Louisianans seem to have a special connection to places, especially the places they call home. Their allegiances are worn with pride and are plainly evident at sporting events, parades and community celebrations.

This connection to home may dim somewhat as jobs and family carry people far from their hometowns, but the pride in origin remains acute.

This is especially true of older communities as opposed to those that sprung up as a result of urban sprawl.

One such community in St. John the Baptist Parish, Reserve, is turning 150 this year, and a group of local residents are determined not to let the milestone go by unobserved.

This group hopes to have a series of events celebrating Reserve’s sesquicentennial reminiscent of and perhaps surpassing the celebrations that accompanied the centennial in 1960. Of course, such a grand celebrations takes resources of both the monetary and manpower varieties.

The group, led by Judge J. Sterling Snowdy, hopes to take care of the bulk of the financial aspect through the sale of T-shirts and other fundraisers, but generating the manpower to carry out the festivities successfully is another matter entirely.

The group has issued a call for volunteers to help in the planning and execution of the celebration. A number of committees have been set up, so anyone can find a niche for their particular talents.

There has even been talk of using the celebration as a jumping-off point for annual events, but such grand plans require the cooperation of the entire community.

Time is short and the list of tasks are long, but the time has come for a community seen by many as LaPlace’s little sister to step up and show everyone what they are made of and what has made them great.

Godchaux Refinery and Leon Godchaux High School may be gone, but a successful sesquicentennial may show the world the true value of Reserve lies not in its past but in its future.