Adras LaBorde
Encyclopedia
Adras Paul LaBorde, I was a reporter, managing editor
, and columnist
for the Alexandria Daily Town Talk
, the largest newspaper
in central Louisiana
. His career stretched from the mid-1940s into the early 1990s. An authority on twentieth century Louisiana government and politics, he wrote some 10,000 columns under the title "The Talk of the Town," a play on the name of the newspaper. LaBorde wrote endlessly about the strengths and the foibles of Louisiana's vast array of determined politicians, each of whom tried to convince voters that "good times" would arrive if only they could hold the elective office in question or secure their election promise
s.
competition to the traditional Democratic
majority. He saw the "good government" types battle the "old guard," and sometimes found little difference between the antagonists. He did not endorse candidates for office on the editorial page—a policy that the newspaper has since changed—but wrote extensively on everyone, including the following in alphabetical order:
Ernest S. Clements
, Jimmie Davis
, William J. "Bill" Dodd, Allen J. Ellender
, Jimmy Fitzmorris
, Camille Gravel
, Jack P.F. Gremillion
, Francis Grevemberg
, William J. Guste
, J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., Sam H. Jones
, John Hainkel
, Paul Hardy
, Shelby M. Jackson
, Robert F. Kennon
, Raymond Laborde
, Dudley J. LeBlanc
, Blanche Long
, Earl Kemp Long, George S. Long
, Gillis William Long
, the legacy of Huey P. Long, Jr., Russell B. Long
, Speedy O. Long
, Charlton Lyons
, John McKeithen
, Wade O. Martin, Jr.
, Louis J. Michot
, deLesseps Story Morrison, Sr., James A. Noe
, Mary Evelyn Parker
, Otto Passman
, Dave L. Pearce
, William M. Rainach
, Edward G. "Ned" Randolph, Jr., Charles E. Roemer, III
, John G. Schwegmann
, John W. "Jock" Scott
, Nauman Scott
, John K. Snyder
, David C. Treen
, many others, including his perhaps most demanding subject, Edwin Washington Edwards.
sometimes stopped at LaBorde's home when he passed through Alexandria
. Once he was accompanied by an entourage of state troopers with sirens sounding. Neighbors thought that there had been a tragedy. Mrs. LaBorde was embarrassed and asked him not to visit again unless he came without the entourage. Edwards gave the principal speech at LaBorde's retirement dinner from the Town Talk. After official retirement, LaBorde continued "The Talk of the Town" column twice a week. He did not live to see Edwards complete his fourth term as governor or go to prison on conviction of racketeering. LaBorde's daughter, Joyce Cessac, said that LaBorde would have never tolerated Edwards' crimes, but that her father had thought that Edwards was an exceptional leader so long as good economic times prevailed in Louisiana. Louisianans, especially in the southern part of the state called it, "Laissez les bon temps rouller!" ("Let the good times roll!")
Senator Ellender
, from Houma
in Terrebonne Parish
, with whom he liked to swap "fish stories." It was even said that with their dark-rimmed glasses, LaBorde and Ellender bore a physical resemblance. though Ellender was more than twenty years LaBorde's senior. Ellender served in the U.S. Senate for thirty-six years. His sudden death in the 1972 reelection campaign hit LaBorde hard.
He had a great interest in sportsmen's issues, city charters, and "good government" in general. Fluent in French
, LaBorde promoted his cultural heritage through the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana
, better known by the acronym CODOFIL.
Sometimes, LaBorde ventured into national politics, where he would offer unsolicited advice for Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy
, Lyndon B. Johnson
, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter
, Ronald Reagan
, and the first George H.W. Bush about which they undoubtedly never read. He grew irate over Watergate in 1973 and 1974 but mostly kept to state or local matters.
for radio station WWL. He also wrote a training manual on radio language for pilots, which was used by the military during World War II
. The manual was called "Roger, Wilco."
LaBorde was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps during the war, and he moved Blanche and the youngsters wherever he was stationed: San Antonio, Texas, Arkansas City
, Kansas
, and Abilene
in Taylor County
, Texas.
