1. Boneau's record shop - great music, great photos, great service. Miss that one - hung on well into the '80s I believe
2. Dance recitals - Jonny Dammon (or was it Dannon), Phyllis Guidry School of Dance (my school! ) can't remember the others - wow!
3. Ada Duckett School of modeling and charm. The woman who taught me the valuable lesson of walking with a book on my head. (ran away with her son in 1974 - but that's another story all together)
4. Drivers Ed and driving over the Rainbow bridge - I took it in Beaumont with Carol and Linda Olivier, Marlene Fallin, and I believe Patsy Pullin - so we could get that coveted license a couple of weeks before the rest of you.
5. Sea Gull Motel on the highway - or was it the 'no tell motel" - the Sea Shell in Port Acres and yes of course the Driftwood for that up-town feeling.
6. The collapse of the roof of the Village Theatre - I will never forget coming home from Crystal beach to see the site - the movie playing "The Russians are Coming" - how ironic.
7. The Groves Recreation Center Dances - anyone remember "the dirty dog?" Anyone remember me getting thrown out - or should I say asked to leave - for DOING the dirty dog.
8. The Farm Royal - a bowl of gumbo with a side of potato salad - YUMMY. I believe it cost about $2.50 - complete with french bread or crackers.
9. The boat races in the canal (Cavoilcade of course)- watching from the lovely old sea-wall avoiding the wasp in the oleanders.
10. D&D dress shop - in the "new" center - by the new and improved Howards Grocery.
11. MY red and black mustang - Susan Hatfield's yellow one.
12. When Proctor Street was the drag (before Gulfway Dr.) Norris' Drive-in?
13. Full-Service Gas Stations. When a $1.00's worth of gas would buy a Sunday afternoon of making the drag.
14. Burger King - Mr. Burger King guarding the parking lot.
15. Ked's and Weejuns without socks.
16. David Elliott singing "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" at the Black and White Ball in 1968 (or was it '67) oooo talk about stinkin' up the joint!
17. Rufus Thomas' "Walking the Dog."
19. President's Council on physical fittness badges for 50% or 80% - much coveted.
20. Best Hot Dogs - EVER - wrapped in white tissue - Monceaux's drive-in. What were they 4 for $1.00. Note to reunion committee - do you think you could get them for the party?
21. And STILL the best - boudin from Nicks. Still can't make a trip to P.A. without stocking up.
Published 3/02/08, contributed by Fred Schneider
(Class of '66 and creator of the Class of '66 website, Route 66 -
http://www.tjhs-route66.com)
I remember 45 records stacked 12 high at the Lakeview Vol. Fire Dept. Hall, and Edwina teaching the other girls to do the Pony. Guys working up the nerve to ask a girl to dance, We all wanted to so bad but were afraid. Givin' Gene and Frogman Henry- and "Runaway" played. And we learned to polish belt buckles and how to be close and not get the chewing gum stuck in the girls hair.The Hut at the CYO dance was way too chaperoned to have any real fun, and none of us had cars. We had to wait for parents to pick up. Holding hands was hot stuff and watching Liz skate backwards at Lloyds made a lot of us crazy. Riding in the back seat of a convertible out with older kids trying to be seen at the drive-in. Avoiding a certain group of guys trying not to get your butt kicked.
Published 3/15/08, contributed by Cherlyn Hebert
Boneau's record shop. What about Ted’s Record Shop in Jefferson City? With the soundproof booths where you could listen to a record to see if you liked it before you bought it? ·
Dance recitals - Jonny Dammon (or was it Dannon). I think it was Daenen. (No idea why I remember that.) I think he even made it to Broadway.
Drivers Ed and driving over the Rainbow bridge. I lucked out and had burned my hand so my driving partner had to drive both ways instead of each of us driving one way. Did anyone else have Coach Vosburgh? He got so angry with me one time that he threw the driving manual at me! I told my mother when I got home and, without me knowing it, she complained to a School Board Trustee who went to our church and boy, was Coach nice to me from then on! It was many years later before Mother told me why. LOL ·
The Farm Royal - a bowl of gumbo with a side of potato salad - YUMMY. I believe it cost about $2.50 - complete with french bread or crackers. My dad’s aunt and uncle owned the Farm Royale; and my parents actually met there. My mother was a waitress, and my dad ran the illegal gambling in the back room. He used to tell me how the Texas Rangers would come to town to shut such goings-on down, but they would get a tip and clean it all up. Wonder if that’s how I came by my love of “stimulating the economy” myself at casinos everywhere from Louisiana and Nevada to the Frankfurt Airport, Copenhagen, Budapest and London?
