The Whitney Bank branch at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and 21st Avenue in Covington was housed in an attractive brick building for many years. It closed a few years ago and a traffic circle was built in front of it.
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Saturday, July 13, 2024
Covington 1970
Here's an aerial photograph of the Covington area taken in 1970. Click on the image to make it larger.
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Donis Jenkins
Donis Jenkins, a well known Covington resident , passed away on July 4, 2024, after a life of serving in many different capacities in many different civic clubs and organizations. She was born in New Orleans in 1923 and died at 101 years of age.
In 1972, she took part in the "Discover St. Tammany Tour" held by the St. Tammany Parish Fair Association, along with Ralph Privette, Mayor Ernest Cooper and Rick Webb of WARB. (Photo by Ron Barthet)
Donis Jenkins
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She coordinated many of the Miss St. Tammany Pageants
For 30 years she worked as an occupational therapist at Southeast Louisiana Hospital in Mandeville, retiring in 1982. After retiring, she enjoyed serving as a volunteer at the St. Tammany Parish Hospital for 17 years.
She was one of eight children born to Mamie Willie and Ellis Jourdan. When she was five years old, the family moved to Folsom where she attended school, later going to Lyon High School in Covington. After graduation, she went to work for Barton Hebert, and she married Lee Roy Jenkins in 1942. They had two children, Lee Roy Jr. and Raymond.
Jenkins was a member of First Baptist Church in Covington, where she was on the building committee.
Registering for Jury Duty
Arts and Crafts Division Chairman
St. Tammany Parish Fair
St. Tammany pageants chairman
In the above photo, taken in 2016, Donis congratulates artist Suzanne King for her St. Tammany Parish Fair Poster.
Member of the church choir at First Baptist Church
A participant in many community service groups, she was a member of the Covington Garden Club, past vice president of the St. Tammany Parish Fair Association, and oversaw the fair's arts and crafts division. She is best known as director of Miss St. Tammany and Jr. Miss St. Tammany beauty pageants, a post she held for 12 years. She also served as chaperone for Miss St. Tammany in the state pageant.
In 1984, she was part of the group presenting Rick Webb of WARB with a fair poster, congratulating him for his many years of service to the fair. The fair that year was dedicated to Webb. Donis is third from left in the above photograph.
She was perhaps best known for her work with the Covington Business and Professional Women chapter which elected her president in 1969 as well as giving her the "Woman of the Year" honor. She was treasurer of Alpha House Day Care Center and also treasurer of the West St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce Auxiliary.
According to her obituary found on the Fielding Funeral Home website, she enjoyed serving in various offices in multiple associations such as the Alpha House Day Center, West St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce Auxiliary, and the St. Tammany Art Association.
Her hobbies include sewing, making quilts and beautiful silk magnolias. She was passionate about gardening, flower arranging, and crafting. Her fruits and vegetables were always canned and distributed to friends and family.
In 2011-2012, she chaired the Cleanest City Contest and served as the Executive Board Chairman. She worked diligently for the Covington Cemetery Fence project and the organization was successful at completing the needed fencing.
She has held every office and board position and was chairman of 30 committees in the Covington Garden Club.
Churning Butter in 1961
Sixty-three years ago, in 1961, children at the 22nd Avenue Kindergarten found out how much work it was to churn butter the old-fashioned way.
Click on the image to make it larger.
Monday, July 8, 2024
It's Another Beautiful Day
The building on the north side of Covington Center Drive, between the La. Social Services Child Welfare Office and the red old tire store building has a new tenant, the It's A Beautiful Day cafe and health food emporium. The business is an offshoot of a long successful store down in Mandeville, which is situated in front of the driver's license bureau on North Causeway Approach.
The new Covington location features a lunch counter, several tables, and offers a variety of sandwiches, healthy drinks and desserts.
Formerly the home of Aiavolasiti's Bakery, the location was originally occupied by Pasquale's Pizza Place on the northern edge of the Bogue Falaya Shopping Plaza.