, the future editor of the now defunct Shreveport Journal, actually preceded him as a staffer at The Town Talk. LaBorde learned the business from the ground floor and in 1950 was named "managing editor", a position that he held for 27 years. In 1977, he was designated "executive editor", a title that he held through his last year of full-time employment. Unlike many print journalists who move from one newspaper to another seeking upward mobility, LaBorde stayed with The Town Talk in a career that spanned parts of six decades.
His staff joked that he had no formal education but "the school of hard knocks". However, he did attend Tyler Commercial College in Tyler
, Texas, which for a period of time claimed to be the largest business training school in the United States. The college offered instruction in bookkeeping, shorthand, telegraphy, business administration, and finance.
LaBorde demanded integrity, accuracy, originality, and speed from his reporters and editors. When his near legendary but quiet temper flared, he could, without a trace of humor, stare down the culprit over the rim of his glasses.
Despite his "old school" demeanor, LaBorde adjusted his newsroom to modern demands. He knew that the paper had to attract subscribers to stay afloat. Computers were introduced at the Town Talk in the summer of 1973 to improve efficiency and to increase the volume and quality of news stories. One of the former reporters, Elizabeth Roberts Martin of Norman
, Oklahoma
, a 1966 graduate of Louisiana State University
, became the first woman to hold editing positions in the Town Talk newsroom. LaBorde hired The Town Talks first black reporter, Cleo Joffrion, an Alexandria native. He named his assistant managing editor, Cecil Williams, a native of the Kentucky
coal
-mining area, as business editor, a position from which Williams won numerous awards.
He sent the young reporter Leonard Sanderson, Jr., to Baton Rouge to cover the legislature in 1974; he runs his own consulting firm in Washington, D.C.
Another beginning reporter, Jeff Cowart, an Alexandria native and LSU graduate, became the first press secretary for then Democratic Governor Buddy Roemer in 1988. Cowart went on to establish his own management consulting firm, Media National, in Leesburg
, Virginia.
Three Town Talk staffers, Larry Collins, Betty Luman, and Chet Hilburn, advanced to the Houston Chronicle. Jack Harp of Ruston
came to the newspaper at the age of 22 in 1972 to work on the "wire desk." The technology changed so much over the following three decades that the term "wire desk" was replaced by "Metro desk." Rebecca Jo Tubb Mulkey (1949–1999), originally from Magnolia
, Arkansas
, wrote feature stories before moving on to the Torrance Daily Breeze in Torrance, California
. All owed a part of their success to LaBorde's demanding tutelage.
LaBorde's tenure at the newspaper coincided with the management of publisher Joe D. Smith, Jr.
(1922–2008), a native of Grant Parish
, and Smith's first wife, Jane Wilson Smith, whose father had owned The Town Talk. The Smiths sold the paper to Central Newspapers, Inc., of Indianapolis
, which later sold it to the Virginia-based Gannett. Smith is a former member of the Louisiana Higher Education Coordinating Board, renamed the Louisiana Board of Regents and has long been active in civic affairs in his city and state.
(1858–1954). An Alexandria native, Ransdell was a lawyer and district attorney in Lake Providence
, the seat of East Carroll Parish, prior to his election to the U.S. Senate in 1912, the year of LaBorde's birth. Ransdell was defeated for renomination in 1930; Allen Ellender came along six years later.
(1894–1987), were active in the Knights of Columbus
. Bishop Greco hosted an annual party for Town Talk staffers. The first native of Mississippi
to be a Catholic bishop, Greco wrote With God's Help, memoirs published posthumously by the Knights of Columbus
. LaBorde worked on the Catholic
newspaper for the bishop, recalls his daughter Joyce. LaBorde was a fourth degree Knights of Columbus
and held the St. Gregory distinction. When Roe v. Wade
was issued by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 22, 1973, LaBorde strongly objected and opposed abortion
for the remainder of his life.
Joe Smith, LaBorde's friend and former publisher, as well as family members stayed by his side until his death from stomach cancer
. He had been diagnosed with the ailment for only two weeks. The short period between diagnosis and death enabled him to fulfill his desire to be active until the end of his life.
