LEONARD GRAYL’Observateur / December 29, 1999

LUTCHER – More than 120 bonfires stretched along the Mississippi River levee on Christmas Eve, a five-mile stretch from Gramercy to Paulina in an unbroken line lighting the way for Papa Noel’s annual visit.

St. James Parish Sheriff Willy Martin Jr. said scattered bonfires werealso located in Convent and on the west bank.

As 7 p.m. struck, fireworks glittered the perfect skies and lighters weretossed into gasoline-soaked bonfires, most going up at once.

Economic Development Director Edie Michel said estimates of the crowd ran as high as 10,000 this year, not including those on riverboat cruises.

“We had calls from as far away as Israel,” Michel said. “We had tons ofinquiries.”An unofficial survey of license plates that night on River Road showed visitors from as far away as Maine and Ontario, Canada. Michel said therewas even a barge loaded with campers and pushed by a tugboat in the river, alongside the riverboat cruises.

Martin said there were no serious incidents besides the usual early- morning barroom incidents on Christmas morning.

“There were a lot more people on the levee than I’ve seen in a long time,” the sheriff, a lifelong resident, commented. “But we had no problem withcrowd control.”Assisting in that crowd control were a mini-fleet of four four-wheelers – two from the sheriff’s office, one from U.S. Customs and a fourth from asheriff’s offices task force.

The emergency-flasher-equipped four-wheelers efficiently swept crowds back from bonfires nearing collapse, and the largest bonfires were located near the Gramercy Fire Department station on River Road.

Besides, as Martin elaborated, the four-wheelers are “the quickest way to get from point A to point B, whenever we have an emergency on River Road.”In Gramercy, local entrepreneur Ron Zappe, wearing a Santa Claus cap, also entertained the River Road motorists, handing out thousands of complimentary bags of Zapp’s Potato Chips.

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