A new decade has arrived, and it’s prompted me to think about how much —and how little — life can change in 10 years’ time. Working for a newspaper makes it easy to “go back in time” and take a peek at life as it used to be in our River Parishes community.

Inside our office at 116 Newspaper Drive, behind Destiny Christian Center in LaPlace, we have a room stocked with bound volumes tracing back to the 1960s. Every story that has published in the past 60 years is kept in that room for posterity, and the public is more than welcome to stop in to flip through the volumes.

This week, I took out one of those bound volumes and dove into news stories published in January 2010.

Drainage was a concern 10 years ago, especially in the Homewood neighborhood in Reserve, and it remains a priority today. The annual Martin Luther King Day marches were going strong on the East and West banks of St. John. In a few weeks, the marches and rallies will deliver hope and inspire crowds once more.

In January 2010, Super Bowl fever raged in the River Region and the New Orleans Saints barreled toward the game of a lifetime. Will we flood local businesses with black and gold again this year? It seems we are well on our way.

The town of Reserve marked its 150^th anniversary in 2010. Meanwhile, RTC celebrated 75 years, and First American Bank, originally established as “the Bank of Vacherie” in 1910, celebrated 100 years.

One cool find was seeing Kwadernica Rhea designated 12^th grade District Student of the Year in 2010. Just a few months ago, we published a graduation announcement stating Dr. Kwadernica “Kwan” Rhea earned her PhD from Louisiana State University. As a high schooler, she shared her plans to become an obstetrician/gynecologist.

There were two stories in particular that stood out to me. In the Jan. 6, 2010 edition of L’OBSERVATEUR, it was reported Natalie Robottom announced her plans to resign as director of the Governor’s Office of Community Programs. Days later, she announced her candidacy for St. John the Baptist Parish President. At the time, she was in a race against Richard “Dale” Wolfe, Gerald Keller and Buddy Boe.

After making the decision to run for parish president, Robottom said her goal was to “restore faith, trust and confidence in government.”

“Government must serve the people, not the other way around,” Robottom said. “Through 28 years of working with the school system, parish, state and federal government, the people of St. John can trust me to do what is right.”

Soon, I hope to sit with Robottom to reflect on the goals she set in her almost 10 years in office.

The other story that stood out to me in L’OBSERVATEUR’s 2010 records was one honoring the late East St. John girls basketball coach, Troy Giordano. A banner unveiled before the Lady Cats’ game against South Lafourche honored Giordano, who died in a Kenner automobile accident in May 2009.

Giordano’s father, Wayne, said, “It’s a late Christmas present, but it’s a great Christmas present. It’s really, really good to know that all of Troy’s hard work did not go unappreciated or unnoticed.”

During his tenure as head coach, Giordano guided the Lady Cats through a staggering 92-game home winning streak and led the team to eight consecutive girls basketball championships, including the school’s first.

It’s always interesting to look back into the past and remember the years that have shaped our world. Now I have to wonder, what will change and what will stay the same between now and 2030?

 

Brooke Robichaux is news editor for L’OBSERVATEUR. She can be reached at 985-652-9545.