history of the salvation army in shreveport

8/20/2019 History of The Salvation Army in Shreveport

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Foreword:

In the years since I came to work at The Salvation Army, I can't tell you

how many times someone has asked if I knew this or that fact about the

history of the organization, and my answer has been "No." Upon

stumbling across property records from The Business Girls Inn about a

year ago and wondering why in the world we had that document, myinterest in the history of The Salvation Army (TSA), especially its presence

in the Shreveport-Bossier area, grew tremendously. In my research, I've

found some truly interesting information about the efforts of TSA in our

community and the scope of its worldwide mission. Since its founding in

1865, TSA has fulfilled many roles in the realm of disaster and social work,

and these services have often eclipsed, in public opinion at least, the

foundation on which the organization was created, making the Word of

God accessible to the destitute and socially-rejected in society. All of the

work done by The Salvation Army, historically and presently, makes me

even more proud to be an employee here. As such, I decided it was a

shame that people, myself included, didn't know much about the

organization's long history in this community so I've taken up the cause of

making its story known.

-Rebecca Nichols

The Salvation Army of Northwest Louisiana


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Origins of The Salvaon Army - Internaonal Timeline:

January 17, 1829 - Catherine (Mumford) Booth is born in Ashbourne

(Derbyshire Dales), England.

April 10, 1829 - William Booth is born in Nottingham, England. He will

meet Catherine in 1851.

1852 - Booth begins his street ministry, preaching the Word of God to

the most destitute in London.

1855 - William and Catherine Booth marry. They have 8

children together, 2 of whom will become Generals (international leaders),

Bramwell and Eva (Evangeline) Booth.

July 1865 - Booth founds "The Christian Mission" a street ministry for all of

the poor and addicted Londoners (reformed and otherwise) who are not

welcomed by the established churches and are socially marginalized.

1878 - After reading a report that refers to The Christian Mission as a

"volunteer army," Booth renames his organization “The Salvation Army” and alters its structure to mimic military

form, with rank and uniforms for its leaders. Members become known as "Salvationists." The official crest isdesigned, and Catherine Booth creates TSA's first flag, with a crimson background, navy blue trim, and a yellow

sun that bore the motto "Blood and Fire."

**Fun Fact: TSA flags have traveled to the moon! The wife of TSA-Philadelphia

Advisory Board Chairman, Mrs. John Chatley, Jr., gave three small Salvation Army

flags to Captain John W. Young, USN and Commander of Apollo 16, which landed

on the moon in April 1972. The flags were returned to Mrs. Chatley with a letter, and

two were auctioned off at the Philadelphia Volunteers Bazaar. One was given to the

Franklin Institute Museum in Philadelphia, and replicas of the letter and flag also

reside at The Salvation Army's Museum in Atlanta (see left). Internet sources notethat TSA's are the only non-governmental U.S. flags to make a manned lunar journey

1879

- Lieutenant Eliza Shirley (Salvation Army Officer at the age of only 17) sails to America to join

her parents who had previously emigrated there. General Booth reluctantly gives his blessing for Lt.

Shirley to begin mission work in America. In Philadelphia, she holds what is considered to be the first

Salvation Army meeting in the United States.

March 10, 1880 - The Salvation Army officially lands in the U.S. when

Commissioner George S. Railton arrives in Battery Park, New York from England with 7

"Hallelujah Lassies," as female Salvationists were nicknamed. William Booth sends the

group as reinforcements for Lt. Shirley once she has proven the need for TSA to organize

in the U.S.

1886 - President Grover Cleveland receives a delegation of Salvation Army officers and gives his personal

endorsement to the organization. This is the first such recognition from the White House, but it will

not be the last. Gratitude for The Salvation Army's compassionate service in and to the United States

will be expressed by many succeeding Presidents throughout American history.

1891

- TSA Captain Joseph McFee places the first kettle at the Oakland Ferry Landing in San

Francisco to raise money for a Christmas dinner for the poor. This effort is the forerunner to what will

become The Salvation Army's most well-known symbol, the Red Kettle Campaign at Christmastime.


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**Fun Fact 1: The Salvation Army's bell ringers have been given cameos in many films

and TV shows over the years. The most famous of these is probably A Christmas Story . (In

2016 [NWLA], TSA bell ringers raise between $30 and $40 per hour.)

