Andy D'Aquilla & Laurie Walsh - STV: 28

Marc sits down with Mayor Andy D’Aquilla and Laurie Walsh for a lively conversation about the growth, character, and future of St. Francisville. Together they reflect on the town’s progress, community spirit, local projects, and the charm that continues to make St. Francisville such a special place.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Greetings, y'all. This is Mark Charbonnet on Steve the Bill, our podcast here in St. Francisville. Greetings, folks. I'm here today with the mayor of St. Francisville, Andy Dequilla. Hi, Andy. Thank you for being on.

SPEAKER_03 0:17

Thanks for inviting me.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

And another person that's very important to this town, Ms. Laura Walsh. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 0:23

I'm good, Mark. How are you?

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Good, thank you. So thank you for coming today. I just have a few questions and also what you know, visiting is my favorite sport, so I wanted to find out a few things. There's a lot going on always in St. Francisville. And Andy, you are uh a Nepo baby because your dad was the mayor of St. Francisville from 1984 until when?

SPEAKER_03 0:46

2020.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Wow, that was a really long time. And I loved your dad. He was a wonderful person to visit with. I'd go into Town Hall and sit there with Butch Kerr and visit with him. Um it's a different town now. I don't even know if he'd recognize it after all this that's gone on.

SPEAKER_03 1:05

Yeah, no, he was around with some of the improvements going on. He um yeah, he loved this town.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

He did. He sure did. What's funny, I I don't know if you'll agree with me, but since you both are so involved in the town, it seems when I moved here, it was Bohemianville, that whole uh block of from from Ferdinand down commerce all the way to uh uh is it Burnett Street was just bombed out. It looked like Geiza, you know, and then um the biggest thing that happened to us was Ellen, Carolyn Albastat, and I did Petra over, and that was like the big deal, which is funny. And then Brandon and Jim moved in and they really did kind of change the whole situation with the inn, which brought a booze, a bougie edge to uh to the town of St. Francisville. And uh from there it just kind of kept falling in place and falling a place. Wendy has taken over Bohemianville and made it into a chic little plot spot where you can go and find all kinds of things. Davis, I think, taking over the Birdman has really added a fun element to that place. And uh you've got the brew house, you've got the pizza parlor. I mean, it's just really sacking. And then we were just talking before we started this that uh Cafe Basil is going to be opening on Ferdinand and uh Leonard Street. So there's a lot going on in town.

SPEAKER_03 2:47

Yeah, we should have that bakery coming soon.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Next to the Historic Society, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:52

Yeah, that'll be nice. They uh provided some snacks when the hospital opened up their emergency unit, and they were they were wonderful. Oh, good.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

I heard they're very good. They're very good. Yeah. So, Lori, give us a run-through. We read about you in the recent Feliciana newspaper, and uh you really have quite a plate. So, which was a normal day for you in town?

SPEAKER_00 3:17

Um first let me say, you know, credit to Mr. Billy because St. Francisville would not be what it is today without his foresight. Um and, you know, he listened to Miss Nancy, Miss Ann, and Miss Libby, and they really guided him and St. Francisfield to be who we are and what we are today, you know. So we're very proud of that. We're very thankful to him to create give us that layer to start with and move and add on to. Um so for me, it really kind of my day shifts, you know. It's um I I feel like some days in the office, like I'm the oldest one there. I'm the one that's been there the longest. So sometimes I'm like the fire putter outer, you know, if they don't know something. Oh, go ask Miss Laurie. She probably does kind of thing. So um it's I juggle, I juggle a lot, you know, with Main Street planning and zoning, um, capital outlay stuff, special projects, that kind of stuff. So it's um I've learned a whole lot about stuff that I never thought I would learn in my life. You know, hospitality was sort of my my background. Um but when I got here, you know, in the 90s, we didn't look anything like we look today. Um and it was, you know, I can remember my father telling me as because he owned a small business too, was that you need to get involved because what happens in towns affects you directly. And so you need to volunteer and become part of the community. And um luckily they embraced us and and it's I would I would never live anywhere else.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

It's great. It really is.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

It really is. It is.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

So how do you like being the new mayor?

SPEAKER_03 5:10

I've enjoyed it. It's um everything I thought it would be. I've heard dad deal with the town for the last 40 years, so it's everything that I thought it would be. The employees are great. Um we need a lot of infrastructure upgrades, and that's important with the improvements in town and all the new businesses. We really need to keep up with that. So that's kind of my focus is upgrading the water lines, the sewer lines. We need a new water tower. So that's really where I'm putting a lot of.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

Oh, you mean like the one that's over on Wilcox and Well, actually, we need a water well right next to the tower.

