[00:00:37]
HELLO, I'M DAVID JOHNSON, AND WELCOME TO THE NEXT EPISODE OF JP 200 AS WE CELEBRATE THE BICENTENNIAL OF JEFFERSON PARISH.I'M THE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND ENGAGEMENT AT THE JEFFERSON PARISH LIBRARY, AND I'M SO PLEASED TO HAVE WITH ME TODAY A HISTORIAN WHO'S GOING TO GIVE US A FULL OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF THE PARISH.
YEAH, THANK YOU, DAVID FOR HAVING ME.
CHAMBERLAIN IS A PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS.
HE WAS A FORMER CURATOR AT THE LOUISIANA STATE MUSEUM, AND HE HAS TAUGHT CLASSES SPECIFICALLY ON THE HISTORY OF JEFFERSON PARISH FOR THE FRIENDS OF THE CABBIL DO.
HE ALSO HAS A NEW BOOK COMING OUT THIS FALL ABOUT THE HISTORY OF NEW ORLEANS, AND WE REALLY CAN'T TALK ABOUT JEFFERSON PARISH WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT NEW ORLEANS.
AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THE PARISH WAS FOUNDED IN 1825.
BUT WE'RE GONNA GO BACK WAY BEFORE THAT, BEFORE IT WAS KNOWN AS JEFFERSON PARISH.
AND TELL US ABOUT THE, THE EARLIEST SETTLEMENT PATTERNS AND SUCH, UH, ON THIS PATCH OF LAND THAT WE KNOW SO WELL.
WELL, I MEAN, TO GO BACK, UM, FRANCE OF COURSE FOUNDED THE COLONY OF LA LOUISIANA IN 1699 WITH IBERVILLE ARRIVING HERE WITH HIS GROUP OF PEOPLE FROM FRENCH CANADA.
UM, AND IN HIS JOURNALS, HE TALKS ABOUT COMING TO, UM, THE FIRST MENTION OF JEFFERSON PARISH IS THE BULE, WHICH IS WHERE KENNER IS.
AND SO THAT WAS A REGION OF THE RIVER BANKS WERE COVERED IN THE RIVER CANE, WHICH REALLY NO LONGER EXISTS, BUT IT WAS PREVALENT THROUGHOUT THE AMERICAN SOUTH.
AND THEN THE, THE LOCAL INDIANS WHO WERE MOST LIKELY, LIKE THE EISA, BASICALLY WOULD BURN SECTIONS OF THE CANE TO ESTABLISH BASICALLY A SMALL SETTLEMENT WHERE RIVERTOWN IS TODAY.
SO RIVERTOWN IS REALLY THE, THE OLDEST DOCUMENTED SETTLEMENT SITE.
AND THEN WHEN BIENVILLE FOUNDED NEW ORLEANS, HE THEN GAVE OUT LAND CONCESSIONS, AND THIS WOULD BE 17, 18, AND THE FEW YEARS AFTERWARDS THAT, AND SO THE FIRST LAND CONCESSIONS THAT WERE GIVEN WERE JUST UP RIVER IN THE AREA KNOWN AS THE CHOPPA TOULA COAST, AND THEN ALSO THE BULE AREA.
UM, AND SO THE CHOPPAS COAST WAS THE AREA BASICALLY BETWEEN OCHSNER AND WHERE WE ARE HERE TODAY IN ELMWOOD.
UM, AND WHAT IS VERY INTERESTING IS HE GAVE A BIG GRANT TO CLAUDE DUB BRA, AND THEN THE THREE CHAUVIN BROTHERS MM-HMM
WHO WERE FRENCH CANADIAN DUB BRA WAS FROM DIJON, FRANCE.
AND SO THIS AREA WAS DEVELOPED AS REALLY KIND OF THE FIRST MAJOR PLANTATION DEVELOPMENT UP RIVER FROM NEW ORLEANS.
AND DEBRY AND THE CHAUVIN BROTHERS WERE KNOWN FOR ACTUALLY BUILDING THE FIRST LEVEES, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, AND THEY ALSO BUILT KINDA THE FIRST INDUSTRIES IN TERMS OF INDIGO PLANTS, AND THEY BUILT RANCHES WITH CATTLE.
UM, AND SO INDIGO WAS THE PRIMARY CROP AT THAT TIME, AND THEY USED ENSLAVED LABOR.
SO THEY REALLY KINDA SET THE TEMPLATE FOR PLANTATION SOCIETY IN SOUTH LOUISIANA.