Aiavolasiti's Bakery
Monday, July 1, 2024
Phone Service Debuts in St. Tammany
The year 1884 was the year that telephone service came to St. Tammany Parish. Here is a collection of articles from the summer of 1884 that reveal the excitement that went from community to community as the "telephone line" was connected and opened up voice communications with the rest of the world.
The first phone line was between Mandeville and Lacombe. That phone line was extended from Lacombe to BonFouca, and then a few months later, on to Slidell. Once the line got to Slidell, it could offer calls to New Orleans and other places around the world.
Covington to Mandeville was added a month or so later, with Abita Springs and Madisonville not far behind.
Click on the articles below to make them larger.
May 26, 1884
Covington didn't want to be left out of the coming of telephone communications.
Click on the images to make them larger and more readable.
Text from the above article is given below:
Tammany Farmer- W. G. KENTZEL, Editor (Official Journal of St. Tammany)
TELEPHONE LINE
The communication of Col. Geo. Moorman, in another column, shows what steps have already been taken to place our parish in direct communication with the outside world. Covington, the most important town in the parish, is not included in the telephone circuit, so far as the present arrangements are concerned, but a proposition is made to extend the line to our town.
We have no doubt our citizens will view this important matter in the proper light, and take immediate steps to secure an extension of the line to Covington. The subject has been discussed here for several years, and in May, 1880, a telegraph company was formed, subscriptions taken, and finally the stockholders held a meeting and elected the following officers: President, J. Cahier; Treasurer, J. E. Smith; Secretary, H. J. Smith.
At that time the question of building the Northeastern Railroad was being agitated, and as it was thought by some that the road might pass this way, further action was postponed, to see whether or not the railroad company would build a line. Since that time nothing has been done and no meetings have been held.
We believe a sufficient sum was subscribed in 1880 to construct a telegraph line from Covingtou to Pontchatoula, and the former subscribers will doubtless look with favor on the present proposition, to extend the telephone line from Mandeville to Covington. The distance is only teu miles, and we do not think it will cost as much as the sum named by Col. Moorman.
The incalculable advantage and vast importance of this enterprise should enlist the hearty support of our citizens, and no time should be lost in making the necessary arrangements, so that the line may be completed as soon as possible. It will be an additional attraction to induce summer visitors to spend the season here, and will prove a great convenience to our merchants and business men, and the public generally.
We have no doubt the officers formerly elected would still consent to act, and we suggest that President Cahier call a Meeting of the old subscribers without delay, so that the question may be fully considered, and a committed appointed to raise the necessary amount and communicate with Col. Moorman. on the subject.
Scarcely a day passes but the urgent need of a telegraph or telephone line is not felt by some one, and this is our opportunity to secure it. Let us take advantage of it at once, if we hope to see our town prosper. It will be a proud day for the Farmer, and all our citizens, when we can proclaim that Covington is connected by telephone and telegraph with New Orleans and the rest of the world.
End of Article
May 31, 1884
To show the citizens' renewed interest, another subscription list was started.
June 6, 1884
News that had been arriving by telegraph was now starting to come via telephone.
June 18, 1884
Mandeville was connected to Lacombe and wasted no time in making a friendly call.
Text from the above article:
THE FIRST MESSAGE - TELEPHONE
MANDEVILLE'S GREETING TO BAYOU LACOMBE.
MANDEVILLE. LA., June 18, 1884.
As a matter of interest to the readers of the Farmer, we desire to inform them that the Telephone Line in St. 'Tammany parish is an assured fact. At 6:10 p.m. on the 17th inst. Mr. Packard, the skilled electrician and Superintendent of the line announced, by a signal from Bayou Lacombe, that the line was in working order to that point.
