Professional Documents
Culture Documents
In the years since I came to work at The Salvation Army, I can't tell you
how many times someone has asked if I knew this or that fact about the
history of the organization, and my answer has been "No." Upon
stumbling across property records from The Business Girls Inn about a
year ago and wondering why in the world we had that document, my
interest in the history of The Salvation Army (TSA), especially its presence
in the Shreveport-Bossier area, grew tremendously. In my research, I've
found some truly interesting information about the efforts of TSA in our
community and the scope of its worldwide mission. Since its founding in
1865, TSA has fulfilled many roles in the realm of disaster and social work,
and these services have often eclipsed, in public opinion at least, the
foundation on which the organization was created, making the Word of
God accessible to the destitute and socially-rejected in society. All of the
work done by The Salvation Army, historically and presently, makes me
even more proud to be an employee here. As such, I decided it was a
shame that people, myself included, didn't know much about the
organization's long history in this community so I've taken up the cause of
-Rebecca Nichols
The Salvation Army of Northwest Louisiana
**Fun Fact #1: The Salvation Army's bell ringers have been given cameos in many films
and TV shows over the years. The most famous of these is probably A Christmas Story. (In
2016 [NWLA], TSA bell ringers raise between $30 and $40 per hour.)
**Fun Fact #2: The Christmas song Silver Bells, written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
and performed first by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards in 1950, is said to be about The
Salvation Armys bell ringing on New Yorks street corners, marking the start of the Christmas season.
1891 - The Army opens its first U.S. food and shelter depot in Greenwich
Village, New York. A women's shelter called The Daybreak is simultaneously
opened in the Bowery (a neighborhood in southern Manhattan where vice was
rampant in the form of gambling, drugs and alcohol, and prostitution).
Salvation Army facilities throughout the world have traditionally been located
in the lowest-income and highest-vice areas of cities because that's where their
services are most needed.
**Fun Fact: In a 1933 film entitled, She Done Him Wrong, Cary Grant
plays Salvation Army officer, Captain Cummings, opposite Mae West.
The movie is set in New York's the Bowery in 1892. Grant's character is
actually an undercover detective known as "The Hawk." The musical
Guys and Dolls also features Salvation Army officers.
1891 - The Salvation Army Headquarters in London establishes the International
Staff Band, its flagship ensemble, and officially incorporates music into its ministry
and social-services work. It utilizes music specifically written for and by The
Salvation Army. Individual Corps brass bands had already been established as
early as 1879 and 1880 in Durham and Cheshire, England.
**Fun Fact: The Salvation Army Brass Band has been marching in the Rose Parade since 1920,
making it a 96-year tradition as of 2016. While there are floats that have taken part in the Pasadena,
California New Year's Day parade for over 100 years, TSA's is the longest-participating band to march
in the event. The brass band has, like the red kettle, become one of the preeminent symbols publicly
associated with The Salvation Army.
1896 - Ballington Booth, son of William and Catherine, and his wife, Maud, leave The Salvation
Army to form Volunteers of America after a dispute with his father. Ballington mimics the structure
and mission of TSA in his new organization.
1898 - The Salvation Army first begins its relationship with the U.S. Armed Forces during the
Spanish-American War. Salvationists accompany American troops to the Philippines.
1899 - TSA officially begins its disaster work in the United States when the Emergency Disaster Program is created.
1900 - First major practical application of The Salvation Armys EDS
during hurricane aftermath in Galveston, Texas. The storm almost
completely wipes out the coastal city and kills approximately 5,000 people.
Early 1900s - The red shield is reported to have been first used as a lapel pin by Australian Salvationists during the
Boer War in South Africa. It is said that Canadian Salvationists stationed in France (around 1915) were familiar
with the shields earlier use and were the first to begin using it as a sign on the exteriors of their huts.
1904 - Eva Booth (who became Evangeline Booth at the suggestion of friends) assumes command of The
Salvation Army in the U.S. She will serve as U.S. leader for 30 years. Under her direction, TSA services are
expanded to include hospitals for unwed mothers, soup kitchens, emergency shelters,
unemployment services, and housing for senior citizens.
1906 - EDS teams respond to the Great Earthquake in San Francisco (see right).
1912 - William Booth is "promoted to glory," and his eldest son, Bramwell
Booth, succeeds him as international leader. William's death is felt throughout
the organization. The foundation he laid allows The Salvation Army to not
only maintain its programs, but also grow them.
