Louisiana’s Neutral Strip, an area of pine forests, squats between the Calcasieu and Sabine Rivers on the border of East Texas. Originally a lawless buffer zone between Spain and the United States, its hardy residents formed tight-knit communities for protection and developed a reliance on self, kin, and neighbor. In the early 1900s, the timber boom sliced through the forests and disrupted these dense communities. Mill towns sprang up, and the promise of money lured land speculators, timber workers, unionists, and a host of other characters, such as the outlaw Leather Britches Smith. That moment continues to shape the place’s cultural consciousness, and people today fashion a lore connected to this time. In a fascinating exploration of the region, Keagan LeJeune unveils the legend of Leather Britches, paralleling the stages of the outlaw’s life to the Neutral Strip’s formation. LeJeune retells each stage of Smith’s life: his notorious past, his audacious deeds of robbery and even generosity, his rumored connection to a local union strike—the Grabow War—significant in the annals of labor history, and his eventual death. As the outlaw’s life vividly unfolds, Always for the Underdog also reveals the area’s history and cultural landscape. Often using the particulars of …

Interview with Nolan Albarado, a Army WWII veteran from Assumption Parish, Louisiana. Albarado discusses his experiences at Schofield Barracks, Oahu during the Japanese attack on December 7th, 1941, as well as his entry into the Army and training, assignment to Schofield Barracks, life and operations there, liberty, the stockade, and later service in the war.

Interview with Garland Romagosa, a United States Navy veteran from New Orleans, Louisiana, regarding his experiences and memories of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor of December 7, 1941 while aboard the battleship USS California.

Interview with Edward Jones, a survivor of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and former member of the Civilian Conservation Corps from New Orleans, Louisiana, regarding his experiences and memories of participating in the CCC during the Great Depression.

Transcript of an interview with Jack Martin, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences aboard the battleship USS Nevada during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Transcript of an interview with Wallace Miers, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences aboard the battleship USS Nevada during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Transcript of an interview with Woodrow Hill, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences aboard the battleship USS Nevada during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.