Biographies: Louise Frasier, 1952, Winn Parish, LA
Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483
**********************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm
**********************************************


 



From: February 14, 1952 Winn Parish Enterprise (Know Your Neighbor Column)

Miss Frasier Is Winn, Grant Court Reporter

Holding the only job of its kind in Winn or Grant Parishes is Louise Frasier,
court reporter for the Eighth District Court.  An alert mind and quick hands
are requisites.

It is the duty of the court reporter to take testimony as it is given in court
and transcribe it for the record.  Testimony is taken in shorthand as
witnesses speak from the stand, and the entire spoken proceedings in court are
recorded.

After the shorthand notes are typewritten, the transcript is filed in the
Clerk of Court's office for future reference.

Miss Frasier has filled this position since June, 1948, after completion of
the two-year secretarial science course at Northwestern State College.  She
went to NSC after graduation in 1916 from Winnfield High School.

When she completed the course at NSC, she was capable of 120 words per minute
in shorthand, and has gained additional speed through practice.  Although the
average person does not talk that fast, the reporter stated she sometimes has
to stop a fast talker and catch up on her notes.  It is extremely important
that the testimony be recorded exactly as it is spoken, since later turns in a
case may stem from single word or phrase in a person's testimony.

When asked to make a comparison between the Grant Parish and Winn Parish
courts, Miss Frasier replied, "They are both about the same," in the way f
types by cases tried, etc."

"This is an open field," she said of court reporting.  She encouraged
graduates to investigate the possibilities.  Eventually, she said shorthand
will be replaced by steno-type.  This is a machine system, enabling the
recorder to work faster and with less effort.  Some courts in this area
already have the new system.

Miss Frasier is a worker in the Laurel Heights Baptist Church.  She is the
daughter of Mrs. Ruby Frasier of Winnfield.