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SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA:
A Treasure Revealed
Photography by Lindsey Janies
Text by Jeanne Owens
A publication of
The Chamber/Southwest Louisiana
SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA:
A Treasure Revealed
Photography by Lindsey Janies
Text by Jeanne Owens
A publication of The Chamber/Southwest Louisiana
Historical Publishing Network
A division of Lammert Incorporated
San Antonio, Texas
First Edition
Copyright © 2011 Historical Publishing Network
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing
from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Historical Publishing Network, 11535 Galm Road, Suite 101, San Antonio, Texas, 78254. Phone (800) 749-9790.
ISBN: 9781935377313
Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 2010943244
Southwest Louisiana: A Treasure Revealed
photography:
Lindsey Janies
narrative:
Jeanne Owens
design:
Glenda Tarazon Krouse
contributing writers for sharing the heritage:
Joe Goodpasture
Historical Publishing Network
president:
Ron Lammert
project manager:
Joe Bowman
administration:
Donna M. Mata
Melissa Quinn
book sales:
Dee Steidle
production:
Colin Hart
Omar Wright
Evelyn Hart
PRINTED IN MALAYSIA
S O U T H W E S T L O U I S I A N A : A Tr e a s u r e R e v e a l e d
2
CONTENTS
4
THIS LOUISIANA DIAMOND PRESSED
6
FOREWORD
8
INTRODUCTION
FROM
H I S T O RY
16
CHAPTER ONE
Treasured Heritage
3O
CHAPTER TWO
Enterprise in Southwest Louisiana
64
CHAPTER THREE
Living the Treasured Life
90
CHAPTER FOUR
Treasured People
106
S O U T H W E S T L O U I S I A N A PA RT N E R S
220
SPONSORS
222
ABOUT
THE
PHOTOGRAPHER
223
ABOUT
THE
WRITER
CONTENTS
3
This Louisiana Diamond
Pressed from History
It is sown beneath our primeval marshes,
within the roots of the vast shadowy green forests,
beneath our cool lakes, dreamy bayous,
beneath wide rippling rice fields,
beneath the plow writing the poetry of spring into rich black soil,
breaking ground for peas, beans, corn, yams.
It is sown below inky, glistening oil deposits,
beneath wooden floors thudding with fiddlers and two-steppers,
beneath our churches filled with wonder and praise,
beneath wide, still skies stirred by wings of great white-fronted geese,
green teal, red ibis, ring neck ducks, egrets, hummingbirds, swamp swallows,
sown beneath the cattails, the blackberries, the black-eyed Susans,
the chinaberry trees, the hydrangeas, azaleas, magnolias.
A mighty hand has sown it, planted a diamond large as our land,
and it has fertilized everything with riches—our farms, our rivers and bayous,
our music, our workplaces, our play, our homes, and our families.
A few have caught glimpses of it.
A few of us have chipped into it and it charms our lives.
A few have taken pieces of it away.
Many of us sense it glowing as we end the day on the front porch.
Many of us rise to its warmth in the morning.
It is our treasure, given freely for us to care for.
It is our gift to understand, to pass down, to build upon,
a place for our hope and faith.
It is your treasure to find.
And it is our treasure to reveal, slowly, a piece at a time,
so you too understand this way of life—a life built upon blessings.
4
This Louisiana Diamond Pressed from History
5
FOREWORD
OVERVIEW OF A TREASURE REVEALED
Some say two-hundred-year-old treasure is buried in our corner of Louisiana. However,
we found it years ago. Not some rusty chest buried by a pirate, but true treasure buried by
a mightier hand. It’s yours too for the taking. Dig into Southwest Louisiana and unearth
life’s silver lining.
This is the story of how Southwest Louisiana became the rich place that it is today.
Ironically, we are a gumbo of past outsiders who recognized the inherent wealth of our
natural resources—Acadians, northerners, enterprising promoters, laborers, real estate
magnates, fishermen, railroad builders, lumber barons, fortune-seekers, farmers, oilmen,
artisans, industrialists, problem solvers, leaders and followers.
Five unique parishes make up the “boot heel” of Southwest Louisiana today—Allen,
Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis parishes. Our history intertwines
with our future, and connecting to our heritage is like connecting to our land. The more we
dig, the more we find astounding beauty, usable resources, a paradise of hunting and
fishing, fine art and culture, bred-in-the-bone traditions, world-famous cuisine, and—most
important—folks who tip their hats to good living, to old customs, and to advanced
technology all at the same time.
It is a beautiful cause and effect story—how such a range of unlikely people found so
many riches in this corner of Southwest Louisiana. The Attakapas lived easily on the land
but did not prevail to see what it could become. The Koasati who migrated here have
flourished, maintaining the purity of their language and culture. The phoenix-like Acadians
were exiled to this place where they regenerated their culture and made it so compelling
the world wants to share in it. The Midwesterners heard of a promised land and came
in droves to build kingdoms of rice, cattle, and oil. The Michigan Men—Paul Bunyan’s
incarnate—mastered centuries-old forests and the technologies to cut, mill, and ship them
around the world. They also showcased the beauty of wood in finely crafted mansions—
forests miraculously evolved into spindles, turrets, polished floors, hand rubbed railings,
stained glass doors and windows, and wide porches for generations of families.
This is a story of creative geniuses who had the wisdom to leave a primeval marsh in its
natural state. This is a story of the French, the Germans, the Jewish, the Indians, the new
Americans, the Asians, the Creoles, the Africans, the Italians, the Spanish, men, women,
and children who turned a few sawmill towns into thriving cities, beautiful neighborhoods,
cultural centers, industrial giants, flourishing farms and ranches—all within a breathtaking natural world.
The real-life photographs in this book capture the sensuality of Louisiana. Each image
distills generations of ingenuity, hard work, historic preservation, good-natured fun, and
artistry into one shot. Our story begins with golden opportunities and it continues with
new chapters unfolding every day. Appreciate each photo realizing that we are a Louisiana
diamond pressed from history.
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ALLEN PARISH
Home to the Coushatta (Koasati) Tribe,
Allen Parish sways with rich piney woods.
Four rivers intersect the parish, creating a
waterway haven for canoeing, hiking, and
picnicking. Historically based on timber
and outlying oil and gas facilities, Allen
Parish boasts a diverse economic base with
hospitality (centered on the Coushatta
Casino Resort in Kinder) plywood manufacturing, three prison facilities, and a
natural gas relay facility. Children learn
early how to safely handle guns and fishing
poles because the woods offer unique
adventures for hunting wild boar, deer,
flying squirrels, coons, and wild turkey.
It’s not unusual for a Sunday dinner to
feature squirrel gumbo or a platter of
smoked wild boar.
BEAUREGARD PARISH
On one of the largest aquifers in the
country, Beauregard Parish flourishes with
paper and plastics production facilities and
chemical plants. Its numerous lakes and
wildlife preserve make for stunning walks
through the woods that are dotted with
dogwoods and azaleas. The parish seat,
DeRidder, is in the midst of a downtown
revitalization plan and airport land use
expansion. Built like many sawmill towns
around Louisiana, DeRidder has the
bragging rights to the most unusual jail—
an impressive gothic building that seems
to have climbed up on itself, stacking
windows and towers. It is endearingly
dubbed the “hanging jail” since the last
two death row inmates were hanged there
in the early part of the 1900s.
CAMERON PARISH
Spectacular marshes, cheniers, birding
and photography opportunities, alligators,
and bird flyways are Cameron’s gift to
the world. The tender wetlands are natural
brakes for hurricanes, and the marshes and
wildlife have not changed in millions of
years. Yet the parish provides much needed
oil and gas to America without harming
the environment. Its proximity to the Gulf
of Mexico supports numerous oil and gas
related industries. The Port of Cameron
is one of the top five ports for fisheries
in the nation, placing wild American
shrimp and speckled trout on dinner plates
across America.
CALCASIEU PARISH
Serving as the financial, medical and
entertainment center of the five-parish
area, Calcasieu boasts the largest regional
population. Major industry and available
workforce is located within the Lake
Charles area. A vigorous petrochemical
industry, the Port of Lake Charles—the
closest deep-water port in Louisiana and
eleventh largest in the nation—plus a
growing aerospace industry makes Lake
Charles an economic hub between Houston
and New Orleans. A thriving arts and
cultural district includes the Lake Charles
Symphony, numerous art galleries,
shopping areas, and live theater groups.
Lake Charles is preservation-minded
towards its hundreds of historic homes and
public buildings, and trains workforces
through McNeese State University and
Sowela Technical Community College.
J E F F E R S O N D AV I S PA R I S H
Louisiana’s oil industry gushed forth in
Jefferson Davis parish and has thrived
there since. The parish is also rice country,
harvesting and milling rice and using its
by-products to produce alternative energy
fuels. The parish shimmers with natural
waterways and deep elegance of forests
and timberlands. It also takes pride in
preserving historic homes and buildings
and maintaining a hometown downtown
shopping district.
FOREWORD
7
INTRODUCTION
A Treasure Revealed
Argh! Make a tough pirate face. The
THE LEGEND BEHIND THE TITLE
Jean Lafitte legend lives on during the
Contraband Days Festival every spring in
Lake Charles as a chosen Jean Lafitte and
his buccaneers take the city, all in goodnatured fun. The festival is a huge tourist
attraction when we tip our big, black pirate
hat to the riches that lay within our land.
We know that the notorious pirate Jean Lafitte cunningly slipped along the bayous and rivers of
Southwest Louisiana in the 1800s creating allies and building legends. The question is if he
actually buried his loot somewhere along our beautiful moss-draped Contraband Bayou—lots of
ill-gotten booty filched from schooners laden with gold, jewels, silver, furniture and fine art headed
for the new Louisiana wealthy. Many legends hold seeds of truth. However, like seeds, legends
often burgeon into dramatic tales with larger-than-life characters.
8
Jean Lafitte was a real person who has
morphed into a symbolic character. He was
allegedly a rascally pirate who operated out of
an area known as No Man’s Land, a neutral
strip disputed by Texas and the United States
who both eventually agreed in 1806 to leave
it unoccupied. This forty-mile wide stretch of
marshland and wilderness was bound on the
west by the Sabine River and on the east by
the Calcasieu River—today, part Cameron
Parish, part Calcasieu Parish. Deep, cypresslined mossy bayous and cheniers—marsh
ridges topped with full live oaks—crisscrossed the southern sector. Virgin, centuriesold pine forests and hardwood bottomlands
flourished in the northern sector. Only a few
white settlers and slaves lived there by 1820,
as did a few leftovers of the Attakapas tribe
led by Chief Quelquesheu—Crying Eagle—
now Americanized into Calcasieu.
It’s not hard to imagine who converged onto
that lawless neutral strip—social outcasts,
criminals, rogues—just the type Lafitte wanted
to recruit for his shenanigans. By 1817 Jean
Lafitte and his buccaneers had captured
numerous Spanish slave boats off the coast of
Cuba and huddled stolen slaves into barracoons or slave pens on Galveston Island. One of
his best customers included an intermediary,
James Bowie, who bought slaves from Lafitte,
then sold them to wealthy plantation owners.
An 1853 Debow’s Magazine documents that
the slave trade thrived on Black Bayou which
emptied into the Sabine and the Calcasieu
which poured into Lake Charles.
It didn’t take Lafitte long to learn, however,
he could multiply his profits by marketing
slaves directly to the Louisiana cotton and
sugar cane planters, so he headquartered in
the neutral strip that crawled with alligators,
deer, bears, black panthers, snakes, and
clouds of mosquitoes. Many well-known Lake
Charles ancestors actually sailed on Lafitte’s
ships during his scandalous raids including
Captain Arsene Le Bleu who later built his
cabin at the point where Calcasieu River
intersects the Old Spanish Trail.
In his heyday Lafitte navigated streams
and rivers with the skill of a bar pilot. The
most beautiful body of water, Lake Charles,
was a two-mile wide oval, jade-green tidal
INTRODUCTION
9
lagoon lined with willows and cypress
fluttering with moss. Even after his
banishment from Galveston Island, many
early local residents knew Lafitte and loaded
him up with fresh vegetables, beef, and
“supplies” that could have ranged from
weaponry to brandy.
So why the legend that Lafitte’s treasure
is buried in our parts—Napoleon’s fortune,
aristocrats’ jewels, gold and silver bars and
coins? Pieces of the story have eked out over
the years from various people who befriended
him or had some kind of run-in with him or
his descendents.
• 1811—Charles Sallier, a minor French
aristocrat running from the guillotine,
reputedly escaped with others to Spain and
10
paid Lafitte a huge amount of money to
resettle them in Louisiana. Upon sailing
into the coast of Louisiana, AttakapaIshak—also known as man-eaters—scaled
the gunwales, frightening crew and travelers. Lafitte, however, had a rapport with
these Native Americans who had buried
caches of gold and jewels among the
Acadian people for years, so under Lafitte’s
wing the crew became comfortable with
the so-called maneaters. Sallier hastily
borrowed an Attakapa-Ishak’s pony and
searched for hidden treasure everywhere,
finally settling on Money Hill, the Barb
Shellbank, where he would eventually
build his home and live there until 1841.
Lafitte then disappeared for four years.
• 1814—In the aftermath of the Battle of
Waterloo, Emperor Napoleon hoped to
avoid retribution by escaping to Louisiana.
Lafitte loaded into his schooner a score of
sea chests holding Napoleon’s personal fortune and cast off just as Napoleon missed
the boat. Michel Pithon, an old Napoleonic
warrior, also escaped on that voyage, settled in Lake Charles, raised a large family,
and recounted numerous Lafitte tales,
establishing himself as a walking history
book of Lafitte’s escapades. Did he know
where Napoleon’s stash is buried?
• 1815—Charles Sallier awoke early one
morning to see his old swashbuckler
friend—tall, dark, mustached—swaggering with sword in hilt along with other
transplanted “aristocrats” at his door. They
feasted and drank the day away. Early the
next morning Lafitte’s schooner slipped
away, but not without rumors that it
anchored again at a marsh ridge downstream near Trahan’s Lake where Lafitte
and his henchmen buried Napoleon’s sea
chest ashore in the marsh.
• 1886—A Galveston Weekly News carries
a story claiming Hackberry Island in
Calcasieu Lake was supposedly Lafitte’s
naval depot. The river was elevated at a
place called Money Hill—also known as
Barb’s Shellbank where Lafitte met Charles
Sallier many times.
• Two slaves who had worked closely with
Lafitte knew quite a bit of his thievery,
treachery, and killings, but remained tightlipped out of fear. Catalan, his cook, lived
in Calcasieu Parish until about age 94
and witnessed murders over the finds and
division of Lafitte’s gold. But, he would not
utter a word.
INTRODUCTION
11
12
Good Listening
• Another, ex-slave named Wash, who lived
in Lake Charles, also verified Sallier’s and
Pithon’s accounts of Lafitte’s carrying-ons.
One tale is that Lafitte’s ship laden with
booty entered the Calcasieu River while
pursued by a large Civil War American
frigate. Lafitte put half his crew to
work burying treasure near the Barb
Shellbank—again! Then they built a
clamshell fort, shoved guns ashore, and
sank their leaky ship. Time passed, the
frigate left, and Lafitte sailed off to
Galveston in a brand new schooner.
Years later, two old Acadian Frenchmen
scavenged Lafitte’s sunken vessel and
discovered two chests of silver plate and
bars evidently overlooked by Lafitte’s
scallywags. The Acadians quickly moved
the chests downriver near Cydony’s
Shipyard where they buried them on a
marsh ridge. Wash stayed tight-lipped
too after seeing treasure hunters kill
each other over finding and dividing
the treasure.
So, treasure hunters still seek Lafitte’s
fortunes, but usually not alone. Often a
patron—apparition—or an eerie light, or giant
rattlesnake with bared fangs, or even a
cutlass-swinging skeleton chases them off
the trail. Is Jean Lafitte still protecting his
treasure trove?
We believe, however, he overlooked the
full wealth of Southwest Louisiana revealed
to us through our rich natural resources—
abundant
pine
forests,
hardwoods,
marshlands, oil, fertile land, temperate
climate, waterways, migratory flyways, and
wildlife. Lafitte never realized what a rich
mix of people would live here, people
with staunch survival skills, imagination,
and creativity—people who grab onto
opportunity, who possess a joie de vivre, and
who measure life’s worth in terms of family
and friends rather than treasure chests. One
more thing—we know Lafitte would have
dumped all his gold and jewels on the
beach just to fill his pirate chests with
crawfish etouffee, andouille gumbo, fresh fig
ice cream, couchon du lait, oyster poorboys,
shrimp remoulade, bourbon pecan pies,
mayhaw jelly, and a crab cake or two.
Non-Native Americans who listen to these old ways should understand that in
Native American culture the listener is as important as the presenter. Good
listening is cultivated, somewhat as an art, among Native American people. Silence
is respected, and courtesy is expected. People are taught not to talk while others
speak, to pay attention and not to look speakers directly in the eyes. One does not
eat or drink during traditional storytelling since the listener’s mind is on the food
and not the lesson being taught. There are also rules about who can pass-on
traditions and to whom. Men tell some things, women tell others. Some, children
can hear; and others are for adults only. There are some things that are told only at
night and others reserved for the daylight hours. Like language itself these rules
vary from tribe to tribe. Each Louisiana tribe has its own rules and the listeners
should anticipate being told the rules on “how to talk and how to listen” much as
they have learned in non-Native American culture.
-Koasati Native American storyteller and toymaker
THE ATTAKAPA
-ISHAKS
Early man in Southwest Louisiana followed
the rivers and coastlines much as we do today.
Four bands of Native Americans thrived on
fertile land and abundant resources—wild
game, waterfowl, fish, salt domes, shellfish, and
pearls. The rich Louisiana soils gave them a
variety of hardwoods to build and work with
including cedar, hickory, oak, and black walnut.
Two eastern bands called themselves the
Sunrise People, two western bands were
known as the Sunset People. They lived from
Bayou Teche to the Sabine River and from what
is today’s Alexandria, Louisiana, to the Gulf
of Mexico. Very little is known about them.
European explorers did not write much about
them. The Attakapa-Ishaks called themselves
Earliest Southwest Louisiana Residents—
Attakapa-Ishaks and Coushatta
O n e Tr i b e L o s t , A n o t h e r F l o u r i s h i n g
INTRODUCTION
13
Baked Alligator
Ishak (The People). Attakapas is Choctaw for
“Eaters of Human Flesh” which is somewhat
erroneous because they actually ate only parts
of the slain enemies in a victory ceremony.
Southwest Louisiana was truly a sportsman’s
paradise for the Attakapas; the waters teemed
with fish, and all the Indians had to do for
dinner was to nab fish right out of the
Calcasieu River by hand or net. They did
fashion fishhooks from bones and made arrows
and spears—one way we have today of
tracking their living habits.
It is known that the Attakapa-Ishaks had
dealings with Jean Lafitte who more than
likely traded baubles with them for special
favors—perhaps to avoid having his own
parts eaten. Furthermore, they seem to have
lived in this area possibly as far back as
15,000 years B.C., which would place them
somewhere in the time frame of the “Great
Flood”. This might explain why the Attakapas
viewed themselves coming from the sea,
borne upon great oyster shells onto the beach.
They weren’t particularly industrious,
eating whatever was easy to catch. Oysters
were dragged from salt water lagoons then
smoked over fires to be eaten and to use as
a form of money. If a fish was not too handy
to grab, the shaman powdered dry roots
or herbs—probably with some stunning
ability—and sprinkled the fine powder on the
surface of lagoons. In a few hours the fish
rising to the surface were stupefied and killed
with blows from paddles.
By the time the early French met the
Attakapa-Ishaks, their maneating skills had
improved as food became more scarce. A
disastrous 1810 Gulf storm washed away
the Attakapas-Ishaks huts and supplies, but
serendipitously washed bodies of shipwrecked
sailors ashore. They roasted the bodies in a
pit, but the shaman expressed his fear that
if the Attakapa-Ishaks were to eat the white
men’s flesh, it might mottle their dark
Attakapas’ flesh. Although the Indians admired
head deformation, tattooing, and blackened
teeth, they were not so keen on albinism.
14
Serves one band of Attakapas
• Spear one alligator in the eye and
disembowel along the belly line where skin
is thin.
• Leave carcass whole after gutting due to
the thick hide.
• Cut loose the flesh along each side of the
spine, leaving the meat in each trench.
• Replace belly skin and tie shut.
• Place entire carcass in a pit of red-hot oyster
shells and cover with live charcoal.
• Bake for several hours.
• Serve as a delicacy the oil that wells up in
the trenches, reserving some for later use
as a body oil to repel gnats and
mosquitoes and to cover swimmers’
bodies to create buoyancy.
• Eat the alligator flesh, offering more to
the men of the tribe.
The Attakapa-Ishaks disappeared either
from disease spread by the Europeans or
through inter-tribal warfare. However, they did
leave behind a recipe that sheds light on an
Attakapa-Ishaks feast and their everyday life.
THE COUSHATTA
The Coushatta tribal name means “Lost
Tribe”—a double meaning considering their
history, near extinction, then proud revival.
The tribal legend tells of a wandering band of
tribesmen who met up with a group of white
men. When asked who they were, the Indians
misunderstood the question and answered,
Koashatt which means lost. And in one sense,
they were. Long before recorded history, language analysis indicates the Coushattas were a
part of a unified Muskogean stock. After linguistically splitting into seven tribes, much of
the culture was lost after repeated migration
and hardships over the last 200 years.
However, the Coushatta language has
remained intact in its purest form—unique in
modern day society when pristine languages
are dying around the world. The tribe seeks
to revive its proud heritage, developing a
strong cultural program to teach traditional
ways in a world that is letting go of traditions.
Coushatta basketry—considered world-class
artistry—native medical practices, and the
tribal language have been preserved and
practiced by the tribe’s people.
Likewise, making bows and arrows, using
blowguns, cooking traditional Native American
dishes, performing ancient chants and dances,
and recounting tribal legends are part of a
major cultural revival that the tribe is undergoing. The family unit remains the most
important social tie in the Coushatta community with seven large clans represented today—
each symbolized by an animal or element.
The political organization is based on an
elected chief chosen for his oratorical abilities.
A town chief and warrior chief are appointed
by the chief. Basically peace loving town
dwellers with an agriculture-based economy,
the pre-migration Coushatta focused on
planting maize, peas, beans, squash, pumpkins, melons, potatoes, and rice. A portion of
each harvest was donated to the public granary to protect the tribe during poor harvests
and war emergencies.
Hunting was only supplementary to
agriculture. The Coushattas slowly accepted
using the white man’s gun, favoring a bow
made of black locust or hickory with cane
arrows. However, the Indians became as
skilled at using firearms as they were with
blowguns and bows and arrows. Trade, too,
became an important factor in the economy.
But as it happens when cultures collide, the
tribe eventually settled in Louisiana, their idyllic economic pattern was thrown off course by
the coming of the Louisiana rice farmers and
the timber barons. The Coushattas turned
towards working the fields of the Acadian
farmers or logging for the timber industrial
giants. Women continued to supplement the
family income working with arts and crafts.
The Coushattas are retraining to reach a
goal of tribal self-determination. Some wage
earners are now involved in tribal government
and others work in the tribe’s flourishing
aqua-culture industry—seventy acres of land
devoted to rice and crawfish farming.
Coushatta men who were once loggers, now
are building new tribal housing. Coushatta
women who once sold pine needle baskets
with no marketing plan are now displaying and
selling their artistry in a new gift shop located
in the reservation’s retail complex, which also
includes a convenience store
and restaurant owned by the
Tribe. Those who once worked
menial jobs are finding
fulfillment in important tribal
job programs.
Effective leadership and a
strong tribal government is
reviving the almost lost culture. Coushatta Casino Resort
offers over 100,000 square
feet of gaming, 500 luxury
hotel suites, RV parking, six
restaurants, a world-class golf
course, and headliner concerts and national touring
acts. Each year a Coushatta
Pow Wow—one of the largest
in North America—is presented in Kinder as a oncein-a-lifetime experience with
a Grand Entry, a rhythmic
march that opens the competitions, and dancers in full
regalia claiming the Dancing
Ground to the accompaniment of tribal drums and
singers. This family-friendly
event offers a look at the fascinating culture and heritage
of Native Americans.
INTRODUCTION
15
ONE
CHAPTER
Treasured Heritage
The Cajuns
THE ACADIANS
— T O D AY ’ S
TENACIOUS SPIRIT
Before European discovery of America, the Attakapas-Ishaks and Quelqueshue Indians roamed
the prairies that are now Southwest Louisiana and lived off the rivers and bayous. In the 1760s
French Acadian exiles torn from their Canadian homes settled in Southwest Louisiana, a place that
held no interest for others—for a while, that is. The Acadians, popularized today as Cajuns, were
phoenixes. After enduring guerrilla warfare, traumatic exile from their homeland, torn families,
imprisonment, and after wandering for thousands of miles, they built self-sufficient communities
centered on strong family ties. They kept alive their native French language which later mixed with
English and other dialects like Creole to become Cajun French, a dialect itself. They fished from
the bayous, rivers, and coastal waterways, raised cattle, and farmed to feed themselves. Eventually,
Cajun rice crops, once raised purely for farmers’ own subsistence, became a world-wide agricultural resource as did the shrimping industry.
S O U T H W E S T L O U I S I A N A : A Tr e s u r e R e v e a l e d
16
The Cajuns’ influence on Louisiana’s economy, politics, and culture is strong to this day.
They pass homesteads down from one generation to the next and a resilience to rebuild
after disasters. Their powerful sense of family
and “place”—an archetypal bond with the
land—is still a dominant trait of the people of
Southwest Louisiana. For example, Hurricane
Audrey washed away Cameron Parish and
500 of its residents in 1957; Hurricane Rita
wiped coastal communities off the map again
in 2005, then Hurricane Ike washed over
them again just three years later. But the
inherited Cajun tenacity was at work just days
after each disaster as homeowners pulled on
their white rubber boots to shovel muck and
debris from the concrete slabs where they
would rebuild their homes and businesses.
Furthermore, the Cajuns’ fun-loving spirit,
unique music, folklore, and famous cuisine
enriches everyday life in Southwest Louisiana.
The world has fallen in love with Cajun
music which roughly has three branches:
Cajun music, Zydeco, and Swamp Pop. All
three originated in Southwest Louisiana and
are recognized and loved around the world.
Inset: Living off the land as Cajuns have
done for over 200 years.
Below: Cajuns fished crawfish out of the
bayous and ditches in the early days. Today
many of them are crawfish farmers, taking
advantage of rice fields that are already
irrigated and pumped. In metropolitan
restaurants, crawfish are served in delicate
portions with artful presentations. We just
fill up a box with the hot little bullets of
flavor or throw them across a newspapercovered table and dig in.
CHAPTER
ONE
-
Tr e a s u r e d H e r i t a g e
17
18
CHAPTER
ONE
-
19
If you ask 100 Cajuns for a gumbo recipe,
you’ll get 100 different recipes,
and they are all the best.
20
The art of Cajun dancing has trickled down through
the generations, and young dancers are keeping it alive.
CHAPTER
ONE
-
21
22
CHAPTER
ONE
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23
Cajun Music
Gumbo of Music Flavors the
International Music Scene
Cajun music was not born in Louisiana any
more than was andouille sausage or the
accordion. Its ingredients settled into our
part of the world from many countries, then
developed into a delightful mix from many
nations, mostly French, Acadian, Anglo
Saxon, and Celtic—all surprisingly connected
in one way or another.
When a grandmother hums a lullaby to her
grandchild today in Southwest Louisiana, she
may very likely hum the same tune a grandmother in Brittany, France, sings to her French
bundle. It will be a song several hundred years
old, that crossed an ocean, that crossed cultural
barriers, that remains intact, and is as endearing
as it was first sung in front of a peat fire.
What is the difference between Creole and Cajun?
Creole (c. 1609-1750) is a difficult culture to define. Its music, folklife, and foods come from a mix of influences when New
Orleans was occupied by the French and Spanish and populated with people of African descent through both enslavement and
freedom. The music style was influenced by the Spanish, rhythms from the isles of the West Indies, and lyrics from the French
patois (patter) which the French used to communicate with slaves. The music has lilting melodies, syncopated rhythms, and
French lyricism. The foods are mixed with okra, tomatoes, rice, and fresh seafood. Furthermore, Creole is not really a singular
language; it, too, is a mix of French, Spanish, some native American, some English—all in eclipsed or altered forms.
Cajuns (from the 1760s) are Acadian French exiles who found their way to Southwest Louisiana and have had a huge impact
on our culture.
24
Cajun music combines pieces of ScotchIrish, Native American, Spanish, German,
Anglo-American, African, and Caribbean
music with French folk traditions. The
Acadians settled at Port Royal, Acadia, in
eastern Canada in 1604 as French Colonists.
Unfortunately, because of political and religious tensions, British authorities ousted the
Acadians in 1755, and they made their way
to south Louisiana over the next ten years.
They were a determined people who recreated their society, making use of what they had
at hand. Some of them never made it further
than Old Upper Louisiana in Illinois—a fact
that few know—creating a unique Cajun culture in the Midwest that sounds much like
south Louisiana music-wise.
The Cajuns were hard-working, hardplaying people. They fed themselves from the
land and fed their spirits with music. As the
Germans immigrated to Louisiana, the Cajuns
learned their ways of sausage making with a
Cajun twist, creating today’s famed andouille
sausage and boudin. They picked up the
Caribbean musical rhythms from slavery
in the previous century and incorporated
them into their own. These early ballads
and lullabies—often sung a cappella—were
typically concerned with troubles and hard
times. They added a Scotch-Irish flair to their
music in the 1810s—especially the fiddling,
reels and ballads. When the German-Jewish
immigrant imported diatonic accordions to
America in the 1830s, these heavy-breathing
instruments, preferably in the key of C,
became part of the Cajun sound by the
1870s. Later black Creoles added a rich,
rural blues sound to Cajun music at the turn
of the century, and the mix melded into a
sound so unique it seemed to have been
conglomerated forever. The result is a footstomping, spoon-clacking sound, with lively
fiddling and singing that simply cries from
the heart.
The advent of radio and television forced
the rough-hewn sound of the Cajun music to
the edges of the dance floor, and by the 1930s
and ’40s a slicker, Americanized sound took
over. Electric steel guitars and drums replaced
accordions, then English words seeped in,
flooding out the French language.
CHAPTER
ONE
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25
“…Mississippi River French Folk Music
with a whole lotta Blues and Soul.
Can you dig?”
-Dennis Stroughmatt from Missouri’s Upper
Louisiana describing his Cajun Music
26
However, a true Cajun revival is currently in
play as new audiences seek the original Cajun
sound as opposed to the late twentieth century
electrified version, and Cajun culture has
enjoyed a comeback since the 1980s extending
way beyond the world of music, riding on the
coattails of the 1980s boom of “everything
Cajun.” Ironically, Cajun is mimicked across
the country. “Cajun” flavored potato chips,
“Cajun” sauces, “Cajun” sandwich meats line
the grocery store shelves. Menus from Ohio to
New York to California flaunt Cajun specialty
dishes; but only in south Louisiana will you get
the real thing. And you’ll probably find it in an
old back road dance hall, a fifty-year old café
down in Cameron, in an iron pot on a
Grandma’s stove, or in the nursery where a
brand spanking new baby is already processing
a hundreds-year-old lullaby. Most true-blue
Cajuns are preservationists at heart; it is a way
of life. The early part of the 1900s did great
harm to the Cajun culture since its people
were perceived as lacking merit based on
their ethnicity. However, our multicultural
awareness has helped to preserve this melodic
culture, language, folklore, and food that could
have easily died as have many others lost or
forgotten in the name of progress.
CHAPTER
ONE
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27
“You follow me.
If I’m wrong, you’re wrong, too.”
(Boozoo Chavis to a musician who complained
his irregular style was hard to play along with.
Zydeco
FROM RURAL SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
TO THE GRAMMYS
It’s Saturday night in a hot, crowded dance
hall just outside Lake Charles, Louisiana in
1954. June bugs are banging against the
screens, mosquitoes whine over head, and
everybody’s sweating. But the Jax Beer is ice
cold, and Boozoo Chavis picks up his boxbutton accordion and hits the first few chords
of “Paper in My Shoe”—an uptempo mix of
Creole and Cajun music stricken with some
blues, jazz, and even gospel, and backed with
a scrub board for percussion. He bemoans the
fact that he’s so poor he has to line his shoes
with paper. La-La music—Zydeco—was born.
The name of the genre wouldn’t be coined
for a couple more years until Clifton Chenier
came out with “Les Haricots Sont Pas Salés”
(“The Snap Beans Ain’t Salty”—the singer’s
too poor to buy salt pork.) Zydeco is a
mutation for the French word for beans,
les haricots, pronounced with a silent H.
Zydeco began as music for rural, poor
blacks with its good dance beat and on-theedge raunchy sound. It integrated waltzes,
shuffles, two-steps, and blues, as it moved
from back yard BBQs to the Catholic church
halls and into nightclubs. Today it has spread
world-wide with hotspots in Texas, Oregon,
California, and as far away as Scandinavia.
The rub board has been replaced with a
stylized version of the early washboard—the
frottoir created by Clifton Chenier. The first
frottoir made is on exhibit at the Smithsonian
Institution. Other instruments common in
zydeco are keyboard accordions, horns, electric
bass, drums, and occasionally keys, as well as
the instrumentation of original Cajun music—
fiddle, steel or electric guitar, and triangle.
Two schools of zydeco stem largely from
Chenier and Chavis. Chenier is a Houston-born
Louisiana transplant who injects an urban,
blues sound into his music. Chavis, on the
other hand, kept his down home roots through
his rough-around-the-edges raw sound. Chavis
was a bawdy crowd-pleaser who often censored
his outrageous lyrics if he anticipated an audience may be offended. He was known for
throwing souvenir panties into the crowd; they
bore his picture and the instructions, “Take ‘em
off. Throw ‘em in the corner.”
Goldband Records
A Hidden Gold Nugget in Music History’s Landscape
Goldband Records is one of the U.S.’s oldest leading independent record companies. It has been in business over fifty-five
years, and is one of the largest producers of authentic Cajun music. Founded by Eddie Shuler in 1942, it is the place where
internationally significant music history was cranked out right here in Lake Charles. The breadth of music reverberating from
the building since the 1950s is stunning—Cajun, blues, zydeco, boogie, gospel, country, rhythm and blues, and even some
genres that Eddie defined as styles—rock-a-billy, rock ‘n’ roll, swamp pop, and watermelon rock.
Dolly Parton recorded her first record here; other Goldband artists who would go on to become big names include Freddie
Fender, Mickey Gilley, Jo’el Sonnier, Rockin’ Sidney, Boozoo Chavis, Guitar Junior, and Sidney Brown.
The University of North Carolina acquired Goldband’s business records, studio logs, master tapes and promotional materials
in 1995. Once archiving is completed, the collection will be open as a rich resource for southern studies, popular culture,
folklore, American music, and media studies.
28
“See you later, alligator, in a while crocodile, don’t you know you’re
in my way now, don’t you know you cramp my style.”
Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom was overheard
in the 1960s singing this swamp pop hit.
Swamp Pop
MUSIC EXPLOSION IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
MAKES THE WORLD FALL IN LOVE
In the 1950s the United States was still
crooning from WWII’s victories; teenagers’
emotions ran syrupy, the Sexual Revolution
had not yet hit, and French Cajuns/Creoles
felt like they might be languishing on the
“mainstream America” vine. These factors
plus many others lit the fuse for a Swamp
Pop explosion in the prairie lands of
Southwest Louisiana.
Swamp Pop is for the lovesick, the jilted,
the left-out—the same feelings that Cajuns
and Creoles held toward mainstream America.
As children, swamp pop musicians grew up
on traditional Cajun and Creole music, usually sung in French, played on handmade
instruments and with childhood friends. Like
rock-a-billy it drew heavily upon local culture
for inspiration and material, and musicians
performed to audiences who grew up like
themselves on the farms and backroads.
Yet they were hearing the allure of Rock ‘n’
Roll and rhythm and blues and they started
to feel a little hokey for playing fiddles
and accordions. So they stopped playing
Louisiana French folk songs like “Jolie
Blonde” and began to sing in English. They
picked up electric guitars, saxophones, drum
traps, and they banged on upright pianos.
The ballads produced were slow and danceable with undulating bass lines, bellowing horn
sections, and strong rhythm and blues backbeats. Goldband Records of Lake Charles was
key to the swamp pop scene with owner Eddie
Shuler arranging and producing, for example,
the ballad “Sea of Love” by Lake Charles’ Phil
Phillips. Selling over two million copies in
1959, it climbed to #2 in the U. S. Pop Charts.
Another phenomenon fell into place. The
French speaking Cajuns were taught to be
ashamed of their ethnicity (certainly not the case
today!), so they Anglicized their names. John
Allen Guillot became Johnnie Allan, Elwood
Dugas became Bobby Page, Terry Gene DeRouen
became Gene Terry. Furthermore, they wanted
disc jockeys, promoters, and consumers to
understand their names in the marketplace.
Swamp pop held to some traditions, however,
such as in “Hippy-Ti-Yo”, a bilingual rock ‘n’ roll
version to the Cajun French song “Hipet Taïaut”,
and Randy and the Rockets put out “Let’s Do the
Cajun Twist” and English remake of a Cajun
French favorite “Allons á Lafayette”.
The musical crossover worked and swamp
pop eventually influenced popular songs like
the Rolling Stones’ “You’ll Lose a Good Thing”
and the Beatles swamp-inspired “Oh, Darling”.
Swamp pop even influenced Tex Mex music like
Freddy Fender’s (real name Baldemar Huerta)
“Wasted Days and Wasted Nights” (1959) and
“Before the Next Teardrop Falls” (1975).
CHAPTER
ONE
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29
TWO
CHAPTER
Enterprise in
Southwest Louisiana
“…Oakdale is a dry town. ‘Nothin’ doing in the booze line, but the
boys will draw in a long breath when the wind blows north from Oberlin…”
From a 1904 Beaumont Enterprise article written by its roving reporter,
Professor Hallock, on the Kansas City Southern Railroad.
The Timber Boom
FORTUNES, SAWMILL TOWNS,
ARCHITECTURAL JEWELS BUILT FROM ONE TREE
For centuries, virgin stands of southern longleaf pine stretched across Southwest Louisiana in
vast forests, virtually untouched except by a farmer here and there. However, after the Civil War,
Lake Charles was in the right place at the right time to become a huge center for the production
and marketing of pine lumber. Northern forests were exhausted; furthermore, lumber was needed
in both the north and south to rebuild cities, homes, and farms after the war. Our pine belt was
riveted with dozens of creeks and rivers that emptied right into our lake, then on into the Gulf of
Mexico and ports around the world.
30
CHAPTER
TWO
-
31
32
The forests were pure, meaning eighty
percent of the trees in the main crown canopy
were one single species. The pines were taller
than the ten-story Charleston Hotel—Lake
Charles’ first skyscraper that would not
be built for another seventy years. Most trees
in the forests were 150 to 200 years old.
Some were 300 years old and had already
been towering for fifty years when Acadians
were exiled to Louisiana. The wood was
hardy, heavy, strong, and did not warp. It
made good furniture, houses, railroad ties,
bridge timbers, and ships; it was sought after
and became known as “Calcasieu pine.”
The first sawmill, owned by Lake Charles’
founding father Jacob Ryan and James
Hodges, was in operation on Lake Charles by
1866. Within a few years, German immigrant
Daniel Goos realized Lake Charles’ potential,
and fully dismantled his mill and moved
it from Mississippi to north Lake Charles
(Goosport) by boat and was producing over
300,000 board feet of lumber a month. Many
more successful sawmillers followed.
Experienced and wealthy northern lumber
barons—dubbed “Michigan Men” by locals—
moved in and bought half a million acres of
southern yellow longleaf pine. Soon giant pines
were felled and carted out by ox teams on dirt
roads that spider-webbed through the woods.
Then came a network of railroads connecting
small sawmill towns to each other, to Lake
Charles, then on to the world. Thousands of
rafted logs jammed rivers feeding into Lake
Charles—a lake solid with long leaf Southern
pine favored for its strength and beauty, also
cypress, walnut, hickory and oak.
By the mid-1890s ten large sawmills circled the lake, producing annually 140 million
board feet of pine lumber. In addition, six
million feet of cypress logs floated down the
Calcasieu River into the saw to become 65
million shingles. The pristine forests growing
since the Middle Ages in Southwest Louisiana
soon circled the world as railroad ties, ships,
household furniture, flooring, fireplace mantles, stores and offices that lined city streets,
and fence-lined neighborhoods.
CHAPTER
TWO
-
Waterways spread throughout Southwest
Louisiana—rivers, bayous, lakes, ponds—
creating some of the most serene water front
properties in the world. It is very common
for a home to have two main entrances—
one on the road, and one on the water.
33
34
CHAPTER
TWO
-
35
It didn’t take long for prosperity to settle
in to Southwest Louisiana. Huge sawmills
sprawled around the lake and over five
parishes. Hotels, general stores, post offices,
and feed stores sprang to life; doctors,
educators, carpenters, painters, craftsmen,
and artisans moved to town. The labor pool
for the timber industry was ready; supervisors
and skilled workers came with northern
management, and locals were anxious to go
to work for the good pay. A few “rough types”
lived in the lumber camps, but overall the
mills’ working conditions were harmonious.
Sawmill towns grew out of the woods.
Some towns were company-owned, some
incorporated with local governments. They
built school houses for their children, livery
stables for their horses and buggies, hotels for
the salesmen and railroad men, Baptist,
Methodist, and Catholic churches to uplift
their spirits, general stores, Masonic Lodges,
and dry goods stores. Some towns had
saloons; some elected to remain “dry.”
The red and white Spanish Baroque 1911
City Hall has the feel of a countryside villa
with an Italian church bell tower topped by
a double-faced clock. Today it is a first rate
art center and gallery of rotating exhibits.
Some must-see areas are vintage neighborhoods and downtowns where you can meander
down historic streets or in Lake Charles take a
clip-clop carriage ride through the winding
streets and around the lake. During the spring,
select private homes are on tour, giving you a
36
chance to peek into families’ lives from the
past, to step onto floors polished by generations, run your hand along marble fireplaces
and hand-carved railings and finials, and to
crane your neck to count crystals on chandeliers glittering from fourteen-foot ceilings.
The Kirby and Pujo Streets Tour
Start in the solid Downtown Public Square where a city rebuilt itself. Then step into the heart of the Charpentier District,
over forty blocks on the National Register of Historic Places with almost 400 sites.
The sawmill town phenomenon is a mainstay of Southwest Louisiana. When the
sawmills eventually left town in the 1920s,
the towns usually survived because the
townspeople had bonded into something
stronger than a sawmill—a spirit of togetherness, the desire to build a hometown, and to
rebuild it if necessary.
Like today, the economic bases changed
with the times. As the timber boom waned,
other industries took its place. The stumps
left behind were harvested for turpentine, the
cleared lands became rice and cattle farms,
the Southwest Louisiana seafood industry
grabbed America’s attention; then as the twentieth century prospered, the oil and gas industries changed the way we go to work.
One thing, however, stayed with us and
grows more precious with time—a treasure
trove of architectural history. The wealthy
lumber barons who built the timber industry
also built extravagant homes and mansions,
showing off fine wood craftsmanship, ostentatious whimsy mixed with classic tastes, massive columns, turrets, stained glass, brackets,
scrolls, and spindles. Public buildings with
domes, arched windows and towers stood
shoulder to shoulder along the streets. Even
smaller working men’s homes were iced with
wood-crafted frills and embellishments. Some
of these buildings stand today throughout
the five parishes, and many are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places—jewels in
the crown of our celebrated Louisiana.
Generations pass through many historic
neighborhoods, and the homes remain—
appropriately updated to maintain their
historic integrity.
Margaret Place
A veritably untouched neighborhood tucked among winding streets near the lake and lined with prime examples of bungalows,
sophisticated foursquares, and quirky, charming 1920s buildings and homes. Originally settled in 1840 and supposedly bought
from Native Americans for a bottle of rum and two good blankets, this prestigious neighborhood developed during and after WWI.
CHAPTER
TWO
-
37
The eagle on the historic Calcasieu
Marine National Bank building presides over
downtown Lake Charles. The bank was designed
by famed architects Favrot and Livaudais and
built after a disastrous 1910 fire that destroyed
most of downtown Lake Charles.
Kirby Street at Ryan Street
n Lake Charles. Favrot
fire that destroyed most of downtow
0
191
rific
hor
a
of
s
ashe
from
rose
Courthouse, the City Hall, and
The major buildings on this corner
l firm, designed the Calcasieu Parish
tura
itec
arch
est
larg
s
e’
stat
the
ans,
prevailing in early
and Livaudais of New Orle
reflect the optimism and prosperity
that
es
styl
l
tura
itec
arch
inct
dist
three
Immaculate Conception Church—
National Register of Historic Places.
updates, they are recognized on the
and
on
oliti
dem
hing
roac
enc
g
Lake Charles. Withstandin
The Broad Street Tour
Broad Street, once lined with tropical palms, white fences, and huge lumber barons’ homes, is a Charpentier District thoroughfare.
These homes hold their places in history. They are some of the most outstanding examples of Victorian architecture.
The Vinton Tour
Vinton was named after a town of
the same name in Iowa, because its
founders came from the Midwest
farming, cattle, and oil. This little
to make a fortune in
town still has a drug store with a coff
ee
shop where friends meet to chat and
It is also the home of Delta Downs
share town talk.
