Creekbank Blog

I’d like to invite everyone within SW Louisiana to drop by an excellent art show at the RealArt DeRidder Gallery. Tonight, Dec. 29 from 6:00-8:00 PM, is the opening reception. Four DeRidder natives, including my beloved uncle Bill Iles, are featured in this show called “Coming Home.” The paintings are on display through Jan. 9.  At the closing of the …

A Stolen Christmas Tree From the book,  Wind in the Pines, by Curt Iles   copyright 2004 Creekbank St0ries “I know I tagged a tree in this area.”  Those are the words of my neighbor, Mitzi Foreman, as she walks through our Christmas tree farm on a blustery Sunday afternoon. Together we search through where she tagged her tree last week …

I visited this morning with Mrs. Kelly Rudy’s third graders at DeRidder’s Carver Elementary.  We had a fun time together as I told them three stories:  The Evening Holler (from Stories from the Creekbank) , Joe Moore and the Skunk (The Wayfaring Stranger) , and Mayo’s Snake-Popping story (A Good Place). No matter the age, people love stories.  No matter …

    A  Good Epitaph to Have. . . Have you ever thought about what epitaph you’d like to have? Years ago I walked along the seawall in Galveston, I saw one I admired.   A plaque there read: In memory of Leroy Columbo 1905‑1974 A deaf mute who risked his own life repeatedly to save more than one thousand lives …

Can You Hear Me Now? A man I encountered in a rural area of Cambodia may have been the defining image of this interesting part of Asia. I saw him coming before he saw me: he was a rather large man for the Khmer race.  What really caught my eye was his attire. All he was wearing was a loose …

It’s rare to get snow along the Gulf Coast, especially in December.  Yesterday’s 2 inch snowfall was the earliest ever recorded.  Just a note:  we had snow last year in mid-December,  some during Easter 2007 (See the Easter Cold Snap in The Wayfaring Stranger) and previous to that it had last snowed on February 7, 1988.   Click here to see …

Landmark Longleaf Pine on Longville Gravel Pit Road. See below for more A good word:  “Compel” A short story from Hearts across the Water by Curt Iles Then there is the story of my friend Tom Dunville.  I’ve known Tom for seven years. He is a wonderful artist and the nicest guy I know… when he is sober.  Tom has …

Thanksgiving for my parents, Clayton and Mary Iles This old beech tree still stands on our family land on the bank of Crooked Bayou.  It bears the initials of my mom and dad,  CI (Clayton Iles) and MP (Mary Plott.)  Today (November 25) is their 56th anniversary, so the tree pre-dates 1953. Even though my dad has been dead six …

A Good Place by Curt Iles Chapter 21 Author’s notes: Our narrator, twelve year old Mayo Moore, is on a log raft trip down the Calcasieu River.  He relates an incident on the River as they near the sawmills on Lake Charles. This scene is my current favorite.  Special thanks to my friend Joe Chaney for sharing a similar family …

Arriving at Lake Charles on a raft of logs. In this excerpt from A Good Place, 12 year-old Mayo Moore, who has never been more than ten miles from home,  travels down the Calcasieu River on a raft of logs with his father and other local men.  On reaching the small town of Charleston (the 1862 name of present day …

Be Still and Know Originally written May 1993 On a beautiful Spring Saturday, my three sons and I went to work on the nature trail at the camp.  As we hiked through the woods with our saw, pruning shears, and other gear, we were filled with the camaraderie of boys and dads in the woods. My youngest son, Terry, age …

My new novel, A Good Place, takes place in 1862-1865 in the part of western Louisiana known as “No Man’s Land.” It is centered in the area known as Ten Mile.  This historic region, located west of the Calcasieu River between Glenmora and Pitkin, is bisected by two beautiful creeks,  Ten Mile and Cherry Winche.

The covers of A Good Place We selected a painting by my uncle Bill Iles for the front cover of my new novel. This oil painting entitled, “Upper Field Pines” proudly hangs in our living room. I love it because it pictures an image of the woods that I love so dearly.  My mother always said we “lived in the …

A special photo from a special meeting Last night we traveled to Shreveport for a missionary commissioning service.  55 new International Mission Board  appointees were commissioned for overseas service.  It was an inspiring service that I’ll never forget. I took the photo below after the service.  There’s a special connection between these two couples who’d never met. Gordon Fort and …