Newspaper, Ouachita Parish-Memories by George Riser

as printed in Monroe News Star October 21, 1998

from an interview by Keith Prince



Submitted by Dot Golliher





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Mr. George Riser, 91, offers wealth of history and memories





Mr. George celebrated his 91st birthday in May of 1998.

He and his wife Roy married 63 years ago in 1935 and 

each had 40 year careers with the local school system.



Mr. George still drives, does the family grocery shopping 

and always has time for a warm greeting and some uplifting 

conversation



The head football coach at Ouachita High School in the

mid-40s he was later an assistant principal at three 

schools, including Lee Junior High, where he spent the

last 12 years of his career. He was a high school and

college referee for more than 20 years.



Mrs. Riser taught elementary school for 40 years. They

both retired more than 25 years ago, but George has

remained active in community affairs.



He Has been a member of the parish jury commission for 

the past 15 years, was regularly on committees at First 

Methodist Church and was on the city recreation board 

when most of the city recreation gyms were built.

He also took a part time job four years ago, delivering 

home meals to the sick and elderly.



Here are items that Mr. George reflected on in his interview:



HIGH SCHOOL: "Back when I was in high school at Ruston in the

1920s there were no school buses. In fact I rode my horse

Alice, to school. There would always be a few horses tied 

up outside our school."



ATHLETICS:"I can still remember when we went to play a 

baseball game at Winnsboro. We got on a train in Ruston, 

changed to another in Rayville and then went on to Winnsboro. 

After the game we spent the night with people there and came 

home on another train the next day."

I also remember my first shoulder pads in football. I swiped 

one of our pillows at home, cut a hole through the middle of

it and slipped it over my head. As I recall it didn't help

much."

"All of our athletic games were played in the daytime. There

were no lighted fields. And basketball was played outside on 

dirt courts because there were no gyms." 



FIRST CAR: "I paid $65 for my first car and drove it for four 

years while I was in college. Did you know there was no such 

thing as a driver's license in Louisiana until the 1940s."



LONGEST FAMILY TRIP: "The longest was when we went to Jonesboro 

for a family get-together. We went in our wagon. It took all day. 

We spent the night and I came back on my horse."



TRANSPORTATION:"I guess some of the biggest changes in my 

lifetime have come from the way we travel." "Did you know

that back in the 1920s and 1930s there were streetcars in 

Monroe? They were housed at the mechanical shop in Forsythe 

Park, where the golf course is. The track from there went 

down by the river to DeSiard Street."



FLOODS: "I remember two major floods in Monroe. The first

was in 1927 and the next in 1932. It was soon after the 

second flood that the levee was built on the Ouachita River."



RESIDENCE: "When we built our house on Forsythe in 1951,

there was only two or three other houses on our side of 

the street. We had crop dusting planes flying over our house

almost daily. spraying the crops behind us."

"Eighteenth Street was nothing but a trail and Louisville Avenue

didn't go beyond Sixth Street."



A LASTING MEMORY: "I always loved to hunt, I still remember

Dec.7,1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked. I was in Wham Brake 

hunting ducks.



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