Racetrack Casino and Hotel.
38
DeQuincy
Left: The Kansas City Southern Railroad Depot
and Museum in DeQuincy are textbook examples of Mission
Revival architecture—one of the most architecturally significant in the state.
Both waiting rooms still have their tile floors, plaster walls with brick wainscoting
and ticket windows.
The DeQuincy Tour
line linked
ck through DeQuincy, its
tra
lay
to
s
est
for
old
r
forests, make a
through dense 300 yea
uthern Railroad forged
ber barons to clear virgin
lum
for
te
rou
the
t
jus
When the Kansas City So
to Texas—
gress as the
in a great wheel of pro
y, Lake Charles, and on
b
inc
hu
Qu
a
De
ng
r,
mi
de
co
be
Rid
s
De
,
wa
t
Leesville
a quiet settlement, bu
y. DeQuincy had been
ssion style depot station.
fortune, and make histor
pristine example of a Mi
a
is
t
po
De
S
KC
e
Th
.
timber industry boomed
Charpentier District North of Broad
Anchored by an impressive historic commercial area near Broad Street, this area was close to downtown, the sawmills, and
railroads. The sawmill whistle regulated the lives of all economic classes, and this section of town was home to various economic
classes, thus had a mix of grand, elaborate homes and smaller cottages of various styles.
CHAPTER
TWO
-
39
National Register of Historic Places—Si
te
s of Interest
Fifteen Calcasieu Parish sites are liste
d on the National Register of Historic
Places, giving them historical status
of future preservation. Three of the
and the likelihood
following represent different facets
of
Lake Charles’ economy and culture.
in Allen Parish.
The fourth is located
The Waters-Pierce Oil Company
was
Stable—1019 Lakeshore Drive—
1903. This pioneer remnant of the
built to
oil
and gas industry
house ten huge Percheron horses that
hauled barrels of crude oil from oil
fields and the wharf to the railroad
to Lake Charles homes for heating
, and
. The horses—originally bred in the
Middle Ages as chargers to carry
armor—were imported along with
knig
hts
in heavy
their trainers from Belgium. This stur
dy brick building withstood the 190
downtown fire, the 1918 hurricane,
7
floo
d,
the
1910
the 1953 flood, 1957 Hurricane Aud
rey, and 2005 Hurricane Rita. The
changes were the replacement of thre
only
arch
itectural
e sliding stable doors with large win
dows and a front door. Today it is the
of Lake Charles, Inc., headquarters.
Junior League
Muller’s Department Store—Rya
n at Division, Downtown Lake Cha
rles—1913. A large and splendid
now restored for commercial and
department store,
residential space, Muller’s played a
prominent role in the parish’s com
1882 and expanded into a home-gr
mer
ce. Founded in
own success story by a young widow,
Julie Muller (later Marx), the store
room dress shop and millinery. The
started as a backbuilding’s defining architectural feat
ures are windows and piers, contras
and a decorative parapet remove
ting brickwork,
d during modernization. Inside is
a hypostyle hall, beaded board ceili
modernistic “motor stairs” with blue
ngs, and 1950
moving handrails braided in silver.
The ladies’ rest room was furnished
a lounge, writing facilities, and a mai
as
a parlor with
d in attendance at all times. The Aza
lea Room Coffee Shop and Restaura
place in the memories of several gen
nt holds a special
erations who sat on stools around
the Art Deco counter or at tables to
orders. The Muller matriarch ran the
place lunch their
store until her death in 1924; it con
tinued under the management of her
Marx and other family members unti
son Adolph
l it closed in 1986.
McNeese State University Auditor
ium (Bulber Auditorium)—1939.
This monumental, blond brick Mod
one of the few remaining post-WWII
ernistic building is
landmark public buildings. An alley
of live oaks leads to the entrance with
fluting and geometrical metal grillwor
subtle brick
k. The grand lobby has halo glass ligh
ts, marble wainscoting, and multi-co
floors with stripes that lead to side
lored terrazzo
staircases. The auditorium is surroun
ded by a lounge area, an interior U-sh
has suspended halo-style chandeliers.
aped
gallery, and
The auditorium is one of three orig
inal buildings first built on flat farm
that later developed into a major univ
and prairie land
ersity and suburban Lake Charles.
The Elizabeth Hospital—1924. In
an Allen Parish sawmill town com
pletely owned by the company unti
building now functions as Town Hal
l the 1960s, this
l and Museum, but still features the
surgical ward complete with double
overhead lights.
sinks and broad
40
Kinder
Allen Parish Tour
A parish full of sawmills and ghost
mills that line the railroad tracks,
Kinder is home to the Coushatta
operate the magnificent Coushatta
Indians who own and
Casino Resort. Other front-porch tow
ns like Elizabeth and Oakdale are
days when you could walk to church
throwbacks to the old
or sip a soda in the drug store.
CHAPTER
TWO
-
41
Left: A true Gothic style building,
the DeRidder “Hanging Jail”,
has a past that includes mystery
and paranormal activity.
The DeRidder Tour
jail” named so because
oad depot and a Gothic style “hanging
railr
the
at
eum
mus
a
ures
feat
e
A sawmill town, this quaint plac
seriously haunted.
e in the 1920s. It is claimed to be
death row inmates were hanged ther
Shell Beach Drive
A stunning drive along the lake sho
re lined with mansions of the Gatsby
era, Greek Revival estates, Victorian
gardens, sweeping lawns, and mas
raised cottages, lavish
sive oaks fluttering with moss.
Right: The historic Holiday House
in Sulphur, now an art gallery,
is a Christmas tradition that
lights up the town every year.
The Sulphur Tour
During the search for oil in 1867, sulfur was found under a layer of several hundred feet of treacherous quicksand filled with
deadly hydrogen sulfide gas. Many men died trying to mine the “buried treasure” with conventional shafts until German chemist
Herman Frasch developed a way to melt the sulfur and bring it to the surface. The “richest fifty acres in the world” was
immediately born when Frasch, the Sulfur King, brought in workers from Germany, Canada, and northern United States to
work the Union Sulfur Company. Frasch literally built a town with rows of cottages, boarding houses, a pavilion, and a school.
The Brimstone Railroad carried sulfur to market, churches organized, stores opened, and the population grew to 5,000.
42
two
The Cameron Parish Tour
The Beauty of Cameron Parish lies
in its pristine marshes and swamps
—the Creole Nature Trail. See pag
Louisiana Outback devoted to its incr
es 82 and 83 about The
edible wildlife tours, hunting, crabbing
, fishing, shrimping, shelling, and bird
ing adventures.
Left: Rising from the devastation
of Hurricane Rita, this Cameron
Parish home conforms to new building
codes that require higher foundations
in storm surge areas.
Tupper Museum
Jennings
Zigler Fine Ar
ts Museum
Downtown Jennings enjoys a
revival with shops, theaters,
and small town cafes.
The Jennings Tour
Jennings is the home of the first oil gusher produced in this parish called the “Cradle of Louisiana Oil.” Also know as the “Boudin
Capital of the World,” it is an historic town featuring the Tupper Museum—a back-in-time dry goods store with actual inventory
from decades past—the Zigler Fine Arts Museum, historic homes, Interstate Park with live alligators—all surrounded by oil wells,
rice fields, and down-home people.
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43
Rice Comes with Gravy
A DINNERTIME CROP FEEDS THE WORLD
“…Why, they don’t have to work. They just tickle that magnificent soil with
the hoofs of their cattle and it laughs at harvest. [The Cajun] would shrug his
shoulders and make the characteristic reply, ‘Je Fais comme mon pere.’…July
is the month of harvest, and in it the happy “Cajun” cuts his rice with the
primitive sickle and hauls the sheaves home in a clumsy cart made entirely of
wood and drawn by oxen….When the harvest is over the grain is trodden
out by the oxen as in the days of the patriarchs. It is then ground in a little
wooden mill and winnowed in a sieve, when it is ready to be made into bread.
Noted by a Chicago traveler visiting Southwest Louisiana in 1886
observing the “Cajun” method of cultivation, harvesting, and milling.
44
It was almost accidental that the dinnertime crop of rice the Acadians farmed in
the 1700s became the multimillion dollar
industry it is today. In 1650, a hundred years
before the Acadians settled in Southwest
Louisiana, a British ship bound for the West
Indies with a load of rice was whipped by a
storm near Cape Hatteras. The ship ended up
in what was called Charleston then—later to
be Lake Charles—for repairs. The rice was
unloaded and sold to settlers who planted it
between two rivers that often sucked in the
Gulf’s salt water. Naturally, when the rivers
rose and flooded the rice, the salt water killed
the plants, putting an end to that endeavor.
Opposite: Rice—the world’s food—is grown
and processed all over Southwest Louisiana,
and shipped from here around the globe.
This Allen Parish rice field is in Kinder.
Above: Threshing rice in the fields.
Below: Threshed rice ready to go to
the drier.
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45
Sixty-eight years later, Bienville’s French
colonists introduced rice again, but each farm,
true to Cajun tradition, grew just enough for
one household. This style of rice farming was
called the providence method, a haphazard
way of planting in a low area, then trapping
rain water in sloughs above the plants, letting
the water slowly drain over the rice. If it
rained, the crop was good enough; if no rain,
their rice harvests were meager at best.
When Midwesterners settled here—in
part because of the timber boom—they
recognized the potential of growing rice
by improving on the Cajun’s time-honored
ways with their machines and expertise
used in their Midwestern wheat fields. They
couldn’t grow wheat here, but with their
altered equipment and managed irrigation,
they could surely grow rice, and lots of it.
One Chicago traveler noted that when a
Cajun farmer was introduced to new ways
of producing rice crops, he just shrugged
his shoulders and characteristically replied,
46
“Je fais comme mon pere.” (I do it like my
father.) This attitude of holding onto tradition
is still a major force in today’s Cajun
traditional wisdom—without a tenacious
sense of tradition, their culture would have
long faded away, and we would have lost their
beloved music, tight family unity, colorful
language, their dance, folk art, and ability to
survive adversity. Perhaps we would not have
understood their pure love of the land and
marshes, and why they rebuild stronger and
better after each disaster that hits. And we
would have lost their cuisine, including so
many rice-based dishes like jambalaya,
boudin, etouffee, oyster dressing, and, of
course, the everyday companion to our rich
gravies and gumbos.
However, the Cajun culture is still as
deeply imbedded in life in Southwest
Louisiana life as is the rice industry, which
was revolutionized in two ways. First,
agricultural experts like Seaman A. Knapp
raised rice under a controlled method of
irrigation and canals, turning flat fields into
contoured levees of varying heights. He
recognized the best rice lands were underlain
by impervious subsoil that could be drained
at harvest to permit heavy machinery and
teams of horses. These soils retained water
because of a clay pan which lay under them,
plus they had the right mix of potash,
phosphoric acid, and other minerals and
humus to make them productive fields. And,
last, the fields were far enough from threats of
the Gulf like storms and attacks of birds.
Secondly, the rice industry grew because of
people like Sylvester Cary who was the
“Joshua who led the Iowans to the new Iowa.”
Cary, a master marketer, settled in Jennings as
station agent for Southern Pacific Railroads.
He used $30,000 of his company’s money to
sing the praises of the Louisiana rice prairies to
his fellow Iowans who indeed began moving
here in large numbers to buy cheap farmland
and build their lives in a new “Iowa Colony.”
The railroads ran excursion trains through
Southwest Louisiana, claiming it to be the
world’s best farming and stock raising land—
“where good water and good health overflow”.
Northerners who were battling freezing winter
or droughts came in droves.
Agricultural Pilots
Love to Fly
Crop Dusters—Growing
Crops from the Air
Crop dusters—mosquito-hawking in the air—are a common sight in
Southwest Louisiana. Looping just beneath electric wires, jerking
suddenly upward, swerving towards earth, then skating on top of the
crops—are they daredevils or skilled air-crobats? The serious cropduster
tilts between life and death. He saves a crop from insects or foreign,
unwanted weeds and fungus—or in this case, plants the seeds of life. Yet
he puts himself at risk zipping between sky and earth, scaring those of us
on the ground more than himself.
Cropdusting was innovated in Louisiana in the early 1920s to fight the
boll weevil, eliminating hours of manpower in the fields. Old military
planes were adapted for spreading seed, powdered pesticides, and
fertilizers; they were dangerous and sometimes fatal. Today’s agricultural
airplane is specifically designed for the job at hand, and the products
sprayed are mostly liquid and definitely safer to handle as opposed to the
old dust sprays.
However, the agricultural pilot’s world is stressful, and he works long
hours until the season ends. The top requirement for the job—he must
love flying, and most pilots seem to, hurtling towards earth, zooming back
into the sky, settling slowly across the field and releasing another measure
of hope for a good harvest.
Another restless entrepreneur, Jabez Watkins,
spent $200,000 advertising Louisiana’s potential
to the rest of the nation in newspapers across
the north, and even hosted trainloads of
agriculturists and potential landowners.
Within five years, the vast cattle range which
was Southwest Louisiana was thickly populated
with the cream of the crop from the Midwestern
states; it was the “most distinctive Anglo-Saxon
migration ever known to the South since the
settlement of Jamestown, Virginia.”
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Opposite, top and bottom: Raw rice before
the hulls are removed and used perhaps as
insulators, filters, or electricity. Agrilectric
Power, Inc. for example, has produced
enough electricity from burning rice hulls to
power its rice milling company for the last
twenty-five years.
Above: Broadcasting rice seed by plane.
47
Above: Thousands of migrating birds fly
over Southwest Louisiana each year.
The rice fields attract them, providing
sustenance and food.
Right: Rice driers in the fields with a
crawfish farm in the background. Many rice
farmers realize profits from re-flooding rice
fields after harvest and raising crawfish.
48
By 1900, a large portion of the rice belt had
successfully purchased water from canal
companies or drilling wells and irrigation
techniques had turned prairies into a cash
crop which does not deplete any of the
natural resources and repeats itself year after
year. As early as the 1880s, rice growers
established associations to strengthen their
industry; today rice farmers benefit from the
Louisiana Rice Growers Association and the
Louisiana Rice Council.
Today laser systems make precision
leveled, graded fields which result in:
• uniform flood depth
• elimination of a large number of levees
• rapid irrigation and drainage
• straight, parallel levees that increase
machine efficiency
• elimination of knolls and potholes that
causes flood delay or is detrimental to
weed control
• reduction of the total amount of water
necessary for irrigation.
With the mega-rice farming industry came
related industries that support families and
pour dollars into the economy. Rice drying
and milling compete in the global marketplace
and export products around the world.
As early as 1926, rice hulls were used in
other products such as cellulose, and since the
1980s, Agrilectric Power, Inc., has produced
enough electricity from burning rice hulls
to power its milling company. The resulting
environment-friendly ash is used in the steel
industry as an insulator and filtration aid.
Burning the hulls also eliminates the industrywide problem and expense of hull disposal
and transport.
Today rice is one of the most important
crops in Louisiana regarding total acreage
grown and its economic value. About half a
million acres in Louisiana are planted in rice
each year. The industry pours about $321
million into the state economy, and provides
thousands of jobs.
There’s a bigger picture, however. The rice
fields play a significant role in the mysterious
migration of waterfowl, following the ancestral
Mississippi Flyway that is in line with
Southwest Louisiana. Flooded wintertime rice
fields give critical resting and feeding grounds
for migrating and wintering waterfowl along
the Gulf Coast. The fields are rich with
nutrition; ducks dip in the shallow water
for leftover grains, weed seed, and aquatic
invertebrates. Geese also eat rice grain and the
roots of rice stalks plus the young green shoots
sprouting in the water. The rice fields are
crucial to the balance of nature and are vital
in making Southwest Louisiana a birder’s,
photographer’s, and hunter’s paradise.
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A kid, a dog, a rice canal full of perch.
What a life.
49
Above: Sacks of crawfish fresh from the
farm and ready for market. They may go to
a neighbor’s backyard or as far as
California or Sweden.
Right: Throwing them in the pot at
downtown Lake Charles’ Crawfish Festival.
Opposite: Crawfish farmers check out their
“fields”—rice fields converted to
crawfish farms.
50
Great Recipe for Rice Farmers—Add Crawfish
Farmers Multi-task Their Fields
It’s another example of Cajun ingenuity—turning a rice field into a crawfish farm. The fields have everything crawfish like—
plenty of shallow water, leftover rice plants are food for the crawfish and places to hide from predators. The farmer already has
the land, levies, pumps, and irrigation systems in place, so his investment is minimal.
Crawfish actually grow all over the world, but Louisiana is heads and tails above crawfish production anywhere else.
Re-flooding rice fields after harvest for crawfish farming became commonplace in the 1960s; today each acre produces between
700 to 1,000 pounds of crawfish each season. The farmed crawfish ponds produce double the amount of wild harvested crawfish
just in time to supply the world-wide Cajun food craze. Most Louisiana crawfish are eaten right here before they can get away.
However, chefs serve up our crawfish in the finest five-star restaurants in New York and Paris, and small town diners in
Minnesota heap crawfish etouffe on truckers’ lunch plates. And, believe it or not, the largest export of Louisiana crawfish go to
Sweden for their Kräftskiva, the Swedes’ version of a crawfish boil—mounds of cold dill instead of steaming bullets of corn and
potatoes, and shots of Absolut instead of ice cold beer.
Southwest Louisiana gets a little crawfish crazy especially in the spring when they first show up on menus or sticking their
claws through gunny sacks, ready for the burner pot. Boiled crawfish are one of our comfort foods, and because of the strong
French Catholic influence in South Louisiana, crawfish boils are a backyard weekend ritual especially during the Lenten season.
Here’s what you need: good friends, good shade, good chairs that tilt back, good music (some preferably with an accordion and
fiddle), good jokes, potatoes and corn, giant jars of seasoning, iced beer or pop, a week’s worth of newspapers, tables you can
hose off, and a day to be thankful for little treasures that have a big impact on our lifestyle.
The first batch is usually for those who like mild crawfish. Each batch gets a little hotter with added cayenne pepper and
hot sauce until the last steaming red platters of crawfish are so nuclear that your ears turn red and your nose starts running.
(Tip: If you wear contact lens, take them out and put on your glasses before peeling crawfish. You won’t be able to touch your
eyes for about twelve hours.) Also, watch out for those potato bombs.
Crawfish are a good way to get your high-quality proteins and polyunsaturated fats, vitamins, and minerals. A quarter pound
of crawfish has only 82 calories compared to the 242 calories in one-quarter pound of hamburger.
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This oil rig off the gulf coast of Southwest Louisiana is
also an artificial reef that attracts huge game fish—
a testimony that industry and nature can coexist.
Offshore Oil Rigs
A Bonanza for Fish and Fishermen
To attract the big game fish, some coastal states drag old automobiles and dangerous debris into the gulf waters to create
artificial reefs. But the petroleum industry did us a favor in the 1940s by flanking our coastline with offshore drilling rigs. They
look like giant Erector Sets oil workers proudly standing in place as they enhance nature.
Sport fishermen called the first rig a “million dollar artificial reef.” As more rigs moved out to take their places in the Gulf,
sport fishing developed unrivaled by any other coastal area in the nation. The Fourth of July Fishing Rodeo based out of
Cameron gives these sportsmen a chance to reel in the best of twenty-five species eligible for trophies—from the mighty tarpon
to popular speckled trout. Prior to accelerated offshore petroleum drilling, we never knew some of the fish we could catch—the
trophy barracuda, grouper, spadefish, and amberjack—all attracted to the oil rig “reefs.”
Fish, wildlife, and industry can coexist in Southwest Louisiana. The industries are sensitive to the balance of nature, yet they
also provide jobs and income for the state.
52
Southwest Louisiana
Industries
A W E L L S P R I N G F O R E V E RY D AY L I F E
Sunset over Southwest Louisiana.
The petrochemical industries are a backdrop to
our lives, feeding our families and providing
staple goods to the world.
At night it looks like a fairyland of lights
glittering around the lake. By day—admittedly a poetic description of our mighty petrochemical industry—it is miles of perfectly
geometric jungle-gym pipes, aqua hatbox
tanks, white steam plumes, tall cat-crackers,
and, at shift change, lines of cars quickly
melting into traffic.
It is the backbone of our economy since
WWII. And, it is one of the greatest industrial
corridors of the world—a huge industry that
stocks the world with everything from
gasoline, golf balls, toothpaste, decaf coffee,
nail polish, athletic shoes, laundry detergent,
eye medications, and museum exhibits.
Southwest Louisiana was destined to
become an industrial hub. At first lumber and
agriculture were our bread and butter. Then
sulfur brimmed into Southwest Louisiana as
the largest liquefied sulfur mine in the world
spouted forth creating today’s Sulphur,
Louisiana. Then high quality sweet crude oil
gushed in Jennings—a stone’s throw away
from Lake Charles—
and the stars aligned
themselves to design
one of the greatest
industrial centers of
the world.
Mathieson Alkali
Works, later Olin
Mathieson
then
Lyondell Chemical
Company, was the
father of our
chemical industry
locating here in
1934 and being
the first to see that we have the power to
produce. Next, World War II’s military
machine needed our fuel, lubricants and
synthetic rubber for its trucks, tanks, and
planes. We were ready again to produce
and deliver. Furthermore, we had the
natural waterways that connected Southwest
Louisiana to the Gulf of Mexico and the world.
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53
Petrochemical plants produce in the marshy
wetlands without interrupting the
sensitive ecosystem.
Three war-time plants realized the area’s
potential—Continental Oil, Firestone, and
Cities Service—and still operate today as
extended entities. One success story led to
another so that one industry followed
another, creating a beautiful package of
trees, rice, seafood, cattle, rivers and lakes,
oil and gas that would ultimately support a
thriving community and give promise to a
huge future.
Today the annual chemical industry payroll
reaches almost a billion dollars, employs over
12,000 people, pours about 200 million into
local taxes, and donates four million dollars a
year to local charities. Additionally, hundreds
of contractors, suppliers, and consulting companies weave into the chemical industries’
tapestry of prosperity.
54
Left: Era Helicopters serve the oil industry
by transporting workers and supplies to
offshore oil rigs.
Inset: The pampered way to fly—a private
aviation service at Chennault’s
International Airport.
Below: The observation tower at Chennault’s
International Airport—originally a WWII
Air Base in Lake Charles.
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55
Above: Major businesses locate at Chennault
including AEROFRAME Services.
Opposite, top: The army re-fuels
at Chennault.
Opposite, bottom: Air Force Reserves
at Chennault.
Southwest Louisiana’s newest industrial
star is the nation’s first manufacturing facility
that will build modular components for
new and modified nuclear reactors—Shaw
Modular Solutions located at the Port of Lake
Charles. The site leads a nuclear renaissance,
seeking alternative domestic energy sources,
and is a vibrant economic engine and represents some of the most innovative thinking of
the next generation.
The Port of Lake Charles was chosen for
its deep water access, availability of a skilled
workforce, and proximity to important modes
of transportation.
Additionally, WWII’s Chennault Air Base
gave rise to today’s Chennault International
Airport Authority which supports industrial
and commercial properties such as Northrup
Grumman (which builds Joint Surveillance
and Target Attack Radar Systems (JSTARS)
aircraft for the United States Air Force),
56
AEROFRAME Services, an aircraft and overhaul
company, and Louisiana Millwork, a major
building materials manufacturer and supplier.
Furthermore, the timber boom still booms
in DeRidder at Boise Cascade which manufactures engineered wood products, plywood,
lumber and particle board, plus distributes
a wide line of building materials.
Businesses who locate in Southwest
Louisiana will thrive because of available
real estate, shipping, a strong workforce,
incentives, a thriving economy, and a
company-spirited community. Louisiana is
among the ten fastest growing states for
high-tech employment and fifth in the
nation for integration of technology in
the classroom.
We love to name our Little Leagues after
mega-corporations and hometown companies, and we’re proud to wear their names on
our Nomexes, work blues, and bowling shirts.
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57
Below: The Port of Lake Charles packs a
whopping $8 billion impact on our economy.
Opposite, clockwise, starting from top left:
Bags of rice headed for the ship and dinner
tables around the world. Two spiralveyors
can handle 125 tons per hour each.
Lake Charles is essentially a northern city, wide
awake, progressive, and modern.
Seaman Knapp 1891
The Port of Lake Charles
CONNECTING OUR RESOURCES TO THE WORLD
Bagged rice ready for the conveyer.
The general cargo facility has 536,000
square feet of warehousing accessible by rail
and truck. The City Docks also has 22 acres
of open space available for containers and
break-bulk cargoes.
Trucking it in straight from the Southwest
Louisiana rice fields. Those of us lucky
enough to live here and lucky enough to
follow one of these trucks down the road
will every now and then hop out of the car
to pick up a full, intact bag of Louisiana rice
that managed to jiggle its way off the truck
and onto the roadside. We call that
lagniappe—a little extra.
On the ship or in the port, it’s safety first
for workers.
The port generates about 60,000 jobs in
Louisiana—direct, indirect, and related.
Employees in Louisiana earn almost $600
million in wages from the Port of
Lake Charles.
Over 100 years ago a few visionaries realized that Southwest Louisiana was on the verge
of becoming a hot commodity. They knew the
potential for developing numerous strong economic bases plus living a quality lifestyle in a
woodsy, water-lined setting. So convinced were
they that the abundant life was at hand, they
circulated hundreds of advertisements around
1909 in the Midwest and Northern states to
attract more businesses, farmers, investors, and
workers. These were their claims:
• No city in the South can show a healthier
or more substantial growth than…LAKE
CHARLES. There is every reason why this
city should be prosperous. The country
adjacent is the richest in the world—
barring none.
• Lake Charles is eight miles from the mines of
the Union Sulphur Company, now producing 98% of the crude sulfur of the world,
worth many millions and employing hundreds of workmen, skilled and unskilled.
• Lake Charles is the center of the great
Louisiana petroleum belt—12 miles from
Rice on pallets ready to be loaded.
The evolution of the pallet transformed
materials handling in industry. Prior to
pallets, barrels were rolled over docks, and
sacks were handled one at a time. The first
pallets or skids—crude and awkward by
today’s standards—emerged around 1918,
the same time the forklift came into play.
By the time the Port of Lake Charles opened
for business in 1926, bottom boards were
built onto the skids, improving balance and
efficiency of pallets. Palletized loads freed
up manpower, thus saved time and money.
It’s fascinating to watch the port’s four
automated palletizers handle 2,400 bags
an hour each.
58
the newly discovered field at Vinton, 18
miles from Welsh field, and 30 miles from
the great Jennings field. Pipelines run into
the city. Salt has been discovered within a
few miles of the city and preparations
are being made to develop the mines. The
great Avery salt mines are 60 miles east.
• The Calcasieu Truck Growers and Fruit
Raisers Association is now shipping more
stuff to the northern markets than any other
organization in the entire South. In 1910
150,000 boxes of oranges will go north.
• Lake Charles is center of the great Louisiana
rice belt. Calcasieu produces more rice than
the entire state of Texas or the total amount
raised in the Carolinas, Georgia, Mississippi,
Alabama, Arkansas and Florida.
• The World Famous Calcasieu Long Leaf
Lumber comes from the territory surrounding Lake Charles on the west and north.
Within 60 miles of Lake Charles there are
85 mammoth pine saw mills. This makes
Lake Charles the largest lumber manufacturing and shipping point in the world.
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Above: An ocean vessel heading down
the ship channel from the port. In the
background is burning marshland—
managed fire that keeps the wetlands’
ecosystem balanced. Fire stimulates
flowering, fruit, and seed production, thins
out invasive foreign weeds, and creates
areas of open water for breeding birds. Prior
to management by conservationists, pristine
wetlands depended on lightning fires once
The most salient point made in the ads,
however, was this one that expressed a significant need for a deep water channel and port:
• Lake Charles is on the Calcasieu River,
30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Light
draft vessels operate between this point,
Galveston and Mexican ports. Deep water is
being worked for and will eventually be had.
Business and community leaders had realized since 1879 that Southwest Louisiana
could be a mecca for ocean going vessels, but
the river connecting the lake to the Gulf of
Mexico was too shallow and blocked by sandbars. When the Intracoastal Canal opened in
1915, connecting the Calcasieu and Sabine
Rivers, visionaries saw this as the time to act.
every four years or so to perpetuate their
natural habitat.
Below: Dredging of canals and the ship
channel is an ongoing process to keep the
waterways accessible to the port. Dredging
also displaces and strengthens the land.
60
In 1922, the Calcasieu
✧ Parish Police Jury was
This is aelection
sample caption.
authorized to call a bond
for deepenBY
ing and widening thePHOTOS
Calcasieu
River and Lake
to make way for large ocean vessels to travel
from Lake Charles to the Intracoastal Canal.
The voters had vision, the bond issue was
passed, and within a few years the Calcasieu
River was dredged to 30 feet deep and
widened to 125 feet. The Port of Lake Charles
formally opened in 1926, and Lake Charles
had become a viable industrial site. It had
the raw materials, a port, and rail service.
In 1938, President Roosevelt signed a bill
to dredge the ship channel all the way to
the Gulf of Mexico. The new channel,
the outbreak of World War II, and the
petrochemical industries that moved to the
lake area all sparked a second industrial
growth. Ships lined the docks to load rice,
lumber, walnuts, tires, resin, cotton and many
other products.
Today the marine cargo and vessel activity
at the Port of Lake Charles generates over $8
billion of the total economic activity in
Louisiana. The City Docks, 34 miles inland,
contain general cargo facilities, the Lake
Charles Public Grain Elevator, and a vegetable
oil packaging plant. The general cargo
facilities include 12 transit sheds, an open
cargo berth, and 13 ship berths which can
accommodate 12 ships simultaneously with
more than 1.3 million square feet of transit
shed space. Concrete-floored warehouses—
536,000 square feet—are accessible by rail
and truck. Other facilities include:
The automated terminal used for bag
handling has: 4 palletizers which handle
2,400 bags per hour; 6 depalletizers, 2 railcar
unloaders, and 2 spiralveyor shiploaders—
each handling 125 tons per hour.
A dry bulk terminal on 71 acres with a
2,200 foot long wharf and 40-foot depth at
dockside, enabling it to load two vessels
simultaneously. It has two traveling ship
loaders and one travel clam-bucket unloader,
which can load simultaneously 5,200
short tons per hour of petroleum coke.
The terminal processes of 3.1 million short
tons of dry bulk material annually such
as petroleum coke, calcined coke, barite,
coal, rutile, woodchips, and other dry
bulk commodities.
The Port of Lake Charles is involved in
community efforts such as partnering with
McNeese State University to improve the
environment and economy, and in humanitarian aid such as shipping rice and other grains
for disaster relief food aid programs.
Tugboats heading out to the Gulf in the evening light.
They will escort barges and ocean-going vessels to
the port and along the Intracoastal Canal.
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61
“The smart cowman is the one with oil
derricks for his cows to scratch on.”
Brownie Ford
The Louisiana Cattleman
A
LOT
OF
ACRES
,
KNOWHOW,
AND
DETERMINATION
We’ve been cow country since before the
Civil War. The “Beef Trail” or “Opelousas Trail”
ran right through Southwest Louisiana from
Texas to the New Orleans shipping market in
the 1800s. We also had a unique advantage
for raising cattle—an abundance of nutritious
grasses for grazing, good weather, plentiful
fresh water, and few predatory animals. But,
we didn’t quite have it down to a science until
the 1880s.
The “haphazard” way of cattle raising was
improved when Midwesterners who came to
the area for timber and rice lands, introduced
Durhams, Herefords, Jerseys, and Brahmas—
more marketable breeds. Cattlemen also
learned to winter graze in Cameron Parish
marshes where warm Gulf breezes kept the
grass green. Once the railroad clamored in,
we were off to market.
Sorting cattle for market outside of Louisiana.
62
Cattlemen of today multi-task their fields,
growing rice, pumping oil, farming crawfish,
and grazing cattle. Such mega ranches in
Southwest Louisiana are hugely successful and
high-tech. Today’s cattle rancher orders medicines and supplies online and has them overnighted, seeds his grass and hayfields by plane,
and keeps up with market reports and trends
on the internet. Cattlemen who diversify are a
group of people who have been a major force
in shaping Louisiana’s agricultural landscape.
However, some things never change. The
working cowboy is still in the saddle and
carries all his gear with him—bedroll, slicker,
dry clothes, rope, sickle, matches, hatchet,
medicines, mosquito whip, and a branding
iron. Even the brands are often handed down
through generations, some dating back to
1739—a serious source of family pride.
The signs of diversity on a farm—the marsh,
the tractor, and the haybarn.
The Louisiana horseman—and his horse—
have learned to make trails just about anywhere.
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63
THREE
CHAPTER
Living the
Treasured Life
Middle American
Neighborhoods and Schools
TOP NOTCH NEIGHBORS AND STUDENTS
Southwest Louisiana’s family-friendly neighborhoods range from cottage-lined streets, mature
brick homes, and high-end architect’s dreams to on-the-water homes draped with cypress trees
and moss. Property values in the area are above the national average, and home construction is
on the rise. Many rural home sites dot the countryside complete with barns and fences; otherwise,
numerous easy-to-maintain town homes and patio homes are available for those considering
a downsize. Most neighborhoods have property restrictions that keep them in market-ready
condition. Plus a new building phenomenon has begun in the area—privately managed
neighborhoods for 50+ mature lifestyles with on site medical care, shopping, restaurants,
recreation, golf, and numerous choices of home styles.
64
Because many homes have been remodeled
following Hurricanes Rita and Ike, properties are
in above-average condition. Yards are spacious,
many with lofty oaks, flowering trees, and welldesigned gardens. The climate is mild with a
long growing season, so neighbors get to know
each other with outside barbeques, crawfish
boils, and front porch chats. Even though we
have cutting-edge industries, schools, medical
care, and cultural opportunities, we still have
enough small-town in us to wave at each other,
hang over the back fence to trade fishing tales,
and knock on our new neighbors’ doors to say
welcome with fresh-baked pies.
A good school is right around the corner in
any neighborhood. Public schools are overseen
by parish school boards and have classes from
Pre-K to 12, including special programs such
as French Immersion, Advanced Placement
Classes, and, of course, high-spirited athletic
competitions. Private schooling is an option—
and tradition—for many families; beyond high
school, technical and business schools prepare
the workforce for local industries. McNeese
State University, a four-year university, also
offers graduate programs in numerous fields
with stellar academic tracks paralleling
the area’s workforce needs especially in
the engineering, nursing, and education
curriculum. Sowela Technical Community
College fills the gap by preparing students to
face a highly competitive technical workforce,
offering degrees like Aviation Maintenance,
Criminal Justice, Culinary Arts, Drafting and
Design, Graphic Arts, Industrial Electricity and
Office Systems Technology.
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Many private homes in Southwest Louisiana
are situated on park-like lawns with
sidewalks and a variety of walkways
enjoyed by the public.
L i v i n g t h e Tr e a s u r e d L i f e
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Chefs in training at Sowela Technical Community College.
The Culinary Arts program prepares students to work in service,
production, fast foods, and baking areas of the food service industry.
Sowela’s mission is to empower students in career,
transfer, and technical education so they
can compete in the workforce.
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International Cuisine
is one of the course
offerings at Sowela
featuring this
outstanding clam
dish ladled with
a delectable
cream sauce.
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Private Schools excel in academics and sports throughout Southwest Louisiana. Here cheerleaders
root for their team during a home basketball game. Family night out at big sister’s basketball game.
Washington Marion Magnet High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in the
Lake Charles Civic Center. These students receive military training and participate
in competitions that include regulated and free-style rifle exhibitions, posting
and recovering of the colors, and flag and physical fitness training.
These kids are sharp…it’s hard to find any mistakes in their performance.
Sgt. Justin Williams, a native of DeRidder, Louisiana,
praising Washington Marion Magnet High School JROTC cadets.
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These girls may be best friends because they live right down the road from each other,
but on the court their eyes are on one goal—to represent their school through good
sportsmanship and playmanship. A few extra points would be nice too.
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Above and below: Music resounds from the
walls of the 2010 Fine Arts Building on
McNeese State University Campus. The
McNeese Marching Band debuted with
twenty-four members one year after
McNeese Junior College opened. Once called
Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show,
today it is the Pride of McNeese. The Music
Department oversees the McNeese Wind
Symphony, Symphonic Band, and
Percussion Ensemble, and offers
undergraduate and graduate degrees in
Music Performance and Education with
student recitals held weekly. Many
outstanding professional concerts, major
productions, exhibits and recitals are
available to students and the public.
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Bulber Auditorium
National Register of Historic Places
The 1939 Art Deco Bulber Auditorium, named after Dr. Francis Bulber of the Fine Arts Department on McNeese State University
Campus is on the National Register of Historic Places. The entrance of this monumental, blond brick Modernistic building has
subtle brick fluting and geometric metal grillwork. The grand lobby has halo glass lights, marble wainscoting and multi-colored
terrazzo floors with stripes that lead to side staircases. The auditorium is surrounded by a lounge area, an interior U-shaped
gallery and has suspended halo-style chandeliers. An alley of live oaks planted on the eve of World War II leads to the building;
the trees are now designated as memorials.
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Field trip day! Close to home but in
touch with the world at the Tupper Telephone Museum.
Students can pick-up the phone and learn to say hello and goodbye
in languages from around the world. The attached W. H. Tupper Museum
also gives visitors a glimpse of early twentieth century life in rural Louisiana with
its collection of untouched general store merchandise from 1910-1949
when the store closed, but all the merchandise stayed.
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It looks calm now, but all rowdiness is getting ready to bust loose in Cowboy Stadium!
On the field, in the air, and over the goal line.
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Right: We start them young at McNeese.
Below: Fans in the stands with armor and
battle gear.
Opposite, top: He’s a rowdy rabble rouser.
Rowdy, mascot for McNeese athletics, is
ready for a stand-off with the “other side”
at a Cowboy’s home football game. He also
helps build McNeese athletics in programs
like Rowdy’s Wranglers, the official kid’s
club of MSU athletics.
Opposite, bottom: The Cowgirl Kickers,
McNeese Cowboys’ primo dance team, kicks
it up a notch during a home game.
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Frogs are an important part of life in Southwest
Louisiana. In the wetlands, they help balance the
ecosystem. The have great legs for jumping in
races and for jumping in the frying pan—quite
a delicacy around here. Frogging is a nocturnal
hunt, which explains the huge frog-eye lights
mounted on the tops of so many trucks and jeeps
around here. The lights dazzle the frogs, making
them easier to grab with your hands or with a gig.
As with other wildlife conservation efforts,
there are limits and seasons to frog hunting.
76
This bullfrog was just splashing around in his ditch earlier this morning, wondering
what to do with his life. Now he is lead contender in a frog jumping contest at an
elementary school celebrating Louisiana Week. He’ll go back to his ditch a hero.
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Opposite: Hold a baby alligator at Jennings’
Chateau des Cocodries (Alligator House) at
the Louisiana Oil and Gas Park on
Interstate 10.
There’s a bumper sticker down here that says,
“If you want to save an alligator, buy a handbag.”
Ruth Elsey, wildlife biologist at the state-administered
Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge
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Alligators—From Marsh to Market
A Keystone Species Thrives in Southwest Louisiana
You have to respect a pair of large, fixed eyes periscoped above the water— eyes attached to one ton of bone-crushing bite.
Dubbed a “living fossil”, the alligator crawled from the primordial gumbo 65 million years ago into bayous and swamps along
the Creole Nature Trail. Today, very carefully, you can photograph one from many walkways and decks along the trail, or right
from your car as he sometimes crosses the road. But keep your distance. He may look slow, but with his claws, muscled tail, and
strong legs, he can lunge at you at about thirty miles per hour. And his bite is the most powerful in the animal kingdom—about
two and a half times stronger than a lion’s.
Thousands of alligators were harvested for leather boots, shoes, and saddles as early as 1800. The hides were used for Civil
War shoe leather, then the alligator topped the fashion scale in the late 1860s. The gator has been prized ever since, not just for
its hide, but also for its meat, a light-flavored delicacy that replaces chicken or veal in recipes. Without proper management, the
alligator could have easily gone the way of the Chinese alligator—near extinction.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries gained full authority to regulate alligator hunting and farming in 1970,
and a sustainable use program began in 1972. Alligator ranching developed during the 1980s, permitting landowners to sell
precious alligator eggs to farmers—an incentive to keep the wetlands wild and wet. Farm-raised alligators grow three to four
times bigger and faster than wild ones. To ensure a stable, increasing wild population, farmers each year airboat a varying
percentage (average 14%) of their four-foot alligators back to the wilds where they are carefully monitored.
Other impressive facts you should know about the alligator you will see lying in the sun to balance his cold-blooded body or
submerged in the vast fresh water and brackish marshes:
• His tail makes up about half its body and can propel the gator about five feet out of the water to grab unsuspecting prey.
• He snaps and swallows small prey in one bite. He drags larger prey underwater to drown; often the gator spins in a “death
roll” to loosen chunks of meat.
• His jaws are studded with 70 to 80 cone shaped teeth that replace themselves.
• During mating season, he bellows underwater to attract a mate; above water he does a lot of head slapping to really look cool.
• The alligator embryo is used in cleft palate research.
• He has remained virtually unchanged for about 65 million years; his extinct ancestors include dinosaurs and flying reptiles.
The alligator is a keystone species—one that plays a critical role in keeping its ecological community balanced, more than
would be expected based on its relative size. The most abundant alligators on the Creole Nature Trail are probably in Rockefeller
Refuge; years of research at this site have provided scientists with the most information they have about the American alligator.
The alligator is fiercely protected as are all wetlands areas in Southwest Louisiana. By protecting these invaluable places,
we spare their renewable resources plus many species of plants, birds, fish, and mammals.
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Marsh Plants
Are More Than Serenity
BALANCING THE ECOLOGY ON LONG STEMS
Cattails are uniquely beautiful and the most recognized plant in marshes and along roads in
wet ditches. If you are tempted to cut a few to take home, don’t keep them too long; when the
“cobs” dry, they burst into thousands of flying, fuzzy seedlings that are impossible to contain.
80
Aquatic plants are vital to the wetlands’
ecology and have adapted in fascinating ways
to live in a world of water. Some are emergents like cattails with only their roots and
lower stems underwater. Others are submergents that live completely underwater.
Others are floaters like water lilies flourishing with bright, conspicuous flowers. They
all contribute to the ecosystem, providing
hiding places for small fish and insects,
food for thousands of birds and mammals,
and eye-popping beauty for photographers.
Sometimes plants grow so densely that it is
difficult for boaters to row through them.
Cattails have male and female flowers
on the same stalk. The wind carries pollen
grains to the female flowers; when seeds
develop, they float on water until finding
a place to lodge, germinate, and grow.
Muskrats especially like cattails, and the
young cobs are edible for humans—boiled
and eaten like corn
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Water lilies are buoyant because large air
spaces are between the cells of their leaves and
stems. They depend on insect pollination, so
their bright flowers and sugars call thousands
of butterflies, bees, moths, and others that
carry their pollen for miles. On the Creole
Nature Trail you can stand in the flurry of
thousands of “flying flowers”—butterflies—
darting around Peveto Woods Bird and
Butterfly Sanctuary. Pipevine swallowtails,
gorgone and pearl crescents, red admiral,
spring azure, zebra longwing, variegated and
gulf fritillaries—even the names evoke visions
of fairies and fantastic winged creatures.
The marsh grasses that are often ignored
are a vital part of Louisiana’s Outback—
grasses with exotic names like bluestem,
switchgrass, eastern gamagrass, pinewoods
dropseed, and purple silkyscale. They
provide food for shellfish, millions of
migrating birds each year, and act as buffers
against storms by breaking the power of
storm surges and slowing their inland paths.
These grasses are at risk mostly because of
development along the Trail.
Water lilies are stunning floaters with buoyant leaves
connected by long, slender leafstalks to thick stems
buried in the bottom sediment.
82
A water lily pond in Lacassine Pool thrives along the Creole Nature Trail.
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Fur and Wildlife Festival
Nature’s Heartbeat in Your Hands
For newcomers, it’s an eye-opener to nature’s magnificence in the marshes. For old-timers, it’s a way to
reaffirm your oneness with nature, and to calibrate your heartbeats. The Fur and Wildlife Festival began
as a challenge between two cities—Cambridge, Maryland, and Cameron, Louisiana—regarding who had
the best trapper. Mr. Leon Hebert, a twenty-five-year veteran trapper from Cameron won out over the
Maryland trapper in the National Fur Skinning Contest. It didn’t take long for a group of grassroots
organizers to throw their first 1955 festival celebrating the wealth of fur and wildlife in Cameron Parish.
A huge success, the festival grew to eventually sister with The Cambridge, Maryland National Outdoor
Show with the two exchanging fur skinners and festival queens each year.
Superior hunters, trappers, fishermen, and nature lovers literally hold nature in their hands as they
compete in events like oyster shucking, speckle belly goose calling, skeet shooting, trap setting, retriever
dog trials, muskrat and nutria skinning, snow goose calling, and much more—for women, men, and
children. You can imagine the exotic food offerings and Cajun music on various stages.
Other festivals that celebrate the earth’s bounty along the Creole Nature Trail are the Cameron Saltwater
Fishing Festival and Rodeo and the Alligator Festival with, yes, alligator skinning.
