OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE : LOUISE "Pudden" GILBERT TUCKER

                                                                                                                              "MARY JANE HARPER CRIED LAST NIGHT!"          In case you all were wondering who is Mary Jane Harper, and why should you care about her crying last night ; she was a child character in A 1977 Television Movie, which depicted the "CRUEL REALITY OF CHILD ABUSE IN AMERICAN SOCIETY," and how things were getting out of hand! Well, as the years have gone by, we all can now see how right the movie was about many of the things that "ARE STILL HAPPENING TO CHILDREN IN AMERICA," in 2026. Also, to make matters  worst, several  reports  keep stating that Child Abuse in America has decreased,"BUT THEY NEVER REPORT EXACTLY HOW HIGH CHILD ABUSE CURRENTLY IS IN AMERICA!" Furthermore, one report stated,"THE CHILDREN HIGHEST AT RISK AND THAT HAVE THE HIGHEST RATE OF ABUSE ARE CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF ONE YEARS OLD!" Therefore, I will go out on a limb and say,"SEVERAL MARY JANE HARPERS CRIED LAST NIGHT!"   Well, with that said, on to this week's Black Pioneer!                 Louise "Pudden" G. Tucker was born in 1910 to Tommy and Julia Gilbert, in Wisner,Louisiana. Louise was a Black Pioneer in Monroe and Ouachita Parish in the area of Healthcare. Interestingly, "NOT ONLY WAS SHE THE FIRST BLACK FEMALE LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE IN OUACHITA PARISH, BUT LOUISE WAS ALSO THE FIRST BLACK FEMALE LICENSED NURSING HOME ADMINISTRATOR IN OUACHITA PARISH AS WELL!" To this very day, it is noted that many Black People have said that Louise helped set the bar for Black Nursing Home Administrators in Monroe and Ouachita Parish.By the way, additionally to serving as "NURSING HOME ADMINISTRATOR OF THE MARY GROSS NURSING HOME, IN MONROE, LOUISIANA FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS," Louise was a pillar of her community. After uniting with The First Missionary Baptist Church on March 2, 1975, she served faithfully in different areas of the church, including Chairperson of the Dorcas Missionary Circle, and as a dedicated Sunday School Teacher. When Mrs. Louise "Pudden" G. Tucker passed away on March 27, 2005, she passed the torch and task of running the Mary Gross Nursing Home to her granddaughter, Louise Davis, and her great-grandson, Tony Wilson.