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As I poke around among stories and recollections of times gone by, I am continually reminded of how isolated much of south Louisiana was before highways began to connect us, and that our isolation lasted for a good deal longer than we might expect.
That especially applies to places like Cheniere au Tiger, which still has no road, and Pecan Island, which wasn’t connected with the rest of the world by even a shell road until the 1950s. That separation created situations we can hardly imagine today.
For folks on the cheniers, for example, just getting animals to market presented a major challenge. Hogs should have been one of the most important animals raised for sale, but most of them were grown for home consumption. They didn’t do well on boats, and besides losing a lot of weight when they were herded through the marsh, they were just the right size for a good meal for an alligator.
That was one of Leonora Vaughn’s recollections of life on Pecan Island in the late 1800s, published in the Abbeville Meridional in early 1931.
“A few drives had been made to Grand Cheniere,” Vaughn recounted, “but hogs that were fat enough for market did not hold up well under a three day’s drive and a boat trip from Grand Cheniere to Galveston on a sailing vessel.”
Cattle did a little better. They were driven to Southwest Pass through the Belle Isle and Cheniere au Tigre marshes and shipped by steamboat to Morgan City.
“It was a hard drive but was the only way to get to market,” according to the account. Even then they didn’t bring a lot of hard money to the island. Cattle sold for ten dollars a head; hogs fetched four to five dollars.
“Chickens were not considered marketable and neither were eggs. Geese, turkeys, and ducks were never thought of as being salable,” Vaughn recalled. “In fact, cattle, cotton and sugar or syrup were the only saleable commodities raised on the island.”
It was just as hard to get anything from the outside to the island and islanders “raised nearly everything we needed at home,” Vaughn wrote. “In those days we were not putting up much meat for the family supply if we didn’t butcher from a dozen to twenty or more big hogs.” Several head of cattle were also butchered for the family meat supply.
Islanders did what they could for cash and “somewhere about this time [1890s] found out that mink and coon hides were saleable,” Vaughn’ recalled.
At first, the pelts sold for a nickel or a dime, sometimes as much as fifteen cents, but, “when they got from twenty-five to fifty cents, our boys went wild and what they didn’t do for furbearers was just what they couldn’t do.”
The best part was that the pelts didn’t have to be hauled to market; “men in little sloops” came to the island to buy the furs, and in a few years also began to buy alligator hides.
It sounds from the account that the islanders would have given away the gator skins.
“Those creatures were so troublesome that we were very glad when their hides began to be of value,” Vaughn wrote.
“They caught hogs, ducks, and geese … besides being a menace to riders or pedestrians who traveled in the marshes or crossed the ‘coups’ as the water-drains across the ridge were called.”
A collection of Jim Bradshaw’s columns, Cajuns and Other Characters, is now available from Pelican Publishing. You can contact him at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.

Emergency paid sick leave for COVID-19 approved by Congress last year but not renewed in last month’s economic stimulus package has been extended for St. Mary Parish School System employees through June 30 for those who have not used their time, the school board unanimously agreed to in its Thursday board meeting.
Parish Schools Superintendent Teresa Bagwell said that the original legislation was passed through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and allowed for 10 paid days of leave. The policy, which went into effect nationally April 1, 2020, is for employees to make it through quarantine or who have tested positive for the virus, Bagwell said.
“When Congress acted over the holiday break to pass the stimulus package, this piece of leave was not included in the stimulus, so what the policy asks that we do is to extend the same exact leave that was initially enacted by Congress through the end of the year, June 30 of 2021,” Bagwell explained to the board before they approved her request. “Same parameters, same inclusions, same exclusions, just to extend it until the end of the school year.”
The change does not grant 10 additional sick leave days, Bagwell said after the meeting. It just extends any unused days that were allotted in the original plan.
Also during Thursday’s board meeting, new officers were elected for two-year terms. Kenny Alfred was selected president, while Marilyn LaSalle was elected vice president.
Alfred was nominated by board member Wayne Deslatte, while board member Sylvia Lockett nominated Pearl Rack for the position. The board selected Alfred on a 7-2 vote, with Alfred, Ginger Griffin, LaSalle, Deslatte, Mike Taylor, Dwight Barbier and Roland Verret each voting for Alfred. Lockett and Rack voted for Rack. Board member Joseph Foulcard Jr. hadn’t arrived at the meeting yet and board member Alaina Black was absent.
For the vice president position, Griffin nominated LaSalle, while Lockett nominated the incumbent Rack to serve again. LaSalle was elected vice president on a 7-3 vote, with Alfred, Griffin, LaSalle, Deslatte, Barbier, Verret and Taylor each casting votes in her favor. Foulcard, Lockett and Rack each cast votes for Rack.
In other action Thursday, the board:
—Adopted a resolution in support of St. Mary Excel’s efforts to bringing a National Estuarine Research Reserve in Louisiana to the area after hearing from St. Mary Excel members Catherine Holcomb, Kelly Lind Boudreaux and Margaret Metz Theriot. The Atchafalaya Estuarine Zone is one of seven sites being considered in Louisiana for the reserve. Among the benefits touted by St. Mary Excel of having the LaNEER locally are economic development, educational opportunities, funding for boat access and college internships.
Boudreaux said the first step in securing the project is public support. A meeting will be held at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium on Jan. 22 at 9 a.m. to discuss the project and answer any questions. Community leaders are encouraged to attend to show support and ask questions, Boudreaux said.
—Agreed to keep its monthly meeting date as the same day, time and place, which will be the second Thursday of each month at 5 p.m. at the Central Office Complex in Centerville.
—Proclaimed January as Louisiana School Board Member Recognition Month, Jan. 25-29 as Louisiana Literacy Week, February as National African American Month and Feb. 1-5 as National School Counseling Week.
—Granted permission to advertise for bids for a hunting and trapping lease on Possum Bayou.
—Granted permission to fund new electrical service for the Crowell Elementary building at an estimated cost of $20,000.