Yet, a festival is just a high point of the year. Preserving and renewing nature is serious business yearround in Cameron Parish and the rest of Southwest Louisiana. Three of seven members of the state’s
Wildlife and Fisheries Commission must be electors of the coastal parishes and representatives of
commercial fishing and fur industries. And on an individual level—each responsible hunter, fisherman,
trapper, photographer, and birdwatcher feels nature’s heartbeat in Cameron Parish as his own.
84
Opposite: What is a festival without
funnel cake?
Left: Record numbers attend the Fur and
Wildlife Festival that celebrates the wildlife
that is part of the ecosystem of the wetlands
and cheniers of Cameron Parish.
Bottom, left and right: That’s what you think
it is—the nutria skinning contest at the Fur
and Wildlife Festival in Cameron Parish.
Dubbed as “The Oldest and Coldest Festival
in Louisiana,” it is a tribute to the full
bounty of wildlife in coastal
Cameron Parish.
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85
The Mississippi Flyway
THOUSANDS OF BIRDS INSTINCTIVELY FLY
TO SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
86
Look up. It is right over our heads. The
Mississippi Flyway, 3,000 miles of beautifully
timbered and watered land stretching from
Canada to the tropics, is the longest migratory route for thousands of birds each year.
Large flocks of white-fronted and snow geese,
pintail, blue and green-winged teal, mallards,
ring-necked ducks, gadwalls, black-bellied
whistling ducks, plus hundreds more species
fly right over us every year.
Our rice fields, wetlands, prairies, bayous,
swamps, and shorelines are virgin nesting and
feeding places for millions of birds. This
serene, teeming place is a birdwatcher’s, photographer’s, and hunter’s paradise. The Sabine
National Wildlife Refuge, for example, is designated as an “Internationally Important Bird
Area.” Over 250 species of migrating birds—
shorebirds, great egrets, white pelicans, ducks,
geese, and roseate spoonbills—will stop on
their way to the tropics. Over 100,000 snow
geese will spend the winter in this refuge alone.
Likewise, the 16,000-acre freshwater marsh
known as “The Pool” is on the Lacassine
National Wildlife Refuge. Even endangered
species such as bald eagles and peregrine
falcons nest there. Cameron Prairie Refuge
and Rockefeller Refuge round out Southwest
Louisiana’s prime birding area, making The
Creole Nature Trail one of the Top Ten Birding
Destinations in the nation.
This land is basically untouched, pristine.
So thousands of visitors from all over the
world come each year to see this place
where they can get a once-in-a-lifetime shot—
through the lens or the barrel—as the
nation’s birds instinctively follow this flyway
to the tropics.
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Opposite: Millions of birds each year find
shelter and sustenance as they migrate over
Southwest Louisiana on the Mississippi
Flyway. Those of us who live here are the
lucky ones; all we need is a duck call, a long
lens, or a pair of binoculars.
Below: Egret eggs discovered in the marsh.
The egret is a wading bird that strides in the
water seeking its prey.
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88
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FOUR
CHAPTER
90
Treasured People
CHAPTER
FOUR
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Tr e a s u r e d P e o p l e
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
Southwest Louisiana
Partners
Historic profiles of businesses,
organizations, and families that have
contributed to the development and
economic base of Southwest Louisiana
Quality of Life ............................................108
The Marketplace .........................................148
B u i l d i n g a G re a t e r S o u t h w e s t L o u i s i a n a . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 2
SOUTHWEST
L O U IQSUI A N
L IAT YP AOR FT NL EI FR ES
107
108
Quality of Life
Healthcare providers, school districts,
universities, and other institutions that contribute
to the quality of life in Southwest Louisiana
Health Systems 2000 ..................................................................110
T h e B ro u s s a rd G ro u p , L L C
B ro u s s a rd a n d C o m p a n y, C PA s
B ro u s s a rd H e a l t h C a re C o n s u l t a n t s
S y n e r g y C a re
High Hope ...........................................................114
Chennault International Airport Authority ....................................116
City of Lake Charles ..................................................................118
G r a y E s t a t e a n d S t re a m C o m p a n i e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 0
Hart Eye Center ........................................................................122
McNeese State University ...........................................................124
St. Louis Catholic High School .....................................................126
S o u t h w e s t L o u i s i a n a H e a l t h c a re S y s t e m
Lake Charles Memorial Hospital
L a k e C h a r l e s M e m o r i a l H o s p i t a l f o r Wo m e n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 8
Jefferson Davis Parish ................................................................130
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury ........................................................132
S o w e l a Te c h n i c a l C o m m u n i t y C o l l e g e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 4
Wo m e n & C h i l d re n ’s H o s p i t a l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 5
S u r g i c a re o f L a k e C h a r l e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 6
City of Sulphur .........................................................................137
We s t C a l c a s i e u C a m e ro n H o s p i t a l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 8
Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana ...............................139
CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital....................................................140
Lake Charles Regional Airport .....................................................141
L a k e C h a r l e s / S o u t h w e s t L o u i s i a n a C o n v e n t i o n & V i s i t o r s B u re a u . . . . . . 1 4 2
Business Health Partners ............................................................143
Junior League of Lake Charles, Inc. ..............................................144
Calcasieu Parish School System....................................................145
Calcasieu Parish Public Library ...................................................146
C a m e ro n P a r i s h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 7
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
109
HEALTH
SYSTEMS 2000
Above: Chief Executive Officer Lisa Walker,
MSN, APRN, CNS.
Below: Jonald Walker III, CPA, CHCE.
Health Systems 2000, founded in 1994, is
the parent organization of Home Health Care
2000, Pediatric Home Care 2000, Hospice
Care 2000, Home Health Care 2000’s Personal
Care Services, Home Medical Equipment
2000, and Health Staffers 2000.
The story of Health Systems 2000 may be
traced to 1993 when Lisa Walker accepted a
position as Administrator/Director of Nursing for
a local home healthcare agency in Lake Charles.
A lifelong resident of Lake Charles, Lisa
graduated from Washington High School and
McNeese State University, where she earned
both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing.
She is also an Advanced Practice Registered
Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist.
After ten years experience in acute care,
long-term care, and administrative nursing
management, Lisa had her first encounter with
home healthcare and discovered that she really loved it. Having discovered her niche, she
found her position with the home healthcare
agency to be both challenging and rewarding.
Under her direction, patients received high
technological care in the home, enabling them
to be discharged from the hospital sooner. In
essence, they could leave the hospital quicker.
Under Lisa’s administration, the company
began to meet goals, grow, and make progress.
The owners of the home healthcare agency,
headquartered in New Orleans, were pleased
with what Lisa and her team had accomplished.
Unfortunately, the company faced mounting
difficulties that threatened closure.
Ironically, at this same time, the State of
Louisiana had lifted a long-standing moratorium on licensing new home healthcare agencies. Seizing this small window of opportunity,
Lisa took a giant leap of faith and opened a
home healthcare agency of her own. She was
supported in this new endeavor by a small
group of close family and friends, such as
friend and colleague Nona Leday, RN, APRN,
and Jonald Walker, CPA, a home healthcare
business consultant and friend.
Lisa started the company in 1994 as a homebased business. She held the title of administrator with Director of Nursing Nona Leday and
Home Health Aide Mary Elizabeth Malveaux.
A local family practice physician, Dr. Melvin
Morris, was the organization’s medical director
110
and was a dedicated and constant supporter of
the company from its inception.
Jonald became the company’s president and
chief financial officer shortly after the company
opened its doors. He and Lisa were married
in 1996 and he now operates J. Walker &
Company, a Certified Public Accounting firm.
The Senior Management Team for Health
Systems 2000 includes Lisa’s brother, Mark
Smith, and sister, Dawn Reed. Mark served as
senior vice president and Dawn, chief operating officer, serves as liaison between all home
healthcare locations and administration.
Public Relations Manager Stephanie Morris,
who joined the organization in 1998, has been
successful in helping to brand the company
and is director of the 2000 Health Foundation
that supports diabetes care and education.
When the company was founded, the turn
of the new millennium was highly anticipated
and one of the goals of the Presidential
Administration was a healthcare reform
program called “Healthy People 2000.” While
considering a name for the company, Nona
felt strongly that “2000” should be included
in the name. Lisa felt it was also important
that the name include the service that was
being provided, “home healthcare.” This
resulted in a name for the new company:
“Home Health Care 2000.”
Both Lisa and Nona thought the company
slogan should reflect the name, so “Moving
toward a New Generation in Health Care”,
thus moving toward the year 2000 became
the slogan.
The three original employees grew into
many and the company quickly outgrew its
home-based office space. Home Health Care
2000 became Medicare and Medicaid certified
and developed a thriving customer base
throughout the community. In 1995 the company met its goal of 100 patients and, a year
later, the organization earned Joint Commission
on Accreditation on Health Care Organizations.
Before long, Home Health Care 2000 became a
household name in the community.
Changes in Medicare reimbursement in the
late 1990s created financial burdens for some
home healthcare agencies and acquisitions
and mergers became more commonplace. As
a result of this trend, Health Systems 2000
was successful in acquiring five home healthcare agencies in Louisiana in a span of only
three years.
When Health Systems 2000 decided to
pursue accreditation in 1996, part of the process
involved having a stated mission statement.
Rather than having top management impose a
mission statement, the Senior Management
Team challenged each employee to write a
statement, with the winner to be announced at
the annual employee Awards Banquet and
Christmas Party.
Glenda Froe, who was medical records
coordinator at the time, authored the winning
mission statement: “At Home Health Care
2000, our goal is to provide preeminent quality home healthcare, which demonstrates our
commitment to excellence, professionalism,
and genuine compassion.”
Every company employee memorized the
Mission Statement and was able to recall the
mission upon the request of supervisors,
the Senior Management Team, or the Joint
Commission Surveyor. Glenda now works as
the organization’s Billing Manager and her
hard work and dedication continues to reflect
the Mission Statement.
Health Systems 2000 serves as the parent
organization and coordinates administrative
activities throughout the system. The corporate headquarters is located at 1901 Oak
Park Boulevard.
• Home Health Care 2000 provides skilled
nursing care, home health aide services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech
pathology, medical social worker intervention, nutritional counseling, specialized
wound care, light therapy for patients with
diabetic neuropathy, and personal care in the
comfort and convenience of the home.
Traditionally, home healthcare is an intermittent level of care and is provided with a physician’s order. It has been found that patients are
more responsive to treatment when administered in a relaxed and familiar environment.
• Pediatric Home Care 2000, located at
19909 Oak Park Boulevard, Suite A, specializes in home healthcare for women
and children. Services provided include
Neonatal ICU follow-up care, home phototherapy, bilirubin monitoring, apnea and
bradycardia monitoring, growth and development monitoring, ventilator patient care,
and many other services. Specialization
includes home healthcare for women with
high risk pregnancies. The Skilled Nursing
Medicaid Extended Care Program provides
care for patients from birth to twenty-one
years of age for extended periods of time.
This program offers private duty nursing so
parents can work and leave the home for
routine periods of time.
• Hospice Care 2000 is located at 1909 Oak
Park Boulevard, Suite B. The company
provides hospice care for pediatric, adult,
and adult geriatric patients in the home or
place of residence, including assisted living
facilities, nursing homes, or retirement
centers. Hospice care is end-of-life care,
which emphasizes palliative treatment
through pain and symptoms management
associated with terminal illness. Patients and
their family members receive personalized
care, which includes medical attention and
emotional support. An interdisciplinary team
consists of a physician, registered nurse,
clergy person, social worker, and volunteers.
• Home Health Care 2000’s Personal Care
Services is located at 1820 Oak Park
Boulevard. This is a non-skilled program
that provides personal care attendants for
assistance with bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, light housekeeping, meal
preparation, laundry, grocery, personal and
household shopping, transportation to
medical appointments and social activities,
as well as other social service needs. These
services are available twenty-four hours
each day, seven days per week.
• Home Medical Equipment 2000 is located at
2013 Oak Park Boulevard is a full-service
medical equipment company with a convenient retail storefront with a full inventory of
durable medical equipment. Home Medical
Equipment 2000 houses the Diabetic
Headquarters showcasing a full inventory of
specialized diabetic supplies and equipment.
Home Medical Equipment 2000 works with
physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, assisted living facilities
and home healthcare agencies to provide
equipment set-up, training and free delivery.
Above: Dawn Reed, M.E.d., CPHQ.
Below: Senior Vice President Mark Smith.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
111
• Health Staffers 2000, located at 2013 Oak
Park Boulevard, Suite C, provides skilled
private duty, non-skilled care, and temporary staffers to homes, assisted living
facilities, hospitals, nursing homes, longterm care facilities, physicians’ offices,
clinics, schools, industries, retirement
homes, and others.
• Home Health Care 2000’s Light Therapy
Program. Light therapy is a professional
photochemical reaction that causes the
release of nitric oxide in the tissues, resulting in increased circulation, wound healing, and pain reduction. The treatment
must be authorized by a physician and
administered by a physical therapist. This
therapy can improve the quality of life for
diabetics who experience numbness in the
hands, feet, and legs.
• The 2000 Health Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is
“Providing Help that Makes a Difference.”
The Foundation, located at 1901 Oak Park
Boulevard, addresses the need for diabetic
care and education, respite care grants for
hospice patients, nursing scholarships,
and educational support. The Foundation
is Partners in Education with Sacred Heart
St. Katherine Drexel School.
In only sixteen short years Health Systems
2000 has become one of the largest freestanding home healthcare agencies and
employers in Louisiana. The company has
experienced a ten to fifteen percent growth
rate for the past three years and now has
about 300 professional and paraprofessional
employees. Health Systems 2000 services
more than 2,000 clients annually.
In 2000 both the company and Lisa were
recognized by both the State of Louisiana’s
Small Business Administration and the
Department of Economic Development.
Along with a select group of entrepreneurs,
Lisa was invited to a reception in her honor
at the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion. Home
Health Care 2000 has been recognized
by many social and civic organizations
and has received many awards and
accolades, and has been listed as one of
Lake Charles’ top fifty businesses for the past
several years.
112
Opposite, top: Pediatric Home Care 2000
and Hospice Care 2000.
Opposite, bottom combo: Corporate offices
of Health Systems 2000, Inc.
Health Systems 2000 is noted for giving
back to the community and supports many
community organizations and events. The
company is involved with community
outreach and provides on-site healthcare
seminars regularly. The organization supports
a number of nonprofit organizations such
as the American Diabetes Association, the
National Alliance for Mental Illness, and the
American Heart Association. The company is
serving as the 2010 Corporate Sponsor of the
March of Dimes March for Babies.
The 2000 Health Foundation supports
diabetes care and education, hospice grants
for hospice caregivers who are experiencing
burnout, nursing scholarships in response to the
nursing shortage, and other charitable requests.
Looking to the future, Health Systems 2000’s
strategic plan includes increasing its continuous
quality improvement and clinical program
development efforts. The company plans to
integrate more high-tech clinical programs
through benchmarking with comparable
healthcare businesses. To increase efficiency,
the organization plans to expand its automation
and increase the use of laptop computers for
data entry during homecare visits.
Health Systems 2000 recently implemented a tele-health monitoring system, and an
expansion project for Home Medical
Equipment 2000 is scheduled for fall 2010.
The company has partnered with a national
healthcare marketing firm and recently began
a new community education program.
For more information about Health Systems
2000, see the website at www.hhc2000.com.
Above: Home Health Care 2000, Personal
Care Services.
Below: Home Health Care 2000, Home
Medical Equipment 2000, Health Staffers
2000, 2000 Health Foundation.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
113
THE BROUSSARD
GROUP, LLC
BROUSSARD
AND COMPANY,
CPAS
BROUSSARD
HEALTHCARE
CONSULTANTS
SYNERGYCARE
HIGH HOPE
Todd, Ken, and Beth Broussard (standing)
with Reuben (seated).
The nucleus of The Broussard Group began
when Reuben Broussard founded the CPA firm
of Broussard and Company in Sulphur in 1978.
It was a typical CPA firm providing tax, audit
and bookkeeping services to a variety of clients.
The firm still provides those services today,
but over the past two decades the scope of the
business has expanded greatly and now includes
a significant niche in the healthcare industry.
The first opportunity for the accounting
firm to enter the healthcare field came in 1979
when Reuben Broussard helped the operator
of a nursing home chain solve some financial
problems. Later, Broussard negotiated a $12
million deal so the client could buy out his
partners. This relationship continued as the
nursing home chain passed to the next
generation and led to Broussard’s involvement
in the Nursing Home Association.
Meanwhile, the accounting firm had grown
to a staff of about twelve when Broussard’s
son, Ken, joined the firm in 1990. Ken
received an accounting degree from McNeese
State University and a master’s degree in
professional accountancy from the University
of Texas. He worked for a national accounting
firm before deciding to join his father’s firm.
Ken hired a young accounting graduate from
McNeese State, Beth Jacobsen, who was soon
on track to become a partner in the firm. She
and Ken married in 1997, a decision welcomed
by his father. “She is the best Medicare/Nursing
Home Consultant in the South, with the charm,
toughness and intelligence you would expect
from a former Louisiana State High School
Rodeo Queen,” remarks Ken.
Ken’s brother, Todd, left a career in the music
business in Nashville to join the firm in 1997 as
114
a staff accountant and soon passed the CPA
exam. As the business expanded, Todd was
instrumental in the growth and development of
SynergyCare and now serves as CFO.
Today Broussard & Company Certified
Public Accountants continues to provide
accounting and financial consulting services
to businesses and individuals. The firm
recognizes that certain types of businesses
require specialized expertise and accounting
support and has developed highly trained
personnel who work as a team to meet these
special needs.
Broussard HealthCare Consultants—the
first expansion into the healthcare field
came in 1995 with the founding of Broussard
HealthCare Consultants. Founded by Reuben,
Ken and Beth, this organization concentrates
in clinical, regulatory and financial consulting
for long term care providers, primarily skilled
nursing facilities. Beth, a highly respected
Medicare consultant, was the creator of most
of the services and concepts utilized by
Broussard HealthCare Consultants. Broussard
HealthCare Consultants, which now serves
clients in twenty states throughout the country, has established a reputation as a leading
and proactive clinical consulting service
provider to the long-term care industry. A distinct advantage to their clients is that they add
financial insight and reimbursement knowledge to the clinical aspect of providing care.
SynergyCare—other opportunities identified by the firm’s principals led to creation of
SynergyCare in 1999. Under the leadership of
Ken, SynergyCare was developed to provide
physical, occupational and speech therapy
services on a contract basis to skilled nursing
facilities as well as small hospitals and clinics
throughout Louisiana and Texas. Clients had
developed so much trust in Broussard’s CPA
and consulting relationships that it was natural for them to hire SynergyCare to run their
therapy programs.
Although the concept was initially a very
hot political button in the long term care
industry, SynergyCare has helped set the
industry standard for quality rehabilitative
therapy and long term rehab care.
High Hope Retirement Center—In 2008,
Ken was presented with the opportunity to
purchase a skilled nursing facility, High Hope
Retirement Center in Sulphur. Although a
great opportunity, the move had the potential
of placing The Broussard Group in
competition with existing client facilities in
the area. After moving slowly and seeking
‘permission’ from its core clients, the deal was
done. Today, High Hope Retirement Center
enjoys one of the highest occupancy rates in
Calcasieu Parish and remains a locally owned
skilled nursing facility.
Over the years The Broussard Group,
under the visionary leadership and driving
force of Ken, has been involved in the start up
and continuation of several other related
ancillary businesses in the healthcare field.
Several of these businesses have other
participants/owners with common interests.
The Broussard Group is the driving force
behind each of these entities.
In 2005 The Broussard Group founded
Brighton Bridge Hospice, a premier provider of
hospice and palliative care that provides comfort
and support for terminally ill patients and their
families throughout Southwest Louisiana.
In 2010 The Broussard Group founded
Partner’s Pharmacy, a non-retail institutional
pharmacy that specializes in providing
medicine to skilled nursing facilities.
Reuben, Ken, Beth and Todd are all very
active in church and civic organizations.
Reuben and Ken have both served as
Chairman of the Board of the Southwest
Louisiana Chamber and Alliance Foundation.
The Broussards have a special interest in
music and enjoy sharing their talents with
their church and friends.
Although each entity has its own mission
statement, The Broussard Group as a whole
recognizes that its roots and success are
based upon strong client relationships,
trust, creative thinking, the highest level of
competency and always doing the right thing.
For more information about The Broussard
Group, visit www.thebroussardgroup.com.
Top: The Broussard Group blends their
financial expertise with clinical expertise for
their healthcare clients.
Above: SynergyCare provides PT, OT, and
ST services to patients of skilled nursing
facilities and hospitals.
Left: The Broussard Group purchased a
majority interest in One Lakeside Plaza
(aka The Chase Building) months after
Hurricane Rita in 2005. Their corporate
headquarters moved to this location
in 2009.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
115
CHENNAULT
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
AUTHORITY
Chennault International Airport, established in 1986, is an engine of economic
growth in Lake Charles and Calcasieu Parish,
attracting hundreds of high-skill, high-wage
jobs to Southwest Louisiana.
The airport was resurrected from the
Chennault Army Air Corps base, which closed
in 1965. As a result of the combined efforts
and vision of the City of Lake Charles,
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury and State of
Louisiana officials, the airport became a major
contributor to the local economy.
The airport is operated by the Chennault
International Airport Authority with the goal of
supporting business growth and expansion
in the area. The authority offers impressive
facilities and 800 acres of available, developable
property with access to a 10,700 foot runway.
The Authority has more than $100 million in
capital assets.
The State of Louisiana,
Calcasieu Parish and the City
of Lake Charles plan to partner and offer incentives that
support the long term prosperity for the companies that
do business in the area.
Located in the middle of the
country, Chennault provides
immediate access to I-10,
railroads, the Port of Lake
Charles, and an airfield capable of accepting the largest
aircraft built today.
Chennault accounts for
sixteen percent of non-petrochemical employment across
five parishes. Nearly 1,000
116
people work at the airport and those jobs
pay an average of $50,000 per year. Spillover
regional economic activity accounts for
another 3,000 indirect jobs. The airport’s
original 1,000 acres has grown to 1,600,
complemented by 1.5 million square feet of
hangar and office space.
Current tenants include Northrop
Grumman, which holds several large military
aircraft logistics program contracts; Aeroframe
Services, which provides primary maintenance for Airbus series aircraft; Louisiana
Millwork, which manufactures value-added
products for the home improvement industry;
and Million Air, a high-end fixed-base operator. In addition, Sowela Technical Community
College maintains their facility adjacent to
Chennault that provides customized technical
training and workforce development.
According to Randy Robb, executive director of Chennault Airport Authority, strategic
partnerships are the reason for the tremendous
growth. “When the city, parish, and state
gained control of the facility, there was very little left of the former base assets,” he explains.
The state invested $37.5 million, matched by
$5 million from Calcasieu Parish, to reactivate
the site and attract Boeing to the facility.
In 1991 Northrop Grumman replaced
Boeing at Chennault. Northrop Grumman
plays a role as the anchor organization at
Chennault. “We feel confident that Northrop
Grumman will be growing here,” says Robb.
“As that happens, we’ll be investing in the
facility to support the growth.”
Aeroframe Services operates a world class
aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul
(MRO) facility at Chennault. In 2008 the
Chennault International Airport Authority
worked with the company to secure a state of
Louisiana Economic Development grant to
invest in infrastructure improvements to
support Aeroframe’s business. “Even in a
down economy, the MRO business is forecast
to be a $115 billion industry worldwide,”
comments Robb. “It makes sense for us to
help Aeroframe compete. They bring in
planes from all over the world that otherwise
wouldn’t come to Louisiana.”
This commitment to supporting tenants
attracted others, including Million Air and
Louisiana Millwork. The airport was also a perfect location for Sowela Technical Community
College. After Hurricane Rita, Chennault
partnered with Sowela to build space for the
school’s Transportation Technology program.
“The jobs here require high skill levels and having Sowela at the airport is a big selling point,”
says Robb.
“Everything we do is based on teamwork
between many different partners, all involved
in work and life in the area,” Robb continues.
“This helps us attract prospects. By pooling
these resources, we opened a new control
tower in January 2010. We will complete a
new administration building to replace some
of our existing facilities this year, and we’re
looking at the possibility of a larger hangar in
the future. All this development creates new
jobs and investment—both at the airport and
in the community.”
Future plans at Chennault call for continuing support for existing tenants, increasing
the number of jobs, and bringing in as many
people as possible. As Northrop Grumman
and Aeroframe expand, the Authority will
position itself for additional growth.
The Authority would also like to see the
Chennault infrastructure continue to grow.
The airport could also make use of one or two
more large hangars, as well as warehousing
and distribution facilities.
Today the huge facility governed by the
Chennault International Airport Authority
is poised to continue generating high-skill
and high-wage jobs for the region. “Our
partnership approach supports our tenants
very effectively,” says Robb. “We just put
our nose down, our tail up, and go to it.
That’s why we’re continuing to grow.”
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
117
CITY OF
LAKE CHARLES
Above: Lake Charles Lakefront.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MONSOURSPHOTOGRAPHY.COM.
Below: Lock Park Playground.
Lake Charles, a beautiful, vibrant and
growing city, is an inviting place to call
home. The city boasts rail, air and Interstate
transportation centers and borders bayous,
rivers and lakes, with a deep water channel
leading to the Gulf of Mexico. Access to these
waterways provides excellent fishing, hunting
and other sports activities. Lake Charles is
noted for its diverse arts and cultural events,
gaming resorts, music venues, excellent cuisine
and great festivals throughout the year.
A strong business climate includes manufacturing, petrochemical, aviation, and gaming—all providing new jobs and economic
development for Southwest Louisiana.
The City of Lake Charles was first
incorporated in 1867. Prior to that, the city
was known as Charleston from 1861 to 1867.
Even earlier, the settlement was known as
Charlie’s Lake and Charles Town.
In the early and mid-1800s, the United
States offered land to settlers who would move
118
to the area and these ‘Rio Hondo’ claims lured
many to Lake Charles. This led, in 1840, to the
formation of ‘Imperial Calcasieu’ which, today,
are the five parishes of Calcasieu, Cameron,
Beauregard, Allen and Jefferson Davis.
Lumber production spurred a great deal of
trade between Lake Charles and Galveston in
the late 1850s and Lake Charles established
itself as a major producer of lumber from the
surrounding longleaf pine forests. The lumber
industry continued to flourish into the early
twentieth century.
During this period a number of larger
homes and mansions were built by carpenters
from the north who created an architectural
style distinct to Lake Charles. Today, this area,
known as the Charpentier Historic District, is
a major tourist attraction.
Agriculture also played an important role
in the early days of Lake Charles and
Southwest Louisiana and continues so today
with crops being exported through the Port of
Lake Charles.
Arts and culture have always played an
important role in Lake Charles. Beginning in
the early 1880s, the Williams Opera House
provided nationally known entertainment.
In the early 1900s, the Majestic Hotel and
Arcade Theater opened, becoming popular
sites for social activities. A popular social
activity in that era was to ride the Borealis Rex
stern-wheel steamer. The Little Theater held
its first play in 1927 and from then on was a
major factor in the town’s artistic fabric.
A defining moment in the history of
Lake Charles was the Great Fire of 1910.
The devastating fire destroyed much of the
downtown area, including the court house,
city hall, fire station and numerous homes.
Construction of Gerstner Air Field near Lake
Charles to provide aviation training during
World War I brought an influx of people from
throughout the country. Many liked what they
found and remained in the area to establish
families and become prominent citizens.
A major event in the development of Lake
Charles occurred in 1922 when voters approved
the widening and deepening of the Calcasieu
River and Lake from the Intracoastal Canal to
Lake Charles, followed by the opening of the
Port of Lake Charles in 1926. Today, the Port is
the nation’s eleventh largest seaport and a major
contributor to the economic development of
Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana.
Another defining event occurred in the
1930s when Matheson Alkali Works built a
chemical plant on the Calcasieu River near
Lake Charles. Other major petro-chemical
plants soon followed, making the petrochemical industry a major employer in the area.
The growth of Lake Charles and the surrounding area led to the opening of Lake
Charles Junior College in 1939. The school
is now known as McNeese State University
and attracts students from all over the United
States and foreign countries. Sowela Technical
Community College in Lake Charles was
established as the Southwest Louisiana Trade
School in 1938. Sowela serves a five parish area
in Southwest Louisiana and provides a highly
trained workforce.
World War II brought construction of the
Lake Charles Air Force Base. Today, the former
military air base is the site of Chennault
International Airport, which has major
aviation tenants.
The post World War II building boom
contributed to the continued growth of Lake
Charles and was a major factor in the 1961
opening of the Lake Charles Regional Airport.
Also in the 1960s, the city began
construction of the Lake Charles Civic Center.
Located adjacent to the lake, the Civic Center
opened in 1972 and immediately became a
focus of civic pride.
In 1993 Central School was restored and
became the Central School Arts & Humanities
Center. In 2004, the 1911 historic city hall
reopened as Historic City Hall Arts and
Cultural Center. These civic improvements,
along with many others, paved the way for the
growth and prosperity enjoyed by today’s
Lake Charles residents.
However disaster struck in September
2005 when Lake Charles and much of
Southwest Louisiana was devastated by
Hurricane Rita, one of the worst natural
disasters in American history. Lake Charles,
however, soon began a recovery process.
In 2006 citizens voted in favor of a $90
million bond issue to provide for major road,
utility, downtown/lakefront and city park
improvements. This was followed in 2007 with
approval of a referendum for development
of the lakefront. This was another historic
moment for the city, allowing for commercial
and other mixed use development.
Lake Charles today is a community of more
than 74,000 people living in an area of
approximately forty-four square miles. Lake
Charles City Government employs about
1,100 people and operates with an annual
budget of $61.8 million.
Visit the City of Lake Charles’ website at
www.cityoflakecharles.com.
Top: Epps Library.
Above: Historic City Hall.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
119
GRAY ESTATE
AND STREAM
COMPANIES
Above: The Gray Estate was built
around 1923.
Below: Ged Oilfield, April 1925.
In the late 1880s John Geddings (Ged) Gray,
enamored with the vast beauty and ripe potential of the Southwest Louisiana area, began purchasing land. One very well known portion of
coastal marsh land and lush prairie was acquired
which stretched from the town of Vinton south
to the Gulf of Mexico at Johnson’s Bayou,
Louisiana. From this humble place, the Gray
Ranch was founded in 1896 and is now owned
by Matilda Gray Stream, Ged’s granddaughter,
and her son and daughter, Harold “Spook” H.
Stream III and Sandra Stream Miller.
The thirty-thousand-acre Gray Ranch (MHeart Corporation) is home to large herds of
Brahman-cross cattle driven from Ged—the
small unincorporated town named for its
founder and summer home to the herd—south
to the Gulf in winter. Ged sprung up in the
early 1900s after the discovery of rich oil pools
120
in the depths beneath the prairie grasses. The
picturesque town has been the subject of many
books, articles and artists.
The ranch, also a much featured enterprise,
is noted in part for its success at “rotational
grazing” and preservation of the old time cattle
drives using specially bred quarter horses. The
horses are selected for their good mind, good
disposition, and structure that can hold up to
a hard day’s work. At this writing, the ranch
houses seventy-five American Quarter Horses
under the brand TLC.
Coexisting with the Gray Ranch is the Ged
Oilfield. The oilfield has been producing
since 1912 and is still attracting new oil and
gas interests. Approximately forty wells can
be seen scattered across ranch property. On
a summer day, one may see a low flying
helicopter or airboats skirting the marsh
grasses and bayous scouting alligator nests in
order to harvest the eggs. On a yearly basis,
the eggs are collected and sold to alligator
farmers. When gators reach four feet in length
about fourteen percent of them are returned
to the wild to maintain the population.
Almost as naturally as native grasses spring
from the marsh floor, a wetland restoration and
mitigation business grew from the vast coastal
holdings of the Stream family into the largest
and most diverse provider of wetland services
in Louisiana. Since 1996, Stream Wetland
Services has assisted many of the major oil and
gas companies, pipeline and transportation
companies, developers, the state of Louisiana,
and the U.S. government with their particular
projects and needs. The company maintains
a diverse fleet of boats that enables the staff
to reach destinations regardless of the
environment. Stream Wetland Services offers
project design, GIS mapping, permitting
assistance, land acquisition, construction, plant
production, plus installation and monitoring.
Through the generations, the Stream Family
has continued to acquire large tracts of land.
Gray Estate managers have diversified the family
businesses to include domestic and international
real estate development, timber development
and sales, agriculture, and leasing of land for
hunting, fishing, grazing and recreational use.
Matilda Gray Stream has often been
recognized for her commitment to historic
preservation. The family has preserved
Evergreen Plantation as a working sugarcane
plantation located on the west bank of the
Mississippi River in St. John the Baptist Parish.
Evergreen is the most intact plantation complex
in the South with thirty-seven buildings on the
National Register of Historic Places, including
twenty-two slave cabins. Evergreen has the
country’s highest historic designation and joins
Mount Vernon and Gettysburg in being granted
landmark status for its agricultural acreage.
The Streams’ investment in the preservation
of the natural beauty of Louisiana led to the
development of the premiere master planned
community, Graywood, located in southwest
Louisiana. Gray Stream, son of Harold Stream,
serves as president of the development
company. Beautiful green spaces, sparkling
lakes, and teeming wildlife envelope a
collection of neighborhoods designed for
individual lifestyles. Patio homes, townhomes,
four to five acre country estates and traditional
neighborhood developments are all well
thought out and designed to wed the natural
character of surrounding property with the
facilities and amenities of Graywood living.
One such amenity is the award-winning
semi-private golf course, Gray Plantation,
known for its spectacular views and challenging
seventy-two-hundred-yard course designed by
golf architect Rocky Roquemore. The course has
been named among the top public courses in
the U.S. by Golf Digest and “The Gray,” as it is
affectionately called, received the number three
ranking for Louisiana in 2009. ZagatSurvey
has rated the course in its “extraordinary to
perfection” category. Also, Gray Plantation is one
of the charter members of The Audubon Golf
Trail, part of the Louisiana Department of
Culture, Recreation, and Tourism. The course
challenges professionals and amateurs alike.
Also sharing a symbiotic relationship with
the community is the state-of-the-art sports and
fitness club, aptly named The Sports Club at
Graywood. The club has all that is expected and
more; an adult lap pool, children’s interactive
pool, professional grade clay tennis courts,
professional tennis instruction, the latest in
Precor and Nautilus fitness equipment,
extensive group and private classes, summer
camps, and social events.
The Gray and Stream families have made a
very distinct imprint upon the fabric of
Louisiana life. Adaptability, keen use of
resources, and a good work ethic have
enabled the Gray Estate to weather many
economic storms during its over 120-year
history. Likewise, a great deal of care for the
region of their upbringing remains an integral
part of the family’s business decisions.
Above: Gray Ranch cowboys at Johnson
Bayou, Louisiana.
COURTESY OF THE AMERICAN QUARTER
HORSE ASSOCIATION.
Below: Gray Plantation Golf Course
Signature Hole #6.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JOANN DOST.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
121
HART
EYE CENTER
At Hart Eye Center the goal is to provide
patients with optimum vision—the best vision
they can achieve in spite of the limitations life
may have placed on their eyesight.
The center was founded in 1956 by Dr.
Clinton Hart, an Illinois native who trained
at a New Orleans hospital. When the only
eye doctor in Lake Charles died, an optical
salesman suggested that Dr. Hart look into
taking over the practice. Dr. Hart had driven
through Lake Charles on his way from
Houston to New Orleans and remembered
the city fondly, especially how pretty it was
around the lake. Dr. Hart also considered an
offer in California, but chose Lake Charles.
He remembered driving into town over the
old ‘swing bridge’ and purchasing a building
on Foster Street across from St. Patrick’s
Hospital. This location became the first home
of Hart Eye Center.
Dr. Clinton Hart was the only certified eye
surgeon in Lake Charles for approximately
three years. At the time, surgery was
performed at St. Patrick’s Hospital and Dr.
Hart had only one nurse to assist him.
Because of the lighting, retinal surgery in that
era had to be done in the dark, so Dr. Hart
would go home for dinner, then return to the
hospital after dark to perform retinal surgery.
122
In the early days there were no government
programs to pay for healthcare and few
patients had adequate health insurance. Dr.
Hart developed a fee schedule that was based
on what the patient could afford to pay. If they
could not afford anything, they either paid in
fruits and vegetables or received free care. No
one was ever turned away because they could
not afford to pay.
Even patients from Hurricane Audrey in
1957 were treated free of charge, including
one particular patient whose eyes were
sandblasted by the blowing sand from the
strong winds.
When the Lake Charles Cities Service
Refinery had a major explosion in 1967, Dr.
Hart, along with other members of the
medical society, rose to the occasion to help
those injured in the blast. The doctors did not
wait to be called in; they just showed up to
take care of the injured at no charge.
Dr. Hart always kept up with the latest
surgical techniques. He traveled to England
to learn how to implant intraocular lenses
at the time of cataract surgery. He learned
the technique from Dr. Peter Choyce, the
physician who developed the first successful
intraocular lenses. Dr. Hart became the first
surgeon in Lake Charles to implant the lenses.
There were no implantable lenses when
Dr. Hart began his practice, so patients had
to wait until cataracts were ‘ripe.’ The surgery
required a three-day hospital stay and very
restricted activity for a time after surgery.
Even after the cataracts were removed,
patients had to wear very thick glasses, which
restricted their vision.
Cataract surgery improved as lens implants
and sutures were developed, but the process
still required a three-day hospital stay with
limited activity. The patients, however,
no longer needed thick glasses and could
wear more fashionable glasses with much
thinner lenses.
Today, cataract surgery is a seven-minute
procedure done under general anesthesia. No
hospital stay is required and patients may
return to normal activities the next day. There
are even newer refractive implants that allow
patients to get rid of glasses completely.
In recent years, Hart Eye Center has offered
LASIK (laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis)
eye surgery, which can bring more clarity to a
patient’s vision and eliminate dependency on
glasses or contacts.
LASIK is a corrective procedure utilized to
repair refractive errors that prevent the eye
from focusing properly. The procedure
reshapes the cornea so that it will focus
light correctly.
Hart Eye Center accommodates the
individuality of each person’s vision by
performing custom LASIK procedures with
the Technolas™ Zyoptix® System. The Zyoptix®
system uses wavefront-guided technology to
map thousands of data points to create a
detailed, three-dimensional picture of each
patient’s specific vision problem. This picture
enables Dr. Hart to provide a custom LASIK
procedure to fit each patient’s special vision
needs. Custom LASIK has better results than
traditional LASIK because it caters to the
patient’s individual vision needs.
Dr. Hart’s son, William, graduated from
medical school and joined his father’s
practice in 1983. They practiced together for
seventeen years until Dr. Clinton Hart retired
in 2000 at the age of eighty. Dr. William
Hart is now sole owner and operator of Hart
Eye Center.
The practice, now located at 1920 West
Sale Road, currently employs 1 optometrist,
11 assistants and administrative personnel,
and 2 opticians in Lakeside Optical, the
clinic’s in-house optical center where patient’s
eyeglass needs are met.
“Each person who walks into our office is
an individual,” says Dr. Hart. “Each person
has a history and a set of problems that
is totally distinct and unique. You can’t apply
a formula that will work for every person,
so we concentrate on the unique needs of
each patient.”
For more information about Hart Eye Center,
check their website at www.harteyecenter.com.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
123
MCNEESE STATE
UNIVERSITY
Above: F. G. Bulber Auditorium hosts
musical and theatre events for both
McNeese and the Lake Charles area. This
includes some of the Banners Cultural
Series programs, high school and middle
school honor bands and choirs, McNeese
bands and choirs and the annual
performance of Handel’s Messiah. Although
the Auditorium was first called the Lake
Charles Junior College Auditorium, then the
McNeese Auditorium, it was renamed in
1992 for Francis G. Bulber, a prominent
longtime member of the McNeese music
faculty. The building was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places
in 1989.
Below: The “Pride of McNeese” Cowboy
Marching Band is recognized as one of the
finest marching bands in the South. This
time-honored organization, comprised of
students from nearly every major within
the University, combines fantastic spirit
and quality musicianship to create
gridiron excitement.
Since it was established by the Louisiana
Legislature in 1939, McNeese State University
has grown to become one of the region’s
premier institutions of higher education.
McNeese provides its students with education, research and service that support core
values of academic excellence, student success, fiscal responsibility and universitycommunity alliances.
When the school first opened for classes
on September 11, 1939, it was known as Lake
Charles Junior College and was a division
of Louisiana State University. The following
year, the school name was changed to John
McNeese Junior College to honor John
McNeese, a renowned Southwest Louisiana
educator and the first Superintendent of
Schools in Imperial Calcasieu Parish.
The institution became a four-year college
in 1950 and came under the authority of the
Louisiana Board of Education. McNeese State
University became the school’s official name
in 1970.
124
The student body at McNeese totals more
than 8,900 and includes students from
throughout Louisiana, the United States and
50 other nations. The faculty and staff include
around 800 employees.
As a member of the University of Louisiana
System and a selective admissions institution,
McNeese offers programs through General
and Basic Studies, six academic colleges—
Business, Burton College of Education,
Engineering and Engineering Technology,
Liberal Arts, Nursing and Science—and the
Doré School of Graduate Studies.
McNeese was first accredited by the
Commission on Colleges/Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools in 1954 and maintains
its regional accreditation status as a Level IV
institution authorized to award associate,
bachelor’s, master’s and specialist degrees.
The University also provides opportunities for
continuing education in support of its mission
to value lifelong learning.
Hundreds of live oak trees and azalea
bushes add charm to the beautiful campus,
located between Ryan Street, Sale Road,
Common Street and McNeese Street
in Lake Charles. Among the University’s 68
buildings are three original structures—
Kaufman Hall, Ralph O. Ward Memorial
Gym (the Arena) and Francis G. Bulber
Auditorium. Bulber Auditorium, a striking
example of Art Deco architecture, is listed on
the National Register of Historic Places.
Notable McNeese alumni include: Dr. Cecil
Cyrus Vaughn, a pioneer in cardiovascular
medicine and artificial transplant surgery;
Sheryl L. Abshire, one of the first five
inductees into the National Teacher Hall of
Fame and a Christa McAuliffe fellow; and
Left: A $15.7-million addition to the
Shearman Fine Arts Building officially
opened on May 7, 2010. SFA is home to the
departments of performing and visual arts
and now includes a new 526-seat state-ofthe-art theatre and stage, costume and
scene shops, dressing rooms, concessions and
a ticket office, rehearsal hall, choral library,
ensemble room, a grand gallery, sculpture
and ceramics studios, with a kiln patio,
mixing and glaze rooms and a 3D studio,
Andre Dubus, a critically acclaimed novelist
and short story writer.
Athletic programs at McNeese are NCAAcertified at the Division I and Football
Championship Subdivision (football) levels.
The football team achieved national prominence when it advanced to the national playoffs in 1997 and 2002. Many traditions have
developed around the athletic program over
the years, including the adoption of Joli Blon
as the team’s unofficial fight song. The tune
is played by the “Pride of McNeese” marching
band at the beginning of each football game
and after every touchdown.
The McNeese Hall of Fame was founded in
1980 by Sports Information Director Louis
Bonnette. The Hall, located in the foyer of the
Doland Athletic Field House, recognizes those
who have distinguished themselves in athletics at the University. Membership in the hall
now totals 110.
McNeese continues to pursue a long
tradition of service to Southwest
Louisiana and the nation. The University
motto of “Excellence with a Personal
Touch” extends far beyond the classroom.
During World War II, the campus was the
headquarters of the Louisiana Maneuvers,
an extensive military exercise to prepare
American soldiers for battle. In 1957 the
McNeese community provided aid and
comfort to the victims of Hurricane
Audrey and served as the National Guard’s
base of rescue operations. More recently,
McNeese provided shelter for New
Orleans residents and university students
fleeing from Hurricane Katrina.
McNeese faced one of its greatest
challenges when Hurricane Rita struck in
the fall of 2005. The storm caused devastating
damage to campus facilities and infrastructure.
The recovery effort after Hurricane Rita
demonstrated the school’s resilience and
commitment of the McNeese faculty, staff
and students to higher education and to
moving forward in support of the University’s
core values.
The foundation for student success at
McNeese begins with faculty commitment to
excellence in teaching, research and creative
and scholarly activity. At McNeese State
University, students cultivate skills for critical
thinking and effective expression and gain an
understanding of the global community. The
learning and social environment integrates
discipline-specific knowledge with the values
of lifelong learning, ethical responsibility and
civic engagement.
For more information about McNeese State
University, visit www.mcneese.edu.
photography darkrooms, a digital
photography studio, an art history/visual
resource center, classrooms, faculty offices
and storage. A balcony exhibition gallery is
located on the second floor. The original
Shearman Fine Arts structure was built in
1950 with an extension added in 1962.
Below: McNeese’s Cowboy Stadium was
constructed in 1965 and renovated and
expanded to a 17,410 seating capacity in
1975 and is affectionately known as “The
Hole.” The Noland SkyRanch was added
in 1998 to Cowboy Stadium. A stadium
renovation and scoreboard/sound system
upgrade was completed before the 2005
season. McNeese debuted its “replicated
grass” playing field during the 2008
season. It is named Louis Bonnette Field,
in honor of the school’s longtime sports
information director.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
125
ST. LOUIS
CATHOLIC
HIGH SCHOOL
Left: Blessing and dedication of “Our Lady
of Life” prayer garden by Bishop Glen
John Provost.
Right: Weekly mass celebrated in the
St. Charles Chapel.
