LSR Revitalizing Old Church/Community Center
Louisiana Sugar Refining (LSR) is currently in the process of rehabbing the former church/community center on the property and some in the public will soon be the first see the improvements made thus far.
This Sunday, a very special 93rd year birthday party is being thrown for Nolan Guidry and the party will be followed by a “Sock Hop” dance for Classes of 1972 and earlier. (See flyer on Page 4 for details).
The following is a history of the building and the info presented was gathered by Laddie Roussel. Here are Roussel’s findings:
The Gramercy Community Center The Early Years, 1956-1958 …
Out of curiosity, I decided to research how the Old Sacred Heart Chapel transitioned into the Community Center by reading through old editions of the News Examiner for the years 1955-1958.
The building had several names during this period - Jaycee Community Center, St. Joseph Jaycee Community Center, Gramercy Community Center, Gramercy Youth Center, and The Community Center.
In 1956, the Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce) and Jaynes (the Women’s group) took on the huge project to repurpose the old Sacred Heart Chapel into the Community Recreation center. Initially, the Jaycees intended to replace parts of the wood floors and give a general interior facelift with painting, etc. After discussing possibilities of having to repair wood floors in the near future, the majority decided a concrete floor would be less expensive in the long run and would definitely be safer.
They had work meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Ray Zeringue was named head carpenter, and another name mentioned was Norman Borne (Dad of Roger Borne, one of our Class of 1962 classmates).
The wood floor and sills were removed and replaced with dirt, gravel, and other material which was hauled into the building and leveled and covered with the concrete slab which is still there today. The Jaycees and Jaynes held fundraisers to help cover the costs.
The 1956-1957 Officers elected by The Gramercy-Lutcher-Paulina Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees) were: President Kermit Coulon; First VP Howard Trout; Second VP E. P. Zeringue; Secretary A. J. Berthelot; and the Board of Directors were Ward Turner, James Weidman, Donald Veron, and Norman Zeringue. Outgoing President Dewitt Rabalais also served as a member of the Board of Directors.
On February 16, 1957, the first dance in the community center was held by the Jaycee / Jaynes and called the “Big Barn Dance”.
The invitation said, “Come One Come All” to a place for fun with square dancing called by Mr. Adams, a professional square dance caller from New Orleans, popular music, and rock and roll.
Admission was a dollar per couple and the usual “two-bit” bar will be on hand. The previous Jaynes barn dances were held in the old public relation building and old gym on Lutcher school grounds.
In July 1957, the Jaycees sponsored the “Teen-Age Club” and the first Teen officers elected were: President Jerry St. Pierre; VP Jackie Foret; Secretary Margaret Arceneaux; Treasurer George Hymel; Reporter Anette Bourgeois. Also, Marc Olivier, Ann Bourgeois, and Gwen Davis were picked as a committee to meet with the Jaycees to discuss rules for the Club and weekly teen-age dances (age 13 and up), which would take place every Friday night and later moved to Thursday nights.
This dance was called “Record Hop”, Teen dances. The music was someone spinning disc records, sometimes a DJ from New Orleans, later bands started providing the music. The dances were chaperoned by the Jaycees and Jaynes.
In September 1957, the Jaynes hosted a “Penny Social” where admission was one penny per inch of combined height of couple with music by an orchestra.
Mrs. Rogerie Laurent was president of the Jaynes organization and chairmen for the Penny social were Mrs. Marian Boudreaux and Mrs. Marie Kliebert. In November, Mrs. Renette Turner, was chairmen for the Pioneer party.
In July 1958, the preteen dances (age 8 to 12) began with the first called “Juke Box Hop”.
These dances were held on Tuesdays and were well attended. In August 1958, it was reported 297 pre-teens attended an event sponsored by The Gramercy Community Club, which had been formed to coordinate preteen dances, games, and fun activities.
The ladies listed as helping were Mrs. Maurice Laurent, Mrs. Lawrence Melancon, Mrs. Roy Bourgeois, and Mrs. Netter Torres.
This was the first dance I remember attending with a group of friends all playing little league baseball together behind the old Gramercy Elementary school, just across Newtown from the community center.
Some of the DJ’s, artists and bands listed in 1956-1958 articles are: “Jack the Cat”; Jacqueline the Kitten”; Frankie Ford “Cheatin’ Women”; Paul Maurin “If This Be Love”; The Cherokees local band; The Starlighters from Gonzales; The Knights from Gonzales; The Continentals from Vacherie; An orchestra from New Orleans performed once at an event sponsored by the Jaynes.
I did not see any mention of one local band, the original Sabers with Barry LeBlanc, who was a classmate of mine. However, one of the five original members said they played in 1958 timeframe.
Well, and after almost 60 years (57 to be exact), dances return to the old Community Center.
On Sunday, September 15, 2024, I’m planning and hosting Mr. Nolan Guidry’s 93rd Birthday party and Sr. Sock Hop for classes of 1972 and before. This event is sponsored by LSR in the old Chapel/community center (renovation still underway).
Nolan retired from Colonial after 46 years of service. He currently resides at Sunrise on Siegen in Baton Rouge, an assisted living facility.
… *1915: Gramercy Camp 629 Woodmen of the World built the building in Gramercy.
*1920: On October 3, 1919, the Board of Directors of the congregation of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church adopted a resolution to purchase building. The building was converted into the Sacred Heart Chapel in Gramercy and blessed by Archbishop Shaw on June 13, 1920.
*1955: Last Catholic Mass in Chapel was held in December 1955. The new masses were held in the new Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Gramercy, which was dedicated and blessed on December 4, 1955.
*1956: The local Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce Chapter) and Jaynes took on the huge project to convert the old Chapel into a community and recreation center. The building was still owned by Catholic Church.
*1957-1958: The Community Center began hosting Teen-age dances for ages 13 and above on Friday nights and later moved to Thursday nights. In 1958, Pre-teen dances began for ages 8 to 12 on Tuesday afternoons.
Also, a few special Teen dances were scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays. These dances ended in 1967.
*1970: Colonial purchased the building from the Catholic Church and Colonial used the building for its storage and record archives.
*2022-2024 - LSR is renovating the building to repair damage caused by two hurricanes and other rain events. LSR to repurpose the building into a museum hall and possibly offices on the second floor.