January-February 2014 Issue of Inside Northside Magazine

450

$

BACKYARD ASTRONOMERS • CARNIVAL THEMES • REID’S BEES • MILESTONE COUPLES

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2014 VOL. 29, NO. 1

January-February 2014

Vol. 29, No. 1

The community magazine of the northshore, serving St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes.

Publisher Lori Murphy ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Associate Publisher Poki Hampton Editor Jan Murphy

Art Director Brad Growden

Associate Editor Lauren Parrish

Contributors are featured on page 14.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Business Manager Jane Quillin Advertising Account Executives Brenda Breck

Poki Hampton Candice Laizer

Barbara Roscoe Rebecca Schoen Interns Molly Molloy Gambel

Abigail Jennings Alexandra Neitzer –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– For advertising information phone (985) 626-9684 fax (985) 674-7721 email sales@insidenorthside.com –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Please send items for Inside Scoop to scoop@insidenorthside.com.

Photos for Inside Peek, with captions, should be sent to peek@insidenorthside.com. Submit items for Inside Input or Dining Guide to editor@insidenorthside.com.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Contact Inside Northside P.O. Box 9148

Mandeville, LA 70470-9148 phone (985) 626-9684 fax (985) 674-7721 website www.insidenorthside.com

Subscriptions 1 Year $18 2 Years $30 email subscriptions@insidenorthside.com ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

On the cover Artist Linda Trappey Dautreuil –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– INSIDE NORTHSIDE MAGAZINE is published bi-monthly (January, March, May, July, September, November) by M and L Publishing, LLC, PO Box 9148, Mandeville, LA 70470-9148 as a means of communication and information for St. Tam­ many and Tangipahoa Parishes, Louisiana. Bulk Postage paid at Mandeville, LA. Copy­right ©2014 by M and L Publishing, LLC. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written consent of publisher. Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and artwork. Inside Northside Magazine is created using the Adobe Creative Suite on Apple Macintosh computers.

8

Inside Northside

departments 12 Publisher’s Note 14 Contributors 20 INside Scoop 27 INsider Covington Chief of Police Tim Lentz.

28 Points of Interest 34 IN Depth Bobby Lanaux North American Insurance Agency of Louisiana.

75 Flourishes Treasures for your pleasure.

contents table of

85 INside Look

Ravishing Red. 95 IN Love and Marriage Notable northshore weddings.

page 36

page 68 page 89

136 Book Report

Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton.

38 IN the Spotlight 1 Harvest Cup Polo Classic 2013.

139 INside Peek 144 IN the Spotlight Cedarwood School 30th Anniversary Gala.

148 IN the Spotlight Get to Know WYES Northshore.

features

150 IN the Spotlight Children’s Advocacy Center Hope House’s Men Who Cook.

16 Painting the Stories Cover Artist Linda Trappey Dautreuil.

152 IN Great Taste The Perfect Valentine’s Date.

44 Milestone Couples

36 Haven of Tranquility 52 The Northshore’s Backyard Astronomers

155 Inside Dining 161 IN Development The Parkway Project.

60 Reid’s Bees The Real Buzz about Reid Falconer.

165 Ad Directory 166

Last Bite Owner Nick Powers, Head Brewer Matt Horney and Chef Brett Monteleone of Old Rail Brewing Company.

68 Variations on 25 Themes 3,000 Mardi Gras Parades.

2014 Following page

98

82 Generous Hearts

Strip Malls and Water Buffalo— Uncommon Fuel for Philanthropy.

January-February 2014 11

I hope I’m ready!

by Lori Murphy This year, I am really going to try to take the next step toward healthy.

I walk on the lakefront almost regularly, but daylight savings time has messed me up. I find that having people doing it with me is a good motivator. Left to my own devices I might skip, but if I’ve committed to my walking crew that I will be there, I go. Nothing like peer pressure to keep you on track. It has certainly worked for the Lose Dat teams from Franco’s Athletic Club—since its beginning in 2009, approximately 1,000 participants have lost a combined total of 18,000 pounds.

When Rebecca Schoen’s story on the Crescent City Classic came in to our office, (page HL 4), the Inside Northside staff read it and decided to form our own running team. That was on a Monday. By Wednesday, it was a walking team. By Friday, some had decided to meet us at the party that closes out the race day. I’m sure we are not alone.

Good intentions are sometimes hard to sustain, but according to Google, people who establish clearly stated resolutions are 10 times more likely to succeed. Make it measurable and attainable—and celebrate your success. The goal can help keep you moving forward.

The tiki bar on the horizon, if you will.

We are following the Crescent City Classic training guide that kicks off January 1. Wish us luck and post your own health resolutions on our Facebook page. We can hold each other accountable in 2014!

Contributors Mimi Farrell

Jamey Landry

Megan Hill

Mimi Farrell is a senior consultant specializing in group benefits in the New Orleans office of Mercer Health & Benefits. She has consulted on many health care and group benefits issues, including health care strategy, program design and financing, compliance, total health management and performance monitoring. Mimi holds a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University and has more than 28 years of experience in the industry. Mimi served as a consultant for the Healthy Living section in this issue.

Jamey Landry is a writer and producer of advertising, television and radio commercials, many of which have reached national audiences. He also writes jokes and gags for entertainers and bloggers. For even more fun, Jamey is an active participant in local events and festivals.

He also enjoys putting his vast experience to work in television and live-event production as a freelance producer or stage hand. For this issue, Jamey wrote about Mardi Gras parade themes (page 68).

Megan Hill is a freelance writer specializing in food, travel and feature writing. She has contributed to numerous magazines and websites, capturing unique personalities and fascinating stories.

For Inside Northside, Megan has written about wild orchids, the Jahncke shipyard, American Indian mounds, local wildlife and more.

Like the amateur astronomers she interviewed for this issue (page 52), Megan clearly remembers first seeing Saturn through a telescope at the former Freeport McMoran Daily Living Science Center in Kenner as a child and becoming forever fascinated with the night sky.

Webb Williams Webb Williams has contributed to Inside Northside since 2002. Whether his subject is the historical or the hysterical, the famous or the infamous, he adds wit and pizzazz to every article—including this issue’s story about beekeeping (page 60). Webb wears many hats in addition to his trademark chapeau. He loves writing, music, festivals, Carnival and creative pursuits. Formerly the national creative director of Popeyes, Webb now freelances as an advertising copywriter/producer, keeping his creative juices flowing with national and local accounts. He and his wife, Cathy, enjoy their Acadian cottage in Houltonville called “Beau Swamp.”

Contributors: Susan Bonnett, Kaley Boudreaux, Erin Cowser, Poki Hampton, Alice Riley, Terri Schlichenmeyer and Rebecca Schoen .

14

Inside Northside

photo: FIELDING PHOTOGRAPHY

“My interest in the colorful oral narrative traditions of Louisiana and the culture led me to consider them as subjects for painting and drawing. My canvases and works on paper present splices of life through animated lines, shapes and color harmonies. The overall compositions are abstract, but the viewer may find intertwined in these compositions my observations of people, places and the dreamy spaces we inhabit.”

Linda’s journey to becoming a painter came through her struggle to become a playwright. She earned a degree in creative writing from the thennamed University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1984 (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette). After graduating, she found it hard to sustain the drive to

Painting the Stories

by Poki Hampton

Cover Artist Linda Trappey Dautreuil

Three divergent cultures combine to form the rich gumbo of heritage, stories, myths and folklore that is New Iberia, La. Absent of libraries and books in the early days, the oral histories of the 16 Spanish land-grant families, the Acadians who fled Canada and the Native Americans, all of whom lived on a ridge above the winding Bayou Teche, were passed down from generation to generation. Evident in the stories are the relationships among nature, animals and humans that participate in the cycle of life. As a child, Linda Trappey Dautreuil absorbed this multicultural society. It is still with her today as she paints large abstract canvases using the effects of light, color and figures to tell these folk narratives again, helping to preserve them for posterity.

“I have always enjoyed a good story,” says Linda.

16

Inside Northside

write and focused her creativity into painting. “I was experimenting on my own and started taking lessons at the McCrady School of Art in the French Quarter.

One class was very traditional, but another was more contemporary in terms of experimenting with new ideas and materials,” she says.

Painting four hours a day at that point, Linda decided to return to the university, where she developed her own way of seeing and thinking about art and sought a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. She studied with renowned Louisiana artists William Moreland, Robert Russett, Elmore Morgan Jr. and Tom Secrest. “Everything I did brought something to the equation,” Linda says. “It was the creative writing that led to the impetus of dabbling in the visual arts. The moment was right. The transition was an

>>

Meet cover artist

Linda Trappey Dautreuil and see some of her favorite works on display at the

Louisiana Heart Hospital 64030 Louisiana 434 Lacombe, LA

Thursday, January 16, 2014 5:30-7:00 p.m.

For more information, call

626-9684 Music by Montáge

Everyone’s Invited!

January-February 2014 17

outgrowth of what I had done all along.

I am constantly working toward the universal.”

In 1996, Linda moved her studio to Covington, where she and her husband, Chris, made their home. The northshore and St. Tammany Parish were very different from New Iberia, but the connection to the land, nature and the people was just as vibrant, triggering Linda’s imagination and creativity to produce a new serious body of work.

“At that time, I had new experiences to explore, capturing the essence of what makes our community great,” she says.

Primarily an abstract painter, Linda’s process uses acrylic- and water-based mediums mixed with charcoal, graphite and oil, as well as pastel, wax and collage. Each painting involves alternating applications of thin layers of color and marks made with a variety of mediums. “Dautreuil explores transformation, repetition and exaggeration as a means to express variation within the story-telling tradition,” says Judith H. Bonner of the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Lee Gray, the curator at the Hilliard University Art Museum in Lafayette, La., says, “Dautreuil’s work is a bit of an aberration in Southern art because it is totally abstract. Despite the amorphous shapes and liquid patterns that formulate her compositions, Dautreuil’s work has a narrative base like that of other Southern artists. In fact, her work is grounded in the mythology that accompanies so much of Louisiana’s character. When viewing her work, we see things that feel familiar to us and then appear to shapeshift into something new. I think this is what draws one to Dautreuil’s work— the seduction of recognizing something at first glance and feeling comfortable with it before we look deeper and realize there is so much more and it is nothing

like what we expected. The space between that recognizable form or image and the one that is elusive and provocative makes Dautreuil’s work so much more than pure abstraction.

Hers is a study of the space between reality and illusion, much the way Louisiana myths of loup garou or the fifolet live simultaneously in the Cajun country where Dautreuil grew up. It has all the mystery and sensuality that characterizes the South, yet the grounding in knowledge of art history and contemporary theories that permeate the global art world at this moment.”

When you look at one of Linda’s pieces, you can’t help but come away with your own interpretation. Her work is both intriguing and thought provoking, but connecting to the painting and sparking your imagination is the object of the creation. “I don’t believe that the most interesting paintings give you all the answers,” says Linda. “There are times when I am working on a piece and I think it’s finished, so I leave the work alone for a while, perhaps move into another space. I realize, when I look at it fresh, I see it as other people see it.”

Linda’s listing in the veritable Who’s Who in American Art, is, to say the least, extensive; we are able to cite only some of her achievements. For many years, Linda has exhibited in galleries in Texas, Georgia and Louisiana, and she has participated in juried and invitational exhibitions in New York, California, New Mexico, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi and throughout Louisiana. As part of a cultural exchange in the visual arts, she was invited to exhibit in Namur, Belgium, and Grenoble and Suresnes in France. In 1998, Linda received a Visual Arts Fellowship from the Louisiana State Arts Council.

Her paintings were included in New American Paintings in 2001, and analysis of her work has appeared in publications in Atlanta, Texas and Louisiana. Some of her other exhibits were at the Mary C. O’Keefe Center for the Arts in Ocean Springs, Miss., in 2013; and, in New Orleans, both the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in 2012 and the Mario Villa Gallery in 1988.

Permanent displays of Linda’s work may be found in the New Orleans Museum of Art Permanent Collection, the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum Permanent Collection, the St. Tammany Parish Public Art Collection, the F.A. Richard & Associates Collection, St. Tammany Parish Hospital, the Ochsner Foundation Collection, the PaineWebber Collection and the Hilton Corporate Collection, to name a few.

Linda comments on her cover painting, Swirl and Eddy, 72” x 60,” painted in 2012 in acrylic and pencil on two canvas panels.

“I rarely title my paintings until the final stages. I prefer to remain open to the unexpected connections that often present once the process is underway. Swirl and Eddy is the title of a painting that contains references to the movement of water. In making the painting on two panels, a tendency toward contrast entices, but I find integrating the dualities of stasis and motion in both panels more interesting and expressive of my purpose. “‘Swirl’ and ‘eddy’ are terms familiar to anyone who sits beside a river, lake, bayou or stream observing the movement of water. The interplay of light on the surface enhances our perception, while below our conscious minds know currents exist, unseen by the eye. Plant and animal forms, we suspect, but cannot see, except when they rise to the surface. It is both real and mysterious. When viewed from the air, waterways cut through the land in sinuous lines, like thick fat snakes or thin, delicate threads.

“The characteristics of water contribute potent symbolism in our mythologies, in our languages and in the arts. Folk cultures create words for water that describe shape and implied movement.

‘Teche’ is a Native American term for snake in Southwest Louisiana. I grew up in a town where the Bayou Teche curved in such a pronounced way that one crossed it more than once walking or driving in a straight line.

“I made Swirl and Eddy intentionally referencing water, but not rendering it as a waterscape. Within layers of paint, faint line drawings appear, tempting the viewer to look more closely, to move forward in space for closer inspection. The painting is fixed, but the way the viewer perceives it changes. I chose the title Swirl and Eddy because these words describe movement, the organic swirl and the

As the featured artist for the St. Tammany Art Association’s Spring for Art, Linda will present an exhibit titled Arc: Minding the Gap, April 12-May 24, 2014, at the Art House in Covington.

contrary eddy running opposite of the main current. This duality presents an image as old as our earliest myths: the whirlpool.”

January-February 2014 19

INSIDE

For an up-to-date listing of events, please check our website, insidenorthside.com.

the definitive guide to northshore events and entertainment

1-29 Covington Farmers Market. Wed, Covington Trailhead, 434 N. New Hampshire St., 10am-2pm; Sat, 609 N. Columbia St., 8am-noon. Free. 966-1786. covingtonfarmersmarket.org.

1-31 Culinary Kids. Activities and classes for children and adults. Call or visit the website for more information and reservations.

727-5553. culinarykidsNS.com.

1-31 Mandeville City Hall Artist of the Month. Artist Maria Holthauser. Mandeville City Hall, 3101 E. Causeway App. Mon-Fri, 9am-4:30pm. Free. Nancy Clark, 626-3144.

20

I n s i d e N o rt h s i d e

Y 1-31 St. Tammany Parish Hospital

“Women, Art and Social Change: The New-

Parenting Center. Classes for parents and

comb Pottery Enterprise.” Newcomb Art Gallery

children. Call or visit the website for more

at Tulane University. Tue-Fri, 10am-5pm; Sat-

information. 898-4435. stph.org.

Sun, 11am-4pm. newcombartgallery.tulane.edu.

1-Feb 1 Icons: Personal Visions. Group

3 Folsom First Friday Block Party. Live

exhibit of some of Louisiana’s most interesting

music. Camp Street to Railroad Avenue to

artists. St. Tammany Art Association, 320 N.

Highway 25. 6-10pm. 773-3390. villageof-

Columbia St., Covington. 892-8650. sttam-

folsom.com.

manyartassociation.org.

3 Lagniappe Lecture. Author Whitney Ben1-Feb 28 Visions of Excellence. Thirty-

deck discusses “A” Force: The Origins of Brit-

seven images from photojournalists around

ish Deception During the Second World War,

the world. The Louisiana State Museum’s Old

followed by book signing. National World War

U.S. Mint, 400 Esplanade St., New Orleans.

II Museum, 945 Magazine St., New Orleans.

crt.state.la.us/museum/properties/usmint/.

Noon. (504) 528-1944.

1- March 31 Newcomb Pottery Exhibit.

4 Art Walk. Art exhibits, live music and

photos: SARA ESSEX BRADLEY

January

Northshore Carnival Parades JANUARY 11 St. John Fools of Misrule.

Covington. 7pm. foolsofmisrule.com.

FEBRUARY 9 Krewe of Slidellians. Slidell. 1 pm. slidellwomenscivicclub.org.

15 Krewe of Bilge. Slidell. Noon. kreweofbilge.com.

16 Krewe of Pearl River Lions Club.

Pearl River. 1pm.

16 Mystick Krewe of Perseus.

Slidell. 1pm.

21 Krewe of Eve. Mandeville. 7pm. kreweofeve.com.

22 Krewe de Paws. Slidell. 10am. krewedepawsofoldtowne.com.

22 Krewe of Olympia. Covington. 6pm. kreweofolumpia.net.

22 Krewe of Push Mow. Abita Springs.

11am. pushmow.com.

22 Mystic Krewe of Titans. Slidell.

6:30pm. kreweoftitans.com.

23 Krewe of Dionysus. Slidell. 1pm. dionysusofslidell.com.

23 Krewe of Tchefuncte. Madisonville. 2pm.

28 Krewe of Selene. Slidell. 6:30pm. kreweofselene.net. more. Downtown Hammond. All-day event. hammondarts.org/art-walk.

4, 11, 18, 25 Camellia City Market. Local produce, prepared foods, arts and crafts. Live music. Griffith Park, 333 Erlanger St., Olde Towne Slidell. 8am-1pm. Free. 640-7112. camelliacitymarket.org.

4, 11, 18, 25 Hammond Farmers Market.

W. Thomas St. and S.W. Railroad Ave., Hammond. 9am-3pm. Terry Lynn Smith, 277-5680 ext. 2. dddhammond.com.

4, 11, 18, 25 Mandeville Trailhead Community Market. Handmade crafts and prepared food.

Live music. 675 Lafitte St., Mandeville. 9am-1pm.

Free. mandevilletrailheadmarket.com.

>>

January-February 2014 21

Inside Scoop 11, 25 Folsom Village Market. Behind City 5, 12, 19, 26 Abita Springs Farmers

10 Northlake Newcomers Luncheon.

Hall, 13401 June St. 9am-1pm. Free. 796-

Market. Abita Springs Trailhead. Sun, 1-4pm.

Featuring Poppy Tooker, author of Louisiana

3533. villageoffolsom.com.

Free. 807-4447. townofabitasprings.com.

Eats. Tchefuncta Country Club, 2 Pinecrest Dr., Covington. Doors open, 10am. Members,

14 Chamber of Commerce Installation and

6, 13, 20, 27 Microderm Mondays. Azure

$26; guests, $29. Reservations required by

Awards Banquet. Location TBD. Tickets, $20/

Spa, 2040 N. Causeway Blvd., Mandeville.

Jan. 2. 792-4926. northlakenewcomers.com.

person. 386-2536. ponchatoulachamber.com.

11 Bayou Lacombe Work-Play Day. Three

15 Installation and Awards Luncheon.

hours of volunteer work followed by a light lunch

St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce.

8, 15, 22, 29 Botox Wednesdays. Dr. Kelly

and a canoe adventure on Bayou Lacombe.

Tchefuncta Country Club, 2 Pinecrest Dr.,

Burkenstock’s Skin.Body.Health, 2040 N.

Bayou Lacombe Center, 61389 Hwy. 434,

Covington. Lacey Toledano, info@sttam-

Causeway Blvd., Mandeville. Limited appoint-

Lacombe. 9am-1:30pm. Free. Call for reserva-

manychamber.org. sttammanychamber.org.

ments available. $265/area, $665/whole face.

tions, 882-2025. fws.gov/southeastlouisiana.

Limited appointments available. 727-7799. theazurespa.com.

15 Young People’s Concerts. Let’s Go LPO!

727-7676. skinbodyhealth.com.

9 Chamber After Hours. Networking, conver-

11 Madisonville Art Market. Water Street. 10am-

Guest conductor David Torns and actor Amy

4pm. Free. 643-5340. madisonvilleartmarket.com.

Alvarez lead the LPO’s YPC program. Slidell Mu-

sation and fun. Ponchatoula Lions Club, 750 E. Pine St. 386-2536. ponchatoulachamber.com.

nicipal Auditorium, 2056 Second St., Slidell. 10am.

11 St. John Fools of Misrule. Covington.

Admission TBA. (504) 523-6530. lpomusic.com.

7pm. foolsofmisrule.com.

9 Gluzman and Sibelius. LPO concert. First

16 Inside Northside Meet the Artist Party.

Baptist Church, 62883 Hwy. 1089, Covington.

11 Second Saturday Art Walk. Historic Down-

Cover artist Linda Trappey Dautreuil. Louisiana

7:30pm. Tickets, $20-$55. (504) 523-6530.

town Covington. 6-9pm. 892-1873. covla.com.

Heart Hospital, 63030 Louisiana 434, Lacombe.

lpomusic.com.

22

I n s i d e N o rt h s i d e

626-9684.

atre, 220 E. Thomas St., Hammond. 7:30pm.

17-Feb 8 Cabaret. Presented by Cutting

543-4371. columbiatheatre.org.

Edge Theater. Inside Attractions Salon, 747

26 Real Men of St. Tammany Parish Gala.

Benefitting survivors of domestic violence

Robert Blvd., Slidell. 8pm. 649-3737. cut-

23 Installation Banquet. Hammond Cham-

and the Safe Harbor Program. Food, open

tingedgetheater.com.

ber of Commerce. Twelve Oaks Dining Hall,

bar, live music, and live and silent auctions.

400 N.W. Railroad Ave., Hammond. 11:30am-

Northshore Harbor Center, 100 Harbor Center

1pm. Table sponsorships available. 345-4457.

Blvd., Slidell. 6-10pm. Tickets, $100 each.

18 Ballet Appetrei Winter Recital.

Fuhrmann Center at the Greater Covington

safeharbornorthshore.org.

Center, 317 N. Jefferson Ave., Covington. 7pm.

23 Guys and Dolls, Jr. The Swan, 70326 Hwy.

Admission TBA. 624-3622. balletapetrei.com.

59, Abita Springs. 276-9727. dramaandmusic.com.

30-Feb 1 End-of-Season Event. Markdowns and preview new season arrivals.

18 Journal to the Self(R) Workshop.

23 Young People’s Concerts. Let’s Go

Emma’s Shoes and Accessories, 3904 Hwy.

Personal reflection and therapeutic writing.

LPO! First Baptist Church, 16333 Hwy. 1085,

22, Mandeville. 10am-6pm. 778-2200.

Northshore Archdiocesan Pastoral Center,

Covington. 10am. Admission TBA. (504) 523-

emmasshoes.com.

69090 E. Hwy. 190 Service Rd., Covington.

6530. lpomusic.com.

8:30am-4pm. $75. Register at ericamorganlcaw.com or call (504) 583-0461.

24 An Evening Inspired by Downton Abbey.

February

Gala benefitting WYES. Montgomery-Grace

1 Bayou Lacombe Work-Play Day. Three

19 Third Sunday Concert. Bon Operatit.

House, 2525 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans.

hours of volunteer work followed by a light lunch

Christ Episcopal Church, 120 S. New Hamp-

Sharon Snowdy, (504) 840-4886. wyes.org.

and a canoe adventure on Bayou Lacombe.

shire St., Covington. 5pm. Free. 892-3177. christchurchcovington.com.

21 The Hot 8 Brass Band. Columbia The-

Bayou Lacombe Center, 61389 Hwy. 434, 25-26 City-wide Inventory Clearance

Lacombe. 9am-1:30pm. Free. Call for reserva-

Sale. Store-wide sales. 9am-6pm. 386-2536.

tions, 882-2025. fws.gov/southeastlouisiana. >>

ponchatoulachamber.com.

January-February 2014 23

Inside Scoop 1 Folsom First Friday Block Party. Live

4:30pm. Free. Nancy Clark, 626-3144.

ket. Abita Springs Trailhead. Sun, 1-4pm.

music. Camp Street to Railroad Avenue to Highway 25. 6-10pm. 773-3390. villageof-

Y 1-28 St. Tammany Parish Hospital

folsom.com.

Parenting Center. Classes for parents and

1 Mia Sorella Anniversary Party. Refresh-

2, 9, 16, 23 Abita Springs Farmers MarFree. 807-4447. townofabitasprings.com.

children. Call or visit the website for more

3, 10, 17, 24 Microderm Mondays. Azure

information. 898-4435. stph.org.

Spa, 2040 N. Causeway Blvd., Mandeville.

ments, special offers and prizes. Mia Sorella,

Limited appointments available. 727-7799.

1254 Corporate Sq., Slidell. 10am-5pm. 781-

1, 8, 15, 22 Camellia City Market. Local

3909. miasorelladecor.com.

produce, prepared foods, arts and crafts. Live

theazurespa.com.

music. Griffith Park, 333 Erlanger St., Olde

5, 12,19, 26 Botox Wednesdays. Dr. Kelly

1-26 Covington Farmers Market. Wed,

Towne Slidell. 8am-1pm. Free. 640-7112.

Burkenstock’s Skin.Body.Health, 2040 N.

Covington Trailhead, 434 N. New Hampshire St.,

camelliacitymarket.org.

Causeway Blvd., Mandeville. Limited appoint-

10am-2pm; Sat, 609 N. Columbia St., 8am-noon.

Free. 966-1786. covingtonfarmersmarket.org.

ments available. $265/area, $665/whole face.

1, 8, 15, 22 Hammond Farmers Market.

727-7676. skinbodyhealth.com.

W. Thomas St. and S.W. Railroad Ave., Ham1-28 Culinary Kids. Activities and classes

mond. 9am-3pm. Terry Lynn Smith, 277-5680

7 BolĂŠro. LPO concert. First Baptist Church,

for children and adults. Call or visit the web-

ext. 2. dddhammond.com.

62883 Hwy. 1089, Covington. 7:30pm. Tick-

site for more information and reservations.

727-5553. culinarykidsNS.com.

ets, $20-$55. (504) 523-6530. lpomusic.com.

1, 8, 15, 22 Mandeville Trailhead Community Market. Handmade crafts and prepared food.

7 February Fun Fever. An Enchanted

1-28 Mandeville City Hall Artist of the

Live music. 675 Lafitte St., Mandeville. 9am-1pm.

Evening. Food, spirits, music, silent and

Month. Artist Skarlett Roa. Mandeville City

Free. mandevilletrailheadmarket.com.

live auctions, games and raffle. 5:30-9pm.

Hall, 3101 E. Causeway App. Mon-Fri, 9am-

Tickets, $20/person. Chamber, 386-2536,

13 New Orleans Go Red Luncheon. The

David Gueldner, 520-1810, or Billie Jo Laird, 351-6585. ponchatoulachamber.com.

7 National Wear Red Day. The American

8 Art Walk. Art exhibits, live music and more.

American Heart Association. Sheraton New

Downtown Hammond. All-day event. ham-

Orleans, 500 Canal St., New Orleans. 10:30am-

mondarts.org/art-walk.

1pm. Timekia Mallery, timekia.mallery@heart.org

Heart Association. Wear red to show your

or (770) 612-6195. goredforwomen.org.

commitment and passion for fighting heart

8 Madisonville Art Market. Water Street.

disease in women. goredforwomen.org.

10am-4pm. Free. 643-5340. madisonvilleart-

14 Northlake Newcomers Luncheon and

market.com.

