It's tongue in cheek, referencing the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries novels as well as the "True Blood" HBO series. They take place in the fictional Louisiana town of Bon Temps, which is near Shreveport (which these real towns are also near).
Louisiana is the setting for many Vampire novels. Anne Rice, the renowned novelist, lives in New Orleans. My Blood Thorne series takes place in Thibodaux and New Orleans. South Louisiana has tons of supernatural lore.
I appreciate people like you that take the time to film and put out these type of video. I'm retired and simply can't afford to travel, so watching your trips is a happy substitute. I love your voice by the way, very pleasant.
I stumbled upon this video looking for something else. I'm 56 years old and was born and raised in Northwest Louisiana. As was my daddy and mama and my grandparents before them. We had a Benton address but it was much closer to Plain Dealing. I spent much of my childhood and adult life in or around Plain Dealing. I frequently visited Oil City and Vivian growing up as well. If you think it's rural now just imagine 40 or 50 years ago. And that's exactly why we were there and stayed there our entire lives. Bossier City is now rapidly expanding closer and closer to Benton and it really makes me sad because we love the remoteness and simplicity of rural living. I remember being a really small child and riding in the back of my grandpa's truck to Plain Dealing on the first of every month to do our shopping for food and necessities to last the entire month, or we hoped they would but they rarely did. But when you crossed the river on the Hosston bridge into Plain Dealing I'm not gonna lie it made me super emotional. It brought back so many memories of the times we spent under that bridge on the sandbar having the time of lives. It wasn't just that it made me so emotional. It was knowing you were about to enter Plain Dealing. I have so many beautiful and painful memories of that little town. My mind was flooded with some of the sweetest childhood memories and some of the most painful ones as well. From fishing on the sandbar, spending nights with my favorite aunt, shopping with my granny, to times when my grandbabies were really small or new born babies. I thought about all the time I spent with them there and how I rarely see them these days. Plain Dealing is also where we bury our dead so painful memories are there as well. It triggered so many profound emotions in me. It made me think about the best times of my life and the most painful times too. I thought about how long the people I loved most who made me who I am today have been gone away from me. I thought about how my grandbabies who are teenagers now are growing away from me too into adulthood. When I started watching this video I never considered that it would spark such a flood of profound emotion and memories that I haven't thought of in years. Memories I hold fast to, things I have forgotten, and things that I've tried desperately to forget because they hurt so much. But I just wanted to say thank you for making and posting this video. I'd like to ask you please, do you ever consider that these videos are so much more than just sharing some remote location to people who are tied to these locations by profound emotion and memories? This is my childhood, this is where my entire family is buried, this is where my grandbabies were new, this place is part of the reason I'm who I am today in some fashion or another. I don't know if you realize these videos can have such an emotionally profound impact to the right viewer. Again thank you because sometimes life gets so hard that we refuse to feel anything at all, and that's indeed where I've been for about a year and a half now since my girlfriend of 15 years died unexpectedly. I needed to feel something and this made me feel everything on the spectrum of emotions I might not want to feel but needed to desperately. I'm certainly gonna subscribe to your channel now. Again thank you for making me feel again, it was really hard but without question exactly what I needed.❤
What an amazing story! Thank you for sharing the way of life to make this video that much more special. I used to travel these parts going to Arkansas, and it was cool to remember those long drives with my Mother, who passed 20 years ago. Gave me some desperately needed good memories of her💖 I hope you unlocked your emotions and can heal the pain and enjoy the beautiful memories!
Great to see these places. My mother grew up in Oil City and was married in the Methodist church you passed. While oil still flowed, the place was quite a bit more prosperous. We enjoyed many a summer vacation visiting my grandparents there. Thanks for the tour back in time!
I actually drove down that highway about ten years ago from Texarkana to Shreveport and had to stop for gas. Pull up to a gas pump at an ole convenience store that still had the rolling numbers instead of the digital numbers. I yelled over to my daughter and told her to check it out. She’d had never seen one and chuckled. ( The land that time has forgotten. )
There's a gas station like that in a town called Cotton Valley, LA. Confused the hell out of me because I didn't think something like that still existed. This was back in 2010.
It’s pretty wild. I miss them days where you could fill up a tank for less than ten dollars. Not only that you could stop on exactly on the dollar amount. As I said my youngest daughter had never seen one before and was quite amazed.
