PAGE 2 | DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS | SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011

Remembering historic Edgard storeE.J. Caire store near ferry landing recently celebrated 150 years

BY DAVID VITRANOL’OBSERVATEUR

EDGARD – Very fewreminders of Edgard’sheyday as the center ofcommerce in St. Johnthe Baptist Parish re-main, but among thosethat do is the E.J. CaireStore, which turned 150last year.

Although the storeexists in name onlythese days, its promi-nent position on a par-ticularly history-ladenstretch of River Roadthat also contains thecourthouse and St.John the Baptist Cath-olic Church ensures itslegacy will live on.

“This whole little sec-tion right here has a lotof history,” said thestore’s current owner,Warren Caire, whonoted that many of thehouses in that samestretch are 100 yearsold.

The business wasfounded in 1860 whentraveling salesmanJean Batiste Cairebought the brick struc-ture that still makes uppart of the store com-plex today. That struc-ture was built in 1850.

“It’s been a part of thecommunity over theresince it opened,” saidVincent Caire, nephewof Warren. Vincent’sfather, E.J. Caire II isthe surviving familymember who worked inthe store.

Jean Batiste’s son,Etienne Joseph Caire,changed the name ofthe store from Caire’sLanding to the E.J.Caire Store and set the

store on its way tobecoming the largeststore of its kind in thearea. Under his stew-ardship, the store’sofferings were expand-ed to include a pharma-cy, clothing, hardware,

dry goods and gro-ceries.

“It expanded from adry goods store into ahardware store andbecame virtually thefirst model for a depart-ment store,” said Vin-

cent.Because of its loca-

tion at the ferry land-ing, the store enjoyedyears of prominence. Iteven served as the pay-roll center for a numberof the area’s sugarcanefarmers.

In 1881, the originalbrick structure had tobe moved to its presentlocation to make wayfor an enlarged federallevee. A few years later,in 1898, a wooden struc-ture was built next to

the original brick one.Subsequently, the new-er building became themain store and thebrick building was usedas a warehouse.

Throughout the dec-ades, the store enjoyedmuch prosperity andgrowth.

“When I was small, Iremember peoplewould buy furniture. Itwas quite a busy enter-prise,” said Warren.

Vincent added,“When I was a kid, I

used to get my schooluniforms there.”

After U.S. Highway 61and Interstate 10 werebuilt, however, the cen-ter of commerce shiftedto the East Bank. Then,the proliferation oflarge grocery storesand, finally, all-inclu-sive stores such as Wal-Mart left many smallerventures shuttered forgood. In the mid-70s, theE.J. Caire Store ceasedoperation.

Since then, the build-ing has served as alibrary, a senior citi-zens’ center, a law officeand a dry cleaners, toname a few.

The Caire familyhopes to eventuallyturn the structures intoa museum of sorts doc-umenting the history ofcommerce along thatstretch of the Missis-sippi River.

“There’s a lot of arti-facts and things we’vekept,” said Warren.

Although the processhas been somewhatslow going and parishinvolvement has not yetreached the level theCaires had hoped for,the first step was takenwhen the buildingswere placed on theNational Register ofHistoric Places in 2001.

The Caires hope thepromised return of theReserve-Edgard ferrywill renew some inter-est in this ever-evolvingpiece of local history.

Warren Caire stands on the porch of the century-and-a-half-old E.J. Caire store in Edgard. Below, a markercommemorates when the building was moved to make way for a wider levee. (Staff photos by DavidVitrano)

Warren Caire looks at a wall in his home covered with phots of his ancestors. The old building is in remarkable condition considering its age.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011 , | DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS | PAGE 3

LaPlace dealership marks one decade in businessBY ROBIN SHANNON

L’OBSERVATEUR

LAPLACE – Afternearly 10 years of own-ership, not much haschanged at RiverlandChrysler other thanperhaps the size of theoperation, said ownerBrian Larche Sr.

“I bought the store inDecember 2000 andstarted with 10 employ-ees, and today I haveabout 40 total,” Larchesaid. “The success of abusiness is a tribute towho you surroundyourself with, and Ithink we have done ourbest to bring in goodcustomer service peo-ple from the dealers tothe parts department,to the finance peopleand everyone in be-tween.”

Larche said he has a37-year history of work-ing in the automobilebusiness that datesback to 1973 when hewas fresh out of school.He said the opportunityto purchase the Chrys-ler dealership on BelleTerre Boulevard inLaPlace was one hecould not pass up.

“I’ve worked in nearlyevery area of car deal-ership, but I alwayswanted a store I couldcall my own,” Larchesaid. “The dealershiphad only been openabout seven monthswhen I came in so I hadthe opportunity tobuild it up from there.”

After nine full yearsat the Chrysler dealer-ship, Larche furtherexpanded in 2009 andpurchased the neigh-

boring Ford dealership.“I think the most

rewarding part of thewhole thing is the rela-tionships we haveforged in the last 10years,” Larche said.“There are customersthat have bought 10vehicles from me in thelast 10 years. When youhave repeat businesslike that, where cus-tomers send theirfriends neighbors andchildren to you, itmakes you feel good.”

After 10 years inLaPlace and 37 yearsover all, he has no in-terest in slowing down.

“I can’t see myself sit-ting back and watchingthe business go on with-out me,” Larche said. “Ican see myself in my80s making deals andselling cars.”