SPEAKER_03 5:48

So we need a new water well to clarify.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Let me ask you, um, what uh is going on with um the way we have this great causeway to the river? Is that that is that that's part of West Feliciana Parish, but that's not far to St. Francisville, is it? What was Bayou Sarah?

SPEAKER_03 6:10

The town stops at the caboose.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

So who owns I always wanted to know who owns the property beyond that to the river?

SPEAKER_03 6:16

The parish.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

I was wondering. And it's interesting how, depending on where the river is, you got landings on our side on the east bank, or you got landings on the other side on the west bank. Uh the boat business is really good though. I constantly hear. So how is uh your insight with property prices? Um they've just gone crazy. I mean, it's not unusual for houses to be way up there now.

SPEAKER_03 6:50

They have houses have almost doubled that I've seen in in my business. I have a title company and um I've seen five hundred thousand dollar houses going from nine hundred to a million now on Ferdinand Street. Over a million easy. So it's really It's something else. Um adjustment to some of the locals.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

I know the locals, it's funny the way that happens. The locals are like in the minority now. They uh and it's fun, you know, you got heirs and and descendants of people who are from town and they can't even afford to buy one of the family houses. They get sold out. And I've seen that twice. I know that's kind of a sad thing, but I guess that's progress, and people just keep making the town better by renovating these houses and living in them. And you all are very good about not letting people warehouse them and make them into, you know, overnighters, so that's good. And uh the town just looks really beautiful. I mean, it's it I moved here in in 17 and it's completely different from when I moved here, completely. And I've seen it all. And I have an eye for detail, so I've watched it. I really wish that and I know there are a lot of businesses in the church, but I wish that the area of Ferdinand next to the bird man over to Pecan Grove would kind of have the same rebirth that the area of Ferdinand, excuse me, Commerce to uh the other side of town has done so well.

SPEAKER_03 8:27

It's been it's got a rebirth. I mean, I think we used to have the uh Red Horse there that Julian Sheer and her family really redid that. Stuart McGuinness redid Black Brothers Body Shop, and that that was a beautiful overlay they did there. It looks great what he did there.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

And the gardens are beautiful over there.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Oh, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:47

No, but I'm talking about across the other street. You're on the other side of the street, yeah. I know it but we're it takes time. I mean, it's a progress.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

You got some property ones, right? And and churches. Uh there's a church there as well.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

Yes. And the the cool thing about that section is it's one of the areas where you can have that residential commercial mix.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

Oh, do people actually live on that strip?

SPEAKER_00 9:12

Yeah. So do you remember um Denise and Tom Scarborough? So they had Nouvelle Candles. Um, they sold the company and they took that building and they renovated it, and that that's where they're living.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Is that the building one block, one building off of uh a congruent?

SPEAKER_00 9:36

Yeah, where Wayne used to have his business. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

I heard that's a Hayes Town job.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

That's what I heard too, yeah. Yeah. So I think we'll see some shifting, you know. I think it's it's sort of that's how it happens. One pioneer starts and then the neighborhood starts to to kind of um spruce up for lack of a better word.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

Does it seem to you too, just visiting, just seeing the people that are visiting town and everything, that it's a higher grade of people that are coming in now? Um they make St. Francisville a destination. Like I I gave a tour today, and the ladies told me they're making tomorrow a spa day. And I just thought to myself, you would have never heard that. A spa day.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

I know, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:27

But it's happening.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

It is, it is. Um, I think one of our biggest challenges is trying to um create activities for families, you know, to bring in that dynamic. And um, you know, the tourist commission has a new executive director. And so um, she's younger, she's got a lot of ideas, a lot of momentum, creativity. And so we're trying to bounce stuff off of each other on you know how to put on events that can bring family friendly. And most of the stuff that we do downtown is family friendly, so um, but it's just creating that that sources for people to bring their kids.

SPEAKER_03 11:10

So that's so important with the family.

SPEAKER_00 11:14

We just have a sports park, but movie in the park. Yeah, came back. We brought back movie in the park.

SPEAKER_03 11:19

Yeah, so and we have big turnouts. How many came to the last one?

SPEAKER_00 11:22

Probably a couple hundred.

