Yesterday I got a call from a man in Baton Rouge who has spent years researching an historic part of town just outside Louisiana State University. Tiger Town as it is affectionately called encompasses Chimes Street and State Street as well as parts of Highland Road and Nicholson Drive at the northern gates of LSU.
In his research he found that my father, Jack Nason, lived in a house on State Street back in the forties. Although records show he lived in the house for years, he did not. This is because he left LSU after two years to serve in WWII. When he returned in 1946, he may have come back to the house, but was married to my mother in 1948 and then moved out of Baton Rouge. They were living in Gulfport, MS by 1950 when I was born.
Once I found out this man had spent years collecting information from hundreds of people, I asked him if he planned to write a book on his findings. He said everyone tells him he needs to do this. But he owns a coffee shop in Tiger Town and is not sure he has the time. He says researching takes a lot of time and he continues to meet many different people all who have a connection to the area.
Not only is he collecting records of deeds to homes and businesses but also asking for details from the families of those who lived in Tiger Town. Professors lived next door to houses that were apartments. Because there are so many stories behind the homes and businesses, the man feels that to do a book justice, it would have to be about the people as much as much as the buildings. He has already thought about how he would arrange the book, if he so chooses to write it. I discovered that he was well into the process of writing a book whether he knew it or not. We talked for a long while and of course found mutual friends. Finally at some point I felt comfortable suggesting he contact the university press. The local university press may be more approachable to such a non-fiction work especially if it is related to the university. He had not thought of that and appreciated my suggestion.
I might not be able to help this man with much of my father’s history in the house since I never knew he lived there. But maybe my background in writing encouraged him to consider how important his dedication to the preservation of history of Tiger Town is. And more importantly that he should not keep it to himself, but share it with the Baton Rouge and LSU communities; for there is probably not one person that went to LSU that does not have some memory of Tiger Town.
Lifetime Writing 