Game Day. Play Bunco and Canasta. Loca-

7-16 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Fuhrmann

tion TBD. Doors open, 10am. Members, $26;

Auditorium, 317 N. Jefferson St., Covington.

8 Second Saturday Art Walk. Historic Down-

guests, $29. Reservations required by Feb. 6.

Box office, 276-0465. fpa-theater.com.

town Covington. 6-9pm. 892-1873. covla.com.

792-4926. northlakenewcomers.com.

7-21 “Let’s Get Physical.” Exhibition by

8, 22 Folsom Village Market. Behind City

15 Bayou Gardens Open House. Presented

members of the Slidell Art League presented

Hall, 13401 June St. 9am-1pm. Free. 796-

by the Friends of Louisiana Wildlife Refuges,

by the League. Cross Gates Fitness Center,

3533. villageoffolsom.com.

New Orleans Camellia Club and U. S. Fish &

200 N. Military Rd., Slidell. Opening reception, Feb. 7, 7-9pm. 847-9458. slidellartleague.com.

Wildlife Service. Enjoy camellia season at historic 9 Krewe of Slidellians. Slidell. 1 pm.

Bayou Gardens on the grounds of Bayou La-

slidellwomenscivicclub.org.

combe Centre. Guest speakers, demos, Q&As,

7-March 8 Salad Days Juried Exhibition

displays, garden tours, refreshments and plant

of Student Art. St. Tammany’s talented art

13 Chamber After Hours. Networking, con-

sales are featured. Bayou Lacombe Centre,

students. Slidell Cultural Center at City Hall,

versation and fun. Location TBD. 5:30-7pm.

61389 Hwy. 434, Lacombe. 9am-4pm. Free.

2055 Second St., Old Towne Slidell. Wed-Fri,

386-2536. ponchatoulachamber.com.

882-2000. fws.gov/southeastlouisiana.

noon-4pm. Free. 646-4375. slidell.la.us.

>>

Inside Scoop 15 Krewe of Bilge. Slidell. Noon. kreweofbilge.com.

16 Mystick Krewe of Perseus. Slidell. 1pm.

16 Krewe of Pearl River Lions Club. Pearl River. 1pm.

16 Third Sunday Concert. The Rites of Swing. Christ Episcopal Church, 120 S. New Hampshire St., Covington. 5pm. Free. 8923177. christchurchcovington.com.

21 Krewe of Eve. Mandeville. 7pm. kreweofeve.com.

22 Krewe de Paws. Slidell. 10am. krewedepawsofoldtowne.com.

22 Krewe of Olympia. Covington. 6pm. kreweofolumpia.net.

22 Krewe of Push Mow. Abita Springs.

11am. pushmow.com.

22 Mystic Krewe of Titans. Slidell. 6:30pm. kreweoftitans.com.

22 Paddling Through Time Canoe Tours. Experience the excitement of canoeing southeast Louisiana’s scenic Cane Bayou while learning how humans have interacted with and changed the land over time. All equipment and canoes are provided. Be prepared to paddle for 2-3 hours. Bayou Lacombe Center, 61389 Hwy. 434, Lacombe. 9am-noon. Admission, $10, adult; $5, ages 5-9. Registration required.

882-2025. fws.gov/southeastlouisiana.

23 Krewe of Dionysus. Slidell. 1pm. dionysusofslidell.com.

23 Krewe of Tchefuncte. Madisonville. 2pm.

28 Krewe of Selene. Slidell. 6:30pm. kreweofselene.net.

26

I n s i d e N o rt h s i d e

INsider

by Lauren Parrish

Covington Chief of Police Tim Lentz handle people with mental illnesses. He says, “There’s a crisis in our community in dealing with the mentally ill.” The former president and one of the founding members of STOPS (the St. Tammany Outreach for the Prevention of Suicide), Lentz now sits on the advisory board. He is also on the Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West board.

Lentz applied for the police chief position after retiring as chief deputy of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office in July 2013. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from Loyola University and is a graduate of the prestigious FBI National Academy in Quanitco, Va. Originally from Mandeville, Lentz graduated from Mandeville High School and briefly attended Southeastern Louisiana University before beginning full-time work for the Sheriff’s Office in 1983.

In his free time, Lentz likes to spend time with his family, travel and golf. He and his wife, Suzanne, have two daughters, Alex and Sydney. They are longtime residents of Covington.

photo: FIELDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Newly appointed Covington Chief of Police Tim Lentz has big plans. He wants to reevaluate the police department’s current policies, operating procedures, personnel records, budget, organizational structure and fleet.

“Long-term, I want to reestablish the public’s trust in the department,” says Lentz. “That’s my current mantra—regain the public’s trust.” He values community policing, saying, “We’re in the relationship business.” One of his first actions was to order the removal of the dark tinting on windows of police units to establish a more approachable atmosphere.

Mayor Mike Cooper, who appointed Lentz to his new position, says, “I’m very happy to have Chief Lentz join my administration. He brings a high level of professionalism, integrity and community support, and he shares my philosophy in wanting to make our police department one that all can be proud of.”

A key concern for Lentz is the department’s ability to

January-February 2014 27

Points of INterest

mark of accomplishment in teaching. Certification, comparable to board certification in medicine, is a rigorous, peer-reviewed process that ensures that board-certified teachers have proven skills to advance student achievement. “Ms. Wortmann has not only demonstrated a strong, ongoing commitment to students and their learning, she is elevating the profession,” said Ronald Thorpe, president and CEO of the National Board.

Junior Golfers Donate to Charities Stephen Wall, a junior at Northlake Christian School, and Beau Briggs, a junior at St. Paul’s School, raised $26,000 that they donated to the Kelly Gibson Foundation, the Covington Food Bank, the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation and the American Junior Golf Association’s ACE Grant Program. The two participated in the AJGA’s Leadership Links Program to help raise the money.

Louisiana Photographer Takes Top Honors

Bevolo Lighting Museum Bevolo Gas & Electric Lights is passing along the rich history of lighting through the newly opened Bevolo Lighting Museum. Located at 316 Royal St. in the French Quarter, the museum offers ongoing demonstrations with coppersmiths making actual lanterns. For added interest, a hand-painted mural depicts light’s impact on civilization. There’s also an exhibit dedicated to the effect of lighting on Mardi Gras. Bevolo shares a bit of Mardi Gras trivia. New Orleans hosted the first electrical parade in 1893, sponsored by Thomas Edison. Participants wore hats with light bulbs connected to a snaking cord attached to a generator!

Salmen Principal Renews National Certification Terri Wortmann, Salmen High principal, has renewed her National Board Certification, the highest 28 Inside Northside

Abita Springs resident Lana Gramlich recently received accolades in two photo competitions.

Lana’s Bellingrath Gardens--Entrance photo won First Place in the “Gardens of the South” category of Horticulture magazine’s international 2013 Garden Photo Contest. Her Curving Oaks in Fog photo won the Expressions: Tumbhi Photography Contest 2013 in the nature category.

Slidell Memorial Expansion Slidell Memorial Hospital has opened a new heart center and an expanded emergency department that includes a 20,000-square-foot emergency room and will more than double the number of beds available to patients. The new heart center on the second floor has 38 private inpatient rooms.

Rain CII Moves to Covington Rain CII, global leader in calcined petroleum coke, will move its corporate headquarters from Houston to Covington, adding more than 140 new jobs in the area and retaining 156 existing jobs in Louisiana. The company had moved to Houston from the New Orleans area following facility damage after Hurricane Katrina. Company officials said Rain CII is

moving back to Louisiana because of the state’s successful business climate and the quick recovery and revitalization of the Greater New Orleans area.

West St. Tammany Exchange Club Makes Donations The West St. Tammany Exchange Club presented a check for $32,000 to the Danielle Inn in Covington and a check for $10,500 to the Children’s Advocacy Center - Hope House. The funds were raised at the Exchange Club’s Ultimate Tailgate Party.

Local Author Receives Silver Moonbeam Award Mandeville author Elizabeth Jamie Katz has been nationally recognized as a Silver Moonbeam Award winner for her first children’s book, The Princess ... The Pearls ... & The Pekingese Celebrate Christmas. The Moonbeam Awards bring recognition to children’s books that inspire and delight children of all ages. Judging panels of librarians, teachers, students and book reviewers choose the medalists from more than 1,200 books from around the world.

Mandeville Named Digital Capital of Louisiana Google has named Mandeville the Digital Capital of Louisiana, based on the amount of information provided on its website. The new user-friendly website at cityofmandeville.com will be continually updated with information and links. >> January-February 2014 29

Saint Paul’s National Merit Semifinalists Three members of the St. Paul’s Class of 2014 have been selected as National Merit Semifinalists: Zachary Albright, Michael Burke, and Max Movant.

In the top one half of 1 percent of high school seniors, they will continue in the competition for 8,000 National Merit Scholarships.

Lakeview Regional Recognized Lakeview Regional Medical Center was named a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America. The Joint Commission recognized Lakeview for exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions.

Lakeview was the only hospital in the Greater New Orleans area to be recognized three years in a row on four key quality measures.

Walker Percy Serenity Circle A sculpture of Walker Percy made by his friend

Bill Binnings will be placed in the Walker Percy Serenity Circle at the Madisonville Branch of the St. Tammany Parish Library. Percy, a nationally recognized author, lived in Covington until he died in 1990. Binning’s concept shows Percy on a bench with his dog at his side.

The St. Tammany Library Foundation is selling commemorative, engraved pavers: pavers measuring 6-by-6 inches, $125; 6-by-12-inch pavers, $175; and

12-by-12-inch pavers, $250. For more information on the Walker Percy Serenity Circle project or the opportunity for sponsorships or paver purchases, email Morgan at argiro@bellsouth.net or visit sttammanylibraryfoundation.org.

Fontainebleau Band Third in State Competition The Fontainebleau High School Crimson Band finished third in the Louisiana Showcase of Marching Bands competition at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. They competed against 32 other bands.

Debbie Crouch Named Woman of the Year Debbie Crouch, president/CEO of the East St. Tammany Habitat for Humanity, was named the 2013 Woman of the Year by the Professional Women of St. Tammany. A Leadership Northshore graduate, Crouch is a dedicated member of many local organizations.

Also honored were nominees Leslie Blitch Welliver, Christine Foster, Shay Lorenz, Amy Edwards, Kelly Wursteisen, Kathy Hayward and Abby Shields.

Chemo Beanies Go National Covington sisters Angelle Albright and Danielle Fournier, both breast cancer survivors, found a way to cope with hair loss. Their family business, Chemo Beanies, makes head covers that are more stylish and easier to wear than other options, such as caps, scarves and wigs. About 35,000 beanies have been sold nationwide in less than three years. In a Walmart contest, Chemo Beanies was one of five companies out of 20 to be featured on Walmart’s website for >>

The Fontainebleau High School Crimson Band performing at the Louisiana Showcase of Marching Bands.

pre-orders. For more information, or to order, go to chemobeanies.biz.

Local Teen Attends Fashion Event Former Inside Northside intern Juliette St. Romain was one of the few high school students invited to attend the Teen Vogue Fashion University in New York. The weekend event included seminars and classes with editors, designers, models and people in the fashion industry. Juliette was one of the 500 (mostly college) students ages 16-24 chosen from more than 2,000 applicants from around the world.

STHBA Installs New Officers Nick Castjohn has been installed as president of the St. Tammany Home Builders Association for 20132014. Serving with him are Doreen ‘Dodie’ Adams, vice president; Benjamin Seymour, treasurer; S. Blake Mendheim, secretary; and Susan Meyer, immediate past president.

Members of the board of directors are Madison Burris, Nicholas Cavalier, Joanne Crespo, Cindy Cusimano, John Filipowicz, Jules Guidry, Jason Hand, Mike LeCorgne, Ross Levée, James Richardson, Darwin Sharp and Keith West. STHBA recognized Madison Burris as Associate of the Year and Susan Meyer as Builder of the Year.

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I n s i d e N o rt h s i d e

Chamber Tours to Europe The fourth year of international travel sponsored by the St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce will focus on our Creole heritage. In March, a nine-day tour based in Nice will feature Antibes, Cannes and Grasse on the French Riviera. Available options include Monte Carlo, Provence and San Remo, Italy. The nine-day November tour is set in Spain— Madrid, Cordoba, Seville, Granada and Toledo. For more information, visit sttammanychamber.org or contact their CAO Michelle Biggs at michelle@sttammanychamber.org.

Southeastern Lions Celebrate Championship and New Athletic Director For the first time in 52 years, the Southeastern Louisiana Lions were Southland Conference champions and a No. 4 seed in the 24-team Football Championship Subdivision play-off. The Lions (9-2, 6-0 Southland) tied a school record for single-season victories. With a first-round bye, the team defeated Sam Houston State 30-29 in the second round Dec. 7 at Strawberry Stadium. (At press time, the Lions were scheduled to host New Hampshire in the next round Dec. 14.)

Joining in the celebration of the conference championship was Jay Artigues, recently named the university’s director of athletics.

Artigues joined the Southeastern athletics staff in 2005, serving eight seasons as the university’s 15th head baseball coach, compiling a 276188 win-loss record and earning the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Co-Coach of the Year Award in 2010.

He served as athletics director on an interim basis after Bart Bellairs left the university in June.

January-February 2014 33

IN Depth

by Kaley Boudreaux

with Bobby Lanaux North American Insurance Agency of Louisiana

Five Key Points 1 Set the Right Amount Don’t find out the hard way that your building limit was too low. The insurance limit should be close to the amount necessary to reconstruct the same type and size building with today’s materials, labor and codes. Don’t use real estate market value as the limit, or you may find yourself inadequately funded after a loss.

2 Plan For a Disaster Coverage for loss of business income may be the most misunderstood line of insurance. It does not cover any loss of income. It pays when your building is damaged by a covered cause of loss and that damage prohibits your business from operating in or on your insured premises and you lose income because of the displacement. Set the limit by having your accountant complete a business interruption questionnaire.

3 Know What’s Covered Essentially, this policy protects you and your business from third-party claimants who allege that your business and/or your product caused them bodily injury or property damage. Is your limit enough to protect your assets? Does the limit meet the contractual requirements of your customers?

4 Understand Umbrella Coverage The umbrella policy is not a “catch all” coverage that protects you from any claim the world can throw at you.

The umbrella merely increases the limits of specifically declared policies.

5 Consider Worker Compensation Small business owners often exempt themselves from Worker Compensation Coverage. Consider the costs vs. coverage. It may be best to get coverage simply because it costs so little for the lifetime of benefits.

photo: FIELDING PHOTOGRAPHY

OWNING A BUSINESS in Louisiana brings increased risks. On top of protecting your company from perils of fire and theft or third party liability claims, we also face the threat of hurricanes and floods. After Katrina, we learned how important it is to review your policies and update your insurance knowledge, so we sat down with Bobby Lanaux of North American Insurance Agency of Louisiana for a refresher course on important insurance information. With 30 years of experience, Bobby outlined five key points for business owners to consider.

by Poki Hampton AS ADRIENNE LABORDE LOOKED for an Uptown New

The front of the house during renovation. The front with tropical landscaping, after.

Opposite: The newly added back porch.

36

Orleans house to renovate and flip for a profit, she kept her eye on a side-hall shotgun that was listed online. It went down in price over several months, and her interest peaked.

The cottage was in terrible shape, had not been occupied in several years and presented a challenge—just what she was looking for. Painted a shocking shade of blue, it was dubbed the “Aqua Box.” After much planning and consulting with architects and builders, the nine-month renovation began. Adrienne enlisted the help of contractor Sonny Bontvillon of BHL >>

Inside Northside

Haven of Tranquility

January-February 2014 37

Construction to tackle the project. She says, “I had lots of ideas, and Sonny wasn’t afraid to execute them.”

Adrienne selected the colors for the outside of the house from a still-life photograph of eggplants, mushrooms and sage in a cooking magazine. The walls of the house are now painted eggplant, with creamy white trim and sage green shutters. It is the Aqua Box no more. With the help of northshore gardener Virginia Bessent, raised 38

Inside Northside

beds were created in the front of the house for easy maintenance and a contemporary look. Crushed granite is the base, with four wooden boxes as beds. Low-maintenance plants, Indian Hawthorn in tree form and grasses, along with an elephant ear that survived the renovation, make for a tropical look.

The front porch was enclosed to create a bathroom for the new master bedroom, which was the original living room. “The neighbors questioned this

move but love the results,� says Adrienne. Closing in the space where the original front door was and using shutters and a transom give the illusion of a door while shedding light into the new bathroom.

The master bedroom is simple in design. The metal headboard with a twig motif is complemented by a simple white duvet, gold pillows in various fabrics and a colorful throw from an import shop in Boston. A painting by Ponchatoula artist Connie Kittock hangs over the bed. “I used the colors from this art piece by Connie for inspiration inside the house,� says Adrienne. The ceiling is painted orange, which creates a glow in the room. A butterfly-patterned rug >>

Opposite: The courtyard with lemon and lime trees planted in a raised bed.

The courtyard, before.

Top: The repurposed front doors used as the entrance to the master bath. Bottom: The front doors before.

January-February 2014 39

Above: The sleek new kitchen with granite countertops and stainless appliances.

Opposite: A bright green hutch used as a bar.

40

Inside Northside

serves as an anchor.

Using the original front doors and sidelights as an entrance from the bedroom to the bathroom makes for an interesting open feel. The bathroom’s refinished 5-foot claw tub is original to the house; the faucet, counter, sink and freestanding glass shower are all new additions, as is the bathroom floor of 12-by-12 marble tiles.

As much of the original house as possible was reused and repurposed, including doors, windows, molding and door knobs. “We refinished the floor in

the front of the house but had to use new flooring in the back. The interior walls are all painted in ivory semi-gloss.

This makes everything flow and gives it a contemporary feel,� says Adrienne.

When the back wall of the house was removed to take in the back porch, the roofline was extended out and back to include what is now the living room, vestibule and the new back porch. This created an open-plan kitchen, bar and living area.

The kitchen has open shelves, which house assorted dishes and

serving pieces in white and gray tones.

The backsplash is multicolored glass mosaic tiles in pinks, purples, grays and blues. The bar area has repurposed bead board with a gray wash and a granite top with flecks of color repeated from the backsplash. A separate hutch, painted a bright green, is used as storage for wine and wine glasses. Two art pieces beside the hutch are by Covington artist Charles MacGowen. Lighting the area are two black lantern-style hanging pendants. Warm brown cabinets, glazed in black, and stainless steel appliances from Designer Appliance complete the contemporary look.

The living room, which had been the back porch, is furnished in a casual French style with white canvas upholstery, assorted pillows and a sisal rug. The painting above the sofa is a find from a trip to Key West. A large bowl, Adrienne’s creation, sits on the industrialstyle cocktail table. The long driveway from the street leads to the new vestibule and new “front” door.

On the back porch, which overlooks the courtyard, Adrienne has repurposed several of the house’s old windows to make a screen on the side. Tangerine-colored >> January-February 2014 41

Above: The linen-covered shabby-chic sofa in the living room. Top right: A side table in the living room. Right: The colors throughout the house were taken from an art piece by Connie Kittock, which hangs over the bed.

faux-leather contemporary chairs, two tall planters in chartreuse and a rough-hewn cocktail table add interest to the porch.

Everything in the original courtyard was ripped out, including lots of bamboo.

Adrienne and Virginia took everything down to the dirt and started over. They built raised beds held in place by corrugated galvanized tin walls topped with rough-hewn 4-by-4s. “We left the bottoms open so the trees would grow into the earth,” says Adrienne. Lemon and lime trees, herbs and Wandering Jew add color. The courtyard is simply furnished with a yellow iron settee and two classic teak chairs painted white.

The floor is of cement pavers. At the far end on an eggplant-colored wall is a fountain created from a ceramic pot and a bowl Adrienne made.

42

Inside Northside

As a final touch, the shed in the back of the house was converted into a one-bedroom suite with a mini-kitchen and bathroom. “It is the perfect place for overflow guests,” says Adrienne.

After all the work of renovating, Adrienne decided to keep the cottage.

“We enjoyed doing it, but we enjoy coming here to unwind even more,” she says.

by Erin Cowser

44

Inside Northside

Prayer, patience and a potent sense of humor are the common thread shared by the following couples, who “have gotten it right” and are celebrating milestone anniversaries this year. Those who faced adversity together turned those shared experiences into means of strengthening their relationships. All the couples appreciate their marriages and, most importantly, appreciate each other. They enjoy living life and are grateful that they get to live it together.

We wish them many more years of wedded bliss.

photos: FIELDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Earl and June Magner – 60 years August 28, 1954 It was a leap year, so the girls had to ask the boys to the Carnival Ball. On Feb. 29, 1949, June asked a neighbor’s friend to be her date. Earl agreed.

June spent football season that fall sitting in the section of the stands near the Holy Cross High School band. Earl played trumpet.

They dated through high school and continued to do so when Earl headed off to Baton Rouge to study civil engineering at LSU. In his senior year, the two married. June worked at a bank and took care of the first of their eight children while Earl completed his studies. Cheryl was followed by Mitchell, Susan, Karl, Christopher, Jackie, Kenneth and Lesley.

Theirs is a family and marriage grounded in faith. “It is so important to be close to the Lord.

He always has been and always will be first in our lives,” June says.

Their faith was strengthened when their son Kenneth was born with brain damage. Despite doctors’ warnings otherwise, Kenneth lived to be 36 years old. “He motivated and inspired all of us,” says Earl. >>

Earl and June Magner.

January-February 2014 45

With religion so interwoven in their lives, it was fitting when the two decided to move to the northshore and serve as caretakers at the Regina Coeli Catholic Retreat Center in Covington.

It offered them the opportunity to work together—he coordinated care of the grounds and facilities while she handled the accommodations and administrative affairs.

“Working at the center was so fulfilling and worthwhile,” Earl says. “We were able to share in the experiences of those who came to the center to better their lives by getting closer to God. It was an honor for us.”

The two now live in a quiet neighborhood and enjoy each other as much as they enjoy their 15 grandchildren and two great-grands.

They have their routines. Earl plays golf, and June plays canasta. Together they make each other laugh.

“Ours is a simple life,” says June.

“We cooperate with each other, and no matter what, we remember that the Lord is the center of our lives and marriage.”

Rick and Judy Jennings – 50 years February 16, 1964 Rick Jennings didn’t just bring a pretty date to his high school prom.

He brought his beautiful wife.

Judy was a freshman at Jacksonville State University and Rick a senior at Anniston High School when the two “snuck away for the afternoon” one weekend and got married. “It wasn’t even a weekend getaway,” Judy laughs. They didn’t tell anyone after eloping, and come Monday morning, Rick went back to 46

Inside Northside

photo: FIELDING PHOTOGRAPHY

high school and Judy returned to campus for class.

After all, he had just turned 18 three days earlier and she had turned 19 the week before.

“We didn’t tell anyone for about two weeks,” Judy says. “We just kept dating as if we weren’t married.”

But married they were and still are today. The couple says they grew up together, and that was part of the fun and challenge of their marriage.

How have they made it work for the past 50 years? “Be considerate of each other,” says Judy.

“Treat your spouse as you want to be treated and make sure to have lots of patience.” A good dose of humor is also part of the successful marriage process for the Jennings. Judy adds, “Rick can always find a reason to make me laugh—even sometimes when I’m angry and don’t want to. It’s important that you can laugh at and with each other.”

Having married so young, Judy says they had Rob and Heidi Rhea.

Rick and Judy Jennings.

their share of trials and tribulations as a new couple starting a family. However, they are enjoying their empty nest and taking full advantage of all the local cultural arts and entertainment venues that permeate our state and region. “It’s hard to sit still when you live in an area with so many wonderful offerings,” she says.

Their only child, Michelle, sums their relationship up perfectly. “They love each other, and they love life.”

photo: HEATHER BURBRINK

Rob and Heidi Rhea – 40 years July 21, 1973 When he fell asleep on the couch, she had to call her mom to come pick her up. After such a spectacular first date, it’s surprising Heidi agreed to another date. This one entailed babysitting Rob’s two little sisters and brother. Luckily for Heidi, Rob has improved his dating finesse in the 40 years since they got married.

Theirs is a romantic love story, but Heidi >> January-February 2014 47

Derek and Kelly Commander.

48

Inside Northside

Derek and Kelly Commander – 30 years May 12, 1984 Kelly and Derek Commander have been married for almost 30 years. “But some days it feels like 50!” wrote Kelly on a recent Facebook post.

photos: FIELDING PHOTOGRAPHY

cautions that she wouldn’t recommend a similar route to other young couples. “Once we got married, we had to pay for everything ourselves,” she says. “It was far from easy.”

Heidi and Rob dated for only six weeks before he proposed. They met for the first time over Christmas break—when Rob brought home his then-girlfriend from college to introduce her to his parents. Obviously, that relationship went no further.

“It was the mini-skirt that did it,” Heidi laughs, when she shares how Rob describes his decision to court Heidi instead.

Forty years later, the parents of Jennifer, Sean and Heather have been through what Heidi describes as some definite rough times. Diagnoses of bile duct cancer and Lynch’s Syndrome led Heidi to St. Louis Hospital for treatments for over a year. “Rob never left my side,” she says.

“He would wake up at 2 a.m. to make sure I was

getting my medicine.” While the situation was trying, it also brought the couple closer together. “It made our relationship that much stronger,” Heidi says. “The phrase ‘in sickness and in health’ rings so true for us.”

The Rheas love to travel. Europe is a favorite destination, especially with relatives in Vienna, Austria.

Heidi can proudly proclaim that there are only two continents she has yet to visit. “I haven’t been to Antarctica or Australia,” she says.

“Antarctica isn’t really on my mustvisit list, but I would like to head to Australia at some point.”

So what is next for this globetrotting duo? “Our goal is to take all the grandkids to Europe to visit their relatives there,” says Heidi. There are also plans to return to Malawi, Africa, to continue mission work with the Mwana Mission Project. Their mission group has purchased land in a village and is anxious to start construction of a multipurpose building for a health clinic, preschool and common recreation room.

However, those travel plans may have to wait a while. The arrival of triplet grandchildren to add to the five they already brag about will surely provide plenty of good reasons to postpone any trips—at least until the little ones can get their passports. In the meantime, Heidi says she wouldn’t mind appeasing the urge to travel, perhaps with an old-fashioned trip with everyone in an RV to the Grand Canyon.

That quirky sense of humor landed her and her husband in this article, and also contributes daily to the success of their marriage.

“His sense of humor is what I love most about my husband,” Kelly says. “That and our fierce determination—or what others might call stubbornness—have kept us together and happy all these years.”

Kelly explains that when the couple first got engaged, everyone told them the odds were stacked against them since they both came from divorced families. “They said, ‘It’s really not looking too good for y’all,’” she says. “That was like waving a red flag in front of us!”

Thirty years later, they have certainly proven their naysayers wrong. Not only are they happily married, but Kelly and Derek have worked together 24/7 in the road construction business for the past 12 years. And, according to Kelly, they still like each other. “We’re in separate offices and buildings now, though,” she laughs.

It’s appropriate for a couple that works together in the road industry to have hit “a few bumps in the road” over the years. “Marriage is not always easy, but it’s worth it,” Kelly says.

The parents of Cory, Madeline and Christian are looking forward to enjoying the easy part of marriage— when you get to fully enjoy your family—in May. Not only will they be celebrating 30 years of marriage, but their oldest son will be getting married.