SPEAKER_03 11:24

Yeah, it was people are starving for family events.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Um, and so we're we're we've been talking about, you know, bringing back. We did one time this cover book about a dog on Ferdinand Street, Moose is Loose on, and you know, he went to all the shops, and so we're talking about bringing that kind of stuff back and doing scavenger hunts that kids can do in town with with some of the history parts, you know, so they can learn about the history as well, and you know, that kind of stuff, just to gravitate. Um people have something to do. Sports park's a great place, you know, in the parish.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

So um you know what this town needs though, and it's a shame we don't have one, is a dog run. It would be so nice to bring dogs. That's uh probably outside of the parish. I mean, outside of the town, that would be a parish uh thing. But it would be nice, maybe out of the sports park. It'd be nice to have a a place that's you know, it's expensive though, because you gotta keep it clean and you gotta maintain it like it's a fenced in area. So the landscaping is something you gotta take care of. But it would just be really good because people in town really love their dogs.

unknown 12:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:31

I noticed when I campaigned there's a lot of people with dogs. Which I have too myself, but um Yeah, you wouldn't believe all the dogs in the community.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

And they do bring 'em out, you know, like when we would do concerts in the park and stuff like that, people do bring their dogs with them. So it's it's um Yeah, my dog's always with them. Yeah, I mean it's it's you know, we just need to figure out new ways to accommodate the new nuances of people.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

It's so sad that um I what is the man's name who owned the Matt Factory? I understand that he passed away on an airplane.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

Oh, Dan Fordy.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Yeah. That was really shocking.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 13:17

I mean I just heard people talking about him and some of his plans, and then I read that and I was just so shocked.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

It was He was uh you know, Dan moved here in the nineties. Um and he was he was a strong force. He he became part of the chamber, he became you know, chamber chairman, he started the the scholarship fund that the chamber does with the the um when they used to do the golf tournament and stuff like that. And that's a sad thing. So his son is now running the mat field. So um you know, you hate that it's terrible.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Is that a national or an international business? People have asked me that.

SPEAKER_00 14:01

The mat field? It's part of the Army Corps of Engineers. Army Corps of Engineers.

SPEAKER_03 14:05

Oh, so they're say I would say national.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

So interesting. It's surreal. Have you ever driven back there and looked at it? I mean, it's something else, like another planet.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

Well, and I think when you tell people what it is, you know, I know when I used to go down to the boats to Cat T and I would greet the boats and stuff, people, oh what is that? You know, so it's I feel like it's always one of those things that intrigues people. And um, you know, when you tell them they make these concrete mats, they lay in the river, keep the river, they're like, oh, who would have thought of that? You know, kind of things.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Who would have thought of that?

SPEAKER_00 14:39

Who would have thought of that?

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Somebody did.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

So what are some new projects that are coming to town that you know of?

SPEAKER_03 14:50

Well, we we've got the walkway that we've been anticipating for quite some time. That'll be nice.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

How long will that be? Like in length, like how long would that be?

SPEAKER_03 14:59

It's gotta be over a mile, I would imagine. It starts at Assissie Heights, it's gonna go through the hospital area, come out by the library, it's gonna go behind the library through the woods and come out in Parker Park. So that's gonna be a beautiful walkway, and we've already had it surveyed. The money, my understanding, is also just sitting there waiting for us to finish. The surveying's been done on it. So when you come out the walkway in Parker Park, you'll go up the sidewalk, up Commerce, and then take a right on Highway 10, turn a left on Legion. On Legion, go down Wilcox Street, and it'll end at the grocery store there in town. And we'll have improvements along the way, some benches, uh, the sidewalk's gonna be spruced up, so it's really gonna be a good thing.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

That would be really nice.

SPEAKER_03 15:47

They've discussed an alternate route to the sports park. If we ever complete this, we would go in the other direction, under 61, through Audubon Hills, through Rose Down, and come out at the sports park as a long-term goal. How do you go under 61? We're not sure yet, but that's been discussed.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Does anybody ever think about putting a light at commerce in 61 where you know you got the the Oh on the north side? The hotel company. Because you see these people running across the street, I always think it looks like a dodgeball part.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

It you know, I feel like there's this um walkway that, you know, with the hospital one was such a connectivity to get people to be able to walk to the grocery store safely, you know, that kind of stuff. And so, and I think it'd be great for people exercising, kids, that kind of stuff. So um we've talked to DOTD about putting a uh button light at the 61 in commerce on the south end, but we have to have the sidewalk. They they won't just dump them on the side of the road. So we have to have a sidewalk to connectivity to well that makes sense. It makes sense, yeah. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. So that's um we've talked about that too.

