Terrytown leaders are preparing for a festival to mark the 50th anniversary of their community with its 1st Annual Terrytown Spring Festival on March 6, 2010. The day’s events begin at 9:30 a.m. with a parade through Terrytown. From 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., at 641 Heritage Avenue, festival attendees will be entertained by legendary area musical talent including Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr., The Top Cats, Amanda Shaw, and Kayla Woodson of the Louisiana Lightning Band. There will be events for kids, a car show, shopping in the Art and Trade Center, and more than a dozen food booths selling
Louisiana favorites.
Beer, daiquiris, mixed drinks, and soft drinks also will be available. Some of the specialized equipment and vehicles owned by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff ’s Office and the Terrytown- Fifth District Volunteer Fire Department also will be on display for attendees to view. Stephen Leonard, President of the Terrytown Civic Association, said the event has helped to rally the community. “A lot of people are getting involved, and that helps the community grow,” he said. Leonard, a lifelong Terrytown resident, is in his first year at the helm of the organization, and is seeing gradual improvement in participation. “Membership and attendance at the meetings has increased,” Leonard indicates. “We hope the festival will bring the community together.” He promises lots of fun and even some “surprises” at the festival, which he and other organizers hope will become an annual tradition.
Terrytown History
The subdivision was the first planned community in Jefferson Parish and opened on Sunday, March 6, 1960, in an area which formerly was swampland known as Oakdale Subdivision. It is bounded on the east by Orleans Parish, the west by the City of Gretna, and to the south by Louisiana Highway 23 (Belle Chasse Highway). Fifteen model houses were on display to attract young families, particularly New Orleans residents, desiring larger parcels of land in a less-densely populated area. Large parcels were reserved for government services such as schools, parks, libraries and fire stations, to service the area’s anticipated growth. Homes were prefabricated, which meant lower construction cost and less time required for construction. Modern amenities such as air conditioning and kitchen appliances were included in the home’s cost.
Terrytown is named for Terry Ray Kapelow, the daughter of Paul Kapelow, the subdivision’s developer. Kapelow’s other daughter, Carol Sue, is the namesake of Carol Sue Avenue, which runs perpendicular to Terry Parkway. Kapelow, who also was the developer of Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie, died in 2007 at the age of 93. He had retired to Hollywood, Florida, after a lifetime of developing properties across the United States. One year ago, the Jefferson Historical Society of Louisiana recognized the area’s contribution to the history and development of the Parish of Jefferson by publishing its 17th Jefferson History Notebook, Terrytown: A New Residential Concept for Jefferson Parish Approaches Its 50th Year. The Jefferson Parish Historical Commission also gave its nod to Terrytown’s historical attributes with the dedication of a Louisiana highway marker for the community.
Judy Dobbins Mills, a Terrytown pioneer and its resident historian, authored the manuscript for the JHS. She artfully explained why Terrytown was attractive to those seeking to relocate from the City of New Orleans and other areas, even though the locale took time to establish basic services such as fire protection and educational and recreational facilities. “I was delighted to be asked by Jefferson Historical Society to write the history of Terrytown, assembling a narrative for the first time, from a variety of sources before they are lost or forgotten,” Mills said. “With the expert assistance of the JHS editorial staff, we were able to include details that will assist future generations in recounting the story of how this unique experiment in suburban planning and construction developed into a successful and proud Terrytown continued from cover community, eventually putting itself on federal and state maps.”
Terrytown’s Louisiana highway marker was erected at the intersection of Terry Parkway and Wright Avenue. It explains how the subdivision was established by accomplished real estate developer Paul Kapelow, who named Terrytown in honor of his older daughter, Terry. Councilman Roberts was pleased that the Commission made the marker a priority: “Terrytown’s contributions to Jefferson Parish have been immense, and its people are resilient. The community Terrytown History Remembered At 50th Anniversary has a promising future, and I look forward to helping it to celebrate the golden
anniversary.” The notebook costs $5 and is available via the JHS’s website, www.jeffersonhistoricalsociety.com. Visit the Terrytown Civic Association on the Internet at www.terrytownla.org or on www.Face-Book.com.
By: Frank J. Borne Jr.
March 2010
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