River Parishes Magazine - Fall 2019

River Parishes Magazine Autumn 2019

Pro Football Hall of Famer Ed Reed never forgets hometown roots ‘Something New’ has come to St. John Parish Boesen becomes a World Master A Special Publication of L’OBSERVATEUR

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Table of Contents Boesen becomes a World Master ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5 ‘Something New’ has come to St. John Parish ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6 Pro Football Hall of Famer Ed Reed never forgets hometown roots ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 11 Where are They Now? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 14 A Timeless Taste of Home ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 19 Blast from the Past ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 21 Local Flavor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 24 Parting Shots ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 27

River Parishes Magazine NEWS EDITOR ~ Brooke Robichaux ADVERTISING ~ Christine Browning ~ Ronnie Luman ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT ~ Gary Wayne Dupré CONTRIBUTING WRITER ~ Lori Lyons GRAPHIC DESIGNER ~ Christine Browning ~ Gary Wayne Dupré ~ Design2Pro 116 Newspaper Dr., LaPlace, LA 70068 • 985-652-9545

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Tom Boesen ranked first in the World Master International Brzilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation Championship.

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LAPLACE — Tom Boesen, 65, of LaPlace recently traveled to Las Vegas and ranked first in the World Master International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation Championship.

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e started practicing after a March 2018 drive to Formal Connection changed the course of his life.

When Boesen, a former high school and collegiate wrestler, noticed the Gracie United gym on Belle Terre Boulevard, he was curious whether any of the skills he’d learned 40 years prior would hold up in combat.

Earlier in the summer, Boesen won a gold medal in his blue belt age division, competing in a category against people born during or prior to 1963. It marked the first international competition to come to New Orleans.

Boesen said jiu-jitsu follows different rules from wrestling, where the ultimate goal is to pin an opponent for two seconds. In jiu-jitsu, a match is over when one person forces another into submission with a choke or hold that would result in a broken bone.

“The fact that you trust everybody not to break your bones means that you feel safe,” Boesen said. “You’re putting your health and safety in their hands. That’s what humans were made to do, to interact and develop those kind of relationships.”

Almost all the people at jiu-jitsu competitions are of high character, according to Boesen, even if it seems contradictive visually.

He said competitors with big muscles, tattoos and unconventional hairstyles might appear rough on the outside, but they are equipped with the most sincere hearts.

RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE ~ 5

‘Something New’ has come to St. John Parish #o u t h e r e , w e g r o w t o u r i s m .

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Dr. DeLisa Brown Smith inspires millennials to be politically active

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By Brooke Robichaux

APLACE – When Dr. DeLisa Brown Smith ran for St. John the Baptist Parish President four years ago at 30 years old, she was a trailblazer for the millennial generation as the youngest female to run for the position. While she did not win the election, she can look back and say with certainty that she won the race.

In addition to inspiring young people to be politically active through the Something New movement, Smith has risen to new heights through service in the River Parishes and beyond.

Community member Fontella Baker said Smith has earned respect on the national level as the youngest board member of the National Congress of Black Women. She’s worked closely with Dr. E. Faye Williams, an appointee by former President Barack Obama to the Presidential Scholars Commission.

“I know she has the right heart for the people,” Baker said.

The 2015 Parish President campaign opened the door to the national stage, according to Smith. When God called her to run for office, she knew her purpose was to usher in change, even when the journey turned out different than expected.

“One of the (parish) leaders introduced me to Dr. E. Faye Williams, and she just took a liking to me,” Smith said. “She told me it was something about my heart, that my heart reminded me of hers and her diligence. She run for congressional office when she was about the same age.”

Williams took Smith under her wing and introduced her to Washington DC. There, Smith was voted in as the youngest African American female in the National Congress of Black Women.

Political change, governmental issues, hunger in America and presidential elections are among the topics discussed by the National Congress of Black Women, according to Smith. Through her national involvement, Smith has helped run voter registration rallies. She’s participated in College for Kids programs to coordinate campus visits for youth, giving students a better idea of what college is about while fostering excitement for higher education.

Since running for St. John Parish President four years ago, Dr. Delisa Brown Smith has inspired others on the local and national level.

Education has also been a focus for Smith on the local level, according to Baker.

“As a talented and hardworking individual, she has impacted many lives by being called to ministry at 13 years old and ordained at 18 by Apostle Dr. Joyce Brown with Faith Healing and Deliverance Ministries Church, where she serves as church secretary, praise leader and overseer of the prison, youth, women and couple ministries,” Baker said. “She uses the transparency of her life in counseling married couples, divorcees and youth for building up the family.”

Baker described Smith as a “trailblazer,” noting she was the youngest owner and operator of

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Dr. Delisa Brown Smith works with a class of 3-year-olds.

Faith Healing and Deliverance Child Development Center and Faith Healing Deliverance Christian Academy. Smith is also a professor at F.H.S. Theological College, where she received her doctorate degree.

Dr. DeLisa Brown Smith received her honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree from Bethesda Biblical College.

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Smith vividly remembers being called into the ministry in a dream when she was 13 years old.

“It scared me at first because I had other dreams,” Smith said. “I had dreams to become a singer. I had dreams to travel the world. I had dreams to do other things with the gifts that he instilled in me, but when he called me, I surrendered to the calling.”

Becoming a minister required a lot of schooling, preaching and traveling, according to Smith. The main goal was to become self-preserved and undeterred by the actions of the rest of the crowd.