Riverland Chrysler car dealership, located on Belle Terre Boulevard in LaPlace,is celebrating 10 years in 2011. (Staff photo by Robin Shannon)

LaPlace down through the years

At left, horse-drawn carriages get ready to transportice throughout the community. Above, the facade ofthe Alexander building is still standing on West FifthStreet. Below, Elvina Plantation was moved fromLaPlace to St. James Parish a couple of years ago tomake way for Emily C. Watkins Elementary School.

Cliff’s Bar was a popular Main Street hangout.

PAGE 4 | DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS | SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011

St. James Parish down through the years

Above, the Smith family of Gramercy poses for a portrait. Top right, a sawmillused to operate in Lutcher. Bottom right, Vacherie was once the bustling centerof commerce in St. James Parish, but a number of businesses including the barpictured here have been lost to the years.

St. Charles Parish down through the years

Above, the old Mamzelle General Store used tooperate out of Destrehan. Below, the Shell school-house used to educate the children of Norco whilemany of their parents spent their days working atthe refinery.

Hahnville, asthe St. CharlesParish seat ofgovernment,saw manyhangings, suchas the one pic-tured at left, inyears longgone. Below,the SarpyHouse gave thecommunity itsname.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011 , | DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS | PAGE 5

St. John the Baptist Parish down through the years

This old store in Reserve was mentioned in the Reserve150 documentary, whichwas produced last year. The grounds surrounding St. Peter Church bustle with activity.

Reserve

At right, The second St.John the Baptist CatholicChurch was destroteyed

by fire in 1918. Below, lifein Edgard has long cen-tered around family and

the community.

Edgard Frenier and Manchac

Above, Frenier was oncea center for recreationand industry before itwas virtually wiped offthe map during theHurricane of 1915. At left,the bridge collapse nearManchac brought out acrowd of spectators.

St. Peter School inReserve is currentlycelebrating their 80thyear in operation. Inhonor of this mile-stone, one former stu-dent remembers whatlife was like at theschool decades ago.

Memoriesof St. Peter

I feel very fortunate tohave been taught byDominican nuns infirst through seventhgrade at St. Peter’sSchoolin Re-s e r v e .T h eSistersw e r esuch animport-ant partof ourearly religious trainingback in 1941 through1947. Religion andprayers were a big partof our school day. Westarted each morningwith assembly andprayers, and after lunchwe would recite therosary in the class-room. Then we’d beginour afternoon studies.Before leaving school atthe end of each day, weagain said a shortprayer.

School mass was onFriday mornings, andon the first Friday ofthe month, girls wererequired to wear whiteskirts and beanies,instead of our regularblue skirts. God forbidif you forgot to wearthem. Every Mondaythe teacher would ask ifanyone had missedSunday mass — andyour excuse had betterbe a good one.

Naturally, MonsignorJean Eyraud wasalways involved in theschool. He would regu-larly visit all the class-

rooms. Monsignormade a point of hand-ing out each child’sreport card. He wouldcongratulate you if youdid well and encouragethose who needed toimprove. Wheneverthere was a play orother event, it didn’tstart until Monsignorwas seated front andcenter. He dearly lovedhis school and the chil-dren.

In the early grades atSt. Peter’s there weretwo principals no onecan ever forget. SisterMary Francisca walkedaround with a ruler inher hand and had noqualms in applying it tothe knuckles of anychild who misbehaved.The other principal,also quite strict, wasSister Mary Patrick.

Our seventh-gradeteacher was SisterMary Evangelist. De-spite having 47 studentsin this class, Sisteralways had the upperhand, even with bois-terous boys who tried

to be disruptive. Shetaught us Latin so wecould respond to thepriest at Mass and singtraditional hymns forspecial church events.

Sister Mary Adelaideis especially memo-rable. She had a hardtime dealing with hotweather. Sister alwaysconfiscated the whiteblotters included inCoca-Cola packages dis-tributed to each child atthe start of the schoolyear. She used the blot-ters in the front of herwarm, confining head-piece to absorb perspi-ration from her fore-head.

I must confess, theschool cafeteria was notmy favorite place to eat.If you didn’t like thefood, too bad, you werenot allowed to throw itaway; so I would oftenbring my own lunch.Sometimes studentswere allowed to eatlunch in the Convent,not with the sisters, butin the laundry room.There was a small table

with place for six chil-dren. I can’t rememberexactly how that privi-lege came about, but Ienjoyed having lunchthere, and it was alwaysa challenge to makeyour way through themaze of damp laundry.

Baseball was ourfavorite playgroundsport back then. Everychance we’d get we’drun out to the baseballfield. Not being veryathletic,

I went just to have funwith other kids.Sometimes there weremishaps, like when myfriend, Carolyn, got hitby a ball right on hernose! Ouch!

These were happy,formative days underthe inspiration of theDominican nuns. Up-permost in my memoryis what they taught uswhenever we had aproblem or were upsetabout something. Theiradmonition, “Offer itup” (for the poor soulsin Purgatory.) Over theyears I have often fol-

lowed their advice, andI must say it reallyhelps in many situa-tions.

Many of my friendsfrom St. Peter’s are stilldear friends today. Ourbond is the common

base of faith, valuesand self-discipline thatwe were blessed toreceive in our earlyyears at St. Peter’sSchool.

– Melba Duhe Hymel

PAGE 6 | DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS | SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011

80th birthday celebration keeps rolling at St. Peter

The old St. Peter Church was decimated byHurricane Betsy.

The rebuilt St. Peter Church remains one of the pillars of the Reserve communi-ty. (Staff photo by Robin Shannon)

Birthday cake and dancing have both been part ofthis year’s celebrations. (Staff photos by DavidVitrano)

HYMEL