@@Woketardit seems the nWo doesn't agree with you because your comment is shadow banned. In other words it's actually the rich folk who realized they don't want all their peasants to live near them because they know they are coming for their heads now. They want everyone out in no where so they can have the cities back. Make no mistake dem politians know they ruined the greatest cities in America, they are surprised themselves that Americans have not strung them up by the light poles 😂
That field with the oil equipment is full of what are called "pump jacks", which pump oil out of oil wells. Oil rigs are the tall towers used to drill/rework the wells. My Dad was an independent oil driller all his life, so I was immersed in the lingo. Great episode!
@@steveokula5762 Yes they are! To be precise, the oil rig is the actual equipment within the derrick that “works” the well. The derrick is the tower. Very good! You pass!!! :-)
From Alberta Canada here. We have so many oil wells in this province. Derricks and pump jacks everywhere. I work on abandoned oil wells sampling the soil for contaminants
I was born and raised in Vivian,Louisiana and left in 1982! The town was a thriving town back then in the 1960’s 70’s and very good place to raise a family! I finished high school there and my job with the railroad took me to other places! After my parents passed away I never go back up there! It started going down hill in the 2000’s -2010 when my parents were still living there! When my parents generation passed on ,the town wasn’t as good as it used to be! Most of my generation left for better jobs and opportunities!
Yep. Your story is what's happening to these towns. The kids are growing up and leaving, and the parents and grandparents that stay there are slowly dying off. You see it all over the country.
In a world full of annoying youtubers, Joe and Nic are the oasis of the good stuff! A perfect blend of information, humor and in general a down to earth vibe which is so unique nowadays. Keep up the good work!
My husband was stationed at Ft. Polk LA in 1987. Our daughter was born there and we lived there until 1993. There was something different about LA. Some of it was very desolate but very spiritual and mystical as well. Before we moved onto post we lived in DeRidder and there was a older woman that lived next door to us who had lived there all her life. She was a descendant of slaves and she practiced voo doo. It was kind of scary but she was the nicest kindest woman I had ever met. She so many interesting stories to tell!!
@@Brwneydgrl69 My son who is 38 now lived and worked in Lake Charles and while he was there he went back to Deridder and the house where we lived in is now gone and a police station is built there LOL. Everything had changed. All the houses are gone on the street where we lived. We lived on Stewart St. Maybe you are familiar with that.
I adore the prowling of back roads to discover such things as what you show here. It's a combination of sad beauty and stark depression that haunts these places in a way that you can't describe unless you see it first hand. Thank you, Sir.
Lol. I work at that hospital in Vivian. I've been watching you on and off the pass few weeks/months. Crazy coincidence. @ 20:00, I can see- someone is in my spot as I had the day off. If you ever come back to the area- I'll treat y'all to lunch. Cheers!
I'm an armchair traveler, so I really enjoy your videos. I wish that, along with the statistics,dollar stores, and cats, you could show and/or comment on the libraries in these little towns -- if they have them. Thank you. You're doing a great job!
In Louisiana, most towns have bookmobiles (libraries on wheels) that comes from the parish seats. These rolling libraries have been around since the 1960's. Each parish (counties to you) has it's own state funded library systems.
I know Plain Dealing has a very nice library with a very good librarian. It is part of the Bossier Parish library system. I spent my summers and afternoons in that library reading everything I could get my hands on.
Plain Dealing was large enough (in the past, not sure about now) to get funding for a small library through Bossier Parish. A small town near me has dropped in population so much they closed the branch library a few years back and now use bookmobiles. @@amyflanagan2896
Have you ever done a video just talking about weird or unusual interactions you’ve had with people in the towns you visit? I’d love to hear the stories!
This town of Vivian,La brings back sad memories when I drove from New Orleans to Vivian in 2018 or 2019 (4 hour drive) to a good friend’s funeral. It’s a beautiful small town, but poverty is really evident.
Everytime Lord Spoda mentions A House Is Returning To Nature it reminds me of the house my grandfather lived in for many years in Eden NC . Every visit I make to that town the old house continues to return to nature more and more . If these old houses could talk and tell their past it would be amazing .
