Life in LA Today

If you've lived in Magnolia for very long, you've certainly seen him around town… or at least seen the ubiquitous WDR signs. Today, you'll hear the story behind those initials.   W. Derrell Rogers went from a country boy growing up near Fordyce — without electricity, television, or even a telephone — to a Southern State College graduate who found himself down to eating ten-cent cans of Campbell's...

There are times in life when tragedy seems to have the final word—but often, God is quietly at work, writing a greater story. Today on Life in LA, we share one of those stories. It begins with Drs. Pierre and Martine Boumtje, professors at Southern Arkansas University, who came to Magnolia from Cameroon, built a life of faith and family, and raised three sons—one of whom seemed destined for an ext...

Today's guest is someone who's logged more miles on the backroads of Columbia County than most of us could count. Terry Hanson has been driving a school bus for the Magnolia School District for 35 years — and that's not counting the year he spent subbing before that. He drives Bus 72, known to the kids as the "Cat Bus," and in some ways it's a reflection of his career — reliable, steady, and still...

His father either had a great sense of humor or a knack for coming up with names. He called the acreage he farmed along the Red River in Lafayette County Miracle Farms, inspired by one of his favorite sayings: "God grants the miracle — we do the work." But why did Mr. Daniels name his son Jack? "I have a lot of fun with the name," Jack Daniels told me. "Apparently my dad had a pretty good sense of...

Today on  Life in LA , I sat down with a man who's been part of Magnolia's story for nearly six decades. Don Higdon began barbering on the square back in 1966, when a shop might have just one pair of electric clippers that all three barbers shared. Since then, he's seen every hairstyle imaginable come and go — from the flat top and the GI cut to the mullet and beyond — and he's had a front-row sea...

Today's episode takes us to a special community event in Magnolia, Arkansas — the annual Cruisin' Against Bruisin' car show, hosted at Immanuel Baptist Church. More than just a gathering of classic cars and enthusiasts, this event raises funds for Compassion's Foundation, an organization dedicated to offering empowering services, including emergency shelter and support for survivors of domestic vi...

Philip Story grew up his formative years in the small community of Macedonia, some seven miles south of Magnolia at the intersection of Arkansas Hwys. 19 and 160. He grew up walking up the road to one of the two Franks' grocery stores that served the community. Nearly everything was sold there, including ice cold Coca Colas and those lemon flavored Jackson cookies that were sold out of the big gla...

When it rains in these parts, I often open the Facebook page of a guy that I know is going to post the amount of rainfall he received in West Lamartine. When I heard him called the Mayor of West Lamartine, I was intrigued. But when he repaired my mother's favorite clock, I knew I had to get a microphone on him and learn more about Larry Polk. Larry and his wife Jean live just about a mile off U.S....

Long before those of us who speak our particular version of English inhabited what is now Lower Arkansas, early man inhabited the countryside. Dr. Carl Drexler is research archeologist for the Arkansas Archeological Survey stationed at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. He is intimately familiar with all periods of cultural development in this region and recently expanded upon them at a tal...

Take it from John Harden: the solar eclipse coming up April 8 is an awe-inspiring event with spiritual impact that you don't want to miss. As a father who took his family to see the last, John has first-hand experience. Back in 2017 they drove from Magnolia to Lebanon, Tennessee to witness the eclipse. "You've got to get into the region of 100 per cent totality," John told me. "I drove eight hours...

It's hard to believe a full decade has passed since the quintessential voice of Lower Arkansas announced not only his retirement but also his departure from Magnolia for eastern Tennessee. After more than 60 years with Magnolia Radio—KVMA and KFMV as they were known—Ken Sibley turned off the mic, hung up the headphones and left the studio. He and Carol moved to Collierville, TN, where three of the...

As a young man, David Rankin had never given any thought to becoming a college professor, let alone an administrator of higher education. His mother had moved back to Arkansas from Tennessee--first to Hot Springs, then to Junction City--after his father had died in World War II and he had just begun college. After a stint at factory work, he decided he preferred higher education and was attending...

