What made the 1950s such a fun time to grow up in New Iberia?

Was it just “simpler times,” or much more than that? Was it just being younger and things didn’t seem real? Those who grew up in the Teche Area in the 1950s and 60s have fond memories of their childhoods.

Those who attended school anywhere from 1950 all the way until 1970 know that things were ever-changing as the decades rolled by.

Annette Viator, for example, enjoyed her time as a youth in New Iberia, attending school at what is now School Days Apartments.

“One of my favorite things about attending this school was that we had an actual lunch hour,” Viator said, posting on the Facebook group, “You might be from New Iberia if…” and she added, “We could go across the street to Frank’s or The Donut Shop or pile in a car and go to Freezo or just ride around the whole time.”

Viator said that during that time, plans were made by the flagpole in the morning and lunch hour was a big part of students’ social life during that time.

Lots of plans and plots were hatched during those 60 precious minutes for her and her classmates.

In the early 1950s, most kids lived within walking distance of their school, so they often walked instead of taking the bus.

Like Viator, Richard Howell remembers the fun he had while in school in the early 1950s.

“In grade school in the 1950s I would ride my bicycle home for lunch with my mom, who was a stay at home mom, and sometimes Dad would be working close enough to come home also and we would Listen to Paul Harvey on the radio while we ate lunch,” Howell said.