AND OF COURSE, IT'S STILL VERY, VERY MUCH ABOUT BUSINESS
SO AS I UNDERSTAND, OF COURSE, WHEN JEFFERSON PARISH WAS CARVED OUT, IT INCLUDED A FAIR AMOUNT OF WHAT WE NOW KNOW OF AS NEW ORLEANS.
UM, SO DESCRIBE HOW THOSE, THOSE BOUNDARIES WERE DEFINED.
SO IT'S KIND OF A, A GIVE AND TAKE IN TERMS OF TERRITORY, BUT IN 1812 WHEN LOUISIANA GAINED STATEHOOD, AND IT BASICALLY HAD A NUMBER OF PARISHES, MUCH FEWER TO THAN TODAY.
I THINK THERE WERE 12 INITIALLY.
UM, BUT ANYWAY, JEFFERSON WAS THEN CREATED IN THE SECOND WAVE IN 1825.
SO HENCE JEFFERSON PARISH 200, THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF JEFFERSON FOUNDING.
AND BASICALLY THE BOUNDARY WENT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO WHAT WAS THEN THE, UM, UPRIVER BORDER OF NEW ORLEANS, WHICH IS FELICITY STREET IN NEW ORLEANS.
MANY PEOPLE KNOW THAT WHERE THE, SAY THE WALMART IS ON CHOPPA.
SO ANYTHING ABOVE FELICITY WAS JEFFERSON PARISH.
AND SO WHAT HAPPENED WAS, AS NEW ORLEANS WAS GROWING, IT BASICALLY JUST BEGAN GOBBLING UP LAND AND MOVING THE PARISH LINE FURTHER FORWARD.
SO, UM, THEY TOOK OVER THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE, WHICH IS WHERE
[00:05:01]
THE GARDEN DISTRICT AND THE IRISH CHANNEL ARE TODAY, UH, IN 1852.AND SO THE PARISH LINE MOVED TO, I, I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE, BUT SAY LOUISIANA AVENUE TODAY IN NEW ORLEANS.
AND THEN IN 1872, THEY TOOK OVER CARROLLTON, AND THAT'S WHEN THE CURRENT PARISH LINE MOVED ALL THE WAY UP TO WHERE IT IS TODAY.
AND PARISH GOVERNMENT FOR JEFFERSON PARISH WAS BASED IN GRETNA.
AND ORIGINALLY THE, THE COUNTY SEAT, OR THE PARISH SEAT WAS, UM, LAFAYETTE MM-HMM
THE GARDEN DISTRICT, AND THEN THEY MOVED IT TO CARROLLTON, AND THEN WHEN NEW ORLEANS TOOK OVER CARROLLTON, THAT'S WHEN THEY SAID, WE'RE GOING TO THE WEST BANK AND WE'RE STAYING THERE.
THE PARISH WAS OBVIOUSLY KIND OF RATHER SLOW TO DEVELOP IN THOSE YEARS.
IT WAS VERY RURAL, VERY AGRICULTURAL.
UM, WHAT WERE THE EARLY KIND OF SETTLEMENTS, SO TO SPEAK, IN THAT AREA? YEAH, SO THE TWO BIGGEST SETTLEMENTS INITIALLY WERE KENVILLE, WHICH IS KENNER.
UM, AND THAT WAS ESTABLISHED BY, UM, STEVEN MINOR, KENNER, I BELIEVE WAS THE FOUNDER OF THAT MM-HMM
AND THAT WAS PART OF THE KENNER FAMILY.
THE FATHER MOVED DOWN FROM VIRGINIA.
HE WAS A FOUNDER OF THE EPISCOPALIAN CHURCH, SO HE REPRESENTED THAT VERY AMERICAN PROTESTANT CULTURE COMING TO CREOLE, LOUISIANA.
UH, AND THEN DUNCAN AND STEVEN WERE THE TWO SONS.
SO STEVEN OWNED THE PLANTATION WHERE KENNER IS TODAY.
UM, AND THEN DUNCAN OWNED A NUMBER OF PLANTATIONS FURTHER UP RIVER.
HE ACTUALLY MARRIED INTO THE BRA GI FAMILY, ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST CREOLE FAMILIES IN THE RIVER PARISHES.
AND THEY OWNED A NUMBER OF VERY LARGE PLANTATIONS.
SO WHEN HE MARRIED INTO THEM, HE EVENTUALLY ACTUALLY BOUGHT THEM OUT AFTER THE CIVIL WAR WHEN THEY FAILED FINANCIALLY.
AND SO DUNCAN BECAME REALLY THE ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL MEN IN THE STATES AT THAT TIME.
AND THEN ON THE WEST BANK, GRETNA WAS THE OTHER BIG COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THAT WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE SITE OF PIERRE DERBAN, UH, HIS PLANTATION CALLED GRETNA GREEN.
