Prescious Gems 2 - Pontalba Communications

Transcription

PRECIOUS GEMS FROM FADED MEMORIES:
A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH
BY
GERALD J. KELLER Ph.D.
LISA KELLER-WATSON
DARROCH WATSON
Precious Gems From Faded Memories
Third Edition
© 2008 By Gerald J. Keller, Ph.D., Lisa Keller-Watson, Darroch Watson
All Rights Reserved
Permission from the authors and/or contributors must be granted pior to any
reproduction or use of the material, both text and photographs, contained in
this book. Photographs and material submitted for use remain the property of the
contributors
Write to:
Gerald J. Keller, Ph.D.
P.O. Box 347
Reserve, LA 70084
gkeller@rtconline.com
Every attempt has been made to give proper credit to those individuals
who have contributed interviews, photographs and family histories,
and to those whose previous research has been reviewed by the authors.
Dust Jacket Photo: St. Peter Catholic Church,
Reserve, Louisiana (c. 1900)
Book Title by Noelie Hart, sister to Sheriff Billy Hart
(Appears courtesy of Douglas Star/Shirley C. Terrio)
Graphic Design and Photographic Restoration
Claude Andre Levet, Pontalba Communications
Hammond, Louisiana Pontalbacommunications.com
Jacket Design by Claude Levet, Michael Trahan
Photo of authors by Ricky Songy
Book Printing by Thomson-Shore Publishing
7360 West Joy Road
Dexter, MI 48130
Bicentennial Logo by Edward Pastureau
ISBN: 0-9792743-0-5
Library of Congress Card Number: (Applied for)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are indebted to the following people whose valuable assistance, support and suggestions in
the gathering and compiling of research – including photographs, articles and family histories - have
made this book possible:
Randy and Trisha Aucoin, Sheila Hebert Adams, Wendy Adcock, Wilhelmina Bernard Armour, Norine
Marks Alltmont, Lowell and Tricia Angelette, Lowell Bacas, Shirley Sanders Baker, Carmen Baloney,
Carl Baloney, Vickie H. Barraco, Duddley Beadle, Robert Berthelot, Alden J. Bienvenu, A. Whitney
Borne, Jr., Danielle Madere-Boudreaux and Paul Boudreaux, Donnie Boudreaux, Connie Boudreaux,
Phil Breaux, Theresa Landry Brignac, Doris Lasseigne Carville, Walter H. Castay, Jr., Walter H. Castay
III, Margaret Cerami, Dale and Kristy Clement, Michael Coburn, Donald Cox, John L. Cox, John
Cummings III, Steve Cupit, Alfred D. Cutno, Don Davis, Jane Montz DesRoches, Patrick Dufresne,
Kelli McTopy-Duhe, Diane Jacob Duhe, Mary Vicknair Duhe, Cleveland Farlough, aHarold Flynn,
Kim Fontenot, Colgan and Donna Lynn Fulton, Reinhard Graf, Leonard Gray, Emily Guidry, Nelson
Guidry, Michael Hanley, Mark “Squeaky” Howard, Amanda Howard, Anatole Jacob, Callan Jacob,
Yolanda Joseph, Harold Keller, Steven Keller, Stacey Ferraro Keller, Wayne and Sylvia Kimball, Helen
Klibert, Arnold Labat, Jesse Lambert (River Parishes Tourist Commission), Linda Landry, Linette
Lapeyrolerie, Claude A. Levet, Myrtle Perilloux Levet, Haston “Lipper” Lewis, L’Observateur (Kevin
Chiri, Publisher), Lara Lightsey, Louisiana State Museum, Faye Louque, Jerry Luminais, Tommy Madere, Michael Maurin, Marilyn Torres Maurin, Joy Donaldson McGraw, Pete McGraw, Lester and
Judy Belle Millet, Mary Mitchell, Carl Monica, Gerard Montz, Charles Maurin, Nicky Monica, Marie
Therese Maurin Montz, Ethel May Montz, Mike Norton, Stan Orillion, Edward Pastureau, Keith
Perilloux, Lester Rainey, Jr. Fay and Gene Reine, Julia Remondet, Willie Robert, Ralph Romaguera
Jr. (Romaguera Photography), Sean Roussel, Helmuth N. Rousseve, Helmuth Rousseve, Jr., Matthew Rousseve, Southeastern Louisiana University Center for Regional Studies, Southestern Louisiana
University Office of Public Information, Robert St. Germain, Allen St. Pierre, Patrick Sanders, Olaf
Schmidt, (Tulane University), Michael Scioneaux, Cynthia Scioneaux, Joey Scontrino, Dr. Ibrahima
Seck, Betty Shook, Marilyn Simoneaux, Judge Sterling Snowdy, David Snowdy, Judy Songy, Leda-Mae
Steib, Dora Sylvain, Merin Templet, Shirley Cassagne Terrio, Danny Terrio, Jim and Carol Trosclair,
Todd Trosclair, Ronald Troxler, Edith Vicknair, Carl Vicknair, St. John the Baptist Parish Library, and
the St. John the Baptist Parish Bicentennial Committee (Judy Songy, Judy Mackels, Tomy Acosta,
“Buddy” Boe, Wilhelmina Armour, Julia Remondet, Sterling Snowdy, Warren Sylvain, Mike Norton).
The authors would also like to extend a special thanks to the following people who have given generously of their time, talent and treasures to our research: Wilhelmina Bernard Armour, Emily Guidry,
Michael Maurin, Gerard Montz, Dr. Ibrahima Seck, Shirley Cassagne Terrio, Dr. Rebecca Saunders,
The Louisiana State Museum of Natural Science and Thomas Lanham, The Louisiana State Museum
in New Orleans. The authors are very much indebted to Claude Levet for his expertise in the design
and production of this book. A professional photographer and media specialist, Mr. Levet’s background in both 19th century photography and modern digital restoration techniques proved invaluable in our efforts to publish an array of historic photographs detailing the life and times of St. John
the Baptist Parish. Mr. Levet has worked at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and is currently at
Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana.
Thank you all.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
President’s Remarks
St. John the Baptist Parish President
Introduction
Foreword
St. John the Baptist Parish Council
Chapter I
The First Inhabitants
Chapter II
A Plantation Life
Chapter III
A River Runs Through It
Chapter IV
The Risk Takers, Movers and Shakers
Chapter V
Industrial Development of St. John the Baptist Parish
Chapter VI
St. John the Baptist Goes to War
Chapter VII
Out of the Shadows—The African-American Experience
Chapter VIII
Une Petite Partin de Nous (A Little Part of Us)
Chapter IX
Facing the Past, Shaping the Future
Appendix
Sponsors
Selected Bibliography
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PRESIDENT’S REMARKS
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your interest in the history and background of ‘les cote des allemands’, The German Coast
also known as St John the Baptist Parish. As you flip each page of this history book a different era will
pass before your eyes. Each chapter celebrates the moments that have shaped St John the Baptist Parish, the
communities inside her, and her residents.
In the 200 years since it was founded, many things have changed, yet so much remains the same. Each
picture and every story reminds each one of us much our current lives are connected our past. The names and
faces in this book may look familiar because the children and relatives are still here, building, growing, and
finishing the work of their ancestors.
As we turn the page in the next chapter in the history of St John, I look forward to helping to shape a modern
St John grounded on a strong foundation of historical perspective. Founded in the rich tradition of sugar mills,
plantations, and refineries we are reminded everyday that ‘Life is Sweeter in St John!’ Sincerely Yours,
Bill Hubbard
Parish President, St John Parish
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INTRODUCTION
France’s dream of a colony in the Mississippi Valley ended on December 20,
1803 as the territory of Louisiana was transferred to the United States under the
terms of the Louisiana Purchase. On March 26, 1804, Congress divided the newly
acquired territory into two parts. Below the thirty-third parallel, Congress created
the Territory of Orleans, which constituted most of the state of Louisiana and all
territory north of the thirty-third parallel became the District of Louisiana. At its
first meeting, the newly elected Legislative Council divided the Territory of Orleans
into twelve settlements or “counties” for the purpose of local government. These
included Orleans, German Coast, Acadia, Lafourche, Iberville, Pointe Coupee,
Acacias, Opelousas, Rapides, Natchitoches, Ouachita, and Concordia.
These counties proved to be too large to govern easily and a legislative act March
31, 1807 divided the twelve counties into nineteen parishes based on the 21 Catholic
Church parishes established in 1762. The German Coast was divided into St. Charles
and St. John the Baptist. The Parish of St. John the Baptist received its name from
the religious parish of St. John the Baptist. The parish seat was established at Bonne
Carre’ Point, which is now Lucy.
Situated in the southeastern portion of Louisiana, St. John the Baptist Parish has
a land area of 231 square miles and is bounded on the north by Livingston Parish,
Lake Maurepas and Tangipahoa Parish; on the east by St. Charles Parish; south by
Lafourche Parish and Lake Allemands; and, on the west by St. James Parish. The
general surface of the country is level land of alluvial formation, wooded swamp,
and coast marsh. Near the banks of the river the land is a little higher because of
the sediment the Mississippi River deposited at every overflow. At a distance of
two or three miles from the river, it becomes lower and gradually turns into cypress
swamps. The land was measured using the arpent system at the river front; the
Mississippi River divides the parish into two parts.
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FORWARD
To the Reader:
Precious Gems from Faded Memories: A Pictorial History of St. John the Baptist Parish gives an insight into
the history and development of St. John the Baptist Parish. The many sacrifices and contributions of our local
citizens allowed this parish to grow and develop into one of the best parishes in the state.
The reader will see how this parish grew from an agricultural to an industrial giant and the development of the
interstate and highway systems allowed residential and commercial growth.
I am happy to play a part of this parish’s development.
Jaclyn Hotard
Chairperson, District 4
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ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH COUNCIL MEMBERS
Richard Dale Wolfe
Councilman at Large
Division A
Steve Lee
Councilman at Large
Division B
Haston Lewis
Councilman, District 1
Daniel Millet
Charles Julian
Darnel Clement Usry
Councilwoman, District 5
Ronnie Smith
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Cheryl Millet
Councilwoman, District 7
Bicentennial Logo by Edward Pastureau
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Chapter 1
THE FIRST INHABITANTS
THE BAYOU JASMINE INDIANS
Long before Spanish explorers investigated the bayous
of Louisiana and before the German and French settlers established a home in Louisiana, Native Americans
inhabited the River Parishes. Archeological evidence indicates that the first inhabitants came to Louisiana in approximately 1800 B.C. and settled along the shores of
the inland rivers and streams of the Pontchartrain Basin
where they continued their occupancy until 1790 A.D
(Saucier, 1963). The permanent population in the basin
at any given time, however, was apparently quite small.
In 1973, working on the elevated Interstate 55 rightof-way through the St. John the Baptist Parish swamp,
employees of Brown and Root Marine Environmental
Company uncovered an archeological site that was literally crammed with relics of an aboriginal civilization that
had inhabited the stream’s banks between 1500 B.C. and
1300 A.D. Located on the banks of Bayou Jasmine (Shell
Bank Bayou as it is presently named), geologists believe
Above: A Tchefuncte Indian campsite
Chapter 1 Cover: Dr. Robert W. Neuman, LSU, investigating
Bayou Jasmine
Fish, a staple food for Poverty Point people – By Jon Gibson - Louisiana Archaeological Survey and Antiquities Commission
Bayou Jasmine was once a main tributary of the Mississippi River emptying into Lake Pontchartrain.
Although the Bayou Jasmine Indian site was first discovered in 1957, the lack of personnel and funds lead to
a limited excavation of the site. In June 1975, Dr. Robert
W. Neuman and the Louisiana State University Department of Geography and Anthropology returned to investigate the Bayou Jasmine site. To the amazement of the
excavation team, the dig went down twenty feet and, to
compensate for the deep drilling, several steel structures
called coffer dams were built around the perimeter of the
trenches.
Investigations and borings also showed the site to be
much larger than originally-described as the site occupied both the north and south banks of Bayou Jasmine
for 100 yards on each side and extended at least 20 yards
back from the banks to the bayou. Three human burials
and one dog burial were found. The dog was apparently
killed and buried with its master because a large bone
projectile point was found imbedded in its forehead.
Faunal remains in the spoil bank allowed the identification of specific species utilized as a food source by the
inhabitants of Bayou Jasmine.
Fish comprise the most abundant species at the site.
Turtle and alligator, in that order, are relatively common.
Evidence seems to support the hypothesis of a specialized
occupation oriented toward fishing, gathering, and hunting (Duhe, 1976).
What distinguished the Bayou Jasmine site from most
other archaeological sites in the Southeastern United
States was the remarkable state of preservation of the relics that were excavated. The preservation of the artifacts
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Student volunteers digging inside coffer
was the result of a peat deposit that formed around the
shell midden as centuries passed—a natural preservation
element. There was another factor that made the Bayou
Jasmine site an archaeologist’s delight—the availability of
unlimited water with which to wash and screen the findings. Water was simply pumped from the bayou.
There are other reported settlements in St. John the
Baptist Parish. Native American sites have also been
found along Dutch Bayou in Reserve, in Mt. Airy, and
in Wallace.
Above: Map of the Bayou Jasmine Site
(Sketch by Alden J. Bienvenu)
Left: Students sifting through soil to collect artifacts
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PRECIOUS GEMS FROM FADED MEMORIES
The German Settlement in a Schematic Presentation, ca. 1723. Map by Norman Marmillion, 1990, Les Voyageurs, German-Acadian Coast
Historical & Genealogical Society.
SETTLEMENT ON THE GERMAN COAST
For most Louisianans of German decent, the history
of the German settlers is a well-known story popularized
by J. Hanno Deiler (1909) in his Settlement of the German Coast of Louisiana and the Creoles of German Descent.
In his book, Deiler related the hardships of the Atlantic
crossing and recorded the trials of becoming self-sufficient after settling along the Mississippi River’s German
Coast. The settlement of these German colonists began
in late 1721. By spring 1722, the Germans had established three villages: Hoffen, Marienthal, and Augsburg,
with a total population of 247 persons. Within a year
they had already planted rice, corn, and other vegetables.
It was also during the 1720s that colonists began moving
to the east bank of the Mississippi River and by 1731
there were fifteen land grants.
The persecution of non-Catholics in France between
1752 and 1754 led to the French Government’s attempt
to force emigration to Louisiana. Sometime in December 1752, a group of Lutheran families attempted to flee
the discrimination to begin life anew in Germany. The
group was arrested, but it was proposed that the Alsatian
farmers would be more productive as colonists than as
galley slaves. Converted to Catholicism and agreeing to
Louisiana exile in lieu of life imprisonment, the German
Coast became home.
The first exiles landed at New Orleans on September 8, 1753. In July 1759, some Alsatians were still in
Rochefort, so it is likely that the second wave occurred
in late summer 1759. The Don de Dieu transported the
Alsatian colonists, arriving in Louisiana in the fall. The
mid-century Alsatians assimilated well with the German
colonists of the early part of the century and together
with their French neighbors carved a future for themselves in Louisiana.
SLAVERY ON THE GERMAN COAST
Dr. Ibrahima Seck
African slaves and their descendants have played a
very important role in the history of St. John the Baptist
Parish. They cleared the land and planted corn, rice, and
garden crops, ran indigo facilities and later sugar mills,
built levees, served as sawyers, carpenters, masons, and
metallurgists, raised horses, mules, cows, sheep, swine,
and poultry. Slaves also toiled as cooks, handling the demanding task of hulling and grinding rice - all these tasks
necessary to ensure that the farms were prosperous.
Between April 1723 and April 1724, 3,000 slaves were
transported to the Gulf Coast and Caribbean, 570 landing in Louisiana. On the German Coast, no slaves were
recorded in either of the 1724 or 1726 censuses. During
the next forty-five years (1724-1769), slaves trickled in,
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totaling 200.
For decades the Germans produced primarily rice
and other food crops for their own nourishment. Later,
the settlement was nick-named “Jardin de la Capitale”
(garden of the capital) as any surplus was shipped to the
market in New Orleans.
tion of wood, and the maintenance of levees and drainage canals.
Land toward the swamp was usually given to slaves
to work on Sundays. They planted corn, rice and garden
products which had followed them from Africa. Among
those were black-eye peas, called fêves des marais by
the French, and okra, the African plant that would become synonymous throughout Louisiana and the South.
“Ngombo” is a word for the plant among the Bantu of
central Africa. In Louisiana, “ngombo” became “gumbo“,
designating a dish accompanied with rice. Jambalaya is
also a rice-based dish imported from the coast of Senegal.
Additionally, out of rice or corn meal, the slaves made
“cous-cous” which they passed on to the Acadians.
The history of the slave trade is not merely the deportation of able bodied people who could also stand the
tropical climate. It was, above all, a transfer of centuriesold African know-how. For this reason, slavery has played
a very important role in the development of St. John the
Baptist Parish.
San Francisco Plantation Quarters – (Courtesy of Rinhard Graf)
Indigo production began along the German Coast in
the 1770s but was mostly limited to St. Charles parish
where the farmers were better established and had a substantial slave force. In St. John the Baptist, it did not develop until the 1790’s. However, planters here had hardly
enjoyed indigo’s full development when it was destroyed
by an infestation. By 1794, all the facilities had fallen
into decay and the planters had turned to corn, sweet
potatoes and to the production of lumber for export to
Havana and the West Indies.
The collapse of indigo coincided with the birth of the
sugar industry in Louisiana. By 1801, there were some
60 sugar cane plantations. This resulted in the scarcity
of rice and the region’s planters demanded renewed importation of slaves. When Louisiana entered the Union,
sugar was already the main crop of the Lower Mississippi
River. The planting required backbreaking labor and the
season was followed by vegetable cultivation, the collec-
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Plantation Family (Painting courtesy of San Francisco Plantation)
Chapter 2
PLANTATION LIFE
CHAPTER 2:
PLANTATION LIFE: THE BIG HOUSE
was long and hard, but during the harvest, it was none
stop – the plantation family, hired hands and the slaves
working around the clock to ensure that everything got
done on time. St. John’s place in Louisiana history is one
of importance as many of the landholdings in the parish
and all along the River Region were significant entities in
their day. Though few of these plantations remain, there
are enough of these ‘big houses’ still around to give us a
sense of what life might have been like back in the plantation era.
Illustration of Field Hands Cutting Sugar Cane
With the failure of indigo, planters in St. John the
Baptist turned their attention to sugar. Their risks were
great, but so, too were the rewards if the crop was successful. Yet, the sugar enterprises did not come without
problems. The production of sugar was not only a great
business risk, it was also a commodity that required an
immense amount of labor to produce and a heavy investment in mill technology to get the product to market.
Plantation owners turned to the supply of slave labor,
which became the backbone of any plantation operation.
Once the cane had been cut, little time could be wasted
in getting it to the mill for refining. The normal work day
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Above: Field Hands on San Francisco Plantation
Below: Harvesting sugarcane, San Francisco Plantation
Chapter 2 Cover: Carl “Putsy” Levet at San Francisco Platation
(Courtesy of Carl. L. Levet Family )
this region, the Deslonde family would see their horizons
expand in the marriage of two of their daughters, Caroline and Mathilde, to men well known on the national
stage at that time. The elder daughter, Caroline, caught
the eye of Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant
(P.T.G.) Beauregard, widower, whose first wife also had
a connection to our parish being the daughter of Louisiana’s first Creole governor, Jacques Villere, who was born
in Lucy.
Boudousquie-Godchaux House
BOUDOUSQUIE-GODCHAUX HOUSE, Reserve
Believed to be one of the oldest structures in Louisiana, the home originally stood near the entrance of what
is now Globalplex before the house was moved in 1993.
Built during the 1790s on land settled in 1764 by Jean
Laubel, the Creole-style house, its low ceilings, handhewn beams and mantelpieces, was typical of the era.
The original building, smaller than its present form, was
expanded by two free men of color, Francois and Elisee
Rillieux.
Antoine Boudousquie bought the property in the
early 1830s. By the mid 1850s, the plantation was one
of the largest sugar producers in Louisiana. After Boudousquie died in 1855, his widow struggled to keep it
profitable, but by 1869, she was deeply in debt. Spent,
she sold out to Leon Godchaux. Returning the plantation to profitability was arduous, but revolutionizing the
industry through centralized refining, Godchaux’s legacy
stands to this day.
MATHILDE DESLONDE SLIDELL
Another Deslonde daughter, Mathilde, married John
Slidell, after whom the city
of Slidell is named, and who
played a key role in Confederate war operations.
Upon death, both Deslonde
daughters were interred in
the cemetery of St. John the
Baptist Catholic Church in
Edgard (Painting by George
Haley).
Mathilde Deslonde Slidell
EDRINGTON/PARKER HOUSE, Reserve
CORNLAND PLANTATION, Reserve
Morris Edrington purchased Cornland Plantation
from James Humphreys in 1868 and operated the Cornland Sugar Factory until 1916. Mr. Edrington was known
as ‘Mr. Cornland’ because corn was also grown on that
plantation, and two nearby streets in Reserve were called
Old Cornland (West 1st) and New Cornland Street
(Central Avenue).
AMOUR PLANTATION, Mt. Airy
Thomas D’Aquin Bourgeois owned and operated
Amour during the Civil War, at which time the mill was
believed destroyed.
ANGELINA PLANTATION, Mt. Airy
James Godbery was the owner in the early 1860s.
W.B. Gloomfield acquired ownership several years later
and, finally, the Trosclairs of Mt. Airy became the proprietor.
BELLE POINTE PLANTATION, Reserve
Long before E.I. DuPont entered the picture, the Belle
Pointe Plantation belonged to Andre Deslonde, whose
ownership dates back to 1792. Certainly prominent in
Edrington/Parker House in Reserve
PLANTATION LIFE
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During the early 1900s, farmers in Reserve also grew
rice, which continued well into the 1950s. Rice farming
was conducted on what is currently the site of East St.
John High School in Reserve; as industrial growth has
superseded the agricultural economy, both rice and commercial vegetable production in the Reserve area have
been since discontinued.
Elvina Plantation
ELVINA PLANTATION, LaPlace
Before the Crevasse of 1872, Elvina Plantation was
once owned by the Louque family. After the Crevasse, the
property was purchased by C.F. Montegut, Sr. in 1898.
A sugar house and plantation were established the same
year. This plantation was designed and built by Jules Albert Pastureau and named for Mr. Montegut’s wife—Elvina. Elvina Plantation was known chiefly for its sugar
cane production and in later years for some vegetables.
Elvina was sold to The St. John the Baptist Parish School
Board in February 2007 for future school development.
Plans are to maintain the original structure.
Emilie Plantation
EMILIE PLANTATION, Garyville
Owned by George Chauffe in 1840, the operation and
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ownership was passed on to Cyprien Chauff, who in turn
sold it to L.D. Chauffe in 1900. The Emilie Plantation
House in Garyville was built in 1882 by Adelard Millet
for Leonce Chauff, the daughter of Dr. L. D. Chauff. The
house was purchased by Sidney and Lauren Levet who
restored the house. The house is currently owned by Carl
Baloney and Geri Broussard-Baloney.
EVERGREEN PLANTATION &
SLAVE QUARTERS, Wallace
Over the decade, the double row early 19th century
slave cabin configeration has survived. The 1860 census
listed Lezin Becnel and his brother as having 103 slaves in
48 dwellings. The only known historic map of the plantation is the Mississippi River Commission map of 1876,
which shows 22 cabins in the same configuration and
location. The cabins were used by tenant farmers after the
Civil War. The Evergreen slave quarters have been used in
several Hollywood movies--Mandingo, The Autobiography
of Jane Pittman, and Fletch Lives.
GLENCOE, Garyville
Francois Perilloux and Francois Reine were owners in
1883. Leon Graugnard, some years later, became the proprietor. The Southern Cypress Company, the forerunner
of the Lyon Lumber Company, bought the plantation
and then sold it to the Lyon Cypress Lumber Company.
The town of Garyville now occupies the site of the old
Glencoe Plantation.
HOPE PLANTATION, Garyville
Hope Plantation House was once part of a plantation
known as ‘Esperance’, French meaning Hope. The plantation was created by Honore Landreaux, Joseph Lavergne
and the Jourdan brothers prior to 1828. In 1844, Dr.
James Loughborough moved his family to Louisiana
from Virginia, buying the plantation from Landreaux.
Following Dr. Loughborough’s death, owners included
the Watson bothers in the 1870s, followed by Ozeme Labiche. The Babin brothers owned it from 1912 to 1920,
followed by Augustin Lasseigne, who sold the property
in 1923 to G. B. Gibson. The Millet family moved to
Garyville in 1923 and rented the house, operating a
dairy.
After Mr. Gibson’s 1937 sale to Walter Stebbins, the
Millets and their eleven children stayed on. In 1940, Leo
Millet was killed by a train. Later that year, Mrs. Millet
Evergreen Plantation House, Early 1900s
PLANTATION LIFE
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Hope Plantation in Garyville
bought the home and four and one-half acres
of land from Mr. Stebbins. Mrs. Millet died
on August 23, 1985. Her descendants still own
the house and property.
LAPLACE PLANTATION, LaPlace
Bazile Laplace purchased the property in
1879 through his New Orleans pharmaceutical
empire. Laplace died in 1884 and the 3,900
acre plantation remained under Basile Laplace,
Jr., who was killed in 1899. The estate was sold
to Fernand Lucien and Sidney Montegut in
1905. Montegut, in turn, sold the property to
the Godchaux Brothers in 1918, who worked
it for 38 years. The property was sold to Gulf
States, Inc. in 1956 and was transferred to a
Gulf State subsidiary in 1958. The original site
of the plantation is where the Riverlands and
Carrollwood subdivisions sit. The plantation
house, destroyed by fire, stood roughly where
Twin Oaks Nursing Home now exists.
NEW ERA PLANTATION, LaPlace
A Mr. Daunoy seems to have been the first
owner about 1885. Xavier Levet purchased the
property from him in the same year. Dr. Sidney
Montegut became owner some years later and
there was a sugar house and syrup mill located
on this property. In 1918, Dr. Montegut died
and the plantation was sold to the Godchaux
family. Godchaux would later sell the property
to George Lasseigne. The present day location
is near Gary Keating’s store in Milesville.
Plantation Along Mississippi River, Early 1900s – Sketch by Alden Bienvenu
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LEON GRAUGNARD FAMILY (Left to Right) Leon Graugnard, son Emile, dtr. Marie (Nancy), dtr. Eva, Mrs. Leon Graugnard, son
Fernand Adam. Both sons are in uniform of Jefferson College, Convent.
TERRE HAUTE (High Grounds) PLANTATION
LEON GRAUGNARD AND
EDWIN JOSEPH (E.J.) GUIDRY, SR.
Plantation Owner and Dairyman
A pioneer in the sugar industry, Leon Graugnard was
one of the Barcelonnet Valley men who settled in St. John
the Baptist Parish. One of seven children of Jean Joseph
Graugnard and Angelique Caire, Leon Graugnard was
born on February 1, 1855 in the tiny Alpine village of
Faucon, France. At the age of 16, Leon Graugnard came
to America and went to work on the sugar cane plantation of Jean Teissier, an earlier arrival from the Barcelonnette Valley. Soon, Mr. Auguste Servell, another native of
France established in St. James Parish encouraged young
Leon to better himself by starting in business as a peddler
and advanced Leon Graugnard enough money to begin
his enterprise with the purchase of two mules, a cart, and
a stock of merchandise. He sold fabrics and other sewing
essentials and was very successful in this venture.
Within five years, in 1876, he was able to form
a general merchandise partnership with Firmin Maurin,
under the firm name of Maurin and Graugnard. The
business thrived and in 1880 the business expanded and
was moved to a new location in lower Reserve.
On April 19, 1882, at the St. Louis Cathedral in
New Orleans, Leon Graugnard married Marie Eve Bacas,
a daughter of Anatole Joseph Bacas and Marie Madeline
Celeste Conrad. Of the six children born to this couple, three died in infancy. A fourth child, a son died one
month following his 19th birthday. Only two children,
son Emile and daughter Eve, lived to maturity. Eve was
educated at St. Joseph’s Academy in New Orleans and
would marry Edwin
Joseph (E.J.) Guidry,
Sr. on September 22,
1914. Emile married Azelie Eleonore
Breaud on February
6, 1922 and would
raise seven children.
The son of Philemon Guidry III and
Marie Adele Porrier,
E. J. Guidry Sr. was
born in St. James,
Louisiana on Septem- Wedding Picture of Edwin J. Guidry,
ber 4, 1890. He was Sr. and Eve Graugnard
educated at Jefferson
College in Convent, Louisiana. The Guidrys had twelve
children—Sister Celeste, Inez, Edwin, Jr., Marion, Leon,
James, Manual, Lionel, Albert, Francis, John, and Theresa. In 1913, E.J. Guidry, Sr. went to work for the New
Orleans and Great Northern Railroad near Tylertown,
Mississippi.
PLANTATION LIFE
21
In 1892, after twelve years in the general merchandise
business with Firmin Maurin, Leon Graugnard sold his
interest to his partner and established the Four Seasons
Store on the upper end of St. John’s east bank. The following year, on January 27, 1893, Leon Graugnard bought
the 785 acre Glencoe Plantation from Mrs. Felicie Perilloux Reine and Mr. Paul N. Bossier for $11,000. He cultivated red sugar cane on 275 acres of the property until
April 4, 1901 when he sold Glencoe to a representative
of the Lyon Lumber Company for $14,500. The Lyon
Lumber Company operation, as well as a large portion
of the town, which later became Garyville, were situated
on the land which was once Glencoe. After the sale of
Glencoe, the Graugnard family moved to New Orleans,
where Leon Graugnard, along with Firmin Reynaud had
an interest in the Clerc Wholesale Grocery. When the
business proved unsatisfactory, both partners disposed of
their interest in 1904.
Meanwhile Leon Graugnard purchased river front
land from the San Francisco Plantation and the Doherty
Family. On this land, he built a large general merchandise
store and a house a short distance down-river from the
San Francisco Plantation House. In later years, the house
and store were painted dark green and became known
as “The Englade Store and House.” The Englade Family were long-time occupants of the property until it was
sold to the Inger Oil Company, predecessor of Marathon
Petroleum Company.
On February 3, 1905, the Firmin Reynaud-Leon
Graugnard partnership bought Terre Haute Plantation
Plantation Worker Houses on Terre Haute Plantation
22
Mrs. Leon Graugnard (Marie Eve Bacas)
from Catherine Davis Trenton, widow of John Cofield and
wife of James Webster. The purchase price was $100,000.
In 1910, the partnership also bought the 600 acres Lilly
Plantation in Convent, Louisiana. Sugar cane was grown
on both plantations and the larger Terre Haute sugar
mill ground not only the sugar cane from Terre Haute
and Lilly, but also cane grown by surrounding sugar cane
farms. Graugnard’s son-in-law, E.J. Guidry, Sr. returned
to St. John the Baptist Parish in 1915 and became the
overseer at the Lilly Plantation sugar cane operation in
Convent. As on other plantations of the era, workers had
cabins and were paid in tokens, which were redeemed in
the community store located on the plantation.
In 1922, the Reynaud family sold their undivided half
interest in Terre Haute Plantation to Leon Graugnard in
exchange for full interest in Lilly Plantation plus $65,000.
The Guidrys moved from Lilly to the Terre Haute Plantation where Mr. Guidry would assume co-responsibility for operation of the plantation, and Leon Guidry,
Jr. would be the first Guidry child to be born after the
Guidrys had moved to the Terre Haute plantation.
Following his wife’s death in 1929, Leon Graugnard
had two marble statues of St. Peter imported from Italy and inscribed in his wife’s memory. One statue was
place on the exterior of St. Peter Church and the other
on St. Peter School, where they remain until this day.
The Guidrys and Graugnards and others were very instrumental in working with Monsignor Eyraud in getting
a Catholic school for the community—St. Peter School.
Sixty-seven years after leaving his homeland thousands
of miles away, Leon Graugnard, the little Shepard from
Faucon in the Barcolonnette Valley of France died at the
age of 83 on December 26, 1938. He was laid to rest in
the family tomb in St. Peter Cemetery in Reserve.
By 1944, E.J. Guidry and his wife, Eva Graunard
Guidry had assumed full ownership and management of
the Terre Haute Plantation. Besides the sugar cane operation and operation of the Terre Haute Company Store,
E.J. Guidry, Sr. also managed the Sunnyside Dairy on
the property from 1930 through World War II. The dairy
had 65 cows and delivered milk throughout Reserve
from the plantation to Our Lady of Grace. Milk was sold
for eight cents at the plantation store and was sold for
ten cents on home deliveries. Milk was also delivered to
LaPlace, Norco, and Good Hope. Guidry utilized captured German soldiers
to assist with cane cultivation and cutting
during World War II.
E.J. Guidry, Sr. was
an active member of
St. Peter’s Council No.
3436, Knights of Columbus and frequently
attended the laymen’s
retreat at Manresa
House in Convent.
Through the years,
the Guidry family has
made major contribuWedding Picture of Francis Guidry
tions to St. John Parish.
and Gertrude Rome
All were active members of the St. Peter Church and St.
Peter School. Following the death of E.J. Guidry, Sr. on
December 6, 1949, two of his sons continued the sugar
cane growingoperation of the plantation--Edwin Guidry,
Edwin J. “Fils” Guidry, Jr. and daughter, Claire
Jr. and Francis Guidry. Francis Guidry would marry Gertrude Rome and they had ten children—Michelle, Francis, Jr., E.J. Guidry, III, Steven, David, Chris, Greg, Fran,
Barry, and Leon Guidry. Francis also served on the St.
Peter School Board and was elected to the St. John the
Baptist Parish (Public) School Board.
In 1973, Marathon Petroleum Company assumed
possession of the refining operation on the former Terre
Haute land, and Cargill purchased 622 acres from Terre
Haute’s remaining acreage for the construction of their
grain elevator in Reserve. To meet the region’s growing
industrial needs, the Guidrys started Highlanders Fabrication, a maintenance and pipe fabrication company in
Reserve.
A third generation of Guidrys have continued their
business enterprises in St. John the Baptist Parish into
this early part of the 21st century. Steven Guidry manages Guidry Industries, a tree cutting, lawn service grass
cutting operation. The brothers also formed Gen-G Corporation, a real estate and land development company.
Chris Guidry served as an aid to U.S. Representative
Clyde C. Holloway and worked with Parish President
Nickie Monica as his chief administrative officer. Currently, Chris Guidry manages Guidry Associates, LLC.
Commander Greg Guidry is a graduate of the U.S. Naval
Academy and is an aviator on the aircraft carrier, U.S.
John C. Stennis.
PLANTATION LIFE
23
SAN FRANCISCO PLANTATION, Lyons-Garyville
Records indicate that the plantation property was
put together in the 1820s by a “free man of color,” Elisee Rillieux, who,
in 1830, sold it to
Edmond Bozonier
Marmillion. In the
1850s, the Marmillion plantation was
a thriving sugar cane
industry. Tradition
has it that the house
was constructed in
1849 by Antoine
Valsin Marmillion,
Edmond’s oldest son,
but researchers have
set the date between
1853 and 1856. FolEdmond Marmillion
lowing his father’s
death in 1856, Valsin took over the management of the
plantation and it was believed he and Louise von Seybold, a Bavarian girl he had met while on tour in Europe,
were married at that
time. In 1859, Valsin
Marmillion gave the
home its name, “Sans
Frusquin,” a popular French expression
meaning “one’s all” or
“reduced to the last
cent”—supposedly,
the elaborate house
consumed most of
the family wealth.
Twenty years later,
the name was mispronounced and eventually evolved into “San
Francisco.”
The architecture of
the manor is French
in design, but it is often called ‘Steamboat
Gothic’ and was the
subject of a novel of
the same name writ- Marmillion Family
San Francisco Mill (Courtesy of Reinhard Graf)
ten by Francis Parkinson Keyes. The house is located
along the River Road abutting the levee that through the
years had moved closer and closer to the house because of
the river’s changing flow.
Following Valsin Marmillion’s death, Louise
returned to Germany
with her three daughters, selling the plantation to Col. Achille
D. Bourgere. The Ory
Brothers, in partnership with Augustin Lasseigne and Leon Keller
purchased the property
in 1904; management
of it was then handed
over to Sidney Levet
and J.M. Ory, the family’s next generation. As
time passed, Claude H.
Levet took on the manufacturing operations
while his brother, Carl
L. Levet, managed the
sugar cane farms. The
home, itself, was rented
to Mr. and Mrs. Clark
(Left to right): Uncle Charles Marmillion with Corrrine, Amelia, and Emma
Thompson from 1930
24
to 1973, at which time the plantation was sold as the
future site for an oil refinery. At that time, the mill was
dismantled and shipped to Panama, where it received a
second life. Marathon Oil Company, which ultimately
ended up with the plantation land, restored the home to
its original state.
Below: Crop dusting behind San Francisco plantation house
Right: Children of Sidney and Maria Ory Levet, (LtoR) Claude,
Joy, Sidney Jr., Carl Leslie and Maria.
Bottom: San Francisco plantation house circa 1950
PLANTATION LIFE
25
Whitney Plantation (Courtesy Louisiana State Museum)
WHITNEY PLANTATION
Dr. Ibrahima Seck
Whitney Plantation, located on the historic River
Road between Edgard and Wallace, was originally called
“Habitation Haydel” by Ambrose Haydel, a German who
had immigrated in 1721. Ambrose and his wife lived on
the original land tract as early as 1749. By the end of
the 18th century, Haydel’s sons, Jean Jacques Haydel Sr.
and Nicolas Haydel Sr., had established adjoining plantations, which included and expanded upon their father’s
original holdings.
The farm of Nicolas Haydel Sr. was passed to his son
Nicolas Jr. after his father’s death in 1800. In 1820 Jean
Jacques left his plantation to his two sons, Marcelin and
Jean Jacques Jr. Nicholas, Jr. sold his operation to Marcelin and Jean Jacques Jr. in 1822, and this combined unit
became Whitney Plantation. In 1840, after the death of
Marcellin Haydel, Azélie Haydel, his widow, gained total
control until her death in 1860. The plantation was sold
after the Civil War to a Northerner, Bradish Johnson,
who named the property after his grandson, Harry Payne
Whitney.
On May 17, 1880, following the death of Johnson’s
wife, the plantation was sold to Peter Edward St. Mar-
26
tin and Theophile Perret. In 1938, ownership went to a
St. Martin-Tassin partnership. In 1946, Alfred Barnes of
New Orleans purchased Whitney and became its first absentee owner. When Hurricane Betsy hit in 1965, many
outbuildings at Whitney were damaged. This marked the
beginning of hard times for Whitney, which peaked in
1990 when the Barnes family sold Whitney to the Formosa Chemicals and Fiber Corporation. Years of struggle
between the Formosa Corporation and local activists
concerned by a projected rayon plant resulted in the Formosa Corporation giving up its plans and the site.
Whitney Plantation is a genuine landmark built by
African slaves. John Cummings III, its current owner, is
working toward a site dedicated to the interpretation of
slavery with the involvement of the local community. As
a site of memory, the Whitney Heritage Plantation Museum will pay homage to all the slaves who lived on the
plantation itself and to all of those who lived elsewhere
in Louisiana. The Whitney Institute for African and African-American Studies will allow visitors to learn more
about African History and culture, better understand
Louisiana Afro-Creole culture, and help deconstruct stereotypes about Africa, Africans, and African-Americans.
Farm workers on San Francisco Plantation (Courtsey of Carl l. Levet Family)
WOODLAND PLANTATION, LaPlace
Commandent Manuel Andry, the first owner of the
property, inhabited the land as early as 1793. He had to
reclaim the property as did all the
landowners following the Louisiana Purchase in
1803. The slave
uprising in 1811
began on the plantation and spread
to St. Charles Parish. In the slave
uprising, Andry’s
son, Thomasin,
was killed. The
property was sold
to Norbert Boudousquie. Boudousquie’s widow
would later sell the Woodland Sugar Refinery
property to John Slidell and Associates in 1837. After
only two years, the plantation was sold to Samuel Hollingsworth in 1839.
Hollingsworth kept the property until 1870 when
John Chauffe and his brothers bought the property in a
sheriff’s sale. In 1895, it was sold at auction to Emile Legendre. Legendre would sell the property in 1898 to Augustin Lasseigne,
Leon Keller, and
the Ory Brothers.
The next twentyfive years was a
period of prosperity until the sugar
mill burned and
several of the owners died. Augustin
Lasseigne had the
property surveyed
in 1923 and divided it into 100
acre plots to sell.
This was the first
time any amount
of property could
be bought in the
LaPlace area. This marked the beginning of the growth
of LaPlace.
PLANTATION LIFE
27
llustration of Slaves Marching down River Road
SEEDS OF DISCONTENT - 1811 Slave Rebellion
In the early years of the parish, discontent and insurrection were not new, and the planters knew the lives
that they were leading hung in the precarious balance
of the master-slave relationship. Statehood in 1803 did
little to improve the slaves’ lot as the rebellion of 1793 in
Saint Domingue was a vivid reminder to residents here
of how the tables could easily turn. As such, the planters
and their leaders did what they could to keep the slaves
powerless.
Perhaps one of the darker clouds hanging over St. John
the Baptist from the plantation era was the 1811 revolt
by nearly five hundred slaves. In late 1810, the seeds of
revolt were sown on the Andry Plantation here and the
Destrehan plantation in St. Charles Parish, under the coordination of a slave by the name of Charles Deslonde, a
carriage driver on the Andry plantation. Through word
of mouth, carefully laid plans were set that would see the
destruction of the two named plantations, the seizure of
all the arms and the liberation of the slaves. From that
point, the slaves would be mobilized into a military-style
force under the direction of experienced slaves from Saint
Domingue and marched towards New Orleans.
It was Deslondes’ grand design to wrest control of
the city from the citizens of New Orleans and the troops
there, making it a home for all the slaves of the South.
In January 1811, the plan was put in motion. The slaves
on the Andry plantation rose up against Colonel Andry,
killing his son and wounding the Colonel. Gathering
themselves as quickly as possible, the Andry family fled
the plantation for New Orleans. En masse, the rebellious
army raided successive plantations, liberating the slaves
28
and seizing the weapons. In company formation, they
continued on as the frightened owners and their families
sped ahead to the New Orleans. By the end of the first
full day of marching, the slave army had moved between
twenty and twenty-five miles closer to New Orleans.
However, early on, Colonel Andry had been able to
get a communiqué to Governor Claiborne alerting him
to the rebellion and requesting military help. Andry assembled a militia of about eighty well-armed men. At
the Fortier plantation, where the slaves had succeeded in
reaching, Andry, his men - and a contingent of federal
troops from both New Orleans and Baton Rouge - engaged the slave army.
The vastly outgunned slaves were quickly defeated.
The known leaders of the revolt were rounded up and
stood before a tribunal organized on the Destrehan plantation. Twenty-one of the thirty accused organizers were
convicted and sentenced to death. After being shot, they
were decapitated and their heads were placed on large
pikes lining the main roadway as a warning to others. In
the years following the revolt, other attempts were made
Slave Revolt Map
to challenge the power of the planters, some ending in
violence, and some nothing more than mere rumors. Little would change in the lives of the slaves during the next
fifty years, a much greater form of civil rebellion on the
horizon - one that would ultimately lead to the longedfor change: emancipation.
Chapter 3
A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT
entertainment arrived by ship. In fact, the entertainment
was often the vessel itself. Out for a stroll along the levee, residents would watch the loading and unloading of
cargo. And when the showboat arrived, wow! The sounds
of the approaching calliope floating across the air would
draw everyone outside towards the landings that existed
at almost every community.
River Boat Sketch (Reserve Centennial Postcard)
Chapter 3 Cover: Ice on the River, Olide Schexnayder, 1899
“A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT…”
Both lifeline and nemesis - and not much more than a
trickling creek at its source - the Mississippi River is the
tie that binds the parish. In the early days, one would see
pirogues or skiffs traveling south to the French Market
in New Orleans loaded with fresh produce for sale, while
those very vessels and their masters struggled homeward
loaded with supplies necessary for a rural existence.
The levee, taking on various forms throughout the parish’s history, not only attempted to tame the river but was
also an important part of the social fabric of life along the
river’s banks. Many plantation owners built platforms on
Photograph illustrates steps allowing passage up and down the levee
(Courtesy of Joy Donaldson McGraw)
the levee, and it was there that most of the visiting and
socializing took place, especially in the summer months.
Steamboats plied the river to and from all points, depositing goods and passengers wherever needed and desired. By the mid 1800s, hundreds of steamboats traveled
the river between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The
steady traffic was an economic boom for the plantation
owners and the businesses along the shoreline. Even the
30
River Boat Advertisement
THE WELCOME HOUSE
In days long gone, when Reserve was the queen city of
the parish, a time when young friends and families would
pass the evening atop the levee until driven indoors by
the mosquitoes, one family’s place in village life produced
a legacy that has endured.
The LeBrun family of Reserve, father Joseph, mother
Marie Montet LeBrun, and daughters Luce and Lucille,
twins - one dying quite young and the other living just
into her teens, Eugenie, who died in infancy, Denise,
Emma, France, Maria and Mai, all left their mark on society here as one of the town’s more prominent families.