As the youth minister at her church, Smith opened a day care center and school for the academic and spiritual development of the children. The school was open from 2007 to about 2017, with the smallest children in daycare on the bottom floor, while older children completed their studies upstairs.

The most rewarding part about being a teacher, according to Smith, was instilling life lessons that children could reflect on for years to come. It was especially important to her to teach students that God will always have immeasurable love for each of them, no matter what they do or where they choose to go in life.

Several Faith Healing Deliverance Christian Academy students graduated with honors and were able to receive scholarships for college.

Many have completed college and have moved onto careers to further their skills. Smith is currently furthering her degrees in English and business through the online University of Phoenix, and she looks forward to working with the community again to keep the vision moving.

“I now see so many millennials seeking office,” Smith said. “God used me to give the confidence to others to use their voice. It doesn’t

RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE ~ 9

Pictured with Faith Healing Deliverance Christian Academy teachers Corey Brown and LaWanda Brown Dunn, Dr. Delisa Brown Smith was happy to receive an associate degree in early childhood development.

matter how young you are, what’s your background, what you have done in the past. God can change you, and your voice still does deserve to be heard. I think the Something New movement I started is still here, and it’s still effective.”

Using one’s voice does not require a speech or a sermon, Smith said. In working closely with her brother, owner of Carrera LLC, she teaches young people that messages can be just as easily delivered through song or poetry.

Smith still sees a need for change in the community that can only be filled by leaders who act without discrimination, vengeance or motive.

She has radical expectations, and she vows to remain accountable, accessible and available, no matter what the future may hold.

Leaders of Faith Healing and Deliverance Ministries Church, Choice International Ministries, Mount Calvary Baptist Church, Interfaith Christian Ministries, Spirit of Liberty Gospel Church, Light City Church of New Orleans, the National Congress of Black Women and Operation People for Peace has been instrumental in her success.

“I want to thank them because they have been very beneficial in me moving forward,” Smith said.

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Dr. Delisa Brown Smith is pictured at a Christmas giveaway at Twin Oaks Nursing Home.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Ed Reed never forgets hometown roots

By Lori Lyons

A groundbreaking was held in June on the multi-use park, located near the Turtlecreek and Preston Hollow subdivisions, which will include basketball courts and a small synthetic turf football field. Since then work has slowed, but St. Charles Parish Assistant Recreation Director Robert Brown said the project is underway.

“Land has been cleared and it’s ready to be worked on,” Brown said. “It’s going to happen.”

It’s important to Reed, who calls himself a “park baby.” His father, Ed Reed Sr., and his brother, Wendell Sanchez, also were great athletes who did some of their best work on the playgrounds of the city and young Ed would tag along.

“I grew up at the park,” he said. “I did everything at the park. I just know how important it is for these kids to get that energy out.”

What he didn’t realize at the time was he was honing his skills while learning how to shag fly balls and errant fouls.

“I used to always be that little kid that would be at practice with my dad when he went to the softball games,” Reed said. “I was the kid who was running the bases when they hit. I’m out there developing my speed and not even knowing it. I’m developing my instincts shagging balls in the outfield.”

Those skills helped Reed put together an incredible career that began as a multi-sport athlete at Destrehan and culminated as a Hall of Fame defensive back in the National Football League.

As a Destrehan Wildcats he lined up at quarterback, wide receiver, running back, punter, punt and kick returner and defensive back. He also was a standout player in baseball, basketball and track. He was a triple jumper, javelin thrower and ran on a state champion 4×100 relay team.

Recent Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Ed Reed began his local legacy as a player on the field for Destrehan High School. He is now overseeing the development of a park in his hometown of St. Rose. (Photo originally posted by the Ed Reed Foundation)

S

T. ROSE – The name Ed Reed has been etched for all time in a lot of different places over the years.

It is etched in the University of Miami Hall of Fame, as well as the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, the Baltimore Ravens Ring of Honor and, as of August, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

It also lives in the minds of local football fans who watched the youngster from St. Rose begin his amazing legacy on fields throughout the area as a Destrehan Wildcat.

Certainly, Reed is proud of these accomplishments.

But there is one place the former football great really wants his name to be – on a nice little park in his former hometown.

“It’s my dream to build this park,” Reed said. “This is not just my park.

This is St. Rose’s park.”

RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE ~ 11

Reed was drafted in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens (24th overall) and went on to play 12 spectacular seasons in which he was selected first-team All-Pro five times and was elected to the Pro Bowl nine times.

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Off the field, Reed’s life wasn’t always so stellar.

Admittedly, he mingled with the wrong crowd. He said his life could have easily taken a different turn.

“A lot of my friends at the time were in the street, sorry to say,” Reed said. “You’d be amazed how many of those guys turned me away from those streets or tried to turn me away from those things they were doing. I felt like it was my job to play sports and keep myself out of trouble. It didn’t always work, though.”

As luck would have it, Reed found a friend in Destrehan office specialist Jeanne Hall. A suburban mom who often opened her house as a safe haven to students at her school, Hall took Reed in and steered him back in the right direction. Reed’s parents never abandoned him but accepted the help that was offered. Still, it’s a story often compared to the Hollywood movie, “The Blind Side,” “It was close,” Reed said. “Not exactly, but close.”