LaBorde was a staunch conservationist. While he felt like he could not personally save the planet, he could do something about his home region. He was given the Edward Meeman Conservation Award by the Scripps-Howard Foundation for "distinguished journalism in the field of conservation
." He was the charter president of the Central Louisiana Press Club and held membership in the United Press Newspaper Association of Louisiana. He urged Governor Edwards to promote the state purchase of the Saline-Spring Bayou Wildlife Management Area in Avoyelles Parish. He lobbied in his columns for removal of oilfield pollution from the Little River, and he urged Edwards to acquire the land encompassing Spring Bayou. He was a former president and state director of the Rapides Wildlife Association. For a while he wrote the column "Nibbles and Potshots" on fishing and hunting for The Town Talk sports section.
LaBorde and his beloved wife, the former Blanche Bordelon (1913–2004), also a Bordelonville native, had two sons, Adras Paul LaBorde, II (1943–1972), and Michael Anthony LaBorde (born 1947) of Baton Rouge, and a daughter, Mrs. Joyce LaBorde Cessac (born 1934) of Portland
, near Corpus Christi
, Texas. Adras, II, who held a Master of Science
degree in forestry
from LSU in Baton Rouge, died of cancer
at the age of twenty-nine. Adras II's son, Adras Paul LaBorde, III (born in Greenville, North Carolina
, in 1966), is a Baton Rouge attorney in the Rowe law firm, who specializes in litigation, admiralty, and maritime law. LaBorde, III, (sometimes known as Paul Endom, after his stepfather) is a graduate of Vanderbilt University
in Nashville
, Tennessee
, and the Louisiana State University Law School.
Adras and Blanche LaBorde are buried in Alexandria Memorial Gardens.
(It is noted that LaBorde's date of birth was mathematically rare, 12-12-12.)
Managing editor
A managing editor is a senior member of a publication's management team.In the United States, a managing editor oversees and coordinates the publication's editorial activities...
, and columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
for the Alexandria Daily Town Talk
The Town Talk (Alexandria)
The Town Talk, started as The Daily Town Talk in 1883 and later named the Alexandria Daily Town Talk, is the major newspaper of Central Louisiana. It is published by Gannett in Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish and the economic center of Central Louisiana.The daily newspaper has a circulation...
, the largest newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
in central Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. His career stretched from the mid-1940s into the early 1990s. An authority on twentieth century Louisiana government and politics, he wrote some 10,000 columns under the title "The Talk of the Town," a play on the name of the newspaper. LaBorde wrote endlessly about the strengths and the foibles of Louisiana's vast array of determined politicians, each of whom tried to convince voters that "good times" would arrive if only they could hold the elective office in question or secure their election promise
Election promise
An election promise is a promise made to the public by a politician who is trying to win an election. They have long been a central element of elections and remain so today...
s.
A columnist's dream: colorful politicians, Louisiana-style
LaBorde witnessed the state's transformation of rivalry between Longism and anti-Longism and the slow rise of serious RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
competition to the traditional Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
majority. He saw the "good government" types battle the "old guard," and sometimes found little difference between the antagonists. He did not endorse candidates for office on the editorial page—a policy that the newspaper has since changed—but wrote extensively on everyone, including the following in alphabetical order:
Ernest S. Clements
Ernest S. Clements
Ernest S. Clements was a seemingly unlikely member of the Long political faction in Louisiana in a career which spanned 38 years from the 1930s to the 1970s. The pious, introverted Clements did not fit the public image of the no-holds-barred, extroverted Long man. William J...
, Jimmie Davis
Jimmie Davis
James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...
, William J. "Bill" Dodd, Allen J. Ellender
Allen J. Ellender
Allen Joseph Ellender was a popular U.S. senator from Houma, Louisiana , who served from 1937 until his death. He was a Democrat who was originally allied with the legendary Huey Pierce Long, Jr.. As Senator he compiled a generally conservative record, voting 77% of the time with the Conservative...