SO AT THAT TIME, THE WEST BANK WAS PREDOMINANTLY RURAL, UH, GRETNA AND A SMALL TOWN CALLED MCCHAM, WHICH IS A GERMAN SETTLEMENT.
UM, WERE REALLY THE KIND OF THE TWO SUBURBS OUTSIDE OF NEW ORLEANS ON THE WEST BANK.
UM, SO GRETNA WAS THE BIG TOWN AT THAT TIME.
SO
UH, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING.
THOMAS JEFFERSON WAS ALIVE WHEN THEY NAMED THIS PARISH A OH, YEAH.
AND I, I ALWAYS WONDERED IF HE, IF HE KNEW, YOU KNOW, HE WAS ACTUALLY A VERY ELDERLY MAN AT THAT TIME.
YEAH, IT'S, UH, A GOOD QUESTION.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, SPOKE ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR.
UH, WE KNOW THERE'S ONE LANDMARK HERE IN THE PARISH, CAMP PARAPET.
UH, WHICH THE JEFFERSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY MAINTAINS.
AND CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE ROLE OF, OF DAD? YEAH.
UM, SO IT'S ON THE CIVIL WAR ERA MAPS, AND ESPECIALLY THERE'S A MAP BY NATHANIEL BANKS CALLED, UM, THE DEFENSES OF NEW ORLEANS.
AND SO HE MADE, IT WAS A REALLY INCREDIBLE MAP OF A FOOTPRINT OF THE ENTIRE METRO AREA, INCLUDING LARGE SECTIONS OF JEFFERSON PARISH.
SO CAMP PARAPET IS ON THERE, AND BASICALLY IT WAS BUILT TO BE A CONFEDERATE DEFENSE OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS AND ORLEANS PARISH, ESSENTIALLY FROM UPRIVER.
UM, AND THEN WHEN THE UNION OCCUPIED NEW ORLEANS, BEGINNING IN 1862, THEY TOOK IT OVER.
UM, AND SO THEN IT BECAME BASICALLY A UNION STRONGHOLD.
UM, AND THEY HAD A LINE OF DEFENSE THAT BASICALLY WENT UP LA BAR IN THAT AREA.
SO PARALLEL WITH CAUSEWAY BOULEVARD TODAY.
UM, AND ALSO WHAT IS INTERESTING ABOUT CAMP PARAPET IS WHEN THE UNION BEGAN OCCUPYING THAT AREA, UM, AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE FROM THE SURROUNDING AREA, SELF EMANCIPATED THEMSELVES MM-HMM
AND THEN ARRIVED AT CAMP PARAPET AS OFFICIALLY CONTRABAND BY LAW, MEANING THEY WERE BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, POSSESSED PROPERTY BY THE UNION.
UH, AND THEN EVENTUALLY THE, UM, THE PROCESS OF EMANCIPATION TOOK HOLD OVER THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS, OF COURSE.
AND WE'RE GONNA FAST FORWARD, UH, TO POST-WAR AMERICA.
THAT'S REALLY WHEN SO MUCH OF JEFFERSON PARISH AS WE KNOW IT TODAY, CAME INTO BEING.
UM, WHAT WERE THE CATALYSTS THAT SPURRED THAT SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT? OF COURSE, IT WASN'T JUST UNIQUE TO METRO NEW ORLEANS, BUT A NATIONWIDE PHENOMENON.
BUT, UH, WHAT, WHAT WAS HAPPENING? UM, WELL, I THINK, UM, WHAT YOU FIND IS, AT LEAST BEFORE WORLD WAR II, PEOPLE ARE ALREADY SETTLING ALONG THE RIVER RIDGE WHERE JEFFERSON IS TODAY, WHERE OXNER IN THAT AREA, AND ALSO ALONG METTIE RIDGE, UM, WHICH WAS METTIE BAYOU AT THAT TIME.
SO METTIE BAYOU, UM, UM, IT'S A DISTRIBUTOR OF BAYOU ST.
JOHN, AND IT HAD ITS HEADWATERS WHERE, UH, NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM OF ART IS TODAY, AND THEN IT EXTENDED ALL THE WAY ALONG CITY PARK BOULEVARD AND INTO MEY ROAD.
AND SO THE CURVY FEATURES OF MEY ROAD, UM, ARE A RESULT OF THAT WINDING BAYOU MM-HMM
UM, AND SO AFTER WORLD WAR II, WHAT YOU FIND IS THAT THE REST OF THE PARISH THEN DEVELOPS AS MODERN SUBURBIA.
