Mable Bordelon Aymond - November, 2008

The small town of Evergreen, located between Bunkie and Cottonport in Avoyelles Parish, was my birth place and home for the first twenty years of my life.  My years as a child were happy ones with many  brothers and sisters, and a good Dad and Mom.

Many of my memories are of school, catechism and church in Evergreen. I was told by my Mom that I was born in the house where my family lived at that time.  Interestingly, it was situated exactly where the Little Flower Catholic Church now stands.

Later my parents moved the family to a home close to the cotton gin my Dad operated for Haas Incorporated of Bunkie.

Bayou Rouge ran behind our home and is still there today.  At that time we lived there, it was much larger with clean water, and I spent many hours on the bank catching crawfish.  They were rather plentiful.

I can recall African-American children walking past my home on their way to a small school down the road across the bayou.  It was probably just an elementary school.  There was also a church across Bayou Rouge from the small school which people attended, usually around mid-morning on Sundays.  Sometimes there was a service for baptism in which those to be baptized were walked into the bayou and partly submerged for a few seconds.  The children would sit on the opposite bank and watch.

The school which I attended in Evergreen was one of my favorite places to be. The teachers and principals, Mr. Jeansonne, then Mr. Smith, were figures of great importance to me. In May of 1943, I graduated from Evergreen High School.  World War II had broken out in 1941 and it was a very hard time for everyone.  I remember practicing black-outs and the use of ration stamps for sugar, gasoline, and shoes.

Evergreen contributed to the war effort in that three or four sons of the families lost their lives in battle. My brother, Dicken, was in the Navy, but thankfully he made it back home when the war ended.  It is still a painful time to remember, and now when I ride through this very special town, I look to the places which were part of my everyday existence, and I feel a sense of longing and sadness for days gone by.

My best and closest friend at school was one of my classmates, Ardeanne Ducote.  After graduation we lost track of each other, but I was determined someday I would locate her.  In 1983, I managed to learn that she was in Worthington, OH, so I contacted her.  We stayed in contact until she passed away in March, 2008. In 1999, her daughter drove her to visit me.  I was so happy to see her. Now that she is gone, I miss talking to her on the phone.  However, I am grateful and thank God that she was back in my life for 25 years.

There aren't too many people I would know in Evergreen today, as most families which were there when I lived there, are gone. I can still close my eyes and remember so many of them.

The residents of Evergreen are blessed and fortunate in many ways. There will always be a special place in my heart for Evergreen.


Pelican Footnote:  Mable was a member of the EHS Class of 1943.