Roy's Knife & Archery Shop

  Roy Matthew Blaum operated Roy's Knife & Archery Shop beginning in 1976. A former sports and news photographer for the Times Picayune and cameraman for WWL-TV in the 1960's,  he was also widely recognized as an outstanding knife maker. 

Roy Blaum playing his guitar was a common sight, along with his wood-carvings, photography exhibit and the wide variety of sporting goods inside his store at 319 North Columbia St., Covington, LA. 

For more information, CLICK HERE for an Inside Northside article about Roy and his shop.

Roy's Knife & Archery Shop, 
Columbia Street, Covington

In May of 2020, Roy made headlines by speaking out about how government-enforced stay-at-home orders due to CoVID did not apply to him and many other business owners. 

Below is a sample of one of the many Blaum photographs that appeared in the Times Picayune Newspaper:

Links of Interest:

Roy Blaum received the Key to the City from Covington Mayor Cooper

Morning Advocate Photo

https://covingtonweekly.com/tag/roy-blaum/

St. Scholastica Priory

The land in the southeast quadrant of the Stafford Road/Smith Road intersection north of Covington was originally homesteaded in the mid-1800's on a land grant given to Joseph Schneyder. The title for the property was recorded in 1890.

The area was the home of St. Benedict's Chapel, one of the first churches in the rural areas northeast of Covington. 

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In the 1930's Schneyder heirs sold some of it to Lester Alexander, who named it "The Flying A Ranch." He was  head of the Alexandria Shipyard and a well-known area industrialist. In 1952 he was listed among the many Covington area civic leaders who were taking part in a fund-raising drive for the Benedictine Sisters.

The shipbuildinghistory.com website provided the following information:

AMERICAN MARINE CORP. New Orleans LA

Lester F. Alexander started this shipyard on the east side of the Industrial Canal in New Orleans, immediately south of the I-10 bridge, before World War II. The yard was a pioneer of the offshore industry, building not only the famous "Breton Rig 20" and John LaBorde's early submersibles but also the first supply boats for Tidewater.  

He was also instrumental in proposing the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet canal.

 Alexander died in 1957.

The property was purchased by the Benedictine Sisters in 1958 and became the group's new Priory. 

The new Priory location became a favorite gathering place for many groups and even weddings. The St. Scholastica Academy 4-H Club would meet there often. Hundreds of visitors from throughout the area enjoyed the grounds and outdoor activities offered by the Priory. 

Original plans for improving the property included moving all the students from the Covington St. Scholastica Academy site to a new Stafford Road location. 

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Funding for the ambitious project proved a challenge, however. The Sisters did move their own group residence from Covington to the Alexander home on the property in 1964.

A 4-H group poses in front of the Flying A Ranch sign. 

The Junior 4-H Club at St. Scholastica Academy was active in a variety of programs, many of which were demonstrated at the Priory grounds. 

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By the early 1960's plans were made for a more modern building to serve a variety of purposes, including a convent, a retreat house, picnic grounds, and hosting other Catholic community events. 

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The property became a favorite stop on Covington's many Spring Fiesta Garden Tours. 

It became the place for Easter Egg hunts, Engaged Encounters, Student Field Days, and SSA Reunions, with an occasional wedding because of the beautiful grounds. The nuns at the Priory were involved in many community projects, from making dolls for area children to handcrafted items for sale in fund-raising drives. 

The Priory hosted conferences and lectures by visiting dignitaries. 

After serving the Catholic community for many years, some of the property was sold to developers and became Terra Maria and Alexander Ridge subdivisions. The frontage on Stafford Road however continued to be owned by the Catholic church and became a nursing home for several years. Most recently that building was converted as a Congregational Center for the Marianites of Holy Cross.

Earlier this year, the Catholic Church re-purchased the additional property to the rear of the congregational center from the developers and is clearing it and making improvements. The first thing the Marianites did was demolish the  large 1965 structure which had been abandoned for decades and fallen into ruin.  

Rodrigue Appointed, Sworn Into Office

 In January of 1961, Julian Rodrigue was sworn into office as Assistant District Attorney, 22nd Judicial District. Judge Steve Ellis performed the ceremony. 

The Northshore's Maritime Legacy

 Last year I wrote a article for the Northshore magazine, a publication of the St. Tammany Parish Tourism and Convention Commission. It gave an overall review of the milestones of the area's rich maritime industry, the many boats and marinas, shipyards, and outstanding pioneers in marine technology. 