With no sons to carry the family name forward, father
Joseph was no less a loving father and his wife and children are fondly remembered to this day.
Three of the
five surviving
daughters married men of the
area: Montegut,
Maurin,
and
Trudeau, and so
LeBrun descendents abound.
The
younger LeBrun House, Reserve (E.D. Watson)
Life in the late 1900s along river road in Reserve. Two story building is Merchant Club (Courtesy of Joy Donaldson McGraw)
two girls, Maria and Mai, along with, France, were exceptionally close. Both Maria and Mai never married, and so
the LeBrun name lasted only until their deaths. Fondly
to share the family’s bounty. At the LeBrun home, fun
was always on the menu as each who visited indeed felt a
part of the family. From showboat entertainment on the
river to yard games and parties, many memories of the
village youth included the LeBrun home. As Mai LeBrun
would later write, ‘Thank God for happiness, by striving
to make others happy’.
Today, a steady stream of ocean-going ships, tug boats,
barges, and the occasional pleasure boats vie for their
Sisters - Mae and Maria LeBrun
Montz & Delaneuville St. Peter Ferry
remembered as teachers at Leon Godchaux Grammar
School for their loving yet disciplined guidance, and for
dedicating themselves to the youth of the town, their impact touched three generations of Reserve life.
In a close-knit community, the LeBrun family home
came to be known as The Welcome House. Fronting
the River Road, where the levee and river were the hub
of social activity, their home became the sight for all to
gather, friends and family alike, and for the less fortunate
or transient, too, as Mrs. LeBrun thought it only right
place on the river, far outnumbering the few remaining
stern wheelers that treat tourists to the sights and sounds
of the river – a quaint reminder of gentler times, though
the lush forests that bordered the river have now been
replaced by industrial stacks towering above the hurried
current.
For the first half of St. John the Baptist’s existence, the
River Road remained the main thoroughfare between the
major commercial centers down and upriver. The River
Road was poorly constructed and it was not unusual to
31
W. Heltz’s “Silver Store” on the right, Reserve (Courtesy of Joy Donaldson McGraw)
stop and fix six to eight automobile flats on a trip to New
Orleans. In 1933, however, Airline Highway was completed, becoming one of the first major paved roads in
the state. The new highway cut the distance and the time
between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, dealing somewhat of a death-blow to the economy of the River Road.
As the steamboat era also came to an end, and as Airline Highway took over as the key land route, the glory
days of the River Road were behind her. Though the local
economy has been strengthened by modern river commerce, for the residents along its shores, all that remains
are the stories and secrets… plenty of secrets, swirling
around in the muddy waters.
LEON ABADIE, FERRYMAN OF ST. JOHN
From an early age, Leon Abadie was drawn to the Mississippi River. Whenever he could, young Leon – raised
across from the Lutcher ferry – would go down to the river’s edge, board the vessel and spend hours watching the
pilot at work. On occasion, Abadie would be allowed to
take the helm under the watchful eye of Francis Waguespack, owner of the Lutcher ferry.
As he grew older, Abadie continued his river crossings
with Waguespack, and by the age of fourteen, Waguespack was letting the boy handle the boat. Summer vacation was always a highlight for Abadie, but not just
because there was no school. During his time away from
the books, Waguespack hired on Leon to help with the
ferry service, allowing him to the pilot the craft quite
32
frequently.
Once Abadie had completed school, however, he went
to work at Godchaux’s Sugar mill. But his love for the
river hadn’t completely disappeared as he spent many a
day or night honing his river skills by rowing across in
a skiff in all kinds of weather and conditions. In 1947,
Abadie was called on
by the Police Jury to
establish a muchneeded ferry service
in St. John. Purchasing his first boat for
$750, Abadie got
started and ran the
popular service seven days a week, 365
Foot ferry landing, Reserve circa 1912
days a year. Able to
carry upwards of 40
passengers, he charged 15 cents per person to cross, and
piloted and maintained the vessel himself.
After 20 years of dedicated service, Leon Abadie retired. Today, the Reserve Ferry plays a vital part in linking the east and west bank communities.
“Full Circle…A town by any other name”
Though the first settlers to the St. John the Baptist
made their home on the west bank of the Mississippi, the
past two hundred years of growth has left these communities lingering somewhat in shadow of their east bank
cousins…and that may be just fine with many west bank
residents today.
A drive along the west bank River Road from the Veterans Memorial Bridge at Wallace through Edgard and
Lucy towards St. Charles Parish reveals a pace of life that
seemingly hasn’t changed in a very long time. And for
this reason, some say, the west bank is the place to be.
A simpler way of life focused around family and church
carries these residents through the trials and tribulations
of daily life.
The world over, the younger generation is drawn to
bigger cities holding the promise of brighter futures. Yet,
E.J. Caire Store in Edgard, circa 1871 (Courtesy of Reinhard Graf)
33
our west bank seems to draw everyone home at some
point, whether it be when one is ready to raise a family
or in longing for a stronger sense of community in retirement.
LUCY
Down river, on the west bank of the Mississippi,
lies Lucy, a town whose history literally dates back to
1722. Named for Karl Friedrich D’Arensbourg, the Karlstein settlers encountered hostile Native Americans and
endured the wrath of Mother Nature. The area’s other
claim was Louisiana’s second governor, Jacques Villere.
However, the settlement didn’t adopt the name of Lucy
until 1876 when it was named for the local postmaster’s
fiancée, Lucy Trudeau. In the early days of the parish,
Lucy was the site of the first court house, but in 1845,
the parish seat was relocated to Edgard. Lucy, as the first
permanent settlement, was the home of the first church
built in 1725 shortly after the inauguration of the community.
Glendale Plantation, built in 1802, was one of several
sugar operations and still stands to this day. As late as
2000, the 3600 acre plantation had nearly 1200 acres
under cultivation. Another noteworthy Lucy residence is
the home of St. John the Baptist’s first judge, Terence
Glendale Plantation (Courtesy of Louisiana State Museum)
34
LeBlanc, who built the French Creole home in 1820.
LeBlanc’s daughter, a free woman of color, remained in
the modest house with her husband, Adolphe Sorapuru,
a gentleman from New Orleans. The Sorapuru name
has continued there as succeeding generations have
lived and worked their 60acre plot, selling or trading
the various vegetables and
fruit in the New Orleans
French Market. The Sorapuru family has endeavored in the past few years
to bring back its historic
charm as one of the few
remaining French Creole Karl Friedrich D’Arensbourg
buildings in the parish.
EDGARD
One of the parish’s first communities, Edgard – a social haunt of the pirate, Jean Lafitte - has been the parish
seat since 1848. Originally named St. John the Baptist
for the church at its heart, Edgard was renamed in 1850
for its postmaster, Edgar Perret. Edgard’s first church,
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Edgard, circa 1915
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (1772), was destroyed by the Poche Crevasse in 1821. Another church
was soon erected. Unfortunately, in 1918, fire gutted the
sacred building. A testament
to the Church’s place in the
community, the parishioners
gave generously, and when
the new church opened its
doors, all debts had been
paid.
The economic history of
Edgard included a saw mill
operated by Severin Tassin, a
brick factory begun in 1878
and several sugar plantations
that operated in the century Jean Lafitte
between 1794 and 1894. By 1899, there were more than
fifty family-owned sugar houses still in existence.
The majority of the town’s folk worked in the sugar
houses, in the fields or in support of the sugar industry.
Many families leased land from the Caires and Graugnards on Columbia, cultivating their own produce to
sell. In 1899, the river was the scene of some excitement
when in the late winter ice could be seen floating down
river. The ice flows jammed up the river, interrupting
traffic for several days.
One of the community focal points was the Club
Grocery, in operation since the mid 1920s. Alvin Perret
assumed ownership in 1949, and at one time competed
with thirteen west bank grocers. Only Club Grocery has
survived. Perret remained locally focused, hiring area residents and training them for success in work and in life.
Alvin Perret died January 12, 2007. Another popular
establishment was Cliff Gendron’s drug store which operated from 1926 to 1979.
In early Edgard, one of the fondest memories was
the arrival of the showboat which would dock at Caire’s
Landing. The excitement was intensified because one
never knew when the next boat would arrive. When it
did, the sound of the calliope’s whistles could be heard
as far away as Wallace. Though the steamboats are gone,
one can still see modern vessels passing by, bringing the
people of the River Region closer to the world around
them.
35
1899 rare ice flow on the Mississippi River, Edgard
OLIDE’ PAUL SCHEXNAYDER
One of the more gifted photographers of the early
1900s was Olide’ Paul Schexnayder. One of seven children, Olide’ Schexnayder was born in Edgard, December
10, 1871. After graduating
from the University of Chicago, Olide’ returned to his
hometown and established
himself as a photographer.
His photography career
lasted only about fifteen
years. On April 10, 1905,
he married Martha Alice
Vial and the newlyweds
moved down river to the
Lone Star Plantation in
Luling, Louisiana. Olide’
Schexnayder would make Olide’ Paul Schexnayder
a career change becoming
an optician. Typical of photographers of that time, the
majority of Schexnayder’s business involved portrait photographs. His photographs were usually shot in the studio with elaborate backgrounds and varied from portraits
36
of children and family to young black and white girls on
their confirmation day. A selection of his portrait work
showed that he enjoyed traveling the countryside and
working outside of his studio. For these portrait shots, he
used cloth backdrops placed behind his subjects, while
they stood on the grassy ground. The grass was later
cropped out of the photograph by Schexnayder when he
printed the image.
The glass plates of his photographs were found by his
great, great nephew, Remy
Amadee, in the late 1970s
in an abandoned corncrib
near his grandparents’
house in Edgard. One
hundred and eighty-seven
negatives were found that
depicted daily life and
work in Edgard at the
turn of the century. They
featured the local doctor
making a house call, the
Columbia Plantation office, railroad and sugar Unidentified man
mill, Lone Star Plantation blacksmith and wheelwright
workshop, J.W. Jr. and Company 53 Mile Store, and the
Godchaux residence in Reserve. In terms of the everyday
life in and around Edgard, Schexnayder photographed
the plantation owner’s children and the black children
whose parents were employed there, groups of people enjoying leisure time on picnics and in the local swamp,
nuns and priests, school children with their teachers, and
the homes and interior rooms of local residences. Five of
his negatives showed Edgard residents viewing the ice in
the Mississippi River during February 1899. The ice was
so plentiful that all navigation in the Mississippi River
stopped for two weeks.
The negative also included autobiographical images.
In honor of a holiday feast, Schexnayder’s mother posed
in one photograph with a live turkey and then in another
with the roasted bird ready to be carved. He photographed
his little sister with the young black girl his family raised
when her mother died. In a sugar field image besides two
women, Schexnayder, himself, stands and tips his hat to
the camera. Olide’ Schexnayder died March 5, 1944.
Above: Odile Barre and Olide’ Schexnayder’s sister sitting on barrel
Below: Cabins, Columbia Plantation
(Courtesy of Louisiana State Museum Schexnayder collection)
37
Left: Olide’ Schexnayder’s mother holding Thanksgiving turkey
Above: Columbia plantation railroad train
Below: Olide’ Schexnayder posing with two unidentified women
Right: Unidentified young girl with doll
(Courtesy of Louisiana State Museum and the Olide’ Schexnayder
photographic collection)
38
39
PLEASURE BEND
On the west bank is Pleasure Bend, a village that remains a home to commercial fishermen, hunters and trappers, each taking advantage of the abundance of wildlife
around Lac des Allemands and surrounding swamps.
Wallace Elementary School
Pleasure Bend
The site was first settled by Antoine Folse and his wife,
Marie Catherine Borne, in 1796 where they established
a Vacherie or cattle ranch. Following the end of the Civil
War, the next family to call the area home was the Granier family under Felix Granier, who set up a camp on the
Vacherie Canal, close to the northern shore of the lake.
In the 1930s, the community ran headlong into modernization, as a developer from New Orleans bought the
land. Despising the idea, Granier and his closest relatives
took what timber they could and rowed it across the bayou to build a new homestead. Having no intention of
leaving anything behind, Granier returned to the home
his father had built and, under the cover of darkness, set
it ablaze. By the next morning, his ancestral home had
been reduced to ashes.
Today, the village is still home to the fishermen and
hunters, but a growing number of people, looking for
a little more peace and quiet, are making their way to
Pleasure Bend.
WALLACE
Further upriver, the village of Wallace began its existence straddling the German Coast communities and
those new settlements of the Acadians. As rich a history
as any of the other towns and villages in the parish, Wallace was the home of Lezin Becnel, Captain of the Stephen’s Guards, prominent in our Civil War history. It is
also home to Evergreen and Whitney plantations.
The village was the site of a rice mill, a cotton gin, and
40
as the Civil War engulfed the nation, local and indentured
labor worked a nail factory, brickworks and a saw mill.
Following the end of the war, much of the plantation
bottom land along the river was given to the freed slaves.
The village got its own post office in 1886, and named it
for its congressman, Nathaniel Wallace. By 1900, a cotton gin was still in operation, and in 1906, an ice factory
was established. In the 1920s, a soft drink bottling company was added to the bustling community. The children
of the village were educated at the Wallace
School, opened in
1908, and at the Evergreen School which
was started two years
later.
Modern-day Wallace has found itself
sandwiched between
two larger neighbors:
Edgard down river
and Vacherie above
in St. James Parish. Evergreen Plantation
Crossing the Veterans Memorial Bridge, few probably realize that they have
landed in Wallace. Next time you cross the bridge, let the
curves in the road slow you down some and let yourself
drift back to a simpler time
LAPLACE
The settlement of LaPlace began shortly after the two
German communities took foot on the west bank. With
more and more people arriving from other settlements or
as part of the Acadian wave, a number of residents from
Karlstein ventured across the river with the idea of expanding their community. Finding an abundant supply
of fertile agricultural land, the settlement was established
when Manuel Andry built Woodland Plantation in the
area of present day Main Street and West Fifth. The Ory
brothers, in partnership with Augustin Lasseigne, acquired
the property along with San Francisco Plantation. They
expanded their manufacturing and planting operations
to include about 5,000 acres. Regional growth spawned
the sub-division of the plantation into 100-acre parcels
in 1923, a trend that continued with subsequent divisions producing the residential neighborhoods we have
today. All that remained of
the plantation was the store
that served most recently
as the meeting hall for the
local chapter of the Steelworkers of America until
its destruction by fire in
2005.
LaPlace, was actually
named for another plantation owner and entrepreneur—Basile Laplace.
A pharmacist by trade,
Laplace emigrated from Basile Laplace
France to New Orleans, (Painting by George David Coulon)
Family outing (Courtesy of Carl L. Levet Family)
and, as his fortunes rose, so did his desire to invest in further ventures. From the families of early plantation holders, he purchased the Thiboad, Picou and Perilloux plantations, creating a 3,900 acre entity he renamed Laplace
Plantation. The main house was built where the current
Twin Oaks nursing home and the Percy Hebert parish
building are now located. Although LaPlace was named
in honor of Basile Laplace and his wife, Eugenia, they
never actually resided here, choosing instead to keep
Brady Granier store on Woodland Plantation (Courtesy of Doris Lasseigne Carville)
41
their principal residence in New Orleans. Laplace died in 1884 at the
age of 54, leaving his son, Basile Jr.
to run the operation. In 1882, Laplace granted the New Orleans to
Baton Rouge railroad land on which
to build a station,
which was then named Laplace. In
1887, a post office was established at
(this end of Bonnet Carre`) through
the efforts of Basile Laplace Jr., and
in 1892, it was first named Eugenia
in honor of his mother, Eugenia
Sauage Laplace. As Basile Jr. became
more involved in the local affairs of
the town, he was name Post Master in 1891. His political career culminated in a stint as
state legislator, but this was cut short in October of 1899
when upwards of three dozen masked men showed up
at Ormand Plantation one evening – where it was rumored that Basile Jr. had a mistress - demanding to meet
with him. His body was found the next day in a roadside
ditch. His murderers were never caught. Sadly, the family homestead burned to the ground in 1917.
In 1922, St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church was built
42
under the direction of the Reverend Father Eyraud, pastor at St. Peter’s in Reserve, where the parishioners of LaPlace worshipped. At about the same time, the Providence
Baptist Church was built to provide a spiritual center
for LaPlace’s African-American population. In modern
LaPlace, the city boasts two Catholic churches, Baptist
churches including the First Baptist Church of
Above: Dedication of St. Joan of Arc Church , LaPlace circa 1922
Below: Eugene and Elizabeth Tamplain Family, LaPlace
LaPlace which was established in 1957; Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist, Assembly of God, and Episcopal churches are also represented in LaPlace amongst
the sixty plus houses of worship scattered throughout the
parish.
Beginning in the 1920s with Woodland Plantation
and carrying on through Godchaux’s ownership of Laplace Plantation, the once strong agricultural operations
saw more opportunity in carving up their acreages to
satisfy the new hunger for homes – the plantations all
but gone, requiring fewer and fewer workers. As LaPlace
expanded, the newly created petro-chemical and refining
facilities offered jobs for the increasing number of workers and their families choosing to call LaPlace home. As
the Airline Highway forged a vital link between Baton
Rouge and New Orleans, LaPlace also became the stopping off point for weary travelers, for people looking for
a little anonymity, and for the state’s power brokers looking for an out-of-the-way place to meet.
LAPLACE LANDMARK – CLIFF’S BAR
Main Street’s iconic social establishment, Cliff’s Bar,
was in operation for a staggering 75 years when it served
its last drink in 2005. Started by Cliff J. Montz, son of
Octave Montz, the bar evolved with the aid of the family’s
distributorship of Jax Beer. After time in New Orleans,
Cliff returned to his roots and opened the bar in 1930,
adjacent to a filling station and to another long-running
establishment, Marks Barber Shop.
During prohibition, Cliff made it through the dry
spell serving Jack Root Beer, a non-alcoholic beverage
Above: Cliff Montz outside his LaPlace bar.
Below: Earl “Peanut” Badeaux and Cliff Montz
43
As the Airline Highway forged a link between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LaPlace became the stopping off point for weary travelers.
made by the Jackson Brewing Company – though it is
said good spirits were always on hand aside from the
friendly faces of the customers!
Upon retirement, Cliff turned the bar over to his long
time friend and faithful bartender, Johnny Mabile. Following Mabile’s tenure, Montz then leased the facility
to Joe Deary, and later to Maurice Simoneaux, both of
whom endeavored to keep the long running traditions
of Cliff’s alive. The establishment’s last years were under
different management, however, and the original feel for
the place was gradually lost.
Cliff’s sign stands to this day, as does the barber shop of
Luce Marks next door, but the old LaPlace watering hole
has been turned over to other commercial occupants
BULLY’S HALF-WAY HOUSE
Another of the region’s more colorful and popular
establishments, Bully’s Half-way House, got its start way
back in 1927 with Rene Madere who turned the onetime filling station and bait shop into a barroom. Located
northbound on Highway 51, half-way between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, and between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, the LaPlace bar originally
sat almost on top of Highway 51, but Hurricane Betsy
left her mark here as well, and the bar flooded. The establishment was rebuilt and moved back off the roadway to
where it sits today.
The original bar was taken over by Madere’s son, Joseph “Bully” Madere, in 1946. Expanding the operation
44
to include a restaurant, “Bully” operated the Half-way
House until his death in 1978. At the request of Mrs.
Madere, long-time family friend and ‘adopted’ son, Mark
“Squeaky” Howard was then asked to help run the place
in the period shortly after Bully’s death.
Howard and friend, Charles Lorio, had begun working for ‘Bully’ in their mid-teens, and essentially were
given control of the bar upon his death. Howard then
bought out Lorio and has continued the traditions of the
popular rendezvous.
One of the state’s longest running watering holes,
Bully’s has entertained a host of Louisiana’s more celebrated characters - the movers and shakers of their day,
including political heavyweights like Governor Edwin
Edwards. Today, the bar continues with a loyal following, and welcomes the many visitors passing through the
parish. People from as far away as Baton Rouge often
stop in on their way to New Orleans, looking for Bully’s
renown Bloody Marys and their boiled crawfish.
RESERVE
The town of Reserve developed on property belonging to many people over a period of years. One of the
earliest property owners in the area was Balthazar Vicner
(Vicknair). The 1770 Census of the German Coast has
his holdings in the center of what became Reserve. Later
census showed his property was divided among his heirs,
including a son-in-law, Andre Madere. It was this property that the Widow Andre Madere (Genevieve Vicknair)
divided to provide land on which St. Peter Church (1868)
was built. The town of Reserve would eventually extend
from the upper boundary of the Belle Pointe Plantation
(Deslonde) to the lower boundary of the Reserve Plantation (A. Boudousquie) and would later include Dutch
Bayou, Reserve, Terre Haute, and Star Plantations.
In the second half of the 19th Century three names
would be associated with the area, all of which would
be used to identify the area. The first name was Bonne
Carre since many considered it to be a part of the Bonne
Carre settlement which had started this side of the Mississippi River, across from Lucy, an area that is now the
lower section of LaPlace. It also carried the name of St.
Pierre de Bonnet Carre. This name was derived from the
postal authorities because the post office and train station
had been originally located on church property. With the
coming of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad, the
station sat on a portion of church property behind the
cemetery and took the name St. Peter (1882). The station
was moved to the Godchaux Reserve Plantation (1916).
The station became the Reserve Station in honor of its
St. Peter Church, Reserve, circa 1871 (Courtesy of Reinhard Graf)
The St. Peter Train Station was located back of St. Peter Church. The train station would later be moved and the railroad station took the
name--Reserve. Identified in the photograph ae Andre Perilloux, Station Agent, Bertha Perilloux, Lawrence Perilloux, Henry Perilloux, and
Blanche Perilloux Hotard. (Courtesy of Carl L. Levet Family)
45
plantation benefactor and the town became known as
Reserve.
Reserve has played a prominent role in parish history,
most notably as the home of one of the parish’s more
famous citizens, Leon Godchaux. However, Reserve has
had a much more colorful history than just that of the
Godchaux sugar refinery – the naming of the town a historic curiosity in itself. While disputed by some, and by
recent discoveries that show the name Reserve was actually used during Boudesquie’s ownership (SJBP Genealogical Society), others are hard pressed to give up the
tale that the plantation was so named by Leon Godchaux
himself after being refused a place to stop for the night.
As a Jewish peddler, his house wares and sewing products
were most welcome by the mistresses of the river plantations, but he was not always as warmly received. Upon
being denied a place to rest, it is believed that he turned
to the master, Antoine Boudesquie, and told the gentleman to ‘reserve’ the land for him, for one day he would
return to lay claim to it. In 1869, Godchaux returned
to the area and bought out Boudesquie. Skeptics of the
story argue that Boudesquie already called the plantation
“Reserve”. Regardless of its naming origins, the town of
Reserve has, indeed, had a history to be proud of. The
church, St. Peter Catholic Church, of course, was the
spiritual and social focal point for the descendents of the
German, Acadian, European and African settlers who es-
Interior of St. Peter Church in Reserve, circa 1871
(Courtesy of Reinhard Graf)
Church dedication scene for new St. Peter Church built in background, circa 1897 (Courtesy of Shirley Cassagne Terrio)
46
Club Café’ in Reserve (Courtesy of Joy Donaldson McGraw)
tablished the early communities of St. John the Baptist.
Industrially, Godchaux’s sugar plantation and refinery
emerged as the town’s main economic engine as God-
chaux revolutionized the processing operation. Having
bought up several plantations, Godchaux proceeded to
centralize the milling operation which produced the finished product in a much more efficient manner – much
the same way as Henry Ford modernized automobile
production. The central milling operation became operational in 1883, closing just over a hundred years later.
To meet the needs of the town’s residents, several other
businesses dotted Reserve’s landscape, including the St.
Peter’s Bottling Works, several drug stores, and various
merchants and a cinema.
Above left: Dr. L.T. Donaldson and his 1918 Saxon automobile
Above: Antoinette, Rosa, and Armand Donaldson (Courtesy of Joy
Donaldson McGraw)
47
RESERVE STAR STORE
Although no one knows the exact date the store
opened, the predecessor to Alltmont’s was in existence by
the 1880s. The original store building was constructed
of sturdy, rough-hewn cypress built on pillars and in the
early days it was called the Reserve and Star Store for the
plantations it served. Because the store was originally a
commissary for the refinery and plantation owners, it was
often called the ‘company store’. Like many area stores,
tokens were used as payment for goods. The Reserve and
Star Store served as a distribution site for all other stores
in the area. Leon Godchaux owned Belle Pointe as well
as the plantations around the area and materials were received by riverboat and sent out from the store. Cigarette
and tobacco salesmen would arrive by boat and stay at a
boarding house and call on all their customers, then take
another boat to Lutcher. Because of erosion of the levee
system along the Mississippi River, the store was moved
several times and the original site of the store would now
likely be close to the middle of the Mississippi River.
48
The Reserve and Star Store also served as a link between the river and the railroad lines in the early years.
Goods received by riverboat were transferred to the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad lines, now the Illinois
Central Railroad, which ran through Reserve from New
Orleans to Yazoo City, Mississippi.
In 1904, Charles Alltmont began to lease the store
property. In the mid-1920s, Alltmont added an addition
Above: Reserve Star Store
Below: Alltmon’s Store in Reserve (Courtesy of Norine Alltmont)
onto the left front of the store, a barroom. Further renovations included adding a woman’s clothing section and
a shoe store section in the 1930s, and, in the 1940s, the
“company store” received an Auto-Lec franchise—one of
the first in the state. Later, a large display window was
added to the front of the store. Horse hitching poles
could be found in front of the store.
Charles Alltmont leased the building until his death
in 1928. In the years that followed, two other generations managed the store—Alfred C. “Brother” Alltmont
(man in photograph on the right) and his son, Charles
Alltmont. In later years, the Alltmont family leased a satellite site in LaPlace. Unfortunately, all that is left of the
Alltmont’s Store in Reserve are memories and pictures.
The store was demolished in November 1973.
Right: Alcide Chenier (left) and Charles Alltmont (right)
Below: Alltmont’s store, Reserve
Although many neighborhood stores provided the daily needs of Reserve, just about everyone in St. John the Baptist Parish, east bank
and west bank—eventually stopped at Alltmont’s Store on West 8th
Street in Reserve. There one could find just about everything as the
“company store” supplied food, shirts, pants, underwear, socks, shoes,
suits, washing machines, radios, televisions, hardware, comics, and
magazines. (Courtesy of Norine Alltmont)
49
Henry Donaldson’s house and drug store in Reserve. Building was also used as Reserve’s first post office. (Courtesy of Joy Donaldson McGraw)
HENRY A. DONALDSON
Henry A. Donaldson of Reserve was the son of Dr.
Louis T. and Antoinette (Vignes) Donaldson, and was
born April 5, 1887. Henry A. Donaldson received his
early education at a private school in the vicinity of his
home. He then matriculated at Jefferson College, where
he passed six years as a student. Later he entered the
New Orleans College of Pharmacy (now affiliated with
Loyola University), from which he received the degree
of Master of Pharmacy with the class of 1905. Shortly
after his graduation, he became connected with the business of the Rapides Drug Co. at Alexandria, but after
18 months at that place accepted a position as pharmacist for L’Heureux at Reserve. In 1908 he purchased the
business of his employer. In 1908 Henry A. Donaldson
was appointed postmaster at Reserve. He married Denise
Maurin, daughter of Fortune and Desire (Bossier) Maurin of Reserve. He would turn his business over to his
son, Malcolm “Mac” Donaldson.
ST. PETER’S BOTTLING COMPANY
The St. Peter’s Bottling Company, a soft drink factory, began its operation in 1893 in Reserve. Owned by
Charles E. Thibodaux and Eugene Aubert, the factory
50
was located on the Hart property and River Road, which
is currently near Breaux’s Barber Shop and West 5th
Street. The company manufactured sparkling orangine,
ginger dew, champagne cider, cream chocolate, cream
soda, sweet apple cider, and seltzer water. In 1906, the
company added ice and beer to its line.
The “Pop” factory
was sold to Albert Heltz
around 1913 and was
renamed St. Peter’s Bottling Works. In 1928,
the new levee system
along the river forced
the company to relocate
to what is now Central
Avenue in Reserve. Albert Hertz’s “Pop” factory made their own
syrup for the drinks,
mixing juice, sugar and Soft drink bottles from St. Peter and
Albert Heltz Bottling Company
gas in a large container
and stirring the mixture with hand paddles. The Great
Depression, however, dealt the company a fatal blow and
it discontinued operations in 1933.
TOKENS AND ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH
Tokens were predominately used by plantation owners
either to pay employees or to grant workers an advance
against future wages.
These tokens were good
only at the company commissary (or in some cases
a local General Store with
which the company had
an agreement) and could
be redeemed for cash.
The coins were of differTerre Haute token
ent shape and size to dis(Courtesy of Randy and Trisha Aucoin)
tinguish them from those
of other plantations. Some were brass, some were aluminum, few had dates minted on their faces, and some
of the coins were worth as much as much as five dollars.
Because travel was difficult, every plantation had its general store own for the convenience of plantation hands.
Tokens were also used elsewhere including bakeries, grocery and general stores, restaurants, bars and pool halls.
The availability of the automobile reduced isolation and
led to the decline of many of the plantation stores. The
practice of store tokens was discontinued in the 1950s.
THE CLUB CAFÉ
Many recall the Club Café building that once
fronted the River Road on West 4th Street. A Reserve
landmark for years, the two-storey Club café was built in
1897 by the Pastereaus for The Planters and Merchants
Social Club. Ahead of its time, it had indoor toilet facilities, a central unit of gas lights and running water from a
double deck of cisterns – the only building in town with
such conveniences.
The Club was built on property owned by Joseph
LeBrun and was initially operated by the members themselves. Social balls were held in its private rooms, and
Above right and above: New Sugar Belt Club located near St. Peter Church. Building on right is Reserve Star Store
51
of Engineers moved the levee. As a result, the building
was sold to Fortune Maurin, Sr., who had the building
moved back to West 4th Street. More improvements
were made to the building, and it was reborn as the Liberty Theater which the Maurins operated from March
of 1918 to January of 1931. Nash Smith and his family
took over ownership through the war years. Marcel Montegut leased the building from the Maurins in 1948 and
renamed it Club Café. The establishment would later fall
under the management of Horace “Chief ” Maurin in the
1950s and 1960s and then sold to Michael and Peggy
Maurin. The Club Café was destroyed by fire.
Nash Smith’s Social Club
Pictured are left to right:, Horace “Sonny” Maurin, Nash Smith and
(Picture courtesy of Phyllis Smith Martin).
stormy political speeches were made from its front porch.
Frank P. Lions acquired the building at a sheriff’s auction
on February 13, 1904. It was later sold to Pierre Rene
Montz, who moved the two story structure to his property next to St. Peter’s Church and renamed it the New
Sugar Belt Club. The operation of the first silent movie
theater in Reserve began on the upper floor.
The Reserve Electric Theater, as it was then called,
prospered for many years, but in 1917, the Army Corps
LEON GODCHAUX GRAMMAR
Education was – and still is – an important investment for the people of Reserve. In its infancy, the town
was home to one of the first private schools, a school
opened by Furatte du Bois, Duke of Cascaronne. He is
credited with laying the phonetic foundation that took
hold in early Louisiana education. The Leon Godchaux
Grammar School was built in 1908 and was initially used
as the area’s high school. It became a grammar school
when the new Leon Godchaux High School was opened
in 1930 - it, too, succumbing to fire in 1978.
Leon Godchaux High School, circa 1910 (Courtesy of Joy Donaldson McGraw)
52
BELLE POINTE DAIRY
For 32 years, the Godchaux family operated a 900
acre dairy farm and bottling plant at Belle Pointe in Reserve, now occupied by DuPont’s Pontchartrain Works.
Opened in 1915, Edward Godchaux had over 400 head
of the finest dairy cattle - Jersey, Holsteins, and Guernsey
- all used to make Belle Pointe milk rich, surpassing its
competitors in flavor; the herd was fed a special proprietary diet and produced 450 gallons of milk a day.
In the early 1930s, the dairy operated a stucco-fronted outlet decorated with plaster milk bottles at 3143
Hart House in Reserve (Left to right): William J. “Billy” Hart, Dr.
William Hart, Lucille and Noelie Hart, children, unidentified girl,
Louisa Jacob Hart, and Adelard Jacob, grandfather
(Courtesy of Reinhard Graf)
WILLIAM J. HART
SHERIFF: 1896-1900 AND 1916-1920
Sheriff William J. Hart was first voted in as sheriff
during the infamous election of 1896 against incumbent
Sheriff John Webre. As the ballot boxes were being transported from Edgard to LaPlace,
a heated argument ensued near
the Bonnet Caire’ Point concerning the crossing of the ballot
boxes. Soon the confrontation
escalated into a riot, resulting in
the death of one man. The Louisiana State Militia was called in
to keep order during the ballot
counting, and William Hart was
William J. “Billy” Hart
declared sheriff.
In the election of 1900 Sheriff Hart lost the election to
Paul Berthelot. Hart ran for Sheriff again in 1916 against
incumbent Sheriff Berthelot. In this hotly contested campaign, punctuated by many personal controversies, Hart
was again elected as Sheriff. In August of 1920 just prior
to the election, Sheriff Hart died in office. His son, William B.Hart, ran against Emile Picou during the election
of 1920 and lost by 37 votes.
Calhoun Street in New Orleans; by then, the dairy had
expanded to seven barns, two milking barns, a veterinary
hospital, three silos, refrigeration plant, washing room
and cooling plant, a testing laboratory, and storage facilities. The dairy continued in operation until 1947 when
Godchaux Sugars liquidated the venture and devoted
their entire operation to sugar production. All that remains of the dairy is a sign stored away by E. I. DuPont.
Above: Belle Pointe Dairy truck and milking barns
53
LIONS
In its day, a town unto itself, Lions has all but been
swallowed up by the expansion of Reserve upriver and
Garyville down river. The village got its name from
merchant and post master, Francois P. Lions, who
operated the Willowbridge
store adjoining the Terre
Haute Plantation. Perhaps
the most recognizable landmark in the village is the
San Francisco Plantation,
a grand manor that has
withstood the test of time.
Marathon Oil eventually
acquired the property in
1975, ensuring the preserFrank P. Lions
vation of the home.
While the plantations in the area were for the most part
the center of the economic activity, cooperages or barrel
making thrived between the 1860s and the early part of
the 20th century. Before the introduction of burlap sacks
or even tank cars, sugar – in its liquid and crystal forms –
had to be shipped in wooden barrels. The Perilloux family, in partnership with Albert Millet, owned one such
business in Lions, turning out a yearly average of 12,000
barrels, netting about $36,000 annually. Operations of
Marmillion Daughters in coach – left to right: Emma, Amelia, and
Corinne (Courtesy of Renihart Graf)
54
their size usually employed upwards of 100 men.
Above: San Francisco Planting and Manufacturing Company
Below: Frisco School
Frisco School, Lions’ first public school, opened its
doors in 1910. It was a two-story wood frame building
located on about three acres of land on San Francisco
plantation which had been purchased by the Ory brothers and Augustin Lasseigne. Though conditions at the
school would be considered quite primitive by today’s
standards, the children and their families recognized the
true gift they were receiving, and the school became a
focal point for the community, hosting various holiday
celebrations and other special events. In 1930, St Peter’s
school was opened in Reserve, which greatly reduced the
student body at the Frisco School. By 1934, the remaining students were bussed to the Godchaux Grammar
School, the Frisco School ultimately consolidated with
the Godchaux Grammar School. The original building,
which had become a boarding house, was destroyed by
Hurricane Betsy in 1965.
cost efficient.
Garyville, founded in 1903 by the Lyon Lumber Company, was made up of Glencoe Plantation and its two adjoining plantations, Emelie and Hope. At one time, only
cypress was milled, but soon the cypress operation would
Lyon Lumber Company in Garyville
GARYVILLE
Though agriculture dominated St. John early on, lumber became an attractive alternative, spurred by the Spanish mandate that Louisiana sugar be shipped to colonial
outposts in barrels made only of Louisiana cypress. Where
areas of the nation were becoming depleted of timber,
Louisiana’s once impregnable forests offered cheap acreage and were now accessible; steam-powered machinery
made harvesting the lush swamps easier and
Lyon Lumber administrative staff and clerical workers
be overshadowed by the milling of pine. In fact, Garyville
would become the second largest pine mill worldwide.
Peaking at about 1,200 employees, the lumber operation
didn’t make it out of the 1930s, partly because of a dwindling supply of timber and two fires –one in 1926 and
the second in 1928, which destroyed the mill and some
Garyville Hotel and Library (Courtesy of Carl Monica)
55
thirty-seven village homes. Yet the town remained, a legacy to the son-in-law of the company founder Thomas
R. Lyon—John W. Gary. Shortly after the formation of
the company in the area, the company directors voted on
possible names, choosing Gary’s and ensuring his place
in history.
A true company town, Garyville had all the early amenities: a post office, the four-room Garyville School, the
Big Store, a community club, and the Magnolia Hotel
all opened in 1903. In 1910, the Gary State Bank was
established, and one year later, the Garyville Movie Theater opened its doors, the first in the parish. As with most
towns in the era, community life centered on the church,
in this case St. Hubert’s Catholic Church, built in 1907.
Being a lumber town also meant that it was closely tied
to the railroad. In fact, Garyville was such an important
link that it had three railway stations. Additionally, several boarding houses popped up, along with an automobile
dealership, ice cream parlors, druggists, a Masonic hall,
baseball parks and a tennis court. Even baseball legend Ty
Cobb is said to have once owned a house in Garyville.
56
The boom came to an end in August of 1931 when the
Lyons Lumber Company headed to Oregon’s vast western forests. Nearly a thousand residents lost their jobs, an
Monica Family of Garyville Back Row: (Left to Right) Tony, Carlo,
and Antonio, father, Filipa, mother, Neda, and Lamana Monica
Bottom Row: (Left to Right): Rose, Lena, Frank, Louise, Joe, and Roy
Monica. Not in photo was Vincent Monica, who died as a child.
Below: Louise Monica Hebert - Louise and Rosa Quality Store.
Dixie Democrats, Tregre Family of Garyville
enormous shock to the region, somewhat alleviated by
a lumber and salvage business started by Walter J. Stebbins, who had bought the company’s remaining assets in
1932. Following on the heels of the lumber shutdown
was the Great Depression, which dealt another blow to
the town. It has really only been in the recent times that
Garyville has bounced back with enough opportunity
close by to keep succeeding generations at home.
Where German, French and Spanish settlers made this
region home in its first century of life, one other group
played a pivotal role in the development of St. John - the
Italian community. Often overlooked, their influence is
no less important than any of the other ethnic communities living here.
At the turn of the last century, immigrants from
around the world, specifically Europeans, saw America as
the land of opportunity. As a result, New Orleans became
an important entry point and the second largest disembarkation port for Sicilians arriving from Italy.
Many of the Italians who found themselves in New
Orleans soon heard about Garyville, the largest mill center between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and that the
Lyons Lumber Company was clambering for workers.
Those who didn’t work directly for the mill set up businesses that catered to the needs of the growing community.
As in many other urban centers that attracted the Italian immigrants, Garyville had its own version of ‘Little
Italy’, known then as “Rapatedo”, which is now referred
to as ‘Bourgeois Town’.
Magnolia Hotel in Garyville (Courtesy of Carl Monica)
57
Mt Airy was named for the Mt. Airy Plantation, one of
several that dotted the east bank of the river between St.
John the Baptist and St. James parishes. Golden Grove,
Sport and Angelina plantations are other well-known
plantations around which Mt. Airy was created.
The Mt. Airy post office was established in 1884, putting the town on the map, and rice and cane sugar were
the main crops in this area. Much of the town’s fortunes
were inextricably tied to the economic health of neighboring Garyville and St. James upriver. As the plantations disappeared, the people of Mt. Airy joined others
who worked for the Lyons Lumber Company, Colonial
Sugars or the Godchaux Sugar Refinery. Today, Nalco,
Degussa and Marathon provide employment to its many
residents.
Godbery Family of Mt. Airy (Courtesy of Reinhard Graf)
MT. AIRY
In much the same manner as Lions has blended in
with Reserve and Garyville, the village of Mt. Airy on
Garyville’s upriver end has been enveloped by the continuing sprawl of River Road development. An area with
historic roots dating back to Native American occupation,
MANCHAC, RUDDOCK, FRENIER BEACH
Manchac has its own colorful history. Like Reserve,
naming rights are disputed; one belief is that the pass was
named for a Native American guide from the Manchac
tribe who had aided Iberville in discovering a short cut
from the Mississippi to the Gulf by way of Blind River
and the two lakes. The other contender brings in a Civil
Ruddock Lumber Company (Courtesy of Southeastern Louisiana University Center for Regional Studies)
58
War era circuit court judge named Antanio Manchac
who is said to have named the place after himself when
drawing up the survey for the village.
Generally inaccessible, this region of the parish was
left to the wilds until around 1854 when the rail line
linking New Orleans to Jackson, Mississippi and areas
north was completed. With the establishment of the railroad, some settlement did take place but the population
really increased following the Civil War. In 1894, the
first post office was opened, but it was named for its first
post master, William Akers, adding to the historic naming confusion. Though the postal operation ceased back
in the 1950s, mail was still delivered long after using the
original address of Akers.
The residents of Manchac sustained themselves with
fishing and hunting, lumber and cabbage farming, with
the swamps and the lakes providing much of what was
needed. Manchac was more closely tied to the neighboring villages of Ruddock, Wagram, Galva and Frenier.
The communities were very close, everyone knowing
everyone else, but their relationship with the rest of St.
John the Baptist was almost non-existent. LaPlace was an
Above: Ruddock lumbermen cutting cypress trees
Below: Ruddock Lumber Company Railroad (Courtesy of Southeastern Louisiana University Center for Regional Studies)
almost six-mile trek through the swamp, so visits to the
‘city’ were usually yearly affairs. The people lived their
lives as best they could, and while the lakes and swamps
did provide for them, they were also quite susceptible
59
to the wrath of the hurricanes that passed over the lakes
each year.
The family name most synonymous with Manchac is
the Reno family, which had hunted and fished the area
for several generations. Galva is the only village to remain
to this day, tucked sleepily along the southern side of the
pass in St. John the Baptist, though a resurgence is underway out by Frenier Beach.
The economic development of the area along Lake
Pontchartrain began in 1807 when William Donaldson,
a New Orleans businessman, set up a small mill on the
eastern shore of Lake Maurepas at Pass Manchac. After
only three and one-half years, the enterprise was extremely successful, and later, even more so when more modern
and effective methods of logging had been developed.
Largely because of its inaccessibility, the peninsula remained uninhabited until 1850 when Martin Schloesser,
a German immigrant, settled there and made his living
making wood stoves. Later he obtained cabbage seeds
from his homeland and succeeded in growing cabbages,
prized for their size and flavor, in the mineral-rich, black
virgin soil.
The railroads coming through the swamp in 1856
60
Above: Schloesser Family Below: Schloesser House located near railroad track on Peavine Road (Courtesy of Southeastern Louisiana
University Center for Regional Studies)
made life better for the small towns. There were no roads
and the only means of transportation from the area was
by railway or by boat. The Hammond Highway (U.S.
Highway 51) was not built until 1927 and to reach the
town of LaPlace, residents walked or paddled through
the swamp five or six miles.
Following the Civil War, the area prospered, and wood
Pull Boat of Ruddock Lumber Company. Note floating dormitory
(Courtesy of Southeastern Louisiana University Center for Regional Studies)
stove manufacturing and cabbage and other vegetable
farming became the main economic activities of the settlers. In time, Ruddock became known for its lumber
industry. In the other villages, farming predominated.
In 1887, the Barton Lumber Company and the Ruddock Cypress Company, Ltd. were organized and it was
estimated that the area held about four million linear feet
of cypress logs. These vast timber reserves could not be
fully exploited, however, until feasible methods were developed to allow the removal of the timber. Fortunately,
in 1891, the pull-boat and overhead skidder, invented
by Joseph Rathborne of the Louisiana Cypress Lumber
Company of Harvey, Louisiana, were introduced. The
labor savings caused an immediate boom in the logging
business, and by 1894, the Barton Lumber Company
and the Ruddock Lumber Company, Ltd. had become
the two largest suppliers of cypress timber in Southeast
Louisiana.
At the height of its prosperity, Ruddock was a progressive community in 1900 with 1,200 inhabitants, their
homes built on stilts above the swamp. Wooden sidewalks
ran the length of the village with walkways branching
out to two-story houses on each side. Most of the structures, particularly those located track-side, were painted
‘railroad’ gray. The village boasted a community center,
a blacksmith shop, a locomotive repair shop, an office
and commissary for the Ruddock Lumber Company, a
one-room school house, and a railroad depot with a twostory rooming house attached. There was the Holy Cross
Catholic Church and the Holy Cross Catholic School.
