St. Charles Historical Foundation has chosen the theme “Remembering our Past” as part of its African-American History Month celebration. The foundation recently sponsored a lecture on the life of Charles Paquet, son of Jean Paquet, who was a slave and lived in New Sarpy. Freed by his father, Paquet became a prominent builder in the parish. He was responsible for the design and construction of Destrehan Plantation and Keller’s Homeplace in Hahnville. Hazel Taylor, coordinator of the museum gift store at the Destrehan Plantation, conducted the lecture. Artifacts recognizing the work and contributions of slaves will be available for viewing, through the courtesy of Angela Matherne, who is the Heritage Education coordinator at the Destrehan Plantation. Drawings of the period of construction of the Destrehan Plantation complex and the town of New Sarpy, will be on exhibit at the East Bank Library throughout the month of February. The drawings are the work of local folk artist Lorraine Gendron. The foundation also has an exhibit on display at the East Bank Library entitled “Ingenious African Americans in Science and Engineering, 1731-1955, which includes busts and biographies of six African-American legends: Norbert Rillieux, 1806-1984, a native of St. Charles Parish who invented a sugar refining method which elevated America to world prominence in the sugar industry; Lewis Latimer, 1848-1928, an inventor who improved Thomas Edison’s invention of the lamp; Matthew Alexander Henderson, 1866-1955, the first man to set foot on the top of the world; Benjamin Banneker, 1731-1806, who built the first clock of wood made in America and designed the architectural plans for the city of Washington D.C.; Daniel Hale Williams, 1858-1931, who performed the first successful heart operation; and Charles Richard Drew, 1905-1950, a physician and scientist who introduced the revolutionary idea of blood banking and who was the first director of the American Red Cross Blood Bank. The exhibit will be on display this year at the East Bank Library throughout the month of February, through the courtesy of the Raymond K. Smith Family. “Artifacts from 1865” from the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Hahnville, founded by African-American missionaries, will be on display at the West Bank Library, throughout the month of February, courtesy of Bethlehem Baptist Church and the Rev. Rodney Johnson Sr.