VOICES OF WITNESS: A Storytelling Tribute
Inspired by the recollections and reminiscences of those who lived it, Voices of Witness utilizes the universal art of storytelling to explore the diverse people, places, and experiences of the Great Depression / New Deal Era in north Louisiana. Jeannine Pasini Beekman, master story composer and teller, is joined in concert by northwest Louisiana natives Myra Davis, Angelique Feaster, and Thelma Harrison in a performance that recognizes and reveals a shared commonality of struggle and joy, tenacity and optimism that transcends time, class and race. This retelling of tales captures the spirit of the Elders’ stories and the interpreted impact of various endeavors of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Public Works Administration (PWA) and Civilaina Conservation Corps (CCC) as it helps us see our history from a new and lively perspective.
Here are a couple samples of stories she has created from her interviews with the elders:
Story 1:
“There were all kinds of jobs created by the different programs of the Works Progress Administration, because there were all kinds of problems to be solved. Engineers were employed to supervise the construction of bridges that were then built by folks who could finally travel easily from one side of the river to the other. Agricultural researchers brought new techniques to rural farmers who then produced more food without depleting the soil. Mattress factories were set up in many communities that then provided more comfortable and hygienic bedding to families who once slept on hard and unsanitary surfaces. One town was particularly plagued by rats. Rats in the stores, rats in the warehouses, rats in the restaurants. Having identified a need, a new job was created to solve it and the town met its first paid exterminator. Though somewhat gruesome, the technique employed was effective. Poison was placed in hamburger meat. The meat was placed in the various buildings. The rats ate the meat and bled to death. Problem solved.”
Story 2:
“Word came down from the Agricultural Adjustment Administration in Washington. When a farmer requested financing to buy a mule, local officials were told that they should finance both a male mule and a female mule so as to raise a whole bunch of little mules. One local head wrote back, “Well then, when we finance a plow, we should finance a male plow and a female plow so as to make a whole bunch of little plows, since a plow has about as much chance of reproducing itself as a mule does.”
