By Karla Dayhuff, F404927
May 2016
Members of FMCA’s Amateur Radio chapter found much to see and do in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, during the chapter’s 2015 fall rally. It was held November 5-9, 2015, at Lakeside RV Park, just south of the town of Livingston, the parish seat. Members in 18 coaches attended.
Jonathan “JT” Taylor, assistant director of the Livingston Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau, helped make the rally special by providing shopping totes, arranging transportation, contacting local merchants, and presenting three gift baskets that were our “meet and greet” door prizes. He also shared information about the parish.
On our first full rally day, a limo bus took us to the Livingston Parish Tourist Center in nearby Albany. We then visited St. Margaret Queen of Scotland Catholic Church, where Royanne Kropog and her husband, Alex, shared the church’s history. The Gothic Revival-style building was constructed in 1910 by the Hungarian settlers who founded Livingston Parish and called their settlement Árpádhon. Royanne is the author of a book titled The Story of Árpádhon: Hungarian Settlement, Louisiana, 1896-2006. The Kropogs joined us at a restored Hungarian school that is now the Hungarian Settlement Museum, where we enjoyed Hungarian pastries.
Our next stop was the Carter Plantation House, near Springfield. We enjoyed a buffet lunch while learning the history of the house, which was built by Thomas Freeman between 1817 and 1820. Freeman was the first African-American to own property in Livingston Parish. He and his family lived in the home, which he named Sycamore, until 1838.
On Saturday, a ladies’ luncheon was held at Taste of Louisiana Café in the Denham Springs Antique Village. That was followed by shopping. Merchants welcomed our group by offering small gifts and treats.
Because of a scheduling conflict, we were unable to visit the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, a research center funded by the National Science Foundation. But that and other stops will be on our itinerary when we return to Livingston Parish.
For more information about the chapter, visit www.fmcaarc.com or contact Karla Dayhuff at (352) 249-8160.
Members of FMCA’s Amateur Radio chapter found much to see and do in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, during the chapter’s 2015 fall rally. It was held November 5-9, 2015, at Lakeside RV Park, just south of the town of Livingston, the parish seat. Members in 18 coaches attended.