Changes

A devotee of Louisiana politics, Dean recalled that [[Huey Long|Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], once bought him a hamburger while they were on the train from [[Baton Rouge]] to [[Nashville]], [[Tennessee]], to watch the [[Louisiana State University]] Tigers play [[football]].<ref name=willis>{{cite web|url= http://www.thepineywoods.com/PapDean.htm|author=Jack M. Willis|title=Pap Dean marks lifetime or art and politics: Art career started with sketching from comic characters in first grade at Colfax Art career started school|publisher=thepineywoods.com|date=June 26, 2009|accessdate=August 31, 2009; no longer on-line}}</ref>​

A devotee of Louisiana politics, Dean recalled that [[Huey Long|Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], once bought him a hamburger while they were on the train from [[Baton Rouge]] to [[Nashville]], [[Tennessee]], to watch the [[Louisiana State University]] Tigers play [[football]].<ref name=willis>{{cite web|url= http://www.thepineywoods.com/PapDean.htm|author=Jack M. Willis|title=Pap Dean marks lifetime or art and politics: Art career started with sketching from comic characters in first grade at Colfax Art career started school|publisher=thepineywoods.com|date=June 26, 2009|accessdate=August 31, 2009; no longer on-line}}</ref>​

Meanwhile, the still hopeful Dean heard Governor Huey Long speak in Colfax while running for the [[United States Senate]] seat held by the respected Joseph Eugene Ransdell (1858-1954). Dean wrote Long and told him of his own plight regarding the loss of the college funds. A month later, a local banker sent Dean to Baton Rouge to see LSU President James Monroe Smith, Sr. (1888-1949), later convicted in the statewide scandals of 1939 known as the "Louisiana Hayride," an identical term to the Shreveport-based [[Country music]] program, the Louisiana Hayride. Long had asked Smith to offer Dean financial aid and entry into LSU.<ref name=willis/> By working three jobs in the meantime, Dean obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1937 in [[political science]].<ref name=willis/><ref name=findagrave>{{cite web|url=​https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/75665943/preston-allen-deanhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/75665943/preston-allen-dean|title=Preston Allen "Pap" Dean, Jr. obituary|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=October 31, 2019}}</ref>

Meanwhile, the still hopeful Dean heard Governor Huey Long speak in Colfax while running for the [[United States Senate]] seat held by the respected Joseph Eugene Ransdell (1858-1954). Dean wrote Long and told him of his own plight regarding the loss of the college funds. A month later, a local banker sent Dean to Baton Rouge to see LSU President James Monroe Smith, Sr. (1888-1949), later convicted in the statewide scandals of 1939 known as the "Louisiana Hayride," an identical term to the Shreveport-based [[Country music]] program, the Louisiana Hayride. Long had asked Smith to offer Dean financial aid and entry into LSU.<ref name=willis/> By working three jobs in the meantime, Dean obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1937 in [[political science]].<ref name=willis/><ref name=findagrave>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/75665943/preston-allen-deanhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/75665943/preston-allen-dean|title=Preston Allen "Pap" Dean, Jr. obituary|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=October 31, 2019}}</ref>

After LSU, Dean enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and then joined the staff of ''The Shreveport Times.'' He was married to the former Doris Moore and had three children. His tenure there was interrupted by three and one-half years in the [[United States Army]], beginning in 1942. He landed with an anti-aircraft battalion at [[Omaha Beach]] on [[D-Day]], received a battlefield commission, and was promoted ultimately to the rank of lieutenant colonel.<ref name=willis/>​<ref name=findagrave/>

After LSU, Dean enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and then joined the staff of ''The Shreveport Times.'' He was married to the former Doris Moore and had three children. His tenure there was interrupted by three and one-half years in the [[United States Army]], beginning in 1942. He landed with an anti-aircraft battalion at [[Omaha Beach]] on [[D-Day]], received a battlefield commission, and was promoted ultimately to the rank of lieutenant colonel.<ref name=willis/>​<ref name=findagrave/>