That house for sale in Vivian is part of a package of 9 rental properties. The assessment value of that house in $15,877. 2br, 1 bath 903 sq. ft. I read every True Bood book and even went to New Orleans to meet the author at a book signing. She is cute as a bug and so much fun! Thanks, Joe. Be careful in Cancun. About 30 years ago a friend and I got caught in a civil uprising on the way back to the airport and were held at gunpoint by teens wielding aks! We weren't held long and made our plane. LOL Just another adventure for 2 old ladies! Keep the videos rolling! 💙
Stayed at Caddo Lake State Park last year and went to Vivian for “supplies” and was shocked to see an old school Wal Mart. Such a nostalgic feel with the same layout of all the Wal-Mart stores I remember as a kid.
I happened upon this channel this week and so glad I did. JOe's voice is like a smooth radio announcer! I can work and listen along. Keep up the great work!
What was shocking was driving through SW Arkansas, then crossing into Louisiana on my way to Shreveport. The highways got MUCH worse (yeah I know some people won't believe it) and the number of abandoned buildings, shacks. It just looked like the State had given up on that corner, much the way Arkansas has given up on their Eastern delta region which is overwhelmingly agricultural now with a vanishing population. Same with SE Missouri.
Viewing from England , I am rather surprised when you go through the poorer towns , that there is so little gardening /horticulture visible . Given the spacious lots and what is clearly forest soil , ideal conditions .
The people there are too lazy to plant a garden.Keep your eyes peeled for SAT dishes on ramshackled houses or in the yards.Some of it is due to lacking a decent education. There is government assistance and some public housing if people are truly disabled.Not having a two parent household (20% marriage rate) doesn`t bode well for a balanced upbringing.Not saying this is definitive but it doesn`t help if they don`t know who is there daddy.
Yes everyone is too lazy to do that now but not too long ago a lot of people did everyone is usually in drugs or overweight the just push junk food to everyone now
small towns like these in Louisiana seem to have high electric bills and bad water systems, also little grocery stores are sometimes the more expensive place to shop.
Weak tax base makes for low quality infrastructure. And of course small stores lack economy of scale. There's a reason that Walmart started in the South. Definitely filled a need
Your Dad or grand dad was a Roustabout. Roustabouts work at oil fields and off-shore rigs on a variety of tasks to keep the oil flowing and operations safe. They assemble and disassemble pipes, pumps, and engines; load and unload trucks; search out leaks and repair equipment.
Here's a few thumbnails of these towns,. What is Oil City LA known for? The town is situated on the banks of Caddo Lake, a massive freshwater reservoir that is popular with anglers and families looking for a weekend getaway. As its name implies, Oil City was a boom town for the oil and gas industries in the early 20th century. Vivian is home to friendly people who simply want to enjoy a leisurely lifestyle. Our mild climate allows us to have many year-round activities. Among the activities are the Louisiana Redbud festival held the 3rd Saturday of March, the Black History Parade held the 3rd weekend in February, and the Annual Christmas Festival held the 1st Saturday of December every year in downtown Vivian. There are also excellent public and private facilities throughout the area for golfing, tennis, swimming, and boating. Hunters and fishermen will find plenty of land and waterways for their outdoor activities. Caddo Lake, Black Bayou, and the Red River are the center points of outdoor activities. Vivian was incorporated in 1898 as people moved from the former Caddo Lake port of Monterey and the surrounding lakes and woodlands to be near the railroad terminal built in the late 1800’s. Through its 121 year history, Vivian has witnessed the booms and busts of the oil business and been a local center for commerce, transportation, education, health care and manufacturing. With Caddo Lake, Black Bayou, and the Red River, and numerous large tracts of forest surrounding the Town, it is no wonder that pre-dawn weekend traffic may be busier than the more typical rush hours in larger areas, especially on opening days of deer and duck season. Newcomers are welcomed to a friendly, safe, small town atmosphere with affordable real estate, attractive neighborhoods, and good schools. It is a great place to work and raise a family, or retire and enjoy the numerous recreational opportunities. Plain Dealing: Prior to 1839, the United States government forcibly removed the Caddo Nation of Native Americans-longtime local inhabitants who had first settled the area over 1,000 years before Europeans' 16th-century arrival in mainland North America-from the area of Northern Louisiana that included the parcel that would later become the town of Plain Dealing.[4] In 1839, George Oglethorpe Gilmer and his son, James Blair Gilmer, bought 5,000 acres of this land-now described as a "vast, unsettled wilderness"-from the United States government, calling a portion of this acreage "Plain Dealing" after the family's Virginia plantation.[4][5] The "Plain Dealing" name became official when the town was formally chartered on April 24, 1890.[4]
@@user-nr1xw3oc7t You are very welcome , sometimes it’s hard for the people making these vlogs to add details, but these small dying towns deserve a. Look at their pasts.
