A ceremony was held Friday, May 21, 1976, in the new Community Center and Town Hall on the riverfront in Madisonville. Here are excerpts from an article from the St. Tammany News Banner which described the occasion.
"The event attracted over three hundred guests. The ceremony concerned a time-capsule to be sealed with a general history, lists of various organizations and clubs and their leaders, lists of businesses and other facilities and their location, a voter's list for 1976, photographs, and 1814 map copied from a duplicate made in 1841 of the town of Madisonville and other relevant material.
The capsule will be opened in the year 2076 AD." (Just 56 years to go!)
It was all part of the American Bicentennial Celebration held in 1976.
"Monsignor John J. Adams, Pastor of St. Anselm of Madisonville gave a very inspirational invocation, then Mayor Edward Badeaux welcomed the guests, and then turned the program over to Mrs. Herbert Lambert Jr. who explained to the many school children present what a time capsule is and its purposes.
Flag awards were announced by Mayor Badeaux for the contest held at Madisonville Junior High School to design a flag to represent the town of Madisonville. Teachers and/or students participated. First prize of $15 went to Michelle Dufrene, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin P. Dufrene, second prize of $10 was won by Elizabeth Roberts, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred E. Roberts Jr., and third prize of $5 went to Melissa Cazes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Guy Chatellier.
Two honorable mention prizes of $3 each were won by Michelle Tyrney, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George "Danny" Tyrney and Billy Burkhalter, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald G. Burkhalter.
Following the awards, the flags of our nation were presented. The 50 star American flag was presented by Michael Stein, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Stein; the Bennington Bicentennial Flag was presented by Keith Oulliber, son of Mr. and Mrs. Elstet K. Oulliber; the American Revolution Bicentennial flag was presented by Paul Tyrney, son of Mr. and Mrs. George D. Tyrney, and the winning entry for the flag of Madisonville was presented by Blake Pennington, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Pennington.
After the presentation, everyone was led by Mark Manino, music director at Madisonville Junior High School and his choral group in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and singing the National Anthem.
Special guests were introduced by Mrs. Lambert and included local club leaders, councilmen, and elder citizens in attendance.
Robert Sander, a past commander of the American Legion, gave a speech on the purpose of the American Legion, its history and aims. Following was a speech by Leroy James, principal of Madisonvillle Junior High School, which drew the rapt attention of everyone.
The American Bicentennial Work/Prayer Cannon
A lovely rendition of American The Beautiful was sung by the junior high
school choral group led by Manino. Local dance students choreographed
and performed a modern dance. Students were Marguerite and Denise Bouey,
daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Allen Bouey, Melissa Cazes and Laurie
Chatellier (substituting for her sister Kelly), daughters of Mr. and
Mrs. Guy Chatellier; Tracy Ostendorf, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. P.
Ostendorf, and Kim Stein, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Stein.
After closing words by Mayor Badeaux and prayer by Monsignor Adams, everyone sang a very stirring "God Bless America."
The
program will be followed later by enclosing the time capsulre in a
brick and concrete structure to be attached to the exterior of the new
community center. The entire project is being financed by personal
donations from the present mayor and councilmen and incoming councilmen
and other interested citizens. This is the first project of its kind by
any municipality in our parish.
Published in St. Tammany News Banner June 2, 1976
The first American flag to be flown in St. Tammany Parish was raised by Lieutenant George Merrill, USN, near Madisonville in 1811, according to the historical marker at the town hall.
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