Kelly’s advice to newlyweds? “Pick your battles, and don’t take life too seriously,” she suggests. “And, have faith in each other.” >> January-February 2014 49

Mark and Emilie Schenck – 25 years May 20, 1989 Emilie and Mark Schenck have the best of both worlds. They have the joy of rocking their baby to sleep at night and the pleasure of holding grown-up conversations with their sons afterward.

Brennan and Matthew (now 21 and 14, respectively) weren’t quite sure what to think when the impending arrival of their little sister was announced. “Congratulations?” with extra emphasis on the question mark is what Emilie remembers her oldest son’s response to be. Éva Rose (11 months) was a surprise and a “miracle baby” to boot. After being diagnosed with both pulmonary fibrosis and colon cancer, Emilie never imagined there would be a new addition to the Schenck family. “But what a beautiful surprise,” she says.

Mark and Emilie got married one year to the date of her high school graduation. “We were 19 years old, and we had a goal—to make sure our marriage would last.”

Twenty-five years later, they have achieved that goal.

According to Mark, he fell in love with Emilie the first time he saw her. “I saw her my freshman year in high school,” he says. “I told the friends I was walking with, ‘I’m going to marry that girl.’” Although they didn’t date immediately, Mark says he got to know her because, thanks to alphabetical order, Emilie sat in front of him in every class. “She had been dating the quarterback, and he slipped up with 50

Inside Northside

Mark and Emilie Schenck.

photo: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

a cheerleader one weekend,” says Mark. “The rest is history.”

Mark, who works as a professional performance trainer and restaurateur, says he admires his wife’s strength and passion.

“I work with fighters, boxers and former Navy Seals,” he says. “And my wife is the toughest person I know. She inspires me.”

“Be spontaneous. Make each other laugh. Don’t take everything so seriously. Live life together. Patience and prayer are a must,” advises Emilie. She adds that her husband’s dedication and determination while dealing with such severe health issues brought them together in a way that’s difficult to explain.

“He was and is always so there for me,” she said. “For us it truly is ‘’til death do us part.’”

Milestones Gifts

Anniversary Gifts

As if remembering anniversaries isn’t tough enough for some husbands, Emily Post politely suggests they also remember to get the gift that corresponds with their appropriate number of years of wedded bliss. She crafted the first-ever anniversary gift-giving guide circa 1922 in her Blue Book of Social Usage. While her original milestone anniversary gifts continue to ring true, additional gifts for the in-between years have followed suit.

There’s even a formal list of modern equivalents to the original gift-giving recommendations.

Admittedly, some of the presents are a little odd. But despite a few headscratching selections, the list features a wide range of helpful, considerate and diverse gift ideas that can serve as a jumping-off point for shopping ventures.

In fact, it is easy to put a modern twist on some of these antiquated gift ideas. For example, “paper” is the designated material for the first anniversary. Rather than purchase your beloved a ream of printer paper at Office Depot, consider presenting her with a pair of plane tickets for a second honeymoon. Along that same line, tickets to the theater or a sporting event could work just as well.

Year Traditional Modern 1st Paper Clock 2nd Cotton China 3rd Leather Crystal, Glass th 4 Linen/Silk Electric appliances th 5 Wood Silverware 10th Tin/Aluminum Diamond 15th Crystal Watches th 20 China Platinum th 25 Silver Sterling Silver 30th Pearl Diamond th 40 Ruby Ruby th 50 Gold Gold th 60 Yellow Diamond Diamond 75th Diamond, Gold Diamond-like

Stones, Gold January-February 2014 51

by Megan Hill

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Inside Northside

GAZE SKYWARD on a cloudless, crisp winter night and, if you’re in a place dark enough, you’re likely to see countless twinkling stars. If the moon isn’t bright, you may notice the hazy smudge of the Milky Way. Wait long enough, and a shooting star might flash through the heavens. The slow, arching movement of a satellite may be visible, if you squint and stay patient.

Add a telescope, even a small, entry-level model, and you might spot the rings of Saturn, the swirling Great Red Spot on Jupiter and perhaps another galaxy. The possibilities are limited only by the range of your scope, which can peer millions of light years into outer space.

The wonders of deep space have the potential to leave even the least science-minded among us transfixed. And for some, the pull of the cosmos is so undeniable that they’ve built backyard observatories to feed their interests.

Backyard Hobbyists A handful of hobbyists sport these backyard observatories on the northshore. They can be as simple as a telescope housed in a small storage unit or shed, or as complex as a domed observatory with moving parts, a miniature version of what you’d find at the old Freeport McMoran Daily Living Science Center in Kenner or at the Gretna City Park’s public observatory.

And you don’t have to be a trained astronomer to own one. Take David Pavlich, owner of the Northshore Tennis shop. Pavlich’s wife, Barbara, awakened his latent interest in astronomy nine years ago when she gave him a small telescope for his birthday.

“It sat around the house for six or seven months, and one night I took it out. She said, ‘Where are you going with that thing?’ and I said ‘I think I can find Saturn,’” Pavlich recalls.

“If you’ve ever seen Saturn through a telescope, it takes your breath away. And sure enough, I found it, so I brought her outside and she looked through the scope. I gave her a big hug, and here I am nine years later, and I have an observatory in my backyard. So it’s all her fault. She got me started and now it’s an addiction.”

Pavlich built a small 8-by-8 observatory in his backyard with a roll-off roof. When he wants to look at the stars, he simply rolls the roof off, freeing the telescope to peer into the heavens.

There’s also John Watzke, who recently retired from a career in technical sales.

“Back when I was a kid during the Apollo space program, I was just interested in that type of stuff, and of course, every kid got a telescope for Christmas. And that’s what we all started from. The little $50 Sears telescope,” Watzke says. He and his wife, Beth, each have their own observatory in the>>

The rings of Saturn are one of the most spectacular sights you can see from a backyard observatory.

January-February 2014 53

Jack Huerkamp and his impressive domestyle observatory, Waning Moon II. 54

Inside Northside

photos: FIELDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Jack Huerkamp.

backyard of their home near Money Hill. Watzke built his, which looks like a regular shed on wheels but with a roof, similar to Pavlich’s.

And there’s Jack Huerkamp, who grew up wanting to build spaceships to the moon. When he was 20 years old, Huerkamp borrowed a telescope from a neighbor. “I got the Farmer’s Almanac and looked at what was out that night. Saturn was out, and I grabbed my dad, my mom and my brothers, and said, ‘You gotta see this,’” he says. Huerkamp has had telescopes ever since. He built his first observatory at his New Orleans East home; though he’s long since sold that home, the observatory still stands. It even survived Hurricane Katrina. “I build stuff to last,” he says.

Huerkamp’s present observatory, a dome-style setup, sits in his Pearl River backyard. “What got me concerned is that the town allowed the property right behind me to convert to totally commercial, so one day I could end up with a McDonald’s parking lot in my backyard. With a dome, I could turn the dome away from the lights and kind of block it,” he says.

Huerkamp drew on his engineering background during construction, taking care of the wiring and mechanical aspects himself. His dome is automated to rotate, and its shutters also open and close electrically.

Though he’s a retired mechanical and environmental

engineer, Huerkamp admits there were bugs to work out and aspects of the operation to tweak.

The Wonders of Space While near-space bodies like Jupiter and Saturn first captivated these amateur astronomers, they now spend their evenings staring much deeper into the cosmos. The bigger the telescope, the more light it can gather, and the farther into the universe it can peer.

“I think what really gets a lot of people captivated is the size and the distances that we deal with looking through a telescope, when you consider that one of the really, really close starbirthing regions in Orion is 1,350 light years away,” says Pavlich. “That sounds like a long distance, but it’s right next door. When you tell people that one light year is about 5.5 billion miles, you can’t get your arms wrapped around it. That might be what really inspires us once we get out there and start looking at stuff.”

Even with a hobbyist’s telescope, there are hundreds of thousands of objects to look at— globular clusters, which are massive, bright clumps consisting of stars; open clusters, which are more spread out and consist of a few thousand stars; distant galaxies, far beyond the Milky Way; binary stars, two stars bound together in mutual orbit; and nebulas, stunning clouds of gasses and dust suspended in space.

The Light Pollution Problem Backyard hobbyists are limited by what’s around them. A neighbor’s trees or a nearby building might partially block the view. The time of year is important, too; as the earth moves around the sun, different space bodies become visible.

Light pollution can also be a factor. >> January-February 2014 55

photo: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

The “Blood Moon” eclipse of Oct. 27, 2004. The Moon appears red due to the Earth’s atmosphere. It is the lunar equivalent of seeing every sunrise and sunset on Earth – simultaneously.

Some areas of the northshore are so dark you might spot the Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way, with the naked eye—and it’s 2.5 million light years away. Closer to more populous areas, lights from shopping malls and gas stations can add a hazy glow that can wash out much of the sky.

The rapid growth of the northshore has added some light to the night sky, depending on where you live, but regulations on outdoor lights have helped tamp down the brightness.

“The big push worldwide is the controlling of light pollution through the shielding of lighting,” says Huerkamp. “If you put a shield on the light and direct it down, you can go with a smaller wattage bulb and get the light on the ground where you want it as opposed to just blasting it off into space.”

Mandeville first installed a light ordinance after urging from one of Huerkamp’s fellow members at the Pontchartrain Astronomy Society, a group of 150 amateur astronomers across South Louisiana and Mississippi. The ordinance, which was later adopted by St. Tammany 56

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Parish, says that all outdoor lights must have shields directing the light downward. But each town has its own ordinance, which may conflict with the wider parish rules. Pearl River, where Huerkamp lives, for example, does not require light shields.

But Huerkamp says some businesses have chosen to install shields anyway, in part because they can save money by using lower wattage light bulbs. It’s a boon to his stargazing. “Rooms to Go built a big distribution center in Pearl River. All of their lighting is shielded, because they see the benefits. Associated Wholesale Grocers did their big deep freeze unit in Pearl River— images. Then I come back in the house and let the computer take care of it,” he says. “All I have to do is go outside and flip a few switches.”

Pavlich’s digital camera grabs photons from space and turns them into data, which he then processes with the editing software Adobe Photoshop. Taking photos is easy, he says, but it’s the processing that takes time and talent.

“The processing really takes a lot of talent to make the pictures look nice. I get a sense of accomplishment from it,” Pavlich says. “Post processing can be quite involved. When you look at a picture of a terrestrial object, it’s real easy to see, but the things we image are so dim. I typically shoot one exposure for eight minutes and I’ll take 16 exposures or 25 exposures and then put them into a stacking program that stacks the pictures, which brings out more detail. Then I go into Photoshop and that’s what drags the data out of it by stretching the image. >>

David Pavlich.

David Pavlich’s observatory features a slideaway roof.

all of their lighting is shielded. At the new gas station that was just built at Exit 3, all the lighting is shielded.

There are people that get it,” he says.

photos courtesy: DAVID PAVLICH

Varying Interests Each hobbyist’s interest takes a slightly different tack. Pavlich doesn’t sit at his telescope at all; he rolls the roof off his observatory, starts up his equipment and heads back inside his house. Instead of looking through a telescope all night, Pavich programs his computer to aim at and take pictures of certain celestial bodies. It’s an offshoot of stargazing called astrophotography.

“I get the computer going and make sure everything’s focused and set the parameters for taking January-February 2014 57

That’s where science turns into art.”

Pavlich frames 8-by-10 printouts of his photos, giving them as Christmas gifts and hanging them in his tennis shop. Pavlich says he deals with a lot of light pollution, since he lives in central Mandeville, so imaging is one way to get around that problem. “Doing observational astronomy, a lot of things get washed out because of the bright lights. With astrophotography, you can take the pictures despite the light,” he says.

Huerkamp’s sub-hobby is video astronomy. Rather than look through a telescope, he looks at a laptop monitor.

He became so taken with the hobby he now works as a distributor for a video astronomy camera company.

“They’re specialized cameras that take the place of an eye piece and allow you to see more—and in color—than you can with an eye piece. It’s really beneficial for people with disabilities or visual impairments. Cameras allow you to see much fainter objects than you can with the eye piece,” Huerkamp says. You can use a laptop or a tube monitor for viewing.

Something for Everyone Each hobbyist is largely self-taught and without a background in astronomy or physics, which proves that the hobby is accessible to the average Joe. They each read books and did research online to learn the tricks of the trade, but say the best way to get started is to learn from other people.

Watzke says joining a club like the Pontchartrain Astronomy Society is a good first step. The society formed in 1959 and meets once a month at the University of New Orleans. The northshore members— between 20 and 25 people—have formed a splinter group that meets once a month north of the lake.

“This way, you get to look through other people’s scopes and figure out 58

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photo courtesy: JOHN WATZKE

John Watzke.

Above: John Watzke. Right: On June 5, 2012, Venus passed directly between Earth and the Sun. Historically, this rare alignment is how astronomers measured the size of our solar system.

The next transit of Venus will occur in December 2117. It is only safe to view the sun through a specially filtered telescope or indirect viewing source, such as a pinhole projector.

what type of scope you really like and what you can do with it. That’s the best way to learn anything,” he says. Though dedicated hobbyists can sink several thousand dollars into backyard observatories, fancy equipment and high-powered telescopes, Watzke says entry-level scopes cost only a few hundred dollars. And that’s all you need to get started—and get hooked.

Huerkamp and his wife attend star parties, large gatherings of amateur astronomers that can last one night or a week. He’s attended such events around the country and has plans to join one at the Grand Canyon next summer.

“There are star parties throughout the country almost any weekend when there’s no moon in the sky,” he says. Huerkamp frequently joins a digital star party on the website, nightskiesnetwork.com. “It allows

people to broadcast live their views with their telescopes and people can join in and chat. It’s a worldwide star party live on the Internet and anyone can watch.”

For Pavlich, there’s something rewarding in passing the hobby on to the next generation. He relishes opportunities to bring the stars to Boy Scout troops or members of the general public, and watches as they stare in awe at the galaxies, stars and planets that first captured his imagination nine years ago, when his wife bought him his first telescope.

“If Jupiter or Saturn is up, that’s what hooks people,” Pavlich says. “Four or five people usually leave and go buy a telescope.”

For more information, contact David Pavlich at northshoretennis@bellsouth.net or visit the Pontchartrain Astronomy Society website pasnola.org.

January-February 2014 59

The Real Buzz about Reid Falconer

by Webb Williams

60

Inside Northside

photo: FIELDING PHOTOGRAPHY

DO YOU LADIES THINK you’d like to be a “Queen Bee,” living the regal life of luxury with hundreds of servants tending to your every want and need? Well, according to Mandeville beekeeper Reid Falconer (also noted architect, developer and St. Tammany Parish councilman), “Queen bees lay more than 1,000 eggs a day. That’s a lot of labor!”

An easygoing guy, Reid’s most pleasant to be around. He’s the kind of person you’d have to go way out of your way to pick a fight with.

That gentle nature of his is probably sensed by his bees, which rarely ever sting him. His mellow tone and friendly drawl are easy to listen to—and his knowledge of the subject of honeybees is quite scholarly.

Reid says he has always been fascinated with bees, dating back to when he was in middle school and a neighbor raised bees in backyard hives. Reid became interested in raising his own bees about two years ago after reading about the decline in honeybee populations in North America. “I noticed that my lemon and satsuma trees weren’t producing like they used to. And a neighbor said she was having the same complaint about her gardens yielding fewer fruits and vegetables than usual.”

The decline in bee populations is a serious issue.

Over the past seven years, a stunning one-third of the U.S. honeybee population has disappeared without a trace—a mystery that’s baffling beekeepers and scientists, and raising concerns about the impact on the American food supply.

Reid explains, “When they get exposed to some of these pesticides, they just can’t find their way back to the hive, and they die.” His advice to readers who want to protect the vegetables, fruits, nuts and flowers that we all enjoy?

“Read the labels. If you see a pesticide that is harmful to honeybees, for goodness’ sake, don’t use it!”

After deciding to become a beekeeper, Reid researched online and got a book called, First Lessons in Beekeeping, kind of a “beekeeping for dummies” that went back to 1917. “Then I contacted the beekeeping club on the northshore for advice.” Being a good neighbor, he also asked area residents if they objected to his possible endeavor and got their blessing. Reid rewards them today with occasional jars of his bounty, and they appreciate the pollination of their flowers, fruits and vegetables. Since he doesn’t sell honey commercially, Reid doesn’t have to hassle with the fees and hurdles of state regulations. No license is required to raise bees.

Bees Back In Time Since ancient times, honey has been used both as a food and as a medicine. Apiculture, the practice of beekeeping to produce honey, dates back to 700 B.C., or even earlier. For many centuries, honey was regarded as sacred, because of its wonderfully sweet properties, as well as its rarity. It was used mainly in religious ceremonies to pay tribute to the gods and to embalm the deceased.

Honey was also used for a variety of medicinal and cosmetic purposes. Since it was so expensive, for a long time its use in cooking was reserved only for the wealthy. “The story goes that when they opened King Tut’s tomb, they found traces of honey in an earthen jar with his remains,” Reid says. “So as far back as humans have lived in organized society, I presume bees have been cultivated in hives for their wonderful gift—honey.” >>

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photos: FIELDING PHOTOGRAPHY

The first beer brewed by humankind was mead.

“Mead is fermented distilled honey. It’s a beverage that predates beer. In ancient Rome and the Middle Ages, mead was the alcoholic beverage of choice,” says Reid. He’s never brewed it, but says, “It’s becoming popular, though, like craft beers. I haven’t tasted it, but with the sweetness of honey and a little kick to it—people enjoyed it for thousands of years.”

He laughs. “Can’t be too bad.”

As to the beginning of our honeybee population, Reid says, “When you see a golden honeybee, it’s usually Italian in origin. Settlers in America brought these bees with them. Native Americans called them ‘the white man’s flies,’ and they knew that the bees forage in about a threemile radius around the hive. So if they spotted honeybees, they knew immediately that the white settlers were not very far behind.

“Native American bees are solitary—they don’t collect together in hives like the European variety.

Bumblebees and carpenter bees don’t build beehives, and they produce very little honey. Their honey is produced for their own consumption—to feed their larvae. They’ll dig a hole in the ground or in wood, lay a single egg and deposit just enough honey to get the larvae through the pupae stage. Then that bee emerges and starts its own life cycle.”

An interesting tidbit that Reid learned is that tomato plants, being from South America originally, are not pollinated by European honeybees; they must be pollinated by native-American bee species.

The Life Of Bees In a beehive, the worker bees are female, and they do all the work. “I tell people that all the drones do is sit around smokin’ cigars, drinkin’ beer and watchin’ ESPN. Their only job is to impregnate the Queen. Why, they don’t even feed themselves—the girl worker bees feed them!” Reid says, laughing.

“But then, come winter, the workers run all the drones out of the hive to eventually starve and die.” The world of bees is a highly regimented society with no room for slackers. Pass your prime, and you’re fired!

Worker bees collect the pollen in sacks on their back legs and nectar in their digestive tracks. The pollen sacks are put into the cells in the hive.

Another worker bee extracts the nectar, turning it into a complex sugar, which becomes the honey that’s deposited into cells. Young worker bees take care of the interior of the beehive and actually receive the honey for deposit. They also extrude wax from their bodies that is chewed by another worker and turned into the building material that makes up the hive. Later in life, they become the cleanup bees—the janitors of the hive.

Then they become protectors of the hive and foragers until they wear themselves out. Finally, the guard bees kick the old timers out, tear their frayed wings off and leave them to die. (It ain’t easy being bees, folks!)

“People used to think that the Queen runs everything, but she really doesn’t,” says Reid. “All a Queen does is lay eggs 24/7, a thousand a day—and >> January-February 2014 63

they’re all fertile. The Queen lives two to three years, whereas the drones and workers live only about six weeks. If the workers notice the Queen is slowing down in her egg production, they’ll produce another Queen. The workers know instinctively which eggs could become a Queen and pick one to receive what’s called ‘Royal Jelly,’ a complex protein from their body unlike the regular honey and pollen fed to the growing worker bees. When a new Queen emerges, she stings the old Queen, killing the former sovereign in a sort of coup d’état, and takes over.”

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” the old saying goes. It sounded to me as though honeybees exist in a feudal system of government.

Reid chuckled, “Maybe so, but instead of the ‘Lord of the Manor,’ it’s more like the ‘Queen of the Manor.’”

I asked Reid if bees can be trained to perform certain functions. He said, “Interesting that you should ask that question. There are experiments going on right now to train bees to swarm around the smell of gunpowder so they can be used in clearing land

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Inside Northside

mines. Their acute sense of smell may eventually save human lives. Beyond that, I’m certainly not gonna try to train ’em.” He laughed.

Bees are most active in the spring, when flowers are blooming and pollen’s plentiful; in the fall, they’re a little more docile, but getting ready for the winter by storing as much honey as they can. “To be a responsible beekeeper, one must cut back or stop honey harvesting to enable the hive to thrive through the lean winter months,” Reid says. He feeds his bees right in the hives during the winter with a 1-to-1 mixture of sugar and water to help them through the cold. Reid also provides them with supplemental protein packs to ensure the hive’s good health.

Bee Watching Reid enjoys his hobby to the max, sitting out in his lawn chair with his “Tiger Stadium” field glasses, watching his bees come and go. “It’s just fascinating to me. I’ve noticed something I call ‘washboarding,’ whereby they all line up to the entrance to the hive

photo: WEBB WILLIAMS

and start vibrating up and down like they’re line dancing to I Be Strokin.’ No one knows why they do it. But it’s funny to watch.

“Some of the bees will position themselves at the front of the hive like a yoga master, on their legs with their heads down and their abdomen up in the air, frantically fanning their wings. They’re producing a hormone in the air that serves as a guiding beacon telling the workers flying in, ‘Here we are; come on in,’ like landing lights on an airfield.”

“Bearding” is another interesting honeybee phenomenon. “When it’s real hot in the summertime, they’ll actually cluster around the entrance to the hive, all hanging onto one another.

It’s just ’cause they’re hot and want to cool off a bit outside. Looks like a beard you might see on Duck Dynasty,” Reid says.

Smoke disrupts the bees’ hormonal powers they rely on when they emit hormones for communication—attracting bees to the hive, attacking and other actions. Bees also communicate by dancing,

especially when they’ve found a honey source; they’ll even indicate directions for the source.

Reid says bees do have predators to worry about. “I must have the strongest lizards in the parish. They’ll sit out and snap up a bee in a heartbeat—frogs and birds do, too. But that Queen is constantly laying eggs that will become active worker bees in about 21 days, so it all works out in God’s plan.” >>

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Reid’s wife, Celeste, helps fill jars with honey.

Being allergic to bee stings, I stayed on the other side of the fence with my camera while Reid tended his hives, suited, appropriately, from head to toe.

“Bees go about their business from the pollen gathering to the hive, not noticing you or me along the way. They’re ‘busy as bees,’ and will only sting you if they’re threatened or confined. And when they do, they lose their stinger and die. So a situation has to be quite provocative for them to sting you,” says Reid. Unlike the worker bees, the Queen’s stinger is not barbed; she is able to sting repeatedly without dying. (Wasps and hornets never lose their stinger.)

Sometimes, honeybees won’t sting you, but they’ll try to intimidate you.

Reid says, “Preparing for Hurricane Isaac, I was strapping down the hives and driving stakes in the ground when this bee bumped me on the forehead repeatedly, as if to say, ‘You’re getting too close; you’re freaking us out. Get back.’ I did.”

Bee stings a cure for arthritis?

“That’s an old wives’ tale that rang true for me and my tennis elbow that used to bother me,” Reid says. “One Sunday

morning, I went out in my bathrobe to get the paper and started feeding the bees. One of those girls slid down my sleeve and happened to sting my elbow. I tell you what—I had no more tennis elbow! It swelled up, but the tennis elbow went away.” Reid’s son is a doctor; his take on it was that arthritis brings on inflammation that causes scar tissue, which causes more inflammation.

That vicious cycle was interrupted by the allergic reaction to the bee sting, which dissolved some of the scar tissue.

(To get a honeybee to sting you in just the right place? Might wanna catch her in a small jar and go from there.)

Honey—Healthy Nectar Of The Gods Reid extracts his honey with a centrifugal extractor that looks like a big, tall hand-cranked ice cream freezer. He cuts the tops off the hive cells, puts them in the extractor and turns the crank till he gets most of the honey. “I leave the extractor out for the bees to pick the residual honey clean, and it’s spotless. They like to recycle,” he chuckles. “Then, all I do is filter it through three filters of decreasing size

photo: WEBB WILLIAMS

Ouch!

to take out pieces of wax—so all the natural goodness is still in it.

“When you buy honey in the grocery store, it’s not only been massively filtered, but it’s been pasteurized, cooked to the point that it removes the residual pollen from the honey. What you get essentially is just sugar syrup,” says Reid. “Pollen can identify the exact region of the honey’s creation, and China, India and other sources aren’t on the same page as the United States with regard to sanitation and pesticide practices.”

Besides being proud of the quality of his honeybees’ honey, Reid is passionate about honey’s diseasefighting antioxidants and other healthy values. “I’ve always suffered with allergies—I even took allergy shots.

But I’ve learned that eating honey from your local community helps you build up resistance to local allergies, so it just made perfect sense for me to start keeping my own bees and harvesting honey.” He takes at least a spoonful of honey every day and no longer has allergy symptoms. “If you take a spoonful of locally produced honey every day, it’s like taking an allergy shot for what ails you. You’re subjecting yourself to the local allergens that are good for your health.

It’s a complex sugar, so I don’t think it adds to the waistline like simple sugar does.” Reid doesn’t suggest honey for children younger than 2 years old, even though the usual young immune system warning is a year and a half.

Honey is widely used as a cough suppressant, especially for children ages 2-18.

100 percent-pure local honey is good stuff, folks. It’s available at farmer’s markets, feed stores and elsewhere. I can tell ya, though—Reid’s honey is the bees’ knees!

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by Jamey Landry

A parade float design of Queen Mab for the Krewe of Momus.

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Variations

FOR ALL THE REVELRY, pageantry and spectacle that 21st century Mardi Gras has become, tourists and locals alike are often shocked to discover that there is no official theme for Mardi Gras.

By tradition, purple, green and gold are recognized as the colors of Mardi Gras, though nothing dictates these colors. The song If Ever I Cease To Love is almost universally associated with Carnival, although there is no mention of the season in the song. What then sustains these traditions as icons of Mardi Gras, and why are they not the theme of Mardi Gras? A bit of history helps put things in perspective.

Mardi Gras was introduced to Louisiana in 1699

by French explorers Pierre LeMoyne, Sieur d’Iberville, and his younger brother, Jean Baptiste LeMoyne, Sieur de Bienville, the founder of the city of New Orleans.

While exploring the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico, the brothers’ party landed at a small bayou

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that they named Mardi Gras Bayou, because of the day of its discovery, Shrove (Fat) Tuesday.

There are no records to indicate whether the men staged a Mardi Gras parade to celebrate the day.

However, after an arduous five-month journey from France, if there had been a parade, the theme most likely would have been “Thank God for Our Survival”!

Adding Song And Color To The Party Perhaps one enduring tradition exists because of a crush. In response to a state visit to New Orleans by the Russian Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff in 1872, the Rex parade was staged in his honor. The Grand Duke, smitten with a traveling singer, had followed her to New Orleans. One of the tunes she sang was If Ever I Cease To Love, which apparently deepened the crush the Grand Duke had on her each time she sang

image courtesy: THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION, 1958.11.1.