Luella Ruth "Lou" Howard Verrett, 92, a resident of Sircusa, LA and native of Morgan City, LA, passed away peacefully on Wednesday January 6, 2021 at Ochsner Medical Center in Gretna, LA.

A public viewing will be conducted from 9:00 AM until funeral time at 11:00 AM on Saturday, January 16, 2021 at Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church 113 Federal Avenue Morgan City, LA. Pastor Michael Bradford will officiate. (Per CDC requirement/local regulations everyone is required to wear face masks upon entering into the building at all times). Burial will follow funeral services in the Morgan City Cemetery. Services will be accessible virtually by viewing the Jones Funeral Home, Inc. Facebook Page at 11:00 AM on Saturday January 16, 2021.

Memories of Luella will forever remain in the hearts of her son, Howard George Verrett of Lafayette, LA; grandchildren, a great-grandson; four sisters, Evangelist Yvonne Howard-Hanzy, Mrs. James (Daisy Howard) Douglas, Minister Genevieve Howard-Brown and Betty Howard-Ross; one brother, Jesse Polk Howard, a daughter-in-law, a sister-in-law and host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Luella was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; two brothers; six sisters:.

Jones Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. Please visit www.jones -funeral-home.com to send condolences to to family

Mary Elise Voisin Anslum, a longtime resident of Patterson, passed away at the age of 66 on
Thursday, January 7, 2021, at her daughter’s home in Berwick where she has resided for the past
seven months.
Mary was born in Dulac on March 3, 1954, the 7 th of 12 children born to John and Marie Voisin.
She had a kind-hearted nature and always put the needs of others before her own. Whether it was
providing a meal or a place to stay, she was there for you. She was truly a selfless person. To
know her was to love her. Her deep compassion for others was rooted in a strong faith in the
Lord. She was a faithful member of Central Baptist Church in Patterson and loved her church
and church-family dearly. She also loved her family fiercely, especially her grandchildren and
great grandchildren who were her pride and joy. Her presence on this side of eternity will be
missed dearly, but her family takes great comfort in knowing she placed her trust in the Lord
Jesus Christ and has been reunited with all her loved ones who have gone on before her.
Survivors include her four children, Jolene Guillory and her husband Kirk, Chad Anslum and his
wife Rebecca, Celeste Williams and her husband Gregory, and Kimberly Madewell and her wife
Liz; 12 grandchildren, Kira and Haley Guillory, Cassandra Trahan, Ariana Herder, Brittany and
Carina Stewart, Lillian, Rhiannon, and Tristan Anslum, and Olivia, Alexander, and Sarah
Williams; ten great grandchildren; four siblings, Delores Crochet, Theresa Dupre, Paul Voisin,
and Lorie Anslem; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband Joseph Anslum; her father, John Ernest Voisin; her
mother, Marie Octavia Holloway; and seven siblings, Anthony Arthur Voisin, Joseph Norris
Voisin Sr., Joseph Roy Voisin, Ernest “Ernie” Junior Voisin, Kathleen “Beanie” Crochet, James
Patrick Voisin, and Eva Marie Voisin.
A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, January 16, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. at Central Baptist
Church in Patterson. Pastor Caleb Silvertooth will lead the celebration. A gathering of family and
friends will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the church and continue until 5:00 p.m. The funeral service will
also be live streamed of the church’s Facebook page.
Family and friends may view the obituary online by visiting www.iberts.com and are encouraged
to share their condolences, cherished memories, love, and support for the family.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Ibert's Mortuary, Inc., 1111 Lia Street, Patterson, LA
70392, (985) 395-7873.