The Musical Life

BY SCOTT ANDERSON

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Marilyn Pettiette is the 90-year-old matriarch of a modern-day von Trapp family, spreading a message of faith, hope and joy through song in cyberspace.

Pettiette and her family have a YouTube channel called Three Generations Singing. The channel features family members — actually from four generations — singing holiday favorites, popular tunes, jazz standards and more. In five years, the channel has grown to almost 100 videos and nearly 1,800 subscribers and more than 1 million views.

It all started with Pettiette singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” with her daughter, Julia Pettiette Doolin, and her grandson, Sean Doolin. At first, the concept was simple — to create a special memory for the family. Sean wanted to sing with his grandmother. Julia already was working with videographer Brent Latin on a project, so she asked him to record the trio.

“People thought it was so beautiful,” Julia said. Soon after that, granddaughter Kelleen Doolin stepped up and wanted to do a number with her grandmother too. So they recorded “River.”

“That’s when we said, ‘Let’s get all the grandkids in a video,’” Julia said. “That Christmas, everyone comes in. There were probably about 30 of us. We did our first family group recording. Now, every Christmas we do one.”

Pettiette finds a great deal of satisfaction in the success of the channel. “It’s extremely gratifying,” she said. “My whole reason for being… I see it expressed when Sean starts singing. And now the little ones from the next generation (to include great grandson Howell) want to play the piano and sing.”

The family revels in their success. But by no means has it happened overnight for Pettiette. She began performing as a young child, about 4 or 5, on stages in Minnesota. “The church had programs going on constantly,” she said. “Music was a given.” As a child, she also performed as a Shirley Temple lookalike. Pettiette remembers a bit of controversy over a talent show she won when she was 7 or 8 years old. “This guy comes in and says, ‘She’s a professional. I’ve seen her sing before in Minneapolis,’” she recalled.

The Benedictine nuns at the Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes in Little Falls, Minnesota, gave Pettiette her first lessons on the piano. She received instruction in the organ from the Franciscan nuns at St. Francis High School. She continued her studies at the Minneapolis College of Music. She met entertainers there who introduced her to improvisation and jazz. Before long, she was performing in big bands throughout Minneapolis. That’s also where she met her husband, saxophone player Larry “Tex” Pettiette.

“Here is this guy who’s playing sax,” she said. “I didn’t know him well. But there was a band my friend and I wanted to hear playing at this club. Back then, women didn’t go to clubs unescorted. I approached him and asked if he’d escort us to this club. I guess you could say I asked him out for our first date.”

She and Larry got married. During her early days of marriage, Pettiette continued to perform in big band groups. Sometime later, a producer called her looking for someone to fill in on the “Phil Silvers Top Banana” stage show. “He said, ‘I’ve got to have somebody who is small enough to fit into the wardrobe,’” Pettiette said. “I said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t. I am three months pregnant.’”

Pettiette also saw the music business changing at that time. The popularity of the big bands was waning. With her star no longer on the rise, she told her husband she wanted to move to Shreveport to check out a new musical sensation. “People went whippy over that Hank Williams,” she said. “That shut the big bands down. We came to Shreveport to see what it was all about and to be closer to Larry’s family in Texas.”

Pettiette began a 23-year career teaching music in the schools. “I found talent galore out there,” she said of her students. Even now the family occasionally reconnects with someone who learned music from Pettiette. “We will see someone in the grocery store, and they will recognize her and say, ‘Your mom had such an in impact on my life,’” Julia said. “Music really is what brings people together.”

David Pettiette, Jr., Julia Pettiette Doolin, Howell Pettiette, Marilyn Pettiette, Baby Theo Pettiette, Tim Doolin, Larry Pettiette, Jr.

That unifying power of music is what carried the family when they moved out to Dixie in northern Caddo Parish. “We moved under dire circumstances,” her daughter noted. “But they became some of the most wonderful times in our life because of the people and the music.”

Pettiette founded the Young Americans while in Dixie. The group included her own six children and children from that rural farming community. “Everybody in Dixie wanted their kids in it,” Pettiette said. “I was thinking, ‘What am I out here for?’ And then I find all this talent out there.”

