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Broadmoor Big Chain : History Lost

On March 26 2003 a huge fire destroyed a historic landmark in the Broadmoor area of town. The Broadmoor Big Chain Grocery Store, built almost 80 years earlier by Isadore Edward Wile, one of the founders of Big Chain Grocery Company and designed by W. B. and Samuel G. Weiner, went up in smoke as firefighters tried their best to save this grand structure. This Big Chain had a very futuristic look. Compared to the other Big Chain stores. It looked more like a spaceship than actual grocery store l! Although the building is long done the memory of it still lingers today. We’ve included a couple of articles by the late great historian, Eric Brock. More Big Chain photos coming! Photos Courtesy Northwest Louisiana Archives at LSUS
Click here to see Shreveport and the World History’s post on this building

www.facebook.com/100064572463952/posts/573983798097364/?mibextid=cr9u03 ... See MoreSee Less

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Big Chain Lakeshore Drive!

Big Chain, founded in 1922, was a subsidiary of the Weiner Loeb Grocery Company. Back in 1922, the Weiner-Loeb Grocery Company opened its first "cash and carry" store in a rented room in the M. Levy building (the Petroleum Tower sits there now) in downtown Shreveport. They chose two of their employees as manager (Ed Wile) and checker (D.R. Sandifer). A year later, Wile and Sandifer, along with Louis Levy, bought out Weiner Loeb and the rest is history! We love this kind of history and even included a picture of a Loeb- Weiner Grocery Company horse and wagon in front of the old Battle house on Edwards Street!

The Lakeshore Drive location was opened in 1949 and Jack Barham was on hand to photograph the new store. It's "ultra modern" look was very eye-catching! We found several photos of it taken by various local photographers. Robert Menasco and Thurman C. Smith both had some really good photos of it in their collections just waiting to be found! That building, by the way, is still standing on the corner of Lakeshore and Jewella Avenue (Google Earth photo attached).

Teammate Brennan Hussey reached out to us awhile back. Here is what he sent us! "My maternal grandfather, Ed Wile, along with his friends friends, Levy and Sandifer were the founders of The Big Chain, and I procured from my father’s house, original Grabill photos (circa 1929) of the 1st Big Chain away from downtown (now the Harrison paint building across the street from the state office building on Fairfield). I also have a framed rendering of the store. My grandfather was the 1st cousin of Bill and SG Wiener and they designed the building, which had a much different facade than it has now. We still also have framed issues of The Shreveport Times, with all of the openings of The Big Chain- Broadmoor Shopping Center (Youree and Ockley), Uptown Shopping Center on Line, Lakeshore (Lakeshore and Jewella), etc. BTW, I was close friends with Eric Brock and I was his lawyer. I lost a great friend in 2011, but Shreveport lost a great historian/ chronicler." Brennan Hussey

Thanks Brennan for reaching out to us! We love uncovering history and can't wait to show more Big Chain photos! Photos Courtesy Northwest Louisiana Archives at LSUS and Thurman C. Smith ... See MoreSee Less

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Shreveport History Saved!

We just had to reshare this again because it was such a grest save!!
We love uncovering Shreveport history and this story was right up our alley!!! Shelby Methvien McRae contacted awhile back and asked us if we knew where a Fulton Market used to be on Texas Street. We said Yes!!! We know exactly where it once sat!!! It just so happens it sat beside the old Dripp Donut building that was just demolished. As a matter of fact, you can see it clearly in the photos we shared of the Dripp building from the 1920s! At one time it was also located around where the Regions tower is now.

After she told us the story behind her inquiry we we stunned!!!! We knew it would make a GREAT story since it involved many prominent figures from Shreveport's past!!! We asked her to tell us her story and here it is!!!

Shelby told us the following...
"So a few weeks ago I went to a local antique shop here in Shreveport that I frequent often and I found this really old book, or so I thought it was.. until I opened it. Turns out it is a ledger for bookkeeping back in the late 1890s here in Shreveport. The front of the book says “Fulton Market Texas Str.” and the tag on the front of it said “1800s Shreveport” when I purchased it so I was like hmmmm that’s right up my alley let me take a look at this.. so I flipped through a couple pages once and then I walked off for a minute thinking on it.. then decided to walk back to it and started really looking through it and recognized several important names from back then like Annie McCune (The Shreveport Madam), Edward Jacobs (opened the first national bank in Shreveport) and Capt Simon Levy Jr (confederate soldier) who are actually buried in the Oakland cemetery downtown on Milam Street and I was like “Omg no way!” I ended up putting it back again… (crazy I know…) then for the 3RD TIME I went back to it and decided to flip through the pages one last time and something inside me told me “I better get this…” so I went to the counter to check out and asked the lady behind the counter if she had any idea what this is because the numbers and everything, the way it was written out, I couldn’t put it together and she said it looks like it was something for book keeping… which makes sense. She said the owner of the booth where I purchased the ledger from had actually just brought it in that day so I went on a good day (LOL).
When I got home I decided to flip through it a little more just to see what other names and businesses are in it and I came across several others like the City Hotel, Washington Youree Hotel, etc so after that… I really wanted to know what I had in my hands. I tried researching and looking up Fulton Market Texas Street but nothing was coming up for me. So my next step was to find someone who would know a little more history on this and where it would have been located off Texas Street. The first people I thought of were the Twin Blends: Northwest Louisiana History Hunters brothers. A day or two before I reached out to them, the Dripp Donuts building in downtown Shreveport had just been demolished. I messaged them pictures of the ledger and the names I found in it. They were able to tell me what the business was, where it stood and how ironic…. It was the building that once stood NEXT to the Dripp Donuts building that had just been demolished. Out of all the places in downtown Shreveport, that’s where it once stood. My mind was blown, their minds were blown. We couldn’t believe this. I wanted to show them the ledger in person so we decided to meet up last Saturday, May 18th where the building once stood and take photos with the ledger. When I went to meet them they welcomed me with open arms. New memories and friends have been made because of this opportunity. This ledger is definitely considered a rare find and I feel very lucky and honored to preserve this piece of Shreveport history!"