SPEAKER_03 17:06

That's needed, I agree.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

It is needed, it really is. We've got a lot of erosion projects that we're working on that have come through capital outlay funds from the state that are um just got approved. So we have what five in this last set? Five, seven, five to seven spots.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

Yeah, we have what I thought it was twelve. We got about twenty spots identified, but we've got a lot of erosion issues, and we've got two million dollars, I think, to spend.

SPEAKER_00 17:33

Yes, two million left. We had 3.5 million.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Um where are the problems?

SPEAKER_03 17:39

Uh uh I'm just curious because I know the town, but I'm wondering where they are, like the problems that are of the We've got one, we've got two on Ferdinand Street where it just starts washing, and it's got to be by town infrastructure, either a lift station, a gas line, or something, you know, that the town's related. We can't just fix private property. But we've got lift stations throughout town that have erosion bomb, we've got gas lines that have erosion bomb, we've got wastewater drains that are starting to erode away. And, you know, all that we live on a hill in St. Francisville.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

So let me ask you, because it was big talk when I was first here, and then I didn't hear a whole lot about it, and then I heard, oh, this is too much under the ground, about you know, getting rid of the telephone poles and putting all of that underground. Um, am I mistaken? Wasn't that on the table at one point?

SPEAKER_03 18:32

It's still in progress. When Trump came in office, he took away our funding. He halted all the funding and Bobby had secured $2.2 million, I believe, for that project. Trump took it away, but last year we've recently got that funding back through the help of Julia Litlow. So we've got the funding, we've contracted with Atmos Atlas Community Studios.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

Um, we got the award letter from HUD, it's a HUD community project. Um, and it's $2.2 million to um along Cramer Street to bury the power lines there to relocate the side ed sidewalks, relocate the parking, and make that safer for everybody, that little area right there. And we'll bury the power lines from Burnett Road to around the corner on Ferdinand and they'll pop back up before Leonard Street. Um, but that the feeder line comes from the substation all the way through town to the river. So we have to do it in, of course, sections. So this is the first phase. We're hoping that we can expand upon it. Um it's very expensive.

SPEAKER_01 19:45

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

And and it's it's a cost to the homeowner because then the homeowner has to vary from where entergy puts it in the ground to their location too. And so, like for some places, if your power is not coming in on the front side, then you have to relocate your stuff to for their connection. So there's a lot of it's it's very detailed. Like we're it's it's in the works. It's in the works.

SPEAKER_03 20:13

Senator Womack has helped us as well. Jeremy Lacomb and Senator Womack has they've we've gotten what 1.1 million from the state as well. So we've got over three million to spend on that project, which is nice. So the lines will be buried, but but we're also gonna fix the parking in that parking lot above um parker district. We're gonna pave that parking lot, put some light in there and some steps, and just have more park parking for the tourists in town.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

And we're hoping Burnett Road to do some additional parking. Where the park is to do additional parking.

SPEAKER_03 20:45

And our plan is to do the parking first. Yes, because that's gonna be a mess once we start that project. No, it will be very excited about it.

SPEAKER_01 20:52

Although it seems like all the businesses pretty much do all right between parties, restaurants, weddings. And you know, everybody seems to I mean, I'm I'm sure they park where they shouldn't park as well, but I mean it seems like it's for what people were afraid of, it seems to be working well. Knock on wood.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

I don't think it's deterred anybody from being having patrons come to their shops and restaurants, you know. So it's frightening, but it's scary, but it's good.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

Just anticipating, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:29

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 21:32

So Lori, how old is your house on Royal Street?

SPEAKER_00 21:39

I'm thinking probably 1889-ish somewhere.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

Was it moved up from Bayou, Sarah?

SPEAKER_00 21:45

No, I think that so my house is called the Corner Cottage, and I think that there was a street, if I'm not mistaken. Where Owen's house I think somewhere there was a street right there. That connected Royal to Ferdinand. And I think my house was on that corner street, and that's why it was called the Corner Cottage. Um and it's I laugh because I grew up in the city park area, and then I moved to a little shotgun in Marini, and now I'm back into a shotgun, which I love because it's Oh, so you were in New Orleans. I was. I came from New Orleans.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

Is that where you were born? Oh, interesting. Interesting. And you were born here, I'm assuming. I was. I was. So uh what do you hope to see? Like, what are your plans and what are you looking forward to as far as the town?

