[caption id="attachment_4387" align="alignleft" width="254" caption="Yule goat"]
[/caption]Veronica Sturman /Carol Forsloff - Our gift
today is the writing of a young child in Natchitoches, Louisiana who
represents in many ways the abiding love and great joy that comes from
the heart of children every day.
Veronica Sturman is that child,
that gift in Natchitoches, that gift from Natchitoches, whose talent is
here for all the world to see. For that the editor of this newspaper is
grateful, for it sparkles like a jewel on any page. For the rest of
people around the world who celebrate the birth of Jesus and the joy of
children, comes this story today:
There is nothing monotonous
about Natchitoches Christmas Festivities. French Creole Plantation tours
add to the diversity of Natchitoches Christmas events. The festival at
Oakland Plantation on Saturday, December 18th, was a blast.
There
was music, refreshments, book signings, crafts and plantation tours. My
favorite activities were dressing Ma-Man dolls and painting Christmas
ornaments.
The National Park Service hosted a Ma-Man doll booth
in memory of Mama Lair, Mrs. Lair LaCour. She is famous in the Cane
River community for her handmade dolls. Adults, teenagers and children
all enjoyed dressing these little stuffed poppets. I dressed one of my
dolls with a square piece of scrap cloth with a diamond cut from the
center. I slipped her head through the diamond hole and fastened a
rubber band around her waist. The dolls come in various shades of brown
and white and have poofy yarn hair. This year the dolls had no faces,
but last year they had facial features including rosy cheeks stitched
on. While making my doll, I enjoyed listening to the choir singing
“Frosty the Snow Man” and “Go Tell it on the Mountain.”
After
dressing a doll, I got to interview Deputy Nancy Drawhorn, Detention
Center Choir director, age 53. She has been working at the sheriff’s
department for four years. She said they have about two to three
performances each week. Deputy Drawhorn also practices with the choir
three times a week. According to Deputy Drawhorn there are 9 people in
the choir but only 6 singers. They also have one guitar player, one
keyboard player, and one drummer. The choir usually performs religious
music but will occasionally do something secular, like “Frosty the Snow
Man.”
The Oakland Plantation Festival was fun for all ages. It
is just one of the French Creole Plantation tours available during
Christmas time. Natchitoches and the Cane River area offer a large
variety of Christmas activities that last over a five or six week
period.
