Community

For most of us, last year was filled with fear and difficulty, with unprecedented struggles and hardships. If we were fortunate enough not to get the coronavirus, we most likely suffered with isolation from many of our loved ones. It seems that there was a collective sigh of relief to see 2020 end, and a universal look forward to a better world in 2021.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I purchased my first home last year.

Celebrating his 100th birthday today is Thomas Bryan Ledford, Sr., of Ruston. Born in 1921 in Vernon, Ledford picked cotton, hauled pulpwood and plowed fields before marrying Helen Cassidy in 1941 and being drafted into the Army, where he served in New Guinea during WWII. After being discharged from the Army, Ledford started working for Lincoln Plumbing in 1946 and in 1951 started Ledford Plumbing Company until retiring at age 70 and becoming a building inspector for plumbing for the city of Ruston’s Public Works Department for seven years. During that span, the avid Louisiana Tech athletics fan reared five children and one first cousin while helping raise eight grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great, great grandchild. A member of Cook Baptist Church since 1949, he served as deacon and supported the church with his time, labor, money and love. He enjoyed fishing, squirrel and bird hunting, and drinking coffee while visiting with friends and for almost 30 years attended the Louisiana Tech Adult Fitness program classes. His family credits his longevity to loving and serving God, clean living, and hard working.

The logistics of how everyday necessities get onto the shelves of the local store probably didn’t enter the mind of most Americans—that is, until the global COVID-19 pandemic began to spread across the United States.