Walking With Memories
Part IV

First Baptist Church at the corner of 4th Street and Avenue H

  (EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the final article written by Malcolm "Mac" Millet in regards to business places and business people in Crowley since it was ushered in by the Dusons in the 1800s.)

We left off at the Chinese Laundry next to the Rice Café. Now we’re going back to the east side of Parkerson and 3rd Street. On this corner is Frosto, a drive-thru eating and gathering place, especially during the summer after baseball games at the recreation parks.
  Most of the teams wind up at Frosto for a treat. Frosto really started with the name Zesto. This was back in 1950 when a man named Ralph Roseland, who was a New Orleans resident and worked for Continental Oil Co., had a franchise for Zesto.
  Mr. Roseland got together with the Lawrence family and built Zesto on the corner of Avenue G and Third Street. The Lawrence’s owned the property it was constructed on. Mr. Roseland was not an in-house manager so he hired a manager. In 1956, he found it necessary to fire the manager, leaving him shorthanded to run his business.
  Mrs. Gus Lafosse, who worked part time at Zesto since about 1950, must have impressed Mr. Roseland because when he decided to sell, he offered it to her. She bought it in about 1956. Lola (Mrs. Lafosse’s daughter) acquired one-half interest in the Zesto about 1968. I’m not quite sure when the name changed from Zesto to Frosto. When Mrs. Lafosse died a few years later, Lola became the owner of Frosto. It was not until 1998 that Lola was able to buy the property that the Frosto was on from the Lawrence family. It was at this time that they were able to expand the business, adding a larger food line.
  Frosto has been in business for some 55 years on the same corner, due mostly to good food, good service and hard work. Lola is still the head honcho, although she is semi-retired. She has turned over some of the management to her son Brandon and his wife, Tammy.
  We leave the Frosto and go across Avenue G to the west side. Heading north on Avenue G, we find only two businesses left on that block. One is the Post Office and the other is Borill’s Upholstery, at the corner of Fourth and Avenue G. Several years ago they had several businesses in between these two.
Nick Broussard has his machine shop on Avenue G – right in the middle of that block. He and Leo Ziegler were machinists in that shop for many years. It was connected to the Cash Auto.
The Cash Auto was in business for many years and was the first 24-hour service station in Crowley. Along with servicing gas and oil, they had automobile parts, tires and other things. Malcolm Kober was manager there for many years. In later years, Mr. Kober worked in the assessor’s office at the Court House.
Next to the Cash Auto on 4th Street, was Acadia Battery Station, which was owned by Gary Bergeron. Mr. Bergeron also owned Cash Auto. Mannie, his brother, was the bulk Texaco dealer of Crowley and vicinity. They serviced the Cash Auto with Texaco gas.
Going on down on the west side of Fourth Street, next to the Battery Station, was Frank Atwood’s Machine Shop. They were in business in that location for many years and later moved to South Eastern Avenue just across the railroad tracks.
We can jump across the street to Fourth Street and head back to Avenue G. We already discussed Kim Hayes’ building on the corner in a previous article. Next to that is an empty parking lot that once housed a Blacksmith Shop owned and operated by Lefty Hoag. I my younger days, I would sit there and watch Mr. Hoag pattern horse shoes and many types of harnesses and things that you couldn’t buy over the counter anywhere. It was so fascinating to watch him work. He always had his embers hot as they could be and he added air to them when he needed to.
Next to the parking lot, you have the old Stamm-Raymond Dodge and Plymouth Dealership. In part of this building is Dartez Small Engine Repairs. At one time, the Acadia Battery Station was in this building and when they moved, Leleux Appliances moved in and is still there.
As you make a northerly turn, in the middle of the block between Fourth and Fifth Street was the Regal Beer Distributing center for this area. I think Mr. Dave Mitchell managed that operation. It was a large brick building. The Regal Beer Trucks from New Orleans would travel down to Crowley and deliver the stock for this area.
