Alphabet File page 104
ANNUAL CRUISIN THE COAST
Friday and Saturday (October 8&9) are the two big days for the Bay St. Louis. Activities begin at Rice Pavilion in Gulfport for registration of the vehicles on Thursday, and the event will close on Sunday afternoon.
The Bay city orkers hve been clearing litter, cutting grass, sweeping the streets and doing everything to make the city look its best for the big event.
The activities are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Bay on both Friday and Saturday. Live entertainment scheduled Friday includes bands Starz at ll a.m.; Prime Time, l p.m.; and Sha Na Na at 3 p.m.
Saturdayss schedule is Figure Eight at 10 a.m.; Pat Murphy, noon; Vince Vance and The Valiants, 2 p.m. and Pure Gold at 4 p.m.
The bank stand will be on Beach Boulevard at Main Street.
They are expecting well over 2,500 rod, custom and classic cars. Many are from the 1950s and 1960s and a number of earlier vintage vehicles.
We know from previous Cruisin the Coast eventss that the participants are always very complimentary from the welcome they received from the businesses and residents of the Bay and immediate area.
(SCE, 10-7-1999)
Crump, James L., Jourdan River Rd. (Ph 48 thru 50, 55)
Crump, Nannie-Mayes. Vassar graduate. Wrote for SCE. Later moved to Washington. Gvt. position. (SCEJUB42p29).
Crutchfield, H. C. r 345 Main (Ph 55)
Cruthirds, Niles Edward, boy born July 7, 1929 (SCE 9/20/1929 (FM).
Cruthirds, M. G. r 204 Dunbar (Ph 55)
Crystal Ice Co. Hancock (Ph 50)
Cucullu, Clyde J. - Memoirs of Harrison and Hancock Counties. Until very recently, my family lived in New Orleans, but spent many enjoyable vacations on the Gulf Coast. The history of the Cucullu family in the Coast area goes way back, for in 1834, my great-great-great grandmother, Marie Modeste de St.Germain Cucullu purchased a tract of land and a house in Pass Christian, Mississippi. The property which she purchased is now the War Memorial Park in the Pass. Her husband, Manuel Simon de Cucullu died in 1833. He was a merchant and ship owner in New Orleans. He emigrated to New Orleans in 1796 from the little Basque town of Plencia, Spain. In those days, it was common for the well-to-do to escape from the yellow fever and cholera of New Orleans by spending the summer on the Gulf Coast. This was apparently the motive of Madam Cucullu.
Next door to the Cucullu house was the home of the wellknown Pass Christian Family, Fleitas. The Cucullu and Fleitas families intermarried. The Fleitas family members were prominent in Harrison County politics and some of their sons were Confederate soldiers. Another family that intermarried with the Cucullus and who had a summer home in the Pass was the Valeton family. In 1851 tragedy struck. Louis Valeton, his four-year-old grandchild and his wife's cousin, Thomas Cucullu all died at the same time from the dreaded cholera. It was brought from New Orleans by one of the deceased.
Many years passed before my family once again frequented the Gulf Coast. My father, Gustave Cucullu, was fond of telling stories about his fishing experiences in Bay St Louis. When I was a small child in the early twenties, my father used to fish in the Bay and claimed that he could catch fish whenever he wanted. One time, he and his partner ran out of bait. They tied a white rag on their hooks and started catching speckled trout. Another story was quite funny. Since he worked for the Sou. Pacific Railroad for over forty years, he should have known better, but for one reason or another, he liked to fish under the railroad trestle. Anyone who has ridden on a train more than twenty years ago should remember the sign which said, "please do not flush while the train is in the station." As the train pulled out of Bay St Louis, you can guess what happened next. Suffice it to say, he never again fished under the trestle.
My earliest remembrance of spending time on the Coast was about 1927 when I was five years old. My Dad's boss, a Mr. Eddy owned an elevated camp on the beach at Henderson's Point. We were invited to spend a weekend there. Every morning, before breakfast, Mr. Eddie would read his newspaper while floating on his back, one mile into the Bay and one mile back. While eating breakfast of pancakes and syrup, Mr. Eddy remarked what good eating habits I had for a five year old. A few minutes later they all had a good laugh when the young gentleman picked up the saucer to lick the syrup.
In my early teens, about 1934, my family spent time in Clermont Harbor. We enjoyed it very much because it was like living in the country. The roads were unpaved and very narrow and there were more pigs and chickens on the road than cars.
Before I was married, my future wife, Yvonne Vinet and her family used to spend the summer in Henderson's Point.
They rented a house owned by a Mr. Lang. Yvonne would commute every day to her work in New Orleans. While she read the paper, the male commuters would have a big poker game. Today that would be called trackside gambling.
One night, Yvonne's father drove over the wooden bridge to go to the movies at the Star Theatre in Bay St. Louis. While he was in the movie house there was a fire on the bridge. Since he had an old car, he was afraid to drive at night on the road through Kiln so he decided to sleep in his car until morning. That was a bit mistake. While he was sleeping, the nearby drugstore was robbed. Guess who the cops decided was the robber. They held him for a couple of hours before some friends vouched for his character. He then decided he had better take the Kiln road home even though it was then after midnight. Horror of horrors, halfway home his headlights went out and no moon in the sky. After what seemed to be an eternity, a good samaritan came by. Mr. Vinet followed closely behind the other man's car all the way home. A night to remember!
My wife liked to tell about Grandpa Mellini, an old man who lived in a shack at Henderson's Point. Bayou Mellini (now Bayou Boisdoire) was named for him. He made his living fishing, renting skiffs, raising chickens etc. He was very good to the children and occasionally let them use one of his skiffs. Sometimes the older boys would play tricks on the old man, but the younger children adored him. When he was sick, Yvonne's mother would bring him food to eat, but when he offered her coffee she would politely refuse because of the filthy condition of his dishes. After the 1947 Hurricane, rescuers found him stranded atop a large tree.
In the 1950's, I made the wisest investment of my career. I purchased a small cottage on Bayou Boisdoire in Pass Christian Heights. In addition to all of the great times I had at this cottage I called my castle, I had the great fortune of meeting my future wife for the first time. Unknown to me, her mother and my mother had been very good friends in high school but had not seen each other for many years. To my delight, my family and the Vinet family just happened to attend Mass in Pass Christian at the same time. I was introduced to Yvonne after Church and it was love at first sight; for my part anyway.
I am telling the story about my cottage because I want to emphasize what insidious harm pollution has done to this area. From my porch on the Bayou, we could see porpoises passing by. We caught redfish and speckled trout from my pier and in one weekend we caught 12 dozen crabs with three nets. In the fall we could cast for shrimp and catch enough for a good meal. If only we could bring back these days; and we can, given proper leadership and help from Local, State and Federal Governments.