summer 2002 our town - nicholls state university town summer 20022.pdf · summer 2002 vol. 1, no. 1...

Chef Jeremy Langlois of Lafitte’sLanding chops a potato

by Erin Martin

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An In-depth Look at Historic Donaldsonville

Summer 2002Vol. 1, No. 1

A Publication of the Nicholls State University High School Journalism Workshop

InsideLafitte’s LandingRestaurant anchors revitaliza-tion

by Jennifer TylerPage 3

Chef Jeremy Langlois of Lafitte’sLanding chops a potato

by Erin Martin

Local musiciansLocals say Donaldsonvillebirthplace of jazz

by Kenny DionPage 4

Rich heritageAfrican-American influencestrong

by Caegan MoorePage 5

Standing stillTime frozen at local restaurant

by Erin CallaisPage 6

Vanished peopleOnce thriving Jewish commu-nity fades

by Anna MathernePage 7

At the crossroadsCity on brink of expansion

by Barry KappelPage 8

Mission remainsNewspaper continues toinform community

by Marie Ory0

Slice of lifePhotographers study city’sfaces and places

by Laurel Levine, ErinMartin, Allison Richard and

Shantel M. WemprenPage 11

History in shopBarber remembers city’s past

by Dominique FryePage 9

It may be hard to believe, but this project actually started witha meeting. Good things seldom come out of meetings.

In late February members of the Nicholls State UniversityDepartment of Mass Communication Professional AdvisoryBoard met. Each year this group, made up of University facultyand area media professionals, gathers to discuss the state of localmedia. The group’s objective is to try to find ways of improvingthat state.

This spring talk turned to high school students. Was there away to show them the important role newspapers play in societyand perhaps get them thinking about careers in journalism?

Someone put forth the notion that a workshop could be organ-ized. By participating in a workshop, students could see first-hand that journalism is a challenging but rewarding field.

The discussion began to gather speed as it continued.Representatives of local newspaper organizations, including TheDonaldsonville Chief, The (Houma) Courier and the LouisianaPress Association, quickly agreed to lend their assistance. Thisincluded a very generous financial contribution to offset thecamp’s cost.

The group decided that the best approach would be to assignthese students the task of taking an in-depth look at a singlecommunity. Donaldsonville seemed to be the perfect choice.

It is a city with a rich heritage. It is a city whose developmenthas been shaped by a wide array of cultures and races whoseinfluence surrounds visitors strolling down Railroad Avenue.

It is a city, like many small cities, struggling to adapt to chang-ing times. A city looking to its past to help carve its future. Acity that with the addition of Chef John Folse’s Lafitte’s Landingat Bittersweet and the acquisition of Le Pelican, a reproductionof a 17th Century warship, is working toward becoming a signif-icant tourist destination.

The Donaldsonville Chamber of Commerce went out of itsway to embrace the workshop project.

The final ingredient was the students. They had to be the area’sbest. It wasn’t necessary that they all be on their high schoolnewspaper staffs. But they had to be curious and interested inwriting or photography.

The search was successful.Workshop organizers received many applications from very

gifted students. It meant making difficult choices, but the creamof this group was selected.

The students have been everything organizers hoped for. Motivated, hardworking, inquisitive. They spent two and a half

days interviewing and re-interviewing as many of the city’s resi-dents as they could track down.

They discovered people with wonderful stories they wished toshare.

To be sure, there were minor rough spots. Learning that hasany real value is seldom easy. But organizers could have askedfor no better group of students than they gathered for this pilotproject. Workshop counselors gave participants some guidance,but the stories and pictures found on these pages are the result ofthe hard work of the students.

Nicholls and others responsible for putting this project togetherwould like to offer thanks to everyone who made it possible.

They also hope that they enjoy the stories and pictures by theyoung people of our community. Their talent and drive offer afuture of incredible promise.

Nicholls State University High School Journalism Workshop

Our Town, Summer 2002

StaffAdvisers

Nicki Lirette Boudreaux, Tonya Danos, James Stewart

Copy Editors

Marie Ory, Al Delahaye

Photo EditorsMatt Ford, Doug Keese

WritersErin Callais

South Lafourche High School

Kenny DionEllender Memorial High School

Dominique FryeHouma Christian High School

Barry KappelH.L. Bourgeois High School

Anna MatherneCentral Lafourche High School

Caegan MooreEllender Memorial High School

Jennifer TylerH.L. Bourgeois High School

PhotographersLaurel Levine

Vandebilt Catholic High School

Erin MartinLutcher High School

Allison RichardE.D. White Catholic High School

Shantel WemprenThibodaux High School

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This Nicholls State High School Journalism Workshopwas made possible by generous contributions from theDonaldsonville Chamber of Commerce, TheDonaldsonville Chief, The Courier and the LouisianaPress Association.