AND PART OF THIS IS JUST THE GENERAL EXPANSION
[00:10:01]
OF THE POPULATION.IN 1968, ITS PEAK NEW ORLEANS HAD ABOUT 600,000 PEOPLE.
UM, BUT BETWEEN 1950 AND 1960, JEFFERSON PARISH DOUBLED IN SIZE.
IT GAINED ABOUT 150,000 PEOPLE.
SO A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE ALREADY MOVING TO JEFFERSON PARISH MM-HMM
AND THEN THE 1960S SUBURBAN, UM, SUBURBIA JUST REALLY EXPLODES THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE AREA.
UM, BY THIS TIME, YOU HAVE THE CAUSEWAY THAT'S BUILT, YOU HAVE VETERANS BOULEVARD THAT'S BEEN BUILT.
UM, LAKESIDE MALL IS, UM, BUILT IN AROUND 62, I THINK MM-HMM
SO IT'S ALL COMING TOGETHER RIGHT.
I SHOW IN IMAGES THAT ARE BASED ON THE JEFFERSON PARISH REVIEW, WHICH IS THIS, UM, MAGAZINE PUT OUT BY THE PARISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN THE POST WORLD WAR II YEARS.
BUT REALLY, YOU CAN JUST SEE THE ENTIRE AREA THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, IN 1945 WAS ALL MARSHLAND OR CUTOVER, CYPRESS SWAMP BY 1970, IT'S ALL COMPLETELY FILLED IN.
SO, JUST A REALLY REMARKABLE 25, 30 YEAR PERIOD OF GROWTH.
AND OF COURSE, THERE WERE A LOT OF, UH, FEDERAL INITIATIVES THAT WERE HELPING TO DO THAT.
UH, OF COURSE, WHICH ALLOWED FOR LOW INTEREST LOANS FOR RETURNING SERVICEMEN RIGHT.
TO BUY HOMES, UH, THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY ACT.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERSTATE 10.
UM, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WERE SOME OF THE EARLY DEVELOPMENTS AND SUCH, AND HOW, HOW DID THIS, THIS PATTERN BEGIN? UM, WAS, WAS THERE ANY ZONING, I GUESS
UM, NOT THAT I HAVE DETERMINED, BUT I WILL SAY THAT THE IDEA OF SOMEONE WHO GREW UP IN, SAY, A SHOTGUN HOUSE IN NEW ORLEANS AND GREW UP WITH NO PLUMBING, PERHAPS, OR, YOU KNOW, USING AN OUTHOUSE AND NO YARD, AND THEN ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, RETURNING VETERANS AFTER WORLD WAR II, COMING HOME TO THE GI BILL, WHICH ALLOWED EASY FINANCING FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION.
SO YOU COULD BUY A NICE RANGE STYLE HOUSE IN METTERY WITH A BIG YARD, A BIG BACKYARD, AND, YOU KNOW, MODERN BRICK HOUSE WITH PLUMBING.
AND SO IT WAS JUST A, JUST A HUGE SHIFT IN THE STANDARD OF LIVING FOR ANYONE WHO WAS ABLE TO MAKE THAT JUMP.
UM, AND IT'S KIND OF FUNNY, YOU KNOW, NOW PEOPLE HAVE REALLY APPRECIATION FOR HISTORIC HOMES, OLD WOODEN HOMES.
BUT BACK IN THOSE DAYS, YOU KNOW, THE MODERN SLAB RANCH STYLE BRICK HOUSE WAS, YOU KNOW, THE GOAL OF MANY, MANY PEOPLE.
I'VE SEEN ADVERTISEMENTS, UH, FOR TARRYTOWN, AND I THINK THE TYPEFACE COULDN'T BE ANY LARGER THAT SAYS AIR CONDITIONING
YOU KNOW, WHICH WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO RETROFIT THOSE OLD HOMES.
BUT, UM, IN YOUR RESEARCH, WAS THERE ANY DIFFICULTY IN INFRASTRUCTURE KEEPING PACE WITH, UH, ALL THIS NEW DEVELOPMENT? OBVIOUSLY A COMMUNITY REQUIRES SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES.
WELL, I THINK THE WEST BANK PROBABLY HAD THE BIGGEST TRAFFIC PROBLEMS. MM-HMM
UH, IF YOU SEE IMAGES FROM THE SEVENTIES ON THE WEST BANK EXPRESSWAY, IT WAS NOT AN EXPRESSWAY
UH, YOU KNOW, YOU WERE STUCK IN TRAFFIC BACKED ALL THE WAY UP FOR MILES, YOU KNOW, AND, UM, AND METRIE ALSO, YOU KNOW, FACED SIMILAR ISSUES IN TERMS OF COMING INTO NEW ORLEANS AS IT STILL DOES.
