DENHAM SPRINGS • LIVINGSTON • WALKER • WATSON • AMITE • HAMMOND
ADVOCATE THE LIVINGSTON -TANGIPAHOA
T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
Darlene Denstorff AROUND LIVINGSTON
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W e d n e s d ay, N ov e m b e r 19, 2025
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ONE DAY IN THE PAST
Good food for a good cause On Dec. 4, Denham Springs Main Street Association will present its 24th annual Holiday Chef’s Evening and Wine Tasting Event from 7-9 p.m. Twenty-one area restaurants will serve samples of various dishes in shops located in the Antiques Village. A variety of wine samplings will also be available. Tickets are advanced sales only and are $35 per person. Tickets may be purchased at bontempstix.com. Only 300 tickets will be sold. All proceeds benefit the Denham Springs Main Street Association. For more information, call (225) 667-7512, email info@ denhamspringsmainstreet.org or visit www.denhamspringsmainstreet.org. Entertainment will be provided by the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Children’s Choir and The Landford 10.
Holidays kick off in Antique District Get into the holiday season at 6 p.m. Nov. 28 at the Lighting of the Old City Hall in Denham Springs. The following day, Nov. 29, shop in the city’s Antique District from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the Merchants Christmas Open House. The Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra plays at 6 p.m. on Dec. 10 and the Kiwanis Club hosts the lighting of the Christmas tree at 6 p.m. Dec. 11. The Kiwanis Christmas Parade is at 2 p.m. Dec. 13 and the city’s Christmas Alive is at 6 p.m. Dec. 14. Meet the Grinch from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20 at Grinchmas in the Village.
Free pet food pantry supports Louisiana families in need Rescue Rehome Repeat of South Louisiana is launching a free pet food pantry throughout November to support pet owners in the Livingston and Baton Rouge areas who are facing financial hardship. Pet food and essential supplies will be distributed during scheduled adoption events this month. The initiative is designed to help families keep their pets healthy and at home during times of financial instability. Supplies are available while they last and offered on a firstcome, first-served basis. To ensure orderly distribution, numbered tickets will be provided at the start of each event. “Our goal is to make sure pets stay with the people who love them,” said Terri Dunlap, president of Rescue Rehome Repeat. “By assisting families experiencing a temporary setback, we can prevent animals from entering shelters and help keep pets where they belong — at home.” Full adoption event dates and pantry distribution times can be found at www.RescueRehomeRepeat.com.
Veterans Appreciation Day set in Denham Springs A veterans program is set for 10 a.m. Nov. 22 at Oaks Pavilion Park on Government Street in Denham Springs. “Veterans Appreciation Day isn’t just a ceremony — it’s a sacred moment of remembrance, gratitude and unity,”
ä See AROUND, page 3G
PHOTOS BY RICHARD MEEK
The hayride is always a popular event at the Old Farmer’s Day in Loranger, shown on Oct. 19.
Brunett family opens farm for a step back in time when plows and wood-burning stoves were key
BY RICHARD MEEK Contributing writer
They come in large numbers, people eager to take a step back in time, long before smartphones, laptop computers and in some cases electricity or even gas-powered farm equipment. For 50 of the past 52 years — two years were wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic — the Brunett family in Loranger has opened the door to a past when plows were pulled by horses and not tractors, when biscuits were cooked on wood-burning stoves and wagon trains were the mode of transportation and not electric vehicles. They come to see hogs butchered and then roasted, view with awe the wood-cutting contests, are amazed watching modern-day farmers wrestle with equipment dating to the Reconstruction era. They dance to the music by a band that has performed every year at the Loranger event since the 1980s and join with others the popular horse pull, where a team of two horses pulls up to 10,000 pounds. On the third weekend of October, usually around the time when fall offers at least a glimpse of cooler weather, the Brunett family hosts Ole Farmer’s Day on its family farm in Loranger, providing an authentic glimpse into the past yet viewed through a modern prism. “I think some people come here and don’t realize how hard the work was back in the day,” said Ethan Dunn, a member of the Brunett family who has worked at the event since a young age. “Simpler times were not necessarily easy.” Dunn said five generations of the Brunett family have helped maintain the tradition, keeping alive an event that annually draws thousands of people. “All of the family, the core group, puts this one,” he said, saying at least 20 family members are involved in setting up and managing the weekend. Also helping are about 50 staff members and up to 15 biscuit rollers who roll the goodies and then bake them in a wood-burning stove in front of long lines of eager buyers with big appetites. Tommy Brunett said at 6 a.m. on Oct. 19 he
Dust flies during Old Farmer’s Day in Loranger on Oct. 19 as a horse-drawn plow demonstrates how earlier farmers worked the land. received call from a person who said he did not want to be charged an entrance fee but just wanted to buy the biscuits. “They are that good,” Dunn said. For Lamar and Lori Glaze, the biscuit tent represents the cradle of their marriage and is an example of the overall family atmosphere. It was in that same tent 26 years ago where they first met. A year later, they were married. “The place really has a special meaning,” said Lori Glaze, whose grandmother started the biscuit tent 50 years ago. “It’s a generational thing,” she said, explaining that five generations of her family, including two of her grandchildren, were manning the tent that day. “We take a lot of pride in it,” she said. “That is why I love doing it.” Not far away, Brian Lee was manually grinding corn on an old manual grinder, one that had been handed down by his father.
Lee has carried on his dad’s tradition and has been in the same spot at Old Farmer’s Day for years. On this day, he was grinding to make corn meal that can be used for a fish fry, or, as he said, “if you have a wife who knows what she is doing, you can make some cornbread and eat cornbread and milk.” Lee said he still loves setting up the grinder and visiting with people he has known for three decades. “It’s enjoyable to come every year but kids today ain’t into this,” he admitted. Visitors are always within earshot of another longtime tradition, that being the popular band, The Fifth Wheel, playing on a stage strategically located in the middle of the site. The band has been the musical centerpiece at Old Farmer’s Day since 1982, an event Fred Burnthorn always enjoys performing despite
ä See PAST, page 4G
Albany loses in round one of the football playoffs The Albany football team made a trip to Brusly last week for a Division II nonselect first round playoff game, but for the Hornets, it was just another week where it was win or go home. Albany faced that scenario in week 10 against Bogalusa, when it came up with a 46-24 win that secured the playoff berth. That win came on the heels of two shutout losses, and credit goes to head coach Travis Mikel for implementing an unusual, but ultimately successful, offensive
Charles Salzer SPORTS ROUNDUP
formation that turned around his team’s offensive fortunes. The formation? In a vertical line, the Hornets backfield consisted of two running backs, Jo-
nah Grob and Kaleb Smith-Hiley, and linemen Joshua Robinson and Tommy Windom. Mikel said they call the setup “elephants,” but whatever it was called, it showed promise. The pachyderms produced. “Bogalusa created some problems for our regular offense, and it was do or die,” Mikel said of his decision to use the elephant formation. “Everybody says (the Brusly game) is round one but its actually round two for us because if we don’t win last week
then we don’t get into round one. So, I wanted a tone-setter.” After a game-changing performance against Bogalusa, tonesetting is exactly what Albany got against Brusly. The Hornets took the opening kickoff and held the ball for five minutes while running elephants. Albany hung around most of the first half, but eventually Brusly’s depth and talent won out as the sixthseeded Panthers pulled away in
ä See SALZER, page 2G