‘70 for 70’ history project: A groundbreaking moment, annotated
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Note: This article is part of “70 for 70,” a weekly series of history posts counting down to St. Tammany Health System’s 70th anniversary on Dec. 1, 2024. Today we offer installment No. 3: A groundbreaking moment, annotated.
Local dignitaries and leaders of the effort to build a hospital in Covington gather in May 1953 for the groundbreaking of St. Tammany Parish Hospital. Scroll down for the identities of each person pictured. (Photo from STHS archives)
Walk into the Communications Department at St. Tammany Health System, and one of the first things you’re likely to notice hanging on the wall is a vintage photo taken at the 1953 groundbreaking for St. Tammany Parish Hospital.
People who visit the office always seem drawn to it. That makes us happy, as we hung the photo as a tribute to our founders, those determined Tammanyites who worked so tirelessly to establish the hospital all those decades ago.
Today’s installment of “70 for 70” spotlights a slightly different photo taken at the same event.
70 for 70, installment No. 3: A groundbreaking moment, annotated
Today’s artifact: A photo of 23 people taken at the May 1953 groundbreaking for St. Tammany Parish Hospital.
Why it’s significant: It took a lot of people and several years for the hospital to finally become reality. Many of the names of those involved in what was a true community-wide effort have since been lost to history. But thanks largely to the charming, hand-written notes on the page to which today’s photo is taped, everyone in it is identified.
Below, find an annotated version of the photo, in which we provide information on the people who were there for that groundbreaking moment.
1. Louis Voss, a member of the Covington City Council.2. Archie R. Singletary of Pearl River, the Ward 6 representative on the St. Tammany Parish Police Jury.3. James A. Thompson, the Ward 3 representative on the parish Police Jury.4. Eugene Esquinance of Mandeville, the Ward 4 representative on the parish Police Jury.5. Joseph Stein of Madisonville, the Ward 1 representative on the parish Police Jury and its Hospital Committee.6. Fred Mizell, president of the parish Police Jury. Mizell would be the person to turn over the keys of the hospital to hospital board Chairman Oliver Hebert (No. 11) upon the structure’s completion at a dedication ceremony on Nov. 28, 1954.7. Eugene McIntyre of Covington, the Ward 2 representative on the parish Police Jury.8. Norma Core, who, as a leader of the Women’s Progressive Union of Covington, was one of the first voices to rally the community behind the idea of a establishing a hospital in Covington. Later, she would become a member of the inaugural St. Tammany Parish Hospital Board of Commissioners. She’s also presumably the Norma mentioned in the note at the bottom right of the photo that reads, “Norma says keep.” (We kept it, Norma!)9. Lucille Glisson, a local civic activist and businesswoman who would later be named the first president of the St. Tammany Parish Library board.10. Walter Clairain, of Abita Springs, the Ward 10 representative on the parish Police Jury.11. Oliver Hebert (holding shovel), chairman of the inaugural St. Tammany Parish Hospital Board of Commissioners and a tireless advocate for creation of the hospital.12. Ivy A. Champagne of Covington, chairman of the parish Police Jury’s Hospital Committee.13. Gus A. Fritchie Sr., a Slidell lawyer and the brother of longtime Slidell Mayor Homer Fritchie. About a decade after this photo was taken, Gus Fritchie would become Slidell’s very first city court judge, a position he would hold until his death in 1971. Slidell’s Fritchie Park is named after the Fritchie family. 14. Hubert A. Davis of Slidell, the Ward 9 representative on the parish Police Jury and a member of its Hospital Committee.15. August “Gus” Perez Jr., a noted New Orleans architect whose firm was hired to design the original St. Tammany Parish Hospital building.16. Jack Tannehill, editor of the St. Tammany Farmer newspaper, an early and vocal champion of the move to build a hospital in Covington.17. Cecile Hebert, the wife of hospital board President Oliver Hebert, she was an unofficial historian of the hospital’s early days, chronicling the local efforts and collecting news clippings about it as early as 1951. 18. Geo. A. Broom of Slidell, the Ward 9 representative on the parish Police Jury who in 1963 would be elected sheriff, a position he held until 1980.19. The Rev. Baxter Ponds, the longtime pastor at First Baptist Church in Covington, he delivered the closing benediction for the groundbreaking ceremonies.20. Jesse Bankston, a former state hospital head who served as a consultant for the Covington hospital project.21. The Rev. Timothy Pugh, a priest from St. Peter Church, he delivered the invocation for the day. He also delivered the invocation at the dedication of the hospital some 18 months later, on Nov. 28, 1954.22. Dr. M.J. Duplantis, one of the inaugural members of the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Board of Commissioners and a member of the hospital’s medical staff upon its opening in December 1954.23. L.L. Landon, secretary of the parish Police Jury and an inaugural member of the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Board of Commissioners.
