Memories of Jeanerette

Published 8:00 am Sunday, February 10, 2019

It wasn’t Julaine Schexnadyer’s original intent to write a book to bring a sense of nostalgia to people who lived in Jeanerette years ago, but that’s exactly what happened. 

The book, titled “Jeanerette: My Hometown” is a collection of essays, stories and memories by Schexnayder. 

Schexnayder, a columnist for The Daily Iberian and former teacher, started the book by writing a memoir-style series of stories about her family from when she grew up on Minvielle Boulevard in Jeanerette. 

The collection of stories was written  over a period of 10 years since Schexnayder first became a student in the Memoirs Writing class offered by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

But in writing so much about her location, along with a wealth of knowledge about the history of Jeanerette through her columns, Schexnayder said the Sugar City became an important part of the book.

It also attracted readers. Through various websites and social platforms Schexnayder began to attract the attention of people who grew up in Jeanerette around the same time she did. Many began attempting to buy the book sight unseen, she said.

“The nostalgia, that’s what I’m selling and I hope I succeed at it,” she said Friday. “It’s mostly expats who are buying, people who have moved from Youngsville to Oregon. I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing. It started out an unusual family story.”

The book is divided into three sections, with the first chronicling Shexnayder’s perspective of the hard family life she grew up with. From an invalid mother suffering from rheumatoid arthritis to siblings dealing with internal family struggles in different ways, the book addresses how the family dealt with its struggles

“It’s not a drama, it’s more a reality show of this little family on Minvielle Boulevard, four children in different stages and each one got a different role or different responsibility in how we dealt with it,” Schexnayder said.

The second part of the book documents the history of Jeanerette and highlights newsworthy moments. 

“It’s important things that have happened in Jeanerette over the years,” she said. “It’s not necessarily things I’ve experienced, but things that are certainly in my memory bank.”

Some of those include recent events like the murder of Jeanerette resident Howard Poche in 2017 to various crimes and controversies that took place in the town over the years.

The last section of the book, called lagniappe, covers a bit extra that Schexnayder couldn’t tie in with the rest of the book.

Schexnayder is a Jeanerette native and spent her formative years at Sisters of Mercy at St. Joseph School followed by high school at Jeanerette Senior High. 

Over the years, she’s worked as an English teacher, public relations agent, office manager and homemaker. She currently resides in New Iberia.

The Jeanerette portrayed in her stories is one that Schexnayder said said she hopes will resonate with those who grew up in the area when she did. So far, it seems successful. The first batch of booked ordered has already sold out, and Schexnayder said she plans to order more copies of the self-published book soon.