St. Paul's Wolves 1970

 In 1970, this was the football team at St. Paul's High School in Covington. 

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Community Historical Highlights

A presentation of the historical highlights of several St. Tammany communities was given at a Covington Chamber of Commerce Auxiliary meeting back in September of 1968. Here is the newspaper article sharing the interesting insights shared by members of the each town's pioneer families. 

Click on the above article to make it larger and more readable. 

Wallace Laird

     One of the first people I met when I began my newspaper career in St. Tammany Parish (back in 1972) was Wallace Laird, Chief Deputy for the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office. 

He was always willing to fill in the details of some article I was writing on deadline, and pictures of him were featured in the news media on a regular basis, due to his line of work.

I was sad to hear this week that he died on June 29, 2026. According to his obituary Wallace was born on December 30, 1938, in Folsom, Louisiana, to Joseph Samuel Laird and Lilda Bryant Laird . He was raised on his family’s farm in Folsom, and his name appeared frequently  in local newspapers with him showing beef and dairy cattle at area livestock shows.

Wallace Laird

He attended Covington High School before continuing his education at Southeastern Louisiana University. Married in 1960 to Sylvia Sydney “Sue” Champagne Laird, their partnership spanned 65 years. He was active with the National Guard and the Covington Jaycees. In 1961, Laird began what would become an extraordinary and distinguished career in law enforcement when he was hired by Sheriff Red Erwin as a deputy with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office.

This marked the beginning of more than 44 years of dedicated service to the people of St. Tammany Parish — a career defined by leadership, integrity, and  commitment to protecting and serving his community.

When George Broom was elected Sheriff in 1964, Wallace was appointed head of the Criminal Division and later promoted to Chief Deputy, a position he proudly held for the remainder of his career. 

He would go on to serve under Sheriff Pat Canulette and later Sheriff Jack Strain.

In 1962, Wallace became one of the first K-9 officers in the parish, embracing the innovation in law enforcement. His dog's name was "Bolt." Laird also attended Louisiana State University’s School of Criminology and the LSU Law Enforcement Institute.

Click on the above article to make it larger and more readable. 

In 1968, at only 29 years old, Wallace was selected to attend the FBI National Academy in Washington, D.C. — becoming the first officer from St. Tammany Parish ever chosen and the youngest graduate in his class of more than one hundred officers.

In 1972 he was honored for his efforts in Litter Clean Up Programs.

His impact reached far beyond Louisiana. In 1987, Wallace was appointed to the Executive Board of Regional Organized Crime Information Center (ROCIC), a national organization created to support law enforcement collaboration against organized criminal activity. In 1989, he was elected Chairman, helping lead efforts during a critical era when organized crime groups posed major threats throughout the Southeast.

In 1992, Wallace was elected as the first voting deputy in the State of Louisiana to be elected to serve on the Louisiana Sheriff’s Pension Fund Board. He faithfully served in this role for three years, helping represent and protect the interests of law enforcement officers throughout the state.

From left to right: Sheriff George Broom, Deputies Tom Davis, George Duck, John Galloway and Chief Deputy Wallace Laird.

Over the course of his career, Wallace witnessed tremendous change in law enforcement. He built lifelong friendships and helped countless people in times of need.

Laird was a longtime member of Red Bluff Baptist Church, where he served through his gift of  music. Blessed with an extraordinary singing voice, he was a proud member of the church choir and quartet. He was a lifelong sports enthusiast who proudly supported the LSU Tigers and the Covington High Lions.

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Other Articles of Interest:

The History of the Sheriff's Office

Sheriff's Dept. Establishes K-9 Corps in 1962

Sheriff's Horse Posse

Cavendish Portrays McGruff, The Crime Dog

History of St. Tammany 1926 Article

  One hundred years ago, in 1926, the St. Tammany Farmer newspaper of Covington published a lengthy article written by Flores Ford Meagher that told the detailed history of St. Tammany Parish. It began the story with the colonization of Louisiana by the French. 

Below is a link to a PDF file that contains the entire article, in book form. Click on the link to read the book and download it to your computer. 

CLICK HERE to view the History of St. Tammany Article

Siphoning Water From Bogue Chitto to Send to New Orleans

 Remember the 1973 plan to use the Bogue Chitto River as a water source to pipe fresh water to New Orleans? That idea was really unpopular. 

They were talking about building a reservoir in Tylertown, MS, to store the water, then channel it down the Bogue Chitto to Sun where it would be put in a 72 inch diameter pipeline to send it to New Orleans. 

Here are some news articles.

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Elementary Students in 1957

 Here is a picture of a first grade classroom at Covington Elementary School in 1957.

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Junior Civitan Club Formed

 In January of 1973, fifty-three years ago, the Covington Civitan Club helped establish the first Junior Civitan Club in the State of Louisiana. Click on the article below to make it larger and more readable. 

Bridge Under Construction

 In January of 1973, some fifty-three years ago, the bridge that would carry Interstate 12 over the Tchefuncte River south of Covington was under construction. Click on the picture below to make it larger. 

Names of Vietnam War Casualties

 In January of 1973, the Vietnam War ended and the Department of Defense released a list of names of those service members from St. Tammany and Washington Parishes who died in the conflict. Here is the newspaper article that reported the names of those 13 men from St. Tammany. 

Click on the image below to make it larger. 

1992 Scarecrow Festival Video

 Here is some video from the 1992 Scarecrow Festival in Covington, LA, with the naming of the results of the Miss Covington pageant. Mayor Keith Villere was featured in the dunking booth. Click on the "Play Triangle" to watch the video. 

  Click here to watch the video on YouTube