FEATURE

Photo by Bobby Tingle Ann Hinds at her desk at A-1 American Fence in Orange

ANN HINDS:

HER FAMILY, HER FAITH By Bobby Tingle

FFamily is a big part of Ann Hinds life. “On my eleventh birthday my mother passed away. I was the 15th child in a family of 16 children,” Ann Hinds said. “My oldest sister raised my three youngest siblings and me. My father ran the family liquor store, restaurant and bar on Houston Avenue in Port Arthur. He provided well for our family. I am the only remaining survivor of my immediate family.” Those early years had a huge impact on Ann’s life. She developed a strong sense of the importance of faith and family.

Ethan and Ann Hinds arrived in Orange in 1967 with four boys and a desire to start a family business. “We lived in a rented home on Park Street, a few doors down from Mrs. Boehme who worked at The Orange Leader. Her husband died at an early age,” Ann said. “She had a pile of boys. They had paper routes. We used to help them roll papers when we were young.” Richard is one of three surviving sons. He and Doyle Hinds work in the family business. They have another brother, David, in business on his own.

Courtesy photo Darren Hinds

“My parents went straight from home to work and back home. They did not spend a lot of time out on the town. They came here with four boys and started a small business. Dad did not tolerate goofing off. Family meant a lot to them. They spent time with us at motorcycle races, sporting events and kept us out of trouble in our teen years,” Richard Hinds said.

Ann’s faith is very important to her, something she gained at an early age. “My older sister raised us to go to church every morning before school. My faith became important to me. I learned how to turn to the Lord from a young age,” Ann said. Her faith sustained her when her son died at age 20. Darren Hinds was hunting that morning. The family was going to the State Fair in Beaumont. Ann decided not to go. Darren and his girlfriend went to a shooting range. A ricocheted bullet shot by another marksman struck Darren and killed him. Ann holds no hard feelings. Her faith has enabled her to deal with the loss. She has good memories of time spent with her childhood friend. “I grew up with Esther Benoit. Me and Chris Leigh [Dal Sasso] and Esther modeled for Dorothy’s Boutique when we were young. We wore replicas of the dresses worn on the show Dallas. We were good friends,” Ann said.

Holidays are family events in the Hinds home. Ann has good memories of preparing the tables and food and having kids, grand kids and great grandkids over for Easter lunch after church. She has seven grandkids and eleven great grandkids. “I never forget their birthdays,” Ann said. “My boys participated in sports growing up. I have a grandson who played football at LSU when they won a national championship. Nick Saban was the coach. I have had season tickets to LSU games since.” Ann celebrated her 80th birthday in 2018. It was a grand event held at her son David’s home. Her family and friends were all invited. One of her nieces arranged 15 white roses and one red rose commemorating her and her siblings. Another niece embossed a photo of her in her Mardi Gras outfit on a bottle of wine. It was a special event for Ann with family and friends and a tribute to her She admits working in a family business can be a challenge. If you speak with her about her life’s adventure you can’t help but come away with the realization she loves what she does and loves those she does it with. Building fences has been a part of her life since 1967. She has seen her local company emerge from a small town provider of chain link fences to a large scale provider of perimeter security for strategic and high profile sites throughout the United States. It has been a joint effort begun by her and her husband Ethan with multiple family members at her side moving the company forward. 