UH, ONE FUNNY STORY THAT I DO RELATE IS FROM 1803, FROM THE FRENCH COLONIAL PREFECT, UM, PIERRE CLEMENT DE LA WHO WAS SENT HERE BY NAPOLEON TO TAKE OVER LOUISIANA FROM FRANCE.
UH, HE ENDED UP GIVING IT TO, TO THE UNITED STATES, BUT HE COMES OUT TO A SPORTING EVENT IN MEY, AND HE TALKS ABOUT THE LONG LINE OF TRAFFIC ON MEY ROAD
SO I ALWAYS SAY TRAFFIC IN MEY HAS ALWAYS BEEN
I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF LIFE IN THE SUBURBS.
I THINK FOR, FOR ALL THE CONVENIENCES, THERE'S ALSO INCONVENIENCES YEAH.
NOW, YOU TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OLD, OLD METRIE IN PARTICULAR, THAT WAS KIND OF THE, ONE OF THE EARLIEST SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENTS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WEALTHY YEAH.
SO I THINK PEOPLE WITH MONEY FROM ORLEANS PARISH WHEN THEY WANTED TO, UM, YOU KNOW, EXPAND INTO SUBURBIA, UH, THE METRIE RIDGE WAS A NATURAL OUTLET FOR THAT MM-HMM
AND SO, UM, OLD METRIE DEVELOPED AT THAT TIME, AND YOU CAN SEE ARCHITECTURALLY THE DESIGN OF THE OLDER HOMES DATE FROM THAT PERIOD.
EVEN SOME OF THE OLD SHOTGUNS HAD THAT ARTS AND CRAFTS LOOK ALONG THE RIDGE.
UM, AND THEN SOME OF THE LARGER HOMES REALLY ARE, YOU KNOW, QUITE BEAUTIFUL FROM THAT TIME PERIOD AS WELL, THE 1920S, THIRTIES.
NOW, WE ALSO KNOW THAT IT WASN'T ALL JUST, UH, A SQUEAKY CLEAN LEAVE IT TO BEAVER WORLD.
THERE WAS ALSO SOME, UH, DIVERSIONS AND ENTERTAINMENT, UH, THAT DEVELOPED, UH, AND SOME MAFIA ACTIVITY YEAH.
TELL US ABOUT THAT, UH, THAT PERIOD OF JEFFERSON PARISH HISTORY.
WELL, I WOULD DESCRIBE THAT AS THE FRANK CLANCY PERIOD WHEN HE WAS SHERIFF, AND HE STARTED OUT IN KENNER.
[00:15:01]
A WIDE OPEN PARISH FOR THE DAY.AND SO IT'S KIND OF FUNNY TO THINK ABOUT IT NOW, BUT PEOPLE FROM ORLEANS PARISH WENT TO JEFFERSON PARISH TO GO HAVE A GOOD TIME.
AND SO AT THAT TIME, THE PARISH LINE, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF NIGHTCLUBS AND GAMBLING ESTABLISHMENTS, UM, SOUTHPORT HALL O DWYERS, SUBURBAN GARDENS, UM, THOSE ARE KIND OF THE TOP IN THE FOREST CLUB, ANOTHER FOURTH ONE.
UM, AND SO THEY HOSTED LIKE ENTERTAINMENT.
AND EVEN AS EARLY AS THE 1930S, UM, LOUIS ARMSTRONG WAS PLAYING AT SUBURBAN GARDENS.
UM, BUT PEOPLE WOULD COME TO GAMBLE IN JEFFERSON PARISH, AND, AND CLANCY RAN IT AS A WIDE OPEN ESTABLISHMENT WHERE YOU COULD DO SLOT MACHINES.
AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED WAS IN THE 1950S, THE, UH, CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE, THE CAFARE, UM, COMMITTEE CALLED HIM IN AND BASICALLY ACCUSED HIM OF RUNNING, UH, RACKETEERING.
AND SO AFTER THAT, HE BECAME A REFORMER AND SWORE OFF GAMBLING.
AND JEFFERSON PARISH, I GUESS, BECAME BORING.
BUT FOR THE MOST PART THOUGH, THIS, THIS, THIS AREA DEVELOPED, UM, OBVIOUSLY ALONG RACIAL LINES.
BUT THERE, BUT THERE WERE BLACK COMMUNITIES.
THERE WERE, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT EXISTED IN JEFFERSON PARISH.
UM, SHREWSBURY IS ONE OF THE OLDEST ONE.
