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Drove US 71 between Pineville and Bossier today.
Posted on 1/27/24 at 8:43 pm
Posted on 1/27/24 at 8:43 pm
Other than the BBQ sandwich from Grayson’s in Clarence, which is still the best anywhere, I was saddened by the whole experience. It has been over 20 years since I drove that route, and the decay is remarkable. All the little towns that were hanging on 2 decades ago are now done. Montgomery, Clarence, Campti, Coushatta…. All depressing. Abandoned houses, churches with the roofs caved in, nothing left but a few very poor people living in trailers or shanties. No stores, no businesses, no life. Sad.
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Posted on 1/27/24 at 8:44 pm to Slippy
quote:
Other than the BBQ sandwich from Grayson’s in Clarence, which is still the best anywhere,
Never ever say the shite they call bbq in Louisiana is the best anywhere.
Posted on 1/27/24 at 8:46 pm to Slippy
I drove the same road 2 years ago. Yeah, it's nothing out there.
Posted on 1/27/24 at 8:50 pm to tigerfan84
I did the same today,drove from Colfax to Bossier.Pretty depressing for the most part.
Posted on 1/27/24 at 9:03 pm to LSUA 75
A lot of the rural south looks like this. The paper mills, sawmills and plywood mills are gone. Billy Joel could write a song.
Posted on 1/27/24 at 9:10 pm to Slippy
quote:
Montgomery, Clarence, Campti, Coushatta
These places have had nothing for a long time, not just the last 20 years.
Campti is one of the poorest towns in the country.
This post was edited on 1/28/24 at 7:43 pm
Posted on 1/27/24 at 9:11 pm to Slippy
I-49 may have caused all of that.
Posted on 1/27/24 at 9:29 pm to Slippy
quote:
Coushatta
May not be booming but it's better than it used to be thanks to Shale money. It has a nice new high school among other things.
Posted on 1/27/24 at 10:06 pm to Slippy
I like to drive HWY 71 south a couple of times per year from CenLa to krotz springs, and it is the same way. Lecompte, Cheneyville, Lebeau all appear to be all but gone. Only Bunkie appears to be thriving.
I still enjoy driving that route, though.
I still enjoy driving that route, though.
This post was edited on 1/27/24 at 10:08 pm
Posted on 1/27/24 at 10:49 pm to Slippy
Ate there 5 yrs ago and it wasn’t as good as I remember in my childhood but maybe I didn’t have good tastes in my childhood.
71 is a pineywoods delta now
71 is a pineywoods delta now
Posted on 1/28/24 at 4:28 am to KemoSabe65
If you want to get depressed,,take a ride around Colfax.
Posted on 1/28/24 at 5:21 am to Slippy
That stretch of road has the same asphalt that was there when you last traveled it.
There is a Dollar General about every 8-10 miles now.
There is a Dollar General about every 8-10 miles now.
Posted on 1/28/24 at 6:29 am to Spankum
quote:
Only Bunkie appears to be thriving.
Not thriving, but barely hanging on. Population down to approximately 3,200, but thanks to Greg Kojis & Vaughn Automotive there are still a few good jobs & tax generators…
Posted on 1/28/24 at 6:45 am to RichJ
For the most part these small towns were/are agrarian, mechanization helped to kill them off. Drugs and I-9’s, more money slinging dope and the man can’t garnish cash to pay yo 3 baby mommas, hello I-9’s. Add nafta into the mix and you have the start of our country’s downfall in modern times.
Posted on 1/28/24 at 6:49 am to Sput
quote:Oh for frick's sake. It's protein cooked slowly with a wood heat source. It's not rocket surgery.
Never ever say the shite they call bbq in Louisiana is the best anywhere.
Posted on 1/28/24 at 7:58 am to AlxTgr
When they shut down the "The Spot" in LeBeau, it shut down 71. Every time we drove down 71 to go to B.R., I would ask my dad what was "The Spot". It was just a cheap flashing sign on the side of the road that had a turn off, and nothing was close to 71. Later found out it was a couple of trailers down that road. 
Posted on 1/28/24 at 8:56 am to dovehunter
Alan Jackson wrote a song about it Little Man
Posted on 1/28/24 at 9:13 am to Spankum
quote:
Only Bunkie appears to be thriving
Relatively maybe so. By and large, rural southern America is a corpse of its former self.
Greenville MS, Donaldsonville, Port Allen, all those old farm cities are just shells. Still some money lurking around all of them but by and large they're totally dead.
The Little Man is a historical documentary
Posted on 1/28/24 at 9:43 am to Slippy
quote:
the BBQ sandwich from Grayson’s in Clarence
Glad it’s still in business as I’d eat there occasionally when I use to travel US 71. 10-15 yrs ago those areas were desolate, can only imagine them now. I would visit the ROM plywood plant in LeMoyen before it shut down years ago.
Posted on 1/28/24 at 9:51 am to Slippy
Generalizating but trufe-
The routing of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s and NAFTA were the two biggest determinants of winners & losers of towns and cities in the US. Especially in the South & Midwest.
The routing of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s and NAFTA were the two biggest determinants of winners & losers of towns and cities in the US. Especially in the South & Midwest.
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