HELP! HELP! HELP!

WE NEED YOUR HELP COLLATING THE QUARTERLY THIS THURSDAY, 26 APRIL 2007, AT 1:00 p.m. AT THE NORTH BRANCH MEETING ROOM. 

TRY TO BE EARLY SO WE CAN FINISH EARLY.

     Did you know we had a couple of first-class chefs preparing our snacks at the general meetings? Anyone who tasted that Lemon Cream Meringue Pie at the last meeting would not be surprised, would they? Both Dorothy MOTT BERGERON and Marceline LANDRY CAVALIER submitted notable recipes to the annual Bayou Gourmet Cookoff sponsored by the Houma, Louisiana, and Thibodaux, Louisiana, newspapers; The Courier and Daily Comet. Their recipes were published in a special section of those newspapers on April 8, 2007. Dorothy won third place for her recipe for Oriental Meal-in-One which she entered in the “Healthy Eating” category. Want to try it? Get 8 ounces angel hair spaghetti, 1 ½ pounds chicken breast (boneless and skinless), cut into bite size pieces, salt and pepper, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 2 pounds frozen oriental stir fry vegetables with sauce packet, 2 tablespoons sweet and sour sauce, and 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds. Those are all the ingredients. Sounds good, so far. Now, boil your spaghetti in salted water, according to the package directions, drain and set it aside. In a large wok or large skillet, sauté chicken in sesame oil until no longer pink. About 15 minutes. Stir in vegetables and sauté until tender crisp, about 8 minutes. Add contents of sauce packet and sweet and sour sauce and heat through about 8 to 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning. Stir in spaghetti and sesame seeds and serve hot. Makes 8 to 10 servings. Doesn’t that sound good? And easy? And you could serve it to a small crowd. And, if they don’t finish it, you could probably save the leftovers for another small meal. Whaddya say? Want to try it? Let us know how it came out. The other recipes were in the “Desserts and Candy” category, so you don’t really want to try them, do you? If you do, email me. Caramel Praline and Louisiana Pecan Coconut Treat were the other recipes. And I should mention that these two are only the members I know about. There may have been others. If so, I’d love to know about it. Getting back to the meeting, our illustrious president, Phil CHAUVIN Jr., had a surprise for two officers — hand-turned gavels for the vice-president, Ed HICKS, and the treasurer, Nancy L. WRIGHT. They were very impressed by the workmanship and touched by the gift. Phil also invited the officers and charter members to reminisce about the early days of the society 25 years ago. Each told about when and why they joined. Nancy was in on the small informal group that gave birth to the Terrebonne Genealogical Society. Audrey WESTERMAN remembers the difficulty of putting together a quarterly and its index in those days with early computers. Charter member Gloria GRAVOIS HICKS said she was awed and won over by the friendly meetings and research possibilities offered by Terrebonne Parish library and TGS.
     At our next meeting we will have a guest speaker in to talk about her book. Juliet HENRY lives in South Louisiana with her husband, Willis. She is the mother of five grown children. Her home is forty miles as the crows fly from Last Island, the island in her novel. Having lived in the area all her life, she is very familiar with hurricanes and life on the southern coast of Louisiana bayou country. The name of her book is In the Shadows of the Trade Winds and concerns some members of the VOISIN family and their experiences on Last Island. Juliet got interested in writing a book after doing some genealogical research. For a short excerpt of the book, visit the book’s website at www.juliethenrybook.comDEATHS: Member Patricia Ann BABIN McCONIGA born 11 January 1925, New Orleans, LA, died 30 March 2006 in Hagerstown, MD. She was the daughter of Lionel T. BABIN and Millicent FORBES, and widow of Cecil F. McCONIGA who died 7 September 1992. She was an accomplished businesswoman, and, along with her husband, owned and operated a Dunkin Donuts franchise from 1969 to 1979. She was an active member of several clubs while living in Summerland Manor and served as treasurer on the board of directors for two years. She was also a block captain for her community and was a member of the Friday Social Group, the Condo Club and Women in Touch. She was always willing to provide transportation for her friends. In addition to her  activities at Summerland, she was an active member of the Cavetown Homemakers Club with her dear friend Ernie ASHTON. She is survived by her daughters; Beverly J. DAVID and husband, Carrie J. WALTER and husband, Deborah M. STALEY and husband, and Ellen B. BOWERS and husband; and five grandchildren.
      Former member Elward Thomas BRADY Jr., a native of New Orleans and resident of Bayou Dularge, died Friday, 6 April 2007. He was buried in Magnolia Cemetery. He is survived by his wife, Barbara ROBICHAUX BRADY; one daughter, Ellie BRADY SKILLMAN; one son, Timothy Patrick BRADY and wife, Joyce NAQUIN BRADY; one sister, Joycelyn BRADY COOK; and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father, Elward Thomas BRADY; his mother, Elmire Louise KRANZ BRADY; and one brother, Ray Richard BRADY. He represented District 52 in the state House of Representatives, and received the Louisiana Cross of Merit for his efforts to help save Morgan City during the flood of 1973. He founded Brady Diesel, L.L.C., a Houma-based diesel engine repair company, after he retired as president of Brady Engine Co. of Houma. He was a founding president of the Terrebonne Savings and Loan Association and a former member of the board of directors of First National Bankshares and First National Bank of Houma. His many accomplishments  are listed in his obituary in The Courier at the following website: http://www.houmatoday.com /apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070408/OBITUARIES/704080320&SearchID=73278284141599 or this one: http://www.houmatoday.com /apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070408/NEWS/704080322&SearchID=73278284141599 
  
BRICK WALL: We received this email recently: “The latest newsletter has inspired me to send Audrey my brick wall.
     “My GGG Grandmother, Ann McCullen is my brick wall. She is buried in Christ Church Cemetery, Napoleonville, having died on 17 February 1849 at Elm Hall Plantation, near Napoleonville.
     “Her husband, Henry Kelley, had died at sea (in the Gulf of Mexico) aboard the Parthenon on 25 July 1841. (His final years are another mystery to me. He had been in Illinois. What path brought him to a ship in the Gulf? And was he buried at sea? But that's a whole other story.)
“Anyway, Ann is buried (along with her son Henry) in the Kittredge Tomb, which I assume is because her daughter Ann was married to Dr. Kittredge. When did the Kelley's arrive in Louisiana, and why? And is there any clue as to where Ann started out?
     “Her daughter Lucy married Gilmore Franklin Connely, and the rest is relatively straightforward.
“Over the years, my Himel and Barton lines have all come home to roost, but the Ann McCullen/Henry Kelley generation still baffles me.
     “Thank you for any help that can be given.
     Jack Idenden, Belvidere, NJ”
     The address we have is P.O.Box 214, Belvidere, NJ 07823; the email address mreye (at) comcast (dot) com or phone (908) 453-2013 (no collect calls, please).