LEONARD GRAY

PHOTO: MELVA KINLER ENJOYS meeting visitors to St. Charles Parish, who come from around the world to the parish’s tourism information center at the West Bridge Park. (Staff Photo by Leonard Gray) It doesn’t toot its own horn. In fact, most people aren’t aware of where it is. However, the St. Charles Parish Tourism Information Center speaks loud and proud about the parish and Louisiana. Visitors find it just inside the gate of the West Bridge Park, a tiny wooden building on the right, next to the Parks and Recreation Department trailer. Inside, visitors are educated, entertained and enthralled by what they discover, especially speaking with the wealth of knowledge brought by the volunteers who operate the center. And they come – visitors in the past week came from as near as Texas and Arkansas and as far away as Germany and The Netherlands. “They love coming to Louisiana, because they love our Southern hospitality,” said Trudy Deshotels of the parish Department of Economic Development, who supervises the center’s operations. It’s open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tourism center certainly has brochures, local and from across the state. But the main attraction is the volunteers, all eager to meet and greet visitors from near and far. “They all have fun,” Deshotels said. “They are proud of our parish, and they want to share.” Most of the volunteers are registered through Retired Senior Volunteer Program. One example of a proud St. Charles Parish resident is Melva Kinler, born and raised in Des Allemands (and Deshotels’ mother). She bubbles over with information, stories and the love of sharing our historical and cultural attractions. “Some days we never stop!” Kinler said. She’s been there for more than a year, in the center which opened in July 1996. People come, looking for swamp tours, restaurants and places to see. One recent family simply wanted to picnic on the levee and watch the river. Visits to the tourism center have steadily increased since it opened. With only 114 visitors in 1997, it skyrocketed to 1,107 in 1998 and beat 1997’s total that April. In 1998, visitor totals went to 1,555 and to 1,735 in 2000. Deshotels emphasized the center is now certified through the Louisiana Travel Promotions Association, which brought in informational brochures statewide. The information is organized for a quick scan, with a local section, swamp tours, bed-and-breakfast places and plantations. The building itself has a history all its own. Once, it was the Bethlehem Hall, owned by the Bethlehem Benevolent Society, established in 1881, in Hahnville. The hall itself likely dates from 1886. A new St. Charles Parish tourism brochure is due in three weeks, but visitors, which include local teachers eager for more knowledge, to people looking for Oak Alley Plantation in St. James Parish. (“It’s 32 miles from here,” Kinler said.) Information is available for LaBranche, Ormond, Destrehan plantations in St. Charles, as well as restaurants, swamp tours and adjoining parish attractions. “They come away with a great deal of knowledge,” Deshotels said. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer may call -5140. The tourism center may be called at -5145. “It’s where there’s more to life,” Deshotels concluded.