Once Upon a Time in New Iberia

By Alice J. Voorhies

Once Upon a Time in New Iberia, despite its title, is not a fairy tale, but an honest telling of a womans experience traveling from the free-spirited days of her Louisiana childhood to her times of personal fulfillment as a teacher of children with special needs, and as a university faculty member. Covering the emotional terrain marked by the moments of trial and joy that unfolded in New Iberia and New Orleans, Alice J. Voorhies shares reminiscences of her life. She tells about the colorful family members and friends who touched her life along the beautiful banks of Bayou Teche, in the historic halls of Mt. Carmel Academy, on the muddy waters of Cypremort Point, across the buzzing university campus in Lafayette, and in the challenges and victories that accompanied her work with special-needs children in New Orleans.

If you find your inspiration in reading how individuals face their lives challenges, if you find it a pleasure to learn how the details of living in a particular place can help you come to see the true and hidden charms it offers, or if you simply want to spend time with an author who, through the wonder of the written word, will become a friend, then Once Upon a Time in New Iberia promises to be a book worthy of your time to read.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Aug 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781489705082

Alice J. Voorhies

Alice J. Voorhies, born and raised in New Iberia, Louisiana, earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in education at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. She worked in a New Orleans school with special-needs children and then spent many years on the faculty of her alma mater before retiring in 2015 at the end of a fulfilling career.

Book preview

Once

UPON

a TIME

in NEW

IBERIA

ALICE VOORHIES

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Copyright © 2015 Alice J. Voorhies.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

LifeRich Publishing is a registered trademark of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.

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ISBN: 978-1-4897-0507-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-0509-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-0508-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015913061

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 8/24/2015

Contents

Chapter 1 Deep South, New Iberia Style

Chapter 2 In the Beginning

Chapter 3 Paul

Chapter 4 Keith

Chapter 5 Playgrounds and Memories of Honey

Chapter 6 Paul Again

Chapter 7 The Magnolias

Chapter 8 Father Moag

Chapter 9 I Hear Voices

Chapter 10 And Here Comes Paul Again

Chapter 11 Growing Up Is Not Fun

Chapter 12 Marking Time

Chapter 13 My Beloved University

Chapter 14 John B.

Chapter 15 God Lives on Avery Island

Chapter 16 Marching In Place/The Dark Ages

Chapter 17 The Renaissance

Chapter 18 The Story of Joseph

Chapter 19 The Remarkable Landry Family

This book is dedicated to my friend Mary Jane Chubby Leete, whose faith, courage, and kindness have been an inspiration to me over a lifetime.

Foreword

Once Upon a Time In New Iberia is a joy to savor. Throughout the entire book, I laughed out loud, sadly pondered thoughtful passages, and marveled at a life so well lived and now vividly described. It is hard to contain praise to the confines of a brief introduction. Blessed with a sharp wit, Alice Voorhies captures the truth of her childhood marching us to today, all the while describing the joys and sorrows of her own life. Along the way she charms us with the wonders of south Louisiana and the foibles of a lifetime of real characters. Remarkably, Voorhies has the most fun with herself and her unique perspective, serving as the masterful storyteller that she has always been. You’ll be charmed — almost seduced — by the lilt in her writing. Each page will bring a thoughtful smile or loud guffaw. This book will keep you entertained to the last page. Welcome to Alice Voorhies’ world, and have fun.

— Dr. Jean T. Kreamer

Prologue

I am a Southern woman. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not a Magnolia nor am I a Southern belle. I opted out of that life when I was seven. A Southern woman is one who has been taught to love and respect her heritage. I was taught to honor my kinfolk, even the crazy ones. I proudly sat on the front porch with my crazy aunt or my crazy cousin. I am a true Southerner because I was born in Louisiana and raised in New Iberia. My little town was known as the Queen City on the Teche. Now, the Teche is a bayou that runs through the heart of New Iberia. The name is derived from an Indian word meaning snake. For those of you who have never seen a bayou, it is a muddy, slow-moving small river. The Bayou Teche begins in Port Barre in St. Landry Parish and flows through four parishes to Berwick and the Atchafalaya River. On its way to the big river in Berwick, the Teche oozes through St. Martinville, New Iberia, Jeanerette, and Franklin in South Louisiana. The little bayou is at the core of memories of anyone born along its banks.

As things in America go, New Iberia is old. French people, French Acadians, and Indians were here before the official birth of New Iberia. In 1779 a group of Spanish colonists, led by Francisco Bouligny, sailed up the Bayou Teche and settled around Spanish Lake, two miles outside of what is now New Iberia. Life was hard, but the land on either side of the Teche was rich and fertile and people survived and carved out a life for themselves on the banks of the bayou.

According to Glen Conrad in his history of New Iberia, the Bayou Teche was a mixed blessing during the Civil War. Because it was navigable, Union troops sailed down from Atchafalaya Bay and marauded through Franklin, Jeanerette, New Iberia, Avery Island, and ultimately Lafayette. In 1862, a fleet of Federal gunboats battled the Cotton, a confederate gunboat. The Union was never able to capture the Cotton and it has become a legend in Louisiana history. The Teche was defended by General Alfred Mouton but he could not stop the flow of Union troops. They marched down Main Street of New Iberia, made a side trip to Avery Island, and then on to Lafayette. The old Episcopal Church on Main Street was a Confederate hospital at the time and Union bullets still pock the walls of the church and worshippers see the signs of a war long past.

The Bayou Teche was the gateway to trading and industry. Riverboats sailed up and down carrying goods and produce across the Southern parishes. New Iberia’s Main Street grew into a hub for business and industry. Vegetable and fruit stands lined the street, cargo was loaded and unloaded on the dock, ladies promenaded from store to store, and life was good in the Queen City. The city grew and people settled in to slow and graceful lives on the banks of the bayou. This was before the days of building with bricks and mortar and most of the stores on Main Street were constructed of strong Louisiana wood. One night in late 1899 a fire licked at the foundation of one of the buildings. They were very close to each other and flames crept from one old building to another until most of Main Street was destroyed. However, people living in South Louisiana are expert at rebuilding. Hurricane after hurricane has slammed into the coast over hundreds of years and the survivors could choose to leave or rebuild. The fire was no different. Soon, bricks replaced the old wood and Main Street was flourishing again.

Most histories are highlighted by tragedies. The history of my little city is no different. My grandmother often spoke of the Great Flood of 1927 that inundated New Iberia and every little town up and down the bayou. The flood began upriver on the Mississippi because rains of Biblical proportions caused the river to swell and overflow over four states. As the floodwaters neared New Orleans, a group of wealthy bankers plotted to save their city by demolishing a key levee in the barrier system. The results of dynamiting this levee are well documented. Old photographs of the time show New Iberia citizens in pirogues in front of the old St. Peter’s Church. The water looks to be ten to fifteen feet high and the little town was virtually destroyed in the deluge. The flood was but the lead-in to the Great Depression that all but brought America down. The people of New Iberia coped with the flood, with poverty, and with desperation.

These New Iberia people lived through the Union invasion, through the fire, through countless hurricanes, through the flood, and still they survived. They sent children off to war in Europe, in Japan, in Korea, in Vietnam, in Iraq, and still they survived. Sugar cane ruled until big oil pre-empted all other businesses and industries