The Owl Saloon was discretely located about a half-mile
south and down the line from the town. There were no
cars or roads and land sold for 25 cents per acre
The economy at Frenier centered on barrel manufacturing and cabbage farming. The prized vegetables
were harvested, packed in locally made barrels and then
shipped via the railroad to Chicago, Illinois and other
northern cities. Most of the residents in these villages
were able to live comfortable lives. Like other farming
communities, because of the hot, humid climate, workers came in from the fields at lunch time and returned to
their work at three o’clock in the afternoon. There were
no grocery stores, and so housewives would stand trackside with their orders, waiting for the daily train to New
Orleans. Today, all of the farm land is now in the lake
because of erosion.
61
Map depicting route of 1915 Hurricane
THE HURRICANE OF 1915
Sgt. Wayne Norwood, formerly of the St. John Sheriff’s
Office, interviewed one of the last remaining 1915 hurricane survivors, Mrs. Helen Schloesser Burg prior to her
death. Mrs. Burg was born in 1901 in the swamps of Frenier. Mrs. Burg acknowledged the villagers knew a hurricane was coming, but didn’t know the Category Four
hurricane was headed directly toward them.
On September 29, 1915, the Burgs went to bed unaware of what was to come. By 9:00 a.m. September
30th, water had risen to ten feet and waves were hitting
against the house, so the family decided to leave.
The Burgs made their way to the small school at Wagram. Water had risen to twenty feet and was coming
over the tracks and began pounding the school. At that
moment, the family heard the train whistle blowing. The
engineer knew where everyone lived and was stopping at
each home, blowing his whistle so they could get on the
train. After a few miles, the train stopped as the tracks
had been washed away. The engineer reversed and headed back to the school, but the tracks were washed away
there, too. The Burgs were now stranded on the train
with water two feet deep inside. Villagers every where
knelt down and prayed for their survival.
AUNT JULIE
In Frenier, a Black woman, Aunt Julie Brown, died the
day before the storm. She was a big property owner and
lived beside the track at Frenier. She always sat on her
porch and sang a song she had written. The song said that
on the day she died, everyone would die with her.
The hurricane roared ashore as everyone gathered
62
to wake her. One to survive was Mr. Brown, who had
climbed a tree and watched as several of his friends were
literally swallowed up by the waves. Brown also saw Aunt
Julie’s cypress box carried away by the waves and her
corpse was found the next day.
When it was all over, only one house had withstood
the storm’s fury and the death count was 28. Helen
Schloesser Burg was taken to New Orleans on the yacht,
Lurline. Her family returned, and she would eventually
move to LaPlace, staying until her death in 1990.
Following the storm, the little villages steadily declined. Ruddock was rebuilt, and logging continued, but
by the mid 1920s, the cypress supply was exhausted. In
1926, the massive mill closed down. By 1936, all that remained of the Ruddock Cypress Lumber Company were
a few scattered ruins
Frenier Beach, circa 1930s (Courtesy of Gerard Montz)
FRENIER BEACH - LATE 1930s
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Frenier functioned
as a lake resort on the western shore of Lake Pontchartrain as fishing and recreational camps were built. Today
the pier with the bathhouse and the dance pavilion along
Frenier Beach built by the Keating family are gone. The
remains of the lake resort were buffeted by the hurricane
of 1947, Betsy in 1965, and Camille in 1969 and coastal
erosion by Lake Pontchartrain reclaimed a large segment
of land. At this time, there are a few private camps and
permanent homes and a few seafood businesses on the
lake shore at the end of Peavine Road along with a public
boat launch.
Only a few decayed trestle pilings are evident marking the
old Ruddock Cypress Company. Over the years, the German cemetery in the area has been completely vandalized
and all of the tombstone markers have been removed.
Chapter 4
RISK TAKERS, MOVERS AND SHAKERS
CHAPTER 4: RISK TAKERS
“Some people see things as they are and say why.
I dream things that never were and say why not?” is a
quote taken from the former U.S. Attorney General,
Robert F. Kennedy. This quote has special meaning to the
following St. John residents who left a distinct mark in
the development of St. John the Baptist Parish. These individuals were pace setters that utilized their God-given
talents to perfection. They were risk takers who stepped
“outside the box” and eventually became giants in their
craft. Long before Leon Godchaux arrived on the scene
Godchaux Sugars 100 lb. Sugar Bag (Courtesy of Steven Keller)
Chapter 4 cover: Leon Godchaux
in St. John the Baptist Parish, individuals and families
alike endeavored to settle the area and prosper as farmers, craftsmen or merchants – and many did. However,
as one delves into understanding the growth of this par-
64
ish, the name Godchaux figures prominently. In fact, it
could be argued that with Leon Godchaux’s arrival, the
fortunes of the parish dramatically changed, from being
a collection of small, rural settlements to an agricultural
center of regional and national significance. Thus, as a
risk taker, perhaps Leon Godchaux is, perhaps, the father
of them all in this parish, and for that, this book has devoted much of the next chapter to the contributions of
Leon Godchaux and his family. The following collection
of success stories in this chapter are people who have gone
on to do great things in their own right, often inspired by
the likes of individuals such as Leon Godchaux.
C. I. (CHARLES IRA) JAMES
Refrigeration, Banker, Land Developer
On May 10, 1910, C.I. James, a native of Ballenger, Texas, with his wife Oliva Kelly, came to LaPlace to
become the station agent for the Yazoo and Mississippi
Railroad Company. In 1911, he moved to Marmillaud
Street in Reserve and took over the train station in Reserve.
Commercial vegetable production had begun in Reserve
at the turn of the century
with cabbage as the leading
crop. Prior to rail shipment
of vegetables under refrigeration, local farmers peddled their produce along
the river in wagons. During
his contact with the farmers in the area, James found
they were having difficulty
packing their vegetables so
the produce would arrive
at destination in first-class
Charles Ira James
condition. Studying these
problems, he conceived the idea of using refrigerated railroad cars. He proceeded to buy a carload of cabbage and
shipped his first carload of cabbage to Chicago, Illinois
in a refrigerated car from the Reserve railroad station on
May 11, 1910. This was his first venture and from then
on, he continued to ship local produce. James grew the
first commercial field of shallots in 1911. This was the
beginning of the shallot industry and contributed a large
part of the parish income for many years. James reached
his peak in 1932 when his shipments would count as
many as 120 cars with fourteen different commodities
Bank of St. John, Reserve circa 1906 (Courtesy of Joy Donaldson McGraw)
going from St. John the Baptist into other states. C.I.
James and Armond Montz were major suppliers to markets outside Louisiana.
In 1918, James made his first venture into real estate,
purchasing a strip of land near Garyville which is known
as Hope. On this land, he planted ten acres of cotton,
which proved unsuccessful due to climatic conditions.
“All stalks and no cotton” was the result of that experiment. In 1921, he purchased a portion of Cornland
Plantation, which was formerly the Edrington Brothers’
property, subdivided the front section into lots which he
sold to the people of the community and financed the
building of homes on the sites.
In 1923, he left the employment of the railroad company and went into farming, packing and shipping, and
real estate. He would later farm sugar cane on his property. He would become President of the Farm Bureau Federation and in 1927 became a director and later president
of the Bank of St. John in Reserve. He would also serve
on the St. John the Baptist Parish Draft Board.
MSGR. JEAN M. EYRAUD, SERVANT OF GOD
‘Pere (Father), The Little Frenchman !
A core group of three priests, an archivist and an
author began in 1990 the long, arduous task of oversee-
ing the research for the cause for canonization of the late
Msgr. Jean M. Eyraud, the little Frenchman who served
St. Peter Church in Reserve for 52 years, 47 years as pastor (1916-1963). Born in
Le Glaizil, France, November 11, 1880, Msgr. Eyraud
was ordained a priest in
1904. He was taught English by the Sisters of the
Holy Family at St. Louis
Cathedral when he came
to the Archdiocese of New
Orleans in 1910 and served
at the cathedral for three
years. He was transferred
to St. Thomas Church in
Pointe a la Hache. His next Msgr. Jean M. Eyraud
assignment, to St. Peter Church in Reserve, lasted 52
years. He died February 5, 1968 at age 87 and is buried
in St. Peter Cemetery. His tenure as a priest at St. Peter
was truly a spiritual enlightenment.
As a young priest, he went to the men of St. Peter Parish and had many of them return to church services on
Sundays. As his 25th anniversary present, Msgr. Eyraud
longed for a Catholic elementary school. His parison-
65
man of charity, particularly to the poor of his parish. He
was a man of gentleness, a man of total trust in God, daring to build a Catholic school in the midst of a depression
when money was scarce and new buildings were rarely
seen. In 1994 a book was written by Darlene LaBranche
documenting his life and testifying to his living the virtues in a monumental way.
Msgr. Jean M. Eyraud and others associated with St. Peter’s Church
(Left to right): Msgr. J.Anthony Luminais, Rev. Arthur Lieu, Msg.
H. Joseph Jacobi, Rev. Jerome Roppolo, Msg. Jean Eyraud, Rev.
George Hebert, Rev. Michael J. Killoughy, Msgr. Lester Lacassagne,
Rev. John W. Barrios, and Rev. John Bourgeois
ers responded with the opening of St. Peter School in
1930 that serviced Garyville, LaPlace, and Reserve. He
saw no color as African-Americans attended mass at St.
Peter Church and were married in St. Peter in the days
of staunch segregation. He also saw a need to educate the
black students of the parish and made arrangements to
transfer the old John L. Ory school building from LaPlace to Reserve, and opened St. Catherine School in
1931. Following on the heels of the school, he helped
Msgr. Jean Eyraud is standing next to his sister, Isoline. Also in photograph are Eyraud’s neice, Helen Brocheir, and her husband Jean
Brochier, circa 1923-1924 (Courtesy of Donald Cox)
establish Our Lady of Grace Parish in 1937, and was also
instrumental in forming the St. Joan of Arc parish for the
Catholics of LaPlace.
Msgr. Eyraud always had a sense of humor and was a
66
ETIENNE X. HOTARD
Hotard Bus Line
Etienne X. Hotard was a meticulous man, a quiet and
patient man, much respected, a man who cared for his
family and home and was always well dressed. He was a
man who saw a need for and personally provided a service
to the people of the River
Parishes that soon became
the Hotard Bus Lines.
It started when farming
got bad in 1927. Etienne
Hotard knew he had to
provide for his family in
other ways. He went to
work for the Higgins Bus
Line and for the next nine
years, he was a driver and
conductor, handling baggage, punching tickets,
driving the bus to Union, Etienne X. Hotard
St. James Parish, where it changed crews.
Etienne Hotard was born in Lucy in 1886, attended Holy Cross High School and when he was 17 or 18
moved to the family property—Oak Alley Plantation—
in St. James Parish. He married ‘the girl next door’, Marie Regina Simon, from St. Joe Plantation, January 17,
1911, in Vacherie. They had four sons, Henry Hotard,
Sr., Albert Hotard, Sr., Etienne “State” Hotard, and Sidney Hotard, and four daughters, Lucille Hotard Williamson, Amanda Hotard Audiffred, Marie Hotard Sutton,
and Rita Hotard.
Hotard supported his family by farming first at Oak
Alley, and then moved to Gold Mine in Lucy, and eventually to Belle Pointe in Reserve where he built a house in
Reserve near New Cornland (Central Avenue). But Etienne Hotard wanted something on his own and something that he could pass down to his family. In 1936,
Etienne Hotard got his Louisiana Public Service Number 204 to begin operation of his “jitney service,” upriver
from Lions to his hometown Reserve. The “jitney” was
really a seven-passenger automobile that took passengers
anywhere they wanted. His two oldest sons, Henry and
Albert, often drove for their father. Jitney services to New
Orleans cost 60 cents.
Originally the line started in Lions at the railroad depot.
Later the people in Garyville wanted his services and Hotard
expanded his operation. In 1957, he was approached by the
Hotard Bus Line Children: Left to right: David Sutton, Regina Audiffred Remondet, Louis “Bird” Hotard, Albert “Nootsie” Hotard,
Sylvia Audiffred Perque, and Diane Audiffred Butler. Adults: Rita
Hotard, Marie Hotard Sutton, and Amanda Hotard Audiffred.
St. James Parish Police Jury to start a bus line from Union.
Over the years, two sons—State and Sidney—and his
grandson, Albert “Nootsie” remained active in Hotard
Bus Line. Although he was a part owner, State Hotard
bought Rome Bus Line and started his own bus route
on the west bank, Hotard Coaches, an enterprise independent of Hotard Bus Line. In the early 1970s, the bus
line operations moved to Convent to be closer to the end
of the daily run. Through the course of time, many a St.
John the Baptist resident has waited on the River Road to
be picked up for a trip to New Orleans. Etienne Hotard
died in 1966 at the age of 80. Etienne Hotard reached
his dream and left his family a successful bus line service
as his legacy.
EMILE HOTARD, SR.
Born on Goldmine Plantation, Lucy, Louisiana in
1896, Emile Hotard, Sr. spent his boyhood on Oak Alley
Plantation where his father was part owner. He would
later work for Leon Godchaux as an overseer on the Belle
Pointe Plantation, which is now E.I. DuPont. He would
marry Blanche Perilloux.
In April 1928, Hotard and his brother-in-law, Jules
Haydel, formed a distributorship with Zetz Bottling
Company of New Orleans
to serve the River Parishes-St. John, St. Charles, and
St. James Parishes. Soon, he
became the sole owner of
the distributorship whilch
he and his wife ran for
sixty-one years. After the
death of his wife in 1975,
his son, Emile Hotard, Jr.,
his daughter, Jewell, and
Emile Hotard, Sr
his grandson, Randy Aucoin took over the soft drink operation that marketed
7UP, Dr. Pepper, RC Cola, and other Zetz products. The
distriibutorship also distributed beer--Union, 4X, Goe-
Emile Hotard Distributors trucks parked near warehouse (Courtesy of Randy and Trisha Aucoin)
67
bel, and Double Eagle. Emile Hotard, Sr. would die in
1982 and the company operated until 1989 when Zetz
bought out their operation.
WALTER KELLER
Craftsman and Community Leader
During the past century, the African-American community supplied nearly all of the residential and com-
Walter Keller pointing and standing next to Alden Bienvenu,
Reserve Lumber Yard (Courtesy of Carl L. Levet Family)
mercial masonry work done throughout the River Parishes. One of the leaders in this craft was the Keller family
– notably, the family of Walter “Point” Keller. Born in
Reserve on May 27, 1899, Walter, the son of Evariste
Keller and Henriette Louis, worked initially for Godchaux Sugars as a sugar boiler in the late 1920s. Through
his own initiatives, however, he taught himself the art
of masonry and embarked on his career as a bricklayer.
He mastered this skill and established his own business
with his two sons, Walter, Jr. and Wilbert as apprentices.
He also passed his skills and knowledge onto his relatives, friends, and other members of the community who
worked for him, and who would, in turn, start their own
enterprises as bricklayers and sheet rock finishers – craftsmen in their own right.
Walter Keller was a pioneer of sorts in many of the
endeavors he undertook. He was the first Black man to
perfect his skill in St. John the Baptist Parish, the only
Black contractor in the River Parishes at the time, the
first Black sales representative for the Acme Marble and
Granite Company, and the first Black manager of St. Pe-
68
ter cemetery in Reserve. He was also one of the original
organizers of the first high school in the parish
for African-American students – Fifth Ward High School.
His reputation within the community and his craftsmanship spoke for him. He was awarded major contracts and
was instrumental in the construction of many of the regions’ historic buildings. His accomplishments included
a medical center in New Orleans, high school stadiums,
tombs throughout the River Region and in New Orleans
itself; he also was involved in the building of Second
Ward High School in Edgard, the annex to Destrehan
High School, and in Reserve, his craftsmanship can be
seen in Our Lady of Grace Gymnasium, the old Reserve
Volunteer Fire Department building and the first mausoleum in St. Peter Cemetery.
Walter Keller was actively involved in both his church
(Our Lady of Grace) and within the community as a
whole. Though he retired in 1960 after a very productive
life, he laid the foundation for a craft that has continued until today. His skills and work were passed onto his
relatives, the Tregre family namely. Walter Keller died on
January 13, 1978 and is buried in St. Peter Cemetery. He
was truly a cornerstone in the development of St. John
the Baptist Parish.
FRANCOIS (FRANK) G. LAPEYROLERIE
Activist and Land Developer
Political activist, religious leader, community worker, and land developer, Francois (Frank) G. Lapeyrolerie
was born August 7, 1911 in Reserve. The son of Charles
and Felecia White Lapeyrolerie of Reserve, he would be
remembered as the movie projectionist at Louis Maurin’s
Movie Theater in Reserve, a role he held for fifty years.
He married Marguerite
Demorelle Lapeyrolerie
in Reserve, Louisiana in
1928 and they would
have three children—
Frank M., Raymond, and
Winthrop Lapeyrolerie.
He would be called
to military duty during
World War II and served
in the United States Army
from 1943 to 1945. At
the end of World War
II, he worked for the Re- Frank Lapeyrolerie
serve Lumber Yard as an appliance salesman.
A champion of civil rights, Lapeyrolerie was a member of
the NAACP who helped mobilized people to vote long
before the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. As an
active union organizer, he served as secretary-treasurer of
the Sugar Cane Field Workers’ Local and National Farm
Labor Union. Highly respected by both Whites and
Blacks in the parish, he was
called upon to assist in the
labor negotiations during
the Godchaux Sugar strike
of 1955.
In 1965, Frank Lapeyrolerie was instrumental in establishing the first
St. John the Baptist Parish Headstart program for
disadvantaged youths and
served as the executive director on the St. John the
Frank Lapeyrolerie
Baptist Parish Headstart AdU.S. Army World War II
visory Council until his death
on September 18, 1978. He was responsible for the St.
John the Baptist Self-Help housing program for minorities in St. John the Baptist Parish.
Frank Lapeyrolerie could not ignore his civic responsibility. He was a grand knight and 4th Degree Knight
of St. Peter Claver in Reserve and received the St. Louis
Medallion in 1976, the highest Catholic service medal
given to a citizen. He also received a citation as Honorary Citizen of Boy’s Town in appreciation of assistance
rendered to Father Flannigan’s Boy’s Town. He served on
the inaugural St. John the Baptist Community Theatre
Board, was a volunteer with the American Red Cross and
the St. John Parish Civil Defense; he also helped organize
the booster clubs at Leon Godchaux High School, and
served as a member of the St. John the Baptist Parish
Board of Commissioners of Water District #1.
His devotion and hard work on behalf of the St. John
the Baptist Parish Council of Aging would be recognized
as the new senior citizen center in Reserve was co-named
in his honor in 2006. As a developer, Mr. Lapeyrolerie
was also instrumental in the creation of subdivisions in
Reserve.
AUGUSTIN (LOULE) LASSEIGNE
From Stable Boy to Entrepreneur
Familiarly known to his friends as “Loule” Augustin Lasseigne was a self-made man who acquired a considerable fortune through his energy, thrift, and good
business acumen. Born in Lions, Louisiana, February 5,
1862, Augustin Lasseigne was the son of Gustave Lasseigne and Eva Marie Cambre. He would marry Marie
Clothilde Perilloux of St. John the Baptist Parish in St.
Peter’s Church in Reserve on February 1, 1883. They
would have eight children: Charles, Rita, Prentice, Alfred, Loretta, George Austin, Marie Ester (Mrs. Joseph
M. Ory), Palmyne (Mrs. F.J. Aycock).
Receiving little formal education beyond the third
grade, Augustin Lasseigne began working as a stable boy
at the San Francisco Plantation. His business savvy allowed him to acquire large land holdings on his own and
in partnership with others. His first partnership
with Leon Keller of Hester, Louisiana was successful and encouraged further
acquisitions. They included
San Francisco Plantation in
Garyville, Woodland Plantation in LaPlace, which
he owned with the Ory
Brothers (John, Lezin, and
Emydge), Cedar Grove,
near White Castle in Iberville Parish, Ellington, Augustin “Loule” Lasseigne
near Luling, Modoc, near
Destrehan in St. Charles Parish, Bossier, Cornland, and
Hope Plantation in St. John the Baptist Parish. Augustin
Lasseigne operated stores on San Francisco, Cornland,
and Hope Plantation.
These business adventures did not stop him from
being very active in the political and religious life of the
parish. He was part of the progressive movement of the
parish and served for 16 years as president of the St. John
the Baptist Parish Police Jury (1900-1916), and at times
lent money to the parish for community improvements.
In 1924, he was engaged in a political sheriff’s race with
incumbent sheriff Emile A. Picou of Garyville. After a
bitter campaign, Picou defeated Augustin Lasseigne by a
mere 29 votes.
Augustin Lasseigne moved from Lions to Laplace in
69
Lasseigne family (Courtesy of Doris Lasseigne Carville)
1898. His wealth did not transcend his simplicity of
manners, benevolence and kindness towards all, poor and
rich alike. His generosity was evident with the donation
of property from Woodland Plantation for the building
of the first Catholic Church in LaPlace—St. Joan of Arc
Chapel. Augustine Lasseigne was one of the organizers of
the St. John Welfare League, a political organization,
and was an active member and organizer of the St. Peter
Knights of Columbus, Number 2426. Lasseigne was a
member of the John A. Reine Camp No. 504 Woodmen
of the World and the Patriotic Knights of Honor. He was
instrumental in starting the Bank of St. John in Reserve
and served as its second president from 1909 until his
death on November 28, 1925.
1957 LAPLACE LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM
The spirit and the generosity of the Lasseigne family
carried over to Augustin’s son, George A. Lasseigne, Sr.
The family donated property for the building of a Methodist Church in LaPlace and allowed the community to
use family property for a baseball field in LaPlace. Pictured is the 1957 LaPlace Little League team that played
games at the Lasseigne Park in LaPlace, Garyville, and
the Reserve Community Club. Members of the 11-14
baseball team are: Bottom Row: second from left - Clarence Millet. Top row: Left to right - Steve Cupit, coach,
Wayne Jacob, unidentified, Michael Madere, Drew Cupit, Bobby Fulton, and Donnie Boudreaux, coach.
70
ORY BROTHERS
The Ory Brothers, Lezin (1841-1920), Felician,
Emygde, Jean (John ) Louis and Placide entered the sugar industry following the Civil War. They began by purchasing Idaho Plantation, located at Lions to grow sugar
cane. The business
prospered and seven years later, 1878,
they bought Ingleside Plantation on
Bayou Lafourche
in
Assumption
Parish. Here Felician
terminated
his activities in
the
partnership.
Lezin Ory
Emydge Ory
Golden Gate Plantation, located in Iberville Parish, was next annexed as
an Ory Enterprise. In 1898, Golden Gate was sold and
Woodland Plantation in LaPlace was added, with Augustin Lasseigne, their personal friend, as a partner. San
Francisco and Union Plantation were the next enterprises
and Ingleside was sold. The brothers added in their next
investment—the Sarpy plantation.
An elementary school was built in LaPlace in 1908
on a track of land donated by John L. Ory. In his honor, the school was
named John L.
Ory School. In
1920, Jean Louis,
Placide and Lezin
died (within six
weeks of each other). Woodland was
subdivided and sold
off as small farms.
Emygde died in
John Louis Ory
1928.
Management of the San Francisco Planting and Manufacturing
Company was turned over to Sidney J. Levet and J.M.
Ory, son-in-law and son, respectively of the brothers.
Ory / Levet Idaho Plantation house, Lions
71
MARSHALL LAWRENCE
Music Teacher…But He Repaired Almost Everything!
Marshall Lawrence’s life in Reserve on East 14th Street
was full of accomplishments. Without much education,
Lawrence was a teacher in the true sense of the word. His
mentoring skills evolved
from his ability to repair
things, and his first “fixing”
was done as he learned the
blacksmith trade from his
father in 1901, which he
later taught to his brother.
Then he went on to fixing
Model T Fords. A talented
musician as well, he taught
others to play just about
any musical instrument although he could only play
Marshall Lawrence
the violin. Finally, when he
was older, he was approached to teach G.I. classes and,
later, high school.
At an early age Lawrence took musical lessons in
New Orleans and at the age of 12 or 13 began playing
with Dejean Alexander’s band. With the sudden death of
Alexander, he took over the Club Pine band playing one
Sunday at Maurin’s Liberty Park in Reserve and the next
one at the Reserve Community Club. In the 1930s, he
booked engagements in Lockport, Raceland, and New
Orleans. In 1936, the band took a nine-state tour that
lasted two months and nine days. The tour was broadcast live on radio and their performances were sent back
to St. John the Baptist Parish and heard throughout the
nation. Marshall Lawrence bought Edgard native Dave
Bartholomew a trumpet and taught him how to play the
instrument. He would teach many students—White and
Black—in the area to play musical instruments.
Like many in the area, in 1910 he worked for the
Lyon Lumber Company in Garyville as a blacksmith. He
was responsible for keeping 41 mules shoed and repaired
all the wagons. Although there were very few cars in the
area, he soon picked up mechanical skills and began repairing the new horseless carriages. While in Garyville,
Lawrence built a bus to bring children to school. It was
made of wood and had some benches. A truck would
come just as a chassis and windshield. The body had to be
added later. Lawrence also took care of everything on the
Guidry Plantation, making and repairing implements.
72
He also did all of C.I. James’ work and did the tractors
and car work for Montegut Plantation.
In 1942, school superintendent J.O. Montegut and
Albert T. Becnel hired Marshall Lawrence to teach a
NYA state training class—teaching auto mechanics and
welding to get students ready for the military services.
Superintendent Montegut wanted him to teach at the
high school but he first had to go to college to learn more
about teaching. With little more than a fifth grade education, Lawrence enrolled at Southern University and by
the second year he had learned wood making, drawing
mechanics, and was assisting the college professor. He
then taught at Fifth Ward High School for several years.
Marshall Lawrence is a story of an individual who truly
gave himself to his community.
DANIEL ADAM MADERE
Communications Pioneer
An electrician by trade, Daniel Adam Madere was
born August 5, 1901 in Jacobtown, a section of Reserve,
where his father operated the Elias Madere Grocery on
East 12th Street. He would marry Inez Hart, the daughter of a former St. John the
Baptist Parish Sheriff on
June 1, 1922. The young
couple moved to Florida
where Madere worked in
many Palm Beach mansions
in pre-depression days. The
1929 depression left him
penniless and forced he
and his bride back to Louisiana. Madere would work
in New Orleans for some
time, including a stint as
Daniel Madere
a radio operator for a ship
that plied between New Orleans and Houston, Texas.
Then, they returned to their native roots—Reserve.
Working as an electrician, Daniel Madere got jobs
wiring such places as the San Francisco Plantation when
they first put electricity into the mill and assisted Armond
Montz with his parishwide electric company. Knowing
he had to take a chance to get what he wanted, Madere
told his father and family in 1935 he was going to start
an independent telephone company. The reaction of the
family was rather pessimistic, but he responded: “I’m
broke right now! What do I have to lose?”
At that time, the only telephone services in Reserve
were 17 toll stations at such
places as Godchaux Sugar
refinery and local stores. If
you picked up a telephone,
all services went through a
long distance operator. His
first order of business was a
franchise from the parish to
operate a telephone company. He converted the 17
toll stations into local staInez Hart Madere
tions. Then, using a small
amount of money he got through the sale of stock to his
wife’s sister and cousin, he purchased wire and some used
telephone poles from Bell to string wire. Using his old
Packard automobile and a flatbed trailer, Madere carried
and installed his telephone polls throughout the parish.
Using the downstairs of the two-story home he built at
Oak and West
Fifth Street in
Reserve as an
office, Madere
was ready for
business. His
first telephone
operators
were his wife
and Blanche
Hotard and
the first Reserve
telephone book
in 1935, listed
15 customers.
A few years
later, Madere
extended his Reserve Telephone Company original building
party line services to Garyville. Eventually, the Garyville-Mt. Airy and
Reserve areas were assigned the “Liberty” and “Keystone”
exchanges respectively.
The Reserve Telephone Company, Inc. grew steadily
and consistently. Their first manual (crank type) telephones were soon replaced by dial telephones. In 1966
the party lines were phased out for all private lines and
over the years of operation, the entire family—Inez Madere Millet, Rosalyn Madere Aucoin, Danielle Madere
Boudreaux, and Allynn Madere—played a part in the
business.
Although he was given a parishwide franchise, Madere
had to give up the LaPlace area because he lacked the
money. Madere restricted his telephone services to the
Fifth Ward geographic region. Ironically, Madere could
have expanded his telephone services into Ascension
Parish and into St. Charles
and Jefferson Parishes. He
acknowledged in an interview: “I didn’t have the
money to expand and later,
I didn’t have the manpower
or resources after World
War II.”
Creating the first independent telephone company in Louisiana, Daniel Adam Madere was a pioneer
in his craft. The Reserve Telephone Company was sold
in 1998. Daniel Madere died December 16, 1976 and is
buried in St. Peter Cemetery in Reserve
Today, the computerized company serves 8,500 customers. Now, the company is called Reserve Telecommunication and was one of the first full-service, telecommunications providers in the nation with a fiber optic/coaxial
network capable of delivering telephone, cable television,
and high speed internet services in the parish.
Reserve Telephone Company in Reserve
73
LOUIS J. MAURIN, SR.
The Entertainment King of the River Parishes
A man of creativity and drive, and compassion for
his community with strong religious convictions, Louis
J. Maurin, Sr. provided
entertainment for the entire River Parish region.
‘The Picture Show Man’,
Maurin served his community through many
organizations, including
the Knights of Columbus
Council 2436 and the Reserve Lions Club. He loved
to sing and play the piano
and was part of the St. Pe- Louis Maurin
ter Church Choir into his
eighties. He married Emma LeBrun and the couple had
seven children: Elaine, Marjorie, Louis Jr., Gloria, LeBrun, Maraise and JoAnn.
In 1918, Louis Maurin brought silent movies to Re-
serve, the first movie theater to do so between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Maurin conducted several promotions, including “Bank Night”, amateur nights, magic
shows, beauty contests, and brought in movie stars to the
Reserve theatre, such as Huntz Hall of the Bowery Boys.
Laplace Maurin’s Theatre 1939
(Courtesy of Marilyn Torres Maurin)
Maurin’s movie theatre played a major role in the Reserve
Bicentennial and many sugar queen pageants were conducted in the theater. Louis J. Maurin, Sr. died March 7,
1985 at the age of 93 and is buried in St. Peter Cemetery
in Reserve. Today, Maurin’s Theatre is operated by the St.
John Theatre, a community playhouse.
Reserve’s Maurin’s Theatre 1931
serve before the town had electricity. Operating on the
second floor of the Liberty Theatre, he used a Delco light
power plant with batteries to supply lights to his theatre.
With electricity available in 1922 from Armand Montz in
LaPlace, he had Eddie Jacob and Daniel Madere extend
electricity into the Reserve area. As silent pictures graduated to sound, he opened Maurin’s Theatre in 1931.
Maurin had other movie houses besides his operation in Reserve. Beginning in 1930, he ran theaters in
Garyville, Lutcher and at Jefferson College (Manressa)
in Convent; in 1939, he built a theatre on Main Street
in LaPlace. In 1937, he installed air conditioning in Re-
74
Henry “Huntz” Hall, best known for the “Dead End Kids” movies,
later played Horace Debussy “Sach” Jones in the Bowery Boys’ series.
“Sach” (at left) visited Maurin’s Theatre twice.
ARMAND MONTZ SR.
The Ice Man
Little did one know that a youngster born in Reserve in 1887, Armand Montz, Sr., would years later play
an important role in the
development of St. John
the Baptist Parish and to
the frozen food industry in
general. As a young man of
18, Armand Montz began
growing tomatoes and other vegetables in the backyard of his father’s home
and shipped his produce
by rail to New Orleans. He
soon discovered, however,
that the New Orleans market was saturated. To serve Armand Montz, Sr.,
larger markets, he needed
more acreage and began leasing land from Woodland
Planting and Manufacturing Company near the old St.
Joan of Arc Church. With his expanded holdings, Montz
was able to supply the needs of northern and eastern
markets. In 1924, the Woodland Planting and Manufacturing Company donated the land Armand Montz had
been cultivating for the construction of a badly needed
its own generator for electricity and water wells from
which it ran. The generator produced so much power
that on May 14, 1923 the Police Jury of St. John gave
Montz the right of way to provide electricity for his plant
and community. With the help of Eddie Jacob and Daniel Madere, they erected poles and stretched power lines
to his plant and several of the neighbors. And since the
six wells had more than enough water to meet his needs,
Montz began piping the excess water to other homes and
businesses in the community.
Harvesting turnip for market
Before long, his power lines supplemented Delco and
Cola Electric plants which supplied many homes in the
area. Montz’s power lines supplied power throughout LaPlace and as far away as St. Rose and Garyville. By 1927,
Louisiana Power and Light Company bought Montz’s
power operation that serviced some 308 residents.
During the 1950s, it was not unusual for motorists to
A. Montz Ice Advertisement
Catholic church in LaPlace. Woodland responded by selling Armand Montz 600 prime acres of property which
covered the area of what was Haydel’s Supermarket on
West 5th Street to Lasseigne’s Jewelers, extending all the
way back to where I-10 is located.
Faced with insufficient ice to keep his produce fresh
during shipping, Montz built an ice plant in 1914 with
Wagon loaded with shallots being offloaded
75
drive up to the ice factory and order crushed ice for their
ice chest for a family picnic or a Sunday trip to Pontchartrain Beach.
A. Montz frozen goods labels
Montz began a modernization
program that made him the first
farmer of Louisiana to introduce
the usage of rubber tires on tractors and farm wagons. Prior to
this time, tractors had iron wheels
with lugs. In 1948, Armand Montz, Jr. appeared in several Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., Inc. advertisements.
Their advertisements ran in Life, Saturday Evening Post,
Look and Progressive Farmer. (Picture taken from Life
Magazine Advertisement)
Montz was also given credit for being the first indi-
In an effort to produce a heartier, more resistant strain
of shallots, he sent seeds to different parts of the country
where they were used experimentally. The experiment resulted in more production per acre and a superior plant.
He also decided to try a less expensive and more natural
method of insect control. He brought in lady bugs and
praying mantis to control the insects that were destructive to his crops.
In the late 1930s, Montz assembled a fleet of trucks
to deliver frozen vegetables to near-by markets, such as
Memphis. During World War II, he converted his plant
to process and package frozen foods, which were then
shipped to markets across the United States under the A.
Montz Packing Co. label. It was common for the Montz
A. Montz refrigerated truck
A. Montz, Jr. advertisement in Life magazine
vidual to successfully freeze okra and corn on the cob for
commercial consumption. But Shallots were the major
winter crop for A. Montz Packing Company and his best
money-maker. Knowing his market was important to
Montz. While shallots were popular in the south, Montz
saw an even bigger market in the northern and eastern
United States. Greens, such as turnips and collard greens,
sold big in the south. The packing company became one
of the largest in the south.
76
firm to ship as many as 10 carloads of vegetables by rail
per day. In later years, Montz had 14 refrigerated trucks
delivering frozen vegetables to all parts of the U.S. The
plant also froze and shipped gumbo, fruit salads and a
variety of pre-cooked vegetables. In 1949, the company
packaged broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, collards,
corn, gumbo (okra and shrimp), kale, okra, peas, strawberries, and turnip greens. Armand Montz also packaged
a vegetable they called caul-broc, a cross between cauliflower and broccoli. Many of the plants processed by the
factory were grown on land that is now the Glade/Lake
Pontchartrain Subdivision.
By the end of the 1950s, there were many national
companies, such as Birdseye, in the frozen food packaging
business. Fearing his company would lose its identity by
joining a national concern, Armand Montz turned down
several offers to become a subsidiary of a large company.
In 1958, Montz discontinued his frozen food operations
and began growing sugar cane.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
A second group of St. John the Baptist Parish residents
are called movers and shakers. These are individuals who
were born in St. John the Baptist Parish and excelled in
a career either inside the parish or were giants outside
the parish. These individuals need special attention and
their achievements should be recognized. In many cases,
they were just ordinary people who came from a simple
background, but stepped up and excelled.
WILHELMINA BERNARD ARMOUR
Educator and Evangelist
A lifelong resident of Reserve, Wilhelmina Bernard Armour was the eldest of six children and was born on Labor
Day, September 5, 1927.
She attended St. Catherine
School and our Lady of
Grace Catholic Schools in
Reserve and is a graduate
of Fifth Ward High School.
A retired educator with 33
years in the parochial and
public schools of St. John
the Baptist Parish, her work
experience includes teaching at God Help Us Hall,
Our Lady of Grace, Reserve
Wilhelmena Armour
Jr. High School, Leon Godchaux High School and East St. John High School. Upon
her retirement, she took the position of co-principal in
1996-1997 at Our Lady of Grace School in Reserve. The
mother of six (two deceased), Mrs. Armour attended
Xavier University and received her undergraduate degree
from Southern University (1968) and her masters degree
from Southeastern Louisiana University.
She has received recognition for her contributions to
individuals and to the community. Among her recognitions are the Outstanding Educator of the Year, 1989,
by the New Orleans Association of Black Women Attorneys; 1995 Citizen of the Year by the Rotary Club of LaPlace; 1998 Drexel Lamplighters Award for Catholic Lay
Women; and was inducted into the Louisiana Women
and Governmental Hall of Fame, 1999. She and her husband, Herman Armour, were the recipients of the highest civilian Catholic Award given by the Archdiocese of
New Orleans in 2000—the Order of St. Louis IX Medallion. She was past president of the St. John Association of
Educators and currently serves on the Board of Directors,
Louisiana Association of Educators. She is a member of
the Democratic Women’s Organization of St. John the
Baptist Parish and her civic duties include serving on the
Board of Directors, River Parishes Hospital and DuPont’s
Community Advisory Panel.
When asked what her greatest contribution to St. John
Parish has been, Mrs. Armour replied “public awareness.”
She was a vocal leader in the school integration movement and represents her community in matters that affect employment and pollution. Mrs. Armour now devotes here time doing volunteer work in the church and
the community.
DANIEL (Danny) E. BECNEL, JR. , Attorney
Born June 14, 1944, Daniel E. Becnel, Jr. is the
son of Daniel Elmore Becnel and Edna Vicknair. His father was an attorney and
spent most of his career
in the military and was a
War Crimes Prosecutor after World War II. After his
military career ended, his
father became a Louisiana
State Representative.
Daniel E. Becnel, Jr. is a
product of St. Peter School
and Holy Cross High
School. He attended Louisiana State University and Daniel E. Becnel, Jr
received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1966. In 1969, he earned his law degree
from Loyola University in New Orleans.
Becnel tried the first million dollar verdict in the
United States for a single individual in 1972: Paulette
Trosclair v. Melton Truck Lines, et.al. Among other high
profile cases, he has represented clients in class actions
law suits in several multiple million dollar settlements including the Luling Disaster.
Becnel has offices in Reserve and LaPlace and employs
fifteen attorneys, two nurses, three computer specialists,
twenty secretaries, paralegals, and administrative personnel. He has been invited to speak at a number of conferences, both nationally and internationally, and though
quite popular among colleagues, he is also considered a
challenging adversary in the court room. He is married
to Judge Mary Hotard Becnel and has four sons.
77
EDWARD “KID” ORY
“Tailgate Trombonist and Composer
On December 25, 1886, Edward “Kid” Ory was born
in Woodland Quarters (LaPlace). As a child, he began
to make music on homemade instruments. By 1911, he
was leading one of the bestknown bands in New Orleans. Among its members
at various times were several musicians who later were
highly influential in jazz
development,
including
Sidney Bechet, Mutt Carey,
Jimmy Noone, King Oliver, and Louis Armstrong.
In 1919 Ory moved to
California, forming a band
in Los Angeles. After five
years he joined King Oliver Edward “Kid” Ory
in Chicago and by the end of the 1920s had become a
prolific jazz recording artist.
He played with King Oliver’s Dixie Syncopators, Louis Armstrong, and Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers.
During the Great Depression, Ory retired from music in
1930 to run a successful chicken farm, but on his comeback in 1939 he enjoyed greater success. He worked with
clarinetist Barney Bigard and trumpeter Bunk Johnson
(1943), and his motion picture credits include Crossfire,
New Orleans, and the Benny Goodman Story. Ory was
perhaps the first musician to codify, purely by precept,
the role of the trombone in classic three-part contrapuntal jazz improvisation.
Ory is often remembered as a “tailgate” trombonist, one
whose style of playing fills in, or supports, other band instruments and is reminiscent of the style of pre-jazz ragtime bands and cakewalk bands. His most outstanding
compositions were Ory’s Creole Trombone, Savoy Blues,
and Muskrat Ramble –which became the Louisiana State
University fight song. Edward “Kid” Ory retired from
music in 1966 and died January 23, 1973 in Honolulu,
Hawaii. (Carr, 1997)
KID THOMAS VALENTINE
Jazz Trumpeter and Band Leader
To the field of jazz, St. John the Baptist Parish contributed
much to the development of this art. Though New Orleans is recognized as the birth place of this music genre,
the roots of jazz go beyond being something unique to
only New Orleans - many of the jazz greats who made
the music form what it is came from the surrounding
areas, many from the River Parishes. Three generations
of the Valentine family from Reserve, for example, would
Woodland Band – Kid Ory is seen second from left playing the trombone (Courtesy of Louisiana State Museum)
78
Kid Thomas Valentine, left performing at the New Orleans Jazz and Herritage Festival
enter that musical arena and would be instrumental in
its development. Peter Ferdinand Valentine, his sons
Thomas (renown jazz musician) and Joseph Ferdinand
(pianist/vocalist), and grandsons Joseph (accomplished
musician/recording artist) and Anthony (bass guitarist)
stand tall as jazz greats.
Peter Ferdinand “Pa Pete” Valentine, patriarch of the
music dynasty, was born in October of 1878. “Pa Pete”
joined the Pickwick Brass Band, a local band in Reserve,
after being initially tutored by Professor James (Jim)
Humphrey. Under additional instruction from Dejean
Alexander, “Pa Pete” eventually began playing the cornet
trumpet, trombone, and violin. At the spry age of 64,
Peter Valentine began playing the piano.
The Pickwick Brass Band played for everyone and for
every event, from church get-togethers, picnics, Catholic and Baptist funerals, to benevolent society functions
and, of course, weddings. The band traveled every year
to New Orleans to play in the parade on Mardis Gras.
Peter Valentine worked very hard in his industry and
later became a successful business man, the owner of a
clothing press shop. “Pa Pete” died Sunday, February 17,
1963 and is buried in St. Peter Cemetery. The Valentine
name continued on in music, particularly with eldest
son, Thomas.
Thomas Valentine, commonly known as ‘Kid Thomas’, a jazz trumpeter and bandleader, was born in Reserve
on February 3, 1896 and ventured to New Orleans as a
youth. He gained a reputation as a hot trumpeter in the
early 1920s. Starting in 1926, he led his own band for
decades in the New Orleans suburb of Algiers, Louisiana.
The band was popular with local dancers.
Kid Thomas had perhaps the longest lasting oldstyle traditional jazz band. Unlike many other musicians, Thomas was unaffected by the influence
of Louis Armstrong and
later developments of
jazz, continuing to play
in his distinctive hot,
bluesy sometime percussive style. He was always
open to playing the popular tune of the day (even
into the rock & roll era)
as he thought any good
band leader should do,
but played everything in Kid Thomas Valentine
a style of a New Orleans dance hall of the early 1920s.
Kid Thomas Valentine started attracting a wider following with his first recordings in the 1950s. His band
played at Preservation Hall from the 1960s through the
1980s. Kid Thomas Valentine was still playing at age 91
when he died in New Orleans on June 18, 1987.
79
DAVE BARTHOLOMEW
Musician/Writer/Composer
Edgard’s Dave Bartholomew is one of the truly distinguished figures of the delta music scene. Known for his
music and songwriting partnership with another crescent
city music personality, Antoine “Fats” Domino, many
of Bartholomew’s claims
to music fame are less well
known.
The self-proclaimed inventor of the “Big Beat”
was born in Edgard. He
first learned to play the
tuba, but the trumpet became his main instrument.
During his early years,
Bartholomew worked with
the Jimmy Lunceford Orchestra prior to joining the
army. Bartholomew eased
Above: Dave Bartholomew,
into the post-war scene by
1950s Below: Dave Barstarting his own band, and
tholomew inducted into the
at one gig in Houston, TexRock and Roll Hall of Fame
as, met producer Lew Chudd of Imperial Records and
Antoine “Fats” Domino. He produced and co-wrote with
Domino, “The Fat Man,” and hit immediate pay-dirt as
the single sold one million plus.
Bartholomew’s partnership with Domino proved to
be prolific and productive. The pair would receive recognition from the Guinness Book of Records
for recording sales. The
team of Bartholomew
and Domino co-wrote
many songs that became monster hits,
including “Ain’t that a
Shame,” “I’m in Love
Again,” and “Blue
Monday.” But there
were other major successes as well. Bartholomew produced
a series of memorable
hits with such artists
as Lloyd Price, Shirley
and Lee and Smiley Dave Bartholomew
Lew.
Many artists have recorded Dave Bartholomew’s songs.
“I Hear You Knocking” was a solid hit for Gale Storm;
“One Night” and “Witchcraft” were hits for Elvis Presley. Pat Boone soared with “Ain’t That a Shame,” as did
Rickey Nelson with “I’m Walking.” From the 1970s to
the present, the Bartholomew catalog has proved its versatility and resonates with a new group of major names,
including Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCarthy, Hank Williams, Jr., Bob Seger, Elvis Costello, Joe
Crocker and George Benson. His songs have also frequently appeared in hit movie soundtracks including
“The Blues Brothers,” “American Graffiti,” and “The Girl
Can’t Help it.”