3,000 Mardi Gras Parades

it. Being the savvy businessmen they were, members of the Rex organization, the School of Design, made sure that the Rex parade featured marching musicians who trumpeted the tune, much to the Grand Duke’s delight!

The most colorful elements of Mardi Gras in New Orleans as we know it today also arrived in 1872. Through the Rex parade, the School of Design helped to establish the colors of Mardi Gras— purple, symbolizing justice; green, faith; and gold, power.

The choice of these colors seems to depend on legend more than fact, as they stem from the colors of the first King of Carnival’s costume, which was borrowed for the day from a local theater.

Choosing A Parade Theme Thus, the traditions of colors and anthem of Mardi Gras are just that— traditions, with no official mandate for krewes to employ. The revelry and spirit of the season fall upon the krewes to create. Just as the choice of a party dress is left to the wearer’s style and budget, so, too, the parade themes are left to the parading krewes themselves to conjure up and present. Not unlike avoiding the fashion faux pas of two ladies wearing the same dress to the party, the krewes must work in secret

to ensure their theme for the season is unique.

One Mardi Gras historian puts theme choice into perspective. “It’s whatever shows up to parade,” says Arthur Hardy, publisher of the Mardi Gras Guide. Call it the alchemy of Carnival, if you will, because how the krewes determine and execute the themes of their parades is an almost miraculous balance of creativity and budget.

Imagination is free to roam and can draw liberally from classical themes of Greek and Roman holidays and mythology. Literature and books are fertile grounds for themes. Music and dance naturally make complementary themes to the revelry of Mardi Gras.

Historical events present a dignified reverence to the past by the krewe. Themes can even include pop culture such as movies and TV shows, giving paradegoers a sense of community with the krewe. Even Mardi Gras itself makes a whimsical parade theme!

Theme is also a matter of taste and decorum, although a fairly loose interpretation of good taste is often applied by the more raucous or satirical krewes. These types of krewes, with their more adult-themed satire, will often push the boundaries of good taste, but manage to do so in a good-natured and lighthearted manner. “It’s just bad taste to be >>

image courtesy: LOUISIANA STATE MUSEUM

on 25 Themes

The 1885 Rex parade bulletin.

The theme was “Ivanhoe.”

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image courtesy: LOUISIANA STATE MUSEUM

Above: A maid’s yellow and red sun motif costume design for the

offensive; that would make it harder to get parade permits in the future,” Hardy says.

Getting krewe members to agree on a theme is almost as challenging as getting Congress to agree on passing a budget. Brainstorming on the theme varies from krewe to krewe and is officially kept secret, or as “secret” as organizations averaging memberships in the thousands can be! In certain krewes, the board of directors meets in committee to discuss themes and then presents the top candidates to the rest of the krewe members for voting. Some krewes form theme committees to hammer out ideas, which float lieutenants present to the rest of the krewe in a tableau. For other krewes, the fertile imagination of a dynamic captain is all that is needed.

presented to the float builder to make it a reality.

For one captain, brainstorming and then applying the theme to floats is double jeopardy. As the captain of two krewes, one of which has been parading for 81 years, his challenge is to take two sets of ideas and two different budgets to two different float builders, while keeping track of two separate and unique themes— “without stealing from each other,” he says.

“With one krewe, we have a lot more leeway because of the exclusivity of the lease on most of our floats. We own our signature floats, and we have a fleet of rental floats that are decorated to match our theme,” says the captain. “The biggest problem after 81 years is trying to find a theme that we haven’t touched on before.” The builder has a similar history with the krewe, so there is a vast selection of readymade props available to present the selected theme.

Every parade earnestly strives to present a uniquely beautiful spectacle for parade-goers to admire. Because of modest membership—when compared to the “super” krewes of Endymion, Bacchus and Orpheus— many krewes must share rental floats whose generic props and decorations must be interpreted by each individual krewe to fit its theme.

As an example, Hardy says that a float bearing a likeness of George Washington mounted on a horse may be presented in one parade of “Great American Heroes,” and then appear in another parade of “American Presidents.” Later on, it might be something else in two more parades.

The “Hidden” Reward For Parade Goers For some parade goers, the theme of the floats holds more value than the throws that rain down from

Krewe of Mokana

Sun.” Opposite: The “Butterfly King” float from the Krewe of Rex. Right: A float from Slidell’s Krewe of Perseus.

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Once on the street, the floats carry the work of presenting the theme through their vibrant decorations. Regardless of how it is determined, in the end the theme is

Inside Northside

photos: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

Making The Theme Visible

entitled “Setting

them. “While you’re looking at the float, of course you’re reaching for throws, but you also have time to think about how this float relates to the parade theme,” says Shawn “Pickle” Foret, creator and host of the picklescoop.com podcast, a show that covers New Orleans life. In 2006, Foret originated the annual Parade Chase, where he and other members of the podcast set the lofty goal of experiencing every Mardi Gras parade in the region each year. This gives Foret’s comments a unique perspective on Mardi Gras, since he has actually seen every parade of the last few seasons!

To Foret, the parade is more than the throws alone. He, and undoubtedly many others, enjoys the spectacle and imagination the krewes use in developing and presenting their themes.

“I think that is the real reward the krewes offer to parade-goers for coming out. It’s a well-done and well-presented theme,” Foret says. “The throws are just party favors.”

Parades often have a title float, alerting parade-goers to both the start and the theme of the parade. According to Foret, the title float sometimes is the only real hint of the parade theme. He says that is the challenge the krewes lay down to revelers—to see if they are as clever in recognizing the theme as the >> January-February 2014 71

Top 25 Parade Themes In 1997, the Crescent City Doubloon Traders Club published a study of parade themes from the period 1960-1997. The hard evidence?

Doubloons, of course! These are the top 25 themes revealed in the study.

175 Literature and Books 128 Music and Dance 108 Famous People 105 Anniversaries and Intros 83

Travel and Vacations

83

Dreams and Memories

78

New Orleans Area

70

Nature and Science

63 Movies 60

Mythology and Folklore

60

Mardi Gras, Masking,

& Parties

53

Holidays and Festivals

47

Rivers and Waters

42

American History

36 Broadway 35

Birds and Animals

33

Children and Toys

32

History and Landmarks

29

Magic and Mystical

27

World History

22 Louisiana History 20

Gambling and Games

20

Food and Drink

20 Flowers and Plants

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A quick study Originality is arguably the most challenging factor in deciding a parade theme. History might suggest that even the most outlandish theme has been done before in some fashion by another krewe, separated by years, decades or even centuries. An organization of collectors decided to look more deeply into the selection of theme by parades using a unique and conclusive method.

A 1997 study published by the Crescent City Doubloon Traders Club surveyed parade themes as represented on doubloons for the period covering 1960-1997 and found 25 recurring themes. Among those themes, literature, music and famous people rounded out the top three spots.

According to the study period, “Literature and Books” as a theme occurred 179 times. “Music and Dance” was the second most popular at 128 presentations, and at 108 presentations, “Famous

photo: JAMEY LANDRY

image courtesy: LOUISIANA STATE MUSEUM

krewes are in devising it. “At first, it’s anybody’s guess as to what the float’s theme is and how it fits with the parade theme,” Foret explains. “Recently, a krewe had the theme ‘Blue.’ The challenge was to look at the float, study it and then see what it had that fit with ‘Blue.’ So you look for blue things. I remember baseball props on one float and recognized ‘Toronto Blue Jays.’ Another had bluebirds on it, and yet another, jazz musicians and instruments for blues music.”

People” was the third most presented theme in the study period. Interestingly, “Louisiana History” placed at number 18, with just 22 presentations surveyed.

On the bottom end of the study, tied at number 25 with a mere 20 presentations each, were “Food and Drink” and “Flowers and Plants.” Although the study information available doesn’t disclose the full number of parades and themes surveyed, the popularity of the top three themes in the study speaks volumes: it’s hard to come up with something new!

“Krewes don’t repeat themselves, but they will do their own interpretation of themes by other krewes,” says Hardy. Since the first organized krewe (Comus) in 1857, there have been about 3,000 or more parades. That leaves a lot of room for “interpretation.”

Hardy puts it even more succinctly: “There are only so many themes. What’s new under the sun?”

Above left: A sketch of the float design for the Krewe of Proteus float No. 5, “Green Peas.”

The parade’s theme was “A Dream of the Vegetable Kingdom.” Above: A modern-day float.

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1. Shine the light. 21’ French Quarter Lantern on Holland Post, $1,075. Also available in 18’. Bevolo Gas & Electric Lights, Mandeville, 249-6040. 2. Uncommon scents. White orchid and black currant candles by Mary Todd, $54. The Lifestyle Store at Franco’s, Mandeville, 792-0200. 3. Purple, green and gold.

13” Mardi Gras gator with chariot, $400. Rug Chic, Mandeville, 674-1070. 4. Plush pillows. Louisiana-themed organic cotton hand-embroidered pillow and 20” x 20” festive Mardi Gras throw pillow. Louisiana pillow, $139; Mardi Gras pillow, $29. Outdoor Living Center, Covington, 893-8008. 5. Crowning glory. Crown centerpiece, $70. mélange by KP, Mandeville, 807-7652. 6.

Rare find. Hunt Scene oil on canvas by E.N. Ruselle, $2,400.

History Antiques and Interiors, Covington, 892-0010. 7. Give the gift. Colori olive gift set, $34.85. Oil & Vinegar, Covington, 809-1693.

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1. Stunning piece. Louis XVI sometime table by Theodore

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Alexander, $829. Berger Home, Mandeville, 624-3433. 2. So in love. Valentine’s fairy, $19.95. Walker House, Covington, 867-4878.

3. Be good to yourself. Unite Luxury Argan Oil, $39.95. Repairs hair cuticles; weightless shine; frizz control. KentJacob Salon, Mandeville, 845-8011. 4. “Jellyfish” necklace made of fresh water pearls and leather by Wendy Mignot, $1,000. Emma’s Shoes and Accessories, Mandeville, 778-2200. 5. Green earth. Belgian nesting bowls. Set of three, $125. Northshore Antiques and Auction House, Covington, 898-2911. 6. Winter glow. Red Light Therapy Kit, $80. Private Beach, Mandeville, 674-2326.

7. Melts like chocolate. Handcrafted artesian vegan chocolates made with infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars, starting at $7.50. Gluten- and dairy-free. Infusé, Mandeville, 778-0903. 8.

Mardi Gras floral arrangement, starting at $95. Florist of Covington, Covington, 892-7701.

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1. Crafted elegance. Hand-wrought Margarita Chandelier, $1,722.

Chris Wynne Designs, chriswynnedesigns.tumblr.com. 2. Sweet dreams. 100% eco-friendly bamboo sheet set, $149-$299. Many colors available. Hestia Luxury in Linens, Covington, 893-0490.

3. Hoot, hoot. Pottery owl candle warmer, $25. Grapevine, Covington, 893-2766. 4. Surprise your loved one. Eufora gift set, $50. Studio 311 Salon, Covington, 327-7775. 5. Be a hoot. Owl cheese spreaders, $38. DeCoeur, Covington, 809-3244. 6. Leafy serveware. Lukas 14� x 14� square gold leaf decoupage tray signed by artist, $255. Hazelnut Mandeville, Mandeville, 626-8900.

7. Warm and cuddly. IN2GREEN eco-friendly textiles throw, $150.

Niche Modern Home, Mandeville, 624-4045.

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1. The symbol of love. Handmade and –painted clay decorations by artist Laurie Pennison, $15. Artisan Home Décor, Mandeville, 778-2113. 2. Put a ring on it. Silver 3

multi-heart ring holder by Michael Aram, $59. Arabella Fine Gifts & Home Décor, Mandeville, 727-9787. 3. Mardi Gras centerpiece. Burnished gold crown bowl with preserved boxwood sphere. Crown bowl, $145; 10” boxwood ball, $72.

Welcome Home and garden, Covington, 893-3933. 4. Burning the midnight oil. Lucite stainless lamp, $365. Bmac Interiors, Covington, 635-4540. 5. Leather snap bracelet with brass and crystal center by Rebel Design, $65.50. the french mix, Covington, 809-3152. 6. Mardi Gras-themed wine koozie, $14.99. Mandeville Party Company, Mandeville, 674-1605.

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Generous Hearts AROUND THE NORTHSHORE, when we talk about philanthropy, most often it is about what event we are going to this weekend or what raffle we are hoping to win. In some other places in South Louisiana, there are incredible stories of giving with pieces and parts no one could ever expect.

The outcome, however, is the most basic form of philanthropy—someone using something they have to serve their fellow man.

A few years ago, a successful businessman in Southwest Louisiana, A. P. Leonards, had a desire to touch the lives of at-risk young girls. What he used as the fuel for this mission is the amazing part. You see, Leonards owned water buffalo in Mexico, and a lot of them. Using his local community foundation as the instrument to get it done, he donated a working herd

Strip Malls and Water Buffalo

by Susan H. Bonnett

Uncommon Fuel for Philanthropy of 8,500 water buffalo located in Tabasco, Mexico, to become the asset that would drive his passion. In less than a month, the herd became a donation valued at $5.5 million, which was ultimately sold. The proceeds now support programs to teach life skills to at-risk young girls who have never met Leonards and who will likely never see a water buffalo. He quickly and remarkably turned something he had into something very grand, all to serve others.

A few years before that, another successful, self-made businessman in Baton Rouge was making some decisions about his estate for after he was gone.

In 1951, Wilbur Marvin had founded what, with his hard work, grew to

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become a multi-million dollar commercial real estate development company, and he simply wanted to make sure it thrived long after his lifetime. Again, using his local community foundation as the vehicle, Marvin donated his company, then valued at nearly $100 million, with one caveat. He requested that the company be held and managed, not sold, so the fruits of his hard work could support his community for years to come. After his death in 2000, the foundation accepted the gift of the company, and honoring Marvin’s wishes, has grown the value of the company to nearly $250 million while granting millions of dollars back into the places he loved.

So many of us have been trained to think that giving at a level that matters is only for the megawealthy and that it is all about cash. Neither could be further from the truth. Giving that matters is about finding your passion and being creative with your resources. All over the country, there are giving circles made up of people with a common bond or interest who want to pool their passion and leverage their resources. My favorite example of this is called “Chicks with Checks,” groups of women friends who get together to make a difference. They have parties, share good food and drinks, and talk about how they can have an impact. Then, they not only make financial contributions, they invest their time, energy and talents—and ultimately, they are changing the world.

In 2011, immediately after the death of her 12-yearold son from cardiac arrest at his local middle school, Ann Hebert channeled her grief into a passion to make sure it didn’t happen to another child. With the countless offers of help that flooded her, Hebert turned them all into fuel in her effort to put defibrillators in every public school in St. Tammany Parish. Within six months, she had done so. Compelled by her tragic loss and supported by hundreds of friends and strangers, Hebert is a philanthropist in the greatest spirit of the word, and giving back was a salve for her broken heart.

To better explain the giver’s heart, I

often pose this question to donors around our region: “Which feels better, giving or receiving?” Those who do it frequently are certain of the answer.

Joel Osteen once said, “When God puts love and compassion in your heart toward someone, He’s offering you an opportunity to make a difference in that person’s life. You must learn to follow that love. Don’t ignore it. Act on it.

Somebody needs what you have.”

There are countless “somebodies” or “somethings” in our community that need what you have. When you find your passion and make a connection, obtaining the resources becomes the easy part.

When the desire is there, the fun begins.

Whether you have millions of dollars or none at all, you have something and some way to give. No longer does it feel like an obligation; it feels like a privilege.

That is the feeling so many of us know, and we know it to be contagious.

There are countless creative ways to support what matters to you and countless organizations ready to work with you to make your dream a reality.

Use your fuel, whatever it might be— strip malls, water buffalo or something else you have—to change the world.

Because, at the end of the day, it feels really, really good.

Susan H. Bonnett is the president and CEO of the Northshore Community Foundation.

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Ravishing Red

2

To dispel the myths about heart disease and raise awareness of the No. 1 killer of women, the American Heart Association created Go Red For Women, a passionate, emotional and social initiative designed to empower women to take charge of their heart health. In this special section of Inside Look, we hear from some of those women.

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“I have had family members who have been affected by heart disease and feel it’s my obligation to make people aware that heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women. I encourage everyone to live heart-healthy lives and get involved with the American Heart Association.”

-- Holley L. Haag

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1. timi and leslie red leather Rachel convertible diaper bag in rouge, includes changing pad, stroller straps, shoulder strap, mom’s pouchette, bottle holder and dirty clothes sack. $177.99. Anne’s Boutique, Mandeville, 626-3099. 2. Parker Poinsettia Chiara blouse, $165. The Mix, Mandeville, 728-7649. 3. 6.45cttw ruby and 1.68cttw diamond bracelet, $9,850. Boudreaux’s Fine Jewelers, Mandeville, 626-1666. 4. Cha Cha in passion fruit by Fitflops, $110.95. Earthsavers, Mandeville, 674-1133. 5. Maker & Company classically tailored red plaid cotton sports shirt; red 100% merino wool sweater with suede elbow patches and contrasting inner collar. Shirt, $98; sweater, $145. Bastille’s Clothing Company, The Market at Chenier, Mandeville, 626-4200. 6. Sterling silver and gold overlay ring with ruby and cubic zirconia, $145. California Drawstrings Northshore, Covington, 327-7300.

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“We lost a beloved employee to undetected heart disease. It raised my consciousness that as an organization we have a responsibility to make sure ALL our employees, especially our female employees, are aware and know how to act on the symptoms of a heart problem.

-- Tammy R. O’Shea

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1. Vintage one-of-a-kind Vincenza necklace by Carri Brown for La Bella Vita jewelry, $134. Mia Sorella, Slidell, 781-3909. 2. Townes and Reese Amelia ring, $20. Stone Creek Club and Spa, Covington, 801-7100. 3. BB Dakota red knit dress with peplum, $76. POSH Boutique, Covington, 898-2639. 4. Burgundy Callea shoe with pointy toe and four-inch stiletto heel by Vince Camuto, $109. Shoefflé, Covington, 898-6465. 5. “My lipstick is redder than your lipstick” makeup pouch and Deborah Lippmann red lip and nail duet. Pouch $13; duet, $38.

The Oasis Day Spa, Mandeville, 624-6772. 6. Strapless sweetheart neckline and empire waist evening dress with rhinestone and crystal adornments, $458. Southern Bridal, Mandeville, 727-2993.

Ravishing Red

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“We all have a vested interest in fighting the No. 1 killer of women.

It is essential to raise awareness and educate each other on symptoms.”

-- Lendon Noel

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“My best volunteer work happens when I participate in projects that I am passionate about and that mean something personal to me. Saving women’s lives is very personal.”

-- Annette Dowdle 2 3

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Ravishing Red 1. Hand-beaded ruched off-the-shoulder evening gown by Aidan Mattox, $495. Fleurt, Covington, 809-8844. 2. Nicole Miller off-theshoulder ponte dress with fold-over neckline, $320. Eros, Mandeville, 727-0034. 3. Ruby and diamond necklace with pear-shaped Rubellite center and three-strand drop with Rubellite terminations, $36,500. Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry, Metairie, (504) 832-0000. 4. Flowy red dress with long bell sleeves and crocheted elbows, $58. JuJu’s Boutique, Mandeville, 6243600. 5. 1ct oval ruby and 1.47cttw diamond ring set in 18kt white gold, $8,779. Lowe’s Jewelers, Mandeville, 845-4653.

“The Circle of Red allows me to bring my passion for preventative health care into my work with the American Heart Association. Understanding the risk factors for heart disease is powerful in making the decision to fight back against this deadly disease.”

-- Rhonda Eckholdt 4

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“It is imperative to inform people that heart disease has no boundaries; individuals of every ethnicity, age, gender and health status can be affected. Knowledge affords a great advantage.”

-- Jennifer Clements

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Ravishing Red 1. “Fire Ruby” ring in rose gold, $7,520. De Boscq Jewelry, Mandeville, 674-0007.

2. Traveler red and navy checkered long-sleeve collared dress shirt and red Jos. A. Bank signature collection 100% wool v-neck vest sweater. Shirt, $87.50; sweater vest, $99.50.

Jos. A. Bank, Mandeville, 624-4067. 3. Necklace of sliced red turquoise with a large brass lobster clasp, $175. Champagne Jewelers, Slidell, 643-2599. 4. BCBG Cato red berry blouse, $248. The Villa, Mandeville, 626-9797. 5. Curl like a pro. Paul Mitchell Pro Clipless Curling Wand for natural looking waves, $105.97. H2O Salon, Mandeville, 951-8166.

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Ravishing Red 1. Old West red leather cowgirl boots with white stitching, $149. [brown eyed girl], Mandeville, 626-0100. 2. b-Soft bamboo and cotton sleepwear and slippers. Pajamas, $78; slippers, $16. Bra la Vie!, Hammond, 662-5065. 3. Donna Morgan cherry red and black lace dress, $162. Columbia Street Mercantile, Covington, 809-1690. 4. Ruby and diamond ring set in 18kt white gold, $3,900. DeLuca’s Expressions in Gold, Covington, 892-2317.

5. David Pierson original design 14kt gold cuff bracelet. $2,764, David Pierson Designs, Covington, 871-0457.

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“I Go Red for my mom, who had her first heart attack at age 40 and her last at 78. She managed her condition through medication and a healthy diet. Her utter will and determination got her through multiple heart attacks because she wanted to be there for her family.”

---Suzanne Whitaker

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ACTIVITIES Horseback Riding Swimming Ropes Course Tennis Canoeing Golf Basketball Gymnastics Dance Archery Arts & Crafts Outdoor Living Campfire Fun Rope Swing Volleyball Soccer Riflery Aerobics Chorus & Drama Trip Day Counselors-In-Training Climbing Tower River Water Blob Cheerleading Flag Twirling Sports Riverview Camp for Girls is a community where your daughters grow in confidence and maturity - all while having a great time in a safe, carefree and wholesome environment.

Susan and Larry Hooks, Owners and Directors • For more information, call (800) 882-0722. Riverview Camp for Girls, P.O. Box 299, Mentone, AL 35984 www.riverviewcamp.com

M A R R I A G E A N D L O V E I N

Smith-Parrish Lauren Nicole Smith and Kevin Edward Parrish were married under beautiful live oak trees at the Preserve at Whiskey Island in Ponchatoula. The bride, who was given away by her older brother, Brandon, walked down the aisle to the accompaniment of Pachelbel’s Canon in D played by her twin brother, Andrew. She wore an ivory strapless beaded lace gown with a matching bolero jacket from Southern Bridal. The bridesmaids wore cranberry dresses and carried bouquets of red and orange dahlias, roses and hydrangeas. After

photo: LAUREN CARROLL PHOTOGRAPHY

the ceremony, guests enjoyed a wellstocked bar and dined on delicious fare catered by Tim Reese of Friends Restaurant before dancing the night away to music by Dave Starnes under a tent provided by Mandeville Party Company. The couple honeymooned in Key West and live in Mandeville.

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M A R R I A G E

Durham-Gross

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Nelie Durham and Second Lieutenant Charles Adam Gross were united in marriage at the First United Methodist Church in Hammond. The bride and her attendants carried bouquets of white French roses. During the reception at Jacmel Inn, Dave Starnes played the guitar as

photo: JOHNNY CHAUVIN PHOTOGRAPHY

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Nelie and her father, Tracy, danced to I Loved Her First.

The couple honeymooned in Great Exuma, Bahamas.

photo: RICK KING PHOTOGRAPHY

Mayeux – Colby

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Stephanie Mayeux and Adam Colby were married at the Royal Sonesta in New Orleans. The bride wore a strapless sweetheart gown and carried a bouquet of white roses wrapped in teal ribbon. Both the bride and groom are in the U.S. Air Force.

After their honeymoon in Hawaii, Stephanie returned to Okinawa, Japan, and Adam to Hickman Air Force Base in Hawaii.

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Cooking Healthy - Louisiana Style The Original Party Race Healthy Food Trends Kayci Reyer

A New Year of Health Each New Year brings with it a chance to start anew—and high expectations of success! Perhaps you are one of the many who evaluate your health at this time and resolve to do things differently—be it changing your exercise routine (or lack thereof) and your eating habits or scheduling an overdue physical.

We are fortunate to have so many resources to help us in our effort to live a healthier lifestyle—from physicians to fitness instructors. In the following pages, you will find news of the latest in technology and treatments being utilized by northshore providers to continue to ensure that our health care is second to none.

New technology in medicine spreads across various fields, from cellular therapy in orthodontics and cutting-edge fertility treatments to metabolic medicine and faster orthodontia.

In any endeavor, it is good to have role models—those who inspire us by sharing their own experiences. February is Heart Health Month; Kayci Reyer and others in the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women call us to take action to fight heart disease, and in particular, to examine our heart health.

Somehow, exercise is always easier when done with others.

Each year, thousands gather for the iconic Crescent City Classic in New Orleans. It’s a must-do for many area families, who enjoy the competition, crazy costumes and, of course, lots of food and drink.

A complete training guide is available to get you in shape!

How can we talk about health without talking about food?

Healthy recipes abound and can be found in one of innumerable cookbooks. And there are new approaches to eating healthy, such as the Paleo diet. Even our sacred South Louisiana traditional recipes can be easily transformed into dishes that won’t induce cardiac arrest!

Take advantage of the many opportunities to live and be healthier in 2014.

2014 medical profiles

9 La Bella Vita Laser & Vein 4

14 NORTH Institute, The

21 Metabolic Anti-Aging 8 Center of Louisiana 10 22 Ochsner North Shore

Women’s Services

IN Better Health Greg Pitcher.

12 Fitness Trends

26 The Fertility Institute

20 Cooking Healthy - Louisiana Style

30 Slidell Memorial Hospital

23 Kayci Reyer Heart Disease Survivor.

34 Patrick Weimer, DDS

Inside Northside

Health Tidbits

25 Covington Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Clinic

32 Louisiana Heart Hospital

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table of contents

The Original Party Race The AllState Sugar Bowl Crescent City Classic.

15 Healthy Food Trends in 2014

27 IN Good Company The Rice Family of Fitness Expo.

The Original Party Race The AllState Sugar Bowl Crescent City Classic AFTER MONTHS OF FEASTING on holiday fare, January is the perfect time to think about getting back in shape for the New Year. And though countless people start new diets and exercise regimes with the best intentions, many lapse back into their sedentary ways because their resolve lacks one important element: a concrete goal. Consider making the finish line of the AllState Sugar Bowl Crescent City Classic your motivation for getting fit and healthy in 2014.

The Crescent City Classic was born in 1979 with Hibernia Bank as the title/main sponsor, boasting 902 participants. The Times Picayune, a major sponsor from the beginning, became the title/main sponsor in 1984. In 2012, the race was acquired by another longtime sponsor, Ricky Thomas, owner of Blue Runner Foods. Thomas brought Eric Stuart in as partner and race director and produced the first Allstate Sugar Bowl 4

Inside Northside

photos courtesy: ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL CRESCENT CITY CLASSIC.

by Rebecca Schoen

Crescent City Classic. Now, 35 years after the first Classic, more than 20,000 race enthusiasts don their running gear (or possibly their bunny suits) and join in the fun of “the original party race.”

The Classic has become as much a part of New Orleans culture as Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest.

After purchasing the event, Thomas, Stuart and their staff conducted considerable research into similar events in other major cities. They realized that in order to stay competitive with sell-out races such as the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, the Bolder Boulder in Boulder, Colo., and the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, S.C., they needed to make some major changes to a New Orleans tradition, and yet preserve the essential quirky charm that makes the Classic the institution it has become.

