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Life in LA Today

From Fordyce country boy to Magnolia community builder

Apr 9, 2026

If you’ve lived in Magnolia for very long, you’ve certainly seen him around town… or at least seen the ubiquitous WDR signs. Today, you’ll hear the story behind those initials.

W. Derrell Rogers went from a country boy growing up near Fordyce — without electricity, television, or even a telephone — to a...

From tragedy to grace, a son's vision becomes reality

Apr 9, 2026

There are times in life when tragedy seems to have the final word—but often, God is quietly at work, writing a greater story. Today on Life in LA, we share one of those stories. It begins with Drs. Pierre and Martine Boumtje, professors at Southern Arkansas University, who came to Magnolia from Cameroon, built a life...

Riding "The Cat" for 35 years

Apr 9, 2026

Today’s guest is someone who’s logged more miles on the backroads of Columbia County than most of us could count. Terry Hanson has been driving a school bus for the Magnolia School District for 35 years — and that’s not counting the year he spent subbing before that. He drives Bus 72, known to the kids as...

From pews to pastures, meet the other Jack Daniels

Oct 14, 2025

His father either had a great sense of humor or a knack for coming up with names. He called the acreage he farmed along the Red River in Lafayette County Miracle Farms, inspired by one of his favorite sayings: “God grants the miracle — we do the work.”
But why did Mr. Daniels name his son Jack?
“I have a lot of...

Stories from the man behind the chair

Oct 14, 2025

Today on Life in LA, I sat down with a man who’s been part of Magnolia’s story for nearly six decades. Don Higdon began barbering on the square back in 1966, when a shop might have just one pair of electric clippers that all three barbers shared. Since then, he’s seen every hairstyle imaginable come and go —...