Reed excelled at defensive back, earning all-state honors and getting the attention of fellow River Parishes native Curtis Johnson, who was then an assistant coach for the Hurricanes and is now an assistant coach for the New Orleans Saints. Johnson knew Reed’s family and had heard of his on-the-field exploits from his uncle, Otis.

“He’d always tell me, ‘I got one for ya,’” Johnson recalled.

Johnson brought Reed to Miami where he cemented his status as a stellar defensive back.

Reed finished with 21 interceptions for 389 yards and was a Consensus All-American in 2001 and 2002.

He holds Miami records for career interceptions, most career interceptions returned for touchdowns (4), most career interception return yards (389) and most season interception return yards (206 in 2001). He is second in games started with 48, tied for third in consecutive games with an interception (4, twice), is tied for fourth in consecutive games played (49) and tied for 6th in total games played (49).

Reed was consensus All-Big East (2000, 2001), the 2001 National Defensive Player of the Year by the Football News, a 2001 Jim Thorpe finalist, a 2001 Bronko Nagurski semi-finalist and was named a Freshman All America by the Football News and Sporting News in 1998.

He also continued to excel in track and field, winning the javelin competition at the 1999 Big East Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Ed Reed saw support from the family of Jeanne Hall, the woman He also graduated with a liberal arts degree and a National he considered a second mother during his time at Destrehan High School, at his recent Hall of Fame induction.

Championship ring (2001).

There was little doubt about what would come next.

Reed was drafted in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens (24th overall) and went on to play 12 spectacular seasons in which he was selected first-team All-Pro five times and was elected to the Pro Bowl nine times. He had 64 career interceptions (seventh on the NFL’s all-time 284 Airport Rd. Reserve , LA 70084 | 985.535.3000 list), with seven touchdowns. He also broke up 141 passes in 174 games and had 13 fumble recoveries and 11 forced fumbles. www.matrixservice.com He is still the NFL’s leader in interception return yards with 1,590 and holds the record for the longest interception return, a 107-yard return in 2008 against Philadelphia, which broke the previous record of 106 yards set in 2004 – by Reed.

In 2005, Reed came home, bringing a bunch of superstar athletes and his coach with him to Destrehan to sweat in the August heat and to see his No. 20 retired at the Ed Reed River Parishes Jamboree. The next night, his Baltimore Ravens defeated the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome. Days later Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans area and tore the roof off the Dome.

In 2013, Reed came home again, with some of the same players but in much-cooler January, to play Super Bowl XLVII against the San Francisco 49ers. He left with an interception and a trophy and his name etched in Super Bowl lore.

After short stints with the Houston Texans and the New York Jets, Reed retired to become an expert at golf and cigars. He now lives on a large farm in Georgia, but returns home often to host his annual football camp at Destrehan High School and to push for the completion of the park that someday will bear his name and offer something positive to his old community.

“We need a park,” he said. “These kids have no outlet, nothing to do, nowhere to go except hang out on the corners. It hurts. It hurts because it’s our kids. I lost my brother to these streets. A lot of parents lost their kids because they didn’t have anything to do. It’s just a place where they can go and get out of the house.”

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Where are they now?

Reconciliation Committee searches for descendants of those enslaved at St. Michael Convent

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By Brooke Robichaux

ONVENT – While Eliza “Liza” Nebbit spent most of her life at St. Michael Convent in St. James Parish during the 1800s, she was not a Catholic nun or a child sent to the academy to receive a religious education; She was enslaved, and records in Convent indicate as many as 80 enslaved persons lived and worked at St. Michael between its opening in 1828 and emancipation in 1865.

The slaveholding history of religious entities in South Louisiana is seldom talked about and difficult to trace. Today, a historical marker pinpoints the site where the Religious of the Sacred Heart operated St. Michael Convent until its closure 1926. The building is gone, yet not entirely erased from history.

The Religious of the Sacred Heart have not forgotten the past. Now more than ever, the society’s leaders are committed to understanding racism that proliferates today’s world while acknowledging how the Religious of the Sacred Heart contributed to the historic sin of slavery in Louisiana and Missouri.

The Committee on Slavery, Accountability and Reconciliation was instituted in Fall 2016. In September 2018, the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, Louisiana hosted a gathering of descendants. The proceedings included the dedication of a monument naming enslaved persons who lived and were buried at that particular convent.

The search is still on for descendants of the enslaved people of St. Michael in St. James Parish, however. Researchers have identified four families enslaved by the Society during the school’s operation, three of which have descendants. Efforts are being made to reach these descendants through census records, church records and other resources, according to the Society of the Sacred Heart.

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to know who their ancestors were. Because of the way slave records were kept or not kept, people are led to research their families up to the time of slavery, and then they hit a wall and can’t find out anything more about them except maybe a first name. People are interested when we are able to find and provide more information about names and ancestors.”

Webre published an article about the slaves in “Les Voyaguers”, a then-quarterly publication the German-Acadian Coast Historical and Genealogical Society. He’s been able to track descendants through the 1940s but needs help expanding the search.

“One of the challenges is that some of the people (descendants) have moved away,” Webre said. “It’s not a living history now. It’s not a school that’s operating. It’s just an empty field now. History kind of gets shut off here, and people are not as aware of it.”

Slavery at St. Michael was a unique case, given only five to 10 percent of slaveholders in the United States were members of the Catholic Church at the time of emancipation, according to a 1917 article by the Rev. Joseph Brutsch titled “Negro Catholics in the United States.”