**Fun Fact 2:

The Christmas song “Silver Bells,” written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

and performed first by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards in 1950, is said to be about The

Salvation Army’s bell ringing on New York’s street corners, marking the start of the Christmas season.

1891 - The Army opens its first U.S. food and shelter depot in Greenwich Village, New York. A women's shelter called The Daybreak is simultaneously

opened in the Bowery (a neighborhood in southern Manhattan where vice was

rampant in the form of gambling, drugs and alcohol, and prostitution).

Salvation Army facilities throughout the world have traditionally been located

in the lowest-income and highest-vice areas of cities because that's where their

services are most needed.

**Fun Fact: In a 1933 film entitled, She Done Him Wrong , Cary Grant

plays Salvation Army officer, Captain Cummings, opposite Mae West.

The movie is set in New York's the Bowery in 1892. Grant's character isactually an undercover detective known as "The Hawk." The musical

Guys and Dolls also features Salvation Army officers.

1891 - The Salvation Army Headquarters in London establishes the International

Staff Band, its flagship ensemble, and officially incorporates music into its ministry

and social-services work. It utilizes music specifically written for and by The

Salvation Army. Individual Corps’ brass bands had already been established as

early as 1879 and 1880 in Durham and Cheshire, England.

**Fun Fact

: The Salvation Army Brass Band has been marching in the Rose Parade since 1920,

making it a 96-year tradition as of 2016. While there are floats that have taken part in the Pasadena,California New Year's Day parade for over 100 years, TSA's is the longest-participating band to march

in the event. The brass band has, like the red kettle, become one of the preeminent symbols publicly

associated with The Salvation Army.

1896 - Ballington Booth, son of William and Catherine, and his wife, Maud, leave The Salvation

Army to form Volunteers of America after a dispute with his father. Ballington mimics the structure

and mission of TSA in his new organization.

1898 - The Salvation Army first begins its relationship with the U.S. Armed Forces during the

Spanish-American War. Salvationists accompany American troops to the Philippines.

1899 - TSA officially begins its disaster work in the United States when the Emergency Disaster Program is created

1900 - First major practical application of The Salvation Army’s EDS

during hurricane aftermath in Galveston, Texas. The storm almost

completely wipes out the coastal city and kills approximately 5,000 people.


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Early 1900s - The red shield is reported to have been first used as a lapel pin by Australian Salvationists during the

Boer War in South Africa. It is said that Canadian Salvationists stationed in France (around 1915) were familiar

with the shield’s earlier use and were the first to begin using it as a sign on the exteriors of their huts.

1904

- Eva Booth (who became Evangeline Booth at the suggestion of friends) assumes command of The

Salvation Army in the U.S. She will serve as U.S. leader for 30 years. Under her direction, TSA services are

expanded to include hospitals for unwed mothers, soup kitchens, emergency shelters,

unemployment services, and housing for senior citizens.

1906 - EDS teams respond to the Great Earthquake in San Francisco (see right).

1912 - William Booth is "promoted to glory," and his eldest son, Bramwell

Booth, succeeds him as international leader. William's death is felt throughout

the organization. The foundation he laid allows The Salvation Army to not

only maintain its programs, but also grow them.

1917 - Doughnuts (as we know them in the 21st century) are first served by TSA volunteers to

Americans fighting in France during WWI. A hole is cut in the dough using whatever tools Salvation

Army workers can find, most notably spent ammunition shells, so that the pastries can be carried on

fingers as the soldiers march, and the doughnuts are sometimes even fried in the lassies' metal helmets.

The doughnut girls become a symbol of all of TSA's efforts during the war, which include religious

services and emotional counseling, free refreshments, clothes-mending services, and entertainment.

These activities take place in crudely constructed huts and often actually in the trenches with the

soldiers themselves.

**(Not So) Fun Fact

: The food provided by Salvation Army lassies to the boys on the

front was often the only sustenance they would receive. Many veterans of WWI and

WWII fondly remember the kindness of Salvation Army aid workers in accounts after the

wars were over. A popular song entitled "Salvation Lassie of Mine," composed in 1919,

reflects the sentiment shared by so many World War veterans. The song demonstrateshow important Salvation Army lassies were to soldier morale. Its chorus is as follows:

"A sweet little Angel that went o'er the sea, With the emblem of God in her hand.

A wonderful Angel who brought there to meThe sweet of a war-furrowed land.

The crown on her head was a ribbon of red, A symbol of all that's divine;

Though she called each a brother, she's more like a mother,Salvation Lassie of Mine."

