Jason Ellis: What Central Means to Me

In the 1850’s my 4th great grandfather, Maglorie “Mac” Bourke, brought his family of 10 to live here in Central. Mac was a carpenter born in West Baton Rouge and the son of Acadian immigrant Joseph F. Bourke or Bourg.

He helped his neighbor Daniel Boone Morgan build the old Morgan house which was located at the corner of Morgan Road and Thibodeaux Road. In later years, the Thibodeaux family married into the Bourke family, and other Acadian families moved to the area known as Frenchtown Road.

In the early days before there was a Catholic church in Central, the Acadian families of the area would pick up a priest by horse and buggy at St. George in Baton Rouge and ride him out to the Frenchtown Road area to say mass for the local people.

The priest would visit after mass and spend the night at the Bourke family home. In 1898, St. Francis of Assisi, a Catholic Missionary Church was constructed by local residents.  It later to be known as St. Alphonsus Catholic Church.

My 3rd great grandfather, Alphonse Bourke, and my 2nd great grandfather, Eddie Thibodeaux, transported by wagon yellow pine from Greensburg to Central and helped construct the single-story wooden structure.

Eddie’s half-brother Tolbert Richard, who lived at the corner of Greenwell Springs Road and Frenchtown Road, donated the land where the church stands today.

Before there were automobiles, the children of the Frenchtown Road area would travel to the new Central public school at Hooper Road and Sullivan Road by wagon and mule.  These were known as Hacks. My great grandmother, Lillian Thibodeux Valega, drove one of the Thibodeaux hacks to the Central school in the early 1900’s.

When automobiles were invented, roads were improved and named. The winding roads in this area cut through the property of these Acadian families. In this area of Central, many roads still bear the name of these early Acadian settlers such as Frenchtown, Thibodeaux, and Planchet Roads.

Planchet is a Cajun-French word that sometimes meant wood or woodworker.

Many thanks to my grandmother, Mildred Valega Strickland, for sharing with me our family history.

Central is about families, not government or politics. At some point in time, someone from each of your families thought Central was a great place to raise a family and that’s why you live here today.

Today Central is still a place where neighbors look out for one another. We are all blessed to have great schools and a safe place to rest our heads at night.

My sons are the 8th generation of our family to call Central home and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

On May 3rd, the people of Central will elect Mr. Washington or myself for the fifth and final council seat of this great city.

Win or lose, I am thankful to have gotten to meet so many people of this city.

Please help our cities newly-elected leadership keep Central’s promise of good family living for our future generations.

Family, that is what Central means to me. God Bless.