photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Coleen Perilloux Landry | all galleries >> Galleries >> Holy Cross After Hurricane Katrina Gallery > Residence of the Brothers of Holy Cross and the Chapel
previous | next
16 January 2006 Coleen Perilloux Landry

Residence of the Brothers of Holy Cross and the Chapel

The Brothers' residence has wonderful views of the Mississippi River and the City of New Orleans in the crescent of the River from the upper balconies.


other sizes: small medium original auto
comment | share
Jacques Couret HC 1991 21-Feb-2007 19:18
When I was but 10 years old and had just started 5th grade, I used to go into the chapel on the right (arched cement windows) before class and pray that there would not be a nuclear war. It was fall 1983, and the Cold War was still raging. Me and my buddies were scared to death the Russians were going to get us in no time!

After my prayers, I would walk over to the steps (below the palm tree at the entrance to the Brothers' Residence) and sit and wait for school to start with some of my classmates. When it was really cold in winter, a nice old priest (Father O'Toole) would take pity on us and let us sit in the lobby to stay warm. Sometimes, he would crack the doors to the residence open and throw us Twix candy bars or bags of M&M's, as if it was Mardi Gras! He died up in Notre Dame, Ind., when I was in 7th grade.

I could be wrong, but I recall Fr. O'Toole was the last priest to live on campus. Times were changing. It was mostly brothers teaching when my dad started HC in 1963. When I left in 1991, I think were maybe 10. And chief among them were Br. Melchior and Br. James. One, a great wrestling coach, the other an amazing humanities teacher. Both had my respect, and I never had a class in college as tough as Br. James' English V Honors. I never had a teacher as demanding as he, or as brilliant. Then there was Br. Richard Doucet, a stocky Cajun brother responsible for maintenance of the whole school. We affectionately called him "Brother Toolbox"!

In the background, you can see the green levee holding in the might Mississippi. Often, huge cargo ships would go by, and you'd get this optical illusion as if the land was moving. It was even cooler to be in the middle school building (left, not pictured) when it would go by -- felt like the building was moving! Occasionally, on days like President's Day, you might hear battleship guns go off in a 21-gun salute (The Algiers Navy base is across and down river from the school).

Oh, and those Russians... sometimes, a big cargo ship would go by and you'd see the hammer and sicle on the steam stack... we were convinced it was concealing a nuclear device! Different times, but at least your mortal enemy wore a uniform and marched under a recognizable banner back then!