According to Webre’s studies, the Catholic Church did not forbid its members from owning slaves. There were, however, opposing viewpoints demonstrated throughout history, notably a denouncement from Pope Pius II and a letter by Pope Gregory XVI denouncing the slave trade in 1839.

Despite this, the slave trade persisted in Catholic communities, including St. Michael, and the local leaders of these Catholic entities were opposed abolition of slavery.

Enslaved people were regarded as “ignorant souls,” according to Webre, and slave owners were expected to “save them” by having

Eliza “Liza” Nebbit was one of approximately 80 enslaved people kept by the Religious of the Sacred Heart at St. Michael Convent.

A Council on is on Slavery, Accountability and Reconciliation is searching for descendants.

Original registers, financial ledgers, journal entries and other historic records of the St. Michael Convent are stored in the United States Provincial Archives of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, based in St. Louis, Missouri. Emory Webre of St. Louis is among the Committee on Slavery, Accountability and Reconciliation members researching the genealogy and tracing family trees through ancestry. com.

An interest in ancestry led him to the project . Webre’s parents were from Edgard, and the vast majority of girls who attended St. Michael to prepare to receive the sacraments were from St. James, St. John the Baptist and St. Charles Parishes. The connection to his own history invested him in the stories of the people enslaved by the Religious of the Sacred Heart.

Some of Webre’s ancestors were plantation owners who kept people in bondage, and it just felt right to try to correct the wrongs of generations past.

“I think people want to know where they came from, particularly among the African American community,” Webre said. “They want

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Written in French and translated by researcher Emory Webre, this Nineteenth Century document from St. Michael Convent in St. James Parish reads, “I give permission to our Negro John for the marriage with the Negresse Betsy belonging to Widow Lagrou.

M A Praz, Superior of the House of the Sacred Heart St. Michael 7 May 1853”

them baptized and instructed in the Catholic faith. It was commonplace for Catholic churches in South Louisiana to either keep separate sacramental registers for slaves and free people of color or place slaves’ names at the back of a register.

St. John the Baptist in Edgard and St. Peter in Reserve were among those to keep separate baptism and marriage registers for slaves, according to Webre. Marriage itself was a controversial concept forbidden under the rules of Code Noir for slaves who did not have permission from their masters.

Slavery at St. Michael traces back to Sister Rose Philippine Duchesne and Sister Eugénie Audé, members of the Religious of the Sacred Heart who made a stop in New Orleans on their way to St. Louis in 1818. They stayed with the Ursuline sisters and observed slaves in the convent.

Documents from 1828 showed Duchesne was interested in the cost of purchasing a slave as arrangements were made for the Religious of the Sacred Heart to take over a school in Louisiana.

According to Webre’s interpretation, Duchesne and other religious leaders at the time showed conflicting views on slavery. Duchesne wrote that did not want a slave and couldn’t afford one, but yet, she didn’t see a way to manage household chores without a slave on hand to help.

“But the position of Philippine and the other religious regarding people of color and the institution of slavery itself was, in the final analysis, ambiguous,” Webre wrote. “They were generally uncritical of the separate and lower status accorded to blacks and mulattoes in America. They said they did not want to have slaves, but in the very period in which slavery was being vehemently denounced by both black and white abolitionists, especially in Missouri, they in fact accepted owning slaves.”

Liza Nebbit was Duchesne’s first slave. Born in 1811, she was brought to St. Michael in the 1820s and remained there for the rest of her life. Many other enslaved people were brought to the convent during its operation, and the descendants of these marginalized people may not be fully aware of their ancestry.

Family lineage records up to the 1940 census compiled by Webre including the following surnames: MICHEL, DUGAS, CLEM, POCHE, WEBRE, GRUGE, BOUCRY, CASANAVE, SMITH, KING, MOTLEY, VILTZ, GUIDRY, STEWARD, HONORE, MILLIT,

A sign in St. James Parish marks the former site of the historic St. Michael Convent, which was in operation until 1926. Girls were sent to the school to prepare for the Catholic Sacraments. Up until emancipation in 1865, Catholic nuns at the site were also slaveholders.

MEGGS, STEWART, GABRIEL, LEE, STUART, JACQUE, CASE, D’ABOVAL, MAIDON, SELDON/SELDORN, SIMON, VAMPRAN, and JOHNSON. The family lineage is broken down into the families of Rosella Michel and Cleophas Dugas, John Steward and Betsy (Honore) and John Clem and Delaide d’Aboval.

Please contact Webre at emsweb1@mindspring.com to request access to the full list of known descendants, which includes birth and marriage records.

More information about the history of slaveholding by the Religious of the Sacred Heart can be found at rscj.org/history-slaveholding.

RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE ~ 17

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Working towards the future

A Timeless Taste of Home

Spuddy’s Cajun Cooking Experience places local culture on world stage

Maitland “Spuddy” Faucheux is excited to share timeless recipes with the world through the Cajun Cooking Experience. (Photo from cajuncookingexperience.com)

V

By Brooke Robichaux

ACHERIE – Damage to the Sunshine Bridge and ongoing traffic issues caused business to dwindle at Spuddy’s Cajun Foods in Vacherie last year, leading owner Maitland “Spuddy” Faucheux III to seriously deliberate closing the restaurant he’d poured his heart and soul into.

Discouraged as he was, Spuddy’s passion was re-invigorated by a chance meeting that has allowed him to share authentic recipes and cooking techniques with the world.