“In the running community, the Classic is considered one of the top five 10ks in the United States, both in respect and participation.

It’s crazy how much respect it gets,” says Thomas. That said, the management team knew it was time to take the race to the next level, and change of that magnitude costs money. Thomas spent his first year as the new boss lining up sponsors who were committed to making the event on par with others like it around the country.

“Partnering with the Allstate Sugar Bowl as the title sponsor provided the leadership and funding to properly manage the race,” he says.

Michelob Ultra came on board as the presenting sponsor, and a host of others followed suit to help revitalize the iconic New Orleans event. Thomas recounts other improvements made by the new regime. “In 2013, our first year as the management team, we literally changed everything. We changed the entire route; we changed the host hotel to the Hyatt Regency; and we changed the route to start at the Superdome.” In the past, the participants ran away from the most beautiful part of the city; the course now channels runners through the CBD, into the French Quarter and down Esplanade to City Park, making it flatter and faster.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl Crescent City Classic branding has been updated, as has the two-day Health and Fitness Expo held the day before and the day of the race. Ironically, the Expo was originally invented to entertain those waiting in long lines to check-in at the registration tables, but with the advent of “dynamic bib assignment,” the lines are no more. (The Classic is one of the first races in the country to implement the system in which a racer’s bib is scanned and assigned in a matter of seconds.) There’s now even more to explore in the Expo’s 70,000 square feet of health and fitness booths. Participants and the general public are welcome to check out the 128 booths featuring sportswear vendors, nutrition speakers, yoga and Pilates classes, and healthy cooking demonstrations, all free of charge.

Perhaps one of the most important changes to the Classic is the inclusion of charitable organizations. In the “Run For It” program, 10 >> Healthy Living 2014 5

photos courtesy: ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL CRESCENT CITY CLASSIC.

non-profit organizations, such as the American Heart Association and the Leukemia Foundation, are given 100 bibs each. They then commission those runners to raise a minimum of $200 for their cause, so each charity has the potential to raise in excess of $20,000. The Classic donates the bibs and incurs all of the expenses associated with the program.

An important component for all top races in the United States is the attraction of world-class runners competing in their events. Elite agents recruit the fastest competitors from around the world and sometimes find a rare, undiscovered talent to lower the race times of the various courses. Such was the case last year in the Classic. With the new, straighter and more level race course in place, three runners, including first-place contender Isaiah Koech, finished in fewer than 28 minutes, and the Classic rated the thirdfastest time on the racing circuit. It’s possible the Classic also rated the slowest time; nine men dressed as Lucky Dog vendors, along with two dressed as hotdogs, pulled the Lucky Dog hotdog cart with a keg of beer inside and finished in just under three hours.

Although the Allstate Sugar Bowl Crescent City Classic is happy to take its place among the elite races in the United States with its first-class competitors, it also embraces the characters who make it unique and one of the most fun 10k races in the 6

Inside Northside

country. “TuTu Man” was the first costumed runner of the Classic, and he blazed the trail for many others, such as the “Blues Brothers” (complete with suitcases).

The Blues Brothers have run every Classic since the first in 1979, but didn’t start running in suits until the ’80s. “The Classics” arrive at the starting line via limousine wearing tuxedos; they mostly just hand out roses in exchange for kisses and then limo over to Ralph’s on the Park for Bloody Marys, waiting for the after-party. A man from Texas ran the entire course in flippers and snorkeling gear, and the “Easter Bunny” never misses the Classic. Where else but New Orleans can one win a costume contest at a 10k race?

Accommodating the serious runners, the costumed characters with cocktails and the moms with strollers isn’t easy, but the Classic management team knows it’s important. “We want it to stay a family event. A lot of locals won’t leave town for spring break until after the Classic. It’s become a tradition,” says event manager Thomas.

Nowhere else in the country is there a road race like the Crescent City Classic. The beautiful course, the free Expo, first-class competition, the crazy costumes, live music every half mile, food, beer and live music at the huge after-celebration make it a oneof-a-kind event. Even those who decide they don’t want to get in shape in 2014 can come cheer on the runners and pay $5 to attend the party.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl Crescent City Classic 10k is Saturday, April 19, 2014, at 8 a.m. For details, including a training guide, visit ccc10k.com.

Health Tidbits

November is National Healthy Skin Month ... ... but don’t wait until next November to have your skin checked. Do it now.

Surprisingly, the American Academy of Dermatology advises that the winter months are the optimal time to detect and address skin-related issues. The potential danger from exposure to fall and winter sun is still significant. Skin dryness can increase during the winter months because of indoor heating and low humidity. And if procedures need to be performed, the skin can be hidden by winter clothing.

Healthy skin reflects a healthy body. It is important to keep the skin fresh, hydrated and healthy all year round. It’s wise to see a dermatologist regularly, especially if you have painful or irritating skin problems, but also to be checked for the presence of suspicious moles, growths and other lesions that could become cancerous.

The Cow in Patrick O’Shanahan’s Kitchen

by Diana Prichard Patrick O’Shanahan is an ordinary boy who has always known exactly where his food comes from: the grocery store. Always, that is, until a cow, a menagerie of chickens and some very peculiar trees show up in his kitchen one Saturday morning, making him question everything he’s always known about the ingredients that go into Dad’s “World Famous French Toast.”

8

Inside Northside

M E D I C A L

P R O F I L E

WHEN MOST WOMEN FIRST NOTICE varicose veins on their legs, their thoughts turn to fashion.

How do I dare wear shorts with these ugly, bulging veins? What will it mean come swimsuit season?

But as local vein expert Dr. Randall S. Juleff explains, those unsightly veins are a symptom of a far more serious, underlying problem. “Spider veins and varicose veins are warning signs of venous disease,” he says. “We need to do more than just treat them aesthetically so you can wear shorts again. We need to address the underlying problem causing the symptoms and potentially jeopardizing your health.”

That problem is something called venous insufficiency, a chronic, often hereditary condition affecting 80 million American men and women that involves a backup of blood in the legs as a result of faulty valves within leg veins. “Blood cannot flow back to the heart the way it should and begins to build up in the leg, discoloring and disfiguring the veins,” Dr. Juleff says. “If left untreated, venous insufficiency can lead to leg swelling, chronic pain, cramps, restless leg syndrome, varicose veins and even progress to permanent skin damage, discoloration and skin ulcers.”

At his La Bella Vita Laser and Vein Center

Randall S. Juleff, MD

insufficiency problems with a non-invasive laser

La Bella Vita Laser and Vein Center Varicose veins—much more than a ban on shorts

therapy called Endovenous Laser Ablation. The

significance only.

in Covington, Dr. Juleff is able to resolve venous

treatment is performed in a comfortable office

Dr. Juleff is triple-board-certified in Phlebology,

setting under oral or IV sedation. It requires no

General Surgery and Cardiovascular and Thoracic

down time, and because it is not cosmetic but

surgery; he has nearly 20 years of experience in

medically necessary, it is covered by virtually all

treating hundreds of patients with venous disorders

insurance plans.

as well as cardiac, thoracic and vascular diseases.

“An ultrasound can show us which veins are

He is dedicated to bringing the latest in vein care

working properly and which are not,” says Dr.

and other state-of-the-art vein-related therapies to

Juleff. “From there, I simply insert a tiny laser fiber

the New Orleans metropolitan area.

into the offending vein through a needle puncture site. The fiber is then slowly pulled back as the laser cauterizes the vein from the inside. Once we’re done, your body simply reroutes the blood flow into healthy, functioning veins and you’re free to return to your normal activities immediately.”

Dr. Juleff explains that this procedure has virtually

Dr. Juleff is located at La Bella Vita Laser

replaced the surgical operation previously done,

and Vein Center, 1431 Ochsner Blvd., Ste. B, in

known as vein stripping, which is now of historical

Covington. 892-2950. labellavitavein.com.

Healthy Living 2014 9

IN Better Health

by Kaley Boudreaux

with Greg Pitcher EX-NAVY SEAL Greg Pitcher weighed more than 330 pounds just a few months ago. After completing a comprehensive wellness program, he lost 103 pounds in approximately 100 days, going from a pants size 46 to a 38.

Being overweight most of his adult life, Greg had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and sleep apnea. Because of his weight, his doctors told him he would be on medications to treat these conditions for the rest of his life.

“I started getting lazier and lazier by the day. All I wanted to do was come home from work and sit on the couch, and I was always tired. I would go to bed at 8 p.m. and wake up at 5 a.m. still tired. I was starting to get fed up,” Greg says.

He finally decided to get in shape when he learned he was going to be a grandfather. “My son called to tell me he and his fiancé were going to have a baby, and that is when it clicked in my head,” 10

Inside Northside

says Greg. “I did not want to be the type of grandpa that was too overweight to do anything with the grandkids. That is when I called Lift.”

Sam and Harold Prestenbach, husband and wife co-owners of Lift Training Studios, answered the call.

“I could tell by his voice that he was serious about losing the weight,” Sam says. “He was fed up with seeing the numbers on the scale yo-yoing.” They started Greg on the Take Shape for Life program, a nutrition and exercise plan designed specifically for his individual needs.

Despite previous shoulder injuries and surgeries, Greg excelled in the program. He exercised with a fitness instructor at the studio and began the Medifast meal plan. As his personal health coach, Sam was there to help him every step of the way.

“When I ran into road blocks, all I had to do was call Sam. She would lift my spirits and assure me that what I was going through was normal. She would also tell me what exercises or foods to increase or decrease,” says Greg. “They never prescribed anything or did anything with medicine. It was all about working out and eating healthy.”

As the weight came off, Greg started to regain his energy and began sleeping better at night. “I could go to bed at midnight and wake up at 5 a.m. and still have more energy than I knew what to do with. It was a life-changing ordeal,” he says.

Within two and a half months of being on the

photo: FIELDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Health Concern: Overweight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea Treatment: Personal nutrition and exercise plan

program, Greg visited his doctor. Since his previous appointment, he had lost a significant amount of weight. His blood pressure and cholesterol had returned to normal, and he was told he no longer needed the medications. He would even be able to sleep at night without the assistance of his sleep apnea machine.

“My doctor was stunned at how different I looked. I had nurses coming up to me saying, ‘How did you do it? I need you to explain it to my husband,’” he jokes.

To Greg, the most surprising outcome of his journey was how he became an inspiration to friends and colleagues. “Every single person in my office has since lost at least 20 pounds. They thank me, and I say, ‘I didn’t do anything,’ and they say, ‘Yes, you did. Just seeing you lose the weight has motivated me to do it,’” he says. “Hearing that is awesome.”

One coworker has lost more than 60 pounds, and Greg’s two brothersin-law have lost between 60 and 80 pounds each.

Greg and his wife recently returned from a trip to San Diego where they visited their first-born granddaughter.

As she was his motivation to lose the weight initially, Greg was ecstatic to be the active grandfather he always wished he could be.

“I was changing diapers, feeding and rocking her, and I loved it. I could go all day until 10 at night. Before, I would have been on the couch exhausted by 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

This has been a complete life change,” Greg says.

Now that Greg is able to live an active lifestyle, he is eager to start a new hobby. “What I really want to do is kite surf. Everyone tells me, ‘50-year-old men don’t kite surf.’ I say, ‘Just wait until you see me on the news out at the lakefront,’” Greg jokes. “I’ll show them.”

Healthy Living 2014 11

Fitness Trends

Tired of jogging? Bored with the exercise bicycle?

Take a look at these exciting fitness options in 2014.

CrossFit, Athletic Republic and Parkour The latest in fitness is at The Box from Franco’s Athletic Club. This 18,000-square-foot fitness playground is gritty and edgy, yet modern and spacious. The Box just makes you want to work out!

It includes CrossFit, which makes fitness a sport and creates a community where people from all walks of life and fitness backgrounds join together to accomplish their goals. Athletic Republic brings performance-driven programs to The Box, with professional sports trainers, scientifically proven programs, patented technology and individualized training protocols. Parkour obstacle training is rooted in natural play behavior and uses creative acrobatic moves. Popular with the younger generation, parents will want to do this with their kids.

InBody and MYZONE Stone Creek Club & Spa’s InBody Composition Analyzer and MYZONE Heart Rate Training Program provide a complete snapshot of your body, help maximize workout efficiency and chart your progress.

InBody determines your basal metabolic rate and body fat percentages and pinpoints how much fat loss and muscle gain is needed. MYZONE tracks your heart rate 12

Inside Northside

in workouts in and away from the club, and e-mails summarize your efforts. The Lite Life Program and Resolutions to Results weight-loss contest help people achieve long-term success in their fitness and weight-loss efforts in a healthy, sustainable way with an approach that balances exercise, nutrition and a support system.

Individualization Techniques From Israeli self-defense training to ballet barre to endurance powerlifting, the fitness pendulum swings a wide arc, offering new fusions of exercise techniques.

This diversity creates an individualization trend that

deliver a fast, simple and proven fitness solution, the automated training studio is rolling out new programs in customized strength and voice-guided cardio. System updates to the integrated nutrition program and tracking website are also anticipated.

Lifestyle Reconstruction At Lift Training Studios, the main agenda is to lead clients to a total lifestyle reconstruction, which can get complicated. Great results largely come not from exercise, but from coaching on nutrition and mindset. Why do most people not keep lost weight off? The evidence now points to nutrition. We know what we should eat, but the real problem lies in our minds, our lives, our surroundings, our stress level—and our negative selfgood fitness centers embrace to serve their clients.

Pelican Athletic Club’s goal is to inspire its members to live a happier, healthier life and to be their personal best. The club’s trainers and staff create tailored programs to achieve long-term results and establish sustainable lifestyle choices. Knowing the special needs of each individual allows the health benefits to expand exponentially for all involved. Individual interests, genetics, biochemistry and physiology are critical in creating long-lasting beneficial programs.

Digital Gym Designed specifically for those who want affordable personal training and nutrition guidance on their own schedules—without the gym scene— Koko FitClub, the 24-hour “digital gym,” is adding dozens of new programs and equipment updates. The heart of Koko is technology. So unlike traditional, figure-it-out-yourself gyms, Koko automatically tracks and reports your progress and performance during and after each session. In a continued effort to

view. We often use food and/or alcohol to cope. Lift’s coaches provide people with support and weight loss tools and empower them to take control of their journey.

With a comprehensive approach to nutrition and health coaching, moderate exercise is adequate.

Healthy Living 2014 13

M E D I C A L

P R O F I L E total joint replacements. Minimally invasive surgery, including laser spine surgery has become a primary focus, giving patients a faster return to normalcy— often up for dinner and walking back into their homes by the next day. The NORTH injection suite allows the opportunity for spinal and joint injections in the office under fluoroscopy, as well as plasma rich protein (PRP) injections and ultrasound.

A coordinated approach to patient care capitalizes on the expertise of the medical team in developing a plan tailored to each patient. The NORTH team includes Dr. John B. Logan, boardcertified orthopedic spine surgeon; Dr. Donald D.

The NORTH Institute

We Give Back Life

Dietze Jr., board-certified neurosurgeon; and Dr. Richard P. Texada Jr., orthopedic surgeon, who has completed a fellowship in sports medicine. Boardcertified physiatrists Dr. Susan Bryant-Snure and

FOUNDED IN 1999 by orthopedic spine surgeon

Dr. Michael Braxton provide non-surgical treatment

Dr. John B. Logan, Neurological Orthopedic

of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries.

Rehabilitation Total Health, the NORTH Institute,

The physical therapy team includes Laurie

today offers total musculoskeletal care from

Banks, MPT, MTC; Gage Banks, MSPT, MTC, CFMT;

experts in the fields of neurosurgery, orthopedic

and Dave Giardina, PTA. Laurie and Gage both

surgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation. The

hold advanced certification in manual therapy, a

NORTH team provides the latest in surgical and

specialized form of physical therapy with a hands-

non-surgical treatments for disorders, diseases and

on approach to treatment. Laurie has completed

injuries of the spine, muscles, bones and joints.

additional specialized training in women’s health

The NORTH Institute emphasizes its philosophy

physical therapy, concentrating on pelvic floor

of prevention and physical

problems and post-partum, post-

therapy before consideration

surgery and other female issues,

of surgical measures. In fact,

including incontinence and sexual

seven out of 10 NORTH patients

dysfunction. Gage has recently

are treated without needing

completed certification in functional

a surgical alternative. When

manual therapy, distinguishing him

surgery is the best option, a full

as the only therapist in Louisiana

range of treatments are available

with this title.

for general orthopedic conditions

This year, let NORTH help you

and sports injuries, including

focus on prevention and wellness,

arthroscopic surgery, spinal

from osteoporosis screening and

stabilization and fusions, and

treatment to evaluation of your back or joint pain. The NORTH team stands by its motto, “We Give Back Life,” and is ready to help you get back to the life you deserve in 2014!

The NORTH Institute is located at 29301 North Dixie Ranch Rd., in Lacombe. 871-4114. northinstitute.com.

14

Inside Northside

Healthy Food Trends in 2014

by Lauren Parrish NO MATTER WHAT your New Year’s resolutions are regarding your diet, you are going to eat—and you’d prefer delicious food. Here’s good news—delicious food can be healthy as well as enjoyable. Check out these projected food trends for suggestions on how to exchange some of your “bad” food habits for “good” food habits—and make eating in 2014 both enjoyable and healthier.

Indulgence Indulging is OK—if you do it the right way.

Look for nutritionally-dense snacks and drinks with ingredients like seaweed, dried legumes, flax seed, chia, hemp and coconut oil as alternatives to empty calorie snacks like chips, cookies, snack bars and energy drinks. A favorite healthy snack is hummus.

Hummus Supreme The Grill at Franco’s Athletic Club

1/4 cup sliced black olives 1/2 cup feta crumbles Sprinkling of paprika Virgin olive oil

Center the scoop of hummus on a serving platter with the toasted bread placed around it. Sprinkle the peppers, tomatoes, onions and olives on top so that they cover the bread and hummus. Put feta crumbles on top and sprinkle with paprika, mostly for color. Add 3 to 5 drizzles of virgin olive oil to complete this dish.

Go Allergen Free Go allergy free in the foods you consume. Try eating gluten-, nut-, meat-, and dairy-free, and see how it makes you feel. It will be difficult at first, and you certainly don’t need to give up all four at once, but even baby steps count.

1 6 oz. scoop of hummus 2 toasted pita rounds, cut into 16 wedges (or bread of choice) 1/4 cup diced red bell peppers 1/4 cup diced tomatoes 1/4 cup diced red onions

Choose Meat Alternatives Bye, bye, bacon! In 2014, choose a bacon alternative, like tofu and tempeh. If you can’t Healthy Living 2014 15

quite make the change, try turkey bacon. It’s lower in fat and you’ll still be satisfied flavor-wise. Choosing meat alternatives doesn’t have to make you a vegetarian.

Swapping one meat dish a week for a tofu one, or leaving out protein altogether and making a veggie-packed dish instead (think Meatless Mondays) could benefit you in the long run. If tofu freaks you out, try a familiar food as an alternative. Love shrimp? Turn shrimp into a burger.

Yes, you can do that! Love beans? Have a bean burger.

Farm to table This doesn’t mean you have to buy fresh ingredients directly from a farm. But it does stress the importance of using regional and local farm-fresh vegetables, fruits and proteins—farmers’ markets are great sources. More and more restaurants are priding themselves on their “scratch kitchens,” meaning everything is homemade. As an example, Covington’s Winos and Tacos does not use any pre-cooked or pre-packaged foods, which frequently include additives and preservatives in unhealthy amounts; their proteins are grain/grass fed and hormone-free from organic farms. So you can feel good about dining out!

Brussels Sprouts Kale was all the rage in 2013, but in 2014, Brussels sprouts take the limelight. Brussels

sprouts have a bad reputation, but they are easy to cook and make a great side dish. They are especially good if you cook them with turkey bacon or roast them in the oven.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts From Ina Garten 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts 3 tablespoons good olive oil 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°. Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender

(lithic) Diet Or, in other words, the caveman diet. It’s based on the idea that the human body has not evolved enough

short on calcium, vitamin D and some other nutrients.

approach maintain that we should eat only food that has

Because of the way animals are raised, meat today is not

been “hunted” or “gathered”—which was all that was

as lean as it was back in the day. And today’s lifespan has

available to those in the Paleolithic Era.

benefited from fortified foods and dietary supplements.

Choosing lean, grass-fed meat and adding lower-fat dairy

seeds, poultry, seafood, fruit and vegetables. Grains, dairy

fortified with calcium and vitamin D can result in getting the

and processed foods are not allowed. (Healthy oils may be

best of the old and the new.

used in small quantities.) No pasta, cereal, candy—or rich desserts like chocolate brownies with whipped cream!

Proponents say the diet is low in added sugars,

Inside Northside

The Paleo diet has some potential drawbacks. It is

to handle modern-day foods. Those who espouse this

Specifically, that means grass-fed meat, eggs, nuts,

16

no counting of calories and no haggling over portion sizes.

And don’t forget that our caveman forebears got a lot of exercise while hunting and gathering!

For recipes, Sam and Harold Prestenbach of Lift

trans fats, salt and high-glycemic carbohydrates and

Training Studios recommend 500 Paleo Recipes: Hundreds

rich in soluble fiber, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids,

of Delicious Recipes for Weight Loss and Super Health by

monounsaturated fat and low-glycemic carbohydrates.

Dana Carpender. They also suggest searching online for

Other pros are the simplicity (everything is either in or out),

blogs with great recipes.

on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt (I like these salty like French fries), and serve immediately. Yield: 6 servings

Quinoa If Brussels sprouts are the “hot” veggie of 2014, then quinoa is its grain counterpart. Quinoa goes in salads and soups and can replace pasta for a healthier alternative. In 2014, you’ll even find quinoa in … dessert! Qookies (cookies made with quinoa) are a real thing—packed with energy and high in fiber, they’re deliciously nutty.

Almond-Cranberry Quinoa Cookies Bon Appétit magazine 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar 1/4 cup honey 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled 1 cup old-fashioned oats 1 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup slivered unsalted almonds

Preheat oven to 375°.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, both sugars, and honey in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and extracts; beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time.

Stir in quinoa, oats, cranberries and almonds. Spoon dough in 2-tablespoon portions onto prepared sheets, spacing 1” apart.

Bake cookies until golden, 12–15 minutes.

Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. Do ahead: Store cooled cookies airtight at room temperature for 1 day, or freeze for up to 1 month.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Using Less Fat And Salt In Cooking In her new cookbook, Giada’s Feel Good Food, Giada de Laurentis is doing something radical: she’s swapping olive oil for grapeseed oil and salt with lemon juice. Both oil (fat) and salt can add up quickly in a recipe, turning it from a somewhathealthy dish to a not-at-all-healthy-but-utterlydelicious one. When you cook at home, you not only control everything you’re putting in your body, you can also decrease the amount of “bad” stuff like fat and salt. Not a believer?

Grapeseed oil has less fat and calories than olive oil, and you aren’t trading out any flavor.

Also try reducing the amount of salt you use, replacing it with lemon juice. You’ll still get the flavor you want, but your body won’t be overloaded.

Healthy Living 2014 19

Cooking Healthy Louisiana Style

Oh, how we love our food in Southern Louisiana! And how we hate what we let it do to our bodies!

To be fair, we emphasize fresh local foods, including our unsurpassed fresh seafood. But some of our favorite dishes take those healthy ingredients, add breading and fry in deep fat.

Or we use lots of butter to sauté fish for a meunière-amandine preparation. (A recipe from a local high-end restaurant calls for one pound of butter for six servings!) And then there’s the cream in crab bisque and oyster soup/stew.

It is quite possible to eat our favorites and not have the extra calories and fat, too. The Internet has a wide variety of tips and recipes to cook healthy Creole/Cajun cuisine—some from our well-known chefs. Here are just a few tips: • Whenever possible, use extra-virgin olive oil in place of most of the butter to sauté, as in a meunière. A small amount of butter will still result in a lot of flavor.

• Instead of the traditional way of deep-frying fish, try coating it in a bit of cornmeal and pan frying in a small amount of oil.

• Try a spicy Thai sauce on barbecued oysters.

• Dip catfish fillets in buttermilk, coat in a seasoned mix of cornflakes and pecans. Bake instead of frying.

To have a wide variety of healthy recipes at your fingertips whenever you want them, invest in Holly Clegg’s books, A Trim and Terrific Louisiana Kitchen and Trim & Terrific Gulf Coast Favorites. You’ll find “light” versions of everything from red beans and rice and bread pudding to crawfish étouffée and stuffed eggplant.

20

Inside Northside

M E D I C A L

P R O F I L E

ANTHROPOLOGIST ASHLEY MONTAGU once said, “The idea is to die young as late as possible.” This is the essence of anti-aging and metabolic medicine.

“Metabolic medicine is truly for everyone,” says Dr. Emma Kruger. “It is for people who want to improve their performance, be it athletic, intellectual or any other areas of life.”

It is also about restoring balances—hormonal and nutritional.

“Many of us live with the consequences of hormonal imbalance, such as high cortisol from constant stress, which, in turn, affects many other hormones. High cortisol causes rapid aging, a decline in sex hormones, and is a common cause of belly fat.”

Dr. Kruger also treats patients with chronic fatigue, depression and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and IBS—as well as those who just don’t feel like themselves.

Yet another aspect of Dr. Kruger’s practice is prevention. With genetic testing, we can now identify health problems before they occur and

Dr. Emma Kruger Metabolic Anti-Aging Center of Louisiana

create a preventive regimen. A personalized

physical activity. “These problems have a domino

approach is the key to her patient care.

effect on the body,” says Dr. Kruger. “Genetic testing

With extensive training in anti-aging and regenerative medicine, Dr. Kruger combines traditional medicine with holistic, naturopathic

allows us to establish an individual plan for each patient to address their specific needs.”

In addition to balancing hormones and vitamin

and functional approaches in her practice. She

deficiencies, the Metabolic Anti-Aging Center

says, “Functional medicine finds the root to health

provides a full spectrum of aesthetic treatments to

problems such as headaches, weight gain, food

help patients obtain a more youthful look, including

sensitivities, allergies and toxins by looking at the

procedures to stimulate collagen, remove wrinkles

patient as a whole.”

and to regenerate the skin and make it supple.

A Fellow in Metabolic and Regenerative

Body contouring and vein care, through the most

Medicine, Dr. Kruger founded the Metabolic Anti-

advanced technologies and treatments, help

Aging Center of Louisiana in Baton Rouge three

patients obtain a more healthy look.

years ago, which is dedicated to helping patients

Looking and feeling your best by balancing your

achieve health and beauty inside and out. The

hormones and metabolism helps to create a happy,

center’s new Covington location offers the same

healthy, balanced life. By combining medicine and

personalized comprehensive patient care aimed

aesthetic procedures, Dr. Kruger helps her patients

at disease prevention and treatment of pathologic

achieve optimal health and beauty.

aging using advanced technologies and treatments to help patients achieve vitality and youthfulness.

Pathologic aging is associated with hormonal decline, which often results in an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, osteoporosis, arthritis and dementia. The causes for

Dr. Kruger is located at the Metabolic Anti-

decline in hormone levels are many, including stress,

Aging Center; 1331 Ochsner Blvd., Ste. 101, in

diet, environment, medications and decreased

Covington. 212-7972. maacla.com.

Healthy Living 2014 21

M E D I C A L

P R O F I L E urologic and pelvic conditions, bladder problems, pelvic or bladder pain, and pelvic muscle and support problems.