St. Louis Catholic High School, located
on sixteen acres in the heart of Lake Charles,
is home to the eighth generation of Catholic
school students in the diocese. The goal of
St. Louis Catholic is to encourage the
intellectual, moral, physical, social and
spiritual growth of its students and to
create an atmosphere in which the students
value God and develop their own sense
of giftedness.
Following a sizable building renovation
and expansion, the enrollment at St. Louis
Catholic has generally been at capacity. The
campus now boasts fully refurbished
classrooms, modern science labs, a new
library/media center, a restored historic
Landry Memorial Gymnasium, which has
been recognized with a “landmark award”
from the Calcasieu Historical Preservation
Society, additional athletic facilities, including a lighted football/soccer field, architectural enhancements throughout the complex,
and a beautifully landscaped “Our Lady of
Life” courtyard/prayer garden.
The history of St. Louis Catholic is intermingled with the histories of the first
three Catholic schools in Calcasieu Parish.
St. Charles Academy, located in Immaculate
Conception Parish and established in 1882
under the guidance of the Marianites of the
Holy Cross, was the first Catholic school in
Lake Charles. Although designed for girls
only, the school educated boys as well. In
1927, thanks to the generosity of Wylie
Eugenia Stanton Landry, the J. A. Landry
Memorial High School for boys was opened.
126
Landry, a convert to Catholicism, purchased
and donated sixteen acres of land and the
former Baptist orphanage on the property for
the purpose of providing boys with an education to equal that which the girls received at
St. Charles. The Christian Brothers operated
the school until 1963, when church parishes
in the Lake Charles metropolitan area took
over ownership, with Father Harry Benefiel
serving as the school’s principal. The third
school, Sacred Heart, has the unique honor
of being founded by a saint—Saint Katherine
Drexel—who established it as the first black
private school in southwest Louisiana in
1922 under the direction of the Sisters of the
Blessed Sacrament.
By the early 1960s it became apparent
that a consolidated Catholic high school
would better serve the needs of the
community. Consequently, Sacred Heart
High School closed its doors (though the
elementary and middle schools remain),
St. Charles Academy graduated its last senior
class in 1970, and the hallways of what
had been Landry Memorial welcomed its
first students in the fall of 1970. The new
consolidated school was named for Crusader
King Louis IX of France and patron saint
of Louisiana.
St. Louis Catholic is justly proud of its
contributions to the Church and to the community. Its students study Theology for four
years, and each is responsible for contributing service hours each semester to needs in
the community. Prayer, school masses, class
retreats, and personal counseling are an
integral part of the religious atmosphere of
the school. Academic standards are high, and
over ninety-seven percent of graduates enroll
in four-year colleges and universities.
At St. Louis Catholic, athletics means
much more than games. “Saints” are taught
sportsmanship, team spirit, and the inherent
beauty in fair competition. Through the gifts
of a distinguished coaching staff and the
hard work of dedicated athletes, St. Louis
Catholic has garnered honors in volleyball,
football, cross country, tennis, swimming,
basketball, soccer, track and field, golf,
softball, and baseball.
Teachers and administrators at St. Louis
Catholic put in extra hours to ensure that all
students have an opportunity to pursue their
personal interests and goals through a variety
of extracurricular offerings.
The names of some educators and
benefactors associated with Catholic
education in the Lake Charles area deserve
special attention. Father Michael Kelly, pastor
of the Church at Lake Charles, is the true
father of Catholic education here; it was he
who laid the plans for the first school for girls
in 1881, followed by a school for boys a few
years later. Father Cramers, another pastor at
Immaculate Conception, responded to a plea
from the black community for a school in
North Lake Charles, and solicited Eleanor
Figaro to be the lone teacher for the new
students. When Father Anthony Hackett
became pastor at Sacred Heart Parish, he
acquired the services of the Sisters of the
Blessed Sacrament; their foundress, Mother
Katherine Drexel, was canonized by Pope
John Paul II on October 1, 2000.
Though vast changes have taken place
between the fall of 1970 and today, the
essentials remain the same. The school’s
mission statement—Called as friends of Christ
and led by the knowledge and wisdom of the
Spirit, St. Louis Catholic High School gathers to
honor and praise God—reflects the same faithfilled spirit that motivated the Marianites,
Christian Brothers, Blessed Sacrament sisters,
and countless dedicated lay teachers who
have served over the last 130 years.
Top: J. A. Landry Memorial Gymnasium
and Bridge are designated as a historical
landmark by the Calcasieu Historical
Preservation Society.
Above: Book Club in Landry Library,
Monsignor Irving A. DeBlanc
Multimedia Center.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
127
SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA
HEALTHCARE
SYSTEM
LAKE CHARLES
MEMORIAL
HOSPITAL
LAKE CHARLES
MEMORIAL
HOSPITAL
FOR WOMEN
At Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, the
pursuit of quality and innovation is more than
a goal. Our mission is to identify and improve
the health of the people of southwest
Louisiana by providing a full spectrum of
innovative services.
Founded in 1952 Memorial is the only
community-based, not-for-profit hospital in
Lake Charles. Memorial’s original 100-bed
facility has subsequently grown to become the
region’s healthcare leader.
The hospital was first expanded in 1972 to
include accommodations for 211 patients. A
ten-story tower was added in 1980, greatly
increasing the range of services offered. In
recent years, the hospital has continued to add
specialized services, advances in medical technology, and outreach programs in order to provide the latest medical treatment and amenities.
Today, Memorial continues its proud legacy
with 324 licensed beds at its original Oak
Park campus and with the thirty-eight bed
Memorial Hospital for Women located at the
corner of Gauthier and Nelson Roads.
Treating approximately 12,000 inpatients and
more than 35,000 emergency room patients
annually, Memorial is the leading healthcare system in Southwest Louisiana. Behind this success
is a team of nearly 1,500 employees and 300
physicians representing 50 specialties and subspecialties. All are dedicated professionals with
unsurpassed skills, uncommon compassion, and
an unshakable commitment to the community.
Recognized as the area’s Trauma and
Emergency Center, Memorial’s emergency
department provides comprehensive trauma
128
care, most notably cardiac, orthopedic, neurologic, psychiatric, and pediatric. The experienced staff includes board certified, residencytrained emergency medicine physicians, nurse
practitioners and registered nurses with certification in emergency nursing, a clinical educator,
and certified sexual assault nurse examiners.
Memorial’s Cancer Center provides inpatient and outpatient care unsurpassed in the
region and comparable to nationally recognized cancer treatment programs. The Cancer
Center is accredited by the American College
of Surgeons Commission on Cancer and provides a comprehensive, multidisciplinary team
approach to breast health, medical, radiation
and surgical oncology, and chemotherapy.
As southwest Louisiana’s leader in orthopedics and sports medicine, Memorial has a full
continuum of care that includes orthopedic
specialists and surgeons, rehabilitation, and
specialized sports medicine programs. Our
board certified orthopedic physicians not only
treat, but also teach many of the latest techniques to medical professionals in the field of
orthopedics and sports medicine. Utilizing the
latest diagnostics, treatment, and rehabilitation
options for musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses, our specialists provide expert approaches to
bone and joint problems. At the forefront of this
progress, Memorial’s Sports Medicine program
is southwest Louisiana’s recognized resource for
adolescent and adult sports injury assessment
and treatment. As such, we are the official
sports medicine provider for McNeese State
Athletics and twenty-two high school athletic
programs. Memorial’s Sports Medicine Program
is led by renowned, fellowship-trained, sports
medicine experts—providing clinical instruction for orthopedic residency programs and
authoring nationally recognized sports medicine medical journal essays and text books.
Memorial’s pediatric services treat more kids
than any other hospital in Lake Charles. With
the only pediatric intensive care unit and the
only pediatric intensive care specialist, Memorial
brings the same extraordinary dedication, skill
and expertise of our adult care to children.
Every pediatric registered nurse is certified in
pediatric advanced life support, and the pediatric unit is specially designed and equipped to
care for children requiring surgery or hospitalization for acute or chronic conditions.
In the arena of cardiovascular care, from
prevention to cardiac rehabilitation, Memorial
offers total heart and vascular care by putting the
most advanced cardiology technology, diagnostics, and treatment options in the hands of experienced, board certified cardiac professionals.
In addition Lake Charles Memorial provides a full spectrum of medical and surgical
services in a comfortable, private, and caring
environment, and offers the region’s only
comprehensive mental health treatment center for both adolescents and adults.
Lake Charles Memorial Hospital for
Women is a state-of-the-art facility specializing
in childbirth, neonatal specialty care and
women’s health.
The thirty-eight bed facility, where comfort
and style go hand-in-hand, combines all the
security of superior healthcare with special
attention to detail to make every hospital stay
a memorable one. Specially designed birthing
suites, educational programs, patient-centered
nursing care and the advanced technology help
ensure that every patient’s health needs are met.
Memorial Hospital for Women offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services
for obstetrics, gynecology, general surgery,
breast health, and vein and vascular treatment. Additionally, the most advanced
integrated diagnostics, including digital
mammography, laboratory testing, radiology,
and ultrasound, are available.
It is important for women to have choices
and be in control of their pregnancy and birth
experiences, which is why Memorial provides
family-centered maternity care.
The Family Birth Center offers twenty-four
labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum
suites that are specially designed to accommodate women throughout the delivery
process. The center is staffed with registered
nurses skilled in both high-risk and normal
deliveries, and includes three surgical suites
for cesarean deliveries.
A portable bassinet, equipped with oxygen
and warming lights, is located in each suite.
The use of this baby care unit means the baby
never has to leave the mother, except when
medically necessary.
Although Memorial treats birth as a
healthy, natural process, the staff is capable of
providing the highest level of professional and
technical care should complications arise.
Memorial also provides Level III Neonatal
Intensive Care, the highest level of specialized
care for infants.
With osteoporosis affecting more than 25
million women in America, Memorial is
dedicated to screening and educating highrisk patients and teaching them how to
increase or maintain their bone mass.
In the Breast Health Center, digital
mammography is used to screen for breast
cancer, as well as in the evaluation of
breast masses. Fully accredited by
the American College of Radiology,
the Breast Health Center provides
a comfortable, private environment
dedicated to the early detection and
treatment of breast cancer.
Putting the needs of our patients first
and caring for them with dignity and
respect are the most valued attributes of
the skilled healthcare providers at Lake
Charles Memorial Hospital and Lake
Charles Memorial Hospital for Women.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
129
JEFFERSON
DAVIS PARISH
Jefferson Davis Parish is blessed with the
kind of economic development assets that
cannot be built or purchased; namely location,
location, location. The parish is poised for
solid economic growth as companies discover
this transportation hub with open land for
ready for development. The parish combines
access by interstate highway, federal highway,
rail, water and air to provide businesses with
unparalleled opportunities for growth.
Jefferson Davis Parish sits in the middle
of the Gulf Coast economic corridor midway
between Houston and New Orleans.
Interstate 10 bisects the parish from east to
west and is paralleled by US 90. Interstate 10
is the major transportation corridor along
the Gulf Coast handling 12 million vehicles
per year.
Burlington Northern and Union Pacific
operate main line rail service just south of I-10.
The parish is served by the shallow water
Port of Mermentau on the east side of the
parish and provides access to the Intracoastal
Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico maintaining
a nine-foot deep navigational channel.
The Jennings Airport features a fixed-base
operator handling the needs of business and
corporate clients and a 5,000 foot main
runway capable of handling most business
jet aircraft. Several properties on or around
the airport are available for development
including a fifty-four acre tract along the
main runway.
The Lacassine Agri-Industrial Park is a 200
acre site owned by the Louisiana Agricultural
Financing Authority. It is a major industrial
development site with all infrastructures in
130
place including two 6,000 foot rail spurs
connected directly to the main line tracks of
BN and UP. It presently houses a sugar cane
syrup mill and construction is set to begin on
a high-speed rail loading facility for all types
of grain.
Surrounding properties include a 150-acre
industrial development park that already
includes one of the world’s fastest and most
efficient cotton spinning plants.
The parish economy was established and is
still sustained today on agriculture. Located in
rich coastal prairie land, the parish is always
one of the top two rice producers in the state.
In Louisiana the presence of rice always
means that crawfish will not be far behind.
The parish produces 225,000 metric tons of
rice on 80,000 acres and 12.5 million pounds
of crawfish on 25,000 acres. These acres of
flooded land also provide a bountiful food
supply for wintering waterfowl.
All of this is growth is aided by the Jeff
Davis Parish Office of Economic Development,
which also includes the Jeff Davis Parish
Tourist Commission and the Jeff Davis Parish
Film Commission. The Economic Development
Office helps communities develop, grow and
improve their overall quality of life by targeting
financial and technical resources, thus creating
opportunities, leveraging government resources
and promoting the private sector.
The abundance of natural beauty and
variety of possible locations is an asset to any
film location director. The Film Commission
coordinates with Louisiana State Film Office
to help production crews to select sites and
provide cost-effective shoots.
Tourism is another growing aspect of the
economy of Jeff Davis Parish. The Jeff Davis
Tourist Information Center, located in the
Louisiana Oil & Gas Park, greets visitors with
a cup of hot coffee in a replica of an early
Acadian home. The park features walking
paths around the eleven acre lake and visitors
can see live alligators in an open-air enclosure
and even hold a baby gator at the Chateau
des Cocodries.
The Zigler Art Museum in Jennings features
a magnificent collection of American and
European painters from the past six centuries.
Visitors come from across the globe to see
masterworks by Helen Turner, Sir Anthony
Van Dyck, William Tolliver and Albert
Bierstadt. The museum also features many
Louisiana artists and boasts an elephant folio
of Audubon’s Birds of America from the
Abbeville Press.
Wandering through downtown Jennings
one will find the Strand Theater, a 1939
Art Deco movie theater, and visit Founder’s
Park and the Tupper General Store Museum.
Stepping into the Tupper transports one back
into a rural general store with thousands of
items that were on the shelves of the old store
when it closed in 1949.
The FlyWay ByWay is a newly designated
state Scenic Highway beginning at Welsh and
leads visitors from the interstate through the
rich agricultural lands that are home to
thousands of migratory waterfowl and down
to the Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge. The
refuge features driving trails out into a 35,000
acre marsh impoundment that puts a visitor into
a natural setting shared by hundreds of species
of fish, birds and animals. Other features on the
FlyWay include an extreme bike trail and canoe
trails on the scenic Bayou Lacassine.
Capitalizing on the rich cultural heritage of
the region, the Tourist Commission offers a
Crawfish Farm Tour for field trips and group
tours that run from January to May during the
crawfish harvest season.
The Commission also arranges for groups
to experience a rural Mardi Gras “Chicken
Run.” Masked horseback riders travel the back
roads of the parish to entertain households
and to collect the ingredients for a communal
gumbo that night. The celebration traces its
roots back to the Middle Ages in Europe.
Jeff Davis Parish holds fast to its rich rural
cultural traditions while standing ready to
capture the economic benefits offered by
business expansion.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
131
CALCASIEU
PARISH
POLICE JURY
Above: The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury
Courthouse, Lake Charles.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JESSICA CONRAD.
Below: Flags at Prien Lake Park,
Lake Charles.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF KENNY LOUP.
The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, composed
of fifteen jurors with one serving as president,
is the governing body for Calcasieu Parish. The
mission of the Police Jury is to consistently and
efficiently provide the highest quality of
services to the People of Calcasieu Parish in a
manner that is responsive to the will and needs
of the citizens.
The duties and responsibilities of the
governing body have changed greatly since
the organization was first formed in 1840
from the Parish of Saint Landry, one of the
original nineteen civil parishes established by
the Legislature in 1807.
132
The river from which the parish derives its
name is shown on some older maps as “Bayou
Quelqueshue” and sometimes as Calcasieu.
Calcasieu, which means “crying eagle” in
English, is said to have been the name of an
Attakapas Indian chief who gave a peculiar
cry resembling an eagle as he went into battle.
On August 24, 1840, representatives of six
wards that later became five parishes met to
organize the new parish. The first jury men
were David Simmons, Alexander Hebert,
Michel Pithon, Henry Moss, Rees Perkins, and
Thomas M. Williams. There was no courthouse
or other public buildings at the time, so the
meeting was held in the rough-hewed home of
Arsene LeBleu near present-day Chloe.
The original jury’s first challenge was
selecting a “parish town” to serve as the seat
of government. After considerable deliberation,
the jury deadlocked between Centre, Faulk’s
Bluff, Comasaque Bluff and Lisbon. The
president broke a tie by voting in favor of
Comasaque Bluff.
Also at that first meeting, the jury men
took the easy route in approving a slate of
parish laws—it simply adopted all the laws
then in force in Saint Landry Parish. The jury
also appointed a parish constable, a parish
treasurer, two parish assessors, and an
operator for the ferry at Buchanan’s Crossing.
The assessors were given a salary of $90
and allowed two months to assess all of the
property in the parish.
When the seat of justice was relocated to
Lake Charles in 1852, Sheriff Jacob Ryan
loaded the log cabin courthouse onto an oxdrawn wagon and moved the small building
through the piney woods to its new location.
The parish boundary was reduced in 1870
when Cameron Parish was cut off from the
south portion of Calcasieu. These limits,
which remained until 1912, comprised an area
of over thirty-six hundred square miles and
made Calcasieu the largest parish in the state.
For this reason, it was often referred to as
“Imperial Calcasieu.”
A new courthouse was completed around
1853 and this structure was replaced by a
colonial brick building erected in 1891. An
annex was added to the building in 1902.
However, the courthouse was destroyed during
a disastrous fire that burned most of downtown
Lake Charles on April 23, 1910, and many of
the parish records were burned or damaged.
A new courthouse was built on the old site
in 1911 and is now listed in the Federal
Register of Historic Buildings. The magnificent
brick and terracotta structure is a replica of
the famous Villa Copra in Italy. The dome
atop the courthouse is of solid copper.
In 1912 the three parishes of Allen,
Beauregard, and Jefferson Davis were created
from 2,548 square miles of Calcasieu and
became the last parishes created in Louisiana.
In 1967 a Parish Government Building
was constructed to house the various
offices of the Police Jury. The building was
expanded in 2003 and houses a number of
government departments.
In 1987 a new building was constructed to house the District Attorney’s office. A
new state-of-the-art correctional center
was completed in 1990 to replace the old
jail and a separate building was completed
in 1991 for the Third Circuit Court of
Appeals. A newly constructed Judicial
Center to house the Fourteenth Judicial
District was completed in 1994 and sits on
the site of the old jail.
Between 1993 and 1998 an extensive
interior and exterior restoration and
renovation was performed on the Parish
Courthouse. The Courthouse now houses
several offices including the Clerk of Court,
Juvenile and Family Court, Registrar of
Voters, Sheriff’s Civil Division, Veteran’s
Affairs, and others.
The various departments of the Police Jury
employ approximately five hundred people
who provide such services as a government
television channel, engineering and road
maintenance, animal services, homeland
security, housing, parks and recreation,
planning and development, and many others.
The population of Calcasieu Parish,
according to the 2000 census, is 183,577. The
parish comprises an area of 1,086 square
miles and the total assessed valuation of
property is in excess of $1,202,967,430.
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury is located at
1015 Pithon Street in Lake Charles and on the
Internet at www.cppj.net.
Above: Alligator Park, Starks, Louisiana.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JESSICA CONRAD.
Below: Lorrain Bridge, Hayes, Louisiana.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF KENNY LOUP.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
133
SOWELA
TECHNICAL
COMMUNITY
COLLEGE
Above: A chemistry student works in the
newly upgraded chemistry lab, one of the
science labs on campus to receive funding
through the Support for Educational &
Economic Development of Southwest
Louisiana (SEEDS-LA) grant.
Right: Thomas Despangent (left) and Allen
Champion (right) are French nationals
adding an international flair to Sowela’s
Aviation Maintenance Technology Program.
Both are enjoying successful careers at a
major airline in Paris.
Below: Sowela Technical Community
College conferred diplomas to 307 students
at its Spring 2010 Commencement
Ceremony. More than one-third of the
graduating class completed with honors.
For more than seventy years, Sowela
Technical Community College has been a major
factor in the economic growth and development of Southwest Louisiana.
The college provides opportunities for students to
increase their knowledge in
various disciplines and programs, while also meeting the
needs of the local industry for
workforce training and collaborative educational initiatives.
One of the ten original
state-operated vocational-technical schools in Louisiana,
Sowela was founded in 1938 as
the Southwest Louisiana Trade School. The
school opened its doors in September 1940
and by May 1941 there were 248 students
134
enrolled in auto mechanics, commerce, drafting,
electricity, and machine
shop curricula. Over the
years, the school has
advanced in the education
that it provides to the community. One of the most
significant advancements
is the school’s status was
changed to a technical
community college in
2003. Under the leadership of current Chancellor
Dr. Andrea Lewis Miller,
Sowela’s enrollment has increased thirty-four
percent within the past three years to the current figure of 2,133.
Looking to the future Sowela Technical
Community College is developing the college’s
technology infrastructure to enhance wired
and wireless network communications. In
addition, the school is enhancing academic
offerings to offer associate degree programs in
the arts and sciences and has future plans to
implement an Honors College, Evening and
Weekend College, Associate Degree in
Nursing, and a Corporate Training Center. The
Corporate Training Center will provide
customized training specifically tailored to
meet workforce needs.
Sowela is located at 3820 Senator J.
Bennett Johnston Avenue in Lake Charles and
on the Internet at www.sowela.edu. Sowela
employs 128 full-time faculty and staff. The
campus is in Calcasieu Parish and serves
the citizens of Calcasieu, Cameron, Jeff Davis,
Allen, and Beauregard Parishes.
WOMEN &
CHILDREN’S
HOSPITAL
Women & Children’s Hospital began
with a group of eight obstetricians and
gynecologists led by Floyd A. Guidry, M.D.,
who wanted to offer the most advanced
healthcare services to women in Southwest
Louisiana. They dreamed of a hospital that
would put patients first, one that would
strive to meet the special needs of women
and newborns.
In 1981 Dr. Guidry contacted Humana,
Inc., the largest hospital company of its time,
to discuss the idea of building a women’s
hospital in Lake Charles. After conducting
several demographic studies, Humana agreed
that Southwest Louisiana would benefit from
a women’s specialty hospital. Dr. Guidry was
selected as chairman of the steering committee and three years later, he was named the
hospital’s first chief of staff.
When the hospital opened on October 21,
1984, it was the first women’s hospital in the
Lake Charles area. With eighty patient beds
and eight physicians, the hospital featured
state-of-the-art-technology, spacious rooms, a
neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), complete
gynecological services, mammography and
surgical services.
Just two years later services were expanded
to include care for women, children and men.
Then in 1988, a new emergency department,
intensive care unit and orthopedic services
were opened.
In 1989 Charles Washington, M.D. performed the first laparoscopic laser cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal surgery) in
the Lake Charles area at Women & Children’s
Hospital. Only eleven other facilities in the
U.S. were equipped to perform this procedure, including one in Houston and another
in New Orleans.
Between 1999 and 2007, Women &
Children’s Hospital completed several large
expansion projects, which doubled the size of
the obstetrics and neonatal intensive care
units, added a new day surgery lobby, chapel,
medical records department, surgery extension and a new adult ICU wing.
Today, Women & Children’s Hospital is
an eighty-eight bed facility, offering a full
range of services for the entire family
including complete obstetrical care, bariatrics,
orthopaedics, urology, a twenty-four hour
emergency department, intensive care services, diagnostic imaging, rehabilitation services
and much more.
Known as the area’s preferred leader for
women’s services with over 1,400 babies
delivered annually, Women & Children’s
Hospital has also gained recognition for
receiving high scores in patient and employee
satisfaction, in addition to achieving high
scores for quality patient outcomes.
With nearly 500 employees and an experienced medical staff consisting of over 200
physicians offering over thirty specialties,
Women & Children’s Hospital remains an
important healthcare resource for the residents
of Southwest Louisiana. It has been recognized
as a Bariatric (Weight Loss) Surgery Center of
Excellence since 2006 and is accredited by
The Joint Commission, one of the healthcare
industry’s most recognized quality and performance standards organizations.
With such a rich history of innovation and
dedication to providing exceptional healthcare services, it is no wonder why families
continue to choose Women & Children’s
Hospital as the birthplace for their children
and the hospital they will trust for generations
to come.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
135
SURGICARE OF
LAKE CHARLES
Above: Surgicare’s original facility at 214
South Ryan Street.
Below: Surgicare’s current facility at 2100
Lake Street in Lake Charles.
Surgicare of Lake Charles is a multispecialty outpatient surgery center that has
served the Lake Charles community for thirtyfive years. The center offers a safe, convenient
and cost-effective option to hospital-based
surgery for both physicians and their patients,
and accommodates a full range of advanced
surgical outpatient care.
Originally named Surgical Center of Lake
Charles, the facility was owned and operated
by E. L. Troutt, local attorney William Baggett
and eight Lake Charles physicians including
Dr. Lionel De La Houssaye, Dr. J. R. Enright,
Dr. Robert C. Looney, Dr. Frank H. Marek,
Dr. Lee J. Monlezun, Jr., Dr. John E. Sorrells, Jr.,
Dr. Charles T. White, and Dr. B. M. Woodard.
Surgicare was the first outpatient surgery
center in the state of Louisiana when it
opened on December 15, 1975. Initially
located at 214 South Ryan Street, the facility
was the “first free-standing, independent
surgical center not associated with a hospital
or a professional building,” explained Troutt,
the center’s first administrator.
The original 982-square-foot building had
two operating rooms, a procedure room and
a cystoscopy room, used for urological
procedures. Dr. Charles White performed the
first procedure under local anesthesia and
Dr. Lee J. Monlezun, an obstetrician and
136
gynecologist performed the first general
anesthesia procedure. By the end of the
second year, the facility averaged 720
procedures annually.
In 1982 an ambulatory surgery company
purchased the facility and the name was
changed to Surgicare of Lake Charles.
Then, in 1994, with an average of twentythree hundred procedures being performed
annually, Surgicare’s leadership recognized they
had outgrown their current facility. Several
physicians banded together to form a limited
liability partnership and initiated Surgicare’s
expansion. A committee was created to oversee
the project and by June 1997, the new
Surgicare of Lake Charles was built at its
current location at 2100 Lake Street.
According to Administrator Debbie Boudreaux,
the 12,600-square-foot facility offers five operating rooms, two procedure rooms, post-operative waiting area, surgical recovery area and a
step-down area where patients are monitored
before they are discharged. Averaging five
thousand cases per year, Surgicare’s medical
specialties include ENT (ear, nose and throat)
procedures, general surgery, ophthalmology,
orthopedics, plastic surgery, gynecology, podiatry, urology, pain management and adult and
pediatric dental surgery.
Surgicare employs a staff of 35 medical and
administrative professionals and partners with
160 credentialed physicians, podiatrists, and
dentists located in Lake Charles and Sulphur.
With such a large group of affiliated physicians,
area residents can easily find a physician that
utilizes the facility, which offers a convenient
central location, covered patient drop-off and
pick-up areas, free parking, and other amenities.
Surgicare of Lake Charles is an important
healthcare resource and because we understand patients have a choice in where they
receive healthcare, the physicians and staff
remain committed to continuing the tradition
of providing quality-conscious, cost-effective
outpatient care to the residents of Lake
Charles and the surrounding communities.
CITY OF
SULPHUR
The rich heritage of the City of Sulphur
dates to the 1700s when French hunters and
trappers first explored the western boundary
of Louisiana. The area boomed in the late
1800s after sulphur was discovered and immigrants from France, Germany, and Mexico
moved to the area to work in the mines.
Construction of the Louisiana Western
Railroad in the 1870s spurred interest in the
area and, in 1878, the original town of Sulphur
was laid out by an engineer named Thomas
Kleinpeter. Completion of the railroad combined with the lure of the mines and fertile
farm land attracted many new residents from
the north and midwest.
Sulphur began to grow in the early twentieth century and, in 1916, the village was
proclaimed a town. Population at the time
was 1,702. By 1950 the town had grown to a
population of 5,996 and Governor Earl Long
proclaimed Sulphur a city.
Today, Sulphur is home to more than
20,000 people who proudly proclaim the
city’s motto: “Faith, Family, Community.”
Located only a short drive from the Gulf of
Mexico, Sulphur is noted for its outstanding
recreational facilities that play host to state
championships and major sports tournaments.
The jewel of Sulphur’s recreation facilities is
the $12 million SPAR Recreation & Aquatic
Center, which provides two indoor pools,
basketball courts, an indoor jogging track and
fitness center, and an outdoor water park.
In Sulphur residents are proud of their
schools and work to make sure students have
the best opportunities available. The city is
home to diversified schools that feature leading technology to help students prepare for
college. Many area schools have been recognized as Schools of Excellence.
At the kindergarten through eighth grade
levels parents may also choose from several
Catholic schools, as well as a Montessori
School. The area is also home to McNeese
State University and Sowela Technical College.
Sulphur is the premier destination for quality healthcare for the area’s surrounding parishes. As the area’s leading hospital facility, West
Calcasieu Cameron Hospital in Sulphur offers
comprehensive care and has recently expanded
both its radiology and intensive care facilities.
From new stores to new recreation facilities, Sulphur is in the midst of exciting economic development. Helping Sulphur grow is
the city’s competitive incentives which have
helped local businesses prosper.
Sulphur’s real estate market offers a wide
range of homes in all price ranges, with a very
competitive median home cost of $139,000.
Many quaint historic neighborhoods such as
the Garden District feature homes with classic
architecture and nostalgic character.
With a vibrant economy, beautiful neighborhoods, and superb recreation options,
Sulphur is a wonderful place to live, work,
and raise a family!
Top: The Water Park at SPAR
Aquatic Center.
Middle: The City of Sulphur welcome sign.
Bottom: Sulphur City Hall.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
137
WEST
CALCASIEU
CAMERON
HOSPITAL
Above: The GE Innova® 2100IQ all digital
cardiovascular and interventional X-ray
imaging system is WCCH’s latest equipment
acquisition, and will assist physicians in
treating a growing number of chronic heart
and vascular conditions.
What began as a small fifty bed hospital to
meet the needs of a fast-growing population
in the post-World War II decade has grown
to a 101 bed cornerstone of the West
Calcasieu community. Since 1953, West
Calcasieu Cameron Hospital has provided
Southwest Louisiana with local access to
experienced physicians, skilled healthcare
professionals, the latest medical technology
and an unsurpassed tradition of caring.
West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital
(WCCH) is committed to providing
advanced quality healthcare with
attention to patient satisfaction and
clinical excellence. Recent renovations
and additions have included a new
twelve bed Intensive Care Unit, Cardiac
Catheterization Laboratory, Radiology
Department, Admitting Department, and
Ambulatory Preadmissions Treatment
Center. Patient rooms have also recently
been updated, including labor, delivery
and recovery suites. Slated for future
expansion are the Laboratory, Dietary
and Materials Management departments
as well as the construction of a new
patient tower.
“Through a three-phase master facility
plan, we are essentially creating a new
hospital in place without interrupting the
services and patient care we currently provide,” said Bill Hankins, CEO of the hospital.
WCCH, in partnership with local
physicians, has a long-standing tradition of
excellence in surgical care. From general
surgery and orthopedic surgery, to
gynecological surgery and ear, nose and
throat surgery, the hospital is on the cutting
edge of interventional medicine.
The hospital’s Cardiology program provides
new and advanced procedures such as angioplasty/stent and percutaneous peripheral
atherectomy procedures, utilizing a cardiac
138
catheterization laboratory with one of the lowest radiation dosages available on the market.
Nuclear stress testing, echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, cardiac CT and cardiac calcium
scoring are all offered on an outpatient basis.
WCCH’s Emergency Department is staffed
24/7 with highly skilled physicians and
nurses, trained to meet the needs of those
requiring immediate medical attention.
WCCH also provides exceptional care in
orthopedics, diagnostic imaging, physical
medicine, labor and delivery, home healthcare,
wound healing and many other disciplines.
Through the ownership of three rural
medical clinics west of the Calcasieu River in
Hackberry, Vinton and Johnson Bayou, WCCH
delivers on its long-standing commitment to
the health of the residents in these rural areas.
With a variety of healthcare services offered at
each site, medical care is provided by nurse
practitioners under the supervision of a clinic
medical director.
Before the police juries in Calcasieu and
Cameron Parishes first created a Hospital
Service District in the early 1950s, individuals
residing west of the Calcasieu River who could
not be treated in doctor’s offices had to be sent
to Lake Charles or Houston for care. Today
WCCH has made it more convenient than ever
to receive the most advanced healthcare
through its continued investments in technology and infrastructure. Its strong history is rooted in the many physicians that helped make
local healthcare delivery a reality, including Dr.
Charles Fellows, Dr. Frank LaBarbera, Dr. Kyle
Lyons, Dr. W. A. K. Seale and Dr. J. W. Swafford.
WCCH has approximately 650 employees,
many who are actively involved in such
organizations as the American Cancer Society
Relay for Life, American Heart Association
Heart Walk, and the United Way of SWLA.
For additional information, please visit the
hospital’s website at www.wcch.com.
COMMUNITY
FOUNDATION
OF SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA
The Community Foundation of Southwest
Louisiana is one of more than seven hundred
community foundations across the nation and
one of seven in the state of Louisiana. Serving
the people and communities of Allen,
Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jeff
Davis Parishes, the Community Foundation
unites human and financial resources to affect
permanent, positive culture change.
Providing a simple, but powerful and highly personal approach to philanthropy and
charitable giving, the Community Foundation
helps people achieve their charitable goals
and create lasting positive effects in the
community and region.
Donors are the lifeblood of the Foundation
and donor funds are like savings accounts for
charitable use and allow the donor to:
• Maximize their gift by carrying out their
charitable goals in an effective, efficient,
and creative way;
• Ensure a lasting community impact
and legacy;
• Make charitable donations that maximize
tax benefits;
• Avoid the high costs and administrative
requirements of a private foundation;
• Tap the Foundation staff’s local insight and
grant-making expertise.
The Foundation offers donors several types
of funds from which they may direct their
charitable goals:
• Donor Advised Funds or Corporate Advised
Funds are the most popular type of funds.
Donors deposit money in the funds and the
Foundation invests the money so the gift
can endure. Donors recommend grants and
projects to be supported through the fund
earnings and money. As with all funds, the
Foundation handles all of the administration work and the Board of Directors
approves grant recommendations.
• Unrestricted Funds have not been directed
to specific use and are available for general
distribution by the Foundation with the
approval of the Board of Directors. These
funds allow the Foundation to move
quickly to meet unexpected needs and
to invest in emerging opportunities in
the community.
• Field of Interest Funds are established to
support a broad range of uses within a
specific area, such as education, healthcare
or community services.
• Designated Beneficiary Funds are directed
to a specific use by the donor, such as
supporting a named agency or project.
• Scholarship Funds aid in educating
students. The Foundation will assist in
designing a selection process that fund
worthy students for scholarships.
Helping donors achieve their philanthropic goals is one way the Foundation does its
work. The other is civic leadership projects,
the initiatives that can change the direction
of communities and the arc of the region.
Firm in their direction, the Community
Foundation stands to create a brighter future
for all of Southwest Louisiana.
For more information about the Community
Foundation of Southwest Louisiana, check their
website at www.foundationswla.org.
Above: The Sallier Oak.
COURTESY OF THE IMPERIAL CALCASIEU MUSEUM.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
139
CHRISTUS
ST. PATRICK
HOSPITAL
Lake Charles was the center of a growing lumber industry in the early 1900s, but
there was no hospital to serve the expanding population. The president of the local
medical society, John Greene Martin, M.D.,
and Reverend Hubert Cramers, rector of
Immaculate Conception Church, resolved
to fill this need.
The two men approached the Sisters of
Charity of the Incarnate Word in
Galveston, Texas, for help in founding a
hospital in Lake Charles similar to the one
the sisters had established in Galveston.
The new three-story hospital was
dedicated as St. Patrick Sanitarium on St.
Patrick’s Day, 1908. The new facility had
fifty beds, an operating room and a sterilizing
room. The name was selected by Dr. Martin, a
native of Ireland, who insisted it be named
after the patron saint of his homeland.
The hospital’s name was later changed to
CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital. The hospital
has now served more than five generations of
Southwest Louisianans and continues its
mission to extend the healing ministry of
Jesus Christ year after year.
The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word
and CHRISTUS Health began in 1866 when
three brave sisters from Lyon, France answered
the call of Bishop Claude Dubuis to minister to
the “sick and infirm of every kind.” The first
members of the Congregation of the Sisters of
Charity of the Incarnate Word worked to fulfill
this call by opening Texas’ first Catholic
hospital in Galveston, followed by San
Antonio’s first private hospital.
140
Out of the original call grew the Houstonbased Sisters of Charity Health Care System
and the San Antonio-based Incarnate Word
Health Care System. CHRISTUS Health was
formed in 1999 to join the two health systems
and strengthen the sisters’ faith-based, notfor-profit healthcare ministry in Louisiana,
Texas, Arkansas, Utah and Oklahoma. This
co-sponsored healthcare system is one of ten
largest Catholic health systems in the nation.
Today, St. Patrick Hospital continues its
tradition of dedication and quality medical care
through a variety of inpatient and outpatient
services. These include behavioral health,
children’s services, diabetes management,
emergency medicine, gastrointestinal, heart
care, imaging and diagnostics, oncology,
rehabilitation, senior services, surgical
services, women’s services, wound care, and
health education.
After more than a century CHRISTUS St.
Patrick Hospital continues to move forward.
Its nationally-recognized clinical team has
continued to set the bar for excellence with
awards on both state and national levels.
From the outstanding quality of its cardiac
team to the latest technological expansions in
oncology and radiology, St. Patrick continues to
provide patients with the finest services available.
As new diseases and medical conditions arise, St.
Patrick strives to be the best prepared with an
extraordinary staff knowledgeable in the latest
medical advancements.
For more information about CHRISTUS St.
Patrick Hospital, visit www.christusstpatrick.org.
LAKE CHARLES
REGIONAL
AIRPORT
The Lake Charles Regional Airport was
first envisioned in 1957 after plans were finalized in Washington, D.C. to construct an
airport in Calcasieu Parish. The facility, funded by bond issues, began operations in 1961
and the Airport Authority of District One was
created in January of 1962.
Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH) is a
commercial service airport and serves the air
travel needs of more than 180,000 residents
of Southwest Louisiana. Continental and
American Airlines operate frequent flights
from Lake Charles to hubs in Houston and
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, allowing access to
virtually any destination in the world. LCH
served nearly 106,000 passengers in 2009
and current forecasts predict that airport
passengers will exceed 300,000 by 2024.
In addition to commercial air travel a $1.8
million fixed base operator terminal opened in
2006 to serve general aviation and corporate
travel needs. LCH is also home to two helicopter operators that serve the oil and gas industries in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico.
ERA Helicopters, LLC, currently operates
a large facility that performs maintenance,
repair, training, and painting services. The airport also serves as headquarters for the parent
company’s helicopter operation (Seacor, Inc).
PHI, Inc., is one of the world’s largest helicopter service companies.
Known industry-wide for
the relentless pursuit of
safe, reliable helicopter
transportation, PHI offers
services to offshore oil and
gas platforms, onshore
mining and international
operations, air medical
services, and technical
services industries.
Lake Charles Regional Airport property
also includes a 300 acre industrial park and
leases land and building space to over twenty
businesses and individuals. LCH is also home
to five rental car agencies and houses a total of
202 based aircraft.
LCH serves as a major economic engine for
Southwest Louisiana. The provision and use
of aviation services at the airport, as well as
capital outlays, support a variety of economic
activities that generate business revenues,
jobs, and income.
Results from a recent economic impact
study revealed that the Lake Charles Regional
Airport provides employment for 1,698 people, including eighteen Airport Authority
employees. This generates $45.1 million in
annual earnings. The value added impact of
the airport is estimated well in excess of $96.6
million annually.
The Airport Authority consists of five members appointed by the Calcasieu Parish Police
Jury to serve five-year terms. The Authority
works with the airport staff to coordinate
business development and act as ambassadors
for the airport through their interaction with
community and government leaders.
For more information about the Lake
Charles Regional Airport, check the website
at www.flylakecharles.com.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
141
LAKE CHARLES /
SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA
CONVENTION &
VISITORS BUREAU
PHOTOS BY MONSOUR’S PHOTOGRAPHY,
WWW.MONSOURSPHOTOGRAPHY.COM.
The Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana
Convention & Visitors Bureau promotes six
cities in Calcasieu Parish with Lake Charles
being the hub city, and Sulphur, Westlake,
DeQuincy, Vinton and Iowa all adding a hint
of flavor that makes Southwest Louisiana a
colorful place to visit and live.
Southwest Louisiana is a place you can call
home, and it promises a variety of activities
that truly run the gamut of expectations for
Louisiana destinations. That is because the
area is not only known for the great outdoors,
but it is also a top casino gaming destination
with sophisticated amenities and diverse
entertainment options—still all the while
steeped in traditional Cajun culture, food
and music.
Here the cuisine is as robust and steamy as
Louisiana in the summertime—from étouffée
to jambalaya, mudbugs to courtboullion, and
everything in between. For the best places in
Calcasieu Parish to taste boudin, check out
the “Southwest Louisiana Boudin Trail” where
you can get a variety of boudin flavors straight
from the boudin masters.
Take it outdoors and enjoy year round golf
or drive along the Creole Nature Trail All-
142
American Road where four wildlife refuges
make it accessible to learn about natural
surroundings or experience encounters with
birds and other wildlife, including a glimpse
of the American Alligator—or fishing and
hunting adventures!
Once back to big city living you can try
your hand at games of chance at Delta Downs
Racetrack Casino & Hotel, the Isle of Capri
Casino Hotel or L’Auberge du Lac Casino
Resort. Find out why this area is a premier
gaming destination where entertainment, spa
and golf facilities, quarter horse racing, retail
outlets and dining options are endless.
Visitors are also encouraged to explore the
Charpentier Historic District in downtown
Lake Charles where brightly colored Victorian
homes survive alongside the massive
mansions owned by lumber barons in the
early 1900s. Museums and galleries add to the
charm of the history and culture of the area
from Mardi Gras to railroads, while
performing arts groups from theatre to the
Lake Charles Symphony live to entertain.
The area is also the Festival Capital of
Louisiana with Mardi Gras leading the
way. The Contraband Days Pirate Festival is
the longest festival in the state behind Mardi
Gras and it is the only pirate festival in
Louisiana. Other festivals include the Iowa
Rabbit Festival, the Louisiana Railroad Days
Festival in DeQuincy, Sulphur’s Christmas
Under the Oaks, Vinton’s Heritage Days and
the Westlake Family Fun & Food Festival.
Also, the Cal-Cam Fair represents the
blending of cultures between Calcasieu and
Cameron Parishes.
To learn more about the Lake Charles/
Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors
Bureau and the many attractions of the region,
log onto www.visitlakecharles.org.
BUSINESS
HEALTH
PARTNERS
Business Health Partners, founded in 1995
by the husband-and-wife team of Dr. Jack
Drumwright and Dr. Bonnie Drumwright,
has become the recognized leader for
occupational medicine and safety services in
The medical clinic provides full service
occupational medicine and safety services for
employees of area businesses and industries.
These services include safety training and
consulting, injured worker treatment, physical exams, X-ray services, drug and alcohol
testing, pulmonary function, respirator fit
testing and audiometric testing.
“Drug screening is one of our major functions,” explains David Drumwright, a University
of Oklahoma graduate who serves as director of
business operations for the clinic. “We can do
drug screens wherever the client is. We have
clients who we have ridden boats and helicopters to get out to and do a drug screen. We have
a lot of offshore clients who travel all around the
world and require immunizations, blood work
and other lab work. We can provide all that and
we’re a lot cheaper, and quicker, than going to a
traditional provider.”
Doctors Jack and Bonnie Drumwright
founded Business Health Partners after long
careers as corporate medical directors for
several refineries and other industries. Jack
received his degree from the University of
Tennessee medical school and Bonnie graduated from the medical school at the University of
South Carolina.
An office fire in May 1997 caused extensive
damage to the clinic but the staff managed to
continue treating patients with the help of
local hospitals and other clinics. “On the day
of the fire, other businesses let us use their
offices for testing and services,” says David.
“By the next day, we were providing our usual
services in three different locations.”
The fire was a blessing in disguise because
it resulted in an opportunity to purchase a
clinic owned by St. Patrick’s Hospital. “This
allowed us more space and equipment and
helped us provide more services for our
clients,” says David.
Business Health Partners is now located in
the old Walmart building at 299 Cities Service
Highway. In addition to ample office and
clinic space, the location offers plenty of parking for clients who drive eighteen-wheelers.
The clinic has grown from 4 employees
and a small office in 1995 to 25 full-time
employees, including 2 physicians and 2
nurse practitioners. Employees of Business
Health Partners are active in a number
of community and charitable activities,
including the American Cancer Society,
CCA, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Children’s
Miracle Network, Rotary Club, Chambers of
Commerce and several medical organizations.
Looking to the future Business Health
Partners is dedicated to providing superior
occupational health and medical services in a
timely fashion.
Below: Dr. Jack Drumwright and
Dr. Bonnie Drumwright.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
143
JUNIOR LEAGUE
OF LAKE
CHARLES, INC.
Right: The Junior League headquarters,
built in 1903, was once a horse stable and
was placed on the National Register of
Historical Places in 1980.
Below: Marshes to Mansions is an
extensive collection of treasured recipes,
photographs and stories. Sales of this
cookbook are used to fund their
community projects.
