CHELSEA ARSENEAULT: What do you remember about Governor Edwin Edwards?

JUDY MONTGOMERY-GAUTHIA: My parents [Valery and Eola Montgomery] was crazy about him. He would come and they would talk French to each other because Edwards is a Frenchman, too. And they would talk a little French. And of course I didn’t understand it so I didn’t know what they was talking about. [laughing] I can remember, I think Ed was the one who helped us to get water in Mossville--city water. And different things like that. And I remember they . . . Daddy had to go on TV for the water. And he was working at Conoco and they said that they needed him to be at the station at a certain time. He said, “Oh, but I’m at work.” They said, “Oh man! We need you to come and say something about this because you helped us to get to this point.” So he said, “Okay, I’m going to ask my boss man, ‘Can I take off to go?’” And he was so nervous and he told us, he say . . . I can remember that real good. He say, “I’m going to have to get me a shot of whiskey to calm my nerves down. I don’t know how to speak on the TV! I never did that before,” and stuff. They say he did good speaking on the TV, and I think his brother, Wes, went, too. So yeah, that was something to be proud of.

ELAINE ROBINSON: Had to fight a while to get sewage here, and water.

MONTGOMERY-GAUTHIA: Yeah. He was helping to do all kind of stuff, you know, whenever they needed. They was always coming to talk with him about things.