On that corner of Fifth Street stands the Evangeline State Bank. The Louisiana Bank was there before and prior to that, Dr. Ranson Nocton ran his practice on that corner. Dr. Nocton lost his life in a fire on that corner many years ago.
Make a left turn from Avenue G onto Fifth Street, pass the bank and you come to Broussard, Poche, Lewis and Breaux. At one time that area housed livery stables. I think there may have been two of them there. I know one was for Mr. Lackey, who had his livery stable in that area. If I recall correctly, the first time the Budweiser Clydesdales appeared at the Rice Festival they were housed there. It was at one of the first Rice Festivals, around the late 30s. I can remember, as a young boy, playing marbles in the park by my home on Seventh Street. Mr. Lackey would walk through the park and stop to watch us shoot marbles. He would often stop and ask us to borrow our shooting star and play with us. He would bend at his knees and shoot from his knee. Of course he wiped out many a ring of marbles-which he never kept. He always gave them back, thank goodness.
Besides the livery stables on Fifth Street, between Avenue G and Parkerson, there was another stable. I am told it was where City Hall now sits. I think it was a Mr. Hebert that had a livery stable there.
Back up on Second Street, on the west side, there was another livery stable and this one was owned by Mr. Duval. I think his first name was Frank. Later on, Mr. Garland "Singer" Rue opened a fruit and vegetable stand where the livery stable once was. He also sold small animals and birds. I can remember going to Mr. Rue’s to buy fruit. As kids we always wanted to make a pass on the inside of the barn to check out the animals. Garland got the name "Singer" when he operated a Singer Sewing Machine Shop for many years. After he closed his fruit stand he moved across the street, right down the block a few steps, and continued his sewing machine business.
Coming back down to Avenue G and Fifth Street, you have on the eastern corner a building that was originally set up as a gas station. I think it was a Cities Service Station. When the station closed, Mr. Bennett Landry took the station over for his insurance company. Prior to that service station being built, that corner served for many years as the site of First Baptist Church of Crowley. When a new church was built at Avenue H and Fourth Street, the old church was sold to the Church of the Nazarene. They used it for a number of years until they built a new church on Northern Avenue.
I have enjoyed writing these articles because it has given me time to reflect on the years when I was growing up in the City of Crowley. I would also like to thank the people who came to Crowley in the early years and decided to stay, go into business and raise their families here. They are the true backbone of our city and should be complimented.
I could not have asked for a better place to raise my family!
And finally…
There are two last things I would like to write about.
I’m sure many of you remember the "Bonnet Man" but for those who don’t I will try to enlighten you.
Remember the song "The Streak," well Crowley had it’s own version of the streaker called the “Bonnet Man." He never harmed anyone, that I know of, but he certainly caused a lot of excitement. He would don an old-time sun bonnet then strip off his clothes and run around Crowley in nothing but his hat. I checked at the Police Station and they have no record of him ever being arrested. I don’t even know if anyone found out the identity of the "Bonnet Man."
About the same time, in the late 30’s, or early 40s, there was also a Peeping Tom in Crowley known as the "Pie Man."
Back in those days, most people did not have air-conditioning in their homes and consequently at night they would leave their windows open. This allowed the Peeping Tom to peer inside of their home.
I’m sure there were many a person that yelled, "The Pie Man is here, the Pie Man is here."
You may ask how did he get the name "Pie Man."
Towards the end of the Depression they were still selling things on the street like small pies, cookies, cakes and the like. Apparently some of the peeping toms resembled one or more of the people selling pies. That is how the Peeping Tom got the name "Pie Man."
It was thought there was more than one Peeping Tom, but they were all still known as the “Pie Man.”
I just thought I would throw those last two stories in for lagniappe.

Frosto at the corner of 3rd Street and Avenue G

Crowley Post Signal • 602 North Parkerson Avenue • Crowley, LA
Ph: 337-783-3450 • Fax: 337-788-0949