The women of the Junior
League of Lake Charles, Inc.,
are committed to promoting
volunterism, developing the
potential of women, and
improving the community
through the effective action
and leadership of trained volunteers. What began in the
1930s as a group of eleven
compassionate women, has
flourished into a diverse
group of 500. But, like the
historical building now used
as their headquarters, they
are rooted in excellence,
and have withstood the test
of time.
Widely recognized for
their successful fundraisers
the women of this vibrant
organization use their proceeds to put their passion into action. Over
the past five years, these dedicated volunteers
have performed more than 120,000 hours
of community service and funded over
$600,000 in community projects and
volunteer training.
In the early days they were called the
Junior Welfare League. Initial projects focused
on the needs at that time, which included
144
Health and TB clinics and Soup Kitchens.
Then, in the 1940s the adaptable women
established five casualty stations to tackle
emergency needs of a nation at war. This
extraordinary act of compassion changed the
face of Lake Charles forever.
As years went by, they became the 212th
member of the Association of Junior Leagues
and officially changed the organization’s name
to the Junior League of Lake Charles, Inc. They
performed Follies and published Pirates’ Pantry
to fund projects such as the Lake Charles
Symphony, Literacy Council of SWLA, and
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA).
Proud of their impact on the community,
this passionate group has served as a catalyst for
the creation of many projects, including the
Arts & Humanities Council of SWLA, Calcasieu
Community Clinic, Kids’ Choice Puppets, Arts
Fest, and the Imperial Calcasieu Museum.
Each November families from near and far
join them for the highly anticipated Mistletoe
and Moss Holiday Market. In the spring, they
host the Leaguers and Links Golf Tournament.
And they sell cookbooks, not only to share
recipes, but to enrich the lives of local families.
During the production of the award-winning
Marshes to Mansions, Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita hit. Production stood still as these
resilient women sprung into action, volunteering countless hours to shelter and care for
displaced neighbors and friends.
In the past few years, members have distributed personal care packages for children
newly placed in foster care and have taught a
series of life skills classes to students. They
strive to combat childhood obesity with
“Junior Leagues’ Kids in the Kitchen,” and
promote literacy and art projects for pediatric
and cancer patients at a local hospital. They
also provide “Branch Out and Grow” grants to
local educators. Furthermore, they assist
autistic children in developing social skills
through supervised LEGO projects.
Their logo, a majestic oak tree inscribed
with, “Serving, Strengthening, Sustaining the
Community”, continues to inspire them.
Surely the eleven founding members would
be proud of the incredible legacy they
left behind. Please visit their website at
www.jllc.net for more information.
CALCASIEU
PARISH SCHOOL
SYSTEM
The Calcasieu Parish School System, the
fifth largest school district in Louisiana,
provides a quality education for nearly 33,000
students. By focusing on the vision that
all students are important, the system
emphasizes high academic achievement in a
safe, productive environment. The system is
also committed to operational efficiency and
stakeholder satisfaction.
Education has always been important to
the citizens of Calcasieu Parish. In the early
days, children were taught in homes by
itinerant school masters. In 1810 a one-room
log building was erected near the corner of
Ryan and Kirby Streets and the first school
building in Lake Charles was opened. When
public money was available, state and parish
funds paid tuition costs for needy children. By
1890, however, public schools were able to
serve most children and the private school
movement ended.
By 1888 there were forty schools in the
Parish and John McNeese was elected Parish
Superintendent. That same year, the Board of
School Directors purchased the block on
which Central School now stands in Lake
Charles. The Lake Charles Central and High
School was opened in 1890.
The Louisiana Legislature created a City
School System in Lake Charles in 1906 and,
a year later, the Lake Charles City School
System was separated from the Calcasieu
Parish Public School System. Imperial
Calcasieu was divided into the present
parishes of Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, and
Jefferson Davis in 1913, and the Lake Charles
City School System was merged with Calcasieu
Parish Schools under a single board in 1967.
Today the Calcasieu Parish School System
consists of 32 elementary schools, 13 middle
schools, and 11 high schools. The school system
also operates 2 alternative facilities, 1 adult
education facility, 2 career and technical
facilities, and an Academy of Learning. The
system’s annual budget exceeds $271
million, with nearly forty-four percent
coming from local sources.
The Calcasieu Parish School
System boasts a number of very distinguished graduates, including famed
heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey;
David Filo, the co-creator of Yahoo!;
Pulitzer, Tony, and Emmy Award
winner Tony Kushner; and Academy
Award winner Ralph Eggleston.
Sheryl Abshire and Ron Blanchard
have been inducted into the National
Teachers Hall of Fame, and Jackie
Stevens was named the NFL Teacher
of the Year.
The district has national accreditation by SACS/CASI and AdvancED,
an international accrediting agency.
Superintendent of Schools Wayne
Savoy was honored with the prestigious 2010 AdvanceEd Louisiana
Excellence in Education Award.
For additional information about
the Calcasieu Parish School System,
visit the website at www.cpsb.org.
Above: Calcasieu Parish School System
Central Office.
Below: Superintendent of Schools,
Wayne Savoy.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
145
CALCASIEU PARISH PUBLIC LIBRARY
Above: Carnegie Memorial Library as it
appeared in 1904.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE MCNEESE STATE
UNIVERSITY FRAZAR LIBRARY ARCHIVES.
Below: Central Library as it looks today.
The Calcasieu Parish Public Library was
formed with the merging of the Lake Charles
Public Library and Calcasieu Parish Library in
1974. Library services had existed in the area
for many years, starting with the Carnegie
Memorial Library founded in 1901 through
the efforts of local businessmen and a
$10,000 building grant provided by Andrew
Carnegie. The city agreed to appropriate not
less than $1,000 annually for maintenance.
By March 1904 the Carnegie Memorial
Library was open to the public, on the same
land—at the corner of Pujo and Bilbo Streets—
where it stands today. Hurricanes and time
weathered the building, and in 1949, a bond
issue was passed by the citizens of Lake Charles
to build a new one. The new library, called the
“Lake Charles Public Library,” opened to the
public on March 14, 1952.
On January 22, 1944, members of the first
Calcasieu Parish Public Library Board of
146
Control met in the Police Jury Office of the
Calcasieu Parish Courthouse to plan a
Demonstration Library, supervised by the
Louisiana Library Commission, which would
operate for one year. Headquarters for the
system would be in Lake Charles, at Kirby
and Hodges Streets, with branches located in
municipalities throughout the parish. At the
end of 1944, residents of Calcasieu Parish
voted in a parish-wide election for a .75 mill
tax for the next decade to keep the public
library system in Calcasieu Parish.
The two libraries were combined in 1974
when the City Council and Policy Jury
approved consolidation of the Lake Charles
Public Library with the Calcasieu Parish
Public Library.
Between 1990 and 1995, under the leadership of Director Lynda Lee Carlberg, the library
was able to renovate or rebuild every library in
the system, doubling square footage available
for library services. Calcasieu Parish residents
continued to stand behind and support their
public libraries through the years, voting to
increase their level of support to 1.5 mill in
1954, and finally, to 5.99 mills in 1999 and
continue to pass the ten-year property tax
renewals by wide margins.
Library service in Calcasieu Parish has
grown over 109 years from a single building
in 1901 serving 5,000 people to fourteen
buildings serving over 189,000 people with
over 1,000,000 checkouts annually.
To learn more about the Calcasieu Parish
Public Library, please visit the website at
www.calcasieulibrary.org.
Cameron Parish, once the bed of the Gulf
of Mexico, has a rich history. The earliest
inhabitants are thought to have been Indians
of the Attakapas tribe. Spanish explorers and
pirates explored the area before the first white
settlers built crude houses on the western
end of Grand Chenier beside the bank of
the Mermentau.
The boundary between the United States
and Mexico was not officially determined until
1819 and this disputed area became a virtual
‘no-man’s land.’ Devoid of supervision, and
due to its extreme remote character, the area
became a haven for individuals seeking recluse
from the law or other intemperate behavior.
With the boundary issue resolved, a wave
of migration from Virginia, the Carolinas,
Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi swept
into the Cheniers in the 1830s and 1940s.
On March 16, 1870, the Legislature
created the new Parish of Cameron. It was
carved from the southern part of Calcasieu
and the southwestern corner of Vermilion.
When the Parish was organized in 1870,
an already existing building was purchased
for use as a courthouse. The building burned
in 1874 and tradition has it that this was a
clear case of arson, the fire set to destroy
certain land records.
Cameron Parish continued to flourish in
the early twentieth century and was noted for
one of the largest fish landing operations
in the country, as well as their historical
presence with cattle and animal husbandry.
What was emerging, however, was a strong
interrelationship with energy, which grew to
be a major oil and gas port, even through to
current times. While the residents of the
Parish seemed to always survive, they too felt
the economic crunches of post Civil War, the
Great Depression of the 1930s, and continue
to feel the effects of a spiraling economy and
a very fluid energy policy.
The greatest disaster to strike the parish
occurred in June 1957, when Hurricane
Audrey came ashore and reeked extensive
devastation throughout the Parish, along with
the loss of at least 600 lives of area residents.
Although an extensive respite was experienced
by the Louisiana coast after that, the Parish also
faced devastating influences from the ravishes
of Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike
in 2008. This created a substantial area-wide
shift in population, housing, and the economic base. The Parish quickly engaged in one of
the most comprehensive recovery efforts since
Hurricane Audrey.
Cameron Parish today is proud to boast
its energetic community rebirth with a series
of generational projects aimed at long-term
sustainability. Cameron Square, the waterfront
fisheries project, various port maritime interests, the development of Rutherford and Holly
Beach, along with parish-wide housing, transportation and infrastructure improvements,
are just a sample of the type of successes
that the Parish has underway. Its long-term
objective is to continue the development of
the Ship Channel and its continued marine
and maritime historical presence with development along the loop and east fork with
support infrastructure throughout.
CAMERON
PARISH
Despite the ravages of the storm events and a
relatively unforgiving environment, Cameron
Parish still boasts some of the most breathtaking
and unique scenery in Louisiana. Although the
Parish has a progressive eye on its promising
future, it still retains a strong embrace of its
ancestral beginnings that has made it one of
American’s last frontiers.
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
147
148
The Marketplace
S o u t h w e s t L o u i s i a n a ’s re t a i l a n d
SPECIAL
commercial establishments offer
THANKS TO
an impressive variety of choices
C S E F e d e r a l C re d i t U n i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 0
C a m e ro n S t a t e B a n k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 4
Lindsey Janies Photography .........................................................156
First Federal Bank of Louisiana ...................................................158
D o n ’s C a r w a s h
D o n ’s E x p re s s
D o n ’s Q u i k L u b e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 0
J e f f D a v i s B a n k & Tr u s t C o m p a n y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 2
C a l c a s i e u F e d e r a l E m p l o y e e s C re d i t U n i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 4
Schlesingers Wholesale ...............................................................166
Southwest Beverage Co., Inc. .......................................................168
S t e a m b o a t B i l l ’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 0
Chamber SWLA .........................................................................172
Southland Coins & Collectibles ....................................................173
M c D o n a l d ’s o f S o u t h w e s t L o u i s i a n a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 4
T h e U s e r- F r i e n d l y P h o n e B o o k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 5
Lake Charles Coca-Cola Bottling Company ....................................176
City Savings Bank......................................................................177
Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance .......................178
S c o f i e l d , G e r a rd , S i n g l e t a r y & P o h o re l s k y A t t o r n e y s a t L a w, L . L . C . . . . 1 7 9
S o u t h w e s t L o u i s i a n a C re d i t U n i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 0
Krause & Managan Lumber Co., Limited .......................................181
First Choice Couriers, LLC
Inn on the Bayou
Paramount Companies
The BEL Group
THE
MARKETPLACE
149
CSE FEDERAL
CREDIT UNION
For nearly seventy years the CSE Federal
Credit Union has stayed true to its goal of
helping members experience the joy of
achieving their financial goals. CSE was
established in 1943 with eleven initial
subscribers; today it serves more than 30,000
members and is the sixth largest credit union
in Louisiana.
CSE Federal Credit Union was established on
December 7, 1943, when the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation granted a charter to
establish a federal credit union. Originally,
membership was limited to employees of Cities
Service Refinery Corporation in Calcasieu
Parish, employees of the credit union, and
members of their immediate families.
CSE Federal Credit Union is a cooperative,
not-for-profit financial institution chartered
by the federal government. It is owned and
controlled by its members and is organized to
promote thrift and provide credit to its
members. As a not-for-profit financial services
cooperative, CSE returns earnings to its
members through higher savings account
rates, better service, lower rates on loans, and
many other free services.
150
The new credit union held its first meeting
on January 6, 1944, and R. L. Christian was
elected the first President /Chairman of the
Board. Organizers established a loan limit of
$100 and a deposit limit of $500. Growth was
slow at the beginning and board members
pleaded with coworkers at Cities Service
Refinery to join. At the end of 1944 the credit
union had seventy-eight members with share
deposits of $1,575.84. Outstanding loans
totaled $1,183.76, and the credit union had
$446.17 cash in the bank.
Growth continued to be slow in 1945, with
only twenty-one new members. The share
limit was raised the following year to $500 for
a single account, $1,000 for a joint account,
and $250 for a minor account. The higher
limits, combined with the end of World War
II and the resulting economic resurgence,
helped the credit union grow to 375 members
and it began to gain momentum.
The individual share limit was raised again
in 1947, this time to $750 for single accounts,
and the loan limit was increased to ten
percent of paid-in capital. Payroll deductions
were offered for the first time in 1947 and
since both loan and share totals had reached
$10,000, the credit union’s first dividend of
four percent was paid to the members.
Mary Freeman was appointed treasurer of
CSE in 1948 and the operation of the credit
union was moved to her home. By the end of
1949, the credit union boasted 492 members
and assets reached $72,000. That same year, the
field of membership was amended to include
employees of CIT-CON Oil Corporation.
The small credit union continued to grow
and, in 1951, CSE operations were moved
from the Freeman home to the clock house at
Cities Service Refinery and a full-time clerk,
Elgine Mouton, was hired. Richard S. ‘Dick’
Freeman, succeeded his wife as treasurer.
By 1954, after ten years of operation, CSE
had impressive assets of $734,700. Loans
passed the million dollar mark in 1956. The
credit union found itself with more capital
than it could loan out and started loaning
money to other credit unions in 1957. Loan
customers included the Barksdale Air Force
Base Federal Credit Union, which borrowed
$60,000 from CSE. Barksdale Federal Credit
Union is now the largest credit union in
Louisiana with assets approaching $1 Billion.
Membership had increased to 3,000 by
1960, aided by the addition of employees of
the Cities Service Petrochemicals Division to
the field of membership. CSE outgrew the
clock house at the refinery and land was
purchased on Cities Service Highway in
Maplewood for a new office building. The
credit union moved into the new building in
1961. Meanwhile, real estate loans were
granted to members for the first time and the
credit union paid most of the member’s loan
closing costs.
Additional services were added in the
1960s, including free credit life insurance up to
$10,000 on all loans and a no-charge travelers’
checks program. In addition, membership was
extended to include Cities Service retirees
within the field of membership.
CSE Federal Credit Union had become an
established, well-respected financial institution
when it celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary
in 1968. The credit union had five full-time
employees, including Mary Freeman and Frank
Caruso, the organization’s first office manager.
At the twenty-five year mark, assets totaled
$4 million and the credit union had 3,320
members. During its first twenty-five years of
operation, CSE had granted more than $35
million in loans.
Another milestone was reached in 1971
when assets surpassed $5 million. By the end
of the credit union’s thirtieth year, assets had
reached $6.3 million and membership totaled
3,910. A dividend of six percent on deposits
was paid in 1975, and a refund of twenty
percent of the interest paid on loans was
returned to the members—a benefit that
would continue until 2006.
Dick Freeman retired as treasurer/manager
in 1977 after twenty-eight years of dedicated
service. A year later, Eddie Oakley was named
the organization’s second office manager after
the retirement of Frank Caruso. Meanwhile,
assets continued to grow, passing the $10
million mark in 1978. Share certificates,
similar to certificates of deposit, were
instituted and the deposit limit for shares was
increased to $100,000.
Discussions concerning the feasibility
of merging CIT-CON Employees Credit
Union with CSE began in 1982. Following
negotiations, a plan was approved by the
National Credit Union Association and the
Louisiana State Department of Banking
allowing the two credit unions to merge,
effective January 1, 1983.
Meanwhile, the NCUA revised regulations
governing credit unions and allowed
companies that did not have credit union
services to be added to the field of
membership of existing credit unions. This
allowed CSE to add several companies to its
field of membership, strengthening the credit
union and allowing it to better endure layoffs,
strikes, and economic downturns.
THE
MARKETPLACE
151
The merger with CIT-CON Credit Union
added about $2 million in assets and in
its fortieth year of operation—1983—CSE’s
assets totaled $22 million and were
continuing to grow. After forty-five years in
operation, assets reached $45 million.
In March 1990, after forty-one years of
dedicated service, Mary Freeman retired. She
had been the organization’s first Secretary/
Treasurer, then a part-time employee, and
retired as a full-time employee. She had
helped CSE grow from a small, struggling
credit union to one of the largest in Louisiana.
As membership, deposits, and services
increased, the need for a new facility to
accommodate the growth became apparent.
In 1992 land on Swisco Road in Sulphur
was purchased from CITGO, formerly Cities
Service, and construction began on a new
$1.8 million building.
Dick and Mary Freeman participated in
the ribbon cutting ceremony when the new
building was occupied on September 1, 1994.
Dick died a month after the grand opening,
but Mary continued to visit the office
frequently until her death in 2006.
After fifty years of operation, CSE Federal
Credit Union reached $100 million in assets
and more than 14,000 members.
Ken Gardner became the twelfth Chairman
of the Board in 1995 and the credit union’s
third manager, Bill Roberts, was hired to
replace the retiring Eddie Oakley.
By 1997 CSE had grown to $116.5 million in
assets, with a membership in excess of 16,000.
The by-laws of the credit union were upgraded
and ATM cards were issued to members to give
them more access to cash. At the close of 1997,
CSE assets had reached $122.2 million and
membership totaled 17,640.
Keeping in step with technological
developments CSE launched its website,
www.csefcu.org, in 1999. Assets had grown
to $133.5 million when President/CEO
Roberts retired in mid-2000, and Clark J.
Yelverton became the fourth manager of the
credit union.
The credit union’s membership passed the
20,000 mark in November 2000 and in April
2001, loans outstanding went over $100 million
for the first time in the credit union’s history.
152
By the end of 2003, CSE’s sixtieth anniversary, assets had reached $171 million and
membership was over 23,000. The growth
continued, and assets exceeded the $200
million mark in 2005, with membership of
more than 25,000. By this time, there were
eighty-seven Select Employee Groups (SEG’s)
in the field of membership.
A major expansion of services offered by
CSE began in 2005. After more than six
decades of operation as a ‘plain vanilla’
shares-and-loans credit union, CSE began
offering checking accounts, debit cards, and
bill-pay products. Online account access was
already in place by then, so members were
able to access their checking and share
accounts through several delivery channels.
CSE’s first ATM was unveiled at the new—
although temporary—Lake Charles branch on
Nelson Road in 2006. The credit union was
gearing up for a major expansion into Lake
Charles with a new main office. The Sulphur
office ATM was also deployed that year.
After sixty-seven years of operation, the
small, struggling credit union that began with
eleven members has grown to a membership
of more than 30,000, representing over 250
Select Employee Groups. Assets now total
$265 million and CSE is by far the largest
credit union in Southwest Louisiana.
CSE’s main office, named the Dick and
Mary Freeman Building, is located at 4321
Nelson Road in Lake Charles and the Sulphur
branch is located at 2154 Swisco Road.
CSE’s seventy-five hard working and
dedicated employees believe not only in serving
the credit union’s members, but also in giving
back to their community and are involved in
a number of local organizations, including
Big Brothers Big Sisters-Bowl for Kid’s Sake,
and Children’s Miracle Network (Credit Unions
for Kids). CSE has also sponsored and/or
participated in area walks for NAMI, Ethel
Precht, and Pan Can Lake Area Stride.
“We have come a long way since our
organization was founded in 1943, but our
mission and goals have never changed,”
says President and CEO Clark Yelverton.
“The only reason for our existence, and our
highest priority, is to serve our members.
And I think the fact that we have been in
existence in Sulphur and Lake Charles for
sixty-seven years proves that we have been
very successful.”
THE
MARKETPLACE
153
CAMERON
STATE BANK
Above: Leslie Richard, first president of
Cameron State Bank.
Below: Roy M. Raftery, Jr., current president
and chief executive officer of Cameron
State Bank.
Since it was founded 45 years ago Cameron
State Bank has grown to become one of the
major financial institutions in Southwest
Louisiana, with 22 banking centers, more than
50 ATMs, and assets of $790 million.
Bauer Financial Reports and Veribanc, two
of the nation’s most respected independent
rating services, have awarded Cameron State
Bank the highest ratings for safety, soundness,
performance and financial strength.
Leslie Richard was the bank’s first
president when the first CSB branch opened
in Cameron on January 15, 1966. A year later,
Richard was named Chairman of the Board,
a position he held until his death in 1997.
Another of the bank’s organizers and its first
Vice President, Jerry G. Jones, Sr., now serves
as the Chairman of the Board.
When Dronet became president, CSB
operated banking centers in Cameron, Creole,
Grand Chenier and Hackberry. In addition, a
banking center in Grand Lake/Sweetlake was
opened in 1975 and the Johnson Bayou/Holly
Beach banking center was constructed in
1979. Cameron State Bank has continued its
progressive expansion and moved into
Calcasieu Parish with the opening of its first
Lake Charles Office at the corner of Alamo
and Ryan in July 1988. The Maplewood Office
154
was then opened to serve the Sulphur
Community in January 1990.
CSB has achieved phenomenal growth in
deposits, loans, capital and assets over the
past twelve years. Current President and Chief
Executive Officer Roy M. Raftery, Jr., came to
the bank in April 1992 with twenty-seven
years of successful banking experience to
his credit. Under Raftery’s leadership and
reorganization Cameron State Bank’s stability
and performance have emerged to make these
last ten years the most profitable in the bank’s
history. This is evident through the fact
that Cameron State Bank has added eighteen
more banking centers since Raftery came to
the bank.
CSB offers many different financial
products and services, including twenty-four
hour account information service, Internet
banking, bill payer and a network of ATM’s
throughout Southwest Louisiana. Internet
banking, offering the latest technology, allows
customers to check their balances, view
statements, pay bills and transfer money
between accounts whether they are at home,
at work or on vacation.
Mallard Investments, a subsidiary of
Cameron State Bank, is located on the second
floor of the new main office. Mallard
Investments provides CSB customers and
the general public with a full range of
brokerage and investment services. Through
a partnership with UVEST Financial Services
and its affiliates, a registered broker
dealer and member FINRA/SIPC, Mallard
Investments has access to a complete line of
investment products and services including
securities, brokerage services, financial
analysis, professional money management,
stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities and
other products.
CSB now has twenty-one convenient
banking centers throughout Calcasieu,
Cameron and Allen Parishes. There are ten
banking centers in Lake Charles, including
two supermarket offices. The bank also has
three banking centers in Sulphur, and centers
in Moss Bluff, Westlake, DeQuincy and
Vinton. The Hackberry and Grand Lake
banking centers serve Cameron Parish and the
Allen Parish banking centers are located in
Kinder, Oberlin and Oakdale.
The bank has its own data processing
center to process checks and deposits and its
own loan operations center for the processing
of loans. An administrative building on West
McNeese Street in Lake Charles houses
the Accounting Department and Human
Resources, as well as other administrative
offices. The Real Estate Mortgage Division is
housed at the Plaza facility on Ryan Street.
CSB’s main office is located at 4440
Nelson Road and the Operations Center is
located on Common Street. The Loan
Operations Department is located on Oak
Park Boulevard.
Realizing the importance of teaching
children about money and how to save, CSB
recently introduced the Moolah Mallard Kid’s
Club, a savings account designed especially
for children. Kid’s Club members receive a
welcome letter from the mascot, Moolah
Mallard, as well as a membership card,
deposit cards, a plush toy version of Moolah
and many other benefits. The club is open to
anyone seventeen years or younger.
CSB’s 275 employees are very involved
in their communities and help sponsor
many community activities ranging from
Bowl for Kids Sake to the Contraband Days
Festival to the Swashbucklers and many
other worthwhile programs and events. The
bank is committed to providing personal
service to its many customers and investing its
time and resources in school, charitable, and
civic organizations.
CSB has received numerous accolades for
this commitment and is proud to have
received the 1997 “Distinguished Partners in
Education” award for Louisiana and of being
named “Best Bank” in the Times of Southwest
Louisiana reader’s poll eleven times since
1998. CSB has also been named “Best of Lake
Charles” for nine straight years in the
Lagniappe’s poll. CSB was also awarded the
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury’s Eagle Award for
Business Achievement and the United Way
Corporate Spirit Award.
For more information about Cameron State
Bank, please visit www.csbbanking.com.
THE
MARKETPLACE
155
LINDSEY JANIES
PHOTOGRAPHY
Above: Lindsey Janies taking a photograph
of the mayors from five cities just before
they jump ship to kick-off the annual
Contraband Days Festival.
Below: Lindsey Janies.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF LINDSEY
JANIES PHOTOGRAPHY.
I’d like to use this space to give thanks
to so many people. For me, “A Treasure
Revealed” became a year-long adventure!
Many business relationships and new friendships were formed through the dozens of people I had the honor of meeting. The images in
this book were taken with much love and
heartfelt respect. It is awesome to think that
each picture truly has a story to tell! I was
behind the camera to capture every image…
and virtually every “Treasure Revealed” outing
became an adventure for my camera and me.
Whether I was shooting from an airboat in the
156
marsh, a car on a scenic highway, the bed of
a truck in an open field, a dirt road in the
woods, or the cockpit of a helicopter, every
trip out to work on this book showed me
more and more of who and what Southwest
Louisiana really contains.
When I was first asked to participate in the
creation of “A Treasure Revealed”, the title was
given to me before I had even begun shooting.
Quite honestly, I wasn’t very enthusiastic
about the title and I wondered how we could
name a book that wasn’t created yet. I pondered over the title at the beginning of this
project, but now that it’s done, I can now
see how fitting it is for this book. For every
trip to an alligator farm, shipping yard, or
water excursion, a new Southwest Louisiana
lifestyle was introduced and my eyes would
open a little more. Spending the afternoon
next to the saddle of a real cowboy, seat of
a pilot, or the fields of a crawfish farmer,
showed me first hand just how diverse and
vital every citizen’s career is to our area! Each
of us wakes up every morning and goes to our
workplace, never thinking about how important we are to our community. It’s just the
“same old, same old” for each of us because
it’s OUR version of normal. For me to have the
opportunity to jump into a few different seats
and put the entirety of our area and lifestyle
together as one large picture was quite amazing! Feeling the REAL diversity between every
one of us and the roles we play for our community is awesome!
However, as diverse as we are in our jobs
and lifestyles, there is definitely one thing
ALL of us share. What we all have in common
is a true TREASURE that I think is revealed to
EVERYONE we meet! It is our Southern compassion, our charm as a unique, five parish
community, and the size of our hearts that
reveal the treasure of WHO WE ARE. This
book is only a “snapshot” of our Southern
hospitality and genuine sincerity. This book
would not be what you see now, had it not
been for the collaboration and teamwork of
the people who said “yes” to the photographer and granted her the favor and chance to
come into their busy worlds and observe.
I realize there are only so many pages in
this book to introduce outsiders to our world.
I also know everything couldn’t be squeezed
in between these two covers. My objective
was to introduce the people and just some of
the places of this area, and represent us as a
community to newcomers and visitors. I hope
I have your approval!
In conclusion, “A Treasure Revealed” truly
became a treasure that was really was
revealed… to ME! The treasure being who we
are, what we do, and what we are all about!
I have grown up here in Southwest Louisiana,
and at twenty-five, had only thought I knew
our five parish area. As the creative writer
and artist of this assignment, I thank you,
Southwest Louisiana! Thank you for showing
me who you are: thousands of diverse individuals, a community built on a beautiful land
and heritage, and a family of one! YOU are the
true “Treasure Revealed”! This book is yours!
Our gallery is located on 900 Ryan Street,
Suite 100, or call 337.439.5367, or visit us
on the Internet at www.LindseyJanies.com.
A Special Thanks to:
Mayor Randy Roach
Ron Johnson
Ariel Caraway
Wildlife fisheries
Gray Stream and staff
Port of Lake Charles
Era Helicopters
Chenault Airport
Coushatta Casino & Resort
Coushatta Reservation
Pujo Street Cafe
Fox 29
Tupper and Zigler Museums
Gray Ranch
Sowella Technical and Community College
McNeese State University
Thank you!
Sincerely, Lindsey Janies
THE
MARKETPLACE
157
FIRST FEDERAL
BANK OF
LOUISIANA
First Federal Bank of Louisiana has deep
roots in Lake Charles, dating to July 20, 1949,
when the institution was chartered as First
Federal Savings and Loan Association of Lake
Charles. The founders of First Federal were
President of Gulf National Bank of Lake
Charles Sam M. Richard and former Governor
of Louisiana Sam H. Jones along with several
prominent businessmen in the community.
Each initial member invested their
personal funds in the new venture although
there was no assurance the endeavor would
be a success. These business leaders, however,
shared a common commitment to see the
Lake Charles area grow.
This time First Federal moved to its current
seven-story structure on Lakeshore Drive,
which opened its doors in November 1981.
In 1956 First Federal opened its first
branch on Napoleon Street in Sulphur with
W. H. “Bill” McCurley, Jr., as manager. This
branch office continued to expand and First
Federal purchased a former Louisiana Savings
branch office on Maplewood Drive. After
extensive renovations, the new Sulphur office
opened in April 1993.
First Federal’s leaders prudently managed
operations, always staying within regulations
and making sound lending decisions, and
weathered the turbulent financial industry of
the 1980s.
Clockwise, starting from the left:
November 1, 1949, First Federal Savings &
Loan Association opened their doors for
business in an office located on the second
floor of the Gulf National Bank on Ryan
Street. Photograph taken late 1970s.
In 1953 a need for more space prompted a
move to 322 Pujo Street. Photograph taken
late 1970s.
With continued growth over the next five
years, another move was required and the
property on the corner of Kirby and Moss
Street was purchased in 1958. Photograph
taken late 1970s.
Opposite: Current main office at 1135
Lakeshore Drive opened in November 1981.
First Federal first opened its
doors on November 1, 1949, in
an office located on the second
floor of the Gulf National Bank
in downtown Lake Charles. The
first employee and manager was
Susie Guenther.
A need for more space
prompted a move in 1953 to
322 Pujo Street, next to the
Pioneer Building (now the Lake
Charles City Hall). First Federal
continued to grow and, in 1958,
purchased the property at the corner of Kirby
and Moss Streets. After several additions to
that office building, First Federal was ‘bursting
at the seams’ and needed space to expand.
158
As regulations changed First Federal
underwent many changes, including a name
change to include the term “Bank” and became
known as First Federal Bank of Louisiana.
Currently, First Federal Bank of Louisiana
offers many products and services and
is constantly reviewing and identifying
programs to better serve its rapidly growing
customer and community base. In today’s
dynamic world of Internet and information,
First Federal Bank has become a leader in
providing secure, cutting-edge technology
and support for its banking customers.
In addition to the full line of services
already provided, such as checking, savings
accounts, mobile and on-line banking,
First Federal has investment and insurance
opportunities available to individuals
and businesses.
First Federal Bank has a presence that
reaches business, community, media and
customer markets with fifteen locations
and various stand-alone ATMs across the
State of Louisiana, including Lake Charles,
Sulphur, Westlake, Moss Bluff, DeRidder,
Oberlin, Oakdale, Natchitoches, Alexandria
and Pineville and is continuing to grow with
plans for additional locations currently on
the drawing board.
Along with the operation of the current
offices across Southwest, Central and
North Louisiana, employment has grown to
over 250 and the bank has enjoyed a
remarkable history of growth and success
while remaining one of the top financial
leaders in each of the markets it serves with
assets in excess of $700 million.
First Federal Bank of Louisiana is still
governed by its original charter and is still
a mutually owned institution. In essence,
First Federal plays a major role in the local
economy by investing money in the
communities it serves. This is the premise on
which First Federal was originally founded
and it is the same principle that guides the
leadership of President and CEO Charles V.
Timpa and the board of directors under the
Chairmanship of M. A. Pierson, III.
The board and management are committed to contributing to the community
through various causes and charities. What
better way to serve the community than to
give back to it, which is exactly what First
Federal has always done—and will continue
to do.
THE
MARKETPLACE
159
DON’S
CARWASH
DON’S
EXPRESS
DON’S
QUIK LUBE
Around Lake Charles people know they
can depend on Don’s Carwash, Don’s Express
and Don’s Quik Lube to keep their vehicles
looking—and running—like new. Whether it
is an oil change, inspection sticker, fullservice carwash and detailing, or a drive-thru
express carwash, Don’s is the place to go.
With two locations—Don’s Express on
Nelson Road and Don’s Full Service on Ryan
Street—Don’s is committed to catering to
your needs with unmatched customer service
and a variety of service options. Don’s equipment incorporates the latest state-of-the-art
computer and electronic sensor technology
and is on the cutting edge of cleaning agent
chemistry and fluid engineering.
Don Bruno has always had a passion for
automobiles and he has long understood
that proper maintenance is the key to keeping
any vehicle running for a many years. In
1966, Don decided to share his passion with
the community when he and Wilse Kleckly
opened Wizard Carwash on Broad Street.
After several years with Kleckly, Don
bought out the carwash that was located in
the Kmart parking lot on Ryan Street. That
location operated until 1988 when a new
location was constructed a few blocks away at
3700 Ryan. A few years later, Don purchased
an existing transmission shop and reequipped
it to become an oil change.
Although the basics of washing a vehicle—
plenty of soap and water—have remained
the same over the years, the technology of a
professional carwash has changed greatly.
In the 1960s, cars and trucks were pulled
160
through the carwash tunnels by a chain
while they were washed with big brushes.
The equipment was big and bulky and daily
maintenance was required to keep everything
running smoothly. New technology in the
1980s introduced less abrasive brushes and
rollers, and then further evolved into a system
that is essentially brushless.
In addition to the automatic carwash, Don’s
customers at the Nelson Road location may
vacuum their own cars and purchase ArmorAll
and similar products to complete the process.
The managers at Don’s are quick to point
out that washing your car in the driveway at
home is very unfriendly and dangerous to the
environment. That is because when you wash
your vehicle at home, everything that runs off
your car flows into the storm drains and is
eventually carried into nearby waterways. This
toxic, dirty water, which includes cleaning
chemicals, gasoline, oil, tar and the residue
of exhaust fumes, can poison wildlife and
severely damage the delicate ecosystems of
local lakes, rivers, streams creeks and wetlands.
Commercial carwashes are a greener option
because we collect our wash water in a separate
sanitary sewer, which funnels it to wastewater
facilities where it is treated and recycled.
According to the Nature Conservancy, the
world’s leading conservation organization, not
only is choosing to use a commercial carwash
a more environmentally friendly option in
terms of disposal, but washing a car at home
may use between 80 to 140 gallons of water,
while a commercial carwash averages less than
45 gallons per car.
Over the years, Don’s Carwash and Quick
Lube operations have become very successful.
Don washes thousands of cars through the
year, and the average employee base totals
more than 100. A number of locally prominent individuals have started their careers
washing cars or changing oil at Don’s.
Bruno’s future plans include a third
location at McNeese Street and Fifth Avenue
in the near future.
Bruno and his employees believe in giving
back to the community and are involved in a
number of civic activities, including the donation of products and services to local churches
and schools. Don’s has also
sponsored a Haunted Carwash
to benefit local charities. Senior
citizens receive a discount at all
locations on Tuesdays.
About the only thing that
has slowed Don’s growth in
recent years was Hurricane
Rita in 2005. The facilities
received some wind damage,
but the greatest damage
was to the Lake Charles workforce. The locations reopened
quickly, but worked with
skeleton crews and abbreviated hours for nearly a year after
the storm.
Bruno is still active in the
daily operation of the business. “We have been extremely
blessed to have great leadership in our company for many years. Don Breaux, Bill
Humphreys, and thirty-six year employee
Karen DiGiglia are key to this organization’s
success,” said Bruno.
For more than forty years, Don’s has been a
fixture in the Lake Charles business and
automobile communities. Known for our
dedication to customer service, we take pride
in assisting the community with vehicle
services and educating and supporting the
local workforce.
To learn more about Don’s, please check the
website at www.donsallclothcarwash.com.
THE
MARKETPLACE
161
JEFF DAVIS BANK & TRUST COMPANY
Above: Jeff Davis Bank groundbreaking at
the corner of Main and Academy Street in
Jennings, Louisiana, on May 5, 1958.
Shown are (from left to right) Jeff Garrett,
contractor; John Conner, mayor of Jennings;
John LeJeune (on bulldozer); W. B. “Bunk”
Donald; Frank Gallaugher, CEO of Jeff
Davis Bank.
Below: Jeff Davis Bank employees and
community leaders at the re-grand opening
of the Jennings office on December 10, 2009.
Jeff Davis Bank & Trust Company has
offered quality financial services to Southwest
Louisiana since 1947. Founded and headquartered in Jennings, Louisiana, Jeff Davis Bank
strives to be the community bank in the area.
The bank provides a wide range of
financial services including checking and
savings accounts, consumer and small
business loans, mortgage originations, and a
full service trust department. It also manages
various types of investments and insurance
policies. Clients include individuals, small
businesses, and local government agencies.
162
Starting with a modest six employees in 1947,
Jeff Davis Bank currently employs over 200
persons, all trained and dedicated to quality
customer service. The bank has grown to
include twelve branch offices in Jeff Davis,
Calcasieu, and Allen Parishes.
Jeff Davis Bank maintains a high degree
of community involvement in Southwest
Louisiana. When Jeff Davis Bank claims “Our
Prime Interest is You,” they are not referring
only to banking services. Jeff Davis Bank
supports numerous community organizations
such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, American
Heart Association, American Cancer Society,
Boy and Girl Scouts, Special Olympics, Autism
Services of SWLA, Jennings Community
Against Domestic Abuse, Black Heritage
Festival, McNeese State University and the
Louisiana Oil and Gas Foundation, as well as
local churches and both school and community
athletic organizations. Each of the twelve
branch offices is a “Partner in Education” for a
local school.
This community involvement includes
more than financial support. Jeff Davis Bank
employees actively participate at community
events. They enter the annual Heart Walk, the
Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, and the Ethel
Precht Breast Cancer Walk. They distribute
“How to do your Banking” workbooks to area
schools. They show up in school cafeterias as
Big Brothers/Big Sisters “Lunch Buddies.”
The history of Jeff Davis Bank is one of
steady growth. During the 1940s, Jennings and
the surrounding community experienced significant development and several prominent
citizens believed the region would benefit from
a new bank. Under the direction of Frank
Gallaugher, CEO from 1947-1981, the business prospered. The new bank opened on
March 12, 1947, in the front portion of
the Miller Building’s first floor. Gallaugher
and the five other employees opened the
doors at 9:00 a.m. and awaited customers.
By 10:00 a.m., the lobby bustled with patrons.
At the end of the day, a total of $335,000 had
been deposited; an impressive start.
As the town of Jennings grew so did the
bank. By 1957 booming business warranted
building a bigger bank. The new facility
boasted all the latest features in banking
security and amenities. The building was
constructed of fireproof masonry and steel; the
vault made burglar-proof with more than a
million pounds of concrete and intricate time
locks. The new drive-through feature,
the first in Jeff Davis Parish, added
convenience for customers. Moving
the money from the old bank to the
new bank proved to be quite an ordeal.
While armed guards stood watch, the
employees loaded more than 4,000
pounds of silver, representing over
$200,000 into a pick-up truck and
drove it to the new site.
In 1967 the bank opened its first
branch office in Lake Arthur. The
1980s and 1990s witnessed even
more expansion for Jeff Davis Bank.
Branches were opened in Iowa, Welsh,
Kinder, Moss Bluff, and Lake Charles.
Today, customers can bank at twelve
convenient locations.
Jeff Davis Bank prides itself on
being a “hometown” bank with an
emphasis on quality service. The bank
credits its success to loyal customers.
In the fiftieth anniversary celebration
booklet, the bank tells its patrons, “You are
the reason we are successful, you are the
reason we continue to grow, and you are the
reason for us being here.”
Above: Jeff Davis Bank employees
participate in the annual American Heart
Association Heart Walk.
Below: Jeff Davis Bank employees visit a
local elementary school to teach
about banking.
THE
MARKETPLACE
163
CALCASIEU
FEDERAL
EMPLOYEES
CREDIT UNION
Top: The historical U.S. Post Office and
Federal Courthouse, which still stands on
Broad Street, was the original location of
credit union.
Above: The original Founders of Calcasieu
Federal Employees Credit Union, journal,
and P. O. Box.
In 1946 James Lusby, a postal
employee and the first treasurer
of Calcasieu Federal Employees
Credit Union (CFECU) organized
and chartered the oldest credit
union originated in Lake Charles,
Louisiana. From the historical
U.S. Postal Office and Federal
Courthouse, he met with charter
members and provided them basic
saving and borrowing services
basically from his own pocket. He
recorded transactions and kept
handwritten income statements
and balance sheets in the original credit union
journal. He also established the credit union’s
mailing address, which is still valid today—
P.O. Box 200, Lake Charles, Louisiana.
By 1952 the credit union had grown to
over $30,000 in assets, but unfortunately, so
had bad loans. The State Banking Agency cited
the credit union for loan delinquencies and
ordered that no further dividends could be
paid to the members, without State approval.
By the next year, Robert David Lucky stepped
into the treasurer position. With Lucky’s
aggressive collection tactics, by 1955 the State
Banking Agency had reinstated CFECU’s
authority and rights to pay dividends. Lucky’s
significant contributions to the credit union
continued throughout his tenure as treasurer
until his resignation from the position in
164
1964—strong capital had been built and the
credit union’s assets increased to $540,000.
The reins of the treasurer were then
transferred to the late Thomas O. Lee who
served the credit union, in that position
alone, for more than twenty-two years.
Known as “T. O.” by his friends, Lee was the
last volunteer to actually manage the credit
union. He continued to handwrite every
member statement and all general ledger
journal entries, including the income
statement and balance sheet without any
assistance, until the credit union’s assets
grew to about $1 million. CFECU’s Board of
Directors then hired the credit union’s first
employee—Ernie Ward. Ward helped keep
the books of the credit union part-time for
five years until he resigned in 1976.
Upon Ward’s resignation, the Board of
Directors determined that CFECU needed a
full-time employee to help manage the
Credit Union. In 1977 the Board of Directors
hired Wanda “Gale” LeBato to assist Lee.
Working together, LeBato and Lee had the
credit union’s books transferred to its first
computer within the first year of her
employment, although she also continued to
keep handwritten ledgers to double check
the computer for another eighteen years. The
Board of Directors quickly realized LeBato’s
leadership qualities and accounting skills and
she eventually became the credit union’s first
official CEO/Manager.
LeBato went on to manage CFECU for
twenty-eight years and, during her tenure,
the office location moved twice—first to the
Main Post Office on Moss Street and then
to the current location of the main office
downtown—519 Kirby Street. With Board
approval she implemented payroll deduction
and direct deposit for credit union members
in the 1980s, Christmas Club Accounts; and,
after the Internet was introduced in the mid1990s and the Y2K scare was over, she set up
an informational website for credit union
members. In 2003 the Board approved the
addition of American Express Traveler’s
Cheques and LeBato offered free notary
service to credit union members. She also is
considered the instrumental force in the
credit union’s opportunity to purchase the
old Pitt Theatre property that was adjacent to
519 Kirby Street location. One month after
receiving an award by the Louisiana Credit
Union League for “Professional of the Year,”
LeBato sadly passed away on July 9, 2005.
Her work with bringing credit unions
together with the Make-a-Wish Foundation
and Children’s Miracle Network is still
memorialized today.
On August 15, 2005, the CFECU Board
of Directors hired Jessica LaRocca as the
CEO/Manager. With her employment the
Board developed a new business plan to give
members more financial services and methods
of conducting business with the credit union.
First they decided they needed a new office
and the 519 Kirby Street Office was renovated
and doubled in size with two drive-thru
lanes. Once that was completed, a palette of
services was added over the past five years.
Today, CFECU offers a variety of share
certificates and share draft/checking accounts
along with debit cards; twenty-two local
no surcharge ATMs; e-statements; online
banking; online bill-pay; text banking; online
loan and membership applications and a new
website. In addition the credit union now has
a South Lake Charles Branch.
Over the past sixty-four years Calcasieu
Federal Employees Credit Union’s membership
has slightly progressed to now include “all
federal employees living or working in the
706 zip code; or employee or retirees of
the Cameron Parish School Board, Melisa
Nelson McMillian’s Allstate Insurance Agency,
Calcasieu Federal Employees Credit Union;
and/or an immediate family member of a
current member.” Its asset size has increased
to $15 million. However, Calcasieu Federal
Employees Credit Union’s main value has
never changed—“to always exceed our
members’ expectations.”
Above: The exterior of the main office.
Below: The interior of the South Lake
Charles Branch.
THE
MARKETPLACE
165
SCHLESINGERS
WHOLESALE
Schlesingers Wholesale was
established in September 1946 at
1832 East Broad Street in Lake
Charles. The company was the
brainchild of Frank T. Fertitta,
whose desire was to form a familyrun business to ensure his family’s
future livelihood.
