Hundred of millions of dollars have been paid out in Northwest Louisiana in leases and royalties from the Haynesville shale operations, but the hoped-for economic boom has not yet occurred. Some local governments are enjoying more income and there is some commercial growth, such as construction of some hotels, but no one so far has turned some of his millions into something that will create many jobs. Maybe, the reason is that the people in the area now getting so much wealth never knew how to spend.
My dad used to tell of the rural couple in Claiborne parish who had come into money from leasing land as the Homer oil field developed around 1919. The husband told his wife that they had received the money and he was going into town and wanted to know what they needed. She thought for awhile and said, "Well, I guess what we could use a new axe."
Some of those getting money from the Haynesville shale may be like that couple. My brother has a friend who leased a considerable acreage at a peak price. He decided to spend some of that money, went in to Shreveport and shopped. When he returned he had purchased two hoe handles, one for himself and one for my brother.
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