Back to School in LaSalle Parish

Construction on the new building for Jena High School has begun...well, they've removed the ruined part of the school and are preparing to rebuild. I suppose the actual construction is not underway yet.

This photo was taken shortly after the fire that destroyed the main building. It gives me a strange feeling to see my Alma Mater gone and know that something totally different will take its place. I have many memories attached to the old building just like everyone else that roamed the halls of JHS! When I was little I loved to look through the yearbooks and see what was going on at JHS and who was doing what! When I was finally old enough to go there myself I had a ball with my friends. We spent quite a bit of time decorating for dances, painting the casket, the road and the wall. I worked on the annual staff as well and will never forget my times there. We were there sneaking around to paint the road before it was "legal!" I'll never forget the night we did it...Doty, Jennifer, Stacy, Cindy, Linda, Denise...I'm not sure who was there...but I remember sneaking a bucket of Seafoam Green paint from Nana's that was left over from painting her house. Don't ask me how I remember the color, for some crazy reason Seafoam Green just stuck in my head! Some of us went in Jennifer's new car and I kept getting scared that we'd spill some in it! We had a ball, I'm sure we weren't as sneaky as we thought we were... I remember hiding behind the bushes in the front of the school with Denise each time a car would come and giggling our heads off with our hearts pounding! The people passing by probably thought, "Gah...I guess they think they hidden over there!" Anyhow, we weren't too color coordinated with the road. Picture Seafoam Green giant footprints with the words "'84, say no more!" Yeah, you gotta laugh! Hey, but we get points for being creative! Our wall and the casket looked great to us! We used Pink Floyd's "The Wall" as our theme.

My wish for the students there this year and into the future is that their memories be as good and as special to them as mine are to me. Sure, there were some not so great ones, but for the most part, when I think of my friends and teachers there, I smile! To all of them...I think of you often! Get in touch!