledger contain facts and figures of my great-grandfather’s life as a doctor in the rural north Louisiana community of Winnsboro at the turn of the century.  As you will see, a country doctor’s life was physically and emotionally demanding, and often his…