Mr. Lake's New Orleans Forum

I'm working on a book proposal which will include "unique individuals and groups, past and present, who have made a memorable impact on their community". The community is Metairie.

Any suggestions -- people or groups you'd be interested in knowing more about as well as those you think should be included?

Not sure why, but one of the first to come to mind was "Noot" Girard who coached kids' football at Metairie Playground, which should have been named after him instead of that Pontiff kid, and not that new playground way out where it was swamps when Mr. Noot coached. Maybe because I was thinking of him after reading the Johnny Bright thread in which the forum's resident scholar answered dey own question.

Another generous and noteworthy coach was Ronnie Doyle from Rummel. I read his obit a few months ago and emailed the nola.com link to my older brother who was an alumnus. Even though I went to St. John Prep, I was allowed to take after-hours driver's ed at Rummel under coach Doyle.

The biggest impression was from Sam Barthe, who moved his operation from the old McFadden estate in City Park and built a private school for boys outin the swamps off Haring Road, and educated the sons of the rich and famous (and some kids of lesser known folk like my dad the engineer) with military discipline, a strong phys ed and sports program, and high academic standards. Oh, and a day camp in the summers. I could tell stories...

Chawlie, can you tell me more about "Noot" Girard (for example, what was his given name) or lead me to sources?

By the way, and for what it's worth, if the book is published anyone who contributes information or suggestions to it (as Chawlie has already done) will be noted in the acknowledgements.

Sorry, Lake, alls I know is he coached one of the other teams when I was playing in the 98-lb football league at Metairie Playground in the early 1960s. I can't even remember my coaches' names or our team mascot, but everybody knew who he was. He was just Mr. Noot or Coach Noot (rhymes with foot) to us kids, and all the other coaches seemed to defer to him. Everybody got quiet when somebody said he died of a heart attack.

It seems a shame to name Metairie Playground after somebody else after he put in so much time for the kids there, but at least he was remembered with one of those new playgrounds way out in the wilds of "new" Metairie, I think, or maybe Kennuh.