By ANNA MONICA – Correspondent

For about a week this past year, there were some men in Garyville who didn’t make it to their daily Catholic mass during Lent. Still, their pastor, Fr. Charles Caluda of St. Hubert’s Church and Deacon Garland Roussel were in approval of their behavior. They were priming and re-painting the fence and doing repairs around the town’s Rosary Walk and Prayer Garden, a formidable task that required an early morning start.

There was great appreciation for Sheriff Wayne Jones’ Inmate Program which provided help for a few days. Marathon’s Danny Duhe, involved in Marathon’s Community Service, was instrumental in having the company donate the paint and some of its contract labor to assist in the wire brushing, priming and repainting of the iron fence after being approached by Councilman Allen St. Pierre.

At first, parishioners were in admiration of the “new white fence” until they learned it was only a primer and although it looked pretty, it wouldn’t last and had to be painted black again. Nonetheless, it is bright and shiny and will last a long time.

Parishioner Lynn Bourgeois had first proposed the project after speaking with Sr. Geraldine who coordinates events in the parish. He was deeply involved in the project as were his brothers Albert and Jimmy, along with O’Neil Himel, Sammy Miano, Jerry Jacob, Peter Tregre, Jr., O. J. Trosclair, Councilman Allen St. Pierre and good neighbor though not a church member, Tom Weber. First, the men made coffee in the nearby church hall (and didn’t mind sharing with the church-goers) and each lent his particular brand of expertise to the project.

The work seemed difficult and hot but the dedicated group continued on until it was complete. Besides re-working the fence, all of the Stations of Cross in the Prayer Garden were painted. Lynn, O.J. and Jimmy repaired the wood fence in the Prayer Garden and Tom Weber donated material he had so that he and Lynn could do other repairs. They also wrapped the posts, which hold the chain (also new) representing the rosary, in plastic to preserve them. This was extra work for Lynn, O.J., Jerry and Tom, but they wanted the job well done.

When the men worked, the church provided lunch for everyone. Also, the Garyville Holy Name Society does something every year for the church and this year they donated $1000 from its crayfish raffle.

According to the results, it is now very evident that the money, men and material were all very well used. Lynn Bourgeois has other aspirations, too. He is working on a plan to get families together to donate time to work in the garden and around the church. He believes it would be a good way to keep it all in order and promote family togetherness.

The public is reminded that this area is open to all of any denomination who wish to come for prayer and contemplation in an atmosphere which provides just that.