, Jimmy Fitzmorris
Jimmy Fitzmorris
James Edward "Jimmy" Fitzmorris, Jr. , is a New Orleans businessman and civic leader who was the Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 1972–1980...
, Camille Gravel
Camille Gravel
Camille Francis Gravel, Jr. , was a Louisiana, Democratic politician.Gravel spent much time and money supporting the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII honored Gravel with the "Order of St. Gregory" for his outstanding service to the church.-Education:Gravel graduated in 1935 from the University...
, Jack P.F. Gremillion
Jack P.F. Gremillion
Jack Paul Faustin Gremillion, Sr. , was the Democratic attorney general of Louisiana from 1956-1972. He was a member of the Earl Kemp Long political faction. Though he opposed school desegregation, he was a party loyalist and was an elector for the John F. Kennedy--Lyndon B. Johnson presidential...
, Francis Grevemberg
Francis Grevemberg
Francis Carroll Grevemberg , was the superintendent of the Louisiana State Police from 1952 to 1955, best remembered for his fight against organized crime....
, William J. Guste
William J. Guste
William J. "Billy" Guste, Jr., is a New Orleans attorney, businessman and popular Democratic attorney general of Louisiana from 1972 to 1992. He succeeded the scandal-plagued Jack P.F. Gremillion, a fellow Democrat who had held the position since 1956. Guste received recognition for molding the...
, J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., Sam H. Jones
Sam H. Jones
--4.230.222.169 Sam Houston Jones was the 46th Governor of Louisiana from 1940 to 1944. He defeated the renowned Earl Kemp Long in the 1940 Democratic primary. Long turned the tables on Jones and defeated him in the 1948 party primary.-Early life:Sam Jones was born in Merryville in Beauregard...
, John Hainkel
John Hainkel
John Joseph Hainkel, Jr., was a gregarious, ruffled, and raspy-voiced legislator from New Orleans who died in office after thirty-seven years of service...
, Paul Hardy
Paul Hardy
Paul Jude Hardy is a Baton Rouge attorney who was the first Republican to have been elected lieutenant governor of Louisiana since Reconstruction...
, Shelby M. Jackson
Shelby M. Jackson
Shelby M. Jackson was a Democratic superintendent of public education in Louisiana who served from 1948-1964. In the early 1960s, he tried in vain to block federally-authorized school desegregation. Jackson was posthumously honored in 1994, by the naming of the "Shelby M...
, Robert F. Kennon
Robert F. Kennon
Robert Floyd Kennon, Sr., known as Bob Kennon , was the 48th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1952-1956. He failed to win a second non-consecutive term in the 1963 Democratic primary....
, Raymond Laborde
Raymond Laborde
Raymond Julian Laborde, I , is a department store owner and a retired Democratic politician in his native Marksville, the seat of Avoyelles Parish in south Central Louisiana. He was the mayor of Marksville from 1958–1970 and thereafter served five terms from 1972–1992 in the Louisiana House of...
, Dudley J. LeBlanc
Dudley J. LeBlanc
Dudley Joseph "Coozan Dud" LeBlanc was a colorful and popular Democratic and Cajun member of the Louisiana State Senate whose entrepreneurial talents netted him a fortune through the alcohol-laden patent medicine known as "Hadacol." He is also considered the "father of the old age pension" in...
, Blanche Long
Blanche Long
Blanche Beulah Revere Long was the first lady of Louisiana from 1939–1940, 1948–1952, and 1956-1960. She was also a "partner in power" to her husband, Governor Earl Kemp Long. From 1956-1963, she was the Democratic national committeewoman from Louisiana...
, Earl Kemp Long, George S. Long
George S. Long
George Shannon "Doc" Long was a member of the powerful Long political dynasty in Louisiana and a Democratic U.S. representative from the defunct Eighth Congressional District from 1953-1958. The late Speedy O. Long of La Salle Parish, another member of the family, once jokingly compared George...
, Gillis William Long
Gillis William Long
Gillis William Long was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Louisiana and member of the Long family. Long served seven non-consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives but placed third in two campaigns for the Democratic gubernatorial nominations in 1963 and 1971...