Names and business included in the ledger are Annie McCune (the famous Madam who ran a brothel in the city's Red Light District), Ed Jacobs, City Hotel, S.G. Dreyfuss, Jules Dreyfuss and the Washington Youree Hotel just to name a few! Thanks to Shelby this piece of Shreveport history has been saved for generations to study and appreciate!!!

This story was featured on the front page of The Shreveport Times as well! How awesome is that!!!!
Old Photos courtesy Northwest Louisiana Archives at LSUS
The Shreveport Times ... See MoreSee Less

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Big Chain Hollywood at Mansfield Rd Grand Opening!

Big Chain was the first Supermarket in our area and a huge part of the Shreveport Bossier area itself. There were many Big Chain's in the Shreveport Bossier area and if you want to see the others, do a Facebook search for “Twin Blends Big Chain”!

Growing up, our family went to the Big Cafeteria on Hollywood Ave. after church (Morningside Baptist) every Sunday. Mark and I would fight to get in line first to be able to pick out the biggest strawberry shortcake (sorry, that we left y'all with the smaller pieces!) We also included pictures of Mr. McKellar and McKellar's Drug that opened up in the Big Chain Center. Later McKellar would move to the Sunset Shopping Center where the Mangham boys alone would keep him in business treating our numerous injuries and poison ivy outbreaks! Be sure to share your memories!!
Northwest Louisiana Archives at LSUS
The Shreveport Times ... See MoreSee Less

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Theodosia Inside and Out!!

Also known as the “Bridges-McKellar Mansion”. We are asked all of the time about this house. During our research at the Northwest Louisiana Archives at LSUS, we’ve found out that it was built in 1885 by Reuben Neil McKellar who would later serve as mayor of Shreveport from 1896 to 1899 and named for McKellar’s wife, Theodosia. It’s located at 1324 Oakland Street, not far from downtown.

Everyone seems to love this old house and we think we know why! We believe it’s because it has a lot of history, tons of mystery and a strange, ominous beauty (even though it’s seen it’s better days). All that combines to make her pretty special! During our research on Shreveport’s history, we’ve come across some old pictures of it from 1984.

Looking at it you may think that it has a “carport” but remember, it was built in 1885 so that’s actually a place where carriages pulled up to let people out! One of the pictures we found even showed the carriage stable directly behind it! We’ve been invited on several private tours (it’s posted no trespassing) to film and video. (Dr. Cheryl H. White was our guide. See and listen to her fascinating stories of the house on our part 3 video).

Just Google “Theodosia Shreveport” to see the many pictures and videos that we have on it! Thanks to our friends Allen Rogers and Marcus Mebes for making those tours possible! We feel like it’s part of us now! You can do a Google search by typing in Bridges McKellar and Shreveport Times to see more info on the wildly popular house that will forever be known as Theodosia!

(No Trespassing- We obtained Permission)

Below are links to a couple of those videos, but you can see more photos and videos by searching Facebook for “Twin Blends Theodosia”.

Links to Part 1 and Part 2
Part 1
www.facebook.com/mike.mangham/posts/10211319790700216
Part 2
www.facebook.com/twinblendsphotography/videos/566729740366525/ ... See MoreSee Less

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Globe Shopping City!

(Pictures of both stores in this post)
Who remembers shopping at Globe? There was one on Shreveport Barksdale Hwy. (It was originally a Globe, then Walmart and now it’s Super 1). Our dad worked for Foremost Dairies and delivered milk to that Globe from the day it opened till the day it closed. Mike and I helped him deliver milk there on several occasions.

Also, famous local historian Dr. Cheryl White worked at this Globe back then! And, there was a Globe on 70th St. which was the one we shopped at. (It later became Ashton’s Warehouse Furniture & Appliance and is now Ivan Smith Warehouse). I remember being overwhelmed as a kid the first time we shopped there. On our first trip there, I, Mark, asked our dad what all they sold and he said “they sell everything”. I was really young and took him literally and replied “Really”? “They sell elephants here too”?

Isadee Cobb Millican worked at the Globe on Shreveport Barksdale around 1970 and said at that time the store had huge old cash registers . She worked in the back selling Ambassador reels , and other stuff .

Darrell ReBouche also worked at the Globe on Shreveport-Barksdale but on the dock. The conveyor belt to the second level of the stock shelves broke once, so they had him haul boxes and other heavy things up the stairs all day! "I was in shape, I’ll tell you that." ReBouche said! First time he ever heard of a “patty melt” was in the cafe there.

Thanks to the Northwest Louisiana Archives at LSUS for preserving these photos so we can recall all those awesome memories! Share your memories! ... See MoreSee Less