In less than one year, Spuddy’s new Cajun Cooking Experience has turned visitors from the United Kingdom, Austria and other points around the globe into chefs in his Louisiana kitchen. Through cooking jambalaya, Andouille and gumbo, guests experience the cooking process with all five senses and learn about the River Parishes’ mixing pot of cultures in the process.

Class participants are met with their own apron, a paddle and a jambalaya pot. They learn what makes Andouille unique from sausage and see demonstrations on the difference between chopped and ground meat, at one point getting a chance to put their own piece of Andouille on a smoker and watch its color change to golden brown.

They see the color of a roux change while making gumbo and prepare a potato salad on the side as it cooks. Larger classes get a shot a cooking cracklin, according to Spuddy.

“They can see it, hear it, smell it, touch it and taste it,” Spuddy said.

“People come in and hands-on experience what Cajun cooking is about. We’re bringing people from all over the world to our little town, to a little place called Spuddy’s, and they’re getting the taste and the feel of our Cajun culture.”

Spuddy can teach the intricacies of Cajun cooking in three-hour classes as easy as if it were second nature, though his expertise did not come overnight. After college, he worked in computer programming for a decade and became increasingly burned out. After making the switch to selling janitorial supplies, Spuddy would visit restaurants and feel a pull to the kitchen, letting him know that was where he truly belonged.

RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE ~ 19

A delighted visitor watches Spuddy Faucheux prepare food as part of the Cajun Cooking Experience.

Located at 2644 Highway 20 in Vacherie, Spuddy’s Cajun Cooking Experience allows guests to become restaurant chefs in a fun and interactive three-hour class.

a gumbo of culture.”

Even as a child, Spuddy was interested in the The Cajun Cooking Experience is all-natural from cooking processes and the preparation that went farm to table, according to Spuddy. Participants on in restaurant kitchens. So, when the time came cook Andouille and favorite Louisiana dishes in December 1993, he purchased the old Folse without preservatives or additives. Rice, onions Seafood and Meat Market and later the adjoinand seasonings are homegrown in Louisiana, ing house at 2644 Highway 20 in Vacherie. He and there is even a 100-year-old butcher’s block enlisted the help of the previous owners and a where meat was once cut with a handsaw and a talented team of chefs to teach him the fundamenknife on display for guests to see. tals of cooking.

“When we eat, we’re eating the same food “After 20-something years, you catch on,” our ancestors ate 200 years ago,” Spuddy said.

Spuddy said.

“We’re doing the same thing as them on a fancier The end of 2018 and first months of 2019 stove.” brought about some of the hardest times the While Louisiana lags behind the rest of the Spuddy’s Cajun Foods Restaurant had seen. country in many aspects, Spuddy said the state While volunteering at the Southeast Louisiana is first in food and culture. As more and more Veterans Home before his father’s passing in April, people take on the Cajun Cooking Experience, Spuddy connected with Robyn Tanner. there are a growing number of “Louisiana The two bonded over the shared experience Ambassadors” to share the highlights of the of caring for a father fighting Alzheimer’s in the River Region and the state with potential tourists Veterans Home. When their conversations shifted to food, Robyn declared she needed to learn Robyn Tanner stood on a red crate in around the world.

Spuddy’s kitchen to reach the stove One of the most recent visitors plans to connect how to make jambalaya, and Spuddy offered to as he taught her how to cook a jamtourists to Spuddy’s through her travel agency. teach her. balaya. That cooking lesson was the She said the food she prepared during the Cajun Standing on a red crate in Spuddy’s kitchen inspiration behind the Cajun Cooking Cooking Experience was the culinary highlight of since she couldn’t reach the stove, Robyn was Experience. her journey through Louisiana. unknowingly the first to participate in what would According to Spuddy, there are now chefs in Switzerland using the become the Cajun Cooking Experience. After cooking one meal, she recognized the value of the experience and saw its potential as a tourist same Andouille recipe in their dishes. The Cajun Cooking Experience has been featured in Louisiana Travel, and the River Parishes Tourist attraction.

“She went to sit under the oak tree at Evergreen and then came back Commission is helping promote it as a destination for New Orleans to tell me, ‘You can’t sell. I have an idea,’” Spuddy recounted. “She tourists.

“This has just lit a fire under me,” Spuddy said. “We’re not only is from Switzerland. She is 15 years younger than me. We had no business ever meeting. By fate, we meet because of Alzheimer’s, and depending on the local. I can also reach out to the world, whereas before I couldn’t. The Cooking Experience is what I want to be doing that’s how the idea comes about.”

Spuddy has enrolled in classes at Delgado to become a professional for the rest of my life. That’s my retirement. If I can come here, teach tour guide. From getting his license to work as a tour guide in New people to cook and entertain people from all over the world, I can do Orleans, he’s learned the history of how several ethnic groups com- that until the day I die.”

Visit cajuncookingexperience.com or call 225-265-4013 to make bined to develop that foods Louisiana natives know and love.

“We’re telling the story off the plantation, and we’re bringing every- reservations.

Opening hours are from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday one into the story,” Spuddy said. “We’re bringing in the Germans, the French, the Africans, the Native Americans. I like to tell people we are and from 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

20 ~ RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE

1976: St. Peter’s Catholic School eighth grade class.

Submitted by Sid Levet.