Frank’s dad, Tony Fertitta and
his three brothers came to the
U.S. from Sicily. The four brothers
settled in Leesville, Louisiana, where
they owned grocery and hardware
stores. Frank was born in Leesville
on August 18, 1898, and moved to
Beaumont, Texas, as a young man.
Clockwise, starting from above:
Frank T. Fertitta.
Barbara Ann, daughter of Anthony and Bea
Fertitta with Johnny Roventini, the famous
Philip Morris Bellhop, 1950.
Johnny Roventini, Barbara Ann, Bea
Fertitta, Delores Tuminello (sister of
Anthony, Sr.) with three representatives from
the Philip Morris Company, 1950.
Frank T. Fertitta.
Frank T. Fertitta and his son,
Anthony D. Fertitta.
Frank had worked in sales for many years as
a route salesman and felt that was good
experience for what he wanted to accomplish.
He was associated with a relative-owned
business, Texas Coffee Company, at different
times. He also, at one time, owned a small
candy-making business where football suckers,
peanut patties, and a variety of other candies
were made. The candy was made by two
Swedish immigrants and sold by Frank to
the customers from his truck.
It was at this time that Frank became
acquainted with A. W. Schlesinger, a
business man and philanthropist who
owned a candy and tobacco wholesale
business in Beaumont.
At this time, Anthony Fertitta, Frank’s
son, was training with the Army Air
Corps at Langley Field, Virginia, to
bomb Japanese submarines. He was a
bombardier on a B-24 and was only days
166
away from being sent to Japan
to bomb enemy submarines
stationed in caves along the coast
of Japan. A crew of B-24s had
already been painted black for
the night missions when the U.S.
dropped the atomic bomb. When
World War II drew to a close,
Anthony returned to Beaumont
in October 1945, following VJ
Day and his honorable discharge
from the Air Force.
Frank approached Schlesinger
about going into a business partnership
in Lake Charles. He agreed, and Schlesinger
became a silent partner. Frank and his wife,
Margaret, and daughter, Delores (Tuminello)
moved to Lake Charles from Beaumont to
get the business started. Thus the doors
of Schlesingers Wholesale were opened in
September 1946.
In May 1946 Anthony was married to
Beatrice DiGiglia from Lake Charles. At the
time the business opened in Lake Charles,
Anthony and Beatrice were still living in
Beaumont and Anthony had returned to his
pre-war job at Texas Coffee Company. He did
not join the business until July 1947. Upon his
arrival he was put in charge of all sales routes
and business matters.
Originally the majority of items sold were
candy and tobacco, but gradually many
other items were added to the inventory. The
company now carries everything from Mardi
Gras supplies to paper goods and everything
in between.
During the 1950s a cigarette vending
machine business, Automatic Cigarette
Service, was acquired. This was also run by
Anthony. Later, the business incorporated
and became Schlesingers Wholesale &
Automatic Cigarette Service, Inc.
Some of the early employees were Charlie
Lupo, Matthew Badolato, Matthew Rideau,
Antoine Migues, Rabbit Manual, Allen
Carrier, Allen Desomeaux, Floyd Stutes, Lee
Gerard, and Craig Gerard. Felix Stone was
bookkeeper for many years.
Sometime later Anthony became a third
partner by buying into the business.
When Schlesinger was ready to
retire, Frank and Anthony bought
him out, although the name
Schlesinger remains.
After his father’s death in 1969
Anthony bought out the entire
business and became sole owner.
In the late 1970s Schlesingers
Wholesale relocated to their new
building at 1002 Highway 14.
Anthony’s son, Anthony, Jr.,
started working as a teenager during summers and vacation time.
Upon graduation from school, he
came into the business full time.
Grandsons Patrick and Sean
Diamond also worked in the
business during their teen
years. They always valued their
experience in the business world.
When Anthony, Sr., retired in
2007 at the age of eighty-five,
Anthony, Jr., stepped into his dad’s position.
He is now vice president and general
manager of the business.
Route territories were expanded over
the years and the company now covers
approximately a sixty mile radius of the
Lake Charles area. The business has eight
employees and five trucks in operation.
In September 2009, Schlesinger Wholesale
marked its sixty-third anniversary in business.
The Fertittas credit their success to faith in
God and a lot of hard work.
Below: Left to right, Anthony Fertitta, Jr.,
Anthony Fertitta, Sr., Bea Fertitta and
Sandra McComb Fertitta.
THE
MARKETPLACE
167
SOUTHWEST
BEVERAGE CO.,
INC.
Left: A route delivery truck c. 1959.
Right: The original Southwest Beverage
Company facility on Broad Street in
Lake Charles.
As World War II came to a close in the
mid-1940s, locally brewed beers dominated
the Louisiana market. Falstaff and Jax, for
example, held sixty-six percent of the market
between them, compared with Budweiser’s
three to four percent market share.
Concerned over these conditions, August
Busch, Jr., president of Anheuser-Busch
Brewing Company, gave existing wholesalers
the choice of selling Budweiser or Falstaff, but
not both. They all opted for Falstaff. As a
result, B. A. Marriner, manager for the beer
and liquor departments of the wholesale
house handling Budweiser, was awarded the
Budweiser distribution rights in early 1954.
Those rights covered an eleven parish
territory in Southwest and Central Louisiana.
Marriner, known as “B. A.” opened locations
in Lake Charles and Alexandria and, in 1955,
added Leesville.
Late in 1959 B. A.’s son, Richard Marriner,
took a leave from his management duties with
Standard Oil Company Refinery and helped
his Dad reorganize the business, introduce
new brands, move to better locations in
Alexandria and Leesville, and open a branch
in Eunice. Richard then returned to Standard
Oil, where he held top-level positions in New
York, Holland, and London.
In 1966, however, B. A.’s failing health presented a dilemma for Richard. In those days,
there were no ‘wholesaler-brewer equity
agreements’. Regardless of the contribution of
the wholesaler, they received no compensation from the brewer for building the
business, should the wholesaler wish to cease
168
operations. In B. A.’s case, he had built the
business from 113,000 cases sold in 1954 to
well over a one million cases in 1967. Richard
was faced with continuing his career with
Standard Oil, or coming home to Lake
Charles and taking over the family business so
it could survive.
In January 1967 Richard returned to the
business hoping to share management
responsibility with his father. Unfortunately,
B. A. died on July 2, 1967.
Despite a 1969 Teamsters strike that closed
access to breweries for over a month, business
continued to grow and more products were
added. During this era, Southwest Beverage
became one of the first five wholesalers in the
United States to put handheld computers on
their routes.
Southwest Beverage sales reached two
million cases in 1980. The Lake Charles warehouse was full, employees were sharing
offices and there was no room for expansion.
Construction began on new facilities and on
Memorial Day weekend in 1984, the company moved into a new seventy-five-thousandsquare-foot warehouse in Lake Charles.
In 1982 Richard’s son, Ben Marriner, graduated from college and began his career with
Southwest Beverage. He had worked in the
warehouse and on route trucks during school
and continued to work his way up the line,
becoming general manager in 1993.
As business continued to grow Southwest
Beverage purchased and renovated a warehouse/
office facility in Alexandria in 1989. Shortly
afterward, the Eunice location was closed.
In 1994 sales hit three million cases!
In 2004, during the celebration of the firm’s
fiftieth year, Richard assumed the role of
Chairman of the Board and appointed Ben as
president of Southwest Beverage.
In 2008 Southwest Beverage branched out
and began distributing non-alcoholic products.
Sales that year reached four million cases.
In 1954 Southwest Beverage sold only
two products, Budweiser and Michelob. The
company had twenty-five employees and
delivered 116,683 cases of beer. In 1954 the
average retail price for a case of Budweiser
was less than five dollars.
Today Southwest Beverage handles more
than 105 products and expects to deliver
4,355,196 cases of beer, 11,840 kegs, and
18,716 cases of non-alcoholic products to 1,110
accounts in 2010. The average retail price for
a case of Budweiser is now twenty dollars.
Southwest Beverage employs 184 people,
thirty-seven of whom have been part of the
Southwest Beverage family for more than
fifteen years.
Southwest Beverage is a third generation
family-owned business with a firm belief that a
thriving community is an important element
in its success. The company demonstrates this
belief through extensive community support
in all three of its locations: Lake Charles,
Alexandria, and Leesville. Southwest Beverage
is a major partner with dozens of local organizations that present safe and rewarding events.
Especially close to the hearts of the owners
and employees is the support of the Calcasieu
Association for Retarded Citizens and the
Southwest Louisiana War Veteran’s Home.
Southwest Beverage is involved in events such
as private showings and dinner for the clients
when The Clydesdale Team is in town and
sponsors the annual Poker Run fundraiser.
These events are coordinated entirely by
employee volunteers and their families and
have proven both fun and successful.
The Budweiser presence has been represented at many events over the years by The
Clydesdale Team, Miss Budweiser racing boat,
NASCAR race car, Bud racing airplane, the
Bud Light entertainment truck, the Budweiser
Brewing School, as well as Spuds McKenzie
and Rhett Budweiser, the ‘walking robot’.
The Bud Light Daredevils even did a parachute drop at the halftime celebration of a
McNeese Homecoming football game. And,
the Southwest Beverage 1924 Model ‘T’ Ford
Beer Truck has been present at many parades
and festivals throughout the area during the
past forty-two years.
B. A.’s motto in his early career was
“Making Friends is Our Business.” In his
words, “You know, it all really does come
down to making friends and providing the
best customer service possible. We can’t help
it if we make a lot of friends in bars and at
special events; Laissez les bon temps rouler!”
Above: Three generations of leadership—
B. A. Marriner (pictured), Richard Marriner
(seated), and Ben Marriner (standing).
Below: The signature 1924 Budweiser
Model T driven by “Charlie T” Thomas
alongside a sixteen-bay 2010 route delivery
truck at the current Lake Charles facility.
THE
MARKETPLACE
169
STEAMBOAT
BILL’S
Few of the customers enjoying the delicious
seafood at Steamboat Bill’s on North Lakeshore
Drive realize that the popular restaurant is
the culmination of a dream that began twentyeight years ago with a road-side shrimp
peddler named Kathi Bonamici Vidrine.
It is a story straight out of Hollywood (or
Louisiana in this case), with a vivacious, hardworking heroine determined to overcome all
the odds and build a successful business.
The story begins in 1982 when the end
of an ill-fated marriage found Kathi and her
three young daughters stranded in Lake
Charles, far from her home town of Chicago,
with little money and no friends or family in
the community. Kathi, however, was driven
by a strong will for survival and an uncanny
ability to overcome obstacles that would
overwhelm less motivated individuals.
170
Kathi had a dream of peddling shrimp on
the side of the road but had only $1,800 to
her name. Rather than forget her dream, she
put a little sink in the back of her truck and
drove to DeRidder each day to sell shrimp by
the side of the road. Kathi named her business
Steamboat Bill’s in honor of her father, and
had the name painted in large letters on the
side of the truck.
“I didn’t know if I could sell in Lake
Charles so I got a license in DeRidder,” Kathi
explains. “I would go down to Hackberry at
2:00 a.m. each morning to get the fresh
shrimp from the boats coming in, come home,
get my kids off to school, and drive an hour to
DeRidder to sell my shrimp.”
After a while, Kathi learned that she could
qualify for a license to sell shrimp in Lake
Charles and moved her road-side operation
closer to home. “I thought that was great
because I didn’t have to commute to DeRidder
every day,” she says.
Kathi’s bubbling personality and strong
desire to deliver the freshest shrimp possible
at very reasonable prices quickly gained her
the respect of customers and fishermen alike.
The business grew to the point that she called
on her brother, Billy Bonamici, for help.
“Billy came down from Vegas without a
dime in his pocket,” Kathi recalls. “We would
take turns peddling the shrimp from the back
of the truck. He would ride the bike out in
the afternoon to take my place so I could
make dinner for the girls. He was so loved by
the customers that he became the face of
Steamboat Bill’s. Still to this day he is known
as Brother Billy or Steamboat Bill. He later
passed away.
“It was nothing for us to sell a couple of
hundred pounds at one time,” she says. “We
met everybody in the whole town and it was
just wonderful. We developed a one-on-one
relationship with all the customers.”
Kathi remembers one lady with several
children who would come by every afternoon
about 4 o’clock to buy shrimp. “I told her that
instead of coming at 4 o’clock, you need to
come when I’m ready to close up and I’ll
make you a deal on whatever I have left. I
gave her a really good deal so she could feed
her kids.”
In 1982, with her brother’s help, the business grew to the point where they needed a
shrimp dock to supply the demand, and Kathi
was able to buy a little dock that had been
closed down. After buying the shrimp dock, she
and Billy discovered the dock had no refrigeration and no way to make ice. “We were able
to lease a 400 pound ice machine and when
the first shrimper showed up he took all the
ice, which wasn’t much. That created another
dilemma because there wasn’t enough for the
next shrimper. But we always worked through
our crisis. The lessons we learn as first-time
business owners are hysterical looking back
today. One day a friend showed up and just
gave us a refrigerated box to store the shrimp,”
she says. “To this day, he hasn’t let me pay him.”
Like most small businesses Kathi’s shrimp
business endured growing pains. She still
remembers the day her brother called to say
he needed $2,000 to pay for twenty boxes
of shrimp. “We didn’t have the money to
pay these people, so I went to a bank,” she
explains. “Now, I don’t know the banker from
Adam. But I go in and tell him, ‘Either I’m
going to be broke or I’m going to be on my
way to success. You’re going to make that
determination today. I need about $2,500
because I have shrimp sitting at the dock and
I don’t have the money to pay for them.’”
The banker, Lee Temple, made the loan and
it marked the beginning of a growth period for
the business. He changed her life!! “We started
buying large amounts of shrimp, because
everybody knew we were honest and wanted
to do business with us,” Kathi says. With the
new growth Kathi recruited her daughters to
help work and later her Mom and Dad.
Restrictions on peddling shrimp also
plagued the growing business, but rather than
give in to the petty restrictions, Kathi fought
the ordinances all the way to the Supreme
Court, and won.
Finally, in 1984, Kathi’s dream of owning
her own seafood market came true with the
opening of Steamboat Bill’s Seafood Market.
That eventually grew into three Cajun seafood
restaurants: 1004 North Lakeshore Drive,
Lake Charles, Louisiana; the corner of Broad
and Highway 14, Lake Charles, Louisiana; and
Hendersonville, Tennessee.
Kathi’s determination to succeed helped
her overcome major obstacles that would
have discouraged most people—from one of
the businesses burning down in a fire, and
rebuilding, to fighting for her right to peddle
all the way to the Supreme Court. “I have
been through it all.
“It was so much fun doing this because,
you know what, it was never a day’s work,”
Kathi says. “It was always a passion. I never
got into it for money.”
THE
MARKETPLACE
171
CHAMBER
SWLA
On September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita
came ashore wiping out coastal communities
and causing $10 billion in wind and water
damage from the coast to miles inland.
Within days, the Chamber SWLA (Southwest
Louisiana’s regional chamber) worked with the
Southwest Louisiana Partnership for Economic
Development (a public entity funded by
municipal and parish funds) and local, state
and federal departments to open the Business
Recovery Assistance Center in Lake Charles
(pictured) to serve all Southwest Louisiana
businesses. During those first few days, the
Center handled over 2,000 calls and 1,200
walk-ins, assisting with 360 grant applications
and 350 Small Business Administration loans.
While recovering, the region showed an
unprecedented spirit of cooperation and
within months, life had returned to a semblance of normalcy as the businesses, organizations and government systems of Southwest
Louisiana got back to business. A little over a
year later, as part of region’s ongoing cooperative spirit, the Chamber SWLA, its Economic
172
Development Foundation, and the
Southwest Louisiana Partnership for
Economic Development combined
resources in October 2006 to form
the Southwest Louisiana Economic
Development Alliance. This new
coalition focuses on economic development efforts within the region
determined to strengthen business
recruiting and retention efforts
for Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu,
Cameron, and Jeff Davis Parishes.
Today the SWLA Alliance hosts
hundreds of events, promotes our
region at national conventions and in national
publications, and meets with site selectors and
investors interested in our region. The Alliance
is funded through the Chamber SWLA membership and public and private investors
through the Foundation because, as a coalition
of businesses and organizations, we are able
to do more than one person can do alone to
ensure a prosperous future for Southwest
Louisiana. With our thoughts focused on the
future, we nurture the upcoming crop of
entrepreneurs, showcase the availability of wellpaying local careers for the next generation
of workers, and highlight the importance of
national and international trade. The Alliance
also maintains accurate databases on the industries, demographics, and available sites and
buildings throughout the region for use by the
public and potential investors.
Currently the Alliance with the Calcasieu
Parish Police Jury, the City of Lake Charles,
and McNeese State University is developing
a one-stop economic development center
for Southwest Louisiana called the SEED
(Southwest Louisiana Entrepreneurial and
Economic Development) Center. The estimated
size is 50,000 square feet and it will be
comprised of facilities for developing businesses (incubator offices, labs and workshops),
conference and training rooms, classrooms,
and offices for McNeese State University School
of Business, the University’s Small Business
Development Center, The Alliance, and the
IMCAL Regional Planning Commission.
Through the efforts of the Alliance,
Southwest Louisiana has an advocate for
growth, expansion, and progress.
Southland Coins and Collectibles is a unique
business that specializes in rare coins and
currency, gold and silver bullion, Civil War
memorabilia, and other rare historical
documents. Owner Malcolm Self realized a
long-term dream when he moved into his own
building at 4670 Lake Street in 2008. Malcolm
recalls how his love of coins began:
When I was five years old, my dad brought
home a large bag of coins and dumped them
on the kitchen table. I was mesmerized. Dad
then pulled out several books with holes in
which the coins would fit. He showed me how
to read numbers and dates and asked me to
help him fill in the coin books. I was hooked.
For the next ten years, I spent my entire
allowance buying coins. When I was fifteen, I
selling coins on the Internet; and Malcolm saw
the future.
Through the World Wide Web, Southland
Coins has become an international business.
Since 1999 sales have increased an average of
twenty-two percent a year. In 1999, ninety
percent of Southland Coins’ customers came
through the front door. By 2009, ninety percent
of its customers span the globe.
Malcolm concludes by saying, “I had the help
and support of great mentors. My wife Donna
and my father Marvin are at the top of the list.
My dad’s advice on business and the economy
have been invaluable. With the help of God and
my family, I will continue to be successful in life
as well as in business. How sweet it is!”
For additional information, check out
Southland Coins at www.southlandcoins.net.
SOUTHLAND
COINS &
COLLECTIBLES
set up a table at my first coin show; it was a
huge rush. I knew then that I wanted to own
my own coin business someday.
Buying and selling coins became more than
a hobby. I paid for college doing what I loved.
I graduated from Louisiana Tech University in
Chemical Engineering. Working as an engineer
would pay the bills while I learned the ropes to
being a full-time coin dealer.
Southland Coins and Collectibles opened
in 1985 at a weekend flea market. After two
years, Malcolm knew it was time to quit his
job as an engineer and go for the gold, so
to speak. He resigned on February 15, 1987,
incorporated the business, and opened its
doors at a shopping center on May 1, 1987.
The nation was in the middle of a recession,
and keeping the business open proved to be
a challenge. In addition, Malcolm had a wife
and two children to support. Failure was
not an option for Malcolm, and, as he says,
“I loved every minute of it.”
Despite the stagnating economy in the Lake
Area, Southland Coins and Collectibles
continued to grow, and Malcolm hired his first
full-time employee. By 1999, however, the
business seemed to stall. Malcolm’s nephew,
Derek, who worked part-time at Southland
Coins while attending McNeese State
University, suggested that Malcolm try selling
coins on the Internet. After several weeks,
Derek proved that he could make a profit
THE
MARKETPLACE
173
MCDONALD’S
OF SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA
Above: Melvin Gehrig, Sr.
Below: Doug Gehrig.
The McDonald’s of Southwest Louisiana
organization is comprised of the McDonald’s
restaurants in Calcasieu Parish; currently
eleven stores.
At the conception Melvin Gehrig, Sr., and his
wife, Eleanor, operated a meat processing plant
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but wanted to move
south to a warmer climate. To achieve those
goals, and once having owned a restaurant, they
pursued a McDonald’s franchise. McDonald’s
awarded the franchise to Melvin for the first store
in Lake Charles, which opened on July 12, 1972.
Lake Charles supported the first McDonald’s.
And, with the operations and business as
successful as they were, McDonald’s awarded
Melvin another franchise in 1975, this one on
Ruth Street in Sulphur. At this time, Melvin
invited his second son, Doug, to come and work
with him in the business, as a third store was on
the horizon. Doug graduated from the University
of Illinois in 1972 with a degree in mechanical
engineering and worked in the engineering field
for three years before joining his father’s
business. Doug also had restaurant experience
from working in several restaurants and food
services during his high school and college years.
In the first years of McDonald’s in Lake
Charles, and then through 2002, three other
siblings also operated stores in the parish. As
of 2003, Doug had purchased all the stores
from family members and built several new
sites, totaling eleven franchises. Doug remains
the only owner/operator in the family. Gerard
Mack, a long time employee of Doug and
174
previously by his father, is also a stockholder
in five of these McDonald’s.
Today sales are more than $24 million
annually, which represents over four million
customer visits. McDonald’s currently employs
more than 550 people and has a payroll in
excess of $6 million annually. The Gehrigs
have employed in excess of 23,000 Calcasieu
Parish residents in its thirty-eight year history.
Currently two new store locations are
being considered for McDonald’s in Calcasieu
Parish. One has been approved and may be
built this year in the western edge of the
parish near the Texas border; this will also be
owned and operated by Doug; and one in
Lake Charles sometime in the next few years,
depending on the city’s growth. Sometime this
year, or early in 2011, the original store on
Prien Lake Road will be demolished and
rebuilt in the new McDonald’s style.
The Gehrig organizations have supported
many functions and charities in Lake Charles
over the past thirty-eight years. Just last year
alone, support of organizations in surrounding
communities exceeded $50,000, all from the start
of one Gehrig-owned McDonald’s in Southwest
Louisiana. The Gehrig family would like to thank
the Lake Area for the support it has received
through the years and the continued patronage.
The office of McDonald’s of Southwest
Louisiana has been on Common Street in Lake
Charles for thirty years. In late 2008 the office
was relocated to 3414 Common Street, just five
blocks south.
For more information, check the website at
www.mcdswla.com.
Simple. Fast. Easy. Free. Those four words
succinctly describe how The User-Friendly
Phone Book has helped connect local buyers
with local sellers for nearly a century.
The User-Friendly Phone Book (UFPB) is
a leading independent publisher of yellow
page directories that sells local Yellow Page
advertising and distributes more than six
million phone books in eight states across
36 markets. UFPB was formed in 1999 with
the launch of User-Friendly Yellow Pages in
Lake Charles. But, the company has Gulf
Coast roots dating back to 1928 as Cameron
Communications, a division of the Cameron
Telephone Company, a privately owned family
business founded to serve Louisiana’s
emerging oil industry.
Cameron Communication’s directory
publishing business for Yellow Page
advertising flourished over the decades
and by the mid 1990s, the company’s
president at the time and current CEO
Bruce Howard conceived the “User-Friendly”
concept of a phone book that would offer the
following features:
• a unique and simple format with easy-toread large print
• colorful cut-out tabs
• money-saving coupons
• menu guides
• robust community guide information.
The User-Friendly Phone Book has been
voted the best phone book for the past seven
years in a poll by Lagniappe Magazine.
In November 2003 Cameron Communications
spun off its successful directory publishing
business. At that time, Veronis Suhler
Stevenson, traditionally a media industryfocused financial institution, took a major
interest in the company. UFPB is now a portfolio company of VS&A Communications
Partners III, LP, which is the private equity affiliate of media industry merchant bank Veronis
Suhler Stevenson.
Determined to provide top quality service,
even in times of adversity, UFPB responded
quickly when Hurricane Rita devastated
Cameron Parish in 2005. The company made
arrangements for all of their displaced
employees to work in other markets until
their home areas were restored. For the many
local businesses in Cameron Parish who
were nearly wiped out by the storm, UFPB
representatives created advertising solutions
that helped local business owners rebuild
their business.
In 2008 UFPB created an Internet division
of the company. GoLocal247.com is a local
community website centered around a robust
business directory. Lake Charles residents
could now go to LakeCharles247.com to search
for local business information and reviews,
download coupons for use at local businesses,
post classified ads for free, browse a calendar of
events and job listings, and stay caught up on
local news and weather headlines.
UFPB has regional offices in Lake Charles,
Alexandria, Shreveport and Beaumont, Texas.
The Lake Charles sales office is located at
4835 Ihles Road and is home to Area Sales
Manager Rebecca Krause and Vice President
of Sales Jennifer Robbins. The staff includes
six sales representatives and two sales support
team members.
The User-Friendly Phone Book is published
each June and has a total circulation of
130,000 phone books in the greater Lake
Charles area.
For more information about UFPB, please
visit www.theuserfriendlyphonebook.com,
or check out its local community sites
at lakecharles247.com, alexandria247.com,
beaumont247.com, and shreveport247.com.
THE USERFRIENDLY
PHONE BOOK
Left to right: Lisa Carr, regional office
coordinator; Dave Lambert, CFO; Jennifer
Robbins, vice president sales; Bruce
Howard, CEO; Rebecca Krause, area sales
manager Lake Charles and Jackie Hebert,
account manager Lake Charles.
THE
MARKETPLACE
175
LAKE CHARLES
COCA-COLA
BOTTLING
COMPANY
Below: Lake Charles poster celebrating
100 years.
Bottom: Baby bulk on Lake
Charles waterfront.
Coca-Cola bubbles in the veins of southwest
Louisiana—a consistent backdrop for the
community since 1907, supporting families,
businesses, and civic events. The family-owned
Lake Charles Coca-Cola Bottling Company
serves four parishes, employs 140 employees
who distribute over 300 product brands, and
operates from a 150,000 square foot plant. Most
important, however, Coca-Cola rarely misses an
opportunity to give back to its loyal community.
Coca-Cola is one of the first to support
organizations that touch the lives of
thousands of southwest Louisiana locals every
day. Through cash and product donations
Coca-Cola helps make dreams come true
and strengthens charitable and education
institutions with an I’d like to buy the
world a Coke attitude. Some partners
include Boy and Girl Scouts, Red Cross,
United Way, the Lake Charles Symphony,
numerous festivals across the four-parish
area, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation,
all area schools, Calcasieu Council on
Aging, Children’s Miracle Network, the
SWLA Livestock Show and Rodeo, and
the Wishing Well Foundation.
Lake Charles Coca-Cola also donated
$25,000 to the Second Millennium Park
Project, partnered with United Way to
bring the Olympic Torch to Lake Charles,
held an appraisal fair for Coca-Cola
antiques and collectibles, sponsored
McNeese State University home opener
football games—including tailgate parties,
parachutists, jambalaya, and, of
course, Coca-Cola.
The first Lake Charles CocaCola bottling plant opened in
1907 at about the same time
the “good to the last drop” soda
fountain drink filled bottles
distributed across America,
Canada, and South America. As
the world recognized the
familiar Coke bottle shape, the
Lake Charles plant shaped
southwest Louisiana even in
the early days, distributing cases
of green bottles rattling against
each other in open-racked
trucks. The bottling plant
176
remained a steadfast icon in Lake Charles,
serving up “ice cold sunshine” (a 1932 slogan)
through two world wars, the 1930s depression,
huge cultural changes between the 1950s
through the 1990s, and on into the second
millennium. Still owned by the Crawford T.
Johnson family for over 100 years, the
company adjusts to trends in taste, yet hangs
on to nostalgic brands. Some old favorites still
distributed by Lake Charles Coca-Cola are
Delaware Punch, Tab, Mello Yello, and Big
Red; newer pumped-up brands include Full
Throttle, Monster, Gold Peak Tea, and Enviga.
Many locals’ childhood memories include
Coca-Cola. The solid brick plant on Lawrence
Street was fascinating for children who stood
against the bronze rail of the carousel
watching bottles fill with dark caramel
colored Coke; usually visitors were handed a
free bottle—quite a treat especially during
the depression days. Others remember the
old nickel Coke machines at hardware and
grocery stores that were as much fun to
operate as drinking the Coca-Cola itself—
drop a nickel in the slot and open the door to
an ice cold Coke, or slide a bottle round and
round a rack until the cold bottle was freed
into your hands. The Lawrence Street bottling
plant was even refuge to some families during
Hurricane Audrey in 1957.
Coca-Cola played a major role in many
lives and it still does. One family remembers
Mom packing fried chicken, potato salad,
and green glass six-ounce bottles of Coke
in a red Coca-Cola cooler. The cooler went
everywhere—crabbing in local bayous,
picnics in the parks, or on road trips to
Grandma’s. Even the bottoms of the
returnable bottles were little geography
lessons marked with their cities of origin.
Today Lake Charles Coca-Cola is still The
Real Thing, distributing in Allen, Calcasieu,
Cameron, and Jeff Davis Parishes. It continues
to support the community hand in hand
with other business and charitable partners.
Like the 1993 slogan Always Coca-Cola
implies, Lake Charles Coca-Cola employees are
passionate about keeping their products within
“an arm’s reach of desire,” making Lake Charles
Coca-Cola Bottling an iconic, stable place to
support families and southwest Louisiana.
On Valentine’s Day in 1928, when City
Savings Bank obtained its state charter to
conduct business in Louisiana, its mission was
to serve the heart of Southwest Louisiana—its
working people and small businesses. Later
that year, in May, when the bank opened its
doors for business in Beauregard Parish,
the country was headed toward the worst
economic crisis in its history—the Great
Depression. Sound judgments and prudent
banking decisions by P. W. West, the bank’s
first president and chairman of the board,
along with the bank’s board of directors and
management, helped City Savings Bank grow
and succeed in the turbulent 1930s.
While federal regulators were closing
banks across the country City Savings Bank
was growing and serving its customers. City
Savings Bank now has the distinction of
being one of the oldest banks operating in
In the years following City Savings Bank
has stayed true to its mission of serving
Southwest Louisiana’s working people and
small businesses. The bank has provided an
ever-growing list of financial services, from
the most basic checking account to the newest
online banking services.
City Savings Bank now has full-service
branches in DeRidder, Leesville, DeQuincy,
Moss Bluff, Sulphur and Lake Charles. City
Savings Financial Services, a subsidiary of
City Savings Bank, offers access to a complete
line of brokerage and investment services
through a partnership with UVEST Financial
Services, a registered broker-dealer and
member of NASD and SIPC. City Savings
Financial Services also offers competitive rates
and personal service on insurance coverage
for individuals and businesses.
Glen Bertrand, the president and CEO of
City Savings Bank, has assembled a team of
bankers that has helped City Savings Bank
become one of the top-performing community
banks in the country. Bauer Financial Reports
and Bankrate.com have both awarded City
Savings Bank five-star ratings for safety,
strength and performance. American Banker
has named City Savings Bank as one of the
United States’ top community banks and thrifts
with the highest returns on average assets.
Independent Banker has listed City Savings
Bank among the top 400 community bank
performers and ranked the bank as fifteen
within its category on return on assets (ROA).
City Savings Bank has also been recognized
locally. The Beauregard Parish Police Jury
presented the bank with the first General
Beauregard Award for Business Achievement
and the Greater Beauregard Parish Chamber
of Commerce has named City Savings Bank as
a Business of the Year.
In keeping with an eighty year tradition
everyone at City Savings Bank lives and breathes
the bank’s philosophy toward its customers:
“We work for you!” You are invited to drop by
any of the bank’s branches to experience this
philosophy in person. To find a location near
you, visit www.citysavingsbank.com.
CITY SAVINGS
BANK
THE
MARKETPLACE
177
SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
ALLIANCE
Above: Business Recovery Center in Lake
Charles, Louisiana.
Below: Southwest Louisiana Entrepreneurial
and Economic Development Center.
On September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita
came ashore wiping out coastal communities
and causing $10 billion in wind and water
damage from the coast to miles inland.
Within days, the Chamber SWLA
(Southwest Louisiana’s regional chamber)
worked with the Southwest Louisiana
Partnership for Economic Development (a
public entity funded by municipal and parish
funds) and local, state and federal departments to open the Business Recovery
Assistance Center in Lake Charles (pictured)
to serve all Southwest Louisiana businesses.
During those first few days, the Center handled over 2,000 calls and 1,200 walk-ins,
assisting with 360 grant applications and 350
Small Business Administration loans.
While recovering the region showed an
unprecedented spirit of cooperation and,
within months, life had returned to a semblance of normalcy as the businesses, organizations and government systems of Southwest
Louisiana got back to business. A little over
a year later, as part of region’s ongoing
cooperative spirit, the Chamber SWLA, its
Economic Development Foundation, and
the Southwest Louisiana Partnership for
Economic Development combined resources
in October 2006 to form the Southwest
Louisiana Economic Development Alliance.
This new coalition focuses on economic
development efforts within the region determined to strengthen business recruiting and
retention efforts for Allen, Beauregard,
Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jeff Davis Parishes.
Today the SWLA Alliance hosts hundreds of events, promotes our region at
national conventions and in national publications, and meets with site selectors
and investors interested in our region.
178
The Alliance is funded through the
Chamber SWLA membership and public and
private investors through the Foundation
because, as a coalition of businesses and
organizations, we are able to do more than
one person can do alone to ensure a prosperous future for Southwest Louisiana. With our
thoughts focused on the future, we nurture
the upcoming crop of entrepreneurs, showcase the availability of well-paying local
careers for the next generation of workers,
and highlight the importance of national and
international trade. The Alliance also maintains accurate databases on the industries,
demographics, and available sites and buildings throughout the region for use by the
public and potential investors.
Currently the Alliance with the Calcasieu
Parish Police Jury, the City of Lake Charles,
and McNeese State University is developing a
one-stop economic development center for
Southwest Louisiana called the SEED (Southwest
Louisiana Entrepreneurial and Economic
Development) Center. The estimated size is
50,000 square feet and will be comprised of
facilities for developing businesses (incubator
offices, labs and workshops), conference and
training rooms, classrooms,
and offices for McNeese State
University School of Business,
the University’s Small Business
Development Center, the SWLA
Alliance, and the IMCAL
Regional Planning Commission.
Through the efforts of the
Alliance, Southwest Louisiana
has an advocate for growth,
expansion, and progress.
SCOFIELD,
GERARD,
SINGLETARY &
POHORELSKY
ATTORNEYS AT
LAW, L.L.C.
Scofield, Gerard is one of the oldest law firms
in Louisiana, dating from 1876 when Franklin
A. Gallaugher moved to Lake Charles from East
Baton Rouge Parish and established a law practice. At the time, Calcasieu Parish was known as
the Imperial Calcasieu and included the area
now occupied by Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu,
Cameron and Jefferson Davis Parishes.
Many prominent members of the bar, distinguished jurists and community pioneers
have been associated with the firm over the
years, including Arsene P. Pujo, a Louisiana
Congressman from 1903-1913; Lieutenant
Colonel Gabriel Fournet, Clement D. Moss,
and Thomas F. Porter, all of whom went on to
serve as judges.
Although the firm has a long history its
members employ the latest proven technological advances to enhance their practice and
better serve their clients.
Since its inception Scofield, Gerard has
maintained a diversified legal practice, representing and counseling clients in a broad spectrum of litigation, corporate, commercial, real
estate, financial, energy, tax, and other matters.
The firm takes pride in offering innovative,
solution-oriented representation, advice, and
planning geared to its client’s particular needs.
Scofield, Gerard’s attorneys have strong
roots in Southwest Louisiana; they were born
here, raised here and elected to return here to
practice law and raise their families. They
thoroughly understand the culture, community, and history of the region.
The depth and quality of Scofield, Gerard’s
legal expertise is unmatched. The firm has
been awarded Martindale-Hubbell’s highest
rating from the inception of its ranking system. Several of the firm’s members have been
recognized in Smith and Naifeh’s Best Lawyers,
one of the oldest and most respected peerreview publications in the legal profession.
Scofield, Gerard is very involved in community, charitable and professional activities.
Its members have been active in many community organizations, local charities, McNeese
State University, churches, and private school
boards. Its members also hold, or have held,
offices in the state and local bar associations
and in other key professional organizations.
For more information about Scofield, Gerard,
check their website at www.scofieldgerard.com.
THE
MARKETPLACE
179
SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA
CREDIT UNION
Above: The humble beginnings of PPG
Employees Credit Union.
Below: Southwest Louisiana Credit Union is
expanding for the future.
Southwest Louisiana Credit Union
was organized in 1952 by a small
group of PPG Industries employees
with a common vision: to charter a
credit union to serve their fellow
employees’ financial needs. Then
known as Columbia Southern Credit
Union, the organization was founded as a state chartered credit union
and began business in a small office
inside the production facility. From
the very beginning, the Credit Union’s philosophy was “People Helping People” and its
mission was to provide quality financial
services to its members.
The original Board of Directors included
Edward B. Cloutman, Walter Melton, Arthur
W. Compton, A. T. Raetzsch, and Ralph Agate.
In the early years all loans had to be approved
by the Board of Directors and loans over $300
had to be secured by collateral. The Credit
Union’s first loan was made November 17,
1952. In two short months, the organization
had 117 members and total assets of
$3,100.20. The balance of loans outstanding
was $3,046.60.
In 1973 the Credit Union changed its
name to PPG Employees Credit Union to
reflect the change in the name of the facility.
PPG Employees Credit Union continued to
experience prosperity and growth over the
years and, in 1997, a new main office was
opened at 4056 Ryan Street in Lake Charles.
This move allowed the Credit Union to
expand its services to members in the Lake
Charles area.
180
In 2004 the Credit Union once again
changed its name to Southwest Louisiana
Credit Union to better appeal to its numerous
additional member companies. In 2006 an
additional office was opened in the Sulphur
Community at 101 North Cities Service
Highway. In addition to this location, the
Credit Union also maintains a branch at its
original Westlake location at 884 PPG Drive.
Southwest Louisiana Credit Union is a voluntary, cooperative organization, offering
financial services to people willing to accept
the responsibilities and benefits of membership, without gender, social, racial, political
or religious discrimination. The Credit Union
operates as a not-for-profit institution governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The
Credit Union returns most of its profits to its
members in the form of dividends.
Today the Credit Union serves more than
11,400 members and maintains assets of
over 49 million. To secure its steady growth
and give back to its members, Southwest
Louisiana Credit Union has been on the forefront of product expansion. The Credit
Union’s array of financial products now
includes IRA’s, money market accounts, share
draft accounts, debit cards, credit cards,
online banking, a variety of consumer loans
such as auto loans, real estate loans, and
numerous ATM locations.
As the twenty-first century unfolds, technology will continue to complement the
delivery of financial products. The Credit
Union embraces these advances but will
never abandon our commitment to one-onone personal service.
For more information about Southwest
Louisiana Credit Union, check their website
at www.swlacu.com.
Established in 1873 and incorporated by the
State of Louisiana in 1892, Krause & Managan
Lumber Co., Limited is one of the oldest
business firms in the state. The company, with
extensive holdings throughout the region, is
involved in rental property, pine reforestation,
wetland mitigation, rice farming, cattle production, residential and commercial development
and construction demolition disposal facilities.
The founders of the business were Allen J.
Perkins and Charles Miller, who started a
small sawmill in Westlake in 1873. The name
of the firm was changed to Perkins & Miller
Lumber Company, Limited, in 1892, as one of
the largest mills in the area. The company’s
present name was adopted in 1906 when
William H. Managan and Rudolph Krause,
Sr., as employees, purchased the firm.
They remained engaged in sawmill, timber,
lumberyard and commissary ventures. The
partners bought cut-over timberland when it
was really cheap, and purchased marshland,
knowing it would someday have great value.
They recognized the need for a canal system
to furnish fresh water to rice crops and
built the Houston River Canal System, later
purchased by the state to furnish water to
various industries. The partners started some
of the first retail lumber stores and recognized
the need to diversify their operations to
include rice and soybean farming, oil leases,
subdivision planning, and sale of trees on
their timberland to other millers.
According to company lore, the night
before Managan was to start a new job as a
bookkeeper with Perkins & Miller, Perkins
son, Reese, was shot and killed in the street in
front of the hotel/saloon where Managan
was staying. Young Reese Perkins was an heir
to Allen Perkins, a half owner of the firm. One
of the probable results of the unfortunate
shooting death was that the business
ultimately was sold to Krause and Managan.
Although they were partners for forty-five
years, the two men always referred to each
other as Mr. Managan and Mr. Krause.
In addition to Krause and Managan, key
individuals in the growth and development of
Krause & Managan Lumber over the years
have included A. J. Perkins, Charles Miller,
William R. Mayo, Daniel Goos, W. B. Norris,
KRAUSE & MANAGAN
LUMBER CO., LIMITED
OPERATIONS
AND
DIVISIONS
Construction Dirt Sales
Commercial Rental Property
Wetland Mitigation Property
Farms and Cattle Production
Construction Debris Landfill
Recreational Rental Property
Land and Timber Management
Jacob Ryan, H. C. Drew, Elly Dees, George
Locke, William H. Managan, Jr., R. E.
Managan, and William R. Hays, Jr.
Krause & Managan opened a new, modern
lumberyard in Lake Charles in 1927 and
became instrumental in development of pine
reforestation, development of the Port of Lake
Charles site, and development of the site for
the Olin alkali plant and many other local
refinery sites.
Krause & Managan overcame severe setbacks
during the Great Depression but survived and
prospered, experiencing a fifty percent growth
in assets over the last fifteen years. Today, the
company has twenty employees and generates
annual revenues exceeding $1.5 million. The
firm is headquartered at 1895 North Beglis
Parkway in Sulphur.
Krause & Managan is now directed by
William Reid Hays, Jr., the great-grandson of
William H. Managan, Sr.
THE
MARKETPLACE
181
182
Building a Greater
Southwest Louisiana
S o u t h w e s t L o u i s i a n a ’s re a l e s t a t e d e v e l o p e r s ,
SPECIAL
construction companies, heavy industries,
THANKS TO
and manufacturers provide the
economic foundation of the region
C h e n i e re E n e r g y, I n c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 4
Ribbeck Construction Corporation ................................................188
Mallett Buildings, LLC. ..............................................................192
C a m e ro n C o m m u n i c a t i o n s , L L C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 9 6
CITGO Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex.................................200
Levingston Engineers, Inc.
L e v i n g s t o n G ro u p , L L C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0 2
N o r t h ro p G r u m m a n Te c h n i c a l S e r v i c e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0 4
Sweet Lake Land & Oil Company .................................................206
Ta l e n ’s M a r i n e & F u e l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0 8
D u n h a m P r i c e G ro u p , L L C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 0
R. E. Heidt Construction Co., Inc. ............................................212
P u m p e l l y O i l C o m p a n y. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 4
D . W. J e s s e n & A s s o c i a t e s , L L C C i v i l a n d C o n s u l t i n g E n g i n e e r s . . . . . . . . 2 1 5
B ro s s e t t A rc h i t e c t , L L C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 6
M y e r s G ro u p , I n c . d / b / a M y r t i s M u e l l e r R e a l t y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 7
J . A . D a v i s P ro p e r t i e s , L . L . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 8
BUILDING
A
GREATER
Cameron LNG
Cheniere Energy, Inc.
Sasol North America, Inc.
SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA
183
CHENIERE
ENERGY, INC.
Sabine Pass storage tanks hold
approximately 17 billion cubic feet
equivalent of LNG.
Cameron Parish, Louisiana, is the home of
the Sabine Pass LNG terminal, which is
located on 853 acres along the Sabine Pass
River on the border between Texas and
Louisiana. Only 3.7 miles from open water
and twenty-three nautical miles from the
outer buoy, it is located at the widest point on
the Sabine River Navigation Channel. The
channel is maintained to a depth of forty feet
and is not subject to tidal limitations. The
Sabine Pass LNG terminal is connected to the
existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure via
the ninety-four mile, forty-two inch diameter
Creole Trail Pipeline. This pipeline begins at
the Sabine Pass LNG terminal and continues
eastward to the Calcasieu Ship Channel. The
pipeline then turns north through Calcasieu
Lake, where it turns in a northeast direction
and terminates in Gillis, Louisiana,
connecting to several customer receiving
points along the way, enabling Sabine Pass
LNG to provide natural gas to many
downstream market points.
Development of the plans for the Sabine
Pass LNG terminal and Creole Trail Pipeline
began in 1999. After a rigorous regulatory
approval process, construction began in April
2005. At the height of construction, there
were nearly 1,600 people working at the site.
The first commissioning cargo was received
at the Sabine Pass terminal in April 2008 and
it became officially “open for business.”
Construction of the terminal was completed
by mid-2009, bringing the total send-out
capacity to 4.0 Bcf/d and making Sabine Pass
the largest terminal in the world. Sabine Pass
was also the first U.S. terminal to receive an
LNG cargo on the newly built Q-Flex and
Q-Max vessels, ushering in an exciting new
generation of larger ships transporting LNG
around the world.
184
The Sabine Pass LNG terminal and Creole
Trail Pipeline were developed by Cheniere
Energy, Inc., a Houston-based energy company.
In the beginning, Cheniere was focused on oil
and natural gas exploration, developing drilling
prospects in southern Louisiana and offshore in
Louisiana state waters. The company’s small, yet
experienced management team joined together
in 1996 to fund an exploration project—the
Cameron Project—which would evaluate,
explore and develop prospects in the area.
