Celebrating Women's History Month with Shreve Memorial Library
March is Women’s History Month, and at Shreve Memorial Library, we are celebrating with amazing programs honoring incredible women of northwest Louisiana, including Chef Hardette Harris, Cora M. Allen, and some elusive female ancestors of our own. Throughout the month, Shreve Memorial Library branches will host programs highlighting these wonderful women and many more women who have made a difference in our lives and history.
Chef Hardette Harris is the owner of “Us Up North,” a culinary experience dedicated to highlighting the food ways and culture of Northwest Louisiana. She made history in 2015 by creating North Louisiana’s official meal, the very first official meal in the State of Louisiana and one of only two official state meals in the United States. The North Louisiana meal includes many staples of North Louisiana including fried catfish, fried chicken, barbeque ribs, greens of multiple varieties, black eye peas, hot water cornbread, sweet tea and more. Most recently, Chef Hardette Harris was named a semi-finalist for the 2024 James Beard Award! You can meet Chef Hardette Harris in person and learn how she makes her “mean pot of greens” at Shreve Memorial Library branches. She will be visiting the Mooretown Branch on March 13, the Hamilton/South Caddo Branch on March 22, and the West Shreveport Branch on March 26.
Robert Trudeau will also be visiting Shreve Memorial Library branches to celebrate the life and legacy of Cora M. Allen. For those who may not know, Cora M. Allen was an African American teacher, financial advisor and citizen activist in the early 1920s. She and members of the Court of Calanthe sorority, spearheaded the building of the historic Calanthean Temple, a four-story business center for African American entrepreneurs on Texas Avenue near downtown Shreveport at a time when Black businesses were barred from operating in the city center. Join Robert Trudeau at the Cedar Grove-Line Avenue Branch on March 19, West Shreveport Branch on March 20, and the North Shreveport Branch on March 21 to learn more about Allen and her impact on the history of Shreveport.
Have some fascinating female ancestors of your own with amazing stories to tell? Join the Genealogy Department at the Broadmoor Branch on March 14 and learn how to find elusive female ancestors. Discover useful tips, techniques and resources to research information about your female ancestors. The Genealogy Department will guide you through some of the common problems that arise when conducting research and ways to overcome them to complete your ancestry quest.
All of these programs and more are taking place this month at Shreve Memorial Library in honor of Women’s History Month. Be sure to visit the SML website at www.shreve-lib.org for complete program information and more ways to dream, discover, do.
What’s New at the Library
The Friendship Club by Robyn Carr (fiction)
Four women come together at a tumultuous time in their lives, forging an unbreakable bond that will leave them all forever changed. Celebrity cooking show host Marni McGuire has seen it all. She’s been married – twice – and widowed and divorced. Now in her mid-fifties, she’s single. Happily so. She just needs to convince her pregnant daughter, Bella, of this fact. And maybe convince herself, too. Especially after Marni’s efforts to humor her determined daughter result in a series of disastrous dates that somehow prompt Marni to wonder if maybe the right man for her is still out there after all. Similarly single, Marni’s best friend and colleague is confident she’s content without a man, but both older women soon find themselves leading by example as the young intern on their show appears caught in a toxic relationship – and Bella reveals
tale; with Rachel Holtzman; photographs by Lauren Volo (Non-Fiction; Book)
Christmas in Winter Valley: A Ransom Canyon Romance, Book 8 by Jodi
Thomas (Fiction; Book, Large Print, eBook, eAudiobook)
The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong (Fiction; Book, Large Print, eBook, eAudiobook)
Dream Derby: The Myth and Legend of Black Gold by Avalyn Hunter (Non-Fiction; Book)
The Frontier Overland Company: Book 1 by William W. Johnstone and J.A.
Johnstone (Fiction; Large Print)
Ghost Roast by Shawnee Gibbs and Shawnelle Gibbs; illustrated by Emily Cannon (YA Graphic Novels; Book)
The Good Part: A Novel by Sophie Cousens (Fiction; Book, Large Print, eBook)
Her Pretend Amish Boyfriend: Surprised by Love Series, Book 5 by Rachel J. Good (Fiction; Book, Large Print, eBook)
Last Night by Luanne Rice (Fiction; Book, Large Print)
Lost and Hound: A Sister Jane Novel, Book 15 by Rita Mae Brown; illustrated by Lee Gildea (Fiction; Book, Large Print)
Tiffy Cooks: 88 Easy Asian Recipes from My Family to Yours by Tiffy Chen (Non-Fiction; Book)