by Wesley Harris
Lincoln Parish has experienced every genre of the musical world with performances by legends like Willie Nelson to Tina Turner, from Paul Anka to ZZ Top. While the bright lights and big names get top billing, the true heartbeat of Lincoln Parish’s music scene has always pulsed from more humble sources—school band rooms, church choir lofts, and living room pianos where generations first learned to keep time, tune up, and lift their voices.
The Lincoln Parish Museum’s upcoming exhibit on the local impact of music—“Music, Musicians, and Memories at the Museum”—shines deserved light on the stars who drew crowds to local clubs, college gymnasiums, and festival stages. Unforgettable artists like the Righteous Brothers and the Pointer Sisters. But beyond every chart-topping hit or sold-out show are the local, but mostly overlooked chorus of music teachers and mentors who nurtured a love of music among us.
Take Oscar Barnes, Ruston High School’s legendary band director for nearly three decades. Long before local teenagers dreamed of jazz combos or college scholarships, Barnes taught them the basics—how to hold a clarinet, march in step on a crisp fall Friday night, and understand the feeling of being part of something bigger than themselves. His high standards and steady encouragement produced not just award-winning bands but generations of young men and women who carried his lessons of discipline, teamwork, and respect for the craft far beyond the football field.
Barnes’s ability to instill a love of music in so many earned him a spot in the Louisiana Music Educator Hall of Fame.
Across the hall, Kendall Hearn shaped young voices into soaring harmonies as choir director. He saw talent in kids who didn’t see it in themselves, teaching every voice had its place. More than a conductor, he was an encourager, and students found a safe harbor in music because of him. Many Ruston alumni still credit him with nurturing not just their voices but their confidence and sense of belonging.
Both Barnes and Hearn were veterans of World War II and served in the music programs of their churches.
The music directors of Lincoln Parish churches also left an indelible mark, some serving for decades. The impact of the Singing Christmas Tree performed by Temple Baptist Church and guided first by music director Harry Thompson is still mentioned 40 years later.
At Grambling State University, Dr. Conrad Hutchinson Jr., while celebrated for directing the World Famed Tiger Marching Band, also mentored countless students and inspired pride in black musical excellence that reverberated far beyond the campus.
Beyond the schools, piano teachers like Margaret Moffett opened the door for countless children to discover the joy and challenge of mastering the keyboard. In her living room near downtown Ruston, Moffett cultivated several generations of church accompanists, wedding soloists, and concert talents. Not every student grew up to play for thousands, but many embraced a lifelong love of music because a firm but patient teacher like Moffett first taught them the basics on her piano.
The Stinson family’s record shop helped develop the local love for music. Even four teenagers from Ruston and Dubach who named their little group “Elephant 6” had a profound effect on the music world far beyond Lincoln Parish. A documentary recounts how the four started bands in other cities, forming a collective that spawned countless alternative rock and indie rock groups across America.
I asked members of a Ruston-related Facebook group to name the “unsung heroes” of music in Lincoln Parish’s past. The list numbered in the dozens, names I had forgotten or never knew. Church choir directors, piano and vocal instructors, songwriters, venue operators, and more. I am sorry I cannot name them all here.
These mostly overlooked musical influences and many others like them echo through our community’s history. As we celebrate the famous voices who graced local stages, may we remember those who taught us to listen, to sing out, and to carry the tune forward. The stars may shine, but the quiet keepers of the music, unsung heroes like Barnes, Hearn, Moffett, Hutchinson, and countless others, make sure the melody never fades.
_____________________________________
The Lincoln Parish Museum and Historical Society is asking the public to loan items that showcase different aspects of music and musicians that have influenced Lincoln Parish for an exhibit to begin July 22 through August 15. Contact director Rick Godley at 318-243-4681.
