Obtaining the Title of Strawberry Capital

Written by
Dr. Charles H. Gideon
City Councilman 1968-1972
 
After being elected City Councilman in 1968, I found that businesses in downtown Ponchatoula dwindling to an all time low and the spirit of the citizens also diminishing. I wanted to find a project that would renew the spirit of the beautiful city. Hammond was known as the "Strawberry Capital of Louisiana."

I started asking the local people and visited some strawberry farmers and asked them why Hammond known as the "Strawberry Capital", finding out that most of the strawberries were grown and shipped from Ponchatoula.  The almost unanimous answer I received was, "I don't know, it was just always that way".  I suggested to these people that we take it away from Hammond, they just laughed and said, "Nobody has ever taken a title from a city, to place it in another city".  I was not encouraged much by this unenthusiastic response, especially from the farmers themselves.

The news media in New Orleans and Baton Rouge would do specials about Hammond's strawberries and encourage the listeners: to come to Hammond and get their fresh strawberries. Ponchatoula wasn't even mentioned in any of the news media.

I knew that the title of the "Strawberry Capital" rightfully belonged to Ponchatoula.  I knew that I had to have the positive proof that Ponchatoula did ship more strawberries each year than Hammond.

At that time the Commissioner of Agriculture was Mr. Pierce. I requested the latest figures on the shipment of strawberries in 1967. After receiving these agriculture statistics, it showed that Hammond shipped 17 railroad carloads of strawberries and Ponchatoula shipped 194 carloads a year.

Armed with these official statistics I knew that Ponchatoula rightfully would somehow capture from Hammond the title "Strawberry Capital". Sam Saik was Mayor of Hammond. Sam was a fine man and an exceptional Mayor. I made an appointment to see the Mayor in his office and in a friendly sort of way, I showed Sam the Department of Agriculture statistics. I related to him the importance it would be to Ponchatoula and how we deserved the publicity and the recognition and reminded him that he had Southeastern College to brag about and how it brought a lot of publicity to Hammond.

Sam was very courteous, but not willing to relinquish the title. I suggested to him that the City of Ponchatoula would enter a friendly lawsuit in the 21st Judicial Court to sue Hammond for the title and let the judge decide. This would give both cities nationwide publicity and it would benefit Hammond and Ponchatoula. He smiled but did not accept the offer.

I made an appointment with Commissioner Pierce and met with him at the Agridustrial Futurama at Southeastern College. I confronted him with his figures of 1967-68 strawberry shipments. I asked him who shipped more strawberries? He acknowledged that Ponchatoula shipped far more strawberries. I then asked him to declare Ponchatoula the "Strawberry Capital". He smiled and quickly said that he didn't like to get into family arguments, which meant to me that being a politician he probably figured that there were more votes in Hammond than in Ponchatoula. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. Mayor Sam Saik would not give up the title voluntarily and Commissioner Pierce would not officially declare Ponchatoula the Strawberry Capital.

I asked for a private meeting with Mayor Buddy Dufreche and the other four councilmen and explained the whole scenario of events that had led up to this time, and asked them if I introduced an ordinance to declare Ponchatoula the "Strawberry Capital" would they support the ordinance? They all were very positive and at the next council meeting, in 1968, the ordinance passed.

I immediately wrote a letter to the City of Hammond addressed to Mayor Sam Saik and stated that I would give them 30 days to remove all signs and emblems on their stationery that had any reference to the "Strawberry Capital". If this was not done, I would enter a not so friendly lawsuit in the 21st Judicial District forcing them to comply. To my amazement they did just that. Ponchatoula was now the official (by city ordinance) "Strawberry Capital Of the World". By obtaining the title, the pride has been restored to the citizens and the farmers who grow the luscious fruit and set the stages for the second largest and most successful festival in the state of Louisiana, "The Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival".

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