SPEAKER_03 22:46

I really would like some. It's not very exciting, but we need some new water meters. Uh we need some um Wi-Fi water meters because ours are aged and old and we're losing a lot of water that we can't account for. Um we need to replace a lot of our sewer lines. Uh, it it ain't exciting, but I'm really excited about the infrastructure. Yeah, with all the new people coming in, we'd like that infrastructure to be up now.

SPEAKER_01 23:15

Who would find that outstanding? The state or the government or who?

SPEAKER_03 23:19

Where are we looking for the water? That's a million-dollar project that we're we keep applying for grant money.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

We applied for um the CDBG grant. Um, because when we put in the new sewer treatment plant, we need to do upgrades to the lines. Um and so um so we apply for that. So we're waiting to see if if, and that has a lot of um criteria that you have to meet. Um, so we're hoping that we can meet those standards and then we can apply for that. Um, we've also applied to uh Department of Health and Hospitals. Um and they will um for safe drinking water and improvement of your water system, they'll do a loan, uh um a low interest rate loan. And then if you meet some standards, sometimes they'll forgive the loan back. And so um those two things and then gas.

SPEAKER_03 24:24

I think gas we're we're doing well with the gas.

SPEAKER_00 24:28

It's the water, it's the water and the sewer are that um really need upgrading.

SPEAKER_03 24:32

Really need upgrading. We're probably 30 years behind with our water system and gas.

SPEAKER_00 24:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:39

Um, we're fixing to do a GSI mapping with the water lines and the gas lines and the sewer lines. So I'm excited about that.

SPEAKER_01 24:48

So you're an infrastructure, man. I think that's important too. You know, it can't all be pretty.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

Right. Well, and I think people don't ever think of the below ground stuff, they only think of what's above. Um, and with the the GIS mapping and stuff like that, you know, back when they put in all these systems, they used what was the in material then, which is not always best now because there's better materials. And so when we try and upgrade, we have to we do small amounts that we upgrade, like we might take half a royal street this way, and okay, we're gonna change out all the water lines on that because we can afford to do that with this grant. So it's we're doing pieces and parts as we can, and um it's it's expense, it's expensive. It's expensive. You know, Andy wants to upgrade the fire department. Um, so we just got a new fire truck, and you know, those are very expensive. Um and um so because we want to keep that fire rating our pill rating. I don't know if it's supposed to be high or low, I can't remember.

SPEAKER_03 25:59

Supposed to be low, and it went up one point, and that raises everybody's homeowner's insurance. Homeowner's insurance.

SPEAKER_00 26:05

So we're trying to, you know, make sure we can meet those standards by, you know, um upgrading the department, equipment, the volunteers, paid personnel, that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_03 26:16

So we could use some more volunteers if anybody's listening to this podcast. You just reach out to Mike Lemon and volunteer for the fire department.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

What kind of training do they have to do? They do have to have some training. You can't just show up and ride on a truck.

SPEAKER_03 26:29

I mean, you can show up, you fill out an application, and then they'll do in-house training. And even if you're directing traffic, it's helping. We get uh points for having volunteers on scene. You don't have to be a door kicker or pose holder, but it'd be nice to have more volunteers. I can't believe we only we only have one volunteer, I believe. So we in town. We've got one volunteer and we've got six on staff, I believe. We had to hire some part-time firefighters.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

Well, I would do it if I didn't have to kick indoors.

SPEAKER_03 27:02

You get a radio, you know what's going on.

SPEAKER_01 27:05

Well, no, I mean, seriously. I mean, I have bad knees. I mean, I wouldn't want to be trying to get somebody. I'm good, I would help somebody if they needed it, but I mean, I'm not, I'm 70. So, but I mean, if it's just like directing traffic, I'm good at that. I'm good at telling people what to do. And that's needed. That's needed. So, what are your favorite restaurants in town?

SPEAKER_03 27:30

I like the inn, it's really nice when there's a special event. Um, I had a friend come in from Germany probably six months ago. He was on The Voice at Germany, very impressive young man, and um we went there, we enjoyed it. Um other than that, I've got kids. My kids really love Sunny's. We eat out at Sunny's a lot in between baseball practice and football practice and every other practice that we have. We eat at the Francis a lot. Um, but it's a lot of on the go, like the Lebanese restaurant. When I'm at work, we usually order from Magnolia. So I really like all the places. We've got so many good places in there.