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Dave
Barthomew is best remembered for performing at many
of Leon Godchaux High School Carnival Ball dances in
the 1950s and early 1960s.
MILTON BEADLE
Ring Designer and Artist
Milton Beadle was one of twelve children born to
Frank Benjamin Beadle and Levi Bergeron on September
80
10, 1927. He graduated from Leon Godchaux High
School and his craft brought him to Cincinnati, Ohio.
He went to work for Jostin Ring Company, and during
his tenure with that
company he designed
many of the high
school rings that are
worn by graduating
seniors throughout
the United States.
His skill was further
recognized as he designed all the medals given at the 1960
Olympics and was
commissioned to design Henry “Hank”
Milton Beadle
Aaron’s 714 Homerun Ring. Milton Beadle’s skills also carried over to the
canvas. Many of his paintings of animals hang throughout the River Parishes
SGT. O’NEIL BOE
World War II D-Day Silver Star Recipiant
World War II was a rallying cry for America’s youth.
One individual who stepped forward was O’Neil Boe
of Reserve. Born June 29,
1922, Boe attended Leon
Godchaux High School.
He later dropped out of
high school, however, and
joined the Civil Conservation Corp (C.C.C.) for six
months and worked in the
forest industry in Hackberry, Louisiana and Denver,
Colorado. Then came December 7, 1941.
Boe’s first dream in the
military was to be a pilot, Sgt. O’Neil Boe
but unable to pass the vision test, Army recruiters came
to his house several days later and asked him if he wanted
to be a paratrooper. He asked what a paratrooper was,
The 507th preparing for their early morning June 6, 1944 drop behind enemy lines,
Sgt. Oneil Boe is pictured in photograh, facing the camera, second from Left.
81
After 33days of fighting following the D-Day invasion, troopers of B Company 507 pose for a photograph near Utah Beach, July 11, 1944
(Photograph courtesy of George H. Leidenheimer).
and one recruiter replied: “Paratroopers jump out of airplanes!” Boe, intrigued, said: “I would like that.” On
June 25, 1942 O’Neil Boe became volunteer number
18133998.
Boe’s military training included Camp Claiborne in
Louisiana, Fort Benning, Georgia, and the Training Alliance Air Base in Alliance, Nebraska. He would be attached to the 507 Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR),
Boe, second from right, listening to General Dwight D. Eisenhower
prior to D-Day invasion
1st Battalion, Company B, 82nd Airborne Division. Unbeknownst to Boe at the time, the unit was training for
the D-Day invasion of Europe.
82
A picture of that historic moment shows O’Neil Boe
standing near General Eisenhower. O’Neal can be seen
second from the right. This picture is in the collection of
the D-Day World War II Museum in New Orleans.
In the pre-dawn darkness of June 6, 1944, more than
3,000 paratroopers of the 507th and other regiments
were dropped across 30 miles of the Normandy coast
of France. The drop officially began ‘Operation Overlord’, which would eventually liberate German-occupied
France and the rest of Western Europe. Their mission was
to secure four causeways across a flooded area directly
behind the Normandy beaches as part of an effort to protect the invasion’s western flank. Boe would be involved
in 33 days of heavy combat and on July 8, 1944, the
unit returned to England. Two days later, July 10, 1944,
he was awarded the Silver Star for heroic duty while in
combat.
O’Neil Boe would make two other major airdrops
during World War II. He would be involved in the Ardennes campaign (Battle of the Bulge) and Operation
Varsity (Battle of Ruhr Pockets). He would remain in
Europe following Germany’s surrender on April 6, 1945
and would receive an honorable discharge from Camp
Shelby, Mississippi, December 1, 1945. The strangest aspect of his military career was that O’Neil Boe had taken
off on 42 flights during his military duty, but he never
once landed! Thus was the life of a paratrooper.
ALFRED ANTOINE VERRET, Artist
Alfred Antoine Verret was a noted Louisiana landscape artist who lived in St. John the Baptist Parish for
most of his life. He was born in 1901 along Bayou Teche
and there he came to know
and love our state’s beautiful scenery. When his father died in 1915, he came
to Garyville to live with his
sister, Mrs. Eunice Triche.
Alfred Verret studied at the
Academy of Fine Arts in
Chicago for a few months
but tuition proved to be
too costly. He then began
visiting art museums and
studying the work of the
Alfred Verret
Great Masters. He also
learned from watching his many artist friends at work. In
this way he rounded out his education. Unable to support
himself as an artist, he went to work as an insurance agent
and then met and married Miss Ida Elizabeth Fox of New
Orleans. They raised five children in St. John the Baptist
Parish. Continually his love affair with paint and canvass,
he spent a
great deal of
time in the
swamps of
Garyville,
Reserve, and
LaPlace and
painted most
of his swamp
scenes
of
that
area.
He painted
whenever he
could and
his work became well
known; today his paint- Alfred Verret painting
ings hang in (Courtesy of Reserve Telephone Company)
homes across the United States and in many parts of the
world. Alfred Antoine Verret lived in LaPlace until his
death in 1954. His paintings, themes and style live on
through his many local art students.
JACQUES PHILPPE VILLERE’, Louisiana Governor
Louisiana’s second governor and first native born
was Creole Jacques
Philippe Villere’—
born in Lucy, Louisiana on April 28,
1761. Educated in
France, Villere’ was
commissioned
a
lieutenant of artillery and sent with
his command to St.
Domingo. After a
short military career,
Villere’ resigned his
commission and returned to Louisiana
where he married Jacques Philippe Villere’
Jeanne
Henriette
Fazende in 1784. The marriage brought considerable
wealth and prestige as she was the granddaughter of Gabriel Fazende, a member of the first colonial council.
Villere’ witnessed the transfers of Louisiana between
Spain and France, and then France and the United States.
Like most of his contemporaries, he found the transfer to
America disturbing. But his anxiety was soothed when
he received an appointment as justice of the peace in St.
Bernard Parish. He served the new American administration as a major general in the militia, as a member of the
police jury for the county of Orleans, and as a delegate to
the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1811-1812.
In 1812, he became a viable candidate for the governorship of Louisiana, but was defeated. Villere’ had little
time to lament his defeat. The outbreak of the war in
1812 found him serving his new country, particularly
with assistance to General Andrew Jackson in defeating
the British at Chalmette on January 8, 1815.
On July 1, 1816, Villere’ made his second bid for
the governorship and was elected by a majority vote of
169 over Joshua Lewis and became Louisiana’s first native-born governor; his tenure was but one term as he was
not elected to a second. In his remaining years, Villere
devoted his life to his estate, wife, their eight children,
and numerous grandchildren. Villere died on March 7,
1830.
83
OTHERS THAT SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED:
DR. WALTER HERNANDEZ
Inventor
LaPlace native, Dr. Walter Hernandez is a product
of John L. Ory Elementary and Leon Godchaux High
School (1957). His favorite pastime at John L. Ory was
fighting, tops, and catching crawfish. At an early age, he
was fascinated by the field of science. Passing over an
invitation to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), Dr. Hernandez’s scholarship, athletic skills,
and weightlifting carried him to Louisiana State UniverHenry “Poose” Maurin’s House in LaPlace, built by Jules Albert Pastureau.
(Left to right) Dr. Walter Hernandez, Bill Terry, Joe Montz on
motorcycle, and Ronnie Ory standing in front of Leon Godchaux
High School, circa 1957
sity where he excelled in the classroom and as a discus
thrower on the L.S.U. track and field team. However, it
was his scientific mind that earned him a degree in mathematics and physics at L.S.U. in three years. Skipping his
master’s degree, Dr. Hernandez earned his Ph.D. from
the University of Maryland in Physics. His professional
and scientific achievement includes over fifty inventions
and contracts with the F.B.I., C.I.A., and N.A.S.A. As
an astrophysicist, Dr. Hernandez is currently working
with the Department of Homeland Security to develop
a Global Nuclear Defense System that will detect nuclear weapons aboard cargo ships and is also working on a
seismic system for the U.S. Mining and Safety Administration to locate trapped miners in mine collapses. Dr.
Hernandez’s other work includes an acoustic system that
will give advance warnings of bearing failures in trains
long before the failure occurs and he is researching a detector that will hear heartbeats for the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection.
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THE PASTUREAUS
John Ernest Pastureau, Jules Albert Pastureau,
Edward Pastureau
For nearly two centuries, the Pastureau family has
contributed much to
the architectural development of St. John the
Baptist Parish. John
Ernest Pastureau grew
up in St. Charles Parish and married Celina
Lorio in 1868 in the
Little Red Church in
Destrehan, Louisiana.
The 1870 census listed
him as a resident of
Boutte, Louisiana, and
by the time, his son,
Jules Albert Pastureau,
was born, he had John Ernest Pastureau
moved to St. John the
Baptist Parish. The father and son team would become
master carpenters and would build many of the homes
and churches in the parish.
Jules Albert Pastureau took the carpentry skills he
learned from his father one step further by studying architecture and drafting at Isaac Delgado Central Trades
School. Among the buildings in the St. John area that are
attributed to the Pastureau team are the Joseph LeBrun
house and Club Café in Reserve and LaPlace respectively.
Additionally, the Pastureaus built the Elvina Plantation
St. Peter Church in Reserve, constructed by Jules Albert Pastureau
house in 1898, the Marion “Poose” Maurin house, the
John Daniel Ory house, the George Lasseigne house, and
the home of Jules Reine. Well known for their craftsmanship, Jules Albert was commissioned by the Archdiocese of New Orleans to build the first St. Joan of Arc
church on West 5th Street in LaPlace, and he was also
asked to build the wooden
pews and altar for the St.
Peter Church in Reserve
which was destroyed by
Hurricane Betsy. The Ory
house, sometimes mistaken
for the Woodland house,
was built by Jules Albert in
1918 for John Daniel Ory
and his bride, Maria Perilloux. Sadly, the newlyweds
were only together in the
home two weeks before
John shipped off to train- John Daniel Ory
ing during World War I. While Daniel was away train-
ing, Maria died during childbirth. Soon after, Ory married Lilian Menuet during a stint home on leave. Out
of state once more, he was stricken by the influenza epidemic sweeping the nation that year, and died before ever
reaching home again. His wife, Lillian, had gone north
to nurse him but to no avail. She returned home also suffering from the flu and died literally within days of her
husband. The original Ory house no longer stands.
Since there was no electricity, at least none on the scale
we enjoy today, and no power tools, the Pastureaus did
all their work by hand, trademarks of their craftsmanship
seen in the large porches they would build on two sides
of a house, intricate gingerbread work on the porch, and
beautiful gables. On most of their work, the Pastureaus
collaborated with builder Joseph Perilloux.
Jules Albert was married twice. With his first wife, Octavia Dufresne, they raised three children. Around 1918,
he married Marie Cecilia Jacob of Reserve. Jules Albert
Pastureau died on July 5th, 1950 at the age of 78 and was
buried in St. Peter Cemetery in Reserve.
The grandson of Jules Albert Pastureau and great-grandson of Ernest Pastureau, Edward (Eddie) Pastureau was
born September 20, 1949 and grew up in Edgard, Louisiana. He was a graduate of Edgard High School and
Louisiana State University where he majored in Art Education and Social Studies. He taught high school art and
social studies at Edgard High School for seven years. He
J.J. Reine house
left the teaching profession in 1977 and worked for Pam
American World Airways as a sales agent in New Orleans.
Currently, Pastureau is working at E.I. DuPont.
Most of Pastureau’s art work deals with Southern Louisiana though some wildlife and portraiture enter into his
work. Oil and watercolors are his two main materials, but
85
the foundation of any painting is in the understanding of
disciplined drawing and composition which he strives for
inevitably. He has done many commissions locally as well
as out of state.
He is a member of the Old South Art Guild and has
taken part in and has won many awards from their judged
shows. He has also had works accepted in the National
Louisiana Watercolor Society Show in Baton Rouge. He
has participated in Collector’s Gallery Show in Baton
Rouge, Greenville Art Gallery in Greenville, Mississippi,
French Quarter Gallery in New Orleans, and L’Acadian
in New Orleans.
THE JEAN OVIDE AND
LESTER MILLET FAMILY
For nearly sixty years the Millet family was elected
and served St. John the Baptist Parish politically as parish
assessor, parish sheriff, and parish president. Running on
the William J. Hart, sheriff’s ticket in 1916, Jean Ovide
Jean Ovide Millet
SUE SICKELS, Artist
A native of Sherman, Texas, Sue Sickels moved to
LaPlace in 1968 with her husband, Dick. She studied art
throughout her school years and developed her talent by
attending Delgado College,
Davis’s Art School, Rossback School of Art, and the
Magic Art School. She began teaching art in the LaPlace community in 1973
and was the founder and
first president of the Old
South Art Guild. Throughout her career, she has won
numerous prizes and awards
for her paintings as they
capture the uniqueness of
Sue Sickels
the South—both past and
present. Her talents are illustrated in the book, Southern
Exposure, written by Susan Schuwe in 1985.
Lester Millet, Sr.
Millet was elected parish assessor. He would be re-elected
and was into his sixth term when he died in 1938. Jean
Ovide’s son, Lester Millet, Sr. would be appointed as his
replacement and would serve for 22 years until his death
in 1960. Lester’s son, Lester Millet, Jr. would be appointed in 1960 and served until 1974. In 1974, Lester Millet, Jr. was a candidate to finish the complete the term of
deceased Sheriff Percy Hebert. Millet was elected sheriff
and served until 1976. In 1988, Lester Millet, Jr. was
elected parish president and served one term.
Painting by Sue Sickels, Trappers camp at sunrise
86
Early beginnings at WCKW-FM in Garyville
SIDNEY LEVET, III An Electronic Pioneer
92.3 WCKW-FM/1010 WCKW-AM
St. John the Baptist Parish and the River Parishes were
treated to its first radio station as a broadcast license was
granted to 222 Corporation in June of 1965. In August
of 1965, construction on
the radio studios began in
Garyville and WCKW became the first stand alone
small market FM radio station in Louisiana. Garyville
native, Sidney Levet, III
opened the microphones
for WCKW-FM, 92.3, at
9:00 a.m. on January 10,
1966. For a long time, Sidney Levet was the first and
only disc jockey and not
many people in the area had Sidney Levet, III
FM radios. To attract a larger audience, the radio station
began to do live remotes and broadcasted prep football
and basketball, American Legion and high school baseball games, local fairs, Boy Scout outings, LSU sporting
events, 4-H events, and anything else to entice area residents to buy an FM radio. Msgr. Eyraud’s funeral was
broadcast live from St. Peter Church in Reserve.
In the first year more employees were hired so that
the station could broadcast continuous local news and
features and play-by-play sports, and later moved into
live Police Jury meetings and live coverage of election returns to persuade even more people to buy FM radios. In
1988, a 2005 foot tower was built in Vacherie, the tallest
man made structure in Louisiana and one of the largest
in the Nation, expanding WCKW’s coverage dramatically. The mega tower allowed listeners to stay tuned for
longer periods of time as they traveled most of Louisiana
and parts of Texas and Mississippi and served the public
well during hurricane evacuations. Local news and events
was a daily feature of the station and the nightly formatting including country and western music hosted by the
“Italian Country Boy”, Burt Cashio.
An AM station, WKQT, 1010 on the dial, was added
on December 20, 1968. It later became WCKW-AM
and, for approximately the last twenty years, has been
a full Gospel station, which carried EWTN in the evenings beginning in 1997. In 2006, the station license was
donated to a Catholic group known across the nation as
Covenant Network. The radio format for WCKW would
change to Classic Rock to serve the public and the studios moved to Metairie, Louisiana. For his achievement
Sidney Levet, III received the Louisiana Association of
Broadcaster’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1988 and
in 1990 and he received the Broadcaster of the Year award.
A resolution was passed in 1997 by the House of Representative listing all of Sidney Levet’s achievements and
generous donations of his time and expertise to commuRISK TAKERS, MOVERS AND SHAKERS
87
nity projects. The document read: “a noted citizen who’s
expertise and foresight was responsible for building the
small market ‘Mom and Pop’ radio station of the 60s to a
successful super station of the 90s.” Television news commentator and radio analysis Garland Robinette began his
broadcasting career at WCKW.
A Holy Cross High School and Loyola graduate,
Sidney Levet III was born March 11, 1936 and his electronic skills were passed on to other radio stations as he
set up similar radio operations throughout the United
States. Levet passed away on June 4, 1997 and was honored posthumously by the greater New Orleans Association of Broadcasters who entered him into their Hall of
Fame. His wife, Loren Levet and his two sons, Sidney
and Stephen Levet continued the tradition of WCKWFM until 2004 when the company was sold to Citadel
Broadcasting.
TERRY ROBISKIE
Pro-Football Player and Coach
Lucy’s pride, Terry Robiskie was born November 12,
1954 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He went on to star at
Second Ward High School
in Edgard where he earned
All-American honors as a
quarterback and was Louisiana’s Top High School Athlete of the Year. He earned
All-Southeastern Conference as a running back at
Louisiana State University
and was selected in the
eighth round of the 1977
National Football League
draft by the Oakland RaidTerry Robiskie
ers, where he spent three
seasons. In 1980, he joined the Miami Dolphins.
After his retirement from professional football, Robiskie went back to the Oakland Raiders as an assistant
coach and in 1994, he became the offensive coordinator
for the Washington Redskins. At the end of the 2000
NFL season, he was the interim Redskin head coach when
Norv Turner was fired. In 2001, he joined the Cleveland
Browns as the wide receiver coach, but later became their
offensive coordinator. During the 2004 football season,
he replaced Butch Davis as the interim head coach. Robiskie returned to the wide receiver coaching position in
88
February of 2005, a tenure that ended as the NFL geared
up for the 2007 Super Bowl. In late January 2007, Robiskie signed on with the Mami Dolphins as a wide receiver coach. Terry Robiskie and his wife Cynthia have three
sons, Brian, Andrew, and Kyle. Brian Robiskie signed a
grant-in-aid scholarship to play football at Ohio State
and, by all reports, has proudly carried on the family
tradition. (Photo courtesy of The obr.com/scout.com)
CHARLES ZEWE
News Reporter and Network Anchor
Charles Zewe is the son of Alvin and Pearl Zewe
of Reserve and a former product of St. Peter Parochial
School and Leon Godchaux
High School in Reserve.
Upon his graduation from
Louisiana State University,
he began a career in journalism, which has spanned
both print and broadcast
journalism over nearly
forty years.
After working in New Orleans for the
defunct afternoon newspaper, the New Orleans
States-Item, Zewe became
a reporter and anchor for Charles Zewe
WWL-TV, the New Orleans CBS affiliate. He was also a
news anchor and political reporter at WDSU-TV (NBC)
and WYES (PBS), both in New Orleans, before joining
the Cable News Network (CNN), where he was a Headline News anchor and the first national correspondent for
the network’s affiliate feed service, CNN News source.
A Vietnam War veteran, Charles Zewe received his
master’s degree in communication from Loyola University in New Orleans and has a doctoral degree in Mass
Communication and Public Affairs from Louisiana State
University. He is currently an internal audit vice-president at Louisiana Sate University in Baton Rouge.
DR. FRANK M. LAPEYROLERIE
Teacher and Dentist
Dr. Frank M. Lapeyrolerie is the eldest son of Frank
G. Lapeyrolerie and Marguerite D. Lapeyrolerie and was
born in Reserve, Louisiana on May 4, 1929. Following his high school graduation from McDonough 35 in
1946, he went on to become an oral surgeon. He was
a graduate of Xavier University and Howard University
of Dentistry in 1953 and received his training in oral
surgery at Harlem Hospital in New York City and
the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Oral
Surgery. During the course
of his career, he worked
as an assistant professor
of oral surgery and anesthesiology at the Howard
University Dental School
(1958-1961), as an associate professor of pathology
at Seton Hall University
Frank M. Lapeyrolerie
College of Medicine and
Dentistry (1961-1965), and professor and chairman of
oral surgery and anesthesiology at the New Jersey College
of Medicine and Dentistry (1965-1979). In 1979, Dr.
Lapeyrolerie was appointed dean of the college, a position he held until retiring in 1986. He was a founding
member and president of Central Parkway Associates, a
group of health care professionals in East Orange, New
Jersey and a former dental director of East Orange Nursing Home. He wrote numerous publications in oral surgery and dentistry.
He was a captain in the U.S. Air Force from 19521955 and he and his wife, Delia, have two sons, Drs.
Jacques and Darryl Lapeyrolerie and three daughters,
Crystal Lapeyrolerie, Drs. Michele Lapeyrolerie-Torian
and Donna Lapeyrolerie-Johnson. A native of Reserve,
Louisiana and a resident of Montclair, New Jersey, Dr.
Frank M. Lapeyrolerie died at the age of 62 on April 7,
1992 in East Orange, New Jersey.
HAROLD KELLER – A Man with a mission
A spry septuagenarian, Harold Keller is one of the
more recognizable individuals in the River Region. With
an almost infectious level of energy, particularly for the
grass roots ministry he helped found over twenty-five
years ago, Mr. Keller’s warm smile and reassuring handshake lets you know that you aren’t alone.
1980 found St. John facing a growing drug problem,
and to stem the tide, Reserve Christian Church in Reserve took the damaging drug culture head on. Harold
Keller, one of many community leaders, was invited one
February evening to participate in the church’s discus-
sions and from that the “Get High On Life” ministry hit
the streets. Having dedicated himself to helping the region’s youth stand up to the social influences challenging
kids then and today, Mr. Keller has touched thousands of
lives, which, in turn, has given meaning to his own life.
Through school, church and public engagements, Mr.
Keller and the “Get High On Life” ministry aim their
message directly at the kids and school counselors, providing programs to show better ways to live one’s life and
achieve the inner peace we are all in search of.
A native of Reserve,
Harold Keller grew up in a
Catholic family, and while
he asserts that those early
years established an important connection with God
and one’s need to serve,
he admits that he strayed
from his faith for a period
of time. After a stint in the
navy, Mr. Keller returned
to his St. John roots. He attended college briefly and
then began working at Kai- Harold Keller
ser Aluminum. Restless, he
left soon after starting a career in insurance. While this
turn towards business was successful, later reorganization
of the company left Mr. Keller without a job. Keller then
served as a Louisiana State Representative in the 196468 session beating out the incumbent candidate, but his
stint in politics was short lived, and after one term, he
was back into the private sector. Staying close to home,
he spent time as the assistant port director and then drifted into banking, reaching the position of president of the
Bank of St. John, Reserve Branch.
Harold Keller addressing students in Reserve
89
In the ups and downs of his professional career, Mr.
Keller faced some personal demons of his own. As tough
as times got, with the support of his wife, Jeanne, and
their children, Matt, Ronnie, Kay and Ann, he weathered
the turbulent ride that he found himself on. Years before
he got involved with Reserve Christian Church, he had
confronted many of these issues, but admits that at that
time, he never really found the peace he was after. After
‘awakening’ one fall Sunday in 1980 to what life with
God could bring him, and realizing that his family life
had been strained for so long, Mr. Keller sought out the
spiritual help and direction he now extends to others.
In his twenty-five years of dedication to those in need
– and to all who meet him – he continues steadfast on
his mission to show us just how ‘rich’ an existence one
can have through love for life and for God. For Keller,
though, what stands out most in all these years of service
are the friendships made and the lives touched.
ROLAND BORNE, SR.
Roland Borne, Sr. was a prominent west-bank citizen
and a lifelong educator from Edgard who served more than
32 years in the St. John the Baptist Parish school system, both as
a teacher and as an administrator, including several years at the
Central Office with the Title I
program. A Navy Veteran, Mr.
Borne and his wife, Selina Jones
Borne, raised two daughters,
Valerie and Lynelle, and two
sons, Adler and Roland, Jr. He
was a member of the Tri-Parish
Roland Borne, Sr
Elks Lodge, No. 1764, and was
also a member of the St. John Parish Library Board. Upon
completion, the new library in Edgard was named in his
honor for tireless commitment to his community. Roland
Borne, Sr. died in 1993 at the age of 60.
West Bank Library in Edgard named in honor of Roland Borne Sr.
90
HASTON “LIPPER” LEWIS
Edgard native and community representative, Haston “Lipper” Lewis has seen many changes in the parish
and on the west bank, in particular, while operating his
Phillip’s 66 filling station and garage, which he opened
June 6, 1966.
“A man for all the people”, Mr. Lewis has not only served
St. John’s west bank villages with automotive care, but
has also served his district politically for over twenty
years, first as a member of the Police Jury, then on the
Parish Council and now on the Levee Board. A father of
Haston Lewis Phillips 66 garage, Edgard
seven, Lewis has remained dedicated both to his family
and to his community, using his position in office to try
to better the economy and the lives of his fellow west
bank residents.
A testament to hard work, Lewis began his education at the Evergreen Plantation School before it was torn
down. His teen years were spent initially at Second Ward
High School in the days before integration, but finished
off his education at a trade school in New Orleans, to
which he traveled daily for three years. After returning
to St. John, he began working at area sugar houses before
getting the support of the Dufresne family which led him
into his own business.
In 1966, Lewis opened his filling station adjacent to
its present location on River Road in Edgard, the home
of Dr. Fernandez. In the 1970s, Mr. Lewis bought the
Fernandez property and built a new station and garage.
With every intention of renovating the Fernandez house,
sadly, it was destroyed by fire in 1985, its shell a reminder
of the grandeur once found along this historic byway.
Chapter 5
THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT OF
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH
CHAPTER 5:
The Industrial Development of
St. John the Baptist Parish
WHITE GOLD
Louisiana’s admission to the Union greatly enlarged
the market for the state’s sugar crop and in the early nineteenth century the national demand for sugar cane was
so great that Louisiana could not satisfy it alone. Planting
cane was a skill of sorts and could not be done haphazardly because the sprouted cane had to be straight down the
middle of the row for cultivation purposes. Once sugar
cane was cut, it needed to be transported to the mill. In
the early nineteenth
century, mule drawn
carts would bring the
cane to the sugarhouse.
With the sugarcane cut and delivered to the sugarhouse, the milling, or
grinding, process began. This time of the
year was – and still
is - simply referred
to as the “grinding.”
Godchaux 10x powdered sugar box
Sugar mills operated
Chapter 5 Cover: Godchaux Refinery
nonstop until the
harvested crop was processed, a period of about twoand-one half to three months. The bulk of Louisiana’s
LEON GODCHAUX (1824-1899)
AND THE GODCHAUX DYNASTY
The Sugar King of Louisiana
The year was 1840 when Leon Godchaux, an illiterate Jew from France, arrived in New Orleans. His total
worldly possessions were the clothes on his back and a
few loose coins in his pocket. Yet, at his death in 1899,
he was a well-respected member of society and a multimillionaire.
The “rags to riches”
story of Leon Godchaux
began in Herbeviller,
France, where he was born
June 10, 1824. At the age
of 16 he would use virtually all his money for passage to New Orleans on
the Indus in 1840. Seeing
the vast numbers of plantations along both sides
of the Mississippi River
from below New Orleans Leon Godchaux
National Sugar Refining Company manufactured sugar under several labels: Godchaux Sugars, Jack Frost Cane Sugar, Quaker Cane
Sugar, and Arbuckle’s Cane Sugar.
antebellum sugar was transported by water. During the
antebellum years, Louisiana had few railroads and even
fewer regular roads. Steamboats plied Louisiana’s waterways and brought the refined sugar to the market.
92
Seven Godchaux brothers Seated (left to right): Edward, Walter,
and Paul Leon Godchaux. Standing (left to right): Emile, Jules,
Albert, and Charles Godchaux
LEON GODCHAUX FAMILY
Seated: Left to right: Eddie Godchaux, Mrs. Leon Godchaux, Leon Godchaux, Mrs. Leonie Godchaux Mayer, Paul Godchaux, and Blanche
Godchaux Fellman. Standing: left to right: Jules Godchaux, Anna Godchaux Danziger, Emile Godchaux, Walter Godchaux, Charles Godchaux, and Albert Godchaux.
to well above Baton Rouge he reasoned that there would
be a good market for needles, ribbons, lace and other notions that the plantation ladies had a hard time buying.
After canvassing several wholesale houses, he finally
found a local merchant, Leopold Jones, who was willing to back his endeavor. Armed with his products in his
back-pack and his friend Joachim Tassin, a West Indian
octoroon whom he had met on the Indus, he took to the
road. Walking the many miles peddling his wares to the
plantation houses up to Donaldsonville, the operation
was a resounding success. It wasn’t long before he could
buy a mule and cart from the profits, thereby enabling
him to invest in a larger selection of goods and travel
faster and farther than on foot.
The business was so good that he was able to purchase
a general store in Convent, Louisiana. In 1845 he opened
a clothing store on Old Levee Street, what is now Decatur Street where he sold men’s furnishings and clothing. He soon became an expert as a clothes-fitter and by
1865, Godchaux acquired property on Canal Street in
New Orleans and opened a wholesale establishment as he
relocated his store from Old Levee Street.
Leon Godchaux would marry Justine Lamm in 1854
and purchase a home on Esplanade Avenue where he and
his wife reared ten children. Although he was a successful
merchant, his eyes were on a bigger prize -a sugar plantation. His chance came as he was able to buy the Reserve
Plantation from Antoine Boudousquie’s widow. Godchaux expanded his holdings rapidly. As his profits rose,
he plowed the earnings back into more land. Eventually,
he purchased Star, Diamond, LaPlace, LaBranche, Belle
Point, New Era, and Cornland Plantations. He bought a
number of small plantations in Assumption Parish and
grouped them under the name Elm Hall. In Lafourche
Parish he purchased the Greater Raceland Plantation in
Raceland. Eventually, Leon Godchaux owned 14 plantations, which included 10,000 acres of sugar cane and
65,000 acres of timber land. On the Belle Point property,
he would establish the Belle Pointe Dairy. Milk from the
dairy supplied hospitals in New Orleans.
The Industrial Development of St. John the Baptist Parish
93
Leon Godchaux was the first to promote the idea of
a central factory, an idea which was considered revolutionary at the time. His thought was that by centralizing
the manufacturing units,
sugar could be produced
more cheaply and more scientifically. He abandoned
manual operations and built
a mechanized sugar refinery
at Reserve to process cane
from all of his plantations.
Centralization and mechanization earned Leon Godchaux the distinction of having contributed scientific methods to the Louisiana sugar
industry. While the individual factories ground only 200
or 300 tons of cane a day, the grinding capacity of the
centralized facility at Reserve was raised to 3,000 tons of
Godchaux Sugars Refinery, circa 1940s
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cane a day. After this initial experiment at Reserve, the
centralization of raw-sugar manufacturing units became
universal throughout the United States.
In 1917, the Godchaux
family added the Reserve
refinery to the Reserve factory. Besides the manufacturing of standard granulated sugar, the refinery was
capable of manufacturing
other grades of sugar: extra-fine granulated, coarse
medium, coarse, sanding,
fruit granulated, superior
fine granulated, confectioner’s dark brown, light brown,
brown, yellow and canary, in addition to Golden Star
syrup. In 1933, an additional product was added, commonly known as Servall. This is a scientifically produced
Godchaux Reserve Sugar Refinery, circa 1917 (Courtesy of Joy Donaldson McGraw)
material for horticultural humus, poultry litter, animal
bedding and was processed from bagasse.
Leon Godchaux was a man of great compassion and
generosity. He was known for his help in various civic endeavors. Leon Godchaux donated a large wing on the Touro Infirmary in New Orleans and donated large sums of
money to orphan homes and charities. He once expended
$100,000 in repairing levees along the Mississippi River
President-elect William Howard Taft visit to Reserve, 1909
The Godchauxs made large contributions to St. Peter Catholic Church in Reserve. Two of the great stained
glass windows were placed there as a memorial to the
Jewish planter and philanthropist, Edward Godchaux.
Ripley’s “Believe it or Not” once stated that it was probably the only Catholic Church in the world with a Jewish
layman so honored. In 1922, Edward Godchaux, son of
Leon Godchaux, had the interior of St. Peter completely
renovated.
Leon Godchaux passed away May 8, 1899 at the
age of 75. The family expanded his holdings and built
the Reserve Refinery in 1917 and carried on their generosity and compassion for the people. The Godchauxs
constructed a dance hall, baseball diamond, swimming
pool, club house, and a library for the recreation of the
employees which made them feel like they belonged to
one, big family.
In 1909, President-elect William Howard Taft was a
visitor to the refinery, along with his entourage of 117 senators, 24 governors, and three diplomats. Taft’s Fleet was
anchored in the river at Reserve for the occasion. Many
speeches were given from the gallery of the Godchaux
guest house to a vast number of spectators. Cane grinding continued at the refinery until December 6, 1958.
From that date, the refinery engaged only in refining the
sugar. Godchaux Sugars Inc. would change its name and
ownership several times as it struggled to survive in a very
competitive world, but in 1985, the Godchaux-Henderson Sugar Refining Company declared bankruptcy and
closed its doors for the last time.
There are very few reminders of the world’s second
largest sugar mill. The South Louisiana Port Commission now occupies the grounds and all that remains is the
smoke stack and Godchaux Steam Engine # 3 located
near the St. John the Baptist School Board Office in Reserve. Attempts are being made to save Leon Godchaux
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Grammar School and the Godchaux House that was
moved near the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board
office in Reserve.
End of an Era – All that remains of Godchaux Sugars in Reserve is
a smoke stack and water tower.
The Godchaux store on Canal Street continued to be
run by members of the family. The store evolved into
an emporium with an exclusive image, catering to the
middle-and upper-income group—the “carriage trade.”
In addition to men’s clothes, they began selling women’s
and children’s apparel, jewelry, linen, gifts, and home accessories. The store kept neckties in stock that sold for
$1,000 and $2,000. Gradually, the popularity of the
store on Canal Street that locals fondly remember began
to wane, and it was closed.
WALTER GODCHAUX, SR.
Walter Godchaux, Sr. was born September 24, 1875
in the city of New Orleans. He was the youngest of seven boys and three girls of Leon Godchaux and Justine
Lamm, who contributed much to the building of the St.
John community. Walter was educated in private schools
of New Orleans and graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1894. In that year, he entered Yale University and
graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1898. Upon
his graduation, he became continually connected with
the Godchaux Sugar interest for some 54 years. From
1898 to 1900 he was stationed at the Reserve factory. In
1900, he moved to Elm Hall, where he took charge of
the agricultural operations
as well as the sugar factory
until it was destroyed by
fire in 1921.
In the early years, he devoted himself largely to the
field of agriculture and he
was the author of a number
of articles on agricultural
subjects. He developed
from bagasse the product
that has been widely known
as Servall, which was used Walter Godchaux, Sr.
for horticultural purposes.
Although he devoted his talents primarily to agricul-
MR. JONES COMES TO RESERVE:
LEON GODCHAUX’S NEW YORK CONNECTION
Edward Jones, Sr., as a young man, worked as a bond salesman in New York City. Though
his territory was in NYC, Mr. Jones would take occasional trips around the country looking for new business. On one trip to New Orleans, Jones was advised to visit an apparel
shop on Canal Street owned by Leon Godchaux. Looking to sell to the obviously successful shop owner, Mr. Jones was told that Mr. Godchaux was out at his sugar refinery
in Reserve. Jones traveled to Reserve where he found Leon Godchaux and made his
pitch. To Jones’ surprise, Mr. Godchaux claimed he had no money to invest, and actually proposed that Mr. Jones invest in his expanding sugar refinery. Jones liked the idea
and spent three weeks in Reserve putting together a proposal that he could present to his
boss back in New York.
After reviewing the investment package, Mr. Jones’ boss indicated that Jones had done
Edward Jones Sr.
a fine job in putting it together and offered his hard-working employee a cigar! For his
effort, though, Jones felt he deserved a finder’s fee or commission. He received neither. He decided then that he could
do better on his own, so Edward Jones, Sr. quit and formed Edward D. Jones & Co., a financial services firm that is
thriving still today with a clientele of nearly six million people and nearly 10,000 brokers in the U.S., Canada and the
United Kingdom – and all because of a meeting with Leon Godchaux in Reserve!
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ture and research, his range of interest was wide. He was a
leader in the tick eradication campaign in Louisiana and
had a long interest in the improvement of Louisiana live
stock, particularly beef cattle. He was deeply interested
in horticulture and a member of the New Orleans Horticultural Society and specialized in the growing of rare
camellias, azaleas, and other exotic plants.
Walter Godchaux died on June 13, 1952 at Touro
Infirmary. How fitting were the remarks of the New Orleans States Item: “Mr. Godchaux will be remembered
because he was simply a good man, a good citizen, and a
good servant of the state and its people.”
CHARLES GODCHAUX
A son of Leon Godchaux and Justine Lamm, Charles
Godchaux was born in New Orleans on January 8, 1869.
He was educated in the primary schools of New Orleans
and attended the University of Louisiana—which is now
called Tulane University—and the Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, Class of 1887. His first
association with the Godchaux enterprises began in 1886
and continued until his death on October 23, 1954—a
span of 68 years. He was in his teens at the time he entered the business, which consisted of varied enterprises,
including a retail store and the fourteen plantations that
were among the possessions of Leon Godchaux.
Charles Godchaux became familiar with all phases of
sugar production and directed the company’s development over a period of more than six decades. He served
as president of Godchaux Sugars, Inc. from 1919 until
1953, when he was elected Chairman, Emeritus. He was
also active in the affairs of the Leon Godchaux Clothing
Co. and was vice-president and a director of that company at the time of his death. He also served as president
of what is now the Whitney National Bank from 1907
to 1914.
Charles Godchaux devoted much of his time to civic
and philanthropic affairs and was for many years a Trustee of the Touro Infirmary and Jewish Children’s Home.
In 1944 he served as president of the United Community
and War Chest for the city of New Orleans. He was a
member of the Bankers Club of New York and the New
Orleans Country Club and was active in the founding of
International House and the New Orleans Mid-Winter
Sports Association.
Charles Godchaux on the cover of newsletter, The Blue Band.
BEYOND THE CANE FIELDS:
INDUSTRIAL GROWTH
Where ‘white gold’ set regional development in motion, the modern pursuit of ‘black gold’ has driven parish
expansion to new heights. Beginning with Standard Oil
of New Jersey at the turn of the century, the company,
a giant in the new industry, desired to find new locations for refineries in the Gulf South that could handle
both domestic and then, later, foreign supplies of oil. In
the 1920s and 1930s, the expanding automobile market increased the demand for gasoline and related oilbased products, and during World War II, the need to
replace natural rubber with chemical substitutes fuelled
the growth of the industry – an industry that would soon
see rapid development in “synthetic fibers, plastics, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, pigments, gasoline additives,
asphalt and pesticides.” The lure of less taxation and the
large-scale tracts of land that were customary features of
the old plantations – and families willing to sell – ensured
continued growth to the point now where the River Region accounts for a significant number of the country’s
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petro-chemical facilities, supplanting an agricultural
economy with an industrial one.
E.I. DUPONT
St. John’s move from its two-century old agrarian
economy to an industrial one began with the purchase
of Belle Point Plantation land by E.I. DuPont in 1957.
An internationally renown company that had its founding when St. John was still a part of the County of the
German Coast, DuPont brought its marvels of chemical engineering to Reserve, and in doing so, set the stage
for industrial expansion that has propelled St. John the
Baptist into the 21st century. The first ‘real’ plant in the
region, DuPont’s 1962 opening helped spur the growth
of suburban development as plantation land was gradually sold off and carved up to meet the needs of people
moving to the region for the coveted ‘plant jobs’.
From E.I. Dupont’s initial work in explosives, the company’s history is one of great change and advancement, a
company name that has become synonymous with an array of synthetic materials that have changed the face of
consumer products over the past three-quarters of a century. Where would society be now without the likes of
Neoprene, Freon, Cellophane, Lucite, Mylar, Lycra and
Kevlar to name but a few? Involved in the production of
some of these products, particularly Neoprene synthetic
rubber and compounds used in the making of Kevlar
E.I. DuPont located on what was Belle Pointe Plantation
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(bullet-proof vests), DuPont’s Pontchartrain Works has
been a key element in the company’s global drive to provide the world market with the best materials.
DuPont’s role in the parish took on a new form in
the latter part of the 20th century when it teamed up
with Dow Chemicals in a joint-venture, DuPont-Dow
Elastomers, that focused on the production of polymers
and high-performance elastomers – all of which are used
in the rubber, chemical processing and automotive industries. Though the venture ended on July 1, 2005 with
DuPont’s acquisition of the entire project, DuPont continues to provide its customers with the products they
need to compete globally. As a major global entity, DuPont’s local operation has remained locally focused as the
Pontchartrain Works makes significant contribution to
the community.
NALCO
Another company that has been an important part of
the St. John industrial scene for over thirty years is Nalco
Company. Opened in 1970, Nalco has grown into being
one of the parish’s leading corporate citizens both for its
world class facility and its products and for its commitment to the community as a whole.
The Garyville facility, part of a larger Nalco family of plants, was begun on 150 acres of land purchased
from the old Hope or Esperance Plantation, so named by
Nalco, a Garyville facility was once the site of a number of plantation properties including Hope and Angelina
one of its previous owners, Dr. J.H. Loughborough back
in 1858. In the early 1980s, another 100-acre piece of
property was purchased from the estate of the neighboring Angelina Plantation. Of the total 250 acres, Nalco’s
seven production sites occupy fifty acres, a section of
about thirty acres was sold to Degussa-Stockhausen for
a separate facility in 1996, and the remaining land sits
untouched, allowing the plant to settle into its rural surroundings.
A producer of water treatment and water clarification
chemicals that are used in a variety of industrial and institutional sectors, including the pulp and paper industry,
the oil and petroleum industry, power generation, the
food and beverage industries and in healthcare to name
but a few, Nalco has its origins in Illinois where the National Aluminate Corporation was founded in 1928 - the
name Nalco being officially adopted in 1932. Since that
time, the company has expanded to cover the globe serving over 60,000 customers with roughly 10,000 employees across six continents. The company has seen ownership change twice, but its production of quality materials
and its commitment to innovation and industry leadership has remained undaunted. Now, under the ownership of a group of investment firms, Nalco continues to
build upon its 78 year track record as the world leader in
water treatment solutions.
On the home front, Nalco has contributed immensely
both to Garyville and to the parish as a whole. Of its 174
permanent employees and 58 contract employees (August 2006), more than a third live in St. John proper and
the rest in the River Region. An active participant in the
region’s United Way Campaign, Nalco also contributes
significantly to the parish public school system through
‘adoption’ of local schools and through its support of the
parish’s Honor Roll Roundup, an annual festivity that
honors the parish’s rising academic stars.
Additionally, Nalco is an active member of the St.
John Industrial Group which is an organization of local
industry dedicated to improving their interrelationship
with the environment. As an engaged environmental
steward, Nalco has striven to reduce its footprint on its
surroundings through corporate and individual programs
implemented to improve not only awareness but action
on the ‘greening’ of our parish. Overall, Nalco Company
continues to see a rise in its annual output of finished
product – bolstering the company and the communities
it encompasses – while relentlessly pursuing world-class
performance in exceeding environmental standards.
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Marathon Oil Company located in Lions was built in 1973 on property that once consisted of Union, Idaho and San Francisco plantations
MARATHON PETROLEUM COMPANY
In 1973, Ingram Corporation announced construction of a 300 million dollar oil refinery in Garyville. The
Energy Company of Louisiana (ECOL) was formed to
build the new plant and the oil company planned to process crude oil from the Middle East. Taking advantage
of the region’s proximity to the Gulf oil supplies and the
access to international oil shipped in from abroad, Marathon’s 1976 opening marked the last time an oil refinery
was constructed in the United States from the ground up!
With a capacity to refine 245,000 barrels of oil a day, the
Garyville facility plays a crucial role in satisfying America’s appetite for petroleum-based products. Currently,
Marathon is the eighteenth largest oil refinery in the
United States and has the largest property tax assessment
in St. John the Baptist Parish. Having recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, its commitment to the parish
has remained unwavering. Recent statistics show that in
2004, Marathon directly contributed over $6,000,000 to
the local economy with an additional $12.2 million going to local taxes. Of its 1000 plus work force of regular
employees and contractors, more than half call the River
Region home.
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Recently, Marathon announced plans to expand its operation, increasing its refining ability to 425,000 barrels of oil per day. Once construction is completed in
2009/2010, nearly 300 permanent and contractor positions will have been added.
Y2K—THE NEW MILLENNIUM
Locally and globally, the approach of the new millennium was marked by both anticipation and fear. Excitement grew as the year 2000 drew nearer – what would the
21st century offer us? Fear, or at least trepidation, also existed as people the world over wondered how the change
from 1999 to 2000 would affect the high technology we
have come to depend on for almost everything. Computer programmers were in high demand as companies
readied themselves for the possible ‘glitches’ the number
change could create for computer-based devices, possibly
rendering them useless.
