Researched by Twin Blends
Researched by Twin Blends
— Vincent Van Gogh
— Jimmy Cannon
The Louisiana State Fair of the Past
Researched by Twin Blends
We are twin brothers and best friends who grew up in Southern Hills in Shreveport and played sports together. Neither of us were really interested in history when we were younger, but we always loved looking at old photos. As we got older and retired from sports, we started to get more interested in old pictures of our city’s history. We search through thousands and thousands of old pictures from the past, go to the exact location where they were taken, snap our own picture and then combine those two pictures to form what we call a “Blend.” We then use those photos to tell the history of that location in a fun and exciting way! Since we are “twins” and “blend” the old and new photos together, that’s where the name Twin Blends comes from and you can find us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and now the web at twinblendshistory.com.
Researched by Twin Blends
Come As You Are
Dine In Your Car
Street Car Trolley
Records Unlimited
The Gang's All Here
How About a Victory Lap?
A Fortunate Accident!
Here is an exclusive photo (July 1890) of the train engine that fell when it signaled for the V.S.& P. bridge to swivel to allow it to pass at the same time a train signaled to cross the river!
On July 23, 1890 the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Bridge over the Red River in Shreveport was the scene of what was called at that time a “Fortunate Accident“. The V.S.&P. passenger train engineer, Richard Monk of Monroe, signaled for the bridge at the same moment that the steamboat E.B. Wheellock signaled for the bridge to open. The bridge was opened for the steamboat and locomotive 312 and it‘s tender fell onto the river bank. The passenger train cars remained on the track. James Mosely was the fireman and Robert Chapman was the conductor. Amazingly, no serious injuries occurred and the engine was repaired and put back into service!
Construction of the $300,000 bridge began in 1882 and was completed in 1884. It was described by the contractor, Peter Scully, as a “most modern iron bridge with a turn table". Before an additional bridge was constructed (the Traffic Street Bridge), carriages, wagons and pedestrians used the bridge at times when trains were not scheduled. The railroad bridge is still in use today although it was rebuilt in the early 1900s.
Click here to see the post we made showing the bridge being turned in 1994 to allow the Shreveport Rose and Harrah’s Shreve Star Riverboats to pass through!
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Are you interested in having Twin Blends: Northwest Louisiana History Hunters come and speak to your group or organization?
My twin brother and I do speaking presentations among other things and would love to come and share some of this area’s history with your group! We would talk about who we are and what we do as well as show a couple of “Then and Now” videos of this area. We have spoken at many of this area’s assisted living facilities as well as Rotary clubs, churches, and almost all of the Shreve Memorial Library branches. We have an agreement with the LSUS Archives to promote and share the thousands of images in their collections. Many of which we have accumulated during our 10 years of research at the library. Our presentation which lasts anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes depending on your needs! (Contact us here on Facebook for our speaking fee information).
You can find us at twinblendshistory.com as well! ... See MoreSee Less
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The boiled shrimp here is amazing! ... See MoreSee Less
BeauxJax Crafthouse
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Howard Crumley’s Chevyland : A Look Back in Time!
The Bates Crumley Chevrolet Company started selling cars in 1929 at 311 Edward St. in downtown Shreveport. In 1935, the company’s name changed to Howard Crumley and Company Inc. In the late 40s, it opened up Howard Crumley Chevrolet Truck Division at 824 Wilson Street just off of Texas Ave. near the Calanthean Temple (which can been seen in the background of a few of the pictures). Then in 1959, ground was broken at 2627 Linwood Ave. and the rest is history!
Most of us remember Chevyland and, when we came across these photos in the Thurman C Smith collection, we couldn’t wait to share! Hopefully someone will recognize the people in the photos. A good friend of ours, the late Rob Dyson, worked in the Service Dept. at Chevyland and we are dedicating this post to his memory. Feel free to comment your Chevyland Shreveport memories!! Photos Courtesy Thurman C. Smith and Northwest Louisiana Archives at LSUS. To see a story that we posted a while back, titled “Paradise Lost” featuring Howard Cromley Chevrolet click here.
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State Fair Stadium History Uncovered!!
Since we have partnered with the State Fair of Louisiana to preserve it's rich history we have uncovered some really cool photos from way back! This series of photos showing the "new" State Fair Stadium is just the "tip of the iceberg"! Built in 1924 at a cost of $100,000 (that's $1.9 million to $1.95 million in today's dollars), it had a seating capacity of 15,000. As you can see in the attached photos the stadium was overflowing with eager fans! Today this stadium is know as Independence Stadium!
At Twin Blends Northwest History Hunters we love uncovering forgotten history like this! Thank you State Fair of Louisiana for saving these treasures from the past! Stay tuned for more State Fair of Louisiana photos of the past! ... See MoreSee Less
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Twin Blends Partners with the State Fair of Louisiana to Save State Fair History!
Check out this 1910 State Fair of Louisiana Stock Certificate that we found mixed in with all of the old photos that were in the attic at the Louisiana State Fair Office! How cool is that!
We are so excited that we were given the privilege to document all of this State Fair history for future generations! We can’t wait to see what all we come across!
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Who Remembers Talking to "Charlie"?
Twin Blends Partners with the State Fair of Louisiana to Save State Fair History!
Many of us remember talking to "Charlie the Talking Car" so when we found these color slides recently we were excited to be able to share with our teammates! Where did we find them? LOL, We are glad you asked!!
3 weeks ago, Ashley Smith, Social Media Manager for the State Fair of Louisiana, contacted us about a project that was right up our alley! She came across a bunch of old photos in several rooms upstairs at their office and wanted to know if we would be interested in looking through them, and if possible, documenting and digitizing some of them. We told her that we would love to and immediately set up appointment to go up to the Louisiana State Fair Office!
When we got there last Thursday, we not only met with Ashley, we also met with Robb Brazzel, President and General Manager as well as Russell Adams, Marketing Manager at the State Fair Office. They showed us a huge, old wooden crate that they found that was full of old photos! Then Ashley told us that, believe it or not, after she spoke with us, they found a lot more in the attic!
We discussed how we could help preserve the treasure trove of photos. Some of these photos date back to at least 1913!
We filled up a minivan full of boxes of old photos, some framed and some loose, and around 12 carousels of 35 mm Kodachrome slides! We plan on using our new large format scanner that we recently purchased, to digitize the photos and preserve them for future generations to enjoy!
We are so excited that we were given the privilege to document all of this State Fair history for future generations! We can’t wait to see what all we come across!
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