I enjoyed seeing these small towns. Despite the poverty, it’s great to see remnants of the past in Oil City and Vivian. I like the displays. I appreciate learning so much about this area of Louisiana! Thank you!
The median household income number of $22K/year is much closer to what most Americans experience than what the media/government tells us. The working class of this country have had their incomes and wealth "sucked" out of them by the rentier portion of the capitalist class - those who extract wealth from collecting land rents and financial rents. Fantastic that you include this data in your video.
Those machines are derricks AKA grasshoppers. And those tanks you saw are called knock-out tanks. it's where the oil goes and is held and processed before it goes to the big companies to end up in your tank and so forth. And I really love traveling with you.
103 Georgia st is no longer on the market. These areas are so sad. I bet they're simple friendly people. I grew up in poor neighborhoods and my memories of the people are friendly people. All though I grew up the first ten years of my life in Cedartown Ga. My memories are sweet. I went back to Cedartown and didn't recognize the place it has built up so much. Areas like these towns in Louisiana send me imagining what they looked like back in the day when the town was new. Another awesome video. Look forward to your next adventure. You guys stay safe. God bless.
I am from Thibodaux, deep south Louisiana, but my Aunt and Uncle lived in Hosston after he retired from the Airforce in the '70s. We spent many days fishing that shallow bridge near Caddo Lake. Brought back many memories... I wish you went into Hosston. But I'm sure it's gone.
I know a girl that was a Hoss from the people that Hosston is named for. Well, she's in her late 40's now and lives in DeRidder, but her people went not far away to outside of Magnolia, Arkansas.
Hey guys! Another great video as always! Looked up the house for sale at 301 Georgia Street and it is off the market now as of Sept 17/23 - don't know why as it doesn't indicate that it sold. However, it has been on the market several times in the past, starting in 2008. When is was active though, asking price was $30,000. No inside pics but the house was built in 1950 and has 2 bdrms, 1 bath, 848 square feet and lot is 7,013 sq ft. Thanks for another interesting video xoxo
Vampire Country...sounds like a good name for a Goth bluegrass band 🙂 Trivia tidbit: the "oil rigs" have various names including pumpjacks, nodding donkeys, pumping units, horsehead pumps, beam pumps, sucker rod pumps, grasshopper pumps, thirsty birds, and jack pumps. In the oil fields of central California there used to be bunch of painted/decorated pumps that was called the "Iron Zoo". The R.C Baker Museum in Coalinga (worth a visit) used to sell a set of postcards with all the different oil pump creatures.
Driving through these small towns is nice on the weekends for a day trip. We did this when I was a child. The only thing is , you have to be careful of your speed. Some of these small towns are speed traps( That's how they get revenue.) The people are usually friendly and you see a lot of interesting things.
A great video, as always, and so interesting. These old country towns are endlessly fascinating. It's funny that we are watching a video about Vampire Country, a few days after Halloween !! Good timing ! Thanks very much, Joe and Nic, I always enjoy your videos !🥰
This vid had some of my fav things to see /hear in small towns. A caboose, vintage style bridge, lovely church bells, regular sized homes although sad evidence if poverty. No Norman Rockwell downtown but hey!!! they have a Country Club! LOL . Awesome vid Joe. Thank You so much. 🥰
Just want to say that I’ve been watching (bingeing?!) several of these drive arounds in rural America and the things I really like is how consistent they are and also how you Don’t make it about yourself. Well done. You did 2 towns where I had lived in the past. Very surprised that the children’s poverty level %ages are so high in some of these back water towns. Chilling.
