Central City News

The passing of Danny Brown last month could be reported as a loss to Baton Rouge of a master photojournalist who covered such historic events as the Apollo moon landings and the career of LSU All-America Pistol Pete Maravich. Or the focus might be on the intimate access he had at the Governor’s Mansion during […]

In the history of public education in East Baton Rouge Parish, there have been many great principals. Two that stood out in the mid-20th century were Little Fuzzy Brown at Istrouma High and J.A. Smith at Central High. They were titans in their day. Little Fuzzy came to Istrouma in 1935 as head football coach […]

walked to the podium as the valedictorian of the first graduating of the new Central High School, located at the corner of Canal (now Hooper) and Sullivan roads. A copy of her speech was discovered in 2009 and given to the Central City News. It is a timeless message that resonates as well today as […]

People in Baton Rouge should open their minds to the idea of incorporating the new City of St. George, especially when we realize how it all got started. In Louisiana, any community of 300 or more people anywhere in the state outside an incorporated municipality has the right to file a petition calling for an […]

Growing up in Eunice where he was an altar boy and Eagle Scout, Claud Derbes worked part-time for his cousin, Chookie Derbes, the owner of Derbes Drugs of Eunice. It was great preparation to become a pharmacist, according to Claud’s wife of 33 years, Janice Derbes. “He never really wanted to be anything else,” she […]

Scores of family and friends gathered at Zoar Baptist Church to honor the life and accomplishments of Carlton Hudson at his 100th birthday party last Saturday. On display were mementoes of his service as navigator on a B-24 bomber during World War II. He was shot down during the Kassel Mission and was held as […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: Baton Rouge television icon Bill Black, or Buckskin Bill, as he was known, passed away last week after more than 60 years’ service to the Baton Rouge community. Much has been written about Buckskin Bill since he died, but we wanted to offer a contemporary view of Buckskin when his show was in […]

On Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, the City of Central was pelted with a beautiful layer of snow which rapidly began to accumulate. It snows only rarely in South Louisiana, and when it does, it normally turns to mush almost immediately, but this snow was different! It was real snow, the kind you see up North. […]

Sam Crifasi’s father Dominic immigrated to America from Italy and started a fruit stand to provide for his wife, five boys, and three girls. Sam worked in the family businesses. A practicing Catholic, Sam fell in love with a Southern girl named Mary Lou Jacocks, who was Protestant. She converted, they married and started having […]

The greatest generation still lives! Here in Baton Rouge, that generation is epitomized by the Crifasi family. Their mother and father immigrated from Italy in the early 1900’s. Of the five boys and three girls, six are still alive, including five who reside in the Baton Rouge. They range in age from 83 to 100. […]