AND SHREWSBURY HAS PRODUCED, UM, SOME AMAZING MUSICAL PRODUCTS AND MUSICAL PEOPLE.
SO, UM, BEBE ORLEY, THE, UH, JAZZ MUSICIAN FROM THE 1920S WHO HAD A BIG ORCHESTRA IN TOWN.
UH, HIS GRANDSON, TOMMY RIDGELEY, WAS STILL A KIND OF A PROMINENT BLUES MUSICIAN BACK IN, UH, THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES.
AND THEN I THINK THE BIGGEST FAMILY IS THE MARSALIS FAMILY.
SO ELLIS AND HIS FOUR SONS, SO ELLIS MARAL PASSED AWAY RECENTLY DURING COVID, BUT WENT MARAL AND BRANFORD AND DELPHIO AND, UM, UM, THE DRUMMER, I CAN'T REMEMBER HIS NAME.
UM, OH, I, THERE'S SO MANY OF MARSALIS, IT'S HARD FOR ME TO KEEP TRACK OF AS WELL, BUT I KNOW THERE'S A HISTORIC MARKER NOW.
THERE IS THE MARSALIS MANSION.
BECAUSE THAT WAS A, UH, MOTEL YEAH.
THAT CATERED TO BLACK TRAVELERS.
UH, WHEN THAT WAS A, A COMMON GUIDE YEAH.
UM, THE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TRAFFIC AND SUCH MM-HMM
UM, YOU KNOW, ADDRESSING QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES OUT HERE.
THE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT KIND OF DEVELOPMENTS HAVE COME IN MORE RECENT YEARS, I GUESS, TO, UH, OH GOSH, IMPROVE THAT? UM, WELL, I MEAN, IT'S KIND OF FUNNY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE IMAGES OF WHEN VETERANS HIGHWAY WAS FIRST DEVELOPED, AND ESPECIALLY THE INTERSECTION OF VETERANS AND CAUSEWAY, I LOVE THESE IMAGES AND, YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST A SIMPLE STOP SIGN.
IT'S, IT'S CONSIDERABLY MORE THUMB COMPLEX NOW
BUT I WOULD SAY, INTERESTINGLY, ONE OF THE, UH, IT'S A COMPLEX INTERSECTION, BUT JEFFERSON PARISH DESIGNED IT WITH GREAT FORESIGHT, AND THAT IS AIRLINE AND CAUSEWAY.
SO THERE'S AN ACTUALLY AN ELEVATED ROUNDABOUT, UM, ON THAT INTERSECTION IF YOU'RE TRYING TO TRAVEL ON CAUSEWAY AND GO UP OR DOWN RIVER.
UM, SO NO TRAFFIC LIGHTS ALL JUST RAMPS, UH, TRAFFIC FLOWS SMOOTHLY ALL THE TIME THROUGH THERE.
SO I, I SAY THAT'S REALLY, UH, A VERY, UH, MODERN IDEA TO HAVE BASICALLY A ROUNDABOUT INTERSECTION AT A VERY BUSY ONE THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE, UM, YOU KNOW, A BIG PAIN LIKE, UH, VETERANS AND CAUSEWAY TODAY.
NO, IT DID, IT DOES SEEM TO, THE ENGINEERS SEEM TO HAVE A REALLY, LIKE YOU SAID, SOME FORCE, RIGHT? YEAH.
ON THAT, YOU KNOW, COMING UP INTO, UH, MORE MODERN HISTORY.
WE KNOW, OF COURSE, JEFFERSON PARISH PLAYED AN INTEGRAL ROLE DURING HURRICANE KATRINA.
UH, THE FACT THAT THIS SIDE OF THE LEVEE SYSTEM DID NOT COLLAPSE.
OF COURSE THERE WAS FLOODING, UH, IN PORTIONS OF THE PARISH, BUT IT REALLY WAS THE, UH, THE ANCHOR THAT ALLOWED THE CITY TO REBUILD.
THE FACT THAT THE RETAIL, UH, ESPECIALLY WAS ABLE TO STAY AFLOAT.
AND THAT THE, UH, RESCUE MISSIONS WERE SO OFTEN BASED ON THE INTERCHANGES, THE ONES WE SEE BEHIND US.
ACTUALLY, CAN YOU GIVE US A LITTLE HISTORY ABOUT, ABOUT THAT AREA? WELL, YEAH, BECAUSE I MEAN, JEFFERSON WAS NOT AS AFFECTED BY KATRINA.
OF COURSE, WE KNOW THE, THE HISTORY OF, UH, AARON BROUSSARD SENDING THE PUMP OPERATORS HOME FOR THEIR SAFETY.
