Photograph: Carola Lillie Hartley Collection
CAROLA LILLIE HARTLEY
Publisher and Contributing Writer
This rare photo from the past shows the first Yambilee office on Court Street in downtown Opelousas as it appeared in 1946.
As the first Yambilee Festival was approaching, the Yambilee Association realized they needed to hire a director and have an office that belonged to the festival. So, the Association hired Sam “Lefty” Tarleton to be the permanent manage of the festival; and Mr. J. W. Low, one of the founders of the festival, had an office built on his property on Court Street.
The first Yambilee office building was a temporary concrete block building, constructed across the street from the courthouse on Court St. between the New Drug Store and the Post Office. The festival used the small building for three months.
After the first festival, the Yambilee office moved to the Barnett Building on the corner of Main and Landry streets, known as King’s Corner – where St. Landry Bank sits today.
After the festival moved, the first Yambilee building became an auxiliary for J. W. Low’s store in 1947. It remained on Court Street until it was demolished in 1951 so the J. W Low’s Arcade could be constructed on that property.