The Women’s Health Center is the only clinic in the region performing both endometrial ablation and tubal ligation under local anesthesia without

“We treat all of our patients like our own family members, and patients say that the personal, one-on-one care given by Ochsner’s nurses makes them feel confident in their healthcare choice to come to Ochsner.”

– Dr. Daniel Mokry, OB/GYN

Ochsner North Shore

Women’s Healthcare Team Personalized Care for Your Most Personal Issues

At Ochsner North Shore’s Women’s Services, women

a hospital stay. There are many fertility and family planning options available to patients, including a new permanent form of birth control, Essure, that does not rely on hormones, surgery, incisions, anesthesia or the burning or cutting of the Fallopian tubes, and only takes 10 minutes in the physician’s office.

Ochsner also has the convenience of

find personalized care for their most personal

MyOchsner, a patient electronic health record

healthcare issues. Ochsner North Shore offers

website and app for scheduling appointments,

a comprehensive range of women’s healthcare

emailing physicians, refilling prescriptions,

services conveniently located in Covington or Slidell.

checking test results and more.

Patients have peace of mind knowing the

The Ochsner North Shore Women’s Services

obstetricians and gynecologists are board-certified

physicians know that when it comes to treating

and voluntarily undergo independent professional

sensitive healthcare issues, it is important that a

testing and peer review. These physicians work with

patient feels comfortable with her provider. The

certified women’s healthcare nurse practitioners,

team’s breadth of experience and collaborative

nurse-midwives and other specially trained staff to

care makes certain that each patient receives the

treat everything from the common to the complex. A

highest quality personalized care, whether she is

variety of healthcare options are available for women

a young woman, a maternity patient or a woman

in any stage of their life, from family planning and

going through menopause and beyond.

fertility issues to pregnancy and childbirth, and on to later issues, including female urinary incontinence.

Dr. Joseph Kuebel, Dr. Daniel Mokry, Dr. Johnny Swiger and Dr. Nancy Thomas are specially trained to treat menopause, uterine fibroids and cysts, overactive bladder, and perform minimally invasive laparoscopic procedures, among other OB/GYN Dr. Nancy Thomas,

services. The recent addition of urogynecologist Dr.

E. Judge Tanner Blvd., Ste. 301, in Covington. 875-2828.

Dr. Joseph Kuebel,

David B. Hebert and Annie Jopling, Women’s Health

Ochsner Specialty Health Center - Slidell is located on

Care Nurse Practitioner, to the Ochsner North

the Ochsner hospital campus, 1850 Gause Blvd. E., Ste.

Shore team expands services for treating women’s

202, in Slidell. 639-3777. ochsner.org/northshore.

Dr. Daniel Mokry and Dr. Johnny Swiger.

22

Ochsner Women’s Health Center is located at 101

Inside Northside

Kayci Reyer

photo: FIELDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Heart Disease Survivor

HEART DISEASE ROCKED New Orleans resident Kayci Reyer’s world for six years before she sought another opinion that dramatically changed her life.

It began one night in high school when Kayci awoke to her heart racing. When deep breaths didn’t slow it down, her mother took her to the ER. At 265 beats per minute, Kayci’s heart was beating dangerously fast, so the doctor gave her a shot to stop and reset it. She returned home with no medicine or instructions, sharing the doctor’s opinion that it was a fluke, a one-time event.

Four weeks later, Kayci returned to the ER with the same symptoms. She was referred to an electrophysiologist because her heart problem, supraventricular tachycardia, was caused by electricity getting trapped in her heart, causing the rapid rate.

This time, following another shot to stop her heart temporarily, Kayci was given a prescription to help manage her condition.

For the next six years, Kayci had several minor episodes and only a few major ones that required going to the hospital, but she felt that her quality of life declined. “I avoided many things I used to do

because I was so afraid of having another episode,” Kayci says. “I gave up soccer, didn’t exercise much and began to feel so much older than I actually was.”

Kayci gained 60 pounds from her lack of activity and suffered from low energy because the medicine kept her heart rate so low. As a college student, she missed many typical student activities. “I was afraid to go out and do things, and would panic if I didn’t have my medicine with me,” Kayci says. “I didn’t want to burden my new friends with my condition or ask them to look out for me if I had one of my episodes.”

Finally tired of missing out on life, Kayci sought another opinion when she transferred colleges after >> Healthy Living 2014 23

photo: FIELDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Go Red for Women!

Kayci Reyer is now sharing her story of survival in the national spotlight. She is among 11 women representing the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign this year. Go Red’s national spokespeople have helped save thousands of lives by sharing their collective energy, passion, time, money and heart. Pictured are Northshore American Heart Association Circle of Red members Suzanne Whitaker, Tonya Beck, Holley Haag, Rhonda Eckholdt, Kayci Reyer, Tammy R. O’Shea and Annette Dowdle.

her freshman year. This cardiologist immediately recommended radiofrequency ablation to treat her rapid heart, which had been ruled out earlier because she was so young.

The procedure first located a mass of tissue that had grown erroneously next to the pacemaker node of Kayci’s heart, which sends electrical impulses that set the heart’s rhythm. That tissue was blocking the electricity from completing its route. The doctor cauterized the tissue, basically burning off what shouldn’t be there. However, the tissue could not be completely removed because of the high risk of burning Kayci’s pacemaker node, possibly killing her, or at least requiring the use of a pacemaker.

Radiofrequency Ablation Catheter.

24

Inside Northside

The procedure was a success, and Kayci’s life changed immediately. Full of energy and no longer fearful, she began exercising again. She ran a few 5Ks and started practicing yoga. Kayci has lost 95 pounds since the February 2011 surgery, and has become an outspoken advocate for heart health.

“Though I had a specific condition to deal with, this taught me that we take our hearts for granted and assume we will always be healthy,” she says.

“I remind my friends that we are young now, but heart problems can happen to all of us down the road if we don’t take care of ourselves.”

Now, 23-year-old Kayci, who’s active with the New Orleans American Heart Association, counsels other young women to take charge of their health before it’s too late. Her advice? Speak up and seek another opinion if something doesn’t feel right.

“My outcome was eventually positive, but I believe I was dismissed at first because I was a young woman,” she says. “I learned the importance of going with my gut, and I’m so happy I finally spoke up for myself.”

M E D I C A L

P R O F I L E

“I HAVE BEEN A PRACTICING orthopedic surgeon for 20 years in this community, and I have never been more excited about my profession and medicine in general. What I can offer my patients now versus before is very exciting,” says Dr. Kevin Darr.

Dr. Darr, a well-known board-certified Orthopedic Surgeon, is recognized for recommending innovative, non-operative treatment options which seek to help patients avoid surgery whenever possible. Traditional noninvasive treatments include physical therapy, antiinflammatory agents and steroid injections. With modern technology, Dr. Darr is now able to provide his patients with much more.

“I offer a complete, comprehensive approach to treatment of musculoskeletal conditions,” Dr. Darr says.

“I provide different treatment options that try to help patients improve their pain level, function and lifestyle.”

One of these innovative procedures is known as cellular therapy. This procedure involves injecting the patient’s own tissues and cells into major joints such as the knee, shoulder and hip to aid the healing process. Dr. Darr is currently enrolling patients to take part in an approved medical research study on the safety

Kevin Darr, MD Giving people hope.

Another noninvasive treatment Dr. Darr offers

and effectiveness of cellular therapy on pain

is Accelerated Recovery Performance (ARP) Wave

and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis.

Therapy. He says, “This procedure uses a patented

Participation in the study includes one in-office

bioelectrical current simultaneously with active

procedure, with follow-up appointments and

range-of-motion exercises to speed up the body’s

surveys in the next year. “The results thus far are

recoup ability. Its goal is to help build strength,

very favorable,” says Dr. Darr.

increase mobility and diminish pain, and can be

In addition to cellular therapy, Dr. Darr also has the only DEXA scan machine on the

used to treat several ailments, including arthritis.”

Dr. Darr often sees patients who have been

northshore. Not only can it measure bone mineral

told that surgery is their only option. Frequently,

density, it can also quantify body composition and

he is able to offer suggestions for non-surgical

give percentages of fat and muscle. The results

treatment. He says, “Giving people hope happens

break down the information based on regions of

to be my favorite part of my profession.”

the body, such as arms, legs and trunk. The scan also reveals muscle imbalances and shows where the body is more prone to store fat.

“Before the DEXA scan, we could measure

• Board Certified in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine

your triceps, skin fold, etc., to get a body fat

• Board Certified in Orthopaedic Surgery

percentage, but it just wasn’t as accurate. With the

• Certified in Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

DEXA scan, we are able to quantify results much more precisely than traditional methods,” Dr. Darr

Dr. Darr is located at the Covington Orthopedic

says. With these findings, we are able to customize

and Sports Medicine Clinic, 19343 Sunshine Ave., in

an exercise program to address these deficiencies.

Covington. 273-5888. covingtonortho.com.

Healthy Living 2014 25

M E D I C A L

P R O F I L E

percent, which is among the best in the country.”

Patients who come to the Fertility Institute have access to all methods of fertility treatment, Dr. Taylor says. “We offer full fertility evaluation and a range of treatment options from very basic to the more complex.” These include intracytoplasmic sperm injection, assisted hatching, embryo cryopreservation, pre-implantation genetic screening, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and more. Two of the newest state-of-the-art advances available at the Fertility Institute are egg freezing and the use of frozen eggs from donor egg cycles.

The institute is sensitive to the needs of women

Dr. Steven N. Taylor The Fertility Institute

over the age of 35, who statistically have a more difficult time getting pregnant. They need expert help more quickly,” Dr. Taylor says. “We encourage those patients to seek treatment promptly. Those patients are in need of more rapid evaluation and more

FOUNDED IN 1976, the Fertility Institute has helped

aggressive treatment, as time is of the essence.”

more than 14,000 couples conceive through cutting-

Dr. Taylor points out that the Fertility Institute

edge methods. In fact, the institute was the first to

accepts all major insurance plans for covered

successfully perform in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the

services. This sets the institute apart from other such

Gulf South in 1983.

clinics, which normally do not accept insurance.

Since then, the Fertility Institute has achieved

The institute has locations in Mandeville,

a long list of firsts among clinics of its kind in the

Metairie and Baton Rouge, and offers each of its

South. These accolades include achieving the first

services at all three, with the exception of in vitro

male and female sex pre-selection with IVF babies;

fertilization. For IVF, patients must travel to the

the first successful IVF pregnancy in a woman over

Metairie clinic. The Institute is slated to open a

age 44 in the United States; establishing the first

second IVF lab in Baton Rouge this spring.

frozen embryo program in the Gulf South; and the first birth from egg donation in the Gulf South.

That experience sets the institute apart from the competition, says Dr. Steven N. Taylor, who specializes in ovulation induction and in vitro fertilization. “Experience is a major factor in our

26

Inside Northside

The Fertility Institute is located on the northshore

success,” Dr. Taylor says. “With IVF, for patients

at 800 N. Causeway Blvd., Ste. 2C, in Mandeville.

under the age of 35, our success rates approach 60

892-7621. fertilityinstitute.com.

photo: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

by Kaley Boudreaux

ONE OF THE LEADING FITNESS RETAILERS in the country, family-owned and -operated Fitness Expo sells specialty exercise equipment to individuals and businesses. Fitness Expo began when teenager Rodney Rice Jr. showed a true interest in fitness. Always an exercise buff and becoming more serious, Rodney asked his parents, Rodney Sr. and Norma, for exercise equipment for their home. His father discovered there was no place to purchase residential exercise equipment locally. After much research, and finally finding a manufacturer in California, the Rice family decided to enter the exercise equipment market. With Rodney Rice Sr.’s business sense and Rodney Jr.’s love of fitness, the Rice family opened the first Fitness Expo in 1980 in Beaumont, Texas.

Now in business for more than 30 years, the company has since left the Lone Star State and migrated to Louisiana and Mississippi. There are four retail locations—Metairie; Baton Rouge; Shreveport; and Jackson, Miss.—and a warehouse in Kenner.

As the business grew, so did Rodney Jr.’s family.

His two oldest children work full time for the company. Son Austin Rice started in the warehouse at age 16 and now works in commercial sales. Daughter Jennifer Rice Deubler was the marketing coordinator during college and is now also managing the service department.

“One thing that really sets us apart is that we have products people cannot find anywhere else,” says Jennifer. “If someone wants high-quality exercise equipment, we are the place to go. You will not find these products in the big box stores. For example, there is a new category of equipment called the seated elliptical. It is a phenomenal exercise tool helping so many people who cannot put a lot of pressure on their joints. Only one manufacturer makes it right now and we sell it.”

Walking into the flagship store on Veterans Boulevard in Metairie, you will see a wide variety of equipment catering to the commercial customers (gyms, fitness clubs, etc.) and to the individual. The store’s non-commissioned sales team works to find

IN Good Company

Rodney Rice Jr.

The Rice Family of Fitness Expo the right equipment to suit a client’s needs.

“We sell so many different types of equipment other than the generic treadmill. Granted, treadmills are great for some people, but we have so much more than that,” Jennifer says. “If a customer is looking for something that is going to work well and be comfortable on their body, we’ve got it.” In addition to cardio equipment like elliptical machines and treadmills, Fitness Expo also carries home gyms, single stations, dumbbells and many other items.

A downfall to selling fitness equipment is that its success is relative to the state of the economy.

Unfortunately, when budgets get tight, fitness is sometimes the first sacrifice families make. While the >> Healthy Living 2014 27

Rice family has seen other similar businesses in the nation close their doors, Fitness Expo has remained open.

“I really think the main reason why we have survived is my dad’s passion. He lives and breathes the business. If he weren’t the driving force behind this, we would never have made it,” Jennifer says. “He has always been there pushing us and instilling that passion in my brother and me.”

Another driving force behind their success is their business plan. When the Rices first opened the business, they vowed to stay out of debt. The family prides itself in owning their buildings, delivery trucks and paying for inventory upfront.

“Can you imagine how much it would cost to rent our building on Veterans?” Jennifer asks. “Other stores drop like flies because they cannot afford to stay open—overhead is simply too great. My grandfather and father’s strategic planning and careful purchases have given us the leverage to survive a very tough economy.”

In addition to providing specialty, high-quality fitness equipment, the company services all of their machines.

Equipment is delivered and assembled by their technicians. As an added benefit, the service team will also come out to the customer’s home or business to diagnose problems, handle warranty claims and make repairs. “Department stores usually try to push extended warranties. We don’t need to do that because our manufacturers back their products,” says Jennifer.

The Rice family says there are two misconceptions about the company. First, people assume Fitness Expo only sells to health clubs or other commercial environments. But what initially drove the family to opening their business was the fact that they could not find exercise equipment for their home.

Staying true to the foundation of the company, they continue to focus on that market. “The second misconception is that we are not affordable,” says Jennifer. “That could not be farther from the truth. We have products in every price range. And we have financing.”

After years of working for the company, both Jennifer and Austin are grateful that their father and grandparents opened such a successful entity. “There are a lot of perks to working in your family business; however, with that comes extra responsibilities and many times having to wear different hats. If something needs to be done and no one else wants to deal with it, you can bet that Austin or I will be the one taking care of it.

At the end of the day, I feel like I am contributing to my whole family by working in this business,” says Jennifer.

Fitness Expo is located at 4124 Veterans Blvd., in Metairie, (504) 887-0880. fitnessexpostores.com.

28

Inside Northside

Healthy Living 2014 29

M E D I C A L

Community Outreach and Education

Slidell Memorial Hospital

designed to take their message of prevention and early detection of disease out into the community.

Under the umbrella of the SMH Community Outreach Center, the HealthWorks and HealthTalk Speaker Bureau boasts more than 1,000 expert speakers who are dedicated to educating the public where they work and meet. HealthWorks partners with employers to help keep their employees healthy and informed by providing speakers and

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN GETS THE CREDIT for saying,

screenings. The HealthTalk Speaker Bureau

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

provides educated professionals to speak to local

Though an old adage, it seems even more relevant

clubs, churches, organizations, businesses or other

today. With the uncertain climate and cost of quality

civic groups on health and wellness free of charge.

health care, taking care of ourselves has never

Heart disease, stroke, diabetes, nutrition and cancer

been more important. Certainly, this generation is

awareness and prevention are just a few of the

better educated than the last about living a healthy

topics available.

lifestyle, but as researchers uncover more clues

“A core part of what we do is to reach out to

about disease prevention and detection, getting

the community,” says Davis. “We want to share

the latest, best data to the public has become a top

what we know because it’s the right thing to do. We

priority for those in the business of keeping us well.

absolutely know that it’s best for people to try to

We reached out to Bill Davis, CEO of Slidell Memorial Hospital, to outline SMH’s latest initiative 30

P R O F I L E

Inside Northside

avoid disease—or, if they can’t avoid it, to recognize early signs and symptoms to hopefully treat it, and

then, if necessary, to learn to live with the disease while maintaining the best quality of life. Physicians love to fix things, but they’d much rather get in front of the disease and tell you how to prevent it.”

Other ways that SMH provides ongoing heath-related education are their Lunch and Learn and family outreach programs. Lunch and Learn is a monthly series held on campus featuring pertinent health topics taught by heath care experts; it’s free to the community and a light, healthy lunch is served. Health screenings are also available at each event.

Educating and supporting parents to raise their children in emotionally healthy ways is the focus of SMH family outreach. A professional staff provides an interactive, nurturing environment designed to offer guidance and encouragement for parents. And, teaching children at an early age the importance of nutrition and fitness is an important step in creating a generation of healthier adults in the future. SMH’s Fit as a Firefighter program, which helps overweight children get fit and eat healthy, has received national attention. Additionally, when seeking facts about health topics, the Internet can be a valuable tool, but it’s critical that people get accurate medical information when searching the web; weblineplus.gov is a database covering about 900 topics from only the most reliable sources.

“We want to create a tangible return on investment for the patients who invest in Slidell Memorial Hospital,” says Davis. He’s passionate about spreading the message that prevention and early detection make for a healthier lifestyle and are far less expensive than treatment.

Healthy Living 2014 31

M E D I C A L

P R O F I L E

Women of Heart Louisiana Heart Hospital AS THE LEADER in women’s cardiovascular care, Louisiana Heart

Area Director, Brittany Gay works

Hospital (LHH) knows that wives and

with LHH to educate women. “In St.

mothers are the heart of their families, so

Tammany, heart disease causes more

for Heart Month this February LHH turns

deaths than all cancers combined. Yet,

the spotlight on women’s heart health.

most women are unaware it’s their

Here’s what the women who give and

biggest health threat.” Gay cautions,

receive this top-notch care have to say.

“Most women don’t notice the symptoms

Dr. Adriana Nagy, Board Certified Cardiologist with the LHH Physician Group

of heart disease until it’s too late.”

St. Tammany West Chamber

advises, “Heart disease is the #1 killer in

President Lacey Toledano has a family

women. My duty is to raise awareness.

history of stroke and heart disease. “I feel

One challenge is that symptoms in women

fortunate to receive care at an excellent

can be different from symptoms in men.

facility like the Heart Hospital right here

Women are more likely to have heart

in our parish. We’re also proud of the

attack symptoms unrelated to chest pain,

contributions the hospital makes from a

such as neck, shoulder, or abdominal

business perspective,” Toledano says.

discomfort, shortness of breath, nausea,

LHH was the Northshore’s first

vomiting, sweating, lightheadedness,

Accredited Chest Pain Center and

dizziness or unusual fatigue. Risk

continues to receive recognition by

factors include high blood pressure, high

healthcare rating companies such

cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, being

as CareChex, who named LHH #1 in

overweight, being physically inactive, family

Heart Attack Treatment, and Consumer

history of heart disease and age 55 or

Reports who ranked the hospital #1

Certified Family Practitioner; Glenda

older in women. While certain risk factors

in Surgery on the Northshore. “That

Above: (left to right) Dr. Adriana Nagy, Board Certified Cardiologist; Dr. Candice Knight, Board

Dobson, VP of Clinical Services; Janice

can’t be changed, it’s important to realize

kind of quality gives me peace of mind

Taulli-Lassaigne, Director of Education

that you have control over many others.

that I’ll dance at my grandchildrens’

and Cardiac Rehab; Beth Falkenstein,

Protecting your heart can be as simple

weddings,” adds Toledano.

Volunteer Community Relations/ Special Events Coordinator; Brittany Gay, American Heart Association Area Director; and Lacey Tolendano, St. Tammany West Chamber President.

32

As the American Heart Association

Inside Northside

as brisk walking and maintaining healthy

The LHH Physician Network boasts

weight. I encourage women to seek

more Cardiovascular Disease specialists

immediate attention at the Heart Hospital

than any in the area, with locations

if they experience any of the symptoms

in Hammond, Covington, Mandeville,

mentioned above.”

Lacombe, Franklinton, Bogalusa, Slidell

M E D I C A L

P R O F I L E

and Picayune. And the network also

and most have a special certification

that it’s important to women to receive

includes primary care specialists. Dr.

in Heart Care. Glenda Dobson, VP of

care in private rooms with open visiting

Candice Knight, Board Certified Family

Clinical Services at LHH, is passionate

hours and to get the personal attention I

Practitioner, specializes in Functional

about her purpose saying, “When I was

see being given in our hospital.”

Medicine. “It’s a new approach to chronic

in nursing school, my father suffered a

disease care that blends values of ancient

heart attack and died at age 54. I knew

to reach out to Northshore women

medicine with today’s technology using the

then that I wanted to make a difference

through raising awareness of their

latest medical advancements to evaluate

in cardiac prevention and care. I’m

#1 health threat, offering the largest

patient problems. Taken into account

proud of our quality and that LHH has

cardiovascular physician network in

is an individual’s physiology, genetics,

the shortest door-to-balloon time on the

the area, and continually improving the

environment and lifestyle factors,” says

Northshore—from ER to Cath Lab, 59

programs and facilities that keep them

Knight. “My approach to cardiovascular

minutes versus a 90-minute national

and their hearts healthy and strong.

disease is the same as any chronic

average. Patients deserve that kind of

illness. I evaluate and treat the patient

performance in a critical situation, and

that has the illness, not just the illness

our staff delivers consistently.”

that has the patient. We must take back

Janice Taulli-Lasseigne, Director

our health with lifestyle first, with targeted

of Education and Cardiac Rehab,

supplementation and the conservative use

was drawn to LHH because of their

of medication as a bridge on the path to

outstanding cardiovascular care. Says

cure. This has allowed me to prevent CV

Taulli-Lasseigne, “I was impressed

disease in patients who don’t have it and

with the hospital’s track record for the

begin reversing it in those who do.”

treatment of heart disease. As Cardiac

But despite best efforts, many

our recent expansion that includes a

Beth Falkenstein is the Volunteer

gymnasium staffed by physicians, RNs,

Community Relations/Special

dietitians and exercise physiologists. The

Events Coordinator for LHH. “As a

program combines exercise, education

Type 1 diabetic, I am passionate about

and teaching patients to make healthy

educating women. Diabetics are 10

changes to improve life quality.”

LHH also recently expanded its

account for 60% of deaths in diabetics.

Cath Lab services by adding 10 private

LHH is the best place for women to

rooms for admitting and recovering

receive heart care because of their

all outpatient cath procedures. This

quality and because they are the only

centralized intake and recovery area

provider specializing in heart care.”

makes for a very streamlined approach.

And it’s not just the physicians that are specialists. All LHH nurses are RNs

“In St. Tammany heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined, yet most women don’t know it is their greatest health risk.”

Rehab Director, I’m proud to be part of

women still face health challenges.

times more at risk, and heart attacks

Louisiana Heart Hospital continues

Louisiana Heart Hospital is

Says Taulli-Lasseigne, “As a critical

located at 64030 Louisiana Hwy. 434,

care nurse and educator, I recognize

in Lacombe, La. louisianaheart.com.

Healthy Living 2014 33

M E D I C A L

P R O F I L E

movement in 6 to 12 months, often with less discomfort.

When the braces are removed, retainers only have to be worn for 15-20 minutes per day.

Developed by an orthodontist in Texas more than 20 years ago, testing and clinical research have proven Fastbraces® works. “It is all about how the brackets and wires are designed,” says Dr. Weimer.

“With the structure of the braces, you can move a tooth in a similar way and with the same or less risks as traditional braces, just more efficiently.”

Fastbraces® comes with a lifetime warranty. If the patient’s teeth shift, any Fastbraces® provider

Patrick Weimer, DDS

Weimer Family Dentistry Fastbraces®— Fast, easy, safe and affordable SINCE FIRST OPENING his Mandeville practice in May 1997, Dr. Patrick Weimer has offered the services routinely provided by a general dentist, from fillings to teeth bleaching. But he also offers

in the world can straighten the teeth again. The

orthodontic treatment—and Dr. Weimer is now

patient only pays for records and new retainers.

one of the first dentists in south Louisiana to

While Fastbraces® treatment is a viable option

offer Fastbraces®, a fast, safe and affordable

for 80 percent of the population (both children and

alternative to traditional braces.

adults), the more complex cases require a specialist.

“We are excited to offer Fastbraces® as a

Dr. Weimer gives patients a consultation at no

great benefit and value to our patients—adults and

charge, and if he is unable to provide treatment, he

children alike,” says Dr. Weimer, who has practiced

refers the patient to a traditional orthodontist.

orthodontics for 15 years. “The Fastbraces®

Dr. Weimer and his family have lived on the

Technology is efficient at moving teeth with excellent

northshore for many years. “I enjoy seeing patients

results, saving patients both time and money. We

and being my own boss in a small business in

don’t need to charge as much per case because

this community,” he says. “The best thing is giving

there are fewer office visits. The less I need to see the

people their smiles back. I can do that for people,

patient, the more affordable the treatment gets.”

and that is the best thing about being a dentist.”

While the use of traditional braces typically consists of two phases and can take anywhere

34

Inside Northside

Dr. Weimer is located at Weimer Family

between 15 and 24 months, Fastbraces® accomplishes

Dentistry, 807 Asbury Dr., in Mandeville. 727-1800.

both phases at the same time and can do the same

weimerfamilydentistry.com.

Book Report

by Terri Schlichenmeyer

Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending

by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton

YOUR LAST PAYCHECK was gone before you got it.

A good chunk of it was earmarked for housing. You had to pay for your new car and gas. Everybody’s favorite Uncle took his share, you have this nasty little habit called “eating,” and there you go: a few dollars left for fun, which is no fun at all.

But what if stretching your meager wealth also stretched your well-being?

In Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, you’ll find out how.

You have a love/hate relationship with money: you love getting it and hate when you don’t have it. But as Dunn and Norton point out, you can utilize discretionary lucre to give you a better life, thus making you happier.

In their research, they discovered five main Principles of Happy Money.

First of all, shift from buying things and spend your money on events. The vacation you took, the concert you attended, that dream fishing trip are etched in your mind

far firmer than, say, last Tuesday’s commute in your new car— especially if those special events were experienced with someone else.

Remember when an impulsive ice cream cone tasted like the best thing in the world? Reach back to those kinds of feelings by ending your spending and turning indulgences into treats.

When something is rare, it brings happiness, because abundance “is the enemy of appreciation.” Even the littlest treats don’t have to cost a lot.

Use your money to buy time, especially when it comes to commuting, TV-watching and socializing. Your fancy abode is no bargain if you have to commute for hours to pay for it. That big-screen TV is a commitment of one-sixth of your year. And socializing doesn’t have to cost anything at all.