For St. John the Baptist parish, the millennium saw a
change in local leadership with the inauguration of Nickie Monica as Parish President. Monica replaced Arnold
Labat, who had served the parish for twelve years. Satisfied with his legacy to the parish, Labat oversaw contin-
ued economic growth and expansion of parish infrastructure, including a water and sewage treatment system, a
civic center, an emergency operations center and the 911
emergency phone system.
On the industrial and commercial fronts, growth
was the key word as the centuries changed. The nineties
saw the petro-chemical industry strengthen as foreign oil
continued its climb up the price charts. Businesses focusing on the by-products of the bigger corporations also
appeared as proximity to supply, an available workforce
and transportation to markets made St. John the Baptist
an attractive choice for business startup. As companies
moved in, so did workers, creating the need for more
housing and for more retail outlets to meet residents’
needs. On the east bank, several new sub-divisions have
been created in and around LaPlace, and smaller housing
developments have popped up on the west bank. Once
the LaPlace/Reserve Fire Department took on paid fire
fighters, ‘big box’ retailers like Home Depot, Super WalMart, Office Depot, plus numerous other chain retailers
and restaurants have made the parish home.
One example of continued St. John success is the
firm Dredging Supply Company, a manufacturer of tailor-made, portable dredging equipment for not just state
or national interests, but for companies the world over.
Originally located on the River Road in eastern LaPlace,
the firm moved its operations in 2000 to a larger parcel
of land adjacent to the St. John Airport in Reserve having
constructed a 27,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility.
Established in 1989 by Thomas J. Wetta III and his two
sons, William J. Wetta II and Robert B. Wetta, Dredging Supply has remained a locally, family-operated business. William, the president of DSC, leads an engineering department dedicated to the latest in engineering and
dredging trends. Robert, with a back ground in finance,
is DSC’s vice-president and is responsible for sales and
marketing. As dredging equipment is not tied to the ups
and downs of the oil industry like so many of the region’s
companies, Dredging Supply Company has been a rising
star in the economic drive of the parish and foresees future plans to develop additional acreage towards expanding manufacturing operations and its current employee
base of 100 people.
BAYOU STEEL
Opened in 1981, Bayou Steel – Louisiana’s only steel
producing facility – has emerged as one of the region’s
leading scrap recyclers and steel manufacturers. Located
on the outskirts of eastern LaPlace, its River Road location makes it an ideal location for the tons of scrap metal
barged in from points up and down the Mississippi River
and trucked in via I-10 and the north-south corridor, I-55.
Dredging Supply Company in Reserve
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The scrap metal is melted in
electric arc furnaces and cast into
billets which are then rolled into an
assortment of steel bars and structural shapes. Plagued by a threeand-a-half-year long strike by the
United Steelworkers of America,
which represents the employees
at the LaPlace facility, its acquisition of a rolling mill in Tennessee,
helped Bayou Steel put the sometimes volatile labor dispute behind
it and expand its client base to over
44 states, Canada and Mexico.
PORT OF SOUTH LOUISIANA
Perhaps one of the more under- U.S. Navy Blue Angel Aircraft marks entrance to Reserve Airport
rated fixtures on the river – literally
new wharves and dock mounted gantry cranes added to
– is the Port of South Louisiana, an operation that overthe 47 existing public and private docks under its conseas activities along a 54-mile corridor of the Mississippi
River. Established at the end of 1960 by the Louisiana
trol. Together with the neighboring ports of New OrLegislature, its recent development of the Globalplex faleans, Baton Rouge, St. Bernard and Plaquemines, the
region has become the world’s largest port district
cility, where the Godchaux plant once towered, includes
Aerial view of Port of South Louisiana
102
responsible for about one-fifth of all U.S. and foreign
maritime commercial traffic. In association with Associated Terminals of Reserve, which dominates the region
in the field of bulk material transfer through operation
of several marine facilities in Louisiana and Texas, and
through several other alliances, the port has become a
source of enormous economic value to the region and for
St. John the Baptist; all expectations for the future of the
port indicate a prominent place in our region’s continued
growth. An I-10 interchange is planned through Reserve
to accommodate the Port of South Louisiana.
Ravaged by the floodwaters of Katrina, Baumer Foods,
Inc. of New Orleans struck a 15-year lease agreement on
February 23, 2006 with the Port of South Louisiana and
relocated its manufacturing and distribution operations
to the Globalplex International Terminal industrial park
in Reserve. The new facility was once the former Constar
Plastics, Inc. plant, which closed down in 2003, on West
10th Street in Reserve. The economic incentive package provided inducements from the St. John the Baptist
Parish economic development fund on the lease for 16
months. The Louisiana Department of Economic De-
velopment also provided $1.5 million for improvements
to the facility and the Port plans to sell $4 million in
bonds to cover additional upgrades for the project that
will bring approximately 200 full-time jobs to the Port
area. Founded in 1923, the internationally known producer distributes to 75 nations worldwide and produces
a variety of sauces and condiments including Worcestershire, hot steak, chicken wing and barbecue sauce, teri-
Above: Associated Terminal Midstream operations
Below: Port of South Louisiana docks
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Baumer Foods original sign in New Orleans
yaki, and soy marinades and mustards under the brand
name Crystal.
The sugar industry that had helped build Reserve and
St. John the Baptist Parish would return to St. John in
2006. Though sugar cane still covers the majority of St.
John land which has not yet been turned over to housing
or industry, the only fully operational sugar mill in the
tri-parish region is the St. James Sugar Cooperative in St.
James Parish. On the west bank in St. John the Baptist,
Caire and Graugnard still operate the Columbia Plantation, but the facility is dedicated primarily to producing
a form of molasses which is used in animal feed. With
Future sugar refinery at Cargill’s Terre Haute Facility
the announcement of sugar’s return to St. John made
in June 2006, construction was set to get underway in
Fall 2006 on a huge $100 million sugar refinery with
production expected to begin in early 2008. The refinery
will be jointly owned by Cargill Sugar North America,
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a division of Cargill, Inc. based in Minneapolis, and a
consortium of independent cane farmers and sugar mills
in Louisiana based in Breaux Bridge. The facility will be
built on Cargill’s sugar molasses and grain-export operation of about 200 acres at its Terre Haute Marine Facility
on River Road in the Reserve area’s Dutch Town community. Upon completion, the mill will refine as much
as one million tons of raw sugar a year. Production will
equate to 75 percent of the raw sugar produced in Louisiana and about 10 percent of the nation’s total.
The partnership of Cargill and the Louisiana Sugar
Refining LLC will build and operate the new plant. The
new venture still allows sugar farmers and mills to receive
their same payments for raw sugar, but they also will also
receive a cut of the profits generated by the refinery. The
sugar project is estimated to create 120 to 150 jobs.
ST. JOHN’S TRADITION OF
ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
Industrial development, to be sure, has propelled St.
John the Baptist into the 21st century, setting the parish on course for healthy economic and social growth.
Moving from the fields into the plants has provided St.
John’s citizens with opportunities that its once traditional
agrarian economy could never hope to match. Yet, as we
move forward into the new millennium, it is important
to recognize that much of our future development will
rest largely with another sector of the economy – the
entrepreneurs, those individuals and families who have
made considerable sacrifices to bring their dreams alive.
Of course, long before the DuPonts and the Marathons
entered the picture, it was the small family businesses that
got the region started. Justice wouldn’t be served, then, if
attention wasn’t given to some of the many entrepreneurs
who started from modest means or less, and who have
helped make this parish what is today, and who will be
here to help shape its future.
FRED “CHACKBAY” TROSCLAIR, SR.
Born September 25, 1908, Fred Trosclair was the son
of Aurilien Trosclair and Elmire Robertson. In 1921, at
the age of 13, Fred Trosclair left his parents in Chackbay,
Louisiana and journeyed
to Reserve. It was his hard
work, determination, persistency, and ingenuity that
would pay off as he gradually developed an excavation
service that would be called
Fred Trosclair, Inc. In his
early teens, Fred Trosclair
purchased a second hand
dump truck and using a
shovel he loaded river sand
into his truck and sold the
sand to Godchaux Sugars Fred Trosclair, Sr
for $1.25 a load. It was also
during that time period that he would meet and marry
Emma Gueret of Reserve on November 27, 1927 and
the couple raised six children—Fred Trosclair, Jr., Annie
Trosclair Scioneaux, Eldon Trosclair, Leda Mae Trosclair
Steib, Adam Trosclair, and James Trosclair.
Before long, his Reserve business grew and Trosclair
ventured into collecting garbage and refuge from the
Godchaux Sugars’ company houses located near the
sugar refinery. In 1948, he opened a gasoline fueling station and an automobile repair shop on Central Avenue
in Reserve. He expanded his garbage service throughout
Reserve, LaPlace, and Garyville and in the mid-1960s,
Fred Trosclair, Inc. was awarded the parishwide garbage
collection service by the St. John the Baptist Parish Police
Jury. Along with his police juror members and Sheriff
Percy Hebert, Fred Trosclair was instrumental in soliciting support from St. John the Baptist Parish congressional delegation leaders in Washington, D.C. in securing
the necessary federal funds for a sewage system in the
Reserve community. As the parish grew in the 1960’s and
into the 21st century, Fred Trosclair, Inc. did much of
Eldon Trosclair, son, and “Chackbay” Trosclair
the land clearing in Reserve and in many of the LaPlace
subdivisions. Like many of his time, Fred Trosclair’s generosity went to his workers and to his church and community. At the age of 68, Fred Trosclair passed away on
February 20, 1977 and is buried in St. Peter Cemetery
in Reserve.
The entrepreneurialship of the Trosclair family spawned
two other major commercial companies that carried into
another generation. Fred Trosclair’s grandchildren, Michael Scioneaux owns an excavation company, Scioneaux’s
Incorporated, in Reserve, and Todd Trosclair, grandson,
owns and operates AllStar Electric in LaPlace.
Paul, Todd, and Connie Trosclair
ALLSTAR ELECTRIC – “No job too big or too small”
Following in his grandfather’s footsteps, Todd Trosclair, Sr., grandson to “Chackbay” Trosclair, has continued the legacy of hard work, drive and dedication in his
own business as one of the region’s top electrical contrac-
105
All Star Electric Employees
tors. Starting out in 1985 with long time friend, Lance
Lovetro, the pair formed Cypress Electrical Contractors,
Inc., an electrical installation firm that provided much of
the electrical work on many of the area’s biggest construction projects.
A testament to his family’s drive for success, Trosclair graduated from Delgado Community College with
an Associates degree in electrical construction. Prior to
forming Cypress, he worked briefly with Brown and Root
and Good Hope Refinery. Trosclair was then taken on by
Shell Oil Company, becoming the youngest electrician
ever hired there.
Cypress grew steadily, despite the tragic loss of Lovetro
to cancer just a couple of years after formation, its sales
more than doubling in its first three years of operation
alone. In 1987, Cypress was chosen to do the electrical
contracting for the K-Mart in LaPlace which essentially
‘put them on the map’. More high profile projects followed and the company expanded to become a major
contractor in the Greater New Orleans region.
With the approach of the millennium, Cypress had
connected with another large scale New York Stock Exchange electrical company, Integrated Electrical Services,
for whom Trosclair would serve as regional president after selling Cypress to them in 1998. With the proven
ability to run a top-notch company and a vision of what
he could do for St. John and the region as a whole, Trosclair, in partnership with a former Delgado classmate,
Tim Blanchard, created All Star Electric, an operation
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larger than what he had accomplished with Cypress.
From a team of five in 1985 to more than 250 employees now, All Star’s performance is unmatched. With
projects in four states, the company covers the gamut of
electrical services, from residential contracting to heavy
commercial and industrial installations to civil applications. Company projects have included Wal-Mart, Home
Depot, Office Depot, St. John Community Center, Scarlet Oak Subdivision in Reserve, New Sarpy Elementary
School (as Cypress Electrical), and Dollar General. On
top of work done at area hospitals, schools and plants,
the company also boasts a traffic signal and street lighting
department. Current work includes the National Guard
All Star Electric truck
Reserve Readiness center that has been just given the goahead for construction.
Where his grandfather, “Chackbay”, found his motivational force in providing for his families, both here in
St. John and in Lafourche, Todd Trosclair has made a major commitment to the youth of our parish and region by
providing certification training classes to his employees.
Often training future competitors, Trosclair sees greater
value in offering parish youth the opportunity to learn a
valued trade and develop the professional and life skills
that will hopefully lead them into helping their community in return. In addition to the training center, Trosclair
and All Star Electric have made considerable donations
of time and talent, specifically with work done in New
Orleans area churches and a memorial for the 9th ward.
Over the life of the two companies, Trosclair has
contributed significantly to the electrical trade, serving
as president of the Assoicated Builders and Contractors
trade organization (1995), and currently sitting on the
Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code Council, a
committee established by – and with members appointed
by – Govenor Kathleen Blanco.
While Trosclair has headed up the two companies,
Trosclair family members are never too far away. Currently, sister Connie and brother Paul help run the All
Star operation, as controller and safety director respectively. Additionally, at one time or other, members from
the extended family have served in various capacities, ensuring that Chackbay’s legacy continues on.
Michael Scioneaux surveying property for land fill
SCIONEAUX INC.
Another long standing parish company is Scioneaux
Inc. of Reserve, a company that has family ties to Chackbay Trosclair. Started by Leon Scioneaux and his wife,
Annie Trosclair in 1974, the family run business continues its success in the excavation contracting business,
serving mainly building contractors and industrial facilities. Originally started with one truck and one employee,
the company has expanded to include a fleet of trucks
and heavy equipment under son Mike and his wife, Cynthia, who took over control of the operation in the early
1980s.
From mainly word-of-mouth advertising, Scioneaux
Inc. services sites throughout the ‘three Saints’ (St. James,
St. John and St. Charles), clearing sites, transporting
materials such as clay, dirt and limestone, hauling solid
waste, laying down roads, and even building a golf course
or two! The hard work of the Scioneaux’s and their employees – and their longevity in St. John’s commercial
circles - is a testament to how a small company can grow
and play a major role in the region’s development.
A3M VACUUM SERVICE, INC.
A3M Vacuum Service, Inc. was started from a dream
in 1981, one which would service the expanding local
industrial sector, and included such operations as tree
cutting, septic tank cleaning, plant maintenance,
and anything else related to
environmental work that
industry
administrators
would give A3M the opportunity to do.
After five years of holding down an insurance job,
running A3M, trying to
build a business, hiring employees, hustling contracts,
and doing all the assigned Pat Sellars
work, Pat Sellars of A3M finally reached a solid starting point from which to build
its profit picture for the stock holders of this start-up.
Over the years, with proper training, luck, finding
good employees and the ability to hustle the work - and
do so in a safe manner - A3M has grown into a sizable
small corporation, an entrepreneurial example for the
whole parish. Currently, A3M services E.I. DuPont,
Waste Management, Bayou Steel, Cargill, B.F.I. Allied Waste, Colonial sugars, Royal Caribbean, Carnival
Cruise Lines, Princess Cruise Lines, and Entergy. The
company operates from two locations in Reserve, Louisiana and Mobile, Alabama with plans for a Galveston,
Texas operation in the near future. Transportation, waste
water treatment, & material handling are our expertise.
A3M’s capable management, its ability to retain good
employees and the desire to move forward has brought
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the company to where it is today, in business for over
25 years. Even though it is a family run business, it does
compete with the “big boys” everyday and has developed
a serious plan for future growth as the company enters
2007 with eyes cast forward to 2008. The firm continues its work towards improving the environment with
an expansion of their waste water treatment facility, and
looks forward to a stronger role in the recycling industry.
A true success story, A3M will undoubtedly be here for
another 25 years.
DAVE MILLET INSURANCE AGENCY—Nearly 50
Years of Service to the St. John Community
Following a short career as an industrial arts teacher
at Leon Godchaux High School in Reserve, entrepreneur
David W. Millet, CEO, started operation of his “Dave
Millet Insurance Agency”
on June 1, 1958 in LaPlace.
Through his perseverance,
professionalism, and hard
work, his LaPlace agency
grew and survived two major hurricanes—Betsy in
1965 and Katrina in 2005.
As of 2007, Millet Insurance Agency services over
5,500 clients and 2,000
small businesses with offices in LaPlace, Boutte,
Dave Millet, Sr
Marrero, and Hammond,
Louisiana. His office is staffed with thirteen local employees and managed by David Millet, Sr., and his two
sons, David Millet, Jr. and John Millet.
Dave Millet, industrial arts teacher, at Leon Godchaux High
School, Circa 1956-1957
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JUDY BRIGNAC SONGY
A St. James Parish native, Judy Brignac Songy made
LaPlace her home upon graduating from Lutcher High
School and settling down to begin a family in 1965.
Devoted to her children, she delayed pursuing her own
educational goals, starting a college career some 10 years
later at Southeastern Louisiana University in education, Songy chose a new direction on her career path
when she joined the Merrill Lynch organization as a
realtor in 1977 knowing it
would provide an income
yet also allow time for her
family.
Ms. Songy has received
numerous awards for her
performance as a realtor
over the years, and is highly Judy Brignac Songy
praised by clients and colleagues alike for both her professionalism and dedication
to serving her clients needs. Recognizing that her own
agents in her Century 21 franchise, Judy Songy & Associates, which she began in 1988, are an important part of
the success her company enjoys, Ms. Songy has striven to
educate and motivate her employees to be the best agents
that they can be.
Where does her energy come from? While she views
her job as more fun than work - and enjoys the freedom
that comes with owning her own business - seeing the
joy in her clients’ faces as they close the deal on their first
home is one of the many rewards she gets from being the
kind of realtor she is. Now in her 30th year, there’s no
letting up as Ms. Songy pursues her goal of being the best
while giving back as much as she can to the community
and region she has come to call home.
Among the many other (red) hats that she wears,
Ms. Songy was the past president of the Siants Board of
Realtors, the 2006 president of the River Region Arts
& Humanities Council, and is the current chairperson
of the St. John Parish Economic Development Board,
the co-chair of the River Region Tourist Commission,
member of the South Central Democratic Party and was
appointed in the winter of 2006 by Governor Blanco to
sit on the Louisiana Real Estate Commission, a position
which would oversee the regulatory issues of the profession.
Duck’s Ice staff: l-r, Joseph Bailey, Matthew Rousseve, Helmuth
Rousseve, Jr., Helmuth Rousseve III, Greta Franklin.
DUCK’S ICE
Life-long resident of Edgard, Helmuth “Duck” Rousseve is yet another entrepreneurial success story in St. John
the Baptist and a cornerstone in west bank commercial
and community life. After an initial 15 year period spent
in the refrigeration business, Mr. Rousseve established
a small ice making plant on the River Road in Edgard
in the mid 1980s. On family-owned land, the small facility had an initial production capability of about 400
pounds of ice per day. Filling a much needed void in local
ice production and distribution, Mr. Rousseve’s operation steadily expanded to a point where the River Road
facility acquired additional ice-making equipment and
saw their output increase to 2400 pounds of ice per day.
Having outgrown the original plant by the late 1980s,
Mr. Rousseve purchased a neighboring tract of land and
a much larger plant and warehouse were built between
1989 and 1991.
The only ice plant within the tri-parish region, Duck’s
Ice is a wholesale provider, serving clients up and down
the river, from Chalmette to Baton Rouge. With the
opening of the newer facility, production has increased
from the 2400 pounds per day achieved by the old plant
to a staggering 40 tons of ice or more per day – 200 bags
of ice every 12 minutes! From a small family set up, the
company has grown to include 15 employees and a small
fleet of trucks and refrigerated trailers.
Joined by his two sons, Helmuth Jr. and Matthew,
and long-time employee, Joseph Bailey, the family’s hard
work has left a legacy in the River Region of much more
than just ice. A firm believer in community support,
‘Duck’ Rousseve, his family and company have donated
considerably to a variety of charitable causes in St. John
and the River Region, from the Relay For Life, the Red
Cross, the United Way, area churches, and benefit organizations to educational support of west bank training
programs and the ever popular Honor Roll Round-up
for St. John’s top public elementary school students. Often providing the ice and or the use of his refrigerated
trailers and warehouse, Duck’s Ice can be seen at many of
the parish’s special events.
Inspired by his mother to succeed, Helmuth Rousseve has, in turn, encouraged his own children and those
around him that with hard work, dedication and perseverance, one can achieve a richness of life far greater
than just dollars and cents. Duck’s Ice is most certainly a
corporate member of the St. John community of whom
we can all be truly proud.
ANN ROBINSON HARVEY
A native of Natchez, Mississippi, Ann Robinson, the seventh of eight children, was the first in her family to complete a college degree, doing so her at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. In 1976, she married Earl Thomas
Harvey while teaching industrial arts at Destrehan High
School. Following her marriage, the newlyweds settled
in St. John Parish, where Ms. Harvey continued teaching, first at Edgard High
School, then at Leon Godchaux High, Leon Godchaux Junior High and West
St. John High Schools.
In conjunction with
her teaching, Ms. Harvey
began a second career in
real estate in 1982, with
a diversion into investing
added in 1984. Harvey also
returned to the classroom
as a student, undertaking a
master’s degree at the UniAnn Harvey
versity of New Orleans in
counseling. With this change in educational focus, Ms.
Harvey moved into counseling positions at schools in St.
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Charles Parish in the early 1990s, before returning back
to public institutions in St. John and St. James parishes.
In 1998, Ann Harvey retired from the educational system to devote her energies to her family and to her growing real estate and investment company, Ann Harvey &
Associates.
An active community member both in her church and
in the parish as a whole, Ms. Harvey has served in various
volunteer capacities including Deaconess, Sunday School
teacher and fundraiser, board member for the Belle Terre
Civic Association, coordinator for the Martin Luther
King, Jr. March/Celebration, member of the River Parish Chamber of Commerce, motivational speaker for the
Louisiana Educational System, and founder of the African-American Business Networking Team here in St.
John the Baptist.
Though quite active outside the home, Ms. Harvey
has always enjoyed a special relationship with her husband, Earl, and her three children, Reginald, Kevin, and
Justin. Driven from a young age to be successful, Ms.
Harvey attributes her success as a realtor, investor and
community member to the bonds she has forged with
her family and with God.
to the noon lunch crowd, offering a “Frequent Dinner
Club,” varying their lunch and dinner menus to customer demands, and specializing in prime steaks and fresh
Louisiana seafood, the restaurant and bar saw a growing need and expanded their LaPlace operations in 1992.
Currently, Bull’s Corner employs 60 and now seats 300
customers in 9,000 square feet. Norton and McDonald
would go onto purchase the LaPlace Andouille Festival
rights from the LaPlace Volunteer Fire Department in
the mid-1980s and operated the festival into the 1990s.
The LaPlace Andouille Festival grew in size and high caliber entertainers, such as Charlie Daniels, were added to
the LaPlace festival.
The Bull’s Corner menu changes four times a year
and is driven by demand and seasonal foods, like soft
shelled crabs and crawfish. Their restaurant expansion
in 1992 provided two banquet rooms and three dinning
areas. Highly rated by many New Orleans restaurant critics, Bull’s Corner can claim bragging rights to its own
salad dressings, soups and desserts, and home-made fresh
bread and sauces. Its bar is one of the most popular in the
River Region, the kind of place ‘where everyone knows
your name.’
BULL’S CORNER – “Home of the Prime Time Steak”
New Orleans restaurant veterans Mike Norton and
David McDonald capitalized on the rapid growth of St.
LAPLACE CONCRETE
An ‘adopted’ son of St. John the Baptist parish, New
Orleans native Wayne Kimball and his wife Sylvia have
been helping to the lay the foundation(s) of the American dream – literally – for many St. John residents since
moving to LaPlace in 1979 and opening LaPlace Concrete on the grounds of the old drive-in theater.
In the concrete business for several years prior to his
move to LaPlace, Kimball brought a wealth of knowledge
and experience to a developing residential and industrial
region that would provide plenty of growth opportunity
for his company. Mentored by his previous employer and
partner, Luther Drake, Wayne and Sylvia put everything
they had into a modest start-up centered around used
equipment and two leased trucks.
With never ending days of hard work, LaPlace Concrete expanded its plant operations to include thirty employees and a fleet of trucks. Mainly serving the Kenner to Gramercy corridor, LaPlace Concrete has poured
many of the foundation slabs throughout the region including the River Forest, Cambridge, and Sugar Ridge
subdivisions. While competitors have come and gone
over the past twenty-seven years, LaPlace Concrete has
Bull’s Corner Restaurant in LaPlace
John Parish in the late 1970s and early 1980s by expanding their business with Bull’s Corner Restaurant and Bar.
Bull’s Corner opened in the Cambridge Shopping Center
area in 1985 with a staff of 18 employees and a seating
room for 90 customers in 3,000 square feet. Catering
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LaPlace Concrete
maintained a steady course.
Ever the entrepreneur, Kimball began selling advertising space on the sides of his mixers, providing area
businesses with rolling advertisements six days a week,
generating income to maintain the fleet of trucks during
the early years of the enterprise. In 1997, the Kimballs
retired from the plant, and handed the reins over to their
sons. With time that just wasn’t available when running
the business, Wayne and Sylvia have been able to devote
a good deal of their energy to community interests and to
their church parish, St. Joan of Arc.
CASTAY, INC.
Spanning three generations, Castay Inc. was created
by Walter H. Castay, Sr., in 1958 with its origins in the
bright lights of ‘Hollywood’ – literally. Starting in the
Castay, Inc. high intensity search lights and generators
Depression converting silent movies to ‘Talkies’, Walter
H., Sr. expanded his business establishing a drive-in theater in LaPlace with Morris Terry.
The only local drive-in, the theater did well until the
mass appeal of television kept people indoors. Opened
in 1951, the drive-in flicked off its projector for the last
time in the early 1960s, Hurricane Betsy dealing the final
blow by knocking down the screen in 1965.
With the purchase of some war-era surplus high intensity search lights and generators Castay built, and
able to capitalize on his relationship with area projection
houses, he would rent the lights out for special events.
In the 1950s and 60s, each of the motor car companies
would showcase their new products. The giant searchlights would be used to attract consumers to the theaters
and to the dealerships where the new automobiles could
be purchased.
In a profitable off shoot, it was soon discovered that
Castay rental generator
there was a need for the generators themselves, from local
industrial applications to the merchant vessels making
port calls in the region. It wasn’t long, however, before
the search light business would succumb to day light saving time, introduced in 1966. For Castay, this necessitated a shift to the generator business entirely.
As the second generation had grown up in the business, it wasn’t a giant leap for Walter H. Jr. to take over
the business when the time came. From his teen days as a
projectionist at the old drive-in, Walter H. Jr. learned the
electrical side of the business from his father and taught
himself the mechanical side. He then expanded the scope
of the generator rentals to service the growing petrochemical industry, offshore applications, general industry
and municipalities.
Known affectionately as “Dub”, Walter H., Jr. retired, passing the generator-powered torch to his son,
and third generation, Walter H. (Wally) Castay III, who
has revitlized Castay’s connection to the movie industry
by providing generators and air conditiong systems to the
region’s burgeoning movie business.
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Chapter 6
ST. JOHN AND A NATION AT WAR
CHAPTER 6:
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
The German Coast was a region struggling to establish
itself at the time colonists in the north were battling the
British throne for independence. Though not a part of
the union until 1803, our region, however, wasn’t completely removed from
the struggle. Seeing a
chance to recover territory previously lost
to the British, Spain
openly and actively
encouraged aid to the
American colonists.
General Galvez, provisionary governor of
Louisiana, lead Spain’s
expeditionary forces
and wrested control of Bethancourt marker in St. John the
the Lower Mississippi Baptist Church Cemetery, Edgard
Valley from the British in a series of battles between Baton Rouge and the Gulf Coast in 1779; Galvez would
later expand Spain’s control by taking Florida and the
British West Indies.
Chapter 6 Cover: O’Neil Boe, (center) listening to General Dwight
D. Eisenhower prior to D-Day invasion
Where does St. John the Baptist fit into all this? If one
were to stroll through the cemetery of St. John the Baptist
Catholic Church in Edgard, one is likely to come across a
simply-painted, white ground vault with a plaque placed
before it. Luis Bethancourt, interred in this vault, was a
member of Galvez’s expeditionary force. No doubt, there
are thousands more like him buried throughout Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi (as Galvez’s force was said to
comprise some 10,000 territorial residents), and luckily
for St. John, we have one to whom we can pay homage as
a revolutionary war hero!
THE CIVIL WAR
St. John the Baptist Parish was among the parishes
that voted for succession from the Union and on January
26, 1861, it became part of the “Republic” of Louisiana.
Two months later, March 21, 1861, the parish became
part of the Confederate States of America. The capture of
Fort Sumter began that conflict and on April 21, 1861,
Louisiana Governor Moore called for 5,000 volunteers
and assembled some 28 volunteer companies.
LEE’S FORGEIGN LEGION
On July 22, 1861, six Bonnet Carre volunteers—
Adam Conrad, Theodule Cambre, Adam Alexander, Jean
Clairville Jacob, Zephirin Borne, and Alcede Brignac—
enlisted in the Confederate Army.
The six volunteers trained at Camp Moore and were
St. John the Baptist Parish issued it own currency during the Civil War. St. John actually issued a $3.00 bill
(Courtesy of Louisiana State Museum).
113
assigned to the 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment. They
joined a regiment of 953 men from twenty countries including Austria, Canada, Cuba, England, France, and Germany,
the United States and 11 States of the Confederacy.
On July 29, 1861, the 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment departed New Orleans to join the Army of Northern
Virginia, reaching Richmond on August 3, 1861. The 10th
first saw action at Malvern Hill, on July 1, 1862. Their next
Confederate uniform button sold by Leon Godchaux Store in New
Orleans to Confederate Army (Courtesy of Steven Keller)
engagement, August 9, was the battle of Cedar Mountain.
The 2nd Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) followed on August
28-30, and it was there that the Louisianans, running out of
ammunition, resorted to throwing rocks at their opponents.
On September 15, 1862, the 10th marched to join General
Lee at Sharpsburg. It was here that the Union Army began
the bloodiest one-day battle, known as “The Cornfield.”
In late April 1863, Lee followed the Union Army, engaging them in battle at Chancelorsville, May 1st-3rd. It would
be Lee’s greatest victory, but Sgt. Jean Clairville Jacob was
wounded and died the next day.
By the 30th of June, word reached them of a battle brewing at Gettysburg. By the time the 10th reached Gettysburg,
the first day was over. They were put into the line on July 2nd
and 3rd; the battle cost the 10th Louisiana more casualties
than any other they fought.
In May, 1864, General Grant’s opening move against Lee’s
Army was in Wilderness, Virginia. This battle caused almost
21,000 casualties. The last of the St. John recruits, Corporal
Zephirin Borne and Private Alcede Brignac, were among the
Confederate soldiers captured. They were both sent to Belle
Plains, Virginia and on May 19, 1864 were transferred to
the federal Civil War prison at Point Lookout, Maryland.
Both Borne and Brignac would fall victim to the harshness
of prison life, neither one returning home.
At the surrender of the Southern forces in 1865, the 10th
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Louisiana mustered out only 4 officers and 14 men—a far
cry from the 953 that left Louisiana in July, 1861. All six of
the Bonnet Carre recruits 1861 were killed or died as prisoners of war in Union prison camps.
Among others killed from St. John the Baptist were Captain Lezin Ory of the Stephen’s Guard, Captain Nathaniel
Loughborough (Hope Plantation) and Pvt. Aristide Jeandron.
PIERRE ARMAND DONALDSON
Pierre Armand Donaldson of Reserve was twenty-one
years old when he volunteered for service in the Confederate Army. He is likely to have been in Company
E, St. James Regiment,
Louisiana Militia/ 18th
Louisiana Regiment. On
February 16, 1862, the regiment moved by railroad to
Corinth, Mississippi and
was assigned to Pittsburg
Landing on the Tennessee
River. There they engaged
and repulsed a Union landing party and drove away
the gunboats on March 1.
The Confederate forces atPierre Armand Donaldson
tacked Brigadier General
Grant’s Army and engaged in what has been known as
Battle of Shiloh. The regiment fought in the Battle of
Shiloh April 6-7 and fell back to Corinth where they remained until their evacuation on May 29.
The regiment received orders to report for duty at Mobile, Alabama to guard the approaches to Mobile from
Pensacola, Florida. On October 2, the regiment left and
reached New Iberia on October 12. The men fought in
the Battle of Labadieville, October 27 and retreated to
Fort Brisland on Bayou Teche. Family history tells of
Armand being wounded and remained in a ditch until he
was found by a young lady, Noelie Berdoux, who nursed
him back to health. After he recovered from his wounds,
he returned to his regiment and some years after the war
they were married.
The July and August 1863 Muster Roll was the last
one that listed Armand and said he was discharged on
July 27, 1863 because of wounds received at Texana,
Louisiana. This brought to an end the Civil War service
of Armand Donaldson who fought in many battles in
Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana before he
was wounded for at least the second time. The happy
ending to this story was Armand’s marriage to his nurse,
Noelie Berdoux on February 8, 1869.
profession—steamboat captain—and ran such boats as
the Edward J. Gay, Clinton, Ed. Richardson, Laura Lee,
Mary Ida, and the Whisper. Camile Jacob died in 1911
(Terrio, 1989).
PVT. CAMILE JACOB
One of the most amazing stories of the Civil War involved Edgard native Pvt. Camile Jacob. Born in 1842,
Jacob enlisted in the St. James Rifles October 5, 1861 at
the early age of 19. He trained at Camp Moore and was
assigned to the 18th Louisiana Infantry, Company A,
where he served with distinction at the Battle of Shiloh.
He was captured at Labadieville, Louisiana October 27,
1862 and paroled at Thibodaux November 14, 1862.
Jacob returned to the front line and was taken prisoner
a second time at Bayou Teche, Louisiana April 21, 1863
and paroled below Port Hudson, Louisiana May 11,
1863. Again, he made his way back to his company and
was assigned to Company C when the 18th Louisiana
Infantry merged with the Yellow Jacket Battalion. Jacob
was captured a third time at the Battle of Mansfield and
paroled at Natchitoches, Louisiana June 6, 1865.
At the close of the Civil War, Jacob returned to his
THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR
No one incident launched America’s involvement in
Spain’s crumbling hold over its colonies, but the sinking
of the battleship USS Maine in Havana’s harbor early in
1898 put the spotlight on the region’s plunge towards all
out civil war. In April of 1898, President McKinley asked
Congress for the authority to send troops to Cuba on humanitarian grounds; shortly after his request, Congress
declared Cuba to be “free and independent” and agreed
to the President’s request.
The Louisiana National Guard was called to service
of the United States by Governor Foster in April 1898.
The call to arms resulted in two regiments of infantry
and a naval battalion. The 1st Louisiana regiment was
commanded by Colonel W. L. Stevens of Baton Rouge
and Lieut. Colonel R.G. Pleasant of Shreveport; the 2nd
Louisiana, by Colonel Elmer E. Wood of New Orleans
and Lieut. Colonel William C. Dufour of New Orleans.
Superville “Sugar” Landry—extreme right— pictured in Jacksonville, Florida before departure to Cuba during Spanish-American War.
(Courtesy of Theresa Landry Brignac).
115
Each regiment consisted
of twelve companies having separate captains and
lieutenants. Each regiment had about 1,000
men, an average of about
85 to the company. St.
John the Baptist can claim
two participants in this
brief war, Anatole J. Sanchez of Garyville and 24
year old Superville “Sugar” Landry, Jr. of LaPlace,
who listed his occupation Superville “Sugar” Landry
as a carpenter, and served with the 2nd Louisiana Regiment, Company L.
Both regiments were taken to Spring Hill, near Mobile, Alabama on May 29, 1898. By the end of June,
the Louisiana regiments were at Miami and later sent to
Jacksonville, Florida. On the 24th of December the 2nd
Louisiana regiment embarked at Savannah, Georgia and
sailed to Havana, Cuba. On January 1, 1899, the 2nd
Louisiana assisted in the raising of the United States Flag
for the first time above the top and upon the flag-staff of
the impregnable Spanish stronghold at Havana, known
as Morro Castle. Spain would be defeated at Santiago,
the furthest end of the island. One hundred and thirteen days after the onslaught of hostilities, the Treaty of
Paris gave American control over Spain’s former colonies,
Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam, and authority
to help Cuba gain independence.
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Men of the 1st and 2nd regiments were brought back
home and mustered out of service April 18, 1898. Sixteen men of the two regiments were killed in actual battle. Sixteen of the 1st Regiment and eighteen of the 2nd
Regiment died in camps of disease, mainly typhoid fever.
Landry would return to his home in LaPlace following
the conflict and operated a sawmill.
Above: Superville “Sugar” Landry—middle of photograph
Below: Louisiana 2nd Regiment in Havana, Cuba (Courtesy of
Theresa Landry Brignac)
George Lasseigne of LaPlace on horseback during World War I
(Courtesy of Doris Lasseigne Carville)
WORLD WAR I
America’s policy of isolating itself from the gathering storm in Europe and its
efforts to mediate a peace
between the crumbling
pacts and alliances ceased
with the sinking of the
British passenger ship, Lusitania, which was carrying
a number of American passengers. By the beginning
of 1917, Germany openly
defied American demands
to halt their rogue submarine attacks on neutral
parties. To make matters George Lasseigne
worse, it was discovered
that Berlin was seeking an alliance with Mexico, hoping
they would go to war with
the U.S. The final straw for
the U.S. came when several
American merchant ships
were attacked by German
submarines resulting in the
sinking of three. On April
16, 1917, America declared
war on Germany and on
the Austro-Hungarian Empire the following December. America was now party
to ‘the war to end all wars’,
and a number of St. John
Max Millet of Reserve
men heeded the call to action.
Two soldiers, Pvt. Theophile Delaneuville and Pvt.
Sydney Dufresne, would
not return home, killed in
action one month before
armistice was declared;
several other St. John men
did not return home either,
their demise the result of
illnesses caught while on
Sydney Dufresne
active duty.
Nurse Emma in Reserve during Word War I
(Courtesy of Joy Donaldson McGraw)
117
Sgt. Alton Terrio, Reserve served as a crew chief in the P-51 308th Mustang Fighter Group of the Mediterranean Theatre during World War II.
WORLD WAR II
Between September 1939 and December 1941, the
United States had resisted calls to join the battle against
Hitler’s armies advancing
through Europe. Believing
that America’s ally, England, would emerge largely
unscathed, the U.S. administration worked hard to
keep the country out of the
conflict. However, Japan’s
attack on Pearl Harbor on
December 7, 1941, left
the President and the people little choice, and once
again, America was drawn
into a war quickly spread- Jessie Aubert
ing around the world.
Before the entry of the United States into World War
II, many Americans joined the Canadian Army. Such was
the case of Reserve native Leo Joseph “Jessie” Aubert of
Reserve who joined the Royal Canadian Air Force as a
118
Flight Technician. Aubert was stationed in Edinburgh,
Scotland where he repaired British Spitfires.
HAYDEL JOSEPH WHITE
A Wallace native, Haydel White moved to New Orleans and later became an original member of the groundbreaking Tuskegee Airmen
while serving in the military in World War II. After
many years with the Postal
Service in New Orleans,
Mr. White returned to LaPlace in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and died
September 2006. Fighting
opposition at home and
Naziism in Europe, theTuskegee Airmen became
one of the finest aviation Haydel Joseph White
units in WWII, their legacy
helping to change attitudes during the Civil Rights era.
MILTON BIENVENU, JR.
Milton Bienvenu, Jr. joined the Navy before the
United States entered World War II and became a mine
disposal expert in May 1944. He arrived in Plymouth,
England, in late June 1944 and joined the crew of the
YMS 304, which swept mines between the French
beaches designated Omaha and Utah for the D-Day
invasion. On the morning of July 30, 1944 the YMS
378 led five other minesweepers through the water just
off the coast of St. Vaast. During a routine maintenance
sweep, a barrage of five explosions hit the squadron.
Minesweepers were not supposed to sink, but the YMS
304 was ripped to pieces and sank in only 63 seconds.
Using debris as flotation devices, Bienvenu led some
of the causalities to the YMS 378 only 300 yards away.
Two of the sailors had been badly wounded, and with
a bit of rope Bienvenu secured them to his body and
towed them to safety. The incident was featured in an
episode on the History Channel. For his heroic action,
Bievenu received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star
for his effort to save his fellow sailors.
Major Albert T. Becnel and wife, Isna
WOMEN WHO ANSWERED THE CALL
During WWII, critical support came from women
as they provided skills needed in the military and industrial sectors. Over 150,000 American women served in
the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). Separate and distinct
from the existing Army Nurse Corp, members of the
WAC were the first women to serve within the ranks of
the United States Army. They served as administrative assistants, recruiters, supported the motor pools, and some
became pilots, ferrying airplanes to combat units. Thirty
St. John women stepped up to serve their country in military, industrial or volunteer units.
Milton Bienvenu, Jr.
War Ration Booklet
119
On the home front, women entered the work force to fill
the void created by a male shortage. Mrs. P.M. Godchaux
headed the Women’s Division of the St. John the Baptist
Parish Civilian Defense Council and Dolores Maus aided
the war effort as she published a monthly newsletter, Sa-
St. John’s Salute
lute, for St. John soldiers on active duty. Published by
Godchaux Sugars, Inc., the first newsletter started August 1943 and women of the parish provided news of
local activities. Correspondence came from Mrs. H.C.
Cotham, Odette Hymel and Emily Watkins of LaPlace;
Mrs. E.B. White, Lillian Duhe, and Mrs. Mary Harris of
Garyville; Mrs. Charles Broussard of Edgard, Mrs. J.R.
Matherne, Helen Sorapuru, and Olive Gendron of Lucy;
Rose Mae Faucheux and Annabelle S. Weber of Wallace;
and from Reserve, Mr. Octave Hall, Mrs. Stella Tasso,
Luce Vicknair and Dolores Maus.
VALERIE DAIGLE FREEMAN - World War II
At an early age, Valerie Daigle of Reserve walked out
after seeing a movie, She Goes to War, and remarked to
her friend, Hazel Guidry, “If we ever go to war, I would
like to do that!” In the movie,
Joan Morant (Eleanor Bordman) headed to France during World War I and became
a hero. Daigle would get her
opportunity as she enlisted in
the Women’s Auxiliary Army
Corps March 1943. After basic
training, she became a member
of the 21st Regiment, Company Two and was assigned to
Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia as a
Valerie Daigle Freeman
cook and later a butcher. After
injuring her back, she would be assigned to Fort Patrick
Henry, Virginia and worked in the post office. Corporal
Daigle was discharged January 1946.
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Peggy Maurin
ST. JOHN’S ‘ROSIE THE RIVETER’
No part of American society was left untouched by the
Second World War. With a good many of its sons, fathers
and husbands off at war – not to mention the numerous
women who served in uniform as well – the home front
had a crucial role to play in support of the war effort.
From jobs in manufacturing the war machine to raising
needed funds and valuable resources, the average citizen
contributed what they could and sacrificed the rest.
Here in the Greater New Orleans area, the Higgins
Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP) Carrier was
constructed at the Andrew Jackson Higgins Shipyard, a
naval craft that played a pivotal role in the Normandy
beach landings on D-Day, and in numerous other engagements in the European and Pacific Theaters of Operation. Margaret “Peggy” Maurin of Reserve and Mollie
Malbrough of LaPlace were two local individuals who
assisted in the construction of the LCVP. Working as a
“tacker” or spot welder, Peggy Maurin worked at the Industrial Canal Plant. Mollie Marbrough, also a tacker,
and her husband, Callan, worked at the City Park site,
living in housing provided to the employees. The 36-foot
LCVP could carry thirty-six troops or a small piece of
equipment such as a jeep or cannon. After the battle, the
LVCP’s would ferry the troops back to the base ship.
ST. JOHN’S POWs
There is always an ugly side to war as Americans were
called to military action. Unfortunately, military engagements produce death and in some cases, capture. Several St. John soldiers were captured in World War II and
some faced extreme cruelty and torture. The list included: Etienne John Scioneaux, Marcel Montegut, Carlton
Toups, Irvey Joseph Granier, Richard Joseph Beadle of
Reserve, and Edwin J. “Fils” Guidry and Joseph LeBouef
of Lions.
One of the first to be captured in battle was Private First Class Carlton Toups of Reserve who was captured on April 9, 1942 by the Japanese in the Philippine
Islands. As a member of the U.S. Army 31st Infantry,
Toups endured the horrendous Batan Death March and
spent 1,033 days in captivity as a Japanese prisoner of war.
Toups would survive the harsh treatment and inhumane
conditions of Camp O’Donnell, Cabantuan # 1 and #
3, Camp Bilibid, and would finally be liberated by the
44th Tank Battalion from Santo Tomas Prison on February 4, 1945. Etienne Scioneaux of Reserve volunteered
for the U.S. Army just prior to Pearl Harbor on October
11, 1941. He was assigned to 168th Infantry Regiment,
Company “I.” and would be captured when his unit was
overrun by Germans in the Kasserine Pass Campaign,
Joseph LeBouef and wife
THE SPIRT OF THE ST. JOHN BOMBER
With the parish quota for the Third War Loan Drive set at $274,000, the War Bond salesmen scoured the parish for every possible sale of
War Bonds and Stamps to meet the large quota. A suggestion from the Treasury Department set as a goal the purchase of some war implement,
such as tank or airplane. Since a bomber, costing $300,000 was nearer the goal, the drive gained in impetus. The parish accomplished this
goal with an additional $35,000. After many thoughtful suggestions, the War Bond Commission decided to name the Boeing B-17G Flying
Fortresses—“The Spirit of St. John.”