1919 - President Woodrow Wilson awards Evangeline Booth the Distinguished Service Medal for

The Salvation Army's work during WWI.

November 11, 1934 - Evangeline Booth becomes the General (the international

leader and highest ranking officer in The Salvation Army.) She holds her position in

London until 1939.

1938 - The 1st “Doughnut Day” is celebrated in Chicago to help those in need during the Great

Depression and honor The Salvation Army's work during the war. (National Doughnut Day is

still celebrated the first Friday in June.)


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February 4, 1941 - TSA and five other charities officially found the United Service Organizations

(USO), by presidential order of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to provide entertainment and other

relief services to the troops.

May 10, 1941 - The Salvation Army’s International Headquarters

(IHQ) is destroyed in the "London Blitz" during WWII. The night

raid on that evening is the most severe attack London would sustain.

A photograph by police constables captures the IHQ facade falling

to the ground (see left). The Salvation Army’s IHQ has been at thesame site since 1881. (It is rebuilt in 1963 and proudly remains there

today at 101 Queen Victoria Street.)

1954

- President Dwight D. Eisenhower declares November 28th through December 4th the First National

Salvation Army Week. (This celebration now takes place in May.)

1965 - The centennial of The Salvation Army is celebrated worldwide.

1966 - In the Beatles song, "Strawberry Fields Forever," John Lennon makes

reference to a Salvation Army orphanage called Strawberry Fields in Woolton,

England. He reportedly had played in the woods near the orphanage with childhood friends.1979 - Majors Charles and Shirley White create the Angel Tree program when they wor

with a Lynchburg, Virginia shopping mall to provide clothing and toys for needy childre

They serve over 700 children this first year.

**Fun Fact: In 2015, The Salvation Army of Northwest Louisiana provided gifts for

2,725 area children. Throughout the Southern Territory, TSA served over 1.8 million

people during the 2015 Christmas season by providing Angel Tree gifts, food boxes, and other services.

1982 -

The tradition of donors dropping gold coins or rings into kettles is first recorded in

Crystal Lake, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

1988 - TSA expands to include "preventative services," such as parenting and anger

management classes and academic tutoring to families in crisis due to drug/alcohol abuse

and child abuse/neglect.

September 11, 2001 - The Salvation Army responds in

its largest (to date) disaster-relief effort to "Ground

Zero" following the terrorist attacks. More than 7,000

TSA officers and staff and 32,000 volunteers serve

over 3 million meals in all of the areas affected by

9/11 terrorism, including at the Pentagon.2004 -

McDonald's heiress Joan Kroc gives an estimated $1.5 billion to The Salvation

Army to build community centers across the U.S. By 2016, there will be 26 Kroc Centers

established in the United States.

2005

- The new trademark of The Salvation Army is introduced. "Doing the Most Good"

becomes attached to the red shield as an official part of the logo. The textual part of the

trademark is a section of a quotation by Evangeline Booth which reads, “There is no reward equal to that of doing

the most good to the most people in the most need." It is a reminder to those within the organization that they mus

do as much good as they possibly can with the resources they're provided, and it's also an assurance to those who

donate to The Salvation Army's programs that their generous gifts will not be wasted.

Present


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August-September 2005 - TSA’s EDS teams respond to Hurricane Katrina/Rita aftermath in even greater force th

9/11. The effort along the Gulf Coast brings in

more than 8,000 Salvation Army volunteers

and employees, who serve 5.6 million hot

meals and 8.2 million snacks and drinks. 2.6

million survivors of the storms and flooding

are assisted in some way by The Salvation

Army. TSA raises and spends a total of 382

million dollars during both the initial and

long-term recovery phases of the disaster work on the Gulf Coast.

2015

- The Salvation Army celebrates its sesquicentennial anniversary (150 years) worldwide.

2016 - The Salvation Army is the second largest and most-recognizable charity in the United States, behind

United Way. TSA serves communities in 127 countries and has approximately 14,000 Corps. Internationally,

commissioned officers number 26,675, employees number nearly 109,000, and volunteers number 4.5 million.

There is no way to accurately measure how many millions of people have been assisted by The Salvation Army

over the last 151 years.

**Timeline adapted from The Salvation Army's national website and other web-based resources.

ALM—Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi


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1897

- Ensign Ringle comes from Rogers, Arkansas to preach the Gospel in Shreveport. The city would become

only the second in Louisiana to host a Salvation Army; the first was New Orleans.

