Ci et Ca Avec Belle column

FALL IS HERE......

Yes, the wonderful fall season is here with the summertime behind us.  Although, we can’t complain about the heat this summer.  It was not as bad as usual with 100 degree days and high heat indices.  There has been lots of rain which kept the temps down and no serious flooding around here.  Now, the weather should be even better with cooler temps heading our way.  Just wish it could stay this way and not have the bitter cold and freezing weather that we had last year.  But, we will take whatever comes and be prepared for any and all conditions. 

We are fortunate that we have not had any hurricanes so far this season, and we pray that it will stay that way.  The folks on the Pacific coast and Hawaii have not been as lucky and we hope that their days ahead will be sunny and dry.  These storms have brought rain and flooding to the southwest, some needing some wet conditions, but not the large amounts they have been receiving.

We watched the terrible forest fires in California and the loss of so many homes and are sad for them.  It is difficult to watch everything you own go up in smoke, but are thankful that there has not been any loss of life in this tragedy.  Our brave firefighters have fought hard to contain the blazes, but it is a difficult battle.  This due to one person who set the fire!  At least he is has been arrested.  But, with cooler weather ahead hopefully some rain will fall on the dry areas of that state, the fire danger will be reduced and life can go on with the families in those areas. 

Another exciting thing happens this time of the year...football time again!  We love this great season, and we know that many share our enthusiasm.  We hope that your favorite teams have a successful season with wins and no player injuries.  Have fun and yell, yell and yell.

BUSY MONTH......

There will be much going on this month that will offer some interesting and important events.  Of course, for the children (and some adults) Halloween is always a great time.  The selection of the costumes has begun and the popular ones are moving off the shelves quickly.  So, don’t wait too long to get the favorite for you little ones before they are all gone.  There is a good variety of them to ensure that all can find something they like.  Our little girls have their Frozen Princess dresses which seem to be the popular ones this year.  It is an exciting time for them as they participate in the fun to fill their pumpkins with treats.  Just be careful and watch the children as they “run” from house to house.  Keep them safe.  

There is a great alternative to going from house to house and that is a program sponsored by the City of Rayne. This event provides a wonderful Halloween program at the Civic Center with lots of fun activities and treats for the little ones and is a safe way to enjoy this special evening.  We hope that you will take advantage of this fun and safe time for many exciting activities and contest events which are planned for the various age groups of the children.  This is a great program and we thank everyone who sponsors and works on this exciting program.

HOMECOMING AT RHS.....

It was a great day for the alumns returning to Rayne High to celebrate Homecoming 2014.  There was a good crowd of former students who were greeted and escorted by the present members of the student body to the Library for the always enjoyable tea.  Again, Beth Goins, librarian, had done a great job in preparing exhibits, pictures, books and things of interest to the visitors.  Since it was the 70th Anniversary of the State Championship 6-man Football team, she had a great exhibit of memobilia of the team.  She even had the original trophy presented to the team on winning the championship.  The player on the top of the award was off, but was next to it ready to be repaired to former glory.  Since the trophy was given when metal was still scarce because of the war, it is wooden , but is beautiful in it’s simplicity.  

Unfortunately there are so few surviving members of the original team since they are in their 80’s and older.  Our brother, Bob Craig, Captain of the 1945 team, wanted to attend, but health issues prevented him from coming for the Homecoming Tea.  He said that he thinks there are only 3 members, including himself, that are still living, however, they too are having health problems that kept them from attending.  He tried calling them, but were unable to reach one in Texas, and Buddy Moody in Lafayette was also unable to attend due to medical procedures.  As far as he knew, they were the only surviving members of their championship team.  It is difficult to think of them as old and many gone.  They were such a dynamic group of young men that worked hard during their football career.  The students at Rayne High School should be very proud of them and remember them and the honors they brought to their beloved school.  Thanks Beth, for the wonderful exhibit that you had for their anniversary. 

Beth also had a delicious decorated cake and ice cooled punch for the refreshment table. She does an outstanding job each year and works hard to get the honored alumns to attend and renew their ties with classmates and to see the progress at the school since their school days. Thanks Beth for your always wonderful work to make this event such a success. 

We appreciate the efforts of the entire school to make this event so successful. Principal Wendell Prudhomme, the faculty, staff and student body combined efforts to provide this outstanding homecoming program.  Thanks to you all!  

It was wonderful to see so many of our former students!  We have to admit that we had to read their name tags for identification.  We recognized most of the faces, but just had problems pulling names out of an old mind!  It was fun catching up on their news and things going on in their lives.  However, it was difficult to hear them talk about their grandchildren.  They will always be the young and fun-loving students that we were honored to teach so many years ago. 

Many of the classes had their reunion parties on Saturday and we were so honored to be invited by the Class of 1964 for their 50th anniversary celebration.  We thank all of the members of the class for thinking of us, and especially to Flo Lavergne Breaux and Judy Bearb Mouton for contacting us.

They were and still are a very special group of ladies.  From all reports it was a very successful evening with a large number of classmates attending.  All of the Alumn parties appeared to be well attended and great fun to be reunited with friends and memories.  

Overall it was a wonderful day and ended with a victory for the Wolves team.  The end of a perfect day.

MORE HOMECOMING PLANS.....

