Before
the 20th Century | Mission
Years | Early
Parish Years
The
Waiting Years | A
Time of Rebirth | A
Time of Renewal
THE MISSION YEARS
On May 1, 1923 the resolution was adapted by the Board of trustees of St. Joseph�s
Church in Gretna, and the new chapel was born at Ames Farms. Many French-speaking
and black families from the country were moving into the area looking for employment in
the factories that were springing up all along the river. They too became part of this
community which at this time changed its name to Amesville. The original frame building
with some
additions remained the church for St. Joseph until 1978.�In 1924 the
Amesville Mission was officially included in the Parish of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in
Westwego. At the same time, the Mission of Immaculate Conception in Marrero became
a separate parish.
More People moved into the area, the factories flourished up and
down the river but the area held on to its strong rural and small-town character.
Jefferson highway (which is now called Fourth Street) was the main street in
town.
There was no Westbank Expressway at that time. Since the area was, and still is
unincorporated, physical improvements were slow in coming.
After 1936, five lots of property were purchased on Pine Street to build a new
school building. Previously, two rooms at the back of the church had been used for
the school. The new school building was dedicated in August of 1939. It was built at
a cost of seven-thousand-dollars with money donated by Johns-Manville and
Celotex Corporations.
Blacks Catholics who had moved from Vacherie, Edgard and other areas of St.
James Parish
continued to invest themselves in the community. Because of segregation
(that means the
separation of races), they were accustomed to sitting in only the last three
pews of the church. They had separate religion classes and they were not allowed to
participate in the mission school or any other church organizations or activities.
Blacks were only allowed to receive a
Catholic education across the river in New
Orleans or at All Saints School in Algiers.
Ironically, the first religious vocation from
St. Joseph in Amesville came among the black
community. In September of 1942, a
young woman
named Helen Cullier entered the Sisters of the Holy Family.
The Black community in Amesville felt that they needed a place to gather and celebrate
as Catholics as was the case with some of their Baptist neighbors and in many
communities in
New Orleans. They also had the dream that one day they would build
their own church. In 1948 they began collecting nickels, dimes and quarters through
door-to door donations, and
through suppers and dances to raise funds to make their
dreams come true.
In June of 1951 the Pastor, Monsignor Koenig purchased a lot at Ames Boulevard
and Field
Street for eleven-thousand-dollars. This is where McDonald�s stands today.
The down payment of five-thousand-dollars came from money raised by black
Catholics since 1948. The first note of three-thousand-dollars was paid in 1952.
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