February 9, 1904

- TSA-Shreveport is officially established in the rented basement of a

building at the corner of Texas and Edwards Streets. (There are other accounts which state that

a rented property in the neighborhood of where the Caddo Courthouse now stands was the

original location for TSA-Shreveport. However, the courthouse in question is only a block away

from the intersection of Texas and Edwards, so the accounts were likely referring to the samelocation, just in different terminology.)

1905

- Four officers are assigned to the Shreveport Corps to begin building programs. These are Captain Johnson,

Captain Wilson, Captain Gerhard, and Lieutenant Mason.

1906-1920 -

28 officers are assigned to run and grow Shreveport's programs during this 14-year time period. (In

today's structure, there would be only 4 or 5 sets of officers in that amount of time.)

January 30, 1920

- The first property TSA Shreveport owns, a two-story frame house is

purchased at 710 Crockett Street. Social and religious services are conducted on the first floor,

in addition to open- air "meetings" held throughout Downtown Shreveport, and the top floor is

utilized as a residence for the officers (known in military and TSA jargon as "Officer's

Quarters").

c. 1926 - During the command of Captain Charles Burch, the first transient lodge is

established in a rented property at Fannin and Louisiana Streets. Other rented facilities used as transient lodges

until 1950 are at 511 Caddo Street and 752 Austin Place.

**Fun Fact: The Austin Place facility was the historic

Hauser House, built in 1867 and renovated in 1880. It has

had many owners and purposes over the years and is

currently operated by the Philadelphia Center / MercyCenter as a safe haven for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

This home and the other two aforementioned transient-

lodge locations operated by The Salvation Army-

Shreveport are in the present-day Ledbetter Heights neighborhood, which used to be known as "St. Paul's Bottoms

and was the site of the City's experimental period of legal prostitution (until 1917). Many Victorian homes built by

prominent Shreveport citizens in the 19th century became the site of the City's "red light district" in the first half of

the 20th century, and it was not until fairly recently that efforts towards historical preservation were undertaken.

1931 - American Legion Post #14 begins raising

money to replace the frame dwelling on

Crockett Street with a 3-story facility for Corps

programs. The Salvation Army of Shreveport

has a long history of American Legionnaires

being part of its Advisory Board. The

Lowe-McFarlane Post is instrumental in

allowing program growth in the area because of

its fundraising capability. Groundbreaking for

the new Corps facility occurs in 1932.

Origins of The Salvaon Army - Local Timeline:

Caddo Courthouse


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December 4, 1932 - Under the command of Captain and Mrs. A. V.

Walker, the new 710 Crockett Street facility is formally opened. This

address will be the location of Shreveport’s Citadel Corps for nearly 60

years. The total project cost is $32,000, and the building contains a

gymnasium, game room, wood-working shop, craft room, and library, in

addition to housing the chapel and program space for a Red Shield Boys

Club. American Legionnaire, Leonard Daniels, serves as the chairman of

the fundraising committee during the capital campaign.

**Fun Fact:

T. Overton Brooks, for whom the current VA Hospital is

named, was the commander of the area's American Legion Post #14 two years prior (1930-

1931). He is pictured in the groundbreaking ceremony photo (see above and right) and was also

a long-time Board member of The Salvation Army-Shreveport.

1932-1933 - There is a significant increase in the amount of transient care provided by TSA-Shreveport during the

Depression years, specifically between 1932 and 1933 when unemployment is at its highest level in the U.S. The

Shreveport Corps also operates a soup kitchen during this time.

1933 - TSA Shreveport officially begins operating its Red Shield Boys Clubs. This program

will become part of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America organization, which provides after-

school programming for children from low-income families.

** Fun Fact: The current Shreveport Club, at 2821 Greenwood Road, is the only remaining

Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club in the state of Louisiana. The Shreveport Corps had

previously operated many other branches, all of which were closed by 2011. (The full history of the Northwest LA

Salvation Army Boys (and Girls) Clubs will be on our website in the near future for those who are interested.)

1938

- Salvationist Bandsman, Sammy Swor, is named National High School Cornet

Champion for the next three years. He wins a total of 15 medals and awards

throughout his career.

**Fun Fact: Jazz musician, Louis Armstrong, who also famously played the

trumpet, is arguably the most well-known cornet player of all time.

