Listen To The Recorded Story By Mary Mhoon (Noble) Ball, ca., 1991. Recorded as part of a collection created for the first annual Pickin’ and Ginnin’ Festival, entitled “A Great Place to Call Home” (Originally compiled by Amelia Grace Jordan)
The history of Alto Cultural Club is intertwined with that of the picturesque and historical village it serves. One of northeast Louisiana’s first known pioneer communities. Alto is located near the center of Richland Parish and situated on the high east side of a beautiful curve in Boeuf River.
Back in August of 1991, many Richland Parish residents will remember the excitement and buzz about the first annual “Pickin’ and Ginnin’ Festival.” The festival always drew large crowds, but after a while, the work involved to pull off a successful festival became too great, and the festival eventually ended. Jennie Joe Siscoe, who often wrote several great historical columns for the Beacon, penned this history about growing cotton in Richland Parish.
On September 8, 2018, the community of Start, Louisiana will celebrate its centennial birthday. This date marks 100 years since Start was officially recognized as “our name.”
There is an old jingle that goes like this, “Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight, Make me a child again, just for tonight.” May we paraphrase this by saying, Backward, turn backward, O time, just for today, Give us a view of Providence Church along history’s highway.
