The Southwest Louisiana Historical Association's Newsletter
Imperial Calcasieu Notes
April 2006 Vol. 10 No.2 Kathie Bordelon, Editor
April Meeting | January Meeting | Installation of New Officers | Millet and Taylor Contest
Waters Letter | Website | Gingham Ladies | Membership | The Recording of a Cemetery | Mike Jones' book
Charles J. “C.J.” Christ is a native of South Louisiana, born in Eunice in 1929. After high school in Lake Charles, LA he was accepted into Aviation Cadet Training in the U.S. Air Force, graduating from the multi-engine school at Vance Air Force Base. He finished Heavy Bombardment Training at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX in 1951.
After a combat tour flying B-29’s over North Korea, he returned to finish college at McNeese State University, majoring in English. After college, he worked in the oil fields of South Louisiana as a pilot, visiting drilling rigs by floatplane. He started his own company, Houma Aviation, operating at the Houma, LA airport for 25 years. Along with his aviation experience, he is also a licensed offshore master of sail and power vessels.
He is now retired and has written and lectured on the subject, World War II in the Gulf of Mexico, for almost 40 years. He has belonged to the Verband Deutscher U-Bootfahrer, an organization of German Submarine Veterans, since 1981. He has written more than 100 articles; the first collection is consolidated in his book World War II in the Gulf of Mexico.
Information on the book may be obtained from Mr. Christ’s website: http://www.cjchrist.com/. Mr. Christ will have copies of his book to sell and autograph at the meeting.
Members of the Historical Association met on January 23, 2006, at the Carnegie Memorial Library to hear a program entitled, If Tombstones Could Talk: Tales from a Country Graveyard. The speaker, Col. (Ret.) Donald Ladner, presented an excellent and often inspiring program about his experiences volunteering for the Kinder Cemetery. Following is Truman Stacey’s article on the program.
“Cemeteries are a major asset to historians and genealogists, said Col. Donald Ladner of Kinder, a guest speaker at the winter meeting of the SWLA Historical Association.
Col. Ladner, a 30-year U.S. Army veteran and a former McNeese State University quarterback, described his experiences in reorganizing the board of directors of the Kinder Cemetery.
In visiting graves of military veterans he found the cemetery poorly maintained and with the help of city officials organized a new volunteer group to maintain the cemetery and to raise funds for expansion.
During the renovation of the 100-year-old cemetery, graves of veterans of the Civil War, both North and South, were refurbished, along with the graves of veterans of the succeeding conflicts, including the grave of Douglas Fournet, Southwest Louisiana’s only Congressional Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.
Col. Ladner decided to inaugurate a Memorial Day program at the cemetery and to post casket flags on the graves of the veterans. This has developed into major programs for both Independence Day and Memorial Day. Because of this, Col. Ladner pointed out, some have requested that one of their veteran relatives buried elsewhere be reinterred in the Kinder Cemetery.
Included among the graves is that of a former member of the German Afrika Corps of World War II, who was held in a prisoner of war camp in the United States. After the war, he returned to the United States to live and married a local bride.
The cemetery is now on the Internet and the custodians have received many requests from both the United States and from other nations inquiring about relatives buried there.
Col. Ladner ended his discussion with humorous quotations he has collected from headstones from around the world.”
The website for the cemetery is: http://fp1.centurytel.net/KinderCemetery/
The officers for our next term will be installed at the April meeting. The new officers are:
| President: | Diane McCarthy |
| First Vice President (Program): | Pati Threatt |
| Second Vice President (Newsletter): | Kathie Bordelon |
| Secretary: | Mary Liprie |
| Treasurer: | George Ann Benoit |
Millet and Taylor Contest Winners
The Donald J. Millet Historical Writing Contest brought entries from 11 writers, some through submissions from the writers and some through nominations. This year’s entries are:
Books: Hearts Across the Water - Curt Iles
The History of the First Baptist Church, 1880-2005
WWII in the Gulf of Mexico - C. J. Christ
Essays: How the African American and Its Ancestors Shaped the World’s Civilization - Shawn Papillion
Louisiana Will Rise Again - Pasqualina Charles
Duck or No Dinner - Hershel Frazier
When the Germans Invaded DeQuincy - Hershel Frazier
A Quiet and Exciting Day in DeQuincy - Hershel Frazier
Reflections on War - Kathleen Smith
The Recreation Hall - Jimmy Cooley
Poems: When You See a Veteran - Hershel Frazier
Angel of the Gray - Lisa Briggs
Research Reports:
Green House Report - Tom Watson
A Silver Jubilee History of the Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles - Truman Stacey
The judges are Jessica Hutchings, Head of the Reference Department, McNeese State University Library; Vi Threatt; and Dr. Steven Stinnett, Head of the Physics Department, McNeese State University. The award for the Millet Contest is presented annually for the best historical writing (book, essay, historical monograph, play, poem, etc.) about a historical subject or person written by a resident of Imperial Calcasieu and written or published during the year preceding the contest. The contest is named in honor of Dr. Donald J. Millet, former history professor at McNeese State University. The entries are judged subjectively; that is, judges are asked to rank the works in order of their individual preference (1st-3rd). The winners will be announced at the April meeting.