In the beginning

by Jennifer Tyler

It is 2 p.m. and Jeremy Langlois,Executive Chef of Lafitte’sLanding at Bittersweet

Plantation, is already preparing forthe 6 p.m. dinner. Langlois, 23, isconsidered a baby in the culinarybusiness.

What is even more impressive isthat he has earned this position atone of Louisiana’s most famousrestaurants. World-renowned chefJohn Folse opened Lafitte’s Landingat Bittersweet Plantation in May1999 after the restaurant’s originalsite near the Sunshine Bridge wascompletely destroyed by fire.

The new restaurant and bed andbreakfast serve as an anchor for therevitalization of businesses inDonaldsonville. Located at the cor-ner of Claiborne and RailroadAvenues, it attracts visitors fromaround the world who have had theopportunity to taste Langlois’ cre-ations.

Langlois got his first taste ofcooking when he was in high schoolby doing odd jobs around WhiteOak Plantation in Baton Rouge toearn money to buy a car.

His fascination with cookinggrew quickly, and Langlois wouldsneak into the kitchen and beg thestaff at White Oak to let him do any-

thing from chopping onions tosweeping floors. By his 16th birth-day, he was working in the kitchenfull time.

Modest about his success,Langlois has risen to his currentposition through sheer determinationand hard work. He was namedWhite Oak Plantation Employee ofthe Year before he was 20 years oldand earned a scholarship to the ChefJohn Folse Culinary Institute atNicholls State University where hewill graduate with a Bachelor ofScience degree in Culinary Arts inDecember. Langlois was namedexecutive chef in August 2001.

“I consider my cooking to be amore contemporary Creole style,”Langlois said of the menu atLafitte’s Landing. Langlois changesthe menu about four times a year,depending on the season. He alsoenjoys using foods native toLouisiana such as peaches, strawber-ries, and soft-shelled crabs. At themoment his favorite food to cook isfish.

“(Working here) not only givesme the freedom to be creative, but Iam in the area to use some of thebest ingredients in the world,”Langlois said.

Jennifer Tyler is a senior at H.L.Bourgeois High School in Houma.



Lafitte’s Landing anchors city’s revitalization effort

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Executive Chef Jeremy Langlois prepares the Creole cuisine that Lafitte’s Landing isknown for. At the age of 23, Langlois is the youngest executive chef of all 700 whoserestaurants belong to the prestigious Distinguished Restaurants of North America.

Compliments of

Landry AgencyShelter Insurance

Donaldsonville(225) 473-3609

Plaquemine(225) 687-6800

2330 Highway 70

Donaldsonville

473-8389

by Kenny Dion

Acrowd gathers. Hundreds ofpeople are all there for thesame purpose. The familiar

sound of a local jazz violinist comesalive as he starts to play the mostcomplicated pieces of music.

His name is Claiborne Williams,and, according to people aroundDonaldsonville, he played an instru-mental role in the development ofjazz. Unfortunately, the boundariesof the small rural community couldnot support its surging musicians.

The crowd falls to a hush asWilliams and jazz leaveDonaldsonville headed for the brightlights of New Orleans.

A century ago, Williams, just 18at the time, and many other jazzmusicians, may have opened thedoors to the jazz era. Over a centurylater, jazz is undergoing a rebirth inDonaldsonville as residents try topreserve an important part of localand state history.

Williams performed as part of theSt. Joseph Brass Band that touredthe United States and Canada, andalso performed for the King andQueen of England. Afterwards,Williams formed his own bandcalled the Williams String Band that

played locally and eventually movedto New Orleans.

The Donaldsonville AssociateHistorical Society discussed the pos-sible restoration of the house thatWilliams once owned. If put intoeffect the house would be restored intime for the Heritage Day at the endof September.

“We would like to restore thebuilding because I think it’s animportant part of the jazz and alsothe revitalization of the city,” saidRichard Zeringue, AssociateHistorical Society member.