SPEAKER_01 28:10

We just interviewed uh, as I told you, Amanda and Steve and Doug. Abby wasn't here. But did are you aware they do a lunchtime special every day? Which is really nice to know. Ellen was there, and I understand she really enjoyed it. I wanted to go today, but just never got around to it. But I want to go on Monday because I have you had their red beans and rice yet? I haven't. I've had one of the burgers.

SPEAKER_00 28:36

And I know they have a music Monday afternoon as well.

SPEAKER_01 28:39

So well, I'm gonna try those red beans on Monday.

SPEAKER_00 28:42

Okay, um, you know, we we are very fortunate to have the number of good restaurants that we have in such a small community. I mean, we we really are. And and you have, you know, fast food to elegant. So and there's something for everybody in between.

SPEAKER_01 28:58

No, it's true, absolutely. Yeah, and most of them are fun places.

SPEAKER_00 29:02

They are, they are. And I think that's the beauty about you know, people that come here in Louisiana just in general, is is the hospitality and the people and how friendly they are, you know. So we're very fortunate.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

Now, just on a side note, because people love ghost stories, I understand that you are aware of Darlene.

SPEAKER_00 29:27

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 29:28

Can you tell us about Darlene?

SPEAKER_00 29:31

So when we lived at the inn, um the upstairs was not finished at the first in the very beginning when we got there. And we had two kids at the time, four and two. And we had some friends over, and and then Darcy was born. I guess Darcy was probably about four at the time, so we we actually had three kids. And you could hear like don't don't don't don't up in the attic, and it was oh, it's just the kids bicycle up there and doing whatever. Well, some friends came over. I never really saw Darlene, but the k the kids would talk about her, and I'm like, yeah, whatever, you know. Um we were standing at the bottom of the stairs, and Patty, this friend of ours, had a little boy, and I guess Nick was about three at the time, and Nick went upstairs looking for the girls, and we're like, who is Nick talking to? The girls are outside, right? And so Nick comes down and we're like, Nick, who are you talking to? Darlene. Like, who's Darlene? You know that little girl that lives upstairs with the pigtails. And we're all looking at each other like, okay. And Darlene lived up in the attic. I I don't, I'm assuming she's still there.

SPEAKER_01 30:49

Well, I'll tell you something that happened to me, and it was really amazing. I we were all sitting, this is before they had redone that dining room as it is now. It was one big table, and a bunch of us were there, uh, like the Friday lunch crowd. And I had a scarf loosely tied around my neck, and I felt something brush the back of my neck, and I don't know what made me do it, but I looked down, and the scarf that had just been loose was rolled like a cigarette and hanging on either side of me. And I went, and I said to the person sitting, I think it was Marsha Lindsay, I said, Look what happened. Everybody realized that it hadn't been like that before, but none of us had noticed it happening. And I got up because Brandon wasn't in the room, and I wanted to tell him about it, and I went into the kitchen, and he had a cook there named Wanda, and I said, Wanda, where is Brandon? She's very agitated, and uh she said, She's outside, and I said, Do you know what just happened to me? Uh she said, I don't want to hear about it. I don't want to hear about it. I said, No, let me tell you. And I said, I was sitting there and I kind of was able to tell her halfway. She was agitated, and she looked at me once I finished, telling her, and she said, I don't want to hear about it. That thing came in here and pulled my apron off. So it sounded rather playful, but I gotta tell you, that was a true story. Um and unfortunately, they didn't get it on the film thing, it wasn't working. They have film cameras all over. I wish we could have caught that because that was really so nothing, but also so you know, profound that you think some ghost is redoing my scarf. I mean, that was really amazing, and it really did happen. You have any ghost stories? I don't. Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:42

I think all these old houses have a presence.

SPEAKER_01 32:47

You know, it's as long as it's not maniacal.

SPEAKER_00 32:50

Exactly. As long as they're nice and they're sweet and you know, they're not trying to kill you in the middle of the night kind of thing. But um, you know, I think that it's just it's part of the fun and the charm of of these historical homes is to have those kind of conversations.

SPEAKER_01 33:08

I totally agree. That's why, you know, I wish I could sit here and visit with y'all a lot longer, but we try to keep these at about a half an hour and our time has come. But I'm glad we got to end it on a funny note with with ghost stories. Well, thank you, Andy, and thank you, Lori, for being my guest. Thanks for inviting us.

SPEAKER_03 33:24

I've enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_01 33:26

Thank you so much, and I'll let you know when this comes out.

unknown 33:28

Okay, cool.

SPEAKER_01 33:30

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