121
North Africa, February 17,
1943. He was taken to Stalag IIB (Camp 313) near
Hammerstein, Poland and
suffered beatings and mistreatment for nearly two
years in that labor camp.
He was moved out in late
January of 1945 when the
Russian troops were closing in from the east. He
would endurre the threemonth bitter-cold march
across Germany, now Edwin “Fils” J. Guidry and
wife, Ruby Robert
called the “Death March.”
Etienne Scioneaux was liberated by the British Army on
April 28, 1945. Airman Staff Sergeant Joseph LeBouef ’s
B-24 Liberator was shot down on his 18th mission over
Brunswick, Germany on May 8, 1944. He would be imprisoned for nine months in Stalag, Luft IV, near Gross
Tklylchow, Poland, 200 miles west of Warsaw. Cramped
inside a twenty by twenty cell, his body weight dropped
from 170 pounds to ninety pounds. After nine months
and the Russian forces advancing from Poland, LeBouef
began the 600 mile “Death March,” from Gross Tychow
to Gublow, Poland—a march that lasted eighty-six days
in freezing snow. Tech. Sergeant Edwin J. Guidry was
wounded October 9, 1944 and taken to a German army
hospital, Lager, Stalag VIG. He would recover from his
wounds and finally swim to freedom March 25, 1945.
Private First Class Irvey Granier was captured during the
Battle of the Bulge by the Germans on December 21,
1944 and taken to Stalag 9B. He would spend 104 days
as a POW and was freed April 2, 1945. Tech Sergeant
Marcel J. Montegut was
also captured during the
Battle of the Bulge by the
Germans and interned in
Stalag 9B.
Richard Beadle was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry July 1944 and made
the assault landing with the
180th Infantry Regiment at
Anzio, Italy on January 26,
1944. He was captured by
the Germans on September
Richard Beadle
122
23, 1944 at Epinal, France and taken by motor car to
StrasBerg, France, to Calmar, then to Frankfurt on train,
and on to Kustrin. He would remain a POW until March
20, 1945.
EDWARD J. REMONDET
Seaman Edward J. Remondet was the son of Edward
and Anastize Remondet of Reserve who met death during World War II when his
ship, the USS Indianapolis
was torpeded by a Japanese
submarine. The ship had
dropped off the atomic
bombs used on Japan. Survivors were left in the sea
for days and many died
before they were rescued. It
is not known if Seaman Remondet was killed from the
blast or he died in the water
waiting to be rescued.
Edwin J. Remondet
ROY PETER MONTZ
Born and reared in Reserve, Roy Peter Montz was
drafted on September 2, 1942. Attached to the 3rd Auxiliary Surgical Group where he received medical training. He landed in England
on December 16, 1943
and later transferred to
Africa where he followed
the African battles and
participated in the invasion of Sicily. Following
the Normandy invasion,
Montz was attached to the
47th Infantry Medical Battalion and died on March
27, 1945 of injuries he received near Rutt, Germany
on March 25 when a jeep Roy Peter Montz
in which he was a passenger
hit a mine near a road junction. For his heroic duty to
his country, he received two Purple Hearts, the Oak
Leaf Cluster, two Battle Stars, Good Conduct Ribbon,
and the European-African Theatre Ribbons.
women – including individuals from St. John the Baptist
- rallied to the cause of freedom and democracy.
Albert Billy Luminais of Reserve, U.S. Marine Corp, earned a
Bronze Star during the Korean Conflict
KOREAN CONNFLICT
Though now divided, the two Koreas are united in
language and culture. One nation until the end of World
War II, America and the former Soviet Union – both
victors over Japan – each sought to exert its influence
in Asia. As the ‘Cold War’ heated up, America and the
Soviet Union quickly agreed to partition the Korean territory at the 38th parallel.
Under their respective administrators, each Korea felt
its political ideology represented all Koreans. In 1949,
with the southern regime relatively stable, the American
military forces were withdrawn. As more of a ‘helping
hand’ policy, the Korean defense forces in the south were
left woefully under trained and poorly supplied in comparison to their northern cousins, who had been under
the direct military leadership of the Soviet Union.
With the seeds of civil war evolving out of the tension
between the two political ideologies, Kim Il Sung, the
Soviet-educated leader in the north perceived an opportunity to unify the peninsula under communist control.
In June of 1950, the North Korean army crossed the 38th
parallel into the south, sending America – and 22 other
nations – back to war. Once again, American men and
VIETNAM
Another test for democracy, the Vietnam War became
America’s longest – and perhaps most controversial - military engagement ever. In the post WWII years, Vietnam
found itself tearing at its
seams because of its colonial
history. In the late 1950s
and early 1960s, U.S. advisors were sent to the south
to help bolster the southern
forces of democracy, but
by 1965, America’s military forces had been drawn
into the conflict to prevent
the collapse of the South
Vietnamese government.
Plagued by growing dis- U.S. Marine Corp infantryman
sent at home, the Ameri- Floyd Michel, Jr. of Garyville
can military was never fully served in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam conflict
able to achieve its goal and
was forced to withdraw its troops in 1975.
As this conflict raged on, more and more young Americans responded to the call for service and several individuals from St. John the Baptist soon found themselves
in the steamy jungles of Southeast Asia.
U.S. Marine Charles Aucoin (with hat) of Reserve takes a break
following Korean Inchon invasion
123
ALFRED D. CUTNO, U.S. Army, Vietnam
One of the first African-Americans to complete the grueling Special Forces training and the 82nd Airborne
jump school, Alfred Cutno
served with the “Green
Berets” as a radio operator
and communications technician. Specially trained for
deployment with a reconnaissance team, his skills
were soon required in the
emerging conflict enveloping Vietnam.
Arriving in Vietnam in
August of 1963, six days Alfred D. Cutno
shy of his 20th birthday, Cutno was assigned to Base
Camp Support Team “B”. As ‘regular army’, Cutno
served several tours in Vietnam between 1963 and 1968,
even enduring a week-long siege of their camp during the
Viet Cong’s Tet Offensive in 1968. Cut off from tactical
support, erroneous reports were sent stateside indicating
that all had been killed in action; President Johnson even
called on the nation for prayers. Fortunately for Cutno’s
outfit, the enemy insurgents perceived the camp to be
fully manned and armed, so they never really attempted
an all-out attack.
After 17 years in the Special Forces - 24 years in the
army altogether - Alfred Cutno retired in 1987 having
achieved the rank of Chief Warrant Officer. A native of
Darrow, Louisiana, Mr. Cutno settled his family in LaPlace and began a second career in maritime transportation, logistics, and inspections.
Top: Danny Terrio of Reserve, 1st Calvary Division in Vietnam
Middle: U.S. Army Carl Vicknair of Reserve, left, posed for picture
Bottom: Robert Berthelot (left) of Reserve sitting “near a trench”.
124
THE WAR ON TERROR
AND THE PERSIAN GULF
With tensions still high following Operation “Desert
Storm” in Iraq and Kuwait in 1990-91, the world was
rocked by terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and
Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001 that killed nearly
three thousand people. In response to Afghanistan’s Taliban regime harboring and training many of the terrorists, the United States and its allies launched military action to return democracy to the region. While keeping
the Taliban in check, the U.S. and its coalition allies soon
found themselves back in Iraq in March 2003 as Iraq’s
president, Saddam Hussien, was considered a threat to
Stuart Shane Waits, sitting on the stage of St. Peter School, April
16, 1991, with Mrs. Cindy Monica’s 5th grade class who wrote to
him while serving during operations Desert Shield and Storm
Middle East stability as well.
Since March of 2003, American soldiers have been
engaged in the ‘cat and mouse’ hunt for fundamentalist
and anti-western insurgents throughout Afghanistan and
Iraq, testing America’s resolve to spread its message of
freedom. Again, St. John men and women have stepped
forward and are proudly serving in two very dangerous
theaters of operations.
DALE CLEMENT
LaPlace native, Sgt. Dale A. Clement, Jr. is a member
of the Louisiana National Guard who served with the
HHB (Headquarters Battery) of the
1/141 Field Artillery
Battalion,
256th
Infantry Brigade.
Activated in May
of 2004, Clement
spent an initial period of time training stateside before
being deployed to
Kuwait and Camp
Liberty, Baghdad,
Iraq. After a successful
year-long
tour of duty, he returned home in late
Dale Clement of LaPlace
September of 2005.
He is currently employed at DuPont and continues to
serve with the Louisiana National Guard.
HUEY FASSBENDER III
Born and raised in Kenner, Louisiana, Huey Fassbender III moved to LaPlace. Upon his graduation from
John Curtis High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Army.
Following a six-year tour of duty, which included an assignment in Fairbanks, Alaska, he came back home to
LaPlace. Contemplating a career change, he couldn’t get
away from his military interest and went back to the National Guard in February 2004 knowing he would probably be sent to Iraq. He was sent to Saudi Arabia as part
of a special security force and in October 2004, he was
sent to Baghdad.
Sgt. Huey Fassbender III of LaPlace died January 6,
2005 while serving with Company “C” in the 2nd Battalion of the 156th Mechanized Infantry Regiment. He
was one of six soldiers who were killed in a bomb explosion while they were riding in a Bradley military vehicle
on a routine patrol.
RESERVE PRISONER OF WAR CAMP No. 11
German Prisoner of War soldiers posing with C.I. James of Reserve
(top row holding sugar cane)
World War II (1941-1945) brought change to the
River Parishes but no change was greater than the internment of 359 German prisoners of war in Reserve from
late 1944 until spring 1946. Captured German soldiers
provided manual labor that kept the agricultural fields
open and contributed to Godchaux Sugars in Reserve
meeting quota demands during the war years. Today,
there is very little evidence that a prisoner of war camp
ever existed. Reserve Camp # 11 was among the side-
125
Chicago native Jerome Prusinski served as a medic at the Reserve
POW Camp in Reserve. He would marry Nellie Mae Hotard of
Reserve and remained in Reserve (Courtesy of Donald Cox).
camps that emerged in late October 1944. Most of the
captured soldiers incarcerated in the Reserve Camp were
once part of the proud contingent of Erwin Rommels’
Afrika Korps (North Africa) or were captured in Italy,
France, and the Battle of Stalingrad (Schott & Foley,
1981). The commanding officers assigned to the Reserve
Camp # 11 were Captain Harry Bridges and Lt. Scott L.
Pace (Grady, 1972).
German Prisoner of War loaded into truck
126
To accommodate the German POWs that arrived in
late October 1944, the two-story Angelena School Building in Mt. Airy was moved to a site located behind Godchaux Sugar Refinery and adjacent to the Illinois Central
Railroad on West 10th Street (Station Lane) in Reserve
(Vicknair, 1994, 1999). The prisoner of war camp was located near where Baumer Foods now exists on West 10th
Street and extended north to the Kansas City Southern
Railroad tracks.
German prisoners of war worked on Terre Haute, Montegut, James and Godchaux Plantations, and for Armand
Montz’s food processing plant in LaPlace. POWs planted
turnips, shallots, and okra; drove tractors; harvested fresh
vegetables; and worked within the Montz Ice Plant processing fresh vegetables that were shipped out-of-state
(Maurin, 1999). The Reserve branch camp was de-activated January 15, 1946 and by April 1946, Houma and
Reserve were reassigned to the Camp Plauche base camp
(Blank, 1991). Reserve Camp #11 was closed between
March and June 1946. The two-story camp building that
once housed German POWs was used as a warehouse.
.for Godchaux Sugars following World War II. Unfortunately, that building no longer exists.
Chapter 7
OUT FROM THE SHADOWS
THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
CHAPTER 7:
OUT FROM THE SHADOWS - THE AFRICANAMERICAN EXPERIENCE
With Lee’s surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia in 1865, there is no doubt that soldiers and civilians
alike - North and South - looked forward to an end to
the carnage that had decimated the country, hoping for
a lasting peace that would allow the country, reunited, to
return to some sense of normalcy. However, the politics
of victory and defeat, particularly as they would play out
in the South, marshaled in an era almost as tumultuous
as the war itself.
Prevented from participating in mainstream society,
tion, though not equal to that of white society, nonetheless provided training and knowledge that helped many
break free of the constraints of poverty. And the benevolent societies affiliated with the churches, some still operating today, helped Black residents get access to medical
attention and dignified burial services. As a result of these
institutions in Black life – church, family and educationthe community has risen to its place in society.
Funeral services at cemetery on San Francisco Plantation
Above: Plantation worker’s daughter on First Communion Day
Chapter 7 Cover: Dionne Humphrey Lapeyrolerie, Fifth Ward H.S.
music teacher, standing in front of WBOK microphone
the Black community turned inwards to find leadership
and direction. Churches, Baptist and Catholic, endeavored to strengthen the bonds forged by family. Educa-
128
FREEDOM IN FAITH,
FAMILY AND BENEVOLENCE
Historically, the Black Church has always been a central and guiding force in the African-American Community. In St. John Parish, each community consisted
of a church, a school, and a grocery store. Uniquely, the
church was for the most part, located within the community which it served providing not only spiritual guidance
and moral values, but in the early years Black churches
also provided the educational instruction before the parish or state opened schools for Black children. Some of
the churches date as far back as the period of Reconstruction following the Civil War.
The following historical sketch of Black Baptist Churches was collected and written by Ms. Wilhelmina Bernard
Armour, lifelong St. John educator.
BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH - Reserve
The oldest Black Baptist Church in Reserve, founded
in 1865, the Bethlehem Baptist under the leadership of
Rev. Dennis Burrell. Several pastors followed. In 1901,
Rev John Wallace and his membership rebuilt Bethlehem
at its present site on East 20th Street in Reserve. Property near the church was also purchased for a cemetery.
In 1965 the church was totally destroyed by Hurricane
Betsy and later rebuilt by Rev. James Mathias, pastor.
Bethlehem Baptist would become the first school for
non-Catholic African American children. Because the tuition rate at St. Catherine was higher for non-Catholics,
parents decided to open a school for their children at the
Church. According to Albertine Etienne, lifelong educator and one of the school’s first graduates, the St. John the
Baptist Parish School Board under the direction of J.O.
Montegut, superintendent, paid the salary for Miss May
Blossom Moore, a certified teacher from New Orleans
In 1984, Rev. Horace Lewis became pastor and laid
the first cornerstone for a new church. Because of poor
health, Rev. Lewis resigned. In 1988, the church was
Rev. Herbert Cambre, right, working on the church’s cornerstone
without a pastor for 21 days before the present pastor,
Rev. Dr. Forrel Bering, Sr., became the acting pastor. On
March 5, 1989, Rev. Bering was officially installed as the
pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church.
PLYMOUTH ROCK BAPTIST CHURCH - Reserve
Plymouth Rock Baptist was organized in 1909 by Rev.
Joseph Victor Washington, who served until 1931. Rev.
George Washington was the second pastor, (1931-1974),
at which time in 1963 the Church was incorporated as
the Greater New Plymouth Rock Baptist Church. Rev.
Ernest Taylor, Sr. served as pastor and built the church.
Rev. Daniel Carter is the current pastor.
MT. ZION #1 BAPTIST CHURCH - LaPlace
Mt. Zion #1 Baptist Church was organized in 1859
under the name of Mt. Salem Baptist Church. The first
pastor was Rev. L. J. Wilson. In 1888, the church was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt and named Mt. Zion #1 and
pastored by Rev. Eli Mitchell, who served until his death
in 1984. Two other pastors served at this church—Rev.
S. L. Roberts (19491-1950) and Rev. Henry Robinson
(1952-2002), who is now retired as Pastor Emeritus. The
present pastor is Rev. Arthur Joseph.
Repairs to Bethlehem Baptist Church (Photo courtesy of Gwendolyn
Wallace)
TRUE LIGHT BAPTIST CHURCH – LaPlace
The True Light Baptist Church of LaPlace was organized in 1899 by some committed Christians with Rev.
C. Stewart as pastor. Later, Rev. A.J. Favors became pastor (1907-1959). It was during this time the first school
for Blacks in this community was opened with the Pastor,
Out from the Shadows—The African-American Experience
129
Mt. Zion Church of Garyville baptismal in Mississippi River (Courtesy of Carl L. Levet Family)
acting as the teacher. From 1959-1971, Rev. Paul Roussell was pastor. He was followed by Rev. Wesley Anderson, Sr. (1971 to the present).
ZION TRAVELERS BAPTIST CHURCH – LaPlace
The Zion Travelers Baptist Church was founded in
1910 under the name of Missionary Baptist Church in
Lions. The name was suggested by Julia Bell because early
members traveled from house to house on the plantations. The first pastor was Pastor Rev. Victor Bailey
(1910-1937). He was succeeded by Rev. Marshall Cambre (1938-1983) until his death. His successor was Rev.
Isaiah Franklin, Jr., who currently serves the church. Under Rev. Franklin, a new church was purchased in LaPlace where it is currently located.
MT. CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH – LaPlace
Mt. Calvary Baptist Church was established by Rev.
Thomas Robertson in 1945. The church was first located
on the Montegut property in LaPlace. In the early 1960s
it was moved to Third Street where it is currently located.
130
In 1967, Rev. Haskel Williams became pastor after the
death of Rev. Robertson. The church experienced tremendous growth under Rev. Williams until his death in
1995. In 1996, the members elected Rev. Freddie Howard as its new pastor.
PROVIDENCE BAPTIST CHURCH #2 - LaPlace
Providence Baptist Church #2 is an offshoot of Providence Baptist Church in LaPlace. The church was built
on the private property of the Parquet family. The church
was built by Brother Jerry Richard and community members. The pastor of the church was Rev. Hilton Mitchell.
In later years, the church purchased property on Union
Lane, Montz, Louisiana, where it is currently located. In
1968, another church was rebuilt which became Providence Baptist Church #2. Nine pastors served at this
church. The current pastor is Rev. Donald Brown, Jr.
NEW JERUSALEM - Edgard
New Jerusalem was established in 1870 under the
leadership of Rev. Bailey P. Lee. The property upon which
the church stands was purchased in 1882; additional
property was purchased in 1959. Rev. Lee was succeeded
by Rev. Albert T. Washington in 1899. Several ministers
have served as pastors for the church over the course of its
history. Rev. Flora Johnson succeeded Rev Washington
who had served for 40 years. Rev. Frank Johnson served
until his death at which time he was succeeded by his
son, Rev Joseph Johnson, the current pastor.
New Jerusalem has always been a pillar in the community. Members and non-members alike, Baptist and
Catholics, have looked to the leaders in times of need.
During his tenure, Rev. Washington traveled to New Orleans almost daily transporting the sick to Charity Hospital. Likewise, Rev. Flora Johnson fed many people with
fruits and vegetables from his garden. It is because of the
leaders that the church in Tigerville was and remains “our
church” to members and non-members.
SECOND AFRICAN BAPTIST CHURCH – Edgard
Second African Baptist Church was first named St.
Martin Baptist Church and was founded August 19,
1876. The pastor was Rev. Bailey Lee who served until the mid 1920s. In the late 1940s, the church was renamed Second African Baptist Society under the leadership of Rev. C.L. Smith, who served until 1960. During
this time, baptisms were conducted in the Mississippi
River. Later a baptismal pool was installed outside in
front of the church.
Rev. Joseph Thomas Bailey took over the leadership
from 1960 to 1987. The church was rebuilt on a cement
slab and an interior baptismal pool was installed. Rev.
Joseph Weber succeeded Rev. Bailey and is currently the
pastor. A second addition to the church was completed in
1988. A major exterior facelift is presently being done.
OUR LADY OF GRACE CATHOLIC CHURCH
The depression years witnessed a resurrection of sorts
for the River Region in the creation of the area’s first all
Black Catholic school and church. In 1931, Monsignor
Jean Eyraud, pastor of St. Peter’s, saw that the region’s
Catholic Afro-Creole population had neither church nor
school to call its own. Against considerable opposition,
Providence Baptist Church
131
Msgr. Eyraud pushed ahead with a determined spirit.
With the spiritual – and financial – help of Mother
Catherine Drexel, S.B.S., who, in secular life was heir
to a significant family fortune, and in religious life had
founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, an order
dedicated to aiding the African and Native Americans,
Monsignor Eyraud relocated a small school building
Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Reserve, circa 1937
Pierre A. Cassagne, architect, and Fr. Roderique Auclair, S.S.J
from LaPlace to a portion of his property in Reserve. Putting education concerns first and foremost, and initially
staffing the school with graduates of Xavier University
– also founded by Mother Catherine – the Josephite Fathers adopted the mission in 1936 and moved the school
Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Reserve, 2006
132
downriver to its present day location.
Even under the direction of the Society of St. Joseph’s,
the school continued with lay instructors – a fact unprecedented at the time but now considered the norm – until
1942 when the Sisters of the Holy Family (one of three
historically Black orders of nuns in the U.S.) assumed
the role of educators. In 1957, fire destroyed the school
building, but the students and sisters were soon housed
in new classrooms and a new convent completed in September of the same year.
Inaugurated as St. Catherine’s (in honor of its benefactor), Fr. Roderique Auclair, S.S.J., the first pastor said
mass in the school building, which was soon complemented by a separate church facility dedicated as Our
Lady of Grace. The first mass in the church was said on
Palm Sunday, March 21, 1937, and its formal dedication
followed on June 13, 1937. This was the first of 45 new
parishes in the New Orleans archdiocese to be established
by Archbishop Joseph F. Rummel, whose legacy also includes the expansion of the parochial school system and
its desegregation.
The original church could seat 250 parishioners and
was always very well kept – a testament to the great pride
taken in the church and to the number of people who
chose to stay in the area and raise their families. As more
and more people began commuting to work further a
field, the fact that the parish has always had a strong core
of support is evidence of its special role in Reserve’s Afri-
Our Lady of Grace Gratian Baseball Team, late 1940s Top Row (left to right): Winthrop Lapeyrolerie, Louis Lipps, Larry Cook, Wilfred
Bernard, Calvin Keller, Audoroy Placide, Leroy Keller, Raymond Lapeyrolerie, Norman Alexander, Allen Keller, and Vernon Cambre.Bottom Row (left to right): Carroll Adams, Ferdinand Wallace, Lucian Madere, Wilbert Keller, Leonard Robinet, and Henry Adams, Jr.
can-American community. In the 1980s, as the parish was
outgrowing the original building, a campaign was started
to build a new facility. In 1992, the present day church
was dedicated, providing the community with a brickand-mortar house of worship that will be the spiritual
home to this Reserve parish for generations to come.
diocese of New Orleans as long as the building could
be moved quickly. A testament to interfaith coordination
and cooperation, including valuable assistance from various parish services, the two mile move to its new home
on North West 3rd Street was completed successfully on
March 3, 1993.
RIVERLANDS CHRISTIAN CENTER - Reserve
Parishioners at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church,
which had seen its congregation, grow beyond its walls,
contacted the New Orleans Archdiocese to construct a
new church. Fortunately, the salvation of the old church
came in the form of Rita Perrilloux and her husband Rev.
Steven Perrilloux, pastor of Riverlands Christian Center,
who in 1992 was looking to establish a home in Reserve.
Notified by a real estate agent about the Our Lady of
Grace church building, and inspired by its historical sig
nificance to the Black community of Reserve, the Perrilloux’s contacted Father William Sullivan, pastor at Our
Lady of Grace, who found himself charged with the very
real possibility of having the building demolished. To the
amazement of the Perrilloux’s, Father Sullivan was able to
offer the building and a $5,000 donation from the Arch-
Riverlands Christian Center, Reserve
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NEW WINE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP -LaPlace
Among the several new churches that have made St.
John the Baptist Parish home in recent years is the New
Wine Christian Fellowship. A product of its founder’s
passion to serve, New Wine has forged a strong sense
of community service far beyond its regular schedule of
spiritual meetings, from offering education and training
classes to those area residents interested in developing
work-ready skills and LEAP tutoring to its most recent
humanitarian role as a shelter from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina.
Inspired by his grandfather’s will to make a difference, New Wine’s founder and pastor, Reverend Neil
Bernard, a native of Reserve, has guided the fellowship
to a position of social prominence, influencing and shaping regional attitudes on such critical issues as education
reform, crime and family values.
An engineer and computer specialist by trade, Reverend Bernard, gave up his position at a local refinery, answering instead a call to ministry, seeking out the parish’s
more at-risk kids and working with them to instill values
that would lead to success. As his mission took on a more
formal role, he and his wife Angela have continued their
desire to teach and provide a setting for educational gain
and have also set out to tackle one of the biggest issues
plaguing society, that of broken homes and absentee parents.
While the majority of New Wine’s mission is focused
on the at-risk and disadvantaged in the parish, the Fellowship also strives to play its part on the national and
international stage, contributing significantly to AIDS
programs and missionary work in Africa.
A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
In 1931, Reverend Monsignor Jean M. Eyraud, pastor
of St. Peter Church in Reserve, saw the need for educating minority students. He proceeded against much
opposition to obtain the old John L. Ory Elementary
school in LaPlace and had it moved to vacant land back
of the church cemetery in Reserve. Calling it St. Catherine’s School, the first “colored” parochial school opened
its doors in 1932 to 176 Black children with Miss Nolia
Joseph as its first principal.
Prior to World War II, there were no high schools
for Black students. Most elementary school graduates of
St. John the Baptist Parish had to leave the area and attend a public high school in New Orleans. The only high
134
schools available to Black students were private schools
run by churches. One of the few schools to educate high
school African-American students in St. John the Baptist Parish was a private school in Reserve—the Ernest
Martin High School. The Ernest Martin High School
Bulletin listed the following 1924-1925 faculty and
a staff member: Rev. M.
Lester Stansberry, Professor and Principal; Miss S.
Evelyn Mazique, Teacher
and Instructress Home
Economics; Miss Olivia
M. Martin, Assistant and
Teacher in Kindergarten;
Miss Elodie Vicknair, Special Assistant; Miss Leona
Martin, Special Assistant;
Miss Hilda Lipps, Special Msgr. Jean Eyraud
Assistant; Miss Emily Sheldon, Special Assistant; and
Miss Marie L. Martin, Secretary to Principal.
Ernest Martin High School did not open until Monday, October 6, 1924 and the commencement exercise
was held Monday, May 25, 1925. The Board of Trustees or school board included Jackson C. Nicholson,
President; Ernest Martin, Sr., Vice-President; Norbet C.
Charlot, Secretary; and Charles Lapeyrolerie, Treasurer.
The school included kindergarten, second grade, third
grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, and the high
school—juniors and seniors. The graduating seniors were
Elvia Charlot, Elsie Green, Marie L. Martin, Louiska R.
Smith, and Beatrice E. Weston. Little else is known about
Ernest Martin High School after 1925.
In 1943, parents and community leaders approached
the St. John the Baptist Parish School board for a public
high school for Blacks. The concerned citizens’ group was
informed that a census had to be conducted and if there
was enough interest, a school could be opened. When a
census indicated an interest, Superintendent J.O. Montegut informed the residents there were no buildings
available for that purpose and the petitioners would have
to find a place to hold classes.
The Bienfaisance Benevolent Society stepped forward
and loaned their church hall so that students could go to
a high school. Under the leadership of Walter Keller, Sr.,
Johnny Richard, Marshall Lawrence, Etienne Placide,
Ursin Toney, Dewey Tasso, Wilfred Bernard, Sr. and Ed-
ward Hall, the foundation for a Black high school began
in St. John the Baptist Parish.
Not only did St. John east bank students attend the
new high school, but Black students came from Edgard,
St. Charles and St. James Parishes. Students were transported to school in an old open-back truck and two
teachers made up the first faculty—Ms. Leone Glasby
from Xavier University, who also served as the first principal and Ms. Ada Piper from Southern University in
Baton Rouge. The Benevolent Society put in dividers
and made the hall into four classrooms. Only the basic
courses were taught and the school did not have a cafeteria. Adele Madere brought her pots and pans from home
and cooked hot meals on a wood-burning stove. Teachers
supplemented their classrooms by bringing in their own
personal books and materials.
MS. ADELE KELLER MADERE
Ms. Adele Keller Madere (Mom Dook) of Reserve
reflected on that meager beginning of Fifth Ward High
School: “We had children that came from Convent, Mt.
Airy, Edgard, and from down the road in Montz and
Norco. The PTA hired me and the school paid me $1.00
a day and the PTA added 50 cents more per day. I had
to bring my own pots and spoons. The lunches cost 35
cents and if anything was missing from the storeroom
the money was taken out of my salary. In 1946, the St.
John Parish School Board bought military barracks from
the army. The board rolled in three barracks to the land
where Fifth Ward Elementary is currently located. The
school did not really exist until 1946. When we moved to
the new site, I got pots and a new stove with a big oven.
We stayed in those barracks until the brick buildings,
Fifth Ward High School, were built in 1963. I cooked
from the time the school was in the hall until I retired
in 1971.”
The first graduation class of Fifth Ward High school
had one graduate—Hilda Mae Ricard! The second class
had four girls, and the third graduation had eleven girls.
Since the time period was World War II, males either
John L. Ory School in LaPlace was moved to Reserve and renamed St. Catherine Catholic School (Courtesy of Joy Donaldson McGraw)
135
volunteered or were drafted
into the armed services to
do their part for the war effort.
St. John the Baptist Parish continued to run a dual
system of education—a
‘separate, but equal’ White
and Black school system.
In 1965, the integration of
public schools began with
the federal government-approved “freedom of choice”
Adele Keller Madere
plan for St. John the Baptist
Parish. Christine Green, left Fifth Ward High School and
attended the all-white Leon Godchaux High School
The all Black Fifth Ward High School existed until the 1969-1970 school session when the federal court
desegregation plan changed the grade configuration of
the parish. The federal government approved St. John
the Baptist Parish school board plan that merged Fifth
Ward High School with the all white Leon Godchaux
High School. Fifth Ward High School became Reserve
Jr. High School for east bank students in grades eight and
nine. All Black high school students were transferred to
Leon Godchaux High School. The grade configuration
changed again as Reserve Jr. High School became known
Fifth Ward High School student Betty Williams and classmates
Fifth Ward High School agriculture teacher, Henry Bardell, working with students
136
as Reserve Elementary. Later, the St. John Parish School
Board responding to a petition from the African-Ameri-
can community changed the name of Reserve Elementary to Fifth Ward Elementary School.
Henry Bardell’s Fifth Ward High School Science Class, circa 1950 __, Joseph Smith, Raymond Borne, Sidney Sanders, Wilfred Duhe, __,
__, Henry Bardell, Instructor, Jacqueline Chandler, ___, Geraldine Spears, Alice May Collins, Ernestine Stewart, Esma Hall, Joyce Keller,
and Earline Alexander. Back row (left to right): ___, Willis Johnson, Shirley Walker, Bessie Wilson, and Ernestine Stewart
Ms. Zenobia Taylor’s Fifth Ward High School Choir, circa 1950 Bottom row (left to right): Marion Lewis, Alice Mae Taylor, Mathilda Richard, Shirley Sanders Baker, Claudia Laiche Farlough, Oliva Joseph, and Mildred Beco. Second row (left to right) Rita Mae Bernard, Esna
Hall, Genevia Gregoire, Millie Mae Jones, Betty Williams, Myrtle Burfict, and Dottie Creecy Third row (left to right): Bernice Davis, ___,
Barbara Jean Creecy, Evelyn Lennix, Lola Mitchell, Bourgeois, Dolores Francois, ___, and Jacqueline Chandler
137
BIENFAISANCE
and (2) provide a means of socialization in a wholesome
“GOOD WILL TOWARD OTHERS”
way for all members of the family unit. The Reserve
Plagued by high rates of illness, mortality and unmembership constructed a large meeting and socializaemployment, many Blacks could not afford the cost of a tion building in Reserve, which it called the Bienfaisance
medical doctor’s visit or even a church burial during the
Hall. Many years later, this hall would be used for the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1873,
first high school for Blacks in St. John the Baptist Parish.
a group of pioneering men in Reserve addressed this The Bienfaisance Hall was also used as a movie theatre
problem and established a self-help Catholic organizaas Louis J. Maurin opened up a theatre in 1928 for the
tion that assisted the needs
Black community.
of the unfortunate and
Membership in the
poor Blacks in the Reserve
organization was open
community. These cononly to Catholics and the
cerned residents formed
organization received apan organization called the
proval from the ArchdioBienfaisance (good will
cese of New Orleans. The
toward others) Benevolent
parish priest became the
Association to help with
spiritual head and because
the medical and spiritual
of its service to society, it
needs of their community.
was commonly known as
Carrying out a supthe “Society.” Members
portive role similar to that
paid twenty-five cents per
of Black churches, these
month and the assessment
mutual aid organizations
served as a form of medior benevolent societies
cal insurance. When one
were based on Christian
of its members became ill,
values and active in prothe monthly assessments
viding charitable services
were used to receive medito individuals. The origin
cal attention at home or at
of these societies probably
the physician’s office.
stretches back to the West
The Society engaged the
African tradition of Sou
services of local physicians
Sou, a cooperative arrangefor their membership and
ment where each villager
most notably among the
makes a regular contribuphysicians were Dr. Pierre
tion to a fund that is disArmand Donaldson of Rebursed whenever illness or
serve, Dr. William Guillot,
other misfortune strikes.
and Dr. Blaise L. Duhe,
Formed for “people of colthe only Black doctor at
or,” the organization dedithat time. These doctors
cated their services to the
made house calls and a
1895 Bienfaisance Constitution written in French
patronage of the Blessed
colored flag was place on
Mary and their primary purpose was both social and the fence or mailbox to indicate the house needing attenspiritual as they attempted “to help each other charitably tion. Different colors were used for each physician that
among members of the organization and to bring back to
aided the membership.
God the unfortunate by all possible means.”
The doctors, themselves, performed acts of charity
Although grounded in religious principles, the orgasince the fees from the Society were quite small. It is innization served two purposes: (1) extend aid to the sick
teresting to note that they only accepted the amount of
138
Following the mass, everyone went back to the hall for
free cold drinks and sandwiches and the band played for
dancing. This social was called a “Matinee” celebration
for the young and the public was invited to attend. Later
in the evening, the big dance was held for the adults.
The dance was formal and the highlight of the social season for the community. The event was referred to as the
“Banquet.” This annual “Banquet” became an event for
the entire community.
Other benevolent groups soon formed throughout
the St. John the Baptist communities. They were also an
important resource for the poor in the Black communities. Two other groups were established in Reserve—the
“God Help Us Society” and the “Labor Aid Society.” In
Financial payment card for Mrs. Leona Washington
the monthly assessment for their fee—twenty-five cents.
As the membership increased, a set fee was established
for medical services. Since the doctor usually prepared
his own prescriptions, there was no extra charge for the
medicine. Society doctors gave their services to the organization until their subsequent retirement or death.
From 1962 until the disbanding of the Society in 1977,
Dr. S. J. (Billy) St. Martin of LaPlace served the Society’s
membership. Another service provided by the Society
was a small burial allowance for any deceased member.
It was mandatory that all members attend the wake and
burial of any of its members.
Annually, the Society held a Founder’s Day celebration
on the first Saturday of September. The celebration began
with a mass, also with mandatory attendance for members. The membership assembled at the Bienfaisance Hall
and marched with a jazz band to the church. At the presentation of the gifts during the mass, the ushers served
a small piece of raisin bread (made by the ladies) broken
into small pieces and given to the entire congregation.
Bon Secour building in Edgard
Garyville, there was the “Friends of Good Hope” and in
LaPlace, the “Good Will” and “Providence” Societies.
On the West bank of St. John the Baptist, St. Mitchell,
St. Augustine, and Sacred heart of Mary were formed to
serve the residents of Lucy; in Edgard, organizers formed
the “Bon Secour Mutual Benevolent Association” in ad-
139
dition to the societies of St. Paul, St. Mary, Young Beloved, St. Antoine, and Mayflower. Up river in Wallace,
Willow Grove, Friends of Charity, Woodville and St.
Joe were formed, all of which followed the same principles and provided the same services to the West bank
community. On the West bank of St. John, Dr. Julius L.
Fernandez, Dr. Ernest N. Isadore from Gramercy (the
only black physician in that area), Dr. Burch and later
Dr. Harold Waguespack provided medical services. Each
organization was affiliated with a church in the area and
each was grounded in religious faith. Most of the newly
formed organizations were associated with the Baptist
churches.
Few associations or societies remain today. As insurance companies became available to the general population, there was also little need for a benevolent association to assist with medical needs and Societies were no
longer feasible and disbanded. The Bienfaisance Benevolent Society in Reserve disbanded in 1977 after 104 years
of service to the Black community. On the West bank,
however, Bon Secour in Edgard has about 100 members
still, assessing a membership fee of $2.00 per year and
Anniversary Poster Bon Secour Mutual Benevolent Association
140
providing greatly reduced medical and burial services.
Benevolent Societies played (and continue to play) a vital
role in the lives of African-Americans during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
EDWARD HALL JR. - Proud Activist
Edward Hall was a community legend everyone knew
and a street was named in his honor. Born February 11,
1905 in Reserve, Hall worked at Godchaux Sugars for
forty years. Upon his return from military service in
1936, he recalled his second-class treatment as an African-American. To improve conditions for his community,
Hall formed a branch of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Reserve.
The first task was to recruit members, and the second was
to register to vote. As Hall discovered, the first was much
easier than the second. In preparation for a coming election, Hall and a group of Black men went to register to
vote. The St. John registrar of voters read them a portion
of the state constitution,
and asked them to explain
what it was about. Unable
to answer to ‘his satisfaction’, the registrar would
not allow Hall and his associates to register that day.
Hall knew Blacks would
never vote under the existing system, knowing that
various schemes, including
literacy tests, a poll tax, and
unfair residency requireEdward Hall Jr.
ments, were being used to
keep Blacks from voting. Thus, a law suit was filed. A
young attorney named Thurgood Marshall, who would
later become the first African-American to sit on the U.S.
Supreme Court, filed a complaint in 1944 with the Fifth
Circuit Court of Appeal. The petition charged that T.J.
Nagel, registrar of voters, had violated Hall’s rights by
refusing to register him. Another prominent lawyer, A.P.
Tureaud, joined the suit on behalf of Hall, and in 1946,
the suit was decided in their favor. In the final analysis,
Hall, Marshall and Tureaud won a major victory which
would become a landmark decision in the early era of
Civil Rights. (Files from Eddie Ponds, The Drum)
Chapter 8
UNE PETITE PARTIN de NOUS
A Little Part of Us
CHAPTER 8:
‘UNE PETITE PARTIN DE NOUS’
(A little part of us)
BONFIRES ON THE LEVEE
by the parish government have reduced the number of
bonfires, the tradition has not stopped in St. John the
Baptist. It is not uncommon for a builder to sleep next to
his/her bonfire to prevent vandals from burning it down
prior to Christmas Eve. Chain saws have replaced axes,
hatches, and handsaws and logs and cane reed are transported to the levee top by pick-up trucks rather than by
muscle power and sheer determination alone. The structures have retained the traditional teepee shape, but with
precisely cut logs, they become artistic masterpieces. The
tepee shape is built with a large center pole and four other poles are tied to the top to this center pole and radiate
out to meet the ground. Logs are then cut in graduated
lengths to fill in the sides of the teepee from bottom to
top. Non-traditional bonfires gradually emerged in the
shape of plantation homes, riverboats, airplanes, boats,
cars, etc.
The spirit of bonfire building was thought to have
originated with the early French and German settlers who
Above: Bonfire near St. Peter Church (Courtesy of Keith Perilloux)
Chapter 8: Frisco School, San Francisco Plantation circa 1923
After dark on Christmas Eve, huge bonfires are lit
along the levees of the Mississippi River in the Louisiana
parishes of St. John the Baptist and St. James. Smaller
scale bonfires are also found in isolated neighborhoods
and backyards. These bonfires are usually built of logs,
cane reeds, bamboo and old rubber tires (now illegal)
and create the effect of spectacular fireworks. The bamboo and cane reeds produce popping and cracking sound
effects. Tires would produce smoke and flames of different colors and often burned for days. However, they also
caused air pollution so have been outlawed. The height of
the bonfires along the levee can range from 15 to 20 feet.
In 1977, a Christmas bonfire was built on the batture
near St. Peter Catholic Church in Reserve that measured
85 feet high and 25 feet wide.
Today, St. John the Baptist Parish residents are required to purchase a permit from the parish council prior
to building their bonfire. Although restrictions initiated
142
McGraw Bonfire along Levee in Reserve (Courtesy of Claude Levet)
“lit the way for Papa Noel” to travel down the Mississippi
River. Some have also offered the theory that the bonfires served as navigational signals to guide ships along
the river, or were used to light the way for the faithful to
attend Midnight Mass.
Father Louis Poche, a Jesuit priest and a native of
Convent, offers another theory. Father Poche maintains
that the bonfires in Louisiana originated with the Marist
Priests at Jefferson College (now Manresa Retreat House)
in Convent. These French priests and teachers began
building bonfires on the batture on New Year’s Eve, a
tradition they had known in France. Years later, the tradition moved to Christmas Eve and the fires were built on
the levee. The tradition spread to neighboring towns as
students learned of it. The tradition probably spread to
St. John the Baptist in the late 1800s or early 1900s.
Although St. James Parish has adopted the “Festival
of Bonfires,” a large crowd of family, friends, and visitors
still gather on the levee in St. John the Baptist Parish, celebrating with fireworks. Bonfires are a true folk tradition,
Reserve Bonfire – Note size of log in reference to workers (Courtesy
of Keith Perilloux)
built mainly by the young people, but enjoyed by people
of all ages. The fires usually burn all night long and continue to ‘light the way’ for those who attend Midnight
Mass at the churches along the river, and back home
again afterward to enjoy a gumbo dinner before going to
bed. In spite of some protests from ecologists, the bonfires continue to be a beautiful tradition along the river.
ANDOUILLE
Dating back to the Germans who settled the La Cote
des Allemands, or German Coast, in the 1700s, andouille
(ahn-doo-ee) is a simple ingredient in South Louisiana
cooking that has
been influenced
by many different
cultures - French,
German, Italian,
Acadian, AfricanAmerican,
and
Creole - over the Top: Jacob’s World Famous Andoullie
past 300 years. Middle: Andouille stuffed into casing
Since French was Bottom: Andouille smokehouse, courtesy of
the major lan- Wayne Jacob Smokehouse
guage of the area in the early settlement of the parish,
the well-seasoned, heavily smoked sausage was given a
French name - andouille
Andouille is boxed and shipped out of state and to
worldwide markets. Some of the more famous commercial
manufacturers
in St. John the
Baptist Parish
are Cox’s Meat
Market
and
Don’s Country
Store in Reserve
and Buddy Bai-
Une Petite Partin de Nous (A little Part of Us)
143
ley, Wayne Jacob Smokehouse and Jacob’s World Famous
Andouille & Sausage in LaPlace
Each family had its own guarded recipe for making andouille, as well as different techniques for smoking
the pork. Basically, andouille
is a fine sausage
made from fine
Boston butt chopped, never
ground - and
mixed
with
garlic, red and
black pepper,
Smoked Andouille
and stuffed into
casings which makes the sausage approximately one and
a half inches in diameter. The meat is allowed to sit overnight in a cool place so the flavor can mingle. Then it is
smoked for seven to eight hours and the choice of wood
is up to manufacturer. Andouille makers can use anything from wood blocks, sawdust, or even corncobs, and
makers may or may not add sweet ‘toppings’ to the wood.
These may be sugar, chopped cane, syrup, or sorghum.
THE ANDOUILLE FESTIVAL
It all started with a 1970 “Letter to the Editor” of
the L’Observateur as LaPlace volunteer fireman Mentor
“Sleepy” Landry suggested the Andouille Festival would
be a good thing for the area. Three years later, the LaPlace
Volunteer Fire Department
saw it as an annual fund raising event to help equip their
firefighters. The festival not
only took hold but made
andouille
world-famous.
Louisiana Governor Edwin
W. Edwards even sent out
a proclamation naming LaPlace “The Andouille Capital of the World;” LaPlace attorney Ron Landry designed
an emblem, and the first
1970 Andouille Logo
Andouille Festival was held designed by Ron Landry of
October 28 and 29, 1972 at LaPlace
the LaPlace Dragway.
During the first festival, there was a cooking contest
in three categories and winners were awarded beautiful
144
Billy Mason preparing jambalaya for LaPlace Andouille Festival
(Courtesy of Mike Norton)
gold spoons. In the first gumbo cooking contest: Robert
Millet won first place; Mrs. Joseph (Coo) Hachet won
first place in the jambalaya cooking contest; and Mrs.
Douglas White won first place with her andouille pot pie
in the miscellaneous contest.
GARYVILLE WHEELBARROW PARADE
In 1958, Jerry Tamplain, Tulane fan and bartender
of Jerry’s Bar in Garyville, and Leroy St. Pierre, friend
and Louisiana State University football fan, got into arguments about which
football team was better—LSU or Tulane.