“In addition to the preservation ofthe Williams home, other residents,like Darryl T. Hambrick, are doingwhat they can to bring an awarenessof jazz back to Donaldsonville.

Hambrick opened Hambonz sevenmonths ago. The establishment fea-tures local artists, as well as artistsfrom surrounding cities.

“Fifty or sixty years ago the onlyway Jazz musicians could get publi-cized was to go to New Orleans.Nowadays, artist that are starting outstill struggle with the same thing,”Hambonz Assistant Manager ZenusDandridge said.

Dandridge said this struggle isone of the reasons for opening thebar. The bar features a wall with

records signed by the artists thathave started out playing jazz atHambonz, along with other genresof music.

“I wouldn’t say that the musi-cians put on a show, but it’s fun tosee the expression on their faceswhen they perform. I love this par-ticular artist that plays here. Whenhe plays it’s like he’s walking oncoals; the expression on his face islike he’s in pain. It also helps us outwith the entertainment for us, but at

the same time we’re promotingthem,” Dandridge said.

Donaldsonville’s past music histo-ry now comes full circle with thedaughter of Claiborne Williams,Bella Williams, now donating a vio-lin to Hambonz, said Dandridge.With this contribution, the past nowbecomes the present.

Kenny Dion is a senior at Allen J.Ellender Memorial High School inHouma.

Nicholls State University High Journalism Workshop


Local musicians shape birth of Jazz

Manager Zenas Dandridge shows the many records posted on the wall inthe Hambonz Piano Room.

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PREPARING JOURNALISTS AND PUBLIC

RELATIONS PROFESSIONALS FOR SUCCESS

P.O. Box 2031Nicholls State UniversityThibodaux, LA 70310985.448.4586www.nicholls.edu/maco

by Caegan Moore

Donaldsonville is a city ofbeginnings. It’s a townthat cherishes and wantsto preserve the roots of

those beginnings. But while it’s atown proud of the past, it’s one thatrefuses to be trapped in it.

Mayor Raymond “Ray” Jacobs isat the helm at a time of rejuvenation.It’s not surprising that an

African–American is providing hiscommunity with leadership duringthis critical period. Donaldsonvilleis a city rich with an abundance ofAfrican–American influence. It’sthis influence that shapes not onlywhere that city has been, but whereit is going.

Donaldsonville was the firstAmerican city to elect anAfrican–American mayor – Pierre“Caliste” Landry. He was elected in

1868, just three years after the CivilWar. Jacobs followed in Landry’sfootsteps by becoming the city’s firstfull-time mayor.

Leading a city which is 70 percentAfrican–American, Jacobs says he’smade African – American citizensmore trusting of government.

“I think I have given African-Americans more say-so in their gov-ernment,” Jacobs said.

African–Americans have playedroles in more than the city’s politicaldevelopment.

They also helped build the townand its industry. “We provided thecheap labor, historically,” Jacobssays.

They also helped shape the cul-ture. Some people argue thatDonaldsonville, not New Orleans, isthe birth-place of jazz.

One of the most visible symbolsof the importance of theAfrican–American community’scontribution to the city is the TrueFriends Benevolent Society Hall,erected in 1886. This buildingserved as the cultural center forDonaldsonville’s African–Americancitizens for many years. It stillstands, though abandoned, alongLessard Street.

There are increasing efforts topreserve this rich heritage.

Kathe Hambrick is one of thoseleading this effort. “I felt there was alack of information being presentedon African–American history,”Hambrick, founder and director ofthe River Road African-AmericanMuseum, says. “This in an area pre-dominantly African–American.”

She traveled across the nation toconferences on historic preservation.She returned to Louisiana, specifi-cally the river parishes, looking forbuildings with predominantlyAfrican–American heritage in needof saving. One became the River

Road African–American Museum inMarch 1994.

Hambrick has become one of theleaders in efforts to preserveDonaldsonville’s historic sites. Shesays she is now working on theRiver Road African–AmericanMuseum / Gallery Complex. Thecomplex will be located on the cor-ner of Williams and Lessard streetsin Donaldsonville.

This project will include makingrenovations on the central agricul-ture school – Romeville School –and moving the schoolhouse, locatedin Convent across the MississippiRiver, to Donaldsonville .

There are also plans for a JazzHeritage Plaza. The project willshowcase True Friends BenevolentSociety Hall and the AfricaPlantation Building, once owned byDr. John H. Lowery, the firstAfrican–American doctor inAscension Parish.

