Houma (Images of America) - Tapa blanda

Title: Book helps recall thoughts of memory lane
Author: Irene Michel
Publisher: Houma Today
Date: 8/8/09

Our eldest son and his wife, who live in North Carolina, recently came over for a short visit. While they were here, they purchased a book at one of the stores in Southland Mall and presented it to my husband and I.

The title of the book is "Images of America: Houma" by Thomas Blum Cobb and Mara Currie.

I haven't had time to read the book yet, but just leafing through the pages brought back memories from some of my earliest years. I knew, by just looking at the cover, that it would be an adventure of sorts just to glance through the photos from the past. The cover photo looked rather familiar, and upon closer inspection, I searched for the page that would identify the people on the cover. Lo and behold, the "queen" pictured there was none other than my former teacher at Terrebonne High School, Alma Chauvin, who later married and became Alma Richard.

Perhaps it was because she was such a sweet teacher, but in addition to being sweet, she was a beautiful, young lady. It thrilled me to see her so prominently portrayed in this book about local people, local places and local scenes.

On page 73, I noticed a picture of my father-in-law, Mike Michel, seated on a bench in the Courtsquare with Levy Marcel. I saw a picture of a Mrs. Menville who was wearing an absolutely lovely two-piece suit she had knitted herself. The only thing I could have wished for more is that the dress, which fit the lady so perfectly, had been shown in color rather than black and white.

Another picture showed the youthful faces of Emanuel Geiger, Tracy Duplantis and Effie Breaux, among others. I would have recognized Duplantis and Breaux, but had his name not been posted below the group photo, I doubt that I would have recognized Geiger. I recognized some of the other names, but I was not fortunate enough to have gotten to know them well.

On page 52, I found a picture of a very handsome John Gordon, who was editor and co-publisher of The Houma Courier when I wrote the Daigleville News for the paper in the mid-1950s. Those were happy days for me. My husband, our three children and I had just moved into a house at Main and Jackson streets, and I thought we were in our own private heaven. That little job with The Houma Courier made everything perfect.

Although I didn't personally know the three persons pictured on page 45, I did know that they made lasting impressions on the people of Terrebonne Parish. They were well-respected men of the community.

Claude H. Wallis, Judge Robert B. Butler and the Rev. John N. Blackburn left their mark on the parish by their common sense and good deeds. In their book, Cobb and Currie refer to them as "Houma's three wise men." Never were truer words spoken.

What a lovely trip down memory lane. And to think, I've just begun the journey.

Irene C. Michel, a native of Terrebonne Parish, is a freelance columnist for The Courier. Her column appears in Sunday and Wednesday editions of The Courier. If you have a story you would like to share with her, you can call her at 876-3252 or e-mail imichel@comcast.net.

Houma is a name derived from a tribe of Native Americans who settled in what is now Terrebonne Parish, or "Good Earth." The town's residents come from French, German, Italian, Scotch, and English ancestry; this mix makes for an interesting cross-section of cultures in a charming Louisiana community. Fifty miles southwest of New Orleans and easily accessible from U.S. Highway 90-"The Old Spanish Trail"-Houma is also bisected by the Intracoastal Waterway. It has been dubbed the "Venice of North America," because it is the epicenter of six bayous, all of which were at one time tributaries of the Mississippi River. Houma and the surrounding communities have become internationally known for an abundance of seafood, including dried shrimp. The process of drying shrimp is truly unique, as it is only done in this area of the country. Indeed, a dried shrimp packing plant still operates on Main Street in downtown Houma. The production of sugar and other agricultural products, and later the oil industry, also played major roles in Houma's rich history. In addition to local industry, the town's homes, churches, schools, events, and people are highlighted within the pages of Images of America: Houma.