Pictorial

Blast from the Past 1966: Coach Joe Keller will count heavily on these guards to play a major role in Friday night’s district 7-AA game with the Ponchatoula Greenies. From left they are kneeling, Hubert Remondet, Wayne LeBoeuf and Bennie Cashio. Standing are Arthur Borne, Robert Jacob and Wayne Stein.

1976: John Zewe, chairman of the St. John Parish Bicentennial Committee, watches as Ascension Savings and Loan employees makes posters to welcome President Gerald R. Ford when he passes by the business Saturday, Sept. 25, on his way to Lutcher for the first of three scheduled visits in the area. Zewe urged other businesses and homeowners along the President’s route (U.S. 61) to make signs and posters to greet him.

RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE ~ 21

1986: Pope’s Blessing – Pope John Paul II shakes the hand of Fred DeFrancesch Jr., while getting ready to plant a kiss on the check of five-year old Dean DeFrancesch, who cheerfully returned the favor, on Saturday, June 16, while the two were in Rome, Italy with their mother and brother.

2009: The John L. Ory students of the month are (front row, left to right) Imari Foster, kindergarten, Jalynn Bennett first-grade, Gregory Clark, second-grade, Victoria St. Martin, third-grade, (back row, left to right) Christal Sylvain, assistant principal, Brian Price, fourthgrade, Jessica Scioneaux, sixth-grade, Dwight Desselle, eighth grade, Kyla Johnson, fifth grade, Angelliot Thomas, seventh-grade, and Teri Noel, principal.

22 ~ RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE

1996: LaTonya Rybiskie of West St. John is the team’s leading setter and has stepped up her serving abilities to help WSJ to a 5-1 record.

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RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE ~ 23

Local Flavor St. John Parish

Bailey’s Andouille 513 W. Airline Hwy., LaPlace 985-652-9090 Bec’s At the Lake 105 Gary Rd., LaPlace 985-224-8172 Belle Terre Country Club 111 Fairway Drive, LaPlace 985-652-5000 Best Wok Chinese Restaurant 530 Belle Terre Blvd., LaPlace 985-652-9989 Buddy B’s 2788 River Road E, Garyville 985-535-3663 Cajun Grill 135 Belle Terre Blvd., LaPlace 985-359-4745 Chili’s Grill & Bar 1820 W. Airline Hwy., LaPlace 985-652-1227 Chinese King 1036 W. Airline Hwy., LaPlace 985-651-7888 Church’s Chicken 1601 W. Airline Hwy, LaPlace 985-652-2089

Dragon Garden 140 Belle Terre Blvd., Ste E., LaPlace 985-652-7250

The Jambalaya Shoppe 150 Belle Terre Blvd., LaPlace 985-359-5747

Rotolo’s Pizzera 3503 W. Airline Hwy., Ste. B, Reserve 985-536-3503

Dunkin Donuts 1334 W. Airline Hwy, LaPlace 985-359-9244

Kobe Japanese Steak and Sushi 506 Belle Terre Blvd., LaPlace 985-652-8880/652-8853

Ruby Garden Chinese Restaurant 3101 U.S. 51, LaPlace 985-653-8700

Donut Hole 421 W. Airline Hwy, LaPlace 985-651-4001 El Mexicano 1036 W. Airline Hwy # 123, LaPlace 985 652-4250 El Paso 1900 US-51 Ste D, LaPlace 985-618-3313 Fatty’s 186 Museum St., Garyville 985-535-5555 Frenier Landing 113 Dottie Lane, LaPlace 985-224-2178 Frisco Deli 1113 W. Airline Hwy,, LaPlace (985) 651-7745 La Carreta of LaPlace 107 Carrollwood Dr., LaPlace (985) 651-9991 LaPlace Frostop 411 Airline Hwy., LaPlace 985-652-6361

Mabile’s Restaurant

“Home of the Best Roast Beef in Town!”

• Fresh Po-Boys • Seafood Muffaletta • Finger Sandwiches • Vegetable Trays • Plate Lunches • Italian Muffaletta

985-651-2893

1124 W. Airline Hwy. • LaPlace, LA 70068

Ming’s Akari 1400 W. Airline Hwy, LaPlace 985-359-3335 Momma Jo’s 2917 Hwy 51, Ste A., LaPlace 985-224-2666 McDonalds •4297 U.S. Hwy. 51, LaPlace 985-652-5171 •1608 W. Airline Hwy, LaPlace 985-652-2600 •5387 W. Airline, Hwy, Garyville 985-535-2710 Petra’s 10363 W. Airline Hwy, LaPlace 985-359-8888

Sicily’s 214 Belle Terre Blvd., LaPlace 985-652-7010 Subway •357 Belle Terre Blvd., LaPlace 985-652-8700 •1616 W. Airline Hwy., LaPlace 985-652-4822 •2701 W. Airline Hwy., LaPlace 985-479-7827 •1900 Hwy. 51, Ste. B, LaPlace 985-652-9699 TNT Seafood 405 Belle Terre Blvd., LaPlace 985-359-6312 Waffle House •4304 Hwy. 51, LaPlace 985-651-6111 •1922 W. Airline Hwy., LaPlace 985-212-7473 Wayne Jacob’s Restaurant 769 W. 5th St., LaPlace 985-652-9990

Pier 51 Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar 3017 U.S. 51, LaPlace 985-651-0300