African-Americans continue tocontribute to the city’s culturaldevelopment. Alvin Batiste, fea-tured repeatedly on television andthe artist who designed the cover foractor Billy Bob Thornton’s CD“Private Radio,” has lived inDonaldsonville his whole life.

He began drawing at the age of 3and began painting at 29. He taughthimself, never having taken a lesson.

“I get my inspiration from theway my mother grew up. The thingsmy mother went through and thestories she told inspired me,” saidBatiste, who has been painting for10 years.

Batiste says his mother passedthe African tradition of storytellingto him and from these stories comemany of his paintings.

Caegan Moore is a senior at Allen J.Ellender Memorial High School inGray.

Nicholls State University High Journalism Workshop


City has rich African-American heritage

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Donaldsonville Mayor Ray Jacobs speaks of the African-American influ-ence on this river community. Jacobs, though not the city’s first African-American mayor, is the first mayor to serve in a full-time capacity.

THE BARATARIA-TERREBONNE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM

A continuing effort to protect Louisiana’s environment

by Erin Callais

On a sweltering summer after-noon, at the far end ofRailroad Avenue, customers

escape through the door into a dark-er, cooler world.

As each enters he or she is quick-ly greeted with a smile and “Hello.”

In many ways, they’ve enteredanother time.

Since 1921 The First and LastChance Café, founded by CharlesSavoia and Bruno Ruggiero, hasbeen a gathering place inDonaldsonville for locals and visi-tors alike. The Chance, as locals callit, got its name from porters, orwaiters, who called, “First and lastchance for food and drink,” to pas-sengers on trains that stopped acrossthe street while traveling betweenBaton Rouge and New Orleans.

During these stops, adults woulddrink at the bar, while their childrenplayed in the Blue Room, located inthe back of the restaurant.

Today, children still scamperthrough the restaurant, but aren’trestricted to the back quarters.

Aimee, 9, and Nancy, 7, daughtersof current owners Billy and JulieGuillot, scurry back and forth, fillingglasses with ice and playing a com-puter game.

“It’s a family place,” Billy says ashe readies for a steady stream oflunch customers.

On this particular summer after-noon, porter Charlie Dixon is busy.The 40-year veteran writes nothingdown as he moves from table totable taking orders.

“How do you remember that?”asks a customer.

“I have a really good memory,”Dixon says.

Dixon began working at theChance at a time when teens drankand smoked behind the buildingunder the banana trees, and guys and

girls would sneak under the trees tokiss.

Today the banana trees have beenreplaced by a batting cage, and kiss-ing has been replaced with pitchingand batting.

The Chance sponsors seven localbaseball teams and in a buildinglocated behind the restaurant, nearly60 players ages 7 and up, includinghis two daughters, practice everyweek.

There are plans to add two morecovered batting cages next to theexisting building, which started outas a place to cook the restaurant’sfamous sauces.

“It’s a growing project,” he said.Parents drop their children off or sitinside while he instructs them.

In addition to the locals who havefrequented the restaurant for years,Billy says well-known customers atthe Chance have included formergovernors Huey P. Long, Earl Long

and Jimmie Davis. In recent years, the Chance has

become a local hangout after sportsgames. People gather to celebratevictories, or to agonize over defeats.Julie remembers the restaurant’sbiggest crowd. It gathered afterAscension Catholic High Schoolwon the football state championshipin 1992.

“You couldn’t get in the door,”Julie recalls, “We didn’t leave until4 the next morning.”

The Chance has been a localwatering hole for many years, butthe restaurant has had to changewith the times.

Now diners want chicken fajitas.Children can no longer be left aloneto play in the Blue Room. It is nowfilled with aChristmas display ofceramic figures, the Chance’s newestattraction.

Now, children as well as adultscan eat in the the Chance’s main

dining room. But despite the changes, most

things remain the same. The porterscontinue to remember orders flaw-lessly. People still gather to be a partof the restaurant’s family and enjoythe excellent food.

Good food is one of the secrets tothis establishment’s success. GeorgeShaheen, who’s eaten at the Chancefor 60 years, says, “Oh, I tell Billythat he has the world’s finest ribs,the world’s finest.”

The welcoming family atmos-phere is also an important part ofsuccess at the Chance. A rare combi-nation of food and family ensuresthe restaurant’s continued success.