Welcome to my neighborhood😂 lots of cotton & corn grown here, a humongous solar farm going in too. One prominent farmer here told me he's fine with being paid big bucks for his land use. Abandoned oil & gas wells are everywhere as you saw, 4,300 + orphaned statewide😢
We are considered subtropical in most of the state. I can grow things from Asia, Latin America, even Australia's subtropic area. So yeah the state is pretty green. The greenery literally grows faster than we can keep up. Lol Ps. Thanks for getting the names right. Being the only French state, we have some hard to figure out and pronounce names.
Another amazing video. Seeing all the oil pumps there is a small taste of what we see everyday here in Oklahoma. Especially the town I live in, Cushing, which is labeled the pipeline crossroads of the world having a tank farm for every major oil producer. It wouldn't be so bad if all the abandoned sites weren't left behind to become eyesores. Will watch for the next wonderful video. Until then stay safe and God bless. Steve in Oklahoma
That house you found for sale was just listed not long after you filmed this video for the price of 25,000. It is a cute 2 bedroom 1 bath built in 1950.
Hello Joe & Nicole hope you are having a Blessed day. The house in Vivian on Georgia St was listed @ 30,000 in Sept 2023 but is no longer on the market.I really enjoy the ride along's and seeing all the site's.
Je suis française et j'apprécie beaucoup de voyager au travers de vos vidéos fort intéressantes. Je m'aperçois, que dans beaucoup d'etats américains, les maisons sont de plus en plus abandonnées notamment à Détroit où les américains ont dû fuirent. Espérons que les prochaines décennies seront meilleures. Bravo pour votre travail. Merci.❤😊
Hi Joe & Nic Thanks again for all the effort you are putting in to those road trips . You have highlighted the good and ever so sad areas of many towns and cities . Detroit was especially a very impressive down town but so depressing on the outskirts . Just wondered Joe , when residents leave these properties and move on , is there any system of recovering monetary value from these properties ,if not how do residents afford to buy homes any where else . Thanks again to you both for all the effort ,so much to enjoy . F & P Yorkshire GB.
I just found your channel literally 2 hours ago and I’m so intrigued. New subscriber here 🤍!! I want to travel around the country before I hit my mid 20’s 😭😭
Without doing research, I wonder if that school was abandoned? Or, a lot of smaller schools in the south have gone to a 4-day school week as a cost-savings measure. It could be that this was their off day.
Oil rigs do the drilling and workovers; e.g. the actual drilling and maintenance on the down hole. Pumps jacks are just that, the reciprocating arms of a simple pumping action. Fill up a pitcher of water, and push your fish to the bottom, then withdraw and repeat. That's the action of the pumping mechanisms actuated by a 'grasshopper'.
Hi Joe ! Loving your adventures , some of the areas are actually nice . Have you ever encountered any violence while your driving around these areas . Alot of the areas look very sketchy and scary . You are brave . Stay safe ! ❤
Thanks yet again, Joe, for taking me to places I will likely get get to see. The facts and figures are reallyinformative and give an insight into the communities. Would it be too morbid to ask if you could give a life expectancy figure for further context. Thanks 👍
Thanks for another great informative video. Due to circumstances and illness haven’t been able to watch. And now that’s over at least for a while I see I have some good ones to see especially the upcoming ones in my beloved Texas. Thanks keep traveling I’ll keep watching
Many years ago when I worked for a company installing new tanks in the ground and new pumps, one of the old crank pumps that we removed, found it’s way into my shop. I remember those old pumps from when I was just a kid. There are lots of little “out of the way” towns like this one further down south ofLa. I’m from LC, La and my wife and I would go around and find old antiques and bring them back home. The hurricanes have just about taken everything back to the swamps now. Thanks for your vids. 😢😢
The oil pumps are called pump jacks and your grandfather was a roustabout .. they are the guys who keep the equipment operational 😊 My big brother use to be a deck hand in Pampa Tx . Good paying work but extremely dangerous to work the rigs . Thank you for the great videos .. !
This was enlightening. I’ve been to Plain Dealing as a child. Nothing like I remember. I grew up south in Lake Charles. If there’d been an operating rig that wasn’t fenced off……. a couple children I grew up with would be visiting Vivian Emergency Room at their hospital!!
Very nice to see another part of America! Being from the Netherlands I ask myself: the villages shown are very poor but the cars are huge and many times do not look that old. How is that possible?