Zaman Mediterranean Cafe 1502 W. Airline Hwy, LaPlace 985-359-5566

Pirouge’s Cafe 719 W. 10th St., Reserve 985-479-7800

ZoraChristina 2003 W. Airline Hwy, LaPlace 985-359-3673

Chung’s Heavenly Sweets 607 Belle Terre Blvd., LaPlace 985-359-7987

Gator’s Den Old Highway 51 South, Manchac 985-386-7902

Citylicious Donuts Café 113 Belle Terre Blvd., LaPlace 985-224-8335

Guidry Goody’s 3595 W. Airline Hwy., Reserve 504-606-1185

Connie’s Grill 1462 LA-44, Reserve 985-536-3256

Huddle House 4325 Hwy. 51, LaPlace 985-651-1800

PJ’s Coffee 1808 W. Airline Hwy., LaPlace 985-764-7573

Clay’s Cafe 975 B Cambridge, LaPlace 985-359-6848

IHOP 220 Belle Terre Blvd., LaPlace 985-652-4468

Popeye’s Fried Chicken 1603 W. Airline Hwy., LaPlace 985-652-3030

Da King of Wingz 1721 W Airline Hwy, LaPlace 225-558-1492

Jacob’s Andouille 505 W. Airline Hwy., LaPlace 985-652-9080

Raising Cane’s 123 West Airline Hwy, LaPlace 985-652-4701

24 ~ RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE

Sam’s Southern Eatery 1173 E. Airline Hwy., LaPlace 985-359-1677

St. James Parish Bonnie’s 2827 Hwy 20, Vacherie 225-624-0402

Popeye’s 982 La. Hwy. 3125, Gramercy 225-869-6060

Cajun Kitchen 13322 U.S. 90, Boutte, Ste. Q 985-785-2405

Hong Kong 3001 Ormond Blvd., Ste. D, Destrehan 985-725-9099

Sandwich World Hwy. 3125, Gramercy 225-869-6060

Catahoulas 12713 Hwy 90, Luling 985-308-0013

Howling Pepper 109 St. Rose Avenue, St. Rose 504-466-1944

Spectacular Tubers 1665 Hwy. 3125, Gramercy 225-869-5600

Chow’s Garden 1955 Ormond Boulevard Ste, I, Destrehan 985-725-2488

IHOP 14099 Hwy. 90, Boutte 985-308-0013

Café Perique 234 East Main St., Gramercy 225-869-1774

Daddy’s Fried Chicken 15683 River Road, Hahnville 985-783-6743

China King 849 N. Pine St., Gramercy 225-869-2000 Chuck Lee’s Chinese Kitchen 10560 Hwy. 70 W., St. James 225-473-3050 Creole House Cafe 3409 Hwy 3125, Paulina 225-859-3333 DJ’s Grille 21060 La. Hwy. 20, Vacherie 225-265-7600 Golden Grove Restaurant 935 La. Hwy. 641, Gramercy 225-869-1212 Grand Point Truck Stop Casino 3415 La. Hwy. 3125, Paulina 225-869-6960 Jenny’s Overstuffed Poboy & Chicken Shop 114 N. Airline Hwy., Gramercy 225-869-0899 Nobile’s Restaurant & Bar Serving Authentic River Road Cuisine In An Historic Place 2082 W. Main St., Lutcher Open 225-869-8900 Lunch: Mon- Fri 11 am - 2 pm Dinner: Thurs-Sat 5 pm - 9 pm CLOSED Sundays

DiCarlo’s Food and Spirits 10 Villere Dr., Destrehan 985-764-6868 Subway 10850 Hwy. 3125, Gramercy 225-869-6100

Donut Land 13592 River Rd, Ste 6, Destrehan 985-307-1000

Taylor’s Express Truck Stop 964 La. Hwy. 3125, Gramercy 225-869-1734

Dot’s Diner 12179 U.S. Hwy. 90, Luling 985-785-6836

Tod’s Catering 2180 S. Albert St., Lutcher 225-869-7000

El Paso Mexican Grill 12895 U.S. Hwy. 90, Ste. A Luling 985-331-1984

St. Charles Parish

Fatty Shack 13527 River Road, Ste. A Luling 985-308-0983

Oak Alley Restaurant 3645 La. Hwy. 18, Vacherie 225-265-2151 Pizza Hut 1665 La. Hwy. 3125, Gramercy 225-869-6151

Jae Flem Catering 2243 Paul Maillard Road, Boutte 985-331-5263 KrisAl’s Cafe 10326 Airline Dr. Ste B, St. Rose 504-468-2005 Le Poulet Fou 13299 Highway 90, Boutte 985-308-0288 Little Tokyo 13371 U.S. 90, Ste. A, Boutte 985-331-0887 Lovecchio’s Deli 29 Apple St., Norco 985-725-5683

