Month: <span>September 2006</span>

Girl and Boy Driving Car
Girl and Boy Driving Car

Winnie and I just survived the most stressful event any married couple should ever have to face. No, I’m not talking about getting married then waiting two years to be able to live together. No, I’m not talking about one person traveling half-way around the world to live in a strange country speaking a strange language. No, I’m not even talking about living through the worst natural disaster in American history.

I’ve just successfully taught Winnie to drive.

Family Stories

My Personal Narrative of Recovering From Katrina

NOAA Image of Hurricane Katrina

My story is dedicated to the tens of thousands of people who were impacted so much worse, and lost so much more, than Winnie and I.

In this narrative I have attempted to describe the personal impact hurricane Katrina had on me and my immediate friends and family. I start with the weeks leading up to the storm, describe the day it hit, and then the long year after attempting to rebuild my home and my life.

Some photos are included in this story, for more please go to our Katrina Photo Gallery. This hurricane was a major Life-Altering Event for everyone who experienced it. This article and the small collection of photos are published in the hopes that people not directly involved will appreciate the significance of this event.

Ron Charest

Cartoon Image of a Resume
Resume

After several weeks of phone calls, e-mails, and a one-day commute to Washington, D.C., it’s finally come together. I’ve received and accepted a position with a new company located in Arlington, Virginia. My start date is no later than October 31, so we have to move fast!

Family Stories

Family Stories

NOAA Satellite Image of Hurricane Katrina making landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
NOAA Image of Hurricane Katrina

I brought Aunt Rita back to the New Orleans train station yesterday for her trip back home. We arrived about 9:30, plenty early for an 11:55 departure. We said our goodbyes, then I left for home.

I had the day off but Winnie had to work, so I didn’t have any big plans for the day. I decided to take the long slow way back, picking up highway 90 (Chef Menteur Highway) just outside the French Quarter so I could see more of the city and coastal Mississippi. I’ve taken this drive in the past, but not since Katrina swept through.

Family Stories Hurricane Katrina Diaries

Armand Charest in 2000
Armand Charest in 2000

The Charest-Frenchette Family in America: A Success Story

Editors Note: Shortly before my father had his stroke which ultimately was fatal, I managed to convince him to write some stories and family history. I promised him I would get them at least published on a family website if he did. Well, with a lot of “encouragement” from myself and possibly my brother Howard, Dad did write some of the family stories. This is part III in a three part series.

I have taken the liberty of re-formatting Dad’s writings to be suitable for this website. Otherwise, I have posted them as written. I may on occasion add some editorial comments of my own; these will be clearly marked when I do.
   Ron Charest

Part III: Winding Down the War, and Afterwards Chapter 17

Rest, Relaxation, and Retraining

The division entered a period of rest and rehabilitation. New recruits filled the depleted ranks of the rifle companies; we received new clothing and weapon all line companies entered into extensive training, melding the new inexperienced soldiers with the veterans. So, at the ripe old age of nineteen, I was a veteran.

Armand Charest

Armand Charest in 2000
Armand Charest in 2000

The Charest-Frenchette Family in America: A Success Story

Editors Note: Shortly before my father had his stroke which ultimately was fatal, I managed to convince him to write some stories and family history. I promised him I would get them at least published on a family website if he did. Well, with a lot of “encouragement” from myself and possibly my brother Howard, Dad did write some of the family stories.

I have taken the liberty of re-formatting Dad’s writings to be suitable for this website. Otherwise, I have posted them as written. I may on occasion add some editorial comments of my own; these will be clearly marked when I do.
 Ron Charest.

Part II – The Pacific Engagements

Chapter 6

Armand ships out for the South Pacific and Combat Action…

I reported to Texas in late August of 1943 for seventeen weeks of basic infantry training. It was rough going at first, especially the long hikes over dusty Texas roads. But soon enough I became accustomed to the daily routine of exercise, training and close-order marching. I gained twenty-five pounds and grew three inches in height.

Armand Charest

Armand Charest in 2000
Armand Charest in 2000

The Charest-Frenchette Family in America: A Success Story

Editors Note: Shortly before my father had his stroke which ultimately was fatal, I managed to convince him to write some stories and family history. I promised him I would get them at least published on a family website if he did. Well, with a lot of “encouragement” from myself and possibly my brother Howard, Dad did write some of the family stories. This is part I of a three part series.

I have taken the liberty of re-formatting Dad’s writings to be suitable for this website. Otherwise, I have posted them as written. I may on occasion add some editorial comments of my own; these will be clearly marked when I do.
  Ron Charest

Part I – Growing Up in Rhode Island

Chapter 1

The Charest family traces its ancestry with any definite knowledge to Canada as early as 1812. The ancestral home in France has never been definitely established. Some family members feel that the earliest settlers in Canada came from Central France; others feel that Normandy is the likeliest home; others say that the first Charest came from Lacadie, France.

Armand Charest

An Aid Mission to Albania

This story was written by the late Armand Charest in May, 2001, recalling his experiences performing relief work in Albania. This is Part 1 of a two part story. This story was edited for format and obvious spelling errors, but is otherwise exactly as written by the author.

Prologue

Armand Charest in 2000
Armand Charest in 2000

In June, 1992, I joined a group of American military personnel, who were stationed at the NATO base in Southern Italy, to do humanitarian work in two state run orphanages and a missionary hospital in Albania. An air force officer, Major Harvey Leister and his wife Maureen, a dedicated couple who had collected a sum of money through donations and fund raising activities to buy tools and hardware needed to modernize those institutions were the prime movers in that enterprise. Our desire was to help, in some way, the citizens of that stricken country after the overthrow of their oppressive dictatorship in 1989.

Armand Charest