Standing on the street corner, eyes closed, head tilted toward the sky, my ears consumed the sounds of the day. Cars whizzed by, dogs barked, the wind blew dry leaves across the sidewalk. A faint greeting: "How are your mother and them?" I didn't immediately realize it was directed at me. The second time I heard it, “How are your mother and them?”, the volume had been turned up. Peering through the maze of azalea branches, I see a weathered old man, wearing a straw hat sitting percarily on top of his slightly tilted head. I fear that the wind, which whips my hair, will claim the hat as its own. He rises only slightly, held quickly by a long-fingered, wrinkled hand. We share smiles; a tip of the hat and a nod concludes the meeting. Raising my sunglasses, I squint into the dazzling light of the afternoon sun: the shutters tap on the cypress siding, protesting the intrusion of the breeze, on the side of the Queen Anne cottage. I realize I'm channeling the essence of the historic neighborhood of Thibodaux, LA - "Where Yesterday Welcomes Tomorrow." (City of Thibodaux, LA) Originally settled by French and Spanish Creoles, Thibodaux quickly became the home of Acadian exiles during the mid-1700s. Nestled along the banks of Bayou Lafourche, Thibodaux was founded, in 1796, as a trading post between New Orleans and the town of Teche. (Louisiana State Library) Originally named Thibodeauxville, after Henry C. Thibodeaux, the donor of two square miles of land for the village's development in 1820, it is now home to approximately 15,000 people. (2010 Census) Thibodaux's Jackson Street reflects much of the rich history that makes Thibodaux unique. In 1847, Judge George S. Guion (who would later become Francis T. Nicholls' father-in-law) donated...... half of the paper ......the location of the railroad depot, dock steamboats and a steam sawmill. In 1823, Captain Ferdinand Streck was trading in Bayou Lafourche via a small boat. In 1825, Streck brought the first steamboat to the bayou, eventually owning the largest steamboat, the “Decatur.” A typical commercial run took four days, round trip, and began in New Orleans, ventured through Donaldsonville, and finally along Bayou Lafourche. Many boats have traveled this route, bringing showboats, photography boats, and zoo boats to Thibodaux. Now, standing on the Jackson Street bridge, after walking down this historic street in Thibodaux, I hear the voice once again: "How's your mom and?" right?" This time there is no alarm, no search for the source. Capturing the essence of this quaint, sleepy bayou town, it's easy to see how Thibodaux earned the nickname "Queen City of the Parish"..”