February 27, 1941 -

Opening of new men's lodge. This new (rented) facility is able to house 45 transient men and

has improved facilities for cooking and nutrition, recreation, and hygiene. (This history is being published on the

75th anniversary of the photos below being taken.)

1946 - The Red Kettle Campaign spreads to Shreveport. Mayor Clyde Fant, for whom

the parkway on the Shreveport side of the Red River is named, places the first dollar

in the first-ever Shreveport kettle. (We are still trying to confirm from a second source

that this is first-ever incidence of bell-ringing in the Shreveport-Bossier area.)


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**Fun Fact:

The Mayors’ offices still support The Salvation Army! In

December 2015, Mayor Ollie Tyler (Shreveport) and Mayor Lo Walker

(Bossier) held a competition to see which could raise the most money “ringing

the bell” for TSA of Northwest Louisiana. Mayor Tyler proved victorious.

January 1, 1948 - The Shreveport EDS team responds to

the small town of Cotton Valley, LA, which, the day

before, is almost entirely destroyed by an out-of-season

tornado reported to have left a trench 100 miles long from Louisiana to Arkansas. Rain andsnow make the clean up effort slow and even more miserable than it would normally be. In a

town of only 1500 people, 15 are killed, and many more are seriously injured in their homes.

The New Year's Eve tornado bears down on the town of Cotton Valley not only once, but

circles back after passing and deals an equally-devastating second blow.

Late 1950 - A new transient lodge is acquired and outfitted at 109 Spring

Street. This is the first lodge owned by TSA-Shreveport. Previous facilities had been rented.

The new shelter and social-services center is able to house 38 men nightly on "double-deck"

beds. Hotel lodging is arranged for transient women, with or without children, but female

transient cases number less than 100 for the entire year.

**Fun Fact: Mid-century photographs show the facade of the Spring Street building wit

"Supported by Community Chest" below The Salvation Army Social Services designation. Whil

it may not be common knowledge, Community Chests throughout the U.S. underwent several

name changes until the national organization became known as United Way in 1963. Local

branches slowly adopted the new name; however, there are still a few Community Chests in

existence today. In 2016, United Way will still be one of TSA's most-generous donors.

February 22, 1953 - A small Commerce Street Outpost is dedicated,

having been constructed with funds raised by the Sunday school class of

Noel Memorial Methodist Church. This outpost is the site of The Army's mission work and

religious services for those living along the riverfront. Until this time and beginning in 1945,

these services had been conducted in a converted street car on the banks of the Red River.

1954 - The Salvation Army of

Shreveport celebrates its 50th year

of service. Officers, Captain and

Mrs. Harlan Cleveland, preside

over ceremonies and celebrations

marking this historic event.

Commissioner John S. Bladin,

travels from London to be a part

of the festivities and speak about the international achievements of the Army.

**Fun Fact: Elected as the first Artist Laureate of Louisiana in 1952, Amos Lee Armstrong created a painting

to celebrate TSA-Shreveport's 50th anniversary and displayed the work during a 15-minute televised program

(KSLA) to honor the Army's efforts in the Shreveport-Bossier area. The painting depicted The Salvation Army at

work on Texas Street in 1904. Mr. Armstrong was also a member of the Lowe-McFarlane Post No. 14 of the

American Legion and the W.H. Booth Masonic Lodge. (We are trying to find this painting, or at least a photograph

of it. If you have any information in that regard, please contact us at 318-424-3200).

ld Lodge


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October 1976

- The Salvation Army Boys Club sends Linda Fong, chosen by the US Judo

Association to represent the country at an international competition, to London. She trains

at the Shreveport Boys Club, holds 4 first-place titles, and has never lost a match. Her trip is

sponsored by the Shreveport Optimist Club, an organization which will still generously

support TSABGC 40 years later.

May 1985 - 147 E. Stoner Avenue is purchased for use as a thrift store and additional space f

administrative offices. (This property is still in use in 2016 as the Shreveport Family Store and food pantry, and it ha

undergone several rounds of renovations throughout its occupation.)

October 1985

- 201 E. Stoner Avenue is purchased for use as men's lodge. The building must be converted and

outfitted for residential use. The facility would still be unable to accommodate homeless women or children. (If you

have information about or pictures of this facility, please contact us 318-424-3200.)

1986-1990 - TSA Shreveport has grown its programs successfully enough to be listed in internal documents as an Ar

Command under Majors Omer and Ann McKinney. The officers in charge oversee all religious activities, social-

services programs, and facilities in the Shreveport-Bossier area. By November 1990, the classification will again be

listed only as "Citadel," and 3 years later, the Citadel designation will also be dropped in internal documentation.

