Treasure hunting adventure captured in new publication

MORRIS RAPHAEL

The thrill goes on and on. I’m referring to the wondrous feeling expressed by the local adventurous four, some who discovered and retrieved one of the rarest gold and silver coin treasures ever found in the Gulf of Mexico. Avery Munson, Craig Derouen, Renee Hebert and Gary Hebert, who are labeled as “The Gentlemen of Fortune,” are still basking in the sunshine of their historic venture.

Munson presented me with a beautiful, large, hardbound “Coffee Table” publication titled “The Treasure Ship S.S. New York,” which has just been published. The book is written by well-known author Q. David Bowers — a professional numismatist.

Several pages show color photos of the crew with their boats, paraphernalia, and various artifacts. Featured in an additional 16 pages are sharp color photos of the gold and silver coins along with good descriptive captions.

My wife and I have been close friends of the Munson family for many years. We purchased their home when they left for Guam. We knew young Avery well, and his addiction to treasure hunting.

He made a special trip to our home to present me with the new book, which was autographed by members of the crew and included a very nice inscription. I appreciated this very much.

The SS New York sank on Sept. 7, 1846 in deep water south of Galveston as the result of a vicious hurricane. After years of planning, scuba-diving and perseverance, the foursome succeeded in retrieving the precious treasure from “Davy Jones’ locker.” The value of the find has never been revealed, but $1.3 million has been auctioned off. Avery says that this amount represents a significant portion of the treasure.

Persons interested in purchasing the book may contact the publisher: Stacks LLC, 123 West 57th St., New York City, New York, 10019 — or the internet “stacks.com.”

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The plea I made in my column for a typewriter was very successful. The dear hearts and gentle people of our parish came through in a great response. I wound up with three typewriters.

Unfortunately for me, typewriters are becoming “dinosaurs” due to the influx of modern day computers. But since I’m comfortable with the old machines, I’ll continue using them as long as I can.

Most of the ladies who responded said they enjoyed my column and wanted to make sure I’d continue writing. How about that! My heartfelt thanks go out to all those fine people.

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Periodically, when my wife and I lunched at Lagniappe Too, I’d notice a large number of ladies dining at a long table. I asked about this and learned from owners Elaine and Al Landry that the group is known as “The Golden Girls of Lagniappe Too.” Al said, “These ladies have been meeting on Thursdays for 21 years and the get-togethers began with Aleen Yeutter, Gilda Duhe and Grace Romero. No meetings, dues or reservations are required – they eat, chat and enjoy their visits.”

He added, “The list reads like the social register, and the numbers grew gradually over the years. Upon Aleen Yeutter’s death, Carolyn Lewald became the official chairman of the board.

Current members include Mrs. Lewald, Jo Wormser, Clelie Dalton, Evelyn Boutte, Aline Porter, Gene Jefferson, Ruth Pratt, Mary Roane, Ruby Oubre, Barbara Kyle, and Mary Ruth Patout Price. The deceased are Mrs. Yeutter, Grace Shaw, Milli Swatloski, Dot Broussard, Mary Gonsoulin, Marjorie Johnson and Virginia Hine.”

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People have inquired about Dailey Berard, who has been an entrepreneurial dynamo in Acadiana for a long, long time.

Dailey, now 81, is retired, lives in Lafayette with his sweet wife, Putsy, and enjoys outings at his camp at Cankton with family and friends. He is a multi-millionaire, ultraconservative, a constant letter writer to the news media, the author of several books and my good friend of over half a century.

He never fails to tell me I’m the best boss he’s ever had. My wife says I was probably the only boss Dailey’s ever had.

He is definitely a self-made man who was responsible for the establishment of several industries which flourished in Acadiana. Ironically, I worked for him when I retired from Universal Fabricators as project engineer. He was one of the best bosses I ever had.

A pet project of Dailey’s is writing letters to U.S. Presidents — a hobby he pursued since Eisenhower was President.

He always expressed his views on various policies and what he thought should be done for the welfare of our nation.

A copy of a three-page letter he sent to Pres. Barack Obama lies in front of me on my desk.

He lashes out at Obama by criticizing his spending program stating, “My deep concern is you may be transforming a recession into a depression.”

Dailey mentions that the collapse of big industries and financial institutions was brought about on themselves through mismanagement, inefficiency, and lack of leadership. Dailey tells of the ups and downs he experienced in his businesses, and the constant struggles and sacrifices he made to keep above water. He wound up his letter by stating, “My businesses generated one billion dollars of revenues for the State of Louisiana.”

Over the years, Dailey and I have fussed and argued about our political differences, but there are a couple of things I’m certain of — I admire him for his wonderful accomplishments and treasure his friendship.

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As I grow older, I find many of my long time friends are gradually dying out. Recently, I was deeply saddened to learn that David Stiel Jr. of Franklin, my good friend of around six decades, had passed away. He was an exceptionally fine, community spirited individual, the entrepreneur of a slew of businesses in Acadiana, one who was honored with many civic, state and military citations during his lifetime.

Years ago, when he was inflicted with a crippling malady, I labeled him as a “Wheelchair Entrepreneur.” He was always proud of his service as a Marine in the Pacific during WWII. At some of his home functions, he wore his uniform and spoke of his wartime experiences.

The last time I saw the Stiels was several months ago when we met at an outing. He had a female attendant wheeling him around. I asked David if she was taking good care of him. He answered, “Yes” and then took a deep puff on his cigar, pointed at his wife, Pat, who was talking to Helen, and said, “But that little lady over there really takes great care of me.” The emphasis was on the word “really.”

David and Patricia Stiel have enjoyed a wonderful 61 years of marital bliss. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to Pat and members of the family. David was indeed someone special — he will definitely be remembered.

Bye, bye.

MORRIS RAPHAEL is a local author and a retired engineer.