L’Observateur / November 8, 2000

LUTCHER – To celebrate the fifth anniversary of Nord-Sud Shipping and the 205th birthday of the Reine House on River Road, the company opened the doors to its office and threw a grand party.

St. James Parish citizens and the community of Lutcher and Gramercy cameout for dinner and some music on the River Road recently. The Berthelotfamily, who own and operate the shipping business, welcomed everyone to their office and gave a grand tour of the restored historical residence.

The company is a steamship agency which serves as an import coordinator in the shipping business that enters the Mississippi River. Nord-Sud ensuresthat the ocean-going vessels are in compliance of local, state and federal law, they coordinate movement, payment of port charges and attend to the needs of the captains and crews.

They are hired by some of the companies that own many of the plants on the River, like Bayou Steel, Koch Petroleum, Conoco, Marathon, Quaker Oats and more. They also work with off-shore rigs.Nord-Sud moved to Lutcher after working in Gonzales for five years. Thefamily is not new to the area, as Al Berthelot Sr. used to own the ShellCommunity Service station on Ormand Boulevard and Airline Highway in LaPlace. Back then his boys would work for them.”Now we’re back working together again,” said Jeff Berthelot, president of Nord-Sud. Al, A.J., Jeff and Al Jr. are back in the River Parishes, and what acelebration they threw.

Bits & Pieces was on hand to provide the entertainment. A dinner ofjambalaya, gumbo, white beans and all sorts of other goodies were served.

Lutcher Mayor Troas Poche led the Berthelots in a ribbon cutting to officially open the new office.

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