Cheniere and its partner acquired a 230 square
mile proprietary 3-D seismic survey and
generated several drilling prospects.
During 1999 the company licensed 8,800
square miles of seismic data in the shallow
waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and using leadingedge technology, reprocessed the database to
achieve better quality, more accurate images of
potential reservoirs than conventional processing could provide. In 2000, using the same
advanced technology, Cheniere started a new
offshore exploration project in the Gulf of
Mexico and acquired licenses to 6,800 square
miles of seismic data, reprocessed the data and
generated prospects, providing production
revenue to the company through various
royalties and working interests. This second
offshore project continued into 2008.
By the late 1990s U.S. natural gas drilling
was yielding less production per well at higher
costs. The existing wells were in decline, but
demand for energy was continuing to escalate.
Since domestic gas production alone could not
sustain North America’s growing energy needs
at affordable prices, importing natural gas—in
the form of liquefied natural gas or LNG—was
seen as one solution to supplement indigenous
natural gas production.
In 1999 only two terminals in North America
were receiving LNG, Everett LNG in Boston,
Massachusetts, and Trunkline LNG in Lake
Charles, Louisiana. These two terminals
combined satisfied less than one-half of one
percent of the natural gas consumed in
North America. Rising natural gas prices were
improving the economic feasibility of delivering
LNG to North America, but new receiving
terminals were needed to increase imports.
Cheniere began to evaluate suitable real estate
for LNG terminals, determined to provide the
capacity needed for North America to access
the global natural gas market.
Cheniere sought sites with deep water,
protected ports, close proximity to open water,
and large acreage to take advantage of
economies of scale, easy interconnection with
local natural gas markets and existing take-away
pipelines, and community support for an LNG
development project. The Gulf Coast offered
these advantages for infrastructure development
and, by 2001 Cheniere had assembled an
experienced LNG project development team
and identified possible locations for its LNG
terminal projects.
Cheniere selected two sites in Cameron
Parish, Louisiana—one on the Sabine River
and one on the Calcasieu River. Louisiana
has strong local markets and existing,
underutilized connecting pipeline systems
serving the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest,
Gulf Coast, Canadian, and Mexican markets,
which together make up seventy-five percent
of the annual North American gas demand.
Cheniere’s philosophy has always been to
build only in communities that fully embrace its
presence. Local residents welcomed the secure
job base and increased tax benefits that construction and operations would provide. In
December 2003, Cheniere submitted applications for permits to build the Sabine Pass LNG
terminal, and its related pipeline, to the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission. Strong support
from Cameron Parish, Johnson Bayou and
Pleasure Island, communities located near the
new LNG terminal site, was a significant contributor to an unprecedentedly quick permitting
time. In April 2005 construction of the Sabine
Pass LNG terminal began.
Cheniere has a strong commitment to
the communities surrounding the company’s
projects. In September 2005, when the
construction of the Sabine Pass LNG terminal
was barely underway, Hurricane Rita devastated
Cameron Parish. Cheniere wanted to contribute
to the rebuilding of Cameron Parish in a
significant way, so it did something no other
company in Louisiana has ever done—offered
to accelerate its property tax payments.
Under the standard ten year property tax
abatement agreement, the terminal was not
required to begin paying property taxes until
2019. To help the Parish recover from the
hurricane, Cheniere offered to begin paying $2.5
million per year for ten years, beginning in 2007.
This required passing a special bill through the
Louisiana State Legislature, which was passed in
the summer of 2007 and resulted in eleven
agreements and a total of 780 signatures.
A ceremony at the historic Cameron Parish
Courthouse on November 2, 2007, brought
community leaders and state elected officials
together to celebrate the first payments to local
taxing authorities under Cheniere’s new
Cooperative Endeavor and PILOT Agreements.
The ceremony commemorated the successful
completion of nearly two years’ work by
Cheniere, state and local officials, and Cameron
Parish taxing authorities. Cheniere’s Chairman
and CEO, Charif Souki, praised the can-do
spirit of the community and stressed the importance of Cameron Parish as an energy provider
to the country. “Cameron Parish is incredibly
BUILDING
A
GREATER
Left: Channel view of Sabine Pass terminal
shows close proximity to U.S. Gulf Coast.
Right: Sabine Pass LNG unloads the first
Q-Max sized vessel to call on a
U.S. Terminal.
SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA
185
Left: Cheniere contributes resources to
build a much needed health clinic to
the community.
Right: Aerial view of the seventy acre
mosaic of wetlands constructed south of the
Sabine Pass LNG terminal.
important to the whole nation,” he said. “You
provide something essential to the rest of the
country. We have a mission to make Cameron
Parish the best place to live in Louisiana.”
Cheniere’s dedication to post-hurricane
reconstruction in Cameron Parish included a
wide range of community building projects, the
refurbishment of local school gyms, the installment of temporary school buildings, and construction of a much needed rural health clinic.
Cheniere learned of the need for additional
healthcare in the area while developing the LNG
facilities. Conversations with residents revealed
that some had to drive more than forty miles to
get prescriptions filled or to see a nurse for a
routine checkup. The decision to help provide
resources to build this facility was an easy one
for the company. In September 2007 Cheniere
joined local and state leaders to dedicate the
Johnson Bayou Rural Health Clinic to the
community to provide needed urgent and
preventative care to the area.
Cheniere believes that education is the
foundation of a strong community, and looks
for ways to enhance education through
scholarships to the local graduating class of
Johnson Bayou High School, to be used at
colleges or technical schools.
The company is also a sponsor of the annual
Marshland Festival in Lake Charles, a unique
event that draws youth organizations and their
families from Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes
to a fun-filled weekend of live entertainment,
games, and Cajun food. The festival was created
to foster community involvement and provide a
venue for students in the area to raise money for
school programs. The event raises thousands of
dollars for school organizations each year.
Cheniere takes its commitment to a safe
and healthy environment very seriously and
maintains a close working relationship with
state and federal regulatory bodies that are
186
responsible for environmental compliance and
oversight. Their processes are engineered and
designed not just to comply with environmental
requirements, but to exceed them.
Cheniere created approximately seventy
acres of tidally influenced wetlands south of the
Sabine Pass LNG Terminal near the historic
Sabine Pass Lighthouse. The area had previously been utilized for dredged material placement
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during
the construction and maintenance of the SabineNeches Ship Channel. The area consisted of a
mosaic of coastal pasture and non-tidal wetland
habitat. By utilizing this area for wetland mitigation, the existing mosaic of high marsh/coastal
prairie was protected and preserved from future
dredge placement activities and/or future development. Furthermore, by constructing tidal
conveyance channels within the contiguous
wetland system, it enhanced the existing wetlands by facilitating tidal exchange and the
development of essential fish habitat—spawning
areas for marine species such as crabs, shrimp,
flounder, redfish and speckled sea trout. The
area also provides unique tidal flats that are utilized by a variety of wildlife such as ducks and
geese, shorebirds, alligators and snakes, and
mammals. The enhancement of this system has
contributed to the increase of the overall
productivity and wildlife attraction and has
improved the aesthetic value of the Sabine Pass
Lighthouse for future visitors.
Cheniere created, enhanced and preserved
approximately 272 acres of freshwater wetlands
north of where the LNG tanks are located.
Levees were constructed or enhanced to capture
rainwater to flood the area and generate wetland
conditions. This area is now managed to mimic
natural wetland conditions and the normal
wet/dry cycle of southwest Louisiana becoming
a migratory hotspot for wintering waterfowl—
attracting thousands of ducks and geese arriving
in late September and leaving in early
February. The area is also the permanent home
to local birds such as mottled ducks (the only
native year round duck on the upper Gulf
coast), egrets and herons, reptiles such as
snakes and alligators and multiple mammals
such as rabbits, coyotes, raccoons and
bobcats. Overall, the wetland project has
contributed a valuable freshwater mixed
habitat within a salt water environment
providing a critical link between the bays and
the Gulf of Mexico.
Construction of the SPLNG Terminal
marine berth included dredging approximately
5.4 million cubic yards of soil. In order to
utilize this dredged material in a manner
that was beneficial to the environment, it was
pumped via pipeline to an area along
Louisiana Point, which lies on the Gulf of
Mexico east of the Sabine Pass jetty. The
material was placed approximately 1,000 feet
off the coast to create a chain of barrier
islands approximately 11,000 feet long and
from 300 to 900 feet wide. These islands are
providing numerous beneficial uses including:
• Creating a wave barrier to decrease wave
energy along Louisiana Point to reduce
erosion of the shoreline;
• Providing protection for wetland habitats
located along the shoreline;
• Providing valuable marine habitat and food
sources for birds, fish, crabs, sea turtles, and
the endangered piping plover;
• Rebuilding the shoreline slowly as the soil is
carried from the placement area to the
shoreline, increasing the wildlife and wetland
habitats, and lastly;
• Providing a unique and valuable recreational
fishing area for the users of the Sabine
Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico. In fact,
this area has become a favorite among local
fishermen in the area.
Portions of Cheniere’s Creole Trail Pipeline
were constructed through Calcasieu Lake.
Cheniere’s commitment to the environment, and
specifically to Calcasieu Lake, extended beyond
the state mandated mitigation and included a
voluntary program to provide additional oyster
and fishing habitat. Cheniere worked with the
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
to develop an Oyster and Finfish Public
Stewardship Plan to provide sixteen acres of new
oyster reefs and fishing habitat in Calcasieu Lake
outside the planned area of construction
disturbance. These newly created artificial reefs
were donated to the state with their primary
function for public recreational and commercial
oyster and fishing opportunities before, during
and after the planned construction disturbance.
Cheniere evolved from an exploration
group to a developer and operator of LNG
facilities. Cheniere maintains its support as
Cameron Parish and Louisiana rebuild, actively
participating in the communities adjacent to the
Cheniere facilities. Environmental stewardship
is a hallmark of Sabine Pass LNG and the Creole
Trail Pipeline. Preservation of the environmental
projects will improve habitats and increase
the health of the waterways and marshes
surrounding the Cheniere projects.
With world class assets Cheniere is able to
provide a multitude of services to its customers.
The Sabine Pass Facility is capable of receiving all
sizes of vessels and, additionally, has re-export
capabilities whereby LNG can be reloaded on a
vessel and sent to another destination. The
Creole Trail Pipeline provides takeaway capacity
from the terminal thereby enabling Sabine Pass
LNG to provide natural gas to downstream
markets for many future years. Cheniere looks
forward to growing its Louisiana based business
with enhanced services and new assets.
To learn more about Cheniere, check the
website at www.cheniere.com.
BUILDING
A
GREATER
Left: Dredge spoil islands along Louisiana
Point provide a sediment source for the
coastal environment and dissipates
wave energy.
Right: Tidal wetland mitigation area located
north of the historic Sabine Pass Lighthouse
and adjacent to the Sabine-Neches
Waterway. The wetland was constructed
with channels connected to the Waterway to
allow for nutrient exchange and
wildlife utilization.
SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA
187
RIBBECK CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION
188
Ribbeck Construction Corporation traces
its roots to 1946, when Phil Ribbeck started
the sole proprietorship under the name
Phil E. Ribbeck, General Contractor. Edward
“Buzzy” Ribbeck, Phil’s son, took the business
to the next level in 1982 when he founded
Ribbeck Construction Corporation and began
developing the company from scratch.
Buzzy has been involved in every phase of
the design and construction process since
childhood. He began his career in architecture by designing and drafting plans while
working hands-on as a carpenter for his
father. In 1986 Buzzy began to expand the
company into real estate and commercial
property development.
After founding Ribbeck Construction
Corporation, Buzzy moved quickly into the
broader markets of industrial and commercial
construction, while expanding the customer
base already in existence. He continues to
emphasize the firm’s tradition of excellence,
quality, value, and client satisfaction, the core
values instilled in the organization by Phil.
Today, RCC is a national general contractor,
serving owners, architects, and developers
in twenty-six states with a commitment to
teamwork and quality. The company has also
performed work in Puerto Rico and Singapore.
RCC works to maintain a healthy balance
of design build, negotiated and open bid
work in both the public and private
sectors. Projects include construction and/or
renovation of government, institutional,
commercial, educational, medical, and retail,
as well as erection of jet blast deflectors and
light industrial construction.
Among the many well-known RCC projects
are the Pyramid Office building in Lake Charles,
Energy Operations Facility in Chalmette, the
new Johnson Bayou Library in Cameron Parish,
and the renovation of the refuge headquarters
Airboat and Lumber Shed buildings at
Rockefeller Refuge Facility. RCC has also been
awarded a contract for construction of the
new Allen P. August, Sr., Multi-Purpose Annex
Building for the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury
and the contract to construct two new jet
blast deflectors for Northrop Grumman and
Chennault International Airport.
RCC is also at work on its own new office
building space at the 814 Luxor Building,
a twenty-one-thousand-square-foot structure
near the corner of McNeese and Lake Street
in Lake Charles.
Under the Ribbeck Companies umbrella,
Ribbeck Construction Corporation designs and
builds real estate holding properties owned by
subsidiary entities under Buzzy’s ownership and
direction. These companies own, lease, operate,
and manage these properties. Due to the entire
involvement in real estate from conception
through ownership and operation, RCC prides
itself in understanding the unique needs and
BUILDING
A
GREATER
SOUTHWEST
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challenges facing a building owner. RCC uses
a ‘clean sheet of paper’ approach to each
customer and project. This approach enables
RCC to provide a solution that will make
your site, building, or asset more effective and
more valuable. By taking care of our associates
and valuing our supplier relationships, our
customers receive quality service in every
aspect, from expert advice when a project is first
being planned to a pleasant and helpful crew at
the job site.
The RCC mission is to provide quality
construction and/or renovation at a competitive
and profitable price while meeting the client’s
requirements. This will be accomplished in a
timely, safe, efficient, ethical, and innovative
manner by strategically planning the methods
and procedures synergistically.
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The company is committed to continuous
improvements through teamwork, providing
the highest quality in all it produces in a safe
and professional manner. RCC achieves this
goal by partnering with customers who utilize
our services and subcontractors, designers, and
suppliers who share the same commitment.
The RCC team continues to build an
organization that each partner and associate is
proud to represent. RCC takes pride in each
and every project—down to the very last nail.
RCC has a talented team of experienced
individuals with more than 200-plus years of
construction experience.
RCC’s knowledge, experience, and collaborative approach to construction management
helps create an asset that becomes a valuable,
efficient tool for your business. As a multistate
contractor, RCC is noted for delivering
projects on time, and on budget.
Exposure to a wide range of opportunities
has created tremendous diversity in the
RCC project portfolio. This diversity is
threefold: in the types of projects built, the
size of projects tackled, and the geographic
locations served. RCC has solid experience in
such projects as hospitals, medical facilities,
office buildings and corporate headquarters,
churches and schools, multifamily residential
projects and condominiums, historic renovations, restaurants, retail centers, hotels and
storage facilities.
A nimble, low-overhead contractor with a
record of success, RCC is not your average
general contractor. RCC has performed work
all across the United States and in numerous
other countries. RCC’s combined management
staff totals more than one hundred years of
construction experience.
At Ribbeck Construction Corporation, the
company-client relationship is not just about
signing contracts, it is about forming relationships. By maximizing the efficiency of the design
process and ‘nailing the budget’, we also reduce
the time involved in getting to groundbreaking,
thereby reducing the owners carrying cost and—
ultimately—increasing the profitability.
For more information about Ribbeck
Construction Corporation, check the website
at www.ribbeckcompanies.com.
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MALLETT
BUILDINGS,
LLC
If you click on the website for Mallett
Buildings, LLC you will see an aerial photo of
the devastation caused by one of the Gulf
Coast’s periodic hurricanes in 2008. Amidst
all the destruction is one structure that took a
direct hit from the storm but is still standing.
A big yellow circle surrounds the photograph
of the structure and the caption explains
that the building, erected in 2006, sustained
flooding from the storm surge, and blown-out
windows from the high winds, but there was
no structural damage.
The building in the photograph is a
Mallett-built structure, built and anchored to
withstand even the strongest storms.
Mallett Buildings of Iowa, Louisiana, was
founded by Lee Mallett who started constructing factory-built residential and commercial
buildings as a sideline in 1981. Mallett spent
thirty years in the grain commodity business
and when he branched out into the purebred
cattle business he started constructing buildings for use on his own ranch. In 2000 Mallett
decided to turn the construction into a full
time business and obtained his contractor’s
license as a general contractor.
The new business started small, just him
and one phone in a tiny office. “I took a year
or two off from my other stuff and started
piddling around with selling buildings,”
Mallett explains. “Before I knew it, we were in
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a bigger office and I had more people. Now
we have about eighty employees and build
about 300 buildings each year.”
Mallett also constructed a truss plant
where leading edge computerized software
helps design custom engineered component
trusses. Mallett Truss emphasizes quality control and takes great pride in the production of
engineered component trusses.
Mallett Buildings now covers a territory
that includes the entire state of Louisiana
and part of East Texas. “We sell to individual
homeowners and our products include storage buildings, outdoor kitchens, and pool
houses,” Mallett says. “We also have an agriculture side, with a variety of buildings, and
we’re now doing more and more commercial
work with post-frame construction.
“Typically, we’re going to erect a building
for the same price as a steel manufacturer can
sell a kit. We do a turn-key job on a building
and erect it in two days,” he adds.
He explains that post-frame construction is
when the builder takes a square post and actually puts it into the ground three or four feet
before pouring the slab. This way, the posts do
not sit on top of the slab. “We are post-frame
builders,” Mallett explains. “That’s what we do.
We don’t build stick-frame; we don’t build steel.
Everything we build is 100 percent treated
wood. Every board in the building is treated.”
The components that make up a Mallett
building are put together on site and anchored
three feet in the ground. “They’re not sitting
on top of a slab and can take more wind than
a conventional building,” Mallett notes.
He points out that when recent storms
came through Louisiana, only two Mallet
buildings were lost and that was because
people did not listen and built on top of a slab.
“If we build them the way we want to build
them you won’t have damage unless you get
a direct hit by a tornado,” Mallett says. “The
buildings are going to take 150-miles-an-hour
winds easily.”
Mallett believes wood provides a more
solid frame and is simple to work with. It is
also easier to find contractors experienced
in building with wood frames. Wood frame
remains the most widely used method of
building, and is being used more in
commercial and industrial buildings, largely
due to the quicker construction process.
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Wood frame buildings are economical
and less expensive to heat and cool. Because
steel transmits warmth and cold, it may
require special insulation that may be
more costly to the customer. Historically,
the strength of wood frame buildings is
obvious because so many have lasted for
so long.
Wood post frame construction buildings
install treated column posts, which include a
lifetime warranty against termites.
With wood frame construction, all of the
building weight is transferred to the ground
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instead of adding more weight to a slab,
which can lead to slab failure resulting in
expensive repairs.
Wood post frame buildings use wall girts
and roof purlins spaced at two feet apart
versus the wider spans used with metal
structure buildings. The closer span allows
for more metal fastening, adding strength to
the building and eliminating the need for
heavier, more expensive gauge metal.
Mallett also emphasizes that wood will
never rust. With the use of treated wood
and post protectors for close-to-ground
applications, wood post frame buildings will
continue to last for a long, long time.
Customers may actually design their own
buildings and request a quote by going
online to the Mallett Buildings website and
following the simple instructions. Customers
may choose from a wide variety of nineteen
colors for roof, walls and trim. The buildings
are dirt and stain resistant and easy to clean.
Each building comes with a forty year limited
plant warranty and a thirty year guarantee
against excessive fading and chalking.
Mallett believes that a combination of
strength and price makes his buildings so
popular. Because Mallett deals with wood, it
is very easy to create structures with hip
roofs, gable roofs, or other types of design. A
Mallett building is designed like a house.
Spans may be as large as eighty feet, so width
or length of the structure is no problem.
In addition to his business and ranching
interests, Mallett is involved in 4-H activities
and helps 4-H members by purchasing
sheep, hogs and cattle.
Mallett Buildings, LLC, is located at 511
East Frontage Road, Iowa, Louisiana. For more
information about Mallett buildings, check
their website at www.mallettbuildings.com.
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CAMERON COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
Above: A crew building some of the early
telephone lines into Cameron Parish
in 1930.
Below: A view of early Cameron, Louisiana,
c. the 1930s-1940s.
In the 1920s Southwest Louisiana was
booming. Led by the discovery of oil, towns
like Hackberry and Cameron, Louisiana, were
prosperous but rural, having little contact with
the larger cities around them, like Sulphur
and Lake Charles. That is, until 1928, when
Sulphur entrepreneur W. T. Henning saw an
opportunity to bring phone service to these
rural communities, connecting them with the
rest of the world. Today, W. T. Henning’s legacy
still lives, as his son, William L. Henning and
his grandsons still have a heavy hand in the
operation of Cameron Communications.
In 1928 Henning set out with a small crew
to establish lines from Sulphur to Hackberry,
where one of the company’s first operators,
Sadie Little, operated the switch from inside
Burke’s General Store. Sadie stayed on board
with Cameron Telephone (as the company
was called), until the first automatic switching
system was installed in 1954. Just two years
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after forming, the company expanded into
the coastal community of Cameron, which, in
1930, did not even have roads! Henning found
himself expanding again in 1938, into an area
that was passed over by then-telephone giant
South Central Bell.
While Henning laid the solid foundation for
success, his sons, J. T. and William L. Henning
carried it through its formidable years, taking
the reins in the early 1950s. Not only did major
changes take place with equipment (like the
installation of automatic switching systems,
long distance calling and experimentation with
telecommunications microwaves), but lasting
partnerships were formed. The Chamblee
brothers, Henry Ford “Ford” and Glen, joined
the Henning brothers for what became a
dynamic partnership. Ford had the dedication,
work ethic and attention to the bottom line to
help handle the “numbers” side of the business,
while Glen was hands-on, doing engineering,
planning and switching to the outside plant,
installation and repair and more.
With an aggressive team established
Cameron Telephone saw explosive growth. The
company extended services to the communities
of Creole, Grand Chenier and Johnson Bayou
in 1955 and into Central Louisiana with the
purchase of the Elizabeth Telephone Company
in 1957. During that time, innovative roads
were also being laid––customers in Carlyss
could dial long distance by dialing “1” plus the
number. This feature was not available
nationally for another year.
This growth and technology continued
until Hurricane Audrey made landfall in
Cameron in the summer of 1957. More than
550 people lost their lives and thousands
more were injured in the catastrophe.
Cameron Telephone lost more than 150 miles
of telephone lines, three of six exchanges and
more than $400,000 in uncovered losses.
However, with tragedy came advancement and
change, as William insisted that the lines now
be buried. Lines went underground as the next
two years were used to completely restore
service to Cameron and Johnson Bayou (1958)
and Creole and Grand Chenier (1959).
Burying communication lines provided
Cameron Communications the ability to
immediately begin restoring service after
Hurricane Rita in 2005. With a twenty foot
storm surge, Rita leveled nearly all of Cameron
Parish. Within hours of the water receding,
Cameron Communications moved into the
area and began reestablishing services. With a
combination of buried lines and dedicated
employees, services were restored in weeks,
not months, and customers had their services
ready and waiting for them when they
returned home.
Once services were completely restored in
1959 the addition of the Nome Telephone
Company in 1969 led Cameron Telephone into
Southeast Texas. After that acquisition, the
company focused on technological advances.
To name a few in the 1970s: the development
of the Improved Mobile Telephone Service
(IMTS) enabled Gulf Coast subscribers to use
car telephones anywhere in the United States;
the offering of Ship-to-Shore services allowed
boats in the gulf to communicate with the
mainland; the first digital microwave system
was installed; and Cameron Telephone got
its first in-house computer, an IBM System3.
Customers of Cameron Telephone were also
the first in Louisiana to have touch-tone
services, including call forwarding, three-way
calling and speed dialing.
Nothing slowed down in the 1980s, either. In
1982 Carlyss Cablevision was formed, bringing
television into the Cameron Telephone service
areas. Also that year Mercury Long Distance was
formed as the only long-distance carrier in
Louisiana to offer voicemail. Late in the decade,
Cameron Communications Corporation was
formed as the parent company of Cameron
Telephone Company, Cameron Telephone
Company-Texas, Elizabeth Telephone Company
and Carlyss Cablevision.
More recently, Cameron Communications
has seen many additions, like 1994s completion
of Telemedicine, which allowed doctors and
staff at South Cameron Memorial Hospital to
CAMERON COMMUNICATIONS HISTORIC
1954
1956
1958
1959
1973
1979
1982
1994
Left: Bill Henning and Howard Hough test
equipment in the field in the early 1960s.
Right: Equipment is tested at the Cameron,
Louisiana Central Office by Shelby
Hoffpauir and Howard Hough in 1962.
“FIRSTS”
The first long-distance call is made from Cameron, Louisiana, to Cincinnati, Ohio.
Carlyss exchange customers were among the first in the United States to be able to make long-distance calls by dialing 1 plus.
National 1 plus calling did not come into existence until a year later.
First to provide mobile telephone service in the United States.
Sets up the first dial telephone on offshore rigs, allowing them to call anyone, anywhere from the rig, not just to their
mainland office.
First to introduce a digital microwave system in Louisiana.
First in Louisiana to install a digital common control switching system, offering touch-tone service, call forwarding, threeway calling and speed dialing.
Mercury Long Distance is the only distance carrier in Louisiana offering voicemail.
Connects Louisiana’s first Telemedicine hook-up.
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CAMERON COMMUNICATIONS
’
T H I RT Y- P L U S
-YEAR
EMPLOYEES
At Cameron Communications, we are fortunate to have many employees who have been with the company for thirty-plus years—
who have a wealth of knowledge and know how to get the job done. When they started, not only were typewriters the primary form
of dictation, but members of this crew can remember a day without fax machines, or automated billing systems and when rotary
phones were not only in style, but in demand. Larry Breaux, Installation and Repair Supervisor, simply stated, “When we started, we
all had hair.” He started in 1976 as an Install Repairman, and was given two options on his first day: Books or a Shovel. He took the
books, and now approaching thirty-five years of service, he is the supervisor of the department.
Charlotte Neichoy, plant management assistant and thirty-two-year employee, remembers when assigning a pair and port for a customer’s phone was manually tracked in a huge black book. Because of advancements in technology, these processes are all done electronically and recorded in our database.
Charlie Guidry started as a draftsman in 1978 and is now the director of the outside plant. He recalls a time when drafting was
done with pencil, paper and long hours. When surveying a new area, draftsmen would hang a measuring wheel out the window of
their truck while driving down the road. Complete accuracy was a pipe dream, due to potholes and uneven areas in the road. Today,
distance is measured by special meters in each draftsman’s truck.
Robert Large, director of network operations, reflected on the first computer, an IBM 34, which took up an entire room. Katy Large,
customer care manager, remembers when toll charges would come on a giant tape that would have to be downloaded onto these computers in order to be included in the customer’s bill. Today, modern software automatically receives, calculates and inputs this information onto the customer’s bill.
This same system handles all billing aspects, which is a modern relief for Lori Vincent, billing and collections manager, who started in 1976 as a toll investigator. Manual calculations and stuffing bills happened monthly. When customers paid their bill, stubs from
their bill were hand-entered into a paper file that each customer had. These files had copies of every bill the customer received.
When a customer had any changes to their account, it would be written on a Line Card. The Line Card was like a patient chart,
outlining changes to be made on the account. At billing, Line Cards were pulled, manually calculated and inputted to be stuffed. Della
Genna, a thirty-three-year employee, remembers another card that would list each customer’s system troubles. Troubles would be
handwritten on or stapled to these cards. The repairmen would use these cards when they went to make repairs and once the work
was completed these cards were filed back in the customer catalogue.
When it came time to prepare the bills, not only were charges on the Line Card and toll compiled, but customers were also subject to Zonage. Tommy Prejean, switching supervisor, defined zonage as the further you were from the central office, the more you
paid on your monthly bill. Later, Cameron Telephone installed remotes (mini-central offices) to remove these restrictions. Prejean
also told of “suspending” service to customers who had not paid their monthly bill. Toothpicks were used to disrupt the customer’s
service; each phone line sent currents between two points. To disconnect dial tone, a toothpick was placed between the two points to
disrupt the current. Today, a few quick keystrokes and the customer can be suspended within a few minutes.
When disconnecting a customer via toothpick, caution was needed to not disrupt the entire party line. A party line is when more
than one household shared a phone line! Each family had their own special ring to alert whom the call was for. When one person left
the phone off the hook, no one else could make or receive calls. Technicians would have to go from home to home on each party line
to make sure that the phone was hung up. Similarly, when an Install/Repair technician was in the field, and needed to be found, a
customer service representative would have to call from house to house to locate him.
Cameron Communications has been fortunate to employ dedicated and hardworking people for more than eighty years. In addition to those mentioned above, these outstanding individuals have also made their mark on Cameron Communications with more
than thirty years of service: Roger Baccigalopi, cable technician; Brett Bares, cable supervisor; David Briscoe, cable technician; Jerry
Deters, public relations coordinator; Richard Goleman, cable technician; Monty Leger, warehouse supervisor; Marcus Neichoy, combination technician; Donny Nunez, network facility technician; Marcal Peveto, Jr., maintenance team leader; Steve Poole, construction team leader; and Terry Rasberry, switch technician.
conference with doctors and experts up to
sixty miles away, through transmitted x-rays,
radiography, CT-scans and more. New Internet
access servers were purchased in 1998, which
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offered a capacity of 56k Internet speed to
customers. This was later replaced in 2000 and
2001 when DSL became available to all
Cameron Communications customers.
In 2004 Cameron Communications
received a CLEC designation (Competitive
Local Exchange Carrier), and created LBH,
LLC, to service areas of Grand Lake, Sweetlake
and Big Lake. LBH, LLC began serving areas
in Moss Bluff, just north of Lake Charles, in
2007. All of LBH, LLC receives their services
through a Fiber-To-The-Home initiative,
which delivers Digital Cable, High Speed
Internet and Phone service, as well as
upgrades like HD, Video-On-Demand and
more, transmitted through buried fiber optic
cables. Fiber-To-The-Home networks only
pass about sixteen percent of homes in North
America. Cameron Communications is not
only expanding these fiber services to
everyone in their service areas, but also
expanding to the rest of Moss Bluff, Oakdale,
and Vinton, Louisiana. These new additions
will not only add to the 2,378 square miles
that Cameron Communications already serves,
but it will also give more customers in
Southwest Louisiana the opportunity to
experience the fiber difference. Not to mention
the fact that in other territories Cameron
Communications is busy upgrading to the
MPEG-4 head ends—systems that will allow
all customers to experience even clearer
television, more channels, more Video-OnDemand options and brace them for the future
of home television.
Cameron Communications started out as a
small company serving only a few territories
with a handful of employees, many of
whom have grown up with Cameron
Communications. Today, they serve thirteen
territories and have more than 130
employees. Eighty-plus years after Cameron
Telephone Company was established, the
founding principles embodied in the
company’s mission statement, “…a full service
broadband company committed to providing
the highest quality service to the communities
we serve. We are dedicated to fulfilling our
customers’ needs by offering the latest in
technological advances allowing them to keep
pace with the increasing demands of a global
economy,” are still practiced today.
It is with great honor and gratitude that these
pages are dedicated to the Henning family and
their life-long devotion to the people of their
service areas, and to their employees.
Cameron Communications was acquired by
American Broadband in September of 2010.
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Left: Bill Henning, son of founder
W. T. Henning, who still sits at the helm
of Cameron Communications.
Below: Bill Henning and sons gather for a
family portrait. Bill and his sons are
very much a part of how Cameron
Communications operates today.
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CITGO
LAKE CHARLES
MANUFACTURING
COMPLEX
Above: Finished products leave CITGO by
way of trucks, railways, pipelines and
marine transportation.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MONSOUR’S PHOTOGRAPHY.
Below: Safety is a primary business value at
CITGO. Over the past several years, the
facility has developed a reputation as one of
the safest in industry.
In early 1942 World War II was raging
around the globe. Early in the war, U.S. military chiefs decided that all aircraft engines
would be built to use 100-octane gasoline.
Planes would have to fly farther, faster, and
higher than ever before carrying larger loads.
The problem was that all of the refineries in the
U.S. could not furnish enough gasoline to keep
our bombers, fighters and support planes in
the air. In March of 1942 government officials
gave Cities Service Corporation, now known
as CITGO, permission to build a refinery to
convert crude oil into high-quality, high-octane
aviation fuel to aid the World War II effort.
Following a thorough study, a 2,300-acre
site on Rose Bluff was chosen, twenty-nine
miles up the Calcasieu River from the Gulf of
Mexico and eighteen feet above sea level, the
highest point on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast. M. W.
Kellogg was chosen as the general contractor,
since Kellogg had built the first catalytic
cracking unit in the nation for Standard Oil
in Baton Rouge. Kellogg brought their bright
young star, W. P. Goodman, to design and
build the refinery. Goodman was forty years
old in 1942 and had been building refineries
all over the world since the age of twenty-five.
During construction several issues arose.
The first involved the training of thousands of
200
workers. Next, construction projects had to be
coordinated so that all areas of the refinery
would be ready to go on-line simultaneously.
A third challenge was rain. Mules had to pull
much of the equipment through deep mud.
Transportation was another major issue. A railroad spur washed out and had to be rebuilt.
Roads had to be constructed, and getting
materials to the site was a persistent problem.
Lastly, there was a housing shortage in Sulphur
and Lake Charles for the 11,500 workers.
Although company officials had no desire
to go into the housing business, they were
interested in finding a quick solution to the
housing shortage. The answer came in the
form of the Maplewood Housing Corporation
and a community called Maplewood. Cities
Service agreed to guarantee part of the estimated $7 million cost in exchange for renting
to employees of their new plant. John W.
Harris Associates, Inc., of New York was hired
to design “Louisiana’s Newest Modern City,” a
community of 789 one, two, and three bedroom homes with monthly rent ranging from
$48 to $66.50.
After 20 million work-hours of onsite
labor, CITGO’s Lake Charles Refinery was
completed in 1944. Throughout the years,
there has been great flux in the oil industry. In
1965 Cities Service announced that the name
CITGO was been chosen as its new marketing
logo. CITGO projects the idea of a company
that is dynamic and progressive. In 1982,
Occidental Petroleum acquired Cities Service.
The next year, Southland Corporation purchased 100 percent of the company’s marketing, transportation and refining, primarily to
furnish gasoline to its thousands of 7-11
stores. Later, in 1986, Petróleos de Venezuela
S.A. (PDVSA) purchased fifty percent of
CITGO from Southland Corporation. In
1990, PDVSA purchased the remaining fifty
percent from Southland Corporation. The
CITGO Petroleum Corporation headquarters
is located in Houston, Texas.
The CITGO Lake Charles Manufacturing
Complex, strategically located on the banks of
the Calcasieu Ship Channel, has ready access
to the Gulf of Mexico, and now encompasses
approximately 2,000 acres. Through the
years, the addition of new processing units,
together with the upgrading of older ones, has
enabled the refinery to increase its capacity
six-fold, from 70,000 barrels to the present
425,000 barrels of oil per day. Today, the
refinery is especially suited for converting
lower-cost, heavy crude, such as that supplied
by PDVSA, into high-valued light fuels such
as gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel and an
array of petrochemicals. The refinery is the
fourth largest in the U.S. and employs nearly
1,200 regular, full-time personnel.
Complementing the refinery is a widespread distribution network of 16,000 miles
of crude and refined products pipelines,
refined product terminals in key locations,
and an aviation fuel business serving many
airports. The Lake Charles Manufacturing
Complex has onsite storage facilities for 10
million barrels (or 420 million gallons) of
feedstocks and finished products.
CITGO Lake Charles has been a vital part
of the economy of Louisiana since 1945.
Through its payroll, purchases of goods and
services and taxes, the refinery’s economic
impact in southwest Louisiana is approximately $1.1 billion per year. Along with economic
benefits, CITGO brings a strong commitment
to operating safely and environmentally
responsibly, and a well established culture of
community support.
Through CITGO’s employee volunteer
organization Team CITGO, our employees,
retirees, their families and friends have donated thousands of hours of their time and talents
to numerous local charitable and community
projects designed to improve the quality of life
of southwest Louisiana’s citizens.
CITGO employees are financially generous,
as well. Year after year, CITGO Lake Charles is
a recognized leader in United Way giving.
Local agencies have been supported with more
than $9.4 million since 1975. The CITGO Lake
Charles Manufacturing Complex also supports
the Muscular Dystrophy Association by sponsoring southwest Louisiana’s largest single-day
MDA fundraiser each year, the CITGO/MDA
Golf Tournament. Since 1984 CITGO employees, contractors and suppliers have raised over
$2.3 million to help find a cure for this debilitating childhood disease.
CITGO Lake Charles also actively supports
education at all levels in Calcasieu Parish. In
addition to the benefits that local public schools
receive as a result of the considerable tax base
the facility creates, CITGO Lake Charles has
participated as a Partner In Education for four
Calcasieu Parish schools since 1988. CITGO
supports McNeese State University with an
endowment to the Engineering Department for
two engineering professors.
With its state-of-the-art refinery CITGO
utilizes the most modern refining processes. It
possesses not only the strength of an integrated major oil company, but also the flexibility,
quickness and cost structure of an independent refiner and marketer. CITGO’s mission is
to create the maximum value for their shareholder through the strength of their people.
They strive to efficiently and reliably provide
the energy that fuels societies’ economies and
improves the quality of life of people. The
company stands ready to meet the changing
demands of today’s marketplace and the
challenges that the future will assuredly bring.
For more information on CITGO, please visit
www.citgo.com.
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Left: Current aerial view of the CITGO
Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex.
Right: Computerization of most of the units
in the refinery allows operators to monitor
and control the various refining processes
from control rooms, resulting in improved
operations and yields.
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LEVINGSTON
ENGINEERS, INC.
LEVINGSTON
GROUP, LLC
Right: Ernest Levingston, founder and
registered professional engineer in
twelve states.
Below: Mark G.Nixon, CEO principal.
Bottom: Louis “Dan” Leveque,
COO principal.
When you consider the scope and size of
Levingston Engineers it is difficult to believe
that this highly respected, full service consulting
engineering firm started with only one man and
a determination to build a successful business.
Ernest Levingston began his business career
in 1939 at the age of seventeen when he
moved to Lake Charles from Johnson Bayou
and went to work as a timekeeper for his
grandfather, who operated T. Miller and Sons.
His first timekeeper assignments were at the
Livestock Arena at McNeese State University,
then the Lake Charles Junior College of
Louisiana State University. Levingston also
enrolled as a freshman in McNeese’s first class.
He met his future wife, Kathleen, on the
school’s muddy, unfinished campus.
Levingston had become a carpenter’s
apprentice for T. Miller and Sons when World
War II intervened and he enlisted in the U.S.
Navy’s construction battalion, the Seabees. He
served for a year and a half in the Fiji Islands
and rose to the rank of Carpenter Mate. He
was then accepted for Navy V-12 training as
an officer candidate and spent the remainder
of the war in the Navy Hydrographic office in
Washington, D.C.
A year later Levingston joined Cities
Service as a draftsman. During his twelve year
career with Cities Service, he was promoted to
head of the Contract Engineering Section.
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At this point Levingston realized he needed
to complete his engineering degree if he
wished to advance his career. He quit his job
with Cities Service, Kathleen quit her teaching
job, and they packed up their three children
and moved to Baton Rouge, where both
enrolled at Louisiana State University.
For the first two years Levingston worked
full time as a group leader for Bovay
Engineers while maintaining a class load of
nine to twelve hours in the School of
Engineering. At the same time, Kathleen
taught at Baton Rouge High School while
finishing a Master’s Degree and Ph.D. Degree
in English and Foreign Languages.
Reflecting on this period Levingston
commented, “If I had known it would have
been so hard to go back to school after
thirteen years, I probably never would have.”
His determination was motivated, however,
by a Dean of Engineering who suggested he
move to another field because he was “not cut
out to be an engineer.”
After receiving his degree in Mechanical
Engineering in 1959, he returned to Lake
Charles where he worked for Augustine
Construction Company while laying plans for
establishment of his own firm.
Levingston Engineers could hardly have
started any smaller. The business began on
August 1, 1961, in a one room office on West
Eleventh Street in Lake Charles. Equipment
consisted of one table, made from a slab
door, one kitchen chair, and one portable
typewriter a friend had used in college. The
staff totaled one person—Ernest. He called his
new business Ernest Levingston & Associates.
During the mid 1960s and early 1970s
the firm moved to several larger office spaces
as it grew, including a beautiful old Victorian
house on Pujo Street, but a decision was
made in 1977 to move ‘across the river’ to
Sulphur. Land was purchased in a wooded,
unoccupied area on Cities Service Highway
and construction began on a 6,000 square
foot building. The new building was too small
within a year and an addition was added,
bringing the total square footage to 13,000.
This is still the location of the Levingston
Engineers Home Office—510 South Cities
Service Highway in Sulphur, Louisiana.
Key personnel during the early years
included: President Ernest L. Levingston,
Vice President W. L. Rice, Secretary David
Levingston, Treasurer Kathleen Levingston,
Directors Don Duhon, and Charles Ladner.
In 1985 Levingston Engineers merged its
operations with that of Austin Industrial, Inc.,
and remained under the Austin Companies
structure until the end of 1988.
On January 1, 1989, Levingston Engineers
reopened its home office with Ernest as
president and CEO, a staff of ninety-five
people, and active contracts with eleven
clients. Ernest remained CEO until 1995
when W. J. Lechtenberg, Jr., was appointed
CEO and managed the company until 2000.
From 2000 to 2008, Ernest managed the
operations of Levingston Engineers with the
assistance of Vice Presidents Mark G. Nixon
and Louis Daniel “Dan” Leveque.
In 2008 the firm was acquired by Mark G.
Nixon and Louis Daniel “Dan” Leveque. Nixon
serves as CEO and Leveque as COO. Sharon
Thomas serves as treasurer. Mark and Dan
have continued the level of commitment to
clients started by Ernest as well as, enhanced
opportunities in the engineering and design
services provided to their core service sector.
Today, Levingston employs between 150 to
200 persons, depending on the work load,
and annual revenues range between $15
and $25 million. The current customer base
totals forty-two clients. The firm provides
civil, structural, mechanical, piping, process,
electrical and controls system engineering
services along with technical staffing solutions
for the industrial and municipal sectors.
Levingston serves clients throughout
various industries, including energy, oil
and gas, chemicals and petrochemicals,
refining, pipeline, municipal, manufacturing,
and bio-fuels.
The company’s business plan, strategies,
and goals have remained consistent with
Levingston’s mission statement:
“Levingston Engineers has always and will
continue to consider quality to be its highest
priority. By ‘quality’ we mean providing
clients with a service, which includes keeping
the costs within budget, getting the work out
on time, and producing results, which will
meet or exceed the expectations and needs
of the client in all regards. We will at all
times maintain a high level of ethics and
professionalism. We consider people in our
company to be what makes the company and
will consistently seek to improve the working
conditions, training, organization, and job
security for our people, allowing them to
reach their highest potential.”
The owners and employees of Levingston
believe strongly in giving back to their
community. Among the many groups
supported by the firm are United Way,
Partners in Education, McNeese Foundation
(Levingston Engineers Scholarships), Sowela
Foundation, and Chamber Foundation for
business development of the region. The
company also supports various local
recreational sports teams.
“Without a doubt, the employees are what
make Levingston successful.”
For more information, check the company
website at www.levingston.com.
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NORTHROP
GRUMMAN
TECHNICAL
SERVICES
The Lake Charles Maintenance and
Modification Center (LCMMC) is part of
Northrop Grumman, a leading global
security company whose 120,000 employees
provide innovative systems, products and
solutions in aerospace, electronic, information
systems, shipbuilding, and technical
services to government and commercial
customers worldwide.
LCMMC is operated by Northrop
Grumman Technical Services and provides
superior depot repairs and maintenance
services to the nation’s military. Lake
Charles serves as Northrop Grumman
Technical Services’ center of excellence for
aircraft sustainment.
With more than 800,000 square feet of
hangars, repair facilities and office space,
the Lake Charles facility is part of a larger
1,050-acre aircraft modification center
located at Chennault International Airport.
LCMMC houses an 80,000-square-foot
fabrication shop capable of fabricating
machined and sheet metal parts. The site
performs major subassembly repair and
overhaul and has the capability to
manufacture hydraulic tubing and oxygen
lines. For the U.S. Air Force (USAF), LCMMC
is responsible for all periodic depot
maintenance on the E-8C Joint Surveillance
Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS)
aircraft and KC-10 Extender, the premier air
refueling asset for the USAF.
The Total System Support Responsibility
(TSSR) program has been key to Northrop
204
Grumman’s success with Joint STARS.
Through TSSR, LCMMC has shortened
maintenance cycle times and maximized
aircraft availability to the 116th Air Control
Wing, which flies the Joint STARS. Other
site-initiated process improvements have
contributed to the aircraft’s high mission
readiness, including a paperless shop floor
control system and an electronic workflow
scheduling module. Operating under accurate
metrics, made possible through an Earned
Value Management System, the site has
continually enhanced schedule and cost
predictability for the customer.
These successes have led to the incorporation of additional business lines at LCMMC,
such as the KC-10 contractor logistics support
(CLS) program for which Northrop Grumman
performs depot inspections and repairs for
the fifty-nine-aircraft fleet. LCMMC accomplishes systems/subsystems checks, repairs
for all required items, and aircraft refurbishment to keep these vital assets in pristine
condition. In addition LCMMC is contracted
to perform engine side cowl, nose cowl and
aft thrust reverser overhauls. This work provides replacements and spares for the Joint
STARS fleet.