Leroy St. Pierre maintained LSU had a far
superior football team
in 1958 and if Tulane
beat the 16 point game
spread, he would push
Jerry Tamplain around
Garyville in a wheelbarrow. Without any
hesitation, Jerry Tamplain accepted the chalMarty Kenney and Kirk Waguespack lenge.
To the delight of Tiger fans, Louisiana State University defeated Tulane 62 to zero and later won the national collegiate football championship. Jerry Tamplain
and others who got involved in the wager pushed Leroy
St. Pierre and other LSU fans around a planned route in
Garyville.
Soon thereafter, LSU football fans dared Tulane fans
to enter into a ten year contract to have a wheelbarrow
parade every year and that they were so confident of victory, they gave Tulane fans a 16 point advantage every
year. Tulane fans couldn’t turn down the proposal and
thus the “Garyville Wheelbarrow Parade” was born.
The parade continued until the ten year contract expired. To keep the tradition going, the Garyville Jaycees
sponsored the event. In 1970, the Jaycees continued the
point spread system since it was part of the initial bet
and riders and pushers began using the
point spread predictions given by New
Orleans
television
sports commentator
Hap Glaudi. Dancing
and follies began at
noon and continued
until midnight and
the Jaycees held their
dance in the streets
in front of the Gary
State Bank and later
moved to St. Hubert’s
Church. Finally, the Mark and Bruce Tamplain
event was moved to the Garyville Recreational Gym.
The parade rolled every year and the wheelbarrows
got quite large and elaborate. Wheelbarrows resembled
small floats as they wheeled through Garyville. The event
received statewide attention as Governor John McKeithen proclaimed Garyville as the official “Wheelbarrow
Capital of the World”. The parade continued until 1993
as interest waned because of LSU’s reluctance to schedule
Tulane. However, with a renewed interest in the rivalry
and a game date of September 23, 2006, the wheelbarrow parade took place on the following day. Light rain
couldn’t dampen the spirits of the triumphant Tiger fans
as they watched the losing Wave supporters push their
rivals through the town. With this return to tradition,
hopefully the wheelbarrows will continue to roll through
the streets of Garyville.
LA BOUCHERIE
In the River Parishes, anything can be celebrated, in-
LaBourcherie – circa 1930s
cluding the butchering of a hog. Called la boucherie, the
tradition has been maintained by African-Americans and
French-speaking Cajuns of St. John the Baptist Parish
for many generations. Lack of refrigeration meant fresh
mean had to be eaten quickly before it spoiled and the
first cold front was an ideal time for la boucherie. The
process provided a mechanism for meat to be stored for
an extended period without refrigeration.
For weeks the hog was fattened in a special pen wherehe exercised very little while he ate very much. Since la
boucherie was quite an undertaking, several persons, in
addition to the family, were required. Everyone helped
-even the children and friends and neighbors came to
give a coupe-dímain (helping hand). At the end of la
boucherie, those who had participated took home some
byproducts of the butchering.
In the old days, la boucherie was a necessary part of
life. Today, it is a tradition that is handed down from one
family to another (Bergeois, 1987).
145
GARYVILLE FESTIVAL
Garyville Elementary 1955 May Festival Top Row: (Left to Right): Maida Trosclair, Carol Ory, Alvin Duhon, Lynn Laiche Acosta, Marlon
Pellissier, Audrey Trosclair Millet, Robert Ory (King), Marlene Tregre Cambre (Queen), Carl Monica, Cheryl Michel Keller, Roy Amadee, Jeannie Duhon, Stewart Torres, and Carolyn Delhommer. Bottom Row (Left to right): unidentified, unidentified, Gerald LeBouef, Paul Oncale
(Page), Sharon Pellissier (Page), unidentified, Cathy Oubre, Ricky Oubre
1961 LEON GODCHAUX MAY FESTIVAL
Left: Queen Julia Williams Remondet and King Michael Scioneaux
Below: 1950 Queen Olga Haik Porteous crowns Queen Suzanne
Marroy seated next to King Michael Jaubert
1951 LEON GODCHAUX MAY FESTIVAL
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APPRARITIONS PUZZLE
THE ST. JOHN THEATRE
Terri Lucia thought it was a little odd when she looked
across the St. John Theatre in Reserve and saw two girls
who looked to be six or seven years old. One was dancing
in front of a tall mirror hanging in the lobby. The other
stood cheek-to cheek with a portrait of the late Louis
Maurin, who built the theatre in 1931. The only ones
left in the theater were her 11-year old son, Brennan, Julia Remondet of the St. John Parish Economic Development, and Dana Calderara who were preparing to close
up after a pageant rehearsal.
The women weren’t thinking about ghosts or apparitions. They realized they hadn’t seen any girls at the practice who were as young as the two playing in the lobby.
Surprised to see them, Julia Remondet yelled: “What are
you doing here? Where are your parents?” As the women
headed toward the lobby, they lost sight of the two girls.
Terri Lucia and Dana Calderara ran out outside to see if
the girls had left. They saw nothing so they came back
inside and locked the door. That’s when they heard the
giggling. The giggling seemed to come from the upstairs
balcony. The noise was innocent but no one wanted to
venture upstairs to check it out.
Not wanting to lock the two girls in the theatre, they
called 911. As they waited for sheriff deputies, they noticed a couple of details they hadn’t seen before. The bottom of the mirror in which they saw the young girl dancing hangs four feet off the floor. How could the head and
torso of a six-year old have been reflected in the mirror?
The portrait of Louis Maurin is also hung much too high
for a young girl to stand before it. St. John Parish Deputy
Brian White responded to the distress telephone call and
searched the building. Deputy White found no one!
Others associated with the theatre say they have never heard ghostly laughter or seen apparitions inside the
building. But none of them seemed surprised. Greer Miano Millet, theatre board member, stated. “You don’t want
to be in there when the lights go out. It’s really eerie!” Few
though can explain the phenomena such as the ceiling
lights turning on and off at random. Some attributed the
event to supernatural forces. Some believe it’s probably
sisters Luce and Lucille LeBrun, who lived next door in
the LeBrun House, running around and having fun.
Maurin’s Theatre in Reserve Sketched by Edward Pastureau
147
This Ames Crevasse photo illustrates the destructive power of a crevasse (Courtesy of New Orleans Public Library)
THE 1872 BONNE CARRE’ CREVASSE
In its natural condition, the Mississippi River regularly
overflowed its banks and for thousands of years, Native
Americans accepted the whims of the river and adapted
to its pattern. Early inhabitants constructied earthen embankments (called levees) along the river’s bank to contain
the flow and protect residents and developed property. At
the turn of the 19th century, a crude system of levees
extended to New Orleans, with individual landowners
constructing and maintaining the levees that fronted
their property along the Mississippi River. Despite their
efforts, flooding continued throughout the 19th and the
early part of the 20th centuries. From 1800 to 1860, the
average interval between floods was 4.3 years.
During the 1850 flood, the Bonne Carre’ Crevasse,
located upstream and west of the Bonnet Carre’ Spillway,
was opened from December 29, 1849 to July 13, 1850.
During the 1858 flood, the Bonnet Carre’ Crevasse was
open from May 3 to December 5. Its channel attained
a maximum width of 1,050 feet; maximum depth was
eleven feet. Levee construction stopped during the Civil
War, but plantation owners resumed levee building immediately after the war ended. It was not until 1917 that
the U.S. Government took over levee building.
148
In the later 1800s, farmers maintained the levee system that fronted their property along the Mississippi
River. A section of the levee system was neglected and
a levee breach April 1872 created the famous Bonnet
Carre’ Crevasse in LaPlace. The break in the Mississippi
levee, at what is now the area near Bayou Steel, cut a 900
foot wide channel that carried water from the Mississippi
River to Lake Pontchartrain. The crevasse—a traditional
term for a levee failure—cut through a planter’s front
yard, hit his house and left at least two deaths by drowning. The mighty river had made a lake twenty feet deep. It
has been said that the levee could have been made safe for
the sum of five dollars but was neglected by that farmer.
For eleven years, the overflow created a navigable
stream and small boats navigated through the channel.
A levee system was built along the channel and drainage machines prevented water from destroying whatever
crops that were grown in the area. Finally, in 1883, the
New Orleans Mississippi Valley Railroad, the State of
Louisiana, and the U.S. government built a 14,300 foot
levee to close the crevasse. Because of this crevasse, the
lower part of LaPlace is frequently called “La Crevasse”
(The Crevasse).
Convicts working on the Levees in Reserve (Courtesy of Joy Donaldson McGraw)
149
RESERVE CREVASSE
The Mississippi River also crested on Sunday, June
18, 1893 and eventually broke its banks at several points
along the river. A “crawfish” hole was first discovered in
1892 and was rebuilt during low waters. When the river
rose, the levee again began to leak and the area was rebuilt with sand. The area was supposed to be under a
continuous watch, but vigilance was lacking.
At 4:30 p.m., the leak had grown considerably. On
clear inspection it was found that instead of clear water,
mud was coming through the levee at a rapid rate. V. Jorda, manager of the Reserve, Star, and Belle Pointe Plantations was notified of the growing leak located between the
sugar house of Reserve and the neighborhood of St. Peter. About 5:15 p.m., Jorda noted water flowing through
a small gap about two feet wide. An initial attempt to
close the gap using fence pickets, the only lumber immediately available failed. The crevasse quickly grew to five
feet. Someone ran to St. Peter Catholic Church and rang
the bell for help. Men from every direction responded
as plantation owners marshaled their men and available
lumber and sacks. Manpower was available, but materials
were in short supply.
Leon Godchaux received the news about 7:30 p.m.
and immediately made arrangements for materials. Edward Godchaux was notified to send surplus materials
from the Boudreaux crevasse on Bayou Lafourche. The
Lutcher sawmill was notified to prepare a shipment for
the Reserve crevasse. As night fell there was little that
could be done but to prepare for the following day’s work.
Meanwhile, the river was not calming and the crevasse
continued to widen. By the morning of June 19, 1893,
the break was estimated at between 75 to 80 feet.
Water rushed in between two broken sides of the levee.
A barricade was washed away and water dashed straight
toward St. Peter Cemetery. To the right of the flood’s
main channel was a cluster of buildings surrounding St.
Peter Church. The roadway was flooded and a nearby
store was a foot deep in water.
A Times Democrat (Times Picayune) correspondent
walking in a foot of water from the railroad tracks between Cornland and Belle Pointe to the levee noted that
the levee was found to be very low, in many places leaking
with water running in all direction. On each end of the
levee at the crevasse were hundreds of men driving piles
into the break. Two convict camps were on the scene. The
Dragline working on Reserve flood control – Building on left is the Club Café (Courtesy of Joy Donaldson McGraw)
150
Newspaper illustration of 1872 LaPlace Crevasse. In 1903 water from the Hymelia Crevasse flooded the west bank of St. Charles Parish and
water ran down and flooded Goldmine Plantation
Major White Row Convict Camp from Belle Pointe supplied about 300 convicts and the Sanchez Camp about
250 to 300 convicts. The planters supplied all the hands
they could find, about 80, and bridgemen (carpenters)
were supplied by the railroad.
At daybreak, Tuesday, June 20th, the work started
again and by 5:00 p.m. the crib-work was completed. The
steamboat, J.P. Jackson arrived and put out two lights on
the crib line and other electric lights were hung from the
sides of the vessel. For many, it was their first experience
to see electric lights. By Wednesday June 21st, the stream
coming through the crevasse grew smaller and smaller
and the carpenters began the construction of a mud box
between the cribbing and the broken levee. By Saturday,
June 24, 1893, the box was completely filled with earth
and the crevasse was officially considered closed.
MONTZ
Tucked in along the River Road on the east bank,
between the Bonnet Carre Spillway and LaPlace, the village of Montz lies predominantly in St. Charles Parish,
though there are historical ties to St. John. Now more
a collection of small subdivisions than an actual village,
Montz had a far more illustrious beginning as the landing of the first German Coast settlers who crossed from
the west bank some 250 years ago.
Family names such as Keller, Vicknair and Perilloux
are synonymous with Montz’s origins. Felix Perilloux,
whose great-grandfather had arrived in the mid 1700s,
served on the St. John the Baptist Parish Police Jury back
at the turn of the twentieth century, and his descendents
and relations can be found throughout the River Parishes. The Perilloux Plantation, which was begun in 1820,
exists still in part, particularly with the Montz Fire House
serving as a lasting memorial to the family.
Major change came to Montz on three occasions,
beginning first in 1927 with the Great Flood. As a result
of the rising river, a crevasse formed between what is now
the Spillway and LaPlace, leaving village land submerged.
In 1929, the Army Corps of Engineers decided to create a
flood plain to avoid further river damage and the Kugler,
Delhommer and Roussel plantations were swallowed up
by the Spillway construction. Of interest now was the
recent discovery of Slave cemeteries in the Spillway that
once belonged to Kugler and neighboring plantations. In
1973, more change came, again a result of the ever changing Mississippi River. This time, the Corps’ response was
to move 44 families out of harm’s way, an action that was
received with very mixed emotions. With the closing of
the Montz post office, the St. John portion of the village
became amalgamated with LaPlace.
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CURSE OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH
but they couldn’t actually see him. They had to talk to
On May 7, 1975, when the Rev. Alcide Clement, pashim through the walls. When he was allowed to leave the
tor of St. John the Baptist Church, his housekeeper, Mrs. jailhouse, Father Jullie refused to leave and said he would
Leah Lejeune, and a nun, Sister Mary Patrick Harrington
remain in jail until the people who had placed him there
spoke to him. He stayed in jail and many felt they would
were murdered in the parish rectory. Many parishioners,
especially among
never have peace in
the African-Amerithe parish. Hoping
cans,
attributed
to ease the awkward tension in the
this tragedy to the
“curse of St. John
community, Father
Jullie was transthe Baptist.”
ferred to a church
In 1898, Father
Lavaquery was rein the Lafayette
placed by Father Alarea.
exander Juille, who
Though the ‘official’ version reserved as pastor
until July 16, 1903.
lates to the issue of
the church properIt was during this
ty, it has been said
time that a conflict
that Father Juille
between the priest
and wardens of the
was actually jailed
church over the use
because he had
accused a young
of church buildings Early 1900’s interior photograph of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Edgard
couple of kissing in
resulted in the pas- (Courtesy of Carl L. Levet Family)
church. The girl’s
tor being put in jail
and the church temporally closed. Oral tradition has it parents then accused him of “ruining the girl’s reputation”, and “because of the commotion he caused,” he was
that many parishioners stood by the pastor, but the regrettable event left its mark in the minds of many. Many arrested and jailed. Another version is that Father Juille
slapped a woman in church. A fourth theory was that
believe that Father Juille placed a curse on the parish of
Father Juille criticized a local politician. Whatever the
St. John the Baptist after his release from jail.
reason, Father Juille’s tenure ended on a sour note.
Parishioners noted they could visit Father Juille in jail,
St. John the Baptist Parish Catholic Church in Edgard
152
Evergreen Plantation Slave Quarters (Courtesy of Claude Andre Levet)
Father Winus Roeten was the pastor of St. John the
Baptist Church from 1977 to 1982. When asked if he
had every head about the belief that there is a “curse” on
the parish, he responded: “….Whatever it was, the priest
got put in jail, and people from the East Bank got all excited and one hundred of them came out to get him out
of jail, but he wouldn’t get out. He spent his three days in
jail. But the story is, he was so mad when he got out that
he got on the levee and he pronounced a 100 year curse
on the parish.”
HOODOO - EVERGREEN PLANTATION
A field excavation unit from Southeastern Louisiana
University conducted an archeological dig in back of the
Evergreen Plantation slave quarters in June 1999. The
cabins built for slaves in the French-settled areas of Louisiana differ from slave houses in other parts of the South.
The buildings were an example of a Creole house type, a
one-story structure two rooms wide and two rooms deep,
with a central chimney between the two front rooms and
occupied by two families. Each building had its own
front door and a broad gallery in front. The slave quarters
on Evergreen Plantation stood in two rows, with a wide
street between them.
Some important discoveries about the culture of the
enslaved African Americans were found by the Southeastern Louisiana University research party as they uncovered several caches buried in back of the slave cabins.
The artifacts recovered, buried in the nineteen century
by slave inhabitants, contained various sized buttons and
broken pieces of a porcelain doll face. The large number
of buttons found around the quarters might be related to
any number of games played by children. Buttons were
also carried in the pocket for good luck and they may
have been strung as necklaces or bracelets for the purpose
of adornment.
It also seems likely that these artifacts were buried
as actual bundles, a part of “Hoodoo,” the term most
commonly applied to the ritual practices of this traditional folk magic. The artifacts probably represented the
spirits of ancestors and reflected the religious practices
of slaves using their African heritage seeking protection
from cruel slave owners, attempting to cast healing spells,
and expressing hope for the future. Such practices were
usually conducted in secret.
153
Photograph of Buttons found back of slave quarters
CHARIVARI
Charivari, pronounced “shah ree-va ree” comes from
a Cajun wedding custom in which friends and family of
the newlyweds throw a loud raucous party usually on the
night of their wedding. The French custom was brought
to Louisiana by the Acadian settlers and European immigrants and indulged whenever a widow or widower
remarried someone who has never been married. Mutual
friends and relatives congregate outside the home of the
couple and announce themselves with tin pans, bells, etc.
and proceeded to ‘serenade’ the couple. The resulting din
is confusing, hideous and annoying to the happy couple
who generally submits gracefully to the inevitable and
invites the group in and all drink to their health. The
rules of engagement are that the group must be invited in
and only then will the racket cease. One such memorable
event was held December 1956 and given to Roland Battard and May Champagne who were married at St. Peter
Church in Reserve, November 3, 1956. Mr. and Mrs.
Battard received the “Charivari” group with an open
house. Drinks, sandwiches and cokes were served. The
family and friends who attended gave the newly weds a
beautiful aluminum pot set as a gift.
GODCHAUX SUGARS’ FIRE ALARM SYSTEM
Currently, St. John the Baptist Parish has fire stations
parishwide with fully trained and certified volunteer and
professional firefighters. The latest in fire and safety apparatus includes thirteen fire engines, two tankers, five res-
Southeastern Louisiana University students digging for artifacts in front of Evergreen Slave Quarters (Courtesy of Claude Andre Levet)
154
from the sugar refinery. The fire engine carried 1000 feet
of 2 inch hose and additional hoses could be added. The
pump on the fire engine pulled water from either a ditch
or out of a fire hydrant. Additional unmanned mini stations were scattered throughout the area that contained
fire hoses and fire fighting equipment.
Dantes Keller served as the fire chief and his assistants
included: Brigade 1-Clarence Champagne; Brigade 2Carl Montz; Brigade 3- Eulen Oubre; Brigade 4- Rodney Duhe; and Brigade 5-Sidney Cambre. Each brigade
included fire pump operators, a fire wagon company, a
chemical company, an electric company, and a fire aid
person.
Godchaux fire truck given to the Reserve Volunteer Fire Department
1950s. Seated is O’Neal Boe and to his right is an unidentified
volunteer, Farrel Aucoin, George Camallo, and LeBrun Maurin. .
cue units, two ladder trucks, a hazardous material unit,
and portable breathing units.
But long before this modern version of a fire department, St. John the Baptist Parish had a system in place to
protect the parish. Godchaux Sugars had in place a fire
alarm signal system. Long and short blasts from Godchaux Sugar’s whistle indicated each fire location. Employees were asked to keep of copy of the signals in their
home and review the list in case of a fire.
With this in mind, the Godchaux Engineering Department set up five fire fighting brigades and held training
sessions and conducted fire drills. Upon the blast from
the Godchaux whistle, a fire truck was disbursed
GODCHAUX SUGARS
PLANTATION RAILROADS
Leon Godchaux, in realizing his dream of the centralization of the grinding and refining on his many plantations, purchased and relied upon an amazing system of
tramways. Of all the Louisiana plantations railroads in
Louisiana, Leon Godchaux built and maintained a plantation railroad system that was in a class all its own.
There are no records to show exactly where Godchaux first made use of the tramway, but there are those
who believe around 1890 he began using strips of iron
attached to a wooden two-by-four with heavier pieces of
wood serving for cross ties. These sections were moved
from field to field as the cane was cut. Using mule teams,
the cars were also moved from field to field. The tiny
steam locomotives became popular after the advent of
Godchaux Sugars Locomotive # 6 (Train phtographs courtesy of Margaret Cerami)
155
the narrow gauge rails and Godchaux got on the bandwagon by adding steam engines to this railroad. This was
faster and easier than having to pull them with mules as
was being done before. As the tiny steam locomotives
came into their own, the mule-drawn trains faded into
history. The small, steam trains were called “dummies” by
those who ran them.
In 1895, Godchaux bought his first steam locomotives, two 12-ton 0-4-4Ts from Baldwin and numbered
them No. 1 and 2. He established a permanent roadbed
that extended twenty miles. Reaching from the St. James
parish line on the north, across the entire parish of St.
John the Baptist, through the towns of LaPlace and into
St. Charles Parish, the system finally ended at his Diamond Plantation, which is now part of the Bonnet Carre’
Spillway.
The other planters held Godchaux in great esteem,
and he was thus able to reach an unusual agreement for a
right-of-way to operate tracks over their property. Godchaux gave to each one, yearly, one barrel of sugar weighing 300 pounds. This agreement was honored not only
during his lifetime, but for the many years the right-of-
Godchaux Sugars Locomotive # 5 in the mill yard
156
way was used, until the rail system was discontinued in
1958. Sidney Cambre, former Godchaux sugar engineer
and later supervisor of transportation, stated that on an
appointed day at the end of the grinding season, several
cars were loaded with barrels of sugar and delivered by
railroad to the waiting property owner along the rightof-way.
Godchaux named his 36-inch gauge plantation line the
MRSB RR (Mississippi River Sugar Belt Railroad) and all
the cane cars, as well as locomotives and other equipment
were so marked. In 1898, Godchaux purchased another
Baldwin locomotive, of the same class and size as No. 1
and 2 and numbered it No. 3. The engines were numbered in sequence in the order of their acquisition. The
letters “MRSB RR” were inscribed on their sides. Later,
the Godchaux logo—the Circle G—was painted on the
cars and engines..
In 1904, what was to become the flagship of the plantation fleet, Godchaux No. 4 was purchased from Baldwin
- a majestic little 2-6-0 with full size tender, weighing 26
tons. This little engine proudly carried a brass eagle just
below its headlight. The little D&HR RR locomotive
Godchaux Sugars Locomotive #1 – Engineer is Rodney Duhe of Reserve
of LaPlace Plantation, a 12-ton Dickson, hauled sugar
cane to the grinding mill until the latter was destroyed by
the 1909 hurricane. Godchaux did not rebuild the mill,
but had the cane transported to the Reserve Central, and
numbered the locative motive No. 5.
In 1938, W.H. Jones accompanied by Walter Godchaux, vice-president of the Reserve factory, went to Alma
Plantation at New Roads, Louisiana to purchase Dixie,
the Alma No. 1, 13-ton Davenport locomotive.
The Dixie became the Godchaux No. 6. It was completely rebuilt by Jones at the Reserve roundhouse.
In 1951, the Reserve No. 7 was purchased for Godchaux by Sidney Cambre for $1,000 from Elray Koocke,
dealer in heavy machinery, Donaldsonville, Louisiana.
It was originally Suppleís Catherine Plantation No. 1, a
Porter 0-6-4T. This locomotive proved to be a real workhorse in shunting cars to and from the mill grinder. It,
like Godchaux No. 6, was completely rebuilt at the Reserve shop. A new tender, steel cab, turbo-generator, and
electric headlights were added.
In 1955, after almost 60 years of continuous service,
the steam locomotive Godchaux No. 1 was condemned
by the insurance company and scheduled for the scrap
pile. However, instead of the scrap pile, the engine had
a much more interesting future in store. The engine was
sold to Prof. Butler of Ponchatoula who in turn sold it
to Gerald Best. Best saw an opportunity to give the little engine a longer life and sold it to Walter Disney and
Disney Studios in Burbank, California. The engine was
rebuilt, renamed and renumbered as Disneyland Santa
Fe Railroad Engine No. 3, and now stands at the Main
Street station where it is still in use.
Godchaux Locomotive # 3 at Disneyland in California
157
DONALDSON FAMILY OF RESERVE
In the medical field, the Donaldsons served the
parish well. Dr. Louis Theophile (L.T.) and Antoinette
Vignes Donaldson moved to Reserve and raised nine
children. Louis, Jr. and the youngest, Pierre Armand
(P.A.) were physicians (Pierre - Tulane University). Henry and Guy served as druggist and Sidney as a dentist.
There were three daughters, Rosa, Antoinette and Claire
Donaldson.
Dr. P.A. Donaldson and
his wife, Marguerite Estelle
Coulon gave their time and
life to the St. John community. Dr. Donaldson practiced medicine in Reserve for
37 years until his death and
was an instrumental force in
the Bienfaisance Benevolent
Association and other similar
Dr. L. T. Donaldson
medical care institutions.
Mrs. Donaldson, often referred to as the “Coupon
Lady,” conducted the St. Peter School fund drives collecting and redeeming thousands of retail coupons. She
held many civic offices in organizations including the St.
John Parish American Red Cross, the U.S. War Bonds
drive, the Women’s Army Corps (W.A.C.) recruiting of
women during WWII, the March of Dimes and served
158
as chairman of the Reserve Centennial celebration and
the St. Peter’s Ladies Altar Society for over 20 years.
Above: Pierre Armand (P.A.) and Marguerite Donaldson. (Courtesy of Armand Donaldson) Below: L.T. Donaldson family home
and doctors office.(Courtesy of Louisiana State Museum)
1908 copy of LeMeschacebe newspaper printed in Lucy
L’OBSERVATEUR, THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL
In 1857, L’Amerique, a French and English newspaper, made a weak and none too impressive beginning in
Reserve’s journalism history. The little paper was put out
for two or three years by Maurice Edrington and then
was discontinued. Its whole story remains hidden in the
shadows, though, because records and files have been lost
to the ages.
In 1860, there were two newspapers in the parish,
LeJeune Americiane and LeMeschacebe. Charles A. Lasseigne founded a weekly
newspaper, La Ruche Louisianaise until 1879. From
January 1879 to October
1909, Charles A. Lasseigne and Lovincy Montz
acquired the LeMeschacebe,
which was printed mostly
in French and moved the
newspaper from Lucy to
Reserve. Materials in the
LeMeschacebe were taken
largely from magazines
Charles A. Lasseigne
and other papers and editorials always ignored local news. Montz severed his connections with the newspaper leaving Charles A. Lasseigne
completely in charge. Charles A. Lasseigne emphasized
national and international news and ignored local events.
His newspaper was almost a magazine in its editorials
and columns.
Lasseigne’s eyesight failed in 1909 and he was forced
to sell the paper. He would let it go to an editor who immediately moved the LeMeschacebe back to Lucy. Wallace
Lawrence Lasseigne, Charles Lasseigne’s son, had wanted
Wallace Lasseigne sets type (Courtesy of Gloria Lasseigne Triche)
to buy the paper, but his father refused to sell it to him
because of his “lack of experience”, though Wallace had
worked for his father for nine years. Regardless of his father’s decision, Wallace felt that his education in Journalism and his apprenticeship under his father was enough
to make him a ‘newspaper man’. Starting out slowly, Wallace began a job-press print shop which he operated for
four years before literally hand-cranking out his first copy
of L’Observateur in 1913, a weekly paper. Wallace Lasseigne’s policy differed greatly from his father. He made his
news almost entirely local. His first campaign was against
what he thought was a corrupt political faction that was
159
threatening to break down the educational system. He
watched for signs of unscrupulousness in politics and was
always against unfairness in public office.
Wallace Lasseigne would sell his newspaper to a partnership that initially included Milton Landry (printer),
Arthur J. Louque (printer) and Joseph Lucia (editor)
in 1949, who moved the newspaper to LaPlace. At this
time, an all-English format
was adopted for the paper,
a decision based partly on
the fact that its all-French
predecessor, Le Meschacebe,
had ceased publication
seven years earlier as more
and more of the younger
generation were assimilating to an English-only
society. Lucia took over
control of the paper and
operated it until his retireJoseph Lucia Sr.
ment, handing over the
reigns of the newspaper to his son, Joseph ‘Tardy’ Lucia in 1977. Currently, the L’Observateur is part of the
Ponchatoula Newspaper Network, which includes four
papers: L’Observateur, the Slidell Sentry News, The Daily
News of Bogalusa and the News Banner of Covington. The
Ponchatoula Network is owned by Wick Communica-
160
tions, Inc., a company founded by brothers Milton and
James Wick, and one which includes about forty newspapers throughout the country
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD MERCHANTS
Shirley C. Terrio of Reserve describes in her LeVoyageur article (May 2006) how wagon vendors preceded the
local grocers in the horse and buggy days. These traveling
merchants ranged from photographers and patent medicine salesmen to knife sharpeners. The grocer peddler’s
wagon had cages attached to it to store chickens, which
were often bartered for groceries. A hen rarely brought
over one dollar and a dozen eggs, rarely over fifteen cents.
Several families pooled together with the peddler to buy
Above: Live and Let Live Store #2 in Reserve (Courtesy of Helen
Klibert) Below: River Road parade in Reserve – circa 1934-1935
(Courtesy of Shirley Cassagne Terrio)
and divide sugar and rice. Coffee sold for ten cents a
pound; a peddler also handled material (fabric). Fifty
cents worth of fabric was enough to make a new dress.
Bread sold for five cents a loaf. The butcher traveled in a
hack with two horses. He passed on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The meat was covered with a piece of white muslin
Above: Octave Montz Store in LaPlace
Below: Octave Montz standing in his LaPlace store
(Courtesy of Diane Jacob Duhe)
to keep it clean and free of flies and gnats. Steak sold for
twenty-five cents a pound and beef with bones sold for
fifteen cents a pound
In the 1940s and 1950s it was not unusual for truck
peddlers to pass through the neighborhoods peddling
fresh fruits and vegetables. Local merchants, such as
Songy’s and Alltmont’s in Reserve, made home deliveries
from telephone orders. With the advent of refrigerated
trucks, Cox’s Meat Market of Reserve went throughout
Reserve and LaPlace and continues to stop and cut meat
to the specification of the buyers who flag down their
truck.
Some of the early neighborhood stores were:
Lucy: Pierre St. Pierre Store, George Gendron and Edward Berthelot, Rene Pancaire and Davis Ory, Oscar
Bossier, Frankie Champagne, and E.E. Badeaux.
Edgard: E. Leger, E.J. Caire, A & J.E. Champagne, J.F.
Abadie, Fernand Dinvaut, A. Weber and A. Bossier, and
St. Charles Drug Store by Stephen J. Burch.
Wallace: A. O. Abadie, F. Cazenave, L.F. Abadie, Mssr.
Caire & Graugnard, Songy Pltg. Co., St. Martin, Tassin,
M. Tregre.
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C. Maurin Home Store in LaPlace (Courtesy of Linda Rassat Landry)
LaPlace: C. Maurin & Son, Brady-Granier Co., Chas.
A. Haydel, Simon Vicknair, J.T. Landeche, E. Montegut,
Octave Montz, F. Madere, Paul Perilloux, O. Jacob, C &
C Alexander, Edgar Clement, Vernon Clement.
Reserve: Elysee Madere, Theodore Maurin, P.R. Montz,
Paul Reine, Maxime Vicknair, Prentice Jacob, Bievenue
Bros., Terrence Voisin, Sam Cascio, Red Cross Store by
Songy Bros., The Leader by T & A. Haik, Hamilton
Bodin, Rex Store by George Haik, the Acorn Store, Hypolite Delaneuville, Reserve and Star Store, C. Alltmont
Above: Acorn Café – later to be called the Casbar Bar – owned by
Anatole Jacob of Reserve (Courtesy of Anatole Jacob)
Left: Nemour “Steve” Delaneuville standing in front of his father’s
store in Reserve
& Bros., Nemour Delaneuville, Albert Jacob, Kansas
Store, Edmond Cambre, Pierre Clement Store, Ferrygood, and The Donaldson Drug Store.
Lions : Sidney Clement, S. Dentin, Leon Graugnard,
Jules J. Haydel, Edward Millet, and Lasseigne-Englade
Co.
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Garyville: George Bourgeois, Reynaud-Montz Co., John
Tregre, Clarence J. Delery, Armand Falgoust, Navarro
Bros., Paul Corona, Michael Bourgeois and Anthony
Monica and E. B. White Drug Store.
VERNON CLEMENT
GROCERY MARKET & HARDWARE
From his distinctive country-style store on West Fifth in
LaPlace, across from John L. Ory School, Vernon Clement was another of the select few in the region who produced andouille. Using a secret family recipe he learned
from his uncle, Robert Faucheaux back in the late 1950s,
Clement sold the local delicacy along with his general
merchant fare and hardware from 1959 until he retired in
1982. Only a few short years into his retirement, Vernon
Clement passed away suddenly in 1986. The store building still stands, but the aroma of andouille wafting from
the smoke house behind has long since disappeared.
COX’S MEAT MARKET
For nearly 75 years, Cox’s Meat Market has been serving the River Parishes. The family owned business was
started in 1933 by John Cox, and was one of the first to
offer home delivery to the area. With the help of his family, Cox got his business going by raising and slaughtering his own cattle, and built a store in Reserve in 1942
to retail the meat products. His business grew and the
delivery service extended beyond Reserve. From John
Cox, Henry Cox, Sr. took over the reigns, and the truck
Cox’s Meat Market Truck
The Leader, later to be called Haik Store, Reserve. Standing in front of store are brothers Alex Haik and Tewfix Haik
(Courtesy of Donna Lynn Donaldson Fulton)
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service expanded to include St. Charles and St. James
parishes. The family continues to make its own fresh sausage, smoked sausage, and is renowned for their version
of Andouille. Today, Robert Cox, one of Henry Cox’s five
sons, has taken over the business and has continued with
the long running tradition of home delivery.
Above: Cox’s Meat Market in Reserve
Right: Unknown baker from Montz
Below: H.M. Rayne and assistant traveling with horse and cart
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ST. JOHN THEATRE—HOW IT CAME ABOUT
In 1974 a group of interested citizens proposed to the
St. John the Baptist Parish Policy Jury a need for a cultural center. By 1975 the group had begun a publicity ca
Donna Lynn Donaldson Fulton and Cogan Fulton in King and I
paign to convince the St. John public of its need and by
1976 a parish-wide feasibility study concluded that the
parish did, indeed, need a cultural center. A parish-wide
referendum was put on the ballot September 1978, but
the center lost by 21 votes. The group members pushed
for a second referendum on January 19, 1980, and again
the voters of St. John Parish rejected the proposal.
Disappointed, the Cultural Center Committee went
before the St. John the Baptist Parish Council seeking
help in purchasing the Louis J. Maurin Theatre in Reserve which had been closed and was available for purchase. Unanimously, the parish council voted to allocate
funds to purchase the building and property and allocated funds to renovate the building; the parish-owned
building was leased to the Cultural Center Committee
on May 22, 1980.
Renovation began immediately and the official open-
ing of the St. John Theatre was on July 7, 1981 with the
staging of the musical ‘South Pacific’. On July 7, 1981
the Council designated
the live-theatre facility
as ‘The Cultural Civic
Center of St. John the
Baptist Parish’.
When funds ran
short, board members,
many of which were
Reserve Lions Club
members, signed signature loans and the renovation were completed.
Today, the facility is
debt-free. Dr. Jack Har- Poster of South Pacific
vey of the Reserve Lions
Club was the first board president and Jack S. Snowdy
was named Managing Director. Other presidents over
the years have included Malcolm Donaldson and Lucien
Cambre of Reserve.
JACK SNOWDY
‘Patron Saint’ of the Performing Arts
Born in Rayville, Louisiana in 1927, Jasper Sterling
(Jack) Snowdy, Jr. grew up in the throes of the Great Depression, first in Delhi and then in Olla from the age of
five. The only son of Jasper Sr. and Bijou Edwina Recoulley, Jack got an early start in theater by writing plays for
his three sisters to perform.
He attended Olla Standard
High School and graduated
as the 1944 class president
and salutatorian. During
high school, his interest in
theater grew as he played
a skeleton in Tom Sawyer
and a forester in Robin
Hood.
Upon graduation from
high school, Jack attended
Spencer Business College
in New Orleans and fin- Jack Snowdy
ished his course work during an 18 month stint in the
Coast Guard. He later took courses at Loyola and joined
the Brothers of the Holy Cross. He earned his college
degree at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
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In 1953, he was hired to teach English at Leon Godchaux High School in Reserve. There he met and married Josie Cambre, who taught French and English in the
classroom next to him. They were married in 1954 and
had two sons, Sterling and David. Jack went on to serve as
principal of LaPlace Elementary, and upon his retirement,
wasn’t ready to give up the chalkboard quite just yet, so he
continued on teaching at De LaSalle High School and at
St. Charles Catholic High School in LaPlace.
While at Leon Godchaux, he was the Senior Class
Jack Snowdy, English teacher at Leon Godchaux High School
sponsor, sponsored the school newspaper, Gleanings,
and directed many of the school’s carnival ball activities.
Throughout the course of his education career at the high
school, he was able to indulge his love for the theater
by directing such favorites as Rebel Without a Cause,
Camelot, My Fair Lady, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, Oklahoma, Lost Horizon and Dino. In the 1970s,
at St. Peter School, he directed Minstrel Shows and A
Mothers’ Club Follies. He then went on to produce and
direct Oliver, the King and I, I Believe in Music, Fiddler on the Roof, The Wizard of Oz, and The Sound of
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Music. While at St. Charles Catholic, he produced four
plays and directed ten more, among them Seven Brides
for Seven Brothers, Romeo and Juliet, and the perennial
American favorite, Our Town.
Instrumental in bringing a playhouse to St. John, the
St. John Theater (formerly Maurin’s Theater) opened its
doors in 1981 with South Pacific as its opening show.
More hits would follow including My Fair Lady, Finian’s
rainbow, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Music Man, Cinderella and Lost in Yonkers. His love of the theater went far
beyond his roles as actor, director or producer, as he could
always be counted on to fill a void. He wrote the music
for the dedication mass for the new St. Peter Catholic
Church; he wrote The LaPlace Legends to help celebrate
the LaPlace Centennial in 1983, and even had a stage
built for St. Charles Catholic High School when there
was none. For the 40th Anniversary of St. Charles Borremeo, he wrote The Borromean Legacy, and wrote, too,
a song to commemorate the birth of his first grandchild.
For the many years of dedicated service to the theatrical community – and ultimately to the St. John community as a whole - Jack Snowdy will always be remembered
as the ‘patron saint of the performing arts in the River
Parishes’, his numerous contributions to high school drama and community theater a testament to the talented
people this parish can be proud of. Inez Madere Millet
of Reserve summed up his legacy when she wrote: “We
are indeed fortunate to have Jack Snowdy settle here in
St. John Parish and to have given so much to us. Credit a
young French teacher who made this possible by capturing his heart.”
LESLIE CASTAY
Leslie Castay has just returned to New Orleans after
living the past 19 years in New York City A native of LaPlace, Castay, the daughter
of Walter and Gail Castay,
was born in New Orleans,
December 11, 1963 and
got her theatrical start appearing in several productions with the St. John
Theatre under the direction of Jack Snowdy, most
notably as Dorothy in the
Wizard of Oz. She attended Newcomb College and
Leslie Castay
holds a BFA magna cum laude. While in New York, she
performed extensively On and Off-Broadway. She has
been seen in New Orleans starring in the Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre production of My Fair Lady, Carousel,
and Camelot. Television credits include Guiding Light,
Another World and numerous national television commercials.
Illustrations by Terry Roussel of Reserve
Y’ALL BE HOME BY DARK!
Contrary to what kids might think today, life did exist
before Play Station…and it was fun! Oh, how times have
changed! Sad really, as today’s generation of kids have
missed out on the adventures of growing up in a community not preoccupied with society’s darkest elements.
A time when, once chores were done, kids were free to
roam the neighborhoods and countryside, creating their
own entertainment, and the only worry one had was to
make it home before day crossed into night. For kids
‘back in the day’, everything from traditional yard games,
tree climbing, small game hunting, to even the occasional dip in the river occupied them. Long before video
games, cable TV, and for many, before television itself,
only a torrential
rain or frigid day
would keep kids
indoors. Even
then, a good
football game in
the mud was enjoyable.
For many
kids,
endless
hours were spent
crafting ‘weapons’ and, once finished, dodging their projectiles. One’s very survival depended on their ability to
handle a pop gun and sling shot. Largely the domain of
boys – but not exclusively – every boy knew how to build
a pop gun having ‘apprenticed’ with an older brother or
male cousin. Like the pop gun, the making of the sling
shot required some effort…and ideally a power saw! Once
the design was made on the wood to be used, a power jig
saw would make quick work in cutting out the handle.
Once you had the stock, an old red rubber tire – the kind
with inner tubes – was needed, from which a section of
tube would be removed and stretched around the stock,
attached by string. The pouch that held the rock usually
came from the sole of an old shoe. With plenty of ammunition all around – anything that could fit in the sling
– it wasn’t long before something would come whizzing
by one’s ear. Of course, empty pop bottles, wood fences
- and things that probably shouldn’t have been hit- were
fair game for the armed kids protecting the neighborhood. Kite building, another favorite past-time, was also
an art as the paper usually came from Englade’s Cleaners
and string came from Godchaux Sugars. Flour was mixed
with water to make a paste that served as glue in the construction of the kite.
Waging make-believe war and playing cowboy wasn’t
the only past times that occupied St. John’s kids; other
favorites that could be found out in the yards and laneways of the community included games of peg, marbles,
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jacks, tops, horseshoes, dodge ball, ‘devil in the ditch’,
scrub baseball, red rover, and if one could get a hold of
some rope, an old tire or a small board, swinging could
be counted on for some fun as well. Every neighborhood
had a tree house and the tree every Reserve youngster
climbed and played tag around was the oak tree found
back of the St. Peter Cemetery. Local nature was also a
good outlet to get one away from the school work and
chores, from catching and bottling lightning bugs, to
trapping the reptile ‘du jour’ or, as one got older, heading
out into the fields for some small game hunting. There
was always something to do and someone to do it with
– never a dull moment!
LAST RITES
In the early settlements along the Mississippi River,
churches and cemeteries were few and far between, so the
plantation estates usually became the permanent resting
place for both the plantation family members and their
slaves or hired hands, particularly as travel from place to
place was quite problematic for most of the year and it
was just plain easier to bury folks at home. During this
era, too, the means of communication between plantations or within the wider community was also quite limited and, so messages of death were delivered on horseback or posted in a public place for all to see. Generally, a
white sheet of paper bordered in black was tacked to the
gateposts along the River Road announcing the demise
of the individual and listing the time and place of religious services and interment.
Coffins were usually made of cypress. When the steamboats began plying the river, higher-priced coffins were
ordered ready-made from New Orleans. Usually they
were heavily varnished as opposed to being cloth covered on the inside. The embossed, plush type of casket
came much later. At the time of death, the preparation
for burial was delegated to close family members, aided
reverently by one of the slaves or house servants. Embalmment was another aspect common today that did
not occur back in the early days of the region. The corpse
would repose on a snow-white bed where it remained until time for departure for burial. Unlike many of the cemeteries found throughout the nation where the dead are
buried below ground, St. John the Baptist and, indeed,
much of South Louisiana, lie close to or below sea level
making below-ground burial a problem. Wealthier families were – and are – able to erect small tombs for the de-
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parted, elaborately decorated in some instances. Families
with more modest means would bury their loved ones in
Death notices were posted on telephone poles and public buildings
cement vaults that lay about two-thirds below the surface of the land. Slaves and hired field hands were buried
on the property as well, usually in the coffin alone, and
generally in an area of land with some depth. Flooding,
a constant fixture of life in the region, would seemingly
follow loved ones into the afterlife!
For the immediate female relatives of the deceased
– wives, mothers, sisters – the custom of mourning required wearing complete outfits in black for an entire
year. This was called “grand deuil”. (Other members of
the family) would enter into “petit deuil”, or half mourning. The ‘petit deuil” lasted for six months, after which
the choice of clothes gradually changed to white. Mourning wasn’t completely given up by these individuals,
though, as their white dresses and general attire might
be trimmed in black. The male members of the family
generally wore their regular clothes but black armbands
of crepe were worn on their shirt sleeves.
ADELARD and ALBERT MILLET
In the early days of the parish, mid-nineteenth century, one man served the funeral needs of the parish residents on both sides of the river. Adelard Millet, patriarch
of another pioneering family in the region, had originally
set up shop as a wagon maker to meet the ever increasing
demand of the expanding sugar plantations. The business
was eventually taken over by Adelard’s sons who supplied
plantations and farms throughout St. James, St. John the
Baptist, St. Charles and Jefferson parishes. Adelard, the
holder of several patents including a patent for a type
of tail-gate on a cart, was also ahead of his time in the
production of coffins and caskets, supplying markets
between Baton Rouge and New Orleans on both sides
of the river. With his son, Albert, the Millet operation
was the only undertaking business around. Upon Adelard’s death in December of 1887, son Albert, and his
new bride, Honorine Perilloux, moved into his mother’s
house and continued the variety of businesses started by
his father. In 1902, Albert teamed up with the Perilloux
family in a cooperage or barrel making business that also
served the sugar industry, moving his family into the Felix Perilloux home in Lions. Albert and his family continued with the undertaking business until his death in the
1950s, keeping up with the latest trends and employing
modern hearses, his early horse-drawn ones giving way
to the newer, motorized variety as the ‘horseless carriages’
swept the 20th century.
