Walking With Memories
Part I

THE POST-SIGNAL / Harold Gonzales
Longtime Crowley resident Malcolm "Mac" Millet jots down a few notes while walking down Parkerson Avenue and recalling the history of the various businesses.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was written by Malcolm "Mac" Millet, based on memories from his pre-teen to early teenage years. Many of the people and their family members mentioned, have passed on to their rewards. The primary purpose of this story is to let people know who, what and why what happened before they came on the scene. Most of the information gathered came from keeping my eyes and ears open.)

   Did you ever take a walk on Main Street and wonder what used to be in this or that building? Did it make you think back to who might have built the building and what kind of business was conducted there?
I decided to make that walk.
   It was difficult to remember exactly where some buildings were located and the business that were in them. It may not be the same as some of you may remember, but I am going to put this down to my memories of past.
In my 76 years in Crowley there have been many businesses that have come and gone. Often, I thought some of the older buildings would have some historic interest in the future. You need only to look at two buildings undergoing renovations at this time to realize this has come to pass.
   These buildings are Dixie Hardware and the old Ford Building. Who knows what will be next?
One of the most historical buildings in Crowley is located in the first block of Parkerson, south of the Court Circle.
   This building is presently occupied by Dixie Hardware. Dave Lyons owned the building. The second floor was constructed and designed as an Opera House. In its early days many road shows played at the Opera House. It was designed for silent movies to be played there also. Later, when silent films were passe’, the next talking film were shown. As a young boy I saw "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and my first Bob Steele Western movie at this place.
   Besides the Opera House, the building had several other occupants. As you approached the building going south there were double doors offset under a covering that entered Hanks Saloon. There was no air conditioning so the doors stayed open. You could look into the building and see the long bar that ran from front to back in the saloon. A foot rail ran the length of the bar and also present was a spittoon.
   On the south side of the building, at the corner of Fifth and Parkerson, was another set of double doors. They opened into Sam’s café. This business was owned by Sam Cavys for a number of years. Later Sam’s Café moved across the street.
   The third business operating out of this building was the Greyhound Bus Station. Their office was in the rear of Sam’s Café.
   Many servicemen returning home from World War II were greeted by family here. What a happy place it must have been then!
   After World War II the building was turned into Dixie Hardware and a John Deere Implement Store with Mr. Guy Gardiner, Mr. Villere Hollier and Mr. Milton Miers as partners.
   Going into the next block that is between 5th Street and 4th Street there is a construction site where the old Ford Building was located. This building will soon become the new Crowley City Hall. It was called the Ford Building because Ford automobiles were assembled on the third floor of the building. Parts were shipped from the Ford plant to Crowley and the vehicle was assembled here. After the vehicle was put together it was brought down on the elevator to the first floor where it was sold.
   When the new City Hall is complete it will house two museums. One will be about the cars that were assembled along with the tools and hardware used in this process. The second museum will relate to the music and singers that were recorded and helped by Mr. J.D. Miller during his active years in the music world.
As you move farther south, you pass by the old offices of South Central Telephone. Prior to that time is was the Bruce Theater. The Bruce Theater was the third movie theater in Crowley and was owned by A.J. Broussard. Later, he opened two others in Crowley. One was the Trail Drive In, an outdoor theater that was located on east U.S. 90. The third one was the "Chief" located near the area that is now North Park Shopping Center.
   All three theaters were closed down and the Bruce Theater building is the only one still standing.
Next to that building was the Jumonville Furniture Store. That building was acquired by the Miller brothers and it presently houses their law firm.
   Next are the offices of Miller Recording Studio. This building was constructed by Emile Joseph some years back and housed his men’s clothing store until he moved his business to Lafayette.
   Going past a few smaller buildings would put you in front of the medical offices of Dr. J.W. Faulk, Sr. and his son, J.W. Faulk, Jr. Both doctors attended their patients for many years and Acadia Hospital was conveniently located directly behind their office.
   Several more steps south and you are at Gremillion Drug Store, owned and operated by Wiley Gremillion for many years. Several years back there were businesses located upstairs, above the drug store. As a matter of historic interest, I was told that the first office of former Governor Edwin Edwards had in Crowley was located upstairs in this building.