Here is that article:

Maritime History of the Northshore

Widely recognized for its many modern marinas that provide safe harbor for thousands of recreational boats, the Northshore also enjoys a rich history of little-known maritime milestones. The lake and rivers once teemed with cargo schooners and passenger steamships, and over the years several shipyards produced hundreds of large vessels for World War I and II, as well as the worldwide petroleum industry.

Columbia Landing, Covington

Early Native Americans glided along the waterways in their dugout canoes, and even went out into the lake to their village on an island in the middle of Lake Pontchartrain more than 500 years ago.

Day sailors cruise the lake daily, carrying on a tradition that began centuries ago. Paintings from the 1800’s often include sailing boats gliding across the lake. The Mandeville yacht club was established as early as 1893, and yacht club regattas frequently transversed the lake back then and continue today.

The Northshore even earned a spot in nautical history when James Rumsey, the inventor of the steamboat, lived on Bayou Rouville in Lacombe beginning in 1774. Working in secret, he used the newly-invented steam engine to design a craft that could move forward against the current. His work continued, first on Pearl River Island just east of the Rigolet sand then in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1787 in the Potomac River at Shepherdstown, WV, he amazed onlookers with this steam-powered watercraft. A park and monument on the bank of the Potomac River recognizes his achievements. He later served as George Washington’s chief engineer.

Horace Lawson Hunley is widely acknowledged as the developer of submarine technology and "the father of submarine warfare." In the mid-1800’s he owned a plantation in Covington and designed three submarines. The first one, built at a foundry in New Orleans, was called the “Pioneer.” After being tested in the lake, it was reportedly scuttled in the Tchefuncte River near Madisonville to keep it out of Yankee hands.

The third submarine built from his designs is credited with the first sinking of an enemy vessel in times of war. That took place in Charleston, SC, harbor.

Meanwhile, back in Lake Pontchartrain, as New Orleans trade activity increased, an ever-growing amount of goods and produce came from the Northshore. This was made possible by dozens of cargo schooners criss-crossing the lake. Demand was so high that between 1842 and 1887, more than 58 sailing vessels were built on the Northshore. The same schooners helped many people escape to the Northshore when outbreaks of yellow fever descended upon the Crescent City.

Southbound trade became so prolific on the lake and through the Rigolets that a number of pirates flourished as well. They would confront vessels laden with items bound for New Orleans, steal their booty, and then go hide out in the Honey Island Swamp. Thousands of dollars’ worth of gold coins, dated 1827, were found buried in that swamp in 1907. Today the Honey Island Swamp is a treasure for hunters and fishermen as well as wildlife enthusiasts who delight in the daily cruises that tour the swamp.

When passenger steamboats made the scene in the late 19th century, they offered daily trips to the Northshore for heat-weary New Orleans residents. Thousands of people enjoyed weekend excursion voyages on these vessels, and beginning in the 1920’s the boats could even accommodate vehicles. Thus the New Orleans workday commute was born. Early on Slidell area residents used a ferry to cross over the Rigolets, but a bridge was built in 1930 that helped bring traffic to and from the Crescent City. Many commuters switched over to the world’s longest bridge, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, in 1956.

In the early 1900’s New Orleans musicians would voyage to Mandeville, paying for their passage on board the excursion boats by providing music for fellow passengers. They would then make the circuit of several music halls across the Northshore to play for dances and parties. The Northshore’s rich musical heritage continues today with riverside concerts in Covington, lakefront symphonic performances, and the ever popular jazz sessions at the Dew Drop Dance Hall in Mandeville.

Area shipyards began with a U.S. Navy shipyard built in the early 1800’s on the Tchefuncte River. Since then, the Northshore has hosted several large shipyards producing a variety of tugboats, barges and cargo ships. Multiple thousands of Northshore men and women have contributed to the expansion of the U.S. merchant maritime fleet as well as warships when needed. During the 20th century, shipyards flourished on Bayou BonFouca in Slidell, Lacombe, and Madisonville. Some are still in operation today.

Among the larger operations were Canulette Shipyards, Southern Shipbuilding, Louisiana Shipyard, all of Slidell, and Jahncke Shipyards and Equitable Equipment Co. both of Madisonville. The Maritime Museum Louisiana was built in the mid-1990’s on the Jahncke worksite. Equitable was the world's largest builder of LASH and SEABEE barges, and the company also built various types of offshore support boats, ocean-going tugs, and other vessels for the petroleum industry. 