Learn to “pay now, consume later,” since studies show that anticipation for an item is far more pleasurable than the item itself. That’ll give you more time to imagine and savor—and

besides, you’ll be happier if you’re debt-free.

Finally, invest in others. Research indicates that giving away money is “just as rewarding as getting more of it.”

There’s a reason why you’ve never seen a Happiness Store at the mall: turns out Mom was right when she said money can’t buy happiness.

It can, however, buy Happy Money, which is a good start. And here’s more good news: most of the things inside this book are easy to do. You might already be following the principles the authors espouse—and if you’re not, they won’t be hard to embrace. The appeal of this book, therefore, is to change the way you think about what’s in your wallet or pocket, whether it’s meager or millions.

I liked this book, its gentle humor and the sense it makes. I think that if you’re tired of being dissatisfied with what you’ve got, you’ll like it, too.

Happy Money may not change your bankbook, but it will give you pennies for your thoughts.

January-February 2014 137

IN the Spotlight Harvest Cup Polo Classic 2013

It was a crisp fall day at Leah Farms in Folsom for the 17th annual Harvest Cup Polo Classic benefitting the Junior League of Greater Covington.

Guests mixed and mingled, enjoying libations and smallplate samplings from more than 30 northshore restaurants.

Two lively polo matches captivated the crowds, while a silent auction offering everything from art to jewelry to home décor kept things moving up the thoroughfare.

For the second year in a row, Lee Michaels Jewelers sponsored a “hay pull,” where one lucky participant won a $2,500 shopping spree. An exciting live auction emceed by Mark Romig included polo artist Gretchen Armbruster’s original poster painting, a giclée from James Michalopoulos and a featured piece from Inside Northside cover artist Garland Robinette.

In the VIP tent, Air Blow Dry Bar and Salon offered free makeup and hair touch-ups for the ladies in preparation for the Pretty Woman hat contest, which saw another large turnout. Music from Karma kept the crowd dancing during the final hour of the festivities.

Proceeds from the Harvest Cup Polo event support the League’s many projects.

138

Inside Northside

2

INside Peek

3

1

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1. Cindy Caruso, Kelly Blackwell and Amy Dimarco at Inside Northside’s Meet the Artist Party at the Oasis Day Spa in Mandeville. 2. Leigh Adler, Erin Naquin , cover artist Hank Holland, his wife Maria, and Katherine Hamby from the Oasis Day Spa. 3. Jessica Fabra and Korie McEntee. 4. Kenny and Dodie Adams with Donny Jenkins. 5. Performers George Neyray and Christian Serpas. 6. Reid Falconer and Webb Williams. 7. Champions of the 9-0 Division Alise Doubt and Kenny Otillio at the Fostering Angels Netchex Holiday Classic Tennis Tournament at Franco’s Atlhetic Club in Mandeville. 8. Open Mixed Winners Aryton Wilbowo and Keri Wong and Open Mixed Runners-Up Megan Falcon and Matt Shoptaugh with giclee trophies by artist Lori Seals. 9. Julie Brannon, Brittany

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Latapie, Patrice Senac, Margie Hollis and Kitty Maginnis at the Arabella Fine Gifts & Home Decor Holiday Open House and Russian Santa trunk show.

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1. Maura Donahue, John Donahue, Diane Brown and Jack Donahue at the Tiffany & Co. grand opening in New Orleans.

2. Hostess Sharon Poirrier with Lori Murphy, Cindy Nunez and Jennifer Rice at the American Red Cross Tiffany Circle event in New Orleans. 3. Bessie Calmes and Dawn Rivera 4. Bob and Brenda Breck. 5. Deidra Jackson, Bob Merrick, Sheryl Duplessis and Karen Eddlemon at the American Red Cross Tiffany Circle Event in Baton Rouge. 6. Kacie Kelly and Patricia Brinson at the Tiffany Circle event in Baton Rouge.

7. Nicole Suhre, Sharon Landry and Jennifer Messina at an 7

event for National Philanthropy Day. 8. Mark Richards, Shellie Campo, Danielel Lavie and Al Nastasi.

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INside Peek 3

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1. David Truehart, Winn Venable, Dr. Leanne Truehart, Ernest Burguières, and Celeste and Reed Falconer at Mandeville’s Marigny Octoberfeast. 2. Arielle Smith, Vanessa Gomes and Alex Connelly at the Octoberfeast. 3. Sherri Hansen and Jody Tharp of Culinary Kids were honored by the St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce with the Hit the Ground Running business award, which recognizes the rapid success Culinary Kids has experienced since its inception in 2012.

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4. John Hall, artist Silvia Bohdenhiemer and Arthur Bohdenhiemer attended a Holiday Art Market hosted by Armbruster Artworks in Covington. 5. Noelle Mitcham of JuJu’s Boutique and Tabita Moeller of Anne’s Boutique at Sip and Stroll event in The Market at Chenier. 6. Jeff McNeely of Niche Modern Home with artist Alexandra Drake. 7. Lesley Reynolds and Becky Winchell at Bastille’s Clothing Company during the Sip and Stroll event.

Send your submissions to peek@insidenorthside.com.

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IN the Spotlight Cedarwood School 30th Anniversary Gala

Cedarwood School’s Parents’ Club sponsored the Cedarwood School 30th Anniversary Gala at Maison Lafitte in Mandeville.

Guests enjoyed live music by the Rick Sampson Project while dining on shrimp and grits, oysters, butternut squash soup, crown roast and more. The gala included silent and live auctions, a runway auction and a cake pull.

Proceeds from the event were donated to the Cedarwood Children’s Foundation, Homeless Outreach for the Youth of St. Tammany and the Children’s Advocacy Center-Hope House. At the end of the gala, Mandeville Mayor Donald Villere presented the school’s founders, Kathryn and Maxie LeBlanc, with an official city proclamation declaring the day Cedarwood School Day.

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INside Peek

1. Dr. Liza Ledet and Bandi, an adoption dog from the Humane Society, celebrate the opening of Mandeville Animal Hospital, which coincided with the Poker Run in Old Mandeville benefitting the Humane Society. 2. Ann Karan, Jessica Zalot, Noelle Mitcham, Cynthia Martinez and

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Emily Shaffer at Rudolph Run event in The Market at Chenier 3. Mandeville High 2

juniors before Homecoming 2013.

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4. Allison Cobbs with owners Sydney, Gina and Blake Powell celebrate the one-year anniversary of [brown eyed girl] . 5. Jubilee Restaurant & Courtyard Chef Tory Stewart (left) with Chef Gunter Preuss and Chef John Folse at the Culinary Institute’s Bite of the Arts 2013. Stewart

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was the Distinguished Visiting Chef for the event honoring Preuss. 6.

Archbishop Hannan principal Father Charles Latour (center), with golf committee chairmen Mike Rase, Jimmy Hingle, Lain St. Paul and John

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Lange at the Archbishop Hannan High School Golf Classic at Tchefuncta Country Club. 7. Molly Gambel with friends and

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family at her birthday party at the Dakota Restaurant in Covington.

Send your submissions to peek@insidenorthside.com.

January-February 2014 147

IN the Spotlight Get to Know WYES Northshore

To celebrate WYES and its contributions to the community, Susan and Pierre Villere opened their home in the Sanctuary for a “Get to Know WYES Northshore” cocktail reception, which was co-hosted by Kathy and Scott Gutterman.

Allan Pizzato, new president and general manager of WYES, visited with northshore viewers and supporters of the station. He was joined by Karen and Marc Leunissen, WYES board chairman, and Peggy Scott Laborde and Errol Laborde, WYES producers and hosts.

Guests enjoyed culinary delicacies from the Lakehouse while learning about WYES program highlights, including the new Audubon Park Memories. The anticipated Season 4 of Masterpiece’s Downton Abbey was a popular discussion topic; other upcoming projects also garnered interest, including the second phase of post-Katrina rebuilding.

“An Evening Inspired by Downton Abbey,” a gala set for Jan. 24, 2014, will benefit WYES. For more information, visit wyes.org or call Sharon Snowdy at (504) 840-4886.

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1. George and Yolanda Paz at the Mia Sorella Holiday Block Party in Slidell. 2. Smith and Mary

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Day. 3. Cathy Mohr, Katie Stevens, Mia Sorella owner Anne Cannon, Alexis Cannon and Katie Goedtel. 4. Alison Atkinson, Mary Day, Wendy Harpster and Cheryl Backes of the Junior Auxilary of Slidell at the block party.

5. Emerging Young Professionals member Amanda Hover with guest speaker Bill Davis, Slidell Memorial Hospital CEO, at the EYP quarterly meeting in Slidell. 6. Beth Knight, Tom Cianfichi and Heather Burkett at the Spartina Jewelry Trunk Show at Hazelnut Mandeville. 7. Grace Comeaux-Piro, Billie and Robert Comeaux, and David Comeaux at the St. Tammany Home Builders Association After Hours at American Factory Direct 6

Furniture in Mandeville. 8. Chef John Besh with Louise Mace at Besh’s book signing at Purple Armadillo Again in Slidell.

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January-February 2014 149

IN the Spotlight Children’s Advocacy Center - Hope House’s Men Who Cook

Carl Arredondo from WWL-TV joined newly installed Covington police chief Tim Lentz among the 15 “celebrity” chefs paired with restaurants at the first annual Men Who Cook benefit for the Children’s Advocacy Center—Hope House. The competition was held on the top level of the parking garage of the St. Tammany Parish Justice Center in Covington.

Guests enjoyed complimentary beer and festive drinks along with live music, a photo booth and mini cook-off challenges.

Winners of Best Recipe and Top Chef titles were determined by a tally of tips at the end of the night.

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1. Gary Blossman with his then-fiancée Kristen Pope at a Mexican-themed wedding shower celebrating their upcoming wedding in San Miguel de Allendce. 2. Carson Gaffrey-Kruse.

3. David and Susan Gottfried.

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4. The groom’s older daughter Lauren Blossman with his mother, Royanne Blossman. 5. Tracy and Suzanne Durham. 6. Gary Blossman’s daughter Amber Blossman with Brian McSorley at the Mexican-themed wedding

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shower. 7. Tim Lentz and Semmes Hughs hosting a big turkey fry on Thanksgiving morning.

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IN Great Taste

The Perfect Valentine’s Date If you’re the homebody-type, use these pieces as your inspiration for

setting the perfect table and the following recipes as part of a perfect menu to “wow” your loved one on Valentine’s Day. We promise you they’ll be very impressed! The only problem? You’ll have to top it next year!

Set The Table Start with an artistic floral arrangement (Florist of Covington, $90) in different shades of pink and purple. No longer are you restricted to the traditional bouquet of a dozen roses in pink or red.

Branch out with unique pops of color. Next, add a touch of ambiance with candles (Arabella Fine Gifts & Home Décor, starting at $18). You’ll want a bottle of bubbly (Krug, Rose Brut Champagne, Acquistapace’s Covington Supermarket, $315), and to keep it iced just right, try a fleur-delis hammered-metal champagne bucket (Niche Modern Home, $38). Once you pop the cork, pour the champagne into beautiful bejeweled champagne flutes (Hazelnut Mandeville, $54 each.) Finally, it is Valentine’s Day after all, so surprise him or her with a box of chocolates (Sucré chocolates, available at the Oasis Day Spa, starting at $16).

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The First Course Cauliflower Soup Jubilee Restaurant & Courtyard

1 1/2 whole heads cauliflower, cleaned, rough chopped 1/4 large white or yellow onion, diced 2 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic 1 cup heavy cream (40%) 2 quarts chicken stock, white or dark 1/4 cup olive oil Salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup cold butter (unsalted) 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

The Reservations If you prefer to make a reservation, Fazzio’s Restaurant in Mandeville is the place to go. Newly renovated and under new ownership, Fazzio’s is intimate and inviting. You can have Florist of Covington deliver a centerpiece. Start with Bruschetta or Crabmeat Au Gratin before an Italian salad or cup of Gumbo. For your entrée, enjoy house specialties like Filet Fazzio and Penne alla Vodka. You don’t want to miss dessert! Fazzio’s has a great selection, including their homemade tiramisu and cannoli.

In a medium soup pot, add salad oil and onions; sauté until tender (translucent). Add cauliflower; sauté five minutes. Add chicken stock and garlic. Simmer on low heat until cauliflower is tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. Add heavy cream; cook for ten minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Place the soup in a blender and process until smooth.

Place butter and flour in a mixing bowl; knead with hands until fully incorporated (beurre manié).

Return soup to a boil; whisk beurre manié into soup until completely incorporated. Allow soup to simmer for 5-8 minutes to cook the flour and thicken. Yield: 8 cups.

Tip: Chef Tory Stewart recommends topping soup with blue crab lump meat before serving.

January-February 2014 153

IN Great Taste

From top: Cushion-cut garnet and diamond earrings and pendant in 18K gold.

Earrings, $1,100; pendant, $575. Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry, Metairie, (504) 8320000. Hand-painted machine-washable napkins. Set of four, $25. Artisan Home Décor, Mandeville, 778-2113. Follow Jordan McDonald’s lead and wrap your Valentine’s Day gift for your loved one like this. An Orderly Abode, 789-6658. Wrap up this “Wonder Angel” crafted with recycled scrap metal by artist Kathryn Arnett,

The Dessert

$22. Available at All Wrapped Up, Mandeville, 778-2041.

Flourless Chocolate Torte

Nothing says Valentine’s Day quite like chocolate. This recipe comes the Lakehouse in Mandeville.

It might look complicated, and it’s definitely not for beginners, but give it a try. You’ll impress yourself and your date!

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 1/2 tablespoon 1 pound semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 1/4 cup amaretto 8 large eggs 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon salt Confectioners’ sugar or cocoa powder, for garnish Fresh raspberries, for garnish

Preheat oven to 325° F. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil.

Combine the chocolate, 1/2 pound of butter and amaretto in a metal bowl set over simmering water or in the top of a double boiler. Melt the mixture, stirring constantly, until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes; reserve.

Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until frothy and almost doubled in volume, about 5 to 10 minutes. Fold 1/3 of egg mixture into chocolate mixture using a rubber spatula. Repeat this process two more 154

Inside Northside

times until all of egg mixture has been folded into chocolate mixture.

Using 1/2 tablespoon butter, grease a 9-inch springform pan; line bottom with a parchment round. Cover pan underneath and along sides with foil.

Pour batter into prepared springform pan; place in the roasting pan. Pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to come about halfway up the sides.

Bake until cake has risen slightly and edges are just beginning to set, about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove cake from roasting pan. Cool on wire rack to room temperature. Remove foil, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove cake from refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving.

Remove springform pan sides, invert cake onto a large plate and peel away the parchment paper from bottom.

Reinvert cake on another large plate or serving platter and garnish with confectioners’ sugar or cocoa powder immediately before serving.

INside Dining MCC: Major credit cards accepted ME: Menu Express delivery RR: Reservations recommended ABITA SPRINGS Abita Barbecue, 69399 Hwy. 59, 4005025. Ribs, brisket, chicken, pulled pork and boudin. MCC. Abita Brew Pub, 72011 Holly St., 8925837. On the Trace. Good food, great beer.

Lunch, dinner. abitabrewpub.com. MCC. Abita Springs Café, 22132 Level St., 867-9950. Southern cooking for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tues-Sun. MCC. Camellia Café, 69455 Hwy. 59, 8096313. Traditional seafood and New Orleans cuisine. thecamelliacafe.com. MCC. Mama D’s Pizza & More, 22054 Hwy. 59, 809-0308. Great pizza, sandwiches, pasta, fresh homemade bread. Lunch, dinner. mamadspizza.com.

COVINGTON Acme Oyster House, 1202 Hwy. 190, 246-6155. Established 1910 in New Orleans, 1995 on northshore. Seafood, sandwiches, local favorites. Lunch, dinner. mamdspizza.com. MCC. Albasha, 1958 Hwy. 190, 867-8292.

Mediterranean cuisine. albashabr.com. MCC. Annadele’s Plantation, 71518 Chestnut St., 809-7669. Yellow fin tuna, domestic lamb & much more. annadeles.com. MCC, checks.

Bear’s Restaurant, 128 W. 21st St., 892-2373. Best po-boys in the world.

Blue Hickory BBQ, 570380 Hwy. 21, Ste. 9, 871-4216. Meats smoked on site, handmade sausage; brisket, ribs, chicken, seafood and salads. Drive-thru.

Open 7 days a week. bluehickorybbq. com. MCC. Buster’s Place, 519 E. Boston St., 809-3880. Seafood, po-boys, steaks.

Lunch, dinner. MCC. Carreta’s Grill, 70380 Hwy. 21, 8716674. Great Mexican cuisine and margaritas served in a family-friendly atmosphere for lunch and dinner. Kids eat free every Wednesday! Private events and catering also provided. carretasgrill.com. MCC.

The Cheesesteak Bistro, 528 N. Columbia St., Covington, 875-9793.

Original cheesesteak sandwiches, soups, salads, gumbo and super spuds. Breakfast, lunch. All under $10.

MCC, checks.

The Chimes, 19130 W. Front St., 892-5396.

Lunch and dinner. thechimes.com. MCC. Coffee Rani, 234-A Lee Ln., 8936158. Soup and salad specialists. coffeerani.com.

Columbia St. Seafood, 1123 N. Columbia St., 893-4312.

Seafood platters and po-boys. columbiastreetseafood.com.

Columbia St. Tap Room & Grill, 434 N. Columbia St., 898-0899. Daily specials, appetizers, sandwiches, salads, soups and burgers. Live music Thurs-Sat nights. Lunch, dinner. covingtontaproom.com. MCC, ME. Copeland’s, 680 N. Hwy. 190, 809-9659.

Authentic New Orleans cuisine. Lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. Online takeout orders at copelandsofneworleans.com.

MCC, ME, RR. Dakota Restaurant, 629 N. Hwy. 190, 892-3712. Contemporary Louisiana cuisine using local and seasonal ingredients. thedakotarestaurant.com. MCC, RR. Del Porto Restaurant, 501 E. Boston St., 875-1006. Northern Italian cuisine. delportoristorante.com. MCC, RR. Di Martino’s, 700 S. Tyler St., 2766460. Great food and reasonable prices.

Lunch, dinner. dimartinos.com. MCC. Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, 69292 Hwy. 21, 871-2225. Locally-owned and -operated franchise. Kids eat free on Sundays. MCC. DiCristina’s Restaurant, 810 N. Columbia St., Ste. C, 875-0160.

Conveniently located next to the new Covington Courthouse. Italian and seafood. dicristinas.com. MCC. Don’s Seafood Hut, 126 Lake Dr., 327-7111. Lunch and dinner. donsseafoodonline.com. MCC. Downtown Deli, 400 N. Thread St., 2349086. Chicken salad, burgers and poboys.

Mon-Fri, 10:30am-2:30pm. MCC.

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smothered rabbit and voodoo crawfish rolls. Family owned and operated.

The English Tea Room, 734 Rutland

neworleansfoodspirits.com. MCC.

St., 898-3988. Authentic English cream teas. Special event teas,

Nonna Randazzo’s Italian Bakery

English scones, crumpets and cakes.

and Caffè, 2033 N. Hwy. 190, Ste.

Serving breakfast and lunch. Mon-Sat,

5, 893-1488. Full service, year-round

7:30am-6pm. englishtearoom.com.

bakery. Luncheon salads, panini,

MCC, RR.

catering, donuts, kingcakes, cupcakes and wedding cakes. Tues-Sun, open at

Four Seasons Chinese Buffet, 600

7am. nonnaskingcakes.com. MCC.

N. Hwy. 190, 893-3866. MCC.

North Island Chinese, 842 N. Collins Blvd., 867-8289.

Gallagher’s Grill, 509 S. Tyler St., 892-9992. Lunch and dinner, Tues-Sat.

Northshore Empress, 31 Louis Prima

gallaghersgrill.com. MCC, RR.

Dr., 871-6975. northshoreempress.com.

Garcia’s Famous Mexican Food, 200

Osaka 21 Japanese Restaurant,

River Highlands Blvd., 327-7420.

70340 Hwy. 21, 809-2640.

Isabella’s Pizzeria, 70452 Hwy. 21,

Osaka West Japanese Restaurant,

Ste. 500, 875-7620; 1331 Hwy. 190,

804 N. Hwy. 190, 871-8199.

809-1900. Salads, gourmet pizza,

osakawest.com

sandwiches, paninis, calzones and pasta. isabellaspizzeria.net.

Pardos, 69305 Hwy. 21, 893-3603.

An American bistro with a blend of

Italian Pie, 70488 Hwy. 21, 871-5252.

multi-cultural cuisine with local flair.

Pizza, salads, pasta, sandwiches. Dine in

Frutta del mar pasta, rosemary-grilled

or carry out. italianpie.com. MCC, checks.

shrimp, roasted chicken. Lunch, TuesFri; Dinner, Tues-Sun; Happy hour,

Jerk’s Island Grill & Daiquiri

Tues-Fri, 4-7pm. Private parties and

Bar, 70437 Hwy. 21, 893-1380.

catering. pardosbistro.com. MCC.

jerksIslandgrill.com.

Pat’s Seafood Market and Cajun Lola, 517 N. New Hampshire St.,

Deli, 1248 N. Collins Blvd., 892-7287.

892-4992. Lunch, Mon-Fri; Dinner,

Jambalaya, gumbo, stuffed artichokes.

Fri-Sat. Closed Sundays. Daily lunch

MCC, checks, ME.

specials, local produce, Louisiana seafood, everything housemade.

Peck’s Seafood & Grill, 70457 Hwy. 21,

lolacovington.com.

Ste. 108, 892-2121. Po-boys, seafood, burgers and lunch specials. MCC.

Mattina Bella, 421 E. Gibson St., 8920708. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. MCC,

PJ’s Coffee & Tea Co., 70456 Hwy.

checks.

21, 875-7894. Catch your morning buzz at this convenient drive-thru!

McAlister’s Deli, 206 Lake Dr., Ste.

Catering. MCC.

15, 898-2800. Great sandwiches, salads, overstuffed potatoes.

Pizza Man of Covington, 1248 N.

mcalistersdeli.com. MCC, checks.

Collins Blvd., 892-9874. Checks, ME.

Megumi of Covington, 1211 Village

Renaissance Antiques & Gifts with

Walk, 893-0406. megumirestaurant.net.

the Original Soda Fountain & Café Cabaret, 322 N. Florida St., 892-7220.

Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers,

Nostalgic soda fountain for lunch and

1645 Hwy. 190, 327-5407. Salads,

after school, six days a week.

pizzas, calzones. 20 craft beers on tap.

Open 7 days a week. Lunch and dinner.

Sala Thai, 315 N. Vermont St., 249-

MCC. mellowmushroom.com.

6990. Special salads, spring rolls, soups, noodle and curry dishes. Sun-

Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt, 104 Lake Dr. #1, 898-6362. menchies.com.

Thurs, 11am-9pm; Fri-Sat, 11am-10pm.

Lunch buffet weekdays, 11am-3pm. salathaibysu.com. MCC.

New Orleans Food and Spirits,

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B Schwing’s Restaurant, 1204 W. 21st

Casual fine dining including Creole, Italian,

Ave., 893-1899. Fresh seafood and home

Caribbean and Southern cuisines. Hand-

cooking. schwingsrestaurant.com. MCC.

trimmed steaks, seafood and specialties.

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Dinner, Tues-Sun; Lunch, Wed-Fri; Sunday Sweet Daddy’s, 420 S. Tyler St., 898-

Brunch; Closed Mondays. jacmelinn.com.

2166. Pulled pork, brisket and ribs.

MCC, checks.

sweetdaddysbarbq.com. MCC, ME. Kirin Sushi, 221 E. Cate St., 542Thai Chili, 1102 N. Hwy. 190, 809-0180.

8888. First Japanese sushi restaurant in Hammond! Dragon roll, Kirin roll, sake.

Thai Spice, 1581 N. Hwy. 190, 809-6483.

kirinjapanesecuisine.com. MCC.

Thai Taste, 1005 N. Collins Blvd.,

La Carreta Authentic Mexican

809-7886.

Cuisine, 108 N.W Railroad Ave., 4199990. Festive Mexican atmosphere,

Tony Bosco’s at TerraBella, 141

fresh food from traditional recipes,

TerraBella Blvd., 612-7250. Authentic Italian

outstanding service and value. Live

cuisine. Lunch, dinner, private meeting

music. Lunch and dinner seven days a

room, catering. tonyboscos.com.

week. carretarestaurant.com. MCC.

Vasquez Seafood & Po-Boys, 515

Old MacDonald’s Smokehouse,

E. Boston St., 893-9336. Cuban

1601 N. Morrison Blvd., 542-7529.

sandwiches and more. vazquezpoboy.

BBQ brisket, ribs, chicken and sausage.

com. MCC, checks, ME.

oldmacdonaldsmokehouse.com. MCC, checks.

Winos and Tacos, a 321 N. Columbia St., 809-3029. Fresh, innovative cuisine

Tommy’s on Thomas, 216 W. Thomas

by Chef Joel Brown. MCC.

St., 350-6100. Pizza, pastas. Lunch, dinner. tommysonthomas.com. MCC, checks.

WOW Café & Wingery, 501 N. Hwy. 190, 892-9691. Wings, burgers, wraps

Tope là, 104 N. Cate St., 542-7600.

and more. MCC.

Contemporary delights. topela.com. MCC.

Yujin Japanese Restaurant and

Trey Yuen Cuisine of China, 2100 N.

Sushi Bar, 323 N. New Hampshire St.,

Morrison Blvd., 345-6789. Innovative

809-3840. Japanese cuisine and sushi

quality Chinese food served in Imperial

in a casual atmosphere. MCC.

surroundings. treyyuen.com. MCC, checks.

Zea Rotisserie & Grill, 110 Lake Dr., 327-0520. Inspired American food.

VooDoo BBQ & Grill, 2108 W. Thomas

zearestaurants.com. MCC.

St., 345-1131. “Taste our Magic.” voodoobbq.com. MCC.

HAMMOND Adobe Cantina & Salsa, 1905

Yellow Bird Café, 222 E. Charles St.,

W. Thomas St., 419-0027. Fine

345-1112. A great place to start your

Mexican cuisine, good spirits, great

day. Breakfast, lunch. MCC, checks.

friends and fun. Ceviche (marinated fish) and Mexican pasta. Live band. adoberestaurant.com. MCC.

LACOMBE Janie Brown’s Restaurant, 27207 Hwy. 190, 882-7201. Casual dining with

Brady’s, 110 SW Railroad Ave., 542-

a great atmosphere. MCC, checks.

6333. bradysdowntown.com.

La Provence Restaurant, 25020 Cocoa Bean Bakery and Cafe, 910

Hwy. 190, 626-7662. Owner John Besh

E. Main St., 345-2002. Specialty cakes,

combines hospitality with French cuisine

pastries. Serving breakfast and light

and welcoming hearths. Dinner, Sunday

lunch. Specials. thecocoabeanbakery.

brunch. laprovencerestaurant.com.

com. MCC.

MCC, checks. RR.

Don’s Seafood & Steak House,

Sal & Judy’s, 27491 Hwy. 190,

1915 S. Morrison Blvd., 345-8550.

882-9443. Great food and line of

donsseafoodonline.com. MCC.

retail products. Family-owned for 27 years. Veal is the house specialty.

Jacmel Inn, 903 E. Morris St., 542-0043.

salandjudys.com. MCC, RR.