1917 - Doughnuts (as we know them in the 21st century) are first served by TSA volunteers to
Americans fighting in France during WWI. A hole is cut in the dough using whatever tools Salvation
Army workers can find, most notably spent ammunition shells, so that the pastries can be carried on
fingers as the soldiers march, and the doughnuts are sometimes even fried in the lassies' metal helmets.
The doughnut girls become a symbol of all of TSA's efforts during the war, which include religious
services and emotional counseling, free refreshments, clothes-mending services, and entertainment.
These activities take place in crudely constructed huts and often actually in the trenches with the
soldiers themselves.
**(Not So) Fun Fact: The food provided by Salvation Army lassies to the boys on the
front was often the only sustenance they would receive. Many veterans of WWI and
WWII fondly remember the kindness of Salvation Army aid workers in accounts after the
wars were over. A popular song entitled "Salvation Lassie of Mine," composed in 1919,
reflects the sentiment shared by so many World War veterans. The song demonstrates
how important Salvation Army lassies were to soldier morale. Its chorus is as follows:
"A sweet little Angel that went o'er the sea,
With the emblem of God in her hand.
A wonderful Angel who brought there to me
The sweet of a war-furrowed land.
The crown on her head was a ribbon of red,
A symbol of all that's divine;
Though she called each a brother, she's more like a mother,
Salvation Lassie of Mine."
1919 - President Woodrow Wilson awards Evangeline Booth the Distinguished Service Medal for
The Salvation Army's work during WWI.
November 11, 1934 - Evangeline Booth becomes the General (the international
leader and highest ranking officer in The Salvation Army.) She holds her position in
London until 1939.
1938 - The 1st Doughnut Day is celebrated in Chicago to help those in need during the Great
Depression and honor The Salvation Army's work during the war. (National Doughnut Day is
still celebrated the first Friday in June.)
February 4, 1941 - TSA and five other charities officially found the United Service Organizations
(USO), by presidential order of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to provide entertainment and other
relief services to the troops.
May 10, 1941 - The Salvation Armys International Headquarters
(IHQ) is destroyed in the "London Blitz" during WWII. The night
raid on that evening is the most severe attack London would sustain.
A photograph by police constables captures the IHQ facade falling
to the ground (see left). The Salvation Armys IHQ has been at the
same site since 1881. (It is rebuilt in 1963 and proudly remains there
today at 101 Queen Victoria Street.)
Present Day
1954 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower declares November 28th through December 4th the First National
Salvation Army Week. (This celebration now takes place in May.)
August-September 2005 - TSAs EDS teams respond to Hurricane Katrina/Rita aftermath in even greater force than
9/11. The effort along the Gulf Coast brings in
more than 8,000 Salvation Army volunteers
and employees, who serve 5.6 million hot
meals and 8.2 million snacks and drinks. 2.6
million survivors of the storms and flooding
are assisted in some way by The Salvation
Army. TSA raises and spends a total of 382
million dollars during both the initial and
long-term recovery phases of the disaster work on the Gulf Coast.
2015 - The Salvation Army celebrates its sesquicentennial anniversary (150 years) worldwide.
2016 - The Salvation Army is the second largest and most-recognizable charity in the United States, behind
United Way. TSA serves communities in 127 countries and has approximately 14,000 Corps. Internationally,
commissioned officers number 26,675, employees number nearly 109,000, and volunteers number 4.5 million.
There is no way to accurately measure how many millions of people have been assisted by The Salvation Army
over the last 151 years.
**Timeline adapted from The Salvation Army's national website and other web-based resources.
Caddo Courthouse
1905 - Four officers are assigned to the Shreveport Corps to begin building programs. These are Captain Johnson,
Captain Wilson, Captain Gerhard, and Lieutenant Mason.
1906-1920 - 28 officers are assigned to run and grow Shreveport's programs during this 14-year time period. (In
today's structure, there would be only 4 or 5 sets of officers in that amount of time.)