Pettiette took those neighborhood kids to perform at nursing homes, the VA hospital, and for shut-ins across the area. They even made an appearance on Bob Griffin’s Saturday morning television show “Bob and His Buddies.” “It identified us as a musical family,” Pettiette said. “And it never left us.”

The family moved back to Shreveport. The children grew up and started families of their own. Now Pettiette’s clan spans four generations and the country. But the family that sings together, clings together. “It’s creating wonderful memories for our family,” Julia said. “We are so lucky to have these experiences with our mom.”

Three Generations Singing has grown momentum despite some challenges, including a fire that destroyed Pettiette’s home. While they were rebounding from that experience, they shot some of the videos for the channel at Pendley’s Piano Gallery. And the family searched high and low to find a 100-year-old piano they could borrow to get just the right honky-tonk sound for one of the numbers. Clearly, Pettiette is very particular about the pianos she uses for her videos.

Then there was the pandemic. “The channel really took off during COVID, especially when no one went anywhere for two weeks,” said Julia, who oversees the channel. “That’s when we made the most progress.”

The family is pursuing more opportunities to make progress and share their message of faith and family. “I dream of the day I open up the channel and see not just 1 million views on the channel, but 1 million views on the songs,” Julia said. “We are reaching a lot of people.”

The entire family encourages people to subscribe to the You- Tube channel and to follow Three Generations Singing on social media @ThreeGenerationsSinging. Pettiette said it’s a message of positivity that people need right now. “We want to pull this out of people,” she said. “To get them to feel what I feel.”

And even at 90, Pettiette has no plans to slow down. “I’m going to do this as long as I am able to do it,” she said.

The post MARILYN PETTIETTE: The Musical Life appeared first on SB Magazine.

Marching On

BY SCOTT ANDERSON

Monro Brown marches to the beat of her own drum. It’s a blues beat, but her outlook for Shreveport is not blue at all.

“This has been a journey,” Brown said of her life that has taken a few unexpected diversions. “But I try to keep a good attitude all the time. I’m learning that everyone is different. That’s what makes life interesting. It’s like a Louisiana gumbo.”

That is Brown’s approach to building a stronger community. Through her work with Community Renewal and her own non-profit organization, Seniors First, she seeks to span generation gaps by bringing seniors and young people together. “Seniors First is non-profit organization I founded to fill the gap between seniors and youth,” she said. “It reintegrates seniors into the community to sustain their cognitive ability. They become leaders in their own communities.”

Seniors First grew out of life-altering unexpected circumstances in Brown’s life. The Captain Shreve High School graduate earned a dual Associates degree in Accounting and Business Management from Southern University Shreveport in May 2017. She planned to move to Baton Rouge to continue her education, but her father, Lester “Knockout” Brown, died in February and her mother, Martha, eight months later, so she stayed in Shreveport.

“That’s when I started to realize there was a void in our community among our seniors,” she said. “I decided to do a case study, because I was really bamboozled by the fact that both my parents died in such a short time frame.” Her case study became the launching pad for Seniors First. Still, her initial goal was not to run a non-profit service organization.

“When I first started, I thought I was going to have a program every quarter,” Brown said. “Instead, it has turned into a developmental nonprofit. We react to things in the community. Whatever the community needs, we go out and get it.” “Shreveport is about families that have known each other for years. Seniors First taps into that for the benefit of community as a whole.” Brown is a case manager certified in trust-based relational intervention and crisis intervention.

Brown said her service as a Haven House leader for Community Renewal opened her eyes to a way both seniors and young people could find something they have been missing. “I saw a lack of authority in the community,” she said. “I see a lot of children who don’t identify the difference in themselves and adults. Instead of me trying to implement that connection, I decided to bring the seniors in. The youth are more comfortable with seniors giving guidance. “It helps seniors feel involved and combat loneliness and age- and death-related illnesses due to delayed access to transportation leading to isolation and depression. And there definitely needs to be some sort of pecking order today.”

“I would never disrespect my elders because that’s what I was taught. Today, we have other challenges. At Seniors First, we try to provide basic needs for the children.” And while Brown’s name is on the letterhead, she knows who’s in charge. “I am not the boss,” she said. “Those seniors will tell you, ‘No, you can’t do it that way.’”