The President of the line requested him to send for Mr. Chas. Aubry, the leading citizen of Bayou Lacombe, who has done so much to forward the interests of the company, as he desired that the first message sent over the line should should be addressed to him. At 7 pm, Mr. Aubry informed Col. Moorman that he was at the telephone and following message was sent, and reply immediately received:
To Mr. Chas. Aubry, Bayou Lacombe
It is proper that the first message sent over the over the St. Tammany Telegraph and Telephone Line, and the greeting sent from Mandeville to Bayou Lacombe, should be addressed to you, as a partial acknowledgement of your disinterested and untiring labors for the success and completion of the line, and of your generous services, tendered without compensation, and with a view to benefit your community, which should entitle you to the thanks and good wishes of your fellow citizens, as well as to the gratitude of all the stockholders of the company.
The Shady Beach City, with pride and pleasure, greets the romantic Bayou Village, and congratulates her that she is the first place, amid St. Tammany's sighing pines and unrivalled woodland groves, with which lightning converse is held, and to enjoy the presence and benefits of this grand and useful electric power, discovered by Franklin and utilized by Edison, in which the genius and the powers of man have marked, "with magic and art profound, the speed of light, the circling march of sound."
Geo. Moorman, President
Reply
Your complimentary message and hearty greeting, from the Shady Beach City, both to myself and the Bayou Village, is received with grateful feelings. We trust that the advent of the Telephone will make a new era in our parish, and lead to other needed improvements which will bring us population, enhance the price of property, and assist us to market our products.
I am ready, when called upon. to give any additional assistance to the Telephone Line, or any other work which will develop our resources or improve our parish.
Charles Aubry.
The line is in such perfect order that the sound of a hammer upon a log, the barking of a dog in the vicinity of the Telephone at Bayou Lacombe, and the ticking of a watch placed at the instrument could all be distinctly heard at Mandeville, a distance of 10 miles.
The submarine cable is being placed across Bayou Lacombe today, and the work will be pushed on to Bonfouca and Slidell. Vidette.
End of article
June 28, 1884
The Covington to Mandeville phone link was underway.
July 5, 1884
Madisonville and Abita Springs wanted in on the phone exchange as well.
July 5, 1884
The first phone call from Mandeville to BonFouca was completed.
July 12, 1884
A few days later, the first phone calls were made from Mandeville to Slidell and New Orleans.
August 9, 1884
A month later, the phone line between Covington and Mandeville was ready for use.
August 16, 1884
Vandals tried to disrupt phone service shortly afterward.
But progress prevailed and telephone communications thrived.
See also these links:
Covington Area Phone Book -1947
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Burns Home Restoration
The restoration of old homes is a frequent activity in Covington. Here is the story of one of them. Click on the articles to make them larger and more readable.
See also these links:
Mrs. James Clifton Burns Biography
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
Betty Johnson
Betty Johnson managed the "Yellow House Apartments" for years. She was active with her church and even had a jail ministry at Angola State Prison.
Betty Johnson
The Yellow House Apartments
According to the late Rusty Burns, the Yellow House Apartments building was originally the "Brocette House", at the corner of Theard Avenue and 24th Avenue, across from the school board office. It was first called the Wagner boarding house. Here is an early 20th century postcard showing it in red. The Brocette family moved from this location in the mid 40's This structure remains at the corner of Theard & 24th Avenue this day.
Betty Johnson and her car.
Thursday, June 13, 2024
The Remarkable Jonette Shelton
One of the Covington area's most remarkable people was Jonette Helm Dunning Shelton. Long known and appreciated as an expert floral arranger who ran her own florist shop in downtown Covington, she was also widely-recognized as a highly capable pianist, playing guest solos with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra and teaching her own piano students.
She was also quite active in promoting the arts and served on the first board of directors for the St. Tammany Art Association, along with Marguerite Davis, Kathryn Long, Carlos Aceves and Betty Ellis.
The formation of the STAA in 1958 was said to be "a wake-up call to realize that our community is blessed with an amazing number of talented artists who work in a variety of mediums and styles."