Notre Dame High School will have their exciting Homecoming programs for the week of October 6 through 10.  The honored classes will include Notre Dame 1975,1985, 1995 and 2005, as well as the 1955 and 1965 classes of St. Joseph High School, St. Michael High School and St. Francis High School. These honored alumns are invited to celebrate Mass with the ND students on Oct. 10th at noon in the A. B. Dore Memorial Gym. The school will be ready to welcome back these special guests as well as all alumns of the schools.  The anticipated Homecoming game will be held on October 10th when the Pios host West St. Mary High School. Prior to the game a reception will be held beginning at 6:15 p.m. at the Gardiner Memorial Stadium. The Homecoming court will be introduced and the Queen will be crowned during the half time ceremonies at the game. 

The First Annual Notre Dame Gumbo Cookoff and the fun Pep Rally will be held on the campus on Thursday, October 9th at 6 p.m.  These activities will be held immediately following the fun and exciting homecoming parade.  Mark your calendars and make plans to be a part of these wonderful activities and renew your friendships with present and former classmates and faculty.  Those members of the honored classes and all former students will enjoy attending and participating in the planned programs.  They were and are an important part of the past history of the school and were the foundation for the spirit of the school in which they were such an important part in the past. 

Principal Cindy M. Istre, faculty and staff invite everyone to attend the programs and visit the school.  There have been many improvements and growth in the school and this is a wonderful opportunity to see first hand the changes and to experience the memories of your time there as a student. Have a great time and we hope for a Notre Dame victory to climax the wonderful homecoming celebration.

“As long as we have memories, yesterday remains.

 As long as we have hope, tomorrow awaits.

 As long as we have love, today is beautiful.”

     Author unknown

WELL-DESERVED HONOR......

There is a record that is envied by all in his profession, and one that brings pride to his school, family and community when  Louie Cook, outstanding Coach at Notre Dame High School,  reached an important milestone in his career!  He has become only the seventh coach in Louisiana history to record 300 career wins with a 51-21 record.  His record of 300 is very special to him since all 300  of them came in Acadia Parish.  Cook coached at Rayne and Crowley before taking the Notre Dame job 20 seasons ago, and he expressed that this honor was more meaningful to him since they were all here in Acadia Parish. 

We watched him during his “growing up” years and knew that he was a very special person with a bright future ahead for him.  His dad and the family were avid sports fans and supported all sports, but especially football and baseball.  We share the pride that everyone feels for this great accomplishment and know that his dad,  mom and other dear family members look down with love and pride for all that he has done for sports, school, community and personal life.  Proud of you Louie and will continue to watch as your compiled w/l record goes even higher!  You are a great coach, but just as important, you are a wonderful role model for our young people as well as being an inspiration to all.  Keep up the good work!

YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY LADIES.....

We are excited to see the young ladies and their achievements with the Rayne High Lady Wolves 2014 Volleyball team.  To see the number of students on the team, to see their wonderful uniforms and to see the talented coaches makes us aware of how far the sport has come in the years since it began at Rayne High School. 

It was a sport just beginning when we taught at Rayne High and organized our first volleyball team for competition.  There were just a few schools participating in the team activity since it was in the early stages of developing into a girls team program.  The school had no money for the girls program, and we used old uniforms that we had worn years ago when we played basketball when we were in high school.  There was no pay for women coaches, nor expenses to go to the out of town games.  We had an enthusiastic and talented, but small team, who played hard and worked hard to develop the skills needed to play the game well.  We took the team to the La. State Volleyball tournament in Baton Rouge, with everyone paying their own way for food and hotel room.  However, it didn’t matter, just to be playing in that competition and watching and learning from other teams was worth it.  We were very proud of our team and came back ready to continue the team in the future years.  

However, we left Rayne High at the end of the school year to continue our education in an out of state program and it was with deep regret that we could not continue with future teams. For that  reason we are so pleased and happy to see that the girls’ sport, volleyball for one, has progressed so far and that the team is doing so well.  Ladies, we follow your progress and pray that you will continue to have a great and successful program. Proud of ya’ll and keep going on your winning path. Geaux Lady Wolves!

GREAT PERFORMANCE ........

We are excited to read the announcement that on Friday, October 24th, at 9 P.M. there will be a once in a life time concert!  Tony Bennett, long time beloved singer, is teaming up with Lady Gaga to have a concert at the Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater in New York.  They will sing selections from their newest collaborative musical album which is one of the hottest in the recent national sales.  This unusual combination of age, personalities, musical backgrounds and voices have resulted in an amazing result.  You will enjoy it so put it on your calendar so that you don’t miss it.

MANY IMPORTANT ELECTIONS

COMING UP ..... 

As the political campaigns move into the final weeks before the election, there are many TV commercials, personal interviews with the candidates, and advertisements in the newspapers, signs up in the community and all other forms of getting their names and messages to the voting public.  We are fortunate that there are many dedicated and community minded  persons vying for offices... These are important offices and should be considered with much thought. It is vital that you study all the candidates, their qualifications, their experience, their vision for the future and make informed decisions.  Don’t just think about your choices, but GET OUT AND VOTE!*

In closing.....

As the fall season is now here with all the wonderful activities at the schools, organizations, churches, scouts, sports, and football.  We are aware of the reasons that this is such a popular time of the year.  Add to those things the cooler weather, the beautiful colors of fall flowers and foliage and it is a great time of the year.  We hope that you will enjoy every minute of it! 

There was more to include this month, however, we were not able to do it.  So we send our apologies and our love to each of you dear friends and faithful readers.  We appreciate you all and know that ya’ll are always in our thoughts and prayers.

“This brings you a million good wishes and more

 For the things you cannot buy in a store---

 Like faith to sustain you in times of trial,

 A joy filled heart and a happy smile,

 Contentment, inner peace, and love ---

 All priceless gifts from God above!

       Helen Steiner Rice

Until next time..........................Adios,

Au revoir, auf wiedersehen