AND WHAT THAT DID IS, OF COURSE, UM, CAUSE FLOODING ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF MET RIDGE AND ALSO ALONG THE LAKE WHERE THE WATER, THE RAIN WATER'S BUILT UP.
UM, BUT THE AREA AROUND LAKESIDE MALL CAUSEWAY AND I 10 WAS A BIG STAGING AREA, UM, FOR PEOPLE EVACUATING AND ALSO FOR FIRST RESPONDERS.
UM, AND I WILL SAY OVERALL THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, HISTORICALLY, I THINK WHEN PEOPLE MOVE TO JEFFERSON PARISH, THEY SEE IT VERY DIFFERENT FROM ORLEANS PARISH.
AND THERE'S BEEN A RIVALRY, HISTORIC RIVALRY OVER THE YEARS, UM,
[00:20:01]
INCLUDING THE, THE BACK AND FORTH OF THE TERRITORIES.UM, BUT REALLY WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT, WE ALL HAVE THIS, THIS, UH, APPRECIATION FOR EACH OTHER IN COMMON.
AND SO, JEFFERSON PARIS REALLY SHOWED THEIR TRUE COLORS DURING KATRINA BY HELPING OUT THE RECOVERY.
AND, YOU KNOW, SO MANY OF THE CULTURAL TRADITIONS THAT TOOK ROOT IN, UH, NEW ORLEANS, IT'S KNOWN FOR BEING A CITY THAT CHERISHES ETHNIC, UH, PRIDE AND CELEBRATION HAVE OF COURSE MIGRATED INTO JEFFERSON PARISH
UM, WOULD, YOU COULD COMMENT ABOUT THAT PHENOMENON.
I ACTUALLY, I THINK THAT IF YOU GO TO THE IRISH ITALIAN PARADE TODAY, UM, IT'S REALLY ONE OF THE MOST AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCES OF LOCAL CULTURE THAT YOU CAN FIND IN THE METRO AREA.
SO IT'S REALLY COOL THAT THAT REPRESENTS, UM, THOSE, THOSE TWO VERY INTERESTING AND VIBRANT CULTURAL COMMUNITIES AND, AND THE PEOPLE THAT COME OUT AND SEE IT.
SO, UM, IF YOU REALLY WANNA EXPERIENCE, UH, YOU KNOW, TRUE, UM, NEW ORLEANS AREA CULTURE, THOSE PARADES ARE GREAT.
AND VERY MUCH, LIKE I SAID, A MANIFESTATION OF A GREAT, AMAZING ETHNIC MIX.
YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, ONE OF THE, UM, MORE RECENT, UH, ETHNIC, UH, RIVALS MM-HMM
IN JEFFERSON PARISH, WHERE THE VIETNAMESE THAT'S RIGHT.
IS THEY'VE TAKEN A VERY STRONG ROLE IN THE, IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, CAN YOU DESCRIBE THAT HISTORY? WELL, YEAH.
UM, BASICALLY WHAT HAPPENED WAS ARCH BILL, ARCHBISHOP HANNON WENT TO FORT CHAFFEE, ARKANSAS IN 1975 AT THE END OF THE VIETNAM WAR, AND THEN APPROACHED, UM, VIETNAMESE PEOPLE AT THE REFUGEE CAMP THERE.
AND HE SAID, UM, IF YOU WANNA SETTLE IN A PLACE THAT IS A, A, HAS A HISTORIC CATHOLIC COMMUNITY, AND ENVIRONMENTALLY IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE SOUTH OF VIETNAMS WITH MARSHES AND BAYOU AND RICE, AND, UM, AND ALSO A FRENCH COOKING HERITAGE AS WELL.
UH, NEW ORLEANS IS A GREAT PLACE.
AND SO REALLY, THAT WAS WHEN THE FIRST, UH, VIETNAMESE ARRIVED IN THE CITY AREA.
AND IT ALSO BRINGS UP THE FACT THAT IN THE 1950S EVEN, UM, YOU HAVE CHINESE FAMILIES MOVING OUT HERE, THE LEE FAMILY, OF COURSE MM-HMM
AND SO, HOUSE OF LEE WAS AN INSTITUTION ON VETERANS HIGHWAY BACK TO HEAD IN THE FIFTIES, ALL THE WAY TO ITS CLOSURE IN THE, I THINK THE EIGHTIES.
LATE EIGHTIES, OR NO, MAYBE EARLY NINETIES.
I, I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO GO THERE.
AND SO HARRY LEE, OF COURSE, BECOMES SHERIFF A LARGER THAN LIFE FIGURE.
