Interviewer(s): T. McGuire. Golden Meadow, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I met Chester Cheramie at the boucherie in Cut Off and arranged to interview him the following morning at the Fed Pond in Golden Meadow, where he is a regular at the morning coffee gathering.

Born in Golden Meadow in 1923, Chester Cheramie was one of seven siblings in a trapping/fishing family. He graduated from high school, spent three and a half years in the Navy, then returned to Golden Meadow and worked as a roustabout for several years. His father-in-law gave him a barroom, which Chester operated for fifteen years before going to work for Cheramie Brothers' boat company. He then worked in the office, doing mainly personnel, purchasing, and promotional work, for Nolte Theriot's boat company. After 26 years at that job, he retired at age 74. One of his sons has a PhD and directs the CODOFIL program (Council for the Development of French in Louisiana) out of Lafayette.