Three generations of the Sparke family have overseen operations here. The latest is Anna Maria Sparke, no kin to the island. “My grandfather [H. A. Sparke] had it from 1956 until he died in 1984. And my father [R. W. Sparke] took over in 1984, and he ran it until his death in 2020.

Built in 1924, the downtown YMCA is constructed in the Italian Renaissance style. It was designed by Clarence W. King and built for Shreveport entrepreneur Edward Jacobs, bearing a resemblance to Italy’s Villa Medici in Rome. Twin bell towers adorn the roof, which covers the triplearched entrance bordered by Corinthian columns.

“The Shreveport Regional Arts Council has had to pivot away from Christmas in the Sky this year because we don’t want 2,500 people, our favorite people in this city – our guests – to get sick as a dog. So, we are going to change our spots,” said Kallenberg, chair of this year’s event.

In those five weeks, plumbers, electricians and other contractors swarmed over the building to get it ready for new patients, new staff and a renewed lease on life. Chris Mangin is senior vice president of operations for Ochsner LSU, and he said the crews literally worked 24/7 to get the building back online.

About 30 years ago, the elder McCommon started working in video and built a sound studio, and Clint later began doing projects with Red River Radio that became the Shreveport House Concert Series. He and partner Bob Robinson saw an opportunity after Hurricane Katrina brought the movie industry to Shreveport.

Most days you’ll find him sitting in a chair on his dock looking out at Caddo Lake. “I’ve sat right here, and God’s creation is all around me. I’ve watched the cormorants last week come from Mexico. I watched the wood ducks make a nest right out here. I watched the eagle yesterday dip down out here and catch a fish.

It has been sort of like the response of the United States to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The entire nation suddenly realized that there was a new normal, that things would not be the same, and that it was up to everyone to make the necessary changes for survival.

“We get a lot of people referred through the court system and drug court,” Maurice noted. “That can’t happen now because those systems have also been shut down. We get quite a few from the treatment centers,.