Brown said the connections she helps foster through Seniors First meet needs on multiple levels.

“The seniors are a lot more patient after all they have gone through in life,” she said. “The children just need something that you can’t see — that’s love. And the seniors give it to them openly. Children and seniors have lots of common emotional needs. The seniors provide legacy to the children by teaching them things.”

Uniting the community is Brown’s passion, but Seniors First is not her only tool. She is equally passionate about bringing people together through her love of music, which started in childhood. Brown grew up singing in choirs and performing in Caddo Parish schools and at church. Her extensive formal training including competing in state festivals. Back then, Brown saw it as her road to the top.

“I thought I could make it right after high school, without a lot of college,” she said. Stage fright diverted her from the spotlight, at least for a while. But in 2010, she collaborated with Ron Johnson of the band Windstorm and his sons B.J. and Alex to produce an album titled “Reality Check, No Free Rides.” The album was nominated for three Just Blues awards, alongside Denise LaSalle and Millie Jackson. She was opening concerts for Latimore, Bobby Rush, Calvin Richardson, and others. She also got involved with the local arts community, performing at Christmas in the Sky and other local festivals, as well as fellowship and writing grants.

She hit another bump in the road when Vicky Marshall told her she should work on building her portfolio. “I was like, ‘Excuse me?,’” she said. “I was a little insulted. I had met B.B. King and opened for Bobby Blue Bland. I had been nominated for awards. While all those things counted, they really didn’t count in the ways I thought they did.”

Brown realized she did not speak the language of the business side of the music industry. That’s when she decided to pursue a college degree. And while life changed her plans, she eventually completed her education online in 2019 through Southern University in Baton Rouge, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies and Psychology. She also learned something else along the way. “Face-to-face classes aren’t always the best solution, because you don’t get a chance to become digitally advanced,” she said. “It was tough, because I felt like everybody expected me to fail after I lost both my parents. I was out to prove to myself I am not going to fail. College taught me patience with people. It taught me how to ask why and how to do research. It opened my eyes. I don’t point my finger as much anymore.”

Music and the arts remain integral in Brown’s life. She has some local projects in the pipeline and is working on a web-based program on the Houston Live TV Network, interviewing movers and shakers in the music industry, like producer Ronald “Slack” Jefferson and global songwriter Michael Garvin, who is a Bossier City native.

Brown believes music and the arts are integral to a strong community. “Music is the core of everything,” she said. “Everybody has a song. Music is a great way to express yourself. Music is therapy. Music is always going to be there. I think we need more arts here. It gives people an opportunity to redefine or find themselves.”

And building a strong community is essential to Brown. “A lot of the things happening here I am concerned about because I have children and grandchildren here. I do care about what goes on here, no matter where I may go. My support system is here. It’s important to me to try to make some changes here. Hopefully, as I follow the example of my leaders, others will follow my example.”

The post MONRO BROWN: Marching On appeared first on SB Magazine.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

The post FEBRUARY 2022 : WOMEN IN BUSINESS appeared first on SB Magazine.

Not a pair afraid of a little hard work, Don and Amy could be found at any given time serving their customers personally. Don Juanz Baja Beach Tacos is a locally owned, truly family operated restaurant committed to serving fresh, locally sourced food that is healthy and delicious. The menu is made up of recipes Don has created over the past 20 years and those from his younger days while enjoying the Baja beaches and cantinas from Rosarito to Cabo. Healthy, clean, wonderful personal service –Don Juanz is the perfect place for lunch, family events and company parties.

It came at no surprise when Don and Amy were approached by Ochsner’s Eat Fit Program to be included in their search for local restaurants that met the qualifications be Eat Fit certified. Eat Fit. What exactly is Eat Fit?

Eat Fit is a program that began when registered dietitian and nutrition journalist, Molly Kimball, embarked on her journey of helping people live their healthiest, strongest lives. You can bet that she had her work cut out for her. Living in Louisiana, where the good food and good times go hand in hand, she set a goal that may have seemed daunting let alone, impossible to attain. To give you an idea of what Molly was up against, let’s look at some terrifying statistics.

