Baja St. Martin

My baby sister discovered she could find information about several of our relatives at a local library. She got me excited about it and I also went to my public library and I , too, found some interesting stuff, but I came home and found that I could not access the library ancestry site from a home computer. I guess that’s reasonable, but it would have been nice to search family history in the comfort of my home. I guess I’ll just have to go to the library even more than I already do.
I did learn that my father-in-law’s father came from Northampton, England. But when I tried to learn about my own great grandfather I quickly discovered that there were over 60,000 people with the same last name, all coming from the same place – Ireland. And before I got all the way through the lists I was getting bleary-eyed and quit. Just have to narrow down the search, obviously. Or maybe the entire country of Ireland all came to America at the same time. (Actually, they probably did because that was the time of a big potato famine in Ireland.) Anyway, the searching promises to be interesting and it is certainly causing my baby sister and I to communicate more frequently.
Before I forget, Shirley Akers has asked me to let you know that on June 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Cypress Bayou Casino Pavilion in Charenton, there will be a Senior Citizen Educational Seminar. A lunch will be provided by the Chitimacha tribe and Cypress Bayou Casino. The event is sponsored by St. Martin Parish District Attorney Bo Duhé. If you’re interested you must call to make a reservation via the St. Martin Council On Aging at (337) 332-3063, St. Mary COA at (337) 828-4100, Ext. 323, St. Mary Community Action Agency in Franklin at (337) 828-5703, in Morgan City at (985) 384-7446 or St. Mary Parish at (985) 384-2277.
I attended two meetings the other day at the COA building in Breaux Bridge and I’m proud to say I made the entire trip without getting lost one time. I’m not totally comfortable with the route yet, but feel I can get there without too much stress. I even have alternate routes, so I’m especially proud. I know this sounds pretty silly, but I’m not a city driver and don’t want to be. For many years when my husband and I first lived in Louisiana, we had no car. We traveled entirely by boat or on foot. When we did get a car and I first drove to Morgan City, it was awful. So many lights, people, cars. I came home exhausted. Those were the old days.
There’s been no news about the levee situation, at least not around here. It’s actually quieter than usual, truck-wise. And now that crawfishing is over, my road, Hwy. 997, is back to its peaceful state. (Should I knock on wood when I say that?) I still walk at the boat landing, although not as frequently as before. The water has gone down but is still over the launch ramps a little. The boat landing is pretty empty. The dog days of summer may have arrived.
I’m waiting for Harper Lee’s new book to come out. “Go Set a Watchman.” I so loved “To Kill a Mockingbird.” I’ve not read anything really good lately, just filler stuff. I believe that this summer I will begin to fulfill my self-promise to re-read some old favorites. “The Wizard of Oz,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Treasure Island,” my very favorite John McPhee. If you want a fun read, try “The Seven Lady Godivas” by Dr. Seuss. It’s one of only two books he wrote for adults and I don’t remember the second.
Meanwhile, mow the grass, paint the swing, weed-eat, pick flowers, clean the shed and two freezers. Yuck!

Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be emailed at lindacooke1939@gmail.com.