“Our future depends on the localsand they’ve always been good tous.” Billy says. “We’re gonna con-tinue to try to serve the community.”

Erin Callais is freshman at SouthLafourche High School in Galliano.



Time stands still at local restaurant

George Shaheen, of Shaheen’s Department Store, eats beef stew Tuesday at The First and Last Chance Café whiletalking to Nancy Guillot, whose parents own “The Chance.” Shaheen is one of the many regulars who eats at “TheChance” every day. The restaurant has been in business since 1921.

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DONALDSONVILLE...Open for Business!

by Anna Matherne

Locked away by the aged, irongates of the plainly coloredBikur Sholim Cemetery is the

history of the Jewish community inDonaldsonville.

Like the weathered tombstones inthe cemetery, the local Jewish faithhas faded through the years. Whatwas once an important factor in thegrowth of the city is now gone.

Moving from the Alsace-Lorrainearea to southern Louisiana, theJewish population became promi-nent in the city of Donaldsonville bythe 1860s. Some Jews were mayors.Many Jews were businessmen whowere able to speak as many as fourlanguages including Cajun French.

These businessmen owned com-panies that included David Israel’sshoe store and the LemannDepartment Store, started by JacobLemann.

Lemann, a peddler from theAlsace-Lorraine area, was one of thefirst Jews who came toDonaldsonville in 1836. He soonopened The Planter’s Store, whichsold general supplies.

In 1899, he was the internationalHarvester Tractor Dealer of southernLouisiana and started a line ofequipment that is still in operation.

Jay Lemann, Vice President ofLemann’s Farm Supply, is a sixthgeneration Lemann and one of thefew remaining descendents of thefirst Jews in Donaldsonville.Although Jay is not Jewish himselfbecause of family marriages involv-ing different religions, he is stillextremely proud of his Jewish back-

ground. He’s just as proud of hisfamily giving service to the commu-nity for 166 years. Jay said the Jewswere highly respected and acceptedin the area.

Many of these businessmenbecame wealthy and were able tosend their children to schools likeHarvard. Unfortunately, most of thechildren who left never returned.Over time this led to the extinctionof the Jewish religion inDonaldsonville.

“It saddens me that the Jewishpopulation has dwindled to the pointwhere we have no native born peo-ple of Jewish descent left in ourcommunity,” says Stevie Graugnard,part owner of Cabahanosse Antiquesand Gifts and a worker in theHistoric Donaldsonville Museum.

Donaldsonville had the only syn-agogue along Bayou Lafourche. TheJews all along the bayou came toattend at the Bikur CholimSynagogue and were buried in theBikur Sholim Cemetery. By the1940s the congregation became solow that the synagogue was forcedto close. In its place stands an AceHardware store.

The cemetery, founded in 1856,remains. In it lie not only the gravesof Donaldsonville residents, but alsothose from New Orleans, which suf-fered a yellow fever epidemic in1859. New Orleans had no Jewishcemetery of its own. All of thedeceased had to have some Jewishancestry to be buried there.

The tombs of the Pforzheimerbrothers and sisters, none of whomleft children behind to carry on theirfaith, can be seen next to one anoth-

er on the seventh row of the ceme-tery.

Ike Don, a Jewish vagabond whodied in Donaldsonville, was buriedin the cemetery with a Catholicpriest presiding over the service. Bythen there were no longer rabbis inthe community.

Funerals are still held in thecemetery, but they are few.

All that remains of the Jewishreligion in towns located along the

bayou is this cemetery and the mem-ories.

Donaldsonville is considered to bethe gumbo of bayou country, and theJewish faith that started in this cityhas contributed to this gumbo fromthe establishment of the people inthe city.

Anna Matherne is a senior atCentral Lafourche High School inMathews.



Thriving Jewish community fades over time

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A single Jewish grave from the last century lies in solitude in the BikurSholim Cemetery. Jewish families from the bayou region and New Orleansare buried in the cemetery. Few Jewish burials still take place here today.

Hwy. 3089 Donaldsonville473-8291

FRESH CATCH SEAFOOD

305 Bayou Road • Donaldsonville474-5873

Your one stop store for all your seafood needs!

by Barry Kappel

Located at the crossroads ofBayou Lafourche and theMississippi River, the town

of Donaldsonville has seen its shareof change. Ferries and paddleboatsthat once graced the banks of thetown have long been replaced bycars and trucks that line RailroadAvenue.

