Metairie, Louisiana: Built With Working Class People
Metairie Louisiana shares the same history of French influence as the New Orleans area. The location of the town along a Mississippi River branch elevated it to an importance for transport. The people of the area are deeply rooted in their culture and traditions, with a fine sense of hospitality and an intense love of their sports teams. The area boasts many areas for their team games of basketball, football and baseball headed by the Jefferson Parish Parks and Recreation; with a special love for tennis.
Originally settled by the French, they named the town of Metairie after the word which meant sharecropper. The residents were hard working with an excellent sense of ethics. The delta area was known for much of the land as swampland and while the location was key, this detained early expansion and was also problematic with natural disasters, such as hurricanes and floods.
The advent of more modern times offered technologies that allowed the pumping out of some of the swamp areas, which expanded the prosperity with some of the most beautiful homes and historic businesses. Post World War II showed the most growth with the addition of local shopping areas as well as restaurants and cafes that offered some of the unique Cajun cuisine.
The close proximity to New Orleans was another gateway to success as the city became known for its family friendly celebration of the festival. The historic beauty of the area combined with the elegance of architecture began to bring a larger percentage of visitors and tourists. The parks and recreation areas host a number of sports games. There is an exceptional love of tennis and one can attend a number of youth and adult classes.
There is something that has to be said about the tenacity of the people of Metairie. Over the years, this area has been hit and devastated from some of the worse hurricanes and floods on record. Most recently, Hurricane Katrina nearly wiped out their lovely city. While Metairie, like many of this area of Louisiana made valiant attempts to thwart off the effects of a hurricane, it seems that technology can only be as good as the people that build and maintain it. Due to a lack of manpower, the pumping stations were abandoned, leaving Metairie to experience floods and evacuations that were unprecedented. The task has been daunting, but the residents of the area are fighters and have worked to bring their city back.
The people of Metairie are avid sports fans and their scoreboards are key to the success of their teams. It is not uncommon to see almost everyone at the local baseball game, eyes glued to the scoreboards and cheering fans. Metairie is a little piece of Americana blended with the best of southern hospitality and the touch of the French influenced culture. They have grown to add an incredibly night life for visitors with their many clubs. Music is a mainstay of the area, with the sounds of jazz and blues permeating the air. Anyone that drops into the area will have the honor of visiting the historic district of Old Metairie, dining at some of the top cafes and driving by some of the older homes. The city has been dubbed “Fat City” because of the growth and prosperity.
Metairie is simply an invitation to an area that is uniquely southern and uniquely American. The broad influences of food, fun, music and attitude have had a great effect around the world. The success can only be attributed to the people of the area.