Balehi Marine in Lacombe, founded in 1975, was a small operation, but it produced custom-designed boats in steel, aluminum and fiberglass. Towboats and tugboats were its specialty. It was located alongside today’s highly popular Tammany Trace recreational bike trail.

The Northshore maritime legacy continues today with the Wooden Boat Festival in Madisonville. Each October it attracts thousands of boating enthusiasts of all ages, features over one hundred classic boats, and brings in hundreds of spectator boats as well. It is a fund-raising event for the nearby Maritime Museum Louisiana which showcases the state’s many unique contributions to the maritime industry. There visitors find many informative displays focusing on the history of area lighthouses, steamboats, and fishing vessels, as well as a replica of the Pioneer submarine.

Links of interest:

Maritime Museum Update

The Madisonville Lighthouses

Captain Weaver - A Covington Legend

Madisonville Shipyard Historical Event

The Koenig Family of Pearl River

Around 1908 the Koenig family of Pearl River gathered on their front porch for this group photo. 

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Links of Interest:

With Sawmills Came Prosperity

Pearl River Train Station

The First Cotton Bale

  The first cotton bale produced in St. Tammany Parish came from the Pearl River area back in 1926. 

Goodbee Becomes Major Shipping Center

 In 1927 and 1928 St. Tammany strawberry growers throughout the Madisonville area began turning out sizeable crops, and getting those to market was a challenge. But improvements made to the Turnpike Highway up to Goodbee helped, and there the strawberry crop was loaded onto trains bound for Hammond. 

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The train depot in Goodbee saw a significant increase in traffic as a result. It was a win-win for both Madisonville and Goodbee. 

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There was even a "dummy line" railroad spur from Madisonville to Goodbee that helped moved goods back and forth, mainly timber down to the lumber mills in Madisonville.

1935 Topographical Map

Links of Interest:

Turnpike Road Is Built

Country Boy One-Stop

Life on Turnpike Road - Late 1800's

 

Mandeville Mayor 1892

 The mayor of Mandeville first elected in 1892 was Gustave Depre. Here's a photograph of the public servant (he didn't get a salary). 

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Old Mandeville Store

 In 1972 Edgar Sharp, known as the "Old Pelican," submitted this photo of his father's store in Mandeville to the St. Tammany News Banner Newspaper. Click on the image to make it larger.

Text from the photo caption:

A glimpse of Mandeville's history is given us this week by Edgar Sharp in the form of a picture of his father's store taken in 1921. The store was located on Lafitte Steet between Livingston and Monroe, and adjoined the house recently torn down there (their old home).

At that time, Edgar writes, the school was next door (where the Old Gym ball field is now) and the enrollment had reached 250 students. One school bus brought students from Lacombe, two from Lewisburg, and a private car brought the Rauche children and others from Abita. The reason for the two buses from Lewisburg was the the Poitevent and Farve Lumber Company sawmill was in full swing then.

No lunches were served at the school then, and Edgar's mother made 50 ham sandwiches and cheese sandwiches every day. Plain ham was 10 cents dressed ham 15 cents. Coconut pralines were two for a nickel.

Shown in the picture are Mercedese Sharp, age 3, now Mrs. Joseph Dust of Mobile, Edgar Sharp, Sr., Eva Louise Sharp, 6, now Mrs. Sam Willey of Mobile, and the Young Pelican, Edgar Sharp, Jr. In the lot at the right can be seen Ludovic Marange, Sr., unloading a load of fat pine. Price, $1.00.

Over Mr. Sharp's head can be seen a sign advertising 111 cigarettes. The cigarettes of the day were Coupon, Picayune, Virginia Extras. and 111--no others. Another sign shows a man with a wad in his cheek, and the sign notes that it is not a toothache, it is Climax chewing tobacco. Also note the signs advertising Muscadine Punch, a popular soft drink of the day.

Congratulations are in order for Edgar, by the way. He celebrated his birthday on August 7. I won't tell you his age, but he was 11 when this picture was taken.

Another Edgar Sharp Sr. adventure told by Edgar Sharp Jr. ...

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Phelps Family Portrait

 A Phelps Family Photograph showing a multi-generational gathering in the Bush-Folsom road area in 1908. Click on the image to make it larger.