Today Donaldsonville is at anoth-er crossroads – one that local busi-ness owners are hoping will propelthe sleepy south Louisiana town intoa major tourist magnet. Anchored bythe opening of Lafitte’s Landing atthe Bittersweet, a restaurant ownedby the world-renowned Chef JohnFolse, Donaldsonville is undergoinga revitalization that is bringing bothbusinesses and tourists to its streets.

“We really feel that tourism is ourfuture,” Becky Katz, executivedirector of the DonaldsonvilleChamber of Commerce, said.

With the success of Lafitte’sLanding at the Bittersweet,Donaldsonville was able to get itsfoot in the door of opportunity.Since that time, new restaurants andbusinesses have begun to open onblock after block of the avenue,owned by natives and non-nativesalike.

Donaldsonville native ScottDelatte recently opened Scott’s Barand Grill in the former Ruggiero’sRestaurant. “We are fromDonaldsonville, and always wantedto open a business here,” DaneDelatte, Scott’s brother, said.

On the other hand, Dickie andCynthia Breaux, natives of BreauxBridge, also decided to bring theirbusiness to Railroad Avenue.

“Mr. Dickie and Cynthia Breauxcame here because Mr. Dickie hashigh interest in historic places, andDonaldsonville has one of the high-est populations of historic buildingsin the country,” Diane Wagner, man-ager at The Grapevine, said.

Seeing the opportunities tourismcreates, Donaldsonville bought theoriginal French warship Le Pelicanin hopes that it will attract moretourists. Bayonne, France, is wherethe ship Le Pelican was originallyconstructed.

The boat sank under the naviga-tion of Pierre d’Iberville LeMoyneat Fort Nelson.

Adding this historic boat toDonaldsonville will hopefully bringmany new businesses.

Brent Landry, vice president ofthe Ascension Historical andCultural Foundation, expects theship to be open to the public inabout 18 months and to contain amuseum.

The leaders of Donaldsonvillefeel it is a good spot for these newbusinesses because it is locatedbetween two of the largest planta-tions in the south and tourists passthrough by the thousands.

Donaldsonville not only wants toattract new businesses but new resi-dents as well.

Donaldsonville has many differentcultures that make it a unique commu-nity. It has access to major communi-

ties that are only a few miles away.“Donaldsonville is a quaint, quiet,

charming community. Donaldsonvillepeople have always been concernedwith the welfare of their fellow man.Donaldsonville possesses a unique-ness whether it be its history, itspeople or its beauty that keeps draw-ing you back for more,” Katz said.

With all the new businesses, resi-dents and tourists coming through,problems may arise.

Preservation of the historic districtis very important to the city.

“It is known that preservation ofthe historic district is important. Bigcompanies know this and respect it.

That’s why they tend to stay outsidethe city,” said Katz.

Preservation of the historic districtis not the only problem with all thenew people coming through.

The city may lose its small townappeal and crime rates may go up.

“We know and realize that withgrowth problems may arise, and werealize that we just have to deal withthem as they come. I do have a fearthat with all the growthDonaldsonville will lose some of itscharm,” Katz said.

Barry Kappel is a senior at H.L.Bourgeois High School in Gray.



Donaldsonville stands at crossroads

The Grapevine Restaurant is one of the newest restaurants to join the culi-nary delights on Railroad Avenue. Owners Dickie and Cynthia Breaux, resi-dents of Breaux Bridge, brought their business to Donaldsonville because ofthe historical architecture that the city is known for.

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220 RAILROAD AVENUE

DONALDSONVILLE

225.746.1000

COME AND FEEL THE DIFFERENCE!

by Dominique Frye

Walking down MississippiStreet, people pass asmall, nondescript build-

ing with a candy-striped pole thatdoesn’t draw much attention.

Inside is a rust-orange floor sprin-kled with small strips of hair. Insideis the smell of hair tonic and time.Inside is a world of World War IIand Donaldsonville stories.

Paul Hymel sits in his barberchair waiting for his next customer.He’s serviced many in his 51 yearsof cutting hair in this small rivertown.

“Take a seat,” Hymel says as hewelcomes his visitors, ready to talkabout how things in this small townhave changed and not changed,grown and stayed the same.

Hymel opened Paul’s Barber Shopin 1949 after he returned from mili-tary service in World War II.