January 30, 1920 - The first property TSA Shreveport owns, a two-story frame house is
purchased at 710 Crockett Street. Social and religious services are conducted on the first floor,
in addition to open- air "meetings" held throughout Downtown Shreveport, and the top floor is
utilized as a residence for the officers (known in military and TSA jargon as "Officer's
Quarters").
c. 1926 - During the command of Captain Charles Burch, the first transient lodge is
established in a rented property at Fannin and Louisiana Streets. Other rented facilities used as transient lodges
until 1950 are at 511 Caddo Street and 752 Austin Place.
**Fun Fact: The Austin Place facility was the historic
Hauser House, built in 1867 and renovated in 1880. It has
had many owners and purposes over the years and is
currently operated by the Philadelphia Center / Mercy
Center as a safe haven for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
This home and the other two aforementioned transientlodge locations operated by The Salvation ArmyShreveport are in the present-day Ledbetter Heights neighborhood, which used to be known as "St. Paul's Bottoms"
and was the site of the City's experimental period of legal prostitution (until 1917). Many Victorian homes built by
prominent Shreveport citizens in the 19th century became the site of the City's "red light district" in the first half of
the 20th century, and it was not until fairly recently that efforts towards historical preservation were undertaken.
1932-1933 - There is a significant increase in the amount of transient care provided by TSA-Shreveport during the
Depression years, specifically between 1932 and 1933 when unemployment is at its highest level in the U.S. The
Shreveport Corps also operates a soup kitchen during this time.
1933 - TSA Shreveport officially begins operating its Red Shield Boys Clubs. This program
will become part of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America organization, which provides afterschool programming for children from low-income families.
** Fun Fact: The current Shreveport Club, at 2821 Greenwood Road, is the only remaining
Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club in the state of Louisiana. The Shreveport Corps had
previously operated many other branches, all of which were closed by 2011. (The full history of the Northwest LA
Salvation Army Boys (and Girls) Clubs will be on our website in the near future for those who are interested.)
1938 - Salvationist Bandsman, Sammy Swor, is named National High School Cornet
Champion for the next three years. He wins a total of 15 medals and awards
throughout his career.
**Fun Fact: Jazz musician, Louis Armstrong, who also famously played the
trumpet, is arguably the most well-known cornet player of all time.
February 27, 1941 - Opening of new men's lodge. This new (rented) facility is able to house 45 transient men and
has improved facilities for cooking and nutrition, recreation, and hygiene. (This history is being published on the
75th anniversary of the photos below being taken.)
1946 - The Red Kettle Campaign spreads to Shreveport. Mayor Clyde Fant, for whom
the parkway on the Shreveport side of the Red River is named, places the first dollar
in the first-ever Shreveport kettle. (We are still trying to confirm from a second source
that this is first-ever incidence of bell-ringing in the Shreveport-Bossier area.)
**Fun Fact: The Mayors offices still support The Salvation Army! In
December 2015, Mayor Ollie Tyler (Shreveport) and Mayor Lo Walker
(Bossier) held a competition to see which could raise the most money ringing
the bell for TSA of Northwest Louisiana. Mayor Tyler proved victorious.
January 1, 1948 - The Shreveport EDS team responds to
the small town of Cotton Valley, LA, which, the day
before, is almost entirely destroyed by an out-of-season
tornado reported to have left a trench 100 miles long from Louisiana to Arkansas. Rain and
snow make the clean up effort slow and even more miserable than it would normally be. In a
town of only 1500 people, 15 are killed, and many more are seriously injured in their homes.
The New Year's Eve tornado bears down on the town of Cotton Valley not only once, but
circles back after passing and deals an equally-devastating second blow.
Old Lodge
New Lodge
Late 1950 - A new transient lodge is acquired and outfitted at 109 Spring
Street. This is the first lodge owned by TSA-Shreveport. Previous facilities had been rented.
The new shelter and social-services center is able to house 38 men nightly on "double-deck"
beds. Hotel lodging is arranged for transient women, with or without children, but female
transient cases number less than 100 for the entire year.
**Fun Fact: Mid-century photographs show the facade of the Spring Street building with
"Supported by Community Chest" below The Salvation Army Social Services designation. While
it may not be common knowledge, Community Chests throughout the U.S. underwent several
name changes until the national organization became known as United Way in 1963. Local
branches slowly adopted the new name; however, there are still a few Community Chests in
existence today. In 2016, United Way will still be one of TSA's most-generous donors.