, the legacy of Huey P. Long, Jr., Russell B. Long
Russell B. Long
Russell Billiu Long was an American Democratic politician and United States Senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987.-Early life:...
, Speedy O. Long
Speedy O. Long
Speedy Oteria Long was a Jena lawyer who was a Democratic U.S. Representative from central Louisiana between 1965 and 1973. Prior to his tenure in the since disbanded Eighth Congressional District, Speedy Long had been a member of the Louisiana state Senate...
, Charlton Lyons
Charlton Lyons
Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr., also known as Big Papa Lyons , was a Shreveport oilman who in 1964 waged the first determined Republican bid for the Louisiana governorship since Reconstruction. Lyons also made a strong but losing bid for the United States House of Representatives in a special election...
, John McKeithen
John McKeithen
John Julian McKeithen was the 49th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1964 to 1972. A Democrat from the town of Columbia, he was the first governor of his state in the twentieth century to serve two consecutive terms...
, Wade O. Martin, Jr.
Wade O. Martin, Jr.
Wade Omer Martin, Jr. was the Democratic Secretary of State of Louisiana under five governors, having served from 1944 to 1976...
, Louis J. Michot
Louis J. Michot
Louis Joseph Michot, Jr. , is a prominent Lafayette, Louisiana, businessman, entrepreneur of the former Burger Chef restaurant chain, philanthropist, and a former Democratic state representative , member of the Louisiana Board of Education , and Louisiana State Education Superintendent...
, deLesseps Story Morrison, Sr., James A. Noe
James A. Noe
James Albert Noe, Sr. of Monroe served for three and a half months as the 43rd Governor of Louisiana after the death of Oscar K. Allen on January 28, 1936....
, Mary Evelyn Parker
Mary Evelyn Parker
Mary Evelyn Dickerson Parker is a former Democratic state treasurer of Louisiana, having served from 1968-1987. She was the first woman to have held the position. Prior to her tenure as treasurer, she held several appointed positions in state government...
, Otto Passman
Otto Passman
Otto Ernest Passman was a conservative Democratic congressman from Monroe in northeastern Louisiana, who served from 1947 to 1977. He is primarily remembered for his detailed knowledge and mostly opposition to foreign aid...
, Dave L. Pearce
Dave L. Pearce
David L. "Dave" Pearce was a Democrat who served as the Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry from 1952–1956 and again from 1960-1976...
, William M. Rainach
William M. Rainach
William Monroe Rainach, Sr., known as Willie Rainach , was a state legislator from rural Summerfield in Claiborne Parish who led Louisiana's "Massive Resistance" to desegregation during the last half of the 1950s...
, Edward G. "Ned" Randolph, Jr., Charles E. Roemer, III
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
, John G. Schwegmann
John G. Schwegmann
John Gerald Schwegmann, Jr., was a pioneer in the development of the modern supermarket. He owned eighteen stores in the Greater New Orleans area, based from Metairie, a large unincorporated city in Jefferson Parish...
, John W. "Jock" Scott
Jock Scott
John Wyeth "Jock" Scott, II was a lawyer and college professor in Alexandria, who served three terms from District 26 in the Louisiana House of Representatives, first as a Democrat and then as a Republican . He was defeated in a race for the Louisiana State Senate in 1987...
, Nauman Scott
Nauman Scott
Nauman Steele Scott, II , was a Republican-appointed federal judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana from 1970 until 2001, who ordered cross-parish busing guidelines in 1980 to foster racial balance in Rapides Parish public schools...
, John K. Snyder
John K. Snyder
John Kenneth Snyder, Sr., sometimes known as Tillie Snyder , was a colorful, outspoken Democratic mayor of Alexandria, Louisiana, from 1973–1977 and again from 1982-1986....
, David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
, many others, including his perhaps most demanding subject, Edwin Washington Edwards.
