Opioid crisis requires a multi-pronged effort
June 1, 2018
Joie ‘de Vivre
June 1, 2018
Eddie St. Marie was a colorful Sheriff of Lafourche during my Court House days. He had a strange (to us) Cajun accent which he claimed came from the black population of St. Martin Pariah where he was from. These are a few memorable-encounters. I experienced with him.
One Saturday afternoon the Leroy Martin Show on KTIB held a fundraiser for the cancer fund. The gimmick was some young masked and hooded girls with badges arranged to “arrest” a local celebrity and hold him or her for the ball, the money used for their cause. Several arrested persons had been processed and I was happy the event was proving successful. Then in came their current “prisoner,” Sheriff Eddie St. Marie. He and I pleaded his case on the air asking for money for his bail to get him out of jail.
I got a call from Morgan City, a lady hysterically crying. begging me to release her friend. Off the air I said, “Lady we can use your money, but your friend is not in danger. The money will go to charity”
My pitch had been too effective but in the end she pledged fifty dollars. Eddie was bailed out, and the world was right again. The power of radio and friendship.
Eddie and my boss Assessor Hubert Robichaux were some-times politically at odds and estranged but our offices had to work together to compile the annual tax roll. During those times Eddie’s Chief Civil Deputy Philip Maronge and I worked at night in secret and the tax roll was completed, the tax notices went out on time and Lafourche Parish stayed in business.
One morning walking to my office, Eddie approached. “Good morning Sheriff,” I said, “Listen,” he said, “You tell your (expletive deleted) boss that I did not appreciate what he said at his rally!” “You tell him, you hear!” Eddie could be intimidating but I was not about to tell him something like “I’m not a messenger boy.” I also did not deliver the message.
Politics aside there were times of friendship and they attended public functions together. My boss would later tell me “Eddie and I are both Parish Officials but people usually gather around him and ignore me.” Mr. Robichaux was proud of his office but he failed to realize that in Louisiana the office Eddie held had always been called the “High Sheriff ” and was so regarded.
One day in the Court House. I heard a noise and as I looked to-awards the Sheriff’s office a body flew out, hit the marble wall, and I saw blood “Get out and don’t ever cane back you (expletive deleted)!” Eddie shouted. I later found out that through the years, he had requested and received (I’m not implying illegal) fevers from the Sheriff and when Eddie found out that he had not voted in the rough elections that Eddie had gone through, the sheriff lost his temper. If there is a moral here, it’s that if you want favors from your local Sheriff, Go Vote-Every time!
Though Eddie had faults he was well liked by most of the voters for many years and his fractured (to us) Cajun accent was humorous and he loved to tell about fanny things that happened to him. Like this one.
• When performing his duties, a monster hurricane named Hilda was hitting our Parish, especially South Lafourche Eddie had established headquarters at Bert-man Pitre’s Ritz Club in Cut Off. He jumped on a docked boat to experience the storm and a gust of wind hit him and his unbuttoned yellow rain coat Using it like a sail the storm blew bun into Bayou Lafourche. Two of his deputies jumped in and brought him beck to shore safe and sound. All this was occurring in the middle of an over 100 mile per hour Tropical Hurricane named Hilda Maybe he deserved the many years he ma elected Sheriff of Lafourche Parish.
• One day while drinking hear at a local fair Eddie said “Lee when drinking, always keep the edge. Remember away keep the edge.” I always followed his advice. BYE NOW!
In this week’s column, Historical Columnist Leroy Martin tells about former Cajun lawman Eddie Ste. Marie, who was the sheriff locally for many years in the past.