Hymel’s shop is much like thetown itself. It is full of rich history.

Donaldsonville was originallyestablished in 1750 when the Frenchand Spanish settled at the tradingpost called Lafourche desChetimaches. After purchasing asmall farm near Bayou Lafourche

and the Mississippi River,Englishman William Donaldsonhired Bartholomew Lafon in 1807 toestablish a master plan for a devel-oping town to be called Ville deDonaldson.

In 1812 “The New Orleans”became the first steamboat to arrivein Donaldsonville. By the 1820sDonaldsonville became a river portwith sugar, molasses and cottonbeing the main products.

At that time everyone consideredhimself French. It wasn’t until the

1870s that the local newspaperbegan printing entirely in English.

It wasn’t until the 1920s and1930s that residents began even tocommonly think of themselves as“Americans.”

When Hymel started his businessfour years after returning fromWorld War II, haircuts were 25cents.

Now everyone thinks of himselfor herself as an American and hair-cuts are $8.

Much else has changed in the city

around him and his shop over those51 years.

The ferry boats that he rememberscrossing the Mississippi River arelong gone.

He never realized that the nearbycandy and cigar factories of hisyouth would one day be gone. Theytoo have disappeared.

Hymel wants the change to con-tinue, to come full circle. He hopesthat with revitalization, lost busi-nesses will return to the emptybuildings around his shop.

Whatever tomorrow brings,Hymel plans to continue doing whathe loves. Every day of the week –except Wednesday when he goes tothe casino – the 76-year-old barbergoes to cut hair. In the shop are hismemories.

Along the walls hang his hat fromhis military service. There aremedals surrounding a picture of himas a 17-year-old.

He plans to remain to see thechanges that are on the horizon.

“I would never leave the city ofDonaldsonville,” he said.

Dominique Frye is a junior atHouma Christian High School inHouma.



Customers find history in barber shop

Paul Hymel, local barber, enjoys the afternoon waiting for customers out-side his barber shop on Mississippi Street. Paul’s Barber Shop has beenservicing Donaldsonville residents since 1949.

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412 MarchandDrive

Donaldsonville

IMC Phosphates MP Inc.Louisiana Operations

Phone: (225) 562-3501Fax: (225) 562-2797

We Feed the Land That Feeds the World

by Marie Ory

Peter Waguespack, editor, pho-tographer and writer for TheDonaldsonville Chief for the

past three and a half years, bustles inand out of his cluttered office to pre-pare computer files for the printer.

It’s 2 p.m. on Tuesday and thestaff of four is on deadline. There isa discussion between the publisherand designer since this is only thethird week of processing the papercompletely by computer files. Andtomorrow, the finished product willbe on sale to the community.

Although the technology haschanged through the years, the mis-sion stays the same: To give the peo-ple of Donaldsonville a qualitypaper that they can rely on week inand week out.

“I think we have a good productcoming out each week. We do a lotof feature type stories that will pickthe reader’s attention,” Waguespacksaid.

“We are always looking for waysto get better and put out a goodproduct. If we continue to do the jobthat we are doing a lot of people willnotice the job that we do with a lim-ited amount of people.”

Linden E. Bentley began produc-ing The Chief in 1871, making it theoldest publication in AscensionParish and the third oldest inLouisiana. Bentley was an organizerfor the Louisiana Press Association,and he remained with The Chief for39 years.

Since that time, The Chief haschanged hands many times, givingnew publishers and editors thechance to produce the news. Threeyears ago, the newspaper went frombeing locally owned to being owned

by a corporate business calledLiberty Group, which is based out ofNorthbrook, Ill.

Named for the Chetimaches andHoumas tribes that inhabited thearea many years ago, The Chief usesstories having a local flair. This is achange from the earlier style of thepaper when articles were based onnationwide news written in a one-column format with stories placedone after the other.

“Ninety percent [of the paper]every week is strictly about peoplefrom here, meetings, photos of dif-ferent kids around the area and othertypes of stories that come from with-in the parish,” Waguespack said.

Donaldsondville is in the processof a revitalization project that isbringing change upon the communi-ty. The Chief, however, plans onremaining the same.

“There is a possibility in thefuture [that the paper will change],but for now we have a good stylethat fits the renovations and revital-ization to go along with the moderntimes,” Waguespack said.

Because The Chief is a smalltown newspaper, Waguespack said itis sometimes hard to keep a staff andto keep the news alive in the com-munity.

