Mary Lou Borel Thibodeaux – Elementary Education, 1975; M. Ed., 1979

Mary Lou Borel Thibodeaux

1975 & 1979

Rags To Riches: USL’s Influence on a Family’s Life

                My name is Mary Lou Borel Thibodeaux (1975, 1979) and I was born on March 22, 1930 in the small community of Catahoula, La. which is located approximately 12 miles from St. Martinville, LA.  Although the nation was in the middle of the depression, poverty was rather common place in Catahoula, so the depression did not affect us that much.  I was the fifth of nine children.  My father had been a farmer but he lost the farm when he could not pay his debts one season when the crop failed due to the flood of 1927.  He worked as a carpenter when work was available. We were of Cajun descent and spoke French until we entered school where we were forbidden to speak French.  My parents spoke French and very little English until the time of their deaths.  All nine children were assigned chores in the family and were expected to help with the necessities of life.

                Life at that time was not simple.  Heating and cooking were done with a wood burning stove.  We had no running water and no electricity.  Electricity in rural Louisiana was not available to everyone until a few years later. One sister sewed and another cooked alongside my mother.  My oldest brother earned food or small sums of money from neighbors and relatives until he went to work at the CCC camp in Girard Park.  He later  served in World War II.  My  younger sister, Hilda Borel Stutson (1975), who also became a teacher later in life, was my constant companion.  We were rather tomboyish, enjoyed outdoor play, and hunted for small animals, and fished for crawfish. We all pitched in to make a little money.  I  remember well picking peppers all day to earn money to purchase writing paper and pencils for school, and then going home and soaking our hands in milk to remove the pepper burn.  In our mid teens, my siblings and I went to Lafayette to get jobs to send money back to the family. Both of my parents were sickly. My mother suffered from heart disease and asthma, and my father sufered from emphysema. They both died in their early sixties.

After moving to Lafayette, I met my husband, Waldo J. Thibodeaux. We got married after her returned from service in 1947 and we lived in a small house on Refinery Street in Lafayette. Soon after the birth of our first child, we bought property near the Hamilton Lab School because of the quality education offered there, and we still live there.              I spent the first part of my adult life as a homemaker raising our four children.  My husband worked for the City of Lafayette, and I raised our three oldest children on that single income.  To make ends meet, I sewed all of the children’s clothing and shopped sales once every two weeks at Heymann’s Grocery and Department Store in Lafayette.  Sometimes we rented rooms to college students for a little income to help pay for the private piano lessons or enrichment activities that we thought were important for the children.  The children helped with the housekeeping and family chores.  We felt very fortunate to have our children attend the Hamilton Lab School in that it provided not only exceptional education experiences, but also wonderful enrichment opportunities.  The children took music lessons with faculty members,  acted in plays produced by the university, and went on trips related to the activities at school.

                After two of our children were married and my oldest daughter began her teaching career, I decided that, I too, should begin a career.  Because I excelled in math, I began by taking courses with H&R Block and  would seasonally have a part time job in tax preparation.  I realized then that I could achieve a better quality of life if I were to attain a teaching degree.   At times it was awkward attending classes at USL with classmates as young as my children, but I persevered and eventually graduated from USL with a bachelors degree in education.  I began teaching at Judice Elementary and remained  there for twenty years.  During that time, I continued my education at USL and eventually earned a masters degree in education. I retired from teaching in 1995.

                USL gave me the opportunity to fulfill my potential as a mother and later in having a career.  I have overcome poverty, learned a new language, moved to a larger city, and educated  my children.  All four children earned degrees from USL.  Our three daughters–Sue (1970, 1975), Debora (1978), and Ginger (1981, 1987)–earned degrees in education and are teachers.   Our son, Keith (1987) earned a degree in General Studies and is now Vice President with Pacific Corp/ TPC Corporation in Houston.  Through all these endeavors, USL played a vital role.