Most of these people –43.2% -earn between $50 thousand and $75 thousand dollars a year. Those with an income of less than $25 thousand a year rank 39.6%. With the percentages being this close on the socioeconomic scale, it’s difficult to blame the inability to maintain a healthy weight on income levels. At least not in Louisiana.

Even more interesting than income levels but perhaps an explanation for the high percentage of obesity within the lower income scale:

“Obese persons, particularly women, are socially stigmatized, which adversely affects their educational, socioeconomic and marital status. Obese individuals are excluded from certain occupations, and are discriminated against in others. Various surveys have found lower educational and socioeconomic achievement in obese and overweight populations. The inverse relationship between obesity and social class is more evident in women. Obese women were found to complete fewer years of school, be less likely to marry, and have lower household incomes compared with women of normal weight. They were also less likely to improve their social status on marriage. Although differences in socioeconomic status between obese and non-obese persons might be accounted for to some extent by differences in social, economic and educational background, obesity is frequently associated with health problems or reduced physical performance, which can restrict socioeconomic achievement. Furthermore, society’s poor perception of obese persons, particularly women, is a major handicap to socioeconomic progress.”

While this is an older study (1994), it still holds true to a large extent in 2021. Obese people are in for a challenge whether its social stigmatism or health concerns.

Even more reason to team up with Ochsner’s Hospital to develop the Ochsner’s Eat Fit program, a nonprofit initiative that collaborates with local restaurants and chefs to develop and feature menu items that are nutritious and delicious.

Eat Fit had its start in New Orleans but soon, by partner- ing with Blue Cross Blue Shield, found its way into six regions throughout the state. With the Eat Fit app, we can find Eat Fit restaurants complete with full nutrition facts of the Eat Fit menu items. We can also find recipes, community wellness resources and even connect to a health professional.

Molly’s philosophy is, “Instead of obsessing over what not to eat, my preference is to put the focus on the good stuff that I’m adding into my diet. The more healthful stuff we squeeze in, the more we edge out any space for the not-so- good-for-you stuff. Nutrition isn’t one-size-fits-all. Keep things simple without over complicating. My goal is to help clients erase those “rules” we all create for ourselves and take the pressure away from being perfect.”

As we circle back to Don Juanz Baja Beach Tacos,Don O’Byrne had already helped a couple of patrons shed the pounds just by counseling them on good nutrition and healthy eating habits. He and Amy have worked diligently to offer menu items that are not only delicious but healthy. So, when Eat Fit found that their restaurant fit the criteria

for the program and was selected for the Eat Fit “stamp of approval,” they were thrilled that they had been validated for the years they have spent perfecting recipes and keep- ing the menu full of healthy choices. 14 items that were al- ready on Don Juanz Baja Beach Tacos menu are certified Eat Fit approved. Don Juanz also holds the north Louisiana record for having the most menu options endorsed by the program. Everything on their menu is gluten-free except for these five items; chicken mole’, any steak menu item (soy-base marinade), El Dorado Tacos (mahi-mahi has soy-ginger glaze), flour & wheat tortillas.

The take-away here is that you CAN dine out and make healthy food choices. You CAN lose weight, feel better and look better. You CAN manage health issues such as diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. You CAN start right now. Download the Eat Fit app and check out the Don Juanz Baja Beach Tacos menu. You’ll find the orange colored Eat Fit seal next to each menu item that has met the Eat Fit nutritional criteria. There is no better restaurant to begin your journey with than Amy and Don O’Byrne’s Don Juanz Baja Beach Tacos. Getting healthy is a beautiful thing.

Two locations:

2333 Airline Drive in Bossier City and 1409 E. 70th Street in Shreveport

www.donjuanz.com

www.ochsner.org/eat-fit

Sources: Trust for America’s Health; U.S. Health and Human Services; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Estimates of the Resident Population, 2018-20191

Enzi G. Socioeconomic consequences of obesity: the effect of obesity on the individual. Pharmacoeconomics. 1994;5(Suppl 1):54-7. doi: 10.2165/00019053-400051-00011. PMID: 10147251.

The post EATING HEALTHY: ONE TACO AT A TIME appeared first on SB Magazine.

The post DON JUANZ BAJA BEACH TACOS appeared first on SB Magazine.