Mark Hollier is the 3rd great grandson of Captain Orramel Hinckley and Anna Hawley Gardner. He grew up in Opelousas, Louisiana. He first became interested in genealogy in the early 1990’s as his mother was compiling family history information and pictures. The stories she shared about their family got him interested in pursuing more. Over the past 20+ years, he has conducted extensive research and collected many pictures, letters and stories about the Gardner, Hinckley and Norton families of Washington, Louisiana. He realized that compiling a book was the best way to share this information in a format that is easily accessible to everyone. With detailed genealogies and family photographs of ancestors and gravestones this book will appeal to local genealogists and history buffs alike.

We are thrilled that October has arrived! Our Library Fall Fest is in a few weeks, Saturday, October 19, 2024 from 9 am to 1 pm, and we want to begin promoting all the authors, vendors, performers and community partners that, as of today, will be there! First of all we will spotlight two new, young musicians from the Mamou area: Shaun Young and Jayden Andrepont (I’ve heard them play and they are amazing) and a Balloon Artist from Lafayette, Bubbllee. The bubbles that this guy can create are mind blowing! Also, we will have the Henry Farm Petting Zoo for the duration of the Festival compliments of the Friends of the Library.  We will again set up a Kids Craft Zone and offer folks a chance to discover our Seed Library and for the first time, we are including a Community Garage Sale opportunity to anyone who wants to set up a booth. Also new this year, the library will be selling Popcorn and Hot Dog bag lunches along with our huge supply of Friends of the Library Used Books! Now, “Look Who’s Coming to Library Fall Fest”: AUTHORS: Debby Lawson, Rhonda B. LeJeune, Julia Beth Davis, Patricia J. Williams, Kristal Ben, Pamela Funderburk, Darisa Ricks, Linda Fontenot, John & Phyllis Comeaux, and Jasonnaye Wilson. FOOD VENDORS: Tammy Courville, Natasha Edwards, Siagonal Leblanc, Annette Wilson. COMMUNITY / INFORMATION: Save Our Community Kids Adventure Camp, Neil Ortego, Monica J. Ben, Jasmine Harris, and Lupus Awareness. CRAFT VENDORS: Kayra Guillory, Adrienne Griffith, Betsy Pitre, Charlavell Simon, Belinda Williams, Nesha Arvie, Lori Butler, Gwen Fontenot, Charles Fontenot, and Pat Fontenot. We really want to promote this event as a Family Fest and encourage families to set up a family tent with comfortable chairs and spend the day with us! There will be lot to do throughout the day. Also, KVPI will be doing a live show from 10 am to noon and they are excited. Please share this good news and keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates about participants!

Nina, still grieving from the loss of her father, discovers that she has inherited property in the British Virgin Islands — a vacation home she had no idea existed, until now. The house is extraordinary: state-of-the-art, all glass and marble. How did her sensible father come into enough money for this? Why did he keep it from her? And what else was he hiding?

Maria, once an ambitious medical student, is a nanny for the super-rich. The money’s better, and so are the destinations where her work takes her. Just one more gig, and she’ll be set. Finally, she’ll be secure. But when her wards never show, Maria begins to make herself at home, spending her days luxuriating by the pool and in the sauna. There’s just one rule: Don’t go in the basement. That room is off-limits. But her curiosity might just get the better of her. And soon, she’ll wish her only worry was not getting paid. 

And from acclaimed writer, Claire Douglas, author of “The Couple at Number 9″…

Emilia has a dream life. But someone knows the truth . . .

Emilia Ward lives in suburban London with her husband, their young son, and a teenager from her first marriage. Emilia is an ordinary mom–and she’s also the bestselling author of the Miranda Moody detective novels.

But when writing her tenth–and most difficult–book, life takes a disturbing turn: an incident mimicking the plot of one of her novels occurs in real life. Just an unsettling coincidence, right?

Until it happens again. And again.

Then someone she knows dies in the same way as a victim in the book she’s currently writing.

Why is someone doing this?

What do they want?

How could they possibly know what she’s thinking–and writing?

Is Emilia and her family next?