The Dr. Joe Gray Taylor Louisiana History Essay Contest was judged on March 28, 2006, at the Calcasieu Parish Social Studies Fair. This contest is judged annually from among the entries in the Region V Fair that deal with some aspect of Louisiana history. The winners this year are:
1st place: Cathryn Henry, Our Lady Immaculate
Teacher, Stephanie Reed
"How Cajun Dance Influences It's People and Culture"
2nd place: Trevor Barzar, Oberlin High
Teacher, Scott Miano
"Hurricane Audrey”
3rd place: Katherine Ann Deville, Holy Family Catholic School
Teacher, Rebecca Stutes
"Zwolle
Tamale Festival"
Historical Association members Ellie and Chuck Lemoine, Curtis and Betty Nelson, Dr. Thomas Watson, and Diane McCarthy judged the contest. The winners received plaques and savings bonds. The contest is sponsored by First Federal Bank.
Letter Received by the Association
A recent letter received by our treasurer, George Ann Benoit, will be of interest to the membership. I called Dr. Waters and asked permission to put the letter in our newsletter and he graciously agreed. We hope that Dr. Waters will indeed return to Lake Charles and write the book he mentions in his letter.
Savannah State University
Department of Liberal Arts
March 7, 2006
“I inclose a $100 check for a lifetime membership in the Southwest Louisiana Historical Association.
While I have been teaching here at S. S. U. since 1998 (English composition, African American Literature courses) I was born in Lake Charles and in the near future I anticipate retiring and returning to Lake Charles.
I graduated from W. O. Boston High School (1958) and then Dillard University (1962). I did a five year stint in the U. S. Air Force as an aircraft maintenance officer. Later I got my M. A. in English from McNeese (1982) and Ph.D. (also English) from U. S. L. (1988) - as it was called then.
I’ve started reading Louisiana history, really for the first time: (Joe Gray Taylor, C. J. Christ so far), and have been turning over in my mind the idea of writing a history of black people in Lake Charles. The only such book I know is Contributions of the Negro in Lake Charles by Margaret M. Jackson Fleming, which was published in 1967 by the Lake Charles Letter Shop at 1112 Bilbo Street.
From your website I gather there’s lots of information out there. For example, I recall looking at photographs on the website for First United Methodist Church, which has pictures of “old” Lake Charles, but I find nothing comparable for black folk. Such a project would give a writer lots to do in an anticipated retirement.”
Respectfully,
Dr. Carver W. Waters
Keep up-to-date with the news of the association at its website: swlahistory.org. Learn about our historical marker program, order note cards, postcards, or Mike Jones’ new book online, contact officers, and more!
The Gingham Ladies are happy to report that they have a new leader. Nancy Hurlbut has agreed to serve as the chair of this auxiliary organization of the Historical Association. Thank you, Nancy, and I’m sure the Gingham Ladies will wholeheartedly support you! And once more, our sincere thanks go out to Elaine Cameron for the fine job she did leading the Ladies for so many years.
Activities planned for the spring include ushering at the Lake Charles Little Theatre’s production of Sylvia, and helping with the Calcasieu Preservation Society’s Palm Sunday Tour of Homes.
Membership in the SWLA Historical Association stands at 105. Of these members, 25% are lifetime members, 58% are annual paid members, and 17% are “you owe your dues for 2006!” members. What category are you in? Check with George Ann Benoit, our treasurer, to find out.
by Thelma Green Reagan
Today we walked where others walked
On a lonely, windswept hill;
Today we talked where others cried
For Loved Ones whose lives are stilled.
Today our hearts were touched
By graves of tiny babies;
Snatched from the arms of loving kin,
In the heartbreak of the ages.
Today we saw where the grandparents lay
In the last sleep of their time;
Lying under the trees and clouds -
Their beds kissed by the sun and wind.
Today we wondered about an unmarked spot;
Who lies beneath this hollowed ground?
Was it a babe, child, young or old?
No indication could be found.
Today we saw where Mom and Dad lay.
We had been here once before
On a day we'd all like to forget,
But will remember forever more.
Today we recorded for kith and kin
The graves of ancestors past;
To be preserved for generations hence,
A record we hope will last.
Cherish it, my friend; preserve it, my friend,
For stones sometimes crumble to dust
And generations of folks yet to come
Will be grateful for your trust.
Copyright 2006 Southwest Louisiana Historical Association
Webmaster: pthreatt@mcneese.edu