AND THEN CYNTHIA LEE CHANG IS THE PARISH PRESIDENT TODAY, SO, YES.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ANOTHER VERY INTERESTING HISTORY OVERALL.
AND, YOU KNOW, I KNEW PEOPLE THAT KNEW HARRY BACK WHEN HE LIVED IN CHINATOWN IN NEW ORLEANS BACK IN THE 1940S, SO, YOU KNOW, CHILD.
SO HE WORKED AT THE FAMILY RESTAURANT THEN.
WELL, IT IS THE MOST ETHNICALLY DIVERSE OF ALL OF LOUISIANA'S PARISHES.
ACCORDING, ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS RECORDS.
AND, UH, CONTINUES TO BE A VERY WELCOMING PLACE YEAH.
UH, FOR, FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE MIGRATING INTO THE AREA FOR THE FIRST TIME.
WHAT DO YOU THINK, UH, IS OF THE FUTURE OF JEFFERSON PARISH? I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY IT'S, UH, GOOD QUESTION,
IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S VERY INTERESTING IN THE SENSE THAT YOU HAVE THIS LARGE SUBURBAN CLUSTER, UH, YOU KNOW, ON BOTH SIDES OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, THEN MUCH OF THE PARISH AS YOU GO SOUTH IS WATER.
UH, WITH THE COMMUNITIES OF LAFITTE.
AND THEN GRAND ISLE, MAYBE WE COULD TOUCH A BIT ON THOSE COMMUNITIES TOO BEFORE.
YEAH, NO, IT'S, UH, THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE PARISH IS FASCINATING, GOING ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE COAST AND GRAND ISLE, AND, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT IT HAS THAT LONG, SKINNY, UH, LAYOUT.
BUT, UM, CERTAINLY IN THE FUTURE, UH, WE'RE GONNA FACE SO MANY CHALLENGES IN TERMS OF DEALING WITH, UH, HURRICANES AND ALSO FLOOD MITIGATION AND JUST GENERALLY SUSTAINABILITY.
SO, UM, I OFTEN ASK THE QUESTION, YOU KNOW, IN NEW ORLEANS, WHERE ARE YOU GONNA CELEBRATE THE QUADRA CENTENNIAL IN 2118 AND IN JEFFERSON PARISH, WHERE ARE YOU GONNA CELEBRATE THE TRICENTENNIAL IN 2125? RIGHT.
ARE WE GONNA BE ABLE TO DO IT HERE? HOPEFULLY MM-HMM
BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH LAND LOSS PREDICTIONS BY THE, UM, THE STATE, UM, BASICALLY THE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS CALLED COASTAL 2050, WHEN THEY SHOW MAPS, IT, UM, SHOWS THIS REGION LIKE A LITTLE FINGER STICKING OUT IN THE GULF.
UM, SO I HAVE A FEELING, UM, IT WILL BE A CHALLENGE FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE TO MAINTAIN THEIR LIFESTYLE IF WATER KEEPS ENCROACHING IN ON THE NATURAL RIDGE OF THE RIVER.
SO CERTAINLY GRAND ISLES ALREADY FACING THESE CHALLENGES.
PEOPLE IN THE FEET ARE ALREADY FACING THESE CHALLENGES.
UH, THE QUESTION IS, WHEN IS IT GONNA COME TO THIS AREA, UM, ALONG THE NATURAL RIDGE OF THE RIVER, THIS NATURALLY ELEVATED AREA, AND THEN WHO WILL BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO STAY HERE? SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I ENCOURAGE PEOPLE AND PLANNERS, UM, JUST IN THE METRO AREA, AGAIN, TO THINK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY AND
[00:25:01]
THE IDEA OF LIVING WITH WATER, UM, AND SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE, WHICH IS GONNA BE EXPENSIVE, BUT, UM, IF PEOPLE WANNA STAY HERE, THAT'S GOTTA HAPPEN.WELL, SO MANY LESSONS TO LEARN FROM HISTORY.
UH, FOR THE CONVERSATION TODAY AND SHEDDING LIGHT ON THE HISTORY OF THIS PARISH, 200 YEARS
AND I KNOW IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE, RIGHT? YEAH.
YOU KNOW, PRE PREDATE PREDATES THAT.
AND WE, OF COURSE, ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU TO COME TO THE JEFFERSON PARISH LIBRARIES, ALL 16 BRANCHES.
IF YOU WILL WANNA LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PARISH HISTORY, UH, WE HAVE A GREAT LECTURE SERIES COMING UP THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AND OF COURSE, MANY, MANY BOOKS INCLUDING DR.
CHAMBERLAIN'S BOOK, UH, ABOUT THE HISTORY OF JEFFERSON PARISH.