**Fun Fact:

Area Command posts do still exist within The Salvation Army organization.

However, they are generally reserved for the largest metropolitan areas or largest

geographical areas with multiple Corps, several service locations, and extensive program

facilities. They are also present in cities where an Adult Rehabilitation Center is located.

1989 - Groundbreaking for new Corps at 200 E. Stoner Avenue.

1990s- The Salvation Army Boys Club of Shreveport officially becomes The

Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club following the model of the national

organization. The Shreveport branch had long been allowing females to use

its facilities, so the change is a formal one and only in name.

April 12, 1991 - Local EDS team responds within minutes to the areas of Caddo and Bossier Parishes affected by

violent storms producing high winds, tornadoes, and 10 inches of rain within 12 hours. Over 1,000 homes and

businesses are flooded and over 1500 families are affected in some way by the storms. TSA-Shreveport is joined by

EDS teams from nearby cities, and within the first 24 hours alone, they serve over

1,400 meals and 1,700 drinks across 4 relief sites.

c. 1992 - 200 E. Stoner Avenue facility is opened for Corps programming and

subsequently replaces 710 Crockett Street as the Citadel Corps.

**Fun Fact: 710 Crockett Street was sold in

1996 and by 1997, developer Leon Dayries had painted the art deco building's facade

white and converted the property into loft apartments. The property still bears the

name of the organization that created it, and it is still often referred to as "The Salvatio

Army Building" in public conversation and by the media. The property is one of

Shreveport's best (and few) examples or art deco architecture.

Present Day

resent Day

Present Day

Present Day

Oklahoma City Area Comm


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2001 - A new men's and women's shelter is built at 1207 Cornwell Avenue

(which was 1306 Cornwell Avenue before the City rezoned the property). Th

facility is also able to house single women with children, and it is named “Th

Merkle Center of Hope” after its largest benefactor.

February 21, 2001

- A new TSA-Shreveport

program, in cooperation with the US Department

of Veteran's Affairs, is approved and instated to provide shelter and other services to

homeless vets. (see right)

**Fun Fact: This program is still operating at The Salvation Army Merkle Center of

Hope 15 years later and is currently able to care for 24 male and 5 female veterans by

providing shelter, nutrition, mental and physical health referrals, job placement (if client is

able to work), and assistance with securing more-permanent housing. Since its

inception, The Shreveport Corps' homeless veteran's program has assisted an estimated

5,000 of the men and women who have proudly served our country.

January 2007 - The Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club at 2900 Pershing Boulevard burn

down due to an electrical fire. The fire causes a total loss and leaves personnel and Clubmembers searching for a new program home. Operations are temporarily moved to The

Salvation Army's Corps facility at 200 East Stoner Avenue. Fundraising efforts are begun b

Shreveport's Advisory Board to support the construction of a new TSABGC.

April 9, 2008

- Groundbreaking for the new Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club at 2821

Greenwood Road. The City of Shreveport provides the land on which to build under a

$1.00 / 100-year lease. Funds contributed by Willis Knighton, The Merkle Foundation,

Morris Dickson, The Community Foundation, United Way, and many other generous

donors allow the new facility to be raised.

Before 2010 - Bossier Family Stores on Airline Drive and at the corner of Benton and E. Texas Street close,

leaving the 147 E. Stoner Avenue thrift store as the only remaining retail location operated by The Salvation Army

of Shreveport.

**Fun Fact:

The Salvation Army Family Stores of today evolved from a group called “The Household Salvage

Brigade” that operated during the early years of the organization. General William Booth himself created the effort

response to the need for affordable (and/or free) housewares and clothing for London's poor, a need he

encountered daily throughout his ministry, and because of a desire to recycle goods instead of wasting them.

December 2010 - The Salvation Army of Northwest Louisiana receives its largest-ever red kettle donatio

An anonymous donor places a $100,000 check in the kettle at the Brookshire’s on Line Avenue.

**Fun Fact: The previous year, The Salvation Army of Northwest Louisiana was the recipient of a Sout

African gold coin, called a Krugerrand, in one of its kettles. The coin was sold for $1,700.