And Jonette was a great example of that, given her wide range of skills in music and art.
In 1949 she served as president of the Amvets Auxiliary
Brandon Fuhrmann Post No. 15
Brandon Fuhrmann Post No. 15
Also that year she was teaching piano to young students
Around that time she became involved in the retail flower and gifts business
When Dunnings Flowers was located in the Southern Hotel building
Dunning's Florist 1970's
It moved across the intersection to where Del Porto Restaurant is now
She continued giving piano recitals in the area
Click on the images to make them larger and more readable.
Her mother, Jessie Brown, also played the piano
By the late 1950's her fame as a well-respected pianst grew
The art association began offering classes in 1957
Her artwork was displayed at the Playmakers Barn
As time went on, her florist business prospered and took more of her time.
The Morgan Interview
In 1956 well-known writer Mary Frances Morgan penned this profile of her friend, the remarkable Jonette Dunning Shelton.
Click on the above image to make it larger.
Here is the text from the above article:
Mrs. Jonette Dunning Called Talented
Realist By Local Interviewer, Friend
By Mary Frances Morgan
Ordinarily, when arrangements are made for an interview—the subject in question is someone personally unknown to the writer —and the first step, obviously is to bone up- on the personality's background and career so as to be sufficiently familiar with the matter to seem politely interested rather than just pontedly curious.
News Services keep a file on all celebrities so that the Staff member assigned to interview—say Eleanor Roosevelt, Leopold Stokowsky, Amy Vanderbilt or perhaps some of the more volatile and unpredictable characters in public life—is armed with at least enough knowledge not to be 'a dangerous thing.'
In recent years, however, it has been refreshing privilege to interview two Covington girls—held in the spotlight of public interest—whom I had known since their sandpile days and whose young lives were, to me, as to all their hometown friends and neighbors, open books.
When I interviewed Peggy Dow at the Waldorf Astoria, several years ago for Photoplay Magazine—she was a talented young Universal International Star on the threshold of a brilliant career in show business. "How are the kids back home?" .She wanted to know. "Wouldn't 'it be fun if I'd run into Rosemary Fuhrman here in New York?" "Is Miss Arnaud still teaching French at Covington High?"
Yes, refreshing is the word—and it fits another gifted young Covingtonian like a new spring bonnet! Only the other morning I sat in the back of Dunning's Flower and Gift Shop to interview Jonette Helm Dunning—fresh from her spectacular guest debut with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra and from the moment she told me to sit down with her close to the door so that she could keep one eye on the shop inside, it was clear to see that this year's spring bonnet will be exactly the same head-size as all the others in her parade of Easters.
Since she had—several nights before—performed before an audience genuinely aware that she was a fine young pianist, but far from the actual realization that she had advanced to such professional heights—dozens of people have been asking "Why doesn't the girl become a concert pianist and grow rich and famous?"
Jonette, whose manner is gentle and whose appearance, girlish yet prettily sedate, in no manner suggests the extravagancies often affected by young women with rarified artistic aspirations, smiled when I put the question to her.
"Oh, there are many reasons," she answered, and with disarming modesty, she listed as the first reason her own conviction that she is not yet sufficiently accomplished in technique or repertoire to attempt such a demanding and competitive career.
"For one thing," she went on, "I got a rather late start with music. After having had a few lessons when I was six years old, I didn't study music again until the summer following my junior year in high school. At that time, I studied under Miss Klinger here in Covington until I enrolled in Brenau College—where I had the audacity to major in music.
"Really, I mean that I was thrown in with much more advanced pupils and all through college, both then—and later, for two years at L.S.U., I had the feeling that I was always behind and could never catch up. However, after I was married—I lived for some time in Hartford, Connecticut, and was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend the Julius Hartt School of Music — where I taught and studied. I believe I can honestly say that it wasn't until I returned here and began my studies under Miss Corinne Mayer in New Orleans that I felt myself to be on the right road.