Many people here in the US buy cars WAAAY out of their practical price range. Pretty much any lender here says this to be true. A pickup runs between 65-80k for a BASE 4wd model. People here are car poor... it's really sad to see. Fun fact... many self made millionares here in the US buy affordable cars as their daily drivers. Think Honda and Toyata type sedans and crossovers. Many of those big SUVs and trucks you see that are shiny and new are driven by people who literally can't afford them. It's maddening. I live near Oil City in Shreveport LA... the amount of lifted shiny trucks and SUVs parked in government housing or in front of broken down trailer parks is astounding.
That leaves me with the question how it is possible they can get a loan in the first place. In the Netherlands it is impossible to get a loan with that kind of income. And there exists a register with all loans you have so that banks and persons taking loans are protected.
@bewew8156 yeah that doesn't exist here. You can really pretty much get a loan for anything... it's up to the consumer really. You would find financial smarts to be at a minimum here though
@@russm4677 So their cars are more expensive then their houses. But why is paying for health insurance such a big deal then? The banks do not seem to care about getting the money back.
Keen observation! It's a cultural thing here that men buy trucks far out of their price range as a status symbol. We joke about it all the time. They live in a mouse infested trailer, but drive an F250 with a lift kit and aftermarket tires that's 3x the value of the trailer. Never take it off-road, or pull anything, it's simply a local status symbol. It's quite ridiculous. I used to drive a small car and was very out of place, like something was wrong, lol.
I spent most of my life in Louisiana, growing up in the "toe" of the boot. It's a state with lots to offer and the people are the best. Appreciate your perspective and love your videos!
Joe and Nic, thank you for this video. I enjoy the way you present the facts of the towns that you go through and showing what is the difference on paper (facts) versus what we see and sometimes - I just don't see it. I have traveled the backroads of America through my adventures and I wish, like Oil City, could be as wonderful as the place(s) that I have lived and folks get to achieve their dreams. Keep up the great work. Tristater Jeff
That house is going for $30,000. A town like Vivian would be a reasonable choice for someone wanting to retire on the cheap. Could buy a home in this town outright, some medical and shopping locally, city an hour away, good one. Those are called Oil Pumpjack's.
My maternal great grandmother was born in Plain Dealin! When I saw your thumbnail, I hoped you would pick it because of it’s unique name. Thanks for your videos. And if someone hasn’t answered, those are pumping units. I live in oil country in California.
My dad maintained oil rigs in southern Illinois in the 80s and 90s. I have 2 uncles, one in Texas and one in southern Illinois who drilled oil wells. Also a few uncles and aunts and parents who invested in oil wells that my uncles drilled. Love those old rigs! I think they’re also called derricks. Love your channel. Thanks
The derrick is is basically a stationary crane structure. The older standard derricks were built onsite and left their for well servicing purposes. They look cool, but after a few years they are Not Much Fun to work. Nothing like a 50 year old monkey board held on by baling wire and clamps. The more modern portable rigs are brought to the site complete with draw works and derrick and leave after the job is done. Much safer, if anything in the Patch can be called 'Safe'.
Some of those abandoned oil rigs aren’t really abandoned. After it becomes economically unfeasible to have them pumping, you will often find a local person who will tap them for their last bit of oil. They put a small gasoline powered pump down the hole and let it run and suck up the oil until they fill a barrel. Usually they come by once a day to make sure that the gas pump still has enough gasoline to run. Depending on the price of oil, you can make a decent living doing this.
Hello! Just started watching your videos a few days back. Husband and I will watch one or two videos during breakfast. We enjoy your travels and commentaries. What amazes me most is the clarity and steadiness of your videos whether you are driving or walking around! What do you use to film such clear videos? Thank you for your travels so that we can travel vicariously every morning through you. 😊
Love all your videos! Its a hobby now when i want to sit down and relax. I love seeing how other people live all over the country. I had no idea how poor some of these towns are :(
Those numbers equals a lot of single parent households. Being 58 and from Louisiana, I've never heard or considered that area to be affiliated with vampirism, usually the areas along the Mississippi, in and around New Orleans. Also odd to see a Bayou Lafourche anything, as that bayou is in the lower, eastern portion of the state. I know I live 500 feet from it.
I'm thinking the same thing as you. I'm in Rapides Parish and I have never heard of the vampire country reference before. I have family all over the state.