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5375. countrykitchenrestaurants.com.

Hook’d Up Riverside Bar and Grill, 100 Marina Del Ray Dr., 845-8119.

Fat Spoon Café, 68480 Hwy. 59.,

Burgers, wings, hot dogs and specials.

809-2929. Breakfast, lunch, TuesSun. 7am-2pm. Breakfast served

Keith Young’s Steakhouse, 165 Hwy.

until 10:30am on weekdays and all

21, 845-9940. Steak, crab cakes. Lunch,

day Saturday and Sunday. Reserve

dinner, Tues-Fri. keithyoungs.net. MCC.

Fat Spoon Cafe for your next party. fatspooncafe.com. MCC.

Morton’s Boiled Seafood & Bar, 702 Water St., 845-4970. Relaxed

Fazzio’s Seafood & Steakhouse,

atmosphere, seafood, daily specials.

1841 N. Causeway Blvd., 624-9704.

Lunch, dinner. MCC, checks.

Fresh fish daily, aged beef, traditional Italian. Lunch, dinner. fazziosrestaurant.

Water St. Bistro, 804 Water St.,

com. MCC, ME, RR.

845-3855. Casual ambiance on the Tchefuncte. Lunch and dinner, Wed-

Franco’s Grill,100 Bon Temps

Sun. mortonsseafood.com. MCC.

Roule, 792-0200. Fresh organic foods for breakfast, lunch and takeout.

MANDEVILLE

myfrancos.com/dining. MCC.

The Barley Oak, 2101 Lakeshore Dr., 727-7420. Serving 130 styles of beer,

George’s Mexican Restaurant, 1461

call and premium liquors. Lunch and

N. Causeway Blvd., 626-4342. Family

dinner. thebarleyoak.com. MCC.

owned. Fajitas, George’s nachos, Carne al la Parrilla. Best top-shelf margaritas in town.

Bear’s Grill & Spirits, 4700 Hwy. 22,

georgesmexicanrestaurant.com. MCC, ME.

674-9090. Bear’s po-boys and more. bearsgrillandspirits.com. MCC.

Gio’s Villa Vancheri, 2890 E. Causeway App., 624-2597. Sicilian

Benedict’s Plantation, 1144 Lovers

specialties by 5-star chef Gio

Ln., 626-4557. Traditional New Orleans

Vancheri. Lunch and dinner, Mon-Sat.

cuisine. Dinner, Sunday brunch.

giosvillavancheri.com. MCC. RR.

benedictsplantation.net. MCC. Hong Kong Restaurant, 2890 E. Bosco’s Italian Café, 2040 Hwy. 59,

Causeway App., 626-8222. MCC.

624-5066. boscositalian.com.

Isabella’s Pizzeria, 2660 Florida Broken Egg Café, 200 Gerard St.,

St. (in the Florida Street Market),

231-7125. Excellent choice for brunch!

674-5700. Salads, gourmet pizza,

Pasta, specialty salads, sandwiches.

sandwiches, paninis, calzones and

anotherbrokenegg.com. MCC.

pasta. isabellapizzeria.net.

Café Lynn Restaurant and Catering,

Italian Pie, 4350 Hwy. 22, 626-5252.

3051 E. Causeway App., 624-9007.

Pizza, salads, pasta, sandwiches. Dine in

Casual fine dining for lunch, dinner and

or carry out. italianpie.com. MCC, checks.

Sunday brunch by Chef Joey Najolia.

Tues-Fri, lunch: 11am-3pm. Dinner,

Joyce and Johnny’s, 1461 N.

5pm. Catering provided. cafelynn.com.

Causeway Blvd., Ste. 11, 727-7727.

MCC.

Soups, salads, stuffed potatoes, sandwiches, po-boys.

Chili’s Bar & Grill, 3420 Hwy. 190, 727-2771. Fajitas and the Awesome Blossom. Lunch, dinner. chilis.com.

MCC, ME. Coffee Rani, 3517 Hwy. 190, 674-

Jubilee Restaurant and Courtyard, 301 Lafitte St., 778-2552. Contemporary Louisiana cuisine for dinner, lunch by Chef Tory Stewart. Casual fine dining, daily lunch/dinner specials, private events, catering. jubileerestaurantcourtyard.com.

0560. Soup and salad specialists.

K. Gee’s, 2534 Florida St., 626-0530.

Coscino’s Pizza, 1817 N. Causeway

Featuring Louisiana seafood with raw

Blvd., 727-4984. New York hand-tossed

oysters 1/2 price on Tuesdays. Express

pizza and Italian foods cooked on stone

lunch and daily lunch specials under

using the finest ingredients. MCC.

$10. Mon-Thurs, 11am-9pm; Fri-Sat, 11am-10pm. kgeesrestaurant.com. MCC.

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639 Girod St., 612-1828. Homemade La Carreta Authentic Mexican

American cuisine with fresh, local

Cuisine, 1200 W. Causeway

ingredients. Family-friendly atmosphere.

App., 624-2990. Festive Mexican

Lunch and dinner. Closed Tuesdays.

atmosphere, fresh food from traditional recipes, outstanding

Petunia’s Place, 2020 Hwy. 59, 674-

service and value. Live music. Lunch

3436. petuniasplace.com.

and dinner seven days a week. carretasrestaurant.com. MCC.

Pinkberry, 3460 Hwy. 190, 612-7306.

Pinkberry is the original tart frozen

La Madeleine French Cafe, 3434

yogurt that is the perfect balance of

Hwy. 190, 626-7004. lamadeleine.com.

sweet and tangy paired with high quality, fresh cut fruit and premium dry

The Lakehouse, 2025 Lakeshore

toppings. pinkberry.com.

Dr., 626-3006, events 807-5014.

Special events venue open 7 days for

PJ’s Coffee & Tea Co., 2963 Hwy.

private events. Call for reservations.

190, 674-1565. Catch your morning

lakehousecuisine.com. MCC.

buzz at the convenient drive-thru!

Catering. pjscoffee.com. MCC.

Little Tokyo, 590 Asbury Dr., 727-1532. littletokyosushi.com.

Rip’s on the Lake, 1917 Lakeshore Dr., 727-2829.

Louie & The Redhead Lady, 2820 E. Causeway App., 626-6044.

Ristorante Carmelo & Pizzaria, 1901

louieandtheredheadlady.com.

Hwy. 190, 624-4844. Family-oriented Italian cuisine. Lunch and dinner. MCC.

Macaroni Grill, 3410 Hwy. 190, 7271998. Penne rustica, pasta Milano,

Rusty Pelican, 500 Girod

other Italian favorites. Lunch, dinner.

St., 778-0364. Lunch, dinner.

macaronigrill.com. MCC, ME.

rustypelicanbythelake.com. MCC.

Mande’s, 340 N. Causeway App.,

Sake Gardens Japanese Restaurant,

626-9047. Serving breakfast and

1705 Hwy. 190, 624-8955.

lunch, daily specials.

Sesame Inn, 408 N. Causeway Blvd., Mandina’s, 4240 Hwy. 22 in

951-8888. Finest Chinese cuisine.

Azalea Square Shopping Center, 674-9883. Seafood, Creole and

The Scotts’ Coffee Bar, 201 Carroll St.,

Italian. Lunch and dinner, Mon-Sat.

231-7632. Open seven days. Gourmet

mandinasrestaurant.com.

coffee & tea. Breakfast and lunch items available. Evening tapas menu - Fri and

Megumi Japanese Cuisine, 4700

Sat, 6-10. thescottscoffeebar.com.

Hwy. 22, Suites 11 and 12, 845-1644.

Yakimono and sushi bar. Lunch, dinner.

Smoothie King, 1830 W. Causeway

megumirestaurant.com.

App., 626-9159. Smoothies. smoothieking.com. MCC, checks.

MiMamacita’s New Mexican Cuisine, 2345 Florida St., 674-1400. Great food

Taqueria Noria, 1931 Hwy. 59, 727-

and margaritas. Lunch, dinner, catering.

7917. Lunch, dinner.

MCC. Times Bar & Grill, 1896 N. Causeway Monster Po-Boys, 1814 N. Causeway

Blvd., 626-1161. Famous hamburgers,

App., 626-9183. Lunch, dinner.

starters, steaks and more. Lunch, dinner. timesgrill.com. ME, MCC.

N’Tini’s, 2891 N. Hwy. 190, 626-5566.

Steaks, martinis. Lunch specials. Mon.-

Trey Yuen Cuisine of China, 600 N.

Sat. ntinis.com. MCC.

Causeway Blvd., 626-4476. Quality China cuisine with Louisiana flair. Lunch,

Nuvolari’s, 246 Girod St., 626-5619. In Old

dinner. treyyuen.com. MCC, checks.

Mandeville. Gnocchi, escargot, filet mignon, linguini fruta di mare. Dinner. Open seven

Vianne’s Tea House, 544 Girod St.,

nights a week. MCC. nuvolaris.com.

624-5683. A full café menu with over 120 loose leaf and speciality teas.

The Old Rail Brewing Company,

Breakfast, lunch. viannes.com. MCC.

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g La. Pines, 1061 Robert St., 641-6196.

VooDoo BBQ & Grill, 2999 Hwy.

Meet under the water tower for Ahhhfull-

190 E., 629-2021. “Taste our Magic.”

waffles, Sugar Watcher specials. Breakfast,

voodoobbq.com. MCC.

lunch. lapinescafe.com. MCC, checks.

PONCHATOULA

Michael’s, 4820 Pontchartrain Dr., 649-

Middendorf’s Seafood Restaurant,

8055. Steaks, seafood, veal, duck, eggplant

30160 Hwy. 51, 386-6666.

au gratin. Extensive wine selection. Dinner.

middendorfsrestaurant.com.

Nathan’s Restaurant, 36440 La Carreta Authentic Mexican

Old Bayou Liberty Rd., 643-0443.

Cuisine, 147 N.W. Railroad Ave.,

Waterfront dining featuring seafood,

370-0930. Festive Mexican

steaks and pasta. MCC.

atmosphere, fresh food from traditional recipes, outstanding

Nola Southern Grill, 1375 Gause

service and value. Live music. Lunch

Blvd., 201-8200. Burgers, ribs,

and dinner seven days a week.

steaks, pasta, sandwiches and

carretarestaurant.com. MCC.

seafood. MCC.

Taste of Bavaria Restaurant

Palmettos on the Bayou,

& Bakery, 14476 Hwy. 22, 386-

1901 Bayou Ln., 643-0050.

3634. Charming Bavarian bungalow,

palmettosrestaurantslidell.com.

European-style breakfast, German-style lunch. tasteofbavariastaurant.com.

Peck’s Seafood Restaurant, 2315

MCC, checks.

Gause Blvd. E., 781-7272. Po-boys, seafood, burgers and lunch specials. MCC. SLIDELL

A Touch of Italy Café, 134 Pennsylvania

Smoothie King, 150 Northshore

Ave., 639-0600. Seafood, veal,

Blvd., 781-3456. Low-fat health drinks.

steaks, daily specials. Lunch, dinner.

smoothieking.com. MCC, checks.

kathrynandcompany.com. MCC, checks.

Tacos and Beer, 2142 Front St., 641Assunta’s, 2631 Hwy. 190 W., 649-

4969. Lunch, dinner and late-night.

9768. Italian food, extensive wine selection.

Dinner. assuntas.com. MCC, checks.

Times Bar & Grill, 1827 Front St., 6393335. Famous hamburgers, starters,

Bear’s Grill & Spirits, 550 Gause

steaks and more. Lunch, dinner.

Blvd., 201-8905. Po-boys and more.

timesgrill.com. ME, MCC.

bearsgrillandspirits.com. MCC. The Wine Market, 2051 E. Gause Sapphire, 2306 Front St., 288-4166.

Blvd., 781-1177. Deli restaurant, lunch,

Sunday brunch, live entertainment, fine

11am-3pm. Sandwiches, soups, salads,

wines and spirits. Open seven days a

wraps. MCC and checks.

week. bistrodelareine.com. MCC. NEW ORLEANS/SOUTHSHORE Bonnie C’s, 1768 Front St., 288-

Café Giovanni, 117 Rue Decatur,

5061. Home-style Italian, seafood, and

(504)-529-2154. Dinner, Sun-Thurs,

barbecue.

5:30-10pm. Fri-Sat, 5:30-11pm. Live Entertainment Wed, Thurs, and Friday

Camellia Cafe, 525 Hwy. 190, 649-6211.

Evenings. . Cafegiovanni.com. RR.

Traditional seafood and New Orleans cuisine. thecamelliacafe.com. MCC.

Criollo Resturant and Lounge at Hotel Monteleone, 214 Royal St.,

Carreta’s Grill, 137 Taos St., 847-0020.

(504)-523-3340. hotelmonteleone.

Great Mexican cuisine and margaritas served

com/criollo/. MCC, RR

in a family-friendly atmosphere for lunch and dinner. carretasgrill.com. MCC.

Restaurant R’evolution, 777 Bienville St., (504)-553-2277. Located at the

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KY’s Olde Towne Bicycle Shop,

Royal Sonesta Hotel. Offering modern,

2267 Carey St., 641-1911. Casual

imaginative reinterpretations of classic

dining in former bicycle shop. Kids’

Cajun and Creole Cuisine. Triptych of

menu. Lunch, dinner. kysoldetowne.

Quail and Oysterman’s spaghettini.

com. MCC, checks.

Revolutionnola.com. RR.

IN Development

by Lauren Parrish

the

Parkway Project

An asset to our parish. This is how Pat Brister, St. Tammany Parish president, describes the partnership with the Parkway Project, the non-profit organization founded to enrich the appearance of public spaces by creating and maintaining beautification projects throughout the parish. “Landscaping, fountains and potentially public art not only enhance the appeal of St. Tammany, they are an investment in our community,” says Brister.

Leslie Boudreaux, one of the founders of the Parkway Project, has seen Highway 190 grow from a two-lane road to a multi-lane highway. “Visual aesthetics have always been important to me. I love visiting places like Fairhope, Alabama. I thought, ‘Why can’t Covington’s Highway 190 look like the roads in Fairhope?’ Certainly we can do better for

such a major commercial corridor. We founded this organization with that in mind.”

The Parkway Project has plans to landscape three locations along the Highway 190 corridor in Covington: the intersections with Holiday Square Boulevard, Park Place and Village Lane. A parish landscape architect experienced in roadside projects who has previously worked with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development will design the intersections. Landscaping will be maintained by the Parkway Project. The organization’s long-term plans include renaming the stretch of Highway 190 to Interstate 12, adding roadside sculptures and planting trees. Initial funding for the landscaping will come from a federal reimbursement grant from the DOTD through the

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New Orleans Regional Planning Commission and St. Tammany Parish.

“The Louisiana DOTD grant to begin the beautification will be the first step of what we hope will be many improvements to highway rightof-ways. It’s one thing to develop an area of our beautiful parish, but we must continue to make enhancements in order to stay competitive,” says Brister. “While we encourage corporations and entrepreneurs to create jobs here in St. Tammany, we have an obligation to create and maintain an impressive business atmosphere, both economically and aesthetically.”

Beginning in 2014, the Parkway Project will recognize businesses and corporations on a quarterly basis for their contributions to the aesthetic beauty of the northshore. Northpark in Covington is the recipient of the first award in 2014. “Northpark has exhibited the essence of what we in St. Tammany Parish are looking for—the professional look of a beautifully landscaped and maintained park in front of their location,” says Ron Lee, Parkway Project committee member. “Look for a brightly-colored sign or flag along Highway 190 with our logo that each recipient will display.” Recipients will also receive a plaque.

“We only get one chance to make a good first impression on people entering our parish. Having a clean, well-groomed and beautiful parish can have a tremendous impact on our economic development efforts to retain and recruit business,” says Brenda Bertus, CEO of the St. Tammany Parish Economic Development Foundation.

Let’s make it a good—and lasting—impression.

For more information on the Parkway Project, email Leslie Boudreaux at budro712@gmail.com.

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Directory of Advertisers ADVERTISER...........................CONTACT INFO PAGE 10/12 Properties.................... 985-626-8200 163 Acquistapace’s Covington Supermarket.......... ............................................. 985-893-0593 160 Agena, Dr. Gary M. - OBGYN.... 985-845-7121 46 All Wrapped Up...................... 985-778-2041 77 Al’s Plumbing Co.................... 985-845-9390 33 American Factory Direct.......... 985-871-0300 81 American Red Cross................... redcross.org 55 Anne’s Boutique..................... 985-626-3099 88 Arabella Fine Gifts & Home Décor....985-727-9787 87 Armbruster Artworks Studio.... 985-630-6295 164 Artistry of Light...................... 225-247-8963 4 Asset One.............................. 985-727-2834 147 Barley Oak, The...................... 985-727-7420 8 Bastille’s Clothing Company... 985-626-4220 88 Beaver Creek Health & Rehab... 888-600-2393 160 Bedico Creek Preserve............ 985-845-4200 22 Bella Cucina........................... 985-626-7886 31 Berger Home.......................... 985-624-3433 26 Bevolo Gas & Electric Lights... 985-249-6040 18 Blue Hickory Blues and Barbeque... 985-871-4216 159 Bmac Interiors at TerraBella....bmacinteriors.net 29 Bora Bora............................... 985-951-8454 78 Boudreaux’s Fine Jewelers...... 985-626-1666 141 Bra la Vie!.............................. 985-662-5065 84 [brown eyed girl].................... 985-626-0100 84 Brown Family Orthodontics..... 985-626-8297 56 Café Lynn Restaurant & Catering................... ............................................. 985-624-9007 157 California Drawstrings Northshore... 985-327-7300 92 Carreta’s Grill........ 985-871-6674, 847-0020 50 Cedarwood School................. 985-845-7111 137 Center for Women’s Health..... 985-249-7022 HL-5 Champagne Beverage Co.............................. ............................. champagnebeverage.com 7 Champagne Jewelers............. 985-643-2599 26 Children’s Museum of St. Tammany................ .................................................cmstkids.org 33 Chris Wynne Designs..................................... ......................chriswynnedesigns.tumblr.com 164 Christwood Retirement Community............... ......................................... christwoodrc.com HL-17 Church of the King................. 985-727-7017 49 Columbia Street Mercantile.... 985-809-1789 91 Computer Troubleshooters...... 985-624-2302 164 Covington Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Clinic......... ............................................. 985-892-5117 HL-25 Culinary Kids.......................... 985-727-5553 164 David Pierson Designs, Inc...... 985-871-0457 81 De Boscq Jewelry................... 985-674-0007 43 deCoeur...................................... decoeur.net 74 DeLuca’s Expressions in Gold.. 985-892-2317 84 Designs in Windows............... 985-209-1689 77 Dickey’s Barbecue Pit.............. 985-871-2225 164 Dimitri Dermatology............... 504-465-8390 HL-31 Earthsavers............................ 985-674-1133 97 Emma’s Shoes and Accessories... 985-778-2200 87 Eros Home & Clothing............ 985-727-0034 87 Etan Enterprises..................... 985-966-7042 41 Fazzio’s Restaurant & Bar....... 985-624-9704 157 Fertility Institute, The.......fertilityinstitute.com HL-26 Fielding Photography.............. 985-626-7549 71

ADVERTISER...........................CONTACT INFO PAGE Fitness Expo........................... 504-887-0880 HL-20 Fleurt..................................... 985-809-8844 84 Florist of Covington................ 985-892-7701 83 Franco’s Athletic Club............. 985-792-0200 BC french mix, the....................... 985-809-3152 21 George’s Mexican Restaurant.... 985-626-4342 158 Glenn Michael Salon.............. 504-828-6848 15 GNO Property Management... 504-528-7028 162 Grapevine Gifts & Gallery ........................grapevinegiftsandgallery.com 81 H2O Salon............................. 985-951-8166 87 Hazelnut Mandeville............... 985-626-8900 146 Hestia Luxury in Linens........... 985-893-0490 78 History Antiques & Interiors.... 985-892-0010 77 Huntington Learning Center... 985-727-0000 9 Infusé Oils & Vinegars............ 985-778-0903 58 Integrity Builders, Inc.............. 985-626-3479 50 Istre Hearing Care.................. 985-845-3509 32 Jill Gibson, MD LLC................ 985-898-5990 136 Jim Stone Co.......................... 985-882-5907 78 Jos. A. Bank............................ 985-624-4067 21 Jubilee Restaurant & Courtyard.... 985-778-2552 156 JuJu’s Boutique...................... 985-624-3600 88 K. Gee’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar... 985-626-0530 156 Kehoe-France Northshore....... 985-892-4415 29 KentJacob Color Salon............ 985-845-8011 25 Koko Fit Club......................... 985-746-4161 HL-8 La Bella Vita Laser & Vein....... 985-892-2950 HL-9 Lake After Hours..................... 985-375-9979 56 Lakehouse, The....................... 985-626-3006 155 Lakeview Regional Medical Center................. ............................................. 985-867-3800 IBC L’auberge Casino & Hotel..... mylauberge.com 6 LCI Workers Comp.................. 985-612-1230 64 Lee Michaels Jewelers......................lmfj.com IFC, 3 Lift Training Studios................ 985-727-1540 HL-28 Louisiana Custom Closets....... 985-871-0810 65 Louisiana Heart Hospital... louisianaheart.com 13, 17, ..........................................................HL-32, HL-33 Louisiana Polo Farms, Inc........ 985-796-9130 98 Lowe’s Jewelers..................... 985-845-4653 72 M. Rossie............................... 985-867-8906 HL-29 Maison Lafitte........................ 985-807-5014 155 Mandeville Animal Hospital.... 985-377-0800 74 Mandeville Center for Dental Excellence........ ............................................. 985-626-4401 5 Mandeville Party Co................ 985-674-1605 150 Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.................... .........................................marybird.org/stph 142 Med Spa @ Rapid Urgent Care... 985-674-4464 HL-2 mélange by KP....................... 985-807-7652 97 Mellow Mushroom................. 985-327-5407 63 Metabolic Anti-Aging Center.. 985-212-7972 HL-21 Mia Sorella............................. 985-781-3909 91 Mix, The................................. 985-727-7649 91 MoreSmiles-Dr. Jim Moreau ... 985-809-7645 145 Neurology & Sleep Medicine... 985-892-6291 HL-29 Niche Modern Home.............. 985-624-4045 151 North American Insurance Agency.................. ............................................. 985-871-5480 83 NORTH Institute, The.............. 985-871-4114 HL-14 North Oaks Health System........northoaks.org HL-11

ADVERTISER...........................CONTACT INFO PAGE North Shore Antiques & Auction House.......... ............................................. 985-898-2911 41 North Shore Square Mall........ 985-646-0661 135 Northshore Harbor Center...... 985-781-3650 35 Oasis Day Spa, The................. 985-624-6772 91 Ochsner Medical Center - Northshore............ HL-22, .................................................. ochsner.org HL-36 Oil & Vinegar.......................... 985-809-1693 77 Old Rail Brewing Company, The... 985-612-1828 8 Outdoor Living Center............ 985-893-8008 32 Paisley................................... 985-727-7880 88 Palatial Stone & Tile................ 985-249-6868 34 Pan American Power............... 985-893-1271 143 Paretti Jaguar......................... 504-455-2101 67 Patroit Title LLC...................... 985-649-0433 164 Pelican Athletic Club............... 985-626-3706 10 POSH Boutique...................... 985-898-2639 81 Private Beach......................... 985-674-2326 74 Profit on Hold........................ 800-569-4653 72 Rapid Urgent Care................. 985-674-4464 HL-2 Real Results Weight Loss Clinic....985-590-4061 HL-18 Rehab Dynamics LLC.............. 985-871-7878 HL-11 Resource Bank...............bankonresource.com 46 Richard C. Dalton LLC............. 985-778-2215 23 Rick’s Professional Painting Service................ ............................................. 985-845-0533 164 Riverview Camp for Girls........ 800-882-0722 94 Rug Chic................................ 985-674-1070 24 Schneider, MD, Ellen............... 985-781-7531 66 Scotts’ Coffee & Tapas Bar, The... 985-231-7632 159 Shoefflé.....................................shoeffle.com 92 Slidell Memorial Hospital............................... HL-30 ............................................. 985-280-2200 HL-35 Southeast Louisiana Urology Associates......... ............................................. 985-542-1226 63 Southeastern Louisiana University.................. ..........................................southeastern.edu 58 Southern Bridal...................... 985-727-2993 97 Southern Pain Center............. 985-727-7275 74 St. Scholstica Academy........... 985-892-2540 55 St. Tammany Parish Hospital... 985-898-4000 HL-7 State Farm Insurance, C J Ladner..... 985-892-5030 163 STHBA - Raising the Roof....... 800-715-1387 67 Stone Creek Club and Spa...... 985-801-7100 HL-3 Stone Source.......................... 985-892-0695 163 Studio 311 Salon.................... 985-327-7775 97 Surgical Specialists................whyweight.com HL-31 TerraBella............................... 985-871-7171 30 Tran, Dr. David..........................985-400-LIVE HL-29 Vantage Point........................ 985-259-7774 42 Vianne’s Tea House................ 985-624-5683 158 Villa, The................................ 985-626-9797 92 Village Executive Office Suites, The................. ............................................. 985-727-6700 162 Walker House......................... 985-867-4878 164 Wax’d.................................... 985-778-2005 92 Weems, MD, Alan M............... 985-892-9233 49 Weimer, DDS, Patrick.............. 985-727-1800 HL-34 Welcome Home and garden... 985-893-3933 78 Windsor Senior Living Community, The........... ............................................. 985-624-8040 71 Winos & Tacos........................ 985-809-3029 12 January-February 2014 165

Last Bite

Old Rail Brewing Company

Owner: Nick Powers; Head Brewer: Matt Horney; Chef: Brett Monteleone

by Lauren Parrish

Owner Nick Powers, Head Brewer Matt Horney

IT’S HARD TO MISS the Old Rail Brewing Company in Old Mandeville. The massive building that houses the micro brew pub is located on Girod Street alongside the Tammany Trace and opposite the Trailhead. Officially opened in July 2013, the Old Rail combines two things that go hand-in-hand: food and beer.

But it’s not just any beer. The Old Rail has eight beers on tap that are created in-house by Matt Horney, the head brewer. Horney began home brewing in 2000; after a career change, he began brewing professionally.

Owner Nick Powers is quick to emphasize, “We’re not just a bar.” In order to distinguish the Old Rail from The Barley Oak bar on the lakefront, which Powers also owns, the Old Rail brought a chef on board, Brett Monteleone.

“We definitely put a lot of thought into the food side, while still maintaining a high-quality beer side,” Powers says. “We really stepped it up on our food here, like our 166

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brisket that is cooked for six hours and shaved in-house.

Just about everything is done in-house.”

The beer Horney creates strongly influences the Old Rail’s menu. “We incorporate the beer into the food as much as we can, like our beer barbecue and beer mustard,” says Monteleone. “We try to do everything fresh. Our concept is fresh ingredients, good food and good beer.”

The beer in two of the eight taps rotates seasonally, and the menu changes frequently. The addition of a smoker added another level to the menu offerings. “You have a vision of something, and it’s forever changing. We’re always trying to better ourselves,” says Monteleone.

Long-term, Powers wants more. “I want more locations, I want more beer and I definitely want bigger.”

He also wants to go beyond what people usually expect from a brewing company. “I want them to know that we’re unique.”

photo: FIELDING PHOTOGRAPHY

and Chef Brett Monteleone.