October 1976 - The Salvation Army Boys Club sends Linda Fong, chosen by the US Judo
Association to represent the country at an international competition, to London. She trains
at the Shreveport Boys Club, holds 4 first-place titles, and has never lost a match. Her trip is
sponsored by the Shreveport Optimist Club, an organization which will still generously
support TSABGC 40 years later.
May 1985 - 147 E. Stoner Avenue is purchased for use as a thrift store and additional space for
administrative offices. (This property is still in use in 2016 as the Shreveport Family Store and food pantry, and it has
undergone several rounds of renovations throughout its occupation.)
Present Day
Present Day
October 1985 - 201 E. Stoner Avenue is purchased for use as men's lodge. The building must be converted and
outfitted for residential use. The facility would still be unable to accommodate homeless women or children. (If you
have information about or pictures of this facility, please contact us 318-424-3200.)
1986-1990 - TSA Shreveport has grown its programs successfully enough to be listed in internal documents as an Area
Command under Majors Omer and Ann McKinney. The officers in charge oversee all religious activities, socialservices programs, and facilities in the Shreveport-Bossier area. By November 1990, the classification will again be
listed only as "Citadel," and 3 years later, the Citadel designation will also be dropped in internal documentation.
**Fun Fact: Area Command posts do still exist within The Salvation Army organization.
However, they are generally reserved for the largest metropolitan areas or largest
geographical areas with multiple Corps, several service locations, and extensive program
facilities. They are also present in cities where an Adult Rehabilitation Center is located.
Oklahoma City Area Command
April 12, 1991 - Local EDS team responds within minutes to the areas of Caddo and Bossier Parishes affected by
violent storms producing high winds, tornadoes, and 10 inches of rain within 12 hours. Over 1,000 homes and
businesses are flooded and over 1500 families are affected in some way by the storms. TSA-Shreveport is joined by
EDS teams from nearby cities, and within the first 24 hours alone, they serve over
1,400 meals and 1,700 drinks across 4 relief sites.
c. 1992 - 200 E. Stoner Avenue facility is opened for Corps programming and
subsequently replaces 710 Crockett Street as the Citadel Corps.
Present Day
Present Day
2001 - A new men's and women's shelter is built at 1207 Cornwell Avenue
(which was 1306 Cornwell Avenue before the City rezoned the property). This
facility is also able to house single women with children, and it is named The
Merkle Center of Hope after its largest benefactor.
February 21, 2001 - A new TSA-Shreveport
program, in cooperation with the US Department
of Veteran's Affairs, is approved and instated to provide shelter and other services to
homeless vets. (see right)
**Fun Fact: This program is still operating at The Salvation Army Merkle Center of
Hope 15 years later and is currently able to care for 24 male and 5 female veterans by
providing shelter, nutrition, mental and physical health referrals, job placement (if client is
able to work), and assistance with securing more-permanent housing. Since its
inception, The Shreveport Corps' homeless veteran's program has assisted an estimated
5,000 of the men and women who have proudly served our country.
January 2007 - The Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club at 2900 Pershing Boulevard burns
down due to an electrical fire. The fire causes a total loss and leaves personnel and Club
members searching for a new program home. Operations are temporarily moved to The
Salvation Army's Corps facility at 200 East Stoner Avenue. Fundraising efforts are begun by
Shreveport's Advisory Board to support the construction of a new TSABGC.
April 9, 2008 - Groundbreaking for the new Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club at 2821
Greenwood Road. The City of Shreveport provides the land on which to build under a
$1.00 / 100-year lease. Funds contributed by Willis Knighton, The Merkle Foundation,
Morris Dickson, The Community Foundation, United Way, and many other generous
donors allow the new facility to be raised.
Before 2010 - Bossier Family Stores on Airline Drive and at the corner of Benton and E. Texas Street close,
leaving the 147 E. Stoner Avenue thrift store as the only remaining retail location operated by The Salvation Army
of Shreveport.
**Fun Fact: The Salvation Army Family Stores of today evolved from a group called The Household Salvage
Brigade that operated during the early years of the organization. General William Booth himself created the effort in
response to the need for affordable (and/or free) housewares and clothing for London's poor, a need he
encountered daily throughout his ministry, and because of a desire to recycle goods instead of wasting them.
December 2010 - The Salvation Army of Northwest Louisiana receives its largest-ever red kettle donation.
An anonymous donor places a $100,000 check in the kettle at the Brookshires on Line Avenue.