LaBorde and Edwin Edwards
Governor EdwardsEdwin Edwards
Edwin Washington Edwards served as the Governor of Louisiana for four terms , twice as many terms as any other Louisiana chief executive has served. Edwards was also Louisiana's first Roman Catholic governor in the 20th century...
sometimes stopped at LaBorde's home when he passed through Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
. Once he was accompanied by an entourage of state troopers with sirens sounding. Neighbors thought that there had been a tragedy. Mrs. LaBorde was embarrassed and asked him not to visit again unless he came without the entourage. Edwards gave the principal speech at LaBorde's retirement dinner from the Town Talk. After official retirement, LaBorde continued "The Talk of the Town" column twice a week. He did not live to see Edwards complete his fourth term as governor or go to prison on conviction of racketeering. LaBorde's daughter, Joyce Cessac, said that LaBorde would have never tolerated Edwards' crimes, but that her father had thought that Edwards was an exceptional leader so long as good economic times prevailed in Louisiana. Louisianans, especially in the southern part of the state called it, "Laissez les bon temps rouller!" ("Let the good times roll!")
LaBorde and Allen Ellender
Though he required his reporters to be objective regarding the subjects they covered, LaBorde had a particularly soft spot for another south Louisiana politician, his fellow "Cajun" CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Senator Ellender
Allen J. Ellender
Allen Joseph Ellender was a popular U.S. senator from Houma, Louisiana , who served from 1937 until his death. He was a Democrat who was originally allied with the legendary Huey Pierce Long, Jr.. As Senator he compiled a generally conservative record, voting 77% of the time with the Conservative...
, from Houma
Houma, Louisiana
Houma is a city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, and the largest principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's powers of government have been absorbed by the parish, which is now run by the Terrebonne Parish...
in Terrebonne Parish
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
Terrebonne Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Houma. Its population was 111,860...
, with whom he liked to swap "fish stories." It was even said that with their dark-rimmed glasses, LaBorde and Ellender bore a physical resemblance. though Ellender was more than twenty years LaBorde's senior. Ellender served in the U.S. Senate for thirty-six years. His sudden death in the 1972 reelection campaign hit LaBorde hard.
A "good government" columnist
While he liked to report on campaigns and elections, LaBorde also focused on the intricate workings of government and the bureaucracy. He believed that government could be a force for good in society if the right people, with the proper motivation, were elected. Yet, he also noted that government is still in essence compulsion.He had a great interest in sportsmen's issues, city charters, and "good government" in general. Fluent in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, LaBorde promoted his cultural heritage through the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana
Council for the Development of French in Louisiana
The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, or CODOFIL — known in French as le Conseil pour le développement du français en Louisiane and Konséy pou Dévelopmen di françé en Lwizyàn in Creole — is a state agency created in 1968 by the Louisiana legislature...
, better known by the acronym CODOFIL.
Sometimes, LaBorde ventured into national politics, where he would offer unsolicited advice for Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, and the first George H.W. Bush about which they undoubtedly never read. He grew irate over Watergate in 1973 and 1974 but mostly kept to state or local matters.
LaBorde's early years
LaBorde was born to Enos LaBorde, Sr. (1886–1962), and the former Lily Bordelon (1891–1955) in Bordelonville in Avoyelles Parish. He graduated at an early age from Bordelon High School. As a young man, he worked as a radio operator on a ship. Amid the isolation of the sea, he developed his interest in serious reading. Largely self-educated, LaBorde read encyclopedias and serious works of nonfiction to keep himself occupied and to improve his employment prospects. Later, while living in New Orleans, he did a newscast in FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
for radio station WWL. He also wrote a training manual on radio language for pilots, which was used by the military during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The manual was called "Roger, Wilco."
LaBorde was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps during the war, and he moved Blanche and the youngsters wherever he was stationed: San Antonio, Texas, Arkansas City
Arkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City is a city situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of Cowley County, located in south-central Kansas, in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,415....
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, and Abilene
Abilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...
in Taylor County
Taylor County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 126,555 people, 47,274 households, and 32,524 families residing in the county. The population density was 138 people per square mile . There were 52,056 housing units at an average density of 57 per square mile...