'You see, it would be hard to express just what it was she gave me—confidence, incentive, a true appreciation of good music—She made me realize that i still lacked foundation and because she is the rare and great teacher that she is, she literally started me over from the very beginning, and I have enjoyed every moment since that I have studied with her."
In a discussion that led, once again, to the future--and whether or not she seriously contemplated a career in music, Jonette pointed out the uncertainties and the possible heartbreak, as well as the long range financial aspect of any free lance career in the arts—and she said, thoughtfully, "Whether or not the average music lover realizes this—there is little glamor in the life of a concert artist — and I feel that my music means more to me when I can enjoy it rather than depend on it. The pressure is terrific, almost killing, the competition is deadly and the constant traveling makes any thought of home life a mere pipe dream.
"Actually, most professional musicians would give anything to have an interesting business, a life with roots and a home in a pretty country town. These are the things that really spell success, after all, and I'm content with my life—and with the knowledge that music can always be an integral part of it without becoming the be-all and end-all of my existence."
It is all but impossible not to feel a warm glow of admiration for a girl such as this—one whose artistic talents radiate in many directions, yet, though her dark head brushes the clouds — her small feet are planted soundly on earth—the good earth of St. Tammany Parish—where Jonette Helm Dunning is—first, a devoted mother, secondly, the competent and creative manager of a flower and gift shop, and—in between and all 'round, threading like a bright cord through the very fibre of her young life, a gifted and humble musician.
Charm is a word that embodies many glowing attributes. It has been said that only one out of a hundred women possesses, in essence, the cultural, esthetic, captivating and unassuming qualities that add up to the elusive top drawer qualification known as charm. It seems to me that Jonette Dunning is gifted with a wealth of charm as well as talent—and it is evident that, whatever path she may choose in time, she is already well on the way to success as a human being.
March 30, 1956
End of Morgan Article
In 1955 another feature article was written about Jonette, this time by Mrs. Walter Valois.
Click on the image to make it larger and more readable.
Mrs. Jonette Dunning In Recital Of
Piano Music Here Last Thursday
By Mrs. Walter Valois
Mrs. Jonette Helms Dunning presented a recital of piano music last Thursday and Friday evenings at the home of Mrs. F. F. Chapman on America Street.
To those privileged to hear Mrs. Dunning in her well-chosen and varied program, played entirely from memory, the event was a delight to the amateur music-lover and to the seasoned concert-goer. A gratifying experience it was, too, to hear this young and gifted musician rise to professional and artistic heights. It was manifest that excellent instruction, gruelling work and study, had added to natural talent a power and an effectiveness which singled out unmistakably, the work of each composer and each type of composition.
Mrs. Dunning is a student of Miss Corinne Mayer of New Orleans. After being graduated from L.S.U. she studied at t h e Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Conn. with Moche Paranov, and with Rudolph Ganz in Chicago. At Master Classes at L.S.U. she has played for Harold Bauer:and she has done some piano teaching.
Mrs. Dunning's musicianship is unquestioned. She has amazing strength, restraint where it is needed, and has the power to draw from each inert key the full meed of sound demanded by the script from robust richness of tone down to the merest whisper vaporing up from the keyboard.
APRIL 29, 1955
Today's Personality
In 1972, she was featured on the front page of the Covington Daily News as its "Today's Personality."
Click on the above image to make it lager.
Her Obituary
Jonette Helms Shelton passed away on Wednesday, September 13, 2017, at the age of 93. According to an obituary provided by Fielding Funeral Home, she was the daughter of Jessie Hood Helms Brown and John Foy Helms, born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on April 13, 1924
She came to Covington at the age of three. She attended Brenau College and LSU, earning a Bachelor in Music Education. She taught private piano lessons for some time before opening Dunning's Flowers and Gifts in 1949, where she was a talented and highly regarded florist until retiring in 1979.
She was also involved in bringing the Symphony to Covington for annual performances, originally in the old Covington High School gym.
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