Lake Charles: The Town that means home

Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1954.

[@horacelambert1381]

I grew up in Lake Charles, La my wife and I moved to Beaumont, Tx after hurricane Rita I like living in Beaumont but my heart will always be in Lake Charles, Fisherville area.

[@bohunter1949]

Great memories I am life long resident of Lake Charles (1949). Brings back lot of old thoughts of how easy times were back then and how safe life was. If I could I would go back in a min

[@shawnthibodeaux]

Just wow i was born in lake charles in 1989. And seeing the same streets that i drive down today, as they were back then. Just wow.

[@AYouTubeChannelwithNoName]

Why is it such a big deal? Just drive.

[@nickconsole5035]

Born 1950 and raised in Lake Charles graduated from Lagrange and McNeese State University left in 1976 but still have family there remember the good times

[@anonymous-zn5em]

I grew up in Lake Charles and these are interesting film clips. I like' em and wish I could go back.

[@MrLandry2010]

I was born in Jennings in 1969 and when I was really young my mom and dad moved to Lake Charles. I lived on Overhill Drive for years on the south side. I remember Guth Dairy the milk company when I was little.

[@anonymous-zn5em]

I remember Borden's, and my mom would bring us there for banana splits at the counter.

[@fredlandry6170]

@@anonymous-zn5em I think I remember it when I was a little boy.

[@theabigailgordon]

I just hope this can serve as a reminder of where we were, where we are now, and what we need to do to get where we want to go ❤️

[@9094sires]

Then along came 3 Walmarts.

[@brittneebroussard3479]

i think its interesting to look at on what they did during that day

[@christiekitchens]

This is interesting since I was born in Lake Charles in 1953. But why in the world would they use "Danse Macabre" as a soundtrack? It's the story of skeletons who leave the grave and dance around until the rooster crows at dawn. It's creepy.

[@bobbybabinjr.4388]

Someones extremely cultured. Thanks for the reference im off to learn

[@sweetolive70601]

I think that while the images are most certainly Lake Charles in the period, the dialogue and music were selected by the film's producer and are generic. Most likely a promotion company that made fillers for movie houses made this and used that odd choice for background music. There may be other town-centric films of this sort with the same soundtrack, who knows. Still a good period piece about Lake Charles.

[@naggedd]

great video

[@dwighthebert4052]

The narrator never says Lake Charles" name. Strange.
I knew several people in the film, Mr. Kingery sat at the first desk on the right when you entered the Calcasieu Marine bank from Ryan St. He became the first branch manager at the Enterprise Blvd location in about 1957 or so.
I also, knew Mike Lanza who owned Lake Charles Electric.

[@brandonhebert5485]

It's not strange. They just used an audio track that was generic for the films produced.

[@davidhudson4928]

Sasso bought up my old neighbor hood. What a mess. Laid waste to a retirement neighborhood. Several elderly parents died from the stress of moving. Nothing but a 100' pile of dirt where our house once existed in the middle of a railroad yard. What a shame. Wish they would have built their plant facility somewhere the hell else.

[@osmondthewicked2013]

They would be so ashamed. We suck.

[@thelastremaininglogicallib9320]

36 and a life long resident: I had no idea we had a dirt track back in the 50's. Anyone know where it was?

[@pati5731]

From the LC American Press, November 22, 1950:
A partnership for operation of an auto race track east of Lake Charles was filed Tuesday with the clerk of district court.
The partnership will be known as the Gulf Coast Speedway of Lake Charles.
Sharing in the partnership on equal terms are Clyde Brake, Lon Bryant and C.T. Velt.
Filed along with the partnership was a lease on 50 acres of land owned by John W. House of Lake
Charles, dairyman, as a site for the race track.
The property is located on the south side of the Southern Pacific railroad adjacent to the state department of highways property northeast of state police headquarters on U. S. 90.
…

[@andrewwilkey6195]

@@pati5731 that would put it near chennault airport, possibly across the street from the correctional center?

[@pati5731]

@@andrewwilkey6195 I think it would be in the area between the Bayou Oaks RV Park and Kayouche Coulee on Broad Street.

[@anonymous-zn5em]

@@pati5731 I would place it between Hwy 90 and the SP tracks, between the two branches of Kayouche Coulee. I used to ride my horse on that land a long time ago. You could tell something was once there, but at the time, I couldn't have known.

[@juniorjoseph3351]

Ooelousas..born and raised

[@michaelturano7522]

Better back then.... Horrible now
Miss Bordens ....

[@CokeysCasino]

Where’s all the black sisters and brothers??.....Nevermind I saw the Bel-Air Colored Subdivision sign.😒

[@brandonhebert5485]

You're lucky that's all you saw. Back then you had colored neighborhoods, colored bathrooms, colored water fountains and even colored seats on public transportation. It was a different world back then.

[@Stonecrusher333]

@@brandonhebert5485 Keep playing games. And we will see way worse in the near future.

[@markchronister4620]

Can anyone do anything without bringing up the race card anymore? This is 65+ years ago. With the exception of about 3 Industries Cities Service, Continental Oil Company, and Mathesion Alkali Works this area of Louisiana was still largely an Agrarian Society. Just about everything else was a support economy for those industries. Give it a rest! This was still the days of one vehicle households.

[@superfly2449]

What? No mention of The Blue Room nite club? Looks like all that went on in Lake Charles was ironing clothes, delivering milk, and selling used cars to white guys in baggy suits. Does anybody remember the old steamboat rotting on the shore of Lake Charles, which was too polluted to swim in? The Do Drop Inn on the De Ridder side of the bridge? How about all the shell streets, which were blazing white in summer, and too sharp and jagged to walk on barefoot? The sonic booms in the night from F100s from the SAC base? Rafting across the flooded quarry just east of McNeese, where we’d ride up to the second floor of the Science Building to be scared by the mummy in the glass case just outside the door? The screen-door corner store where you could get Sun Up Cola (“Cup of Coffee in Every Bottle”) and nickel candy bars?

[@lauradeleon4864]

God get rid of the music