   Farther south you cross 4th Street and the first building is Teche Electric Store. This building was built by the Maurice Heymann family of Lafayette. Prior to this store, Heymann’s was located on the same block where Bordelon Furniture is now located.
   Heymann’s was a large department store and had just about anything you wanted to purchase, especially in the line of clothing. There was also a grocery department located in the far western end of the building. However, you had to enter the grocery department from outside. The manager of the grocery store was Luke Guidry. Mr. Bert Lehman was the overall manager in the Crowley store.
   I remember growing up at Christmas time the store was decorated and Santa was in the store with his bag of goodies for all the good little boys and girls.
   Another activity that took place around Christmas was the weekly drawings. Several weeks prior to Christmas the store gave out tickets with each purchase. Twice a week drawings were held. Santa and his helpers mounted a platform in the front window and his helpers would pull the numbers from a barrel then the numbers were written to a piece of cardboard and posted inside the window. If you had the winning ticket you would go into the store to claim your prize. Very nice prizes were given away and the closer to Christmas the nicer the prize. They gave away bikes, wagons, scooters, clothes, groceries and money. The drawings always drew a large crowd.
When Heymann’s built the new store and moved one-half block down the street, Morgan and Lindsey’s 5 and 10 moved into the vacated building.
   The old Heymann’s Store then became the Western Auto Store owned by Barney Earles. He had opened the Western Auto Store shortly after World War II in a building by the Anderson Hotel located between First and Second Street on the west side of Parkerson.
   Another building in the block was the Bank of Acadia building. It is the present home of Credeur Credit Corp. However, I feel it was best known for the many years it was Crowley Building and Loan. Many homes were constructed and renovated through loans from this financial institution over the years.
  To continue our walk south we cross 3rd Street and find the old Eckels Pharmacy building that operated for many years. Along with the pharmacy there was a soda fountain with stools and tables. There were many coffee breaks taken at this soda fountain. The store was owned by two brothers, Paul and George Eckel. On the second floor of the building were the offices of Dr. H.L. Gardiner, Sr., who for many years was the team physician for the Crowley Gents. The high school football stadium was named in his honor. Also on the second floor was the dental office of Dr. E.L. Mosley. Until recently the building housed the Family Shoe Store.
  Next door to Eckels Pharmacy was Kober’s Newsstand. You could get a magazine, newspaper or shoe shine there.
  On a personal note, I always thought that Kobers was the Police Station when I was young. There were always Police officers sitting in the chairs of the shoe shine parlor. When Kober closed up in the afternoon, the police had their calls sent to Keller’s Café—more about Kellers Café later.
   Next to Kobers was Clyde Petry’s Jewelry Store and watch repair. When Kobers closed, the building was purchased by Petry’s to expand.
  You then go by the Cinderella Shop and West Brothers Department Store. Cinderella is no longer in business and West Brothers burned down some years back. This property was rebuilt and is now the legal offices of John Craton and Homer Ed Barousse.
  A few steps further south and you are in front of Core Dance Center. This building at one time was part of the old Acadia Movie Theater. The Acadia, along with the Rice Theater, that was built a number of years after the Acadia, were two of the many theaters owned by Southern Amusement Co of Lake Charles. The Acadia was a large theater with a balcony. It also had an orchestra pit down in front and at times held stage shows. Next to the theater was Harrington’s Barber Shop. The barbers were Mr. Felix Harrington, owner and his son Lionel and Emar Guidry.
Next to the barber shop was Bowsky’s, an exclusive women’s dress shop that was in business for many years.
At the end of the block and next to Bowsky’s was Lance Gauthier’s Service Station. Mr. Gauthier was on the corner for many years.
   Now you cross Second Street and the first building you see at the present time is vacant. Some few years back it was Nichol’s Department Store. It had men, women and children’s clothes as well as home items and a large sewing department. Prior to Nichol’s Store, the original store was Kennedy’s Department Store. They too had a line of clothing along with a grocery store and hardware store. One of the things that fascinated the children was the compressed air pipe that sent all bills and money to one place in the store and sent the capsule back with the change inside.
   The last building we come to on the west side of Parkerson is Dr. Breaux’s Drug Store. Dr. Breaux was a pharmacist and was in business a number of years. The pharmacy closed in the 40s and later the Crowley Daily Signal moved their operation there. Sometime after this transaction took place Max Thomas bought a radio station license and set up KSIG on the second floor of the building.
(Next, the east side of Parkerson Avenue from the railroad to the Court Circle)

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