**Fun Fact: The previous year, The Salvation Army of Northwest Louisiana was the recipient of a South
African gold coin, called a Krugerrand, in one of its kettles. The coin was sold for $1,700.
February 2011- The new Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club is opened to
the public for use so that it may continue in its mission of providing quality,
after-school programming to the historic Queensborough, Allendale,
Lakeside, and Highland communities. After the opening of this new facility,
the Club which had been operating in Bossier City (Mitchell Park) is closed
and those Club members are incorporated into the program at the
Greenwood Road property.
**Fun Fact: The current Club serves nearly 800 children every year in the Shreveport-Bossier area and offers dozens
of valuable programs for our communitys youth.
June 18, 2013 - Carla's Haven opens. The Lenert Family raises
money to renovate and dedicate the Family Shelter at The Merkle
Center of Hope in honor of their daughter, Carla, who had
recently passed away.
June 2015 - Historic flooding of Red River. TSA-Shreveport EDS team responds in force, serving over 13,000 meals
and snacks to 8,300 first responders and sandbaggers in the initial weeks of activation. The river crests at over 37 feet
on June 8th, but Salvation Army disaster relief continues for several weeks while clean-up efforts are conducted.
As of February 2016 - The Salvation Army of Northwest Louisiana operates 4 program facilities and serves 8
parishes (Caddo, Bossier, Webster, Desoto, Claiborne, Red River, Bienville, and Sabine.) The Shreveport Corps
supports many major programs and has approximately 40 employees.
**Special thanks to the Southern Territorys Historical Center in Atlanta for providing much of the information enclosed. Other timeline
items were adapted from web-based resources.
Afterword:
I think the document I mentioned in the foreword, the one that initially peaked my interest in The
Salvation Army of Shreveport's history, deserves the last word in our little story.
While digging through blue prints in a remote attic corner of our current Corps facility at 200 E. Stoner
Avenue, I stumbled upon an old booklet detailing the HVAC specifications for The Business Girls Inn. I
found my discovery odd, but my coworkers thought I was being ridiculous when I said it sounded like a
motel for women employed in humanity's oldest profession so I tossed the document aside and
continued on my print-finding mission. As long-time thrift store operators, it is not uncommon for us to
find things that don't belong in our facilities. Items are donated to the Family Store, someone thinks
they're neat and displays them on his or her desk, that someone finds other employment or retires, and
those "neat" things end up in a box in the attic collecting dust. For some reason, however, The Business
Girls Inn document intrigued me enough that I went back upstairs a few days later to grab it and then
conducted a quick internet search. What I found was a small, but quite interesting, piece of The Salvation
Army of Northwest Louisiana's story.
Seeing a need in the late 1920s, the Methodist Women of Shreveport organized to provide a safe home
for working girls ... Yes, the kind of working girls I initially suspected. They opened The Jubilee Inn on
September 20th, 1928 in a leased building at 412 Fannin Street. In 1946, the City Mission Board of the
Womens Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church (South) purchased a site at 814 Cotton
Street, and by 1949, The Business Girls Inn was opened. The previous property on Fannin Street was sold
for the bus terminal to be built. The "Inn" operated throughout the '50s and '60s but permanently closed its
doors in 1972, as fewer business girls desired its services. First Presbyterian Church purchased the
property in 1974 for use as an extension of their Evergreen Vocational School.
In response to a need for shelter for homeless families in Northwest Louisiana, the Presbyterian Church
repurposed the property, and in September of 1989, the Evergreen House was opened as a temporary
shelter. Until 1992, The Salvation Army-Shreveport Corps actually operated the homeless families'
program at the Evergreen House. In 1993, the name of the facility was again changed, and the
Providence House was born. The current, expanded Providence House facility is the largest transitional
shelter for homeless families with children in the state of Louisiana, and it is an agency with which we, at
The Salvation Army, work closely to provide the best possible care for those in our community who are
struggling the most.
Recent studies indicate that 27% of Louisiana's children live in poverty and homeless families make up
about 40% of the total homeless population, clear proof that there is still a great need, sometimes too great
a need, for social-services organizations in our community. The Salvation Army of Northwest Louisiana
will continue serving that need as long as it is able, and with that, our story is concluded. It has truly been
my honor to be able to share it. Special thanks to Michael Nagy and
the Southern Territorys Historical Center in Atlanta.
-B.