1. Louis Voss, a member of the Covington City Council.
2. Archie R. Singletary of Pearl River, the Ward 6 representative on the St. Tammany Parish Police Jury.
3. James A. Thompson, the Ward 3 representative on the parish Police Jury.
4. Eugene Esquinance of Mandeville, the Ward 4 representative on the parish Police Jury.
5. Joseph Stein of Madisonville, the Ward 1 representative on the parish Police Jury and its Hospital Committee.
6. Fred Mizell, president of the parish Police Jury. Mizell would be the person to turn over the keys of the hospital to hospital board Chairman Oliver Hebert (No. 11) upon the structure’s completion at a dedication ceremony on Nov. 28, 1954.
7. Eugene McIntyre of Covington, the Ward 2 representative on the parish Police Jury.
8. Norma Core, who, as a leader of the Women’s Progressive Union of Covington, was one of the first voices to rally the community behind the idea of a establishing a hospital in Covington. Later, she would become a member of the inaugural St. Tammany Parish Hospital Board of Commissioners. She’s also presumably the Norma mentioned in the note at the bottom right of the photo that reads, “Norma says keep.” (We kept it, Norma!)
9. Lucille Glisson, a local civic activist and businesswoman who would later be named the first president of the St. Tammany Parish Library board.
10. Walter Clairain, of Abita Springs, the Ward 10 representative on the parish Police Jury.
11. Oliver Hebert (holding shovel), chairman of the inaugural St. Tammany Parish Hospital Board of Commissioners and a tireless advocate for creation of the hospital.
12. Ivy A. Champagne of Covington, chairman of the parish Police Jury’s Hospital Committee.
13. Gus A. Fritchie Sr., a Slidell lawyer and the brother of longtime Slidell Mayor Homer Fritchie. About a decade after this photo was taken, Gus Fritchie would become Slidell’s very first city court judge, a position he would hold until his death in 1971. Slidell’s Fritchie Park is named after the Fritchie family.
14. Hubert A. Davis of Slidell, the Ward 9 representative on the parish Police Jury and a member of its Hospital Committee.
15. August “Gus” Perez Jr., a noted New Orleans architect whose firm was hired to design the original St. Tammany Parish Hospital building.
16. Jack Tannehill, editor of the St. Tammany Farmer newspaper, an early and vocal champion of the move to build a hospital in Covington.
17. Cecile Hebert, the wife of hospital board President Oliver Hebert, she was an unofficial historian of the hospital’s early days, chronicling the local efforts and collecting news clippings about it as early as 1951.
18. Geo. A. Broom of Slidell, the Ward 9 representative on the parish Police Jury who in 1963 would be elected sheriff, a position he held until 1980.
19. The Rev. Baxter Ponds, the longtime pastor at First Baptist Church in Covington, he delivered the closing benediction for the groundbreaking ceremonies.
20. Jesse Bankston, a former state hospital head who served as a consultant for the Covington hospital project.
21. The Rev. Timothy Pugh, a priest from St. Peter Church, he delivered the invocation for the day. He also delivered the invocation at the dedication of the hospital some 18 months later, on Nov. 28, 1954.
22. Dr. M.J. Duplantis, one of the inaugural members of the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Board of Commissioners and a member of the hospital’s medical staff upon its opening in December 1954.
23. L.L. Landon, secretary of the parish Police Jury and an inaugural member of the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Board of Commissioners.
Do you have a St. Tammany Parish Hospital story or object to share? We’d love to hear about it! Email us at CommDept@stph.org.
Next week – Installment No. 4: The face(s) of St. Tammany Parish Hospital
Last week – Installment No. 2: Blueprints for success