The boat races in the canal. Is that the same thing as the “submarine races” along the seawall? “Saw” a few of those in my time. ·
D&D dress shop - in the "new" center - by the new and improved Howards Grocery. I was an Irene’s girl myself, thanks to my friendship with Linda Olivier, whose mother owned it. The best thing was being able to take clothes home on approval. What a concept!
·When Procter Street was the drag (before Gulfway Dr.). One of my first dates was with a high school boy who took me on the Procter Street drag; I couldn’t figure out what all the excitement was about; turns out it had already moved to Gulfway!
President's Council on physical fittness badges for 50% or 80% - much coveted. Still have my 80% badge (had a gold trim, I think) somewhere. ·
Best Hot Dogs - EVER - wrapped in white tissue - Monceaux's drive-in. What were they.... 4 for $1.00? My favorite bargain was 6 tacos for $1.00 at Taco Rey. Talk about a deal!
Published 3/29/08, contributed by Linda DeCuir McFadden
The sense of smell brings about the most in your "memory bank":Smells such as:
•roasted peanuts at the Little League ballpark on Pleasure Island
•Pik mosquito ring at the Don Drive-in
•Marshes burning
•Gulf Bug Spray out of the pump spray can
•Brut and English Leather
•Fumes from running the boat motor in a barrel because you didn't own a boat!
•Burning pin feathers off of the ducks my dad killed
•Aqua net hair spray
•Pop corn from the Port Movie Theatre on 9th Ave.
•Salty air and stinky seaweed at McFaddin beach
•Sweaty baseball uniforms after playing in the humidity
•OFF mosquito spray
Published 4/26/08, contributed by Martha Lipe Bodin '69
SMELLS AND MEMORIES.....
What about smell of Tigress perfume?
Remember when the refineries use to smell?
How about the DDT from running behind the mosquito truck?
Who remembers the smell of Manhadden Fish Factory on the way to the beach?
Published 6/07/08, contributed by Mike Soileau
What happened to the days of just sitting in the yard and smelling the chemicals from the plants ..
slapping mosquitoes.. listening for our moms calling out the door for us to come in...making clover chains ( we made one on
Smith St, in the Groves, a block long).. anyway you get my point.
Published 7/04/08, contributed by Cherlyn Hebert
Joel Levy asked me if the gambling at the Farm Royale included bourre' (pronounced boo-ray). The only
things I remember my dad mentioning were slot machines and something called punchboards. I had to look the latter up on Wikipedia
to find out that 18th century tavern owners would construct a game board out of wood, drill small holes in it and fill each hole
with a small piece of paper. When you bought a punchboard, you would puncture one of the holes with a nail; if the game piece
contained a winning number, you won the prize. Later the board was covered with paper front and back and were sold in drugstores
with a metal stylus. They were outlawed after WWII, which is why the Farm Royale had them hidden in the back room. Who knew I had such interesting relatives??
Published 8/19/08 , contributed by Diane Richmond Miller
There is a girl that I knew in elementary school and that was a neighbor, but that I didn't spend time with
in high school. Her name was Brenda Lange When we were in about 4th grade, I was so jealous of her because she was a Catholic and I was
a plain old Methodist. She got to wear lace mantillas on her head when she went to church, and she got to go to confession, and had a
rosary and did all kinds things that were mysterious and fascinating to a little Protestant girl. I learned the rosary prayers, and
went to church with her, and when she had a penance to do, I pretended it was mine too, and said the prayers with her. My parents,
who faithfully took me to Sunday school and church every week, never knew that I was secretly a closet Catholic!! I really studied
those confessional booths and wanted to go in and say my own confession and get my own penance. I knew what I was supposed to
say..."Father, forgive me for I have sinned. It's been two weeks since my last confession". But I was just too afraid that once
I was in there, he'd trip me up with a trick question that only REAL Catholics could answer and then I'd be trapped in that small
wooden booth with a priest who knew I was not a Catholic!!
Published 9/02/08 , contributed by Billy Jordan
When attending Thomas Edison our homeroom elected to do a project. At the time there was no mascot for the
school. We decided to build a Falcon mascot. It took a while to build and maybe others who were involved remember the messy process we
went through. Someone decided our homeroom needed to present and dedicate the mascot to the students. I do not know how I was chosen
to be the one to give the speech dedicating the mascot but at the time it scared me tremendously. This was especially the case when I
found out it was going to be done in the gym to a general assembly. I remember the band was there in full uniforms and the bleachers
were packed. I had to write my speech and take it to a couple of English teachers to edit and approve. I got through the speech okay
while perspiring the whole time and as I look back upon that experience I can say it gave me a lot of confidence for the future.