Not only is Northrop Grumman Technical
Service dedicated to economic development
in the Lake Charles area, but the sector is also
dedicated to giving back to the community.
There is a very strong partnering relationship
with the Chennault Airport Authority and
the Louisiana Economic Development
Council, which has enabled the creation
of significant technology-based jobs. In
recent years, Northrop Grumman has made
donations totaling $50,000 on behalf of
the Northrop Grumman Foundation to
the Sowela Technical Community College
Foundation. The donations benefit the
school’s Aviation Maintenance Technology
Department. Additionally, personnel from
the site participate in the American Cancer
Society’s “Relay for Life”, the March of
Dimes, the local Big Brother/Big Sister “Bowl
for Kid’s Sake” and Partners in Education for
Brentwood Elementary School.
This concentration of experience is made
more imposing by Northrop Grumman’s
commitment to become an integral part of the
defense community and governing agencies,
while supporting its clients’ critical missions.
By drawing on the assets and strength
of more than 19,500 Northrop Grumman
experts in infrastructure management and
maintenance, training, and logistics and lifecycle management, the facility is now better
positioned to offer customers an even greater
breadth of know-how and service.
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SWEET LAKE
LAND & OIL
COMPANY
Above: Henry George (H. G.) Chalkley, Sr.
Below: Harvesting rice in the early 1900s
on Sweet Lake property.
In 1893, Henry George Chalkley, then
twenty-two years old, boarded the SS Britannic
in Liverpool, England, emigrated to America,
and later took his oath as a U.S. citizen in
ceremonies in New York. His journey to
America carried with it a touch of mystery.
It was reported that he came over to work
with the North American Land and Timber
Company, which had been financed by several
English syndicates, including the London firm
of H. G. Chalkley and Sons. Chalkley’s father
was one of the sons in the Chalkley syndicate.
In Southwest Louisiana, Jabez B. Watkins
was an American manager and majority
stockholder in North American Land and
Timber Company. But the company was not
sending dividends back to its English investors,
and it was rumored that the Englishmen
wanted to find out why.
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When Chalkley arrived in Southwest
Louisiana, he did not join North American
Land and Timber Company. Instead, he went
to work for the St. Louis, Watkins and Gulf
Railroad, which was also owned by Watkins.
In 1896 Chalkley was named chief engineer
of North American Land and Timber Company,
which then owned more than a million acres of
land in Southwest Louisiana, which had been
purchased by Watkins with the financial backing of the English syndicates.
Chalkley immediately turned his attention
toward developing the company’s huge land
holdings and the potential of growing rice.
Educated in mechanical engineering at
Leeds University in England, he apprenticed,
after college, for five years in a steam plow
factory. Because of Chalkley’s knowledge of
steam engines, he was able to make steam
dredges to build irrigation canals. He also built
steam tractors which were used to pull plows.
Meanwhile he decided that the Sweet Lake
area was ideal rice land. He had already
studied the area, and looked upon Sweet Lake
as his personal Mecca. During the next thirtynine years, he spent most of his time—and his
considerable energy—in developing the Sweet
Lake area.
By 1908 Watkins had retired from an active
role with the company, and Chalkley became
the chief operating officer for the company.
Chalkley then formed two new companies—
North American Land Company and Sweet
Lake Land and Oil Company—and these
companies bought large tracts of land and some
of the other assets from the initial owners.
Industrious Chalkley, interested in cultivating the idle prairie land, successfully prevailed
upon the company to conduct an experiment in
growing rice on high, well-drained land, irrigated by lifting water from the bayou to field-level,
a system now known as “artificial” irrigation.
The experiment was a success. So successful in fact, that the irrigation system conceived
and placed in use at that time is still serving
today with a few added refinements. The rice
industry, heretofore struggling in an arrested
infancy, suddenly found itself and, with the
tremendous influx of farmers, even from as
far away as the state of Iowa, to Southwest
Louisiana, it rapidly gained impetus.
The first three irrigation canals dug by the
company are still in use.
A highway to cross the marsh from Sweet
Lake to the Creole area was one of the most
needed projects for this area. Most of the residents of the area spoke only French, a language
that Chalkley had not mastered. So Charles
Eagleson, who spoke fluent French, joined
Chalkley, Sr., and a company official, Thomas
Cox, and the three traveled together over the
surrounding area and got enough signatures on
a petition to get the ball rolling for the Creole
Highway, which soon became a reality.
Large areas of Southwest Louisiana showed
positive changes as a result of Chalkley’s
energy. When Chalkley first arrived in
Southwest Louisiana he saw vast prairies bare
of trees, with the exception of a few oak
groves. He vowed to change that, and planted
hundreds of oaks.
In 1908, Chalkley helped support a
Methodist Church, which was being built
in Sweet Lake. He had previously given a
one-room school building to the community.
In April of 1939 Chalkley, Sr., died, leaving
a long list of credits and honors he had
accomplished in his adopted land.
His son, Henry G. “Harry” Chalkley Jr.,
followed his father’s path, and although he
did not have a role in the “steam” era of his
father, he is remembered for the many civic
projects and work he did in bringing new
vitality to the area.
Harry Chalkley worked actively to acquire
the land for Burton Coliseum and served on
the Commission that enabled the approval
of the tax millage that funded the building
of the Coliseum.
Both of the companies formed by
Chalkley operate today from their
present and new office at 7777 Nelson
Road in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The
companies are active today in land,
rice, irrigation, and oil and gas production. Also included are; raising beef
cattle and registered reigning quarter
horses; hunting and fishing, operating
a commercial lodge for that purpose,
Grosse Savanne; NALMAR, a small
boat marina and fueling station and
developing commercial real estate.
Through the years, the Chalkley family
has grown. Now in its fifth generation of
leadership, the sixth is waiting in the wings.
Leadership history of Sweet Lake Land
and Oil Company and North American
Land Company:
• Henry George Chalkley, passed away in 1920
• Henry George “H. G.” Chalkley, Sr., passed
away in 1939
• Henry George “Harry” Chalkley, Jr., passed
away in 1979
• Henry Chalkley Alexander, retired, 1989
• Anthony Claude Leach, Jr., president 19892010 and present CEO
• Claude Alexander Leach, president
• Laura Alexander Leach, chairman of the board
Owners of the company today are:
• Henry Chalkley Alexander
• Laura Alexander Leach
• Claude Alexander Leach
• Mary O’Dell Leach Werner
• Lucille Anne Leach Davenport
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Above: The second office, but the original
building of Sweet Lake Land and Oil
Company and North American Land
Company was located at 444 Pujo Street,
Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Below: The current office of Sweet Lake
Land and Oil Company and North
American Land Company is located at 7777
Nelson Road, Lake Charles, Louisiana.
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TALEN’S
MARINE &
FUEL
Above: Talen’s first barge.
Below: The Talen Marine fleet.
Talen’s Marine & Fuel, which celebrated its
fortieth anniversary in 2010, continues to grow
and change as it has throughout its history.
Talen’s has become a leader in its field because
of its ability to adapt the business to changing
conditions in the marketplace and keeping
its focus on customer service. Their long-term
relationships with their customers and the
exceptional service they provide continue to be
the foundation on which the company is built.
Talen’s was founded in April 1970 by
Raymond Talen and enjoyed tremendous
growth under his leadership. Talen sold the
company in 2008 to Quintana Marine Fuel
LLC, of Houston. J. Bryan Caillier, who had
served four years as CFO, was named the CEO.
The firm now has more than two hundred
employees, many of whom have been with the
company for a number of years.
Quintana’s continued investment in the
company has made Talen’s one of the safest and
most competitive distributors in the industry.
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According to Caillier a major key to Talen’s
success has been its mobile midstreaming
program that allows the company to deliver
fuel, lubricants and other supplies to boats
and barges while they are anchored along
the Intra-Coastal Waterway and other
inland waters. Talen’s also provides twentyfour hour service to off-shore and inland
drilling operations.
Talen’s provides very competitive pricing
because of its capacity for millions of gallons
of fuel storage and the ability to purchase
large quantities by barge. Talen’s also has its
own in-house fuel trader who can provide
risk management for customer’s fuel needs
through spot, reference and fixed pricing.
Currently, Talen’s fleet includes 16 fuel
barges, 12 tugs, 16 transports, 4 bobtails, and 5
lube trucks providing on-time service delivering
diesel fuel, gasoline, Jet-A, and lubricants.
Talen’s Marine & Fuel’s Land Division
provides fuel delivery services to Louisiana,
Mississippi, Texas and Alabama using its own
fleet of eighteen-wheelers and bobtails. This
fleet delivers diesel, chemicals, gasoline,
kerosene, and lubricants safely. By storing
fuels at its bulk plant and operating its own
fleet, Talen’s has the versatility to change its
schedule as the customer’s needs demand it.
All Talen’s drivers are familiar with rig
locations and are experienced in rig
procedures. All are Coast Guard certified to
bunker fuel directly to ships, and are
hazardous material trained and certified. For
customers who need to store fuel onsite, Talen’s
has fuel tanks ranging from 1,000 to 10,000
gallons for short or long-term rental. Transfer
pumps, hoses and accessories for the tanks are
also available for rent. USCG approved tote
tanks are available on request.
Talen’s Marine Division includes a fleet of
tugs and barges with the latest navigation and
safety equipment, along with trained and
licensed personnel. Besides fuel delivery, the
Talen’s fleet can deliver lube (in drums or tote
tanks for bulk), potable water, and deck
supplies and are equipped to dispose of used
oil, bilge water, oily rags, garbage, spent filters
and absorbents.
With two shore-based docks and five other
inland docks spread across the coast of
Top: Freshwater City Dock.
Louisiana and Texas, Talen’s is ready to deliver.
The shore-based docks are conveniently
located right before the locks at Freshwater
City, which saves hours of travel time going
inland to Intracoastal City, and Galveston,
north of Bolivar Road. Each dock is equipped
for dispatching fuel, water, lube, crane
services, forklift services and other needs.
Five other inland docks are located in
Port Arthur, Texas; Lake Charles; 193 Dock;
Houma; and Port Fourchon.
Talen’s uses the latest tracking system
technology available for both its transport
and marine fleets, which allows deliveries
to be tracked in route. Unlike some
delivery customers, Talen’s has trucks
dedicated to hauling only Jet-A products,
so customers don’t have to worry about the
octane efficiency.
According to Caillier, Talen’s has been
successful through the years because of the company’s commitment to outstanding customer
service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
At Talen’s Marine & Fuel, customer service
always comes first. From its lubricant and
chemical products, to its knowledgeable staff,
Talen’s provides only the best. Talen’s carries
all major brands of lubricants, so customers
know they are getting quality lube products
to help their equipment run longer and
better. Talen’s also offers oil sample testing to
help customers make sure their equipment
is running at peak performance. This simple
test helps avoid unnecessary equipment
downtime that cuts into the revenue stream.
Talen’s Marine & Fuel is headquartered at
225 Pleasant Street in Lake Arthur. For more
information, visit www.talensmarine.com.
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Middle: 193 Dock.
Bottom: Port Fourchon Dock.
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DUNHAM PRICE
GROUP, LLC
In the 1930s, an auditor for a chain of lumber yards in Guthrie, Oklahoma, Rowland Price
hired a young man named Ted Dunham to
manage one of the yards. In those days, lumber
was used to build oil derricks in the area, but
business was beginning to taper off due to the
increasing use of steel.
Dunham took note of a company in
Oklahoma City called Dolese that was delivering ready-mixed concrete, and doing quite
well. Upon further examination, he realized
that Louisiana was one of the last areas to be
pioneered in that market. With the help of
Duramaus, president of Kansas City Southern
Railroad, and Guthrie, Oklahoma, Ford Motor
dealer Bill Pugh, Dunham established the first
concrete plant in Baton Rouge.
As time went on he realized there was an
additional opportunity in Lake Charles. In 1939
Dunham established his Lake Charles facility
but quickly realized he could not operate it
effectively from Baton Rouge. He immediately
called on his old friend Price and finally convinced the reluctant auditor to move his family
to Louisiana and become partners. Thus,
Dunham Price, Inc., was born.
Dunham Price, Inc., was located originally at
320 Front Street in downtown Lake Charles.
This was the site of the Kansas City Southern
rail spur and warehouses which Dunham Price
leased for sixty dollars per year. Dunham had
established a long-term relationship with KCS
as an effective way to receive the sand and gravel he needed to make concrete. Besides readymixed concrete, DP was also manufacturing
concrete drainage culverts at this location.
Price died unexpectedly in 1942 at the age
of fifty-two. Since Rowland’s two sons were
210
still quite young, Dunham called on Ashton
Fenet, a former Baton Rouge attorney he had
been training in the company’s operations.
Fenet moved to Lake Charles to manage the
operations and Dunham Price into the 1950s.
At the same time Fenet worked with
Rowland’s oldest son, Robert Price, to locate
sand and gravel sources for Dunham Price in the
piney woods north of Lake Charles in Rosepine.
Price’s work led to Dunham Price supplying the
sand-clay road base and concrete pipe for all of
Fort Polk. After spending two years in the Fork
Polk area, the older Price brother moved back to
Lake Charles to manage the new Brick and Tile
division located at 2101 Common Street. Many
local residents still recall the brick kilns and clay
pits at the factory where Red Common bricks
were being made for the city streets and many
local structures. The block plant, known as
LaCrete, was later sold to the Oliver family and
eventually became Featherlite, which is now
owned by Justin Boot Company.
Price managed that facility until a decision
was made to close the doors in the 1960s. He
then became chairman of the board for
Dunham Price. Many Lake Charles kids ended
up swimming in the abandoned pits in the
years after the plant closed.
As the 1940s progressed so did Dunham
Price’s rapid expansion. Dunham Price
outgrew its location on Front Street and
purchased forty acres on Highway 90 at
Columbia Southern Road in Westlake.
Dunham Price established a new plant there,
as well as a new concrete pipe plant. It was
from this location that Dunham Price supplied
all the concrete for the new Calcasieu River
Bridge, which would become the I-10 Bridge.
As Dunham Price moved into the 1950s the
younger Price brother, Ted Price, Sr., became
president and general manager of the company.
Dunham Price continued as the market leader by
accomplishing projects such as Interstate 10, the
I-210 Bridge, Cities Service refinery, Kayouchee
and Pithon Coulee projects, the Continental Oil
refinery, and the Chennault runway expansion.
They also completed the largest single-day pour
in Southwest Louisiana history—1,800 yards in
ten hours—at the Port of Lake Charles. In 1958
Dunham Price moved its ready-mix and concrete
pipe facilities across Highway 90 to Trousdale
Road to make way for the Interstate 10 corridor.
Dunham Price continued to flourish in the
1960s, and in 1967 started up its Precast/PreStress Division on Highway 397 on the east
side of Chennault Air Force Base. The first job
was delivering all the pre-stressed foundation
piles and bridge beams for the US 171 bridges
over English Bayou and the Calcasieu River
leading into Moss Bluff. Eventually, this division was relocated to the company’s Trousdale
Road facility.
During this era the third generation of the
Price family moved into the company’s operations, as Robert Price, Jr., and Ted Price, Jr.,
began working in the business.
The 1970s saw the eventual buyout of the
Dunham family by the Price family.
In 1979 Dunham Price was awarded the
Trunkline LNG facility on Big Lake Road.
Other large scale projects at this time were the
Calcasieu Marine Bank Tower and the Hilton
Hotel on Lakeshore Drive.
In the mid-1980s Dunham Price moved its
ready-mix plants, concrete pipe plant, prestress plant, and main office away from
Trousdale Road to make room for the expansion of the Conoco refinery. The company relocated to twenty-eight acres on the Calcasieu
Ship Channel in Westlake. This was a major
turning point for the company because it could
begin receiving raw materials and shipping
finished products by water. This launched
Dunham Price’s expansion into the construction aggregates market.
The 1990s saw the fourth generation of the
family, Robert Price, III and Ryan Price, enter
the business operations. Dunham Price significantly expanded its operations in the years
leading up to 2010. Four ready-mix batch
plants were added to better serve the five
parish area. In 2006 a brand new, state-ofthe-art casting plant was built in Vinton,
Louisiana, significantly upgrading the production capacity of foundation piles and bridge
beams. The company also saw major improvements to its waterfront, allowing greater abilities to unload ships and barges. Dunham Price
was the supplier on many large projects such
as L’Auberge du Lac Casino, Cameron LNG,
Sabine Pass LNG, the John James Audubon
Bridge, and the Motiva Refinery Expansion
in Port Arthur, Texas. All of this expansion
necessitated a name change to Dunham Price
Group, with its many subsidiaries.
For additional information on Dunham Price
Group, LLC, visit www.dunhamprice.com.
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R. E. HEIDT
CONSTRUCTION
CO., INC.
Above: Ashton Fenet.
Right: Ted Dunham, Sr.
For nearly sixty-five years, R. E. Heidt
Construction Co., Inc. has been known
throughout Southwest Louisiana for
“Excellence in Hot-Mix Asphalt Paving.”
The company was organized in 1946 by R.
E. Heidt, Ashton Fenet, Mrs. Roland (Ethel)
Price, and Ted Dunham. Heidt, who had been
sent to Lake Charles by the Kellogg Corporation
to oversee construction of the Cities Service Oil
Refinery, was named president and chief
operating officer of the new firm.
Fenet assumed a hands-on role with the
company in 1957 to assist Heidt with the
company’s banking and financial affairs.
Fenet, a native of north Louisiana, had earned
a law degree from Louisiana State University.
He had been hired by Dunham and sent to
Lake Charles to run the Dunham-Price RediMix Concrete Company.
In its early years, Heidt was involved
primarily in site work, dirt preparation,
preparation of roadbeds and preparation of
sites for construction of the many oil refineries
that were moving into the area, including
Cities Service, PPG, the Olin Corporation, and
Continental Oil Company.
The company purchased its first hot-mix
asphalt concrete manufacturing plant in 1955
and it was established on Second Street in
Lake Charles between Enterprise Boulevard
and First Avenue. The facility remained at that
location until 1960 when it was moved across
the river to Westlake.
When construction began on Interstate 10
through Southwest Louisiana in 1962, Heidt
Construction produced and placed a large
portion of the hot-mix asphalt concrete
blanket under the concrete and also paved the
asphalt surfaced shoulders from the Texas
state line east to Lafayette. The company
purchased two additional asphalt plants to
keep pace with the Interstate construction.
In 1963, Heidt decided to retire, although
he continued to do consulting work for the
company until his death in 1967.
Two other individuals played key roles in the
company’s growth during this period. One was
Heidt’s brother-in-law, William Paynter, who
moved from Oklahoma to become the company
engineer. In that role, Paynter laid out the
original sixty-acre plant site that is now the
212
Continental Oil Company Refinery. Paynter later
moved from the field to serve as office manager
and chief estimator and eventually became vice
president. He worked until the age of eighty, and
then continued to serve in a consultant position
until his death at the age of ninety-nine.
Also playing a key role in the early days was
Joseph Donnelly, who ran the Finance
Department and eventually became president
from 1979-89. Donnelly had moved south from
New York while stationed with the U.S. Navy
in Orange, Texas, and joined the company in
1947. He still does consultant work and comes
by the office once a week. He also continues to
serve on the board of directors.
With Heidt’s retirement in 1963, Fenet
assumed the duties of president and chief
operations officer. During this era, Heidt
Construction continued to move forward in
the asphalt paving business with such major
projects as the Asphalt Base Course beneath
the Portland Concrete on Interstate 210 in
Lake Charles; and the asphalt paving on
Louisiana Highway 108 (Cities Service
Highway), the major artery to the Southwest
Louisiana petroleum industry. During this
period, Heidt became the major road paving
contractor in Southwest Louisiana.
Fenet’s son, Courtney, left the Navy and
joined the company in 1972. Two years later
he was elevated to a position with special
responsibilities for the manufacture and
application of asphalt concrete paving and its
usage in construction.
One of the company founders, Mrs. Roland
(Ethel) Price, died in 1976 and her two sons,
Ted Price, Sr., and Bob Price, Sr., became part
of the principle ownership of R.E. Heidt
Construction along with Fenet and Dunham.
Fenet stepped down as president in 1979
and was succeeded by Joseph Donnelly until
his retirement in 1989. Donnelly served the
company for forty-two years.
During Donnelly’s term as president,
Courtney Fenet was given full charge of the
company’s field work as chief operations
officer. With Donnelly’s retirement, Courtney
was selected as president and chief executive
officer, a position he would hold until 2006.
During the 1990s, Heidt Construction
expanded from Southwest Louisiana with the
addition of two asphalt concrete manufacturing
facilities: forty-five miles east, and sixty miles
north of Lake Charles. In 2001 and 2003, Heidt
became a major contractor on two projects in
the four-lane expansion of US Highway 171
from Lake Charles to Shreveport.
Heidt Construction is proud of the fact that
seven key individuals have a combined total
of 175 years with the company:
• Mike Johnson, human resources/safety,
34 years;
• Scott Layfield, production, 33 years;
• Paul Felice, maintenance, 33 years;
• Ettel Ardoin, quality control, 32 years;
• Brent Arabie, paving operations, 20 years;
• Dale Brown, paving operations, 12 years; and
• CEO and COO Troy DeRouen, 11 years.
Ted Price, Jr., became president of the
corporation in 2006 and, as the highway
industry work load began to slow down,
Heidt Construction began a restructuring to
a much smaller operation, specializing in
Hot-Mix Asphalt Paving.
Heidt is now focused on its mission
statement: “Excellence in Hot-Mix Asphalt
Paving” and concentrates on small asphalt
paving projects, operating one asphalt plant in
the Southwest Louisiana area. The company’s
major clients remain the state of Louisiana and
Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes.
BUILDING
A
GREATER
Above: Ted Price, Sr.
Left: Bob Price, Sr.
SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA
213
PUMPELLY
OIL COMPANY
Robert James Pumpelly was only seventeen
years old in 1936 when he moved from
Oklahoma City to Lake Charles, determined
to make his fortune. His first venture was a
small grocery store in Westlake, but after a
few months he switched from groceries to
fuel, selling Conoco gas from a two-pump
service station in Sulphur.
The little gas station marked the start of
a career that would lead to Pumpelly Oil
Company, one of the largest oil and gas
distributors in Southwest Louisiana. Pumpelly
Oil Company covers nearly every aspect of the
petroleum industry, including repackaging bulk
lube, servicing the offshore oil industry, and
providing the region with alternatives to fuel
and lubricants.
After several years driving a truck and
delivering gas and oil for Louisiana’s first
Conoco jobbership and later working for a
Conoco commission agency, Bob leased the
first company-owned Conoco service station
in Louisiana and later purchased the
commission agency from Conoco. Realizing he
needed his own service stations to be
successful, Bob built his first full-service
station in Westlake in 1956. By the mid1960s, Bob had built four stations, which
would later become Pellymarts; and the tire,
battery, and accessories portion of the business
grew to become Pumpelly Tire Center, Inc.
214
The company name was changed to
Pumpelly Oil, Inc., in 1986 to better reflect
the expanding scope of the business. That
same year Pumpelly Oil became the first
Gascard franchise in Louisiana. This national
fleet fueling system, known as Commercial
Fueling Network, has become a significant
part of the firm’s business.
After fifty-three years in the business Bob
stepped down from daily operation of the
business in 1989 and became Chairman of the
Board. His son, Robert Glenn Pumpelly,
succeeded his father and steered the company
into the 1990s and a new century.
With the new century came Pumpelly Oil’s
first major response to an emergency situation—
Hurricane Rita in 2005. The results showed just
how prepared and unprepared the company and
community were in handling a natural disaster.
Pumpelly employees were on the job around the
clock during the recovery period to service
emergency response vehicles. After Hurricane
Rita, Pumpelly Oil started planning for the next
disaster and has since become the major fuel
supplier for Emergency Response personnel in
the area.
Pumpelly Oil now has its eyes on the future
as it experiences retiring employees and growth
through the younger generation that will bring a
fresh outlook to the business and continuous
longevity with the company. From its humble
beginnings, Pumpelly Oil Company has become
a leading distributor in Southwest Louisiana,
employing eighty people and operating a fleet of
sixteen trucks. Under the leadership of Glenn
Pumpelly, the company will be a major player
in the fuel, lubricant and chemical business in
Louisiana and Texas for many years to come.
Additional information is available on the
Internet at www.pumpelly.com.
In 1949 D. Walter Jessen, Sr., began a
small business in the spare bedroom of his
home, surveying by day and drafting by night.
Today, D. W. Jessen & Associates is one of
the most respected civil engineering and
land surveying firms in Southwest Louisiana
and has been for over sixty years. With deep
family roots in this area, his son, D. “Walt”
Jessen, Jr., continues the legacy as managing
principal and owner, providing professional
engineering and land surveying expertise with
personal integrity and responsibility.
The prolonged success of the company is
attributed to the strong, foundational leadership of Mr. Jessen, Sr., in addition to the conscientious employees of the firm, especially
those faithful, long-term employees who have
devoted their careers to its service: namely,
Jack Knapp, P.L.S, retired, Edgar M. Rosteet,
P. E., Carolyn Grant, Barbara McCombs,
Darrell Hebert, and Wes Duncan, Jr.
D. W. Jessen & Associates has a long
established history with many public, private,
and industrial clients in Southwest Louisiana.
Since 1953 the firm has been fortunate to serve
the City of Lake Charles by providing a wide
range of engineering services to improve and
expand the municipal infrastructure, including
water treatment and distribution, wastewater
treatment and collection, street paving and
storm drainage. The firm was also heavily
involved in the design and construction of the
Lake Charles Civic Center Complex, opened
to the public in 1972 and more recently, the
Bord du Lac Park Marina which opened in
September of 2010 as an extension of the Civic
Center Complex. The Gravity Drainage District
No. 4 of Ward 3 in Calcasieu Parish has been
a client since 1958. The four major storm
water pumping stations in the district are past
projects of D. W. Jessen & Associates. Mr.
Jessen, Sr., also served as engineer for the Port
of Lake Charles from 1965 to 1986.
Mr. Jessen, Sr., was instrumental in the
development of the original Lake Charles
Municipal Airport, completed in 1961.
Hurricane Rita devastated the region in
2005, including the original airport terminal
building. Walt Jessen, Jr., was fortunate to
follow in the footsteps of his father and be
involved in the construction of the new Lake
Charles Regional Airport terminal building,
opened to the public in August of 2009.
A look at the Calcasieu Parish Clerk of
Court subdivision records will reveal that D. W.
Jessen & Associates is well represented in the
numerous private subdivision developments
and private land surveys. The many surveys
and construction records archived in the firm’s
office over the past sixty plus years continue
to provide historical research data for public
entities and private real estate developers.
The firm’s goal is to continue serving clients
in Southwest Louisiana for years to come.
For more information, visit their website at
www.dwjessen.com.
BUILDING
A
GREATER
D. W. JESSEN &
ASSOCIATES,
LLC
CIVIL AND
CONSULTING
ENGINEERS
Above: D. Walter Jessen, Sr., and D. Walter
Jessen, Jr., looking for ducks.
Below: Bord du Lac Park Marina designed
by D. W. Jessen and Associates.
SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA
215
BROSSETT
ARCHITECT,
LLC
Above: David Brossett, AIA.
David Brossett, AIA, leads the firm of
Brossett Architect, LLC. Excellence is our
frame of mind and our client’s success is the
end result. “Our clients deserve better than
good projects,” says Brossett. “They deserve
great projects. That’s why they select our firm,
and that’s what we deliver.”
They opened in 1997 with limited staffing
and resources and have grown to encompass
clients from across the United States from
Louisiana to California and states in-between.
They have designed millions of square feet of
buildings across multiple states. This firm is
committed to providing excellence in service
and innovation throughout the design and
construction process. “We provide advice and
solutions that allow our clients to visualize
long-term success,” says Brossett.
Brossett has been a LEED-Accredited
Professional since 2003, and is committed to
sustainability through design. The Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
credential works to the benefit of the firm’s
clients because ‘green is good’ when it comes
to saving energy, the environment and money.
The firm’s award-winning expertise and
commitment is proven and comes from
designing a variety of projects, including
medical offices, restaurants, corporate offices,
religious facilities, community centers and
schools. A sample of their projects include
Sowela Technical Community College Process
Technology Center, Southland Coins World
Headquarters, Lake Charles Public Works
216
Administration Offices, Dr. Clawson Medical
Practice Center, and Main Street Financial
Federal Credit Union.
The youthful and energetic Brossett
Architect team has racked up a string of
great projects along the 10/12 corridor. And
testimonials from Brossett Architect clients
confirm the high esteem in which the firm is
held. “Brossett truly represented my best
interest and allowed my vision to become
reality,” says one client. Another remarks,
“Your attention to detail and emphasis on customer service were key factors in the success
of this project.” Another satisfied client writes,
“You were there and took responsibility for
every concern. Few professionals are willing
to be so available.”
The Brossett Architect team believes in
delivering a full range of superior professional architectural services. It is this dedication to
clients that guarantees effective planning for
current and future needs, excellence in architectural and interior design, and complete
construction review and administration.
Brossett Architect, LLC, is located at 414
Pujo Street in Lake Charles. For more
information about the firm, check their
website at www.brossettarchitect.com.
Their utmost priority will always be their
client’s success. This point is emphasized by
another satisfied client, “When someone else
worries about things more than you do, you
can stop worrying. Thanks [to Brossett] for
worrying for me.”
Myers Group, Inc., better known as Myrtis
Mueller Realty, is a full service real estate
firm, providing residential, commercial,
development, and investment services as well
as property management.
The firm was founded by Myrtis Myers
Mueller in 1987, following a twenty year career
with South Central Bell. Looking for a more
challenging career, Myrtis received her real
estate salesperson’s license in 1975. After
three years as a part-time real estate agent, she
resigned from the phone company to pursue
her new career.
Assisted by her daughter, Sheila, and son,
Jeff, Myrtis Mueller Realty opened in one of
the oldest homes in Moss Bluff. The house,
originally owned by Myrtis’ father, Joseph
Manuel (Man-wel) Myers, was built around
1910 on a forty acre tract facing a dirt road,
now known as Sam Houston Jones Parkway.
Interest rates were at an all-time high in the
1980s, so it was not the ideal time to be starting
a new real estate firm. However, variable rate
loans helped overcome the high interest rate
and Boeing opened its Lake Charles site,
transferring hundreds of employees to the
area, keeping the real estate industry humming.
After eighteen years, the firm moved to a new
location across the street.
Always a self motivator and organizer
Myrtis worked diligently to establish her name.
She received numerous sales awards and
retained the honor of “Top Producer” with the
Southwest Louisiana Association of Realtors.
Myrtis and her family were raised in the
area and have seen firsthand the growth and
development of Southwest Louisiana, especially Moss Bluff. They have seen the expansion of schools, construction of new homes,
growth of businesses, and improvements and
development of parks.
Myrtis Mueller Realty remains very much
a family business. Myrtis’ son, Jeff Pitre,
followed in his mother’s footsteps, gradually
taking over her clientele. Her eldest daughter,
Sheila Peterson, moved back to Moss Bluff
in 1998 after working for a global data
processing company in Houston. In 2007,
Sheila accepted the responsibility of Broker
and broadened the vision of the firm. Myrtis’
youngest daughter, Gina Mueller, received her
license in 1993, keeps abreast of expanding
technology as the office assistant.
Brokers and agents at Myrtis Mueller
Realty are involved in a variety of community
activities. They coach local baseball, softball,
and soccer teams and are involved in Sam
Houston High Band Boosters, ACTS Theatre,
and local churches and advisory board.
Currently everyone at the firm is a licensed
agent, servicing all of Southwest Louisiana in
all phases of real estate. Myrtis’ daughters and
son take pride in their Mom’s accomplishments and strive to continue her legacy of
treating clients like family. The thriving company is continually rewarded with satisfied
clients, repeat business and new referrals.
To learn more about Myrtis Mueller Realty,
check their website at www.realtymm.com.
BUILDING
A
GREATER
MYERS GROUP,
INC.
D/B /A MYRTIS
MUELLER
REALTY
Above: Myrtis Mueller Realty office from
1987 until 2005.
Below: Current office of Myrtis Mueller
Realty at 1037 Sam Houston Jones Parkway.
SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA
217
J. A. DAVIS
PROPERTIES,
L.L.C.
The Davis family of Cameron Parish has
been in the commercial real estate business
since 1967, but the property controlled by the
family was acquired in the 1840s by George
W. Wakefield.
The property proved profitable under
Wakefield’s direction, producing cotton,
citrus, and livestock, in addition to trapping
and estuary management. During the 1960s,
the property produced oil and gas and was
developed as commercial real estate.
After six generations the descendants of
Wakefield are still active in management of
the property.
A decline in farm operations, coupled
with the oilfield boom of the late 1950s,
demanded a more business-oriented familyowned property. Because J. A. Davis, a grand
nephew of Wakefield, did not want the land
to succumb to partition and dissent of family
mergers and fractional interest, a Trust was
formed for the purpose of negotiating and
representing the interest as a whole.
The Trust was formed in 1967 by the beneficiaries of the J. A. and Martha Davis Trust
for Lonnie A. Davis, Furman J. Davis, Wilma
Davis Bride and Mary Davis Henry. According
to the Mission Statement, the Trust is to
remain “a constant influence on the community, family and tradition of maintaining a
family-run business dedicated to stewardship
of the land, our inheritance, future and faith.”
218
The statement adds that “the Trust is to be
conducted in a Christian environment.”
The Trust was managed by W. F. Henry, Jr.,
son-in-law of J. A. Davis and great-grandson
of S. P. Henry, who many credit with the
formation of Cameron Parish from the existing boundaries of Imperial Calcasieu Parish
in 1870. J. A. Davis Properties, L.L.C., was
formed in 2009 by J. A Davis grandchildren
and is currently managed by his grandson,
E. Scott Henry.
The Davis and Henry families of Cameron
Parish have supported the Cameron Parish
Fur and Wildlife Festival since its beginning.
Austin Davis, who died in 1985, and Frankie
Henry, who died in 2007, were instrumental
in the development of the all the industries
honored by the Fur and Wildlife Festival.
These two men represented the families that
helped settle Cameron in the late 1800s. The
combined land holdings were blessed with an
abundance of natural resources, estuaries, and
wildlife. Strategic waterfront locations, aggressive local businessmen and public officials,
along with the cooperation of the Davis and
Henry families enticed various industries to
locate and prosper in Cameron.
With the addition of deep water port development, J. A. Davis Properties, LLC, will provide a basis for continued growth of the family
business, while maintaining its traditional
stewardship of the lands in Cameron Parish.
219
SPONSORS
Brossett Architect, LLC .........................................................................................................................................................216
Business Health Partners .......................................................................................................................................................143
Calcasieu Federal Employees Credit Union ...........................................................................................................................164
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury ..................................................................................................................................................132
Calcasieu Parish Public Library .............................................................................................................................................146
Calcasieu Parish School System.............................................................................................................................................145
Cameron Communications, LLC ...........................................................................................................................................196
Cameron LNG.......................................................................................................................................................................183
Cameron Parish.....................................................................................................................................................................147
Cameron State Bank ..............................................................................................................................................................154
Chamber SWLA ....................................................................................................................................................................172
Cheniere Energy, Inc. ....................................................................................................................................................183, 184
Chennault International Airport Authority............................................................................................................................116
CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital .............................................................................................................................................140
CITGO Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex......................................................................................................................200
City of Lake Charles..............................................................................................................................................................118
City of Sulphur .....................................................................................................................................................................137
City Savings Bank .................................................................................................................................................................177
Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana...................................................................................................................139
CSE Federal Credit Union.....................................................................................................................................................150
D. W. Jessen & Associates, LLC Civil and Consulting Engineers ...........................................................................................215
Don’s Carwash
Don’s Express
Don’s Quik Lube ........................................................................................................................................................160
Dunham Price Group, LLC ...................................................................................................................................................210
First Choice Couriers, LLC....................................................................................................................................................149
First Federal Bank of Louisiana .............................................................................................................................................158
Gray Estate and Stream Companies.......................................................................................................................................120
Hart Eye Center ....................................................................................................................................................................122
Health Systems 2000.............................................................................................................................................................110
Inn on the Bayou ..................................................................................................................................................................149
J. A. Davis Properties, L.L.C. .................................................................................................................................................218
Jeff Davis Bank & Trust Company.........................................................................................................................................162
Jefferson Davis Parish ............................................................................................................................................................130
Junior League of Lake Charles, Inc........................................................................................................................................144
Krause & Managan Lumber Co., Limited..............................................................................................................................181
Lake Charles Coca-Cola Bottling Company...........................................................................................................................176
Lake Charles Regional Airport...............................................................................................................................................141
Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau ........................................................................................142
Levingston Engineers, Inc.
Levingston Group, LLC ...................................................................................................................................................202
Lindsey Janies Photography ..................................................................................................................................................156
Mallett Buildings, LLC...........................................................................................................................................................192
McDonald’s of Southwest Louisiana ......................................................................................................................................174
McNeese State University ......................................................................................................................................................124
Myers Group, Inc. d/b/a Myrtis Mueller Realty......................................................................................................................217
Northrop Grumman Technical Services.................................................................................................................................204
Paramount Companies ..........................................................................................................................................................149
Pumpelly Oil Company. ........................................................................................................................................................214
220
R. E. Heidt Construction Co., Inc. ........................................................................................................................................212
Ribbeck Construction Corporation........................................................................................................................................188
Sasol North America, Inc. .....................................................................................................................................................183
Schlesingers Wholesale .........................................................................................................................................................166
Scofield, Gerard, Singletary & Pohorelsky Attorneys at Law, L.L.C. ......................................................................................179
Southland Coins & Collectibles ............................................................................................................................................173
Southwest Beverage Co., Inc. ................................................................................................................................................168
Southwest Louisiana Credit Union ........................................................................................................................................180
Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance..........................................................................................................178
Southwest Louisiana Healthcare System
Lake Charles Memorial Hospital
Lake Charles Memorial Hospital for Women..............................................................................................................128
Sowela Technical Community College...................................................................................................................................134
St. Louis Catholic High School..............................................................................................................................................126
Steamboat Bill’s .....................................................................................................................................................................170
Surgicare of Lake Charles ......................................................................................................................................................136
Sweet Lake Land & Oil Company.........................................................................................................................................206
Talen’s Marine & Fuel ...........................................................................................................................................................208
The BEL Group .....................................................................................................................................................................149
The Broussard Group, LLC
Broussard and Company, CPAs
Broussard HealthCare Consultants
SynergyCare
High Hope ......................................................................................................................................................114
The User-Friendly Phone Book .............................................................................................................................................175
West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital .........................................................................................................................................138
Women & Children’s Hospital...............................................................................................................................................135
SPONSORS
221
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
LINDSEY JANIES
The photographer for the book is Lindsey Janies, owner of Lindsey Janies Photography.
Ms. Janies is a prolific creative talent who boasts a major portfolio of photographic work, including commercial, portrait, and wedding
photography. Lindsey strives to capture the beauty and heritage of Southwest Louisiana as she sees it. Growing up with the inspiration
of her grandparents, Lindsey is a third generation photographer, raised in the magical world of darkrooms, negatives, and film. To the
traditional style of photography, she adds her own modern, artistic flair. Starting her business in 2004, Lindsey has quickly become one
of Lake Charles’ prime photographers, having expanded into two separate spaces: a private shooting and editing studio in Sulphur, and
a beautiful office and meeting space in Lake Charles. Many of her works are shown within her gallery located in the Charleston Hotel.
Lindsey resides in Sulphur with her two favorite boys, her husband, Adam, and nine month old baby, Parker.
222
ABOUT THE WRITER
JEANNE LEVINGSTON OWENS
Jeanne Owens, native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, breathes the South into her words—silky cypress swamps, deep roux-based seafood
dishes, the slam of a screen door, smells of rich pine forests, eye-squinting sun glinting on water. She has packed four careers into a
lifetime—teaching, writing, public relations and advertising, and art and antiques.
Owens’ writing career stems from her love of literature. For the past forty years she has researched and written copy for various
industries, focusing on tourism, cuisine, and history. Her work has been published in Louisiana Life Magazine, Atlanta Magazine, Texas
Monthly, New Orleans Magazine, Louisiana Cookin’, State of Louisiana Official Tour Guide, Adventures in Culture (Florence, Alabama), Historic
Calcasieu Parish Tour Booklet, and others. She is currently working on a publication featuring hundreds of early 1900s photographs of
Louisiana and Texas.
Owens owns and operates Charleston Gallery and Antiques, an upscale art gallery and antique shop in historic downtown Lake
Charles. She is also a retired English and literature teacher with thirty-five years experience teaching on the college and high school
levels; she has owned an advertising agency, and has served as director of numerous national festivals and musical productions. She is
also a photographer and pianist. However, her true love is her family—husband, two daughters, and two grandsons.
ABOUT
THE
WRITER
223
For more information about the following publications or about publishing your own book,
please call Historical Publishing Network at 800-749-9790 or visit www.lammertinc.com.
Albemarle & Charlottesville:
An Illustrated History of the First 150 Years
Black Gold: The Story of Texas Oil & Gas
Garland: A Contemporary History
Historic Abilene: An Illustrated History
Historic Alamance County: An Illustrated History
Historic Albuquerque: An Illustrated History
Historic Amarillo: An Illustrated History
Historic Anchorage: An Illustrated History
Historic Austin: An Illustrated History
Historic Baldwin County: A Bicentennial History
Historic Baton Rouge: An Illustrated History
Historic Beaufort County: An Illustrated History
Historic Beaumont: An Illustrated History
Historic Bexar County: An Illustrated History
Historic Birmingham: An Illustrated History
Historic Brazoria County: An Illustrated History
Historic Brownsville: An Illustrated History
Historic Charlotte:
An Illustrated History of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County
Historic Chautauqua County: A Bicentennial History
Historic Cheyenne: A History of the Magic City
Historic Clayton County: An Illustrated History
Historic Comal County: An Illustrated History
Historic Corpus Christi: An Illustrated History
Historic DeKalb County: An Illustrated History
Historic Denton County: An Illustrated History
Historic Edmond: An Illustrated History
Historic El Paso: An Illustrated History
Historic Erie County: An Illustrated History
Historic Fayette County: An Illustrated History
Historic Fairbanks: An Illustrated History
Historic Gainesville & Hall County: An Illustrated History
Historic Greene County: An Illustrated History
Historic Gregg County: An Illustrated History
Historic Hampton Roads: Where America Began
Historic Hancock County: An Illustrated History
Historic Henry County: An Illustrated History
Historic Hood County: An Illustrated History
Historic Houston: An Illustrated History
Historic Hunt County: An Illustrated History
Historic Illinois: An Illustrated History
Historic Kern County:
An Illustrated History of Bakersfield and Kern County
Historic Lafayette:
An Illustrated History of Lafayette & Lafayette Parish
Historic Laredo:
An Illustrated History of Laredo & Webb County
Historic Lee County: The Story of Fort Myers & Lee County
Historic Louisiana: An Illustrated History
Historic Mansfield: A Bicentennial History
Historic McLennan County: An Illustrated History
224
Historic Midland: An Illustrated History
Historic Montgomery County:
An Illustrated History of Montgomery County, Texas
Historic Ocala: The Story of Ocala & Marion County
Historic Oklahoma: An Illustrated History
Historic Oklahoma County: An Illustrated History
Historic Omaha:
An Illustrated History of Omaha and Douglas County
Historic Orange County: An Illustrated History
Historic Osceola County: An Illustrated History
Historic Ouachita Parish: An Illustrated History
Historic Paris and Lamar County: An Illustrated History
Historic Pasadena: An Illustrated History
Historic Passaic County: An Illustrated History
Historic Pennsylvania An Illustrated History
Historic Philadelphia: An Illustrated History
Historic Prescott:
An Illustrated History of Prescott & Yavapai County
Historic Richardson: An Illustrated History
Historic Rio Grande Valley: An Illustrated History
Historic Rogers County: An Illustrated History
Historic Santa Barbara: An Illustrated History
Historic Scottsdale: A Life from the Land
Historic Shelby County: An Illustrated History
Historic Shreveport-Bossier:
An Illustrated History of Shreveport & Bossier City
Historic South Carolina: An Illustrated History
Historic Smith County: An Illustrated History
Historic Temple: An Illustrated History
Historic Texarkana: An Illustrated History
Historic Texas: An Illustrated History
Historic Victoria: An Illustrated History
Historic Tulsa: An Illustrated History
Historic Wake County: An Illustrated History
Historic Warren County: An Illustrated History
Historic Williamson County: An Illustrated History
Historic Wilmington & The Lower Cape Fear:
An Illustrated History
Historic York County: An Illustrated History
Iron, Wood & Water: An Illustrated History of Lake Oswego
Jefferson Parish: Rich Heritage, Promising Future
Miami’s Historic Neighborhoods: A History of Community
Old Orange County Courthouse: A Centennial History
Plano: An Illustrated Chronicle
The New Frontier:
A Contemporary History of Fort Worth & Tarrant County
San Antonio, City Exceptional
The San Gabriel Valley: A 21st Century Portrait
The Spirit of Collin County
Valley Places, Valley Faces
Water, Rails & Oil: Historic Mid & South Jefferson County
ISBN: 9781935377313

XELA Introduction_Layout 1

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