BOGALUSA, La. — When Kevin Magee moved away from his hometown of Bogalusa back in 2010, he didn’t like what he was hearing.
“If somebody brought up Bogalusa it was either about crime, race relations or the smell of the paper mill, that was it,” said Magee.
While Magee admits all those things are issues, he says there’s more to be told.
“You never see the true underbelly of Bogalusa. You don’t see the hardworking people,” said Magee.
After a month of planning, filming began in early August.
“We did maybe three or four interviews per day,” said Magee. “We have sixty hours of footage.”
Magee’s documentary style film brings together city leaders and community members looking back on a once dominate city in Washington Parish and what they hope for its future.
“I would love for Bogalusa to come back again and have the business and have the schools,” said Cathy Mitchell, who’s in the film.
Mitchell has called Bogalusa home since the 70’s.
“I raised my children here, my grandchildren are being raised here,” said Mitchell.
Over the years Mitchell says she has seen Bogalusa go from a thriving place for business and education to shuttered doors and poverty, which according to the 2010 Census is at 40 percent.
“What I honestly think changed was around 2005 you had Katrina, you know Katrina happened, you know people left,” said Magee.
According to the U.S. Census, the population in Bogalusa has been declining since 1960. Population estimates show 11,504 people called Bogalusa home last year. That’s a six percent drop since 2010.
“I think eventually you had more bad things happening than good,” said Magee.
Magee says while the bad may overshadow the good, he’s hoping to cast some light.
“Although the story is about Bogalusa and it’s to help the people that currently live there as well, it’s also to change the narrative for the people that don’t live there,” said Magee.
Magee’s documentary film “Mill Town” is currently in the editing process and expected to be released this fall.
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