Frostop 3001 Ormond Blvd., Ste. H Destrehan 985-725-1116

Mariano’s Italian Eatery 12371 Highway 90, Ste. A Luling 985-785-7777

Firehouse Bistro 1950 Ormond Blvd., Ste. B, Destrehan 985-725-3223

McDonalds 3009 Ormond Blvd., Destrehan 985-725-1021

Anita’s Smokin’ Steak Burgers 13145 U.S. 90 Ste. B, Boutte 985-785-2220

Fujiyama Japanese 12715 Hwy 90, Ste 150, Luling 985-785-8168

Mr. Ronnie’s Famous Hot Donuts 13505 Hwy 90, Ste A, Boutte 985-308-0146

Avocados Mexican Grill 12715 Hwy 90, Ste 140. Luling 985-785-7694

Grumpy’s 14984 U.S. 90, Paradis 985-785-2083

Bamboo Garden 13491 U.S. 90, Ste. 6, Boutte 985-785-9929

Happy Gardens II 15264 U.S. 90, Paradis 985-785-3888

Bei Jing 12895 U.S. 90, Ste. D, Boutte 985-331-8885

Honeydoux Cafe & Bakery 13100 River Rd, Ste 130, Destrehan 985-305-0050

Ace’s Soul Food Diner & Lounge 15805 River Road, Hahnville 985-783-6743

2082 W. Main • Lutcher, LA

225-869-8900

J’aime Le Cafe 12715 Hwy 90, Ste 100, Luling 985-308-0394

Ormond Plantation Restaurant 13786 River Road, Destrehan 985-764-8544 Oyster’s Pearl Grill & Cafe 1057 Paul Maillard Road, Luling 985-785-6242

RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE ~ 25

Pam & Dale’s Seafood 14620 River Rd, New Sarpy 985-764-3112

Sonic Drive In 12557 U.S. 90, Luling 985-331-0099

Pizza Hut 12439 Hwy. 90, Luling 985-331-8380

Sports Pub & Grill 3001 Ormond Blvd., #B Destrehan 985-331-0099

P.J.’s Coffee of New Orleans 150 Ormond Center Court, Ste. T, Destrehan 985-764-7573 Popeye’s Fried Chicken •116 Longivew Drive, Destrehan 985-764-1231 •13210 U.S. 90, Boutte 985-785-1377 Sailfish Food and Spirits 12287 U.S. 90, Luling 985-308-0712 Seafood Pot 14386 River Rd., Destrehan 985-725-0053 Southern Latte Cafe 50 Wade St., Ste. 1, Luling 985-308-1472

St. Rose Driving Range & Sports Bar 10362 Airline Dr., St. Rose 504-466-0411 St. Rose Tavern 14466 River Road, Destrehan 504-469-8864 /985-725-3133 Sub Express 26 Apple St., Norco 985-764-9922 Subway •613 Paul Maillard Road, Ste. 200, Luling 985-331-2257 •14130 U.S. 90, Boutte 985-785-9818 (located inside Walmart) •13001 U.S. 90, Boutte 985-331-1786 •12715 U.S. 90, Ste. 120, Luling 985-785-3999 •12609 Airline Drive, Destrehan

985-725-1108 •1955 Ormond Blvd., Destrehan 985-725-9444 •15632 River Rd., Norco 504-469-8864 Sushi Cafe 13899 River Road, Ste. A, Luling 985-308-1003 Take Away Donuts 13441 Hwy. 90, Boutte 985-785-6499 The Oyster’s Pearl Grill & Cafe 1057 Paul Mailard Rd, Luling 985-785-6242

Uchi Sushi and Hibachi 3001 Ormond Blvd., Destrehan 785-307-1080 Victoria’s Restaurant 13441 Hwy. 90, Boutte 985-785-6499 Voodoo Grill 100 James Drive East, St. Rose 504-464-1880 Waffle House •14173 U.S. 90, Boutte 985-758-6499 •10384 E. Airline Hwy., St. Rose 504-467-1522

Taste of Tokyo 1972 Ormond Blvd., Ste. E-2, Destrehan 985-764-1818 Trey Wah 124 Longview Drive, Destrehan 985-764-1147 Truck Farm Tavern 11760 River Rd, St. Rose 504-699-0099

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Contact: Ronnie Luman (985) 652-9545 (o) (504) 327-8236 (c) 26 ~ RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE

Parting Shots

St. John students O’Neal Oubre and British Stampley pose with master teacher Tyra Duhé-Griffin and STEM program principal Dr. Glen Chenier at the Inaugural STEM Fest.

Sheriff Mike Tregre and District III Councilman Lennix Madere Jr. speak out against gun violence after a June prayer walk.

RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE ~ 27

The East St. John High School Majorettes are ready for the 2019 football season.

A group of Southeast Louisiana Veterans Home residents and volunteers wish Sonya Hebert, standing second from right, a great last day at work in early September. Hebert worked as activity director and spent 12 years caring for Veterans at the home.

28 ~ RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE

Pageant winner Sarah Glore of St. Charles Parish twirls in front of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Destrehan.

Lester Smith flips a coin to kick off the West St. John Rams’ 2019 football season. Photo by Oliver Hooker.

SMCL vice president Daniel Rome practices bocce as part of a local event to help disabled veterans.

RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE ~ 29

St. John Sugar Queen, Emma Palermo, (center) poses with St. John Sheriff Mike Tregre (left) and St. John Parish President, Natalie Robottom, before going to the 78th Louisiana Sugar Queen Pageant in New Iberia.

The West St. John Rams in the end zone prior to the Railroad Classic game against St. James High School. Photo by Tawana Deggs.

30 ~ RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE

As part of a mentoring program, St. Charles Catholic senior Faith Bourgeois, right, takes a moment with her little sister Brooke Smith.

The West St. John Lady Rams volleyball team recently visited Lutcher.

St. James High School played West St. John in the Railroad Classic.

St. James took home the trophy this year.

Parish officials, school leaders and superb students gathered for the annual Academic Luncheon, held at Petra Restaurant & Lounge in LaPlace.

RIVER PARISHES MAGAZINE ~ 31