The Calcasieu Parish Courthouse is located in downtown Lake
Charles, Louisiana, at
1000 Ryan Street. It’s a beautiful court building,
as described to me with a green colored dome. I got into Lake Charles
early, and found some free off street parking at the northeast corner of Pujo
and Bilbo Streets (across the street from the Calcasieu Parish Public Library -
411 Pujo Street).Calcasieu Parish Courthouse - 1000 Ryan Street |
My former life as a Police
Detective found me in court buildings all of the time. I've discovered
there is a certain flow to government buildings, and courthouses in particular.
Go against the gain and you will find yourself getting stuck. Being
patient, polite, and professional (dressing the part also helps) will literally
open doors.
As with any other on-site
research, I'd done my homework well ahead of time. Today I was after a
civil case from 1932. Calling ahead of time, and following up by email, I
learned that many case files are housed off-site. If the file I was
interested in was off-site, archives staff would need to pull it back before my
arrival. Luckily, mine was kept on-site (microfilm). Doing my
homework ahead of time also gave me the name of a point of contact. Weeks
before my flight from California to Louisiana, I had already spoken with a very
helpful (and very knowledgeable) staff person and explained the main reason for
my cross county flight was to make a copy of this file. I was assured the
film would be waiting for me on the date we had set. Again, there is a
flow to these things, and lining everything up well ahead of time helps
everyone concerned.
Microfilm reader/printer. Photo taken with permission. |
The Archives Office is on the
main floor. Just off of this office is a small hallway leading to
archived files and microfilms. A very old, yet altogether useful,
microfilm machine sits just inside this area. Taking photos of images
from the microfilm is not allowed. Pages are printed (by you) and payment
is per the page. From memory, I think it was a dollar a page - but, I
might be off on this point. Nevertheless, I only paid for what I printed.
And I printed just able the entire file, 100 plus pages. This file
documented a set of circumstances which, interestingly enough, lead to my
grandparents (Tassin/Theriot) meeting. She sued him - it's a long story.
But, the cost of reproduction in this case was not a concern to me.
When I am working on-site like
this I take notes. The description of the microfilm roll, start and stop
image numbers, things of interest for follow-up later. In all cases these
notes go into the file/s for the involved persons. In some cases, like
this one, I also prepare a report. My notes and any report I write will
aid others who may wish to follow my steps later. They are also tools for
me into the future.
Firetrucks! No fire, everything turned out fine. |
Leading up to my visit to
Calcasieu Parish, I learned that most of the records from 1910 and before
burned in a fire - as did much of Lake Charles. Ironically, just as I was
finishing up with my good-byes to my helpful point of contact, the fire
alarm went off. It was time to leave - and in a hurry. I stood
outside for some time chatting with people and never saw any smoke.