For Dr. Mimo Lemdja and her family, adapting to life in L.A. has been a breeze--a warm, summer breeze that is. Originally from Cameroun in Central Africa, she moved to Canada where she completed high school, then moved to Minnesota.  She finds the climate in South Arkansas much preferable to either of those locations! Her medical studies took her from Minnesota to New York where she met her future...

Some 40 years ago, a young letter carrier walking his route in the south part of Magnolia became convicted that a certain neighborhood needed to hear the Gospel. Because of his conviction that God was calling him to start a new work, Larry Roach planted the seeds for what would become Greater Harvest Church of God in Christ. Larry and his wife Wanda began the work with Bible study and worship in w...

Fresh out of broadcast school in Missouri, the young man was hired on his first interview with Radio Station KVMA in Magnolia, Arkansas. Not only was he hired, he was told he was going on the air! With just minutes before opening the mic, Bill Bigley and Bill Merrell asked, "Is that the name you are going to use on air?" What was wrong with his name? He had used it all his life up until now. But s...

If you listen to my podcasts, you've heard his voice plenty of times. You just didn't know that the talent behind the intro and outro belongs to my son, John.  Born right here in Lower Arkansas, John Ford, Jr. has spent but few years in the Natural State. His upbringing in West Africa and Portugal, along with multiple postings by the U.S. Army, have just about erased any hint of the South Arkansas...

Did you know that one of every seven persons who enters the hospital will need blood? While modern medicine has come a long way, in many instances there's just no substitute for human blood. To show you just how quick and easy it is to donate blood, I took my microphones down to the LifeShare bus at the Walmart parking lot and recorded this episode with my phlebotomist Shelby. Shelby, a native of...

While serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq, Donnell Ford's chaplain took one look at the young  man and gave him a new name: Mighty Man of God! Donnell had been involved in church most of his life, but he didn't feel like a mighty man of God at the time!  But the chaplain continued to encourage him and model what a servant of God looked like and what he did. Just as the Apostle Paul went to Arabia fol...

Does your language have a word that means "a piece of log bitten off the stump by a bear"? One of the L.A. Indian languages did! And when one of the early explorers to this area asked one of the Indians, "What's that?" he replied with this word, which then became the name for a body of flowing water! What stream or creek or bayou was it and what's that word? Our local historian knows and will shar...

I tell people that I can usually remember three of the four items I went to pick up at the grocery store. It's the fourth one that always stumps me! So when I learned that Mercedes Ray, program director for the Social Work Program at SAU was going to be speaking on how to improve your memory, I had to go and listen. And I wasn't disappointed, especially when she agreed to be a guest on the podcast...

"When the Lord is developing someone, all of life is a school," wrote Henry Blackaby. Bro. Joe Owens is proof of that, as are most of us if we would stop and think of  Romans 8:28 . The pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church is an example of how God uses His followers in ways they might never have expected. Bro. Joe didn't grow up a Baptist--in fact he was raised in the Methodist church. But he met a...

One of the surprising things about life in Lower Arkansas is that you never know what a surprising "back story" the person your talking to may have. A retired real estate guy may have been the drummer for one of the hottest pop groups in the region. The children's librarian may have lived everywhere from Pickles Gap to Idaho but is freshly returned from Poland. Or the kid who pushes your groceries...

Ken Stonecipher, one of L.A.'s most eclectic and talented artists/musicians spent some time in Magnolia recently promoting his newest  magnum opus --a cookbook entitled  Still...Magnolia's Matriarch's.  As the subtitle explains, it's a culinary portrait of some of the finest women who ever lived in Magnolia, Arkansas. We spent a good part of Sunday afternoon reminiscing and getting myself  au cour...

Doug Sikes is the publisher of Acclaim Press, the company that is currently working to produce a new volume of history for this county. He and Mike Gee, local historian, were working together this week to get the word out on the new volume. The deadline for submitting your family information has been extended so gather it up and send it in. The brochure on how to submit your invitation is availabl...

As a new college graduate, Larry Dunn needed a job. So he made a bold  promise to the superintendent interviewing him. "If you hire me, we will bring state recognition to Magnolia." Larry more than delivered on that promise, having just returned with his students from New York City and a performance at Carnegie Hall. Today's interview was one of the first I dreamed of getting for my new podcast. W...