, Texas.
Alexandria Daily Town Talk, his only paper
LaBorde came to the Alexandria Daily Town Talk in 1945. The late George W. ShannonGeorge W. Shannon
George Washington Shannon was a conservative Louisiana journalist.Shannon was born in El Dorado, the seat of Union County, in southern Arkansas. He began his career as a reporter and sports editor at the El Dorado News-Times, one of the Clyde E. Palmer newspapers...
, the future editor of the now defunct Shreveport Journal, actually preceded him as a staffer at The Town Talk. LaBorde learned the business from the ground floor and in 1950 was named "managing editor", a position that he held for 27 years. In 1977, he was designated "executive editor", a title that he held through his last year of full-time employment. Unlike many print journalists who move from one newspaper to another seeking upward mobility, LaBorde stayed with The Town Talk in a career that spanned parts of six decades.
His staff joked that he had no formal education but "the school of hard knocks". However, he did attend Tyler Commercial College in Tyler
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
, Texas, which for a period of time claimed to be the largest business training school in the United States. The college offered instruction in bookkeeping, shorthand, telegraphy, business administration, and finance.
LaBorde demanded integrity, accuracy, originality, and speed from his reporters and editors. When his near legendary but quiet temper flared, he could, without a trace of humor, stare down the culprit over the rim of his glasses.
Despite his "old school" demeanor, LaBorde adjusted his newsroom to modern demands. He knew that the paper had to attract subscribers to stay afloat. Computers were introduced at the Town Talk in the summer of 1973 to improve efficiency and to increase the volume and quality of news stories. One of the former reporters, Elizabeth Roberts Martin of Norman
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, a 1966 graduate of Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
, became the first woman to hold editing positions in the Town Talk newsroom. LaBorde hired The Town Talks first black reporter, Cleo Joffrion, an Alexandria native. He named his assistant managing editor, Cecil Williams, a native of the Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
-mining area, as business editor, a position from which Williams won numerous awards.
He sent the young reporter Leonard Sanderson, Jr., to Baton Rouge to cover the legislature in 1974; he runs his own consulting firm in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Another beginning reporter, Jeff Cowart, an Alexandria native and LSU graduate, became the first press secretary for then Democratic Governor Buddy Roemer in 1988. Cowart went on to establish his own management consulting firm, Media National, in Leesburg
Leesburg, Virginia
Leesburg is a historic town in, and county seat of, Loudoun County, Virginia, United States of America. Leesburg is located west-northwest of Washington, D.C. along the base of the Catoctin Mountain and adjacent to the Potomac River. Its population according the 2010 Census is 42,616...
, Virginia.
Three Town Talk staffers, Larry Collins, Betty Luman, and Chet Hilburn, advanced to the Houston Chronicle. Jack Harp of Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
came to the newspaper at the age of 22 in 1972 to work on the "wire desk." The technology changed so much over the following three decades that the term "wire desk" was replaced by "Metro desk." Rebecca Jo Tubb Mulkey (1949–1999), originally from Magnolia
Magnolia, Arkansas
Magnolia is a city in Columbia County, Arkansas, United States, that was founded in 1853. At the time of its incorporation in 1858, the city had a population of about 1,950. The city grew slowly as an agricultural and regional cotton market until the discovery of oil just east of the city in March,...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, wrote feature stories before moving on to the Torrance Daily Breeze in Torrance, California
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
. All owed a part of their success to LaBorde's demanding tutelage.
LaBorde's tenure at the newspaper coincided with the management of publisher Joe D. Smith, Jr.
Joe D. Smith, Jr.
Joe Dorsey Smith, Jr. , was the former general manager, president, publisher, and chairman of the board of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk in Alexandria, the largest newspaper in central Louisiana. Smith became publisher in 1962...
(1922–2008), a native of Grant Parish
Grant Parish, Louisiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 18,698 people, 7,073 households, and 5,276 families residing in the parish. The population density was 29 people per square mile . There were 8,531 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
, and Smith's first wife, Jane Wilson Smith, whose father had owned The Town Talk. The Smiths sold the paper to Central Newspapers, Inc., of Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, which later sold it to the Virginia-based Gannett. Smith is a former member of the Louisiana Higher Education Coordinating Board, renamed the Louisiana Board of Regents and has long been active in civic affairs in his city and state.