MILLET-GUIDRY FUNERAL HOME
In keeping with the tradition of long-running parish
family businesses, one of the oldest family- run businesses in the parish is the Millet-Guidry Funeral Home of
which four generations of the Guidry family have served
St. John the Baptist on the East Bank since 1914. Though
the family was connected by marriage to a distant relation of the Adelard Millet family, Numa Desroche started this family business on his own, operating first out
of his grocery store in Garyville, a common fact of life
for undertakers early on - usually operating their funeral
business alongside some other enterprise. Joined by his
nephew, Jules Millet, the business outgrew its place in the
Top left – Numa Desroche
Top right – Jules P. Millet, Sr.
Bottom left – Jimmy Guidry Bottom right – J.Nelson Guidry Jr.
family store. In November 1931, the family built a new
funeral home on the eastern side of Central Avenue close
to River Road.
JULES P. MILLET FUNERAL HOME IN RESERVE
Jules P. Millet was born in LaPlace January 18, 1901.
At an early age, he went to work for Dr. L.A. Caboche in
a grocery store in Lions. In 1918, helped with his Uncle
Numa Desroches’ undertaking business and later managed the enterprise. In 1928 he operated the first ambulance service between New Orleans and Baton Rouge
and moved to Reserve where he opened the first funeral
home between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
In 1988, the building was torn down and replaced
with a gas station. At this time, the 3rd and 4th generations of the Guidry family, James and J. Nelson, Jr.
respectively, oversaw the transition from the Central
Ave. home to its current location off Airline Highway.
Successfully serving the needs of the parish, the funeral
business expanded briefly to include a parlor on Main
Street in LaPlace (which still stands and is now operated
by Professional Funeral Services, returning the home to
its original function after years as a ceramic art studio.)
As one of the parishes entrenched family enterprises, the
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Millet Funeral Home in Reserve located near Reserve-Edgard Ferry
business moved away from the traditional image of what
a funeral parlor was under the guidance of J. Nelson, Jr.,
who has transformed it into a facility “set up to make one
of life’s more difficult moments a little more bearable.”
he graduated with honors. Home in St. John once again,
“Shine” opened his own mortuary service.
As in the early days of
the funeral business where
it was common for the undertaker to be involved in
other enterprises, for the
black funeral homes serving the parish, it was customary for them to offer
ambulance services as well.
With the business growing, the Baloney’s three
children – Carl, Earl, Jr.,
and Carmen – all became
very involved in the family Earl “Shine” Baloney
venture. A second funeral
home was opened on the West Bank of St. John the Baptist in Edgard.
In 1984, Earl “Shine” Baloney, Sr. passed away and
his family took over and continued on with the business. The ambulance service continued on as well for a
number of years. Sadly, tragedy would strike the family
again as Earl, Jr. was killed in an auto accident in 1994.
Today, the family still serves the parish mortuary needs
as a third generation of the Baloney family has become
involved with the business, Shine’s grandchildren having
completed the requirements for the embalming process.
Baloney and Sons mortuary, Edgard circa 1960’s
EARL BALONEY AND SONS MORTUARY
Known in the community as “Shine”, Earl Baloney,
Sr. and his wife, Ophelia Borne Baloney, opened their
first funeral home in Garyvile in 1958. Located in the
same yard as the family home, the mortuary included a
prep room, a casket showroom, and a chapel. Earl, whose
father had been a sharecropper on the San Francisco
Plantation, wanted a better life for himself and so moved
to New Orleans where he attended and graduated from
Booker T. Washington High School.
Following graduation, “Shine” enlisted in the U.S.
Army where he worked with the mortuary unit. Upon
completing his stint in the army, he returned home and
put his newly acquired skills to practice and worked at
the Hobson Brown Funeral Home. Convinced this was
the right path to follow, Earl, Sr. left for college, attending the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science, where
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No doubt with a proud Earl, Sr. looking down on his creation, the Baloney Funeral Home, LLC has kept the family tradition going strong, as have other notable African
American mortuaries in the community such as Robottom Mortuary in Reserve, Hobson Brown in Garyville,
Bardell’s Mortuary in Mt. Airy and Professional Funeral
Services in LaPlace.
Chapter 9
FACING THE PAST, SHAPING THE FUTURE
CHAPTER 9:
1939 National Youth Administration (NYA) Bottom Row (Left to
right): Unidentified, Lucille Audiffred Tregre, Evelyn Montz, May
Catoire Kugler, and Olga Delaneuville Zitman. Top Row (left to
right): _ Vicknair, Ella Ruth Audiffred, Lucresse Gueret, Hazel
Guidry, Rose Hymel Troxler, Inez Trosclair, and Edith Falgoust.
1930s
The St. John the Baptist community in the 1930s and
1940s experienced despair and prosperity, as did the entire nation reeling from the Great Depression.
For Louisiana, life was a paradox. Still reeling economically from the physical devastation and political fallout
from the Civil War, Louisiana really didn’t have far to fall
when the bottom fell out on Wall Street. The agricultural
system was in disarray and intense poverty gripped the
state and, indeed, much of the south. President Franklin
D. Roosevelt mounted several federal works programs at
the height of the depression in order to put money back
into the hands of those consumers who had dropped out
of the economic cycle and to provide job training programs for the unemployed. Two job training programs
that put the people of St. John Parish back to work were
the Civilian Conservation Corp (C.C.C.) and the National Youth Agency (NYA).
SISTER MARY CONRAD
(Barbara Louise) REIN, O.P.
As a graduate of St. Dominican College, Sister Conrad began her early teaching years at St. Peter’s School
in Reserve in 1934. She earned her M.A. from Peabody
College for Teachers. After an
illustrious career as teacher and
principal, she was assigned to
St. Mary’s Dominican College
for 15 years. After her retirement, she would return to her
beloved St. Peter in 1975 and
also taught religion classes at St.
Joan of Arc in LaPlace in 1979.
Sister Conrad’s memorial tribute would read: “Her greatest
power was her love for people,
Sister Mary Conrad
and her joyous optimism. She
saw the good in others; the good radiated from her own
great heart.”
Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) - Pictured is Aristide Keller of Reserve (top row, fourth from left) worked in Redding, California in the
lumber industry.
Chapter 9 cover photo: San Francisco Plantation (Courtesy of San Francisco Plantation)
172
Rotollo’s Restaurant and Bar along U.S. Highway 61 in LaPlace near Airline Motors
LAPLACE – COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT
The opening of the U.S. Highway 51 (Hammond
Highway) in 1927 and U.S. Highway 61 (Airline Highway) in 1933 saw the emergence of several restaurants
in LaPlace that attracted motorists from Baton Rouge
to New Orleans. Among the most notable were Airline
Motors and Roussel’s Restaurants in LaPlace. Christoph
Roussel opened Roussel’s Restaurant in 1927, and soon it
became known for its hospitality and the reputation in
all of south Louisiana for fine chicken, andouille gumbo,
Airline Motors Restaurant in LaPlace
Original Roussel’s Restaurant in LaPlace located on Main Street
and fried seafood. So sought after were the dishes prepared there that, in 1950, Christoph’s granddaughter
Elmire “Coo” Hatchet directed the canning and handlabeling of turtle soup, seafood gumbo, and a variety of
crawfish dishes that were mailed to customers throughout the United States.
Airline Motors Restaurant provided twenty-four hour
service and was a frequent stop after school dances, carnival balls, and late night visits to New Orleans. LaPlace
also sponsored several activities that went into the 1950s.
173
Rotollo’s became Cali’s Hotel, Restaurant and was later named the Playhouse. Eventually the building was torn down.
Cockfighting could be found along U.S. Highway 51
and a casino was located on U.S. Highway 61 near Airline Motors. Gamblers from New Orleans took the Greyhound Bus and got off at the LaPlace bus station, located
across the street from the casino. Airline Motors today is
enjoying a resurgence in interest as new ownership has
endeavored to bring a sense of times gone by back to
LaPlace.
1940s
As America moved into the 1940s, two events highlighted the decade—the election of Percy Hebert locally
and World War II nationally. On February 15, 1941,
Sheriff Willie Duhe, Sr. retired his post and his resignation was tendered to Governor Sam Jones who appointed parish coroner Dr. William Guillotte as acting sheriff
until an election could be held. In 1941, a newcomer
and a former state trooper—Percy Hebert—emerged and
would take on the political machine established by Willie Duhe and challenger Hannon I. Barre of Edgard. In
a close election, Hebert defied the odds and was elected
sheriff by defeating Barre of Edgard in a runoff election
by 263 votes and was sworn in on August 3, 1941. At
that time, Hebert became the youngest sheriff in Louisi174
ana history to be elected and would go on to record the
longest tenure of any St. John sheriff to date by serving
32.6 years.
December 7, 1941 became a day of “infamy” to the nation and St. John Parish as Japan’s bombing of Pearl
Louisiana State Trooper Percy Hebert of LaPlace
(Courtesy of Jane Montz DesRoche)
Harbor set off America’s participation in World War II.
Rumors spread through out the community that the
scrap iron sold to Japan when the cypress mill was torn
down was used in that attack. Like many communities
in America, St. John’s citizens—male and female—rallied
to the need of their country as they entered the military
services or aided in industry. The price would be costly to
twenty-one local servicemen who paid the ultimate price
defending America’s freedom.
1950s
Like mainstream America, St. John the Baptist Parish
witnessed growth and change in the 1950s. Several major
events that captured the news media in Louisiana and St.
John the Baptist Parish during the 1950s were the Godchaux Sugars’ strike, the Thomas Hotard murder and the
disappearance of Audrey Moate, the lure of the LaPlace
Snake Farm, LaPlace’s first motor lodge, Troxie’s Motel,
August 26, 1940 – First diesel train comes to LaPlace and many
turned out for the event (Courtesy of Linda Rassat Landry)
little league baseball, Godchaux Sugar’s 4th of July Fairs,
the expansion of Maurin’s Theatre, the attraction of the
Reserve Community Club, and finally, the commercial
1941 newly elected sheriff Percy Hebert celebrating at Airline Motors. Identified are bottom row (left to right): Cliff Montz, Warren
“Smokey” Montz, unidentified, Percy Hebert, Raymond Madere, unidentified. Top row (left to right): William Clement, unidentified, unidentified, Lionel Hymel, Douglas Cambre, and Robert Jacob. (Courtesy of Jane Montz DesRoche)
175
and the residential
growth of LaPlace as a
bedroom community.
On April 14, 1955,
labor negotiations between 850 employees
represented by United
Packing House Workers of America Local
1124 labor union and
the Godchaux Sugar
Refinery came to an
impasse for better wages. Lead by Antoine
Songy, the UPWA Local 1124 demanded a
Felicite Borne
ten cents per hour raise, plus fringe benefits equivalent
to an additional four and half cents. Such a demand was
designated to bring Godchaux workers on par with those
at the American Sugar Refinery in Chalmette, Louisiana.
Godchaux countered with a five-cents-per-hour offer and
talks broke down. On April 14, 1955, workers at Godchaux Sugars and at Colonial Sugars in Gramercy Company walked out of their refineries.
The sugar strike proved to be a bitter conflict between the company and its employees. Tension and tempers soon mounted. A rifle shot into the bedroom of a
Godchaux foreman was reported. There were numerous
beatings, vandalism incidents, and even one murder was
allegedly laid at the striker’s feet. Company vicepresident Walter Godchaux had his station
wagon overturned. Bad
feelings ran far and wide
as family battled family.
It even went so far as involving Rev. Monsignor
Jean Eyraud of St. Peter
in Reserve who chastised
the strikers and urged
reconciliation. Violence
continued with a driveby shooting of a security
Arthur Borne
guard.
News of the bitter strike reached the national scene as
Life magazine published in the July 18, 1955 edition a
story of the strike after six strikers assaulted a scab work-
Top: Reserve foreman Arthur Borne and his wife inspecting damage to their widow during Godchaux Sugars Strike in 1955 (Courtesy of
Life Magazine) Bottom: Godchaux Sugars Refinery
176
er. The six strikers were sentenced to five months in jail
for beating a replacement worker and breaking his leg.
Another security guard was injured by a shotgun pellet.
As the strike progressed, 553 replacement, non-union
workers crossed the picket lines and operated the sugar
refinery. Colonial Sugars’ workers in Gramercy were the
first to accept the five-cent offer and returned to work in
September 1955. Public support for the strikers dwindled
and in December 1955, one day short of eight months,
the union accepted Godchaux‘s original offer of fivecents and employees returned to work.
The impact of the long strike had a lasting effect
on the Reserve community and St. John the Baptist Parish as a whole. Before long, Godchaux Sugars began to
downsize and the worker’s amenities evaporated. From
the company-owned houses to the community club and
baseball field, the many luxuries ended. The Godchaux
family eventually sold their one hundred percent interest
and the sugar refinery would go through several owners
before bankruptcy lead to its closure in January 1985.
Today, the refinery site has been replaced by ‘Globalplex’,
a modern port facility owned by the Port of South Louisi-
ana. Piece by piece the sugar refinery was dismantled and
all that remains of the glory years of the sugar refinery are
the smoke stacks, the Godchaux Guest House, a top level
manager home, the Godchaux House, and a Godchaux
train near the school board office in Reserve.
AUDREY MOATE MURDER
St John’s infamous ‘cold case’ murder of Jefferson Parish native Thomas Hotard occurred at Frenier Beach on
November 25, 1956 in his
1953 Nash. His lover, Audrey Moate, was also in the
car at the time of the shooting, but disappeared though
widespread belief holds that
Mrs. Moate may have met
her demise in the surrounding swamp. The 31-year old,
petite blond left only her
purse, all her clothing, and
naked footprints in the sand
along Frenier Road before
Audrey Moate
Clarence “Ky” Madere unloading Jax Beer truck in LaPlace (Courtesy of Tommy Madere)
177
vanishing. Her 1949 Oldsmobile was left at Bum Stein’s
Restaurant in LaPlace and the incident touched off a nationwide search that went on for several years. The incident was featured on the first episode of the television
program, “Unsolved Mysteries.” Despite three separate
sheriff’s investigations, the murder and disappearance
still remains unsolved.
JUNGLE KILLERS
Around 1950 an old carnival retiree named C.C. McClung established what became a famed regional attraction—the LaPlace Snake Farm. McClung found
the swamps of LaPlace an excellent collecting area. McClung’s snake farm fascinated children and adults alike as
scores of visitors regularly traveled to the site. In addition
LaPlace Snake Farm sign located along U.S. Highway 61
(Courtesy of Richard Drexel)
to the attraction, snakes and other reptiles were collected
or raised and sold to zoos and research labs worldwide. In
1956, tragedy struck as McClung’s 18 year old niece and
one of the park’s snake handlers, Irene Raub, was killed
by a bite from a hooded cobra. An inter-state race to get
her the antidote in time failed, resulting in her untimely
death.
McClung would sell his snake farm in 1969 to Dan
Vicknair who had been involved with the operation since
its beginning. The snake farm remained open to the public until the opening of the Interstate (I-10) cut drastically into attendance and a growing movement of opposition to this kind of roadside zoo highlighted the plight
of some of the zoo’s caged animals. Vicknair was forced
to close the snake farm some forty years after it opened.
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TROXIE MOTEL
During Airline Highway’s reign as the main east bank
thoroughfare
between
New Orleans and Baton
Rouge and other points
north and west, it wasn’t
until 1950 that LaPlace,
as a key stop-over, got its
first motel. A true entrepreneur at heart, Clifford
J. Troxler, a native of Reserve, put LaPlace on the
map literally as a place
for weary truck drivers
and traveling salesmen
to catch their breath, and
for the steady stream of
tourists flocking into the
Crescent City. An employee at Avondale Shipyard on the
west bank, Troxler also sold work wear, boots and other
safety equipment from the trunk of his car, saving the
money for future investment. Seeing the need for lodging
in LaPlace, Troxler, took the $10,000 he had saved and,
with the financial assistance of the Bienvenue family of
Reserve, set in motion what would become Troxie Motel, LaPlace’s first motor hotel. Originally priced at $6.95
per night, Troxie’s 30 units were often always booked, a
situation that would eventually spur the growth of other
independent motels such as Madere’s (Motor Court),
Millet Motel, the LaPlace Motel, and Holiday Inn, the
first of the nation-wide chain hotel/motels to establish
itself here.
With the construction of the interstate system underway in the 1960s, Troxie Motel became home away from
home for many of the workers and contractors employed
in the construction. As much of the highway in our region was built over swamp land, a helicopter would ferry
workers to and from their lodging, landing and departing from a field behind the motel. In the early 1980s,
the motel was renovated in anticipation for the tourists
arriving in the region for the coming 1984 World’s Fair.
Though some tourists venture away from the ‘comfort
zone’ of the interstate today, many of the motel’s current
guests are contractors on assignment at any one of the
local plants and refineries.
LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
COMES TO ST. JOHN PARISH
Little league baseball was introduced to St. John youths
in the 1950s as an organized summer baseball program
began in 1952. The Junior Sugar Belt Sugar League was
formed and held its first game on June 4, 1952. There
were six teams. From Reserve came the Yanks, coached
by Charles Avrill and Clifton Kippy” Williamson; the
Cubs, coached by Leon “Cop” Cambre and Charles
Battard; the Giants, coached by Joseph Bossier; and the
Reds, coached by Harold Keller. The LaPlace Cards were
coached by Lionel “Torriet” Laurent and the Braves of
Garyville were coached by Pete Falgoust and Carl Delery.
Godchaux Sugars Plant Manager Roland Toups served as
league president and Joe Keller was the league commis-
sioner. The Reserve Yanks would go undefeated (15-0) in
1952 and pitchers Roland and Leon Toups out dueled
Billy Terry and Kenny Montz as the Yanks swept the LaPlace Cardinals (4-0 and 8-1) in the playoffs to take the
little league baseball crown. The following year, 1953, the
Edgard Giants were added to the baseball program. The
league would be disbanded in 1955 because of the strike
at the sugar refinery.
RESERVE COMMUNITY CLUB
The 1950s also saw the expansion of the Godchaux
Sugars Refinery 4th of July celebrations. As many as
10,000 attended the annual festival held at the Reserve
Community Club site, located on West 10th Street in
Reserve. Many braved the Ferris wheel and participated
1952 Reserve Yankees Bottom Row (left to right): Kenneth Camallo, Gerald Keller, Edward Duhe, Jake Maus, Brent Roussel, and Gary
Weber. Middle Row (left to right): Lester Millet, Jr., Roland Toups, Leon Toups, Jimmy Cambre, and Clifton Williamson. Top Row (left to
right): Charles Averill, coach, Terry Roussel, Mark Falgoust, Dickie Averill, Huey Delaneuville, Allen Triche, and Clifton Williamson, coach.
179
in the baseball, diving, swimming, and beauty contests
held during the annual event. The festivities concluded as
spectators sat in the Reserve Community Club baseball
stands and witnessed the magnificent fireworks display
put on by Godchaux Sugars.
Before the era of the television, the Reserve Community Club was the social gathering point for St. John
the Baptist Parish. Membership was open to white sugar
employees and patrons of the parish that included the
latest movies that were shown on Tuesday, Thursdays,
and Sundays. The movie gap for the week was filled in by
Louis Maurin’s Movie Theatre that opened on the weekends—Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. A special feature of
Maurin’s Theatre was the cash drawings held each Saturday night and the Friday afternoon matinees to St. Peter
students for five cents and a margarine label. Louie Mau
rin also opened the balcony of the theatre to Black patrons.
In 1957, Godchaux Sugars, Inc. decision to sell 200 acres
Blue Band – circa 1952
Reserve Community Club, 1931
of land and change its corporation name began the residential growth of the parish. The corporation changed its
name to Gulf State Land and Industries, Inc. and began
plans that literally changed the entire face of the town of
LaPlace and St. John the Baptist Parish. The subdivision
boom in LaPlace started with the construction of what
was called the “Godchaux Community,” located on Oak
Allee to Parlange Loop in LaPlace. The construction of a
1952 Godchaux Sugars Annual Picnic Gold or Silver Swim champs
Bottom Row (left to right): Gary Weber, Charlene Thibodaux, Justin Godchaux, Jr. and Jane Godchaux. Top Row (left to right): Sally
Godchaux, McAllen Brignac, Gerald Keller, and Morgan Keller
1952 American Legion Raffle Ticket (Courtesy of Phyllis Smith
Martin)
180
shopping center also started in 1957 when Winn Dixie
and TG&Y opened their stores on the Airline Highway
in LaPlace. In 1963, the streets of Chatsworth to Wel
ham Loop were added and the name of Godchaux Community was changed to Riverlands Heights.
1960s
RESERVE CENTENNIAL
Celebration, change, growth and hurricane destruction highlighted the 1960s as Reserve kicked off the decade their centennial celebrations.
Keeping up with the growth of LaPlace, the Archdiocese of New Orleans added the newly constructed St.
Joan of Arc Catholic school to the area in 1961 under
pastor, Rev. Edward Boudreaux. LaPlace expansion continued at an explosive pace as the Carrollwood Subdivision was added in 1965 and Riverlands’ Greenwood
Drive 1967.
The 1960s social scene added LaPlace’s first carnival parade—the Krewe of Allouvus. Launched in 1966,
Clarence “Ky” Madere was king and Arnold Labat served
as krewe captain. Sadly,the annual Allouvus Mardi Gras
parade would be discontinued in 1971 because of lack of
community participation. That same year, 1966, Godchaux Sugars was bought by Henderson Sugar, becoming
Godchaux-Henderson.
1961 St. Joan of Arc Sister Edmund’s 4th Grade Class – Class
would be the first 8th grade class to graduate from St. Joan of Arc
A major destructive force in 1965 changed the parish
as Hurricane Betsy roared out of the Gulf, devastating
much of South Louisiana including St. John the Baptist
Parish. Hurricane Betsy lashed the area with winds estimated at their peak from 120 to 140 miles per hour and
few homes and business escaped damage of some sort.
1960 Reserve Centennial troupe visits New Orleans City Hall
181
Fifty homes were destroyed
and 300 others sustained
damage. Many historic
buildings were lost, including St. Peter Catholic
Church in Reserve and St.
Hubert Catholic Church
in Garyville.
Perhaps the most notable change in parish life
would happen in Education as racial desegregaChristine Marie Green
tion of public schools in St.
John the Baptist Parish began. August 28,
1967 heralded in a new era without any of the nasty in-
1965 Hurricane Betsy totally destroys St. Peter Church in Reserve
182
cidents that had occurred in other parts of the country.
Christina Marie Green transferred from the all-Black
Fifth Ward High School to the all-white Leon Godchaux
High School. Desegregation did not come without backlash, though, as the pubic school system was soon faced
with more competition from additional private schools.
1970s
The 1970s could be called the “Decade of Development” as the parish underwent tremendous growth in
industry, population, and economic development. The
parish grew from a small rural area of South Louisiana
into a part of the New Orleans-Baton Rouge industrial
corridor.
Reapportionment, the St. John airport, a parish hos-
pital, a civic center were all issues confronting the public
in the early 1970s.
Place DuBourg
LARAYO, a LaPlace recreational organization opened
Memorial Day, May 1970. GRO (Garyville Recreation
Organization) was dedicated in April 1974. Controversy
dominated the early 1970s as the Police Jury’s reappoint-
ment plan increasing the jurors from 9 to 10 was rejected
by the attorney general’s office, and the controversy over
the spelling of “Laplace” or “LaPlace” headlined local
news in 1971 involving even the Governor’s office.
Belle Terre opened its model village of Cherbouorgh
in 1972. During the residential growth, Gulf State Land
and Industries, Inc. changed its name in 1973 to Landmark Land Company. The era of fast foods came in the
form of McDonalds in 1974 and the Archdiocese of New
Orleans, which had bought 29 acres of land in 1963, developed it into St. Charles Catholic High School that
opened in 1977 and an apartment complex for senior
citizens that opened in 1981—Place DuBourg.
The 1970s saw a continued building boom for the region - in 1973 with the beginning of the construction of
River Forest Subdivision; 1975 Cambridge Place; 1976
Belle Pointe; 1977 Sugar Ridge and New Era.
The 1970s also brought in the first Andouille Festival.
Sponsored by the LaPlace Volunteer Fire Department as
a fund raiser, the first festival was held on October 28-29,
Botton Row (L-R): Captain Dominic Milioto, Alex Oncale, Philip Lasseigne, Raymond Nuccio, Helmuth “Bosco” Montz, Norman Kroll,
Rafael Songy, Chief Deputy, and Percy Hebert, Sheriff. Middle row: Bernard Adams, Melvin Clay, Robert Cazenave, Clarence Gray, Earl
Madere, and Etienne Vicknair. Top Row: George Borne, McKinley Savoie, Antoine Bartholomew, Harry Trosclair, and James Lasseigne.
183
1972. Governor Edwin Edwards would declare LaPlace
the “Andouille Capital of the World.”
In 1973, Sheriff Percy Hebert won re-election in a
narrow victory over Leroy Labat. The LaPlace business
boom continued as thirteen new businesses opened in
three shopping centers. The historic 125 year old St. John
Courthouse in Edgard was demolished in October 1973
and replaced by a new, modern judicial facility.
In 1973, Energy Corporation of Louisiana (ECOL) announced plans for a $300 million oil refinery in Garyville
to produce 200,000 barrels of petroleum a day and made
plans to restore the steamboat gothic San Francisco Plantation house on the property. Legislature passed a bill
providing for a vocational technical school in the Reserve
area. Cargill, Inc. requested in January 1974 that an industrial area be created for
the Terre Haute plantation property in Reserve
and Cargill purchased 622
acres from E.J. Guidry for
2.5 million dollars.
Sheriff Percy Hebert’s
death on February 9, 1974
triggered a political struggle
in St. John politics. Corner
Dr. Billy St. Martin served
as sheriff until Governor
Edwin Edwards appointed
Lester Millet, Jr
Hebert’s wife, Leona Montz
Hebert, as interim sheriff. Hebert’s death triggered a
volatile period as the Lester Millet, Jr. /Lloyd Johnson
sheriff elections dominated the political scene. In September 1974, parish assessor Lester Millet, Jr. defeated
St. John deputy Lloyd Johnson in the primary in the first
race between the pair. Millet easily defeated Republican
candidate E. Roland Keating in the general election to
complete Hebert’s term of office.
Sheriff Lester Millet would be put to a test on May 7,
1975 as the murder of Rev. Alice Clement, Sister Mary
Patrick Harrington, and the housekeeper, Leah Guidry
Lejeune, at the St. John the Baptist rectory in Edgard
shocked the area. Father Clement was shot and the two
women were each stabbed with a butcher knife. Sr. Mary
Patrick Harrington was returning from a workshop conducted at Our Lady of Grace Catholic School when she
walked into the house and found the killers at work.
Robbery was the apparent motive.
184
In June 1975, Godchaux-Henderson Sugars was sold
to Great Western Sugar Company for eight million dollars. Great Western, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Great
Western United Corp., Denver, Colorado, a processor
and marketer of beet sugar purchased the refinery
from Southern Industries,
Corp., Mobile, Alabama,
parent company of the Reserve refinery.
The second JohnsonMillet campaign began on
August 1975. On October
3, 1975, Johnson won a
hard fought battle against
incumbent Sheriff Lester
Millet, Jr. On November
Lloyd Johnson
6, 1975, Millet resigned his
position early to allow Johnson to take over a term that
ended June 1976 and the St. John Development Authority applied for a federal grant of $2,539,750 to build an
airport in Reserve. Marathon Oil purchased ECOL for
140 million dollars and the Percy Hebert Building was
dedicated in 1976.
1976 also saw two disasters strike the St. John region.
The Manchac Bridge was slammed by two shell laden
barges ripping open over 200 feet of the bridge from
the middle on September 13, 1976. One truck and one
driver were rescued but five reported vehicles and their
occupants were not found. The bridge was reopened in
Natchez arriving at Reserve ferry landing (Courtesy of Callan Jacob)
December 1976. The “George Prince” ferry disaster in
Luling occurred on October 20, 1976 with 78 dead, including 26 from St. John the Baptist. There would be
only 18 survivors when a Norwegian freighter collided
with the “George Prince” Destrehan-Luling ferryboat at
6:15 a.m. In October 1980, a monument was dedicated
in Edgard.
On the political front,
Reserve residents received a presidential visit September 25, 1976
from President Gerald
Ford, who was traveling
down the Mississippi
River and stopped at the
Reserve ferry landing.
In 1977, St. John the
Baptist Parish lost a
piece of its history as the
Voisin House in Reserve
was torn down. Built in
1785 by Jean Baptiste
Lydia Voisin
Voisin, the antebellum home was one of the oldest homes
in the Mississippi River Valley. The home was moved
twice as the Mississippi River eroded land along the batture fronting the levee. The home was relocated along
the river road and East 13th Street in Reserve. Over the
years, adequate maintenance to the home was neglected
and the property was overgrown with weeds. The death
blow to the home came when Hurricane Betsy blew off
the roof in 1965.
The last living survivor of the Voisin family, Lydia
Voisin, was forced to move to New Orleans. Without any
roof protection, the walls built of mud and moss washed
away with each rainfall and the house soon became a
shell. Vandals destroyed any chance of restoration. Lydia
Voisin would sell the plantation property from the Mississippi River to Lake Maurepas to Charles Hogan of
Franklin. In 1967, Hogan sold the Voisin property to
Hamilton, Meyer & Associates of Metairie to construct a
low-income housing project in Reserve.
Voisin House in Reserve (Courtesy of Louisiana State Museum)
185
In January 1977, Landmark Land opened the Airline Industrial Park in Reserve. The Archdiocese of New
Orleans announced construction of a new St. Charles
Borremeo High School in LaPlace and Landmark Land
announced the opening of Belle Terre Country Club on
November 1, 1977.
In 1977, LaPlace residents Gerald Perilloux and Chuck
Eberle located a Civil War cannon in Lake Ponchartrain
near Frenier Beach. The Civil War cannon was placed at
Sketch of Leon Godchaux High School
Above: Civil War cannon lifted from Lake Ponchartrain
Below: Civil War cannon sent for restoration
186
the mouth of Lake Ponchartrain by the Confederacy to
guard the railroad line in the Frenier area. Over the years,
erosion allowed the cannon to slowly fall into the lake.
The cannon was refurbished and placed in front of the
LaPlace administrative complex.
Fire destroyed the main building and auditorium
at Leon Godchaux High School in Reserve on May 24,
1978. One year later a report from the state fire marshal
pointed to an arsonist and the St. John the Baptist Parish
school board built and opened East St. John High School
in Reserve in 1979. The residential area introduced the
Jamestown Subdivision, now Cambridge Place, for 800
homes.
In 1979, Reserve resident and Kaiser Aluminum
employee Brian Weber challenged the company with a
reverse-discrimination case
and his landmark Civil
Rights lawsuit would go
all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Starting back
in February 1974, the United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO (USWA) and
the Kaiser Aluminum and Brian Weber
Chemical Corporation plant in Gramercy entered into a
collective bargaining agreement which implemented an
affirmative action plan to encourage the advancement of
women and minorities in the company.
In a 5-2 decision, the Supreme Court reversed the lower courts’ ruling against Brian Weber and upheld Kaiser’s
training program. The U.S. Supreme Court {443 U.S.
193} (1979) held that the training scheme was legitimate
because the 1974 Act “did not intend to prohibit the private sector from taking effective steps” to implement the
goals of Title VII.
Also in 1979, construction began for a 150-room
Holiday Inn in LaPlace and River Parish Hospital in
LaPlace was given approval by the Health Planning and
Development board and the federal review board. Bayou
Steel, a leader in steel recycling, broke ground for its LaPlace facility in March 1979.
The 1979 census showed 30,374 residents were living
in St. John the Baptist with LaPlace having 51% of the
total population of the parish. The Police Jury adopted
a reappointment plan with eleven members and a proposed plan to move the parish seat from the west bank
to east bank failed. Ascension of Our Lord Parish was
created by the Archdioceses of New Orleans and groundbreaking ceremonies were conducted for a new St. Joan
of Arc Catholic Church in LaPlace.
1980s
By 1980, several dramatic changes began to occur in
the economic and political structure of the parish. Mechanization of farms had shifted the parish economy and
ultimately the political life of the parish. Corporations
River Parishes Hospital
187
such as E.I. DuPont, which had taken advantage of the
proximity to resources, low cost labor, and the region’s
transportation system ushered in an era of industrial development that found firm footing in the 80s. Gleaming
new plants began to appear
all along the river’s banks,
radically transforming the
livelihoods of St. John’s residents. Back in 1960, over
30 percent of the parish’s
workers were engaged in
farm and food production,
mostly in the sugar industry. By 1980, farming had
dwindled to only eight percent with less than two percent of the workforce actuSheriff Lloyd Johnson
ally employed in agriculture.
The shift in industry in the
latter half of the twentieth century was bolstered by the
construction during the 1970s of an imposing elevated
interstate highway through the vast swamp separating
New Orleans from St. John the Baptist Parish. The highway contributed to the residential growth to the cities
of Reserve and LaPlace on the east bank of the Mississippi River and the economic changes altered the racial
and income contours of the parish. In the mid-1950s, St.
John the Baptist had a slight majority of Blacks. By 1980,
whites had grown to 62 percent of the total population
of 32,000, but prosperity was now being shared by a segment of the Black population which found employment
in the higher paying chemical industry - although one
in four Black families in the parish still had an income
below the federal poverty
level.
The police jury system of government in St.
John the Baptist Parish
had been operating since
1807. It was decided by
the Community Improvement Association and the
police jury as well, that
after 170 years, the parish
needed to investigate the
plausibility of establishing a new form of gov- Parish President Arnold Labat
188
ernment to suit the needs of the growing community. A
study of self-government was made in 1977 by the Alliance for Improved Government and the group’s finding
led to a council form of governing. After a general election, St. John the Baptist voters elected Arnold Labat as
its first parish president in November 1983.
In 1981, bids were received for the construction of
the Gramercy-Wallace Bridge over the Mississippi River,
but violent crime seemed to dominate the St. John the
Baptist news in the 1980s. A jury asked for death for
27-year old Alvin Scott Loyd of LaPlace, and he was sentenced to die in the electric chair for the 1981 murder of
a three-year old Houma girl, Brandi Renee Giovanetti. In
Garyville. St. John the Baptist Parish Detective Lt. Sherman Walker was ambushed and murdered in November
1984. His murderers were later apprehended, tried, and
convicted.
The St. John the Baptist teacher strike began during
the sweltering heat of late August 1984, and continued
for eight tumultuous weeks. The initial dispute with the
school board was over a promised wage hike, but soon
the right of the St. John Association of Educators (SJAE),
an affiliate of the Louisiana Education Association, to
collective bargaining became paramount. During the
summer of 1984, teachers had joined in a campaign for
a tax increase to benefit education, with a commitment
that they would receive a five percent wage increase, their
first in five years. Later that summer it became clear that
Superintendent Albert T. Becnel and the board were not
going to issue a raise and the strike was on. More than
400 support workers—janitors, bus drivers, cooks, secretaries—joined the SJAE overnight and went out on strike
with the teachers. Local ministers, state legislators, and
even Governor Edwin Edwards offered to negotiate the
dispute. Finally, both sides agreed to arbitration and the
school board recognized collective bargaining for its employees.
An historic era came to an end when the Godchaux
Sugar Refinery closed its doors in January 1985, its owners declaring bankruptcy in March 1985. Great Western Sugar Company was owned by Hunt International
Resources Co., a major holding of billionaire brothers
Nelson Bunker Hunt and W. Hebert Hunt of Dallas.
The parent company disclosed it was in default of $295
million in debt. Efforts to save the Godchaux plant were
unsuccessful. Four hundred and twenty employees were
laid off as a result of the closure. An attempt by the Port
Damage inflicted by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 to the historic A. Montz Ice Plant in LaPlace (Courtesy of Gerard Montz)
of South Louisiana to reopen the plant failed.
On Saturday, December 6, 1986, a jury of ten men
and two women deliberated a total of one hour and fifteen minutes and found John Frances Willie of LaPlace
guilty of first degree murder and aggravated rape of
Nichola Lopatta of Terrytown, whose body was found
June 5, 1985 in St. John. The murder case was brought to
trial by newly elected District Attorney, John Crum, the
first district attorney for the 40th Judicial District.
1990s
A tornado spawned by Hurricane Andrew wreaked
havoc on August 25, 1992 and killed two St. John residents—Carlose Caberra and Jessica Tomlinson. Sixty-six
families were left homeless, eight businesses were destroyed or sustained major damages. John L. Ory Elementary School (now East St. John Elementary) and Joe
Keller Stadium sustained major damage.
March 21, 1993 saw the start of the Bayou Steel strike,
which ended on September 22, 1996 and the Baker-Heritage hosiery plant opened in Reserve in February 1993
but closed in August 1996, a victim of market changes
and overseas competition. On May 4, 1995, the Veterans
Memorial Bridge linking Wallace and Gramercy was finally opened after 14 years of construction and delay.
In the election of 1995, former St. John deputy and
Chief District Attorney Investigator Wayne L. Jones was
elected sheriff. He was reelected in 1999 and to his
third term in 2003.
The shooting death of St.
John Parish Deputy Barton
Granier on January 27,
1996 shocked the area. A
string of murders, allegedly committed throughout
the area by Daniel Blank
in 1996 alarmed the River
Parishes region and a bus
tour from LaPlace to CaSheriff Wayne Jones
sino Magic in Mississippi
ended in tragedy on Mother’s Day, May 9, 1999. The
charter bus careened off Interstate 610 in New Orleans
and smashed into a concrete embankment. The accident
left 22 dead and 21 injured. Many of the dead were St.
John the Baptist residents.
JUDGE MADELINE JASMINE
“The Lady from Tigerville”
Little did one know that the small community of
Tigerville in Edgard would produce one of the leading
attorneys in St. John the Baptist Parish. Born March 8,
1953, the product of Second Ward High School, Madeline Jasmine attended Georgetown University and earned
189
a Political Science degree from Dillard University in New
Orleans in 1975. Three years later, she earned her Juris Doctorate degree from
Loyola University School
of Law and passed the Louisiana State Association bar
examinations. She became
a staff attorney in 1978
with the New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation,
but it didn’t take long before she accepted legal positions with the 29th Judicial
District Attorney’s Office
of St. John and St. Charles
Parishes and later the 40th Judge Madeline Jasmine
Judicial District Attorney’s Office in St. John the Baptist
Parish where she was in charge of the Juvenile Division.
In 1991, Madeline Jasmine became Judge Jasmine as she
was elected by the St. John voters to become a District
Judge of the 40th Judicial District Court, Division A. A
mother of two sons, she is a member of numerous professional organizations and has received numerous awards.
Active in her community, Judge Jasmine served as a
member on the St. John Alliance for Progress, the 2nd
LaPlace Parish Library
190
St. John Parish Community Center
District Missionary Baptist Church Association/Scholarship Committee and helped sponsor the St. John Student
of Excellence, “Save Our Youth” annual rally, and the St.
John the Baptist Mentoring Program.
2000s
As the new millennium took hold, the people of St.
John the Baptist witnessed a change in local leadership
with the inauguration of Nickie Monica as Parish President. Monica replaced Arnold Labat, who had served the
parish for twelve years, satisfied with his legacy of continued economic growth and expansion of parish infrastructure, including a water and sewage treatment system,
an emergency operations
center and the 911 emergency phone system.
After serving 28 years as
Deputy Assessor, Whitney
Joseph, Jr. became the first
African-American to be
elected St. John the Baptist
Parish Assessor as he defeated
former councilman Duane
Duffy in a November 2003
election runoff. Joseph began his term January 2005, Whitney Joseph, Jr.
believing his office needs to
be as accessible to St. John home owners as possible.
A new library was constructed off of Highway 51 in
LaPlace, and completed in August of 2002. New librar-
Civic Center to be used as a sound stage. 8,000 square
feet – the center’s atrium – will remain as ‘public space’
for events designed to meet the needs and desires of the
parish’s residentsAlready a ‘hot spot’ for Hollywood directors, the local plantations have always been a popular
choice; more recently, Airline Motors and the Verret/Reine House were featured in Monster Ball and segments of
the hit Glory Road were filmed in and around LaPlace.
A senior citizen center was also started and completed
in 2006 on land near the River Parishes Technical College
in Reserve. The Frank Lapeyrolerie/Leona Montz Center
will better serve the growing population of seniors with
enhanced programming and resources. Not far away,
a Veteran’s hospital is nearing completion (2007), and
the parish hopes to extend the Reserve airport runway.
Construction of a west bank recreational complex was
also tabled. On the educational front, Michael Coburn
was selected as school superintendent by the St. John the
Baptist School Board.
Verret/Reine House
ies were also built in Garyville and on the west bank
in Edgard. The long-awaited community center broke
ground. In June of 2006, Parish President Nickie Monica announced a short-term lease with Louisiana Institute of Film Technology for a large portion of the new
Montz/Lapeyrolerie Senior Citizen Center
Quarterback Ryan Perrilloux signing grant-in-aid scholarship to
Louisiana State University
On the sports field, 2004 was a particularly exciting year
as we watched the rise of Ryan Perrilloux, quarterback for
the East St. John Wildcats, who garnered national attention for his talent and achievements. Courted by numerous colleges in his senior year, Perrilloux was named to
the Parade High School All-American team and partici
pated in the January 2005 U.S. Army All-American Bowlgame, one of four hundred nationally nominated players.
Rated the number one prospect by ESPN at the close of
the year, Ryan signed a grant-in-aid scholarship to attend
Louisiana State University and was named USA Today’s
National Player of the Year, Gatorade’s Player of the Year,
and ‘Mr. Football’ in Louisiana. Perrilloux established a
191
Louisiana high school record 5,006 total yards in his senior year, including 3,546 yards passing and 1,460 yards
rushing. He accounted for 67 touchdowns (30 passing
and 37 rushing). His prep career totaled 12,705 yards.
August 29, 2005 is a day that will live on in the collective memory of the Gulf Coast region. Though the initial
effects of Hurricane Katrina’s winds and storm surge were
concentrated in Eastern New Orleans, St. Bernard Parish,
Plaquemines and eastern St. Tammany, the subsequent
failure of the levee system along Lake Pontchartrain and
the city’s canal system caused flooding throughout the
majority of Orleans parish. While St. John was spared
physical damage for the most part, life would not return
to normal for a very long time. As residents spent the
next month returning to their homes, long lines, business
closures and shortages of supplies would introduce many
to the hardships of natural disasters. Slowly, normalcy
returned for residents, but the parish took on hundreds
of emergency personnel initially as LaPlace became the
staging ground for the state and federal emergency response, and later became the home for hundreds of displaced families who suffered serious property damage or
total loss of home and livelihood.
In a strong show of solidarity with our neighbors
to the east, St. John citizens responded to the needs of
others with considerable generosity, opening their arms
to welcome those who needed a place to call home and
taking care of those here to help with the rescue and recovery missions. Parish President Nickie Monica stated
St. John the Baptist Parish grew temporarily by as many
as 15,000 new residents and several new business owners
decided to make St. John the Baptist their new home.
In 2006, St. John the Baptist Parish would mourn the
192
loss of 40-year old Captain Octavio Gonzales, a 14-year
veteran with the sheriff’s office and commander of the
St. John narcotics bureau.
Responding to a call, Captain Gonzales was killed in
the early morning hours of
June 16 in an ambush by a
Houston man and woman
who had already shot and
wounded another St. John
Parish deputy. Captain
Gonzales became the third
St. John the Baptist deputy
killed in the line of duty.
As St. John the Baptist
Parish moves into 2007, the Captain Octavio Gonzales
horizon looks bright indeed. The economy of the parish
is flourishing with petro-chemical and sugar expansion,
rising sales tax revenue, the growing movie industry, expansion of the Reserve Airport, ever-evolving fast food
and retail employment, and a booming housing market
all helping to make this parish thrive. With the energy,
resourcefulness and optimism displayed by parish residents in the wake of the costliest natural disaster in the
nation’s history, this opening decade should definitely be
a time of prosperity and joy!
Looking back over the past two hundred years, St. John
the Baptist Parish has seen monumental change, and has
made significant contribution both to the growth of the
region and to the state as a whole. For a parish such as St.
John to have produced so many innovators and people
dedicated to their community, we can feel assured in the
knowledge that, in working together, we can weather any
storm; the pride we can take in our accomplishments
further strengthening our resolve to make St. John the
Baptist Parish the best it can be!
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This book is lovingly dedicated to the grandchildren of Cheryl and Gerald Keller:
l-r front: Kaiden, Lauren, Madalyn: l-r back: Kate, Skyler, Dana
(Courtesy of Ricky Songy)

Prescious Gems 2 - Pontalba Communications

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