February 2011- The new Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club is opened to

the public for use so that it may continue in its mission of providing quality,

after-school programming to the historic Queensborough, Allendale,

Lakeside, and Highland communities. After the opening of this new facility,

the Club which had been operating in Bossier City (Mitchell Park) is closed

and those Club members are incorporated into the program at the

Greenwood Road property.


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**Fun Fact:

The current Club serves nearly 800 children every year in the Shreveport-Bossier area and offers doze

of valuable programs for our community’s youth.

June 18, 2013 - Carla's Haven opens. The Lenert Family raises

money to renovate and dedicate the Family Shelter at The Merkle

Center of Hope in honor of their daughter, Carla, who had

recently passed away.

July 2014 - Current Corps Officers,

Majors Ed and Carla Binnix

assume command of The Salvation

Army of Northwest Louisiana.

September 2014

- Current Assistant

Corps Officer, Captain Lauren

Boatman, is assigned to the

Shreveport Corps.

June 2015 - Historic flooding of Red River. TSA-Shreveport EDS team responds in force, serving over 13,000 mea

and snacks to 8,300 first responders and sandbaggers in the initial weeks of activation. The river crests at over 37 feon June 8th, but Salvation Army disaster relief continues for several weeks while clean-up efforts are conducted.

As of February 2016 - The Salvation Army of Northwest Louisiana operates 4 program facilities and serves 8

parishes (Caddo, Bossier, Webster, Desoto, Claiborne, Red River, Bienville, and Sabine.) The Shreveport Corps

supports many major programs and has approximately 40 employees.

**Special thanks to the Southern Territory’s Historical Center in Atlanta for providing much of the information enclosed. Other timeline

items were adapted from web-based resources.


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Afterword:

I think the document I mentioned in the foreword, the one that initially peaked my interest in The

Salvation Army of Shreveport's history, deserves the last word in our little story.

While digging through blue prints in a remote attic corner of our current Corps facility at 200 E. Stoner

Avenue, I stumbled upon an old booklet detailing the HVAC specifications for The Business Girls Inn. I

found my discovery odd, but my coworkers thought I was being ridiculous when I said it sounded like a

motel for women employed in humanity's “oldest profession” so I tossed the document aside and

continued on my print-finding mission. As long-time thrift store operators, it is not uncommon for us tofind things that don't belong in our facilities. Items are donated to the Family Store, someone thinks

they're neat and displays them on his or her desk, that someone finds other employment or retires, and

those "neat" things end up in a box in the attic collecting dust. For some reason, however, The Business

Girls Inn document intrigued me enough that I went back upstairs a few days later to grab it and then

conducted a quick internet search. What I found was a small, but quite interesting, piece of The Salvation

Army of Northwest Louisiana's story.

Seeing a need in the late 1920s, the Methodist Women of Shreveport organized to provide a safe home

for working girls ... Yes, the kind of working girls I initially suspected. They opened The Jubilee Inn on

September 20th, 1928 in a leased building at 412 Fannin Street. In 1946, the City Mission Board of the Women’s Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church (South) purchased a site at 814 Cotton

Street, and by 1949, The Business Girls Inn was opened. The previous property on Fannin Street was sold

for the bus terminal to be built. The "Inn" operated throughout the '50s and '60s but permanently closed its

doors in 1972, as fewer “business girls” desired its services. First Presbyterian Church purchased the

property in 1974 for use as an extension of their Evergreen Vocational School.

In response to a need for shelter for homeless families in Northwest Louisiana, the Presbyterian Church

repurposed the property, and in September of 1989, the Evergreen House was opened as a temporary

shelter. Until 1992, The Salvation Army-Shreveport Corps actually operated the homeless families'

program at the Evergreen House. In 1993, the name of the facility was again changed, and theProvidence House was born. The current, expanded Providence House facility is the largest transitional

shelter for homeless families with children in the state of Louisiana, and it is an agency with which we, at

The Salvation Army, work closely to provide the best possible care for those in our community who are

struggling the most.

Recent studies indicate that 27% of Louisiana's children live in poverty and homeless families make up

about 40% of the total homeless population, clear proof that there is still a great need, sometimes too great

a need, for social-services organizations in our community. The Salvation Army of Northwest Louisiana

will continue serving that need as long as it is able, and with that, our story is concluded. It has truly been

my honor to be able to share it. Special thanks to Michael Nagy andthe Southern Territory’s Historical Center in Atlanta.

-B.

This is what my boss looks like when I say “Here ….

Hold this document, and make a funny face.”

history of the salvation army in shreveport

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