His biography of Senator Ransdell
In 1951, LaBorde wrote A National Southerner: Ransdell of Louisiana (Benziger Brothers), a look at the career of former Louisiana Democratic Senator Joseph E. RansdellJoseph E. Ransdell
Joseph Eugene Ransdell was a United States Representative and Senator from Louisiana. Born in Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish in central Louisiana, Ransdell attended public schools. In 1882, he graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York...
(1858–1954). An Alexandria native, Ransdell was a lawyer and district attorney in Lake Providence
Lake Providence, Louisiana
Lake Providence is a town in and the parish seat of East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,104 at the 2000 census.-Civil War:...
, the seat of East Carroll Parish, prior to his election to the U.S. Senate in 1912, the year of LaBorde's birth. Ransdell was defeated for renomination in 1930; Allen Ellender came along six years later.
LaBorde's Catholicism
The LaBordes were members of St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church in Alexandria. LaBorde and his close friend, Alexandria Bishop Charles Pasquale GrecoCharles Pasquale Greco
Charles Pasquale Greco was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Alexandria in Louisiana from 1946 to 1973.-Biography:...
(1894–1987), were active in the Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
. Bishop Greco hosted an annual party for Town Talk staffers. The first native of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
to be a Catholic bishop, Greco wrote With God's Help, memoirs published posthumously by the Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
. LaBorde worked on the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
newspaper for the bishop, recalls his daughter Joyce. LaBorde was a fourth degree Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
and held the St. Gregory distinction. When Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
was issued by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 22, 1973, LaBorde strongly objected and opposed abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
for the remainder of his life.
LaBorde's legacy
Stomach cancer
Gastric cancer, commonly referred to as stomach cancer, can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus, lungs, lymph nodes, and the liver...
. He had been diagnosed with the ailment for only two weeks. The short period between diagnosis and death enabled him to fulfill his desire to be active until the end of his life.
LaBorde was a staunch conservationist. While he felt like he could not personally save the planet, he could do something about his home region. He was given the Edward Meeman Conservation Award by the Scripps-Howard Foundation for "distinguished journalism in the field of conservation
Conservation movement
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
." He was the charter president of the Central Louisiana Press Club and held membership in the United Press Newspaper Association of Louisiana. He urged Governor Edwards to promote the state purchase of the Saline-Spring Bayou Wildlife Management Area in Avoyelles Parish. He lobbied in his columns for removal of oilfield pollution from the Little River, and he urged Edwards to acquire the land encompassing Spring Bayou. He was a former president and state director of the Rapides Wildlife Association. For a while he wrote the column "Nibbles and Potshots" on fishing and hunting for The Town Talk sports section.
LaBorde and his beloved wife, the former Blanche Bordelon (1913–2004), also a Bordelonville native, had two sons, Adras Paul LaBorde, II (1943–1972), and Michael Anthony LaBorde (born 1947) of Baton Rouge, and a daughter, Mrs. Joyce LaBorde Cessac (born 1934) of Portland
Portland, Texas
Portland is a city in Nueces and San Patricio Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The current mayor and city manager are David Krebs and Mike Tanner. The population was 14,827 at the 2000 census, with a 2007 estimated population of 16,408.-Geography:...
, near Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
, Texas. Adras, II, who held a Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
degree in forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
from LSU in Baton Rouge, died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at the age of twenty-nine. Adras II's son, Adras Paul LaBorde, III (born in Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
, in 1966), is a Baton Rouge attorney in the Rowe law firm, who specializes in litigation, admiralty, and maritime law. LaBorde, III, (sometimes known as Paul Endom, after his stepfather) is a graduate of Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, and the Louisiana State University Law School.
Adras and Blanche LaBorde are buried in Alexandria Memorial Gardens.
(It is noted that LaBorde's date of birth was mathematically rare, 12-12-12.)