“There is not a whole lot goingon. This parish as a whole is not acriminal related area, and the gist ofmy stories comes from meetings,different social gatherings, eventsand festivals,” he said.

With the revitalization project

underway, some up-and-comingbusinesses may use the newspaper’ssuccess as inspiration.

Connie Fredric, graphic designerfor The Chief, said she has seen a lotof businesses close down due to thecutbacks of people working in thecity.

“As for the future, I find that it isstarting to pick up because there areplans for Donaldsonville that thecity council and the chamber areworking on,” she said.

Through the revitalization, manythings will change and new busi-nesses will open, but the citizens ofthe city have molded to the way thatnews is presented in the newspaper,which provides a certain uniquenessto the publication that will notchange.

“The diversified culture made upof African-Americans, Spanish,Italians and Native Americans whocame over to the city have made itunique,” Waguespack said.

The only major change that thepublication has gone through is fromthe old printing presses to computerpagination.

“Back then, they would type andwrite everything on a typewriterwith no computers. They would usea physical layout, and now we use100 percent pagination,”Waguespack said.

“Being with the paper for the last23 years, we have gone throughgood times and hard times. Backthen we had a print shop where wedid job printing and we had office

supplies, so the paper was reallybooming and making a lot ofmoney,” Frederic said.

“The most exciting thing is seeinghow technology has come alongfrom literally piecing things togetherto fully paginating everything bycomputer.”

The Chief staff is making changesto keep up with changing technologyand the ever-changing times. Thesechanges allow consideration for therevitalization project and the bearingit will have on the newspaper andthe editorial stance of the staff.

“By us writing positive storiesabout the revitalization effort, thatwill make people want to come here,visit here and settle here,”Waguespack said

Mike Pace, publisher of TheChief, said the newspaper supportsthe revitalization project.

“We are 100 percent behind therevitalization because the revitaliza-tion is the key to the future ofDonaldsonville and the future of thebusinesses here. We have to be will-ing to open up our arms and acceptthat there are going to be somechanges and that there are going tobe new people coming into town.We definitely want to partner withthose people and be part of the revi-talization,” he said.

The clock ticks by and soon it is4:30 p.m. The staff has settled downand a few sighs can be heard. Thebusy bustling stops and the paper isput to bed. Tomorrow there will benew stories to be told. New picturesto be taken. New changes in thesmall city by the river.

Marie Ory is a Nicholls StateUniversity Mass Communicationjunior from LaPlace.



Chief’s mission remains unchanged

‘The diversified culture made up of African Americans, Spanish,Italians and Native Americans who came over to the city havemade it unique.’

-- Peter Waguespack

Department of Mass CommunicationP.O. Box 2031, Thibodaux, LA 70310985.448.4586www.nicholls.edu/maco


Robert “Bob”Dimm, 65, proudly shows off his freshly made bread Tuesdayat Dimm’s Bakery on Railroad Avenue.

Fresh from the oven

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The noon Union Pacific freight train rumbles throughDonaldsonville Wednesday. The railroad has long been

a vital lifeline for Donaldsonville. At one time rail pas-sengers would stop in the city for refreshments.

Ride the train

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ntel

M. W

empr

en/T

hibo

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Cindy Imbraguglio of CustomFraming on Railroad Avenue framesa postcard reprint of an AlvinBatiste painting.

Close work

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o by

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ntel

Wem

pren

/Thi

boda

ux H

.S.

Mark Schlies of Atlanta, Ga., looks through a marriage-record book at thecourthouse Tuesday. Schlies is a professional genealogist.

Looking back

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John Viso, 60, a long-time residentof Donaldsonville, inheritedPackage Liquors from his familyand continues running it. The shopsells beverages and snacks.

Family business


Slice of lifeWorkshop photographers take a close-up

look at the faces and places that makeDonaldsonville such a special city.

phot

o by

Lau

rel L

evin

e/V

ande

bilt

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The Nicholls State University Department ofMass Communication would like to thank thethose citizens and businesses that participated inour high school journalism project.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

The Donaldsonville Chamber of Commerce

The Donaldsonville Chief

The New York Times RegionalNewspaper Group

The Louisiana Press Association

Congratulations to the students on a job well done.

summer 2002 our town - nicholls state university town summer 20022.pdf · summer 2002 vol. 1, no. 1...

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