At Pontchatrain Beach

"At the beach, at the beach

Out at Pontchatrain Beach

You'll have fun, you'll have fun

Every day of the week

You'll love those thrilling rides

Laugh till you split your sides 

At Pontchatrain Beach."

Pontchatrain Beach, located in New Orleans, was a popular summer destination for many in southeast Louisiana during the 1950's and 1960's.  

Pontchartrain Beach included a beach with a large art-deco style bathhouse and swimming pools, amusement rides (including a wooden roller coaster called the Zephyr), and concession stands. The park featured live music concerts, including many local musicians and touring national acts such as Elvis Presley.

The park was officially closed in 1983 but there have been recent talks about restoring the beachfront as a public recreation area.  

Tellevision Westerns

The Lone Ranger and Tonto

Bat Masterson

The Cartwrights - Bonanza

Mark andLLucas McCain - The Rifleman

The Cisco Kid and Pancho

Annie Oakley

    From 1951 thru 1970 over 100 western series galloped across the screens of our TV's. Many were short-lived while others hung around for a while; then there were those that became immortal in our memories. All of them were the morality plays of our youth; teaching us that good invariably triumphs over evil

    As Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, The Lone Ranger, The Cisco Kid and others fought the weekly foe they remained true to their ethic of honesty and fair play. As a result "Cowboys & Indians" was a popular pastime of our youth. They were a large part of the popular culture of the day.

Gil Favor and Rowdy Yates - Rawhide

    Yet, in later years self-appointed experts deemed the genre too violent for young minds, failing to recognize that these plays went a long way toward instilling a moral ethic in us far better than any lecture ever could. An ethic that is missing in far too many today.

    

Paladin - Have Gun Will Travel

While there may have been violence, very seldom was anyone ever killed. The Lone Ranger only shot to wound. Roy Rogers killed a man in only one movie (Dark Command). Other western stars shot a lot of bullets but invariably subdued the villain by using their fists, and brought them to the courts for judgement.

    Later westerns such as Bonanza stressed the strength that exists in family unity. Even the adult western, Gunsmoke, was about an ordinary man forced by circumstances to perform extraordinary tasks in a rapidly changing environment.

Cheyenne Bodie

    From 26 Men, about the Arizona Rangers, to Zorro the westerns managed to cover the entire range of human emotions, conflicts and ethical choices it's possible for an individual to encounter in their lifetime. Perhaps the line between good and evil was too sharply drawn for some people because by the time the end of the 60's loomed, various shades of grey were beginning to be introduced into an ambiguous morality and it signaled the death knell for the venerable western on TV.

    As we grew older and went on to high school and college we left these shows behind and pursued other things but our memories hold dear those exciting adventures and as a result they continue to live on. So, "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear...."

What We Were Watching in 1966

Saturday Prime Time Programs

What We Were Watching In 1966

Friday Prime Time Programs

What We Were Watching in 1966

Thursday Prime Time Programs

What We Were Watching in 1966

Wednesday Prime Time Programs

What We Were Watching in 1966

Tuesday Prime Time Programs

What We Were Watching in 1966

Monday Prime Time programs

What We Were Watching in 1966

Sunday Prime Time programs

Top Songs of 1966

Title	Artist
The Sounds of Silence	Simon & Garfunkel
We Can Work It Out	The Beatles
My Love	Petula Clark
Lightnin' Strikes	Lou Christie
These Boots Are Made For Walking	Nancy Sinatra
Ballad of the Green Berets	S/Sgt Barry Sadler
(You're My) Soul & Inspiration	The Righteous Brothers
Good Lovin'	The Young Rascals
Monday, Monday	The Mamas & The Papas
When A Man Loves A Woman	Percy Sledge
Paint It, Black	The Rolling Stones
Paperback Writer	The Beatles
Strangers In The Night	Frank Sinatra
Hanky Panky	Tommy James & The Shondells
Wild Thing	The Troggs
Summer In The City	The Lovin' Spoonful
Sunshine Superman	Donovan
You Can't Hurry Love	The Supremes
Cherish	The Association
Reach Out I'll Be There	Four Tops
96 Tears	? & The Mysterians
Last Train To Clarksville	The Monkees
Poor Side Of Town	Johnny Rivers
You Keep Me Hangin' On	The Supremes
Winchester Cathedrial	The New Vaudeville Band
Good Vibrations	The Beach Boys
I'm A Believer	The Monkees

Terrebonne High School Aerial Views

1968

2016

     Where once stood tall stalks of sugar cane gently swaying in the southerly winds of summer and autumn there now stand modest homes, a crisscross network of concrete streets and the expanse of a shopping center that has replaced the once familiar neighborhood country store.   Where once stood open land there now runs a four lane thoroughfare that spans the city that was once a town not so long ago.   Industry has all but replaced the once agricultural centered economy and people have prospered.

      Terrebonne High School once stood on the edge of  the town of Houma it now occupies a central place in the ever expanding city that seemed a bit daunting to view after being away for so many years.  I remember a time when Hollywood road was a sparsely traveled street on the outskirts of town.  Now it's practically a main thoroughfare linking the subdivisions that grew in the cane fields to the city.  

      When I came back to see old friends and acquaintances for the 50th reunion of the Class of 1966, I decided not to visit the old haunts or walk the old streets.  I preferred instead to rely on the vision in my mind's eye of how they once were.  A simple comparison of the aerial views from 1968 and now was sufficient to convince me that it was better that way. 

      Even THS had changed.  The picture of now revealed tennis courts, a new library and an athletic field house that had not existed in our day.  Even the marble tiger that once stood in the center of the traffic circle had been moved indoors to keep it away from vandals.  The passage of time was slow and gradual for those who stayed to witness these changes as they occurred.  But, for those of us who migrated to other areas, the changes were quite stark and dramatic.  It was best to keep the experience confined to a small area, even though we knew many other changes had occurred. 

     Yet, even though places have changed the classmates we knew were still the same.  Oh, they may have put on a little weight, lost a little hair and walked a little slower, perhaps; but it was no more than a slight interruption of time to be caught up with in the exchange of pictures and family tales.   The gathering is now over and each has parted to return to the lives since built.  Still, a part of the mind lingers on the gathering where old times were remembered, old songs were played and new memories were created. 






     

THS Tigerettes

Members of the Terrebonne High School Tigerettes 1965-1966

Items Saved from the Dustbin

 


  Sometimes it's the little things that best evoke the memories of our youth.  A football program, an athletic ribbon or even a book cover emblazoned with the school mascot.  Such things are often tossed aside as we move onward from those days of our youth and into adulthood.  

Here are a few things that were saved from the dustbin so that they may be presented now to those who will remember their significance, even after laying dormant for fifty years. 

50 Year Anniversary - THS Class of 1966

Fifty Years have come and gone, but it's just the beginning of a new dawn.  

The THS Class of 1966 had a momentous and quite successful class reunion this past weekend, renewing old acquaintances and catching up with the lives of old friends from those halcyon school days of yore.  A time slightly tempered by the passage of those classmates who have passed on to that land beyond.  

To all those who came, we're glad you did.  To those who could not, for one reason or another, we would like to feel that your thoughts were at least there with us.  

So, here's to old friends and acquaintances from long ago.  May you be able to join us at the next gathering to add to the collective memory of the Terrebonne High School Class of 1966 and keep alive the class motto that "The Doors of Wisdom Are Never Shut".  

THS Mirror Staff 1965-1966

The THS Miror staff members during 1965-1966