A foundation for Morgan City: Many good works are the Youngs' legacy

Giving has been the hallmark of the H&B Young Foundation since its inception in 1955.
Through millions of dollars in donations and property through the years, the foundation has helped Morgan City and its citizens in various ways.
“H&B Young has been the best friend the port could ever have and to Morgan City. They have been tremendous,” Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said.
But what exactly is the fund and associated-giving, which combined have contributed more than $35 million in land and money through the years? Where does the money and land come from? What does H&B stand for?
Along with use of extensive information from “The Young Brothers of Morgan City,” by Jamie Christy, The Daily Review talked to those affiliated with the foundation or who have benefited to get insight.

Who are
the Youngs?
The H&B Young Foundation is named for Hugh Young and Byrnes Young.
The brothers’ father, Olympas Young, departed from Arkansas and came to St. Mary Parish at age 17, because he was bringing horses to the area.
In St. Mary Parish, he was the supervisor of slaves for multiple planters before taking a job as an overseer on a plantation in Brashear, which is now Morgan City.
Olympas later bought his own property and began life as a planter, growing his property to 1,600 acres that reached from the Greenwood area to Bayou Boeuf and also to Lake Palourde.
While Olympas and his wife, Mehitable, left for Texas during the Civil War, their first son, Hugh McLellan Young, was born Sept. 9, 1865, in Rusk County, Texas. Byrnes Matthias Young was born on Dec. 19, 1868 back in St. Mary Parish at the family’s home, which is located on the present-day site of South Louisiana Community College’s Young Memorial Campus.

Community leaders
The Young brothers, who were raised by their mother after their father died when they were young, learned their business ways from her.
In addition to buying more property, the family purchased the combination of the city’s ice plant and electric company and reconstructed it following a fire.
While they eventually sold their plant, the brothers later donated land on Avoca Road for the city’s next power plant. The plant was dedicated to them.
Education was important to Hugh and Byrnes, and after problems arose in the local school system early in the 20th century, a committee that included Hugh found that there was overcrowding at the now former M.D. Shannon Elementary, among other things, and pushed for improvements, while Byrnes wanted playground equipment, too.
A few years ago, Shannon Elementary closed.
“We didn’t really get involved, because we’re not supposed to be involved in political things being a nonprofit, but we really hated to see that close because of the fact that they had even helped with that,” H&B Young Foundation President Brenda Ayo said of the brothers.
After their mother’s death in 1921, the brothers inherited her wealth, and a few years later, they gave money to increase the size and improve the cemetery. They gave additional tracts of land later in life.
The brothers also were key in attracting oil and gas companies to Morgan City by offering “50-year bargain leases,” Ayo said.
In those leases, the initial rent the companies paid on the property when they leased it would not increase throughout the 50 years of the lease.
Eventually, to help the fund meet its obligations, the leases were renegotiated, Ayo said.
“That’s a lot of money that was given up to keep them here in Morgan City,” she said, noting how it bolstered Morgan City’s economy, too.

Morgan City Fund established
On Jan. 1, 1955, Hugh passed away, and two months later on March 23, 1955, Byrnes established the nonprofit, Morgan City Fund. The brothers, who had no heirs, decided prior to Hugh’s death to give their estate to the city for its betterment. The fund’s purpose is to be used “exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary and educational purposes.”
All projects must be complete within Morgan City.
Among the projects that Byrnes oversaw were the donation of land for the Atkinson Presbyterian Church, where a preschool was built, too. He also gave land for the construction of current-day South Louisiana Community College’s Young Memorial Campus, which is named in the family’s honor. It is located on Youngs Road, also named for them.
One of the first projects for the Morgan City Fund was establishing a nursery at then-Lakewood Hospital.
In 1965, Byrnes died at age 96, leaving behind an estate valued at $3 million, while additional value was in 150 acres that was leased to companies in the oil and gas and boating industries.

Foundation
and board
The foundation’s name eventually was changed to the H&B Young Foundation, and today, the board is required to give at least 5% of its assets, which encompass land and money, Ayo said.
It gives to St. Mary Outreach and other organizations, as well as Morgan City public and private schools.
Their annual donations include at least $30,000 per year to the Morgan City Public Library, Ayo said.
“Without that funding, there’s no way we could support the library,” former Morgan City Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said.
The fund donated the money for the marine center at the Young Memorial campus, which includes a pool used by area swim teams, too.
The foundation also has assisted industry, too, as it sold 25 acres of land to the Port of Morgan City for it to lease to Intermoor to keep the company from moving its operations to Texas. Because the port is a state agency, it only can pay assessed value for the property, which the H&B Young Foundation agreed to pay.
Today, Intermoor employs over 100 people.
“They’ve been tremendous to work with,” Wade said of the H&B Young Foundation.
“When we’ve needed something or we needed to sit down and talk about a lease or whatever with the Young Foundation, they have cooperated with the port fully. They’ve been a very dear friend for the port.”
While it’s currently not operating due to COVID-19, Ayo said one of the things the foundation is proudest of is their partnership with City Court Juvenile Services to open the Morgan City Youth Center for junior high and high school students at Young Memorial. The center, which opened about four years ago, offers after-school activities such as crafts and speakers.
“We feed them every day, because so many of those kids don’t even have a good supper to go home to,” Ayo said.
The fund sustains itself through capping the amount it gives per year and through investing money from rentals.
Ayo said it’s been a meaningful experience to give back to the community.
“I’ve been with this organization since 1986, and it’s just been a blessing to be able to help out in so many areas and help so many people,” she said.
“We’ve been able to help young people through medical school, through many different types of college programs, and to me, that’s one of the most rewarding things is seeing a young person that might not have an opportunity be able to go to college or go to some type of training and be able to come back and be a productive citizen in Morgan City,” Ayo added.